Wednesday 8th July 2026. Turkiye NATO summit. France Le Pen decision. Hamas control. Australia bridge bird. World Cup. Uganda catnip...

0:00 This podcast never uses AI. Good morning, This is sent seven world news in seven minutes. I'm Stephen Devin Cenzi. Today is Wednesday, the eighth of July twenty twenty six, starting in Asia and Oceania today in Turkya. Today is the second and final day of the NATO Summit, at which all NATO leaders are attending and various weapons deals have been announced. United States President Donald Trump criticized other NATO members for not supporting his war in Iran and said that if the event weren't being hosted by his friend, President Recip tyab Urdugan, then he might not have gone.

0:51 Ukrainian President of Vladimir Zelenski gave a speech in which he said that Ukraine is now eliminating around thirty thousand Russian soul just per month, mostly using drones.

1:03 We are now eliminating around thirty thousand Russian soldiers every month. Just imagine that scale. In June alone, nearly twenty eight Southern Russian soldiers were eliminated, and we have video confirmation for every single one of them. Then overwhelming majority we are struck by drones.

1:30 Zelenski also said that although Ukraine is now able to produce most of its own weapons, it still requires more air defense missiles that it is not able to produce. In Ukraine, the death toll from Russian bombardments of Kiev on Monday has risen to at least twenty eight. Also in Turkya, a cruise ship for LGBT passengers has been blocked from docking in Aidin province after local authorities said that the cruz was organized by groups that don't align with their society and moral values. In Syria, there were two explosions yesterday near a hotel in Damascus where French President Immanuel Macron was staying. Eighteen people were injured. Macron met with President Ahmad al Shara yesterday, who has been

2:24 in power since the overthrow of the Bashir al Asad regime in December twenty twenty four. In Palestine, HAMAS has said that it is willing to hand over governing control of Gaza to a United States backed interim administration. HAMAS has governed Gaza since two thousand and six, when they won an election, but have governed without elections since then.

2:49 HAMAS has now said that it has dissolved its government in Gaza. However, Israel described the act as a stunt and said that while Hamas maintains its weas, it will control any Gaza government. Saudi Arabia is considering expanding its oil pipelines towards its Red Sea coast. According to Reuters, this would allow Saudi Arabia and possibly some of its neighbors, to export more oil without having to use the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been blockading for months. It's not clear if the expansion would improve the capacity of pipelines that already exist or would create a new pipeline.

3:32 In Australia's city of Melbourne, a man climbed a tall bridge yesterday morning and spray painted a giant bird on the side. Local reports have said that the man was demanding a sandwich be brought to him by a drone before he would come down. He was arrested Americas. In North America, the Football World Cup is now entering the quarter finals stage with only eight teams remaining. All of the hosts, Canada, Mexico and the United States are all now out of the competition. After Belgium beat the United States on Monday evening by four goals to one. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly defended a decision to allow a US player to play against Belgium despite receiving a red card in the previous match, something which appeared to

4:26 have been influenced by a request from United States President Donald Trump. Infantino said that FIFA's decision making body acted independently. In Venezuela, people are continuing to remove debris and find bodies. Two weeks after massive earthquakes, Over three thousand, five hundred people are now known to have died, however thousands more are still missing. Europe. In France, far right leader Marian Lepen has said that she will run for pre next year after a court shortened a ban against her holding public office. Last year, Lea Penn was barred from holding public office for five years after she was found guilty of using money from the European Parliament to pay wages of staff from her National Rally party. Yesterday, an appeals

5:21 court maintained the guilty verdict. However, it shortened the ban, effectively allowing her to run for president in twenty twenty seven. Lea Penn came second to Immanuel Macran in both of the last presidential elections Lea Penn has been ordered to wear an electronic ankle tag. In the United Kingdom, Nigel Faraj, the leader of the right wing populist Reform Party, has said that he will resign from his seat in Parliament to trigger a by election in which he has said he will again run as a candidate. Opinion polls generally show Reform as being the most popular political party in the UK at the moment. However, Farage has been widely criticized recently for accepting large amounts of money and not

6:10 disclosing this money in the proper way, including a five million pound gift given by a British crypto businessman. Farage said that he would allow the people of his constituency, Clacton, to make the decision of whether he is fit for office.

6:27 Now I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by election. It's a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly tell them where to go. And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by election.

6:52 I will fight to win, I will fight to continue the political revolution that reform has started. Say this to you, the voters of Clacton. If I win, you win, because if I lose, they win, and we will never with the two old parties get the type of fundamental change that we need to fix broken Britain.

7:18 Africa. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least five hundred people are now known to have died from the ongoing outbreak of ibola, with confirmed cases rising to over twenty five hundred. Only two hundred and fifty people are known to have recovered. And in Uganda, a study has shown that a homemade catnip lotion is just as effective as deep at repelling mosquitoes. Catnip is a plant from the mint family, which is best known for being used by cats to produce a euphoria like taking a recreational drug.

7:57 A team working between Uganda and Way found that a six percent catnip oil was equally as effective as repelling mosquitoes as deep, the most commonly used chemical repellent. Researchers from the University of Cardiff said that this could be particularly helpful to poorer people in rural areas, for whom buying commercially available mosquito repellents is difficult. That's your world news in seven minutes. This podcast is made possible by our incredible supporters, who also have access to our transcripts, vocabulary lists, worksheets, and world news quizzes. More information at senseven dot org. Tomorrow you will be with Juliet Martin.

8:42 Have a great day.