15 July 2026, in sixty words

Elon Musk has bought APR Energy, a company that runs mobile gas and diesel turbines, for over $1 billion.

Keir Starmer praised England's football team following their World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina during his final session as an MP.

England's run at the World Cup has ended at the semi-final stage after a narrow defeat to Argentina in Atlanta, 2-1.

A serious security flaw in Zoom's Windows desktop, VDI, and Meeting SDK clients could let an unauthorised person take over user accounts.

On Wednesday, British pubs anticipate dispensing six million more pints because England will compete against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.

Apple has discreetly issued new regulations for its forthcoming Maps advertisements, anticipated to debut in the US and Canada this summer.

ASML has increased its full-year sales outlook for 2026 to between €43 billion and €45 billion.

Thomas Tuchel has made three changes to his starting line-up for the match against Argentina.

Donald Trump referred to Burnham as “the mayor of a town” before calling him “extremely liberal” during comments about the politician.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri thinks Meta might need to limit how much engineers spend on AI prompts and responses.

Keir Starmer defended his two-year tenure as Prime Minister during his final Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is expected to appoint Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as chancellor, according to the Financial Times, with one source describing the decision as nailed down.

Lionel Messi will finally play against England in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, despite making his Argentina debut 21 years ago.

Google has announced a new version of its Gemma AI model, designed to run directly on the Pixel 10's TPU.

Stripe, a payments company, and Advent International, a private equity firm, have jointly proposed to purchase PayPal Holdings Inc for a sum exceeding $53 billion.

Google and Epic Games have dropped their attempt to settle a lawsuit, meaning Google must now allow other app stores inside its own.

Qantas will begin its Project Sunrise non-stop flights between Sydney and London in October 2027, covering about 17,000km in up to 22 hours.

James Watt has made another offer through his new company, Second Best, after his earlier attempt to buy BrewDog failed in March.

Overnight Russian attacks across Ukraine killed eight people, including three fatalities from a substantial drone and missile assault on the Black Sea port of Odesa.

Angharad Williamson, who received a life sentence in June 2022 for killing her five-year-old son Logan Mwangi, is requesting a review of her case.

The EU's General Court ruled that "OPENAI" is too descriptive for some software and IT services, meaning it can't be trademarked there.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, stated he would have rescheduled an encounter with Nigel Farage if he had known of a £5 million donation.

Reform UK wants to provide all 650 MPs with round-the-clock protection, a plan estimated to cost up to £100 million.

Labour's work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, said the government will focus on helping health and disability benefit claimants into work.

New proposals suggest that members of the House of Lords who do not attend regularly enough could be removed from Parliament.

Police in south London have apprehended a man following an alleged threat to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, made in a social media post on X.

Keir Starmer faced his final Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday before stepping down as the UK's prime minister.

The UK government has launched a new "Know the Signs" campaign, backed by bereaved families, to warn holidaymakers about methanol poisoning.

Tesco will close its Express convenience stores across England at 7:30 PM on Sunday if England beats Argentina and makes it to the World Cup final.

England will face Lionel Messi for the first time in tonight's World Cup 2026 semi-final against Argentina.

Ukraine's drone forces say they struck 116 vessels in the Sea of Azov over nine days, targeting Russia's "shadow fleet." Russia's transport ministry is considering rerouting cargo from the area because of the increased attacks.

An Xbox user had their account deleted by Microsoft, causing them to lose 25 years of purchases.

Keir Starmer declared his political journey over during his last Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, receiving a standing ovation from MPs.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly asked for a new centre-back and an extra creative midfielder.

An attempted burglary occurred on Wednesday morning, shortly after Lamine Yamal helped Spain reach the World Cup final against France.

Jose Mourinho will step in to help Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior agree on a new contract, with his current deal ending next summer.

Pentagon leaks reported by US media suggested some key missile supplies could start running low if fighting with Iran lasted beyond 10 days.

Apple's new AI service, Apple Intelligence, has been officially registered by China's cyberspace regulator, clearing the way for its launch there.

The decision stopped the US government’s main watchdog from carrying out its yearly check of the fighter jet programme, ending a run that had lasted for more than two decades.

The mechanism is default settings, not a hard block.

Thames Water returned to a £113m post-tax profit after last year's 40 per cent bill rise, yet net debt hit £18.5bn and the company says its cash runs out in the fourth quarter.

Crowds crossed freely between Spain and Gibraltar after midnight on Wednesday as three centuries of frontier checks ended.

UK law sets minimum workplace temperatures but has no legal upper limit, even as some workplaces have topped 40C during recent heatwaves.

As of Wednesday, new regulations governing "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) services in the UK came into force, extending additional entitlements and safeguards to millions of consumers.

F1 teams will use hard, medium, and soft tyre compounds, coded C2, C3, and C4 respectively, for Round 10 at Spa-Francorchamps.

Reports indicate that Liverpool would commit €60 million ($69 million) for Japanese defensive midfielder Kaishu Sano, whose value has increased considerably.

Labour MP Jess Phillips said she once received more than 600 rape threats in a single night and now treats death threats as part of everyday life.

Two legal cases cited by the Crown Prosecution Service did not exist and were later linked to likely use of artificial intelligence.

Tuesday's inflation surprise says maybe: US stocks rallied on a softer consumer-price reading and Nasdaq futures climbed again this morning ahead of another key inflation report due today.

The company said it has enough funding until the end of the year but warned there’s still major uncertainty unless it secures fresh financial backing.

James Watt said he has made an offer to buy BrewDog back from Tilray Brands and wants former Equity Punks to get the same stakes they once held for free.

Markets expect UK interest rates to stay higher for longer, helping keep sterling close to its strongest level against the euro in more than a year.

England's World Cup semi-final match against Argentina carries the highest risk assessment of the tournament.

Arsenal faces a fresh injury concern after defender William Saliba hobbled off during France's World Cup semi-final match against Spain.

From next spring, 16 and 17-year-olds will be urged to stop using certain social apps between midnight and 6 am, with a default block.

The UK government has confirmed that a new pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles will begin in April 2028.

Scottish fire officials issued a warning for central, southern, and eastern Scotland starting on Wednesday and lasting until next Monday.

An international team is travelling to Greenland on a UK polar ship to investigate the speed at which thawing ice sheets influence crucial ocean currents.

Thames Water, the UK's biggest water company, returned to profit in the year to March after increasing customer bills.

Our planet's inner core grows by about a millimetre each year as molten iron freezes onto it, which powers Earth's magnetic field.

NASA has selected 41 commercial technology projects from 37 American companies to assist in creating solutions for forthcoming lunar and Martian expeditions.

England and Argentina are set to meet in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Atlanta.

France captain Kylian Mbappe said his team was too "sloppy" both technically and tactically during their 2-0 defeat to Spain in Arlington, Texas.

It's the latest move in the race with OpenAI and Google to put AI in schools, teachers first.

Some electric car owners are getting surprise parking fines even when just charging, because car park rules haven't caught up with EVs.

Lincolnshire County Council staff faced more confrontations and a business blocked a tip entrance due to frustration.

Consumers of heating oil whose orders were revoked and prices increased amid the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran are slated to receive restitution, according to the regulatory body for competition.

A cross-party group of MPs is urging the government to ban fast food chains from opening near schools and restrict junk food advertising.

A new report found that the UK's extreme weather is becoming increasingly normal, with 2025 being the hottest year on record.

Britain's aging dams, aqueducts, and canals need urgent upgrades to prevent flash floods, according to former environment secretary Lord Deben.

Sir Keir Starmer is holding his last Cabinet meeting and Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday as Andy Burnham closes in on the Labour leadership.

A Soviet nuclear submarine, the Komsomolets, which sank in 1989, is still releasing radioactive material into the Norwegian Sea.

A parasitic infection causing "explosive diarrhoea" has spread to 34 US states, infecting nearly 7,000 people, with Michigan being the hardest hit.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage revealed he receives about 30 death threats weekly, often via social media platforms such as TikTok.

Donald Trump indicated that US attacks on Iran could be extended next week, with power plants and bridges as potential targets.

France coach Didier Deschamps questioned FIFA's decision to appoint Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton after his side's 2-0 World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain.

Subaru is recalling more than 541,000 Crosstrek, Forester and Ascent SUVs in the US because their weight-rating labels contain incorrect information.

A British Airways plane experienced a technical fault upon landing at Gatwick Airport early on Wednesday, blocking the runway.

FIFA has announced a star-studded closing ceremony before the World Cup final on 19 July, featuring Tom Cruise, Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger and IShowSpeed.

Grape-Nuts cereal is gaining attention for its health benefits, including being low in added sugar and high in fibre.

A huge 'tsunami cloud' recently slammed into a French beach, causing a sudden howling gale.

Over 500,000 individuals ceased paying the BBC licence fee during the last year, representing the most substantial decline recorded since the Covid pandemic.

Meghan Markle is scheduled to guest judge MasterChef Australia on Sunday, July 26, at 7pm local time.

Sunday's World Cup final is set to feature a half-time interval of 20 to 25 minutes, which exceeds the standard 15-minute duration.

A new experimental typography project called Ghost Font can hide messages from AI models, but humans can still read them.

Chinese startup StepFun launched what it claims is the world's first "agentic" AI smartphone, the StepX Neo, in Shanghai on Monday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly weighing up a reduction in the number of teams competing in the 50-over World Cup, from 14 to 12, potentially for the 2027 tournament.

Christie's and Global Citizen are holding an online charity auction called "One Goal" from July 22-29.

Nearly three-quarters of UK media stories about June's record heatwave failed to mention the climate crisis, new analysis shows.

A new BBC documentary discovered an online network where men secretly filmed women, including their partners, and shared the footage.

Robert Jenrick of Reform UK reported that Nigel Farage declined state-provided security, comprising a bodyguard, vehicle, and chauffeur, in the year prior.

The trade has been a main way for both sides to fund the fighting which started in April 2023, according to rights groups.

EU foreign ministers could not agree on a 21st sanctions package by July 13, risking Russia's oil price cap expiring by July 15.

Residents in Barton-upon-Humber are unable to water gardens due to a hosepipe ban, while leaks including a burst pipe remain unfixed in their street.