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Israeli airstrikes killed at least 30 Palestinians across Gaza on Friday, according to Al Jazeera.

Among the dead were civilians in Gaza City’s Tuffah area, Jabalia in the north, and al-Mawasi in the south—previously marked a “safe zone”—where tents sheltering displaced families were hit, killing at least five, including infants.

Seven others were killed while seeking aid. Many wounded, including children, were taken to Nasser Hospital with injuries linked to drone attacks.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported a rise in strikes using shrapnel-packed drone missiles targeting crowded areas, raising concerns over Israel’s claims of precision.

Israel will raise its defense budget by 42bn shekels (about $12.5bn) for 2025–2026, the finance and defense ministries announced Thursday.

The funding will support urgent military needs and strengthen security amid ongoing conflicts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the budget covers operations in Gaza and preparations for wider threats, Xinhua reported.

Defense spending currently stands at 110bn shekels—around 9 percent of Israel’s GDP.

Since resuming its Gaza offensive on March 18, over 7,800 Palestinians have been killed, bringing the total death toll to nearly 59,000, according to Gaza health officials. The conflict began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel, according to Xinhua.

Gelephu (Bhutan), has been an important tourist destination at India-Bhutan crossing.

Roughly 41km from Kajalgaon, headquarter of Chirang, 50 km from Bongaigaon, and 340 km from Siliguri, India.

Conventionally, this border crossing is mostly used for shipping and business between Bhutan and India. However, in the wake of India-Bhutan cooperation for the 2500 square kilometers "Zero Carbon City" in Gelephu and giving a solid traction to "Gelephu Mindfulness City", its new positioning is of a hub of knowledge, technology, and finance, grounded in the values of mindfulness, sustainability and harmony.

As said by the Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, "Gelephu embodies the co-operative spirit, as every citizen of Bhutan is both a shareholder and a stakeholder, actively participating in this significant initiative." 

Since the announcement of plans for the Gelephu city in December 2023, situated to the south of Bhutan and bordering Assam, Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck has visited India twice to discuss his plans for the city, and to seek investment and collaborations from the Indian private sector in infrastructure development, bringing projects in the areas like hotels and hospitality, educational institutions, IT and wellness centres.

India responded positively to it and Gelephu is fast becoming an attractive investment destination, giving the city a new dimension of development.

To further enhance the bilateral economic cooperation between India and Bhutan besides the subregional/regional cooperation (including Nepal as an important trilateral ally of India and Bhutan) with focus on "India's Look East Policy" as part of its South East Asia outreach, in association with Vis Inc and The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) and under the aegis of its “India-Nepal Centre”, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organised the "Gelephu Roadshow - Where Mindfulness Meets the Future: Connecting India and Bhutan for Sustainable Development and Global Cooperation" on 17 July 2025 at Kolkata, India. The Roadshow witnessed the participation of leading industry captains and stakeholders of India-Bhutan businesses besides concerned diplomats.

The Gelephu Mindfulness City was represented by Kinley P Dorji, Communication Lead (Director, GMC Affairs & Secretary, GMC Board), Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority, Bhutan and Ugyen Tenzin, CEO, DK Bank. In GMC’s detailed presentation, Kinley P Dorji called for partnerships and invited potential investors to explore a long-term promising project “Gelephu Mindfulness City” that will have significant focus on specialized (in nature’s surrounding) infrastructure, sustainable tourism, wellness, education and spiritualism.

Atul K Thakur, Secretary, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI moderated the sessions. Among other key speakers were: Dr Shiladitya Chatterjee, Economic Adviser (National Economic Affairs Committee), The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI); Anand Jha, Vice President(Head of Government Engagement: India & South Asia), Visa Inc; Anirudha Barooah, Regional Head, Kolkata Regional Office, Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank); Jhakka Prasad Acharya, Consul General of Nepal, Kolkata, India; Dr Vidyanand Jha, IIM Calcutta; Dushyant Thakor, Deputy Executive Director, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA); Binod Homagai, Co-Founder & COO, WoW Momo; Bikas Rauniar, Executive Director, Interstate Multi Modal Transport (P) Ltd; Subir Bhaumik, Contributing Editor (South Asia), Eurasia Review (Formerly: Eastern India Bureau Chief, BBC)

The “Gelephu Roadshow 2025”, held in Kolkata (India) shall further help Bhutan’s ambitious strategic development project “Gelephu Mindfulness City” with drawing institutional collaborations and investment.

A snappy tune by a blogger that mockingly laments his poor internet connection in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has gotten over a half-million views on Instagram in two weeks, Associated Press reported.

“How to say you’re from Rostov without saying a word? Show one bar of cellphone service,” Pavel Osipyan raps while walking around the city, smartphone in hand. “We have internet until 12 o’clock, and recently there’s been no connection at all. No need to be angry, just get used to it already.”

The complaints by Osipyan — unable to pay electronically for groceries, or having to use paper maps while driving — aren’t isolated to Rostov-on-Don, which borders Ukraine and, as home to Russia’s Southern Military District, is targeted frequently by drones.

In the last two months, cellphone internet shutdowns, which officials say are needed to foil Ukrainian drones, have hit dozens of Russian regions — from those near the fighting to parts of Siberia and even the Far East. Some Wi-Fi outages also have been reported, according to Associated Press.