🇪🇹⚡- Tigray Defense Forces, TDF, positions along the Sekota axis have completely collapsed, with the Ethiopian military, ENDF, reversing all TDF gains made over the past week and pushing into the Tigray region itself.

The ENDF and its allies, the Tigray Peace Forces, have captured Finarwa, Abergele and Zamra. Overnight, the ENDF attempted to advance towards the city of Samre, although it remains unconfirmed whether the offensive succeeded.

The loss of Samre would be catastrophic for the TDF, as the major town lies just 38km south of the Tigray capital, Mekele.

Six years ago, Samre witnessed some of the fiercest battles of the TPLF-ENDF war. The town was captured and held by the TPLF for much of the conflict.

Map key:
- Red: Tigray Defense Forces,
- Blue: Fano,
- Purple: Uguugumo.

🇪🇹 - Ethiopian military forces inside an abandoned Tigray Defense Forces, TDF, trench system in northern Alamata, southern Tigray region.

TDF-affiliated confirm the withdrawal of the TDF from the city of Alamata to the Grat Kahsu high grounds further north.

🇱🇾🇦🇪🇮🇱⚡- During the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to the UAE, Netanyahu met with eastern Libya’s Commander-in-Chief, Saddam Haftar, son of LNA founder Khalifa Haftar.

Saddam sought to use his meeting with Netanyahu to facilitate a summit with Vice President JD Vance.

🇮🇷🇦🇪⚡- UAE's Representative to the United Nations has once again asserted that the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa are occupied islands and demands an Iranian withdrawal from the strategic territories in the Strait of Hormuz.

🇮🇷🇴🇲⚡- Earlier this morning, a vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz by an Iranian projectile, causing a fire onboard. The fire has since been extinguished, UKMTO reports.

🇹🇷🇮🇷⚡- Iranian passenger aircraft EP-KPB was preparing to depart Istanbul for Tehran with passengers on board when Turkish bailiffs seized the Caspian Airlines plane over €3 million in unpaid debts to Turkish aviation company ACM Temsil Gozetim.

🇳🇱⚡- Four train stations in the Netherlands have been evacuated due to 'abandoned bags'.

🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel has "indications that as the election date approaches, our [Israel's] enemies will try to attack."

Opposition leaders are demanding to be briefed on the intelligence.

🇷🇺⚡- A Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber crashed in the Amur region, killing six of the seven onboard.

🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to hold a security meeting with opposition leader Lapid tonight following the "new intelligence" regarding "indications of Israeli enemies preparing to attack."

🇮🇹🇮🇶⚡️- Italy has finalized its withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

🇪🇹🇪🇷 - Ethiopian and Uguugumo-affiliated media report that the Ethiopian Armed Forces, ENDF, have withdrawn from the Afdera area of northern Afar. It remains unconfirmed whether Uguugumo forces advancing from Dalol have captured the town of Afdera.

Interesting observation: While the ENDF continues to advance through the harsh terrain of Tigray against the far more formidable Tigray Defense Forces, it has seemingly allowed Uguugumo rebels to seize vast swathes of open territory in Afar that could otherwise be defended using Ethiopia’s air and drone power.

Compounding this is Addis Ababa’s decision to bar international media from entering northern Afar to cover the Uguugumo offensive, with access restricted to Ethiopian state-backed outlets and of course al-Jazeera. The only individuals permitted to speak with al-Jazeera have been pro-Addis Ababa Afar regional officials, all of whom have repeated the exact same line: Eritrean forces are involved in the Uguugumo offensive.

Map key:
- Red: Tigray Defense Forces,
- Blue: Fano,
- Purple: Uguugumo.

🇺🇸🇹🇼🇨🇳⚡️- Taiwan says its arms negotiations with the US are continuing and Washington has repeatedly assured Taipei that American policy toward the island has not changed following last week's Trump-Xi summit.

Taiwan's Defense Minister said no ongoing weapons program has been altered, while production of Taiwan's long-delayed order of 66 advanced F-16Vs has now reached the point where deliveries can begin.

🇩🇪🇨🇳⚡️- Germany is moving to block Chinese state-owned shipping giant COSCO from acquiring 80% of Hamburg logistics company Zippel over national security concerns.

A confidential government memo reportedly warns the acquisition could create strategic dependencies that China could exploit as leverage during a political crisis. Zippel connects German ports with inland supply chains by rail, truck and ship.

🇪🇺🇬🇧🇮🇷⚡️- Claims of urgent messages issued by various Western countries warning their citizens to immediately leave Iran are false. Neither French, British, Italian or German embassies in Iran have issued new messages. Messages preventing travel to Iran or advising citizens to leave Iran have been the same ones for months and no new alerts were issued today.

Source: Embassies in Iran of France, the UK, Germany and Italy.

The most recent alert of the cited countries by multiple channels was a travel alert issued by the Italian Embassy on July 25th.