MONTANA (NBC News) - Multiple people, including children, died when a gunman opened fire at a Billings, Montana, home that was then set alight, authorities said Monday. Police characterized the incident Sunday evening near the city’s West End neighborhood as a family disturbance. The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot, NBC affiliate KULR of Billings reported. Interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said at a news conference Monday that “multiple adults and multiple juveniles” died at the residence.  

 

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MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines plans to expand its unmanned capabilities, including through development and acquisition of drones as part of efforts to modernize its military, its defense chief said on Tuesday. U.S. defense ally the Philippines also plans to acquire additional guided-missile corvettes and other major defense assets to beef up its external defense capabilities, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told a budget hearing in the lower house of Congress. The Philippines has shifted its security focus from internal threats to external security as tensions rise with Beijing in the South China Sea, where confrontations between them over disputed features inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone have grown in frequency in recent years.

 

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SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. and South Korea agreed to maintain close communication and cooperation in addressing North Korea’s nuclear issue, local media reported Tuesday. The agreement was reached in a phone call Monday between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, said Yonhap News Agency, citing South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. A statement issued by the ministry did not mention whether the two top diplomats reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s denuclearization, despite their emphasis on the importance of cooperation on North Korea’s nuclear program.

 

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 19 people were being treated in hospital and more than a hundred more suffered injuries after a fire broke out on Tuesday at a gas chemical complex under construction in Russia’s Far East, killing one Chinese national. “Despite prompt medical attention, one of the victims — a Chinese national employed by a contractor — could not be saved. His family will receive support, including financial assistance,” the facility in the Amur region said in a statement. 

 

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PARIS (AFP) - A tornado tore through a village in southwestern France on Monday, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes, authorities said. French authorities had placed swathes of the country’s southwest on orange alert for storms, and numerous areas were hit by power outages and transport chaos.  In the Aude department, officials cancelled the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race, which was being held in the area, when a hailstorm forced riders to seek shelter. The tornado hit hardest in the village of Pomas, population 1,000, damaging an estimated 300 homes, in some cases ripping their roofs off.

 

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BRUSSELS (Anadolu) - The EU recorded a trade deficit of €21.8 billion ($25.4 billion) in the second quarter of 2026, as non-EU goods imports exceeded exports, official data showed on Tuesday. According to Eurostat, goods imports from non-EU countries reached €701.8 billion, while exports stood at €680 billion during the April-June period. This marks the bloc’s first trade deficit since the second quarter of 2023, ending a period of positive trade balances. The trade deficit was driven primarily by an expanding energy deficit, which grew to €101.1 billion in the second quarter from €71.3 billion in the previous quarter. Deficits also widened in raw materials, reaching €9.4 billion, and in other manufactured goods, which rose to €9.1 billion.