AnewZ Morning Brief - 7th July, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 7th July, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1. Death toll from Texas floods reaches at least 82; Trump plans visit

The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 82 on Sunday, including 28 children, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp continued and fears of more flooding prompted evacuations of volunteer responders.

Larry Leitha, sheriff of Kerr County in Texas Hill Country, said 68 people had died in flooding in his county, the epicenter of the flooding, among them 28 children. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, said another 10 had died elsewhere in Texas and confirmed 41 were missing.

2. Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal could be reached this week

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a Gaza ceasefire deal could be reached with the Palestinian group Hamas this week.

"I think there's a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week pertaining to quite a few of the hostages … We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out. We think we'll have that done this week," Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey.

His remarks came ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at The White House on Monday.

3. BRICS summit condemns military strikes against Iran

The BRICS summit on Sunday condemned recent Israeli and US military strikes against Iran, calling them a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June, 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and express grave concern over the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East,” the joint declaration read.

The statement also emphasized the necessity to uphold nuclear safeguards and security to protect people and the environment, expressing concern over the attacks against “civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”​​​​​​​

4. Economic Cooperation Organization sets new goals for regional cooperation

The 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization concluded with setting new goals for regional cooperation.

Held in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, the summit adopted a joint statement, praising Azerbaijan’s large-scale reconstruction and development efforts in the liberated Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions.

The statement said that the ECO members agreed that economic sustainability and climate resilience should be placed at the centre of the future agenda, and that joint steps should be taken on issues such as increasing renewable energy capacity, climate-friendly agriculture, water management, and biodiversity conservation.

5. Trump calls Musk's formation of new party "ridiculous" and criticizes his own NASA pick

President Donald Trump on Sunday called Elon Musk's plans to form a new political party "ridiculous," launching new barbs at the tech billionaire and saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk's business interests in space.

A day after Musk escalated his feud with Trump and announced the formation of a new U.S. political party, the Republican president was asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he returned to Washington upon visiting his nearby golf club.

6. European Union holds back on climate pledge with China

The European Union is holding back on signing a joint climate action pledge with China at a summit this month to mark a half-century of diplomatic ties, a top climate official told the Financial Times in remarks published on Monday.

The EU's climate targets are among the world's most ambitious, but they have been based entirely on domestic emissions cuts. Now it faces a mid-September deadline to submit a new 2035 climate target to the United Nations.

Copied