What to expect after the US reimposes naval blockade on Iran’s ports?
Pressure is expected to build on the Iranian public, as well as global energy markets due to the US blockade.
Iran attacks US allies in Middle East as renewed conflict enters second week
Kuwait says civilian sites and infrastructure targeted, Jordan downs missiles and sirens sound in Bahrain as Iran responds to US strikes
Iran launched a wave of attacks against US allies in the Middle East, as the renewal of US strikes on Iran entered a second week and fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait has accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, such as a power and water desalination plant. Kuwait, which is extremely arid, relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water.
Continue reading...Armed groups attack Malian military convoy in Gao region
Mali says counterattack under way as rebels claim they inflicted 'human losses' and 'material damage' on troops.
North Dakota men who discover they were switched as newborns sue hospital
Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison uncovered the truth after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift
A DNA discovery has led two families to accuse a North Dakota hospital of changing the course of their lives after learning two newborns were allegedly switched at birth nearly four decades ago.
Kyle Bylin uncovered the truth after receiving an at-home DNA test during a Christmas gift exchange. The test connected him with his biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to take his own DNA test. The results confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological families.
Continue reading...Belgium bans imports from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine
The move comes as EU foreign ministers remain deadlocked over a bloc-wide ban on illegal settlement trade.
Venezuela quake death toll tops 5,000 as IMF releases emergency aid
IMF releases £346m in emergency funds as new details emerge about the disaster response.
Plumes of smoke rise over Kuwait after repeated Iranian attacks
Towering plumes of smoke rose over Kuwait after Iranian strikes hit multiple locations in Mangaf.
Germany’s CDU party chair resigns after using surrogacy to become parent
Jens Spahn had criticised ‘rented wombs’ and his party is strongly opposed to surrogacy, which is banned in Germany
A senior German politician and ally of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party after he and his husband used a surrogate mother to become parents, a practice he has criticised in the past and his party is vehemently opposed to.
Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a policy Jens Spahn refused to relax when he was health minister in 2020, so he and his husband, Daniel Funke, used a surrogate mother in the US.
Continue reading...Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon plan for testosterone screening
Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers aged 30 and older in the US military will be screened for low testosterone
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness.
But many medical professionals warn it might do nothing of the sort and instead could increase service members’ risk of infertility or other consequences if testosterone is prescribed inappropriately.
Continue reading...Scores of carers overpaid more than £20,000 last year despite reforms
DWP brought in measures to tackle carer’s allowance scandal yet in 2025-26 there were 32,559 overpayments
Scores of unpaid carers were hit with demands to repay sums of more than £20,000 and hundreds more put at risk of prosecution last year as a result of official failures in what appear to be continuing problems with carer’s allowance.
New figures showed carers were asked to repay £33m in 2025-26 as a result of 32,559 overpayments, despite the introduction of measures over a year ago designed specifically to prevent carers falling foul of the system.
Continue reading...Iraq signs 48 deals with US companies during PM’s visit to Washington
The deals include rebuilding the long-defunct Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, which could bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Air quality warnings remain in place across US as wildfire smoke continues to swathe country
Rain could alleviate conditions in mid-Atlantic and north-east, with World Cup final expected to go ahead on Sunday
Warnings of dangerous conditions are expected to remain in place on Saturday across swathes of the US, amid uncertainty about where the heavy wildfire smoke swirling from the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of Minnesota will head next.
Some parts of the US mid-Atlantic and north-east regions will continue to endure poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, where there is a high chance of thunderstorms, which could bring some reprieve from the poor air but come with other risks like flash flooding and high winds. Meanwhile, parts of the midwest and Great Lakes regions will continue to see dangerous air quality.
Continue reading...China warns UK over British Steel nationalisation, demands fair resolution
Jingye seeks compensation after UK's move to fully nationalise loss-making British Steel, citing security risks.
Top German conservative quits after surrogacy sparks backlash within party
Jens Spahn steps down after party criticism over surrogacy, highlighting tensions in Germany's conservative coalition.
FIFA World Cup: Spain vs Argentina – What to know ahead of the final
Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi meet in a clash of generations in Sunday's blockbuster Spain vs Argentina World Cup final.
Cuba edges toward breakdown as power cuts and US meddling push society to brink
As Cuba swelters under six-month oil blockade imposed by US, tempers are fraying and unrest is growing
When Cuba’s national grid collapses, as it did for the third time in 10 days on Tuesday, a collective groan spreads across its cities and people wonder, again, whether the island’s antiquated electricity system may soon become unrecoverable.
The 777-mile Caribbean island of 9.5 million people has been sweltering under a six-month-long oil blockade imposed by the US, part of a pressure campaign to bring down its communist government. But the parlous state of Cuba’s infrastructure goes far further back.
Continue reading...Death toll from Uganda school bus crash rises to 24
Three more pupils died after Uganda’s school bus crash, raising the death toll to 23 students and one adult.
Iran suggests MoU ‘suspended’ amid reports 50 killed in US strikes in July
Conflict has been escalating since US President Donald Trump declared 10 days ago that peace deal with Iran was over.
Ukrainian strikes hit Russian logistics center
Ukrainian strikes hit Russian logistics center
Europe should look to Africa for heatwave solutions
African communities have spent decades developing practical, tested ways to live with extreme heat.