Ukraine is showing NATO the future of warfare - Atlantic Council

• President Trump has threatened a "massive attack" against Iran as the ongoing conflict between the two nations approaches the five-month mark. • The escalation follows a cycle of U.S. airstrikes within Iran and retaliatory strikes launched by Tehran against U.S. targets located in the Gulf.

• The Foreign Affairs Council convened to discuss critical global conflicts, specifically focusing on Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and the volatile situation in the Middle East. • Ministers addressed the regional instability caused by the war in Iran and the deteriorating security conditions across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

• The United States and Iran are entering a prolonged cycle of "grey zone" conflict characterized by calibrated confrontation rather than a definitive resolution. • Washington is currently employing a dual strategy of maintaining military pressure while simultaneously calling for renewed diplomatic negotiations.

• A critical analysis reveals that four primary claims made by President Donald Trump regarding the conflict with Iran have been proven inaccurate or misleading. • The report examines specific assertions made by the administration, contrasting official rhetoric with documented evidence and geopolitical realities.

• India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, urged the UN Security Council to clearly distinguish between armed aggression and territorial disputes to better maintain international peace. • India called for reforms to the UN Charter, specifically arguing that Chapter VI interventions lack "perpetual validity" and require periodic reviews to align with current geopolitical realities.

• Israel is constructing new earthen barriers within the Gaza Strip, fundamentally altering the region's geography and restricting movement. • These barriers serve as critical infrastructure for security policy, impacting both military strategy and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

• On July 22, 2026, Houthi forces attacked at least one Saudi vessel as part of an effort to enforce a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. • The incident was reported by the Institute for the Study of War's Conflict Tracking Project (ISW-CTP) in a special update on Iran.

The film-maker, also behind A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, died on Wednesday in his San Diego homeDirector Chuck Russell, who helped propel actors such as Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to the Hollywood A-list, was found dead in his San Diego, California, home on Wednesday. He was 74.Russell directed several box office hits in his decades-long career including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Mask. In 2002, his film The Scorpion King featured The Rock in his first leading role. Continue reading...

Grant Ho, who performed postmortem examination, said he identified two stab wounds on 14-year-old’s bodyThe autopsy of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body took center stage on Friday as a hearing continued to determine whether musician D4vd will stand trial for murder charges linked to her death.Prosecutors say the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, fatally stabbed Hernandez last April to silence her from divulging the sexual nature of their relationship as his career skyrocketed. He was 18 and she was 13 when the sexual abuse began, according to prosecutors. Continue reading...

Colt Gray, who was 14 at time of attack on Apalachee high school, admits 55 charges including four counts of murderThe wife of a teacher killed in a high school shooting in Georgia two years ago told a court on Friday that the families of the four victims had been handed “a life sentence of grief and trauma” by the teenage student who murdered them.Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband Richard died at Apalachee high school, about 45 miles north-east Atlanta, on 4 September 2024, was speaking at the sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, 16, who earlier pleaded to 55 charges, including second-degree murder. Continue reading...

DNC made move in bid to better represent views of party’s racially diverse voter base ahead of next presidential cycle Democrats moved to keep South Carolina as the first state to vote in their party’s 2028 presidential primary process, while moving up several other states, in a bid to better represent the views of the party’s racially diverse voter base.At a meeting in Washington DC of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) rules and bylaws committee on Friday, South Carolina received a slim majority of votes to take the first spot, scheduled for 22 January 2028, with Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia set to follow, in that order. The selections must still be confirmed by the full DNC at a meeting set for next month. Continue reading...

Joanna Ruth Shields’ body was discovered in a pool of water with suspicious marks, driving speculation she was attackedA young woman whose body was found in the backcountry of California’s Big Sur with suspicious marks on her face and neck died of alcohol withdrawal, the Monterey county sheriff’s office said on Thursday.The discovery of Joanna Ruth Shields’ body back in April had driven widespread suspicion that she had been the victim of a violent attack. A group of hikers found Shields, 37, naked in a pool of water in the Sykes hot springs area of the Ventana wilderness with marks on her neck and a cut across her forehead. Continue reading...