Iran Update Special Report, July 27, 2026

• The Gatestone Institute reports on the declining status and authority of the UN Secretary-General, a role traditionally viewed as the world's highest diplomatic position. • The analysis highlights a shift away from the "unwritten rule" that the Secretary-General should remain an impartial institution above the specific interests of individual member states.

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged on Sunday that Iran is facing "many problems" and is effectively in a "full-scale war" due to mounting economic and social pressures. • The crisis is exacerbated by looming US sanctions designed to further isolate the Iranian regime and cripple its financial capabilities.

Dump site in Conakry, which minister had just promised to move, collapsed after heavy rain in west African stateA ⁠landslide at a huge waste dump in Guinea’s capital has killed 30 people, the government said on Sunday, after heavy rains overnight prompted it to ⁠collapse, engulfing nearby tents and shacks.The incident occurred less than a week after the government announced plans to close the ⁠site and relocate the waste because of the threat it posed, especially during the rainy season, which causes landslides and fatal flash ⁠floods each year in crowded, underdeveloped cities across parts of West Africa. Continue reading...

Lillian Smart of Ruston infected with fatal Naegleria fowleri, likely after swimming in Lake Claiborne, health officials sayAn eight-year-old Louisiana girl has died after contracting a rare, typically fatal brain-eating amoeba after a swim in Lake Claiborne.Lillian Smart, of Ruston, died on Saturday, one day after celebrating her birthday, her family announced in a public Facebook post on the “Love for Lillian” page. Continue reading...

Leah Stewart lost her arm in a great white shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee beach. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning. Nick Visser here to get the news going. Here’s what’s on deck:Leah Stewart, the woman who was bitten by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach, issued a thankyou to those who supported her after the attack. She wrote on GoFundMe: “After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I’m so happy that I’ve progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this.” Continue reading...

UK-born married couples under 35 with children would get priority under proposals to be outlined by Farage’s partyBritish citizens who were born abroad would be made to wait longer for social housing under proposals to be announced by Reform UK on Monday.Nigel Farage’s party will announce the policy at a press conference in London. Under the policy, people born in the UK and young married couples with children would be given priority for social housing. Continue reading...

Hawk fire has covered more than 10,500 acres as blaze approaches University of Nevada campus in RenoA fast-moving Nevada wildfire exploded to more than 10,500 acres (4,200 hectares) early on Sunday, pushing from the Sierra foothills toward the center of Reno and forcing nearly 14,000 homes to evacuate as flames threatened neighborhoods and reached the edge of the University of Nevada campus.The Hawk fire’s “GO NOW” evacuation zone had expanded to the edge of the university campus as strong, gusty winds, low humidity and dry vegetation fueled the blaze, according to Truckee Meadows fire and Rescue in Reno. Continue reading...

Republican senator tries to assuage concerns but does not offer details of Graham’s national security experienceTim Scott defended fellow US South Carolina Republican senator Darline Graham’s knowledge of national security issues ahead of their state’s runoff election on Tuesday.Graham, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat held by her brother Lindsey Graham after his sudden death in July, is in a Republican primary runoff against South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman. During a debate between the two on Tuesday night, Graham struggled to answer a question about US national security interests in Taiwan and the South China Sea. Continue reading...

Relatives of woman fatally stabbed on public transit allege death was preventable and Charlotte knew of violent crime issueThe family of Iryna Zarutska is suing Charlotte and a security company one year after the Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed onboard a light rail train in the North Carolina city.A lawsuit filed on Friday in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg county superior court alleges Zarutska’s death was preventable. It also claims the city and the company that provides security for the Charlotte Area Transit System failed to put adequate protections in place despite knowing about violent crime on and around the municipal light rail line. Continue reading...

Breakdown shows Washington now prioritises its own interests over any semblance of shared economic ground‘No more!!!’: Trump lashes out after US-Canada talks devolve into trade warThe calamitous collapse of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States is a warning to nations worldwide that pursuing any kind of dialogue with the current US administration is doomed at the outset, according to observers who say this recent episode indicates seeking a fair deal is futile.Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University in Ontario, said: “No matter the closeness of the historical relationship, the American administration has signalled that it now prioritises its interests above those of some sort of global economic coordination or harmony. Continue reading...

Critics include Senator Chris van Hollen, ex-aide to Obama Tommy Vietor and ex-Republican congressman Adam KinzingerDemocrats and other Donald Trump critics reacted incredulously to a New York Times report on Sunday that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, to discuss possible areas of collaboration.The meeting comes months ahead of the November midterm elections in which Democrats are favored to retake the US House, a development that would make Jeffries speaker. If they are in the majority, Democrats are expected to use their oversight power to aggressively investigate the Trump administration, including self-enrichment by the president and his family. Continue reading...

Devoted Trump aide flooded her now-disabled profile urging people to ‘never concede’ on 6 January 2021The Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp flooded a since-disabled social media account with pro-Trump posts on the day that the president’s supporters attacked the US Capitol in early 2021, years before she went to work for him and developed an extraordinary close relationship with him, a new report has revealed.CNN on Saturday reported that a deactivated account which Harp had on what is now known as X was packed with fiercely pro-Trump messages on the day of the January 6 Capitol attack in Washington DC, including posts repeating his lies that the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden toward the end of his first presidency, had been stolen from by fraudsters. Continue reading...