First Thing: Kuwaiti tanker hit by Iranian drone attack in Dubai port

• US President Donald Trump threatened Monday to destroy Iran's Kharg Island crude oil export hub, along with oil wells and power plants, unless Tehran quickly accepts a deal to end the US-Israeli war. • The threat of potential US ground operations to seize Kharg Island is creating significant tremors through financial and energy markets, as well as raising concerns among neighbouring Gulf countries. • Trump expressed hope about talks with a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran on his Truth Social network, an apparent reference to new leadership despite the month-long war failing to dislodge the Islamic Republic.

• Kosovo approved a plan to send soldiers to the Gaza Strip as part of a US-backed international security force, joining Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Albania in making similar commitments. • The deployment represents an expansion of the international coalition participating in the Middle East security operation. • Kosovo's participation demonstrates growing international involvement in establishing security frameworks in the Gaza region.

• José Guadalupe Ramos, a Mexican national, died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Los Angeles, according to ICE, marking the 14th death in ICE custody for 2026. • Mexico's foreign ministry announced it would file a legal brief supporting a lawsuit brought by detainees alleging poor conditions at the detention center, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions, and punitive use of isolation. • The death raises ongoing concerns about detention facility conditions and has prompted diplomatic engagement from the Mexican government to address alleged violations.

• Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, wounding at least 15 US service members and destroying a US military E-3 Century radar aircraft. • The attack resulted in at least 13 US service members killed to date, prompting the Pentagon to prepare for weeks of potential ground conflict in Iran according to The Washington Post. • President Trump is reportedly considering a military operation in response, with 3,500 additional US troops beginning to arrive in the region as part of a broader deployment now exceeding 50,000 personnel.

• President Donald Trump warned Monday via Truth Social that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz and a deal is not reached "shortly," the US will "blow up and completely obliterate" Iran's electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island. • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is close to achieving its objectives in Iran "in a matter of weeks" and that Trump has "a number of options available" to prevent Iran from controlling the strategic waterway. • The threat comes as 3,500 US Marines and sailors aboard the USS Tripoli arrive in the Middle East, joining over 50,000 American troops already in the region, with hundreds of Navy SEALs also deployed.

Critics say president is locking into 20th century energy systems even as his ‘bet’ on oil and gas ‘isn’t going so well’By attacking Iran and threatening to seize its oil while taking extraordinary measures to block clean energy back in the US, Donald Trump has inadvertently highlighted the dangerous volatility of the fossil fuel era, critics say.The US and Israel’s bombardment of Iran and southern Lebanon has caused a humanitarian and environmental toll, with threats of further escalation set to add to these casualties as well as add more planet-heating emissions and destroy drinking water supplies. Continue reading...

Telegram is increasingly blocked and mobile internet users face blackouts in effort likened to Iranian shutdownsRussia is in the midst of a vast, slow-moving effort to splinter its internet from the rest of the world, say activists and experts, with steep consequences for millions of people who are gradually being cut off.Unlike Iran’s internet shutdowns earlier this year, Russia’s shutdown is a piecemeal and opaque effort. It is defined by escalating mobile internet blackouts across cities and provinces, growing restrictions on certain kinds of traffic, and new blocks on Telegram, a messaging app essential to communication and daily life for most Russians. Continue reading...

National average hit $4.02, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month agoAverage US fuel prices have crossed $4 per gallon for the first time in four years, piling pressure on drivers as Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to boost oil markets.The nationwide average climbed to almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago. It has not been this high since August 2022. Continue reading...

Spinning off brands such as Hellmann’s, Knorr and Pot Noodle into $60bn entity puts core focus on beauty, personal care and home productsBusiness live – latest updatesUnilever is in advanced talks to combine its food business with US-based McCormick in a deal including $15.7bn (£11.9bn) cash that would give the Marmite-to-Hellmann’s mayonnaise owner majority control of a $60bn food empire.London-listed Unilever will control 65% of the new spin-off, which will combine brands such as Knorr and Pot Noodle with McCormick’s condiments and spices including French’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and Cholula hot sauce. Continue reading...

Union boss says workers have received some, but not all, of their paySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Security lines have eased at airports, clearing the worst of the bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.Allegations swirl that a broker for Pete Hegseth inquired into an investment in key defense companies before the Iran war began. The Morgan Stanley broker allegedly made an inquiry with BlackRock regarding an investment into a defense-focused equity fund. The Pentagon denied the allegations calling them “entirely false and fabricated”.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill to rename the Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump. This would make the airport the latest in a long list of institutions, government programs, buildings and even money named after the president.The US government has directed all of its embassies and consulates to launch coordinated campaigns against foreign propaganda. Marco Rubio signed a cable on Monday directing the embassies to coordinate with the US military’s psychological operations unit to address disinformation. It suggested using Elon Musk’s social media platform X to carry out the campaign.José Guadalupe Ramos, a Mexican national, becomes the 14th known person to die in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the beginning of the year. He was found unconscious in his bunk last week at the Adelanto detention center in California and pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby medical center.The army is investigating a helicopter fly-by at Kid Rock’s hillside swimming pool in Tennessee on Saturday. Two army choppers on a training run visited and hovered by the rocker’s house as he saluted them. According to the army, there was no official request for the fly-by, which triggered the administrative review. Continue reading...

Homes evacuated in Lurgan as police carry out controlled explosion on device, which man was forced to carry in ‘terrifying ordeal’Gunmen hijacked a car, placed a device inside and forced the occupant to drive the vehicle to a police station in Northern Ireland on Monday, prompting a security alert and the evacuation of about 100 homes.Some streets in Lurgan, County Armagh, remained shut on Tuesday morning as police investigated the scene. Continue reading...