Author: damazah@gmail.com

Strait of Hormuz could open ‘by tomorrow’: TrumpDonald Trump is speaking at an executive order signing at the White House, where he was asked where direct talks with Iran would take place.“You’ll find out today or tomorrow,” he said. “They’re going to go quickly one way or the other. It’s not very complex.”Trump said the strait of Hormuz could be open “literally by tomorrow”.“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearisation,” he said. “That’ll take a little while, but … we’re very strong on it.”Vessels in the strait of Hormuz, as seen…

A drone hit a busy beach in southern Russia, killing seven people including three children, local authorities have said.In social media footage verified by the BBC, a drone can be seen hurtling towards a cliffside before crashing into a fireball on the beach below as tourists look on from the shore and in the water.The total number of injured reached 40, with 17 people hospitalised, said the governor of the Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev.He accused Ukraine of “a deliberate strike on civilians”. Ukraine has not commented. Both sides deny targeting civilians deliberately.It is unclear what the drone was targeting. Some…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Imagine what it’s like being AstraZeneca boss Sir Pascal Soriot. The company you run is doing well — on track to beat a goal of $80bn of annual sales by 2030. A pipeline of almost 200 drug development projects looks pretty full. Yet something is missing: genuine global heft. Time, perhaps, to do a megadeal.Why else would AstraZeneca be considering a merger with Bristol Myers Squibb, as the FT reported over the weekend. After all, Soriot doesn’t need to go shopping to plug…

The European Union has ushered in some additional rules that aim to make it easier for people to identify chatbots and AI deepfakes online. The new transparency obligations under the bloc’s landmark AI Act came into effect on August 2nd, requiring companies to disclose when people are interacting with AI models, and if content has been generated or altered by them.The transparency rules differ between providers (companies that develop and market AI systems) and deployers (platforms and services that use those AI systems), though some companies like Meta and SpaceXAI are classified as both.Providers must design AI systems to explicitly…

Authorities in the Midwestern state of Michigan say that two people who died had underlying conditions.Published On 3 Aug 20263 Aug 2026Authorities in the US state of Michigan say that they have confirmed the deaths of two people in a cyclospora outbreak, the first fatal cases of a disease related to the microscopic parasite recorded in the United States.The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that both individuals had significant underlying health conditions and had been affected by intestinal illness and dehydration.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“This development highlights the importance of identifying the…

Shareholders of the largest pharmaceutical company in Nigeria, Fidson Healthcare Plc, approved a dividend of ₦1.50 per 50 kobo ordinary share, amounting to ₦3.6 billion, at the Company’s 27th Annual General Meeting held virtually on Thursday, 30 July. The approval comes against the backdrop of a year in which the company achieved key milestones in its growth trajectory. It also coincides with the one-year anniversary of the smooth transition of leadership at both the Board and Management level — a transition shareholders acknowledged as a testament to Fidson’s strong corporate governance culture and succession planning. It also reflects shareholders’ confidence…

The open letter was signed by a number of figures who have played concerts or broadcast from the observatory, including guitarist Johnny Marr, electronica pioneer Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk, the bands New Order, Elbow and Doves, comedian Dara Ó Briain and poet laureate Simon Armitage.It stated Jodrell Bank was “an icon in UK cultural and scientific history”, which was the “thriving, thumping heart of space observation, research and education in the UK”.”This beacon of science is more ambitious than ever, with exciting plans already under way that will ensure the UK’s relevance and leadership in the rapidly evolving domain of…

Serena and Venus Williams are set to play at the Cincinnati Open after being awarded a wild card for the women’s doubles draw. Serena made a sensational return to tennis during the grass-court season after almost four years out of the professional game, but the 44-year-old suffered a knee injury during a first-round singles loss which led to her and Venus withdrawing from the doubles at the All England Club. Serena played doubles in London at Queen’s Club and at the Berlin Open – but not alongside Venus on either occasion – as she prepared for Wimbledon. Venus, who turned…

Comedian Jimmy Cricket has died aged 80 after a short illness, his family said.In a statement posted to social media they said Cricket spent his last few days surrounded by his family, love, laughter and songs.”Forever our clown, he was cracking jokes to the wonderful NHS staff and to us all, right until the end. His courage, dignity and positivity through all he endured was inspirational,” they added.The comedian, from Northern Ireland, became a household name in the 1970s.James Joseph Mulgrew was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone in 1945, Cricket left school at 16 and started the summer season of…

The controversial designer John Galliano is to get an unvarnished retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York next May.Galliano, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential designers of the past four decades, was exiled from the industry in 2011 after he was filmed making a series of racist and antisemitic comments. He was fired from his position as creative director of Dior, a post he had held for 15 years, condemned by the media and later convicted and fined by a French court.At the time it was questioned whether the British…