Thursday briefing: ​What difference will the ceasefire in the Middle East make, and will it hold?

• President Donald Trump greeted the flag-draped remains of four American service members killed during the conflict with Iran on Wednesday. • The event occurred as Trump dismissed "desperate" calls from Iranian leaders to resume diplomatic negotiations, labeling them as unserious about a meaningful deal.

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Iran will not surrender to external threats. • The President reaffirmed Tehran's commitment to resolving international disputes through diplomatic channels.

• Defense Secretary Hegseth testified that the U.S. war on Iran has reached a total cost of $37.5 billion. • In the Middle East, Houthi rebels warned shipping companies against using Saudi ports, while the Israeli military constructed a giant barrier to separate controlled portions of the Gaza Strip.

• UN partners have launched the Winter Response Plan to provide critical aid to 2.1 million people in Ukraine to help them survive the upcoming cold season amid the ongoing Russian invasion. • In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 30 people were killed and dozens injured during attacks in the Beni territory between July 13 and 19.

• Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on the port city of Aqaba in Jordan, escalating regional tensions. • The conflict has disrupted global energy supplies, causing Brent crude oil prices to surge above $94 per barrel.

• Approximately 50,000 people from over 100 countries gathered in Britain for the 60th convention of the nation's largest Muslim organization. • The event focused on calling world leaders to prioritize justice and peace over the strategic interests of powerful states to prevent a devastating global war.

Republicans have latched on to the announcement after Trump’s lie-laden speech, but experts say DHS’s data is ‘designed to create a false argument’Donald Trump and his allies quickly seized on an announcement from Mikie Sherrill, the New Jersey governor, on Tuesday that 6,600 noncitizens had registered to vote because of a software error, and fewer than 400 of them voted, using thedisclosure to escalate false claims that there are scores of noncitizens on the voter rolls.Trump seized on thenews days after he said in a primetime speech that the Department of Homeland Security identified 278,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls in New Jersey and three other states. But a Guardian review of the letters DHS sent the states shows the agency expressed less certainty about the number and has offered no explanation of its methodology. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester chief constable says crucial data on phones seized from Heaton Park synagogue attacker was not examinedGreater Manchester police have apologised and admitted “a missed opportunity” before the attack on a city synagogue.The force’s chief constable, Sir Stephen Watson, said the phones of the Heaton Park synagogue attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, were seized by officers but crucial data was not examined. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ro Khanna says ‘reindustrialization’ effort would provide grants, loans and investments to smaller businessesDemocrats in the US Congress have laid out plans for what they say would be the “boldest” bid to revitalize the country’s industrial heartlands since the second world war – using revenue raised by tariffs on China.A bill introduced this week would create a new bank to strengthen domestic manufacturing, provided with up to $15bn in funds each year. Continue reading...

Angel Rampersad, Michael Swinton, Isabella Gonzales and Tyler Feehan were among 18 US troops killed in the warA 30-year-old husband and father of two. A 25-year-old officer just weeks away from earning his MBA. A 19-year-old recent high school graduate. And a 28-year-old from Queens, New York, with a “radiant smile”.The Pentagon this week identified three American service members who were killed, and a fourth believed to have been killed, in the Middle East over the past week amid an escalation in attacks between the United States and Iranian forces. Continue reading...

Firm told to treat third-party services that appear in its results in ‘fair and non-discriminatory manner’Google has been fined a total of €890m (£760m) by the EU for breaches of online competition laws by its search and app store services.The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Google had broken the Digital Markets Act by giving priority to its own services such as shopping and hotel deals in search results over those of its rivals. Continue reading...

Three others in group, believed to know each other, are in hospital after incident at West Mersea A teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died after several people got into difficulty in the water at an Essex beach.A third person remains in hospital in a serious condition, and two other people are in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Essex police said in a statement on Thursday morning. Continue reading...