World ✳
A NATO jet reportedly shot down a Russian drone — here's what's actually confirmed
One report says a Romanian jet downed a suspected Russian drone. Before the escalation talk: what is confirmed, and what isn't.
World
Geopolitics beyond the usual borders.
World ✳
China Retaliates on Russia Sanctions — and Opens a Front With Brussels
Beijing hit 14 EU entities with export controls and called it payback for Europe's newest Russia sanctions — opening a second, major-power front in the sanctions war, though the details that decide whether it bites remain undisclosed.
World ✳
The Gulf offramp is gone: US strikes hit a 13th night as oil breaks $100
The floated 10-day ceasefire has not held: US strikes reach a 13th night, Trump threatens a 'bigger' offensive, and oil above $100 turns a regional war into a worldwide price shock.
World ✳
One Signature, 60 Countries: Trump's New Tariff Wall Goes Up
Trump's new tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 countries replace levies expiring Friday, recast as a crackdown on forced-labour imports after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier measures.
World ✳
Trump puts a price on the Saudi nuclear deal: recognise Israel first
President Trump said the agreement to help Saudi Arabia build civilian nuclear power will proceed only if Riyadh normalises relations with Israel. In one sentence, an energy pact became a lever on the Middle East's biggest unfinished deal.
World ✳
The US just signed its Saudi nuclear deal — here's what actually changed
Washington and Riyadh stopped talking about a nuclear deal and signed one. The signature reshapes who Washington trusts with the world's most sensitive technology — and the fine print nobody has published yet is the whole story.
World ✳
Washington moves to let Saudi Arabia enrich uranium — and unsettles the region's nuclear order
The United States is preparing to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own soil. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists it won't fuel proliferation. Israel and non-proliferation experts are not reassured — and the deal lands while a Gulf war is under way.
World ✳
US imposes 50% tariff on $20bn of Canadian goods; Carney says Canada 'won't bow down'
President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to say Canada would not 'bow down' as a new North American trade conflict opened.
World ✳
Ten nights of strikes, one offramp: mediators float a 10-day Gulf ceasefire
The US-Iran exchange has entered its tenth consecutive night as Houthis threaten Saudi shipping, yet mediators are pushing a 10-day ceasefire — the first concrete offramp in a widening Gulf war.
World ✳
Houthis declare immediate 'maritime embargo' on Saudi Arabia
Yemen's Houthi movement announced an immediate maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports and airports, per the BBC. The declaration raises the threat to shipping across the Red Sea and the Gulf.
World ✳
400 drones over Moscow, 10 dead near Odesa: the long-range front reopens overnight
Ukraine sent more than 400 drones toward Moscow on July 20, hours after a Russian strike on a ship near Odesa killed 10. Read as it is being sold, this is escalation. Read carefully, it is the same war, louder.
World ✳
The Gulf war jumps the strait: Kuwait and Bahrain now under Iranian fire, US strikes hit ninth night, Brent tops $90
Kuwait says it is intercepting Iranian drones and explosions have been heard in Bahrain, drawing two more Gulf states directly into a conflict that until now centred on Israel, Iran and US forces. US strikes continued for a ninth straight night and Brent crude broke $90.