Fights

As a major new biography of the former prime minister goes on sale, he talks about meeting the Queen, Trump’s aims, and why his big vision will never fadeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueen Elizabeth II met Paul Keating “alone, to her credit” in what the prime minister was informed was her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria’s, favourite room at Balmoral Castle.“And I took some pleasure in explaining the furniture to her,” Keating recalls, an old elan breaking through. Continue reading...

• The Supreme Court granted President Donald Trump a preliminary victory by lifting several legal hurdles to his plan to limit mail-in voting eligibility. • Despite this ruling, the president's proposal remains currently blocked by a lower-court order, meaning the rules have not yet changed. • This legal development provides Trump with momentum to alter voting regulations less than a month before election officials begin distributing ballots.

• Residents in Malaysia and the Philippines are protesting the construction of power-hungry AI data centers planned near their homes and farms. • In Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, a developer withdrew a project application after the city council received approximately 290 objections by July 21. • Similar resistance occurred this month in Oton, Iloilo, where local farmers and residents questioned a proposed 50-megawatt AI data center during a public hearing.

• The article examines whether a potential military failure in Iran would fundamentally change U.S. strategic approaches to warfare and foreign intervention. • It notes a historical trend where veterans and voters punished previous administrations for the high costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. • However, the author observes a current shift in public sentiment, suggesting that many Americans may now be less concerned with the long-term costs of conflict.

Lender was told money was being taken without authorisation, with cash used to buy credits for Claude chatbotA Metro Bank customer has told of his fight to get more than £14,000 back after its systems failed to stop a fraud involving the AI chatbot Claude.Zoli Rutter, a businessman from Sussex, had a total of £14,244 taken from his bank account. The scam involved fraudsters buying credits to use Claude. Continue reading...

• Global economic indicators show mixed results, with stalling US industrial production, stuttering export growth in Singapore, and declining auction activity in Australia. • Financial markets are reacting with the US 10-year Treasury yield at 4.55%, rising oil prices, and the NZ dollar trading at 58.4 US cents. • Investors are now focusing on upcoming earnings season results and critical data releases, including Japan's inflation updates and Korea's Q1-2026 GDP outcome.

• U.S. Congress is struggling to address a critical list of "must-do" legislative items as the deadline for the midterm elections approaches. • Internal conflict has intensified, with members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), voting down rules and withholding support for scheduled legislation. • The deadlock is driven by accusations of broken promises from leadership and lawmakers prioritizing their individual campaign goals over collective legislative progress.

President’s son says screenshots that appeared to show him asking analyst Daniel Cormier for information were ‘fake’Eric Trump has denied cheating allegations after screenshots shared online appeared to show UFC commentator Daniel Cormier receiving a message from an account under Trump’s name asking whether any of the White House’s UFC fights on Sunday would be rigged.Several screenshots posted – and then later deleted – on Cormier’s X account showed alleged messages from Donald Trump’s 42-year old son that said: “Anything you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow? Who you got winning?” Continue reading...

President’s UFC fights held on the White House lawn overshadowed by chants about former first ladyHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump’s UFC fights held on the White House lawn were marred by a misogynistic smear aimed at former first lady Michelle Obama last night.Trump arrives in Evian-les-Bains on Monday afternoon for talks with G7 leaders, including some who have been sharply critical of his managing of the roughly 15-week conflict that has led to a surge in global energy prices. World leaders began gathering in a French spa town for the summit with a new impetus following the US president’s announcement of an agreement that he says will bring an end to the war against Iran.The Iranian deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed in the early hours of Monday an agreement for an “immediate end” to the US-Iranian war, and said Lebanon was included in a peace deal due to be signed on Friday. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, announced the agreement on Sunday afternoon, saying both sides would be declaring “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”.Trump told Vladimir Putin that ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine was critical and that he was prepared to help, reported Russia’s TASS news agency. During a phone call on Sunday, Trump also informed the Russian president that the US was nearing a peace deal with Iran as the US-Israel war against the country continues, according to Yuri Ushakov, a Putin adviser.JD Vance said he would discuss a 2028 US presidential run with his wife, Usha, after the 2026 midterms. “Usha and I will absolutely sit down and talk about what comes next for our family,” said Vance. The US vice-president gave insight into his ongoing decision on whether to run during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning where he spoke on his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism. Continue reading...

Vote for Republican nomination is latest test of President’s grip over GOPHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Texans are voting for a Republican nominee for US Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, following Donald Trump’s late bid to influence the race in his latest effort to rid the GOP of less devoted leaders.Iran has poured cold water on suggestions that a deal with the US is imminent, pointing to the confusion in US positions and Israeli interference as reasons why an agreement is proving difficult to secure. Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press briefing, Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, also said future management of the strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to agree on, and that it was not tolls that were being proposed but “fees for navigational services”.By contrast, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that a deal was still possible, adding that the strait of Hormuz would open “one way or another”. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.A Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records. The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, which is managed by the US president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu.Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team. Sheinbaum said football’s governing body Fifa approached her government after the US said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there. Continue reading...

Kalshi announces two-year investment to National Council on Problem Gambling ‘focused on trader health and safety’The prediction market Kalshi, which maintains it is not a gambling platform, has announced plans to give $2m to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) as it continues to ride a nationwide surge.While prediction markets allow users to bet – or “trade” – on the outcome of almost anything, from elections to sports to geopolitical events, the industry has vehemently fought efforts by state officials to regulate its platforms like those of conventional gambling giants. Continue reading...

• Ben Jealous, former executive director of a major civil rights organization, is challenging what he describes as a "disheartening" decision to terminate his employment. • Jealous oversaw multiple rounds of layoffs during his two-year tenure and reportedly sparred with staff over organizational direction and policy priorities. • His removal represents a significant leadership transition within the advocacy group and reflects internal tensions over management strategy.

Database could be used to regulate opponents, from ‘shutting off bank accounts’ to healthcare, official warnsDonald Trump is attempting to select his own citizenry and control who can vote by gathering the personal details of all Americans, Arizona’s top election official has warned.Adrian Fontes, Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, fears that the Trump administration’s active efforts to forcibly extract voter files from 30 states including Fontes’s own are part of a bigger plan to gather vital information on all US citizens into a centralised database. “Trump is trying to amass a master list that will allow him to declare someone an enemy of the state,” he said. Continue reading...

President has long been a fan of mixed martial artsIvanka and Donald Trump Jr also at eventDonald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as US ambassador to India Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino. Continue reading...

Opposition candidate Péter Magyar warns supporters against complacency as some voters undecided ahead of Sundayin BudapestWe talked to a few Budapest residents this morning in the city centre at Jászai Mari Square. Continue reading...

The actor led the starry book deals, while publishers assessed whether US-style bans are spreading to the UKThe annual London book fair wrapped on Thursday, marking the end of three days that saw 33,000 people connected to the book industry – agents, publishers, authors, among others – gather at Olympia to make deals and discuss the state of the publishing world, and its future. Here’s our roundup of the biggest deals, trends and takeaways from the fair.The starriest book deal of the week was a new thriller series co-authored by Idris Elba, featuring an MI6 field operative who gets deployed to Mauritius to investigate an attempted murder. Elsewhere, rights were scooped for Alex Ferguson’s first autobiography in 13 years, broadcaster Mishal Husain’s debut children’s book, and the story of designer Paul Smith’s life. Continue reading...