Judge signals Trump’s defamation lawsuit against Wall Street Journal may be dismissed again

• Professor Rodrigue Tremblay published an analysis on August 4, 2026, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump is more corrupt and dangerous than corporate media portrayals suggest. • The piece focuses on Trump's conduct since his second inauguration on January 20, 2025, claiming his actions demonstrate a significant risk to governance.

• The 75-year-old global refugee system, established by the Refugee Convention and Protocol, is facing a crisis of effectiveness as it struggles to adapt to modern geopolitical realities. • While 149 state parties officially maintain their commitment to the treaties, the author argues that these obligations are being "hollowed out" in practice.

• President Trump warned that Iran will be "hit very hard" if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened soon to allow oil shipments to resume. • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported that talks are currently progressing to resolve the blockade.

• The Middle East is shifting toward "Energy Redundancy Diplomacy," a strategy focused on maintaining energy production, financing, and exports through multiple interchangeable systems. • This approach aims to ensure stability by creating backup infrastructures that can be activated when geopolitical disruptions occur.

• Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett accused Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the goal of defeating Hamas and effectively handing control of Gaza to Qatar. • The IDF is tightening its strike policy in Gaza, now requiring the chief of staff's explicit approval for certain operations.

State department informs Congress of planned closures in Canada, Grenada, Japan, Indonesia and CameroonThe US state department is to shut five foreign consulates and missions across Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, drawing criticism that it is leaving a diplomatic vacuum at risk of being filled by China.The US Congress has been served notice of the impending closures, which are being justified on cost grounds and follow a reassessment of the US’s bilateral relationships with a range of countries since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Continue reading...

Sociology professor to stand down after university announces investigation into his qualifications and career• Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professorJason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, has resigned after the university announced he was to face a new investigation into his qualifications and career.Arday, who had been dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials, issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”. Continue reading...

Joint statement is being finalised, but Tehran says deal alone would not guarantee waterway’s securityMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIran and Oman have reached an understanding on ⁠the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the strait of Hormuz, and ⁠a joint announcement ⁠is ​being finalised, provided certain third parties did not interfere, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil ⁠Baghaei said on Wednesday.Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by ⁠itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway. Continue reading...

University says it has ‘new information’ about academic career of Jason Arday, the youngest black professor in its historyJason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, is to face investigation by the university after what it called “new information” regarding his qualifications and career.Cambridge initially defended Arday – the youngest black professor appointed in the university’s history, with a compelling life story of educational disadvantage – as “the victim of a vile campaign”. But as questions mounted over Arday’s own claims, the university’s leaders felt that Cambridge’s reputation was in danger. Continue reading...

Democrats ‘united by a common purpose: putting a check on Trump’, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand sayAbdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primaryWhat we learned from midterm primary electionsLeading Democrats quickly papered over whatever qualms they had about progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed after his win in the Michigan Senate primary was confirmed on Wednesday, instead welcoming the former public health official as their champion against Republican nominee Mike Rogers.The state is now key to Democrats’s hopes of retaking control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections. Winning in Michigan would put them on the path to snarling Donald Trump’s legislative agenda and blocking his judicial nominees for the final two years of his presidency, while defeat could undermine their prospects of gaining a majority in the chamber for years to come. Rogers lost a Senate race in Michigan two years ago by a slim margin to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. Continue reading...

Sheikh Hasina, 78, plans a December comeback two years after being ousted in a bloody uprising led by studentsBangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to return home by year-end, even though she faces a death sentence.“They may put me in a cell. They may kill me. Anything may happen, but still I have to go,” said the 78-year-old, speaking two years after a student-led uprising toppled her government. Continue reading...