"Uncertainty and anxiety" amid Middle East escalation

Plus, ousted defense minister lays bare rift at heart of Ukraine's war effort.

Go beyond the headlines with Reuters on the stories shaping the day. Subscribe for $1/week. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Claire Beers Hello. Iran launches fresh attacks after sixth day of US strikes, Trump's fiery China allegations may threaten superpower truce and Xi pitches China as leader of new global AI order, challenging US dominance. Plus, ousted defense minister lays bare rift at heart of Ukraine's war effort. Today's Top News   A billboard depicting President Trump laid in a coffin is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran. REUTERS/WANA/Majid Asgaripour Iran said it launched fresh strikes on US facilities in the Middle East, including the first direct attack in Syria, after a sixth straight night of US strikes on Iranian military facilities. A new wave of US attacks on Iran has plunged Iranians back into deep uncertainty and anxiety after a period of relative calm while a shaky ceasefire held. Iranians contacted by Reuters said economic problems were mounting and they were consumed by worries over what will happen next. President Donald Trump's renewed accusations that China meddled in US elections could complicate his fragile truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping just two months before a planned summit in Washington. White House Reporter Bo Erickson tells the Reuters World News podcast why the data Trump is declassifying is less alarming than it sounds. Andy Burnham, nicknamed the 'King of the North,' will become leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, the final ‌step before becoming its seventh prime minister in a decade on a pledge to thwart the rise of the populist Reform UK. Heavy smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada enveloped a swath of the US from the Midwest to the Northeast, prompting warnings from officials that residents should stay indoors wherever possible ‌and avoid the acrid, unhealthy air. The Trump administration moved to tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists. The new rule caps student and exchange visas at four years and journalist visas at 240 days. Seven American aid workers who had been in Congo to fight ‌the Ebola outbreak are quarantining at an isolation facility in Kenya after the US government introduced new travel restrictions, the head of a US charity employing them told Reuters. Business & Markets   The British Red Arrows display team flies at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, Britain. REUTERS/Toby Melville Spiraling security risks are expected to push defense to the forefront of Britain's Farnborough Airshow, as aerospace and arms makers struggle to keep pace with demand for weapons while cementing a fragile recovery in civil jet and engine production. Chinese President Xi Jinping cast Beijing as the champion of a new global AI order, using China's premier tech conference to promote open-source technology and challenge US influence over ‌the rules governing the fast-moving sector. SpaceX's Starship rocket triggered a last-second abort before liftoff for its flight ‌test on Thursday as some of its 33 engines failed to start. Shares of SpaceX fell ⁠about 3% in aftermarket trading following the scrubbed launch. US-based Cal-Mex food chain Chipotle opened its first restaurant in ‌Mexico on Thursday. Chipotle's entry into Mexico follows two unsuccessful forays by fast-food chain Taco Bell, whose efforts were rebuffed ‌as locals snubbed their offerings in favor of authentic Mexican products. The works council of German carmaker Volkswagen said it will host extraordinary staff assemblies in August with CEO Oliver Blume, allowing workers to grill him on plans that threaten up to 140,000 jobs. Ousted defense minister lays bare rift at heart of Ukraine's war effort   Ukraine's Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alina Smutko An extraordinary outburst by outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov laid bare a rift at the heart of Ukraine's war effort, pitting a new guard pushing technology as the way to defeat Russia against the head of the armed forces. The 35-year-old, who was ousted this week in a government overhaul just six months into his job, aimed ‌a blistering tirade at General Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he accused of stirring up intrigue, blocking his initiatives and sabotaging his work. It is the first time the tensions have burst into the public eye. Read more And Finally... Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park. REUTERS/Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society Scientists have identified a new species of monkey in Democratic Republic of Congo's rainforest. The discovery marks only the fifth new monkey species identified in Africa in the last ⁠75 years. Read more   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

Americans are angry about data centers

Plus, Iran warns Strait of Hormuz is a 'red line'.

Go beyond the headlines with Reuters on the stories shaping the day. Subscribe for $1/week. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. Iran warns the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line", SpaceX shares dip in an ominous sign, and protests break out in Ukraine over its ousted defense chief. Plus, Americans are angry about data centers. Today's Top News   A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer War in Iran Iran said that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable "red line", warning that if US President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran's infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region. Pentagon Correspondent Phil Stewart explains how far the US escalation might go on the Reuters World News podcast. Recent waves of US strikes on Iran aimed at forcing open the Strait of Hormuz are also targeting Iranian military capabilities the US would want to destroy before executing more complex operations against ‌Iran, three US officials said. US Vice President JD Vance said some members of the Israeli government had tried to influence US public opinion to oppose a deal by the US to end the war with Iran, in a podcast episode with host Joe Rogan. In other news Trump's attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, faced tense bipartisan questioning at a US Senate panel about the rollout of the Epstein files and a settlement that gave the president sweeping tax immunity. When ICE fatally shot a man at a traffic stop in Maine, it created a crisis for Republican US Senator Susan Collins, who finds herself at odds with her party as she's seeking reelection. Toronto's air quality ranked the worst among major cities globally as wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario blackened skies and spread into the northeastern United States, ‌prompting health warnings and calls for residents to limit outdoor activities. Protests erupted in Ukraine over the dismissal of the reforming defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, as lawmakers prepared to vote on a new government at a ‌critical point in Kyiv's conflict with Moscow. Here's all you need to know about Fedorov.  An earthquake of magnitude ‌6.3 struck near the town of Te Anau in New Zealand's South Island, prompting the authorities ⁠to issue a tsunami warning.  Business & Markets   A drone view shows ships and containers at the Port of Santos, in Santos, Brazil, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli  The US will impose a 25% tariff ‌on most imports from Brazil starting July 22, the US Trade Representative's office said on Wednesday, the first action under the Trump administration's new tariff strategy that could eventually affect dozens of countries. The dip in SpaceX's shares below its blockbuster IPO price of $135 a share is an ominous sign ‌for Elon Musk's internet and rocket company as it faces more potential volatility in early August, when the number of shares available for trading on the Nasdaq stands to increase significantly. As renewed conflict in the Gulf drives up oil prices, airline investors and industry executives see mounting signs that Europe's financially weaker carriers may be headed for a shakeout. In China, amid both a bleak labor market and a protracted property slump, consumer loan defaults have soared to record highs, and analysts expect the situation to worsen as lower-income Chinese in particular sink deeper into debt. Uber launched a public takeover offer for Delivery Hero that values the German food delivery company at $14.8 billion and ‌would create the world's largest food-delivery firm outside China. Americans are angry about data centers. Politicians are feeling the pressure   A view of the "Saline Barn" Data Center under construction in Saline Township, Michigan. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its corn and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project — one that has turned this town of 2,400 people into the latest US flashpoint over AI data centers. Dubbed "The Barn" by its consortium of developers — Oracle, OpenAI, Related Digital, Blackstone and Walbridge — the Stargate data center is expected to stretch over ‌250 acres. Construction is moving ahead despite resistance from residents concerned about its impact on Saline’s water supply, its power grid and its rural character. Read more And Finally... Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin react during the England v Argentina FIFA World Cup Semi Final match in their World Cup Watcher Box located in Times Square. REUTERS/John Sibley World Cup fanatics Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin have lived the dream of any diehard football fan this year: watching every match from the ‌tournament from start to finish — and getting paid for it. The "Chief World Cup Watchers" for US broadcaster Fox One will add a unique item to their resumes when the final whistle sounds in the final between Spain and Argentina, having watched all 104 matches from the quadrennial showpiece. Read more   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036