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.

Israel rejected a statement from a group of 25 countries that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

and criticized the Israeli government system for delivering aid there.

Signatories to the statement include Britain, France, Canada and Japan. Earlier, Israel launched

air and ground operations on Dair al-Bala, a city in central Gaza where hundreds of thousands of

people have been sheltering.

Philodemir Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and Russia would hold fresh peace talks on Wednesday in Turkey.

Negotiations in Istanbul in May and June yielded little progress.

Earlier Russia launched drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, killing two people

and wounding 15 more. Ukrainian drone attacks, meanwhile, continued to disrupt Moscow's main

airports. Russia said it downed 117 drones overnight. China's exports of rare earth magnets to America increased by 660% in June

compared with May. However, export levels remain significantly lower than last year. The rise

follows a trade agreement between the two countries. China had used its dominance in rare earths as

leveraged during the talks, imposing export restrictions in retaliation for tariffs.

The magnets are used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Stalantis said that it expected a $2.3 billion or $2.7 billion net loss in the first half of 2025

...