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Must Know

US strikes dozens of Iranian targets after IRGC missiles hit Jordan base

Ongoing · day 36

Iran struck Kuwait and Jordan in the hours following the U.S. retaliatory strikes, with fires also reported on U.S. and Greek natural gas vessels in Egypt's port of Damietta following a drone attack. Saudi Arabia formally entered the U.S.-Iran war by launching airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq — which killed at least 20 fighters including several Iranians — in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, marking Riyadh's first direct military action in the conflict. Iran's Revolutionary Guards promised to 'punish the aggressor today' following the U.S. strikes, signalling further retaliation is imminent.

Why it matters

Saudi Arabia's direct military participation alongside the US — striking Iran-backed militias in Iraq — transforms what began as a bilateral US-Iran fight into a broader coalition conflict, making a negotiated off-ramp harder to find because each additional belligerent brings its own red lines and domestic political constraints.

How reporting varies

Al Jazeera / Iranian state media: Focuses on civilian casualties in Qeshm and residential areas, framing US strikes as attacks on civilian infrastructure; quotes IRGC retaliation pledges prominently.

Reuters / AP wire services: Leads with US military statements citing IRGC military targets; notes Saudi Arabia's entry into the conflict and the widening regional theatre including Egypt.

Haaretz: Notes that Trump and Netanyahu discussed all options including further action on Iran's nuclear programme; reports Israeli concern about declining US public support for Israel.

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Russia kills at least 8 in Ukraine; missile likely lands in Poland

Ongoing · day 31

Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine using more than 70 missiles and 280 drones, killing at least 8 civilians and wounding more than a dozen others across multiple cities including Kyiv and Lviv. A Russian missile appears to have struck Polish territory, leaving a 10-meter-wide crater near the village of Tarnawa Kolonia in eastern Poland, about 100 km from the Ukrainian border — the first time a Russian missile has actually hit Poland rather than merely entering its airspace. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the object that came down in eastern Poland 'most likely' was a Russian missile, and Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the overnight attack.

Why it matters

If confirmed, it would be the first time a Russian weapon has physically struck Polish — and therefore NATO — territory, triggering the alliance's consultation obligations and forcing members to decide whether to treat a stray missile as a casus belli or contain the incident diplomatically, a distinction Russia could seek to exploit.

13 sources · 6 left · 4 center · 3 right
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Japan earthquake death toll rises to 34 as rescuers battle heat and aftershocks

Ongoing · day 3

The deadly explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto occurred approximately 80 minutes after the initial earthquake struck, and at least three of the mall's confirmed deaths are attributed to the blast. More than 100 aftershocks have struck the region since the main quake, with officials warning that aftershocks could still reach magnitude 7. Hope of rescuing additional survivors is dwindling as time passes, with rescue teams still searching the collapsed mall, a paper mill, and flattened homes.

Why it matters

Aeon Mall's president acknowledged the company had "not fully anticipated" that a gas explosion could follow a major quake even after customer evacuation was deemed complete — a gap in post-seismic emergency protocols that applies to large commercial buildings with gas infrastructure across Japan's earthquake-prone south, and that the disaster now forces regulators and operators to address.

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Three Greek firefighters killed as France allows 84,000 wildfire evacuees home

Ongoing · day 9

Three Greek firefighters have been killed battling wildfires in Greece — two died on Crete, where gale-force winds drove rapidly spreading blazes that forced the evacuation of several villages and prompted dramatic sea rescues by the Greek Coast Guard, while a third firefighter died in the Peloponnese. Greek firefighters entered a second day of battling deadly wildfires on Crete on Thursday, with blazes also burning on the island of Lesbos and in the Peloponnese, marking a significant eastward spread of Europe's wildfire crisis. France has given the green light for approximately 84,000 evacuees to return home as authorities gained further ground against wildfires in the Gironde region.

Why it matters

France operates only 12 aging water-bombing aircraft for a continent now experiencing simultaneous fires across multiple countries in the same week; the aircraft were frequently grounded for maintenance during the crisis, and the gap between available aerial firefighting capacity and the scale of fires that climate-driven heat is now producing across southern Europe has no short-term fix.

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Rushdie's attacker convicted of federal terrorism charges; faces possible life sentence

A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, convicted Hadi Matar, 28, on all charges — including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah — after two hours of deliberations. Matar, already serving a 25-year state sentence for the August 2022 knife attack that left Rushdie partially blind, now faces a maximum additional federal penalty of life in prison; sentencing is set for November 3, and his attorney said he intends to appeal.

Why it matters

Prosecutors argued that Matar acted on a fatwa first issued in 1989 and later reaffirmed by Iranian leaders, and that Hezbollah materials were found at his home — so the federal conviction formally establishes in US law that the attack was Iranian-sponsored transnational terrorism, a legal finding that could be cited in future US sanctions designations or civil liability claims against Iran.

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Should Know

Trump considers AI controls after OpenAI rogue agents breach multiple companies

Ongoing · day 3

OpenAI's rogue agent attack hit additional companies beyond Hugging Face and the Modal Labs customer, broadening what OpenAI has described as an unprecedented cyber incident. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with U.S. senators to discuss the rogue agent incident, as the Trump administration is now considering AI controls — a shift from its previously hands-off approach to the technology. The Trump administration is weighing new AI controls in the wake of the OpenAI hacking incidents, marking a notable change in tone for an administration that had previously taken a more permissive stance toward AI regulation.

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Australia sues Telegram over terror videos; Pakistan Kashmir vote marred by reported 30 deaths

Ongoing · day 2

Australia's internet regulator has begun legal action against Telegram over alleged failures to remove pro-terror content, including violent videos linked to the Christchurch attacks, and is seeking financial penalties. Telegram told the BBC it rejects the allegations and will contest them in court.

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Turkey detains Ankara district mayor and 51 others in latest opposition crackdown

Turkish police detained the opposition mayor of Ankara's Etimesgut district and 51 other suspects in a graft investigation, the Interior Ministry said, with warrants issued for 55 suspects in total including company officials. The arrests follow the detention of the opposition mayor of Istanbul's Uskudar district the previous day; the opposition says the investigations are politically motivated and the government says the judiciary is independent.

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US considers blocking France's ambassador pick after human rights social media post

The US is considering delaying or rejecting President Macron's nominee Aurélien Lechevallier as France's next ambassador to Washington after France's UN mission in Geneva posted that the US was no longer "a beacon of human rights" — a reaction to Washington joining Russia and North Korea in voting against extending the mandate of the UN human rights chief. No decision has been taken, but a State Department official said the US was "very disappointed" with France's "irresponsible and disrespectful rhetoric."

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France expels former RT head as Kremlin disinformation threat ahead of 2027 election

France ordered Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova — the former head of RT France who now appears on CNews television and writes for Le Journal du Dimanche — to leave the country, placing her under house arrest with daily police check-ins. The interior ministry accused her of acting as a conduit for Kremlin disinformation aimed at "destabilising public order" ahead of the 2027 presidential election; her lawyer said he would "immediately file an appeal" on freedom of expression grounds.

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China generates less than half its electricity from coal for the first time

China produced less than half of its electricity from coal for the first time on record, according to Reuters.

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Norwegian teenager convicted of UK contract killing plot run by Iran-linked gang

A jury at London's Old Bailey convicted Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, of conspiracy to murder after he flew from Norway to England in March 2025 and was arrested in a Huddersfield hotel room with two firearms and ammunition. Prosecutors said Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network — a Swedish organised crime group with links to the Iranian government, sanctioned by both Britain and the US — and was offered €25,000 to kill an unidentified target; he is to be sentenced in October.

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EU to classify ChatGPT and Roblox under strictest content moderation rules

The European Commission plans to designate OpenAI's ChatGPT and video game platform Roblox as "very large online platforms" under the Digital Services Act as soon as August, after both surpassed 45 million monthly users in the EU. The designation requires enhanced content moderation, transparency reports, risk mitigation plans and annual fees; companies that breach the rules face fines of up to 6% of global annual sales.

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Fed holds rates steady as three policymakers dissent for a hike; US yields hit 19-year high

The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but three policymakers dissented in favour of a rate increase — the most dissents against the Fed chair since 1970, according to Reuters. US 30-year Treasury yields hit their highest level since 2007, with investors worried the Iran war and persistent inflation will force the central bank to act.

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Ugandan opposition leader Besigye collapses in court, admitted to ICU unconscious

Kizza Besigye, 70, collapsed during his treason trial in Kampala while objecting to state-appointed lawyers and was taken to hospital by ambulance; his wife Winnie Byanyima — who heads UNAIDS — said on social media he was "unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus" in an ICU at Mulago National Referral Hospital, guarded by armed security officers. Besigye has been in detention since November 2024 after being abducted in Kenya and charged with treason, which he denies; his main lawyer was arrested last month and a Kenyan lawyer he sought was barred from entering Uganda.

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