Oil price jumps as US-Iran clashes raise odds of interest rate rises 14. July 2026 (13:24) Stock markets fall as analysts price in two quarter-point UK rate rises by the end of the yearBusiness live – latest updatesOil and gas prices have jumped and expectations of interest rate rises in Europe have increased after the US carried out a third night of military strikes against Iran.Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose by as much as 4.6% to $87.08 a barrel on Tuesday, its highest level in just over a month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Victims of Trump purge call supreme court ruling a ‘dagger in heart’ to civil service 14. July 2026 (13:00) Rebecca Slaughter, who was fired by Trump from the FTC in 2025, worries agencies will be undermined by threat of removal if a decision is contrary to president’s favorFederal officials fired by the Trump administration are calling the recent supreme court decision a “dagger in the heart” of the civil service that will open independent federal government agencies to corruption and manipulation at the whim of the president.Since Donald Trump took office again in January 2025, he has fired more than 50 officials from federal agencies as the Trump administration openly sought to have the supreme court overturn a landmark 1935 ruling that limited the president’s power over independent agencies, known as Humphrey’s Executor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Misuse’ of crowd control weapons on ICE protesters led to blindings and traumatic brain injuries, report finds 14. July 2026 (13:00) Doctors and human rights experts documented hundreds of incidents from June 2025 through May 2026 and estimate true number is ‘far greater’It’s been a brutal tactic deployed by local and federal law enforcement officials time and again over the past year: using teargas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to control protests outside ICE detention centers or during enforcement operations.Now, a new report lays bare the scale of the use of these crowd control weapons during anti-immigration demonstrations across the US, including hundreds of incidents that resulted in lasting and traumatic injuries. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China’s monthly car exports top 1m for first time as overall trade soars 14. July 2026 (12:32) Country risks new tariffs from US and EU as it looks likely to match or beat last year’s record surplus of $1tnBusiness live – latest updatesChina’s monthly car exports topped 1m for the first time in June as overall overseas shipments from the world’s second biggest economy rose 27%.Official Chinese customs data showed that a stronger-than-expected trade performance kept China on track to match or beat last year’s record trade surplus of $1tn (£748bn), achieved despite Donald Trump’s curtailed tariff war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France hopes to send ‘strategic signal’ about Europe’s renewed military focus at Bastille Day celebrations – Europe live 14. July 2026 (11:54) Many leaders from the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ stayed overnight in Paris to attend the parade, which will be Emmanuel Macron’s last as presidentHere is the first big moment of the day as the Garde républicaine plays the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”.Macron is not singing, but Lecornu behind him – very much is. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iranian flights to Yemen are violation of sovereignty, says Yemeni official 14. July 2026 (11:43) Plane bringing Houthi delegation home from Tehran had to divert after Yemeni government bombed Sana’a airportMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIranian flights to and from Yemen are an unacceptable violation of the country’s sovereignty, the vice-president in Yemen’s Saudi-backed, UN-recognised government has said.Abdullah al-Alimi said in an interview that the planes contained equipment for the Houthi movement, which he said had transformed from merely a domestic threat into a regional and international threat to global security and the global economy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘God is punishing the politicians’: anger at earthquake response grows in Venezuela 14. July 2026 (11:00) Threat of social unrest rises as public indignation at lack of disaster aid comes on top of fallout from US military intervention• A revolution in ruins: fury amid the rubble of a housing project in quake-hit VenezuelaPublic anger at what many perceive as the Venezuelan government’s botched response to twin earthquakes that killed nearly 4,500 people is growing, with one grieving mother caught on camera berating the son of former president Nicolás Maduro.Maduro’s politician son received a hostile reception while visiting a semi-destroyed social housing project named after his father’s late mentor Hugo Chávez. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jenrick criticises government for not offering Farage earlier security meeting 14. July 2026 (10:49) Reform’s Treasury spokesperson says talks on party leader’s protection only happening ‘as a result’ of Ann Widdecombe’s deathUK politics live – latest updatesRobert Jenrick has criticised the government for not offering Nigel Farage a security meeting earlier, saying it has only happened “as a result” of the death of Ann Widdecombe.The Reform UK Treasury spokesperson claimed ministers had chosen not to give Farage the security “that he needed”, and had only agreed to arrange a meeting with the chair of the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), the body responsible for the security of high-profile figures, “as a result of Ann Widdecombe’s appalling murder”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Polish-Ukrainian solidarity over Russian threat undermined by bitter historical dispute 14. July 2026 (10:19) Kyiv’s decision to honour second world war fighters who killed about 100,000 Poles has revived simmering tensionsIn the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Polish-Ukrainian solidarity emerged as one of the most heartwarming subplots of the Kremlin’s brutal war. Millions of Poles, remembering their country’s own tragic history with Russia, mobilised to help Ukrainian refugees with food, shelter and support as they crossed the border in huge numbers to flee the conflict.Four years later, that outpouring of generosity and solidarity is a distant memory, as the two countries find themselves locked in a bitter dispute over history that has led to angry rhetoric, mutual mud-slinging and a threat from Poland to block Ukraine’s EU accession until it gets its historical house in order. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
South East Water to pay £30.5m penalty after multiple failures 14. July 2026 (08:45) Ofwat investigated supplier over supply interruptions, customer failings and for breaching its licenceSouth East Water will pay £30.5m after a series of supply interruptions, customer failings and for breaching its licence, regulator Ofwat has confirmed.The watchdog said the redress package concludes three investigations into the supplier and includes a previously proposed £22m fine for water supply failures between 2020 and 2023 affecting more than 286,000 people. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
