Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said an Iranian strike hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north of the country on Thursday, killing one worker and severely damaging the structure.
[Source: The National](https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/kuwait-reports-death-from-iranian-strike-as-jordan-intercepts-five-missiles/)
US Central Command rejected the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ claim that its missiles destroyed three F-35 fighters and heavily damaged three more at Jordan’s Al Azraq air base and killed US personnel, saying no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged and that all missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach their targets.
[Source: Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2019519)
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said a Reuters report that Iran was poised to receive the first batch of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers within weeks was not true and had no factual ground at all.
[Source: Anadolu Agency](https://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-denies-report-of-planned-shipment-of-missile-launchers-to-iran-calls-it-not-factual-at-all/4013474)
Ceuta’s political groups voted unanimously to ask Madrid to declare a national emergency, close the Tarajal crossing and deploy the army after roughly 2,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave over the past week. The interior ministry said it would not declare a national emergency over migration, army units based in Ceuta were placed on alert rather than deployed, and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is due in the city on Friday.
[Source: Infobae](https://www.infobae.com/espana/2026/07/30/ceuta-entra-en-colapso-con-la-entrada-de-cerca-de-2000-migrantes-esta-semana-la-ciudad-pide-ayuda-al-estado-y-marruecos-senala-a-bandas-criminales/)
A methane explosion at a private coal mine in the Sorange area outside Quetta trapped about 25 miners underground on Thursday.
[Source: Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2019505)
Russia’s Federal Security Service charged Telegram founder and owner Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activity and placed him on a wanted list.
[Source: CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-charges-telegram-founder-pavel-durov-aiding-terrorism/)
Russia extended its ban on gasoline and diesel exports to run from August 1 through January 31, 2027.
[Source: The Moscow Times](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/30/russia-extends-gasoline-and-diesel-export-ban-through-january-2027-a93382)
The US Transportation Department announced an interagency campaign called Freedom Haulers to move military veterans into commercial trucking, extending the window for expedited commercial driver’s licenses from 12 to 24 months after active duty and allowing GI Bill funds to cover training.
[Source: US Department of Transportation](https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trump-administration-launches-new-interagency-campaign-led-secretary-duffy-recruiting) && https://x.com/secduffy/status/2082825211489956330?s=46
A US State Department slide shown at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro mislabeled every country on a map of Africa.
[Source: The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/government-map-mislabels-african-countries)
Cuba’s state gas utility, the Empresa de Gas Manufacturado de CUPET, announced on Facebook that manufactured gas would be cut entirely across seven Havana municipalities from 10pm Thursday to 4am Friday for maintenance and calibration of an automatic pressure-regulating valve.
[Source: CiberCuba](https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-07-30-u1-e135253-s27061-nid336595-ahora-tambien-gas-anuncian-corte-total-servicio)
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s annual food security report estimated that 7.8 percent of the world’s population faced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 percent in 2024 and the third consecutive annual fall, putting the figure at about 645 million people, roughly 14 million fewer than the year before.
[Source: Food and Agriculture Organization](https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/un-report–global-hunger-levels-ease-for-third-consecutive-year-as-regional-disparities-persist/en)
A charity that funds the neonatal and children’s intensive care units at St Mary’s and Queen Charlotte’s hospitals in London said more than 3,000 sponsored rubber ducks would race 100 metres along the canal at Merchant Square in Paddington Basin between noon and 2pm on Thursday.
[Source: Cosmic](https://duckrace.cosmiccharity.org.uk/)
The first description of a skeleton of Mesocyon coryphaeus, published in the Journal of Paleontology by Anne Kort, Jennifer Cavin, and Xiaoming Wang, found the coyote-sized early dog was a terrestrial ambush predator with short thick limbs and a mobile elbow rather than a runner; the fossil came off Bureau of Land Management land in Oregon’s Grant County in the 1980s, was mistaken for an oreodont and was only freed from its jacket in 2022.
[Source: Journal of Paleontology](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/postcrania-and-locomotor-function-of-mesocyon-coryphaeus-canidae-carnivora/FFF5F9B567D89F33198C24A00E885FC0)
Additional sources:
Iranian strike on Kuwait: [Al Jazeera live blog](https://aje.news/xe5e7f?update=4816864) and [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/07/30/iran-war-us-hormuz-strait-july-30-2026/cb1d87be-8bd4-11f1-8912-d71e69d679d7_story.html)
Competing F-35 claims at Al Azraq: [Al Jazeera live blog](https://aje.news/xe5e7f?update=4817176) and [The Times of Israel](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/us-military-says-no-us-aircraft-hit-in-attempted-iranian-attacks/) and [Türkiye Today](https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/us-denies-iran-destroyed-f-35s-in-jordan-base-attack-3225015)
China and Pakistan denials on missile launchers: [Al Jazeera live blog](https://aje.news/xe5e7f?update=4816832) and [Xinhua](https://english.news.cn/20260730/dc895bff74e74915a49499e47acac387/c.html)
Ceuta migrant surge: [El País live blog](https://elpais.com/espana/2026-07-30/ultima-hora-de-la-entrada-de-inmigrantes-a-ceuta-en-directo.html) and [El Economista](https://www.eleconomista.es/actualidad/noticias/14005315/07/26/la-policia-nacional-antidisturbios-se-despliega-en-la-frontera-del-tarajal-para-contener-las-entradas-masivas-de-centenares-de-marroquies-en-ceuta.html) and [Infodefensa](https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/5970676/ceuta-pide-despliegue-inmediato-ejercito-cierre-frontera-ante-avalancha-miles-personas-desde-marruecos) and [The Olive Press](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2026/07/30/ceuta-national-emergency-migrant-crisis/)
Quetta coal mine explosion: [Quetta Voice](https://quettavoice.com/2026/07/30/quetta-mine-explosion-two-killed-rescue-teams-race-against-time/) and [Daily Independent](https://www.dailyindependent.com.pk/2026/07/30/methane-gas-explosion-traps-25-miners-at-local-coal-mine-in-quettas-sorange-area-rescue-operation-underway/)
Charges against Pavel Durov: [BBC Russian](https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c0rdvwpl9d1o) and [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/29/russia-charges-telegram-founder-pavel-durov-with-aiding-terrorism) and [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-charges-telegram-founder-pavel-durov-aiding-terrorism-wanted-rcna589779)
Russian fuel export ban: [S&P Global](https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/crude-oil/072726-russia-extends-gasoline-export-ban-until-end-of-2026) and [Meduza](https://meduza.io/amp/en/news/2026/07/27/russia-to-extend-gasoline-export-ban-until-end-of-year) and [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Extends-Diesel-and-Gasoline-Export-Bans-Into-2027.html)
Freedom Haulers initiative: [The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/trump-truck-drivers-freedom-haulers-veterans-b3024623.html) and [Land Line](https://landline.media/will-freedom-haulers-initiative-drive-veterans-into-trucking/) and [LEX18](https://www.lex18.com/news/national-news/trump-launches-freedom-haulers-initiative-to-expand-trucking-jobs-for-veterans)
Mislabeled Africa map: [NewsNation](https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/state-dept-apologizes-for-map-mislabeling-african-countries/) and [U.S. News & World Report](https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-07-30/us-government-map-of-africa-mislabels-every-country-at-global-conference)
UN hunger report: [World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news/item/21-07-2026-un-report–global-hunger-levels-ease-for-third-consecutive-year-as-regional-disparities-persist) and [Greek Reporter](https://greekreporter.com/2026/07/29/global-hunger-report-2026/) and [Reason](https://reason.com/2026/07/22/global-hunger-falls-from-35-percent-in-1970-to-7-8-percent/)
Cosmic rubber duck race: [Merchant Square](https://merchantsquare.co.uk/event/cosmic-rubber-duck-race-msq) and, for the same event in a previous year, [Reuters via Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/world/thousands-rubber-duckies-float-finish-london-charity-race)
Mesocyon skeleton description: [The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/dog-fossil-oregon-museum-mesocyon-b3024563.html) and [Michigan News](https://news.umich.edu/most-complete-skeleton-of-30-million-year-old-dog-discovered/) and [Dryad](https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8fm)
