Chaos and confusion bring US no closer to resolution on strait of Hormuz 15. July 2026 (19:32) Five months of U-turns and false boasts leave Donald Trump in worse position than when he startedDonald Trump has taken the war with Iran into a new, murkier phase as the two sides move further and further from the vague memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 17 June.And as during the opening phase of the conflict, the US leader’s objectives and methods are clouded in confusion, daily U-turns and boasts that within hours are revealed to be false. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Wildfires in Ontario make Toronto air quality worst in world 15. July 2026 (18:08) Environment Canada has issued health warnings after sky over city turns yellowSmoke from more than 100 active wildfires in northern Ontario have made Toronto’s air quality the current worst in the world and caused yellow, smoky air in cities across the north-east US.Environment Canada issued health warnings on Wednesday after the sky over country’s largest city turned a sickly yellow and was ranked the worst in the world according to IQAir, the Swiss technology company that racks global air quality. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man arrested on suspicion of posting social media threat to shoot Nigel Farage 15. July 2026 (17:58) Met police detain man in his 20s after post on X was reported to them by parliamentary authorities in MayA man has been arrested on suspicion of publishing a message on social media in which he threatened to shoot Nigel Farage.The Metropolitan police arrested a man in his 20s on Tuesday after the post was reported to them by the parliamentary authorities in May. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nationwide customer vows to fight on after failed attempt to join board 15. July 2026 (17:55) James Sherwin-Smith says he will launch fresh campaign for change at the building society after losing vote at AGMA Nationwide customer has vowed to fight on after losing a historic attempt to join its board and is plotting a fresh campaign to boost democracy at the building society.James Sherwin-Smith secured about 12.5% of the vote, representing support from 75,939 Nationwide members, at the mutual’s annual general meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump intelligence pick Jay Clayton refuses to say Biden won 2020 election 15. July 2026 (17:48) Clayton, if confirmed, would replace Bill Pulte, and is facing senators for confirmation as the US’s top spyJay Clayton, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, refused to say that Joe Biden won the 2020 election during his Wednesday confirmation hearing to become the nation’s next intelligence chief.Clayton opted instead to say that Biden was “certified” as president. Clayton also skirted questions about his previous election integrity claims and whether or not a White House official asked him to subpoena a group of New York Times journalists as part of an alleged national security investigation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unlicensed casinos could face ban on sponsoring UK sports teams from 2027 15. July 2026 (17:47) Proposal to protect vulnerable and stop money laundering could affect Premier League clubs and Formula OneUK politics live – latest updatesUnlicensed casinos could be banned from sponsoring sports teams in the UK from next year, in a move that poses financial questions for Premier League football clubs such as Everton FC and sports including Formula One.Plans for a ban, revealed by the Guardian on Sunday and confirmed by the government on Wednesday, are aimed at protecting vulnerable people and reducing the risk of sport being used by organised crime groups for money laundering. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unheard David Bowie songs from 1965 to be released – including ones with Jimmy Page on guitar 15. July 2026 (17:46) Compilation entitled David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings will be released in September, collating material from when he recorded as Davy JonesUnheard 1965 recordings by David Bowie, from when he was starting out in swinging 60s London as Davy Jones, are finally to be released – some featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page.Before he broke through with 1969’s Space Oddity, and scaled up through The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory towards the explosive impact of his Ziggy Stardust alter ego in 1972, Bowie started out as a very different kind of artist: sharp-suited and coiffured, playing the kind of forthright, blues-influenced, sometimes faintly psychedelic pop-rock that was the hallmark of mid-60s London, from the Beatles to the Small Faces and the Who. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
White House overturns DHS halt to ICE traffic stops despite killings of two men 15. July 2026 (17:40) Move comes after Trump rebuked his own homeland security department and insisted ICE maintain policyThe White House overturned a one-day old homeland security department (DHS) memo that said they would be halting traffic stops in the wake of recent stops that left two men killed in the space of a week on Wednesday morning, hours after Donald Trump insisted ICE keep making them.Federal officers across the US had been told to temporarily stop pulling drivers over on Tuesday. That directive came after ICE agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on 7 July and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine on Monday. Both men were unarmed, neither was the intended target of the operation that killed him, and in both cases the agents involved wore no body camera to record what happened. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Todd Blanche sits for confirmation hearing in bid for attorney general 15. July 2026 (17:21) Trump’s nominee will face tough questions over purging of career prosecutors, Epstein files and moreTodd Blanche is testifying in front of the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday, as one of Donald Trump’s most loyal and powerful enforcers in government aims to be confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.Few officials have been more instrumental in Trump’s crusade to transform the federal government in his second term than Blanche. Trump tapped Blanche, his former personal attorney, to serve as the deputy attorney general, the justice department’s No 2 position, at the start of his term, where he steered the department’s day-to-day work as career employees were purged over their connection to Trump investigations and the president oriented the department towards punishing political rivals and investigating debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Greater gliders not as great at gliding as thought – but still look like magic carpets, experts say 15. July 2026 (17:01) While new study challenges assumptions about how far they travel, witnessing them in action still takes your breath away, scientists sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThey may look like a fluffy flying carpet, but greater gliders are not as great at gliding as previously thought, Australian researchers have discovered.The first study to measure the aerial ability of Australia’s largest gliding marsupial has found they soar across an average distance of 19 metres – far shorter than the 100 metres suggested in an 85-year-old study. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
