Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has spent months trying to secure an official visit to Beijing, but China has so far declined to invite him.

The apparent reason is Beijing's anger over the Trump administration's $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan, along with broader U.S.-China tensions.

Colby, a longtime China hawk, sees the trip—particularly a speech at China's National Defense University—as an opportunity to stabilize military ties and explain U.S. defense policy.

However, Chinese officials remain reluctant, citing both Taiwan-related tensions and Colby's history of hardline views on China.

Source: POLITICO

Argentina has declared 15 July as National Football Teams Day to commemorate its 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final.

Source: BBC

Zelensky:

Developing our own ballistic defense system is a task that has been successfully accomplished by only a handful of countries in the world. Ukraine has this capability.

We can confidently say that our arms manufacturers have already reached the required level. We expect that by 2026-2027, Ukraine will achieve the necessary results.

Houthi missile attacks on Yemeni government military camps in Marib and Hadramout provinces killed at least 30 government troops, with the toll possibly rising.

The strikes hit camps of Saudi-backed government forces, primarily Emergency Forces units.

They landed across sites including Al-Abr in Hadramout and areas east of Marib.

Local reports say around eight ballistic missiles were fired from Al-Jawf, combined with explosive drones.

WATCH: Russian FPV drone pursuing and attacking a civilian man on a street in Sumy, Ukraine.

Russia has destroyed over 400,000 square meters of Ukrainian warehouses and logistics complexes since the start of July 2026.

Named victims include Fozzy Group, Novus, Rozetka, Epicentr, Nova Poshta, Puma, Liqui Moly, and Toyota Ukraine.

Kyiv region has now lost over 1 million square meters of warehouse space since the full-scale invasion—roughly half its pre-war stock.

Source: Forbes Ukraine.

The U.S. has nearly burned all its top long-range missiles.

WATCH: Surgeons were caught in the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake while performing an operation, with one doctor securing the emergency exit as the rest of the surgical team shielded the patient throughout the quake.

A new Israeli Tax Authority study found that emigration from Israel has increased by about 50% since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a growing share of those leaving being high-income professionals, particularly in the high-tech and healthcare sectors.

The average income of emigrants has risen significantly, causing the government's annual tax revenue losses to more than double to around ₪1.2 billion ($358 million).

It is unclear whether post-pandemic, political, or security factors are driving the trend, but data show that Israel is increasingly losing its highest-skilled and highest-income workers.

Source: ynet

UEFA says its boycott of FIFA competitions remains in place, rejecting FIFA President Gianni Infantino's apology and withdrawal of plans to sell commercial rights to the World Cup.

UEFA insists FIFA has not met its conditions—including guarantees that similar proposals will not be made again—and says it still has no confidence in Infantino's leadership.

The dispute puts the participation of European teams, including England, in next month's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in doubt.

Source: Sky News

Yemen’s Houthis framed the strikes as a pre-emptive response to a large Saudi military build-up they say was in its final stages, aimed at escalating against them to force them to abandon their push to end the blockade.

Houthi statement warns Saudi Arabia against any "folly," urges recruited Yemenis to leave Saudi-aligned camps, and vows to continue its "siege for siege" equation until the blockade on Yemen ends.

The claimed results: hundreds of "Saudi mercenaries" killed and wounded, the destruction of camps, weapons depots, and military vehicles, including in the Al-Wadiah border area in the east.

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Senator Chris Van Hollen:

We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster in Sudan.

RSF has been a particularly murderous group.

In fact, it's the only party to this conflict that the United States government has determined is committing genocide in Sudan.

The primary supporter of the murderous RSF has been the United Arab Emirates, the UAE.

And we need to make it clear to the UAE that we will not tolerate them fueling these massacres, this genocide.

I, along with 20 of my colleagues, have been urging Secretary Rubio and the Trump administration to say that we're going to pause U.S. arms sales to the UAE, so long as they are arming this murderous, genocidal group, the RSF.

Syrian Army Appoints Turkish Citizen to Command 62nd Division

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Ukraine’s Air Defense Pleas Fall Flat as Western Allies Hoard Interceptor Missiles

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NEW: A draft bill under review in Iran's parliament would introduce new rules for the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, including:

Banning vessels from the U.S., Israel, and other "hostile countries" from transiting the strait.

Prohibiting all Israel-linked cargo, military or civilian.

Blocking ships or cargo involved in actions against the Axis of Resistance.

Denying passage to countries or individuals that have harmed Iran until compensation is paid.

Imposing fines of up to 20% of cargo value for violations.

Assigning the government and armed forces responsibility for navigation control, traffic monitoring, security, and environmental protection.

The proposal is still under review.

Source: Fars

Iran and Oman are discussing a plan to gradually replace the current northern and southern shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz with a single central corridor.

Under the proposal:

Ships would initially enter via the northern lane (near Iran) and exit via the southern lane (near Oman).

After a transition period, all traffic would shift to the central corridor, with Iran managing inbound traffic and Iran and Oman jointly managing outbound traffic.

Transit charges would be based on services provided, such as insurance, bunkering, and environmental services, rather than a fixed percentage of cargo value.

Reports claiming a 3% or 7% tariff based on cargo value were denied.

Source: Fars

IED detonates in Jaramana, outskirts of Damascus.

Trump:

The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing.

Everything has been extraordinary, including our attack on Venezuela, where the result was accomplished in less than one day, allowing us to bring one of the worst criminals anywhere in the World, Nicolas Maduro, to Justice!

Likewise, Iran, where the country has been decimated for the purpose of NOT ALLOWING IT TO EVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, is going very well! Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels.

This rumor was started by The Washington ComPost, one of the worst Media Outlets in the business, despite our telling them their story is completely FALSE.

In actuality, I really believe their fake “reporting” is treasonous!

Shipping industry sources say the proposed Iran-Oman Strait of Hormuz transit plan is largely unworkable.

Iran wants to charge 5–7% of cargo value for passage, but paying those fees could breach U.S. sanctions and void war-risk insurance coverage, leaving shipowners exposed to major legal and financial risks.

Source: Reuters