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From threats to praise, Trump keeps allies guessing at NATO summit

By Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk

ANKARA, July 9 (Reuters) - As they prepared for this week's NATO summit in Ankara, the leaders of America's allies wondered which Donald Trump would join them - the friendly U.S. president who has praised the dedication of NATO allies or the testy Trump who has threatened to implode the 77-year-old alliance?

It turns out they got both.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump poses for a family photo, joined by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other leaders during the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Canada wants broader Saudi ties, won't lecture from 'afar': Carney

Canada wants closer ties with Saudi Arabia and will not lecture about rights "from afar," Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday during the first visit to the kingdom by a Canadian premier in 25 years. Carney's office said the prime minister and crown prince will finalize a deal next year that will make it easier for Canadian businesses to expand into Saudi Arabia.

Mark Carney makes the first visit to Saudi Arabia by a Canadian prime minister in 25 years

How a Palestinian town is defending itself from Israeli settler attacks

By Pesha Magid

SINJIL, West Bank, July 9 (Reuters) - On a cool night in June, some 15 Palestinians from the town of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank gathered on a hilltop to watch the shadowed valleys below for any sign of movement that might signal an impending Israeli settler attack.

They are part of a grassroots volunteer group — similar to others in the West Bank — that has stepped in to defend the town from rising settler violence that Palestinians say the Israeli military and their own government have proved unable or unwilling to prevent.

Yousef Foqahaa cycles past the tall metal fencing installed by the Israeli military that closed off four of the five entrances to his town, Sinjil, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

UK's likely next PM, Andy Burnham, says he wants to put more pressure on Israel

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Andy Burnham, who is expected to be named as Britain's new prime minister later this month, wants to exert more pressure on the Israeli government over its actions in Gaza, the Guardian reported on Thursday.

In an interview with the newspaper, Burnham was critical of how current Prime Minister Keir Starmer had initially reacted to Israel's military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, which came after an attack on Israel by Hamas-led gunmen.

FILE PHOTO: Andy Burnham, British member of parliament (MP) for Makerfield, arrives for a radio interview on LBC's "Tonight with Andrew Marr", in London, Britain, July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo

Hormuz traffic slumps as US, Iran trade strikes

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply since Wednesday, especially through the UN-backed Omani route, analysts said, after vessels were attacked earlier this week and as the United States and Iran traded renewed strikes. The southern Omani route, used in past weeks by many vessels not linked to Iran, has been largely avoided since Wednesday.

Strait of Hormuz: safety still a concern as new routes emerge

Strengthening El Nino likely to 'rank among largest' on record: US agency

The El Nino weather pattern picked up strength over the past month and is highly likely to "rank among the largest" ever recorded when it peaks between October and December, US forecasters said Thursday. In its latest update, the US Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said there is an 81 percent chance of a "very strong" El Nino between October and December that would rank among the largest such events in the historic record going back to 1950.

Experts linked a major flooding event in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in May 2024, to climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon

Gazans mourn aid worker killed by Israel who brought them the World Cup

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO, July 9 (Reuters) - Gazans turned out in large numbers to pay their respects to a senior Palestinian member of Egypt's main aid organisation who set up World Cup screenings in the shattered enclave and was killed by an Israeli air strike on a taxi he was in this week.

The strike killed Mohammad al-Waheidi on the eve of the Egypt-Argentina match on Tuesday, along with three other people, including two young passers-by, siblings aged 10 and 8, in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, medics said.

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian man Mohammad al-Waheidi, who worked for the Egyptian Relief Committee and was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, during his funeral, in Gaza City, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Chemical weapons watchdog reinstates Syria

The world's chemical weapons watchdog reinstated Syria on Thursday, noting a "significant change in circumstances" since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and "concrete steps" to dismantle his deadly stockpile of banned substances. The new Syrian government has "committed to fulfilling Syria's obligation under the (Chemical Weapons) Convention and... since taken concrete steps to cooperate... to achieve this goal," the OPCW said in a statement.

The chemical weapons watchdog said Syria had made progress in dismantling the stockpile of banned substances built up under former president Bashar al-Assad

Families of crew aboard crashed Pakistani cargo plane face agonising wait

By Ariba Shahid

ISLAMABAD, July 9 (Reuters) - The family of Faisal Jatoi, the Pakistani co-pilot missing with four others after their cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea, faced an agonising wait for news on Thursday, as rescuers continued their search.

Jatoi was co-piloting a K2 Airways Boeing 737 freighter from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi on Tuesday night when it went down off Pakistan's southern coast. Pakistani rescuers found the wreckage in a deep-sea search operation on Wednesday.

The wreckage of the K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane that crashed in the Arabian Sea, found and retrieved by Pakistani rescuers, according to Pakistan Airports Authority, in this handout image released on July 8, 2026. Pakistan Airports Authority via Facebook/Handout via REUTERS

Oil tanker traffic through Hormuz at near standstill as attacks strain Iran truce

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the U.S. renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf.

Just two tankers had so far sailed through the strait in the early hours of Thursday. They included the crude supertanker Berg 1, which had loaded at Iran's Kharg Island and is subject to U.S. sanctions, according to analysis from Kpler.

FILE PHOTO: Cargo ships sail in Saudi waters near the Dammam Port in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, May 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour/File Photo