* Hamas launches missiles toward the sea 'in warning to Israel' Hamas's message was that the calm along the border with the Gaza Strip won’t last.
* Has Israel been saved from yet another election by a compromise? Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed Likud lawmakers to vote for a new bill to move the deadline for presenting the state budget from its August deadline to November, when it is tabled on Wednesday, Aug. 12, by the two Derech Eretz faction’s ministers.
* Israel behind Beirut explosion – PA daily op-ed As with past catastrophes befalling the Arab world (or even the world in general) not much time passed before a writer at the official PA daily accused Israel of being behind the explosion in Beirut that cost the lives of more than 150 Lebanese and wounded over 5,000 last week.
* ISIL will bounce back if Libya civil war doesn't end, study warns US-based researcher says the armed group is 'regrouping' and remains a 'persistent' threat in the oil-rich nation.
* Beijing Has Big Plans in the Middle East Last month, details emerged of a mammoth new strategic accord that is now in the works between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
* China and the EU must put aside differences China described recent high-level talks with Europe on post-pandemic economic recovery and cooperation as “deep, candid, pragmatic and effective”.
* Iran: China's Newest Colony? The deal is a clear win for China; the $400 billion will be invested over 25 years, which is a small amount of money for the second-largest economy in the world.
* China’s Effect: A Global NATO China is increasingly viewed by NATO as a competitor, which represents a significant shift in the alliance’s vision.
* BUBONIC PLAGUE: China Quarantines Region While Second Case Diagnosed in New Mexico While the WHO declares that there is nothing to worry about, China is sealing off entire villages and a man died in New Mexico from a rare form of the plague that once killed off half the world population.
* Entire Lebanese Cabinet resigns following massive Beirut explosion Government resigns en masse in response to public uproar over massive, deadly Beirut explosion.