Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time

• The UK, Australia, and Canada have launched a major new international fund designed to scale civil society initiatives and address the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. • The fund will invest in grassroots projects aimed at rebuilding trust and reducing community divisions, integrating civil society efforts directly into broader diplomatic strategies.

• Tensions in the Middle East are escalating as warring parties resume hostilities and diplomatic relations deteriorate. • Iran remains defiant, demanding that the United States take accountability for ceasefire violations involving military strikes.

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed a Security Council open debate in New York, urging member states to utilize the UN Charter to settle Middle East disputes peacefully. • Guterres highlighted how restrictions on navigational rights in the Strait of Hormuz are destabilizing global energy prices and disrupting critical supply chains.

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk announced that investigators will probe potential breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties involved in the Lebanon conflict. • The escalation, featuring Hezbollah attacks and an extensive Israeli air and ground campaign, has resulted in over 3,660 deaths and the displacement of more than one million people.

• India's Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon advocated for a rules-based order and strengthened diplomacy during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting held in Manila. • The ARF operates as a "track-one" diplomatic forum, focusing on a gradual evolutionary process to move from confidence-building measures toward full conflict resolution.

• The United States launched a second consecutive day of military strikes against Iran, following Donald Trump's vow to "hit them hard again" after accusing Tehran negotiators of deception. • Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqaei, stated that these attacks have jeopardized ongoing ceasefire negotiations and accused Washington of undermining diplomatic efforts.

• The UAE is positioning its energy transformation as a global model for balancing economic growth with long-term environmental sustainability. • The strategy focuses on reconciling the urgent need for energy security with accelerated climate action to meet international goals.

Minister accuses Starmer of being ‘unable to commit the resources to defend the country at this time of rising threats’• UK politics live – latest updatesThe defence secretary, John Healey, has resigned over the government’s defence spending plans.The long-awaited defence investment plan (DIP) was expected to be published imminently, but in a letter to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, Healey said it fell “well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”. Continue reading...

Twenty people were killed and 120 injured in the attack at the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destinationA Thai court has handed out death sentences to two Uyghur men from the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang for a 2015 bombing in the centre of Bangkok that killed 20 people.The explosion occurred at the Erawan Shrine in the centre of Bangkok, an area popular with foreign tourists. As well as the 20 people killed, another 120 were injured. Five of the dead were from mainland China and two from Hong Kong. Continue reading...

Broadcaster reveals its revenues from expanded tournament are running about 30% higher than Euro 2024The World Cup will be the most lucrative sports event ITV has ever aired, the broadcaster has said, with bosses dubbing the expanded tournament a “six-week summer Super Bowl moment” for TV advertising.ITV is airing 51 of the 104 matches across the men’s tournament, co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, which is the biggest yet after an expansion from 32 to 48 teams. Continue reading...

Lawyers ask prosecutors to upgrade charges from manslaughter in light of text messages discussing fire riskLawyers for victims of the deadly New Year’s Eve fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have formally asked prosecutors to upgrade the charges against the bar’s owners after text messages emerged discussing the danger.Forty-one people were killed and 115 injured in the blaze at Le Constellation bar, which investigators believe started in the basement when sparklers attached to champagne bottles were held too close to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling. Continue reading...

The Democrats are wargaming messaging strategies over fears that Donald Trump may try to influence the midterm electionsAs the 2024 election approached, advertisements began popping up in key swing states suggesting local officials had discretion not to certify elections.The advertisements, reported at the time by ProPublica and Wisconsin Watch, were misleading. Certification is not optional, and officials are required to certify the vote once the proper process for any election challenges are complete and an official challenge is complete. The warnings, nonetheless, arrived at a moment when Donald Trump and allies seemed to be gearing up to contest the election results if he lost.Trump has talked about stealing the election, violating the election, perverting the election, over and over again.And woe be us, and woe be anyone who believes in free elections, who doesn’t take that seriously.Donald Trump demanded that Republicans in Congress provide an additional $350bn in funding for the Pentagon, by passing a third reconciliation bill.Trump brushed off concerns about new data showing that inflation jumped to an annual rate of 4.2% in May by saying “I love the inflation”, but US House speaker Mike Johnson, accused a CNN journalist of taking the president’s comment “totally out of context”. “What he was saying is: ‘It’s going to be great to have that number and compare it to what comes next, when we get these situations resolved, that’ll be a fun thing to consider.’”As Trump appeared unwilling to back off his plan to install as acting director of national intelligence an unqualified political “attack dog”, federal mortgage director Bill Pulte, Senate Democrats said they would not vote to reauthorize a warrantless surveillance law that expires on Friday.Trump told Fox News the US had fired 49 Tomahawk missiles at Iran on Wednesday, and would “bomb the shit out of them again on Thursday” if Iran’s leaders do not sign a peace agreement. Continue reading...