UK - This year will go down in history as the year of the wildfire, here and on the Continent. Net zero zealots will ensure that the historical narrative is all about climate change. But that isn’t the whole story. Fires will always break out. There are so many causes, from natural ones such as lightning to broken glass in the undergrowth, from careless barbecues and firework displays, to outright arson. The issue is whether they burn out of control, and how easy it is to contain them. That depends on the fuel load – a doubling in the quantity of dry vegetation quadruples the intensity of the fire, which may then go down into the peat. It also depends on the design of the landscape – whether there are adequate fire breaks. In Southern Europe they are realising that wildfires have been raging through areas that were once grazed but have since been abandoned by an ageing population no longer content to be peasant farmers. Formerly it was an offence in many countries for landowners not to maintain fire breaks by spraying. Now, under pressure from Greens, the rules have been relaxed in many areas, and chickens are coming home to roost with their wings on fire.

USA - Government-run lab admits ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Mythos went on hacking spree during trials. Cutting-edge AI went on a hacking spree including concocting multiple fake identities to trick human engineers and then covering its tracks. During testing by a government-run AI lab, ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Mythos went rogue, sending fraudulent emails and attempting to insert malicious code into a database. The AI Security Institute (AISI), which is supposed to evaluate AI bots for dangerous cyber capabilities, has admitted the tools tried to bypass security systems and tried to hide their activity when detected. The lab said that the bots tried to add a virus into an online database and sent emails containing malware to unwitting individuals during trials designed to monitor whether the AI tools could be used for hacking. It said the hacks were not successful. The attacks involved OpenAI’s latest version of ChatGPT and Anthropic’s powerful Mythos AI.

QATAR - The recent passing of Qatar’s former ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has predictably triggered an avalanche of sanitized hagiography across Western capitals. Eulogists have rushed to celebrate the Father Emir as a visionary modernizer who transformed a desolate Gulf peninsula into an economic powerhouse. They point to the Doha skyline, the 2022 World Cup, and a staggering expansion of national wealth as proof of benign brilliance. Yet, this glossy narrative deliberately obscures a far darker historical reality. Sheikh Hamad was the primary architect of modern state-sponsored Islamism, and a ruthless strategist who weaponized unimaginable energy wealth to institutionalize a toxic double game that continues to destabilize the civilized world.

UK - British farmers are giving up growing food after repeated heatwaves cause their harvests to fail and their finances to falter. Some believe growing food for the nation is too financially risky and the only way to make their farms profitable is by using their land and buildings for other businesses. The National Farmer’s Union has warned there could be a shortage of certain food products if the drought conditions continue.

MIDDLE EAST - Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad avoided committing to disarmament, saying the group had accepted the Gaza agreement out of necessity but would not change its mentality or goals. Piers Morgan had asked Hamad whether the deal coordinated by the Trump administration, including the implementation of the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), will lead to Hamas disarmament.

JAPAN - Sanae Takaichi’s government believes the taboo on nuclear deterrence, dating back to the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is fading. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations, known as Nihon Hidankyo, was honoured for keeping alive the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the experience of those who lived through it, the people known as hibakusha.

USA - The dramatic rundown in precision, long-range missiles means US President Donald Trump may have to rely more on riskier, piloted bombing missions if he relaunches large-scale attacks on Iran. The US Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the military's readiness for future conflicts. The missiles are principally the Army's surface-to-surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). The US has used "virtually all" of these weapons, according to two of the sources. But as the war drags on, the three people familiar with the matter expressed worry that the falling missile supplies could limit the US' ability to deter adversaries, including Russia and China.

USA - With peace talks set to resume, the US president faces the same dilemma he warned against in real estate: appearing desperate at the negotiating table. In what he calls his favourite book after the Bible, Donald Trump warned in The Art of the Deal against appearing desperate when negotiating. “The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead. The best thing you can do is deal from strength,’’ he wrote.

RUSSIA - Millions of locusts have descended on southern Russia, swallowing roads, darkening the skies and tearing through valuable farmland. The enormous, fast-moving swarm has engulfed the Kizlyar district in the Republic of Dagestan, where the insects have dramatically reduced visibility and created dangerous conditions for motorists. Footage from the region shows locusts filling the air and surrounding vehicles as drivers attempt to navigate through the biblical invasion. The insects do not attack humans or animals and are not known to carry diseases harmful to people, but their sheer numbers can create dangerous conditions when they descend on roads and populated areas.

UK - Britain’s national debt has risen above £3 trillion for the first time after the Government was forced to borrow more than expected, campaigners have claimed. The Taxpayers’ Alliance said it believed the public debt had tipped over the landmark in recent days based on the trajectory of spending. The pressure group’s calculations are based on the fact that the Government borrowed £2.7 billion more than expected in the first three months of the current financial year as a result of higher debt interest payments and welfare spending. Labour is now borrowing £4,270 every second, the Taxpayers’ Alliance estimates, or £369 million per day. The scale of debt highlights the challenges facing John Healey, who has vowed to make “fiscal discipline” his top priority as Chancellor. John O’Connell, the chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the national debt was “out of control” and urged Mr Healey and Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, to rein in spending.

UK - Food prices could rise as the UK braces for its “worst harvest on record”, farming bosses have warned. Extreme heat during spring and summer could have cut the country’s cereals and oilseed harvest by 2.5 million tonnes compared to earlier forecasts, an analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said. Wheat, barley and oat yields are all expected to be lower than usual. It warned that the shortfall could be costing UK farmers as much as £390 million and that 2026 could be the “worst harvest on record”.

UK - A £3 million reservoir has run out of water less than a year after being built. The reservoir, on the Elveden Estate in Suffolk, was built with the help of a £500,000 government grant in October to protect vegetable and cereal crops during dry periods. The reservoir is filled with water from the River Lark during the winter months. Andrew Blenkiron, the managing director of the Elveden Estate, said it was “going to be tight” to support 10,000 acres of farmland on the estate. “This is the third year out of five we’ve experienced these conditions and the big danger is that, if we have a dry winter, we’ve got some really serious problems next year.”

USA - The moment has arrived. The evidence is in. The jury has concluded its deliberations and the verdict is clear. Donald Trump’s war against the Islamic Republic of Iran can now be declared a strategic defeat for the most powerful nation on Earth. It is with great reluctance and significant anguish that I reach this conclusion. The final nail in the coffin of America’s hopes came on Sunday, when Trump called off “the biggest attack since World War Two” (yeah, right!) amid talks that could hand Tehran at least partial control of the Strait of Hormuz. He also expressed his hopes that the latest “deal” – how many deals have there supposedly been now? – would lead to “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”.

ISRAEL - When New York chose to honour the promise of the United Nations, located on the city’s East Side, it inscribed these words on a large wall opposite its headquarters: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” That vision of peace did not originate with Madison Avenue wordsmiths, Joan Baez, or John Lennon. It came from the Jewish prophet Isaiah some 2,700 years ago, and captured the essence of the Jewish journey over millennia: the quest for peace. Not conquest. Not subjugation. Not proselytisation. Peace. But, as the Jews learnt throughout the centuries, praying for peace is one thing. Achieving it is quite another.

USA - The Super El Niño is getting even stronger, the latest climate models have revealed. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), El Niño is expected to steadily strengthen into a 'strong' event between August and October. This powerful climate pattern is expected to bring above–average temperatures all around the planet and cause huge changes in rainfall patterns. While many countries are already facing one of the hottest and driest summers on record, experts warn 'this is only the warm–up act'. The WMO now predicts that sea surface temperatures in key regions will exceed 2.9°C (5.2°F) above the seasonal average. El Niño events typically reach their peak between November and February, and have their strongest influence on global weather during the start of the following year. This means we are only just starting to experience the effects of what experts are calling the strongest El Niño event in recorded history.