1. As of Thursday, casualties from this week’s torrential rains have increased to 11 deaths, and 8 others missing, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The heavy rain will continue to hit Korea’s central and the southern region tomorrow.

2. The presidential office said Thursday that the US THAAD deployed in South Korea is a “self-defensive tool”, and that its operation, which is planned to restart by the end of August, is non-negotiable.

3. Ukraine claimed on Wednesday local time that 9 Russian warplanes were destroyed at an airbase the day before in Crimea. The successive explosions appear to be caused by Ukranian attack, leading to growing global fear of escalation in the ongoing war.