A severe drought across Europe has caused water levels in the Danube River to drop to record lows, exposing the remains of two World War II German soldiers and military equipment near central Budapest. The discovery was initially reported by a passerby who spotted a motorcycle handlebar protruding from rocks along the riverbank near Batthyany Square. Recovery operations conducted by the German War Graves Commission alongside Hungarian military historians unearthed a largely intact Wehrmacht motorcycle, identified as a DKW NZ 350-1 model, along with anti-tank mines that prompted a brief deployment of bomb disposal personnel. The site yielded well-preserved personal items, including intact identification tags, a wedding ring, and a Kuban shield combat decoration. Experts noted that a combination of riverbed mud and petroleum slowed the decay of the artifacts and human remains over the past eight decades. Analysis of the identification tags revealed that one soldier served in the Wehrmacht while the other belonged to the Waffen-SS. Because both halves of the soldiers’ identification tags remained intact rather than split, as was customary when casualties were processed, investigators confirmed that neither death was officially recorded during the war. The commission has initiated bone analysis and archival checks to identify the deceased before their eventual burial at the German war cemetery in Budaors.

A massive Ukrainian drone and missile strike targeted the strategic Russian port of Novorossiysk overnight, damaging two major grain export terminals and striking key naval assets in the Black Sea. Local officials reported that three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and 24 others were injured in the attack, which prompted an emergency declaration in the city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the assault as a unique operation utilizing rockets, jet drones, and naval drones. Military officials in Kyiv later confirmed that four Russian warships, including two frigates, were damaged during the strike. Novorossiysk became the primary hub for Russia’s Black Sea fleet after Ukrainian attacks previously forced Russian naval forces to relocate from Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. The damage to the export hubs led the Russian agriculture ministry to begin rerouting cargo flows toward alternative maritime routes in the Baltic and Caspian Seas. The barrage comes amid intensified military exchanges in the region, following overnight Russian missile and glide bomb attacks that killed at least 11 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.

Japan issued a strong protest on Thursday following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup, an island within the disputed Kuril Islands chain claimed by both nations. According to Russian state media, the visit represents Putin’s first in-person trip to the archipelago. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated Tokyo’s position, stating that the islands are inherently Japanese territory under both historical context and international law. The territorial row over the four southernmost islands, which Japan refers to as the Northern Territories and Russia calls the Southern Kurils, has prevented the two countries from signing a formal World War II peace treaty. The Soviet Union seized the chain in 1945 and subsequently expelled roughly 17,000 Japanese residents. During his itinerary on Iturup, known in Japan as Etorofu, Putin inspected a local fish-processing plant and sampled regional seafood following his observation of naval drills in Russia’s Far East. The strategically located island also houses a primary Russian military air base. Bilateral relations between Moscow and Tokyo have grown increasingly strained in recent years, particularly following Japanese sanctions imposed over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of deploying North Korean ballistic missiles during a series of overnight attacks across Ukraine that left at least seven people dead in Zaporizhzhia. Local officials in Zaporizhzhia reported that the strikes hit the city’s Zaporizhstal metallurgical plant with guided bombs and missiles, killing seven employees, injuring 24 others, and forcing the facility to suspend operations. The barrage was part of a broader aerial offensive involving 120 Russian drones and multiple missile launches that disrupted power supplies in Kharkiv and Kherson while damaging civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and Sumy. In response, Ukrainian forces launched retaliatory deep-space strikes targeting critical Russian supply and industrial assets. Ukrainian drones struck facilities belonging to online retailer Wildberries in the Voronezh region, as well as a petrochemical plant in western Siberia. The long-range campaign follows a strike on the Tanevo oil refinery in Tatarstan, located over 680 miles inside Russian territory, which killed 13 people and injured dozens. Zelensky warned that Moscow’s growing reliance on North Korean weaponry and troops presents a expanding international security threat. Western military intelligence previously noted that thousands of North Korean soldiers had been deployed to support Russian units in the Kursk region, where allied forces suffered heavy casualties during autumn combat.

Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay 4.5 million Canadian dollars to settle a decade-long class-action lawsuit brought by thousands of female flight attendants over workplace harassment. A British Columbia Supreme Court judge approved the final agreement on Monday, concluding negotiations that began in June. The settlement funds will be distributed among 3,452 current and former flight attendants after deducting legal fees and administrative costs. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2016 by former flight attendant Mandalena Lewis, who alleged that a pilot sexually assaulted her during a 2010 layover in Hawaii and that the company failed to take appropriate investigative action after she reported the incident. Lewis criticized the final terms, stating that the agreement failed to deliver complete justice for the victims. The settlement contains no admission of guilt by WestJet, nor does it mandate compulsory anti-harassment training for flight crews. However, the carrier agreed to commission an independent inquiry to review its reporting procedures, workplace culture, and underreporting issues, affirming its commitment to strengthening employee safety measures.

Jury selection began this week at the Regional Justice Centre in Las Vegas for the long-delayed trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. Davis, 63, faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement, carrying a potential sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege that Davis, a former shot-caller for the South Side Compton Crips, supplied the firearm and directed the attack in retaliation for an assault on his nephew, Orlando Anderson, by Shakur and Death Row Records associates following a boxing match at the MGM Grand. The case relies heavily on self-incriminating accounts provided by Davis, including statements made to police in 2008 and details published in his 2019 co-authored memoir, Compton Street Legend. While prosecutors maintain that Davis breached non-prosecution conditions through his public commentary, defence attorneys argue that the book was ghostwritten and heavily embellished for financial gain, maintaining that Davis was not present in Las Vegas on the night of the shooting. Jury selection is expected to continue through the end of the week to establish a final panel of 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening arguments are scheduled to commence today, on 17 August, in a trial projected to span roughly four weeks.

Four prominent non-governmental organizations filed a joint federal lawsuit contesting executive sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the International Criminal Court, arguing the penalties unlawfully disrupt global war crimes prosecutions. The legal challenge, brought by Human Rights Watch, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Open Society Institute, and the American Friends Service Committee, targets an executive order enacted in February 2025. The presidential directive established financial sanctions and travel bans against ICC officials, judges, and affiliated advocacy groups involved in investigating alleged war crimes in Palestinian territory, including cases involving senior Israeli officials. Attorneys representing the civil rights organizations contend that the broad scope of the sanctions violates First Amendment protections regarding free speech and association. The suit asserts that the threat of severe civil and criminal penalties has effectively forced US-based legal advocates to suspend representation of victims before the tribunal, while halting formal collaborations with sanctioned international rights groups. The filing marks the latest in a series of legal challenges against the administration’s broader push to limit the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court. Representatives for the US Department of State and Department of Justice did not immediately issue formal statements regarding the lawsuit.