Israeli troops moved to protect three homes in Qusra, in the occupied West Bank, after settlers surrounded them for several days. One property belongs to a Palestinian American, prompting unusually harsh criticism from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who called the conduct criminal and an act of terror. The IDF said it dismantled two nearby illegal outposts and detained one Israeli.

West Banksettler violenceQusraIsrael

Israeli forces moved on Thursday against rogue settlers besieging Palestinians, amid unusually strong criticism from the United States. At the same time, Israel inaugurated an emblematic settlement elsewhere in the West Bank.

West BankIsraelsettler violence

Israeli settlers have surrounded three homes in the occupied West Bank for several days, including one belonging to a Palestinian American. The US ambassador described the action on Thursday as a “horrific act of terror.” The situation is discussed with Allegra Pacheco, head of the West Bank Protection Consortium.

West BankIsraeli settlerssiegePalestinians

Israeli forces moved on Thursday against rogue settlers besieging Palestinians in the West Bank, amid unusually forceful criticism from the United States. At the same time, Israel inaugurated a symbolic settlement elsewhere in the territory.

IsraelWest BanksettlersPalestinians

Israeli settlers have surrounded Palestinian families inside their homes in the occupied West Bank, cutting off water and electricity. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim spoke with a resident whose relatives are trapped in a house in Qusra village.

QusraIsraeli settlersWest Bank

Israel’s military said on Thursday that it had deployed additional troops to a West Bank village where Jewish settlers have confined Palestinian families to their homes. Palestinians say the siege is intended to force them off their land.

IsraelWest BankJewish settlersPalestinian families

The UK has provisionally recorded its hottest day of the year, with 38.1C at Kew Gardens as a heat dome covers Europe. Temperatures were expected to exceed 40C in parts of France and Spain, raising wildfire fears, while extreme heat warnings, drought and low river levels put pressure on health services, water supplies and power generation.

Europe heatwaveUK temperatureswildfire riskdrought

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says a Russian citizen was arrested on August 7 over an alleged plan to kill a Ukrainian-origin US citizen in Warsaw. Tusk said the target was considered “inconvenient to the Putin regime” and that Polish and US authorities cooperated to stop the attack.

PolandWarsawassassination plotRussia

Polish authorities detained a Russian citizen suspected of being recruited by Russian intelligence to plot a murder. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the man was arrested on August 7 in an operation involving Polish and U.S. intelligence, and had allegedly targeted a person holding Ukrainian and U.S. passports. Neither name has been disclosed.

PolandRussiamurder plotintelligence operation

Poland has detained a Russian national allegedly planning to kill a Ukrainian-American dual citizen in Warsaw, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. He described it as the first attempt by someone acting on Russia’s orders to attack an American citizen on NATO territory.

PolandWarsawRussiaassassination plot

Vasily Tarasov, head of the LPR Association of Veterans of the Special Military Operation, said Vladimir Zelensky was facing the consequences of his own choices after Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian military targets in the Black Sea. He said Russia had long anticipated such precise strikes against infrastructure and vessels used by Ukraine’s military.

Russia-Ukraine warBlack SeaRussian airstrikesUkraine

Air India will introduce mandatory substance testing for all pilots on Thursday, extending checks beyond regulatory requirements after a pilot involved in a serious mid-air incident tested positive for marijuana.

Air Indiapilotsdrug testing

Hopes of finding additional survivors after the powerful earthquake that struck Colombia earlier this week were waning on Thursday. Rescue teams were narrowing their searches while families in the hardest-hit areas awaited word about missing relatives.

Colombiaearthquakerescue

A new AP-Ipsos poll finds Americans overwhelmingly believe organized sports offer major benefits to children, while higher-income families are more likely to have their children participate.

United Statespollingyouth sports

The Chinese and Indonesian navies held a joint exercise east of Taiwan Island on Wednesday. The Chinese vessel Honghe and Indonesian frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai trained in maritime communications, formation maneuvers and replenishment. China’s Defense Ministry said the drill would improve operational capabilities, deepen practical cooperation and help safeguard regional peace and stability.

ChinaIndonesianaval exerciseTaiwan

Several Democratic lawmakers are seeking answers after families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln raised concerns about deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health during the ship’s record-breaking deployment amid the war with Iran.

US NavyUSS Abraham LincolnIran war

The United States is preparing to deploy the USS George Washington to the Middle East in a planned rotation replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Lincoln has remained at sea for more than 250 days and out of port for 200, a record continuous deployment. Senator Richard Blumenthal has sought Pentagon information on crew conditions and reported sailors’ mental-health problems.

US Navyaircraft carriersMiddle EastIran

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that reports describing poor conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Middle East were “completely misrepresented.”

U.S. Defense Departmentaircraft carrierPete Hegseth

Persistent drought has reduced Danube flows, making it harder to cool reactors. Romania shut its only nuclear plant, while Hungary is trying to keep its own facility operating.

Romanianuclear powerDanube Riverdrought

Romania’s state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica said it has begun disconnecting its only operating reactor from the grid because the Danube River has reached record-low levels.

Romanianuclear powerDanube Riverlow water levels

Romania has paused operations at its only nuclear plant after record-low Danube water levels threatened the cooling supply. Nuclearelectrica began a controlled shutdown of the second reactor at Cernavoda after the first was closed last month. The plant normally produces about a fifth of the country’s electricity, while drought has pushed flows across much of the Danube to their lowest level in more than 30 years.

RomaniaDanube Rivernuclear powerdrought