Venezuela’s Maduro in court for pre-trial hearing in US drug trafficking case

• Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on the Jordanian port city of Aqaba in a retaliatory strike. • The escalating conflict has disrupted global energy supplies, driving Brent crude oil prices above $94 per barrel.

• Pakistan has reportedly requested a $10 billion exchange stabilisation facility from the United States to bolster its dwindling foreign exchange reserves. • Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed the request and Pakistan's economic vulnerabilities during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Tuesday.

• The United States and Iran are engaged in escalating attacks as officials express doubt over whether diplomacy can prevent a full-scale return to war. • Amidst these tensions, a new 30-year deal is expected to be established, focusing on long-term strategic development.

• Pakistan has requested a $10 billion exchange stabilisation facility from the United States to bolster its foreign exchange reserves and support the rupee. • The move follows a period of IMF-backed reforms that stabilized the economy but imposed high political costs through increased taxes and spending restraints.

• Yemen’s Houthis have declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, escalating regional tensions by opening a new front in the Middle East conflict. • The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes against Iran for the 10th consecutive night, while an Israeli drone strike in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of a family of six.

• Author Laala Bechetoula has released a book titled "Gaza Hashem: A Tale Told by the Children," dated July 20, 2026. • The work is written for adults but utilizes the voices and simple language of Gazan children as the primary moral narrators.

• Pakistan has requested a $10 billion bilateral exchange stabilisation facility from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to bolster its foreign exchange reserves. • The request follows Pakistan's recent diplomatic efforts in mediating talks regarding the conflict in Iran.

• UN human rights experts condemned the M23 armed group on Tuesday for orchestrating a "reign of terror" in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. • The Rwanda-backed group is accused of systemic sexual torture and violence targeting civilians within the territories it controls.

Exclusive: Guardian investigation of CT Group uncovers practice that appears to seek hidden influence over public opinionA political lobbying firm founded by the former electoral strategist for David Cameron and Boris Johnson secretly pays journalists to write pieces for British newspapers that are favourable to their clients, a Guardian investigation can reveal.In a practice that appears to create a backdoor for private companies to influence public opinion, lobbyists for CT Group – co-founded by the campaign strategist, Lynton Crosby – told an undercover reporter that they had paid journalists to place apparently independent stories in newspapers. Continue reading...

More than 20,000 unaccompanied children risk going to US immigration court alone after federal funding cutsThousands of immigrant children who came to the United States without being accompanied by a parent or guardian are now at imminent risk of losing the attorneys assisting on their legal cases, amid cuts in government funding, advocates warned this week.The Trump administration has severed ties with nearly a hundred legal organizations across the country that provide immigration advice and has been funneling kids into fast-tracked court hearings. Continue reading...

Mayor admits he has no authority to direct Israeli prime minister’s arrest after saying he’s ‘not welcome’ in NYCZohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, doubled down on his support for the international criminal court on Wednesday, a day after calling on federal authorities to execute the court’s warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest should he visit the city in the fall.“I call on the federal government to join the international criminal court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant the international criminal court holds,” Mamdani told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Figures come as large parts of southern Europe endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperaturesFrance recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, authorities have said, as swathes of southern Europe continue to endure another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures.The French national health agency said on Wednesday that it had recorded 5,764 excess deaths ⁠between ​17 June and 2 July, an excess mortality rate of 36%. Continue reading...