Russia said a Ukrainian attack on Gelendzhik raised the death toll to six.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Aug. 2 that coordinated US-Japan FX intervention successfully curbed disorderly yen moves and that the Trump administration strongly supports Japan’s market and monetary-policy measures aimed at correcting what it views as substantial yen undervaluation. Bessent said the US Treasury is monitoring conditions closely and would not hesitate to join further joint intervention. Japan’s finance minister Katayama on Aug. 3 confirmed the joint intervention and said Tokyo would likewise not hesitate to act again. Authorities last week intervened by buying yen and selling dollars; the yen briefly firmed to around JPY156 per USD, a level not reached since early May.

FT analysis: wildfires and heatwaves across France, Spain and other parts of Europe have caused losses exceeding €3.0bn this year. Nearly 500,000 hectares burned in the first two months of the fire season. The five worst-hit euro-area countries, including Portugal, Greece and Romania, account for €3.1bn of damage, well above the European Commission’s estimated EU average annual loss of €2.5bn.