First Thing: Trump urged to end Iran escalation as US deaths and injuries rise

• Tensions between the USA and Iran have escalated, sparking renewed fears of a broader regional conflict across West Asia. • The escalation occurs within a region already destabilized by multiple ongoing security crises and geopolitical volatility.

• In an article published July 20, 2026, author Ellen Brown explores the "AI Abundance Paradigm" and the societal shift occurring as machines replace human labor. • The piece examines how the transition from a scarcity-based economy to one of abundance alters human behavior, moving away from competition and fear of loss.

• Governments are increasingly utilizing social media influencers as unofficial ambassadors to shape global public opinion and project soft power. • States provide these creators with privileged access, official tours, and interviews with senior officials to cover geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, as well as China's global ambitions.

• Recent attacks in Ukraine over the weekend resulted in at least 12 civilian deaths and numerous injuries across the country. • Infrastructure damage was reported at World Food Programme (WFP) warehouses in Dnipro and World Health Organization (WHO) facilities near Kyiv.

• The US Central Command conducted airstrikes for the ninth consecutive night, targeting Iranian missile sites, air defense systems, and military command centers. • Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed the interim ceasefire deal signed by Donald Trump as "worthless and invalid," while Iranian negotiators announced the suspension of their commitments.

Durham University researchers find cataclysmic direct hit with Gaia Sausage sent Milky Way into its current positionAstronomers have found evidence that the Milky Way was flipped on its side following a direct hit from a wayward galaxy long before the solar system was born.The cataclysmic collision took place about 10bn years ago when the Milky Way was struck head-on by an incoming dwarf galaxy known – for purely astronomical reasons – as the Gaia Sausage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report from LNP-convened panel heavily criticises police responses to family violence and calls for civilian oversightGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Queensland government has buried the findings of its own working group of domestic violence victim-survivors, after their report was heavily critical of police responses and called for a “civilian review mechanism” to escalate complaints about police.The Liberal National government has repeatedly said it would “put victims at the heart” of the state’s justice policies. Continue reading...

Animal welfare charities say marmoset could be ‘first of many’ since new law on primate licenses and microchippingA “stressed and dehydrated” monkey has been found in a laundry bag on a London bus in what animal welfare charities warn could be the “first of many” abandonments now owners must obtain primate licenses.The female common marmoset was discovered on a 302 bus waiting in Kensal Rise, north-west London, on Friday by a passenger whose buggy was obstructed by the bag containing the monkey in a cage. The monkey has since been named Oyster after the London transport payment system. Continue reading...

Experts warn global energy market at a ‘critical juncture’ with escalating Middle East crisis expected to further drag on a slowing Australian economyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe likelihood of a Reserve Bank interest rate hike has doubled according to market forecasts, as the escalating Middle East crisis once again drives fuel prices higher amid dwindling global oil reserves.The total breakdown in the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has sent the international Brent crude benchmark surging by 23% over the past two weeks and back within reach of $US90 a barrel. Continue reading...

Film star promotes Christopher Nolan film epic wearing gold artefacts dating back almost 3,000 yearsThe Odyssey is a story about a Greek king’s long journey home. But a pair of earrings worn on the new film adaptation’s press tour – and their long separation from their homeland – is sparking controversy.At a photocall in London, Zendaya, who plays the goddess Athena in the Christopher Nolan film, wore a pair of earrings fashioned from Iranian artefacts dating back to 700BC. Continue reading...

Sgt Michael Emmanuel Swinton died during a controlled detonation at Erbil airbase as US-Iran war toll reaches 17The US military has identified an army soldier killed recently during a “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq as Sgt Michael Emmanuel Swinton, of Fayetteville, North Carolina.According to a press release from the US defense department on Tuesday morning, the 30-year-old Swinton was supporting overseas contingency operations in Iraq – and he was “killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System” on Saturday at Erbil airbase in northern Iraq. Continue reading...

The President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief has saved 26m lives globally, but slashing of funds and dismantling of USAID have forced clinics to shut in dozens of countriesNo part of the United States’ anti-HIV programme has escaped unscathed from Donald Trump’s funding cuts, despite pledges from the administration to protect care that saved lives around the world, a new report has found.Funding cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) have caused “severe and devastating” disruption globally, with thousands of staff laid off and many clinics closed, according to research being presented next week at the 26th International Aids Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It warns that changes in US policy risk reversing progress in the fight against HIV/Aids. Continue reading...