At least 143 refugees and migrants are dead or missing from a boat stranded off Mauritania that departed from The Gambia bound for Europe, according to the UN refugee agency.

Israel’s parliament dissolved on July 17 ahead of October 27 elections, with the UN reporting at least 57 Palestinians killed between July 13-20 amid escalating military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Japan recorded its first “cruelly hot day” with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, as the country experiences increasingly severe heat waves affecting agriculture, sports, and public health.

France’s parliament approved a ban on social media for under-15s beginning January 2027, making it the first European country to implement such restrictions amid growing concerns about children’s mental health.

Two Saudi oil tankers turned around in the Red Sea after Yemen’s Houthis announced a naval blockade, as the US conducted its 11th consecutive round of strikes against Iran amid escalating regional tensions.

A female common marmoset was discovered abandoned in a laundry bag on a London bus, prompting concerns from animal welfare groups that new primate licensing requirements may trigger more abandonments.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was detained by police during a sit-in outside Prime Minister Modi’s residence as student-led “Cockroach” protests demanding educational reform and government accountability continue to expand despite a harsh crackdown.

President Trump met with Lebanese President Aoun at the White House, pledging US assistance but offering no concrete timeline for Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Rescue teams in Afghanistan search for survivors after floods killed at least 23 people in Nuristan province, with officials warning of additional flooding risks in the coming days.

Iranians face mounting economic hardship from war, sanctions, and structural problems, with inflation near 90 percent, currency collapse, and widespread shortages of food, medicine, and electricity.

The Netherlands approved a trade ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, effective September 22, joining other European nations taking unilateral action.

Mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Pakistan are proposing a 10-day truce between the US and Iran to prevent further escalation in a conflict that has increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure and risks expanding regionally.