Mōrena and welcome to your Monday recap of international business and political news from over the weekend.
First up, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City, which included five objectives such as disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, and demilitarising the Gaza Strip, the BBC reported.
It also approved establishing an alternative civil administration that was neither Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan as the best available option for recovering hostages while safeguarding his country’s long-term security, Bloomberg reported.
US President Donald Trump confirmed he will meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to discuss ways to end the Ukraine conflict, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump suggested any breakthrough would require the exchange of territory. “It’s very complicated,” he said.
“There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
Ukraine and its European allies had long opposed any agreement that involved ceding occupied land to Russia, Al Jazeera noted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A White House official said Trump was open to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attending the planned meeting, but only a bilateral meeting was being co-ordinated, Reuters reported.
Last week, Putin ruled out meeting Zelensky because an encounter of that kind was "unfortunately still far" off.
Zelensky cautioned that any decisions without Ukraine would be "stillborn" and unworkable. He called for “lasting peace” after European leaders said any diplomatic solution must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.
Zelensky said a meeting with European and US officials to discuss the ongoing war was constructive over the weekend, the ABC reported.
On the ground, Ukraine’s military said it struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region in an overnight drone attack, causing explosions and destruction, Al Jazeera reported.
At least one person was killed, and several apartments and an industrial facility were damaged, according to officials.
In business news, the UK’s competition regulator cleared Boeing's planned acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, Reuters reported.
The deal still needed approval from the European Commission and US Federal Trade Commission.
Spirit AeroSystems said the deal was expected to close in the last quarter of this year. It also said it had reached a deal to sell its facility in Malaysia to Composites Technology Research Malaysia for just over US$95 million, Reuters said.
Elsewhere, three Thai soldiers were injured by a landmine near the Cambodian border on Saturday local time, just days after the two countries agreed to a ceasefire, CNBC reported.
Thailand said the incident occurred in an area of its territory recently cleared of landmines. Cambodia denied it had planted landmines in the area.
Finally, Trump said he will nominate economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to fill a temporary vacancy while continuing his search for a long-term appointment, the Guardian reported.
Miran, the chair of the White House’s council of economic advisers, fills a seat vacated by Adriana Kugler, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden. Kugler stepped down on Friday. If approved by the Senate, Miran will serve until the end of January next year.
Trump had repeatedly criticised current Fed chair Jerome Powell for keeping interest rates unchanged. Trump recently called Powell “a stubborn MORON” on social media.
