‘Smart operator’: how BT’s first female CEO helped turn company around

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The firm’s share price has risen 80% under Allison Kirkby’s leadership – but pressure remains for her to deliver further growth

If timing is everything, then Allison Kirkby may have judged it perfectly.

Since becoming BT’s first female chief executive more than two years ago the company’s share price has climbed 80%, an investor-pleasing turnaround that has seen Kirkby well-rewarded with a pay and bonus package of £5.6m last year, the largest for a boss of the telecoms company in well over a decade. However, there are questions over how much credit Kirkby can take for the apparent revival of the business.

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Turkey intensifies crackdown on public life in run-up to Nato summit in Ankara

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More than 200 arrested in raids, comedian and journalists jailed, gay-friendly cruise turned away and protests banned

Authorities in Turkey have widened a crackdown on public life, arresting more than 200 people during raids across Ankara last month, jailing a comedian and blocking a cruise ship carrying LGBTQ+ passengers from docking in the run-up to the Nato summit in the capital.

The arrests followed a ban on demonstrations in Ankara that was put in place until 10 July. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this was evidence of Turkey’s “ruthless intolerance of freedom of speech and assembly”. The watchdog group said the Nato summit, which starts on Tuesday, was taking place in the context of intensifying violations of basic rights, “including far-reaching restrictions on the main political opposition party, the media, and freedom of expression in general”.

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Ukraine Remade Air Defense, but Russia Has Changed Its Attacks – The New York Times

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  1. Ukraine Remade Air Defense, but Russia Has Changed Its Attacks  The New York Times
  2. Ukraine's drones take the war to Russia  Axios
  3. Ukraine Hit Russian Oil Refineries Nearly 200 Times in First Half of 2026  UNITED24 Media
  4. Mission to Moscow for the elite unit bringing war to Putin’s door  The Times
  5. Ukrainian drones struck 32 Russian air defense systems in June  Ukrinform - Ukrainian National News Agency
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Charlotte-area Catholic church among targets of Vatican’s excommunication – Charlotte Observer

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  1. Charlotte-area Catholic church among targets of Vatican’s excommunication  Charlotte Observer
  2. Rebel Catholics Defy Vatican’s Calls to Return to Mainstream Church  The New York Times
  3. Vatican's excommunication of 'schismatic' priests hits Kentucky church  Cincinnati Enquirer
  4. The Society of St. Pius X shows itself out the door  National Catholic Reporter
  5. Why the SSPX dispute was never really about the Latin Mass  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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China dam collapses, cross-border railway halted as Typhoon Maysak slams Guangxi – South China Morning Post

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  1. China dam collapses, cross-border railway halted as Typhoon Maysak slams Guangxi  South China Morning Post
  2. Flooding kills two in China's Nanning as east braces for super typhoon  Reuters
  3. Typhoon Maysak kills two and forces thousands to evacuate in China  The Guardian
  4. Heavy rains leave 5 dead in China's north while Tropical Storm Maysak hits the south and Vietnam  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
  5. Three reservoirs at risk, evacuations underway in Nanning, Guangxi  China Daily
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Iran Live Updates: Crowds Gather in Tehran for Ayatollah’s Funeral Procession – The New York Times

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  1. Iran Live Updates: Crowds Gather in Tehran for Ayatollah’s Funeral Procession  The New York Times
  2. Iranian mourners call for vengeance on Trump during Khamenei funeral procession  Reuters
  3. Khamenei's other sons appear at his funeral in Iran as new supreme leader remains in hiding  AP News
  4. World in Brief: Iranians begin funeral procession for Khamenei; Russia attacks Kyiv ahead of NATO summit  The Economist
  5. Exhausted by Iran War, Tehran Transforms for Khamenei’s Funeral  The New York Times
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Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital kills at least 11 – AP News

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  1. Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital kills at least 11  AP News
  2. Deadly Russian strikes hammer Kyiv on eve of Trump trip to critical NATO summit  CNN
  3. Deadly Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s capital ahead of key NATO meeting  The Washington Post
  4. Russia-Ukraine war: At least 11 killed in second Russian strikes on Kyiv in a week  BBC
  5. Deadly Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv on Eve of NATO Summit  The New York Times
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‘We lost with a lot of honor.’ Mexico falls to England and is ousted from World Cup – Los Angeles Times

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  1. ‘We lost with a lot of honor.’ Mexico falls to England and is ousted from World Cup  Los Angeles Times
  2. Thomas Tuchel criticises ‘erratic’ World Cup officiating: ‘The referees can send any team out in any moment’  The New York Times
  3. Governing on low power  Politico
  4. Mexico vs. England score: Three Lions survive Estadio Azteca, win all-time World Cup classic to advance  CBS Sports
  5. Great scenes as @petercrouch joins in on the celebrations in Mexico City 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿  FOX Sports
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Israeli command system identified 850,000 targets in Gaza and Lebanon wars, says supplier

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Elbit Systems supplied Tzayad digital army programme to map people, vehicles and other objects in real time

Israel identified about 1,000 potential targets a day during the first two years of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon with its command and control system, according to a presentation by the country’s largest arms supplier, Elbit Systems.

A total of 850,000 targets were detected in real time by the Israeli Tzayad digital army programme across all the military’s theatres of war between 7 October and the end of 2025, the company said at a military conference in London.

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