Category: World

Ukrainian lawmakers were getting ready to vote on another government this week after the president dismissed his prime minister in a ​move he said would bring fresh thinking, but critics warned could stoke disorder at a key point in the war.
In a shock ‌announcement, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he would replace Yulia Svyrydenko after she had only served a year in office, prompting speculation over who would get the top job at a time when Kyiv is facing intensified attacks.

Lawmakers said on social media that likely contenders to replace Svyrydenko include Serhiy Koretskyi, head of state oil and gas firm Naftogaz; Energy Minister Denys ​Shmyhal, who was previously defence minister for six months; and current Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

CRISIS MANAGERS SEEN AS CANDIDATES

Zelenskiy posted images of meetings with ​each after announcing Svyrydenko’s dismissal. Under the Ukrainian system, he will propose a prime minister who selects most other cabinet members. ⁠All must be approved by parliament.
The president said on Sunday he was seeking “renewal” at the top of government and law enforcement agencies to strengthen Kyiv’s quest for more ​air defences from allies, bolster its bid for EU membership, and prepare for Russian attacks on the power grid this winter.

Appointing Naftogaz chief Koretskyi — seen by many as the ​top candidate — would place a respected technocrat atop a government that will be increasingly focused on shoring up energy security after Russian strikes on infrastructure that regularly plunge towns and cities into cold and darkness.
Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said other similarly experienced crisis managers could get cabinet posts in the reshuffle, such as Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, ​whose city is frequently hit by Russian attacks.
Defence Minister Fedorov was another strong candidate, already at the heart of Ukraine’s war effort.
But Fesenko, from the ​Penta Centre think tank, said that taking away Fedorov’s defence portfolio could hurt critical army reforms when Kyiv is fighting for the upper hand in its war with Moscow — ‌a concern ⁠echoed by some opposition lawmakers.

Ukraine is waging a long-range strike campaign that is hurting Moscow’s oil sector and its battlefield logistics.
Fedorov, who has overseen the military’s technological evolution since his appointment in January, has also pledged to overhaul recruitment to address Ukraine’s manpower shortage.
Opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun of the Holos party said she was “very frightened” at the potential of fresh instability in the defence ministry.
“Previously, Denys Shmyhal was the minister for half a year, he promised something, started to ​fulfill it and was fired,” she ​said on Facebook. “If the same story ⁠repeats itself with Mykhailo Fedorov, it will not be funny at all.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-awaits-new-government-after-prime-ministers-shock-dismissal-2026-07-13/

More than 100,000 fans flooded the streets of the Norwegian capital Oslo on ​Monday to give their soccer team a heroes’ welcome, turning the heartbreak of their World Cup exit into a ‌massive national celebration.
A 2-1 extra-time defeat by England on Saturday brought Norway’s historic run to an end in the quarter-finals, shattering the Nordics’ dreams of a place in the last four. However, it did not stop the country celebrating their heroes.

Massive crowds under the Norwegian summer sun filled the grounds of the Royal Palace early on Monday ​afternoon, with an unofficial turnout estimated at more than 100,000 people.
The Norway squad touched down to a traditional water cannon salute ​before commencing their homecoming parade in the capital.
The line of supporters quickly packed the palace square before stretching ⁠far down the main street, Karl Johans gate, as the squad first attended an audience with King Harald.
“I have felt very proud, it ​has been amazing, I have been both at home and in Spain, and the atmosphere between the Norwegian people has been there all the time, ​so it has been unbelievable,” Norway fan Catherine Breiland told Reuters.

The team stepped out to greet the fans with the Royal Guard standing to attention behind them.
Striker Erling Haaland was noticeably absent from the final stage of the celebrations, having left early.
His departure meant he missed joining his teammates on the palace steps for one ​last “Viking row”, with tens of thousands of fans gathered below, which was led by Crown Prince Haakon on the drums.

“Erling and Sander (Berge) had to ​catch their plane as our trip from the U.S. was delayed four hours,” coach Stale Solbakken said, as the squad prepared to continue the celebrations in ‌an open-top ⁠bus parade around Oslo.
Crowds slowed the bus to a halt through central Oslo, forcing it to reverse at one point as police escorts struggled to carve out a path. Undeterred, Norway’s players celebrated with beer and waved as the party continued long after dark.

“The run the Norwegian team has had this year has been way beyond anything I’ve ever expected. I feel everybody in Norway should just honour the national team, which ​has done such an amazing job ​during this whole cup,” said ⁠Nicolai Sivesind, who travelled to Oslo to take part in World Cup events.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/norway-turn-world-cup-heartbreak-into-celebration-huge-crowds-pack-capital-2026-07-13/

A Chinese-born American seismologist who has published U.S.-funded work on detecting North Korean nuclear tests has been detained in China for nearly two years and faces trial on spying charges, according to his wife, U.S. lawmakers and two hostage advocacy groups.
The case of Youlin Chen, reported here for the ​first time, adds an irritant to the tense relationship between the nuclear-armed rivals and comes as President Donald Trump seeks to keep the relationship steady following last year’s trade war.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 19 ‌designated Chen, 54, as “wrongfully detained,” making his release a top U.S. priority. The Trump administration has withheld a public announcement to allow space for high-level diplomacy aimed at securing his freedom, according to his wife, Yufang Rong.
A U.S. source familiar with Chen’s case said the administration was “focused on gaining his release from his unjustifiable detention.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic talks.
Chen, who became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and lives in Boston, Massachusetts, is the only American currently held in China designated as wrongfully detained, according to his wife and hostage advocates.

Rong said she has been told by ​the White House and the State Department that during a state visit to Beijing in May, Trump raised her husband’s detention with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who promised to look in to it. Xi’s government, however, has taken no action, she ​said.
The U.S. source did not directly confirm that Trump discussed Chen with Xi. But the source said the pair have a “very good personal relationship. This is one of many facets in the ⁠U.S.-China relationship. No one issue is defining.”
In a Reuters interview, Rong expressed concern that Beijing has decided even before putting Chen on trial to find him guilty of espionage, a crime that in China carries a possible sentence of up to life in prison ​or even the death penalty for cases deemed especially grave.
“I believe they will convict him no matter what and the trial will be behind closed doors,” said Rong, who is also a seismologist but does not collaborate on her husband’s work.

The Foley Foundation, a hostage ​advocacy organization that has been tracking Chen’s case, believes that Chen is among at least 12 Americans unjustly held in China, including people under exit bans, said Elizabeth Richards, the group’s director of hostage advocacy.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants every American detained abroad to return home, and he has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term,” said deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly.
The Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

INTERROGATED ABOUT NUCLEAR TEST STUDIES

U.S. embassy officials have visited ​Chen several times, but Chinese officials are always present, preventing him from speaking freely, said Rong. She retained a Chinese lawyer, but he was allowed to see Chen only after he had been detained for more than 13 months.

Chinese officials have interrogated her husband ​more than 100 times about his work on the seismographic signatures of North Korean nuclear tests, said Rong.
Eric Lebson, a former U.S. national security official whose hostage advocacy organization, Global Reach, is advising the family, said he believes China wants to use Chen’s expertise to improve its ability ‌to conceal underground ⁠nuclear weapons tests through a technique called decoupling.
Lebson said a similar concern was expressed by experts on nuclear testing consulted by his group.
The Trump administration in February accused China of trying to mask a low-yield underground nuclear test blast on June 22, 2020, using the technique in which a device is detonated inside a large underground chamber to reduce the magnitude of the shock waves it produces.
China, which like the U.S. has signed but not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, denies conducting the test.
Lebson said that Chen is employed by a U.S. government contractor, and has never had a U.S. security clearance or performed classified work.
His research on North Korean test blast seismic waves has been funded by the State Department and the Air Force Research Laboratory, said Lebson. He added that it was done in ​collaboration with Chinese academics, it used publicly available Chinese data and ​is viewable on the internet.
A December 2020 paper by ⁠Chen reviewed by Reuters examined the magnitude of North Korea’s six known nuclear test blasts and ways to differentiate their seismic signatures from those of earthquakes.
The cover page states that the paper was written for the State Department’s arms control bureau and “approved for public release.”
Human-rights groups have argued that under China’s state-secrets law, Chinese authorities retain broad powers to retroactively classify public data, such as official statistics, ​as national security secrets, potentially implicating anyone who possessed or shared previously open-source information.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/china-detains-us-seismologist-who-has-studied-north-korean-nuclear-tests-2026-07-13/

A top European Union official on Monday called for limits to be placed on children using social media as a special EU panel looking into the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.

Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the U.K., Turkey, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — a doctor by training — said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.

“I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back,” von der Leyen told reporters.

“Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media,” she said.

Von der Leyen noted infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” traits that tech companies must address.

The commission has also been targeting tech companies through other means, and last week used its sweeping Digital Safety Act to warn Meta that it needs to disable addictive design features such as infinite scrolling or risk a hefty fine.

Von der Leyen said there should “phased and gradual access for different age ranges” to social media. Children under 13 should only have “time-limited” access under the supervision of parents, teachers or other caregivers, she told reporters.

Teenagers should be given gradual access to platforms that can prove they are “age appropriate” and safe for them, she said.

While she didn’t go into further detail, she and the European Commission — the EU’s powerful executive branch — are likely to come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to weigh in the near future. Von der Leyen’s policy proposals carry great influence with EU member countries.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/eu-social-media-leyen-children-restrictions-tech-d543e0cdb24a9c8fd7fe8f04b97943e6

New York’s share of US millionaires dramatically declined in recent years, causing a nearly $11 billion loss in much-needed tax revenue in just one year, according to a bombshell new analysis.

The study released Monday by the Citizen Budget Commisison comes amid fears that socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to “tax the rich” will drive even more wealthy taxpayers and their businesses out of New York City.

Even before Mamdani took office, the Empire State’s share of the nation’s millionaires dipped from 12.7% to 8.7% between 2010 and 2022 – the largest decline of any state, according to the CBC’s Competitive NYS: Value Proposition Tracker dashboard.

“New York’s declining share of high-income taxpayers has meaningful consequences,” the analysis states.

“Had New York maintained its share of the nation’s millionaires over the past decade, personal income tax collections would have been substantially higher – roughly $10.7 billion more in tax year 2022.”

Many experts and business leaders warned Mamdani’s stick-it-to-the-rich policy dreams – and their growing success among Albany lawmakers – could supercharge the drip-drip of wealthy people.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has firmly opposed an outright hike on the wealthy this year — as she seeks re-election in November — but backed a so-called pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes in New York City.

Mamdani gleefully gloated about the tax in a social media video filmed outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse – a stunt that infuriated the hedge fund titan and prompted him to threaten pulling a $6 billion Park Avenue development.

The feud fueled fears of a wider exodus from New York, where the Big Apple’s and the state’s bloated budgets are increasingly dependent on a shrinking sliver of taxpayers.

“In New York, the top 1% of earners pay about 45% of all state income taxes in any given year, so New York’s revenue is very reliant on high earners to stay in New York, and that has been a challenge in recent years,” said Jared Walczak, an economist and senior fellow at the Tax Foundation think tank.

“Gracie Mansion can’t do it on its own; it takes Albany,” he told The Post. “Pied-à-terre will have some impact, but there’s this feeling that New York isn’t done raising taxes, and with other places being more competitive, it won’t be surprising if high-earner taxpayers choose to relocate.”

The Empire State currently ranks dead last for competitiveness, said Abir Mandel, senior state policy analyst with the Tax Foundation.

Mandel argued high taxes drive businesses away to friendlier states, noting Elon Musk moved his companies from California to Texas to avoid the levies.

“Without reforming the tax structure New York won’t be competitive for attracting population and business,” he said.

“Wall Street is the golden goose. But for how long?”

State elected officials backed policies going back to 2010 that many experts argue have driven up costs and further pressured the tax base – such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo hiking income taxes on high earners during the coronavirus pandemic and Hochul presiding over a Medicaid spending expected to reach $58 billion by the end of the decade.

Ken Girardin, research fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative public policy think tank, pointed at the state’s tightened rent control law approved in 2019 and it’s green energy mandate as a one-two punch that reduced housing supply and raised energy costs.

“Albany is directly responsible for the stagnation,” he said.

The CBC study provides an at-times disquieting snapshot of stagnation gripping the Empire State for years before the young socialist took office.

The findings show:

• New York has lost more population to every state than it has gained from them, with Florida and Texas among the biggest recipients of former New Yorkers.
• After seeing a mass exodus during the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s population rebound in 2023 and 2024 was driven by international immigrants.
• A “growth corridor” from New York City and Long Island to Albany largely drives the state’s economy, with upstate and other rural regions hemorrhaging workers.
• The Empire State leads the nation in state and local taxes collected, with per capita collections at $12,495 – or 78% above the US average.

New York also had the second-largest share of the nation’s millionaires – 12.7% – in 2010, according to the analysis.

By 2022, the state actually had roughly more 34,000 millionaires, but other states far outpaced that growth, according to the study.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/13/us-news/ny-sees-dramatic-exodus-of-us-millionaires-causing-nearly-11b-loss-study/

Prince Harry has had a shocking week — and now may need to rely on pals like Elton John to help pay millions of dollars in legal fees, Page Six can reveal.

The renegade royal’s UK trip this week had descended into a humiliating farce, but there was a bright spot on Friday: After days of whispers and briefings from Sussex sources and royal insiders, Harry finally got his wish and met King Charles and Queen Camilla with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children.

Finally, Harry made a bolt to Highgrove, his father’s country estate, where Charles and Camilla were reunited with the children for the first time in four years.

Markle, 44, brought the kids over from Portugal, where they had been staying.

It was a much-needed win.

Royal insiders in the UK described this past week as “chaotic” for the Duke of Sussex, whose reps announced on Monday morning that he had accepted an invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace — only for the palace to publicly rescind the offer moments later.

We’re told that Harry had been personally dealing with his father’s staff and first told them, on Saturday, he would not need a room, then changed his mind hours later. The palace said he had missed their requested deadline.

One insider said the decision was partly operational, as there was a lack of time to bring household staff into the residence, which is currently under renovation — but admitted palace courtiers were worried it would be constitutionally problematic for the king if Harry stayed there on the same day he lost his court case against Associated Newspapers Ltd.

On Tuesday, he lost his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail— and could face up to $20 million (£15m) in legal fees, which, sources told Page Six, he does not have.

Harry, 41, and his fellow claimants, who sued ANL over allegations of unlawful information gathering in stories about them, will have just 14 days to pay the fees after a judge finalizes costs later this month, even if they ask for the right to appeal.

“The people funding the case will likely help Harry with costs,” a legal source familiar with the case said. The estate of the late Formula 1 tycoon Max Mosley, along with campaign group Hacked Off, accused of attempting to undermine press freedom, helped fund the claimants’ research.

But the legal source also feels an old friend of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, might step up: “Elton John could also well help Harry out. They’re extremely close.”

The singer, who performed for the Harry and Markle at their 2018 wedding, has a personal fortune of $640 million, according to the UK Sunday Times Rich List.

We have reached out to reps for Elton John for comment.

“Harry definitely doesn’t have the money for it,” revealed a well-placed insider, adding that Markle will “likely be very furious about the fees. She did not want him to [pursue the case].”

A Sussex rep declined to comment on this allegation.

It all comes at a time when the couple’s earning power is in question.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pay around $3 million a year on security, and Page Six is told they have two mortgages on their $14.5 million home in Montecito, California.

They have lost their exclusive production deal with Netflix, but still have a first-look deal with the streamer under their Archewell production banner. As of Friday, two scripted movies they are producing, based on the hit books “Meet Me By The Lake” and “The Wedding Date,” have been listed as “in development” for over a year.

So is their Netflix feature based on British Army Major Adam Jowett’s memoir “No Way Out: The Searing True Story of Men Under Siege,” although, as an industry source pointed out, that project was only announced in May.

Despite reports, we’re told the couple is not making a documentary to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of Diana’s death next year.

In March 2021, Harry told CBS that he had been forced to subsist on the money his mother left him after being cut off financially from his family in March 2020, when the Sussexes stepped down as working royals and moved to the US.

“I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this,” Harry said.

As we reported, Markle has become the main breadwinner as Harry focuses on his philanthropy. But her lifestyle brand, As Ever, remains limited — with just 15 products sold in various incarnations. Sales figures for the private company are not available.

The loss of a big court case is precisely what they did not need.

Harry signed up to the legal action with celebrities including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sadie Frost, the movie producer, ex-wife of Jude Law, along with Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993.

They all claimed to have been victims of Mail journalists who allegedly used unlawful methods to obtain private information. Harry told the court Markle’s life had been made an “absolute misery” by the British press.

However, judge Matthew Nicklin was scathing in his decision, stating “Suspicion, even understandable suspicion, is not proof” and finding that the stories could have originated from legitimate sources.

The UK Times reported Thursday that the litigation insurers for Harry’s case could now pull the plug on their $20 million (£15m) insurance, meaning he and the other claimants could be liable for the cost.

“Associated Newspapers can choose who they proceed against [for costs], and who is liable to pay,” Colin Campbell, a former costs judge who sat in the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in London and is now a consultant at the specialist costs law firm Kain Knight, told Page Six.

“They can choose who has the most money and who will be easiest to get payment from … It could be Elton John, Prince Harry, and Elizabeth Hurley … they don’t have to go to each claimant separately.”

However, these claimants have the right to get money back from the other people involved in the case.

ANL has said that the overall costs during the litigation amounted to £50 million, but it’s up to presiding judge Nicklin to decide the final costs.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/07/11/royal-family/this-rich-superstar-might-come-to-prince-harrys-rescue-sources/

South Korea has voiced concern that its neighbor’s actions along the demilitarized zone between the two countries may be in breach of the 1953 armistice agreement.

In a meeting in late June with the United Nations Command, South Korea’s Defense Ministry expressed concern about activity by North Korean engineers at a number of locations along the length of the 238-kilometer-long (148 miles) Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has divided the Korean Peninsula since an armistice brought the 1950-53 Korean War to an uneasy conclusion.

There have been countless clashes and incursions over the DMZ in the decades since, with North Korean invasion tunnels detected deep underground, defectors risking their lives to cross minefields and barbed wire entanglements to reach freedom in the South, as well as the occasional exchange of gunfire.

Is North Korea pushing limits in the DMZ?

Choo Jae-woo, a professor of foreign policy at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, believes the North is now probing to see how far it can push before it meets resistance.

“They are testing the limits,” he told DW. “They know they have the support of both Russia and China in all their endeavors — military, economic, geopolitical — and Pyongyang feels that now is the time to see how far it can go.”

“We see this elsewhere, in the way the North is building advanced new warships, and it would not surprise me if we start to see similar testing of the NLL [the Northern Limit Line] in the West Sea,” he said.

The NLL is the sea border off the west coast of the peninsula that North Korea disputes and has seen a number of deadly clashes, most recently in 2010 when North Korea fired around 170 artillery rounds at the island of Yeonpyeong, killing four South Koreans and injuring 19.

Experts say the North stepped up its probing of what the UN Command finds acceptable on the DMZ around April 2024, months after Kim Jong Un announced that he was redefining ties with South Korea.

Instead of a stated aim of reconciliation and reunification, Pyongyang now sees relations as being between “two hostile countries and two belligerents at war.”

North Korean engineering troops have erected new fences, constructed anti-tank berms and ditches, dug trenches, built new military roads for greater access, cleared land and laid new minefields.

The work has been carried out on the North’s side of the military demarcation line (MDL), but it has crept ever closer to that marker, which is the exact half-way point in the 4-kilometer-wide DMZ.

Closing in on the military demarcation line

In some areas, the South Korean military said, the work has been carried out less than 100 meters (around 330 feet) from the MDL, which Seoul says is a breach of the armistice.

Adding additional military capabilities so close to the half-way point effectively neutralizes the DMZ’s function as a buffer zone, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said during a press conference on June 25.

Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University, believes Pyongyang has learned from China’s incremental absorption of territory at the extreme fringes of its own borders — such as the atolls of the South China Sea — and the lack of a coordinated international pushback against the landgrabs.

“This is a revisionist power that is dissatisfied with global governance and is looking to take advantage in any way it can,” Pinkston told DW.

“They are cooperating with Moscow in the Russian Far East in trade and in obtaining advanced military equipment and getting dual-use technology from China,” he pointed out.

And with the clear support of both Moscow and Beijing, Kim Jong Un “believes he can push the envelope,” Pinkston said.

The expert underscored, however, that the North’s actions to date fall short of violation of the 1953 Armistice Agreement.

What’s the UN Command’s take on the situation?

In a statement issued to DW, the UN Command said it continues to monitor and assess activities within the DMZ to ensure compliance with the 1953 agreement.

“Activities within the DMZ must be understood in their full context and are assessed based on the specific facts, circumstances and applicable provisions of the Armistice Agreement and subsequent agreements,” it said.

“Construction, fortification and other defensive measures do not automatically constitute Armistice Agreement violations,” it added.

“When appropriate, UNC addresses Armistice-related concerns through established mechanisms and remains committed to preserving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

In a fact sheet published on June 23, the UN Command stated that constructing roads and fences is permitted under the terms of the armistice, as long as they remain north of the MDL.

Laying mines is also permitted, it said, pointing out that South Korean troops also carry out vegetation-clearing projects. It added that there have been no indications of the North bringing “heavy weapons or drone capabilities” into the DMZ, which would be a breach of the agreement.

The UN Command also noted that it is still investigating reports that North Korean fences do cross the MDL and that mines have been laid on the South Korean side of the line.

“Emplacing mines south of the MDL ceases to be defensive and is an automatic violation,” it said. “Any confirmed crossings will trigger immediate armistice violation protocols.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-airs-concerns-over-north-korean-border-activity/a-77938229

The conference in Brussels was attended by Palestinian representatives. The EU’s top diplomat said the bloc’s support depends on reforms in the Palestinian Authority.

The Gaza Strip will receive some €900 million ($1 billion) in donations from Europe, after an EU-backed conference raised the funds for the reconstruction of the embattled enclave.

With about a half of its two million residents living in tents due to Israel’s war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and other countries, the funding will first go to providing the Palestinian territory with basic water and sanitation facilities, as well as restoring the Gaza Strip’s health and food systems hit hard by the war with Israel.

The Team Gaza Initiative will coordinate the efforts to rebuild the enclave.

The EU’s foreign policy head Kaja Kallas said reforms in the Palestinian Authority are needed for the bloc to continue supporting it.

Palestinianrepresentatives, as well as representation of the Board of Peace, established by US President Donald Trump, were among the invitees to the conference.

How much money is needed to rebuild Gaza?

According to a UN report from May 2026, the recovery and construction works needed in the Gaza Strip are estimated at $71.4 billion (€62.6 billion)

The report also says 371,888 homes have been directly affected by the war, which makes three quarters of the enclave’s housing stock. 85% of the affected homes have been completely destroyed.

Some 1.9 million Palestinians — more than 90% of the Strip’s population — were displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, some of them multiple times.

The war broke after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, that claimed the lives of some 1,200 Israelis, with 251 people being taken hostage.

What’s the situation like in Gaza now?

More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, many of them women and children. Some 450 of them were killed between the ceasefire’s announcement and mid-January 2026, the UN report said.

Nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip is still in control of the Israeli army, with the rest still being managed by Hamas, which have so far refused to lay down their arms as agreed in the October 2025 ceasefire deal mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

The Board of Peace, a technocratic body led by Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, was established to manage the Gaza Strip’s civil matters.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/gaza-strip-eu-conference-pledges-900m-in-donations/a-77940038

A CNA investigation has found about 500 TikTok videos pushing false or misleading claims about Singapore or Malaysia, drawing a total of more than 3 million views.

With their perfect hair, polished makeup and poised demeanour, the women could not be more ready for the bright lights of social media. Using TikTok as their stage, they speak confidently in Mandarin about weighty issues concerning Singapore and Malaysia, from the economy to geopolitics and foreign relations.

But many of these “presenters” are not what they seem.

A CNA investigation of 30 such TikTok accounts found a factory-like system behind over 550 videos. Nearly all (98 per cent) were assembled by taking AI-generated, manipulated or copied female personas, and stitching them together with reused voices and recycled scripts. Nearly nine in 10 videos pushed false or misleading claims about Singapore and Malaysia, drawing more than 3 million views in total.

Between October 2025 and June 2026, they repeatedly advanced a worldview where Singapore’s fortunes were dictated by China. The narratives blended fact, distortion and outright invention: The most outlandish one claimed that Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan had unsuccessfully begged China and Indonesia not to let a new shipping route bypass Singapore’s port. No such thing happened.

As part of its investigation, CNA sent questions and shared examples of two accounts to TikTok. A few days later, both accounts were terminated.

A spokesperson for the platform said the accounts had broken rules on “deceptive behaviour”. She added that TikTok constantly monitors for and removes accounts trying to “manipulate our systems or our community in order to influence public debate”.

According to TikTok, the range of deceptive behaviour includes covert influence operations, impersonation, spam and fake reviews.

FACT AS BAIT

Unlike overtly hostile information campaigns, these TikTok videos at first glance portrayed a facade of normal, even harmless financial or geopolitical commentary.

This was in part due to the videos’ creators’ decision to use genuine news as hooks for baseless claims. One alleged that Singapore’s port dominance was about to “collapse” now that China’s Hainan Free Trade Port had become fully operational in December. Another seized on an unrelated event, ExxonMobil’s Singapore plant closure, as supposed proof of Singapore’s decline.

In fact, Singapore’s port handled a record of 44.66 million containers in 2025, and has ranked as the world’s second-busiest leading container port for the last 15 years. A previous CNA investigation in February found similar narratives being pushed on YouTube, suggesting such operations are not confined to one platform.

Experts told CNA they have observed similar ongoing campaigns on other social media platforms, pushing the same underlying content.

In CNA’s TikTok investigation, another set of videos used the same tactic – of trying to blur the line between truth and falsehood – by leaning on how Singapore has been China’s largest foreign investor since 2013. This real statistic served, however, as the foundation for subsequently arguing that Singapore had prospered by aligning itself with China’s rise, and for implying that other countries should do the same.

But Singapore is not the only target of the disinformation campaign.

Where the Singapore-focused claims cast China as a patron, the Malaysia ones took on a more contentious framing, with several blaming the country’s allegedly slower development on policies that sidelined its ethnic Chinese population.

The goal appears to be to erode trust and fracture social cohesion, said Associate Professor Saifuddin Ahmed from Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

“Any audience that grows to distrust its own government’s narrative is more susceptible to external influence over time,” he added.

The experts also suggested that beyond domestic Singapore and Malaysia audiences, the global Mandarin-speaking diaspora could be a target. There is strategic value, for instance, in attempting to shape how investors might perceive the stability and political orientation of the two countries, said Assoc Prof Saifuddin.

INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EXPOSURE

Of the more than 550 videos CNA analysed, 94 videos were found to be consistently repeating false or misleading claims. This subset accounted for over 1.6 million views, almost half the total views in the investigation. In other words, the most heavily repeated scripts were also among the most watched.

These 94 videos appeared to adopt a similar playbook: Different female presenters “took turns” delivering the same commentary over weeks and months, creating an illusion of independent voices arriving at the same conclusions.

In all, 24 accounts parroted the same talking points at different times. The fabricated Dr Balakrishnan anecdote alone was repeated over nearly two months and viewed more than 100,000 times.

“TikTok’s short-form, high-volume format means users encounter the same narratives repeatedly across different accounts without necessarily recognising it as a coordinated campaign,” Assoc Prof Saifuddin explained. “That repetition alone, independent of content quality, increases the likelihood that claims feel familiar and therefore plausible.”

Experts said the use of low-cost, attractive AI-generated presenters was also a known tactic to increase engagement, attention and trust.

“If viewers are more likely to watch, share and return to content fronted by an appealing presenter, that’s a straightforward amplification strategy regardless of the underlying message,” said Assoc Prof Saifuddin.

“It exploits the same psychological mechanisms that make influencer content effective,” he added. “The female presenter choice may equally reflect what performs best on these platforms algorithmically.”

The political communication scholar also said it was believable that male viewers were being specifically targeted.

The same tactic has been observed in previously documented influence as well as marketing campaigns. According to reports in 2024, Chinese state-linked groups had targeted the Taiwanese elections that year with AI-generated news anchors. And in June this year, a network of fake female dating profiles were found pushing propaganda ahead of local polls in Taiwan.

CONVEYOR BELT DISINFO

Reusable scripts were just one facet of the machinery at work.

Among the accounts which shared scripts and talking points, half of them used the same audio tracks. Lip-sync errors were also common, and added to the possibility that the videos’ audio tracks had been produced separately before being spliced onto the visuals.

In many instances, identical-looking presenters were also found speaking in different voices across multiple videos. Some of these presenters appeared to be outright copies of other creators.

The biggest clue to their synthetic nature was how their heads or torsos were almost unmoving and pinned in place, within a single video and across multiple videos. In real footage, speakers naturally shift and adjust their posture as they talk.

Other signs pointed to possibly coordinated behaviour behind the accounts: Several followed a similar naming template of pairing a persona’s moniker with a finance-related term, while also demonstrating “burst posting” – or publishing multiple videos in a narrow window of time.

Taken together, the evidence leaves the accounts looking less like a group of unrelated, independent creators than a single production line.

CNA however could not identify an operator or paying client behind the operation, nor determine whether it was commercial or state-linked.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/tiktok-ai-women-disinformation-deepfake-presenters-6250271

Araghchi’s comments followed a post by Trump on his Truth Social platform, in which he laid out his plan for the strait.

Iran has hit back at US President Donald Trump’s plan to charge 20 per cent on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, with its foreign minister arguing that Iran, not the US, has always been the true guardian of the waterway.

Writing on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER.”

He then took aim at the size of Trump’s proposed fee, adding, “20 per cent is of course too much. We will be fair.”

Araghchi’s comments followed a post by Trump on his Truth Social platform, in which he laid out his plan for the strait. “The USA will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20 per cent on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately,” he wrote.

Trump also said the strait remains open while describing the US move as reinstating a blockade aimed specifically at Iran. The US Army announced that it will “resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14 at 4 pm ET.”

“US forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas,” CENTCOM, the official account of US Central Command, posted on X.

“All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches,” it added.

Earlier, the blockade was in place from April 13 to June 18 and was lifted after an interim deal was reached between Washington and Tehran.

The exchange between Araghchi and Trump came as the US and Iran traded fresh strikes for a second consecutive day, with each country continuing to assert its own control over the strait.

Iran’s position rests on an interim peace deal struck last month, which it says gives it the right to control traffic through the strait, and even charge a toll. Meanwhile, the US argues that international law guarantees freedom of navigation regardless of what the deal says.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/20-too-much-we-will-be-fair-iran-on-trumps-hormuz-fee-demand-11767081?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

US-Iran War: The proposal calls for awareness campaigns on efficient LPG usage, greater collaboration between the government, OMCs and stakeholders.

As geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to push up global energy prices and disrupt fuel supply chains, an Indian energy company has urged the Centre to roll out a policy on how efficiently LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is consumed.

Pune Gas has submitted a representation to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, seeking what it describes as India’s first LPG Efficiency Policy Framework. The proposal comes at a time when the ongoing conflict in Iran has added to uncertainty in global LPG markets, driving up commercial LPG prices and increasing costs for businesses dependent on the fuel.

According to the company, commercial LPG cylinder prices have climbed to around Rs 3,100, compared with about Rs 1,884 earlier this year amid supply constraints. The sharp increase has affected restaurants, hotels, hospitals, food processing units, laundries, MSMEs and manufacturing businesses that rely heavily on LPG.

While India has largely managed to maintain uninterrupted LPG supplies through government intervention, Pune Gas has argued that the next step in strengthening the country’s energy security should be improving the efficiency of LPG consumption.

The company has written to Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, proposing a broader policy framework aimed at reducing wastage, promoting standardisation and encouraging the adoption of more efficient LPG infrastructure across commercial and industrial establishments.

Proposed LPG Efficiency Policy: Recommendations 

Among its recommendations, Pune Gas has asked the government to improve LPG utilisation efficiency across industries and encourage Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to promote 47.5-kg LOT cylinders, wherever operationally suitable. According to the company, these larger cylinders can help reduce wastage, improve safety standards, minimise pilferage and make better use of available LPG supplies.

The proposal also calls for nationwide awareness campaigns on efficient LPG usage, greater collaboration between the government, OMCs and industry stakeholders to standardise practices, and policy incentives to accelerate the adoption of efficient LPG systems.

Explaining the rationale behind the proposal, Jesal Sampat, Executive Director and CEO of Pune Gas, said India has traditionally measured its LPG challenge by the amount of fuel procured and supplied.

“We believe it is now time to also measure how efficiently we use the fuel we already have. The next leap in India’s energy security will not come only from increasing supply; it will also come from eliminating avoidable wastage. Every kilogram of LPG used efficiently reduces operating costs, eases pressure on national demand and strengthens the resilience of our energy ecosystem. Efficiency is not just good engineering, it is good national policy,” Sampat said.

He further urged the Ministry to recognise LPG efficiency as a national priority. “We urge the Ministry to recognise LPG efficiency as a national priority by introducing a policy framework for efficiency and standardisation. Such measures will not only strengthen India’s energy resilience but also support industries that are heavily dependent on LPG,” Sampat added.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/business-news/amid-us-iran-war-centre-urged-to-roll-out-india-first-lpg-efficiency-policy-11764052?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Two UAE tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were hit by Iranian cruise missiles while passing through the Strait of Hormuz in Omani waters. An Indian crew member was killed and eight others, including six Indians and two Ukrainians, were injured. The UAE condemned the attack as a violation of international law and vowed to take all necessary measures to protect its interests.

Two United Arab Emirates (UAE) tankers were hit by two Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters, leaving one Indian crew member dead and eight others injured, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Ministry of Defense.

According to the report, the tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were struck while transiting the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz.

The attack killed an Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa and injured eight others, including four seriously wounded. The injured comprise six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ministry said the attack also caused material damage to both tankers after fires broke out on board. The fires have since been brought under control.

Iran continues to attack commercial vessels in Strait of Hormuz

Iran attacked 2 tankers belonging to the UAE using anti-ship missiles. 2 Indian crew members were killed in the attack, while another 8 were critically injured

The world should unite against this terrorist regime pic.twitter.com/uWqIOGvqVG

— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) July 14, 2026

The Ministry of Defence strongly condemned the attack, describing it as a serious violation of international law that threatens regional security and stability. It said the UAE reserves the full right to respond to the escalation and will take all necessary measures to protect its territory, people, residents, national interests and strategic assets.

The ministry added that it remains fully prepared to deal with any threats and urged the public to obtain information only from official sources and refrain from spreading rumors or unverified information.

In a separate statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the attack.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/one-indian-killed-8-injured-as-iranian-missiles-strike-2-uae-tankers-in-strait-of-hormuz

YouTube is still recommending eating disorder videos to teenage users a year after new rules were introduced to curb harmful online content, according to new research.

The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) set up a simulated account for a 13-year-old girl viewing unsafe diet and body image content for the first time.

It found one in 10 videos recommended by YouTube’s Up Next algorithm featured thinspiration, extreme calorie restriction or other harmful material, although the situation had improved over the past two years.

Google, which owns YouTube, said it had a “steadfast” commitment to stopping the spread of harmful content and the videos highlighted in the report had been removed.

The findings come after telecoms regulator Ofcom said YouTube and TikTok were still not doing enough to keep young people safe and called for stronger protections.

In July 2025 a key part of the government’s Online Safety Act came into force, meaning sites like YouTube now have a legal duty to protect under 18s from dangerous content including videos that encourage or promote suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.

Sites must also consider how their algorithms – the computer code which recommends new content to users – could be harmful to young people and mitigate any risks.

If companies do not do this they can be fined up to 10% of their global revenues, which in the case of Google could run into many billions of pounds.

‘I’d be constantly on my phone’

Jazmin Kaur, 22, from Leicester, was diagnosed with anorexia when she was 13 and spent the next six years receiving NHS treatment.

“It all started quite innocently,” she said.

“I wanted to get fitter, I wanted to get healthier, so I started going online and took social media very much at face value without understanding the facts.”

Eating disorders have complex causes, and online content alone can never explain why someone develops the condition.

Jazmin said that some of the material on YouTube and other sites was helpful but “most of the time it made it a lot worse”.

“Every time I left hospital, I’d have my phone with me and I’d constantly be on it,” she added.

“I was fed such extreme content towards the end that I took it for my own vulnerabilities,” she said.

At university Jazmin decided to delete her social media accounts entirely.

She is now studying for a master’s degree in paediatric nursing while working weekends in an adult mental health unit.

‘One video still too many’

To compare YouTube’s video recommendations before and after the act came into force the CCDH, a non-profit organisation that researches online harms, created a profile representing a 13-year-old girl in the UK.

They viewed 10 potentially harmful videos focused on dieting and body image, mimicking the behaviour of a new user showing interest in that kind of content.

Then they analysed the next 100 videos suggested by YouTube’s Up Next algorithm.

In 2026, one in 10 of those recommendations was classified as harmful eating disorder content, an improvement on the one in four identified when the CCDH carried out the same experiment in 2024.

Alexandra Johnson, senior research manager at CCDH, said there was “some hope to be gained” from the report as it showed regulation does have an impact.

“But one video is too many and we don’t want any of this content to get through, particularly to vulnerable users, where just a small algorithmic nudge can be enough to push them into a very dangerous situation,” she said.

Content still being recommended by YouTube included a “thinspo” (short for thinspiration) account showing a compilation of girls idealising extreme thinness; a video which promoted a diet with a daily intake of just 170 calories, far below the healthy level for teens; and a video claiming to help users lose weight subliminally that linked to a document promising “the most emaciated skeletal dainty body eva”.

The study also looked at crisis panels – a blue box on YouTube shown beneath a video on a sensitive topic that can direct users to reputable support services.

In 2026, none of the harmful eating disorder videos recommended by YouTube’s algorithm triggered a crisis panel, although the warnings did appear on other diet and body image videos the CCDH did not classify as potentially dangerous.

Google said it prohibits YouTube content which encourages or provides instructions on eating disorders “while enabling people to share stories of recovery”.

It has now removed the videos featured in the CCDH report for violating its community guidelines.

“The wellbeing of our viewers is our top priority, and we work with experts including the NHS, Mind and the Mix to refine our approach to mental health,” a YouTube spokeswoman said.

The site has launched specially curated videos from experts which appear when a teen account searches for a topic such as depression or eating disorders.

The CCDH focused on YouTube for its research because of the site’s popularity among children and young people, with Ofcom figures showing 88% of 3-17 year olds saying they used it.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzn2g0xw9o

“I’m weak from the outside, but I’m strong from inside.”

That’s what a frail-looking Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a protest hunger strike in the Indian capital, Delhi, for the past 16 days, told the BBC on Monday.

According to the latest health bulletin released on Monday morning, Wangchuk “has lost 8.2kg [18lb], his blood pressure is 107 by 70 and his sugar levels are down to 67”.

His worsening health parameters are causing serious alarm among his supporters, with thousands appealing to him to end his fast.

But Wangchuk, 59, remains steadfast. “I have to take what I’ve begun to its logical conclusion,” he said.

The protest at Jantar Mantar – an 18th Century astronomical observatory and the capital’s best-known protest site – was started by an online satirical movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who are demanding educational reforms in India.

Led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP’s immediate demand is the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after a key entrance exam for aspiring doctors was cancelled in early May following a paper leak.

The protesters say Pradhan must take moral responsibility for the leak and quit. Pradhan has refused to quit, dismissing CJP and its supporters as “the B-team of disruptive elements” who “do not have faith in the country’s progress”.

Wangchuk, an engineer, a respected educationist and climate activist from the remote Himalayan region of Ladakh, joined the protest on 29 June and began an indefinite hunger strike.

Describing himself as a follower of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, Wangchuk says he believes in his philosophy of non-violent protests and – just like Gandhi – is using hunger strike to awaken the conscience of the government.

Popularly known as “Sonam sir”, Wangchuk is one of Ladakh’s best-known public figures and a well-known name in India whose work has earned international recognition.

A mechanical engineer by training, Wangchuk also focused on finding ways to help Ladakh adapt to climate change.

He is best known for developing the “ice stupa” – an artificial cone-shaped glacier inspired by Buddhist stupas – that stores water during winter and releases it in late spring, when farmers need it most.

His work has earned him several honours – including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018, often referred to as Asia’s highest honour.

He was the inspiration for Three Idiots, the 2009 superhit Bollywood film. And in 2017, he appeared as a celebrity guest on Kaun Banega Crorepati – the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, hosted by superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

Last year, Wangchuk was arrested in October with the government accusing him of inciting protests which he denied. He spent 170 days in prison after which the authorities dropped the charges against him and freed him.

Despite the soaring summer temperatures – Monday was 38C with weather apps putting the real feel at 46C – hundreds of people have been gathering at Jantar Mantar day and night in a show of solidarity to the CJP and Wangchuk.

“Today is the 16th day of his hunger strike and his blood sugar level and blood pressure have dropped and whenever he tries to sit or stand, he feels very dizzy,” Dipke told the BBC.

“He’s finding it difficult to even walk to the washroom. He’s really struggling. He’s in a lot of pain but whenever I try to tell him to end his hunger strike, he scolds me and says that ‘don’t you worry about me’.”

Dipke said doctors have told Wangchuk that it is not appropriate for him to continue, because there is serious concerns regarding his health. He added that he had also been receiving thousands of messages daily, requesting him to persuade Wangchuk to call off his fast.

“But he is still very determined to carry on. He’s said to me that he won’t stop until the government fixes accountability in the education system.”

At Jantar Mantar too, voices are growing louder for him to call off his fast, with many of those present telling the BBC that they were worried over Wangchuk’s deteriorating condition.

Among those who have come to see “Sonam sir” is Animesh Sahu, a 29-year-old engineer from Hyderabad.

“I’ve grown up watching his videos and I have an emotional connect with him. I’m feeling very concerned about his heath. The government must pay attention to him,” Sahu said.

A farmer, Satyaprakash Bharadwaj, described Wangchuk as “a diamond” who is “willing to sacrifice his life” for the younger generation. “I’m praying that he will call off his hunger strike. He can fight for our children only when he’s strong,” he said.

Educationist Prof Nandita Narain, says “it’s very sad that someone like Wangchuk, who has made such outstanding contribution to public life has to resort to a hunger strike to get the government to act”.

She said she would also appeal to Wangchuk to end his fast because “his life is in danger”.

“We have a battle to fight which will go on for much longer. We need a sustained protest and the movement has to be sustained. It’s important that he lives to fight the battle,” she said.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgm2rz5d7lo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ​Sunday he planned to replace Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko after only a year in office, triggering the resignation ‌of the government.
Zelenskiy did not specify who he would ask to lead the government or what Svyrydenko’s new position would be, but added that there would also be changes among the heads of law enforcement agencies.

He said the changes ​were needed to “ensure the implementation of an updated political strategy”, but gave no further details.

“I ​am grateful to Yuliia for her clear, steady, and effective work as Prime Minister, ⁠for her years of productive service on Ukraine’s team, and I have offered her the opportunity ​to lead a new and important area of relations with a key partner,” Zelenskiy said on X.
“I ​expect that, together with MPs, we will make the corresponding changes in the Government of Ukraine.”

UKRAINE DEALING WITH CORRUPTION SCANDALS

Svyrydenko, an economist, was appointed in July 2025 after a year as deputy head of Zelenskiy’s office and then four years as ​deputy prime minister responsible for economic development and trade.
Zelenskiy also did not explain the reasons for ​the proposed changes among law enforcement leaders.

Over the past year, Ukraine has been shaken by its largest corruption scandal, which ‌led ⁠to the resignation of the influential head of the presidential administration.
The so-called Midas case, which authorities say involved a $100 million kickback scheme at the state nuclear power company Energoatom, has engulfed figures close to Zelenskiy and cast a shadow over the government at a time when Kyiv wants to show Western allies that ​it can tackle high-level ​corruption.
Authorities have accused Timur Mindich, ⁠Zelenskiy’s former business partner, of leading the kickback scheme and also named Zelenskiy’s former chief of staff Andriy Yermak as a suspect. Both have denied ​wrongdoing.
Under Ukrainian law, the prime minister’s resignation needs the approval of parliament, and ​entails the ⁠resignation of the entire government.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-proposes-replace-prime-minister-svyrydenko-2026-07-12/

Russia ​launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine on Saturday, killing eight people and wounding dozens more, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for ‌diplomatic efforts to ensure Kyiv secured weapons more quickly.
Kyiv awaited supplies of air defence munitions amid a shortage that has left it exposed to Russian attacks.

Two glide bombs hit a crowded area in the northern city of Sumy, a frequent Russian target, killing five people and injuring 30, authorities said.

One bomb hit a bus stop and pictures showed a yellow bus with one of its sides ripped off. ​Other pictures posted online showed damage to apartment building facades.
In a border district of Sumy region, where the Kremlin wants to expand a buffer zone, ​a local official said a man was killed after stepping on an explosive device
Glide bombs also injured 10 in the southeastern city ⁠of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor said.
Two people were killed and another wounded earlier in the day by a missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa.
Zelenskiy, speaking in ​his nightly video address, said Ukraine needed its allies to ensure weapons supplies were provided more promptly.

“I am preparing changes in Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts. We need a new level of ​cooperation with our partners to ensure that agreements on arms supplies are fulfilled,” Zelenskiy said.
“Agreements reached by national leaders must be implemented much more quickly and completely.”
This, he said, applied to an agreement reached with U.S. President Donald Trump this week to grant Ukraine a licence to produce its own Patriot interceptor missiles.
Ukraine is critically low on munitions for its Patriot air defence systems and has ​been largely unable to down ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound, over the past month.

It has pleaded with allies for greater supplies of those ​munitions and has also pushed Europe to work with Kyiv on its own anti-ballistic air defence system.

Earlier on Saturday, a drone hit a civilian enterprise in the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven.
The ‌head of ⁠Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk region in Ukraine’s east, Denis Pushilin, said one person was killed when a drone hit his car and nine were injured when a bus came under a drone attack near the Sea of Azov.

NEW OVERNIGHT ATTACK ON KYIV

Twelve people, meanwhile, had been wounded in the capital Kyiv during an overnight attack that used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.
“Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued,” Zelenskiy said earlier of the attacks on Kyiv. “Our defenders managed to shoot down most ​of the targets, but not the ballistic ones.”
Russia ​launched six ballistic missiles, another six ⁠cruise missiles and 121 drones in the overnight attacks including against Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday morning, before the strikes on Odesa, Kharkiv and Sumy took place.
It said it downed at least two cruise missiles and 111 drones.
Russia has stepped up attacks ​on the capital in recent weeks. So far this month, strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region have killed more ​than 60 people.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kyiv-under-russian-missile-attack-officials-say-2026-07-11/

U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf ​on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to ‌reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.

The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.
Iran’s strikes extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. The United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defenses had engaged missiles and drones from Iran.
The U.S. military began launching ​more strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Central Command said in a statement on the social media platform X, “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting ​the Strait of Hormuz.”

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins told CNN that U.S. aircraft shot down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone.
In a brief phone interview ⁠with Reuters on Sunday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the weekend’s strikes on Iran. “We’re beating them up,” he said.
Iranian media said on Sunday there had been missile attacks and explosions around the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas, ​home to military facilities on the strait, and nearby Qeshm Island.
In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned “aggressive” U.S. attacks against Iran over the weekend. The ministry also said talks between Iran and Oman on Saturday in Muscat — focused on ​arrangements for managing the strait and transit routes — were unable to reach a result because of “overt and covert” U.S. pressure on Oman.

In the past week, Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to more talks.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, posted on X on Sunday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
The war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, where Iran has struck ​countries hosting U.S. bases. Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has driven energy prices higher and fuelled global inflation.
Higher prices, especially for gasoline, are politically sensitive for Trump ahead of November’s congressional elections.

FLURRY OF STRIKES

Iran has sought to establish ​a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, and has warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation.
It said late on Saturday it had closed the waterway ‌after firing ⁠a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unauthorised route. On Sunday, it said it had disabled a second vessel.
India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman. Oman said 23 crew members had been rescued. Qatar advised all vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats and jet skis, to suspend activities.
Iran’s recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday that passage through the strait was not currently possible due to “recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region”. Permits would be issued “as soon as stability and calm are restored,” it said.
The U.S., which revoked the licence authorising the sale of Iranian crude on ​Tuesday following earlier attacks on shipping, said its forces ​were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation despite what ⁠it described as “aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations” from Iran.
“Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” it said.
The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an “expanded” southern route near Oman was available for two-way traffic.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had hit 140 Iranian military targets, and ​that more than 300 had been struck over three nights this week “to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait.”
In response, Iran’s ​Revolutionary Guards said they had ⁠destroyed a command-and-control centre and drone hangars in U.S. ally Jordan, targeted a U.S. radar site and later rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked U.S. aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman and destroyed a jet maintenance centre and command facility in Qatar.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-declares-strait-hormuz-closed-unauthorised-vessel-hit-2026-07-11/

India rejected a quick trade agreement with the U.S. in recent talks and is holding out for a better deal as Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws confidence from ​new trading partners, eased economic risks and political gains at home, officials and analysts said.
After months of talks, the two nations failed to finalise an interim trade agreement ‌during U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s visit to New Delhi last month, despite expectations from both sides that a limited deal was within reach.

There was no consensus because Washington did not offer assurances on New Delhi’s key demands: a tariff advantage over competitors such as China and no new U.S. levies after the deal, said an Indian government official aware of the talks.
“Our position is clear – we don’t intend to rush into a deal that is not on favourable terms or compromise on red ​lines like ceding ground on agriculture,” the official said.
Washington had hoped for quick trade concessions from a strategic partner as President Donald Trump prepares new tariffs likely to come into effect later ​this month, officials and analysts said, while India’s holdout risks higher levies on its exports and prolonged uncertainty for businesses.

A day after talks with Greer, ⁠Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said the U.S. deal would not be implemented unless an advantage is ensured, indicating New Delhi’s hardened position and lack of urgency despite the risk of higher tariffs.
Like most countries, ​the bulk of goods from India currently face a 10% U.S. tariff. But the Trump administration is expected to introduce steeper tariffs later this month through probes into excess industrial capacity. India has denied U.S. ​charges of surplus capacity.
Washington has already proposed new tariffs of up to 12.5% on dozens of nations, including India, over allegations they failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour.
The U.S. view has been that India needs to earn the preferential treatment on trade provisions it has sought by making its own concessions, a U.S. source aware of the talks said.
The Indian official and the U.S. source did not wish to be named as negotiations are confidential. The Indian ​trade ministry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington remained engaged with India and still ​expected an agreement, but did not offer a timeline.
The official however added India had at times been slow, bureaucratic and difficult in the negotiations, signalling that no quick deal was likely.
Asked about the impasse, White House spokesman Kush Desai ‌said: “The Trump administration ⁠continues to productively engage with Indian officials to finalise a historic trade deal that puts Americans and America First.”

INDIA’S EXPORTS TICK UP, ECONOMIC RISKS EASE

Rising exports, new trade deals with other countries and blocs and eased economic risks have strengthened India’s hand, trade analysts said.

In April-June, India’s overall goods exports rose about 15% from a year earlier despite disruptions from the war on Iran, buoyed by pricier petroleum shipments, officials said.
Exports to Gulf countries have recovered to pre-war levels, rising to $5.3 billion in May from $2.62 billion in March as traders shifted to alternative shipping routes, while exports to the United States edged up to $17.29 billion during April and May.
India is ​also broadening access to other developed markets, with ​a UK free trade pact set to take effect ⁠this month, and an EU agreement expected by early next year.
“Indian negotiators have gained some leverage in the talks, given its strong economy, diversification initiatives with other partners, and its strategic standing in the world,” said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute, and a former U.S. trade ​official.
The interim U.S.-Iran peace deal improved India’s economic outlook by easing oil prices, Goldman Sachs economist Santanu Sengupta said in a report.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/an-emboldened-india-holds-out-better-terms-us-trade-talks-2026-07-13/

In his first public message since his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral earlier this week, Mojtaba Khamenei declared that revenge was unavoidable.

An Iranian newspaper known for its hardline and provocative stance has published the names and photographs of several foreign leaders it says should be targeted in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the outbreak of the US-Iran war.

Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, the opening day of the conflict. His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has since vowed that those responsible will face retribution.

In his first public message since his father’s funeral earlier this week, issued on Saturday, Mojtaba Khamenei declared that revenge was unavoidable.

“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” he said.

“These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds.”

Later on Saturday, the Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by the authorities in the Iranian capital, shared an online infographic displaying photographs of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement, news agency AFP reported.

Although the supreme leader said Iran had prepared a list of individuals to be targeted, he did not identify anyone by name. There was also no indication that the list published by the newspaper had been officially endorsed by the Iranian government.

Who’s on the list?

Among those featured in the infographic are US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The online graphic does not appear in the newspaper’s Sunday print edition.

The list also includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the agency further reported.

Throughout the war, Iran accused several European governments of failing to condemn attacks on its territory and alleged they were complicit by allowing US military aircraft to transit through their airspace.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since before the conflict began and was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father.

US-Iran war: Latest updates

Earlier on Sunday morning, the United States attacked Iran over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it.

Iran apparently responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/iranian-newspaper-names-donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu-keir-starmer-revenge-list-us-iran-war-101783849703890.html

Progressive congressman accuses Israeli military of ‘lying’ after settlers held up his van in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli officials have already ruled out apologising to Khanna or holding the settlers accountable. Instead, several have gone on the offensive against the congressman.

Khanna said he was travelling to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday when armed settlers stopped his van for 20 minutes. The settlers were later joined by Israeli soldiers who continued to block the road.

The whole ordeal lasted more than an hour, according to Khanna, and was only resolved after he reached out to the US embassy in Israel.

On Sunday, Michael Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, appeared to blame Khanna for the mistreatment he received, saying that the California Democrat had failed to coordinate his trip with the Israeli government.

“He decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street,” Leiter told CBS News, referencing a Jewish nonprofit.

Leiter went on to claim, without evidence, that Khanna may have waited to release his video of Wednesday’s incident to distract from his support for politician Graham Platner.

Platner dropped out of the Senate race in Maine on Friday amid sexual misconduct allegations. Khanna published his video on Saturday.

“Maybe this had more something to do with his support of Graham Platner beforehand and the difficulties he had with that, and trying to shift the focus to something else. Perhaps? I’m asking a question,” Leiter said.

Khanna is not backing down, however. He said he did inform Israel of his travel and has called for the arrest of settlers who held up his van.

Khanna responds

The Israeli military has disputed Khanna’s version of the events, saying that it “dispersed” civilians who were blocking the road. But in an appearance on Sunday with NBC News, Khanna refuted that account.

“The [Israeli military] is lying,” Khanna said.

“What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4s [rifles], kicking the tyres of our van, laughing at us, mocking at us, videotaping us.”

He added that the Israeli military participated in blocking their path and detaining them.

“How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?” Khanna said.

Pro-Israel politicians, however, claimed that Khanna provoked his own detention by carrying out a political stunt.

“Sounds like another plea for publicity. Anything to get in front of the camera. Why else would you be there? It isn’t your country,” Republican Congressman Greg Murphy wrote in a social media post.

Critics were quick to point out that Murphy’s first trip as part of a congressional delegation was to Israel.

Khanna also responded to Murphy, urging him to be on “Team America” and join the push for any settlers and soldiers who mistreat US citizens to face consequences.

“I would be calling for that if you had been in our shoes,” Khanna said.

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson was among those who came to Khanna’s defence. He criticised Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, for failing to speak out about the incident.

“An American member of congress is threatened by foreign terrorists carrying American rifles, backed by a foreign military paid for by American taxpayers, and the US ambassador to that country says not a word in defense of his own countryman,” Carlson wrote on the social media platform X.

“It’s too much, too insulting and humiliating to America.”

Still, many pro-Israel figures in the US expressed scepticism about Khanna’s experience. David Friedman, a former US envoy to Israel, accused Khanna of “self-victimization”.

Friedman argued, without evidence, that Khanna had purposely entered a restricted zone to provoke the incident.

“As was entirely predictable, he was asked a few questions and sent on his way. But he got the photo op and all he needed for his pre-conceived false narrative,” Friedman said in a social media post. “Well played Ro.”

Attacks on US citizens

Israel’s military and settler presence in the occupied West Bank is illegal under international law.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2024 that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including Gaza, is unlawful.

“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” the top United Nations tribunal said.

Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/12/detained-by-settlers-us-democrat-ro-khanna-now-faces-pro-israel-attacks

A SURVIVOR of an ISIS massacre that left thousands dead said the horror he witnessed left “something broken” inside him that will “never fully heal”.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS invaded the Sinjar region in northern Iraq, killing an estimated 5,000 and kidnapping more than 10,000 women and children.

Those who refused to convert to Islam were executed and their bodies dumped in mass graves.

Others were forcibly converted, while women and girls were turned into sex slaves and sold between ISIS fighters.

The murderous rampage forced 400,000 Yazidis to flee their homes.

Survivor Sovan Saad Hamad Mato, 37, told The Sun: “I witnessed events so barbaric they defy human imagination and belief.”

That hellish day, Sovan watched helplessly as women died from their wounds in front of him while children threw themselves from the mountain side to avoid capture.

“The horrific scenes I saw on the mountain left something broken inside me that can never fully heal,” he said.

ISIS fighters stormed Sovan’s village of Tal Banat, south of Sinjar Mountain, at exactly 1am.

A battle erupted as the brave Yazidi men took up arms to protect their families.

But Sovan said: “When we ran out of bullets and realised no back-up was coming from either the Kurdish or Iraqi forces, we were forced to flee our village to save our families.

“I will never forget the image of my father shouting, ‘Sovan, hurry up, we don’t have time, we need to leave the village now’.”

Trapped in the mountains with no food or water under the scorching sun, thousands of terrified families sought shade for the children, sick, and elderly.

But as sunrise broke, five ISIS hummers surrounded the group.

Sovan said: “They pointed their weapons at us and demanded surrender.”

Their leader, a man from Yemen, was accompanied by two other fighters — one from Tal Afar in Nineveh, Iraq, and one from Saudi Arabia.

Sovan said: “The leader said we had become slaves for refusing to convert to Islam.”

But when one of the militants accidentally shot himself, he was rushed off to hospital.

In what Sovan described as a “miracle”, he was able to flee with his family and together sought refuge in Peeri Awra temple.

Those who stayed behind, including Sovan’s aunts, were all slaughtered later that day.

Sovan said: “We spent nine days in the temple. I saw people suffocating from dehydration and children dying of starvation.

“I tried to nurse a man and a woman who had been shot by ISIS, but could not save the man due to heavy bleeding.”

On the ninth day, Sovan moved from Peeri Awra to Sharfadin temple – an 5-mile journey.

“On the way, I saw a girl kill herself by throwing herself from a mountain,” Sovan said.

From Sharfadin temple, Sovan moved through Syria to the Kurdistan region.

He joined hundreds of thousands of other Yazidis in official camps across Kurdistan.

Today, Sovan lives in Derby, after moving to the UK in 2025 to study at university.

He qualified the One Health Master’s programme in May this year.

But more than 2,700 Yazidis are still missing.

This includes dozens of Sovan’s relatives and friends who were snatched 12 years ago.

Anaunt who recently escaped captivity told Sovan she was beaten “every single night” by militants who demanded she convert.

Two of his cousins were also recently released – but had been brainwashed and “acted like ISIS fighters, using dolls to practice beheading”.

Around 150,000 Yazidis remain in camps – living in decaying tents with no money or education.

And the resurgence of ISIS in the region remains a significant danger to anyone hoping to return home.

Sovan said: “The Yazidi people are still in danger. Atrocities can happen again at any time if there are no serious prevention and protection measures put in place.”

The attack has been officially recognised as a genocide against a religious minority by British, French, German and American governments.

But many survivors like Sovan feel abandoned by the international community.

The UN investigative team set up to bring accountability for war crimes committed by Isis was disbanded two years ago because of pressure from Iraq, having achieved little.

Sovan said: “The genocide taught me a harsh lesson, in Arab countries, life is neither valuable nor safe for those who do not follow Islam and Sharia.”

Now, victims are taking matters into their own hands.

For three days, more than 30 survivors will give testimony at a new truth commission in the German Bundestag.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16679058/isis-massacre-survivor-recalls-atrocities/

There is no evidence that the suspected murder of former British government minister Ann Widdecombe was politically motivated, police said on Sunday (Jul 12), adding that they were not seeking anyone else after arresting a 28-year-old man.

Ms Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home in rural southwest England on Thursday with what police described as “serious injuries”. Officers arrested a white British man in Rotherham, northern England, late on Saturday.

Police urged the public not to speculate about possible motives while the investigation remains ongoing.

“At this point, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident, and at this point, we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this murder,” Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman told reporters.

“Detectives remain open-minded about the potential motive. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.”

Another suspect, arrested on Friday, was released the next day without charge.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/no-evidence-political-motive-in-murder-former-uk-minister-widdecombe-police-6249631

The former Emir led Qatar’s transformation from a small Gulf state into one of the world’s wealthiest nations and oversaw the launch of Al Jazeera and the country’s World Cup bid.

“The Amiri Diwan announced the death of HH the Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on Sunday morning,” Qatar’s top government ⁠body ⁠said.

Sheikh Hamad ruled Qatar from 1995 until 2013, when he became one of the first modern Arab leaders to voluntarily abdicate, handing power to his son, the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Who was Qatar’s former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani?

Sheikh Hamad was born in 1952 into the Al Thani family, which has ruled Qatar since the mid-19th century.

He attended the United Kingdom’s military academy, Sandhurst, and became commander of Qatar’s armed forces and defense minister.

In the late 1970s, he was named crown prince and came to power in a bloodless coup in 1995, deposing his father while he was abroad.

Transformation of modern Qatar

It was under Sheikh Hamad that Qatar transformed from a small, largely marginal emirate with nearly empty coffers into a regional powerhouse.

Sheikh Hamad oversaw Qatar becoming one of the wealthiest countries on the planet in terms of GDP per capita, leveraging its large natural gas reserves to become one of the top producers and exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

It was also under Sheikh Hamad that the emirate launched the Al Jazeera news network and expanded the country’s global influence through investments and diplomacy.

During his reign, Qatar Airways also grew into a top international carrier, while the Qatari capital city, Doha, became a major transport hub.

Sheikh Hamad’s name is also borne by a hospital in Gaza City. Under his reign, Qatar began paying hundreds of millions of dollars to fund projects in the Gaza Strip.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/qatar-former-emir-sheikh-hamad-bin-khalifa-al-thani-dies-at-74/a-77922794

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 71. He died on Saturday evening following a “brief and sudden illness”, according to his office.

Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, often pushing for US military intervention overseas.

Donald Trump said Graham was a “true American Patriot” who would be “greatly missed”.

Preliminary findings from the medical examiner suggest Graham’s death was caused by a rupture of his aorta, a key artery in the heart, his spokesman said in a statement.

Graham had just returned from Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. There were no known health concerns ahead of his trip.

Trump told NBC News that he had spoken with Graham hours before his death and the senator “sounded great” but a little tired.

“He was a tough cookie in many ways,” Trump told NBC on Sunday. “If he wanted to get something, if he thought he was right and he had people against him, he could be very tough, actually. But he was a good person.”

Graham was previously a vocal critic of Donald Trump, calling him a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” in 2015. The next year, ahead of the 2016 presidential election, he said: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.”

After the US Capitol riots in 2021, Graham told the Senate: “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way.

“All I can say is a count me out. Enough is enough.”

But over time his tone towards the president softened.

He voted against convicting Trump in the 2021 impeachment trial, and supported his election in 2024.

Graham cited Trump’s record on the US southern border, the killing of Iran’s powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani and the appointment of conservative judges.

“There is a dark side to Donald Trump… and he was a very good president. But I am sticking with him because I saw what he did,” Graham told the BBC in 2023.

Graham was known for his interventionist stance on foreign policy, including strong support for Israel and the war in Iran.

He told CBS last month that the US would “obliterate” Iran if the country did not submit to US control of the Strait of Hormuz. It was one of his last televised interviews.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that “Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable”.

Israel lost “one of its greatest friends”, he added.

Graham also voted in favour of military action against Iraq in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and was opposed to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, describing it as a “sad and dangerous event for US national security”.

“Jihadists all over the world are celebrating,” he added. “America will be seen as weak.”

The senator was also a stalwart supporter of arming Kyiv and applying sanctions against Moscow. Zelensky said in a post on X that he was “deeply saddened” by his death.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgj25j6nmeo

Jannik Sinner retained his Wimbledon title by beating Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s men’s final. The Italian claims his fifth Grand Slam crown and extends his dominance over the German to 10 straight victories.

Italian top seed Jannik Sinner retained his Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday, after rallying from a set down to beat Germany’s second seed Alexander Zverev.

The victory represents a fifth Grand Slam title for 24-year-old Sinner.

What happened on court?

Zverev took the opening set in a tense tiebreak and pushed hard early, but Sinner responded with a dominant second-set tiebreak to level.

He then seized control in the third and fourth sets with superior baseline play and serving to close out the match in just under four hours.

Praise for Germany’s Zverev

“I’m very happy of course about the win, but I’m mostly very happy about the level we both played,” Sinner said, continuing to praise Zverev.

“If you play like this I’m very, very sure you are going to have this one at home as well,” he said, pointing at the trophy.

Sinner has now won 10 consecutive matches against Zverev.

Zverev: It didn’t go my way

A dejected Zverev was left to ponder what could have been after a fourth ⁠Grand Slam final defeat.

“I don’t really like ​you anymore,” Zverev told Sinner jokingly.

“To be fair, I lost to you nine (sic) times in a row,” he added, losing count of his run of defeats against Sinner.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/sinner-beats-zverev-to-retain-wimbledon-title/a-77926065

The US military launched a new barrage of strikes on Iran on Sunday evening to “continue degrading” Tehran’s ability to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump directed the US Central Command forces to begin the fresh round of strikes around 5 p.m. ET to “hold Iranian forces accountable,” CENTCOM announced in a statement on X.

The US completed the wave of strikes against Iran after “hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions,” the military command said in an update on Sunday night.

Among the targets bombarded by strikes were Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats, the statement added.

CENTCOM forces utilized US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time in a show of military might.

Iranian state media reported strikes in several northern and southern provinces and said that at least one person had been killed and several others were wounded, CNN reported.

“U.S. forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations,” CENTCOM wrote.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to the wave of attacks with targeted strikes on US infrastructure at military bases in Kuwait, causing damage to fuel storage tanks and Patriot air defense systems, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported early Monday local time, according to CNN.

The IRGC’s air force also struck US military facilities at the US Air Base in Sheikh Isa, Bahrain, including helicopter maintenance and repair facilities, a hangar housing a P-8 Poseidon aircraft, and the military’s drone command and control center, the Fars news agency said.

The strikes follow an intense bombing campaign led by US forces on 140 targets in the Islamic Republic late Saturday, after Iran attacked a commercial vessel and declared the key oil choke point closed.

The US on Saturday pounded targets including missile and drone sites, naval assets, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and surveillance locations, CENTCOM said in a previous statement.

After the round of strikes, Trump insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open — contradicting Tehran’s warnings that the vital route remains closed.

“Yeah, it’s open. We bombed the hell out of them last night,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

In response to the American airstrikes, Iran launched a wide-scale assault against American facilities across the Middle East — escalating a pattern of attacks between the nations and leaving negotiations to end the war on the brink of collapse.

The IRGC said it destroyed a command-and-control center and drone hangars in Jordan, targeted a radar site in Kuwait, attacked aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and struck a jet maintenance center and command base in Qatar.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/12/world-news/trump-directs-fresh-round-of-strikes-on-iran-to-hold-regimes-forces-accountable/

Sen. Lindsey Graham died of a ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease, according to the preliminary findings of the DC medical examiner’s office released Sunday.

An initial investigation found that the 71-year-old senator from South Carolina died from “Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease,” according to the findings, which were released by the senator’s office.

The rare condition involves a tear in the body’s main artery; it mostly affects older men, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,” the medical examiner’s office said in its initial assessment.

Graham’s family has a history of heart disease and his father, Florence James Graham, died of a heart attack in his late 60s.

Emergency officials responded to Graham’s Capitol Hill home at around 8:30 p.m. when they received a report about an individual suffering from chest pains scanner audio revealed.

Medics performed CPR and he was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” Graham’s office said on X on Sunday morning.

For more than two decades, Graham championed the peace through American strength abroad, advocating for military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq — and Iran.

He also pushed hard to back Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion — and had just returned from a trip to Kyiv hours before he died.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/12/us-news/senator-lindsey-grahams-preliminary-cause-of-death-revealed/

New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon said the Khalistan issue will not derail ties with India, stressing zero tolerance for intimidation, threats and violence while protecting free speech. His remarks came as both nations strengthened economic and strategic cooperation during PM Narendra Modi’s visit, signing multiple MoUs and advancing discussions on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said that the Khalistan issue has caused “a huge amount of pain, loss, and suffering” in India, but asserted that it will not derail the growing partnership between the two countries, according to a report.

“We won’t tolerate intimidation or violence,” he said in an interview, as per a Khalsa Vox report. Stressing that freedom of speech is cherished, he, however, warned that strict police action will be taken against threats, intimidation, or criminal behaviour related to Khalistan elements. This approach demonstrates a growing acknowledgement that a vocal minority do not represent the views of the whole Sikh community in New Zealand or the Sikhs around the world.

“Luxon’s government is striking the right chord: upholding liberal values without naivety. By marginalising extremists and elevating the productive mainstream of the Sikh community, New Zealand is fostering an environment where genuine cultural exchange flourishes. As India and New Zealand chart a forward-looking partnership, this sensible approach ensures that fleeting controversies do not overshadow shared opportunities in a multipolar world,” the Khalsa Vox report said.

Luxon’s remarks come at a time when India and New Zealand are deepening economic and strategic ties.

Indian-origin New Zealand MP Parmjeet Parmar said that pro-Khalistan protesters are “a very small number” that can be “counted on your fingertips.” She said that pro-Khalistan protesters do not represent the views of the wider community, even the Sikhs in New Zealand, according to the report.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an official visit to New Zealand from July 10-11. In a special gesture, PM Luxon saw off PM Modi at the airport as he emplaned for New Delhi after concluding his visit.

During his visit, PM Modi held discussions with Luxon at the Government House in Auckland. Their talks covered the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including trade and investment, defence and security, agri-tech, sports, education, tourism, culture and people-to-people ties.

Following the talks, both leaders witnessed the exchange of several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the fields of defence and maritime security, hydrography, sports, disaster management, dairy, tourism, maritime heritage, culture, food technology and ocean research.

Later, PM Modi and Luxon interacted with a select group of CEOs and business leaders. PM Modi described the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a landmark that would add depth and dynamism to the bilateral economic ties, and open new opportunities for market access, investment, services, technology and talent mobility.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/new-zealand-pm-christopher-luxon-says-khalistan-issue-wont-derail-ties-with-india-vows-to-act-against-intimidation-threats

Japanese technology plays a crucial role in Russian weaponry, with significant components sourced from Japan being repurposed for military use.

Dozens of Russian intelligence operatives expelled from Western capitals after the start of the war in Ukraine have relocated to Japan, where they are seeking sensitive technology for Moscow’s military, according to current and former Western intelligence officials cited by The New York Times. The officials told the newspaper that Russia shifted operatives to Japan after mass expulsions across Europe and North America made it harder for the Kremlin to gather intelligence and obtain high-tech components with military applications.

According to the report, Japan’s advanced technology sector and comparatively limited counter-intelligence capabilities have made it an increasingly important target for Russian espionage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed profound grief over the passing of US Senator Lindsey Graham, labeling him a “great patriot” and a dear friend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mourned the death of US Senator Lindsey Graham, calling him a “great patriot,” an unwavering friend of Israel and one of his closest personal allies. In an emotional interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Netanyahu said he was still in a state of shock, remembering Graham as a leader whose boundless energy, dedication and passion for public service made his sudden passing difficult to accept.

“Frankly, I’m in a state of shock. Because as President Trump said, Lindsey was so vibrant. He was so full of life. He was so full of energy and dedication that it’s hard to accept the fact that he is no more,” Netanyahu said.

Paying tribute to the late senator, Netanyahu said Graham’s death was a major loss not only for the United States but also for Israel.

“I think America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of the great champions of the American-Israeli alliance. And frankly, I’ve lost a beloved friend who I’ve had for many decades. There’s just no one like him,” he said.

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump announced that American flags across the United States will be flown at half-mast until Saturday evening in honour of South Carolina’s late Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11 following a “brief, sudden illness.”

The death of US Senator Lindsey Graham has triggered sharply contrasting reactions across the Middle East and the United States.

The death of US Senator Lindsey Graham has drawn two entirely different responses from opposite sides of the US-Iran conflict. In Washington and Jerusalem, the veteran Republican was remembered as a close political ally and steadfast supporter.

In Tehran, however, Iranian state media presenters, hard-line commentators and regime supporters openly welcomed the news, with some mocking Graham on television and social media. That contrast reflected Graham’s decades-long reputation as one of the most outspoken advocates of confronting the Islamic Republic.

The Balen Shah government in Nepal is encountering protests against its eviction of squatters without a resettlement plan. Demonstrations in Kathmandu were organised by the Joint National Squatters Front.

The recently formed Balen Shah-led government in Nepal is facing protests against its move to evict squatters without a resettlement plan. On Sunday, hundreds of people, mostly youths, took to the streets in capital Kathmandu against the Shah government. The protest was organised by the Joint National Squatters Front, which took place outside a government office in Kathmandu.

Protesters were demanding to stop illegal arrests and to provide shelters to the homeless people evicted by the Shah government. Nepali Congress chief Gagan Kumar Thapa hit out at the Balen Shah government for arresting activists. He also sought their release.

Notably, it is the first challenge faced by Shah, who had supported the violent GenZ protests against former Prime Minister KP Oli in September last year. The protesters had been going against the Kathmandu police for the past few days, escalated on Sunday.

Protesters reportedly highlighted the poor living conditions of the people evicted by the police in Kathmandu. Several people, including activists, students and journalists, have been taken into custody by the police. Earlier this month, a 25-year-old protesters , set himself on fire in Kathmandu after the police reportedly placed a wheel lock on his bike. Over the pasr few days, two people died after setting them on fire, while the third person sustained injuries.

It triggered anger among the GenZs. Meanwhile, the matter escalated after after flooding struck a temporary settlement in Kathmandu on Friday (July 10), where around 150 displaced people had been relocated. Security personnel evacuated the residents. The following day, a group of GenZ activists visited the site to assess the situation, but police dispersed them with a baton charge. One activist sustained facial injuries during the crackdown and was admitted to a hospital.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/asia/nepal-protests-balen-shah-government-under-gen-z-pressure-amid-self-immolations-and-massive-agitations-article-155083725

An Iranian conservative newspaper has published an online infographic featuring 13 foreign leaders alongside a message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei pledging revenge for the killing of his father.

An Iranian conservative newspaper has published an infographic naming 13 foreign political leaders alongside a message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei promising revenge for the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, further escalating the rhetoric surrounding the Iran war.

The graphic was released online late Saturday by Hamshahri, a Tehran-based newspaper known for its hard-line editorial stance. It did not appear in the newspaper’s Sunday print edition. Its publication followed Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public message since the funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader, who was killed in military strikes earlier this year.

The Islamic regime in Iran has released an image showing an X placed over Lindsey Graham’s photo.

The picture speaks for itself.

They are admitting it themselves. pic.twitter.com/9MnDnJTvc3

— Robin 🇮🇱 (@Robiiin_Hoodx) July 12, 2026

The development comes amid increasing competition in the artificial intelligence industry, where Musk’s xAI and Scale AI have become key players.

Alexandr Wang, Meta’s Chief AI Officer, who now heads the company’s new Superintelligence Labs, responded after reports surfaced that Elon Musk had unfollowed him on X. “Um, can’t we all be friends?” Wang wrote in a post, brushing off the move with humour. The brief social media moment comes at a time of intensifying rivalry in artificial intelligence. Musk’s xAI and Wang’s former company Scale AI have both emerged as major players in the race to build advanced models, while Meta is pushing hard with its own superintelligence push.

See the tweet here:

um can’t we all be friends 🥺 https://t.co/Rd0hN1CcaY

— Alexandr Wang (@alexandr_wang) July 11, 2026

The remark quickly gained traction, with many X users speculating about what may have prompted the move.

Neither Musk nor Wang has explained why the unfollow occurred. It is also unclear whether the action was deliberate or simply part of routine account management. Musk, who is known for frequently changing whom he follows on X, has not commented on Wang’s response.

The exchange highlights the growing rivalry in the AI space. Musk’s xAI, Meta’s AI division led by Wang, OpenAI, and Google are all racing to build the most advanced models. Both Musk and Wang have been vocal about AI safety, regulation, and the future of the technology, though they often take different approaches. However, for years, leaders in Silicon Valley have clashed over ideas while staying connected online.

Who is Alexandr Wang?

Alexandr Wang is an American entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Scale AI, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence infrastructure companies. Born in 1997 in New Mexico to physicist parents, Wang developed an interest in mathematics and computer science from an early age. He participated in programming competitions before enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) but left the university to pursue his startup ambitions.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/feature/elon-musk-unfollows-meta-ai-chief-on-x-alexandr-wang-replies-cant-we-be-friends-11763004?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

Graham used his position to push for steep tariffs on nations that imported Russian energy, including India, China, and Brazil. He introduced a bill proposing at least a 500 per cent tariff on nations purchasing Russian energy products.

US lawmaker Lindsey Graham, a Republican and a close ally of President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 71. Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine before he died on Saturday, following a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said.

Preliminary findings from the medical examiner suggest the South Carolina senator’s death was caused by a rupture of his aorta, a key artery in the heart, his spokesman said in a statement.

Graham, who was one of the first to push for ‘500 per cent’ tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil, was seen as a rare bridge between Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the traditional Washington consensus prioritising alliances with Europe and Israel, one falling out of favour with many in both political parties.

What Trump Said

Trump described Graham as a “true American patriot” who would be “greatly missed.”

“Well, it’s devastating. I thought he was fine. He called me last night. He just got back from Ukraine. And he had a great time. He was telling me about the trip. He was working very, very hard, because we know he wanted to make America happy,” Trump said while talking to CNN.

“He was talking about that. He was full of vim and vigour. He was tired. He said, ‘I’m tired because it’s a long trip.’ But other than that, he was fine. And he called me, I guess, moments before, because he called me like 6:30 or something. And the medical people got there a little bit later, right? What a terrible loss it is,” Trump added.

About Lindsey Graham

Graham was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, often selling a vision of the United States as a nation willing to use its military might to protect democracies around the world, even as his own party was taken over by a president openly skeptical of that worldview.

With that idea of the US, Graham remained a staunch defender of Ukraine to the end, even as Trump’s commitment wavered.

Elected to the Senate in 2002, Graham represented South Carolina in the House and Senate for more than three decades. When Trump returned for a second term, Graham cheered his aggressive approach to Iran but was largely silent as the president dismantled the US Agency for International Development, questioned the value of NATO, suggested using military force against allies to seize Greenland, and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘Called For Tariffs On India’

Graham also used his position to push for steep tariffs on nations that imported Russian energy, including India, China, and Brazil. He introduced the bipartisan Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, proposing at least a 500 per cent tariff on nations purchasing Russian energy products, including petroleum, natural gas, and uranium, if Moscow continued the war in Ukraine.

“Here’s what I would tell China, India, and Brazil: If you keep buying cheap Russian oil to allow this war to continue, we’re going to tear the hell out of you and we’re going to crush your economy, because what you’re doing is blood money,” he had said.

“You’re buying cheap Russian oil at the expense of the world, and President Trump is tired of this game. China, India, and Brazil they’re about to face a choice between the American economy or helping Putin. And I think they’re going to come pick the American economy”.

On Friday, shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv, Graham announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of sanctions against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Graham, whom he met twice in the past week, had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and “was here with our people when it was most needed.” He said that “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”

Iran War

Graham also backed policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs. He cheered Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and was a supporter of the latest conflict there. At one point, Graham advocated using ground troops to seize Kharg Island, a crucial site for Iranian oil processing.

“We did Iwo Jima, we can do this,” he told Fox News in March.

While Graham was admired in Israel, his position toward the war in Gaza in particular angered many in the Middle East, including US allies who advocated a diplomatic solution. He was outspoken in supporting Israel’s devastating military operations in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

In May 2024, after Washington paused some military aid to Israel, Graham urged then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “give Israel what they need to fight the war.” He likened the threat Israel faced to “Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.” He posted on social media later that year that “the Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalized population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth.”

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-remembers-lindsey-graham-true-american-patriot-who-called-for-500-india-tariff-11763019?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Floods and landslides triggered by days of ​torrential monsoon rain have killed at least 44 people in southeastern Bangladesh and ‌left over a million stranded as authorities raced on Saturday to deliver aid to devastated communities.
The disaster management ministry said on Saturday that flooding across seven districts — Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Moulvibazar and Habiganj — has ​disrupted daily life, isolated thousands of families, and stranded 267,918 households.

Many residents have ⁠been unable to cook for days as flood waters submerged their homes, while others are ​struggling after thick layers of mud covered kitchens and living spaces.
“There is still water inside our home ​and we have no way to cook. The dry food we had has run out, and we spend the nights in the dark with our children because there is no electricity,” said Nurul Islam, a resident of ​a flood-hit area in Chattogram.
Thousands of families are relying on dry food — flattened rice, puffed ​rice or biscuits that do not require cooking — and emergency relief. Washed-out roads and damaged bridges, however, have made ‌it ⁠difficult for aid workers to reach some of the hardest-hit communities.

Army and navy personnel are ferrying food, drinking water, medicines and other essential supplies by boat to isolated communities, as authorities step up relief efforts.
“The government is doing everything possible to support flood victims. Relief, safe drinking water ​and medical supplies are being ​distributed, and we ⁠urge people whose homes have been inundated to move to the nearest shelter,” Disaster Management and Relief Minister Iqbal Hossain said during a visit ​to affected areas in Chattogram.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/floods-bangladesh-kill-44-leave-over-million-stranded-2026-07-11/

Jude Bellingham scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as England ground out a 2-1 victory over a battling Norway side at Miami Stadium on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the ​fourth time.
The teams were locked up 1-1 at the end of regulation time after Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring for Norway with a wonder strike in the 36th minute ‌and Bellingham skipped into the area to equalise just before halftime.

Three minutes into extra time, though, Morgan Rogers fired a long-range shot at the Norwegian goal that Orjan Nyland could only parry and Bellingham stole in to bury the rebound, delighting the white-shirted fans in the crowd of 64,478.
England will face Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday in their fourth semi-final in their last five major championships, looking to stay on course for a repeat of their sole World Cup ​triumph of 1966.
“The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves ​in the way we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”

Norway will feel they deserved ⁠more out of the game, even if England kept Erling Haaland scoreless for the first time in his last 16 matches for his country, and will exit their first World Cup in 28 years with ​heads held high.
“It is a bit bitter, but it has been an adventure,” said Norway skipper Martin Odegaard.
“We must be proud. We are here for the first time in a long time, and we are ​making our mark. The whole world is talking about us.”

CAGEY FIRST HALF

Perhaps because of the stifling heat, the first half was a cagey affair but Norway exploded into life when Julian Ryerson crossed for Haaland to head the ball at goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 35th minute.
A minute later, Patrick Berg stripped Harry Kane of possession near halfway and released Schjelderup down the left, the winger turning makeshift England full back Ezri Konsa inside out before crashing a shot-cum-cross into the ​net.

England were rattled and Norway took full advantage with Alexander Sorloth hitting a rising drive over the bar and Martin Odegaard drilling in a low shot that Pickford parried away.
They should have doubled their ​lead in the 44th minute when they briefly had a two-on-one inside the England half but Sorloth decided not to pass to Haaland and the defenders recovered their ground to snuff out the danger.
Norway would regret their profligacy in ‌stoppage time ⁠at the end of the half when Bellingham conjured up an equaliser of real quality from Anthony Gordon’s clever ball across the edge of the box.
Bellingham took one touch to steer the ball into the area, another to take him past a defender, before turning to whip it across goalkeeper Nyland into the far corner of the goal.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken said afterwards that England had got possession of the ball only because a Norwegian clearance had hit the aerial cable supporting a camera but FIFA said nothing had registered on the sensor in the ball.

The remainder of the half was all England with Kane getting the ball ​into the net again only to be adjudged offside, ​a decision confirmed by VAR.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/bellingham-double-fires-england-past-norway-into-world-cup-semis-2026-07-12/

Typhoon Bavi made landfall late on Saturday in the coastal city of Taizhou in eastern China, where nearly 2 million people ‌were evacuated, having earlier pummelled Japan’s southern Sakishima island chain and brushed past northern Taiwan.
Even as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path, the typhoon is still a potent risk due to the sheer volume of moisture it holds within its rain bands, about the size of France from end to end.

Bavi had maximum sustained winds of about 144 ​km per hour (90 mph), equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, when it made landfall at around 11:20 p.m. local time (1520 ​GMT), according to the National Meteorological Center.
State media said more than 1.7 million people had been evacuated across Zhejiang province, ⁠where Taizhou is located, along with more than 100,000 each from neighbouring Fujian province and Beijing, and some 34,000 from Shanghai.
“I’m a little worried, but I think ​it’ll be OK. We’ve been through typhoons before. We’ll get through it,” said Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, who was out buying groceries at a traditional wet ​market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.

Huang said his family had stocked about two to three days’ worth of water. “I think supplies are well guaranteed now. There’s no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies,” he added.
While Japan and Taiwan have not so far reported any deaths from the typhoon, 17 people died in the Philippines ​due to heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest monsoon, worsened by Bavi’s impact.
Taiwan’s fire department said 113 people had been injured, mostly from falls from ​motorcycles or bicycles, as well as people falling over or being struck by objects.

TAIWAN SPARED WORST OF BAVI

In Taiwan, the government evacuated more than 14,000 people from mainly mountainous areas ‌as the ⁠island shut down for the approach of Bavi to the north.
While Bavi did not make landfall in Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life, given forecasts for almost 1 metre (3 feet) of rain in some areas.

Most of those evacuated were in areas in the north and east, with 920 international flights cancelled, effectively closing Taiwan’s main international airport at Taoyuan, outside the capital Taipei, as well as all 282 domestic flights.
Almost all cities and counties across Taiwan declared a ​typhoon holiday for Saturday, closing any offices ​and schools that may have been ⁠open on the weekend, though in Taipei some restaurants and convenience stores remained open.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/thousands-evacuated-taiwan-shuts-down-typhoon-bavi-2026-07-11/

A written statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei threatened vengeance for the death of his predecessor and father on Saturday, ​but added that it would depend not only on Iran but also ‌on “free people around the world”.
In the supreme leader’s first public message since funeral ceremonies for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, began a week ago, the statement read on state television said that vengeance ​was “the demand of the nation” and “must certainly” take place.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was ​killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28, at the start ⁠of the war.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and ​all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” the ​statement said.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who senior sources have said suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the strike, has not been seen by Iranians since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8.
“Whether we ​are there or not, this will be accomplished, and soon every free person around ​the world will fulfill a part of this divine mission,” the statement said.

An exchange of attacks ‌between ⁠U.S. and Iranian forces this week has raised doubts over a truce agreed between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the four-month war. Iran says the deal will ultimately deliver major economic benefits.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-supreme-leader-pledges-revenge-slain-father-predecessor-2026-07-11/

Iranian national Ali Ansari is described in a US Treasury statement as a “key financier” for the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

The US government imposed economic sanctions Friday on a Dubai-based Iranian financier accused of embezzling billions of dollars in public funding to enrich “regime elites” in Tehran.

Iranian national Ali Ansari is described in a US Treasury statement as a “key financier” for the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

According to the Treasury, “Ansari has effectively institutionalized large‑scale embezzlement within the Iranian regime, diverting publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings.”

The scheme served “to enrich himself, regime elites,” including those in the supreme leader’s office and Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards.

Ansari embezzled the Iranian people’s money and invested it into real estate and commercial properties in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Britain, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates and other nations, according to the Treasury, the department which administers US economic sanctions.

It said the global network of shell companies operated under a holding company established in 2011 in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

“Although held in Ansari’s name, many of these financial interests are ultimately held for the financial benefit of Mojtaba Khamenei, his family, and other Iranian elites in the regime,” said the Treasury.

Punitive measures by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), such as the ones against Ansari, usually result in the freezing of any assets held in the United States.

They also prohibit American companies and citizens from doing business with the targeted individual, or risk penalties themselves.

Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of the Middle East war, which was triggered on February 28 by US and Israeli airstrikes.

OFAC also took action against three Iran-based currency exchange houses, which it accuses of moving billions of dollars per year for sanctioned Iranian banks through layers of shell companies.

The exchange houses are Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-sanctions-iranian-accused-of-embezzling-for-tehran-elites-11756087

DONALD Trump revealed he has “left instructions” to blitz Iran “at levels that they’ve never seen before” if the regime succeeds in assassinating him.

It comes after Israeli intelligence uncovered a chilling new plan to assassinate the US president hatched by Iran.

Trump hit back at the rogue regime, vowing: “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow.”

He revealed that he had left orders to hit the country even harder if he is assassinated, as huge crowds of mourners fill the streets of Tehran shouting “kill Trump”.

Trump told the New York Post: “I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with.”

He said: “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions, if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”

The US president doubled down on his threat on Truth Social, writing that “orders have already been given”.

He vowed: “The U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”

It comes as Trump declared the ceasefire agreed by a memorandum of understanding in mid-June “over”.

But talks with the rogue nation are going ahead today after fire was exchanged in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait this week.

The US blitzed 90 military targets in just one night this week and Iran targeted American bases in return.

Trump slammed “sick” Iran for “playing dirty” after Tehran hit 85 American military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Speaking in Ankara, Turkey, he said: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. I’ll speak to our negotiators, they want to negotiate.

“They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it.”

With the ceasefire in the dust, a huge deployment of more than 20 US warships is steaming towards Iran after Trump threatened to put his naval blockade of Iranian ports back into place.

An armada of warships, including two aircraft carriers are being redirected towards the rogue nation.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bushn were spotted on marine trackers heading into the Gulf of Oman.

US Centcom said: “More than 20 US Navy warships are patrolling waters across the Middle East as CENTCOM forces continue promoting regional security and stability.”

Israeli intelligence revealed Iranian plots to kill Trump.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16673447/trump-iran-assassination-vow-decimate-regime/

SHOTS were fired at a NYC basketball tournament as a European star player was killed, two others were injured and a gunman is on the loose.

Kinu Rochford, a standout player at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, was fatally shot in a targeted murder on Friday night.

The 35-year-old was struck in the head at around 10.30pm at a packed Harlem basketball tournament, cops told The Post.

The shocking incident happened at the Kingdome Basketball Tournament in the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers on Lenox Avenue, police said.

Cops added that two others were wounded when gunfire erupted.

Rochford, who was playing in the tournament, was shot while watching between games, according to cops.

The shooting stemmed from a bitter squabble Rochford, of Brooklyn, was having with another man, a police source said.

The nature of the feud was not immediately known, the source added.

The Kingdom Games, which organised the tournament, called the shooting a “devastating tragedy.”

It said that “updates regarding the remainder of the 2026 Kingdom Games season will be shared when appropriate.”

Jessica Montgomery, who has lived in the towers for a decade, was at the tournament when she heard the terrifying gunshots.

She said: “It sounded like a firework,” the 45-year-old said. “And then I heard it again and people started running.”

Emergency responders desperately performed CPR on Rochford and rushed him to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, but the basketball star could not be saved, cops said.

The two injured victims were a 28-year-old man shot in the shin and a 22-year-old woman blasted in the right forearm.

They were among an estimated 500 people watching the tournament between West 112th Street and West 115th Street.

Both were taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition.

A mural painted on the court just a day earlier showed Walt Frazier passing the NBA championship trophy to New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.

Heartbroken mourners later arrived at Rochford’s Crown Heights apartment carrying bouquets of flowers, while a man leaving the building screamed: “Kinuuuu!”

A neighbour revealed Rochford was part of a set of triplets – two boys and a girl – and said his parents were from Trinidad.

The neighbour said he saw Rochford leaving the building’s laundry room on Thursday and noticed he had a slight limp.

He also remembered seeing Rochford’s father “years ago” watching his sons play basketball at a nearby park.

The FDU Knights paid tribute to the former power forward and centre, who played for the team from 2011 to 2013.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/16675797/nyc-basketball-shooting-european-star-killed-gunman-loose/

As Poland observes a day of remembrance for the victims of a Ukrainian nationalist military unit, there are increasing signs that it could cut off its neighbor from military aid, even as the war against Russia continues.

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have been mired in crisis since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a military unit the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA.”

The initials stand for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which was instrumental to the killing of up to 100,000 Polish civilians during World War II. Poland is marking a national day of remembrance for the victims on Saturday.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Poland has provided Ukraine with extensive military support, including weapons and equipment. Until recently, military cooperation between the neighboring countries, which both view Russia as an existential threat, had been accepted by all political parties and was largely kept separate from Poland’s domestic political disputes.

Lingering ‘historical issues’

Poland’s far-right opposition is attacking the center-right government over the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The opposition accuses pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk of putting Poland’s own military defense at risk.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Zelenskyy sought a way out of the crisis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday — without success. “There has been a lot of tension in Polish-Ukrainian relations recently,” Nawrocki told journalists after the hourlong meeting. “We have not managed to resolve historical issues,” he said. Glorification of the UPA is “nonnegotiable,” Nawrocki said, making no secret of his skepticism about Ukraine’s ambitions to join the European Union.

The dispute over Poland’s Patriot missiles was triggered by Krzysztof Bosak, leader of the ultranationalist National Movement. “In March, hidden from the Sejm, the government handed over expensive and hard-to-obtain interceptor missiles for Patriot systems,” Bosak, the deputy speaker of parliament, wrote on X on July 4. He said the weapons that the government had given to Ukraine were necessary to Poland’s own national defense against Russia. The National Movement has long demanded an end to military aid for Ukraine.

‘Increasingly confrontational stance’

Former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Marcin Przydacz, who is now responsible for foreign policy in the president’s office, called Bosak’s assumption “highly likely.” Przydacz accused the government of giving up Poland’s place in the queue for ordering US weapons in favor of Ukraine. “Poles will now have to wait longer,” Przydacz said.

Przemyslaw Czarnek, who is likely to be the top candidate for the national conservative Law and Justice party in the 2027 parliamentary elections, said Poland had been “deprived of strategic weapons without the knowledge of parliament and the president.”

“Ukraine has not treated Poland like a partner for two years now and is taking an increasingly confrontational stance,” Czarnek said.

In a bid to defuse criticism from the opposition, the Tusk government took a risky step. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz published previously secret data on the scale of Poland’s military aid since the outbreak of the war. According to the data, Poland has spent 16.45 billion zloty (€3.8 billion/$4.35 billion) since Russia’s invasion, with the largest share of that sum — 14.9 billion zloty — paid during the PiS government in 2022-2023.

Was defense compromised?

The decision to hand over PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems was made at the request of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the commander of US forces in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich. Poland’s air defense was in no way compromised, Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said. He added that President Nawrocki had been informed about this plan in detail.

Polish media highlight a paradox: Until recently the government and the opposition were competing over who had done more for Ukraine. Now, both sides are accusing each other of having supplied Ukraine with too many weapons. Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, had been a firm supporter of military aid. “That was the deal: We supply you with 50-year-old tanks and you fight and shed your own blood,” he said. “I think that was a good deal for us.”

The downturn in relations between Poland and Ukraine is affecting another arms swap. At the end of 2025, Poland’s government had promised to deliver MiG fighter jets to Ukraine. In return, Poland was to receive modern drone technology from Ukraine. According to Poland’s government, Kyiv demanded that Poland modernize the jets before the deal could go ahead. Warsaw declined to do so, although Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said the agreement was not definitively off the table.

European Parliament’s stance

On Wednesday the European Parliament adopted a resolution classifying Zelenskyy’s UPA honor as an unnecessary and unprovoked escalation in the dispute between the neighbors. Members of the European Parliament called the honor incompatible with EU values, but urged both Poland and Ukraine to resume the process of reconciliation.

Nawrocki had reacted to Zelenskyy’s honoring of the Ukrainian army unit by stripping him of Poland’s highest award, the Order of the White Eagle. Zelenskyy sent the order back by courier — and went a step further. At his request, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law in July to establish a National Pantheon — essentially a state-sanctioned memorial site or institution meant to honor historical and military figures whom the government considers heroes, including units associated with the UPA. “No one will ever force us how to live and speak, whom to love, whom we should be grateful to and which heroes we should honor,” Zelenskyy said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/poland-could-cut-arms-aid-to-ukraine-as-wwii-spat-continues/a-77893170

Police in Toronto are responding to an active shooter at a festival in the Canadian city. Two people have been killed and several others have been wounded, police said.

An active shooting incident in the Canadian city of Toronto brought out a large police presence on Saturday night.

Authorities said two people were pronounced dead at the scene and six people were found with gunshot wounds. It was not immediately clear if the dead were included among the six wounded.

The incident happened near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue during the Salsa on St. Clair festival — Canada’s largest Latin street festival.

Police did not provide any information about the suspect.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/two-people-killed-and-several-wounded-in-mass-shooting-at-toronto-festival/a-77920249

Several New York Times journalists were summoned to testify under oath after they reported alleged security concerns involving President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One plane, the US newspaper said.

Federal agents delivered subpoenas to some reporters’ homes demanding they appear before a federal grand jury investigating a potential crime, the Times said.

The paper had published stories alleging that the Qatari-gifted plane was not secure enough, and the Secret Service urged Trump to switch planes on his way home from a Nato summit in Turkey.

The Justice Department told the BBC it was investigating illegal leaks, adding: “Reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer, called the summons a “brazen act” and “nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs”.

The subpoenas – a legal requirement from a court or government agency that compels a person to appear or produce records or evidence – say the reporters’ testimony is required “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law”, the Times reported.

The summonses require the reporters to appear before a grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday, the Times said. Grand jurys are composed of members of the public and convened by the US government to examine evidence and decide if there is enough to charge a person or persons with a crime.

The New York Times reported on security concerns about the president’s plane citing unnamed sources. While speaking to media about classified information is a crime, the US Constitution protects the freedom of the press to report information in the public interest.

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DoJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information,” the Justice Department (DoJ) said in a statement provided to the BBC.

The Times reported on Wednesday that while Trump flew to the Nato summit in Turkey on the new Air Force One, he left the summit on an older plane on the advice of the Secret Service. The next day, the newspaper reported that security officials were concerned the newer plane did not have advanced security features, including antimissile capabilities.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw, the Times’ lawyer, said.

Other outlets published similar reports, including CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner. A former US government official told CBS that there was not enough time or money for the plane to be updated with the security requirements to serve as Air Force One.

While these reports were surfacing, tensions with Iran over a negotiated ceasefire deal were growing, and the US was launching strikes.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd3g8q51g7o

The US unleashed its military might on Iran after the regime attacked a commercial vessel and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed Saturday.

“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted on X.

The Islamic Republic attacked the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, according to United States Central Command.

A civilian crew member from the ship is now missing and the vessel suffered significant engine room damage in the strikes, CENTCOM added.

The agency vowed that Tehran would pay a “heavy cost” and said that the retaliation, which began at 7:15 Eastern Time, was being carried out under the direction of the commander in chief, President Trump.

“Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X.

Explosions were heard in the southern Iranian cities of Bushehr and Asaluyeh early Sunday local time, Iranian state-run media reported.

Several Iranian military installations were targeted in the strikes, including ground-to-air missile launchers, drone and missile storage facilities and launch sites, and surveillance radars, a US official told Axios’ Barak Ravid.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed to have fired a “warning shot” at the Cyprus-flagged ship, which was traversing an “unauthorized route.”

The IRGC threatened that any US strikes would be met with a “severe” response.

“Following this incident … the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of the American interventions in this area, and no vessels will be allowed to pass through it,” it said in a statement.

Iran’s attack came after the Trump administration issued an ultimatum to Tehran on Friday, demanding that the regime publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz was open for business and that there would be no further attacks on shipping.

Meanwhile, diplomats from both sides feverishly tried to resuscitate negotiations after Trump declared the cease-fire was off.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,” Trump posted on Truth Social Friday.

“We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

Earlier this Saturday, before hostilities erupted, Iranian and Omani representatives met in Muscat to discuss the crucial international waterway.

The two nations weighed a proposal to divide the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of the world’s oil supply flows — into two routes.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/11/world-news/us-unloads-military-might-on-iran-after-tehran-closes-strait-of-hormuz-now-they-pay/

Khanna is the second Democrat considering a White House bid to visit the region this week.

US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with US-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run.

Speaking with Reuters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank where residents face frequent settler attacks.

“We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed; they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,” said Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California in the US House of Representatives.

“And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans,” Khanna said, referring to the Israeli military.

An aide to Khanna who was in the group, Cameron Kasky, said they were held for more than an hour and made appeals to the US Embassy in Jerusalem for help. A group of officers who appeared to be police eventually intervened, leading to their release, Kasky said.

The Israeli military said troops and police officers intervened after receiving a report of settlers blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced by violent settler raids following the 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.

“Upon their arrival, the troops dispersed the Israeli civilians and allowed the vehicles to continue on their way,” the military said.

Israel’s police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Democrats Divided Over Israeli Conduct

Khanna is the second Democrat considering a White House bid to visit the region this week. In Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Rahm Emanuel, who was chief of staff to former President Barack Obama, said Israeli policies toward Palestinians were eroding support for the U.S.-Israeli alliance.

Asked if he was running for president, Khanna said: “I’m strongly considering it, and I’m more resolved to consider it after this trip.”

Israel’s conduct toward Palestinians has emerged as a flashpoint in Democratic politics ahead of November’s U.S. midterm elections, contributing to primary defeats for some incumbent lawmakers targeted by left-wing challengers who accused them of supporting Israel’s right-wing government.

Israel’s favorability rating among Democrats fell from 59% in 2018 to 22% in May, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

While Israel has long enjoyed strong bipartisan U.S. support, an increasing number of Democrats in Congress are now pressing to cut off military aid, which amounts to $3.8 billion per year and includes funding for light weaponry like M4 rifles and missile interceptors that Israel used in the Iran war.

Overlooking a valley dotted with settler outposts on the outskirts of Turmus Ayya, a village home to thousands of Palestinian American dual nationals, Khanna said he believed his party’s establishment was “clueless about how much of a moral test Palestine, Gaza and Israel have become.”

He said he chose to do a visit exclusively to the West Bank, with programming led by Palestinians, to give him an unfiltered view of territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

“If you’re unwilling to speak up for Palestinian human rights, if you’re unwilling to speak up against the genocide in Gaza, the apartheid in the West Bank, then you are morally compromised,” Khanna said.

Israel rejects allegations it carried out a genocide in Gaza or that it institutes an apartheid regime in the West Bank, which has a population of about 3 million Palestinians and around 500,000 Jewish settlers.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-democrat-ro-khanna-detained-by-israeli-settlers-during-west-bank-visit-11758682?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

While an Indian-origin truck driver was speaking in Punjabi at a truck stop in South Australia, someone spat on him and disappeared before he could even react. The attacker was another truck driver.

For Jaswinder Boparai, one phone call to his wife became a moment he says he will carry for the rest of his life.

While speaking in Punjabi at a truck stop in South Australia, someone spat on him and disappeared before he could even react. The attacker was another truck driver.

“That is one incident, which I will never forget because it’s humiliating,” said Jaswinder, an Australian citizen and father of two who runs a small trucking fleet.

The incident was far from isolated, according to a report by ABC News.

Indian-origin truck drivers across Australia say racist abuse has become a grim reality of the job, ranging from verbal taunts and slurs to explicit death threats broadcast over citizens band (CB) radios, equipment primarily used by truckers to warn one another about accidents, road hazards and traffic conditions.

Every Indian-origin driver interviewed by ABC News said they had repeatedly faced racism while working on Australian roads. Yet very few complaints ever reach authorities, with drivers citing anonymous perpetrators, language barriers, lack of awareness about workplace rights and little faith that reporting incidents would lead to action.

Narinder Singh said he spent a decade working in New Zealand’s freight sector but lasted only eight months in Australia’s trucking industry before deciding he had had enough.

An emergency forced him to briefly park his truck in the wrong place, but he says the backlash quickly turned personal.

He recalled being mocked for wearing a turban and called a “currymuncher”. According to him, minor mistakes attracted far harsher reactions than those made by non-migrant drivers.

“They’ll swear profanity, show you fingers, tell you to go back, and call you names,” he said.

Narinder said he had poured his “heart and soul into the industry” but eventually walked away because the constant hostility became too much to bear.

For driver Pippal Singh, the abuse has become so disturbing that he barely switches on his CB radio anymore.

He has recorded messages directed at Indian drivers that include chilling threats.

“There’s a civil war coming. We’re going kill all the f***ing male Indians, were going to drown all the f***ing kids and sell all the women …”

“You filthy Indian c**** wouldn’t f***ing stand up to a f***ing white man, the f***in p**fters.”

“A good Indian is a dead Indian,” says one radio user.

“Why would anyone turn this thing on? There’s no point,” Pippal said.

The consequences extend beyond offensive language. Drivers say many now avoid listening to or speaking on CB radios altogether, even though the devices are an important tool for sharing safety alerts on long-haul routes.

Truck driver Sukhpal Singh said identifying those responsible is nearly impossible because CB users are not required to reveal their names or locations.

The Australian Human Rights Commission acknowledged to ABC News that racist behaviour exists within the road freight industry. However, it said pursuing individual complaints is “very difficult” when offenders cannot be identified. The commission added that employers have a responsibility to protect workers from psychosocial harm and called for a broader, “systemic approach” to tackling racism in the industry.

The reports come at a time when Australia is increasingly dependent on migrant workers to keep freight moving. Census data shows Indians have been the country’s fastest-growing migrant community over the past decade, filling critical labour shortages in transport and logistics.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/a-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian-death-threats-spitting-truck-drivers-reveal-racist-abuse-in-australia-11758800?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

A 28 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe. The suspect, who is a white British national, is in custody.

A 28-year-old man has been arrested in South Yorkshire in connection with the murder of Ann Widdecombe. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the suspect is a white British national and is currently being held in custody. The arrest itself did not take place near the scene of the crime. Instead, it happened at an address in South Yorkshire, roughly 270 miles from Widdecombe’s home in Haytor, Devon, where she was found dead.

Police said the operation was carried out by Counter Terrorism Policing North East along with South Yorkshire Police, working on behalf of Devon and Cornwall Police, which continues to lead the overall investigation.

What Happened to Widdecombe

Widdecombe, who had served as a Conservative minister before later becoming a justice spokesperson for Reform UK, was discovered with serious injuries at her Devon property at 11:40 BST on Thursday. Investigators believe the attack itself took place close to a full day before she was found.
British PM Keir Starmer reacted to her death by saying “This is really shocking news, and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this awful time”.

“Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss,” he added.

Sheetal was a highly respected figure in the Atlanta technology landscape, having spent her youth across England, India, and Ghana before relocating to the US

A prominent Indian-origin technology leader has allegedly been shot dead and her son severely injured following a violent domestic dispute at a residential property in Cobb County, Georgia. The victim, 57-year-old Sheetal Wrzesien, was a senior engineering manager at Google with more than two decades of experience in the global technology sector.

Local police authorities responded to reports of gunfire at the family’s residence on Laurel Creek Trail near Smyrna just before 8:00 pm on Tuesday. Upon arrival, emergency responders discovered the couple’s 23-year-old son, Jason Wrzesien, outside the house suffering from critical gunshot wounds. Inside the home, officers located Sheetal Wrzesien, who was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple ballistic injuries.

The suspect, 56-year-old Kirk B Wrzesien—the victim’s husband—was apprehended by law enforcement officers at the residence without further incident. He is currently being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

Severe Criminal Charges Formalised

The Cobb County Police Department has confirmed that the fatal shooting stemmed entirely from an escalating domestic confrontation within the household. Arraignment documents reveal that the suspect faces five major criminal counts:

• Homicide: One count of felony murder.
• Aggravated Assault: Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, relating to the attacks on both his wife and son.
• Weapons Offences: Two counts of illegally possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.

While the surviving son was rushed to a local medical facility for emergency surgery, his current medical status has not been publicly updated by health authorities.

A Distinguished Career in Technology

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through both the local Georgia community and the international tech sector. Sheetal Wrzesien was a highly respected figure in the Atlanta technology landscape, having spent her youth across England, India, and Ghana before relocating to the United States.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/indian-origin-google-tech-leader-sheetal-wrzesien-shot-dead-in-us-son-critically-injured-husband-arrested-10205791.html

Munir’s inclusion in the committee comes amid his steadily expanding role in Pakistan’s policymaking architecture.

Pakistan has constituted a high-level committee on population management that includes Field Marshal Asim Munir, expanding the military chief’s role into another area of public policy as the country grapples with one of the fastest population growth rates in South Asia.

The development was announced by Pakistan’s health minister Syed Mustafa Kamal during a joint meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services and the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, newspaper Dawn reported. Kamal reportedly told lawmakers that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had convened several high-level meetings on population management and constituted a committee to address the issue.

Besides Munir, the committee includes finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and planning minister Ahsan Iqbal.

“The government is treating this issue with the highest priority and important policy decisions are being taken at every level,” Kamal told the parliamentary panel, according to Dawn.

Pak’s concern

The move underscores Islamabad’s concern over rapid population growth at a time when the country is trying to stabilise its economy after years of financial stress and repeated International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts.

Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country, recorded a population of about 241.5 million in its 2023 digital census, with an annual growth rate of 2.55%. Government officials have warned that, if current trends continue, the country could become the world’s fourth most populous nation by the end of the decade.

During the Senate committee meeting, Kamal said Pakistan records around 6.7 million births every year and argued that greater access to family planning services could reduce annual population growth by about 1.5 million people.

He also blamed the existing National Finance Commission (NFC) Award formula — which allocates 82% of federal resource distribution based on population — for creating an incentive for provinces to maintain higher population growth. He suggested reducing the population component in the formula to 50%.

The minister cited the limited availability of contraceptives as one of the factors contributing to high birth rates and said tax exemptions had been granted on contraceptive products, Dawn further reported.

Representatives of the Council of Islamic Ideology told the meeting there was no sectarian disagreement over measures to address rapid population growth, according to the report.

Population welfare became a provincial subject after Pakistan’s 18th Constitutional Amendment, prompting lawmakers at the meeting to question how the federal government planned to implement any new policy. Officials from the Ministry of Law reportedly said Parliament could not legislate on subjects exclusively devolved to provinces, following which the committee called for consultations among legal experts, religious scholars and parliamentary bodies.

Munir’s inclusion in the committee comes amid his steadily expanding role in Pakistan’s policymaking architecture.

Appointed army chief in November 2022 as General, Munir was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal after the India-Pakistan military conflict in 2025. Later that year, Pakistan, which has a history of direct military rule, created the post of Chief of Defence Forces, making Munir the country’s first holder of the office with unified command over the armed forces.

Munir’s profile rises and rises

Beyond his military responsibilities, Munir is also a member of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military body set up to fast-track investment proposals and coordinate economic decision-making. His participation in the newly constituted population management committee adds another policy domain to the list of government bodies on which he serves.

It remains unclear when the population committee will submit its recommendations.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/asim-munir-will-now-try-to-control-pakistans-population-field-marshal-put-on-a-high-level-committee-by-shehbaz-sharif-101783778118516.html

The boat capsized around 400 metres (1,310 feet) off Hon May Rut Ngoai Island near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, state media reported, citing authorities

A boat carrying capsized near Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island, killing at least 15 Indian tourists. The Indian Embassy in Vietnam said it is in touch with local authorities and is closely monitoring the situation.

Authorities confirmed that a total of 15 Indian tourists are among the people who have died in the incident. The boat was carrying 36 tourists, including 32 Indians and four crew members, when it capsized near Hon May Rut Ngoai Island off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc, the authorities said.

The Indian embassy shared the names of the 32 people who were onboard, later on X. It also said control rooms have been established at the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City and at the Embassy in Hanoi to provide information and assistance.

The Indian embassy in Vietnam has given following numbers to reach the first control room: 84 36 281 7930, 84 91 552 37 14 and 84 33 452 0414. The other one in Hanoi can be reached at: 84 91 308 9165.

As per information received from official sources, the following 32 Indian tourists were onboard the boat which capsized near Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam a few hours ago.

We are ascertaining further details of casualties and would update soon.@cghcm pic.twitter.com/geddttdpWB

— India in Vietnam (@AmbHanoi) July 11, 2026

The boat overturned about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Island

The boat capsized around 400 metres (1,310 feet) off Hon May Rut Ngoai Island near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, authorities told state media, according to AP.

Eyewitnesses said nearby boats rushed to the scene and began pulling passengers from the water before border guards, the navy, coast guard and other rescue teams joined the operation. Rescue efforts were hampered as several passengers were trapped inside the overturned vessel, a report said.

Authorities said 21 people were rescued, while all 15 victims were recovered. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Phu Quoc, located in the Gulf of Thailand, is one of Vietnam’s most popular beach destinations. Hon May Rut Island, about 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of Phu Quoc, is known for its white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, attracting millions of domestic and international tourists every year.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/boat-carrying-indian-tourists-capsizes-near-vietnam-phu-quoc-island-embassy-monitoring-situation-death-toll-injured-101783761606068.html

Defending champion Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic’s latest bid to claim a record 25th Grand Slam title in ruthless fashion with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win on Friday to ​set up a Wimbledon final against Alexander Zverev.
The searing temperatures of previous days dipped for the day’s semi-finals but Sinner turned up the heat on the 39-year-old Djokovic ‌who barely laid a glove on the Italian.

Earlier, second seed Zverev put an end to the tournament’s most unexpected storyline as he snuffed out the dream run of British wildcard Arthur Fery with a dominant 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4 win to become the first German to reach the men’s singles final since Boris Becker in 1995.

Sinner will bid for a fifth Grand Slam title on Sunday while Zverev, having needed 41 attempts to win his first last month, will be ​seeking to complete a French Open-Wimbledon double.

CLOCK TICKING ON DJOKOVIC RECORD HOPES

For Djokovic it was a fifth loss in his last six Grand Slam semi-finals and the clock is ​ticking for the Serb and his hopes of moving ahead of Margaret Court on the all-time list for most major titles in the history ⁠of the sport.
The Centre Court crowd, who were not always Djokovic’s firmest fans when he battled Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for supremacy, joined in chants of “Nole, Nole” throughout the match and ​willed him to make a fight of it.

But Sinner was just too good, serving 16 aces and conceding just six points on his first serve.
After Djokovic left the famous arena to loud applause, ​Sinner paid tribute to a player who still remains better than virtually every player in the world.

DJOKOVIC SAYS SINNER WAS ‘AT CRUISING SPEED’

“It’s the most special tournament we have and it means a lot to me, of course, playing against Novak,” Sinner said on court.
“He is still a true inspiration not only for you guys, but also for the new generation. What he’s doing is incredible.”
Seventh seed Djokovic, who was attempting to become the oldest Grand ​Slam finalist since Ken Rosewall reached the 1974 U.S. Open final, admitted there was little he could do against a rampant Sinner who is in his seventh Grand Slam final.
“Was a good ​old blowout, nothing much I could do,” Djokovic, who vowed to return next year for another go, told reporters. “It’s very simple. He was just a level or more better than I was. I was just not ‌sharp enough.

Super-sub Mikel Merino snatched another late winner for Spainon Friday after Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens failed to hold onto the ball as they claimed a 2-1 win over their injury-hit opponents and set up ‌a World Cup semi-final clash with France.
After the teams went in level at 1-1 following the first half, Spain eventually prevailed when Belgian back-up keeper Lammens, who came on in the second period for the injured Thibaut Courtois, spilled Pau Cubarsi’s low strike.

The ball bounced in front of Lammens, giving Merino just enough time to fire home as the sold-out crowd largely backing Spain erupted on a sweltering day at Los Angeles Stadium.
“There are no such ​things as coincidences,” said Merino, who also scored a late winner as a substitute in Spain’s 1-0 round-of-16 victory over Portugal. “If you go into a match well-prepared, things ​tend to happen again.”
The last time Spain reached the semi-finals of the World Cup was in 2010, when they won the tournament.
“We are ⁠two matches away from winning the World Cup and that is what we are going after,” added Merino.

European champions Spain will face tournament favourites France in Dallas on Tuesday for a ​spot in the final.
“We’re going to work hard to try and beat France,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “They’ll be just as worried as we are.”

SPAIN AGGRESSIVE

Spain were aggressive early on ​against Belgium and Fabian Ruiz gave them the lead on the half-hour mark, pouncing after Courtois made an excellent diving save to fire a shot between defender Timothy Castagne’s legs and into the net.
Ruiz’s goal vindicated De la Fuente’s surprise decision to start the Paris St Germain midfielder in place of Pedri, who came on for Ruiz early in the second half.
Belgium responded 11 minutes later through Charles De Ketelaere, who timed his run ​perfectly and headed Castagne’s cross past keeper Unai Simon, the first goal Spain have conceded in the tournament.

The equaliser breathed new life into Belgium and the teams battled to halftime ​in the oppressive heat.
Spain came out energised after the break, controlling possession and chipping away at the Belgium defence, especially through electric 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was a threat throughout the match.
It felt inevitable that Spain, who ‌had 17 shots ⁠to Belgium’s five, would eventually score again and they did through Merino, who netted two minutes after being introduced in the 86th.
The attacking midfielder is the first player in World Cup history to score the winner in two different knockout stage matches as a substitute.
A Belgium side led by veterans Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku searched for another equaliser and, despite some promising chances, they could not find a way through.

BELGIUM INJURIES

Apple (AAPL.O), on Friday sued OpenAI and two former employees, alleging misappropriation of its trade secrets to ​benefit the ChatGPT-owner’s foray into consumer hardware, a dramatic escalation of already simmering tension between the two companies.
The complaint accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a broad effort to systematically acquire and exploit Apple’s ‌confidential information through former employees, recruiting practices and supplier relationships to accelerate its push into the consumer hardware business.

“We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets,” OpenAI said in a statement. “We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
The lawsuit sets up a battle over who will control future AI devices that may not use traditional apps or operating systems — devices which, if successful, would direct consumer attention away from Apple’s best-selling iPhone. Analysts believe OpenAI is working on a phone or other device of its own.
Tensions between ​the two tech companies have strained their relationship, as the race to develop AI products has intensified competition for talent and proprietary technology.

“Apple sees OpenAI moving from partner to potential rival, while OpenAI is trying ​to reduce its dependence on the iPhone and build a direct relationship with consumers,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. “Even if the allegations are not proven, the lawsuit could ⁠delay OpenAI’s hardware ambitions and further weaken what is already becoming an increasingly fragile partnership.”
Apple’s lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, comes just after OpenAI successfully fended off a legal ​challenge from Elon Musk’s xAI.
The two former Apple employees named in the suit are Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch, Tang Yew Tan. Neither immediately ​responded to a request for comment.

Apple alleged that Liu failed to return a company-issued work laptop and later used an authentication bug to access Apple’s internal network, downloading “dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files.”
The iPhone maker also claimed that OpenAI’s hardware chief Tan had been “methodically using Apple’s confidential information to benefit OpenAI” before his departure by emailing himself information about Apple suppliers and internal industry summaries. Tan worked on the iPhone for most of his 24-year tenure at Apple, according to his LinkedIn page.
Apple alleged that Tan encouraged Apple employees ​to bring parts from Apple to job interviews at OpenAI for “show and tell” sessions, citing an incident in its filing where one OpenAI job candidate allegedly said that he “didn’t even know we could take those from the office.”
OpenAI ​Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, the company’s commercial arm, and io Products, which OpenAI acquired, were also named as defendants.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

In its complaint, Apple claimed it wrote to OpenAI in February with concerns that its confidential information was making its way to OpenAI ‌and asking to ⁠discuss the matter, but it received no reply.
More than 400 former Apple employees now work for OpenAI, it said in its filing, adding that “it is not surprising” that some of them have knowledge of its confidential information.
“That OpenAI now employs people who were once entrusted with Apple’s trade secrets does not entitle OpenAI to use that information to jumpstart its hardware efforts,” the iPhone maker wrote in its complaint.
Apple also alleged that OpenAI employees sought confidential information from Apple suppliers, at one point allegedly having one of those suppliers carry out what Apple called a secret metal finishing technique on the belief that OpenAI had Apple’s permission to use the technique.
Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School, ​said that Apple’s complaint “has the potential to be a ​very big case” but that some of what Apple ⁠alleges, such as OpenAI’s hiring of hundreds of Apple employees, is not illegal in California, where Silicon Valley sprang up in part thanks to state laws that allow employees leave for a competitor.
“But if Apple’s claims that the employees took confidential documents with them — and that OpenAI is using those documents — are true, that is a problem for OpenAI,” Lemley ​said.
Camilla Hrdy, a law professor at Rutgers Law School, said the case could become complex because most of the previous cases around AI and trade secrets have involved ​software rather than hardware.
“These trade secret ⁠lawsuits are frequently brought in the tech space, and we usually learn much, much more as the case develops. OpenAI is not a defendant that can’t afford to defend itself,” Hrdy said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/apple-sues-openai-alleging-misappropriation-trade-secrets-court-records-show-2026-07-10/

A new $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, ​Ontario, which President Donald Trump threatened to block, is set to open on July 27 after the U.S. and Canada struck ‌a deal on toll revenue, the Canadian government said late on Friday.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge had been set to open in June. In February, Trump cited financial concerns and threatened to block the bridge named after the legendary Detroit Red Wings hockey player.

Canada said it struck a deal with the U.S. government on “a series of cooperative measures focused on toll ​governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a ​portion of profits from bridge operations.”
President Trump said on Saturday he had secured a “much better deal” for the United ⁠States, allowing the opening of the bridge to proceed.
“The original deal made was unacceptable to me,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “The new deal ​is great, and fair.”
Michigan Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said earlier on WJR radio that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him the administration reached ​a deal that will be announced in the coming days to allow the bridge to open soon.

Rogers said the U.S. “went from getting no revenue” to getting significant revenue. “We’re going to get the bridge open and we’re going to get a much better deal,” Rogers said.
A source confirmed a deal had been reached and that the U.S. would get 50% ​of toll revenue and be able to veto any toll hike that is 10% more than the current tolls. Lutnick struck a deal after talks ​in recent weeks with Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of U.S. trade, the source said.
The bridge has become an issue in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race as Trump’s Republicans ‌campaign to ⁠hold their majority in that branch of Congress.
A formal ribbon-cutting had been planned for mid-June.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month Canada agreed to delay the opening at the request of the Trump administration.

In February, Trump cited Canada’s refusal to stock some U.S. alcoholic beverages on Canadian store shelves, Canada’s tariffs on dairy products and its trade talks with China as grounds for why he might not allow the bridge to open.
Matthew Moroun, owner of the rival ​Ambassador Bridge that connects Detroit and Windsor, ​in February met with Lutnick ⁠after weeks earlier donating $1 million to a Trump-aligned political action committee. The Ambassador Bridge company, which did not respond to a request for comment, actively campaigned for years to block the new bridge.
Construction of the Gordie Howe bridge, which ​began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the U.S. declined to pay for it. The costs were ​to be covered by ⁠tolls over 30 years and it was not immediately clear how the split in revenue would affect the repayment schedule.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/new-us-canada-bridge-open-soon-michigan-republican-says-2026-07-10/

The White House spent months looking for ways to bypass a federal election agency and use emergency powers to force changes to ​voting machines, before President Donald Trump ousted its leaders on Thursday, four people familiar with the matter said.
Some officials were frustrated with what they saw as the Election Assistance ‌Commission’s slowness in updating guidelines for states on voting machines, the sources said, while some also wanted it to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to its national mail voter registration form and address other election-related priorities of the administration.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the firings as an attempt to increase its control over U.S. elections, which are the purview of the states, and as undermining election integrity ahead of November’s midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake.
Trump fired the bipartisan ​federal agency’s two Democratic commissioners and allowed its lone Republican commissioner to resign, Reuters reported on Thursday. The agency’s fourth commissioner departed in April.
It was not immediately clear why Trump decided to ​force the commissioners out at this time or if they will be replaced. The agency remains operational, but without a quorum it cannot take up ⁠any new business, such as implementing changes to voting procedures or the national mail voter registration form.

“The administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections ​from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections,” the White House said in a Friday statement when asked about the discussions on sidestepping the ​commission.
Trump and his allies have pressed Congress to adopt nationwide voting changes and argued that some voting systems require upgrades, as Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
In a Thursday statement confirming the firings, the White House cited a Supreme Court decision in June that granted the president more power to fire members of independent agencies.
“(The president) reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s ​elections,” the statement said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the dismissals a “brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast” in the midterms.
“He is ​gutting the independent agency that certifies voting systems and helps election officials run secure elections,” Schumer said.

OFFICIALS DISCUSSED PROPOSAL FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY

As early as last fall, White House officials reviewed a recommendation from the Office of the Director ‌of National ⁠Intelligence to declare a national emergency and create a federal task force that could compel states to address vulnerabilities in voting systems, without going through the elections commission, according to the four sources.
The ODNI did not respond to a request for comment.
The agency at that time was finalizing its probe of voting machines it had seized from Puerto Rico.

ODNI officials concluded that there were flaws in the Puerto Rico machines that they believed could exist elsewhere, two of the sources said. Election experts have said the U.S. territory, which does not vote in presidential elections, lags the states in implementing the latest voting system guidelines.
The report ​was never published and the recommendation was never acted ​upon, but complaints about the elections commission continued, ⁠the two sources said.
During the same period, the two sources said, officials from the Department of Homeland Security, ODNI and the White House met with the commission’s leaders to discuss their concerns, including flaws that they believed could have contributed to abnormalities in 2020 — claims that have been widely debunked.
The elections ​commission is responsible for setting guidelines for states on voting machine systems. Some Trump officials have argued internally that there are states operating with ​outdated software, three of the ⁠sources familiar with the conversations said, and felt the agency was moving too slowly to push for updates.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-officials-sought-ways-sidestep-election-agency-before-firings-sources-say-2026-07-11/

The children were abducted some two months ago at three schools in the town of Orire in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state.

The Nigerian military rescued 46 children who had been abducted by Islamist militants, Nigeria’s government said on Friday.

The abductions occurred some two months ago at three schools in the town of Orire in southwestern Oyo state.

The raid on schools in the agrarian communities of Esiele and Yawota became a critical social issue and sparked protests and a monthlong statewide teachers’ strike.

“I am profoundly happy that our security forces successfully rescued the abducted pupils and teachers from Orire, Ogbomoso in Oyo State today after a military, police and intelligence-driven operation that neutralized some of the terrorists that perpetrated the evil act and the arrest of eight of them,” President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.

Tinubu said that no “concession” was made to militants and no ransom was paid.

He attributed the abductions to the Ansaru militant group, which is an offshoot of Boko Haram.

A Nigerian government spokesperson said several militants were killed and eight were arrested in the operation to rescue the students.

Oyo officials said one teacher was killed in captivity.

One teacher was killed during the initial raid that led to the abductions, Nigerian media reported.

What is the security situation in Nigeria?

Militant groups and gangs in Nigeria have stepped up abductions for ransom in recent years, commonly targeting schools.

Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde said, “Our priority now is to ensure they are reunited with their families.”

More than 40 other children — some as young as 2 — were taken from their schools in northeast Borno state on the same day as the Oyo kidnapping. They are still in captivity.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nigerian-military-rescues-46-abducted-school-children/a-77912381

An overnight assault reached key oil facilities in southern Russia, adding pressure to a fuel network already strained by repeated Ukrainian strikes.

The latest strikes have hit Russia’s oil infrastructure after President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the repeated attacks were causing fuel shortages across the country.

What do we know about Ukraine’s latest strikes on Russia?

Officials said the Ilsky refinery in the Krasnodar region caught fire after drone debris fell across the surrounding Severskaya district, including into the courtyard of a private home.

The refinery, which can process around 138,000 barrels of oil a day, has been targeted several times before.

In the neighboring Rostov region, firefighters battled blazes at two fuel depots in the Azov district and at the Taganrog sea port, Governor Yury Slyusar said on Telegram.

The Kyiv Post newspaper said early reports suggested the fire was at Taganrog’s Kurgannefteprodukt oil terminal, which unloads and loads petroleum products onto sea-going vessels.

Taganrog Mayor Svetlana Kambulova said residents were evacuated from homes in the affected areas. A private house was damaged, while the roof of an administrative building caught fire.

Local authorities reported no injuries.

Russian authorities frequently attribute fires and damage following drone attacks to falling debris from intercepted drones. Ukrainian and independent accounts often describe the same incidents as successful direct strikes.

How effective are Ukraine’s attacks on oil infrastructure?

Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian energy and other infrastructure in recent months in an effort to weaken Moscow’s ability to finance and sustain its war.

Repeated strikes on Russian refineries have contributed to fuel shortages, long lines at filling stations and higher prices across the country.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/ukrainian-drone-strikes-ignite-fires-at-russian-oil-sites/a-77900682

Former UK minister Ann Widdecombe has died aged 78, with a 26-year-old man arrested in connection with her death.

UK police on Friday (Jul 10) launched a murder probe after a former government minister was found dead in her home.

Tributes had been pouring in Friday for Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP who later pushed for Brexit and joined the hard-right Reform party, after news she had been found dead on Thursday at the age of 78.

But police later announced that “a murder investigation has been launched following the suspicious death” of Widdecombe at her home in Devon county in southwest England.

“She had sustained serious injuries,” police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman told reporters, adding a 26-year-old white British man had been arrested in connection with Widdecombe’s death.

He said he “had no information to say it was a politically motivated crime” and her death was not being treated as terror-related.

Widdecombe, a Conservative MP from 1987 to 2010, was known for her strong Christian faith and outspoken views.

In 1995 as prisons minister she was embroiled in a row after defending a policy of chaining pregnant prisoners to prevent them from escaping.

REALITY TV

Years later, she endeared herself to the public when she appeared in 2010 on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show where celebrities with no dance experience are paired with a professional partner.

Her “galumphing” moves, as she described her dance style, helped her survive to the show’s quarter-finals thanks to the vote from the public, who cheered on her ability to laugh at herself.

“For many, of course, she will be best (or worst?) remembered for her unforgettable appearances on Strictly,” her management agency Cloud9 said in a statement.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ann-widdecombe-murdered-dies-uk-minister-6247181

IRAN hatched a chilling new plan to kill Donald Trump, according to Israeli intelligence, which caused the US president to fear for his life.

Tel Aviv’s stark warning came just before Trump revealed his concerns at a Nato summit on Wednesday as he said he fears his luck won’t last long in surviving any more assassination attempts.

For six years, Iran has vowed to take out the POTUS in revenge for the 2020 killing of the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani.

The top Iranian general was assassinated by a US airstrike ordered by Trump during his first term in office as he hid out in Iraq.

Dozens of other members of Iran‘s top brass have also been wiped out by Trump during the ongoing war in the Middle East – including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel sent a message directly to the White House in recent days warning them Iran was plotting their revenge, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tel Aviv are said to have sent across an intelligence report proving the threats were credible.

The White House responded to the reports by directing people towards Trump’s own quotes from the Nato summit.

Trump told world leaders and the press: “They [Iran] want to take out the US leader, me. I’m on every list.

“I saw a thing this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky.”

The White House did not confirm if Trump was referring to the Israeli report.

Washington also took extra safety precautions as they returned to the US after the trip to Ankara, Turkey.

Trump had travelled to Turkey in his new Qatar-gifted $400 million “flying palace” jet.

But on the way back he made a brief stop in the UK to mysteriously switch Air Force One planes.

The change was later confirmed by Washington as a strategic “distraction” to keep Trump secure.

It comes as Trump’s war in Iran has reignited in recent days after brief hopes of a permanent ceasefire.

Multiple nights of explosions have rung out across Tehran as Trump targeted the rogue nation’s military sites.

The renewed strikes come after Trump hit out at the regime after three attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s current blitzes on Iran could last a day or two, a week or a month, a US official told Axios.

Trump is no stranger to surviving assassination attempts.

In 2024, during an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, Trump was shot in the ear by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20.

Trump was left bloodied as the shooter was killed by Secret Service agents who quickly managed to bundle the soon-to-be president to safety.

A few weeks later, Trump was again rushed to safety as Secret Service agents opened fire on a gunman brandishing an AK-47 in nearby bushes.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16667680/iran-plot-kill-trump-israel-warns-us/

The Iranian ministry also denied Trump’s claims that Tehran had requested the US to continue the talks.

Iran has warned the US of a “reciprocal action” if it breaches any commitments, days after US President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire with Tehran is “over”.

“Any US breach of commitments will be met with ‘reciprocal action,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said, as quoted by state TV.

The ministry also denied Trump’s claims that Tehran had requested the US to continue the talks. “We did not request negotiations with the US, but we accepted the Qatari mediators’ trip to Iran,” it said.

‘War won’t end with Iran’s surrender’

Days after hostilities between the decades-old foes resumed with tit-for-tat attacks, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, asserted that the war with the US would not end with Tehran’s surrender.

“Ending the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone must know that this confrontation will never end with Iran’s surrender. Whenever the Americans betray the understanding (agreement), we are fully prepared to defend ourselves; we will stand firmly against them and secure the rights of the Iranian people,” he said.

The Iranian leader also said that during negotiations with the US, he made it clear to US Vice President JD Vance that Iran has “no trust in them”.

“From my point of view, those who can negotiate with America are those who are prepared for war,” he added.

Ali Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, also echoed Ghalibaf’s remarks, saying that the talks with the US are “not peace negotiations”.

“If you see that the Islamic Republic talks about negotiations, it is not about peace negotiations. Can we make peace with criminal America? Our identity is ‘non-compromise with arrogance’. Negotiation means war, and war has different forms. Anyone who wants to negotiate in order to reach peace with America is a traitor. Anyone who sends a message of friendship to America, their mouth is impure and unclean,” he said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/irans-big-reciprocal-action-warning-to-us-as-trump-says-deal-over-us-iran-war-us-iran-talks-ghalibaf-donald-trump-11756474?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

A Flamingo Air plane crashed near North Andros Airport in the Bahamas on Friday, killing 10 people. Authorities have launched an investigation.

Several people were killed after a Flamingo Air aircraft crashed in North Andros, the Bahamas, on Friday, prompting authorities to launch an investigation and temporarily suspend the airline’s operations.

According to local authorities, the police control room received reports of a plane crash in the Pine Yard area near North Andros Airport. Police initially said seven people were on board the aircraft. However, Bahamian authorities later confirmed that 10 people were killed in the crash.

Videos circulating on social media showed the aftermath of the crash near North Andros Airport as emergency responders arrived at the scene. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis initially said police had informed him that there were multiple casualties and that one person had survived the crash.

Sardar Amman Khan openly challenged the ruling establishment, promising to dismantle their grip on the region

In an explosive escalation that signals a complete breakdown of Islamabad’s administrative and military control over Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), prominent civil rights leader Sardar Amman Khan has delivered a direct ultimatum to Pakistani security forces to immediately vacate the city of Rawalakot.

Addressing a massive, highly charged public gathering at the Eidgah Ground, the core member of the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) openly challenged the ruling establishment, promising to dismantle their grip on the region. A visibly furious Khan aggressively condemned the state-sanctioned narrative broadcast by Pakistani media networks, which has repeatedly painted local civil rights demonstrations as a threat to the broader regional freedom movement. Refusing to accept the establishment’s propaganda, Khan slammed the state broadcasters as completely detached from the realities of the ground, dismissing them in a blistering on-camera takedown as the “illegitimate children of Heera Mandi”.

Open Challenge to ‘Rawalpindi’s Puppets’

The fiery address focused heavily on the deep corporate and political subversion of local governance by external handlers. Khan openly attacked the Pakistani ruling elite, exposing them as compromised puppets operating entirely under the leverage of foreign powers. In a blunt geopolitical swipe that resonated through the crowd, Khan declared that the establishment’s true father is America, asserting that the local populace would no longer allow foreign-backed interests to dictate their constitutional and economic survival.

Khan strongly condemned the escalating state violence and heavy-handed tactical crackdowns deployed by the frontier forces. He questioned the moral authority of an administration that points assault rifles and threatens to spray bullets at its own citizens rather than addressing fundamental public demands. Emphasising that PoJK has maintained an unblemished, eight-decade history of absolute peace, linguistic harmony, and communal brotherhood, Khan alleged that any past instances of regional violence were entirely manufactured by corrupt political actors sitting in the Muzaffarabad Assembly solely for electoral gains. Proclaiming Rawalakot as the absolute heart of the resistance movement, he warned the state apparatus to retreat entirely and called on the public to assemble in full force for a decisive, irreversible march on July 15.

Intelligence Inputs: The Structural Collapse of the Proxy Haven

According to exclusive insights obtained from top Indian intelligence sources, this unprecedented internal revolt reflects a deep-seated structural breakdown within Pakistan’s economic and security framework. What originally began as a localised, grassroots protest against runaway inflation, unfair electricity billing, and the sudden withdrawal of essential wheat subsidies has successfully evolved. The JAAC has effectively capitalised on these acute economic grievances, converting them into a total, widespread rejection of Islamabad’s constitutional authority over the territory.

A primary trigger for the immense local rage is the blatant hypocrisy of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence. Highly placed intelligence sources note that Rawalpindi has historically used this occupied zone as a heavily protected staging ground for radical proxy groups, actively allowing proscribed outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed to hold open, armed rallies in the streets of Rawalakot. Today, the cash-strapped state is turning those identical weapons against peaceful local citizens while absurdly labelling civil rights activists as terrorists.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/illegitimate-children-of-heera-mandi-pok-leader-blasts-pakistani-media-tells-army-to-vacate-rawalakot-exclusive-10204792.html

The incident occurred during a seminar in Bangladesh when diplomat Puja Jha immediately objected after an incorrect map showed J&K as part of Pakistan.

An incorrect map, followed by a prompt correction and an equally swift clarification, has drawn attention online this week after an exchange at a seminar in Dhaka over the depiction of Jammu and Kashmir.

The incident occurred during a foreign policy seminar in Bangladesh when India’s Second Secretary at the High Commission in Dhaka, Puja Jha, immediately objected after an incorrect map showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan.

“Sir, this is an incorrect map. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” Jha said.

The exchange took place during a seminar titled Rebuilding Trust, Renewing Regional Integration: Pathways for Revitalising SAARC at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka on Monday.

Following the objection, former diplomat Tariq A. Karim clarified that the map had been used for “representational purposes only” and “doesn’t project actual boundaries”.

Jha responded: “I understand, sir, but Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and it is misrepresented here. So I wanted to point it out.”

BREAKING: Indian diplomat Puja Jha, Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, FIRMLY corrected a DISTORTED map at a BIISS seminar that WRONGLY showed Jammu & Kashmir as part of Pakistan.

🗣️ “J&K is an INTEGRAL & INALIENABLE part of India.” pic.twitter.com/TOaLeM8rxL

— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) July 10, 2026

Karim then asked whether Jha was from India, following which the Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission introduced herself.

“Point noted,” Karim said before resuming his presentation.

The exchange in Dhaka is the latest in a series of instances where Indian diplomats have publicly challenged what New Delhi describes as inaccurate representations or allegations concerning the country in international forums.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/incorrect-map-jk-integral-part-of-india-indian-diplomat-corrects-bangladeshi-counterpart-at-seminar-ws-l-10204698.html

Landslides triggered by one of the strongest storms in decades have killed at least 15 people in the southern Philippines, as parts of East Asia brace themselves for the looming storm.

Typhoon Bavi, which spans 1,000km (620 miles) at its widest point – roughly the width of France – is sweeping across the Pacific towards Taiwan.

It is expected to dump rain on Taiwan’s north and east, and on a chain of remote Japanese islands, before making landfall in south-eastern China on Saturday.

Dozens of flights have been cancelled while schools have suspended classes across the region. Supermarket shelves have been wiped clean as residents stock up on supplies ahead of the typhoon.

On the Philippine island of Mindanao, families have been buried overnight by landslides, and rescuers are still searching for those missing.

Moderate to heavy rains will continue to drench parts of the country throughout the weekend, officials say.

Taiwanese authorities have warned that Bavi could bring up to 1m (39 inches) of rainfall. Some 29,000 soldiers have been put on standby to help with relief efforts, according to the island’s defence ministry.

Bavi is set to be the largest storm, by size, to hit the island since 1987, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration told Reuters.

Farmers across the region rushed to harvest or protect their crops while the weather held earlier on Friday, while fishermen made sure to secure their vessels tightly.

“Don’t be fooled by the nice and calm weather now. A storm like this could be the most terrifying,” 60-year-old fisherman Chen Ming-hui told Reuters.

Thousands of sandbags have been distributed to residents and shop-owners in flood-prone areas.

Across the strait, China has also warned of “significant impact” from the typhoon that could move northward after smashing into the south-eastern Fujian province.

“Bavi’s large size and abundant energy mean its remnants and outer rainbands could move from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces toward the Bohai Sea region,” said Ma Jun, director of China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.

The northern provinces, which have “less experience” dealing with typhoons in comparison with the south, should “strengthen preparations”, he warned.

Some forecasts suggest Bavi could make landfall twice in China.

In Japan, residents on the remote Sakishima Islands are also on high alert. Photographs shared online show some of them taping up windows and draping windproof nets across their homes and shops.

Various airlines have grounded flights in the region. Japan Airlines, for instance, has axed more than 100 flights for Friday and Saturday, disrupting travel for nearly 20,000 passengers.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04y6wr03gxo

Russia has been using small drones flown via fibre-optic cables ​to bypass Ukrainian defences and damage high-voltage electricity substations in the frontline northern Ukrainian region of Sumy, open-source analysis shows.
Footage of ‌the new spate of strikes, which has been posted on Russian social media channels, was verified by the Centre for Information Resilience, an open-source investigation group based in London, and confirmed by Reuters.

Russia has regularly bombarded Ukrainian energy facilities, especially in frontline provinces, throughout the war. In ​response, Ukrainian authorities have covered high-voltage transformers with vast concrete sarcophagi and anti-drone nets.
Ukraine’s frontline regions also teem with ​electronic warfare systems designed to disrupt the radio signals controlling the drones.
However, small, nimble First Person ⁠View (FPV) drones flown by fibre optic cable are immune to signal interference as long as their thin, translucent cable is ​not cut or snagged.

RUSSIA APPEARS TO WANT TO BLACK OUT UKRAINIAN REGIONS

Joshua Scriven, an investigator at CIR, said the Russians were ​creating holes in the protective netting by breaking it with a first drone before sending a second one through the gap.

Since May, Russia has been using these drones to navigate around the vast structures of the sarcophagus and find their way through ventilation holes to a central ​piece of equipment: the autotransformer.
Taking out the autotransformer, which in a 330-kilovolt substation is worth about $3.5 million, brings down the entire ​transformer unit, said Oleksandr Kharchenko, head of the Energy Research Centre in Kyiv.
CIR has verified four such strikes on large and seemingly well-defended ‌330 ⁠kV substations, and at least four more on smaller, less defended 110 kV substations.
The locations of the strikes on 330 kV substations range from 16 to 26 km (10-16 miles) from the frontline, according to Deepstate, independent producer of an online battlefield map, demonstrating the growing range of small fibre-optic drones.

Erika Kirk was allowed on Friday to watch surveillance video, as she ​had requested, that prosecutors say shows the Utah man accused of killing her husband, right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
While the proceedings of the five-day hearing, on ‌whether Tyler Robinson should stand trial in the case, have mostly been livestreamed in accordance with Erika Kirk’s call for transparency, the enhanced video compilation of recordings by campus surveillance cameras was shown only to those present in the courtroom.

Reuters was not in the courtroom and was unable to view the video, which prosecutors said shows Robinson in several different areas of Utah Valley University on September 10, the day Charlie Kirk was ​killed on the campus.
The Associated Press reported that Erika Kirk watched intently as the video showed a person running across the roof of the campus building from ​which investigators say Kirk was shot. When the figure was shown dropping to a crawl near the roof’s edge, AP reported that Erika Kirk ⁠turned and embraced Kirk’s crying mother and the two looked away until the video was almost over.

As Charlie Kirk’s legal representative under state law, Erika Kirk has called for all ​evidence presented at the hearing to be made public via a livestream, or otherwise shown to herself and others present in the courtroom.
Jeffrey Neiman, her lawyer, argued in a court filing on ​Wednesday that, without transparency, “speculation and conspiracy theories related to the tragic assassination of Mr. Kirk will continue to proliferate.”
District Court Judge Tony Graf, who viewed the surveillance video earlier in the week but had not allowed it to be shown publicly in court, has weighed the request for transparency against concerns that allowing the public to see certain evidence at this preliminary stage would make it difficult to find impartial jurors ​if a trial is held.
Graf had called for parts of a pivotal interview with Robinson’s roommate to be redacted, and some prosecution evidence has only been displayed in the courtroom, not publicly ​livestreamed.

The judge will rule later this year on whether Robinson should stand trial, after hearing oral arguments scheduled for September 1.

ROLE OF WIDOW

The 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump, was ‌killed in ⁠front of thousands as he debated students at Utah Valley University. It was one of the highest-profile incidents among a series of attacks on politicians and prominent figures that have intensified concern over U.S. political violence. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., attended the first day of this week’s hearing alongside Kirk’s wife.
Erika Kirk, 37, a podcaster, businesswoman and former Miss Arizona USA, took over leadership of Turning Point USA, the conservative group her husband co-founded, following his death.
Utah, like most states, grants a deceased person’s family the right to be informed of court proceedings and ​to be heard at sentencing hearings. Erika Kirk, ​through her lawyer, has argued in court ⁠that Utah’s crime victim law allows her, as a victim representative, to see all evidence presented in court.

In a statement released on Friday after court proceedings adjourned, the Kirk family said: “As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that ​the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day.”
The defense has argued that prosecutors will represent certain ​evidence, such as the ⁠interview with Robinson’s roommate, as “confessions” that he killed Kirk.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/charlie-kirks-widow-views-video-she-requested-husbands-alleged-killer-2026-07-10/

France captain Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty but curled in a superb goal ‌on the hour as France struck twice in six minutes to brush aside Morocco 2-0 on Thursday and book their spot in the World Cup semi-finals.
Mbappe, who at 27 became the youngest player to rack up 20 World Cup appearances, also bagged his 20th World Cup goal with a curling shot from just inside the box before Ousmane Dembele ​added another six minutes later with a low drive to set up a last-four meeting with Belgium or Spain.

Mbappe is the tournament’s joint ​top scorer with eight goals, level with Lionel Messi, and he trails the Argentine by one goal in the World ⁠Cup all-time scoring list.
“That’s three (semi-finals) in a row — it’s good,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “It seems logical and natural, but you still have to get ​the job done. It was tricky, the penalty… when it’s Kylian. He never has any doubts.
“But we’re exactly where we wanted to be,” said Deschamps, who ​substituted Mbappe late in the game after a knock to his ankle. “We’re taking another step forward today, finding ourselves in the final four once again. It shows we’re right there in the mix.”

In a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, France, who have now kept clean sheets in all three knockout matches, looked the hungrier throughout with Morocco, aiming ​for a second straight last-four spot, badly missing injured forward Ismael Saibari, and failing to get a shot on target until the 84th minute.
“We are ​very disappointed, we wanted to advance,” said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi. ” We have to recognise that France is a great team with excellent players. France had the better scoring opportunities. We lacked ideas ‌and freshness, ⁠and we have to accept this defeat.
“Today France were stronger but we are able to compete and progress and maybe eliminate them in four years’ time,” Ouahbi said. Morocco are co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

MBAPPE EQUALS LLORIS RECORD

The French, bidding to become only the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals, started strongly with a couple of early chances.

Mbappe, who also equalled the all-time French record held by Hugo Lloris for World ​Cup matches, had an early opportunity with ​a low drive that Morocco ⁠keeper Yassine Bounou managed to tip wide.
France earned a 28th-minute penalty through Mbappe but Bounou calmly stood his ground, picked the correct side and smothered the France forward’s low effort. It was Mbappe’s first penalty miss for the national ​team since Euro 2020.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/mbappe-leads-france-comfortable-2-0-win-over-morocco-2026-07-09/

A fierce standoff between Costa Rica’s recently elected President Laura Fernandez and the country’s judiciary is ​stalling a coordinated state response to violent drug-related crime in the once-peaceful Central American nation.
The turmoil reflects a ‌broader crisis across Central America, a major cocaine transit corridor to the United States, where violence and corruption have destabilized governments as criminal groups exploit institutional weaknesses, experts say.

Costa Rica’s institutional clash, coming just two months into Fernandez’s term, has centered around significant budget cuts imposed on the judiciary and a legislative proposal to ​have Congress, rather than the Supreme Court, appoint the attorney general.
Tensions peaked last week when Fernandez accused the judiciary ​of being infiltrated by organized crime “to the core” and criticized courts for blocking the “iron fist” security policies ⁠her administration champions, inspired by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has radically brought down crime in El Salvador by incarcerating some ​90,000 people.

Judicial officials have denied corruption allegations, challenging Fernandez to provide evidence. They argue that budget cuts planned for 2026 and 2027 threaten ​democratic checks and balances and hinder the fight against crime.
Fernandez campaigned on a hardline anti-crime platform, vowing to restore order in Costa Rica, a country of 5.2 million people, where an average of two people are murdered every day. The homicide rate has largely remained steady since hitting a record ​17.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, double the rate of a decade ago.
Security Minister Gerald Campos told Reuters that only 38% of ​homicides result in a conviction. “The problem here is not a lack of an army… the problem is a lack of convictions in the courts,” ‌he said.
Experts, ⁠judicial authorities and the government attribute the crisis in Costa Rica to drug trafficking groups using the country’s strategic location to ship narcotics to northern markets.

OBSTACLES, DISCORD

“Facing an enemy with infinite resources… fighting among ourselves makes it very difficult to be prepared,” said Evelyn Villarreal, coordinator of the State of Justice report, a research program that evaluates the country’s judicial system.
Weeks after taking office, Fernandez called for ​the resignation of Attorney General Carlo ​Diaz and top Supreme Court ⁠magistrates, citing a lack of action on the security crisis. None have stepped down.
Patricia Solano, president of the country’s top criminal court, rejected claims that the judiciary is responsible for the crime surge. ​She argued the government aims to weaken a vital democratic institution.
“Since 2022, we have seen a ​systematic attack against ⁠the judiciary,” Solano said, referring to the period under former President Rodrigo Chaves, who is from the same party as Fernandez.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/costa-ricas-new-president-clashes-with-judiciary-over-tackling-drug-violence-2026-07-09/

Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator who became the oldest person to fly to space some 60 years after first undergoing astronaut training with 12 other American women ​at the dawn of the Space Age, has died in Texas at age 87.
Her death was announced in a statement posted on Thursday ‌to social media by the city of Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where Funk resided and died at her home the night before, according to the statement. No cause of death was given.

Funk, who was barred from NASA’s early astronaut corps because of her gender, made headlines late in life when she joined billionaire Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos as his honored guest along with two ​other passengers on the debut spaceflight of his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocketship in July 2021.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get to go up,” ​she said in a video interview posted on Blue Origin’s website when Bezos’ first crew list was unveiled weeks before the flight.
The 10-minute ⁠suborbital voyage established Funk, then 82, as the oldest person ever to reach outer space, surpassing the previous record claimed by retired Mercury astronaut John Glenn, who ​was 77 when he returned to space in 1998 as a U.S. senator flying aboard a NASA space shuttle.

‘I WANT TO GO AGAIN’

The two other passengers of Bezos’ inaugural ​space tourism flight were his brother Mark and an 18-year-old Dutch high school graduate who became the youngest person to reach space.
Emerging from the New Shepard capsule shortly after its safe parachute landing on the floor of the Texas desert, Funk told reporters, “I’ve been waiting a long time,” adding, “I want to go again, fast.”
Visibly exuberant with her broad smile, royal blue flight suit and short-cropped ​head of white hair, Funk instantly won a new generation of admirers on social media and beyond as White House spokesperson Jen Psaki proclaimed her “America’s new sweetheart.”
Funk’s record ​as the oldest person to reach space stood for nearly three months, until actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on the 1960s sci-fi television series “Star Trek,” was launched aboard Blue Origin’s second ‌New Shepard ⁠flight in October 2021.
Shatner was 90 years old at the time. Air Force veteran Ed Dwight eclipsed Shatner’s record, also at 90, on a Blue Origin flight in 2024. But Funk remains in the record books as the oldest woman to have traveled to space.
Long before finally achieving her ultimate ambition of spaceflight, Funk had trained more than 3,000 pilots, logged more than 19,000 hours of flight time and amassed a list of other achievements breaking aviation-related gender barriers.
Born in 1939, Mary Wallace Funk was the first ​female flight instructor at a U.S. military ​base, Fort Sill in Oklahoma, the ⁠first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
In 1961, Funk became the youngest of 13 women who passed the same rigorous battery of physical and psychological tests as the seven men ​selected for NASA’s original Mercury program that sent the first Americans into space between 1961 and 1963.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/science/pioneering-aviator-astronaut-trainee-wally-funk-dead-87-2026-07-10/

Germany has recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths so far this year, most of them in late June when weekly average ​temperatures far exceeded 20 degrees Celsius, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health ‌said on Thursday.
A majority of the deaths – around 4,270 – were among people aged 75 and older, the RKI said in a weekly report. More women than men died, mainly because they make up a higher share of ​the very elderly.

The German data add to a grim picture across Europe. The EU’s Copernicus ​Climate Change Service said in a bulletin on Thursday that Western Europe had experienced its ⁠hottest June on record with an average of 20.74 degrees.
National authorities have reported more than 4,700 ​excess deaths during the June 20-28 heatwave in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.
According to ​the RKI, the highest numbers of heat-related deaths in Germany in the past decade were recorded in 2018 and 2019, with 8,400 and 6,900 deaths, respectively.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GOVERNMENT

During the heatwave weekend of June 27-28, ​120 people died in the western German city of Cologne alone – four times as many as ​usual – said Katharina Droege, leader of the country’s Greens party, during a parliamentary debate.

Droege accused Chancellor Friedrich ‌Merz ⁠of failing so far to comment on the heatwave, despite the rising death toll and ongoing efforts by emergency services, and she accused his government of watering down climate protection laws.
The Greens have sharply criticised the government’s draft budget for 2027, in particular for drawing billions from climate ​protection in order to ​plug budget gaps.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/heat-wave-linked-more-than-5000-deaths-germany-rki-says-2026-07-09/

President Vladimir Putin is rejecting calls to negotiate peace with Kyiv, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters, with Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russia’s oil refineries and ports strengthening his resolve to keep fighting for now.
Two of ​the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Putin was instead likely to escalate the conflict, now well into its fifth year. One of them, who meets regularly with the president, described a “high ‌probability” of escalation in the coming months.

The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that Putin wanted the war to end and that a resolution was “closer than people realize.” Trump held separate phone calls with Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. He met Zelenskiy at the NATO summit on Wednesday where the Ukrainian president said they discussed “ideas to bring peace closer.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
One of the people familiar with Putin’s thinking said he had “dug in his heels” to achieve the key objective of capturing the remainder of ​Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where Russian advances have slowed this year. The same source said Putin recently rebuked a group of advisers suggesting a compromise based on a ceasefire along the current front lines. The second source ​said Putin believes Russia will soon capture the Donbas.

The Russian president publicly rebuffed a call by Zelenskiy in June for a meeting and a ceasefire.
“Russia is ready for a peaceful resolution but has ⁠enough capability to act independently and continue the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a request for comment for this story.
In response to a request for comment to Zelenskiy’s office, a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv’s ​intelligence reports in recent months reflected that Putin was preparing for further steps in the war rather than for peace, including new operations in Ukraine or a possible attack on another European country.
Some Western military analysts believe Russia would need a mandatory ​draft of fighting-age men to achieve the goal of taking the Donbas. The draft is a politically unpopular move Putin has been reluctant to make since early in the war.

Russian military experts have increasingly discussed escalation in public, including the possibility of hitting European targets such as NATO bases in Baltic countries.
Such a step would risk drawing Russia into direct confrontation with the U.S.-led alliance, testing the NATO commitment that an attack on one member nation constitutes an attack on all.
Russia could seek to sow tensions within NATO with isolated attacks, comparable to a recent Russian drone strike on ​Romania, according to Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a defence and security think tank in London.
“The Russians would not be aiming for a war with NATO. But it could be used to divide NATO over how to respond,” Watling ​said. He added that heightened tensions with NATO could help give Putin a political justification within Russia for military conscription.

RISING COSTS OF WAR

Repeated strikes on oil refineries, ports and storage depots in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine have caused severe fuel shortages, bringing the impact of ‌the war home ⁠to millions of Russians. Putin’s approval rating remains high but recently hit its lowest point since the war started in 2022, a poll showed.
Ukraine’s allies have seized on what they call a momentum shift in the war. Some call for additional economic sanctions to force Putin to end the conflict.
Ukraine’s recent successes, however, have made Putin more angry and more determined to give a tough response, according to the person who meets Putin regularly.
Russian forces have launched two major drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in the last week, including the capital Kyiv, killing dozens of civilians. Moscow said the assaults had struck military targets.
Speaking to generals last week in televised comments, Putin said Ukraine’s strikes on energy infrastructure meant Russia would seek to capture more Ukrainian land along the ​border, beyond Donbas, as a “security zone.”
A former Russian defence ministry ​official, Andrei Ilnitsky, said in a June 29 column ⁠for Kommersant newspaper that escalation in the conflict could start with the destruction of 30 major industrial sites in Ukraine, including a steel plant and Odesa port.
Russia has already caused widespread damage to commercial enterprises and ports across Ukraine. Production and exports have also been impacted by Russia’s repeated strikes on power facilities.
Ilnitsky added that the next phase could be strikes on NATO ​bases in the Baltic states and Romania as well as facilities in the European Union producing long-range drones and missiles for Ukraine.
Asked about Ilnitsky’s column, Kremlin spokesman Peskov told reporters ​this week that Russia should strengthen ⁠its own security and cannot “close its eyes” to the militarization of Europe.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-likely-escalate-ukraine-war-despite-trump-peace-push-sources-say-2026-07-09/

Belgium’s prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday’s NATO summit in Turkey to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage.
After NATO leaders gathered ​for Wednesday’s fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: ‌a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition indicating it was not just for show.

Erdogan wanted to showcase Turkey’s defence industry, which has become a key export and foreign policy tool.
Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shooter ​produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s.
It was set in a wooden display box featuring Turkey’s flag ​and the NATO logo as well as a placard inscribed “Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in ⁠our country” in Turkish and English.

ENGRAVED TURKISH REVOLVERS MAKE UNUSUAL GIFTS

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s spokesperson said all the leaders ​had been given the same model, engraved on the barrel with their own names.

The Belgian premier, Bart De Wever, handed his to Brussels’ airport ​police to be secured in a safe.
An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told Radio RMF FM that his revolver was awaiting customs clearance at Warsaw Airport and would be kept in an appropriate place “so that it is firstly safe and secondly respected as a gift”.

“Certainly no one ​will be shooting it,” he added.
The offices of the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers said their revolvers had been take to ​their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch one was due to be disabled while the Swedish one was awaiting import paperwork.
The gun given to ‌Britain’s ⁠Keir Starmer came with a cleaning kit and 500 bullets, a Downing Street source said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s revolver was already stored at the seat of government, the Palazzo Chigi, along with other state gifts.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was intending to donate hers to a military museum, while the leader of Greece planned to give his to the War Museum in ​Athens.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/turkeys-erdogan-gives-nato-leaders-revolver-conundrum-after-summit-2026-07-09/

Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on Thursday following U.S. strikes on Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces, further eroding a ‌three-week-old ceasefire.
Iranian media later reported multiple explosions across southern Iran, including Bushehr, where one of the country’s nuclear plants is located, along with Konarak, Choghadak and Bandar Abbas.

A U.S. official said there had been no American strikes in recent hours.
The attacks came as Iran buried its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a shrine in Mashhad, capping a week of funeral processions and rallies.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war on February 28, as part of a U.S.-Israeli ​barrage against Iran that set off a months-long conflict killing thousands and throttling worldwide energy supplies.
Attacks on Qatari and Saudi shipping vessels earlier this week upended the ceasefire, with U.S. President ​Donald Trump declaring the truce “over.”
Washington was still committed to finding a resolution with Iran and “technical talks continue”, according to a second U.S. official.

Trump’s inability to end ⁠the war has frustrated the president, whose Republican Party faces midterm elections later this year amid high gas prices and voter discontent.
Khamenei’s funeral procession reached the country’s holiest shrine with a huge crowd packing the courtyard, ​some bearing banners denouncing the U.S. president and reading, “We Will Kill Trump.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said the U.S. attacks and intervention in redirecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupting the waterway’s reopening.
The Guards said ​the number of vessels transiting the strait under Iranian supervision had recovered to about 50% of pre-war levels over the past two weeks, adding that permission was being granted only to ships using routes designated by Tehran.
Any further U.S. intervention will draw a “crushing response”, the Guards said.

The U.S. military said its strikes were aimed at keeping the strait open after it accused Iranian forces of attacking three tankers in the area.
The military said on Thursday the United States had helped facilitate the transit ​of more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil through the strait since early May and that Iran does not control the waterway.

Oil prices fell back on Thursday after spiking on concerns ​the fighting would disrupt global supplies.

TARGETING U.S. BASES IN GULF STATES AND JORDAN

U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday its forces had struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, and missile and drone storage ‌sites.
“This is ⁠in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The U.S. attacks had killed 14 people and injured 78 across five provinces on July 8 and 9, Iranian state media reported. The Fars news agency said one U.S. strike had hit a rail bridge used for trade with Russia and China.
Bushehr is home to a Russian-built nuclear power plant and a local official later told state media that a U.S. projectile had hit the perimeter area of the facility. The perimeter had already been hit several times before an April 8 ceasefire.
Iran’s ​army said in a statement released by state ​media that it had launched attacks on U.S. ⁠Patriot systems in Kuwait, an early-warning site in Qatar and a U.S. Army fuel depot in Bahrain.
Kuwait said its armed forces had engaged a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles and 10 drones in its airspace, and that one person had been injured by falling shrapnel.
Sirens also sounded in Jordan after missiles launched from ​Iran were detected, the state news agency reported. Eight were intercepted, with no injuries or damage reported.
The Revolutionary Guards later said Iran had fired ​10 ballistic missiles at Jordan’s ⁠Azraq military base, used by U.S. forces, and also at a U.S. military control center in the Middle East, without elaborating.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-says-it-hits-us-military-targets-gulf-prepares-bury-slain-leader-2026-07-09/

Vance said H-1B work visa programme was originally a route for “a brilliant technology person, or a brilliant scientist, or a brilliant doctor” to work legally in the United States.

The H-1B work visa programme, long used by US companies to hire skilled foreign professionals, is now at the centre of one of the Trump administration’s biggest fraud probes yet, and US Vice President JD Vance has a warning for those he accused of gaming the system at the cost of American jobs.

During a stop at the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refuelling Wing base in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Vance told the crowd that the Labour Department had already begun issuing subpoenas and opening investigations into what he called “foreign fraudsters” misusing the visa system.

“We have a program called the H-1B visa program. This goes to show how broad-based the fraud task force is we’re… we’re fighting for your taxpayer money, but we’re also making sure that fraudsters don’t take advantage of these visa programs,” he said.

Vance said the programme was originally a route for “a brilliant technology person, or a brilliant scientist, or a brilliant doctor” to work legally in the United States. That purpose, Vance argued, has been stretched too far. “But you know what’s happening way too much is that big corporations and fraudsters overseas are using this program to undercut the wages of American workers. So, you know what we’re doing in the Trump administration? We’re saying no more. If you are trying to take advantage of that visa program, you are not allowed into the United States of America,” he said.

“Here’s a simple principle, ladies and gentlemen: American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters, and the Department of Labour is fighting back against it,” Vance added.

Vance’s statement follows the launch of the Trump administration’s first major probe into suspected fraud within the H-1B and PERM visa categories, both routes used by US employers to hire foreign workers for specialised roles.

Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito told Fox News that his office had begun issuing subpoenas as part of a large-scale look into suspected labour trafficking and abuse of foreign worker visa programmes. “We are going to take aggressive action, which we believe is probably the most aggressive action against foreign labour fraud by an Inspector General, this administration,” he said.

D’Esposito said whistleblower tips had pointed investigators towards “some of the biggest companies, like Cognizant”, and that his team would “track down every lead”.

The investigators will “work side by side with the president and vice president’s fraud task force” during the course of the probe, D’Esposito said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-jobs-are-for-americans-not-foreign-fraudsters-vance-amid-h-1b-probe-11750743?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Health officials say the outbreak is spreading faster than the response effort, with authorities calling for US$1.4 billion in funding to contain the virus and expand emergency operations.

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is the “fastest growing” ever, African health authorities said Thursday (Jul 9), as the World Health Organisation said it had killed 600 people.

Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths.

“This is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola,” Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) told reporters.

The deadliest Ebola outbreak – in 2013-16 in West Africa – had 994 cases in the first six weeks, compared to 1,596 in the current one, he said.

“Unfortunately the virus is still ahead of our response. It’s moving faster than deploying the resources to control the situation,” Mankoula said, adding that the number of cases was estimated to be doubling every 28 days.

He said US$1.4 billion was needed in total for the disease and humanitarian response.

“We need to surge our response, and surging our response means financial resources, human resources,” Wessam said. “We are urging all partners, donors … to fast-track the disbursement of those resources.”

Ebola spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids. The current outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo, a rare species that has no approved vaccine or treatment and is believed to have spread for some time before it was detected.

The WHO’s figures for the DRC, which come from the health authorities in the vast country, show that the outbreak there has a case fatality rate of 34 per cent.

A total of 285 patients in the DRC have recovered, while 304 suspected cases of the viral haemorrhagic fever are under investigation.

The outbreak in northeastern DRC has hit four provinces but is focused on Ituri province.

The trial of two potential treatments for Bundibugyo began in the DRC on July 2, and is evaluating the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir, alone and in combination.

“FRAGILITY”

The DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a mineral-rich province plagued by armed groups.

“Population movements, persistent insecurity, and the fragility of the health system continue to complicate efforts to bring the outbreak under control,” Anne Ancia, the WHO’s representative in the DRC, said Tuesday.

She said there were now around 700 beds across 22 treatment centres and 300 more beds in the pipeline, with centres operating at around 90 per cent capacity.

More than 10,000 contacts of infected people are being monitored, at a follow-up rate of 82 per cent. The WHO believes a rate of 95 per cent is needed to get on top of the outbreak.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ebola-outbreak-drcongo-fastest-growing-6244586

Hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched to the site in Jinjiang, China, where many had become trapped in a burning factory. President Xi Jinping said “heavy human losses” were expected.

At least 28 people were killed in a fire at a shoe factory in eastern China on Thursday.

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced that some 200 fire and rescue workers had been dispatched to a shoe factory in Fujian province on Thursday.

President Xi Jinping has called for “an all-out search and rescue effort” and a swift investigation in order to “strictly hold those responsible accountable.”

Dozens of fire trucks were seen dumping water on the burnt multi-story factory as smoke continued to billow from the site.

“Simultaneously, the cause of the fire must be investigated, lessons learned, and effective measures taken to prevent similar accidents from recurring,” the ministry said in a statement.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/china-shoe-factory-fire-fujian/a-77887918

An acclaimed British-Australian pianist has lost his workplace discrimination case against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) over comments he made about Gaza during a performance.

Jayson Gillham sued the MSO after it cancelled one of his performances in 2024, days after he said during another show that Israel had killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

But Justice Graeme Hill ruled that Mr Gillham’s concert was not scrapped because of his political beliefs.

Rather, it was to “address the anticipated adverse impacts” of the pianist’s comments on the orchestra’s business and reputation, he ruled.

“I find that the MSO did have a policy for not expressing support for either side of the Israel-Gaza conflict,” Justice Hill said.

“I find that there is a custom or practice that classical musicians do not make statements on sensitive political or social issues from the stage without approval of the host.”

In a short statement after the ruling, Mr Gillham said: “I am disappointed and I need time to process the judgment before saying more.”

The case centred around a short introduction that Mr Gillham read out during a performance in Melbourne on 11 August 2024, when he premiered a five-minute piece called Witness, written by composer Connor D’Netto, which was dedicated to the journalists of Gaza.

He said more than 100 Palestinian journalists had been killed by Israel since October 2023 when the war in Gaza began and that Israel was carrying out “targeted assassinations of prominent journalists”.

“The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world,” he told the audience of about 150 people during the Sunday morning concert.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent organisation that promotes press freedom, reports that 207 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.

The MSO received three complaints about Mr Gillham’s comments and decided to cancel a recital he was due to perform on 15 August – prompting almost 500 complaints – though it later said that move was an “error” and sought to reschedule the show.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gyvwwep30o

The suspect accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk admitted the killing to his roommate, cried at their apartment afterwards and “said he wishes he hadn’t done it”, a Utah court has heard.

The details emerged in a hearing for Tyler Robinson, 23, who faces aggravated murder and other charges over the conservative activist’s death on 10 September 2025.

The prosecution played an investigative interview with ex-roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs and revealed the pair’s text messages.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea. This week’s preliminary hearings are for a judge to decide if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial in the possible death penalty case.

Portions of both Twiggs’ video statement and text exchanges were redacted, while others were played only for those in court – not for public consumption.

Twiggs appeared in the interview taped in April this year with long hair parted in the middle, a navy blue blazer and blue patterned tie. The roommate paused at times to sip from a bottle of water as prosecutor Ryan McBride posed questions.

According to Twiggs, Robinson asked for an engraving tool in the months before the shooting, saying he wanted to inscribe bullets for a camping and hunting trip with his family.

For the first time, the prosecution also revealed images on Thursday of the alleged murder weapon – a bolt-action rifle – as well as engraved bullets and cartridges found both at the crime scene and at Robinson’s residence.

Inscriptions at the scene included messages such as “If you read this, you are gay” and “Fascist! Catch!” – while a cartridge engraved with “Test Shot” was found at the home that the suspect shared with Twiggs.

Investigators allege that Robinson fatally shot 31-year-old father-of-two Kirk once in the neck as the conservative activist addressed a crowd on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Kirk, a Trump ally and founder of youth organisation Turning Point USA, was pronounced dead in hospital.

In his interview with the prosecutor, Twiggs said Robinson sometimes discussed politics and listened to political radio shows while travelling to and from his jobs as an electrician.

But, according to the recording, the roommate did not share the same interests and didn’t “really contribute much” to such conversations.

Most of Robinson’s comments centred on President Donald Trump, or new legislation and they never discussed Kirk, Twiggs said.

According to Twiggs – who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operating with investigators – the pair did not speak about LGBT issues either.

On the day of the shooting, Robinson left earlier than usual, around 04:00, but Twiggs thought he was going to a job that was farther away, according to what the roommate said on the recording.

After Kirk was killed, the alleged shooter texted telling Twiggs to “drop what you’re doing” and “look under your keyboard”.

In the note left by Robinson, he addressed Twiggs as “Luna”, and said: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.

“I wish we could have lived in a world where this was not necessary.”

The note added: “Please try and find joy in this life. I love you always, Tyler.”

As Robinson texted further, Twiggs asked: “You weren’t the one who did it, right?”

“I am,” Robinson wrote in a text presented in court. “I’m sorry.”

When Twiggs asked why, Robinson responded that he’d “had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Robinson continued texting Twiggs that night, still near the campus where Kirk was shot, telling his roommate that he’d left his rifle in bushes where he’d changed his clothes and was waiting to retrieve it.

“If I’m able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,” Robinson said in the text messages.

He complained about crickets being too loud and that a sniffer dog may have located the firearm. A heavy police presence and squad car remained near the spot.

“I’m just sitting in my car watching reels for another hour,” Robinson texted Twiggs.

He also texted that he was leaving Orem, where Kirk was shot, more than 200 miles (320km) from their apartment in St George, southern Utah, telling Twiggs he was on his way home.

The next day, Twiggs said in the taped interview, Robinson was in their apartment and “didn’t go into detail” about the previous day.

“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before and he said it was. He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it and then kept going around and just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something,” Twiggs said.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c621v466y91o

Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June.

The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies, one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take place.

The Justice Department last month announced a series of criminal complaints in different districts across the country in connection with the UFC plot, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California.

The indictment announced Thursday represents an effort by the government to streamline the case and knit the defendants together into a single conspiracy prosecution in Ohio. Officials have said the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

They communicated through online chat groups and forums and classified participants into tiers, with tier 1 participants committing “to put themselves in harm’s way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding,” according to the federal indictment. Members of the group also engaged in marksmanship and combat training.

Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the cage-fighting event, called Freedom 250. Two more defendants were charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later in Washington and Missouri.

The Justice Department said an eighth man was charged this week. He is 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, who was taken into custody in that state. Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according to an affidavit.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-ufc-show-attack-plot-3b1142773319ce650a916e61901ad35b

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s lavish Madison Square Garden wedding didn’t just make headlines — it also likely made history for sheer costs alone.

The superstar couple’s star-studded celebration is estimated to have cost $30 million or more, with roughly $5 million alone spent on florals and decor, according to Esther Lee, editorial director at The Knot Worldwide.

Speaking exclusively to Page Six, Lee broke down the staggering logistics behind transforming the iconic New York arena into an intimate wedding venue for over 1,000 guests.

“While the average American wedding sits at $34,000, according to The Knot Real Weddings Study, this production would’ve operated on a completely different scale,” Lee explained.

She estimated that simply securing MSG, including several days for load-in and load-out, plus the infrastructure needed to transform the venue would have cost between $5 million and $10 million.

The decor alone was another massive investment.

“We estimate the decor and florals to be, at minimum, $5 million,” Lee said. “Not to forget that custom draping and carpet installation had to transform the space entirely.”

Lee also estimated catering, service and guest logistics for the roughly 1,100 guests cost between $2.5 million and $3 million; while bridal attire, menswear and entertainment likely added another $2 million.

The wedding also featured customized guest gifts including lavish candle sets inspired by the couple’s favorite scents, personalized “T&T” branding, and elaborate games and prizing, all of which contributed to the final bill.

“We estimate the total cost sits in the $20 million to $30+ million range, cementing it as a massive economic engine for the local NY economy and broader wedding industry at large,” she said.

According to Lee, planning a celebration of this magnitude would have required months of coordination and multiple high-level planning sessions.

“The couple might’ve had four to six major ‘milestone’ consultations that included master presentations where they reviewed the blueprint, tasted catering options and approved the custom Dior sketches, not to mention fittings,” she explained.

But before colors, flowers or decor were ever selected, privacy was the top priority.

“For a high-profile celebrity wedding, privacy and logistics are more likely to dictate the first stages of planning,” Lee said. “For Taylor and Travis, that meant finding an environment that allowed for total street closures and direct, private vehicle access, which is why Madison Square Garden was a prime choice for the couple on this momentous occasion.”

Once the venue, date and security plan were finalized, designers could begin bringing the couple’s vision to life.

“Top designers do not just pick a generic theme,” Lee explained. “Instead, they start with spatial design and figure out how to make a cavernous space feel intimate.”

The pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, both 36, had an impressive mix of family members, longtime friends, teammates and celebrity guests attend their MSG bash.

Celebrities included Swift’s close friends Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Dakota Johnson, her longtime publicist, Tree Paine, and childhood best friend, Abigail Anderson.

Machine Gun Kelly, Kelsea Ballerini, sports reporter Erin Andrews, “Modern Family” alum Eric Stonestreet and his wife, Lindsay Schweitzer, and Benson Boone were also spotted heading to the A-list affair.

Just around 7:30 p.m., the Garden’s exterior lit up with pink digital screens reading “JUST&T MARRIED!”

Paine confirmed to Page Six the “Love Story” singer walked down the aisle in a Christian Dior haute couture gown, and that Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/07/09/celebrity-news/breakdown-of-taylor-swift-and-travis-kelces-30-million-msg-wedding-revealed/

Venezuela’s earthquake death toll has risen to 3,889, with 16,740 injured and 17,907 left homeless, officials said. More than 6,400 people have been rescued, while 1,142 aftershocks have been recorded since the June 24 quakes. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez thanked 28 countries for humanitarian aid and vowed to rebuild the affected regions.

The death toll from the earthquakes that struck Venezuela has climbed to 3,889, with 16,740 people injured, Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said on social media that the two powerful earthquakes that hit the country on June 24 have also left 17,907 people homeless.

According to the latest official figures, 6,462 people have been rescued.

Since the earthquakes struck, Venezuela has recorded 1,142 aftershocks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez expressed gratitude for the humanitarian aid provided by 28 countries to support victims of the country’s recent quakes.

She made the remarks after inspecting a collection center in Caracas, where more than 2,000 tonnes of international aid are sorted for distribution to temporary camps housing victims of the June 24 earthquakes.

“Venezuela never tires of thanking the countries, the peoples of the world, and the governments of the world that have offered a helping hand,” Rodriguez said.

“Each country will be able to see how its aid is being used so that the Venezuelan people feel the friendly helping hand of that country,” she added.

Thanks to the international response to the tragedy, Venezuela knows it is not alone, said Rodriguez.

“The most important thing is to look to the future, how we are going to recover, how we are going to rebuild the affected areas.”

An official report earlier said 17,345 people were also displaced.

Authorities have also set up many temporary camps to assist displaced and affected people.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/venezuela-earthquake-death-toll-rises-to-3889-nearly-18000-left-homeless

Egypt departed the World Cup feeling ​hard done by but also paid the price for inviting Lionel Messi to lead an irresistible late charge ‌against them as Argentina fought back to win a thrilling last-16 clash on Tuesday.
Egypt complained bitterly, with coach Hossam Hassan floating conspiracy theories, after their 3-2 defeat, and they did have grounds to feel aggrieved after Mostafa Zico’s 62nd-minute strike was called back for a foul in the build-up, and ​a claim for a foul on Mohamed Salah in the dying minutes was waved away.

Zico’s effort — he did score ​a legitimate goal five minutes later in almost the same way — was ruled out after a ⁠VAR review on a tug by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez.
There was certainly a push on Martinez, who also had his ​foot stood on and his jersey tugged, but if Egypt’s complaint is about the consistency of refereeing calls at the World Cup, ​then they have every right to feel aggrieved because many such similarly physical challenges have been ignored by referees in a conscious effort by FIFA to ensure games flow freely.
Giving a penalty for the foul on Salah would have been termed a soft decision, but what really rankled the ​Egyptians was that Argentina then went down the other end and won the game.

“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left ​profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game,” the Egyptian Football Association said in a ‌statement on ⁠Wednesday.
By then, however, Egypt’s defences were in tatters, allowing Lautaro Martinez to float in a cross that Enzo Fernandez expertly headed across the goalkeeper and into the corner of the net to complete a remarkable comeback after Argentina had trailed 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining.

ARGENTINA FIGHT BACK

They allowed Argentina to come back at them, sitting dangerously deep after previously having got the right balance of ​trying to contain Messi while ​looking to create chances themselves.
Uto ⁠makender Hassan, they have been surprisingly defensive, using the outlets of Salah and Omar Marmoush transitional opportunities.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/egypt-depart-world-cup-with-bitter-taste-despite-breaking-new-ground-2026-07-08/

Sudan’s RSF forces carried out mass killings, abductions ‌of women and girls, mass gang rapes and forced starvation in a city they besieged and captured last year, as part of an intentional policy amounting to genocide, a U.N. probe said on Wednesday.
The Rapid Support Forces, ​which are battling the Sudanese army in a civil war, committed the crimes in al-Fashir ​in north Darfur, which they captured last year after a long siege, the U.N. ⁠Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found.

Survivors described to the mission being raped in rooms where bodies of ​recently killed civilians, including their own family members, were still lying on the ground.
The report found ​that the RSF and allies committed the war crime of starvation by imposing a prolonged siege on the city, impeding relief supplies, and shelling food production systems.
The RSF has denied such abuses in over three years of civil ​war, saying the accounts have been manufactured by its enemies and making counter-accusations against them.
The U.N. ​human rights chief warned on Friday that a similar “catastrophe” was unfolding around another large city, al-Obeid, the capital of ‌North Kordofan ⁠state, and that his office had documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence in the surrounding region.

Members of the U.N. human rights council on Monday condemned the violence and set up an urgent inquiry, into alleged abuses there.
Britain and other states have warned of a risk of large-scale ​atrocities as the RSF ​massed forces around al-Obeid, ⁠now home to around half a million people including more than 83,000 internally displaced people.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-probe-says-mass-killings-rapes-abductions-starvation-by-sudan-force-amount-2026-07-08/

A U.S. ​judge on Wednesday authorized the payment of a multimillion-dollar verdict to magazine writer E. Jean Carroll to satisfy a 2023 civil verdict in which ‌a jury found President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ordered the disbursement of nearly $5.8 million to the former Elle magazine advice columnist, representing the original $5 million verdict plus interest.

The funds had been held in escrow while Trump appealed the verdict, but the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 declined to take up the Republican president’s case. None ​of the nine justices, including three appointed by Trump, noted dissents.
Kaplan said the agreement establishing the escrow entitled Carroll to the money now, more than ​6-1/2 years after she first sued Trump in November 2019.
“Defendant has been stalling this case for years,” the judge wrote. “It is time ⁠for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment.”
Trump asked the federal appeals court in Manhattan to put the disbursement on immediate hold while he appealed. The court ​denied his motion on Wednesday night. Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the president’s next legal steps.

“The American People stand with President Trump as ​they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” a spokesperson for Trump’s lawyers said in a statement following Kaplan’s order.
In a filing opposing the appeal, Carroll’s lawyers called it Trump’s latest effort to drag out proceedings, file meritless appeals, and raise new defenses when old defenses fail.
“Defendant is out of time,” Carroll’s lawyers said. “Carroll has ​waited more than three years for a jury’s verdict to be paid. She should not have to wait any longer.”

TRUMP’S LAWYERS WARN OF ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF LEGAL SYSTEM

Trump’s lawyers had ​urged that Carroll wait to collect damages until after the Supreme Court reviewed the president’s renewed bid to overturn the verdict, which Trump filed on Wednesday.
They said letting Carroll recover, only ‌to have ⁠the Supreme Court grant a rehearing, would “undermine public confidence in an orderly judicial process” at a time when Trump’s supporters and some critics, according to his lawyers, voice “concerns about politically motivated weaponization of the legal system.”

Trump’s lawyers also said the president would be irreparably harmed if Carroll fulfilled her stated intention to give away the money, because once she did the money likely could not be recovered.
Kaplan said disbursing the funds would not cause irreparable harm, because Trump could sue to recover the money in the “highly unlikely” ​event the Supreme Court accepted his appeal ​and overturned the verdict.
Carroll’s lawyers, meanwhile, ⁠said their 82-year-old client intends to put the money in an interest-bearing account and use it to fund her retirement.
The Supreme Court rarely takes up appeals after initially turning them down.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-opposes-letting-e-jean-carroll-collect-5-million-award-cites-supreme-court-2026-07-08/

President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders into disarray on Wednesday as he demanded the ​United States cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, but later changed tack and said there had been love and “a lot of unity”.
Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, ‌Trump called Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO as he railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain.

His remarks — also declaring the fragile ceasefire with Iran to be over — overshadowed a summit that European leaders had hoped would look past a series of rows that have threatened to tear the military alliance apart.
“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said. “By the way, I’d like to cut it off. Spain is a ​terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.”
Trump spoke alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has assiduously ​tried to assuage his concerns over defence spending, Iran and Greenland, while lavishing praise on the president for bringing such issues to the fore.

But emerging from a closed-door meeting ⁠of NATO leaders, Trump later said: “There was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity.” He also spoke more warmly of Volodymyr Zelenskiy when he met the Ukrainian president, in stark contrast to the tongue-lashing he ​gave him at a White House meeting last year.
In a potential boost to Ukraine, Trump said he would give Kyiv a licence to make Patriot missiles at a time when Russia has stepped up its air war on cities with ​deadly strikes, exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of air defences.
A source familiar with the NATO talks said Trump had not repeated his criticisms behind closed doors and instead wanted to keep the U.S. in NATO, saying “we want to remain with you”.
French President Emmanuel Macron also said he did not hear any gripes from Trump, while Rutte said the alliance was “more together than ever”.

QUARRELS MAKE YOU STRONGER, RUTTE SAYS

On paper at least, the summit ended with a message of solidarity, with NATO allies including Trump affirming their “ironclad commitment” to collective defence under the alliance’s ​Article 5 pact in a summit declaration.
NATO members also pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.
“I would say to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, you should have some more discussions yourself out in the open. That makes you ​stronger,” Rutte told Reuters in an interview.
“What he has seen now is sometimes allies disagreeing a bit, having a bit of a quarrel, and then coming together and reuniting.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won plaudits from Trump throughout the two-day summit, said Ankara ‌was ready to ⁠assume greater responsibility for burden-sharing within NATO. He said the summit had laid the foundations for a stronger alliance.
Trump’s earlier public remarks had undercut the carefully crafted pre-summit messaging that European NATO countries had increased military spending, which saw at least $50 billion in defence initiatives unveiled on Tuesday.

SPAIN SAYS IT WON’T BE BULLIED

Washington and Madrid have been at odds, with Spain explicitly rejecting Trump’s demands for European countries to sharply boost military spending and pay for their own defence. Spain’s Socialist leadership has also refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or bases on its territory for the Iran war.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later said he had a “very cordial” conversation with Trump in which the pair discussed the soccer World ​Cup, which the U.S. is hosting, and golf, but ​not military spending.
Sanchez’s health minister, Monica Garcia, was more ⁠blunt.
“We are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace,” she said on X. “What’s terrible is confusing diplomacy with bullying.”

TRUMP CALLS IRAN ‘SICK PEOPLE’

The U.S. has unleashed new military strikes on Iran and revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers. It was the latest blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement in a war ​that is deeply unpopular in Europe.
“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” Trump said when asked whether the interim accord with ​Iran was over. “They’re scum. They’re sick ⁠people. They’re led by sick people.”
Trump also demanded that his country control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, reviving an issue that has put severe strain on the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the start of the Cold War.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-leaders-meet-ankara-after-trump-rekindles-disputes-over-iran-greenland-2026-07-08/