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Israeli military institutes daily ‘tactical pause’ in select areas of Gaza facing starvation | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Military suspends operations for ‘humanitarian purposes’ in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City from 10am to 8pm.
The Israeli military has begun a “tactical pause” in fighting in three areas of Gaza as part of steps it claims will address a worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
In a statement, the military said it has begun a “tactical suspension of military operations for humanitarian purposes” in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City from 10am (07:00 GMT) to 8pm local time every day until further notice, beginning on Sunday.
The Israeli military claims it does not operate in these areas, but there have been fighting and strikes in all of them in recent weeks.
The military also said it would designate secure routes to help aid agencies deliver food and other supplies to people across Gaza, though the Israeli government denies there is starvation in the besieged enclave.
The military also said on Sunday it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food to stem the rising hunger.
The Israeli announcement to pause aerial bombardment and ground attacks came after months of aid agencies, rights experts and several governments warning of famine as Israel continued to restrict crucial aid for Gaza.
Global criticism, even by Israel’s close allies, has grown as hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites operated by a notorious group backed by Israel and the United States.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military also intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Sunday.
The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military “violently intercepted” it in international waters about 40 nautical miles (74km) from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communications, just before midnight on Saturday.
Israeli denial of starvation
Aid organisations said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza’s 2.2 million people, with food running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, before resuming them in May with new restrictions.
Dozens of Palestinians have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. A total of 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, the ministry said.
At least five Palestinians starved to death on Saturday alone.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan because the network has been banned in Israel and the occupied West Bank, said Israel, however, has been continuously denying that it is starving the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“Now, the Israeli military, in their statement, still says that they emphasise that there is ‘no starvation in Gaza’, and that they’re trying to refute these claims, even though they are now going to enact a new series of measures aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” she said.
“Israel has largely accused the United Nations of not distributing the aid trucks, while the UN has said that Israel has not allowed them to do so.”
Salhut said the Israeli announcement of a pause in attacks came after the Israeli political echelon directed the military to do so following a call within the Israeli prime minister’s security cabinet.
Israeli forces have killed at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza since the early hours of Sunday, a day after killing at least 71 people, including 42 aid seekers.
Israeli Military Declares Daily Ceasefires in Gaza to Facilitate Delivery of Aid to the Hungry
Israeli military announces daily pauses in Gaza areas to allow aid for hungry
Passengers forced to evacuate plane using emergency slides during fire at Denver airport
An American Airlines flight was evacuated at Denver International Airport on 26 July after it suffered “a mechanical issue” connected to a tyre during takeoff, the airline said.
Social media footage shows the moment passengers used emergency slides to escape, with flames seen below the plane.
One person was taken to hospital following the incident, according to Denver International Airport.
Hackers breach Allianz Life, gaining access to personal data of over 1.4 million US customers
Hackers gained access to personal data on the majority of the 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company confirmed Saturday.
Minneapolis-based Allianz Life, a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE, said the data breach happened on July 16 when a “malicious threat actor” gained access to a third-party, cloud-based system used by the company.
“The threat actor was able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life’s customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique,” Allianz Life said in a statement. “We took immediate action to contain and mitigate the issue and notified the FBI.”
The company said its own systems were not accessed, just the third-party’s platform.
Allianz Life said its investigation is ongoing and that the company has begun reaching out to the impacted individuals. It said the incident involves only Allianz Life in the U.S., not other Allianz corporate entities.
In the case of data breaches, a “social engineering technique” usually involves using trickery to gain access. Spokesman Brett Weinberg said he couldn’t provide details because they are still investigating.
Allianz Life also reported the breach to multiple other authorities, including the Maine Attorney General’s Office. A filing on the agency’s website said the company discovered the breach the day after it happened, and that it will be offering those affected 24 months of identity theft protection and credit monitoring.
Allianz Life was known as North American Life and Casualty until it was acquired by German conglomerate Allianz SE in 1979 and changed its name to Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. It has nearly 2,000 employees in U.S., with the majority working in Minnesota, according to its website.
It is one of five North American subsidiaries of the Munich-based global financial services group Allianz SE, which says it serves more than 125 million customers worldwide.
Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America. Explore this year’s list.
Nigeria emerges victorious against Morocco to secure WAFCON title and accomplish Mission X | Soccer Updates
Nigeria claim their tenth WAFCON title, ‘Mission X’, as they come from behind to beat Morocco 3-2 in Rabat.
Substitute Jennifer Echegini scored the 88th-minute winner as Nigeria came from two goals behind to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in a dramatic Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
The triumph in Rabat on Saturday confirmed the West Africans as the queens of women’s football in Africa as they pulled off a record-extending 10th title in 13 editions – “Mission X”, as they dubbed their efforts – to win the 2025 edition.
It was the second successive final loss for Morocco, who led by two goals after 24 minutes, only to concede three in the second half.
Esther Okoronkwo played a key role in the Super Falcons’ victory: scoring the first goal, creating the second and delivering the free-kick that Echegini finished to stun the home crowd.
Morocco, backed by a vibrant capacity crowd at the 21,000-seat Stade Olympique in the capital, took the lead on 12 minutes as Nigeria conceded for the first time in open play at the tournament.
Nigeria fluffed several chances to clear the ball, and it fell just outside the area to Chebbak, whose perfectly placed, rising shot gave goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie no chance.
The lead doubled 12 minutes later as the ball flew across the Nigerian goalmouth to Sanaa Mssoudy, who ended a five-match goal drought by steering a low shot into the far corner of the net.
Nigeria had more possession in the opening half than the host nation, but managed only one shot on target, and it did not trouble goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi.
But the Moroccan lead halved after 64 minutes as Okoronkwo sent Er-Rmichi the wrong way from a penalty after a VAR review showed a Folashade Ijamilusi cross striking Nouhaila Benzina’s hand.
The goal lifted the spirits of increasingly assertive Nigeria, and they equalised seven minutes later, when Okoronkwo turned creator with a pull-back that Ijamilusi pushed into the net from close range.
CHAMPIONS OF AFRICA FOR THE 10TH TIME! 🏆🇳🇬
Tell your neighbors, tell the world — the Super Falcons reign supreme again!#MissionX #SoarSuperFalcons #WAFCON2024 #Champions #MORNGA pic.twitter.com/tiUQZleMEy
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) July 26, 2025
On Friday, Ghana finished third, winning a penalty shootout 4-3 against outgoing champions South Africa after a 1-1 playoff draw in regular time in Casablanca.
After two weakly struck spot kicks in a row by South Africa were saved to give Ghana the advantage, 19-year-old Nancy Amoh converted the decisive penalty with a low shot into the corner of the net.
A blunder by Ghana goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan gifted South Africa the lead on 45 minutes as she lost control of the ball just outside the box, and Nonhlanhla Mthandi struck it into the net.
Persistent Ghanaian pressure finally paid off on 68 minutes when an Alice Kusi header came off the crossbar and long-serving South Africa shot-stopper Andile Dlamini conceded an own goal.
Victory was particularly sweet for the Black Queens as they were outplayed when losing 2-0 to Banyana Banyana (The Girls) in the group stage.
Ghana have won the four third-place playoffs they qualified for, while South Africa have lost four of five bronze medal matches.
The next Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled for March 2026, also in Morocco, and will double as a qualifying competition for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Update (2): Former HYBE employees sentenced for insider trading related to BTS’ military enlistment (report)
Three individuals who previously worked for HYBE have received suspended prison terms and fines after a Seoul court found them guilty of insider trading related to BTS member enlistments.
UPDATE Korea JoongAng Daily, reported on Tuesday (July 22) that the Seoul Southern District Court handed down the sentences following an investigation into stock sales that occurred before the K-pop giant announced that BTS would pause group activities for mandatory military service.
Late yesterday (July 24), HYBE – via its fully-owned US agency, Tag PR – contacted MBW to strongly deny that any of the trio were former employees of the company. One of the individuals, HYBE said, was known to be an acquaintance of HYBE founder, Bang Si-hyuk.
Today (July 25), HYBE’s central communications team in Korea has once again contacted us with a different version of events.
HYBE spokesperson Rachel Um said in an email: “It’s confirmed that the three individuals addressed were all former HYBE employees as they were charged with insider trading. They had all left HYBE by then. While they did work at HYBE, they had no personal connections with Chairman Bang.”
Um blamed “human error” for the initial correction request from Tag PR.
JoongAng earlier reported that amongst the trio of insider traders was Kim, a 37-year-old employee at HYBE subsidiary Source Music, who received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years and must pay a fine of KRW 231 million ($168,000).
It also named Lee, 33, formerly of HYBE subsidiary BigHit Music, and a 41-year-old ex-Belift Lab staff member. They each received six-month suspended sentences with fines of KRW 51 million ($37,000) and KRW 65 million ($47,000) respectively.
HYBE officially announced the BTS hiatus on June 15, 2024, saying the members would be focusing on solo projects, but added that they will also remain “active as a group.”
On the day of the announcement, HYBE’s share price fell nearly 25% to 145,000 South Korea Won ($105), wiping around $1.5 billion from the K-pop giant’s market cap value. The sell-off came as BTS is HYBE’s biggest revenue generator, accounting for nearly 90% of the company’s revenues in the first half of 2020.
BTS weren’t only HYBE’s top revenue generator at the time. According to IFPI, they were also the world’s biggest recorded music artists in 2021 and 2020.
“In an entertainment company, an artist’s activities have a significant impact on revenue, so whether they continue or suspend activities is a highly sensitive matter.”
Seoul Southern District Court
With BTS’s absence, HYBE’s operating profit dropped 37.5% YoY to KRW 184.82 billion ($135.55 million) in FY 2024, which it attributed to, among other factors, “BTS‘ temporary break”.
Other acts on the company’s roster include KATSEYE, ENHYPHEN, LE SSERAFIM, Seventeen and TOMORROW X TOGETHER.
“This offense constitutes a serious crime that undermines the fairness of the capital market and warrants strong social condemnation.”
Seoul Southern District Court
The court ordered confiscation of amounts equal to the losses the employees avoided through their trades, which violated South Korea’s Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, the report said.
The court said in a statement cited by JoongAng: “In an entertainment company, an artist’s activities have a significant impact on revenue, so whether they continue or suspend activities is a highly sensitive matter.”
“This offense constitutes a serious crime that undermines the fairness of the capital market and warrants strong social condemnation.”
The development comes nearly two months after HYBE’s Seoul headquarters were raided by South Korean authorities as part of an investigation into alleged insider trading by a former executive.
That unnamed former exec allegedly made $176,500 by buying shares in rival K-pop company YG Entertainment’s subsidiary YG Plus, after learning that HYBE was planning to invest in the stock, Korea Times reported at the time.
About two weeks ago, HYBE pledged to cooperate fully with authorities as South Korea’s financial regulator reportedly prepares to refer the K-pop giant’s founder and Chairman, Bang Si-hyuk, to prosecutors over allegations related to the company’s 2020 IPO.
The Korea Herald, Korea Times and other local news outlets reported recently that the Securities and Futures Commission’s capital market investigation team voted to refer Chairman Bang to prosecutors,
The Korea Times said referral to the prosecution is the most severe administrative action that financial regulators in Korea can take against an individual suspected of violating the Capital Markets Act.
HYBE said in a statement issued to MBW: “We regret any concern caused by the recent reports related to our IPO process. HYBE is fully cooperating with the local authorities, including the financial regulators and the police, by submitting relevant materials and providing detailed explanations as part of the fact-finding efforts.
HYBE’s shares closed 1.8% lower in Seoul trading on Tuesday (July 23) at KRW 267,500,
Music Business Worldwide
Claire Weinstein Fails to Qualify for Finals in the 400 Freestyle at the 2025 Worlds
By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
2025 World Championships
- July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
- Singapore, Singapore
- World Aquatics Championships Arena
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- How To Watch
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Entry Book
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
- Prelims: Day 1
- Finals:
Claire Weinstein of the US will not race in the 400 freestyle, USA Swimming announced on X. This marks the second event update for the US roster in prelims as Olympic Gold Medalist Torri Huske did not race in prelims of the 100 butterfly.
Event update:
Claire Weinstein will not be racing the 400m freestyle.#AQUASingapore2025
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 27, 2025
Weinstein was the #5 seed in the 400 freestyle with an entry time of a 4:00.05 that she swam at last month’s US Summer Nationals. That swim also marked a personal best for Weinstein as she became the #7 performer all-time with the swim. Weinstein has shown great progress in the 400 free this season as she entered the summer with a lifetime best of a 4:04.54 from March 2024. Today’s race was expected to be her senior international debut in the event.
With Weinstein not swimming the 400 free, this leaves Katie Ledecky as the lone swimmer for the US in the event. Ledecky is the #2 seed (3:56.81), sitting only behind Summer McIntosh of Canada who swam to a World Record 3:54.18 last month.
Weinstein is also slated to swim in the 200 free (#3 seed) and 800 free (#7 seed) later in the meet and is projected to be a member of the US Women’s 4×200 free relay as she won the 200 free at US Summer Nationals. She originally was scheduled to race in the 10k open water competition but withdrew and was replaced by Mariah Denigan.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Claire Weinstein Out Of Prelims In The 400 Freestyle At 2025 Worlds
Trump urges Thailand and Cambodia to halt hostilities and negotiate trade deal
Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had called the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, pressing them for an immediate ceasefire following border clashes.
At the beginning of a private visit to his Scottish golf courses, the US president wrote on Truth Social that both nations “have agreed to immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE!”
Both countries thanked him for his concern and efforts. Cambodia has accepted his request for a ceasefire, while Thailand stressed the need for a dialogue between the two countries.
After the US president’s calls, however, shelling continued along the border overnight.
The response from the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia to Trump’s phone calls has been positive, yet neither has changed its position.
Cambodia had already proposed a ceasefire; its military is weaker than Thailand’s and it has been losing ground and equipment to the Thai artillery bombardments and air strikes.
“I made it clear to [Trump] that Cambodia agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces,” Cambodian PM Hun Manet said after the phone call, adding that Trump’s mediation “will truly help protect the lives of many soldiers and civilians”.
On the other hand, Thailand says it is willing to consider a ceasefire, but is sticking to its previous demand that dialogue with Cambodia must come first.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai “thanked President Trump for his concern and expressed that Thailand agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place. However, Thailand would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side,” the Thai foreign ministry said in a statement.
At least 33 soldiers and civilians have been killed while thousands of Thai and Cambodian nationals have been displaced since fighting broke out on 24 July.
Trump said that he looked forward to resuming trade talks with Cambodia and Thailand though it wasn’t appropriate to hold discussions until the “fighting STOPS”.
He has intervened a week before US tariffs on Cambodia and Thailand are due to come into force.
From 1 August, businesses in the US shipping in goods from Thailand or Cambodia will have to pay a 36% tax unless an agreement can be reached before then.
It is not clear how Trump has become involved in the situation, given that just a day ago Thailand’s foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa said: “I don’t think we need any mediation from a third country yet.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had previously offered to facilitate talks between Thailand and Cambodia.
Earlier on Saturday, Cambodia had already called for “immediate” ceasefire with Thailand and a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
After teeing off at his luxury resort Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire, the US president said that he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham.
“When all is done, and peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!” Trump wrote.
Thailand and Cambodia have each accused the other of firing first in this latest clash.
Thailand claims fighting began when Cambodia’s military deployed drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the border.
Cambodia alleges that Thai soldiers violated a prior agreement by advancing on a Khmer-Hindu temple.
The dispute between the two countries dates back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.
Clever Sliding Bathroom Design Enhances Space in Bürstner Habiton Camper Van
Perhaps it’s not camper vans as a whole that have gone mad, but camper bathrooms and toilets have definitely been undergoing some rapid changes of late. We’ve already seen an increasing number of convertible wet/dry bathroom designs and toilets that wrap #2s up like birthday presents. Now we have a camper van bathroom inside the all-new Bürstner Habiton that not only converts between modes but also slides completely out of the way to make space for a unique floor plan with a combination of features you don’t usually find in a sub-6-m (19.7-ft) Mercedes Sprinter camper.
It’s not unheard of to see a sub-6-m camper van with a pair of longitudinal rear beds built inside a Sprinter or comparable van, but they often involve some furniture removal, reshuffling or general trickery as compared to more common transverse rear-sleepers in that size class.
For instance, Frankia does away with the two-seat dinette bench in the front of the Yucon 6.0 in order to slide everything else forward and accommodate longitudinal rear beds. Innova does something similar with its Roadtrip 595L van, albeit with a rounded-off rear convertible dining/bed area. Both limit the van to just two people when driving, making them nonstarters for families or others who need extra seats, even if only occasionally.
Westfalia and other shops have engineered around this two-seat limitation by installing a dramatic slide-out bedroom pod, while Malibu has extended the length of the Sprinter van body itself.
Bürstner
Bürstner has an equally unconventional solution, but it builds it within the stock Sprinter van rather than going outside it. The company already previewed one kinetic bathroom in its sleek Signature small motorhome, and it has prepared a separate solution for the 591-cm-long (233-in) Habiton.
Like the Signature, the Habiton bathroom features a single footprint that transforms into multiple modes for showering, toilet use and sink access. But the entire Habiton bathroom unit also slides back and forth into day and night positions.
Bürstner
The sliding bathroom works in collaboration with a foldable front dinette and telescopic driver-side bed platform with folding mattress. During the day, the bed remains compacted to about half its fully extended length, and the bathroom remains in its rearmost position, with the front dinette set up for dining and lounging. The cab seats swivel around to create a four-person dining lounge, and the rear bench includes two seatbelts for carrying a total of four occupants when driving.
At night, the dinette tabletop and bench flip up, and the bench slides forward independently on the same floor rails the bathroom uses. The bathroom then pulls the lower section of the telescopic bed out as it slides forward, creating two full-length individual longitudinal beds at the rear.
Incidentally, the biggest advantage of longitudinal beds versus a transverse bed ties into the bathroom – with separate longitudinal beds, each sleeper can get up in the morning or middle of the night without having to disturb the other sleeper. So a 2 a.m. bathroom run does not have to wake one’s co-camper. The layout also eliminates the need for the width-extending side flares that converters need to add in order to make the transverse bed long enough, maintaining a sleeker profile.
Bürstner
Inside the bathroom, the toilet sits on a retractable slide of its own, disappearing away into the rear wall below the driver-side bed when not in use. The sink basin is mounted over top the extended toilet, folding flush into the wall for toilet access. When the toilet is retracted away and the sink folded into the wall, an accordion divider wall extends out over them to create a clean rear wall that turns the busy space into a dedicated shower room.
Bürstner
Bürstner also claims that the sliding setup opens up the largest seating area in this camper van class, providing a little more leg and elbow room around the dining table. The company further opens things up with a panoramic sky window just above the windshield for a brighter, airier feel.
While the entire driver’s side features the unique furniture-shuffling design, the passenger’s side is quite straightforward, with a galley amidships in front of the second longitudinal bed. There’s no indication of fill-in center cushions to create a full-width double bed out of the two singles, so we assume they’re meant to stand alone for easier ingress/egress.
Bürstner
In the past, Bürstner has used the “Habiton” nameplate for small concept vans, and the new model is the first to be based on a full-size van. While all that sliding equipment does scream “concept camper!!,” Bürstner ends its preview video with the below shot of three different models. The two on the left appear to include pop-up roofs, which would make more complete use of those two rear passenger seats by allowing the camper to both transport and sleep a total of four people. The mention of 96 possible color and trim combinations also hints that we’re looking at the first production model born from the Habiton series.
Bürstner
We’ll look to find out for sure once the new Habiton makes its official world premiere at the 2025 Düsseldorf Caravan Salon, where Bürstner will also be debuting the aforementioned Signature small motorhome and its distinct kinetic bathroom.
In the meantime, you can have a closer look at the Habiton’s unique interior layout and movement in the short clip below.
Habiton 1 208351982 1
Source: Bürstner