Trump says Iran talks taking place during pause in US military strikes
NewsFeed US President Donald Trump says talks with Iran are continuing during a pause in US military strikes, adding he believes there is ‘a good chance’ of a breakthrough but warning military action could resume if negotiations fail. Published On 28 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
US warns hundreds of Boeing jets may require seat safety inspections
Regulator proposes checks on 453 US-registered jets over seats that may be incorrectly installed. The US aviation authority has warned that seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX planes could have been installed incorrectly and may require inspection. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday that the issue relates to 453 jets registered in the US and proposed requiring airlines to inspect the seats. Recommended Stories list of 2 items list 1 of 2US summer travel slumps under rising fares and fuel expenses list 2 of 2Trump says China to buy 200 Boeing planes, much lower than expected end of list If not installed correctly, the seats could come loose during an emergency landing and “injure passengers and crew members”, the FAA said, adding that they could also “block the aisle and slow an evacuation”. The proposed order would apply only to US-registered planes because the FAA does not regulate foreign airlines. Regulators in other countries, however, often follow FAA orders when the issue affects aircraft operating in their markets. A Boeing spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that the company had issued guidance to operators on the matter in December 2025. “We support the FAA making that guidance mandatory,” the spokesperson said in an email. The warning adds to years of scrutiny of Boeing’s safety record. A cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in January 2024, forcing an emergency landing and prompting the FAA to ground 171 jets. Investigators later found that the panel was missing four key bolts. The scrutiny intensified after a spate of other accidents around the world, as well as the death of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett in March 2024 while he was providing evidence for a safety lawsuit against the firm. In June 2025, the US National Transportation Safety Board said Boeing had failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent the Alaska Airlines incident. There are nearly 2,300 737 MAX jets operating around the world, including 823 in the US, according to aviation advisory and intelligence firm IBA. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy set to meet Trump as Iran and Ukraine wars converge
The US Senate will vote Tuesday on Russian sanctions, days after Ukraine attacked an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet United States President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, a meeting that could coincide with the introduction of tough new sanctions on Russia. Zelenskyy, who will attend the funeral of US Senator Lindsey Graham, is also scheduled to meet with the Senate on Tuesday evening, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two Senate aides. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3Iran accuses Ukraine of deadly attack on Caspian commercial vessel list 2 of 3Russia and Ukraine trade attacks, killing 10, including child in Chernihiv list 3 of 3Iran warns Ukraine of retaliation after deadly Caspian Sea strike end of list The vote on Russia sanctions, legislation that has been pending for months and was championed by Graham, could happen that same day. If enacted, the Russian sanctions bill would ratchet up pressure on Moscow by imposing 100 percent tariffs on goods from the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India. In a last-minute intervention, Trump sought to add sanctions on Iran to the same bill. Zelenskyy told Trump ally Laura Loomer last week that he thinks the move is a “great idea”. Iran and Ukraine wars converge The two wars, taking place roughly 2,500km (1,550 miles) apart, have converged in recent days. On Saturday, Ukraine attacked an Iranian tanker in the Caspian Sea that Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, said was carrying drones and military components from Iran to Russia. Iran has promised to retaliate. By attacking Iranian ships, Kyiv is not only doing itself a favour but also attacking Washington’s “enemy number one”, which will please the US, former US ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia, William Courtney, told Al Jazeera. But while Zelenskyy supports Iranian sanctions as part of the Russian sanctions bill, Ukraine is unlikely to want to be too closely associated with the “unpopular” US war on Iran, he added. The US no longer provides direct financial aid to Ukraine for its war against the Russian invasion, but it still provides crucial intelligence for long-range strikes and sells weapons to Europe that are then passed on to Ukraine. Trump-Zelenskyy relationship While their relationship seemed tense during a heated exchange in the White House in February 2025, relations between Zelenskyy and Trump have improved significantly in recent months. The two leaders agreed earlier this month to allow Ukraine to jointly produce Patriot air defence interceptors, a crucial component for the country’s defence against Russian aerial attacks. Ukraine and the US are also moving closer to a deal on joint drone production, a move that could help the US catch up with Ukraine in this crucial military technology. Ukraine is on track to produce 6 to 7 million short-range attack drones this year, while the Pentagon’s $1.1bn production programme will have ordered just under 200,000 drones cumulatively by February 2027. Fighting continues Heavy fighting continues on Ukraine’s front lines, and long-range strikes are taking place almost every day. On Monday, Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine killed seven people and injured more than 20, officials said. In Russia’s Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone struck a commercial building, killing one person and injuring two. Fighting is heaviest in Ukraine’s Konstantinyvka and Pokrovsk directions, both of which are in the Donetsk region. Adblock test (Why?)
Massive iceberg capsizes off the coast of Greenland
Massive iceberg capsizes off the coast of Greenland NewsFeed A massive iceberg capsized off the coast of Ilulissat, Greenland, on July 25, flipping with force to reveal its jagged underside amid a burst of waves and mist. The spectacle took place near the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord, with no injuries reported. Published On 27 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
Why Mali’s northern conflict has entered a dangerous new phase
Bamako, Mali – An unprecedented battlefield partnership between a separatist movement and an al-Qaeda affiliate has transformed the conflict in northern Mali, shifting the military balance and deepening divisions over how, if at all, the war can end. When the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launched a joint offensive on April 25, 2026, the conflict entered a phase unlike any before. A war that had long pitted the Malian state against multiple armed groups gave way to a coordinated campaign stretching from Kidal and Anefis to Tilemsi, Gao and Sevare, posing the most serious challenge to the Malian army in years and to Russia’s Africa Corps, the Kremlin-backed force that replaced the Wagner Group in Mali. Since then, the fighting has been marked by simultaneous assaults, ambushes, drone strikes and attacks on military convoys, with all sides claiming significant battlefield gains. Bamako says it is working to restore state authority and dismantle what it calls a “terrorist alliance” between the FLA and JNIM. The FLA says it remains committed to independence for Azawad, the name separatists use for northern Mali, while JNIM portrays the war as part of a campaign to “liberate” Mali and overthrow the government, which it accuses of relying on Russian forces. More significant than the offensive itself, however, is the unprecedented military cooperation between a nationalist separatist movement and an al-Qaeda affiliate. Their political ambitions remain fundamentally different, yet their cooperation has already reshaped the conflict and could have far-reaching implications for security across the Sahel. The partnership emerged after the collapse of the 2015 Algiers Peace Agreement, which sought to end years of fighting between Bamako and northern armed groups through greater decentralisation and political representation, but whose implementation repeatedly faltered. Successive military coups after 2020 reshaped Mali’s political leadership and security strategy. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Mali and imposed sanctions, while Russia deepened its military role by deploying the Wagner Group in late 2021. After Russia folded the Wagner Group’s operations into the state-controlled Africa Corps, renewed fighting left neither the government nor northern armed groups able to impose a lasting settlement. How the alliance took shape On paper, cooperation between the FLA and JNIM appears unlikely. The FLA traces its roots to northern separatist movements that declared the independence of Azawad during the 2012 rebellion, a claim never recognised by the Malian state or the international community. Colonel Mohamed Issa, centre, one of the FLA’s most prominent military commanders [Photo: Courtesy of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)] It presents itself as a secular nationalist movement seeking independence for Azawad, while JNIM seeks to overthrow governments it considers illegitimate and establish governance based on its interpretation of Islamic law. Yet senior officials from both groups told Al Jazeera those ideological differences have been set aside to confront a common enemy. Colonel Mohamed Issa, a senior FLA officer, said the movement remained committed to an independent Azawad, arguing that previous peace agreements repeatedly collapsed because successive governments in Bamako failed to honour them. Negotiations, he said, would only be acceptable if they recognised Azawad’s right to separate. Issa rejected suggestions of an ideological alliance, describing the relationship as a battlefield arrangement against a common enemy. He said the JNIM-affiliated fighters operating alongside the FLA were exclusively Azawadis rather than members of the group’s wider regional network, arguing they were motivated primarily by defending their communities against the Malian army and what he described as Russian “mercenaries”. Suleiman, a senior JNIM field commander who requested that only his first name be used for security reasons, described the relationship in broader terms. He said the group approved operational coordination with the FLA after internal consultations because fighters on both sides largely came from “one people” caught up in the same conflict and because their liberation goals had become “relatively unified”. He also claimed the FLA had accepted Islamic legal arbitration by local religious scholars, one of JNIM’s core objectives, a point the FLA itself did not raise. Bamako, meanwhile, has described the relationship as a “JNIM/FLA terrorist alliance” that threatens Mali’s sovereignty. The differing accounts illustrate both the strength and the fragility of the arrangement. For now, shared battlefield interests appear to outweigh ideological differences. Whether that remains true as the conflict evolves is far less certain. A shifting balance of power The partnership has altered not only the battlefield but the way the war is fought. FLA officials say working alongside JNIM has enabled both groups to divide responsibilities and pool expertise in attacks on military bases and supply convoys. A destroyed vehicle at the site of recent fighting in northern Mali [Photo: Courtesy of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)] Bamako disputes casualty figures released by the armed groups and insists its forces retain the initiative. Even so, the conflict has become markedly more sophisticated, with simultaneous attacks across distant locations, engagements lasting several days and ambushes targeting reinforcements before they reach the front lines. Drones have assumed an increasingly prominent role, serving not only as reconnaissance platforms but increasingly as strike weapons against vehicles and military positions. Malian forces, backed by Russia’s Africa Corps, continue to rely heavily on air power, yet months of sustained fighting suggest neither side has secured a decisive advantage. The war economy Long-established financing and trafficking networks continue to sustain both sides. JNIM sources describe a funding model built on regional commercial networks, organised zakat collections and resources accumulated over years, including proceeds linked to earlier al-Qaeda kidnapping-for-ransom operations. The FLA says it relies primarily on donations organised by tribal leaders, traders and community associations. Officials from both groups also acknowledged that individuals linked to the movements participate in illicit economies, including trafficking across the Sahara, although the extent to which those activities finance the war remains difficult to verify. Weapons have proved as important as funding. Arms have flowed across the Sahel since the collapse of Libya in 2011, providing armed groups with a steady source of equipment. The
Firefighters battle to contain wildfires still burning near Bordeaux
NewsFeed Wildfires in southwestern France are continuing to burn near the city of Bordeaux. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from surrounding regions, and across the southwest of France a total of around 220,000 have been evacuated. Published On 27 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
Flavio Bolsonaro launches Brazil presidential bid with Milei support
NewsFeed Flavio Bolsonaro, son of disgraced former Brazilian President Jair, has launched his bid to unseat President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Flavio is vowing to carry forward his father’s legacy and has won right wing support from Argentina’s President Milei. Published On 26 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
Can Zimbabwe’s mineral ambitions benefit smaller producers?
Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe wants to move beyond being a supplier of raw minerals and build industries that process and manufacture from its own resources. But as the government tightens restrictions on unprocessed mineral exports, smaller miners are asking whether they will share in that transformation or be left behind. The government has restricted exports of unprocessed strategic minerals, including lithium, as part of a broader drive to increase domestic beneficiation. Authorities argue that Zimbabwe should capture more value from its mineral wealth instead of exporting raw materials and allowing other countries to profit from refining and manufacturing. The policy has attracted more than $1bn in investment into Zimbabwe’s lithium value chain, according to government officials and industry representatives. But smaller miners warn that the cost of building processing facilities, unreliable electricity supplies and limited access to finance could make it difficult for them to participate in the country’s industrial ambitions. Speaking during a technical media tour of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, on 17 July, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Polite Kambamura said Zimbabwe’s 2022 ban on exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore had encouraged companies to invest in domestic beneficiation. “The construction of the first lithium sulphate plant in Africa is behind me, and this was done in Zimbabwe,” Kambamura said. He said Zimbabwe’s ambitions extended beyond lithium sulphate and lithium carbonate production, with a long-term goal of developing industries capable of manufacturing lithium batteries and solar panels locally. Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, said its lithium carbonate plant was about 90 percent complete. PLZ public relations officer Patience Mushore said Huayou’s investments had generated more than $1.1bn in foreign exchange for Zimbabwe while expanding the country’s lithium value chain. Policy shift Supporters of Zimbabwe’s export restrictions argue that the country can no longer remain a supplier of raw minerals while other nations capture greater profits through refining and manufacturing. Public policy expert Tedious Ncube said Zimbabwe’s lithium sector demonstrated why the government had prioritised beneficiation. Mechanics work on a machine installed at Arcadia Lithium in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe [Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images] He pointed to investments at Arcadia Mine and Bikita Minerals as examples of companies expanding Zimbabwe’s lithium sector. Ncube said domestic processing could create skilled jobs, strengthen local suppliers and allow Zimbabwe to retain a greater share of the income generated from its mineral resources. “The success of Zimbabwe’s lithium industry shows that the right policy can attract investment that builds industries, creates jobs and leaves a bigger share of mineral wealth in Zimbabwe,” he said. Mining concerns For smaller producers, the debate is not whether Zimbabwe should process its minerals locally, but whether they will have the infrastructure, finance, and market access needed to participate. Shelton Lucas, business development director at Naivo Mining, said the company operates chrome, antimony and tungsten projects in Mashava, Ngezi and Kadoma but faces challenges accessing affordable processing options. Lucas said smaller producers were struggling to access processing capacity, particularly in the chrome sector. “For our raw chrome, we are now forced to sell to local Chinese smelters where they underpay us. For antimony, I have the resources to build the value-addition plant, but for chrome I cannot because the plant is very expensive,” he said. He said he supported domestic processing but warned that smaller miners could be excluded if new requirements were introduced without support mechanisms. Lucas proposed a toll-smelting system, where public institutions or industry bodies invest in shared processing facilities that miners can access at transparent rates while retaining ownership of their minerals. “The challenge is not only building processing plants, but also ensuring smaller producers can access capacity on fair terms,” he said. Without such measures, he warned that a small number of companies could end up controlling processing capacity and market access. “If these companies also hold export rights, they could dictate prices to small-scale miners, creating what could become a predatory market that undermines the very people the mining sector is meant to empower,” he said. Economic constraints Economists say Zimbabwe’s processing ambitions will depend on whether the country can overcome longstanding challenges affecting mining and manufacturing. United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean economist Chenayi Mutambasere told Al Jazeera that the policy faced obstacles including power shortages, expensive financing, weak transport infrastructure, foreign exchange constraints and limited access to processing technology. “The ban should be more than a political slogan; it should be an industrial practical strategy,” she said. A worker oversees operations at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s (PLZ) three-line, single-phase lithium sulphate plant in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East [Enos Denhere/Al Jazeera] Mutambasere said the government needed to support the policy with reliable electricity, investor incentives, skills development and clear implementation timelines. She warned that restrictions introduced before the necessary support systems were in place could create unintended consequences. “An abrupt ban where companies have invested in the sector may push the mining sector further underground, which could increase mineral leakage,” she said. Government vision Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana told Al Jazeera that the policy was intended to ensure Zimbabwe gains more from its finite mineral resources. “The government is implementing this beneficiation policy in our minerals for the growth of our economy and to create a lasting legacy that will be witnessed by future generations,” Mangwana said. He said the policy applied not only to lithium but also to other strategic minerals, including platinum group metals such as palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Zimbabwe’s push reflects a wider debate among resource-rich countries: whether restricting raw exports can build domestic industries without concentrating opportunities among a few large companies. For smaller miners, the success of the strategy will depend not only on how much mineral processing takes place inside the country, but whether beneficiation creates broader participation or leaves only the biggest players able to compete. Lucas said the goal should be to ensure that local processing expands opportunities across the mining sector rather than creating new barriers for smaller producers.
French wildfires trigger mass evacuations around Bordeaux
NewsFeed Around 200,000 people have been evacuated around Bordeaux as wildfires tear through southwestern France. The blazes have destroyed nearly 98,000 hectares, closed Bordeaux Airport and prompted France to seek international help as firefighters battle to contain the flames. Published On 26 Jul 2026 Adblock test (Why?)
From palava huts to TikTok: How Liberians are preserving their past
Monrovia, Liberia – For generations, Liberia’s history lived in the voices of its elders, carried through conversations, ceremonies and community gatherings. Today, those stories are finding new audiences across TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, podcasts and digital archives. Young Liberians are documenting their history, exploring their culture and reaching audiences at home and across the diaspora. Rather than replacing traditional storytellers, they are carrying an age-old tradition into the digital age. Across much of West Africa, griots, or oral historians, preserved history through storytelling, music and oral tradition. Liberia never developed the formal griot tradition found across the Sahel, but its elders fulfilled a similar role, preserving family histories, cultural traditions and the stories that bound communities together. Over time, however, that tradition has come under growing pressure. Among those leading efforts to preserve Liberia’s past is Bilphena Decontee Yahwon, founder of Archive Liberia, a memory and political education project that explores Liberian history through research, archives and public storytelling. “I didn’t originally set out to tell Liberian stories. I wanted to tell my own story,” Yahwon says. “Within my story was also a story of war and migration, one that I felt I could only contextualise by understanding the story of Liberia, who we were before the 1800s, what happened afterwards, and what we became. I realised I was inside a web of stories, and that is ultimately what brought me to the work I do now,” she tells Al Jazeera. Her personal search has become part of a wider movement of young Liberians using digital platforms to reclaim the country’s past and reshape how it is remembered. A history interrupted by war Elders passed down the memories of families, communities, cultural traditions and the events that shaped Liberia for generations, but the country’s civil wars severed that chain. Liberia’s two civil wars, fought between 1989 and 2003, killed an estimated 250,000 people, displaced hundreds of thousands more and disrupted the transmission of history, culture and family memory. “Liberian societies in the forest belt lacked the professional caste of griots that existed in the Sahel. But our elders did their best to transmit historical and cultural knowledge, albeit on an unpaid basis,” says Patrick Burrowes, a Liberian historian and author. “The chain of transmission across generations continued in an unbroken fashion for centuries until the war. That is why we are seeing less and less transmission of accurate historical and cultural knowledge,” Burrowes tells Al Jazeera. The effects of that disruption are still felt today. As Liberia has become more urbanised, many young people have moved away from the communities where oral histories were traditionally shared. According to a 2022 report by the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services, internal migrants account for 46.7 percent of the urban population, compared with 13.6 percent of the rural population. The places where stories are shared have changed. The need to preserve them has not. The new palava hut For many young Liberians, the new gathering place is online. A historical photograph shared on Facebook, a TikTok video explaining a cultural tradition or a podcast exploring Liberia’s past can now reach audiences far beyond a single community. Stories once shared between elders and younger generations now travel across cities, continents and the Liberian diaspora in seconds. Zuleka Dauda, chief programme officer at the Center for Integrated Solutions, a Liberian-owned research and strategic planning organisation, says the shift reflects evolution rather than loss. “Culture should never stand still,” she tells Al Jazeera. “Young Liberians are consuming culture differently, but it’s still being taught and shared. Instead of gathering around the palava hut, they gather around TikTok, Facebook, podcasts and YouTube. We didn’t lose storytelling. We changed the stage.” For many creators, these platforms have become spaces to document traditions, preserve family histories and challenge narratives about Liberia that have often been shaped from outside the country. Historical photographs, forgotten traditions and family memories are reaching new audiences as Liberians use technology to reconnect with their past. But taking storytelling online has also brought new challenges. Truth and memory Access remains one of the biggest barriers. According to World Bank figures, just over one in three Liberians uses the internet, limiting who can participate in this growing digital archive. There is also the challenge of misinformation. Traditional storytellers learned over many years, with elders responsible for correcting inaccuracies and protecting the knowledge passed between generations. Social media has opened storytelling to everyone, but it has also removed many of those safeguards. Participants in an Archive Liberia oral history project pose for a group photograph [Bilphena Decontee Yahwon/Al Jazeera] “Historically, African griots underwent rigorous training, and the recitation of knowledge by young acolytes was fact-checked by their elders,” says Burrowes. “But social media is a brave new world. Individual users do not undergo training in sifting fact from falsehood. Many users post information without vetting. They often use their platforms to gain followers and influence, without regard to social responsibility.” Limited literacy and restricted access to archives also make it harder for many Liberians to verify historical claims. Government figures estimate literacy among Liberians aged 15 and above at 58.6 percent. For Yahwon, however, the challenge is not only about accuracy but also about who gets to shape Liberia’s historical narrative. “For me, one of the biggest challenges in telling Liberian stories, culture and history is undoing the ahistorical account of our past that has dominated for so long,” she says. “So much of what has been written about Liberia is shaped by narratives that lack an anti-colonial and anti-imperialist perspective.” Who gets to tell Liberia’s story? As more Liberians turn to digital platforms to preserve the past, the challenge is ensuring those stories remain rooted in evidence as well as memory. The Liberia Tourism Authority says it is working with historians, cultural institutions and content creators to improve access to historical resources and help produce accurate, engaging stories about Liberia. Dauda believes the answer is not to discourage young people from telling stories online, but