Diplomats say de-escalation talks continue as Trump vows retaliation over US soldier deaths

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

The US military said it has launched its 10th consecutive round of strikes on Iran to force the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Monday, Iran’s president said the country is in a “full-scale war” after the US expanded its aerial campaign and Tehran struck Washington’s Gulf allies, even as diplomats said talks to de-escalate were continuing.

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© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images

Party manifesto pledged to honour existing North Sea exploration licences but not issue new ones

Andy Burnham risks his first confrontation with Labour MPs if he announces new oil and gas drilling licences when he becomes prime minister, insiders have warned.

Speculation is rife that Burnham will unveil fresh plans for drilling in the North Sea after he is installed in Downing Street.

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© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

Heatwaves, high energy prices, calls for reindustrialisation and North Sea drilling are all high on the to-do list

Wildfires cast a pall of smoke this week over Greater Manchester, whose former mayor Andy Burnham stands on the threshold of No 10. Amid three UK heatwaves so far this year, which have killed thousands of people in England and Wales, damaged harvests and left children crying in classrooms, the new prime minister’s plans for the climate crisis remain as shrouded as his city.

“Burnham has been very quiet about the climate [crisis] so far,” says Chris Venables, an environmental campaigner and fellow at the Green Alliance thinktank. “I don’t think [it] is at the forefront of his mind, but that does not mean he will water down this agenda.”

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© Photograph: Guy Bell/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Guy Bell/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Guy Bell/Shutterstock

The island nation of Mauritius signed the Artemis Accords July 17, becoming the 70th nation to do so in less than six years.

The post Mauritius becomes 70th nation to sign the Artemis Accords appeared first on SpaceNews.

A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.

A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.

Election deniers have spent years promoting the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. They believe Donald Trump’s speech finally proves them right.

Election deniers have spent years promoting the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. They believe Donald Trump’s speech finally proves them right.

Serbia is the latest nation to sign the Artemis Accords, joining the U.S.-led effort more than two years after signing on to China’s lunar base project.

The post Serbia signs the Artemis Accords appeared first on SpaceNews.

True the Vote is working with a Detroit pastor to produce a new documentary called Trap, based on claims that have already been thrown out in court.

“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.

The entrepreneur is known in Washington as the financial power behind the president’s crypto fortune. How did Sun’s business love-in with the Trump family spiral into dueling lawsuits?

The most infamous financial scandal in US presidential history – the 1920s Teapot Dome affair – involved then president Warren G Harding’s interior secretary, Albert Fall, taking roughly $400,000 in bribes. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $6m today. Last year, Donald Trump made at least $2.2bn; his single year of income is on the order of 200 to 300 times larger than the bribe that defined “presidential corruption” in the American imagination for a century.

It’s taken for granted that Trump flogs items like Bibles and gold sneakers as a way to wring more money from his loyal base. But of the president’s $2.2bn, at least $1.4bn came from his crypto businesses. That’s an extraordinary achievement, even for an unscrupulous sitting president. How exactly did he do it without any prior background in crypto?

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, to be the next chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, testified July 16 before the Senate Armed Services Committee in a confirmation hearing

The post Trump’s pick to lead Space Force defends plan to more than double budget appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Office of Space Commerce defended its proposal for a mission authorization scheme for novel space activities, arguing it would provide certainty for companies while limiting regulatory burdens.

The post Office of Space Commerce makes its case for mission authorization appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Trump administration has not disclosed its cost estimates for the Iran war.

The Trump administration has not disclosed its cost estimates for the Iran war.

All the young people the Guardian spoke to disagreed with aspects of the government’s proposed block

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds in Britain are to be encouraged to observe a midnight to 6am social media curfew but will be able to opt out by changing their account settings.

From next spring, they will be urged to refrain from using certain apps, with the block being switched on by default. But the curfew will not be mandatory and can be overridden.

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© Photograph: Cultura/Alamy

© Photograph: Cultura/Alamy

© Photograph: Cultura/Alamy

For months, artists and activists have been calling on the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to act on the AI boom as datacentres pop up around the country. Today he made a major speech at the University of Sydney addressing copyright, the regulation of datacentres and the future of AI in Australia

• 'Not up for grabs': Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright 'theft'

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© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

PM lays out plan for datacentre development and rejects prospect tech companies will be given free use of Australian data

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Anthony Albanese has promised “the strongest possible protection” for Australian creatives against misuse of their work by artificial intelligence models, warning it would be “theft” if writers, artists and musicians didn’t have control of their work or receive payment for its use.

Amid growing community concern about large energy-intensive datacentres, the federal government will also set strict new rules for the facilities, including where they can be built, that they shouldn’t compete for land with housing, their power and water use, and that they don’t increase electricity prices for consumers.

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© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

Erich Hernandez-Baquero, nominated to become the Air Force’s top civilian space acquisition official, and Roger Mason, the administration’s choice to lead the National Reconnaissance Office, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee

The post Space acquisition and NRO picks face SASC appeared first on SpaceNews.