The war in Iran has taken a significant turn even as the memorandum of understanding to stop the fighting is supposed to be in progress.

Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the US, has carried out strikes inside Iraq against armed groups with ties to Iran.

Riyadh accused the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) of attacking its oil facilities.

The strikes have ignited fears of an escalation.

Now, the PMF is promising to retaliate.

And one of its factions has given the Iraqi government a week to respond to the Saudi attacks.

What could happen if it does not?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Ahmed Rushdi – President of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation, a policy think tank and research organisation

Ahmed al-Maimouni – Head of research at the Rasanah International Institute of Iranian Studies

Muhanad Seloom – Assistant professor in critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Country music’s emo cowgirl Megan Moroney canceled her Denver show just a few songs into her set on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old singer was barely able to get through her hits “Stupid,” “Medicine” and “Bless Your Heart” before she broke down in front of the Ball Arena audience and said she would need to nix the gig for health reasons.

A video on TikTok captured the moment Moroney broke the news to concertgoers. “I am obviously extremely sick, and I thought I did everything to make myself better, and obviously, two songs in, I just can’t play this show tonight,” Moroney said. “I will make it up to you guys. I absolutely promise I’ll be back. You’ll be able to come. But I want to give you guys the show you deserve. I’m probably gonna go cry in my dressing room now.”

Fans in the audience could be heard yelling, “No, you got this!”

In a since-expired Instagram story, Moroney apologized again and told Denver fans that the show had been rescheduled for Aug. 27, and that if they weren’t able to make the new date, their tickets would be refunded.

“I never ever will give you guys a show that is not 100% and by song 3 I knew that I was not capable of giving that to you tonight,” she wrote. “I’m typing this as I’m quite literally bawling my eyes out in my dressing room & it hurts me so much to disappoint you all.”

The country hitmaker said she had never had to cancel a show before.

In February, she released her third album in less than three years, “Cloud 9,” which features chart-topper “6 Months Later,” and duets with Kacey Musgraves and Ed Sheeran. The same month, as she geared up for her “Cloud 9 Tour” — which kicked off May 29 in Columbus, Ohio, and concludes Oct. 1 in Belfast — she told The Times that she copies Kenny Chesney when training for the run of back-to-back performances and life on the road.

“Lots of cardio,” she said. “Treadmill while singing. Lagree three to four times a week.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Lagree, Moroney said it’s “like Pilates but harder.”

“There’s a place in L.A. that killed me — I couldn’t walk properly after. If you do Lagree and an ice bath in the morning, then the worst part of your day is already over. That’s how I look at it: Anything that comes my way today will not suck as much as this sucks right now,” she said. “There’s also a diet of some sort — low sugar, no carbs, just meat and vegetables. I’m kind of copying Kenny and his routine because he gets in crazy shape. He does a freaking 31-day juice cleanse. I tried to do a juice cleanse in college, and by Day 2 I wanted to die. I’m not that committed.”

Moroney is slated to hit the stage again on Saturday at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., before she travels to Seattle, Sacramento and Los Angeles over the next two weeks. She is scheduled to play Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. on Aug. 8.

The high-stakes nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general has turned into a clash of wills between President Trump and two Senate Republicans whose political careers he claims credit for ending.

After a vote on Blanche’s nomination was delayed over concerns raised by two lame-duck Republican senators, the president said Thursday he might put Blanche’s nomination on hold rather than meet their demands.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) have indicated that they will vote to support advancing Blanche’s nomination only if the Justice Department provides written assurance that it has completely abandoned a controversial $1.8-billion “anti-weaponization” fund created as part of a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service and will limit the scope of tax audit immunity granted to Trump, his sons and a business.

Those provisions were part of a proposed settlement of a $10-billion lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, which is part of his administration.

“The opposition to such a high-ranking executive branch nomination from within Republican ranks is quite unprecedented,” said Phil Brest, who was a top Democratic staffer for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the nominations of Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Merrick Garland, who each served as attorney general.

The Senate careers of both Cornyn and TIllis are coming to an end this year after Trump declined to endorse them.

“John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”

But that decision brings about its own political risk.

With the president’s approval rating sitting below 35% in recent polls, Democrats could shrink or even reverse the Republican Party’s current 53-seat Senate majority this November. Cornyn‘s and Tillis’ seats in Texas and North Carolina are both at risk of flipping to Democrats.

“So waiting until 2027 could be far harder than it is right now,” said Jessica Taylor, the Senate and governors editor at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since Atty. Gen Pam Bondi was fired in April. He was previously the deputy attorney general and has been associated with some of the most controversial policies associated with the Trump administration, including the IRS settlement, the handling of the Epstein files and prosecutions of Trump’s perceived enemies.

Blanche can continue in the acting role even if he is not confirmed, but the Trump administration would be blocked from appointing a new deputy attorney general unless he is confirmed.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is vetting Blanche, told reporters Thursday that he is hoping to keep Blanche’s nomination on track.

“I’m going to work real hard the next few days to get this thing settled. That’s what we’re going to do. I’m not going to consider any other option, because there’s no reason to consider other options at this point,” Grassley said.

Because the Senate is scheduled to begin its five-week August recess at the end of next week, Blanche probably wouldn’t come before the full Senate for a vote until September at the earliest if the nomination advances out of the Judiciary Committee.

That would put the vote squarely in the middle of peak campaign season, which could present vulnerable Republicans such as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska with a difficult vote on a nominee who has been linked to many of the Trump administration’s most polarizing policies.

A vote against Blanche could incur the wrath of Trump, while a vote for him could turn off moderate voters.

“It’s a Catch-22 for a lot of these candidates. They still need Trump’s voters to come out, but they still need a swing vote as well,” Taylor said.

Blanche worked earlier in his career as a federal prosecutor in New York but was more recently Trump’s criminal defense attorney in the lead-up to his second term in the White House.

Blanche faced questions about his independence from his former client throughout his nomination hearing earlier this month. But his answer to one seemingly friendly question, about whether he and Trump are friends, might have inadvertently hurt his case.

“I’m his lawyer,” Blanche replied, before correcting himself. “Was his lawyer.”

The Judiciary Committee currently has 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. With all 10 Democrats firmly in opposition to Blanche, a vote against moving forward by Cornyn or Tillis would probably put an end to the nomination.

This isn’t the first time Tillis has wielded his political leverage during a high-stakes nomination process.

He briefly blocked the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh until the Justice Department dropped a lawsuit against outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“Sen. Tillis has been unafraid to use his vote to extract concessions from the Trump administration,” said Brest, who is now president of the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal nonprofit. “There’s a playbook for this and he has been effective with that playbook.”

BUENOS AIRES — After a bruising World Cup defeat gave way to what many Argentines saw as a sweeping wave of hatred against their country, Argentine President Javier Milei on Thursday signed an emergency decree empowering the government to deny entry to or expel foreigners who incite discrimination or violence against Argentines because of their nationality.

The measure adds new grounds to Argentina’s immigration law, allowing authorities to bar, deport and revoke visas of people found to have promoted hatred against Argentines in spoken or written statements or who have desecrated national symbols.

“In light of recent displays of hostility toward the Argentine Republic and Argentines, the national government reaffirms that the defense of the nation, its citizens and its symbols is non-negotiable,” the president’s office said. “Anyone who attacks the Argentine Republic is not welcome in our country.”

The move marks a sharp shift for a country that has long prided itself on welcoming immigrants. Argentina’s Constitution explicitly encourages immigration, and for decades the country has offered foreigners broad civil rights and relatively easy access to legal residency, public education and healthcare.

Milei’s office cast the decree as a response to weeks of criticism from celebrities, opposing fans and social media users after controversial refereeing decisions fueled speculation that FIFA had tilted the tournament in favor of the reigning champions and superstar Lionel Messi.

Condemnations of occasionally aggressive Argentine fans and the team’s roughhousing on the pitch soon broadened into attacks on Argentine society as a whole, amplifying long-standing criticism that Argentines view themselves as culturally and economically superior to their Latin American neighbors. Online petitions to expel Argentina from the World Cup drew hundreds of thousands of signatures.

The backlash intensified when Argentina players and staff became involved in a post-match brawl with Spanish opponents after the World Cup final.

FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, on Wednesday opened disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Assn. over the scuffle, as well as over alleged racist abuse and fan misconduct. Players also faced a FIFA investigation into their parading of a banner that asserted Argentina’s claim to the British-controlled Falkland Islands after the team’s semifinal victory over England.

Milei, a close ally of President Trump’s, has described the torrent of criticism as an “anti-Argentina campaign.” He alleged without evidence last week that the left-wing governments of Brazil and Mexico and the U.S. Democratic Party had financed the effort to stigmatize Argentina to discredit his libertarian government.

His accusations and insults triggered a diplomatic crisis with neighbor Brazil, which recalled its ambassador to Argentina last weekend.

Thursday’s decree says the punishments don’t apply to ideological disagreement or political, academic or civic criticism protected under Argentina’s Constitution.

But it leaves unanswered how officials will distinguish protected speech from prohibited hate speech, whether immigration authorities will review foreigners’ social media activity and how aggressively the new powers will be enforced against tourists and longtime residents.

Debre writes for the Associated Press.

July 30 (UPI) — The ABC network has accused the Federal Communications Commission of attempting to censor what it broadcasts by pressuring its local stations to apply for early renewal of their licenses.

In its regulatory filing, which is a response to the FCC’s request that ABC-owned broadcast stations reapply for their licenses, ABC alleged that FCC chair Brendan Carr’s criticism and actions at the agency have amounted to “attempted censorship,” Politico reported.

The network said in the filing that actions by the agency and Carr have been aimed at shaping news reports across the media in ways that violate U.S. Constitutional freedom of the press.

The FCC, in a statement on Thursday to The Hill, contended that it is operating in the public interest, based on what it said are “equal opportunity regulations” as it accused the network of operating “in the narrow or partisan interests of a political party.”

The Trump administration, and President Donald Trump, have long alleged that members of the media — print, online or television — who are critical or engage in satire of him during his two terms as president are violating federal law.

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” the network said in the filing.

“Across the government, regulatory and contracting carrots and sticks have been trained on other disfavored speakers,” ABC said. “The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely.”

Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori has been granted permission to challenge the UK government’s decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation at the Supreme Court.

HOLLYWOOD’S Jared Leto was accused of “aggressively harassing” and hitting on teen models 21 years before new sex assault claims emerged this week.

The Oscar-winning actor and singer, 54, allegedly approached and texted girls aged 16 and 17 when he was staying at a New York hotel in 2005.

Leto, then 33, was in town with his band 30 Seconds to Mars, and rumours quickly swirled about his behaviour.

A source alleged to the New York Post at the time that Leto was “hitting on” all the models — and the paper ran a story headlined: “Jared shows he’s a teen play.”

The insider had said: “He’s been approaching all the girls and inviting them to his shows.

“Girls from IMG, Elite, Next and Women are staying there, and Jared has been hitting on all of them.

‘CATEGORICALLY FALSE’

Jared Leto breaks silence on shock sexual criminal conduct claims

‘ALARMS GOING OFF’

Jared Leto forced me to touch him after luring me to motel when I was 17

“He’s a serial texter. He is constantly texting these 16- and 17-year-old girls. It’s really kind of creepy.”

The report also highlighted that Leto was spotted in New York with actresses Lindsay Lohan and Ashley Olsen, both 19 at the time.

Last year Leto, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a HIV+ trans woman in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, was accused of sexual impropriety by nine women.

He “expressly denied” all the allegations in that exposé.

This week, in BBC documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, four women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers.

The women — using the pseudonyms Isabel, Alex, Clara and Etta — said they were between 16 and 19 when the alleged acts took place.

Isabel claimed the star sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17 in 2002.

Alex alleged he threatened her with sexual assault in a hotel room in 2013 at age 19.

Clara claimed they had sex in California in 2006 when she was 17 and that Leto “shrugged off” a conversation about the state’s age of consent being 18.

Etta accused him of grooming her from 2014 at age 16, and made explicit phone calls to her.

Leto responded: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”

The “family fight” over setting the Fed Funds Rate that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh has desired resulted in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintaining its current 3.5% to 3.75% target at the second meeting under his leadership.

“I asked for a good family fight, and I got one,” he said at Wednesday’s FOMC post-announcement press conference. “That’s the purpose… Most of our discussions were on the big questions that matter to the conduct of monetary policy.”

The two-day fight addressed the impact of five years of high inflation on current policy, the effects of strained supply chains and resulting price increases, and the role of monetary policy and strategies in achieving price stability.

“There was nothing inertial about that discussion. It was an active, robust discussion about what’s in the full range of what we can do and might want to do in the period ahead,” he said.

Unlike June’s unanimous vote to maintain the FOMC’s target rate, Beth M. Hammack, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Neel Tushar Kashkari, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; and Lorie K. Logan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, voted to raise the Fed Funds Rate by 25 basis points.

The division nearly matched the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, which estimated a 68.5% chance the FOMC would maintain its rate and a 31.5% chance of an increase to 3.75%-4%, based on the 30-Day Fed Funds futures price.

Inflation Target

Acknowledging that supply chain shocks in energy and other sectors have kept inflation above the FOMC’s 2% target, Warsh noted that little could be done to cure inflation in the nine weeks since he became chairman or to achieve a month of modest price decreases.

“For some households, businesses, and market professionals, five years of high inflation have left a mistaken impression… that the Fed’s implicit inflation target was somehow above 2%,” said Warsh. “Let me reiterate: There is no soft inflation target. There is no soft implicit target. Not on this committee’s watch. There’s only a target, and it’s 2%.”

No Jackson Hole Preview

Keeping true to form, Warsh shared that he has not yet begun his speech for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in August, which has historically set the stage for what the FOMC would do in the second half of the year.

He said he would like to ask the “big questions” about what is happening to productivity, demographics, and the global economy amid the current economic shocks.

“I haven’t made a decision whether it’s going to be a big-picture speech or whether it’s going to be a more traditional setup for all the action we’re going to have between September and December,” he said. “I will tell you one other thing I’m doing between now and Jackson Hole. I’m checking in with those task forces [that I announced in June].”

SACRAMENTO — One of California’s most powerful labor unions declined to endorse a proposed state billionaires tax, a blow to its backers and a sign of simmering divisions on the left over the controversial ballot measure.

The executive board for Service Employees International Union California voted Wednesday to take a neutral position on the tax, which will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 40. It would impose a one-time, 5% tax on the assets of billionaires who resided in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.

In a statement, the 750,000-member union noted revenue from the “one-time tax proposal [is] dedicated 90% to healthcare,” echoing concerns from other unions opposed to the measure. Teacher, police and firefighter unions argue the tax would largely benefit the healthcare sector and fear it would destabilize the state budget and, along with it, services such as education and public safety.

SEIU California is a parent organization of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the union that crafted the measure and moved to put it on the ballot before securing broad support from other labor groups.

SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan said he pushed the tax to backfill an estimated $100 billion in cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs that California is expected to shoulder under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Trump last year.

“Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks. Now, millions of Californians are losing their health coverage, and millions more are being forced to pay skyrocketing costs,” SEIU-UHW Press Secretary Renee Saldana wrote in a statement to The Times.

Saldana pointed to an internal poll showing 70% of union members in California would support the billionaire tax, adding: “We’re confident that SEIU members will be joining millions of their fellow Californians and voting YES on Prop. 40 this November to protect healthcare, keep hospitals and clinics open, and stand with California working families.”

In negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, Regan offered to pull the tax from the ballot in exchange for concessions for his union, including help securing contracts at several medical facilities around the state, two sources told The Times. Regan denies making the demand, and said the proposal is meant to solve an impending “catastrophe in California’s healthcare system.”

Several unions and Democratic allies, including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, argue the one-time tax is the wrong solution for the cuts, which are unlikely to be reversed while Republicans hold power in Washington.

SEIU California said its members are focused on “a multi-year campaign to secure California’s fiscal foundation with ongoing revenue,” including an effort to tax large companies that pay wages low enough that their workers rely on public benefits.

Surrounded by members of the SEIU California executive board, Newsom this month signed a bill punting the “Fair Share” measure to next year, when a new governor will take office.

Some labor unions and elected Democrats worry that, in the long run, the proposed billionaire tax will hurt the state budget — which raises more money from wealthy people taxed at higher rates — by pushing rich Californians to move to other states.

Some already have. Google co-founder Sergey Brin last year moved to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe to preemptively avoid the tax, and has pumped $82 million into a committee fighting Proposition 40.

Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential contender, has begun arguing for a federal wealth tax that the rich could not escape by moving to a new state.

“You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,” he wrote on Substack in June. “The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.”

SEIU California on Wednesday also announced “strong opposition” to Proposition 39, a proposed voter ID measure; and Proposition 43, which would make it harder for local governments to raise taxes.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 30 (UPI) — The widespread destruction left behind by Israeli forces in Zawtar al-Gharbieh — the first U.S.-backed “pilot zone” in southern Lebanon — was beyond anything its returning displaced residents could have imagined, providing a glimpse of the devastation across the southern region and the extensive reconstruction needs ahead.

Situated in the central sector of southern Lebanon near the strategic Litani River, Zawtar al-Gharbieh represents the testing ground for the success of the pilot zones — the cornerstone of the U.S.-brokered framework agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel on June 26.

It was the first village designated by Israel to begin withdrawing its troops, allowing for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and return of displaced residents. Yet, it reveals the significant and complex challenges facing the process.

The residents rushed back to the village when the Lebanese Army moved in July 21, returning each morning and waiting at the entrance for five days before they were finally allowed to enter and inspect their homes and properties.

The army was carrying out security inspections of all homes and removing missiles and unexploded ordnance remaining from the Israeli military presence.

“We were shocked by the scale of the destruction. It was much, much more than we had expected,” Mayor Abed Ezzedine told UPI.

Ezzedine said Israeli forces “spared nothing,” destroying or damaging everything in their path — from homes and schools to places of worship, shops and the municipality building.

He said the water infrastructure was torn up, the electricity networks blown up and burned, and the village’s only water well destroyed.

“In this life, everything has limits. Even war should have limits,” he added. “They changed the face of the village beyond recognition.”

Some 250 housing units — representing up to 80% of the village’s homes — have been destroyed, while the remaining houses have suffered severe damage and are no longer habitable.

Several of Zawtar al-Gharbieh’s 4,500 to 5,000 residents were killed, including entire families, while others were injured as they fled Israeli attacks and advancing troops three months ago, according to Ezzedine, who said “they showed no mercy to anyone.”

Although Israel stopped targeting the village after the Lebanese Army deployment, he said its drones never left the sky, hoovering at very low altitude “over our heads.”

“What kind of cease-fire or arrangement this is?” Ezzedine asked rhetoically.

Very few residents were able to stay — those who were fortunate enough to still have one room in their homes standing and safe. However, they lacked the basic necessities to continue living, including water, electricity and even Internet access.

The vast majority, meanwhile, spent their days in the village and returned at night to their shelters.

Ezzedine struggled to locate his home among the rubble — one of 25 houses in his neighborhood that had been reduced to ruins.

The rapid reconstruction of Zawtar al-Gharbieh will be a key factor in determining the success of the pilot zones, easing residents’ suffering, restoring confidence in the Lebanese state and reducing the likelihood of them turning again to Hezbollah.

“We want to see action on the ground. This is a test of good faith,” Ezzedine said.

According to a Lebanese official source, the main obstacle is the lack of necessary funding.

The source emphasized that rebuilding the village is an important step in supporting Lebanon’s diplomatic approach and consolidating the success of the pilot zones.

He told UPI that the government faces two options: organizing a reconstruction conference for southern Lebanon, which would require considerable time, or quickly rallying support from friendly states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to rebuild the first pilot village.

However, success also largely depends on Israel, which has insisted that it will not withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon it is occupying — specifically its self-declared “yellow zone” — or from Gaza and Syria.

Lebanese and Israeli negotiating teams are scheduled to meet Aug. 4 to 5 to evaluate progress on the pilot zones, the U.S.-led verification mechanism and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from additional occupied Lebanese territories.

The official source told UPI that the United States, which does not want to have boots on the ground in southern Lebanon, would have to “find an acceptable formula for all parties” for the verification process, potentially involving countries such as Italy, France or Spain — proposals reportedly rejected by Israel — or others to carry out the mission.

The source confirmed Lebanon’s commitment to the framework deal, saying, “We will not back out of it,” despite knowing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not prepared to withdraw from southern Lebanon at this stage, ahead of the October 17 Israeli elections.

Netanyahu remained firm that the disarmament of Hezbollah is a precondition for Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

A well-informed source expects “tough negotiations” at next week’s Rome talks over the establishment of additional pilot zones, as Israel continues “its aggressions, infiltrations and systematic house demolitions” in violation of the framework agreement.

The Lebanese Army warned this week that Israeli aggressions are hindering completion of its deployment, delaying the return of displaced residents to their villages and undermining efforts to consolidate stability in southern Lebanon.

The source told UPI that the U.S. is exerting pressure on Israel, but “not enough,” adding that Israel “is trying to find an excuse” to withdraw from the framework agreement, which aims to end the nearly three-year war between Israel and Hezbollah and pave the way for peaceful relations between Lebanon and Israel.

There’s still no vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus as the country struggles for control in infected areas.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed more than 1,500 people, as the spread of the virus continues to outpace response efforts, new statistics have revealed.

DRC has now recorded 3,442 cases of the virus and 1,521 deaths, a government update said on Thursday. The data marks a 50 percent increase in the death toll over the past week, with authorities continuing to struggle to rein in the outbreak in the east of the country, where decades of conflict with rebel groups have left government control and infrastructure lax or absent.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that the sharp rise since last week partly reflects a backlog of cases and deaths that had not yet been confirmed or recorded.

The lack of a proven vaccine for Bundibugyo, which is the rarest of the four variants of Ebola known to affect humans, and the fact the epidemic is unfolding in an area of active hostilities between armed groups, producing a shortage of public health resources, has helped to allow the virus to spread “like wildfire”, a public health consultant who helped establish Africa CDC told Al Jazeera earlier this month.

Africa CDC added that delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, and mistrust from communities have hindered an effective response.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of cases, but five other provinces have confirmed cases, including one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighbouring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola on Tuesday following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said 63 percent of confirmed deaths in the last two weeks occurred outside treatment centres.

This is largely due to the “unsafe handling of infected bodies” by residents, including touching the remains of the deceased, whose bodies remain highly infectious.

Earlier this month, some healthcare workers in Ituri went on strike over unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions, which has also impeded efforts to hold back the disease’s rapid spread.

In Ituri’s Nyakunde health zone, international partners supporting the Ebola response had to temporarily relocate after a July 15 attack on a hospital and a treatment centre, prompted by a patient’s death. Officials said this disrupted surveillance, contact tracing and supplies.

Despite the accelerated death toll in DRC, the World Health Organization has said the risk of a global spread remains low because Ebola does not travel through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses.

Cases detected outside the DRC have so far been quickly identified and contained without leading to sustained transmission, the agency said.

KATIE Price has made a rare reference to her infamous feud with Victoria Beckham – 26 years after their war over Dane Bowers. 

During the latest episode of her podcast The Katie Price Show, the 48-year-old shared her surprising true feelings about Victoria, 52.

Speaking to sister Sophie, 36, Katie insisted she is completely over their fall-out and would even welcome the chance to bump into her. 

She said: “I’ve got no issue with Victoria. 

“There’s no feud between us. Well, I don’t know if she has one against me. If I saw her, I’d say hello, I haven’t got a problem.”

In 2000, when Katie was still working as her glamour model alter-ego Jordan, the famous women went to war over Katie’s then-boyfriend Dane, 46. 

INK WAR

Katie Price reveals Harvey, 24, is getting first tattoo but sister is horrified

bling back on

Katie Price puts her ring back ON and reads book about ‘lying to yourself’

After Spice Girl Victoria and Another Level singer Dane launched their solo careers, they teamed up with True Steppers for garage anthem Out of Your Mind. 

It was Victoria’s first single after Spice Girls split and Katie later confessed their close working relationship during the mammoth promotional trail for the track sparked insecurities about her relationship with Dane. 

Writing in her autobiography Being Jordan, she said: “I thought something was going on, I thought, ‘is he obsessed with her?’”

Katie also took aim at Victoria during interviews, criticising her for wearing a fake lip ring during performances with Dane. 

And Posh was no better during the catfight, firing back: “Jordan does full frontals with her crotch and t**s out and she says I’m a bad influence by wearing a fake ring? I think she’s vile.”

Things between the warring women came to a head when, according to Katie, Victoria turned mean girl when she visited the players lounge at Manchester United, where Posh’s husband David, 51, played at the time. 

Katie maintains to this day that, upon spotting her, Victoria launched into a rendition of Who Let The Dogs Out. 

In 2024 Katie dragged up the past during an episode of her podcast, saying: “I remember them days with Victoria Beckham.

“When she sang Who Let The Dogs Out at me in the Manchester United Lounge.”

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s activation of a long-dormant court to seek an Afghan woman’s deportation violates her constitutional rights, a defense lawyer argued Thursday at a hearing for the first case to be heard in the obscure court since its creation 30 years ago.

Attorney Matthew Farley urged the chief judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court to dismiss the case against Nazira Haji Zada and immediately release his client. Judge Joan Ericksen denied Farley’s requests but said Zada’s lawyers can renew them as the case proceeds in the nation’s capital.

“This entire scheme is in violation of due process and unconstitutional,” said Farley, an assistant federal public defender.

The court, established in 1996, had never received a petition until this month, when the Justice Department filed an application seeking Zada’s removal. The court has a specific authority to conduct deportation proceedings for individuals whom the Department of Justice classifies as “alien terrorists.”

FBI agents arrested her Tuesday at her Fort Worth home. She is not charged with any crimes.

An FBI memo dated July 15 said it “developed information” that she is an Islamic State supporter who had her children pledge their loyalty to the terrorist group. The memo says she “supported” a plot by relatives to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in the United States.

Court filings identify her as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men who were convicted in Oklahoma for their roles in the 2024 election day plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, was sentenced in November to 15 years in prison and court records show he previously agreed to be removed from the U.S. after his release.

Kunzelman and Tucker write for the Associated Press.

More than 1,500 migrants have reached Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta by sea over the past week, many swimming from Morocco using wetsuits and inflatables. Local authorities say reception centres are overwhelmed and have called for an emergency response.

Climate change has helped southern Europe’s likelihood of wildfires double since 1981, say researchers.

Southern Europe is “becoming more flammable,” with the number of summer days featuring conditions likely to produce fires having more than doubled since 1981, according to a new report.

The study, published on Thursday in the Scientific Reports journal, said that this “major intensification” of fire-prone weather is driven by climate change. It noted that these effects are especially pronounced in France and Spain, which have been battling some of their largest blazes since records began in recent weeks.

The steep increase in the frequency of fire weather – characterised by searing temperatures, low humidity, dryness, and strong winds – “can only be attributed to global warming,” said study co-author Raul Cordero.

European countries are enduring an above-average season for wildfires, and have already overtaken 2025, which was a record-breaking year for destructive blazes.

Cooling weather and rain helped to calm the worst of the fires in France and Spain on Thursday.

France told 84,000 evacuees in the southwest of the country that it was now safe to go home, as France’s largest wildfire since 1949 pulled back.

Spain ended its state of national emergency as wildfires threatening areas near Madrid – the largest Spain has experienced since records began in 1961 – began to come under control.

However, as high temperatures moved eastwards, fires were being fought in Greece, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom.

In Greece, two firefighters died on the island of Crete on Wednesday, the fire department said, as several fires started around the country, fanned by gale-force winds. Another died in a separate fire in the Peloponnese region as the blazes continued into Thursday.

“We have difficult days ahead of us,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

Firefighters in Turkiye have been battling at least 115 fires across the country, although at least 110 were under control, according to the country’s agriculture minister.

An enormous wildfire has forced evacuations and prompted road closures in eastern England. The fire at Dunwich Heath, a significant biodiversity site, is one of the largest the region has seen.

Educating Yorkshire is set to return to Channel 4 for a brand new series, with Headteacher Matthew Burton and the students of Thornhill Community Academy back on screens once again.

Channel 4 has confirmed that one of British television’s most celebrated documentary series is making its return.

Educating Yorkshire has been given the green light for a brand new run, and fans will be thrilled.

More than a decade on from its debut, the Channel 4 show that captured the hearts of the nation is heading back to Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where cameras will once again follow the staff and pupils navigating the highs and lows of school life.

The original series launched in 2013 and quickly became a cultural touchstone, with one moment in particular proving unforgettable – Headteacher Matthew Burton guiding a pupil with a stammer through his English literature GCSE poetry recitation in a scene that left viewers across the country in tears.

Burton, who remains at the helm of Thornhill, will be front and centre once again in the new series.

After more than a decade off air, the show staged a remarkable comeback in 2025, earning a BAFTA nomination and pulling in a staggering 8.7 million viewers across linear and streaming platforms.

People were quick to praise the show’s comeback at the time, with one person commenting: “This is brilliant!!”

Another added: “Im so over the moon this is back absolutely brilliant. Ive watched Mr Burton and Mushy episodes over again . Its been too long – welcome back . No doubt there will be lots of laughs and tears – love it love it love it.”

Someone else wrote: “I can not wait for the new series of Educating Yorkshire.” While another commented: “Omggggg is he back!?!? That teacher is the reason I want to teach in the first place.”

Channel 4 revealed that the programme attracted 8.7 million viewers across linear and streaming platforms, proving a particular hit with younger audiences and securing a 28% share of 16-34s.

The show has clearly left a lasting impression, with three in ten viewers aged between 16 and 34 saying Educating Yorkshire had inspired them to consider pursuing a career in education or youth work.

Grace Reynolds, Exec Producer, commented: “The extraordinary teachers and staff help the students navigate some of the most important years of their lives.

“While headlines often focus on the challenges facing teenagers today, our experience making the series tells a different story. Spend time in Thornhill and you’ll find resilience, compassion, ambition and optimism. If it reminds us of anything, it’s that the future is in remarkably good hands.”

No broadcast date has yet been confirmed for the new series.

Educating Yorkshire is available to watch on Channel 4.

WASHINGTON — With three months remaining until election day, there is now little the Trump administration can do to bring relief to Americans battered by years of stagnant wages and steep inflation before they hit the polls, experts say — complicating midterm campaigning for Republicans and sharpening the opportunity for Democrats to win back some control in Washington.

That’s in part because the Trump administration has very few levers to turn the tide in such a short period, and has shown little interest in using those it does have, experts said. Rather, President Trump has persisted in waging war in Iran and pushed forward with new tariffs on trade partners despite both contributing to soaring costs for food, gas and other basic necessities.

Other options, such as issuing rebate checks for consumers or releasing strategic oil reserves, would be costly in the long run, experts said.

“There isn’t much available on a 14-week clock that doesn’t cost more later than it delivers now,” said Patrick Harker, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday also declined to use its primary tool for reducing inflation — increasing interest rates — by instead holding rates steady. Trump had not supported a rate increase, instead pressuring the central bank to lower rates, which can lower borrowing costs but increase inflation.

Some factors driving up costs are virtually impossible to resolve in the near term, such as damage to oil refining capabilities in the Middle East as a result of the war in Iran. Others are already baked into pricing to come as a result of tariffs and fuel costs, including for groceries, experts said.

Incumbent parties often suffer midterm losses when voters are broadly pessimistic about the economy, as they are now despite remarkable resilience in the U.S. labor market and strong stock returns.

Consumer prices declined in June for the first time in six years, largely thanks to a decline in gas prices as the Iran war appeared headed toward a resolution — which is no longer the case.

New data Thursday showed the U.S. economy growing at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June. It also showed consumer spending and inflation slowing down. But slowing inflation has not meant lower costs.

As the Iran war entered its sixth month this week, average gas prices nationally climbed back above $4 a gallon. On Wednesday, the price of Brent crude oil rose to $90 a barrel as the U.S. and Iran carried out new strikes.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. However, Trump asserted Wednesday that the economy is strong — citing in part new U.S. automobile plants as evidence — while slamming the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

“They want to keep rates up, but we will fight through this,” Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event. “We have things that are going on in our country in the likes of which no one has ever seen.”

As Democrats have seized on the economy as the midterms’ defining issue, Trump has promised improvements but also called affordability concerns a “hoax.” Last week, he rejected the notion that he should rethink his unpopular Iran strategy because of the looming midterms.

“No, the election — I can’t think about that having to do with this,” he said before renewing attacks last week. “I think people are very impressed.”

Jonathan Nagler, a New York University professor who studies how the economy shapes politics, said it is impossible to predict how voters will feel about the economy three months from now, because there are so many variables.

But data make clear that “the better the economy is, the better the incumbent does,” and voters will blame Trump and his party for their economic woes if they persist, Nagler said — particularly with gas prices, which are “a non-trivial expense” that is “super directly tied to Trump.”

“Democrats can draw a very straight line from a decision by Trump to go to war with Iran, and gas prices rising. That is just very, very easy to explain to people in a pretty convincing way,” Nagler said. “Democrats can try to say, ‘Hey, there should be some accountability here.’”

Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, said inflation has compounded for years “to make the level of prices too high for too many,” and is clearly the biggest economic issue facing many Americans.

“And that’s not likely to change in the next few months, where you still not only have some of the spillover effects of the war in Iran to play out — most notably in terms of the fall harvest and food prices, which will go well into 2027 — but also just the on-again, off-again truces and the damages to refining capacities,” she said.

All of that is adding to “simmering” service sector inflation and Trump’s latest tariffs, which mean “more paperwork, more costs, and another bump in prices in the pipeline,” Swonk said.

Harker said the administration has no good options for bringing down prices by November. Reducing tariffs takes time to filter down to shelf prices, so that can’t offer a quick fix even if Trump were to decide to cut them, he said.

The biggest variable between now and November is energy, Harker said, and no economic tool allows the administration to control what happens in the Persian Gulf. Even if Trump’s war with Iran were to end, economists say it would take a significant amount of time for gas prices to come down.

The Fed could decide to raise rates in September, but Harker said that would take time to filter through the economy and would do “nothing” ahead of November.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to immediately “reverse the disastrous effects of [President] Biden’s inflation and rebuild the greatest economy in the history of the world,” one where “incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back, and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before.”

A recent CNN poll found that 65% of Americans believe Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country, while less than a quarter — 22% — said they had improved conditions, and that 67% believe Trump’s choices in Iran hurt the U.S.

The poll found Trump had a 34% approval rating, matching a career low from the end of his first term, and that his support fell even lower on key issues: to 28% on Iran, 25% on inflation and 21% on gas prices.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found most Americans aren’t feeling great about the economy — with 24% rating economic conditions as excellent or good, 41% rating them as “only fair,” and 35% rating them as poor. It also found that voters want candidates running for Congress in November to talk about economic issues.

Democrats see the poll numbers as an opportunity to win over swing voters, which becomes more urgent as the campaign enters its fall stretch.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) last week placed blame for rising costs squarely on Trump‘s tariffs, his “reckless war of choice” in Iran, and cuts to healthcare made in last year’s federal spending package.

Vidhya Jeyadev, a spokesperson for Majority Democrats, which is focused on growing the party, said Democrats now have an opportunity to bring in Republican voters disillusioned with the president’s handling of the economy.

“We need to tie what people are feeling day to day — rising rent, groceries, utility costs — directly to the choices that Trump and Republicans have made,” Jeyadev said.

Many Republican leaders have acknowledged economic challenges while defending Trump’s policy decisions.

They have broadly backed the war in Iran as a necessary step to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) recently defended Trump’s tariffs, too, acknowledging some sectors have experienced “challenges” as a result, but saying “all that’s settling out as we go into this election cycle.”

Swonk said some economic indicators do show a surprisingly strong economy that benefits the rich.

However, “there’s a reason people are upset, and that’s because inflation, much like stock returns, has compounded — but not everybody has stock returns. Everybody feels inflation. And that drives a larger wedge between the haves and the have-nots,” she said.

“What anyone really cares about is the prices that went up didn’t come back down, and their wages didn’t keep up with it,” Swonk said. “It doesn’t feel like you can do as many things as you once did. And that’s hard.”

Billy Ray Smith Jr. became embedded in the San Diego sports community as an exceptional linebacker who lived up to his billing as a first-round draft pick and played all of his 126 NFL games with the Chargers from 1983 to 1992, long before the franchise moved to Los Angeles.

Despite being Texas-raised and Arkansas-educated, Smith Jr. became synonymous with San Diego by spending the rest of his life in the sunny SoCal city as a sportscaster, radio host and big-hearted, larger-than-life personality.

Smith Jr. died Wednesday at age 64, his family saying in a statement that he “faced his long journey with dementia caused by CTE with unmatched bravery, dignity, and strength.”

“It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of our beloved Billy Ray Smith Jr., who passed away peacefully surrounded by family,” the statement said. “Billy Ray brought so much joy, light, and laughter to the world as a devoted father, husband, son, and loyal friend.”

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive brain disease characterized by mood disturbances and cognitive decline. It is linked to repeated head impacts and traumatic brain injuries, and has been found posthumously in numerous athletes in contact sports.

According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE cannot be diagnosed definitively during life. However, clinical criteria has been developed for traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), symptoms that occur together and are associated with CTE.

A diagnosis of CTE requires evidence of degeneration of brain tissue that can only be seen during an autopsy. Through 2022, the Boston University CTE Center studied the brains of 376 former NFL players and diagnosed 345 with CTE, a rate of 91.7%.

The list of former NFL players diagnosed with CTE includes another legendary Chargers linebacker, Junior Seau, who died in 2012 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 43. Smith played alongside Seau from 1990-1992.

Their friendship endured after Smith Jr. retired and moved into broadcasting. He was a speaker at Seau’s public memorial service.

Smith Jr. was born Aug. 10, 1961, in Fayetteville, Ark., the son of longtime NFL defensive lineman Billy Ray Smith, and grew up in Plano, Texas. The year he was born, his father registered a career-high 13.5 sacks for the Baltimore Colts.

Smith Jr. followed his father’s footsteps to the University of Arkansas, and was twice named a unanimous All-American and voted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The Chargers drafted Smith Jr. with the fifth overall pick in 1983.

He moved from defensive end to linebacker in San Diego and by 1987 was named the team’s most valuable player. Smith Jr. finished his career with 26.5 sacks, 15 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

He soon moved behind a microphone, teaming with Scott Kaplan on a popular radio show on the Mighty 1090, a station that went off the air in 2019.

“He loved being part of San Diego,” Kaplan told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Yeah, he was the fifth overall pick and he played 10 years and, yeah, was the face of the defense before he handed it off to Junior Seau. But he was the guy who never left San Diego.

“He was loved because people knew Billy Ray. It wasn’t like other star athletes; they knew him because they had seen his whole life, from the time he was in his early 20s, play out on local television. And he never left.”

Smith Jr. worked on TV as a sportscaster and sports director for KGTV while also making appearances on Fox Sports and local Chargers broadcasts.

He met his wife, broadcaster Kimberly Hunt, during a United Cerebral Palsy telethon while still a Chargers player. They married in 1990, had a daughter, Savannah, two years later and celebrated their 36th anniversary in June. Hunt, an Emmy Award winner, is currently in her 18th year as the KGTV news evening anchor.

The couple was active in charities for decades and this year was given the San Diego Nice Guy of the Year Award.

“Through decades of volunteer service and charitable leadership, Billy Ray has generously supported youth programs, veterans, healthcare initiatives, and numerous nonprofit organizations, helping strengthen the fabric of the San Diego community,” the San Diego Nice Guys said earlier this year.

“Together, Kimberly Hunt and Billy Ray Smith represent the very best of San Diego —individuals whose professional excellence is matched only by their kindness, humility, and dedication to improving the lives of others.”

Smith Jr. came to San Diego as a fearsome linebacker who made two Pro Bowls, yet he transcended football through his infectious personality and devotion to his adopted city.

“He had that big smile, that huge laugh, that rip-your-arm-off handshake,” Kaplan said. “B.R. did everything right. There was not one part of him that was a lie, a secret, not one skeleton in the closet. He really, really lived a life that he could be very proud of.”