Saudi Arabia and the U.S. conducted joint strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq, escalating the ongoing Middle East conflict, Riyadh announced a 14-member maritime defense alliance to safeguard regional shipping routes,and Trump said he called off a planned strike on Iran, claiming the "perimeters of a deal" had been agreed,after the U.S. resumed strikes on the country following a brief pause,which U.S. President Donald Trump denied was due to ammunition shortages, rejecting concerns about U.S. stockpiles.This comes as a poll found that one-third of Americans support the war with Iran, highlighting limited public backing, Reuters accused China of agreeing to supply shoulder-launched missile systems to Iran under an alleged deal valued at $60-$70 million,and Trump announced an agreement for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, based on Washington's 20-point Gaza peace plan.Elsewhere, Poland reported that a Russian missile may have struck its territory, prompting an investigation into a possible NATO breach, Ukraine struck a Wildberries distribution hub in Russia’s Ryazan region, extending its attacks on Russian infrastructure,and South Africa moved to deepen military ties with Moscow following Army Chief Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha's second official trip to Russia.In other news, the U.K. committed $11.3 billion to its nuclear-submarine program, strengthening its long-term defense posture, the U.K. announced it would resume military training operations in Kenya, restoring a longstanding defense partnership,and Russia’s Africa Corps was accused of killing civilians in an airstrike on a Malian village.Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo said the FDLR had agreed to disarm under a U.S.-brokered peace agreement,and at least 30 people were killed in an attack in Nigeria’s Kaduna state.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Trump at the White House amid a series of international crises, Chad announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, joining a broader backlash against the tribunal, the U.K.'s Labour Party surged in the polls following Andy Burnham's first week as prime minister,and British lawmakers Diane Abbott and Joani Reid were readmitted to the U.K. Labour Party following two separate disciplinary proceedings.Meanwhile, Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru’s president, making her the country's first woman to assume the role, a court ruling in the Democratic Republic of Congo opened a path for President Félix Tshisekedi to seek a third term, reshaping the country’s political future, Friedrich Merz completed a reshuffle of Germany’s cabinet by nominating Steffen Bilger as federal minister of transport,and former Canadian cabinet minister Chris Alexander entered Toronto’s mayoral race, joining a field of more than 30 candidates.In other news, U.S. diplomats walked out on France during a U.N. Security Council meeting following a dispute over comments about Washington's human rights record, Brazil summoned Argentina’s envoy over remarks made by President Javier Milei,and Paraguay summoned Brazil’s ambassador over President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's comments about the War of the Triple Alliance.This comes as Brazilian Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça authorized an inquiry into President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's son over suspicions of corruption and influence peddling,former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala was released from prison after the country's Constitutional Court annulled his 15-year money laundering sentence,and Bolivia issued a new arrest warrant for former president Evo Morales over his alleged role in anti-government road blockades.Elsewhere, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez traveled to Ceuta and deployed the military after thousands of migrants breached its border from Morocco,prompting Italy to suspend its Schengen agreement with Spain,and U.K. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp posted a video appearing to show French police saying they had been ordered to allow migrants to cross the English Channel.

Elon Musk reportedly revived America PAC to support Republican candidates in the 2026 midterms, a Senate committee postponed its vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination over concerns about a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as U.S. intelligence chief, placing him in charge of the intelligence community,and Trump petitioned the Supreme Court to revive his mail-in voting order, seeking to reverse a lower-court ruling.Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans to introduce legislation for a federal anti-corruption bureau, proposing a new national oversight body,Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral was held in Washington, drawing leaders from around the world,and Mitch McConnell's physician announced that the senator had not yet received medical clearance to return to work after being hospitalized for a fall at his home.This comes as the Alien Terrorist Removal Court convened a public hearing, marking the first such case in its 30-year history, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly prepared to arrest and deport 300,000 Haitians after the Supreme Court's temporary protected status ruling,and former FBI Director James Comey sought dismissal of charges related to an alleged “86 47” threat, arguing that the prosecution was unfounded.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment was accused of keeping a list of activists opposed to facial recognition, intensifying surveillance concerns, a “Stop Cop City” protester was prosecuted after running an app to delete his phone data during border agent questioning at an Atlanta airport,and an Australian court upheld a racial-discrimination ruling against One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for telling Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi to go back to Pakistan.In other news, several Iranian prisoners sewed their lips shut amid an ongoing hunger strike against state executions,and Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopian nationals on drug charges.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution opposing a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, sending a bipartisan message to the White House,social media personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate were ordered to remain jailed until their next extradition hearing,and Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn the $83 million E. Jean Carroll verdict, which found he defamed the writer by denying her sexual assault allegations.Meanwhile, Salman Rushdie’s attacker was convicted of terrorism for stabbing the author in 2022, a teenager was convicted in an alleged Iran-linked murder plot in the U.K., concluding a national-security prosecution, Russia charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism,as Australia took the platform to court over claims it failed to remove terrorist material,and a firearm was discharged outside Toronto's U.S. consulate, marking the second such incident this year.This comes as a judge ruled that singer D4vd would stand trial for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the man convicted of the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students sought to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging he was "convinced to falsely confess" by his defense team,and Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy's trial began in the murder of her three children.

Trump unveiled a $22.5 billion redevelopment of Dulles International Airport, set to begin in spring of 2027, Johnson & Johnson announced a $5.5 billion deal to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer,and eBay agreed to pay $55.7 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2019 harassment campaign.Meanwhile, ChangXin Memory Technologies became mainland China’s most valuable publicly traded company, with a market capitalization of roughly 3.3 trillion yuan ($487 billion),Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino announced plans to step down, with former Bloomin' Brands CEO David Deno set to take over,and an Airbus A350 completed the world’s longest commercial flight, covering 23,075 kilometers (14,338 miles) in 24 hours and 24 minutes.This comes as Musk denied reports that Tesla was preparing to separate its China business ahead of a potential merger with SpaceX, Apple projected revenue growth of 9-11% for Q3, below Wall Street's estimate of over 12%,and Netflix was sued for $105 million over allegations that it distributed a stolen Nicolas Cage film.

The U.S. Federal Reserve maintained rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, marking the fifth consecutive meeting that left rates unchanged,and Mexico’s economy grew by 1.5% in the second quarter, in its fastest-paced growth since Q4 of 2020.

Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment during a Senate hearing on COVID-19, the Trump administration ended federal support for gain-of-function research, restricting experiments involving enhanced pathogens,and the U.S. released $600 million for the Gavi vaccine alliance, restoring a major source of global immunization funding.Meanwhile, the 26th International AIDS Conference opened in Rio de Janeiro, with the U.N. warning of declining HIV financing, a U.S. judge upheld Medicaid work requirements, allowing the policy to remain in effect,and Michigan reported more than 9,200 cases of cyclosporiasis, marking a growing foodborne-disease outbreak.This comes as the American Red Cross declared a national blood crisis for only the second time in its history, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel reviewed a new muscular-dystrophy treatment, assessing whether the therapy should receive approval, a study warned of a long-term decline in physical fitness among young Europeans, raising concerns about youth health,and the U.K. approved a lung-perfusion device, expanding options for transplant care.

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced across France and Spain as authorities continued efforts to contain ongoing wildfires, three Greek firefighters died while responding to wildfires on the island of Crete and the mainland,and an earthquake in Japan left over a dozen killed and many others missing.Meanwhile, ten climbers were killed in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak,and powerful winds in Brazil left at least five people dead, causing widespread disruption and damage.

A human rights charity warned against the U.K.'s plan to use AI-based age checks for migrants, raising concerns that it could misclassify children as adults, xAI sued Minnesota over its ban on deepfake nudity, more than 1,000 employees from several top technology firms signed an open letter calling for a slowdown in frontier-AI development,and the U.S. banned foreign-made humanoid robots, citing national-security risks.This comes as OpenAI confirmed that a recent AI agent breach affected several other companies, raising concerns about autonomous cyber capabilities, Anthropic disclosed that its Claude AI model hacked three organizations during controlled testing after a configuration error left the test systems connected to the public internet,and hundreds of private Claude conversations became searchable on Google and Bing, raising privacy concerns.Meanwhile, Microsoft unveiled its first dedicated AI cybersecurity system, expanding automation in digital defense, Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, a family of AI systems designed to give robots whole-body control, Amazon’s Zoox robotaxis received approval for commercial operation, clearing the way for paid autonomous rides,and British singer Boy George released an AI-assisted song in support of Israel, combining generative technology with political advocacy.

The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract for Falcon 9 launches, expanding the company’s national-security role.

FIFA dropped a plan to sell a 20% stake in a new commercial subsidiaryafter UEFA’s 55 member nations threatened to boycott all FIFA events if the proposal moved forward,and FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina for multiple alleged violations during the 2026 World Cup.

Italian soccer legend Franco Baresi died at the age of 66.