Ukraine declares a day of mourning for the victims of the Russian bombardment of Kyiv on July 2 as the death toll rises to 30.
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July 3, 2026 (Friday)
2.6 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Ukrainian forces strike nine substations across Russian-occupied Crimea causing power outages as part of a campaign to make the peninsula "unusable" for the Russian military. Saky air base and Gvardeyskoye air base are also targeted with seven jets destroyed or damaged.
United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk issues a "red alert" warning in El-Obeid, North Kordofan, Sudan, of an "catastrophe" and violence in the city.
Sudanese foreign minister Mohi El-Din Salem says that the Sudanese government is ready to engage in "sincere initiatives" aimed at ending the civil war that started in April 2023. He also says that initiatives submitted by Sovereign Council chairman and military head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to the United Nations last year must be a part of this process.
Russian missile and drone strikes kill at least five people and injure ten others across Ukraine, including three people in Sumy when a drone struck their apartment building.
The Azawad Liberation Front and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin launches a series of coordinated attacks across Mali, targeting the cities of Aguelhok, Anéfis, Gao, Sévaré and Kenieroba. Several explosions and heavy gunfire are reported in clashes with the Malian Armed Forces and Russian Africa Corps.
Two policemen, including an additional station house officer, are killed, while a driver is injured, as gunmen open fire on a mobile patrol vehicle in Mohmand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Disasters and accidents
In Pakistan, a bus en route from Quetta to Islamabad plunges into a deep roadside ditch in Sherani District, Balochistan, killing 40 people and injuring eight others.
Four people are killed, ten are missing and eight others are injured during the collision of a car with a bus, carrying Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, on the Kabul–Nangarhar highway in Laghman Province, Afghanistan.
Health and environment
Heat waves are reported across the eastern and central United States, with 23 U.S. states placed under heat warnings by the National Weather Service.
The French health agency reports that over 2,025 people in France have died in heat waves last month between June 22 and June 28.
Politics and elections
The state funeral of former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on his compound by Israel and the United States during the first day of the Iran war on February 28, begins as his body lies in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla. The funeral is expected to draw millions of attendees, including foreign dignitaries.
Armenia's parliament passes a law requiring citizens living abroad to meet stricter residency rules before voting, following reports of Russian efforts to influence the June election through Armenians living in Russia.
Sports
In association football, Egypt advances to the round of 16 of a FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating Australia 4–2 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time, in the round of 32.
Argentine forward and captain Lionel Messi becomes the first player to make 30 FIFA World Cup appearances, score 20 World Cup goals, and score in eight consecutive World Cup matches (including the previous edition), after scoring in the team's 3–2 victory against Cape Verde in the round of 32.
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