Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered differing accounts of a call about the fighting in Lebanon, as the US struggled to get efforts toward an Iran peace deal back on track.

(2) The European Commission is weighing plans to grant member states additional fiscal flexibility to cope with the impact of high energy costs due to the Iran War, according to people familiar with the discussions.

(3) Senior government officials have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that spending on the war in Ukraine is on an unaffordable path, the most serious sign of internal division in Moscow since the full-scale invasion began.

(4) Google parent Alphabet is raising $80 billion through a package of equity offerings, including an investment deal with Berkshire Hathaway, as the company races to fund its ambitious artificial intelligence spending plans.

(5) Britain was still grappling with the explosion of government debt accumulated during the Napoleonic Wars and the industrial revolution was beginning to transform the world. In 1834, the UK had 90 taxes in place with duties on everything from servants to stage coaches.

(6) UK Sotheby’s International Realty has been the talk of London’s luxury property market over the past three years. But alongside the firm’s rapid expansion sit allegations of harassment and bullying from current and former employees, revealed by Bloomberg for the first time.

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