Scratch of the day: local football season postponed due to ‘rock hard’ pitches

• President Donald Trump criticized "leakers" following reports that the United States has depleted its stockpiles of precision missiles during the ongoing conflict with Iran. • During an Oval Office briefing, Trump expressed confidence in U.S. superiority, stating he does not believe Iran "can go much longer" in the confrontation.

• The conflict involving Iran is expanding across the Middle East, with recent attacks targeting Oman's ports and other regional locations. • Analysts suggest this widening of the war is a deliberate design intended to highlight and exploit various regional vulnerabilities.

• During a recent summit in Ankara, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte labeled China a "threat," warning that the West cannot be naive regarding Beijing's massive nuclear buildup. • The report highlights growing tensions as NATO discusses the expansion of "nuclear sharing" policies in response to China's military advancements.

The US president’s profound ignorance of his enemy has led to an impotent cycle of empty threats, analysts sayBeing the subject of mockery may be the most intense of all Donald Trump’s known aversions.Yet more than five months after embarking on a war of choice against Iran, the US president risks attracting ridicule as he struggles to secure a military victory – while repeatedly threatening devastating bombardment against the Tehran regime, only to back down on the pretext of renewed negotiations. Continue reading...

European Aquatics Championships taking place in cityThreat to water quality tested two years after GamesParis is staging its first high-diving competition in the Seine, with athletes launching themselves from a 20-metre platform in front of the Eiffel Tower – a spectacular new test of the city’s effort to reclaim its river for sport. The event on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim has also exposed the fragility of that ambition.Organisers suspended training on Thursday when traces of hydrocarbons were detected upstream. By Friday, the French Swimming Federation said the affected area had been treated, allowing athletes to return to the water and the event to proceed as planned. High diving concludes on Saturday with the final two rounds and medal events, while the broader European Aquatics Championships run through to 16 August. Continue reading...

Major win for president as former personal lawyer wins approval despite outcry over $1.8bn slush fundThe US senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general in a major win for Donald Trump, who will now have his one-time personal attorney sitting atop the nation’s law enforcement apparatus.Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana cast the deciding vote in Blanche’s favor after two other Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted against him. Every Democrat rejected Blanche’s nomination. Continue reading...

UK hosts decades-old event for first time where many participants are from opposite sides of global disputes from Israel and Palestine, to India and PakistanOn the surface it looks like a normal summer school in the Devon countryside, with teenagers playing volleyball in the sun, doing arts and crafts in the hall, and preparing for the night’s talent show.But behind the scenes, intensive discussions are taking place. Many of these teenagers come from opposite sides of historical national conflicts – from Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan. Continue reading...

London mayor points to ‘terrifying scenes’ this summer amid speculation Burnham may back Jackdaw and Rosebank projectsSadiq Khan: This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren’t just delusional, they’re deadlySadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves.Writing in the Guardian, the mayor of London said that Andy Burnham’s administration must reaffirm its commitment to net zero and make clear it will continue to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas “to get Britain back on track.” Continue reading...

Documents published on US embassy’s website prompt claims of attempt to export Maga propaganda to UKThe US embassy in London is offering grants of up to half a million dollars for new “public education” programmes in what has been criticised as interference in British domestic politics.Using language that the pro-Trump Maga movement has sought to appropriate, a funding notice identifies a goal of fostering a “national conversation” about “shared civilizational values” underpinning US-UK ties. Priority will go to applicants aiming to celebrate “freedom of speech” and “limited government”. Continue reading...

Somosierra will be prime spot to view celestial alignment on 12 August, an event that poses logistical challengesLittle stirs in the mountains above Somosierra beyond the wind that lashes the flat peaks, the cows that graze on parched grass and the sun that beats down on the abandoned aerodrome where generations of glider pilots learned to ride air currents alongside squadrons of vultures and red kites.But all this stillness will disappear, albeit temporarily, on the evening of 12 August, when swathes of northern and eastern Spain and the Balearic islands experience a total solar eclipse, the likes of which has not been seen here for more than 120 years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produceChildren in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce.The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools. Continue reading...