Live updates: US launches 13th consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran – CNN

  1. Live updates: US launches 13th consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran  CNN
  2. Iran said to reject US ceasefire proposal passed along by Iraqi prime minister  The Times of Israel
  3. US military says it’s launching new strikes on Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes  AP News
  4. US attacks Iran for 13th night as Trump threatens ‘bigger’ strikes  Al Jazeera
  5. US Strikes Iran As Tensions Escalate Over Shipping Routes In Hormuz  NDTV
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Saudi nuclear deal in doubt as Trump adds new condition regarding Israel – The Washington Post

  1. Saudi nuclear deal in doubt as Trump adds new condition regarding Israel  The Washington Post
  2. How Trump upended the Saudi nuclear deal less than 24 hours after its signing  CNN
  3. Trump stuns Saudis by pinning nuclear deal to Israel ties  Inquirer.net
  4. Trump’s new tariffs designed as ‘end-run around the supreme court and Congress’, House Democrat says – US politics live  The Guardian
  5. For South Korea, U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Exposes a Double Standard  The New York Times
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Trump Says He’ll Hold Iran Responsible for Future Houthi Strikes – Bloomberg.com

  1. Trump Says He’ll Hold Iran Responsible for Future Houthi Strikes  Bloomberg.com
  2. Iran War Latest: Trump threatens Iran, Houthis with "major military punishment" as war spreads to Red Sea  CBS News
  3. UN envoy for Yemen ‘alarmed’ by Houthis’ Red Sea attacks, calls for talks  Al Jazeera
  4. Two Chinese supertankers with Saudi oil exit Red Sea  Reuters
  5. US threatens 'major military punishment' for Houthi attacks  DW.com
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CJP protest: The youth movement India’s Modi didn’t see coming – BBC

  1. CJP protest: The youth movement India's Modi didn't see coming  BBC
  2. What Is the Youth-Led ‘Cockroach Movement’ Staging Mass Protests in India?  Time Magazine
  3. Modi Caught Off Guard as India’s Economic Failings Inflame Young People  The New York Times
  4. India’s Gen-Z protesters demand a proper education  The Economist
  5. Cockroach Revolt Exposes Cracks in Modi’s Vision of Rising India  Bloomberg.com
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Australia news live: Jim Chalmers says he has ‘other priorities’ than a gas tax; Anthony Albanese calls to congratulate Andy Burnham

Treasurer points to other reforms after Labor members call for ‘fairer return’ from natural resources. Follow today’s news live

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before your regular blogger takes the reins.

Jim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies. It comes as markets are now expecting another rate hike by the end of the year. He also continues to push back at rank and file Labor members’ calls for a new tax on gas exports, saying the government had “other priorities” for reform. More coming up.

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Widening Ukrainian attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries shutter another warehouse – Reuters

  1. Widening Ukrainian attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries shutter another warehouse  Reuters
  2. Drone Attacks on Russia’s Biggest Online Retailer Bring War Home to Middle Class  WSJ
  3. Ukraine hits Russia's largest online marketplace, hurting small businesses and bringing the war home  AP News
  4. A New Target for Ukraine’s Long-Range Attacks: Russia’s Version of Amazon  The New York Times
  5. For Russians, the war feels closer than ever before  The Economist
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Trump says nearly 200 firms have signed pledge to protect Americans from costs arising from datacenters

‘Ratepayer Protection Pledge’ president has touted is non-binding as people continue to struggle with rising bills

Donald Trump has announced that about 200 entities have signed on to his non-binding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”, expanding a voluntary commitment which claims to ensure US consumers will not bear the cost of the AI datacenter build-out.

Trump delivered remarks on Thursday at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, alongside Lee Zeldin, the agency’s administrator, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. Other attenders included governors who signed on to the pledge, including Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Spencer Cox of Utah and Jeff Landry of Louisiana.

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Israeli security minister joins Jewish extremists as they storm al-Aqsa mosque compound – The Guardian

  1. Israeli security minister joins Jewish extremists as they storm al-Aqsa mosque compound  The Guardian
  2. More than 4,200 Israelis storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem  Al Jazeera
  3. Israel's Far Right Is Repeating the Sin That Brought Down the Temple  Haaretz
  4. Ultranationalist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound  NBC News
  5. UAE, Saudi Arabia join other Muslim countries in blasting Israeli visits to Temple Mount  The Times of Israel
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Southern California suburb alarmed as ‘exceptionally rare’ cancer sickens multiple children

Residents in Ladera Ranch in Orange county voice concerns after six children diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma

Concerns are growing in southern California over a cluster of “exceptionally rare” cancer cases that has sickened multiple children in a suburban community.

Families living in the Orange county neighborhood of Ladera Ranch, home to about 26,000 people, have reported that six children in the community were diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, Katrina Foley, the vice-chair of the county board of supervisors, said in a statement.

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Trump vows to hit an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship Iran attacks – Axios

  1. Trump vows to hit an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship Iran attacks  Axios
  2. July 22, 2026 — Trump attends dignified transfer of soldiers, US and Iran trade threats  CNN
  3. US to Use Iran’s Frozen Funds to Pay for Ship Damage, Trump Says  Bloomberg.com
  4. Trump Says U.S. Will Bomb Iran’s Power Plants, Bridges if Tehran Strikes Ships  WSJ
  5. Trump warns of strikes to infrastructure if Iran targets ships in Strait of Hormuz  The Hill
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How protests over a popular minister’s firing sparked Ukraine’s sudden military reset – AP News

  1. How protests over a popular minister’s firing sparked Ukraine’s sudden military reset  AP News
  2. A Mandate for Change and a Monumental Test for Ukraine’s New Military Chief  The New York Times
  3. Why is Zelensky firing top leaders as Ukraine’s outlook improves?  The Washington Post
  4. Ousted Ukrainian defence chief digs in against Zelenskiy  Reuters
  5. Zelenskyy Bows to Pressure for New Model Army to Confront Russia  Bloomberg.com
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Kemi Badenoch ‘has to adapt’ her rhetoric to take on Andy Burnham

Conservative leader is becoming more confident and forging a message for her party, but faces a new opponent

“So, Andy Burnham seems like a nice guy.” Those were the slightly unexpected opening words of Kemi Badenoch’s first speech since the change in prime minister. But make no mistake: she was there to bury her opponent.

Even Badenoch-sceptics inside the Conservative party and farther afield agree the Tory leader is becoming more confident, and has been able to forge an increasingly coherent message for her party, one based on a promise of economic competence.

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Secret Service agent on Vance’s detail under investigation

Agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing info in MS Now report about vice-president’s helicopter trip

A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is “the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security”, according to the Secret Service chief of communications.

The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN.

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Southport killer Axel Rudakubana moved to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital

Exclusive: Clinical assessments concluded Rudakubana could not be safely managed in prison, sources say

The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose.

He was transferred to Broadmoor high-security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh this week after it was concluded that he could not be managed safely in a prison environment, sources confirmed.

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Minnesota man sentenced to life for killing Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman

Vance Boelter receives two life terms after admitting politically motivated killings and shootings

The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison on Thursday, a little over a year after the political attacks.

Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to the six counts related to the killings of the former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

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China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age – The New York Times

  1. China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age  The New York Times
  2. China’s Xi pursues AI diplomacy to woo global south  Financial Times
  3. Shanghai science forum photos show China’s AI and robotics advances in rivalry with US  AP News
  4. China's AI doctrine is a challenge for Europe  Le Monde.fr
  5. Xi pitches China as leader of new global AI order, challenging US dominance  Reuters
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‘Customers prefer AI chatbots,’ says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre jobs axed

CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins

The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.

Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month.

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Mayor shot dead in Mexico months after surviving assassination attempt

Valentín Lavín Romero is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in 2024

A mayor was shot dead on Wednesday in the Mexican state of Morelos after having survived a previous assassination attempt earlier this year. He is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in October 2024.

Valentín Lavín Romero, who was from the Green party, an ally of the ruling leftwing Morena party, was wounded at the end of January when hitmen shot him at a petrol station on a motorway.

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Owner of Viking ship used in The Odyssey says studio has not paid bill for damage

Swedish nonprofit alleges cost to repair replica was $6,000 but Universal – which made $264m on film’s opening weekend – has not stumped up

The Swedish owners of a Viking longship replica that features in the Hollywood blockbuster The Odyssey say they feel “forgotten” after film-makers allegedly returned the vessel damaged and failed to foot the bill for repairs.

In nearly three decades at sea, the warship Glad av Gillberga – based on a wreck from around 1040 found in Denmark’s Roskilde fjord – has successfully sailed the North Sea, the Baltic and even voyaged to Canada.

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