Former boss of Italian motorways sentenced to 12 years over Genoa bridge tragedy

• UN human rights chief Volker Türk has issued an urgent appeal for calm in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir following unrest preceding regional elections. • The situation is occurring alongside a broader global trend of displacement driven by the war in Ukraine and unresolved regional conflicts.

• Iran reports that eight people were killed following U.S. bombardments targeting civilian infrastructure, while Iranian officials further allege that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff attempted to exploit negotiations for personal profit. • Severe wildfires have triggered hazardous air quality and dense smoke across more than 20 U.S. states, creating a widespread public health emergency.

• The Group of Seven (G7) nations have issued an urgent call for rebel forces in Sudan to cease actions that could lead to atrocities in the city of El-Obeid. • Violence has escalated in recent weeks between the Sudanese army and the renegade Rapid Support Forces (RSF), intensifying an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

• CCG President Huiyao Wang spoke at the Dubrovnik Forum 2026 regarding the necessity of building a multilateral system tailored for a multipolar world. • Wang emphasized the importance of BRICS and middle powers in reforming global cooperation and argued against the utility of temporary geopolitical alliances.

• U.S. forces have launched new strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure, specifically hitting bridges and a railway junction according to Iranian state media. • Iranian official Mohammad Ghalibaf has emphasized that Iran will maintain its claim to the Strait of Hormuz by force if necessary.

• Laala Bechetoula and Prof. Michel Chossudovsky held a video debate on July 15, 2026, focusing on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. • The discussion highlighted devastating casualty figures, reporting over 73,000 deaths and 173,000 wounded over a period of a thousand days.

Former Democratic Unionist party leader’s legal team has lodged documents with the court of appeal in Belfast Jeffrey Donaldson is to appeal against his conviction for rape and other sexual offences against two children.The former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader’s legal team lodged documents with the court of appeal in Belfast on Friday, his solicitor, John McBurney, said. Continue reading...

Reform leader says he’s been ‘demonised’ since revelation he received £5m from billionaire before electionNigel Farage has accused people raising questions about his financial backing of “demonising” him as part of a “coordinated pile-on” to stop Reform UK.In one of his first speeches since the opening of two parliamentary standards inquiries into his financial support, the Reform UK leader said he had been “dehumanised in the most extraordinary way” in recent months, after the Guardian revealed in April that he had received a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the last election. Continue reading...

Markwayne Mullin at presser repeated many of Trump’s unverified claims from controversial primetime speechThe US homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, doubled down on Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated election claims on Friday amid his agency’s efforts to support the president’s agenda.Trump used a memo compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the basis of many of his unsubstantiated claims on Thursday during his televised primetime address to the nation. Continue reading...

From Lily Collins at Wimbledon to cast of Love Island, heels-averse cohort is stepping it up a notchGen Z, the flats-only generation, has finally succumbed to the heel – albeit a tiny one. Long vocally anti-heel, the cohort who were born between 1997 and 2012 have famously shunned millennials’ obsession with Jimmy Choos in favour of pancake-flat shoes, from the “It-trainer”, Adidas Sambas, to split-toe Margiela Tabi’s and so-called “French girl ballet flats”.But they now appear to be embracing a potential gateway heel, typically measuring in the region of 1.5in or the height of a triple-A battery. Continue reading...

Radio and TV presenter, who recovered from cancer in 2024, announces she has smouldering myelomaLauren Laverne has announced she has been diagnosed with a blood and bone marrow disorder, less than two years after recovering from cancer.The radio and TV presenter revealed she has smouldering myeloma, a condition characterised by an abnormal level of blood plasma cells in bone marrow, and said she made her diagnosis public out of a desire to help others. In August 2024, she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, and received the all-clear three months later. Continue reading...

Ronald Fischer, 70, was sentenced to life in his absence after telling lawyer he planned to ‘enjoy life in another country’A “master yachtsman” who went on the run for more than two decades after fleeing a sexual assault trial in Rhode Island which resulted in his conviction despite his absence was captured on Thursday on a sailboat off New Jersey’s coast, according to authorities.Ronald L Fischer, 70, had been considered one of Rhode Island’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest, state police officials said in a statement on social media. And his case had been mentioned repeatedly over the years on the true-crime television program America’s Most Wanted. Continue reading...