Daily World Briefing, Aug. 6

EU halts planned retaliatory tariffs against U.S.

The European Commission on Tuesday formally suspended planned retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports worth 93 billion euros (about 108 billion U.S. dollars), just days before they were due to take effect.

The Commission's trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, said the decision was adopted under an emergency procedure and will require formal approval by a simple majority of member states within two weeks. The tariffs were scheduled to take effect on Aug. 7.

"The Commission has today adopted necessary legal procedures to suspend the implementation of our European Union (EU) countermeasures," Gill told a press briefing in Brussels, adding that the regulation would be published in the EU's official journal later the same day.

Humanitarian aid packages airdropped over Gaza amid unfolding famine

Israel's military said 110 humanitarian aid packages were airdropped Tuesday over Gaza, where international aid experts say famine is unfolding after nearly 22 months of Israeli military offensive.

The packages, containing food, were airdropped by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Belgium and France, according to a military statement.

Since the beginning of the airdrop operations in late July, a total of 785 aid packages have been dropped, each reportedly containing hundreds of kilograms of food.

UN official warns of possible expansion of Israeli operations in Gaza

A senior UN official on Tuesday warned against the possible expansion of Israeli military operations through the Gaza Strip.

The latest reports regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's possible decision to expand Israel's military operations through the entire Gaza Strip, if true, are deeply alarming, said UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca.

"This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining (Israeli) hostages in Gaza," Jenca told the Security Council in a briefing.

83 more Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza

At least 83 Palestinians were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire across Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told Xinhua that among the dead were 58 people waiting for aid in northern, central, and southern Gaza.

At least 9,519 Palestinians have been killed and 38,630 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in Gaza on March 18, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 61,020, and injuries to 150,671, Gaza-based health authorities said Tuesday.

Fast-moving Gifford Fire threatens more structures in U.S. state California

Hundreds of structures are threatened by a fast-moving wildfire that has scorched over 82,000 acres (about 332 square km) in less than five days in Central California, authorities said Tuesday.

The wildfire, dubbed the Gifford Fire, broke out Friday afternoon when four separate ignitions along a California highway merged into a single wildfire currently burning on the Santa Lucia Road in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, according to the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Authorities said that the blaze is threatening more than 870 structures and was only 7 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.

Spanish resort beaches evacuated under wildfire threat

Authorities evacuated beaches, hotels, and campsites near the southern Spanish resort of Tarifa on Tuesday afternoon after a fast-moving wildfire broke out amid hot and windy conditions.

The fire reportedly started around 3:00 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) in a motorhome at a campsite near Valdevaqueros beach, a place popular with surfers and kite surfers. Fanned by strong winds and dry conditions, the flames quickly spread across the surrounding area.■