Trump speech lays groundwork for him to tamper with midterm results, critics warn

• CCG President Huiyao Wang spoke at the Dubrovnik Forum 2026 regarding the necessity of building a multilateral system tailored for a multipolar world. • Wang emphasized the importance of BRICS and middle powers in reforming global cooperation and argued against the utility of temporary geopolitical alliances.

• U.S. forces have launched new strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure, specifically hitting bridges and a railway junction according to Iranian state media. • Iranian official Mohammad Ghalibaf has emphasized that Iran will maintain its claim to the Strait of Hormuz by force if necessary.

• Laala Bechetoula and Prof. Michel Chossudovsky held a video debate on July 15, 2026, focusing on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. • The discussion highlighted devastating casualty figures, reporting over 73,000 deaths and 173,000 wounded over a period of a thousand days.

• Renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz are threatening to disrupt one of the world's most critical maritime supply chain arteries. • The instability risks increasing costs for fuel, transportation, and agricultural inputs, which could trigger a broader global inflationary shock.

Ronald Fischer, 70, was sentenced to life in his absence after telling lawyer he planned to ‘enjoy life in another country’A “master yachtsman” who went on the run for more than two decades after fleeing a sexual assault trial in Rhode Island which resulted in his conviction despite his absence was captured on Thursday on a sailboat off New Jersey’s coast, according to authorities.Ronald L Fischer, 70, had been considered one of Rhode Island’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest, state police officials said in a statement on social media. And his case had been mentioned repeatedly over the years on the true-crime television program America’s Most Wanted. Continue reading...

Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt herA US senator has accused Meta of using lawfare in “efforts to destroy” a whistleblower who made allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers.In a letter to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, the Republican senator Josh Hawley demanded to know what measures Meta had taken to monitor Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former global head of public policy, and her family. Continue reading...

MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich found not guilty after incident at Groucho Club in London in 2023A Conservative MP has been cleared of sexually assaulting two women at the Groucho Club in London after claiming that he just wanted to give them a hug.Patrick Spencer was seen on camera coming up behind two women and putting his arms around them at the private members’ club during a night out in August 2023, less than a year before he was elected to the seat of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Continue reading...

Another 22 reportedly wounded while mourning Palestinian killed in Israeli attack earlier the same dayAn Israeli strike on a funeral in the Gaza Strip has killed at least seven people and wounded another 22, according to a local hospital.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Grants are part of controversial package criticised as misuse of public money to influence European politicsDonald Trump’s state department intends to allocate $12m to organisations in the UK founded by the prominent Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young, the Guardian can reveal.The intended grants, revealed in US government documents, are part of a package of support for European groups viewed favourably by the Trump administration. Some former US officials have criticised the funding as a misuse of public money to seek influence over foreign politics. Continue reading...

Proposal would water down emissions trading system to make EU more competitive – despite extreme heatwavesEurope’s most effective method of cutting dangerous planet-heating gases risks being weakened after the European Commission proposed an overhaul of its flagship carbon market, critics have said.In a long-awaited review of the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS), the European Commission proposed giving companies a less demanding and cheaper pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

East Midlands Railway cancels trains on Midland mainline, as drivers on LNER and Avanti West Coast ballotIntercity rail travellers face potential disruption this summer across Great Britain’s three north-south mainlines, with drivers voting on strike action on two lines and timetables slashed on the other owing to malfunctioning trains.East Midlands Railway announced it will cancel hundreds of services in the coming weeks from its intercity timetable on the Midland mainline, because of continued problems with its fleet of Hitachi trains. Continue reading...

One UK man whose bill is usually less than £1 says he ‘almost had a heart attack’ when he saw £5.8bn invoicePeople always suspected big tech was greedy, but not quite like this. Patrons of Amazon Web Services have been landed with panic-inducing monthly bills running as high as $1.5tn for subscriptions that usually cost less than the price of a cup of coffee.From Bangalore to Bolsover the bills have been causing alarm after a computer glitch resulted in the astronomical invoices being dispatched around the world by Jeff Bezos’s company, which provides data and cloud services to millions of customers, from students and small charities to major business. Continue reading...