Good morning and welcome to your Tuesday summary of global business and political news from overnight.
First today, the European Union said it would suspend its counter tariffs on the United States for six months, which were set to take effect this week, CNBC reported.
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump agreed a deal on tariffs and trade.
“The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July. With these objectives in mind, the [European] Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by six months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August,” a spokesperson said.
In the Middle East, a group of 600 retired Israeli security officials urged Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.
"It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," they wrote in an open letter, reported by the BBC.
Reports suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pushing to expand military operations. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict started, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Netanyahu could convene a meeting of his security cabinet later this week to decide his military's next steps, the ABC reported.
There were still 50 Israelis held captive in Gaza, but only 20 were thought to be alive.
Israel continued to deny starvation in Gaza, despite overwhelming evidence of famine. Aid drops continue, but organisations said more was needed to avoid a humanitarian disaster, the ABC said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government voted unanimously to dismiss the country’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a controversial move that was blocked by a Supreme Court injunction, CNN reported.
Baharav-Miara had clashed with the government and criticised its policies, including its plan for controversial judicial reforms. Netanyahu and his ministers had accused her of abusing her authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Indian oil refineries planned to continue to buy oil from Russia despite the threat of US sanctions against Russian trading partners, the Guardian reported.
Media reports suggested India would stop buying Russian oil. However, official sources said Indian oil companies had not paused Russian imports. They said supply decisions were based on “price, grade of crude, inventories, logistics, and other economic factors”.
Trump accused India of buying and reselling “massive” amounts of Russian oil “for big profits”, Al Jazeera reported.
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” the US president said.
“Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
Staying in the region, the Netherlands planned to contribute €500 million to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. Under an agreement, Nato allies purchase military equipment from US reserves for Ukraine. The Netherlands was the first Nato ally to finance a full package.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “sincerely grateful” to the Netherlands for the substantial contribution to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Finally, electric car manufacturer Tesla agreed to issue US$29b worth of its shares to chief executive Elon Musk to keep the billionaire businessman at the firm, the BBC reported.
The share decision followed a move by a US court that blocked his US$50b pay package, ruling that it was "unfair to shareholders".
Musk appealed the decision and Tesla told shareholders this week it was confident that the shares would encourage Musk to remain at Tesla. It should also boost Musk's voting power on the company's board, the BBC said.
