News

After France and Spain, Italy said Friday (August 1) it would begin air drops over Gaza, which UN-backed experts say is slipping into famine. The first drops could come on August 9, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. “I have given the green light to a mission involving Army and Air Force assets for the transport and airdrop of basic necessities to civilians in Gaza, who have been severely affected by the ongoing conflict,” he added in a statement. FRANCE 24’s Seema Gupta tells us more.

South Africa is among the countries facing President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on exports, that are due to come into force on August 7, rather than August 1st as previously announced. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will use the week-long delay to try to negotiate hard to avoid the penalty and save jobs.

Three killed in Ukrainian drone strikes on western RussiaRussia’s defence ministry said its air defence systems had destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory – 34 over the Rostov region – in a nearly nine-hour period, from Friday night to Saturday morning.Image-AFP

Blackpink’s weekend concerts are set to fill France’s largest stadium.These four K-pop idols are performing in the country for the third time.

SpaceX brings new crew to International Space Station in just 15 hours – but it’s still short of Russian record

The four US, Russian and Japanese astronauts pulled up in their SpaceX capsule after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. Their arrival brought the current number of people at the station to 11.

SpaceX ‘Crew Dragon’ docks with ISS just 15 hours after launch

Culture

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying an international team of four astronauts docked on Saturday with the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) just 15 hours after it launched.
Crew-11 mission astronauts pause outside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building en route to launch complex LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 © Gregg Newton / AFP

US envoy Steve Witkoff visited an aid distribution site in Gaza run by the Israeli-US Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) on Friday (August 1) amid global outrage over shortages and deadly chaos. For more analysis, FRANCE 24’s Yinka Oyetade is joined by Scott Lucas, professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute. “This was a public relations visit to try to show a ‘wonderful aid operations in Gaza’, even as we know that the prevalent story is that of what is effectively now a famine with mass starvation”, he said.

‘Combat will continue without rest’ in Gaza unless hostages are freed, Israel’s army chief says

Middle East

The Israeli army chief of staff said Friday that “combat will continue without rest” in the Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages. Hospitals in Gaza reported that Israeli fire killed over a dozen people on Saturday, including eight individuals who were searching for food, as Palestinians faced extreme danger trying to access aid amid air drops and tight restrictions on overland deliveries.
Palestinians mourn outside the morgue where bodies of people killed a day earlier while waiting for aid were brought, at the Al Shifa hospital morgue in Gaza City on July 31, 2025. © Bashar Taleb, AFP Families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 demonstrate in Tel Aviv’s ‘Hostage’ square during US envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit on August 2, 2025. © Jack Guez, AFP

Migrant crossings through long-troubled Darién Gap plummet to near zero amid Trump crackdownDHS reports only 10 migrants crossed in June compared to Biden-era peak of 82,000 in single month

Hurricane Gil churns far out in the eastern PacificHurricane Gil is churning in the eastern Pacific Ocean but isn’t expected to threaten land