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Plans involve dredging and expanding the docks to allow larger cruise ships to visit with up to 200,000 passengers annuallyJanavi Kramer had just enjoyed a swim with friends and was sitting on a bench taking in a wonderful Cornish view – headlands plunging into deep water, bobbing boats, a bustling harbour town.“We’re lucky to have this space,” said Kramer, who is an artist and scientific illustrator. “We use it for work, recreation and pleasure and it’s so scary to think that this could all be harmed. I worry about what we may be living with soon and what we’ll be leaving for future generations.” Continue reading...

Masoud Pezeshkian dismisses talk of internal rift as hardline Assembly of Experts call US negotiations ‘futile’Middle East crisis live – latest updatesMasoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, has been forced to deny claims that he has repeatedly threatened to resign as he battles hardline factions opposed to reaching a settlement with the US over the strait of Hormuz.The US and Europe hope a deal is imminent to reopen the strait and they are putting pressure on Oman to accept a temporary agreement that officials in Muscat fear will leave Iran retaining near permanent dominance of the vital oil shipping channel. Ships would enter the strait in a route close to Iran, but leave on a route that passes through Iranian and Omani waters. Continue reading...

• President Trump has threatened "decapitation" strikes against Iran, stating the country is on its "very last chance" to reach a deal. • In response to a Houthi-declared blockade, six Saudi-operated tankers have been diverted around Africa to ensure safe passage. • Iran's Foreign Ministry is currently in negotiations with Oman to establish a temporary safe route for maritime vessels.

• Economist Levious Chaukura has warned that a surge of counterfeit products flooding Zimbabwe's informal market poses a direct threat to the national economy. • The influx of fake goods is stifling the growth of locally produced products and undermining domestic industries. • Chaukura emphasizes that this issue extends beyond economic crime, endangering consumer safety, national development, and existing jobs.

Hancock Prospecting says chair Kim Williams among those ‘on notice’ for failing to remove program that joked about turning Rinehart’s insides into a sausage rollGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGina Rinehart has threatened the ABC with legal action over crude comments aired on the national broadcaster, including a joke about mixing her guts into a sausage roll.The four-minute film, titled A Very Relaxing Video, aired on the Race Around the World program on 12 July and concluded with the film-maker, Kate McGuinness, making crude and offensive comments about Rinehart. Continue reading...

• A benchmark study of 3,000 European IT decision-makers reveals that while Europe's overall digital maturity score rose to 69/100, fragmented data and content silos are hindering AI progress. • Despite growth in cloud and cybersecurity, content services maturity saw a sharp decline of 13 points to 56/100, marking the only category to drop. • This gap in digital foundations is critical because poor data infrastructure threatens to limit the full potential of enterprise AI transformation across the region.

Sam Mostyn says there is a widespread ‘failure to understand and engage with and feel proud of the very civic underpinnings of our democracy’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia faces a “growing catastrophe” from poor understanding of the country’s constitutional foundation, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, has warned as attacks on institutions and threats against elected officials undermine democratic participation.Two years after her appointment as King Charles’s representative in Canberra, and as she brings a modern touch to the role of vice regal, Mostyn said that knowledge of how the country’s system of government operates was in steady decline and better civics education was needed. Continue reading...

Lightning kills a New Jersey man as rescues, power outages and travel disruption hit regionBands of deadly, extreme weather including torrential rain and high winds sparked flash flooding and tornado warnings in several north eastern US states Tuesday night and into Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people and playing havoc with travel.A 32-year-old man was killed on Tuesday afternoon in a lightning strike in Monroe township, New Jersey, authorities said. Continue reading...

• Military hostilities have renewed in the Gulf region, with escalating strikes overshadowing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. • Both opposing sides are continuing a cycle of retaliation, with neither party showing a willingness to reduce tensions or lower the temperature. • This escalation is critical because it brings the region closer to an all-out war that could threaten both regional and global security.

Controversial move to classify Iran war as two separate campaigns criticised as attempt to minimise casualty figures. Plus, the man who started an animal shelter after a dog saved his lifeGood morning. A controversial move by the Pentagon to reclassify casualties in the Iran war as being killed in “Overseas Operations” is being taken by US military veterans as a sign of disrespect for the dead.Michael E Smith, a retired US rear admiral who completed combat tours in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo said “It’s such a huge disrespect for the families. To claim that they weren’t killed as a result of the war – oh, it was just overseas operations – is just ludicrous.”What changes did the Department of Defense make? The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), a military database for displaying casualties, introduced a new casualty category labeled “Overseas Operations” for personnel killed and wounded “starting July 7”. That splits the count from the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran into effectively two different campaigns.How is the administration justifying the change? The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the president to end military operations within 60 days unless Congress authorizes an extension, which it has not. The Trump administration has argued that the April ceasefire with Iran paused the clock on 1 May for the conflict’s initial period. The separate casualty count beginning on 7 July follows that interpretation. Continue reading...

Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and BiharIndia’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations.The Cockroach Janta party (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said it had received reports of hundreds of students being detained or “harassed” by police. Continue reading...

• Iran's Foreign Minister announced that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel resulted in the death of a sailor. • The Iranian government claims the operation was carried out at the behest of Israel to intentionally draw Europe into the ongoing conflict. • Describing the incident as a blatant violation of the UN Charter, Iran has warned that the attack "cannot go unanswered."

• President Trump is threatening more intense attacks against Iran, with advisors reportedly suggesting targets such as food and water stores to trigger a humanitarian crisis. • Global markets are reacting to the escalating tension, with oil prices rising to over $100 a barrel, signaling potential instability for the global economy. • In diplomatic shifts, Trump is renegotiating a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, now requiring the inclusion of the Abraham Accords.

• Chinese AI companies are achieving significant breakthroughs, rapidly narrowing the technological gap with the United States despite having fewer computing resources. • These advancements have caused concern among policymakers in Washington and tech leaders in Silicon Valley regarding the U.S. lead in the global AI race. • In response, the White House plans to redirect billions of dollars in funding from universities to individual innovators to accelerate domestic AI development.

• US threats to sanction Chinese AI developers for alleged intellectual property theft and export-control violations are straining bilateral relations between the two superpowers. • This diplomatic feud risks dismantling collaborative efforts to establish a shared dialogue on AI safety and security. • The urgency of these safety talks is highlighted by a recent security incident at Hugging Face, demonstrating the risks posed by powerful frontier models.

• 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. • This surge in hostilities signifies a critical turning point in Middle East stability, with the U.S. administration weighing a major military escalation.

After Google fined €890m by EU, US president said Europe is ‘robbing’ American companies and the US taxpayerWhat to know about Trump’s new tariffs on more than 80 countriesDonald Trump has threatened the European Union with “substantial” tariffs after Brussels imposed a series of steep fines on US tech giants.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president wrote: “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Continue reading...

• The UN has warned that escalating Middle East tensions are threatening vital regional trade routes, specifically the Strait of Hormuz. • The situation is exacerbated by ongoing American airstrikes on Iran and a diplomatic stalemate regarding the closure of the crucial energy waterway. • These developments pose a significant risk to global energy security and international trade stability.

US military completes 11th night of strikes as attacks overshadow diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage interim ceasefire dealHouthis threaten attacks on shipping tankers if they use Saudi ports on Red SeaWhat is Pickaxe Mountain, Iran’s underground nuclear facility?Donald Trump on Tuesday made new threats to attack and destroy Iran’s nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain.Here’s what we know about Pickaxe Mountain, why it has captured Trump’s attention and how the US military could strike at the deeply buried complex. Continue reading...

• Arena CEO Anastasios Angelopoulos warns that American open-source AI models are falling significantly behind new Chinese breakthroughs, specifically citing the Kimi K3 model. • The shift highlights a growing challenge to U.S. AI hegemony as Chinese developers rapidly close the performance gap in large language models. • A related entity has reached a massive $188 billion valuation following a Series M funding round, with reports indicating nearly $3 billion was raised.

• China has released Kimi K3, a new AI model that is creating significant market volatility and challenging the global dominance of U.S.-based AI systems. • The model's emergence highlights the rapid advancement of Chinese AI capabilities and their potential to disrupt existing technological hierarchies. • For Canadian businesses and executives, K3 serves as a critical catalyst to evaluate whether their current systems can integrate and leverage breakthroughs regardless of their country of origin.

• The head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) warned that ongoing conflicts and energy market disruptions are threatening global progress in the fight against hunger. • These instabilities are driving up the costs of essential commodities, including fuel, fertilizer, and food, which could push millions more people into food insecurity. • A new United Nations report highlights that current gains in reducing global hunger remain fragile and susceptible to these external economic shocks.

Warning to shipping companies, on top of Iran’s chokehold on strait of Hormuz, may severely affect Saudi oil exportsMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesYemen’s Iranian-aligned Houthis have warned shipping companies that their tankers risk being attacked if they use Saudi Arabian ports, as the militia moved quickly to enforce a blockade announced the previous day.The Houthi warning for the Red Sea, coming on top of Iran’s threat to shipping on the other side of the Arabian peninsular in the Gulf, could affect the substantial Saudi oil exports that have so far been unscathed by the months-long conflict and deepen the rapidly escalating crisis in the region. Continue reading...

• Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, vowing that "not a single drop" of oil will pass if U.S. "aggression" continues. • In a separate internal development, Iran's judiciary executed two men convicted of killing four police officers during protests earlier this year. • These escalations occur as the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran expands, potentially turning the Gulf region into a primary front of confrontation.

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is threatening states with fines and legal charges if they fail to implement specific election security measures. • Required steps include securing voting machines and reviewing voter registration lists to verify the citizenship status of voters. • DHS official Mullin stated that the federal government will investigate voter rolls and hold election officials accountable for non-compliance.

• Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced on July 17, 2026, that the DHS will penalize states that refuse to cooperate with a new federal election security program. • States that do not participate may be deprived of federal funding used to run elections, and individual state officials could be held accountable. • The initiative aims to ensure election security ahead of the upcoming November midterm elections.

Fires are also blazing across the US and the Trump administration has repealed several climate protectionsUS Republicans are threatening to sanction Canada and Canadian government officials after smoke from devastating wildfires has drifted across huge swathes of the US, creating hazy conditions and dangerous air quality for tens of millions of Americans.Donald Trump on ⁠Friday blamed ⁠his country’s northern neighbor for ​the smoke spreading from ⁠wildfires and said he planned to call ​Mark Carney, the Canadian prime ‌minister, ‌ to ‌ask about Ottawa’s plans for dealing with the blazes. Continue reading...

• Renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz are threatening to disrupt one of the world's most critical maritime supply chain arteries. • The instability risks increasing costs for fuel, transportation, and agricultural inputs, which could trigger a broader global inflationary shock. • Energy- and food-importing economies, particularly developing nations that spend large portions of national income on essentials, are expected to be most severely impacted.