Carney, speaking just before flying to a NATO summit in Turkey, said Ottawa would now enter talks with TKMS

International News via Reuters:

Canada said on Monday it has selected Germany’s TKMS to build up to 12 submarines for its navy, deepening defense ties with Europe ahead of a NATO leaders’ summit centered on higher military spending.

TKMS, majority-owned by German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, beat out a competing offer from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean 042660.KS.

“This procurement will be the largest in Canadian history,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told a news conference in the Atlantic port of Halifax. He did not give the cost of the purchase.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada must do more to defend ourselves, secure our sovereignty, and support our allies,” he said.

Carney, speaking just before flying to a NATO summit in Turkey, said Ottawa would now enter talks with TKMS.

Canada is under pressure from the United States to increase defense spending and has said it hit NATO’s ​military spending target of 2% of GDP earlier than originally planned. NATO leaders have agreed to spend ​5% of GDP on defense and security-related investments by 2035. Canada has the world’s largest coastline and currently has only one functioning submarine.

“This was a difficult, close decision between two highly qualified suppliers,” Carney said.

TKMS was ​offering its 212CD class submarine model, which it is also supplying to Norway’s navy ​under a joint development program.

Shares in TKMS earlier rose as much as 12.9%, hitting their highest level in nearly four months.

Carney had previously said that ⁠submarines proposed by Germany and by Hanwha Ocean would both meet the needs of the Canadian navy and that the winner of the bid would likely depend on the economic benefits offered.

TKMS has offered to reallocate boats from the German and Norwegian orders, allowing for early delivery of the first four submarines by 2034, compared with the previously promised 2036, Carney said. He added that Canada would receive tens of billions of dollars in investment from TKMS.

“The TKMS platform is optimized for Arctic waters and fully NATO interoperable, allowing it to communicate seamlessly, share intelligence, and carry out joint missions,” he said.

Hanwha Ocean said in a statement it did its utmost to win but was “unable to overcome the barrier posed by NATO alliances.” Carney said the decision to go with Germany did not mean Asia was less of a priority for his government, which has sought to increase trade and ​business ties with Asia. 

TKMS said it hopes the 212CD, with its diamond shape, 74 meters (243 ​feet) in length and non-magnetic ⁠steel, will become the new NATO standard.

“This is a major strategic initiative that will bring Canada, Germany and Norway together for decades to come,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. 

TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard told journalists the bid had received strong support from the German and Norwegian governments. He added that the order, the single biggest in the company’s history, would increase its order backlog by more than 50% once a firm contract was concluded.

He said the conclusion was targeted for the end of 2026, while Carney said it would come no later than the end of 2027.

Reporting by Caroline Stauffer, Katharine Jackson, Rachel More, Friederike Heine, Christoph Steitz and David Ljunggren; Editing by Howard Goller, Nick Zieminski and Edmund Klamann

Temperatures in Portugal and southern Spain are expected to climb to 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days

International News via Reuters:

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that Europe could face “more deadly weeks” ahead, with another intense heatwave forming over the Atlantic. 

Here are more details: 

• Temperatures in Portugal and southern Spain are expected to climb to 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days.

• WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge held an emergency call on Monday with representatives from 41 countries in the region, the European Commission and civil society groups to discuss lessons from the recent heatwave and preparations for the next one.

• Kluge said in a statement that countries with heat-health action plans in place responded more quickly and better protected their populations during the June heatwave.

• However, he said that less than half of WHO’s European member states had such a plan in place.

• Experts have said the June 20-28 heatwave was the most severe recorded in Europe, causing disruption to power generation, damaging infrastructure and overwhelming healthcare systems.

• The extreme heat was almost certainly driven by climate change, scientists said.

• France, the Netherlands and Belgium recorded 3,700 excess deaths, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.

• Temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Europe during the heatwave.

• Kluge said care home residents, homeless people and socially isolated older adults were still not being reached consistently across Europe.

• “The work now is on two fronts: fixing what failed in recent weeks before the next heatwave hits and building the kind of health systems that don’t just respond to extreme heat but are ready for it,” Kluge said.

Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Ros Russell

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks

International News via Reuters:

Two tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran said there would be no more peace talks unless Donald Trump halted his repeated threats to restart the war, as millions of Iranians vowed vengeance at the week-long funeral of their slain leader.

The Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker Al Rekayyat reported that it had been struck overnight and its engine room set on fire. Maritime security sources said a Saudi crude oil tanker had also been damaged.

“Mayday mayday mayday. This is vessel Al Rekayyat, LNG vessel Al Rekayyat. We are being hit by drone on port side, top of engine room,” the Rekayyat’s captain said in a recorded radio call reviewed by Reuters. “Status: engine room fire and full of smoke. Unable to assess further damage.”

He said the crew were safe but the ship had been disabled without engines or steering, and called for help from any vessels in the area.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks. News website Axios reported that Iran had fired on two ships. Neither Washington nor Tehran commented directly on the reports.

The incidents, the first reported attacks in the strait since mourning for Iran’s supreme leader began last week, were a reminder that Gulf shipping remains unresolved more than four months after the U.S. and Israel launched a war they said would stop Iran from being able to threaten its neighbours.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TAKE TO STREETS IN QOM

Iran’s clerical rulers have exerted newfound control over the world’s most important energy shipping route, where they aim to install a permanent system to collect fees in what would amount to a huge shift of the balance of power in a region where Washington has acted as guarantor of security for generations.

Iran’s leadership has demonstrated its firm grip on the country during a week of mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed along with his daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and daughter-in-law on the first day of the war.

The caskets of the slain leader and family were driven through the streets of the seminary city of Qom on Tuesday, where many hundreds of thousands of people carried flags and banners comparing Khamenei to martyrs whose deaths are foundational to the Shi’ite sect.

In chants they vowed to avenge Khamenei. Some bore placards and banners reading “KILL TRUMP”.

A similar huge funeral procession was held in the streets of Tehran on Monday, following more solemn prayer events that began last Friday, attracting top figures in Iran’s leadership and dignitaries from abroad. Authorities say the leader’s body will be taken to Shi’ite holy cities in neighbouring Iraq, then brought back to Iran and laid to rest in a mediaeval shrine.

TRUMP: ‘MAKE A DEAL OR WE’RE GOING TO FINISH THE JOB’

The war has been paused under an interim peace deal reached last month, intended to provide a 60-day period for negotiations on a permanent deal. A round of indirect talks in Qatar concluded last week with no sign of headway towards a lasting peace.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume bombing, most recently on Monday when he told reporters in the Oval Office: “We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job…. We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that under the terms of the interim ceasefire memorandum, negotiations on the final deal would “not commence if threats continue”.

“Honor your signature,” he wrote on X.

Oil prices, which have returned to around the pre-war level since last month’s interim deal let ships resume sailing through the strait, ticked up around 1% on Tuesday following the incidents in the waterway.

In launching the war four months ago, Trump said his aims were to destroy Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, end its ability to threaten its neighbours and create conditions for Iranians to topple their leaders.

None of those objectives has been met, although Washington says a permanent deal will halt what it says is an Iranian programme that could make a nuclear weapon, which Iran says it never sought.

Despite five days of mourning, there has still been no sign in public of Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba, believed to have been disfigured by wounds in the same attack and yet to be shown in any image since the war began. Three other sons of the slain leader prayed at the casket on Sunday.

Iran’s leaders have portrayed the mass funeral gatherings as proof of national unity following the U.S.-Israeli attacks, although it is difficult to assess how deep that loyalty runs in a country where media and communications are tightly controlled.

Just weeks before the war started, Iran’s authorities killed thousands of demonstrators to put down some of the biggest anti-government protests in the country’s history, but there has been no sign of organised opposition in Iran since the war began.

Reporting by a Reuters team in Tehran and Reuters bureauxWriting by Peter Graff; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Ros Russell

TKMS, majority-owned by German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, beat out a competing offer from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean 042660.KS

International News via Reuters:

Canada said on Monday it wanted Germany’s TKMS to build up to 12 submarines for its navy, deepening defense ties with Europe ahead of a NATO leaders’ summit centered on higher military spending.

TKMS, majority-owned by German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, beat out a competing offer from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean 042660.KS.

“This procurement will be the largest in Canadian history,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told a news conference in the Atlantic port of Halifax, but did not give an amount.

Carney, speaking just hours before flying to a NATO summit in Turkey, said Ottawa would now enter talks with TKMS.

“This was a difficult, close decision between two highly qualified suppliers,” he said.

Reporting by Caroline Stauffer, Katharine Jackson, Christoph Steitz and David Ljunggren; Editing by Howard Goller and Nick Zieminski

Top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said the latest official tally showed 16,740 people injured and 17,854 left without housing after the June 24 quakes

International News via Reuters:

The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes has risen to 3,535, authorities said on Monday, while nearly 18,000 people remain homeless more than a week after the disaster struck the capital and nearby coastal areas.

Top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said the latest official tally showed 16,740 people injured and 17,854 left without housing after the June 24 quakes, which measured magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 and struck within seconds of each other.

The new figures underscore the scale of the disaster in and around Caracas and La Guaira, the coastal area hit hardest, as criticism mounts over the government’s response.

Venezuela’s social vice presidency said at least 12,800 people were staying in 80 shelters across Caracas and La Guaira.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has defended the government’s handling of the disaster amid growing frustration from Venezuelans who have described the response as late and inadequate.

She said security forces were deployed immediately after the quakes and announced the creation of a new military unit to help tackle future emergencies and disasters.

In La Guaira on Monday, Reuters witnesses saw trucks and forensic workers transporting coffins, while machinery dug trenches in an open area marked by white crosses, where authorities were burying unidentified bodies.

The United Nations said it was continuing to ramp up aid operations in coordination with the government in Caracas.

“Some search and rescue teams remain deployed in the affected areas, while other specialized engineering teams and medical support continue to arrive,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday.

Dujarric said a comprehensive needs assessment that will form the basis of an updated response plan was nearly complete, though he did not say when it would be released. U.N. agencies are already providing services in three camps and assessing other sites for expanded support.

Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Vivian Sequera; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon

Schnabel’s comments kept the need for more policy tightening on the table even as a second interest rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on July 22-23 looked increasingly unlikely

International News via Reuters:

The euro zone’s economy is not back to its state before the Iran war despite a drop in oil prices, as core inflation remains strong and price pressures continue, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said on Monday.

Schnabel’s comments kept the need for more policy tightening on the table even as a second interest rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on July 22-23 looked increasingly unlikely.

“Does the decline in oil prices mean that we are back to the pre-war situation? I don’t think so,” she told an event in Rome.

“The peace deal is still fragile, markets continue to point to higher oil prices over longer horizons and gas prices are still around 40% higher than before the war.”

Among other factors, she noted crack spreads, a measure of profitability for refiners, were “twice their pre-war levels”, pipeline and supply chain pressures remained elevated and core inflation remained strong.

“Meanwhile, we are experiencing new shocks: the heat wave in Europe and the Super El Niño may put upward pressure on food prices, while rainwater levels are approaching critical levels,” Schnabel added.

Speaking later on the same panel, Belgian central bank governor Pierre Wunsch said he was “relatively relaxed”, noting the war-related shock to energy prices seemed to have “disappeared” from market prices.

Repeating comments made to Reuters last month, he argued the ECB should “not wait too long” if it wants to raise rates one last time.

“We will have a projection in September, but I’m a bit afraid that we would hike too late when the movement starts in the other direction,” Wunsch added.

Reporting by Francesco CanepaEditing by Tomasz Janowski, William Maclean