Top World News

Jul 22, 2026 - World

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?The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reported that Iran has executed a man after finding him guilty of charges related to protests that swept the country last winter, according to AFP.What began as a demonstration in Tehran at the end of December against the rising cost of living quickly grew to the largest nationwide uprising in years against the country’s theocratic leaders. Continue reading...

Jul 22, 2026 - World

Earlier this week, Burnham’s new government faced questions about how the removal of VAT on electricity bills would be fundedMy colleagues Kiran Stacey and Peter Walker take a closer look at the questions on how the government will finance its spending pledges:On his first full day in power, the prime minister faced questions about how he would fund the removal of VAT from electricity bills and an expected uplift in defence spending – an issue that led his new chancellor, John Healey, to resign as Keir Starmer’s defence secretary last month.Downing Street said on Tuesday that the tax cut was funded for the next financial year, but money would have to be found in future years from existing departmental budgets, suggesting spending cuts to come. No 10 has also ruled out using defence bonds to pay for higher military spending. Continue reading...

Jul 22, 2026 - World

Equinor benefits from move to ramp up oil and gas production during strait of Hormuz blockadesBusiness live – latest updatesProfits at Norway’s state oil company nearly doubled to $11.5bn (£8.6bn) in the three months to the end of June, as earnings were boosted by the jump in oil and gas prices caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.Equinor benefited from a decision to ramp up oil and gas production since the start of the conflict, filling a gap in the market after a slump in oil flows from the Gulf amid the throttling of shipping traffic through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Jul 22, 2026 - World

Firm behind ChatGPT reveals autonomous agent powered by its tech chose to attack Hugging Face database by itselfOpenAI has revealed an autonomous AI agent powered by its technology went rogue during a test, accessed the open web and hacked a prominent startup by itself in an “unprecedented incident”.The company behind ChatGPT said Hugging Face had detected and contained the agent – an AI tool designed to carry out tasks without human assistance – which had entered its systems. Continue reading...

Jul 22, 2026 - World

Chinese Defence Attache You Jian thanked India's military for rescuing 12 crew members from a burning cargo ship off Kerala last year