ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including US President Donald Trump saying French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize the state of Palestine is "fine; it's up to him;" Germany, the UK and France opposing Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories; and Trump saying Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Voloydymyr Zelenskyy meeting is "going to happen."

TOP STORIES

• 'That's fine; it's up to him,' says Trump on Macron's plan to recognize Palestine

US President Donald Trump said French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize the state of Palestine is "fine; it's up to him."

Speaking to reporters shortly after landing at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Trump said Macron's plan to recognize Palestinian statehood is not up to him.

"That's what he does; that's fine. It's up to him. It's not up to me," he said when asked about the French president's move.

• Germany, UK, France oppose Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories

Germany, the UK and France opposed any attempts to impose Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories.

In a joint statement, the E3 countries said: "We firmly oppose all efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Threats of annexation, settlements and acts of settler violence against Palestinians undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution."

The E3 leaders expressed a "readiness" to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for the entire region.

• Trump says Putin, Zelenskyy meeting is 'going to happen'

US President Donald Trump maintained that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a face-to-face sit-down, but lamented that it has not yet transpired.

Trump was asked by a reporter about what it would take for the meeting to materialize, perhaps with him in attendance.

"It’s going to happen, but it should have happened three months ago. It’s going to happen," he said as he prepared to depart the White House for Scotland.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The US rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
• The crew of the Handala ship, a humanitarian aid vessel en route to the Gaza Strip, announced that it will go on a hunger strike if the ship is intercepted by Israel.
• Türkiye's fighter jet project, known as KAAN, has three prototypes; one will be used for land tests, and the other two will fly as of April 2026, said the head of Turkish Aerospace Inc. (TAI).
• Palestinian Foreign Minister Farsin Aghabekian Shahin urged Canada to recognize the state of Palestine, saying the move is vital to protect the two-state solution from further erosion.
• The UN warned that the recent escalation of Russian attacks on Ukraine is driving up the already staggering $524 billion cost of reconstruction and recovery projected over the next decade.
• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will evacuate children who need urgent medical aid in Gaza.
• The British prime minister has been under pressure from some senior members of the government to immediately recognize the Palestinian state.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the crisis in the Gaza Strip has escalated beyond humanitarian dimensions, calling it "a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience."
• Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thailand and Cambodia need time to pull back troops from the border as part of a ceasefire, state news agency Bernama reported, as cross-border fighting continued for a second day.
• Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, "didn't really want to make a deal," President Donald Trump said after the US and Israel recalled their teams negotiating a possible Gaza ceasefire agreement.
• France's highest court canceled the arrest warrant for former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for chemical attacks in 2013.
• At least five people were killed and seven injured in an explosion caused by a gas leak in an apartment building in the Russian city of Saratov, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
• Meta announced that it will halt political, electoral and social issue ads in the EU starting in October, citing unworkable new transparency rules.
• Australia and the UK announced an agreement on a second nuclear submarine pact to oversee the construction of nuclear-powered attack submarines for the next 50 years.
• Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians, including a young girl, and wounded dozens more, targeting schools sheltering displaced families, tents and civilians awaiting aid, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye will work to bring US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin together in Istanbul as part of negotiations aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Iran and European countries, including Britain, France and Germany, agreed to continue consultations after Tehran and the E3 nations held nuclear talks in Istanbul.
• Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy is not prepared to recognize the state of Palestine, after France announced it would do so in September.
• Russia claimed its forces captured five Ukrainian settlements this week.
• US President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of his former personal defense lawyer as New Jersey US attorney but allowed her to continue serving in an acting capacity, bypassing the need for congressional approval, at least for a time.
• The Philippines Supreme Court barred impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
• At least four students died and several others were injured when the roof of a school building collapsed in India’s northwestern Rajasthan state.
• South Korean prosecutors raided the home of former first lady Kim Keon Hee in connection with an investigation into corruption allegations.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• '50-50 chance' for US-EU trade deal, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said the EU and Washington have a "50-50 chance" of reaching a trade deal.

"I would say that we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU, and it'll be a deal where they have to buy down their tariffs, because they're right now at 30% and they'll have to buy them down maybe, or they could leave them the way they are," Trump said on the White House lawn before boarding Marine One for Scotland.

He was referring to the 30% reciprocal levy that the US plans to impose on the 27-nation bloc beginning Aug. 1 -- Trump's self-imposed deadline for nations to strike trade deals with his administration or face markedly heightened import duties.