Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The Economist.

As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day.

If you're already an Economist subscriber, visit

economist.com slash espresso or visit our espresso app to start listening. Here's today's

free edition.

This is the world in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

Emmanuel Macron, France's president, said that his country would recognize Palestine as a country

in order to create a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

He also called for an end to the war in Gaza and for aid to flow to civilians.

On Wednesday, health authorities in Gaza reported that 46 people had starved to death in July.

More than 140 countries recognized Palestinian statehood,

but France would be the biggest European power to do so. The European Central Bank kept its

main interest rate at 2%. It is the first time in more than a year that it has held rates.

Christine Lagarde, the ECB's president, said the inflationary shock of recent years is now behind us.

The bank is expected to cut rates by 0.25 percentage points in September after an EU-American

trade deal has been finalized.

Saudi Arabia's investment minister met Syria's president in Damascus and pledged more than $6 billion for the Syrian economy.

The investment will be in the public and private sectors spanning energy, property, infrastructure and agriculture.

The Saudis have been important supporters of the new Syrian government, as it tries to rebuild after 14 years of civil war.

Thailand closed its border with Cambodia as fighting escalated over a disputed stretch of the country's border.

Thailand claimed that one of the fighter jets hit a military target in Cambodia.

...