Manhunt for ex-US soldier suspected of killing 4 in Montana bar
Police have told residents to stay home and not approach the suspect, who could be ‘armed and dangerous’. A manhunt is under way for a former United States soldier suspected of carrying out a shooting in a bar in the US state of Montana, which has left four people dead. The shooting happened on Friday at about 10:30am (16:30 GMT) at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, with four people pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation. The suspect has been identified as 45-year-old military veteran Michael Paul Brown. Brown lived next door to the bar, according to public records and owner David Gwerder. Gwerder, who was not there at the time of the incident, said a bartender and three patrons were killed before Brown fled the scene. “He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Gwerder said. “He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.” Brown’s home in Anaconda – a town of about 9,000 people, located in southwest Montana about 109 miles (175km) west of the city of Bozeman – was cleared by a SWAT team. Montana Senator Steve Daines said a “massive manhunt” is under way, aided by drones. Authorities said Brown was last seen in the Stump Town area, just west of Anaconda, and he is “believed to be armed and dangerous”. He should not be approached if seen, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said in a social media post, while Anaconda residents have been instructed to stay home and lock their doors. More than a dozen police officers have converged on Stump Town, locking it down so no one is allowed in or out as police search for Brown in a wooded, mountainous area. Advertisement Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives in the area, said a police helicopter hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees. A US army spokesperson said Brown served as an armour crewman from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005. Brown was also in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said in a social media post that he was “closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda”. Our hearts are with the community of Anaconda, Montana, where four lives were lost in a senseless bar shooting. Law enforcement is actively searching for the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, who remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous. We stand with the brave officers… pic.twitter.com/nHmlib8D2o — National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) August 1, 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min to leave Premier League club
Son Heung-min captained Tottenham Hotspur to the Europa League title last season but will leave the club this summer. After 10 years with Tottenham Hotspur, captain Son Heung-min announced on Saturday that he plans to leave the English Premier League club. At a media conference in Seoul, Son, appearing at times to be holding back tears, said his decision to leave the Spurs was ’the most difficult” of his career and said the club was supporting him as he looks to move on to another team. Spurs will face Newcastle United in a preseason friendly on Sunday in Seoul in what could be the final match of Son’s time at Spurs. “Before we start the press conference, I just want to share the information that I have decided to leave this club in this summer,” Son said. “Respectfully, this club is helping me to my decisions. So I just wanted to share this information before we start the conference. “I came to North London as a kid, 23 years old, very young age, a young boy came to London who even didn’t speak English and leaving this club as a grown man is a very, very proud moment.” He continued his tribute by thanking Tottenham fans. “So I just want to say thank you to all of the Spurs fans that gave me so much love and felt like it was my home,” he said. “It was one of the toughest decisions I ever made. So I hope the goodbye is always also in a good timing you know. But I think it’s the right time to make this decision.” Son was asked in Korean on his future playing plans, and he replied: ’I don’t think I have an answer yet.” He also confirmed in Korean that he would play for South Korea at the World Cup next year in North America. Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min lifts the trophy with teammates after winning the Europa League final [Andrew Couldridge/Reuters] In May, Son finally won his first title in Europe as Tottenham defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final. Advertisement “I felt the pressure. I wanted it so badly,” Son said after that match. “The last seven days, I was dreaming about this game every single day. It finally happened, and I can sleep easy now.” The 33-year-old Son has been one of the biggest stars of the Premier League, scoring 173 goals in 454 competitive appearances for Tottenham. He was made captain in 2023 by former head coach Ange Postecoglou and helped the club lift its Europa League title, a first trophy since 2008. Son added that the team’s recent success was a factor: “ Winning the Europa League made me feel I had achieved everything I could here. I need a new environment for a fresh challenge.” Son has been heavily linked with a move to the United States and there is reported interest from Saudi Arabian clubs. Thomas Frank succeeded Postecoglou in June and the Danish coach paid tribute to Son on Saturday. “He is truly a Spurs legend in every aspect,” Frank said. “One of the best players to ever play in the Premier League, in my opinion, as a winger. I think it is probably the perfect timing, going out on a high.” Later in the media conference, Son reiterated that he has not decided on where he will play next. But he said next year’s World Cup was his priority for his home country. “I don’t think I have an answer yet,” he said of his future playing choices. “I think I can share more about my future after tomorrow’s game once things become more certain. “My most important priority right now is the World Cup. It’s likely to be my last World Cup and I want to give everything I have in that environment … I want to be able to play football happily, which I think will play the biggest role in my future decision-making. I am still trying to organise my thoughts around that.” Adblock test (Why?)
West Bank mourns Palestinian man killed in Israeli settler arson attack
NewsFeed Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral for 40-year-old Khamis Ayyad, who died from smoke inhalation after an Israeli settler arson attack in the occupied West Bank. His death follows a surge in settler violence this year. Published On 1 Aug 20251 Aug 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Prosecutors want PSG and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi to face rape trial
Paris Saint-Germain which the Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi denies the alleged rape of a woman in 2023. French prosecutors on Friday called for Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi to face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, which the Moroccan international denies. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office told the AFP news agency that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. “It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order,” the prosecutor’s office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG’s run to their first Champions League title, with the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic run to the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. The woman went to a police station following the encounter, alleging rape and was questioned by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. On the night in question, she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non-consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. Advertisement She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. Contacted by AFP after Friday’s development, Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as “incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case’s elements”. “We, along with Achraf Hakimi, remain as calm as we were at the start of the proceedings. “If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal,” she added. “My client welcomes this news with immense relief,” Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, told AFP. Hakimi, born in Madrid, came through the youth system at Real Madrid before joining Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2018. He went on to make 73 appearances for the German club. He moved to Inter Milan in 2020 and then on to PSG in 2021, where he has established himself as an integral part of the team. In Qatar, Hakimi was a cornerstone of the Morocco team that became the first African or Arab nation to reach the semifinals of a World Cup. Adblock test (Why?)
India rock England on Day Two of latest fractious Test
Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took four wickets each as India fought back in the fifth and deciding Test against England at the Oval on Friday. India roared back into contention on an exhilarating day two of the final Test on Friday as their seamers restricted England to a 23-run lead after the hosts had threatened to run away with a match that the tourists need to win to square the series. After mopping up India’s brittle tail in less than 30 minutes in the morning, openers Zac Crawley and Ben Duckett raced to 92-0 in 12 overs in a blistering return of Bazball. However, continuing the back-and-forth theme of the entire series, India responded as their bowlers ran in relentlessly to peg England back to 247. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal then scored quickly in a potentially awkward last 90 minutes, ending unbeaten on 51 with India closing on 75-2, 52 runs ahead to leave the pivotal match fascinatingly poised. Another fabulously undulating day began with India resuming at 204-6, but soon skittled for 224 as pace bowler Gus Atkinson took five wickets in his first Test since May. It was an all-too-familiar collapse by the tourists this summer as Karun Nair fell lbw for 57 and Washington Sundar was caught for 26. Atkinson then bowled Mohammed Siraj and had Prasidh Krishna caught behind, both for ducks, to finish with 5-33. England set about their reply in their usual, swashbuckling fashion, exemplified by Duckett’s extraordinary “reverse hook” for six off Akash Deep. Akash Deep of India puts his arm around Ben Duckett of England after dismissing him for 43 [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images] They reached 50 in seven overs – the fastest 50 opening partnership England have ever managed in a Test – but fell just short of the 100 as Duckett was caught behind reversing for 43. Advertisement They were 109-1 at lunch, and England looked poised to take command, but India, as they have all summer, refused to buckle as Crawley (64) and Ollie Pope (22) quickly departed. Joe Root brought his usual calm to proceedings until Siraj nipped one back at him for an lbw on 29, with Jacob Bethell going the same way soon after. Krishna finished off the session in style by having Jamie Smith brilliantly caught in the slips for eight by KL Rahul, then getting Jamie Overton lbw for nought and followed up with the wicket of Atkinson to finish with 4-62. Harry Brook had a late flurry either side of a rain delay before becoming Siraj’s fourth victim when bowled for 53 as England, with injured Chris Woakes absent, were all out for 247. India’s openers quickly erased that and pushed on well beyond, with Jaiswal looking particularly enterprising en route to a quickfire 51 – though he was badly dropped in the deep on 40. Rahul departed tamely for seven off Josh Tongue, and Sai Sudharsan followed, lbw to Atkinson for 11, leaving Deep not out four. With good weather forecast for Saturday, another Oval full house will turn up in expectation of more fireworks, and what has been one of the most entertaining series for years is still in the balance. Adblock test (Why?)
What has triggered deadly clashes at Uganda’s border with South Sudan?
Fighting between the armies of Uganda and neighbouring South Sudan, which are longtime allies, erupted this week over demarcations in disputed border regions, leading to the death of at least four soldiers, according to official reports from both sides. Thousands of civilians have since been displaced in affected areas as people fled to safety amid the rare outbreak of violence. A gunfight began on Monday and comes as South Sudan, one of the world’s youngest countries, is facing renewed violence due to fracturing within the government of President Salva Kiir that has led to fighting between South Sudanese troops and a rebel armed group. Uganda has been pivotal in keeping that issue contained by deploying troops to assist Kiir’s forces. However, the latest conflict between the two countries’ armies is raising questions regarding the state of that alliance. A truck enters a checkpoint at the Elegu border point between Uganda and South Sudan in May 2020 [Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images] What has happened? There are conflicting accounts of the events that began at about 4:25pm local time (13:25 GMT) on Monday, making it hard to pinpoint which side struck first. The two agree on where the fighting took place, but each claims the site as being in its own territory. Ugandan military spokesperson Major-General Felix Kulayigye told reporters on Wednesday that the fighting broke out when South Sudanese soldiers crossed into Ugandan territory in the state of West Nile and set up camp there. The South Sudanese soldiers refused to leave after being told to do so, Kulayigye said, resulting in the Ugandan side having “to apply force”. Advertisement A Ugandan soldier was killed in the skirmish that ensued, Kulayigye added, after which the Ugandan side retaliated and opened fire, killing three South Sudanese soldiers. However, South Sudan military spokesperson Major-General Lul Ruai Koang said in a Facebook post earlier on Tuesday that armies of the “two sisterly republics” had exchanged fire on the South Sudanese side, in the Kajo Keji County of Central Equatoria state. Both sides suffered casualties, he said, without giving more details. Wani Jackson Mule, a local leader in Kajo-Keji County, backed up this account in a Facebook post on Wednesday and added that Ugandan forces had launched a “surprise attack” on South Sudanese territory. Mule said local officials had counted the bodies of five South Sudanese officers. Kajo-Keji County army commander Brigadier General Henry Buri, in the same statement as Mule, said the Ugandan forces had been “heavily armed with tanks and artillery”, and that they had targeted a joint security force unit stationed to protect civilians, who are often attacked by criminal groups in the area. The army general identified the deceased men as two South Sudanese soldiers, two police officers and one prison officer. The fighting affected border villages and caused panic as people fled from the area, packing their belongings hurriedly on their backs, according to residents speaking to the media. Children were lost in the chaos. Photos on social media showed crowds gathered as local priests supervised the collection and transport of remains. Map of Uganda and South Sudan [Al Jazeera] What is the border conflict about? Uganda and South Sudan have previously clashed over demarcations along their joint border, although those events have been few and far between. As with the Monday clash, the fighting is often characterised by tension and violence. However, heavy artillery fighting, which occurred on Monday, is rare. Problems at the border date back to the demarcations made during the British colonial era between Sudan, which South Sudan was once a part of, and Uganda. Despite setting up a joint demarcation committee (unknown when), the two countries have failed to agree on border points. In November 2010, just months before an anticipated South Sudanese referendum on independence from Sudan, clashes erupted after the Ugandan government accused the Sudanese army of attacking Dengolo village in the West Nile district of Moyo on the Ugandan side in multiple raids, and of arresting Ugandan villagers who were accused of crossing the border to cut down timber. Advertisement A South Sudanese army spokesperson denied the allegations and suggested that the assailants could have been from the forestry commission. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudan’s Kiir met a few days later and pledged to finalise the border issue, but that did not happen. Little was reported on the matter for several years after that, but in October 2020, two Ugandan soldiers and two South Sudanese soldiers were killed when the two sides attacked each other in Pogee, Magwi County of South Sudan, which connects to Gulu district of northern Uganda. The area includes disputed territory. Some reports claimed that three South Sudanese were killed. Each side blamed the other for starting the fight. In September 2024, the Ugandan parliament urged the government to expedite the demarcation process, adding that the lack of clear borders was fuelling insecurity in parts of rural Uganda, and Ugandan forces could not effectively pursue criminal cattle rustling groups operating in the border area as a result. Following the latest flare-up of violence this week, the countries have pledged to form a new joint committee to investigate the clashes, South Sudan military spokesperson, General Koang, said in a statement on Tuesday. The committee will also investigate any recurring issues along the border in a bid to resolve them, the statement read. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, right, and Vice President Riek Machar, left, attend a mass led by Pope Francis at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 [Ben Curtis/AP] Why does Uganda provide military support to South Sudan’s President Kiir? Uganda’s Museveni has been a staunch ally of South Sudan’s independence leader, Kiir, and his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party for many years. Museveni supported South Sudan’s liberation war against Sudan, especially following alleged collusion between the former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group originally formed in Uganda but
Isak’s Liverpool link grows as Newcastle absence continues
Sweden striker Alexander Isak heavily linked to Liverpool move after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave. Newcastle have rejected Liverpool’s opening bid to sign unsettled Sweden striker Alexander Isak, according to reports. Isak has been training at his old club Real Sociedad this week after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave St James’ Park. The 25-year-old has been linked with Liverpool since the end of last season, and the Premier League champions are now believed to have formalised their interest with an offer of about 110 million pounds ($146m) plus potential add-ons. But Newcastle, who reportedly value Isak at 150 million pounds ($199m), remain eager to hold on to their prize asset and have rebuffed Liverpool’s initial bid. Isak, who joined Newcastle in a 60-million-pound ($80m) move from Real Sociedad in 2022, scored 23 Premier League goals last season to help Newcastle qualify for the Champions League. He has three years left on his Newcastle contract, but did not travel to Asia for the Magpies’ ongoing preseason tour, with the club saying he had a minor thigh injury. On Thursday, Real Sociedad confirmed he was at their Zubieta facility with his own trainers. It was reported on Friday that Newcastle had told Isak he could agree a new deal containing a get-out clause for next year, but he responded by insisting he wants to move now. Liverpool manager Arne Slot has already bolstered his attacking options by signing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz during the current transfer window. But the Reds are eager to make their forward line even more formidable by adding Isak, as they look to win back-to-back English titles for the first time since the 1980s. Advertisement Newcastle boss Eddie Howe struck a defiant note earlier this week when he said: “He is still our player. He’s contracted to us. “We, to a degree, control what is next for him. I would love to believe all possibilities are still available to us. “My wish is that he stays, but that’s not in my full control.” Liverpool have spent more than 250 million pounds ($332m) so far in the summer window, with Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili joining Wirtz and Ekitike at Anfield. Adblock test (Why?)
Switzerland says ‘disappointed’ by Trump tariffs, will try to negotiate
Switzerland says it will try to negotiate its way out of stiff United States tariffs, hours after US President Donald Trump’s administration shocked the European country by announcing plans to impose a 39-percent tariff rate on Swiss goods. The Swiss government said on Friday that it was “disappointed” and would decide how to proceed after Trump unveiled the 39-percent rate, more than double the 15 percent being applied for most European Union imports into the US. The new tariffs, which are set to go into effect on August 7, would prove painful for several key Swiss industries, including manufacturing and watchmaking. The Swiss government said in a statement on social media that it remains in contact with US authorities and “still hopes to find a negotiated solution”. “The Federal Council notes with great regret the intention of the US to unilaterally burden Swiss imports with considerable import duties despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland’s very constructive position,” it added. The Trump administration unveiled a range of new tariffs on many US trading partners on Thursday, saying the move aimed to address a “continued lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships”. Nearly 70 countries now face import duties that were due to come into force on Friday. But most will now begin on August 7, giving countries a few days to try to reach an agreement with Washington to stave off or reduce their respective tariff rate. “Everyone had been focused on August 1 … and now there is a new deadline,” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett reported from the White House on Friday morning. Advertisement “The reason is so that there can be a little bit more time and breathing space to get some more deals done. There were a few that were very close but didn’t quite make the deadline, and so the White House [said] this will allow … for these final agreements to be worked out.” Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines — allowing the US president to claim victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates. He said on Thursday there were agreements with other countries, but he declined to name them. Asked on Friday if countries were happy with the rates set by Trump, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, “A lot of them are.” The new tariffs also include a 35-percent duty on many goods from Canada, 50 percent for Brazil, and 20 percent for Taiwan. Taiwan said its rate was “temporary” and it expected to reach a lower figure. The Trump administration said it decided to impose 39-percent tariffs on Switzerland because of what it called the European country’s refusal to make “meaningful concessions” by dropping trade barriers. “Switzerland, being one of the wealthiest, highest-income countries on Earth, cannot expect the United States to tolerate a one-sided trade relationship,” a White House official said on Friday. Swissmem, a group representing the mechanical and electrical engineering industries, said it was “really stunned” by the US move. “It’s a massive shock for the export industry and for the whole country,” said Deputy Director Jean-Philippe Kohl. “The tariffs are not based on any rational basis and are totally arbitrary … This tariff will hit Swiss industry very hard, especially as our competitors in the European Union, Britain and Japan have much lower tariffs.” Stock market tumbles But Trump’s new tariffs have created yet more uncertainty, with many details unclear. Global stock markets stumbled on Friday, with Europe’s STOXX 600 down 1.8 percent on the day and 2.5 percent on the week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since Trump announced his first major wave of tariffs on April 2. Wall Street also opened sharply lower on Friday. Reporting from the New York Stock Exchange, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey explained that US markets were “definitely down” following the tariffs announcement, but the drop was not as bad as what was seen after the first round of tariffs in April. “When the first round of tariffs were enacted, the market did drop substantially, but then clawed back a lot of the losses about a month later as deals were worked out. A lot of economists are saying that this time around, the market has priced in tariffs,” Saloomey said. Advertisement Still, she said, “the concern is still that the underlying fundamentals of the economy are under strain and the full weight of the tariffs” has yet to be seen. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump envoy to visit Gaza aid sites as Israel accused of starvation policy
US envoy Steve Witkoff to visit aid distribution sites in Gaza to assess ‘dire situation on the ground’: White House United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Gaza to inspect aid distribution as pressure mounts on Israel over its starvation policy in the war-torn Palestinian territory. Witkoff will travel to Gaza on Friday with US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to inspect aid distribution as condemnation of Israel grows over famine in Gaza and reports that more than 1,000 desperately hungry Palestinians have been killed since May at food distribution sites operated by the notorious US- and Israeli-backed GHF. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that Witkoff would visit “distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground”. “The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region,” Leavitt said. The visit by the top US envoy comes a day after more than 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory and health officials reported the deaths of two more children from starvation, adding to the Gaza Health Ministry’s confirmed death toll of 154 people who have died from “famine and malnutrition” – including 89 children – in recent weeks. Witkoff met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after his arrival in the country on Thursday, the Israeli leader’s office said. Earlier this week, President Trump contradicted Netanyahu’s insistence that reports of hunger in Gaza were untrue, with the US leader saying the enclave was experiencing “real starvation”. Advertisement The United Nations and independent experts had warned for months that starvation was taking hold in Gaza due to the Israeli military blockade on humanitarian relief, and this week, they said that “famine is now unfolding”. Angered by Israel’s denial of aid and ongoing attacks on Gaza’s population, the United Kingdom, Canada and Portugal this week became the latest Western governments to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, following Spain, Norway and Ireland’s lead. Some 142 countries out of the 193 members of the UN currently recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state. Following a meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said “the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination”. “Here, the Israeli government must act quickly, safely and effectively to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality,” he said. “I have the impression that this has been understood today.” Once a vibrant centre of Palestinian life, much of Gaza has been pulverised by Israeli bombardments and more than 60,000 Palestinians killed, and almost 150,000 wounded, since October 2023, after the Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed an estimated 1,139 people. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,254
Here are the key events on day 1,254 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is how things stand on Friday, August 1: Fighting Russia launched waves of missiles and drones at Kyiv before dawn on Thursday, killing 16 people, including two children, and wounding more than 100 others, officials in the Ukrainian capital said. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed it targeted and hit Ukrainian military airfields and ammunition depots as well as businesses linked to what it called Kyiv’s military-industrial complex. Russia claimed to have taken full control of the shattered town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine after nearly 16 months of fighting, an assertion which Kyiv dismissed as “propaganda”. Ukrainian drones, operated by the state security agency SBU, struck an electronics plant which produces combat control systems for the Russian military in the western Russian city of Penza. Military aid A powerful United States Senate committee has approved a military spending bill that includes about $1bn to support Ukraine, despite US President Donald Trump’s administration having asked Congress to eliminate such funding in its budget request. Ceasefire US special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Russia after his current trip to Israel, President Trump said. Trump did not provide an itinerary for Witkoff, who has held extensive ceasefire talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. Trump has sharply criticised Russia’s “disgusting” behaviour against Ukraine and said he plans to impose sanctions on Moscow if no agreement can be reached on a ceasefire. The US president has given Putin until August 8 to reach a deal to halt the fighting. The US reiterated its Ukraine war ceasefire deadline to the United Nations Security Council, with senior US diplomat John Kelley telling the 15-member council that “both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace”. Kelley said: “It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace”. Trump also told Dmitry Medvedev to “watch his words” after the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council said Washington’s threats of hitting Moscow and buyers of its oil with punitive tariffs were “a game of ultimatums” and a step closer towards a war between Russia and the US. In response, the former Russian president said Trump should remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort. Advertisement Ukrainian affairs Ukraine’s parliament voted to restore the independence of two key anticorruption agencies, moving to defuse the country’s biggest political crisis since Russia’s invasion. Lawmakers voted 331 to 0 in favour of the bill, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted last week following pressure from thousands of protesters and top European officials to reverse course on the issue. Regional developments Chinese naval vessels have steamed into Russia’s far eastern port of Vladivostok in advance of joint drills scheduled from August 1-5. Adblock test (Why?)