Morning Briefing: July 4, 2026

Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including Türkiye tightening security across Ankara with more than 56,000 personnel deployed ahead of next week's NATO leaders' summit; US President Donald Trump saying Washington paused negotiations with Iran to allow funeral processions for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; and Russia claiming its forces have taken full control of the front-line city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

TOP STORIES

• Ankara tightens security, air traffic measures ahead of NATO summit

Türkiye will deploy more than 56,000 police and gendarmerie personnel across Ankara ahead of the NATO leaders' summit on July 7-8, which is expected to bring together 52 leaders from 32 allied and nine invited countries, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said.

Separately, Türkiye's State Airports Authority said temporary flight restrictions would be imposed at Esenboga Airport during the summit. However, civilian and military aircraft carrying foreign heads of state and official delegations will be exempt.

• Trump says US gave Iran 'a week off' for funeral of Iran's late supreme leader amid stalled talks

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington paused negotiations with Tehran to allow for funeral processions for slain former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, claiming Iran is "dying to settle" with the US.

Speaking at Mount Rushmore during America 250 celebrations, Trump touted the US military record, saying: "We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran."

Meanwhile, foreign leaders and delegations from across the region and beyond, including Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and a Chinese delegation, paid tribute to Khamenei on Friday as funeral processions began in Tehran, with the main funeral and burial ceremony scheduled for July 9 in Mashhad.

• Russia claims it took control of front-line industrial city in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russia claimed on Friday that its forces had taken full control of the front-line industrial city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling journalists that President Vladimir Putin described its capture as "the first, but very important, stage" in taking the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk defensive hub of Ukraine's armed forces.

Peskov said military commanders reported "positive momentum" along the entire front line during a meeting with Putin at a command post, adding that Russia has taken control of 133 settlements since the start of the year. Later, a Kremlin transcript cited Putin as claiming Russia had gained full control of the Luhansk region, while Ukrainian authorities have not immediately commented, with independent verification difficult due to the ongoing war.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• At least 40 people were killed and eight others wounded after a bus fell into a ravine in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, soon after crossing from southwestern Balochistan province, as rescue operations continue.
• Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu resigns, with his government collapsing amid a scandal involving state-owned air navigation company MoldATSA.
• China called for a 'proper settlement' to end disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran indirect talks continue in Doha, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar.
• French authorities said nearly 950 hectares have burned in a wildfire near Pouzols-Minervois in the Aude department, with around 2,000 firefighters deployed as the blaze continues for a second day.
• At least 18 people were killed in communal clashes linked to a land dispute in Nigeria's Niger state between Monday and Thursday, after suspected armed men shot dead a resident, triggering reprisal attacks.
• Russia said a Ukrainian drone strike on a market in Tokmak, in the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region, killed five people and injured 18 others on Friday.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed back on Friday against US President Donald Trump's criticism of European NATO allies' defense spending, saying Germany is doubling its defense budget in its largest-ever military investment.
• The EU sanctioned six Russian individuals on Friday over their alleged role in developing chemical weapons linked to opposition figure Alexei Navalny's poisoning and death, freezing their assets and banning them from EU territory.
• The UN said Friday it documented the killing of at least 45 civilians in Sudan's North Kordofan state capital between June 6-28, warning of a "human rights catastrophe" amid fighting between Sudanese forces and paramilitary RSF.
• The personal data of about 70,000 people in Singapore was exposed in an IBM-managed cloud environment after a test dataset meant to contain anonymized records instead included real names, ID numbers, and addresses, the Singapore Land Authority said Friday.
• Germany's Foreign Ministry called in China's ambassador for an urgent meeting Thursday over reports that Chinese armed forces secretly trained around 200 Russian soldiers who later returned to fight in Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported Friday.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and regional and global issues.
• France recorded on Friday its hottest June on record, with average temperatures reaching 22.7C (72.9F), 3.8C above the seasonal norm and surpassing previous records set in 2003 and 2025.
• The death toll from last month's powerful earthquakes in northern Venezuela has risen to 2,645, with 12,666 injured, as the Communication and Information Ministry said over 3,300 international rescue workers have been deployed in the quake-hit area.
• Host nation Türkiye rallied from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat France 94-87 on Friday, advancing to the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup semifinals, where they will face Serbia on Saturday.
• Pop superstar Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce married in a private ceremony in New York on Friday, the couple confirmed through Swift's representative, nearly a year after announcing their engagement.
• A UN University report warned that AI's rapid expansion is straining global electricity, water, and land resources, with data centers projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity by 2030 and a water footprint reaching 9.3 trillion liters.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye's annual inflation eases to 32.11% in June, below expectations

Türkiye's annual consumer inflation eased to 32.11% in June, slightly below market expectations, as monthly price increases remained limited amid slower energy-linked pressure, official data showed on Friday.

The consumer price index rose 0.99% month-on-month, while inflation climbed 17.76% from the end of last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. The annual figure slowed from 32.61% in May, marking a renewed moderation in headline inflation.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels posted the highest annual increase among major expenditure groups at 45.14%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 35.45% and transportation at 31.15%.

• Türkiye's defense, aerospace exports top $11B for first time on 12-month basis

Türkiye's defense and aerospace industry exports topped $11 billion on a 12-month basis for the first time, the head of the country's Defense Industries Secretariat, Haluk Gorgun, said Friday, with June exports reaching $802.8 million, up 29.6% from a year earlier.

Gorgun said exports totaled $4.67 billion in the January-June period, up 29.5% year-on-year, extending momentum after the sector's exports rose to $10.05 billion in 2025, a 48% jump from 2024.

The sector's exports reached 178 countries in the 12 months through May, with NATO members accounting for 57.3% of total sales.