US gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of Hormuz

• The United States launched a series of rare daytime air strikes against Iran as part of an ongoing cycle of tit-for-tat military escalations. • In response, Iranian leadership accused Washington of attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic, asserting that while Tehran does not seek war, it must remain prepared to fight.

Heatwaves, high energy prices, calls for reindustrialisation and North Sea drilling are all high on the to-do listUK politics live – latest updatesWildfires cast a pall of smoke this week over Greater Manchester, whose former mayor Andy Burnham stands on the threshold of No 10. Amid three UK heatwaves so far this year, which have killed thousands of people in England and Wales, damaged harvests and left children crying in classrooms, the new prime minister’s plans for the climate crisis remain as shrouded as his city.“Burnham has been very quiet about the climate [crisis] so far,” says Chris Venables, an environmental campaigner and fellow at the Green Alliance thinktank. “I don’t think [it] is at the forefront of his mind, but that does not mean he will water down this agenda.” Continue reading...

Revised plan aims to ‘keep something going’ amid fears Netanyahu may gamble on new all-out offensive before Israeli electionsThe Gaza recovery plan being pursued by Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) has shrank dramatically from an ambitious blueprint for the reconstruction of the whole territory to a small pilot project in the south of the strip.Even the envisaged pilot scheme – involving a temporary camp for a tiny fraction of Gaza’s 2 million displaced people, with a Palestinian administration, police and a small international security force – is not expected to take shape before the end of the year. Continue reading...

The actor, who also appeared in The Waltons and Private Benjamin, died at his home in CaliforniaHal Williams, actor best known for TV roles in Sanford & Son and 227, has died at the age of 91.His representative confirmed that Williams died on 15 July at his home in California. Continue reading...

JCVI says children should have one or two doses of menB vaccine at age 15, depending on if they had one as a babyTeenagers should be offered a vaccine on the NHS to protect against deadly meningitis B (menB), government advisers have recommended.The move by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which needs approval from the government, means young people should get a jab around the age of 15, with catch-up programmes for those who would otherwise miss out. Continue reading...

Review of case criticises handling of agent X, who exploited role with agency to violently threaten his girlfriendMI5 has been reprimanded by a watchdog for lying about its relationship with a neo-Nazi informant, who had exploited his role with the spy agency to violently threaten his girlfriend.The Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (Ipco) criticised MI5’s handling of a man known only as agent X, and said some of its officers had initially misled the courts and the regulator about his true status. Continue reading...

Move raises questions over position of the head of the Maritime and Coastguard AgencyUK politics live – latest updatesMinisters have U-turned on plans to strip volunteer coastguard officers of their hourly pay after coming in for intense criticism over the plan.The announcement, made by the maritime minister in parliament on Thursday, was described as a huge win for coastguards many of whom had said they would reduce their hours or leave the service altogether if the government had pushed ahead. It has raised questions over the position of Virginia McVea, head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Continue reading...

Wives and children offered new identities to try to stop gangsters recruiting down the generationsChildren and young adults raised in mafia families will be given a chance to break away from organised crime under new legislation in Italy that aims to stop the inter-generational recruitment of gangsters.In an unprecedented effort to sever the family chain, the Italian state will offer children aged under 25 and other close relatives of mafia bosses a chance to start over: a new home in another city, a new school and, if necessary, a new identity. Continue reading...

Spokesperson says islands ‘definitely’ belong to the UK‘PM wishes both teams well for the final, especially Spain’Keir Starmer supports the idea of Fifa investigating Argentina players who displayed a banner touting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final win against England, Downing Street has said.Starmer, who watched the match while travelling to Ukraine by train for the final overseas trip of his prime ministership, endorsed a call by Peter Kyle, the business secretary, for Fifa to “thoroughly” investigate what rules may have been broken. Continue reading...

Third round of arrests linked to independent bookshops widely regarded as clampdown on dissent in territoryHong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers.Videos and photos from multiple media outlets on Wednesday showed officers wearing vests marked with “police” seizing boxes from the building that houses Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop founded by former journalists. AFP reporters saw officers also lead away a woman in handcuffs to a van. Continue reading...

Roger Rogoff’s was selected by panel of judges for top prosecutor job after interim US attorney’s term endedUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump fired the new top federal prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday less than an hour after the attorney was unanimously appointed by the federal judges in the district, highlighting tensions between the courts and the president over the powerful positions.Roger Rogoff, a former judge and veteran state and federal prosecutor, was sworn in as US attorney before 8am at the US courthouse in downtown Seattle. In a phone interview, he said he then went to the US attorney’s office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, whose 120-day interim term in the position ended in February. Continue reading...