ANKARA

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including Ukraine’s claim to have eliminated two 'Russian agents' suspected of killing an intelligence officer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's criticism of Israel's plan for the forced relocation of Palestinians to an internment camp in southern Gaza, and French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that the country will double its defense budget by 2027 compared to a decade before.

TOP STORIES

• Ukraine says it eliminated 'Russian agents' suspected of killing intelligence officer

Ukraine claimed that its security services killed two "Russian agents" suspected of involvement in the fatal shooting of a Security Service (SBU) colonel in the capital Kyiv last week.

In a statement, the SBU said the two “agents of Russian special services” were killed after resisting efforts to detain them during a morning “special operation” in the Kyiv region.

The announcement came days after the killing of SBU Col. Ivan Voronych in Kyiv, which triggered a high-profile investigation.

• Germany’s Merz criticizes Israel’s plan for forced relocation of Gaza’s population

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israel's plan to relocate Palestinians to an internment camp built on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza.

"The way things are currently happening in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable," Merz said during an interview with public broadcaster ARD, reiterating his call for increased humanitarian aid and a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

"I have not liked what the Israeli government has been doing in the Gaza Strip for many weeks now. I have also expressed that," the conservative leader said, adding that he had expressed his discomfort to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their phone calls.

• France eyes doubling defense budget by 2027 compared to 2017 level

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that they will double the defense budget by 2027 compared to its level in 2017.

"The defense budget in 2017 was €32 billion ($37 billion). On top of the current Military Programming Law, an additional €3.5 billion will be allocated in 2026, followed by a further €3 billion the next year. We will therefore allocate €64 billion to our defense in 2027," Macron said during his speech on the eve of Bastille Day, addressing armed forces at the Hotel de Brienne in Paris.

Calling the increase a "new and historic effort," he noted that it is "twice" the budget French armed forces had in 2017.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed Pyongyang’s unconditional support for Moscow in the Russia-Ukraine war, state media reported.
• Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture, issued a brown bear warning following a fatal attack on a newspaper deliveryman -- the first time an alert has been issued in the region, Kyodo News reported.
• North Korea has consistently supplied Russia with more than 12 million rounds of 152-millimeter artillery shells to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's military intelligence authorities.
• China criticized Japan over “unusual” air encounters between the military aircraft of the two countries after Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing over the incident, Xinhua News Agency reported.
• At least 59 Palestinians, including children and people fetching water, were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting residential areas and displacement tents across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.
• Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir sealed all major roads leading to a historic graveyard in Srinagar, blocking Kashmiri leaders from visiting the site on the anniversary of a 1931 uprising, according to local media.
• Russia said Moscow and Pyongyang agree that increased Western military activity is the reason behind growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid a three-day visit by its top diplomat to the East Asian country.
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned of a sharp rise in malnutrition cases across the Gaza Strip following Israel’s tightened blockade and continued prevention of humanitarian aid deliveries.
• China's first intelligent oceanographic research vessel Tong Ji was officially delivered from a major shipbuilding company to Tongji University in Shanghai, local media reported.
• Israeli forces arrested at least 15 Palestinians, while illegal Israeli settlers set fire to a farming structure in the occupied West Bank, according to official Palestinian media and local sources.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi ahead of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) next week.
• At least 11 civilians were killed, including three children, by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Kordofan State in western Sudan, local doctors said.
• Israeli opposition leaders sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for allocating 15 billion shekels ($4 billion) to build what Tel Aviv calls a “humanitarian city” for Gaza’s population in Rafah.
• At least 58,026 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said.
• Australia's largest bilateral military exercise, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, officially began with an opening ceremony aboard the HMAS Adelaide landing dock, according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.
• Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the central Hiraan region killed at least seven fighters and destroyed two trucks carrying weapons.
• Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was hospitalized due to fatigue, his office announced, just days after his 100th birthday.
• Hundreds of people, including more than 100 Myanmar junta soldiers, fled into Thailand after ethnic Karen fighters overran military bases in eastern Myanmar over the weekend, according to local media and Thai officials.
• Hundreds of Palestinian mourners paid farewell to young men killed by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah.
• Russia claimed that its forces have taken control of two more settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where fighting has intensified in recent months.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled a "two-track approach" to US tariffs – talks and countermeasures "if necessary."
• Municipal authorities in central and southern Gaza announced the suspension of essential services due to a severe fuel shortage resulting from the ongoing Israeli siege on the enclave.
• North Korea condemned recent joint military drills by the US, Japan and South Korea, calling them a direct threat to regional stability and warning of “grave consequences,” according to state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
• Over 5,800 Gazan children were diagnosed with malnutrition in June, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) said.
• Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke over the phone and discussed international peace and security, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
• The New York Times rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denial of its report alleging he prolonged the war in Gaza to stay in power, saying his office “does not refute the facts” of the investigation.
• At least three people were killed, including the suspect, and several injured in a shooting spree in the US state of Kentucky.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Syria signs $800M agreement with DP World to strengthen port infrastructure, logistics services

Syria sealed an $800 million deal with Dubai Ports World (DP World), one of the world’s largest port operators, local media said.

According to the state news agency SANA, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the signing ceremony for the agreement.

SANA called the deal “a strategic step aimed at strengthening port infrastructure and logistics services in Syria.”

• German economy will be hard hit if US imposes 30% tariffs, Chancellor Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that the country’s economy would suffer severe consequences if US President Donald Trump proceeds with his plan to impose 30% tariffs next month.

“If that happens, we could put large parts of our economic policy efforts on the back burner. Because that would overshadow everything and would hit the German export industry hard,” he said during an interview with public broadcaster ARD.

Merz said he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend to discuss the latest developments.