Middle East crisis is ‘getting out of control’, UN chief warns, as US launches another round of strikes on Iran – live updates

Secretary general António Guterres tells security council the Middle East is being pushed to the ‘edge of the unimaginable’ amid latest threats from Donald Trump

• Trump says he is close to decision on largest-yet attack on Iran

Earlier in the US day, before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump issued this threat on his Truth Social platform:

From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.

Man shot and killed by police in Madison, Wisconsin, sparking protests

Madison's chief of police says an officer in Wisconsin's capital city shot and killed a man who had injured him with a knife while resisting arrest.

Trump to impose fresh wave of tariffs on more than 80 countries

New tariffs to replace 10% global duty set to expire on Friday as administration cites concerns over ‘forced labor’

Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a fresh wave of sweeping tariffs on dozens of US trading partners to replace a 10% global duty that was set to expire early Friday morning – the latest attempt to instate aggressive trade policies despite challenges from the country’s highest court.

Starting Friday at 12.01am, the US will impose between a 10% or 12.5% tariff on more than 80 countries, which includes the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Australia, India, China and the 27 countries that make up the European Union. It effectively replaces the blanket 10% tariff that Trump imposed in February, right after the US supreme court declared that his many of his earlier tariffs were illegal.

Prosecutors say blood stains on objects in D4vd’s home probably of victim

Defense attorneys question LAPD criminalist on third day of hearing to decide whether singer will stand trial

Blood stains on objects recovered from singer D4vd’s former Los Angeles residence probably came from Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old whose decomposed body was found in his Tesla last fall, according to testimony heard in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors say D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, fatally stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez last year to prevent her from exposing the sexual nature of their relationship amid his rising profile in the music world.

Ukraine war briefing: EU sanctions oust Russian president of world chess

EU unveils largest package in four years of measures against Russian individuals and interests; Laura Loomer shows up in Kyiv. What we know on day 1,612

Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), said on Friday he ⁠was suspending his activity with the organisation after being placed on the EU list of sanctioned Russians. Dvorkovich, a former Russian deputy prime minister, complained that the designation was “unlawful and unfair”. A statement said Viswanathan Anand, an Indian world chess champion, would take over as the federation’s interim president.

It came as the E⁠U has unveiled its largest sanctions package ​in four years against Russia, targeting 218 individuals ⁠and entities. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja ⁠Kallas, said the measures hit more than 100 banks and cryptocurrency operators, more than 40 ‌vessels from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, ​as well as several oil refineries. The package adds more ⁠than 50 military-industrial entities ​to the ​sanctions list, ​including key ​actors ‌involved in producing ​Russia’s ​long-range drones. The Russian oil price cap is frozen at $44.10 per barrel for 12 months, preventing an automatic increase that would have raised it to about $58.50.

The new listings take the total number of designations to nearly 3,000. There is a full asset-freeze on ⁠94 Russian financial institutions, nearly all banks, and disconnection of 33 Russian banks from the Swift international payments system. Moscow’s stock exchange ⁠is added to the sanctions. Internationally, banks or cryptocurrency platforms are hit in countries including Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Georgia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Africa.

The package also targets actors linked to Russia’s satellite ​communications system being developed as an alternative to Starlink. There are 56 entities and persons added to the sanctions list for involvement in Russia’s military industrial complex – most of them linked to long-range Garpiya drones. There are 51 entities added to list of companies that face export restrictions on dual-use goods and technology. Some ⁠are in third countries: China, including Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and the UAE.​

Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained under pressure to restore the ousted defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, to his post after Fedorov said he would not accept alternative roles in government put forward by the president.

The Maga influencer Laura Loomer has turned up in Ukraine where she met with the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after recently reversing her stance on the war. It was unclear what had prompted Loomer’s trip or how she had arranged the meeting with Zelenskyy. Loomer spent years minimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amplifying Russian propaganda and abusing Ukraine as “a country full of Nazi apologists … led by a jihadi apologist”.

During her Ukraine visit, Loomer posted: “Just experienced my first air raid in Ukraine. Sirens blaring. This is everyday for every Ukrainian. I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say … We need to have moral clarity.” Loomer appeared to reverse her stance on Ukraine in June after her podcast editor visited Kyiv and Odesa just as they came under heavy attack, and after rival far-right influencer Candace Owens visited and praised Russia. Trump’s supposed Russia-Ukraine war peace broker, Steve Witkoff, has repeatedly visited Russia but has yet to go to Ukraine.

A ⁠Russian attack ⁠on ⁠a food ​business in the ⁠Ukrainian city ⁠of ​Pavlohrad ‌killed ‌three and ‌injured at least 10 people, the regional ‌governor Oleksandr Hanzha ​said. The attack ⁠caused ​a fire. Ukrainian strikes killed three people, including a child, and wounded eight in Russia and in Moscow-annexed Crimea on Thursday, local authorities said.

72 Hours review – Kevin Hart drags down Netflix midlife crisis comedy

The overexposed actor falls flat in another disappointing vehicle that fails to make the most of its neat bachelor-party-with-a-twist concept

72 Hours is Kevin Hart’s midlife crisis comedy. He stars as Joe, a 40-year-old New York marketing executive whose once-reliable Midas touch has worn off. He’s no longer the office’s go-to translator of youth culture, yet he remains on the verge of a promotion – the final hurdle standing between him and happily-ever-after with his longtime girlfriend (Teyana Taylor), a doctor weighing an opportunity that could pull her away from the life they’ve built together in the city.

All the while, crude texts and memes flood his phone from a random group chat populated by a pack of twentysomething guys planning a bachelor party in Miami – an annoyance that quickly becomes his ticket back to relevance. Joe not only drops everything to join these perfect strangers for the weekend; he upgrades the whole affair, picks up the tab and supplies the booze in hopes of harvesting content for his struggling campaign. It would be a fine set-up if it weren’t such an obvious metaphor for Hart’s own showbiz career.

Member of Vance's Secret Service detail under investigation for leaking

The Secret Service said a member of Vice President JD Vance's detail is under investigation for "compromising operational and information security."

Rapid pace of interceptor and precision-guided weapons use worries Trump admin.

The U.S. defense industrial base isn't equipped to produce missiles rapidly enough to replenish munitions used in the war with Iran, or transferred for use to Central Command.

Qantas tests new ultra long-range Airbus in 17,000km direct flight from France to Melbourne

Airbus A350–1000ULR becomes most watched plane on flight tracking websites as Qantas tests new aircraft for its Project Sunrise

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Qantas’s new ultra long-distance aircraft has landed on Australian soil for the first time on Friday after a 19-hour test flight from France.

The Airbus A350-1000ULR, designed for Qantas to complete some of the longest commercial flights in the world, set off on a nonstop journey from Airbus’ manufacturing facility Toulouse, France on Thursday, destined for Melbourne.

Amazon cracks down on use of AI images by sellers after New York law

A recently enacted New York law mandates that companies disclose when an ad includes a "synthetic performer" in place of a human actor.

Trump fires U.S. attorney in Washington on heels of court appointment

Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington had appointed Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney in Seattle. But he was fired shortly after.

Bertha weakens to tropical depression after dumping rain along Gulf Coast

Tropical Storm Bertha is the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

1.6 million eggs are recalled over potential salmonella contamination

The recall affects white-shell and cage-free eggs sold under multiple grocery brands in six states. No illnesses have been reported.

India ‘cockroach’ activist Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike as protests spread

Sonam Wangchuk halted strike amid concerns about ‘possible violence’ in India as protest movement urges demonstrations across country on Friday over police brutality

Indian “cockroach” activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday over an exam paper scandal that has spiralled into a wideranging youth-led protest against Narendra Modi’s government, with protesters continuing to call for the education minister to resign.

Wangchuk said on social media that he ended the hunger strike in Delhi in the presence of two federal ministers at the urging of scores of members ⁠of parliament, and after “a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country”. He did not elaborate on the talks but promised to lay out details in a video soon.

Thousands flee wildfires in France and Spain as temperatures reach extreme levels in southern Europe

Spain declares national emergency around Madrid, as marine heatwave sees some parts of Mediterranean Sea 5C hotter than normal

Brutal heat torching southern Europe has forced about 30,000 people to flee wildfires in France and Spain as a marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean and researchers warn that “Dantesque” scenarios cannot be ruled out as infernos worsen.

A “particularly intense” wildfire on France’s southwestern Atlantic coast prompted the evacuation of more than 18,800 people, including thousands of tourists from campsites and holiday homes, as firefighters struggled to control the blaze.

Vance Boelter gets 2 life terms and more in Minnesota lawmaker shootings

Vance Boelter, the man who admitted in court to shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, was sentenced to two life terms in prison followed by 40 years Thursday morning.

Dad, son on mission to play catch every single day for a year

A father-son duo in Idaho is on a mission to play catch every single day for a year, no matter the weather, and they're nearing the finish line. Tony Dokoupil reports.

Texas appeals court reverses injunction that closed midwife's clinics

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Maria Rojas of performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license last year.

25 states sue FEMA and DHS, accuse Trump admin. of withholding funding

The lawsuit claims the Trump administration is withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster-preparedness and homeland security grants to pressure states to change policies on elections and immigration.

Remembering cameraman Derek Williams, "the mate you would want in any war zone"

Derek Williams died Wednesday, according to his family. He had been living with Parkinson's disease and was recently diagnosed with cancer.

FDA says new cyclospora outbreak linked to unspecified product

Federal health officials said they've identified a new outbreak of the cyclospora parasite, but the source hasn't been specified.

Wisconsin governor calls for accountability as protests over fatal police shooting continue

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is calling for accountability over the deadly police shooting of a man in Madison. Protests have erupted in the wake of the incident. CBS News' Jonah Kaplan has more.

Taylor Farms reportedly shut down Mexican processing facility linked to cyclospora outbreak

U.S. health officials said they are investigating an additional outbreak of cyclospora, but do not know its source. Plus, Taylor Farms has reportedly shut down the plant where lettuce is suspected to have started the initial outbreak that has sickened thousands in at least 41 states. Carter Evans reports.

2 men stabbed in New York City, police investigating possible hate crime

Two men were stabbed on Thursday near Central Park in New York City, just blocks apart. The victims are Asian and Jewish, and the attacks are being investigated as a possible hate crime. Tom Hanson reports.

Protesters take the mic at Wisconsin police shooting press conference

A day after an officer shot and killed a man in Madison, Wisconsin, police say the man had fled from officers, then pulled a fixed-blade knife, injuring one officer, who tried a taser before firing three shots. Protests developed almost immediately, and on Thursday, demonstrators took the microphone in a police press conference. Jonah Kaplan reports.

Charli xcx: Music, Fashion, Film review – slippery search into selfhood that hits just as hard as Brat

(Atlantic)
How do you follow up the album that made you a star – and a caricature? In classic Charli style: with a pivot to guitar and a meta masterpiece about the instability of identity

After a decade spent trailblazing a unique kind of pop freedom from the genre’s fringes, A-list success seemed like the thing that might finally trap Charli xcx. Her 2024 club-rat opus Brat spawned memes, embarrassing political bandwagoning, Collins’ word of the year and possibly terminal damage to the bra industry. Its ludicrous cultural impact looked set to pickle her as a caricature of a Parliament-toting bad girl; the question of whether “Brat summer” could last – whether Charli could sustain the interest – was so rife she turned it into a mockumentary, The Moment. It made success look miserable: your creation turned cringe by execs wanting to milk their prize cow dry of every last acid-green drop.

Even for a pop star renowned for reinvention, it put a higher price on her next move. Pivot and risk losing new fans and looking wilfully contrarian. When Charli released the sub-two-minute single Rock Music, many heard it as a middle finger. “I think the dancefloor is dead,” she drawls over guitars that buzzed like speakers weathering interference from a Nokia 5110, “so now we’re making rock music.” There were boring thinkpieces about the dancefloor being very much alive, actually (as if Charli had ever ridden culture for clout then binned it off), and about whether she was trying to eject fair-weather new fans. But the key to this cheeky song is surprisingly earnest: “Jump off the stage / I hope they catch you today / But if they don’t it’s OK,” she sings naively, an affirmation to take creative leaps, and to come with Charli – or not, as you like – as she takes this one.

Trump hosts champion Dodgers at White House as some players stay away

• Betts and Hernández opt against joining team for event

• Back-to-back World Series winners gift ring to Trump

• Many loyal fans had conflicted feelings over visit

Donald Trump hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House on Thursday for the team’s second trip to the White House in two years.

The team gave the president a custom jersey and a World Series championship ring during a ceremony at the Rose Garden. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, star first baseman Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and manager Dave Roberts were among those in attendance, while several players – most notably star shortstop Mookie Betts and utility man Kike Hernández – opted not to attend.

US health panel recommends easing restrictions on controversial peptides

Vote from advisory group – whose members include people linked to peptides industry – likely to embolden RFK Jr

A panel of federal health advisers on Thursday narrowly recommended easing access to several peptides popular with wellness influencers and celebrities, despite warnings from government scientists that the chemicals have not been shown to be safe or effective.

In a series of votes, outside experts to the Food and Drug Administration advised the agency to drop current restrictions barring pharmacies from producing injectable peptides with names like BPC-157, TB-500 and KPV.

IBM's Krishna tries to reassure investors that AI won't disrupt company's software unit

IBM's CEO highlighted growing mainframe hardware capacity, and said software should "catch back up" within a year.

Judge temporarily halts Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger

The ruling comes after a coalition of 12 states sued to block the deal, arguing it would harm consumers and the entertainment industry.

7/23: CBS Evening News

Outrage over a deadly police shooting in Wisconsin; two people were stabbed near New York's Central Park.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 26)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

The king emerges from Tardis as Commonwealth Games face battle for time and space

The troubled Games looked doomed until Glasgow stepped in but this opening ceremony had plenty of feelgood factor

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow opened on Thursday evening to the surreal sight of King Charles and Queen Camilla stepping out of a Tardis – and a mechanical Loch Ness monster roaring the first few bars of Flower of Scotland.

The Tardis was a nod to the fact that police boxes were designed by the Scottish architect Gilbert MacKenzie Trench. But the Doctor Who reference proved to be doubly apt given the Games faced being exterminated until Glasgow stepped in after Victoria pulled out due to financial pressures.

Intel's stock jumps as chipmaker rides AI boom to fastest revenue growth in almost 15 years

Intel rallied after the company reported blowout earnings and guidance.

Trump to impose double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries

The United States will slap taxes of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor.

DOJ to withdraw subpoenas for New York Times reporters over Air Force One story

The Justice Department withdrew its subpoenas for New York Times reporters during a court heraing Thursday, after a judge grilled government lawyers for making "errors."

Oracle signs 10-year software contract with Pentagon worth up to $7 billion

Oracle will supply on-premises software to the U.S. Department of Defense.

2 killed in flash floods that inundated West Virginia

Torrential rains in West Virginia have caused flash flooding that inundated homes and businesses this week.

Trump to slap 'sweeping' new tariffs on 60 trade partners as global duties expire

The Trump administration has ramped its tariff actions back up since the president's trade agenda suffered major legal setbacks earlier this year.

Salman Rushdie testifies at terrorism trial of man convicted of stabbing him

Author testified for second time about near-killing four years ago during event at New York amphitheater

Four years after being stabbed on an amphitheater stage, Salman Rushdie on Thursday sat across a courtroom from his convicted attacker and told jurors for a second time about the ambush that nearly killed him.

The prize-winning writer recalled feeling what he thought was a punch under his chin, then feeling blood coming from his neck.

IRS chief Frank Bisignano may have misled Congress, Democrats say

The IRS alone hemorrhaged more than 31,000 employees as of January in President Trump's government cuts, according to the agency's inspector general.

DOJ withdraws subpoenas to NY Times reporters in Trump plane probe

The subpoenas to New York Times reporters were issued by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whom Trump has nominated as director of national intelligence.

Tampa, Charleston airports to join new TSA privatized security initiative

The new Gold+ initiative would allow private contractors to handle passenger screening at three airports while the TSA retains federal oversight.

7/23: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump tells Axios he's considering a "massive attack" on Iran; GOP House Judiciary chair issues criminal referral against Jack Smith.

Southwest Airlines put Texas jet fuel on a boat to LA for the first time amid supply worries

Southwest hired a ship this spring to send fuel from Houston to Los Angeles in case of supply shortages.

How to keep an ancient text interesting to students? Make it a summer blockbuster

English teachers are excited to have a new adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey to use to get students excited about the epic poem.

Measles outbreak "slowing," but newborn's family still can't meet her

Utah's weekly measles case count has fallen. The national tally hasn't, and a newborn who's too young to be vaccinated is caught in between.

Egyptian warrior princesses, ancient avocados, and more science news

Hannah Chin and Nate Rott of NPR's Short Wave podcast talk about the building blocks of birdsong, the evolutionary history of avocados and Egyptian warrior princesses.

Trump cuts target federal advisory boards. What does it mean for agencies like NASA?

The Trump administration has terminated or suspended more than 100 federal advisory committees. Former members say agencies like NASA now have less accountability to stakeholders and the public.

Invasive species cause more harm in the Global South

Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems. A new study in Science suggests low- and middle-income countries in the Global South experience greater harms.

Cerebras stock gains on AMD partnership

Cerebras and AMD agreed to work together, pairing their technology for AI systems.

Tesla, Alphabet lose hundreds of billions in value in post-earnings stock plunge

Both Tesla and Alphabet signaled higher spending as they invest in artificial intelligence.

Trump allies are poised to weaken protections for historic sites — not just in D.C.

A council packed with Trump appointees is poised to rewrite historic preservation rules. Critics say that could help him build his D.C. arch faster — and endanger important sites across the country.

American Airlines stock tumbles 8% as fuel spike further postpones turnaround

American Airlines further cut its 2026 earnings outlook, citing higher fuel costs.

Amazon and Microsoft pivot cloud gaming strategies to target different players

Amazon is bringing Luna to the Prime Video streaming service, while Microsoft will test an ad-supported streaming of titles that people own.

From Popp to Diani: 10 women’s transfers you may have missed during the men’s World Cup

Sam Kerr’s and Alexia Putellas’s moves were hard to miss but these transfers may have escaped your attention

There were a host of big women’s football transfers which were hard to miss across June and July, despite the dominance of the men’s World Cup. Among them were Beth Mead’s move from Arsenal to Manchester City, Mary Earps and Georgia Stanway returning to the Women’s Super League with London City Lionesses and Arsenal, Sam Kerr leaving Chelsea to return to Gotham FC and, most prominently, Alexia Putellas’s game-changing switch from Barcelona to London City.

But here are 10 transfers you might have missed while attention was focused on the action in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Congress splits on war powers resolutions to force Trump to abandon Iran war

Trump would be nearly certain to veto any measure to curtail his ability to wage war with Iran.

FDA panel considers loosening regulations for some peptides

The FDA panel will review seven peptides and decide if they should be added to a list of substances that can be safely produced by compounding pharmacies.

House lawmakers grill former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley over Epstein ties

House oversight Chair James Comer said Jes Staley defended Jeffrey Epstein and encouraged JPMorgan to retain him despite internal red flags.

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

There were 89 people arrested in the New York area over the course of the World Cup, the NYPD said.

Chelsea paid Aston Villa £117m for Morgan Rogers. Is he the right fit?

The England attacker thrives when he can gallop into space but Xabi Alonso’s best team built attacks slowly

By Opta Analyst

It quickly became apparent this summer that Aston Villa would not be holding on to Morgan Rogers. Having helped the club finish fourth in the Premier League and win the Europa League, the 23-year-old was in demand.

Arsenal looked like his likeliest next destination, with the champions eager to strengthen the left side of their attack. The charm offensive came from many angles, with Martin Ødegaard, Mikel Arteta and the club’s England players trying to sell the idea to Rogers. But, with Arsenal reluctant to meet Villa’s asking price, Chelsea intervened and made Rogers the most expensive British player ever, surpassing the £116m that Manchester City paid Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson earlier this summer.

Fewer Americans own homes than thought, new Fed search finds

Only about 53% of Americans own homes, or about 12 percentage points lower than previous data has shown, the study found.

Lobbying firm pressed for details about payments to journalists for favourable stories

MPs and others condemn behaviour of CT Group, which offered cash for positive coverage of clients

A political lobbying firm secretly paying journalists for articles favourable to its clients is facing calls to reveal full details of the payments, after the practice was denounced as a dangerous “attack on democracy”.

MPs, senior lobbyists and transparency campaigners all condemned the behaviour of CT Group, the firm co-founded by the campaign strategist Lynton Crosby, an election guru previously hired by David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

Secret Service agent on Vance’s detail under investigation

Agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing info in MS Now report about vice-president’s helicopter trip

A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is “the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security”, according to the Secret Service chief of communications.

The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN.

Russia’s Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries is now in Ukraine’s crosshairs. Here's why

Ukraine has ratcheted up its attacks on Russia's Amazon-style retail giant, Wildberries, signaling a new phase in the war.

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana moved to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital

Exclusive: Clinical assessments concluded Rudakubana could not be safely managed in prison, sources say

The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose.

He was transferred to Broadmoor high-security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh this week after it was concluded that he could not be managed safely in a prison environment, sources confirmed.

For a 2nd time, House approves resolution to end the war in Iran in a rebuke to Trump

Four Republicans joined Democrats to approve the measure. And while it is not legally binding, the resolution represents growing frustration inside Congress over the war.

The Guardian view on Europe’s demographic crisis: the young must not be left to deal with the consequences | Editorial

A new Brussels study highlights the pace at which EU countries are ageing. A more informed public debate is overdue

Europe is ageing at pace as birthrates fall and people live longer. A new report by the European Commission, published this month, notes that 2012 marked the first year in which fewer people were born in EU countries than people died in them. By the middle of this century, nearly one in three EU residents will be 65 or older. The numbers of those over 80 will almost triple from 6% to 15%. The old continent is getting visibly greyer.

The transition to a “longevity society”, as the report’s authors describe it, is something to be celebrated. Many people are enjoying healthier, richer lives for longer, and redefining the meaning and possibilities of old age. But the statistics and direction of travel also point to immense social challenges, with implications for the way we work, intergenerational fairness and the future funding of care. Sadly, amid fraught and at times toxic debates about immigration and the cost of welfare, Europe’s politics is struggling to meet the moment.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Joanna Pettet obituary

Actor best known for the 1960s box-office smash Casino Royale

Joanna Pettet, who has died aged 83, was a British-born, Canadian-raised actor who found fame in the 1960s after just a handful of films, including the James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

The 1967 film drew lukewarm reviews for its parody of the “official” 007 movies and suffered from a production history that included five directors, but it became a box-office smash with expectant audiences. In it Pettet played Mata Bond, the illegitimate daughter of Mata Hari and the retired Sir James Bond (acted by David Niven, one of multiple 007s featured). She is seen performing an exotic dance in a Buddhist temple, where Niven signs her up as a spy. “Do I get an exploding briefcase and a secret transmitter?” asks Pettet, who described the role as “campy”.

The Hegseth budget: defense secretary’s $1.5tn ask reveals military-industrial chaos

The Pentagon head proposed a 44% increase – to second world war levels – while ‘woke’ programs are gutted

• US politics live – latest updates

When the ‘“department of government efficiency” was raging unchecked through the federal government in February 2025, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered his subordinates to find cuts of 8% a year for the next five years, theoretically trimming a total of $340m from the Pentagon budget.

The disclosure briefly sent Palantir and defense stocks tanking – though soon the plan evaporated, as if it never existed.

As Honda CR-V leads U.S. sales, automaker teases new American-built pickup truck

The future of the Ridgeline midsize pickup truck had been in flux, and the automaker said there will be a temporary production stoppage for the truck.

Tour de France worries emerge for Tadej Pogacar after illness sweeps through team

• Richard Carapaz roars clear of breakaway to win stage 18

• McNulty abandons, Wellens and Vermeersch struggle

Richard Carapaz won stage 18 of the Tour de France after a breakaway group of six riders duelled their way to the winter sports station at Orcières-Merlette, but uncertainty surrounds the health of race leader Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG, which has been swept by a virus since Monday’s rest day.

After Adam Yates’s stage-long calvary on the road to Voiron, Pogacar’s team was further weakened by the abandonment of his American colleague, Brandon McNulty, who quit the Tour with 21km of Thursday’s stage remaining.

Ben Jennings on Elon Musk and The Odyssey – cartoon

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Google slapped with $1 billion fine under landmark EU digital law

European regulators fined Google $1 billion, alleging the company gives preferential treatment to its own services.

On the ground at India's 'Cockroach' protest

The unprecedented expression of dissent against India's government, headed by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has shown no sign of abating, as protests by the youth-led “cockroach” protest movement entered its fourth day.

The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen was on the ground in Delhi, where thousands still thronged the streets, many having travelled hundreds of miles to be there.

While the Cockroach Janta party has primarily focused on accountability for the devastating recent leaks of exam papers and called for the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, the overriding feeling as the week develops is that this is now bigger than one issue. 

For some, this is the moment that India’s youth – totalling more than 600 million – found its political voice.

Before you throw out all the synthetic fabrics in your closet, read this

Experts weigh in on wellness culture’s obsession with natural fibers and the growing trend of people shunning plastic-based clothing

A few months ago, Lane Koch made a decision: she would purge her family’s closets of all plastic-based fabrics and replace them with natural fibers, such as cotton and linen.

Koch, a longtime Republican political strategist who was a senior staffer on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s presidential campaign, has long avoided processed foods and rid her kitchen of plastic cookware about a decade ago. But, for all that she cared about what she put in her body, she told me she had paid little attention to what she put on her body.

Drought declared in parts of Wales as July on course to be driest in nearly 200 years

Government agency announces status in north Wales and Upper Severn after series of heatwaves and lack of rainfall

Parts of Wales are now in drought and all other areas of the country are experiencing prolonged dry conditions, with this month on course to be the driest on record for nearly 200 years.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said on Thursday that record-low river flows, back-to-back heatwaves and widespread wildfires have prompted the declaration of drought status in north Wales and the Upper Severn.

Owner of Viking ship used in The Odyssey says studio has not paid bill for damage

Swedish nonprofit alleges cost to repair replica was $6,000 but Universal – which made $264m on film’s opening weekend – has not stumped up

The Swedish owners of a Viking longship replica that features in the Hollywood blockbuster The Odyssey say they feel “forgotten” after film-makers allegedly returned the vessel damaged and failed to foot the bill for repairs.

In nearly three decades at sea, the warship Glad av Gillberga – based on a wreck from around 1040 found in Denmark’s Roskilde fjord – has successfully sailed the North Sea, the Baltic and even voyaged to Canada.

Elon Musk says he got ‘carried away’ with Trump – but still holds on to contentious political views

In interview, billionaire says instead of running ‘Doge’ he should’ve ‘worked on my companies’ and shares extreme predictions

Elon Musk has admitted he became too consumed by politics during his volatile alliance with Donald Trump and his brief appointment as the president’s financial axman, running the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

The world’s richest person, and briefly its first trillionaire after his SpaceX company floated on the New York stock exchange in June, made the confession in a wide-ranging interview with the Economist published on Thursday. He shared his positions on subjects from foreign wars to AI, and made a number of eye-opening predictions for the future.

Alphabet and Tesla test Wall Street's patience as AI spending overshadows growth

Shares of Alphabet and Tesla dipped after the companies reported massive spending increases in their quarterly earnings reports.

​’Ian Curtis didn’t have a chance’: the Durutti Column on departed friends, Factory Records and fun with Morrissey

As they release their first album in 16 years, the Vini Reilly-fronted band answer your questions on sandpaper record sleeves, having Harry Styles as a fan and inventing a new style of guitar music

Vini, you’ve created some of the most beautiful, ethereal music of the last 40 years. Is it true that in your youth you were in a violent Manchester street gang? Songy24
Vini Reilly [guitars, vocals, keyboards]: Gangs then had a different meaning. It was just “their lot” and “our lot”. We’d sling insults at each other. Then you’d play football in the park and realise you were playing with the local thugs. They were actually very funny, and I could have fun with them because I was so little. At the time I’d been going through a recurring depressive illness and felt I didn’t fit in at home, so I left without any clean clothing. I wanted to end my life so I decided to go to Moss Side, where the gangsters would shoot me. Of course they didn’t. I’d had a very happy childhood until my father died when I was doing my O-levels, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the really bad things gave me more than they could ever take. How can you know happiness until you’ve known deep sadness?

Bruce Mitchell [drums]: Vini does kick off, though, properly battles. We had to section him once, and six people had to hold him down.

The roaring 20s: how the current decade revolutionised cinema

Pre-Covid, the movie landscape was dramatically different: YouTubers weren’t dominating the box office, video game spin-offs rarely made an impact and Winnie-the-Pooh wasn’t yet the star of a slasher movie. Why such a flurry of innovation – and what will be next?

Cinema has always been a medium of research and development. At any given point, the industry is searching for yet another breakthrough that can drive it into the future. Synchronised sound in the 1920s. Technicolor in the 1930s. The invention of the modern blockbuster in the 1970s.

Conversely, the consensus is that, if the 2020s has a defining trend, then it is one of decline. The theatrical experience is under attack from all angles: streaming, YouTube, a once-in-a-century health crisis that shut cinemas down entirely. And yet, if you look closer, this has actually been one of the most innovative decades that cinema has ever seen. Whether down to technology or desperation, the film industry has spent these last few years figuring out new ways to make films that simply could not have existed even at the turn of the decade.

My first relationship just ended. How can I expect to find someone else when it took 15 years to find her? | Leading questions

To stay open-hearted and optimistic, you need hope, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. That’s not the same as expectation

• Read more Leading questions

I’m nearly 30 and my first serious relationship just ended a month ago. It lasted eight months, she was my first girlfriend and first kiss, etc. She broke up with me in a very kind and respectful way, and I have been … OK, I guess.

The thing is, everyone has been saying to me, “But you must feel so much more confident now.” I don’t. My self-esteem and confidence wasn’t exactly soaring before I met her, but now I feel even less so. It just feels like most people are less tolerant or accepting of my shortcomings.

Murdoch and Musk in the crosshairs at Venice film festival

Danny Boyle’s drama about the acquisition of the Sun and a four-hour Elon Musk documentary will premiere alongside new films from Martin McDonagh and Werner Herzog – but only one female director has a movie in competition

The Venice film festival promises to take a swing at media moguls of the print and digital era this year, with Trainspotting director Danny Boyle’s new film about Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the Sun and a new documentary about Elon Musk included in the lineup of the films for the festival’s 83rd edition.

In Boyle’s Ink, which will open the festival on the Lido on 2 September, Australian actor Guy Pearce plays compatriot newspaper tycoon Murdoch, whose purchase of the Sun in 1969 sensationalised the media landscape and transformed public life in Britain. The script is written by Olivier award-winning playwright and screenwriter James Graham (Dear England, Brexit: The Uncivil War).

In a first, Chinese woman wins the prestigious Fields Medal

Despite criticisms of a brain drain from China to the U.S., the awards come at a time when several high-profile Chinese scholars have returned home, some citing an increasingly hostile academic environment in America.

Prisoner early release scheme paused by Andy Burnham may still go ahead

Probation union and crime victims had raised doubts over plan to free 6,000 offenders across England and Wales

An early release scheme for thousands of prisoners paused by Andy Burnham after an outcry from victims could still take place this autumn, despite warnings by probation officers of potential chaos.

The prime minister ordered an urgent review into the proposed early release of about 6,000 prisoners, due to begin in September with an initial group of about 700, saying he wanted to “minimise risk to the public” and would not hesitate to make changes.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner's widow on actor's death: "My body went through shock"

Tenisha Warner, the widow of "The Cosby Show" actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, spoke exclusively to "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King about coping with grief one year after his death.

Israeli security minister joins Jewish extremists as they storm al-Aqsa mosque compound

Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among thousands who gathered at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site

Israel’s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, joined thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday.

Escorted by armed police, they prayed, waved the Israeli flag and sang the national anthem in a provocative display of political power.

Two Russian men jailed in Angola for terrorism and spying

The men were convicted over alleged plan to stage coup and organise deadly demonstrations over fuel prices last year

Two Russian men have been found guilty by an Angolan court of terrorism and spying after being accused of planning a coup and helping to organise deadly demonstrations in the southern African country last year.

Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to eight and 11 years in jail respectively. They had denied the charges, claiming they were in Angola for cultural and business activities.

Republicans urge Justice Department to investigate former prosecutor Jack Smith

The former special counsel led two criminal investigations of President Trump and has been a frequent target of Trump's ire on social media.

Like Trump, I went through a home-renovation obsession. The results are often disappointing | Jackie Delamatre

We are now a nation of homogenized open concepts and curb appeal. It’s an approach that leads to anxiety and isolation

Recently, Jonathan Swan – one of the authors of a new tell-all about Donald Trump’s second term – told the hosts of The View that if you had a pie chart of Trump’s mind, “a pretty substantial slice is devoted to interior decorating”. He also revealed that Trump is engaged in “design wars” with Melania and moved furniture she had selected into his spaces. The commander-in-chief apparently has even been caught supergluing gilded accents to the Oval Office mantel himself. Though Trump claims taxpayers won’t be on the hook for the costs of his renovations, the New York Times reported that the White House’s 18 major remodeling projects – from the botched Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool to the paved-over Rose Garden to the looming “Arc de Trump” – will probably come with a price tag of $1.2bn.

Of course, Trump’s renovation compulsion didn’t start this year. The president celebrated winning his first term, in 2017, by ripping out the Oval Office’s royal blue carpet with the presidential seal and replacing it with a Mar-a-Lago peach version, accented with – what else? – gold. But in his second term, he’s gotten bolder, both politically and aesthetically – and more addicted. By the autumn of his first year back in office, he went ahead and tore down the East Wing entirely.

Eli Lilly says it will file for approval of next-generation obesity drug in 2027 as it clears two more trials

There are now positive results from five late-stage trials on retatrutide, which Lilly is positioning as the next pillar of its obesity portfolio.

Norway considers filing Fifa ethics complaint over Trump role in World Cup red card saga

• Norwegian federation president: Fifa on a ‘slippery slope’

• Trump called Infantino for review of Balogun’s red

Donald Trump’s role in clearing Folarin Balogun from a mandatory one-game ban at the World Cup is set to provoke a formal complaint to Fifa ethics investigators.

The Norway soccer federation said Thursday its board of directors will consider filing the complaint at its next meeting, likely on 6 August.

Southwest Airlines' third-quarter forecast falls short as fuel bill climbs

Southwest Airlines reported a more than 9% increase in second-quarter profit as higher fares are increasingly helping the airline cover its fuel tab.

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand – stripping back the physical and metaphorical layers of a haunted hotel

Renovate rooms, investigate the supernatural and watch people burst into song in this surreal British ghost story

A young American man arrives in a dilapidated British seaside town to take on the renovations of an equally run-down hotel, inherited from a mysteriously absent father he never knew. His power tools talk to him in a Scottish accent, the local people speak in baffling slang, and occasionally people burst into song. Oh, and there are ghosts.

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a novel mix of genres – no bad thing in these times of sequels and remakes – but, according to the creative director of independent developers Friday Sundae, Anil Glendinning, it grew organically from a single goal: to tell a very British ghost story.

Tenisha Warner, widow of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, opens up about being a single mom

Tenisha Warner sat down for an exclusive interview with "CBS Mornings" before a lawsuit over her late husband's estate became public, and discussed her grief and raising her daughter alone.

Get into med school in the graphic memoir 'See One, Do One, Teach One'

Grace Farris' book brings readers behind the med school scenes — documenting anxiety over loans, bouts of impostor syndrome, friendships forged in stress, and the ever-impossible work-life balance.

Trump says U.S. will hold Iran responsible for Houthi attacks after oil tankers targeted in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with drones and missiles for allegedly violating its maritime blockade.

Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley faces US congressional panel over Epstein ties

Staley is latest high-profile figure to testify before House amid investigation into Epstein, convicted sex offender

Former Barclays boss Jes Staley appeared before by US lawmakers on Thursday in a closed-door interview about his past ties to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Staley, who spent more than three decades at JPMorgan Chase before joining Barclays in 2015, is the latest in a series of high-profile figures to appear in front of the House committee on oversight and reform as part of its investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial over child sex-trafficking charges.

Beyond the body: Wayne McGregor stretches the definition of dance at this year’s Venice Dance Biennale

With the British dance legend at the helm, this year’s themes ranged from quantum gravity to slightly muted geopolitics

The most memorable performance in the opening days of this year’s Venice Dance Biennale had barely any dance in it at all. Italian choreographer Andrea Salustri’s Invisible is built around movement, but it’s movement of light, air, water and sound waves, with Salustri and co-creator Alice Rende as shadowy figures conducting the elements. They brew up storms like Zeus and Poseidon, with flashing veins of light, sounds of pummelling rain (in fact small drips and bubbles amplified by powerful microphones) and an enormous amount of billowing smoke that ultimately whips itself into a spinning tornado.

Salustri, who won the Italian callout to create a new work for this year’s biennale, is a circus artist and philosophy graduate, and he is also a choreographer – a definition so much wider than one who devises dance. This year marks the 20th dedicated dance festival in Venice (dance was previously seen as part of the theatre or music programmes here until 1999, since when it has been an annual, then biennial, and now annual feature of Venice’s arts bonanza). In a talk to mark this anniversary, current artistic director Wayne McGregor was joined by four former directors to discuss their aims for the event. The question of “what dance is” kept arising as the ongoing line of inquiry, a question “so ordinary that it is still necessary somehow”, said choreographer Marie Chouinard.

A new film, Life Lines, put together by McGregor and filmmaker Ravi Deepres, compiles archive clips from festivals past, showing that the range of dance here has been vast and multifarious, from the fairly conventional to the theatrically wild. There’s clearly no single story of contemporary dance’s development, and McGregor’s theme for this year’s festival is Time Does Not Exist. Influenced by physicist Carlo Rovelli and the theory of quantum gravity, his is not a linear view of time, and without doubt, in dance (and in life), we carry our embodied pasts constantly into the present. That’s no more evident than in Soa Ratsifandrihana’s piece Fampitaha, Fampita, Fampitàna (meaning “comparison, transmission, rivalry” in Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, from where the choreographer is from). It’s a piece about living in the diaspora and concerned with the sometimes joyful, sometimes painful, memories that link back home – especially the memories stored in our bodies, in songs, stories and dance steps. It’s a gentle piece, conversational between the three dancers and fabulous guitarist Joël Rabesolo, in the sense that like many conversations it meanders, then touches on the profound, then gets self-absorbed, connects again, tails off. But it has its moments.