Portal:Current events/2026 July 30

July 30, 2026 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
    - 2026 Iran war ceasefire, Pakistan in the 2026 Iran war
      - Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi reaffirms that talks between Iran and the United States are still ongoing despite recent strikes by the U.S. military. (The Times of Israel)
  - 2026 Iranian strikes on Arab countries
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Jordan
      - Jordanian air defenses shoot down five missiles from Iran. (AP)
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Kuwait
      - Kuwaiti authorities confirm that an Iranian attack targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company and killed one person. (AFP via The Times of Israel) (Kuwait Times)
  - Egypt in the 2026 Iran war
    - 2026 Damietta drone strike
      - The Egyptian cabinet confirms a drone has hit two vessels yesterday at a port in Damietta, Egypt, including the LNG storage tanker Energos Winter. (Reuters)
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - Data shows that the QatarEnergy-controlled LNG tanker Al Areesh exited the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first LNG vessel from Qatar visible on ship-tracking data to do so since July 11, when Al Hamra exited the strait from Das Island, United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- Gaza war
  - Gaza peace plan
    - Mediators and Hamas reach an agreement to implement the second phase of a United States-backed ceasefire signed in October last year during a meeting in Cairo, Egypt. (Egyptian Gazette)
    - U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the Board of Peace has reached a deal for a complete disarmament of Hamas. (BBC News) (Jewish Insider)
    - Amidst reports of a new plan to disarm Hamas, Israel reaffirms that it will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip, including the Yellow Line, until the militant organization is completely disarmed. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - The Gaza Health Ministry reports that four people, including children, are killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, in violation of the ongoing ceasefire. (Al Jazeera)
  - The Israeli military claims it has killed two Hamas militants in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip, including a Nuseirat Battalion commander and a Hamas platoon commander, violating the ongoing ceasefire. (The Times of Israel)
- Red Sea crisis
  - Saudi Arabia's government announces the establishment of the Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance with 14 countries signing the founding document in an effort to keep the Bab-el-Mandeb strait open. (Middle East Eye) (Saudi Press Agency)
  - About 25 vessels cross the Bab-el-Mandeb strait according to data from Kpler shipping data. (Reuters)
Russo-Ukrainian war
- Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
  - Russian forces launch hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 50 others, including six people killed in a ballistic missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. (NBC News) (Fana News)
- 2026 missile explosion in Poland, Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war
  - An armed Russian Kh-101 cruise missile enters Polish airspace around Lublin, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets in response. It later explodes in the countryside near Tarnawa-Kolonia. (The Kyiv Independent) (Al Jazeera) (DW) (TVN24 in Polish)
Sudanese civil war
- War crimes during the Sudanese civil war
  - The Associated Press reports that two former child soldiers said they were trained by Colombian mercenaries after being conscripted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the ongoing civil war in Sudan. (AP) (The Washington Post)
- Kordofan campaign
  - The Sudanese Air Force launches a series of airstrikes against RSF mobilizations and military positions in the north and west Kordofan. (Sudan Tribune)
Terrorism in Pakistan
- The death toll from yesterday's attack in the Hangu district of northwest Pakistan rises to at least eleven police officers. (AP via ABC News)

Business and economy

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development trade bloc reopens its office in Khartoum, Sudan, resuming operations for the first time since the start of the country's civil war in April 2023. (Sudan Horizon) (Sudan Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

2026 Kumamoto earthquake
- The casualty toll from the M_w 6.8 earthquake in Kumamoto on Kyushu, Japan, earlier this week rises to 35 people killed and over 134 injured. (Reuters)
2026 Quetta coal mine explosion
- At least 34 miners are killed and more are reported missing after a methane gas explosion at a coal mine near Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. (AFP via Arab News)
At least nine people are killed and several others are trapped after an explosion at a four-story building in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, India. (Hindustan Times)
Five people are critically injured and six are missing after a residential building collapses during a gas leak explosion in Messina, Sicily, Italy. (SkyNews24)
Ten climbers are reported missing, including Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, after an avalanche on the Broad Peak in Pakistan. (CNN) (The Indian Express)

Health and environment

2026 Ebola epidemic
- The death toll from the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rises to over 1,500 people killed. (AP)
- Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories announces plans to advance an rVSV-based vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola into human trials after World Health Organization experts identified it as the most promising candidate for the epidemic. (AFP via CNA)
2026 United States cyclosporiasis outbreak
- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that the U.S. state has surpassed 10,000 cases of cyclosporiasis, which is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis. (CBS News MI)
Nuclear power in Hungary
- The Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary shuts down for the first time in 44 years amid a drought across the country and extremely low water levels on the Danube river. (BBC News) (DW)

International relations

Morocco–Spain relations
- 2026 Morocco–Spain border incident
  - Thousands of undocumented immigrants cross into the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta from neighboring Morocco. The city's mayor-president, Juan Jesús Vivas, requests the Spanish government to declare a national emergency, but is refused by the interior ministry. (AP)
  - Senior Italian politicians, including prime minister Giorgia Meloni, deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, and foreign minister Antonio Tajani, call for Spain to be kicked out of the Schengen Zone or the suspension of the Schengen Agreement entirely, citing the alleged threat of undocumented immigrants spreading throughout the European Union. (Politico EU)
Chile–Venezuela relations
- Chile and Venezuela restore diplomatic relations after a two-year suspension following Chile's call for a review of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election results. (AFP via The Manila Times)
International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
- Naoero announces it has withdrawn its recognition of Georgia's breakaway states Abkhazia and South Ossetia, terminating diplomatic relations with these entities "with immediate effect". (Civil Georgia)

Politics and elections

Argentine president Javier Milei issues a decree seeking parliamentary approval to bar or expel foreigners accused of inciting hatred against Argentina or its people, while exempting protected political, academic, and ideological expression. (AFP via Vanguard)

Science and technology

Cyberwarfare during the 2026 Iran war, 2026 Minnesota water system cyberattack
- The Minnesota IT Services reports a cyberattack across 30 municipal community water systems across the state, with American authorities accusing Iran of being behind the cyberattack. (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times)

Sports

2026 FIFA crisis, 2030 FIFA World Cup controversies
- In association football, UEFA announces that it will boycott the 2030 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by current champions Spain along with Morocco and Portugal, if FIFA president Gianni Infantino proceeds with plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors. (Sky Sports)
International sporting sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- In boxing, World Boxing lifts all restrictions on Russian athletes, allowing them to compete with their national symbols. (Reuters)
- In ice hockey, the International Ice Hockey Federation extends Russia's ban to the 2027 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, and says that a decision will be made in November for the 2027 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. (ESPN)