Bay Area city manager charged for allegedly breaking into 66ft yacht while drinking 22. July 2026 (00:04) Sausalito city manager Elaine Forbes faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly trying to steal the three-story vesselA Bay Area city manager will face misdemeanor charges for allegedly breaking into a 66ft yacht while drinking and trying to steal the vessel.Elaine Forbes, Sausalito’s city manager, was arrested on the morning of 18 July after police received a call for a noise disturbance. Police say Forbes had “apparently broken into” a three-story yacht, where she was consuming alcohol. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zelenskyy fires Ukraine’s army chief and offers Fedorov ‘prominent position’ 21. July 2026 (23:34) After nationwide protests Oleksandr Syrskyi is to be replaced in reshuffle and popular defence minister returns to governmentVolodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and offered a “prominent position” to the defence minister he sacked last week in a move that sparked nationwide protests.In a late-night TV address, Zelenskyy said he was appointing Mykhailo Drapati, a popular and innovative general, as the new head of Ukraine’s armed forces. Drapati would oversee a reorganisation of the army’s command structure, Ukraine’s president said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate committee advances nomination of Trump intelligence pick Jay Clayton 21. July 2026 (22:41) Committee voted 9-8 to advance Clayton’s nomination to serve as intelligence chief despite Democratic oppositionThe Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday advanced the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as the US intelligence director, despite criticism from Democrats.Donald Trump had nominated Clayton, now the top federal prosecutor in the southern district of New York, for the role of the director of national intelligence (DNI) last month after the departure of Tulsi Gabbard. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bill Gates foundation met with Jeffrey Epstein about 30 times, external review finds 21. July 2026 (22:37) Staff ‘raised on multiple occasions’ risks of tech mogul’s philanthropic body associating with disgraced financierA new external review commissioned by the Gates Foundation has found that there were “roughly 30 meetings” between Jeffrey Epstein and foundation leaders and staff – including Bill Gates – between 2011 and 2014, even as foundation staff “raised on multiple occasions the risks of associating with Epstein because of his prior conviction”.The Gates foundation commissioned the review in March, following the justice department’s release earlier this year of millions of documents related to Epstein. The files included numerous references to Gates, several photographs of him, and records showing that he met with Epstein on multiple occasions, which prompted renewed scrutiny of Gates’s past ties to the disgraced financier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump to allow direct US flights to Lebanon after 41-year halt 21. July 2026 (22:36) Announcement comes after White House meeting with Lebanese president in which Trump vowed to help ‘a lot’Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon more than 40 years after the US suspended the route.Direct flights between the US and Lebanon were suspended in 1985 by Ronald Reagan’s administration following the hijacking of TWA flight 847. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham urges cabinet to examine ‘all possible ways’ to tackle cost of living crisis 21. July 2026 (21:53) As new prime minister briefs cabinet on ‘cost of living government’, critics ask where money will come fromAndy Burnham is under mounting pressure to explain how he will pay for his policy pledges as he implored his new cabinet to examine “all possible ways” to tackle the cost of living crisis.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. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump defends 50% tariffs on Canada, saying ‘they need us to survive’ 21. July 2026 (21:36) Mark Carney says Canada is ‘united’ in face of threats as leaders agree to talk before tariffs take effect next monthSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump has defended his new 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, claiming the country cannot survive without the US.The White House announced the sweeping round of import duties – due to come into effect next month – on Monday, igniting fresh tensions between Washington and Ottawa. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pete Hegseth faces questions over $87.6bn additional funding for Pentagon 21. July 2026 (21:23) Defense secretary and chair of the joint chiefs face Senate appropriations committee to continue Iran war effortThe US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, walked into the Senate on Tuesday to defend the Trump administration’s $87.6bn supplemental funding request, facing lawmakers furious that the US-Israel war on Iran is costing far more than the White House has admitted.Hegseth and the chair of the joint chiefs, Gen Dan Caine, faced the Senate appropriations committee, chaired by Susan Collins of Maine, as the Pentagon said it was running low on cash to keep the fight going. Of the total request, $67.1bn of the request is earmarked specifically to keep the war effort funded. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France becomes first EU country to ban social media access for under-15s 21. July 2026 (21:14) Parliament votes to stop children using apps such as TikTok in policy championed by Emmanuel MacronFrance’s parliament has approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making it the first EU country to bar children from apps such as TikTok.The president, Emmanuel Macron, has championed the ban as a key reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Former Met police chief admits surveillance of Stephen Lawrence’s family was institutionally racist 21. July 2026 (21:02) Paul Condon tells spycops inquiry force failed to properly control unit which committed ‘horrendous’ abusesA former Metropolitan police commissioner has admitted that the surveillance of the family of Stephen Lawrence by undercover officers was institutionally racist, the spycops inquiry has heard.While Paul Condon was in command of the Metropolitan police in the 1990s, a controversial undercover unit spied on the family as they sought to persuade Scotland Yard to properly investigate Lawrence’s racist murder. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
