UK manufacturing growth picks up as Trump tariff chaos eases

• On August 2, 2026, updates were released regarding the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran and Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. • Donald Trump announced that formal negotiations with Tehran are scheduled to begin this coming Monday.

• A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Egypt on August 2, with tremors felt across the border in Israel. • In separate diplomatic developments, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with US President Donald Trump to emphasize the need for talks to prevent the conflict with Iran from escalating.

US president says he called off another US attack on Iran as part of a push for an agreement. Plus why Pokémon Go is still bring global joy ten years onGood morning. Donald Trump said talks with Iran would happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called ⁠off an imminent attack. For its part, Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the strait of Hormuz, and that it had no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one to any talks.On Saturday night, the US president claimed on social media that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal ⁠that would lead to “the immediate, complete and total” reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”. Trump added that Tehran must “rapidly make a deal”.What has Iran said about the strait? The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, told state television on Sunday that a deal was close with Oman over a new route through the waterway. “We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said in an interview.How many measles cases has the US seen? His remark came as the incidence of measles crossed a milestone – the US has officially recorded 2,371 confirmed infections so far this year, surpassing the total tally in 2025 of 2,289. Taken together, in the past two years there has been more measles infections in the US than the rest of the 21st century combined. The last time a greater number of measles cases were recorded in a single year was in 1991. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry accuses Kyiv of carrying out attack reports say may have been aimed at air force chiefEurope live – latest updatesRussia has blamed Ukraine for a bombing at a restaurant in central Moscow that killed five people, amid growing speculation that a senior Russian military commander was the intended target.The explosion occurred on Saturday evening near the entrance to an upscale Italian restaurant in one of city’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers on Kudrinskaya Square. Continue reading...

Todd Blanche issues formal order to withdraw ‘anti-weaponization fund’ after weeks of negotiations with Republican senators who were blocking his nominationBlanche formally rescinds Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponization fund’Sign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche issued a formal order late on Sunday terminating Donald Trump’s $1.8bn “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate his political allies. Continue reading...

Meeting follows years of questions over wellbeing of detained former leader, who was ousted by coup in 2021Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the aid organisation has confirmed.The meeting ⁠follows years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021. Continue reading...

After visits by US ambassador Mike Huckabee to the nearby Israeli settlement of Shilo, Palestinian Americans in Turmus Ayya have witnessed a terrifying rise in attacksNo man’s land in Turmus Ayya lies where the US flags end and the Israeli flags begin. It is a few hundred metres of soil scorched by molotov cocktails where Israeli settlers have placed a boulder to tell the Palestinian villagers: this is our land now.On one side of that boulder are the white-stoned mansions where the Palestinian residents of Turmus Ayya live. About 80% of them are US citizens, members of the diaspora in New York, Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey, who return for the summers and bring their children here to experience Palestinian culture and learn Arabic. Many call themselves proud American patriots and fly the stars and stripes from their balconies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: court records reviewed by the Guardian show medical procedures included force-feeding, intravenous forced hydration and involuntary blood drawsHomeland security officials under the Trump administration have quietly attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in US immigrant detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, a Guardian investigation has found.In 2025 and 2026, officials had definitely performed the procedures on at least three detained immigrants and likely subjected two more to the forced treatment – widely considered torture by human rights groups. The other five people gave in and broke their hunger strike at the last minute as force-feeding procedures loomed.One Kurdish asylum seeker and hunger striker detained at the privately-run Port Isabel service processing center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, was subjected to force-feeding for nearly eight months, according to a series of filings in the southern district of Texas federal court, beginning in May 2025 and ending only when he was deported.Another hunger striker at the same facility was subjected to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, for nearly six months between September 2025 and March 2026, filings in the same court show.Someone detained at the Krome service processing center in Miami, a privately-run ICE jail, was subjected to forced medical procedures for nearly three months, filings in the southern district of Florida federal court show. DHS seemingly began the forced practices three days before Trump’s 2025 inauguration for a second term, then continued.Two other hunger strikers, one at the Northwest ICE processing center in Washington state and another inside the Montgomery processing center on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, were likely subjected to forced medical procedures, according to filings in the western district of Washington and in the southern district of Texas federal courts.In at least five cases, hunger strikers detained in Texas, Arizona and Florida, ended their hunger strike right before officials began with the forced medical procedures, filings in the southern district of Texas, district of Arizona and southern district of Florida federal courts show.The forced procedures were performed inside the detention centers.In six cases reviewed by the Guardian, detained immigrants did not have any legal representation during the court proceedings granting the involuntary medical procedures.DHS and ICE have conducted these procedures throughout the years, regardless of which presidential administration is in power. In 2024, under Joe Biden, the Guardian found that DHS attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to forced medical treatment. It definitely proceeded with at least two people, and likely subjected at least four more people to them. However, since the return of Trump to the White House and the dramatic increase in immigration arrests and detention , medical experts and advocates worry more hunger strikes will occur and strikers will be subjected to the practices.Look out for Force-fed by ICE parts two and three in the coming days Continue reading...

Party’s deputy leader accused of a possible failure to declare an interest, commissioner says ⁠on ​its websiteBritain’s ⁠parliamentary ⁠standards watchdog is ​investigating ⁠Reform UK’s ⁠deputy ​leader, ‌Richard ‌Tice, over ‌a possible failure to declare ‌an interest, ​the commissioner said ⁠on ​its website ​on ​Monday.More details soon … Continue reading...

Pacific nation is latest country to signal a shift away from its colonial past with return to its traditional nameThe Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language.The country’s international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero. Continue reading...

Environment minister says Australia has ‘long and difficult journey’ and says more mass mortality events likelyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAerial surveillance has detected mass bird deaths in a second Australian state in another suspected escalation of the spread of deadly H5 bird flu.The environment minister, Murray Watt, said on Monday Australia had begun “a long and difficult journey” as CSIRO analysis confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event at Baudin Rocks off South Australia’s coast. Continue reading...