In international security

The U.S. says it carried out new strikes on Iran after Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command called the strikes a response to what happened at sea, where the stakes are never exactly low and the margin for error is thinner than Washington would like to admit.

Separately, a leaked European intelligence brief says Russia is sliding toward a banking crisis as war debts mount and bad loans pile up. The report says more than 500,000 people were declared bankrupt in 2025, leaving lenders increasingly exposed.

In Washington

Questions are building around a May settlement between Trump’s Justice Department and the IRS, with scrutiny now centering on whether it limited audits involving Trump and a wider circle of Trump-linked businesses and crypto ventures. The main issue is straightforward, if inconvenient: who got protected, and how.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has formally shut down in Washington, and the political cleanup has already begun. Critics are calling for a federal investigation, while the whole experiment is being described as chaotic and damaging, which is one way to put it.

In business and travel

The Postal Service is raising the price of a Forever stamp to 82 cents on Sunday, up from 78 cents. It is a small increase, which is the sort of sentence Americans hear a lot right before they reach for another bill they did not ask for.

Holiday packages to Dubai and Egypt are reportedly cheaper this summer, even as European prices rise. Travel nerves have slowed bookings, helping keep prices down for some non-European destinations.

In defence and infrastructure

Aurelius Systems and American Rheinmetall say they are pairing a laser counter-drone system with unmanned ground vehicles, aiming to protect autonomous supply missions in contested areas without conventional interceptors. The companies say testing at T-REX 26-2 was successful, though they have not given a deployment timeline.

Navantia UK is promoting Belfast as a possible site for Britain’s new amphibious transport ships under a £2.4 billion programme. The government has promised the ships will be built in UK yards, but has not named the builders yet, which is a classic way to keep everyone busy guessing.

In state politics

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer vetoed $35 million in bond money that lawmakers had set aside to start expanding Legislative Hall. Meyer said he could not justify the spending while residents are under strain, and legislative leaders promptly called the move irresponsible and dangerous.

In U.S. news

In Manhattan, workers at a high-rise construction site spotted support columns buckling on the 21st floor and evacuated on their own. Nearby buildings were then cleared as a precaution. In Camden, flash flooding left damaged homes, flooded basements, and ruined vehicles, and cleanup is still underway.

A federal judge blocked the Justice Department’s request for the names and contact information of Fulton County election workers from 2020, calling the subpoena too burdensome and not backed by enough need. Separately, an investigator in the Charlie Kirk killing said the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, had spoken with members of Turning Point USA before the shooting. Senate Republican leaders also said they recently spoke with Mitch McConnell, who has been hospitalized since June 14 and remains under scrutiny for his health.

In tech and security

Spain arrested a suspected Russian hacktivist after an FBI tip, accusing him of support for Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, Z-Pentest, and NoName057(16), part of a wider push against state-linked networks that have targeted critical infrastructure.

On the AI front, Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 are drawing praise for coding and reasoning gains, while also raising fresh concerns about exploit generation, enterprise spending, and how quickly vulnerabilities can be patched. IBM says only 9 percent of executives fully understand their AI dependencies, and 71 percent say switching vendors would be difficult, a tidy definition of building the platform before the exit plan. A separate report says investigators identified a suspected Scattered Spider member after a death threat helped expose him, with device telemetry and amateur sleuthing both feeding into the case.

In Britain

Prince Harry has returned to the UK for a round of engagements, but his first day was overshadowed by a court defeat. The visit is proceeding, just not quite on the terms he would have preferred.

In France

Marine Le Pen says she will run again in France’s 2027 presidential election after an appeals panel upheld her conviction for misuse of public funds and ordered electronic monitoring. She plans to take the case to France’s top court, which could delay the sentence and, for now, keep the bracelet off travel plans.

In the UK

Nigel Farage has resigned as a member of Parliament and says he will seek a fresh mandate in the by-election that follows, after growing scrutiny over undeclared gifts before the 2024 general election. Rupert Lowe says Restore Britain will not contest the Clacton race, at least not yet.

In a separate high-profile legal defeat, Prince Harry and six other claimants could face a legal bill of up to £50 million after losing their case against the Daily Mail publisher over alleged unlawful information-gathering. The High Court dismissed the claims and said they had not proved the material was obtained unlawfully, which may shut the door on more phone-hacking-era litigation.

In U.S. politics

The White House lashed out at Illinois Governor JB Pritzker after he said on CNN that Donald Trump was showing signs of cognitive decline and dementia. The exchange quickly turned into name-calling, with the White House calling Pritzker a “slob” and “incompetent.”

In U.S. foreign policy

Donald Trump says he will lift sanctions on Turkey and is open to selling it F-35 fighter jets, but no deal has been announced. The obstacle remains Turkey’s Russian-made S-400 system, which still blocks a sale under current U.S. law unless Congress and the legal requirements are satisfied.

In Hungary

Hungary’s public broadcaster went off air after the new government installed interim management and fired staff it accused of pro-Orbán bias. Viewers were left with an on-screen apology instead of programming.

In health and science

Researchers say men’s total testosterone levels fell by 54 percent between 1972 and 2019, based on data presented at a reproductive-health meeting in London. They warn of a growing crisis in male reproductive health, with obesity and diabetes among the factors they say may be contributing.

In sports

Coco Gauff has reached her first Wimbledon semifinal after a comeback win over Jessica Pegula.

In cyber and higher education

Proofpoint says a likely China-aligned espionage group is chaining Roundcube vulnerabilities to break into university email servers in the U.S. and Canada. The target list includes departments tied to physics, engineering, and national security research, with the goal of stealing credentials and planting persistent malware. Academic email, still doing the glamorous work of being everyone’s weakest password vault.

In Britain

Nigel Farage says he will make a public statement this afternoon, after Labour asked the Electoral Commission to investigate claims he failed to disclose gifts. Separately, Britain’s gambling regulator says online bettors who stake more than £1,000 in a day will face financial risk checks, part of a new effort to flag high-spending punters.

Former NATO chief George Robertson has also warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s defence spending plan is too small and too slow, saying it has dented confidence in the industry and among allies ahead of the NATO summit. And Prince Harry is back in the UK as a High Court ruling approaches in his case against Associated Newspapers, where he and others allege unlawful information gathering.

In Europe

A French appeals court is expected to rule this afternoon on Marine Le Pen’s bid to overturn her ban on holding elected office, a decision that could determine whether she can run in the next presidential election.

In a separate case, Ukraine’s security service says an agent has confessed to killing a woman who had been suspected of planting the Monaco bomb that wounded three people, including a Ukrainian-born tycoon and his teenage son.

The EU is also refusing calls to suspend its new biometric border checks, despite airport and airline complaints about delays and 20 identified problem points. Officials say a full suspension is neither needed nor possible, which is a calm way of describing travel systems in peak season.

At the NATO summit

President Trump has arrived in Ankara as NATO announces billions of dollars in arms deals, in a clear effort to keep the U.S. president onside at the summit. The alliance is trying persuasion by procurement, one of the few diplomatic languages he consistently respects.

In the U.S.

A preliminary hearing has begun in Provo, Utah, in the case against Tyler Robinson, who faces aggravated murder charges in the killing of Charlie Kirk at a university event. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, was in court and saw the accused for the first time, as prosecutors began laying out their case.

In international security

Explosions were heard in Damascus while French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting with a business delegation. Syrian state media said the trip was focused on regional security, along with trade and investment. In a separate development, the United States said it has “great concern” over China’s nuclear buildup after Beijing carried out a rare submarine-launched ballistic missile test into the Pacific. The unarmed missile was monitored by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine and landed in the southern Pacific.

In science and health

Researchers presenting at a fertility conference in London say air pollution may be linked to subtle changes in sperm DNA during development. In a study of more than 2,000 men in Salt Lake City, exposure to ozone and nitrogen dioxide was most strongly associated with changes in DNA methylation. Scientists caution that more work is needed.

In business and the economy

UK house prices rose 0.2 percent in June, according to Lloyds, the first monthly increase since before the Iran war began. The typical home was valued at £299,330, and annual growth inched up to 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, Broadcom says it will keep supplying Apple with custom silicon through 2031, extending a partnership that has quietly powered a lot of Apple hardware for years. Gibraltar is also tightening its residency rules, raising the wealth threshold for its Category 2 scheme from £2 million to £5 million and lifting fees sharply after a surge in demand.

In the UK

Oxford will end its temporary £5 congestion charge on September 13 and replace it with a traffic filter trial the next day. Drivers without a permit will face a £70 penalty, reduced to £35 if paid quickly, and the council says the goal is to cut congestion and improve bus travel.

In brief

Police in Wisconsin say the three children who died when a severe storm capsized their boat were found inside the sunken vessel. It is a grim confirmation in a case that was already hard enough.

In the Middle East

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British military, and a senior U.S. official said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired missiles at two commercial ships nearby. Iranian state television went further, saying a liquefied natural gas tanker off Oman was attacked after ignoring warnings.

Hamas also said it has dissolved the civilian governing body that has run Gaza for nearly 20 years, a major change in the territory’s administration.

In business

Samsung reported an 1,800 percent jump in profits as AI demand lifted chip sales, though the stock still fell sharply after some investors apparently decided “very good” was not good enough.

President Trump said Walmart will lower prices on a range of products at his administration’s request, but the report does not include a confirmation from Walmart.

In U.S. politics

Top Democrats in Maine and Washington have withdrawn support for Graham Platner’s Senate campaign after reporting on an allegation from a former partner. Platner denies the claim, and party leaders are now weighing replacement plans if he drops out.

Sen. Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for more than three weeks, and his office is not saying what prompted the stay, what his condition is, or when he might return to work.

In international politics

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Syria on the first visit by a Western European leader since Bashar al-Assad’s fall, and is set to meet President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus.

In sports

Belgium beat the United States 4-1 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, and then took a swipe at the overturned red card that let U.S. striker Folarin Balogun play. Fox, meanwhile, urged U.S. viewers not to abandon the tournament just because their team did.

Elsewhere at the World Cup, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan used a news conference to draw attention to Palestinians in Gaza.

In business

Amazon apologized after a breastfeeding manager said she was barred from a business course because her child would not be allowed on site. Separately, President Trump said Walmart will lower prices on some products at the administration’s request, though he gave no details on which items. In the U.S. legal fight over Chinese companies, a federal judge has temporarily allowed Alibaba to resume lobbying while she reviews whether the company can be treated as a Chinese military-linked firm.

In international security

China is pushing back after the U.S. and Australia criticized its missile test in the Pacific, saying it did not comply with international law and did not give neighboring countries enough warning. Beijing described the launch as safe, routine training and accused critics of overreading it.

In U.K. politics

Labour is considering emergency legislation to speed up the deportation of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed. Border Security Minister Alex Norris told MPs that all options are on the table, but said legal barriers in immigration law are blocking removal for now. Ahmed, 73, has already served 14 years of a 22-year sentence, lost his British citizenship in 2016, and Pakistan says he is not recognized as a Pakistani national.

In crime and justice

Former Irish national swimming coach George Gibney has been found guilty in Dublin on 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape against four young swimmers. The offences date back to the 1970s and 1980s.

In New Jersey, a Philadelphia man who admitted placing hidden cameras in public bathrooms along the Ocean City Boardwalk has been sentenced.

In science and health

Researchers say age-related changes in the womb lining may help explain why some women face a fertility ceiling even when using donor eggs. They say the problem could one day be treatable.

In defense procurement

A new look at the Navy’s canceled A-12 Avenger II stealth fighter argues the real failure was the contract, not just the aircraft. The program was locked into a fixed-price deal for immature technology, ran into huge overruns, and was terminated in 1991 after nearly $3 billion had been spent.

In Europe

Greek authorities are installing floating barriers and planning more netting as the silver-cheeked toadfish spreads through Mediterranean waters, including areas popular with British tourists. The fish can deliver severe bites and contains tetrodotoxin, so it is not one for the barbecue.

In U.S. news

Utah prosecutors say they have enough evidence to take the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing to trial and will seek the death penalty. The hearing was held Monday, and the case now moves into the next, very slow, very public phase of the process.

In Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker signed a new law requiring the largest artificial intelligence labs to get third-party audits of their safety plans. It is the first state-level measure of its kind, a sign that lawmakers are starting to ask AI companies for paperwork before the machines start writing the future.

Health and consumer safety

A shampoo has been recalled nationwide after testing found bacterial contamination. Consumers are being told not to use the product.

A new study following more than 5,000 pregnancies over 21 years found that pregnant women were exposed to dozens of chemicals linked to birth risks. The researchers did not prove cause and effect, but they say the findings add to the case for reducing harmful exposures during pregnancy.

In world news

Hamas said it has dissolved its Gaza government in a symbolic move that did not address disarmament. The statement appears to be more about signaling than actual change.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on member states to present credible plans to meet defence spending targets, saying allies are spending about 4 percent of GDP on defence. The alliance remains committed to collective security and to making everyone do the math in public.

UNICEF says more than 300 children have been killed or injured in Sudan over the past six months, as fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces continues. In southern France, meanwhile, a wildfire has forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people, with more evacuations also underway in Greece.

Nigeria says anti-immigrant violence in South Africa shows no sign of easing, and Peru says illegal mining is driving fresh conflict while threatening water sources, ecosystems, and an important archaeological site.

Business and media

Sky has agreed to buy ITV’s Media and Entertainment division in a £1.6 billion deal, a move that could reshape Britain’s TV market. For viewers, the immediate message is simpler: the same ITV shows are still expected to be available in the same way.

In entertainment

Lauren Bennett, the British-born singer featured on LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and a member of G.R.L., has died at 37. Her group said they were devastated, and no cause of death was given.

In U.S. news

The preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, opened under tight security. As the case got underway, Kirk’s family and political allies issued separate statements, while a Utah judge also rejected an attempt to block the death penalty. The prosecution is now moving ahead with a capital case that has already drawn a very public push from President Trump.

In public health

New York City health officials are investigating a Legionnaires’ disease cluster on Manhattan’s Upper East Side after 18 cases were confirmed in late June and early July. Investigators say the outbreak is tied to a contaminated cooling tower, not residential water systems.

In Britain, a new Action on Smoking and Health survey says more than half of adults wrongly think vaping is as risky as smoking. Health experts say that gap matters, since e-cigarettes are still widely seen by regulators as far less harmful than tobacco. Ministers, meanwhile, are still tightening the rules.

In business and tech

Tesla shares fell after Elon Musk said Optimus production would start very slowly. The stock dropped nearly 7.5 percent on July 2 as he said the ramp-up would be limited at first.

In China, startup Dongfang Suanxin has emerged from stealth with a domestic AI chip plan built around 3D-stacked near-memory computing and software-defined chips. The company says its DF1000 series is designed for training and inference on large AI models, as Chinese chipmakers keep searching for ways around U.S. export controls.

In the Middle East and at the UN

The U.N. General Assembly is meeting on genocide prevention while mass atrocities continue in Gaza, Myanmar and elsewhere. The timing is bleak, even by diplomatic standards.

In Britain

Royal Mail says dog attacks on postal workers remain a serious problem, with 2,019 incidents last year and 3,442 sick days taken. One postman was off for more than 300 days after an attack. The company is urging owners to secure pets before opening the door.

In sports and inquest news

An inquest into the death of footballer Maddy Cusack heard that coach Jonathan Morgan said she had left out details about their relationship when speaking to her family. The hearing is continuing to examine evidence about what was said before her death.

In Ukraine

Ukraine says it is running short of interceptor missiles after a Russian attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region killed 18 people. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strike involved 68 missiles and 351 drones, underscoring a familiar problem: too many Russian weapons, not enough air defense to meet them.

In Gaza

Scorching temperatures are making life even harder in Gaza’s displacement camps, where people already face severe shortages of shelter, water and basic relief. The heat is an amplifying factor in a humanitarian crisis that keeps finding new ways to get worse.

In the U.S. courts

Prosecutors in Utah are set to argue that there is enough evidence to put the accused killer of Charlie Kirk on trial, and they plan to seek the death penalty. The hearing is an early test of the case against the suspect as it moves toward the next phase.

In health and medicine

The Trump administration has moved to remove longstanding safety warnings from testosterone therapy labels, a change that could make the treatment easier to market to ageing American men. Critics say the drug has long been treated cautiously for a reason.

Separately, doctors are warning about the viral “tanmaxxing” trend, where some Gen Z users are spending more time in the sun to deepen their tan. The habit raises the risk of skin cancer, which remains a fairly expensive way to look confident for a few weeks.

In business

Versant Media says it plans to buy sports technology company Full Swing for $530 million, adding simulation tools for customers, coaches and athletes to its portfolio. It is another sign that media companies keep looking for revenue streams that are not, strictly speaking, media.

In British politics

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says he is facing a “hit job” as the parliamentary standards commissioner investigates a £5 million donation. He has also been warned that attacking the “establishment” could make any punishment harsher if he is found to have broken rules on unregistered gifts.