Taipei Times

France advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco on goals by Kylian Mbappé in the 60th minute and Ousmane Dembele in the 66th minute. Mbappé recorded a goal and an assist, while Morocco registered its first shot on target in the 83rd minute. France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinal at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

At the NATO summit held Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan distributed vintage Gumusay .357 Magnum revolvers manufactured by MKE in the 1990s to attending leaders. Each revolver came with live ammunition, was engraved with the recipient's name, and was presented in a wooden display box featuring Turkey’s flag and the NATO logo. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever surrendered his revolver to airport police upon departure.

Japan's JAXA performed a brief test flight of the RV-X reusable rocket at its Noshiro Testing Center, achieving an 11-meter vertical rise, 16-meter horizontal translation, and upright landing in under one minute. The test occurred one day after China reported recovery of a rocket first stage. All details derive from a single left-center source with no corroboration from additional outlets.

Multiple governments issued statements in 2026 reaffirming the 2016 UNCLOS tribunal ruling that rejected China's nine-dash-line claims. China continues to state that the ruling has no binding force. A Manila conference marked the ruling's tenth anniversary while territorial disputes persist among six claimants.

China conducted a test of an experimental net-based recovery system for the Long March 10B rocket booster on a sea platform. Multiple sources confirm vertical return and capture roughly six minutes after separation, with the vehicle delivering a satellite to orbit. Disagreements exist over recovery platform details and the milestone's place in global reusability history.

A wildfire in the Los Gallardos district of Almería, Andalusia, burned 3,800 hectares, injured eight people, and left 23 unaccounted for. Sources disagree on fatalities, with reports citing either 11 or 12 deaths, mostly foreign nationals, and four victims found in a vehicle. The fire prompted deployment of 400 responders amid forecasts of 40°C temperatures.

SK Hynix Inc. sold 177.9 million American depositary receipts at $149 each to raise $26.5 billion, the third-largest listing on record. The shares opened at $170 on Nasdaq and rose 14 percent on debut. Indications of interest reached $7 billion from major institutional investors.