South African municipal elections, 2016 With more than half the vote counted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is ahead on 53.2 percent of the vote which, if this trend continues, will be the first election since the end of apartheid in 1994 that the ANC receives less than 60 percent. The opposition Democratic Alliance, with about 28 percent of the vote nationally, has gained the lead in three major cities: Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth. Final results are expected Friday.
Philippine drug war Rodrigo Duterte says that the Sinaloa cartel and the Chinese triad are active in the Philippine narcotic trade.
Cross-Strait relations China is blocking Taiwan's efforts to join the International Civil Aviation Organization despite 58 million air passengers passing over Taiwan's flight information region annually, citing the One-China principle.
China China bans K-pop stars and South Korean actors from attending promotional events in retaliation for Seoul's deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-ballistic missile system.
Bank of England As markets have expected, the Bank of England cuts the key interest rate to 0.25, the first cut since 2009.
Syrian civil war Jan Egeland, an adviser to the UN’s special envoy to Syria, says that there were 44 attacks on hospitals, clinics and health posts around Syria in July alone.
At least 40 government air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and nearby towns, including on a camp for displaced people in Atareb, south-west of Aleppo, killing at least two people.