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German Approval Sparks Security Concerns Over French Russian Nuclear Project
The planned joint venture by a subsidiary of French company Framatome and Russia's state-owned nuclear power agency Rosatom is aimed at producing fuel rods used in Russian-designed reactors.
US Will Bomb Bridges, Power Plants If Iran Shoots At Ships In Hormuz: Trump
Trump said that it does not matter if the attack is by a missile, rocket or drone; the United States will "bomb and destroy" a bridge or power plant near Iran's capital -- Tehran.
Thundering warning sounds as 'lifeline for global oil' under siege again: 'All or none!'
Iran's chief negotiator dropped a bombshell Wednesday, warning that if Iran cannot export a single drop of oil, then no one else in the region will either, according to The New York Times.Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's Parliament, fired off the threat on X. "The equation of this war is clear: either all or none!" Ghalibaf wrote.Ghalibaf doubled down, insisting the Strait of Hormuz — a lifeline for global oil — will never go back to how it was before the war. "If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe," he wrote, adding the Strait will stay unsafe as long as American forces stick around."We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to pre-war conditions," he wrote.The waterway between Iran and Oman has remained closed amid the military conflict. Roughly a fifth of global petroleum shipments pass through it daily.President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would target civilian areas, including a bridge or power plant near Tehran, in retaliation if Iran strikes more ships in the strait.
Questionable Trump insider's rise began with a 3 a.m. ham-and-swiss sandwich: report
President Donald Trump's relationship with peace envoy Steve Witkoff started in an unusual way — over a deli sandwich, according to a Slate report on Wednesday.Journalist and author Andrea Bernstein described her encounter with Witkoff, the Trump insider, whose financial ties have come under scrutiny as he works as "Special Envoy for Peace Missions." "He looks like a grandpa, and sounds a little like a Jewish sidekick in a Pixar movie," Bernstein wrote. "I’d known of him as a New York real estate mogul from covering Trump’s first presidency, and New York politics and real estate before that, but only vaguely. One day, I leaned forward to ask Witkoff what brought him to the courtroom that day. He told me he’d come for his friend. That word stuck with me: friend."That friendship started in the 1980s, around 3 a.m. in New York City, Witkoff has said.“And he was—I knew who he was. He didn’t know who I was. And he didn’t have any money with him, and I was ordering from a local delicatessen for the people who were on my team. And he asked me if I would order him a ham-and-Swiss sandwich,” according to the report. "Witkoff did. Years later, when the two ran into each other again, Witkoff said, 'he actually remembered who I was, and remembered the sandwich incident. And we just, you know, had just developed a, you know, a friendship as a result of it.'”That relationship eventually led him into Trump's administration. Since then, a number of questions have surfaced over Witkoff's business dealings amid his negotiating role representing the Trump administration with Ukraine and Russia, and in the Middle East."The Iranians see Witkoff’s business ties to the UAE, and Jared Kushner’s ties to the Saudis, not to mention Israel, as cause for deep suspicion as well, people familiar with Iranian negotiators told me," Bernstein wrote. "Saying that Kushner 'is a volunteer' with a 'record of success in helping the President,' Kelly maintained that 'his private business activities have nothing to do with the President or the administration.'""Even in Witkoff’s earliest encounters, 'there were concerns about Witkoff business ties,' including his earlier dealings with Qatar and the UAE, said Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat who moved to the U.S. and became a scholar at Princeton University," Bernstein wrote. "'They knew he had close ties to Netanyahu.' The Iranians believed that 'Witkoff had meetings with high-level Israelis before and immediately after' he met with them, Mousavian said."The White House has denied any conflicts of interest."Mr. Witkoff, like all Administration officials, takes seriously his compliance with the government ethics rules," the White House counsel, David Warrington, told Slate. "As Special Envoy for Peace Missions, he has not and does not participate in any official matters that could impact his financial interests. He has also divested from World Liberty Financial, notwithstanding his ability and willingness to recuse."
Trump trade envoy grilled about ‘tariff spree’ and price rises for Americans in Senate hearing – US politics live
Jamieson Greer faces senators’ questions about latest round of tariffs and impacts on cost of living of Trump policiesSign up for the Breaking News US emailA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog.Donald Trump took to Truth Social a short while and noted that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant, including those near Tehran, “any time” that Iran “shoots a ship” in the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...
Woman, 70, charged with murder of British expat Karen Carter in France
Public prosecutor for the region said suspect had been initially arrested shortly after the murder on 29 April last yearA 70-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of Karen Carter, the British expat found dead in south-western France last year, according to reports.According to the Dordogne Libre and others, the woman was charged on 2 July with Carter’s murder in Trémolat, in the Dordogne, and is “under judicial supervision”. Continue reading...
'To be honest': MAGA lawmaker sparks fury with shrugging statement on dead troops
A Republican's shrugging comments about fallen U.S. military service members were criticized on Wednesday amid growing unpopularity over the Iran war.Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) was talking to CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer about recent polling showing that Americans are opposed to the conflict, despite President Donald Trump's remarks that Americans are in favor of the war. Trump had defended the military strikes before heading to the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for four military members killed in recent days.Journalist Aaron Rupar shared the exchange on X and quoted Gimenez in a manner highlighting a significant word in his statement: "My heart goes out to the families of those four, but ... "That "but" rankled with Rupar's readers. Patric Reynolds, comic book artist and progressive political commentator, wrote, "There should be no 'but' after that,"Liberal political commentator Trish Crawford raised her concerns over what Gimenez said."I’ve started to view all of the words in a sentence that come before 'but' as untruthful" Crawford wrote on Bluesky. "The heart of the statement comes after."Giminez followed up his comment by explaining, "At the end I think the best way to honor the dead... is to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Anything short of that, for me, is failure, to be honest with you." Georgetown professor and political commentator Steve Vladeck took a sarcastic tone when he quoted a famously inaccurate speech in the movie "Animal House" meant to inspire drunken frat boys to sabotage a parade. "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?'” he wroteMason, a political commentator and user who self-describes as a veteran and an independent, wrote on X."We just need a Hiroshima or a Nagasaki, right Carlos?" he wrote.BLITZER: How do you explain the disconnect between what the president says and how Americans feel according to almost all of these most recent polls?REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ: Prior to World War 2, 85% of Americans were not in favor of entering that war, and then it all changes pic.twitter.com/iwmzGQStEk— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2026
US-India Trade Deal Could Be Signed In 3-4 Months, US Official Says
Washington and New Delhi have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement to expand market access and lower trade barriers as part of efforts to deepen economic ties.
Scottish Labour’s rivals decry ‘chancer’ Anas Sarwar for resigning to join Andy Burnham’s government
New prime minister plans to make Sarwar – the first senior Labour figure to call for Keir Starmer’s resignation – a peerScottish Labour’s rivals in Holyrood have slammed Anas Sarwar’s shock decision to resign as leader to sit in Andy Burnham’s new government, calling him a “chancer” and accusing him of lying to voters.The prime minister plans to make Sarwar – who was the first senior Labour figure to call for Keir Starmer to resign – a peer and give him a ministerial post at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Continue reading...
US Plans To Announce Nuclear Agreement With Saudi Arabia Amid Iran Tensions
The move comes as Washington fights a war with Iran that began in part over US concerns with Tehran's own nuclear program -- an issue that remains a key point of contention during now-stalled talks between the two foes.
Man killed in ICE ‘encounter’ was on vacation in US with tourist visa – reports
Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán ran into traffic and killed by semi after federal officials approached him at Florida gas stationThe Mexican man who was hit and killed by a semi-truck in Florida when running away from federal immigration officials was vacationing in the US with a tourist visa, according to news reports this week.The 28-year-old, Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, was killed on 14 July after an “encounter” with federal officials, including those with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a state highway patrol spokesperson said last week. Continue reading...
Trump’s war on Iran is unpopular and expensive. He’s perfectly OK with that
Trump’s response to the Iran war’s mounting death toll and astronomical costs? ‘It won’t have any impact on me’This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayCould it be … that Donald Trump isn’t a team player?The midterm elections are less than four months away, and Republicans in the House and the Senate – hampered by a deeply unpopular president and what might be an even less popular war – are increasingly fearful of losing their jobs. Even Trump’s base is beginning to turn against the conflict. Continue reading...
