Polls open in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection overshadowed by new PM and Farage’s antics

• Iran considered retaliating against a Ukrainian seaport after a Ukrainian strike hit an Iranian cargo ship on Saturday. • Diplomatic efforts helped de-escalate the tension, including a Sunday conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

• On July 30, 2026, Russian authorities charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov over the platform's alleged involvement in Ukrainian spy operations. • The charges center on claims that the messaging app was utilized to facilitate intelligence gathering and espionage activities against Russia.

• A fragile war pause remains in effect, though Donald Trump has threatened to destroy "Pickaxe Mountain" if a diplomatic deal is not reached. • Mediators report that the United States and Iran are close to resurrecting a previously failed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) deal.

• U.S. special forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, ending decades of authoritarian rule. • The intervention follows a severe crisis characterized by an 80 percent collapse in GDP and the displacement of nearly eight million citizens.

• Scholars Aslı Bâli and Samuel Moyn argue that the international community must stop mourning the decline of the American-led world order and begin constructing a new multipolar system. • A central proposal is for great and middle powers to commit to ending the practice of instigating or intensifying proxy wars to weaken geopolitical rivals.

• President Trump has threatened that Iran will "get a beating" as military tensions escalate in the Middle East. • The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have launched joint military strikes targeting Iranian proxy groups located within Iraq.

• Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Aboudi requested on July 28 that NATO Training Mission-Iraq military advisors remain in the country to assist the Iraqi Security Forces with planning and development. • This request comes as US-led international coalition forces are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of September following the conclusion of their mission to counter ISIS.

Huge missile and drone attack on Ukraine as Poland’s Tusk prepares to travel to impact site discovered in east of countryAt least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in another night of heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine, with neighbouring Poland also investigating an reported airspace violation and explosion on its territory.Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones against targets in Ukraine, with casualties reported primarily in Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions. Continue reading...

Environmental groups renew calls for windfall tax to support households following Q2 earnings rise to $9.84bn Shell more than doubled its profit in its second quarter of the year, as Europe’s biggest oil and gas company reaped the benefits from the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East.The FTSE 100 company’s net profit hit $9.84bn (£7.4bn) in the three months ended in June, more than double compared with the same period last year. Continue reading...

Document believed to be from 19th century details recipe using Bolivian coca leaves, kola nuts and wineAn Italian friar has unearthed a document from the pharmacy archives of an ancient convent in Florence describing a medicinal potion made from Bolivian coca leaves and kola nuts, prompting suggestions it could have been a precursor to the famous US soft drink, Coca-Cola.Father Manuel Russo, rector of the San Marco convent, said he stumbled across the yellowed document, a sort-of promotional flyer, while sorting out the archives. Continue reading...

Artist Michael Zavros says he was inspired by a deep respect for Alex Ryvchin’s leadership, as well as an uncanny likeness between the two menAn artist’s portrayal of a Jewish leader produced just weeks after the Bondi massacre has won the Archibald people’s choice category.Michael Zavros won the $5,000 prize for his portrait of Alex Ryvchin, the co-head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who Zavros called an “unmistakably and unashamedly Jewish” leader.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Forty hectares of Oaken Wood could be razed after it was identified as potential site of expansion by Reform-run councilIt was at the confluence of seven forest paths that Allison Sweetman came to a stop. Trees rose on all sides, save for a recently coppiced section to the north-east. The noon heat had silenced most birds, but the quiet was peaceful.“This is what they call Seven Wents,” she said. For centuries, the people of Kent had travelled this way, from East Malling to Barming, from Ditton to Teston, for church, commerce and friends. “It’s on maps going back 400 years.” Continue reading...