TODAY

Iran and Oman are reportedly closing in on a deal that would give the Islamic Republic full control over ships entering the Strait of Hormuz. This comes as a tenuous pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran enters a sixth day and a day after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that Iran would fully open the vital chokepoint today or face new and more intense attacks that would include powerplants, other civilian infrastructure and even strikes on leadership. Iran largely closed the Strait after it was hit by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28. The American leader is pushing a rekindled effort to find a diplomatic off-ramp to a conflict that has killed 18 American troops, wounded hundreds more, drained U.S. weapons stocks and roiled international relations and global financial markets.

Highlighting the precarious nature of vessel transits through this narrow passage between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), another ship was struck by Iran overnight as it was leaving the Strait, a maritime security official told TWZ.

The Gulf of Oman, which is the eastern approach to the Strait and the Persian Gulf, is largely controlled by Iran to the north and Oman to the south. Under the emerging agreement between those countries, “vessels heading into the Persian Gulf will transit a channel controlled by Iran, and close to its coast. Ships leaving the Gulf will travel on a channel near Oman,” The New York Times reported.

Both Iran and the U.S. are already following this general traffic pattern, with the U.S. Navy recommending transits close to the Omani coastline and Iran pushing shipping toward its shores. The middle of the Strait has been deemed too hazardous because of the threat primarily from mines. The new plan being pushed by Iran and Oman would expand the use of these traffic patterns. Unless there is some special cutout made in the deal, it could require the U.S. Navy to seek permission to enter the Persian Gulf and then have to make the transit deep in Iranian waters, giving American warships degraded defensive options and putting them in the heart of Iran’s weapons engagement envelope.

While Iranian officials say that they won’t impose tolls, the accord does include a charge for service fees to cover the environmental impact of the shipping, security for the cargo ships and tankers, and staffing, the publication added. Revenues would be divided equally between Iran and Oman, two Iranian officials told the Times.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that “Tehran ​is unlikely to change its position,” because it has already shown flexibility by moving from its initial position of seeking full control over ​traffic in both directions in the strait.

But a U.S. official familiar with the negotiations told the Times on Monday that the Iranian account was “not accurate,” and said that any “temporary” routes established through the strait would not involve approvals or permissions by Iran, and would involve no tolls.

Oil prices fell to a three-week low on Tuesday as senior US officials raised hopes of a deal with Iran to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both announced talks had progressed to allow shipments to potentially resume as soon as this week.

The cost of a barrel of brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, fell by almost 5% to under $80 on the news of supply disruptions potentially being eased.

But the failure of previous negotiations in recent months to de-escalate the conflict between the US and Iran has led to a volatile oil market, with drivers ultimately being hit by higher fuel prices at the pumps.

On Tuesday, along with the drop in Brent crude, US West Texas Intermediate prices were down more than 5%, to $76 a barrel. Both contracts dropped to their lowest levels since 13 July.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been progress made in discussions on getting more ships through the Strait with Iran and Oman.

“There’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly,” he told reporters at the State Department.

Bessent said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be agreed as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

There was a “chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict,” he told CNBC.

“It would be freedom of movement,” he added, when asked whether Iran would be allowed to charge for ships passing through.

While senior figures in the US government have announced talks have been progressing, no details of what a potential deal may look like have been released.

The Strait of Hormuz has been a central point in negotiations between the US and Iran. Before the conflict began in late February, the waterway handled about one-fifth of global daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

The disruption has sent prices at the pumps up across the world. In the UK petrol prices are now at levels seen at the start of the conflict, with the average cost of a litre of petrol hitting £1.60, according to the RAC motoring group.

In the US, gasoline prices are on average above $4 a gallon, according to the AAA. Diesel is almost $5.40 a gallon.

Qatar, which is one of the key mediators between Washington and Tehran, said it was continuing efforts with other mediators to try to achieve a diplomatic resolution to the war, but admitted no direct talks were currently planned.

On Monday, President Donald Trump warned Iran faced its “last chance” to agree a deal to allow commercial shipping to resume in the Strait.

He said he had called off “massive” strikes on the country for talks to resume.

But Iran has said it was not negotiating with the US – and had no plans to do so – and is instead talking to Oman.

US stock markets were trading higher on Tuesday following news of the negotiations lowering oil prices and also in response to corporate results related to Artificial Intelligence.

Investors have experienced jitters on Wall Street as results from Big Tech firms indicate spending on the technology is set to continue to soar.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, after she said the government would not press ahead with criminal charges of vandalism of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool against former Olympic athlete David Hearn.

The reflecting pool project is one of several changes to the landscape of Washington, DC that Trump has pursued during his second term in office.

But following a multimillion-dollar refurbishment ahead of the 250th anniversary of US independence this year, parts of the lining of the pool were seen floating on the surface, and algae turned the water from blue to green, which Trump claimed was caused by vandalism.

Hearn, 67, was among a number of people arrested for suspected criminal damage to the “American flag blue” lining of the pool.

Pirro, however, acknowledged last week that the pool’s peeling sealant appeared to be the result of a “botched installation”, putting her at odds with the US president.

On Monday, Trump sharply criticised Pirro, who he had appointed as attorney for the District of Columbia in May last year, saying she had “choked” under pressure from a judge and “folded like an umbrella”.

Pirro met the president on Monday as he pondered firing her, but sources familiar with the matter told US broadcaster CNN late on Monday that Trump held back from firing his long-term ally.

Who is Pirro, and why has the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool become a flashpoint in her relations with Trump?

Here’s what we know:

Why was Hearn arrested for vandalism?

David Hearn, who said he only visited the reflecting pool to find out what the fuss was about, was among at least seven people arrested or cited over alleged damage to the pool.

He says he had put his hand into the water to examine a piece of lining which had started peeling away on June 19. But he was accused of pulling the lining away, causing more than $1,000 in damage. He was charged with destruction of government property, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

His indictment was announced at a news conference held by Pirro on July 2. The prosecutor accused Hearn, an Olympic canoeist, of “forcefully and violently” ripping the newly installed liner of the reflecting pool, part of a renovation project Trump had championed.

She described his actions as “an affront to the dignity of our shared history” and warned that Hearn could face up to 10 years in prison for the destruction of government property.

Then, this week, the charges were dropped when Pirro announced the damage had most likely been caused by faulty installation of the lining.

The pool has since been drained.

Who is Pirro?

Born to Lebanese-American parents in June 1951 in Elmira, New York, Pirro is currently the US attorney for the District of Columbia. She was hand-picked by Trump in May last year for an interim period, and her position in the Senate was confirmed in August 2025.

According to the US government, Pirro has worked in the legal field for several decades, having started as an assistant district attorney for Westchester County, New York, in 1975 and later working as the first female judge in the Westchester County Court from 1990 to 1993.

She also became the first woman elected to serve as Westchester County district attorney for three consecutive terms from 1994 to 2005 and was the first female president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.

Pirro also played a key role in starting the first domestic violence unit in a prosecutor’s office in the US and has authored eight books.

Besides politics, Pirro has also appeared on television in the US true crime series The Jinx, which aired in 2015, as well as hosting the reality show You the Jury, which aired in 2017.

What has Trump said about Pirro?

When Trump hand-picked Pirro as the attorney for the District of Columbia, he said he was confident she would improve Washington, DC.

“Jeanine Pirro, I have no doubt will be an exceptional US attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the truly most important positions in our country of any position, where she will restore public safety in our nation’s capital, break up vicious street gangs and criminal networks, and ensure equal justice under the law. You’ll see very, very big improvements in the DC area, that I can promise you,” Trump said when he appointed her on May 8, 2025.

Pirro, a Trump ally, vowed to tackle violence in the city and said DC would “again become a shining city on the hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again”.

But now, relations with Trump have frayed after Pirro refused to support the US president’s claim that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had been vandalised.

In a motion filed on Friday afternoon, Pirro acknowledged that the accusations levelled against Hearn did not appear to be substantiated.

“The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism, as initially represented by [the Department of the Interior],” Pirro wrote.

Pirro emphasised she had not received the “new information” until after the criminal indictment against Hearn had been returned. She blamed, in part, the “barebones police reports” her office had received.

“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI [US Department of the Interior] provided additional documents to the [US Attorney’s Office for Washington, DC] indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor,” Pirro wrote.

She added that the pressure to finish the reflecting pool renovation project before the Independence Day holiday – marking the 250th anniversary of the US – contributed to the renovation’s failure. Trump had planned several events for the occasion.

“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” Pirro explained, citing delayed installation work, inclement weather and repeated testing failures.

Why is Trump so angry with Pirro?

Trump has aggressively pushed claims that the algae and tears to the lining in the reflecting pool are the result of vandalism.

“We caught some people vandalising our beautiful reflecting pool,” Trump said at a news conference in June. “They took a cutter, a box cutter, or something very sharp. Can you imagine? Where do these people come up with this? And they threw a little fertiliser in the water.”

Separately, he suggested those responsible should face “years in jail” for their alleged crimes.

After Pirro’s announcement, Trump said she should have continued pursuing the case.

“Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism,” Trump said, adding he was “really disappointed” in Pirro and that “she folded like an umbrella”.

According to US media reports, he has also considered firing Pirro over the reflecting pool saga.

In a post on his Truth Social Platform on Saturday, Trump said: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the reflecting pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”

Trump and Pirro spoke by phone on Saturday, according to CNN. Sources familiar with the call said their conversation “wasn’t pretty”.

Following an in-person meeting with Pirro on Monday, sources told CNN that Trump had held back from firing her.

Neither the White House nor Pirro’s office has commented.

What happened to the reflecting pool?

The 618-metre (2,028-foot) Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has served as the backdrop for many iconic moments in US history, including the 1963 March on Washington, when civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

It sits between the Washington Monument, a large obelisk, and the Lincoln Memorial, two popular tourist sites mere blocks from the White House. But the pool had long struggled with leaks along its granite edge and concrete bottom.

In April, Trump abruptly announced he would address the problem by relining the reflecting pool with swimming pool coating in the colour of the “American Flag Blue”.

The Trump administration granted a $13.1m contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company the president claimed to have worked with as a real estate developer, and which is led by one of his donors. The deal was struck without taking competitive bids, as is standard, on the basis that the renovation was necessary immediately.

By early June, Trump had announced the project was complete. But within days, a thick layer of green algae had appeared on the surface of the pool, and the blue coating appeared cracked, with sheets of paint flapping in the water.

On June 11, a National Park Service engineer observed that the reflecting pool’s new lining had begun to peel, Pirro said in her announcement.

Citing the engineer’s report, Pirro wrote that the damage to the pool appeared to have been caused by “over spraying and delamination”.

Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, Lebanon – Every year on August 4 since 2020, families of the victims of a massive explosion at Beirut port gather outside the site of what was one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in modern history.

They continue to press Lebanese authorities for justice and accountability for the explosion of ammonium nitrate that was unsafely stored with highly inflammable materials.

Yet there has been none, despite a change in leadership that promised to support an independent judiciary into the blast that killed more than 200 people.

This year I couldn’t attend the commemorations because I was covering another tragedy – only the latest to devastate Lebanon.

I was in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, a small town in southern Lebanon that lies in ruins after weeks of Israeli air attacks, shelling and at times deliberate demolitions of people’s homes amid fighting with the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Residents are trying to start again – but they can’t.

Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since October 2023, with different levels of intensity, but the former has twice escalated the conflict – first in September 2024 and then in early March this year, after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.

People in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh had not recovered from the first escalation before they found themselves escaping bombing and displaced yet again.

The majority of houses in the town are so badly damaged they are uninhabitable.

I watched a man in his 80s cry as he showed me the mountain of concrete that used to be his home. “I feel humiliated,” he said. “I have no choice but to collect the scrap metal from my destroyed home to sell in order to be able to survive.”

In 2019, Lebanon’s economy, local currency and the banking sector all but collapsed, leaving people unable to access their savings. And little if anything has been done by the political class to carry out required financial reforms to bring in much-needed international funds.

The reconstruction bill for the latest escalation is in the billions of dollars. Officials do not have an exact figure but say it could climb to $20bn.

It might be a conservative estimate. I have been visiting villages across southern Lebanon since the reduction in violence a few weeks ago. The devastation is unprecedented. Basic services are no longer available. In some areas, there are no telecommunication networks.

And then there are the dozens of villages that we cannot access because they are occupied by the Israeli military.

There, homes continue to be demolished, water facilities destroyed, and agricultural land and olive groves torched. The deliberate destruction continues regardless of what is supposed to be a ceasefire, a framework agreement with Lebanon and condemnations by Lebanese officials who took the controversial and divisive decision to engage in direct talks with Israel.

Reconstruction as a card

When hostilities escalated in March this year, reconstruction from the previous round of fighting in 2024 had not even begun. Then, the World Bank estimated losses at $11bn – money the nearly bankrupt Lebanese government did not have.

Then, like now, there was no offer to help by international donors. Reconstruction aid was and continues to be used as leverage to force the disarmament of Hezbollah.

It was not just the lack of funds.

During the 15 months following a November 2024 ceasefire and the latest escalation, the Israeli military maintained pressure by systematically targeting all recovery and rebuilding efforts in southern Lebanon.

They bombed heavy machinery and construction equipment, destroyed factories and prefabricated house units, and attacked workers clearing rubble to prevent displaced residents from returning. Nearly 100,000 people were already displaced before this year’s war that forced more than a million people from their homes.

More destruction

On the sixth anniversary of the port blast, Lebanon has had to face more destruction.

I remember writing the same words last year, on the fifth anniversary. Like in 2025, this year’s destruction came from outside the country – from Israel. Areas where Hezbollah has influence remain covered in rubble following Israel’s attacks.

Yet again, there is a need to rebuild. Yet again, many Lebanese have to pick up the pieces of their lives on their own.

While they try, they live in fear. In the front-line town of al-Mansouri, we met the head of the municipality, Haidar Mudayhi, who told us not to approach the hills around the town’s centre.

“The Israelis drop stun grenades every time someone tries to reach those areas … every day there is machinegun fire around the village … the other day there were air strikes in the hills … there is no stability,” he said.

It is a story we hear time and time again in villages north of the occupation zone.

The relative calm is fragile. No agreement exists that guarantees Israel and Hezbollah will not go to war again.

Israel acts as if there is no ceasefire, while the signed agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which the United States has called “historic”, does not include a commitment or a timeline for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is facing growing criticism from some European leaders as European Union interior ministers meet to discuss last week’s mass crossing into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, an episode that has reignited debate over migration across the bloc.

Human rights groups and activists, meanwhile, have accused far-right politicians of exploiting the crisis to advance anti-immigration narratives.

More than 60,000 people crossed into the North African enclave on Thursday and Friday, triggering a humanitarian emergency and prompting Spain to deploy additional military and police forces.

More than 80 migrants died, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities, including some who drowned or were crushed while attempting to cross a breakwater barrier.

Most of those who entered have since returned to Morocco. By Saturday, “almost all” had left and the situation in Ceuta had largely returned to normal, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.

Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, convened an emergency video meeting of EU interior ministers after 22 of the bloc’s 27 member states called for “coordinated action and the strengthening of external borders”.

Political fault lines

The events in Ceuta have once again exposed divisions within the EU over migration policy, with several governments calling for a tougher approach while others have urged adherence to humanitarian and international legal obligations.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among Sanchez’s sharpest critics, announcing that Italy would introduce temporary air and sea border controls with Spain while questioning Madrid’s handling of the situation.

Sanchez rejected the criticism, saying Italy’s position was “contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that bind us together”.

In a post on X, he also noted that Italy had received significantly more migrants than Spain since 2021, saying Italy had recorded about 478,000 arrivals compared with Spain’s 234,000.

The political debate has unfolded despite a broader decline in irregular migration to the EU. According to the EU’s border agency Frontex, irregular border crossings peaked at 1.8 million in 2015. During the first half of 2026, crossings fell by 37 percent compared with the same period last year to about 49,000.

The scenes in Ceuta have nevertheless become a focal point in wider political debates over migration, despite the EU already introducing stricter migration and asylum rules that expand member states’ powers to detain migrants and return them to designated “safe countries” or facilities outside the bloc.

Human rights organisations have criticised the measures, warning they could leave asylum seekers stranded for prolonged periods in offshore detention centres, while illegal police pushbacks at borders still regularly occur in both the EU and North Africa.

Spain defends its response

The Spanish government has rejected accusations that it mishandled the crisis, saying the situation was brought under control quickly in close coordination with Morocco despite limited assistance from other European countries.

Officials have also said that a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court, which found that migrants arriving by sea cannot be summarily returned without due process, was deliberately misrepresented by smuggling networks to encourage people to attempt the crossing.

A senior Moroccan official, speaking anonymously to the AFP news agency, said Rabat had raised concerns with Spanish authorities after discussions on social media about the court ruling began in late July.

“We discussed this ruling and its impact. We explained that this ruling was going to create a problem. And it did create a problem,” the official said.

He rejected suggestions that the mass movement into Ceuta reflected a failure by Morocco’s security forces.

“It’s simplistic to say that Morocco should just have used force to stop them. That is to completely misunderstand this phenomenon,” he said.

Rescue boats from both France and the UK took part in the operation to evacuate passengers from the stricken vessel.

More than 150 migrants travelling to the United Kingdom in a boat across the English Channel have been rescued after the vessel caught fire.

A major rescue operation was launched on Tuesday morning near the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, with both French and British authorities working to evacuate those on board, some of whom had jumped into the sea.

The local French maritime prefecture said five of the 157 people on board had requested rescue overnight and were evacuated. It said the remaining passengers refused assistance and the boat continued its journey towards the UK, until the engine caught fire and all those on board were rescued.

Since Andy Burnham became UK prime minister two weeks ago, more than 2,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats.

Immigration is an extremely divisive and hotly contested issue in the UK, prompting Burnham to pledge that he will be “relentless” in stopping people from reaching the country in small boats.

A person generally must be in the UK to lodge an asylum application, as current rules do not allow people to make asylum claims from overseas. Amnesty International has argued that this makes it “impossible” for people abroad to seek asylum in the UK.

The 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, to which the UK is a signatory, establishes protections for people fleeing persecution and recognises that those seeking safety may have to use irregular routes.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage commented on the incident in the English Channel in a post on X.

“We must put a stop to this. Our plan will save lives,” he said.

Farage’s party has pledged to abolish what is known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if it wins the next election, due to take place in 2029. ILR allows people to live and work in the UK without a time limit. Reform has also said it would rescind existing ILR grants.

The man suspected of killing Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross in Greece is 26-year-old Sharif Ahmadzai, the BBC understands.

He was arrested after the body of the 38-year-old was found in a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July, several days after she was reported missing.

Ahmadzai, who was born in Afghanistan and is a champion boxer, travelled to Greece as a refugee.

He is expected to appear in court in Athens on Wednesday.

The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife and child.

His father, a commander in the Afghan army, was shot dead and his mother and siblings were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul.

He travelled to Greece via Iran and Turkey, according to a video telling his story, external which was published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), before settling in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.

It is understood this is where he met his wife and converted to Christianity. The pair then set up the charity Love Every Nation Athens to help other refugees.

It is thought that he met Ross through the charity.

Despite the big rise in profits, BP chief executive Meg O’Neill said the company was not reaching its full potential.

BP, which employs nearly 14,000 people in the UK, confirmed plans to move further away from clean energy, revealing plans to sell off its US renewable natural gas business Archaea.

O’Neill said this was part of her plan to prioritise “value, not sentiment or history”.

“We have to focus on the assets with the strongest potential to deliver competitive returns and long-term value,” she said.

Last week, BP announced it was putting its North Sea business up for sale in a move that would end 60 years of production in the region by the company.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the sell-offs intended to make the business more streamlined.

“O’Neill will be aware she cannot rely on oil and gas prices remaining this high indefinitely,” he said.

“She needs to make sure it can prosper even when the backdrop is less helpful.”

The bumper profits reported by oil companies have led to an angry response from campaign groups.

Angharad Hopkinson, from environmental group Greenpeace, said BP’s results showed that “corporate gains have become entirely divorced from the public good”.

She said “the one point on which we agree with BP” is its decision to sell off its North Sea operations.

“Prolonging this parasitic relationship by trying to squeeze the last few drops of expensive oil out of the North Sea is sheer folly,” Hopkinson said.

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said oil firms “have banked more billions from a crisis that has created real hardship for millions of households”.

“The lesson is not to hand yet more tax breaks to an industry posting billions in profit every quarter, but to use Windfall Tax receipts to clear the record energy debt households built up during the crisis,” he said.

Energy firms operating in the UK are subject to a windfall tax – called the Energy Profits Levy – that was introduced in 2022.

However, the tax only applies to profits made from extracting oil and gas in the UK.

A new AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar is now installed at the U.S. Navy’s land-based test site at Wallops Island in Virginia. This is a key step toward the first integration of the SPY-6(V)4 onto an actual warship, the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Pinckney.

The AN/SPY-6(V)4 is a central element of the Navy’s Destroyer Modernization 2.0 effort (also sometimes written DDG MOD 2.0) for Flight IIA subvariants of the Arleigh Burke. In addition to the radar, the full upgrade package includes a new AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block III suite, Aegis Combat System improvements, and additional thermal management ‘chillers’ to help keep all of these systems cool. USS Pinckney was also the first to get the SEWIP Block III installation under this plan, which dramatically changed the outward appearance of the ship.

“The Wallops site, a land‑based test facility situated over an open-water environment, will support extensive testing of the radar and its power and combat system interfaces ahead of installation on USS Pinckney (DDG 91), the first ship to be backfit with SPY‑6(V)4,” according to a press release from prime contractor Raytheon today. “Initial testing will begin later this year and continue through mid‑2028.”

Land-based testing is a routine step in the development of naval radars. Work to integrate the radar onto the USS Pinckney is also set to start this year and wrap up in 2028, according to Raytheon.

“By leveraging the Wallops test site, we’ll be able to integrate SPY‑6(V)4 with its dedicated power system before it reaches the ship, reducing the amount of testing needed on DDG 91,” Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon, said in a statement. “That means less time in the shipyard, more time dedicated to the mission, and a smoother path for future backfit ships.”

The AN/SPY-6(V)4 is also known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar Backfit (AMDR Backfit) radar. It is a scaled-down version of the AN/SPY-6(V)1 AMDR radar that is being integrated onto new Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyers. The AMDR has four fixed-face arrays, each made up of 37 Radar Modular Assemblies (RMAs). The AMDR Backfit also has a quartet of fixed arrays, but with 24 RMAs apiece.

Raytheon – AN SPY 6V Radar Build Timelapse Video

Each RMA is a two-foot-by-two-foot-by-two-foot cube that contains an independent active electronically scanned antenna. The modules are a key building block of all four radars that currently make up the AN/SPY-6 family. The AN/SPY-6(V)2 and AN/SPY-6(V)3 versions – also known as the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) Rotator and EASR Fixed Face, respectively – have arrays with significantly fewer RMAs than either the AMDR or AMDR Backfit types. AN/SPY-6-series radars are set to become a fixture across the Navy’s surface fleets, with versions also being added to new Ford class aircraft carriers and set to be backfitted onto some Nimitz class types. Various amphibious warfare warships are also getting radars from this family. You can read more about all of this here.

The RMAs that make up any AN/SPY-6-series radar can be utilized individually or linked together with others to focus their energies on a specific task. This offers immense operational flexibility, as well as the ability to produce higher-fidelity tracks over extended ranges. The loss of a single RMA also does not render the entire radar inoperable, and the modules can be replaced individually for repairs and upgrades. This, in turn, translates to increased reliability and upgradability, and less downtime for the radar, in general.

Missile Defense Radars at Sea

With 96 RMAs versus 148, the AMDR Backfit radar is not as capable as its larger AMDR cousin. However, it is still a major capability upgrade for Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes, which are currently equipped with the AN/SPY-1D. The SPY-1D is an aging passive electronically scanned array radar, the development of which traces back to the 1980s. The original AN/SPY-1 entered Navy service in the 1970s.

When paired with the new Baseline 10 configuration of the Aegis Combat System, “the AN/SPY-6(V)4 will provide volume search, tracking, BMD [ballistic missile defense] discrimination, and missile communications in a wide diversity of environments and conditions,” according to a past Navy contracting notice. As noted, this Aegis upgrade is another central aspect of the Destroyer Modernization 2.0 plan.

The Destroyer Modernization 2.0 effort has so far been proceeding in phases, with the SEWIP Block III, Aegis Baseline 10, and chiller upgrades being integrated first, and the AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar coming afterward. In June, the Navy had announced the completion of the SEWIP Block III upgrades on another pair of Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes, the USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) and USS James E. Williams (DDG-95).

As mentioned, the SEWIP III installation requires substantial changes to the ship’s physical structure, inside and out. Arleigh Burke destroyers with the new electronic warfare suite have all-new geometric structures extending off the port and starboard bridge wings that contain key elements of the new electronic warfare suite. When work on Pinckney was completed, some observers dubbed it the ‘muffin top’ destroyer and the ‘USS Thickney.’

At least as of last year, two more Flight IIAs, USS Halsey (DDG-97) and USS Sterett (DDG-104), were in line to receive the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 and the rest of the Destroyer Modernization 2.0 package. The Navy also previously said that Sterett would be the first ship to get all of the new capabilities in one single in-port availability.

“This destroyer modernization effort is the cornerstone of increasing service life and delivering decisive combat power to the US Navy via our Flight IIA destroyers,” Capt. Tim Moore, the Destroyer Modernization 2.0 (DDG MOD 2.0) program manager, said in a statement in June. “We focused on opportunities to shift milestones supporting acquisition, planning and execution left to provide these game-changing capabilities to the operators sooner. The DDG MOD 2.0 program remains a top priority as the Navy continues to build and sustain a lethal, resilient, and rapidly adaptable force.”

Destroyer Modernization 2.0 upgrade work to date has not been without challenges. The Navy previously talked about the importance of valuable lessons learned from the hurdles it had to overcome when upgrading USS Pinckney. The service has also said previously that it has several guardrails in place that were informed by experience with the deeply troubled Ticonderoga class cruiser modernization program.

How many Flight IIA Arleigh Burke class destroyers, in total, will eventually receive the full Destroyer Modernization 2.0 upgrade package is unclear. The Navy has said in the past that 20 destroyers could be brought up to this new standard. In 2025, the service said that the USS Kidd (DDG-100) would be among several ships to receive the SEWIP Block III suite, but not the AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar, according to USNI News. The Navy’s Arleigh Burke class destroyer force, as a whole, is in the process of receiving other upgrades, including new defensive capabilities, too.

The Navy currently has 75 Arleigh Burke class destroyers in service, altogether, of which 34 are Flight IIA versions. There are another 12 Flight IIA Restart and Flight IIA Technology Insertion subtypes, which feature additional improvements. Production of new ships in this class is now transitioning fully to the Flight III subvariant.

Regardless, the arrival of the first AN/SPY-6(V)4 at Wallops Island is a significant milestone that puts the Navy on track to move ahead with the second phase of its Destroyer Modernization 2.0 plans.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Venezuela’s devastating June 24 double earthquake has had major implications for the country’s foreign policy and geopolitical alignment. Days after the disaster, a diplomatic-military mission arrived from Israel. 

Former President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Tel Aviv in 2009. Both he and his successor Nicolás Maduro were stalwart supporters of the Palestinian cause, repeatedly excoriating Israel for its colonial occupation, war crimes, and genocide.

In contrast, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez held two public meetings with the Israeli team, which included multiple IDF officers, praised its members as “highly trained and professional,” and thanked them for their work.

Tel Aviv is poised to play an important role alongside Washington in post-earthquake reconstruction planning, while the formal reestablishment of diplomatic relations appears imminent.  In light of this tectonic geopolitical shift, we investigate the main officials and NGOs spearheading the Zionist infiltration of Venezuela.

Israeli state functionaries

Brigadier General Elad Edri was one of the highest-profile figures in the Israeli mission to Venezuela. In a July 7 meeting with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Edri was pictured presenting a slideshow titled “Project for Future Reconstruction.”

Edri, who serves as Chief of Staff of the IDF Home Front Command, reportedly led field inspections of damaged structures, provided guidance on debris removal, and eventually secured an extension of the Israeli deployment. He had previously participated in IDF missions following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the 2017 Mexico earthquake, and the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Florida.

In his military career, Edri took part in the failed Israeli invasion of Lebanon (2006), as well as multiple “mowing-the-grass” operations in the Gaza Strip, including “Cast Lead” (2008-09) and “Protective Edge” (2014), in which Tel Aviv employed its infamous “Dahiyeh Doctrine” of carpet bombing densely populated urban centers. Chávez famously denounced “Cast Lead” as “genocide” and cut diplomatic ties in 2009. 

In 2015, Edri moved to the IDF Home Front Command which, despite presenting itself as a civil defense unit, has played an active role in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in addition to shielding the settler colony as it continues its genocidal wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Edri assumed the leadership of the Home Front Command’s Rescue and Training Brigade. This unit entered Gaza in 2024 and was reported to have participated in combat operations against civilian targets. More recently, the brigadier general led preparation efforts ahead of the US-Israeli war against Iran in February.

Roni Kaplan was born in Uruguay in 1982 and relocated to Israel in 2003. After completing his mandatory military service, he has mostly served as an IDF spokesperson, particularly for Spanish-language outlets. 

Kaplan is also the founder of Huellas del Cielo and Conexión Israel, two organizations focused on fostering ties between Israel and Latin America through educational trips and pilgrimages to occupied Jerusalem.

He was one of the most visible spokespersons in the Venezuela delegation. Always in uniform, Kaplan and his team reportedly provided a “dashboard” for Venezuelan authorities to classify damaged buildings in La Guaira. In an interview with private news network Venevisión, Kaplan claimed the Israeli mission had arrived to “give hope and lend a helping hand to the Venezuelan people.”

Behind the humanitarian façade, Kaplan has spent years amplifying Tel Aviv’s Goebbelian propaganda, from blaming civilian deaths on Hamas “human shields” to pretending that Israeli bombings are “preemptive and precise.” Despite overwhelming evidence, Kaplan has denied that Israel is committing genocide and imposing mass starvation on the Palestinian people.

In May 2026, a coalition of Uruguayan social movements filed a legal complaint against the IDF official, accusing him of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The petitioners argued the country’s authorities have a responsibility to investigate Kaplan.

A career diplomat who spent part of his youth in Venezuela, Yoed Magen was the first official to announce the Israeli mission to the South American country, citing contacts with high-level figures in the Venezuelan government. The diplomatic-military team that arrived on July 1 was received by Félix Plasencia, who was later named Foreign Minister.

Magen was recently appointed as Israeli ambassador to Mexico, having previously served in Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He was also a policy advisor for the IDF.

In interviews and op-eds, including for leading private Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, Magen has been an unapologetic proponent of US-Israeli genocide. 

Magen has endorsed collective punishment, saying that Palestinians should “suffer” for supporting Hamas. He has claimed that Israel only launches “precise” attacks against Hamas, despite widespread evidence of systematically targeting civilians. Magen additionally amplified the blood libel campaign falsely accusing the anti-colonial resistance movement of mass rape and burning settler families on October 7.

Most recently, he has endorsed both US-Israeli wars against Iran, calling them “preemptive” operations against “existential threats.”

Para-state agents

Brigadier General (res.) and weapons contractor Yossi Pinto was present in a July 21 meeting with Acting President Rodríguez to mark the end of Israel’s post-earthquake mission in the country. He reportedly presented a “system” to help Venezuelan authorities assess thousands of structures damaged by the earthquakes.

A career IDF officer, Pinto participated in multiple Israeli wars and occupation missions, including the thwarted 2006 invasion of Lebanon as well as Operations “Cast Lead” (2008-09) and “Protective Edge” (2014) in Gaza. He has a documented record of war crimes and human rights violations.

The Pinto-commanded Duchifat Battalion and Kfir Brigade were caught beating and abusing Palestinian prisoners, which they filmed on their own phones in 2008. The two units have been accused of widespread unlawful killings and torture. Later, at the head of the Binyamin Brigade in the West Bank, Pinto took part in efforts to evict Palestinians from their lands, killing and maiming dozens of children (2014).

From 2018 to 2020, he commanded the IDF’s Search and Rescue Brigade. After passing to reservist status, Pinto also assumed a “land maneuver manager” role in Rafael, one of Israel’s largest weapons manufacturers and a major supplier of battlefield systems in the current genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.

An Orthodox rabbi, Yosef Garmon arrived in Venezuela leading the delegation from the ZAKA NGO (more below). As a fluent Spanish speaker, he has been a prominent Zionist spokesperson and religious organizer throughout Latin America. As an IDF reservist, he served in multiple Israeli wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, and re-enlisted after Israel launched its latest operation in October 2023.

As president of the so-called “Humanitarian Coalition,” Garmon has widely promoted Israeli hasbara for Latin American publics. In Venezuela, he joined right-wing student organizations to deliver aid to affected communities. Garmon’s organization pledged to maintain a long-term presence in the Caribbean nation beyond the immediate relief actions.

In his media appearances, the Orthodox rabbi has likewise provided cover for Tel Aviv and Washington’s ongoing colonial holocausts, blaming mass civilian casualties from IDF bombings on Hezbollah and Hamas. He has also rejected Israeli responsibility for mass hunger in Gaza and regurgitated the debunked mass rape hoax to justify the atrocities.

Garmon has denied that Israel is committing genocide and framed its wars as a fight in service of “humanity” against “barbarism.”

Zionist NGOs

ZAKA is an Israeli volunteer organization founded in 1995, primarily known for its emergency response and search-and-rescue operations. Though it presents itself as an independent NGO, it operates as a civil extension of Israel’s emergency services, working directly with the police, military, and government.

ZAKA is a male-only, ultra-Orthodox religious group with no medical training, but it has deployed internationally following natural disasters such as the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey and severe flooding in Texas in 2025. After the 2026 earthquake in Venezuela, a team led by rabbi Yosef Garmon (see above) reportedly delivered medical aid to affected families in La Guaira.

Furthermore, ZAKA has long functioned as a “humanitarian” conduit for Israeli disinformation. One of its members, Yossi Landau, was one of the main sources behind the fake stories about beheaded babies and sexual violence during the October 7, 2023, Al-Aqsa Flood operation. ZAKA has also been shameless about leveraging such hoaxes into lucrative fundraising opportunities.

Despite claiming to focus on “saving and honoring lives,” ZAKA has applauded Israeli military operations, including attacks against hospitals.

As Israel’s highest-profile humanitarian NGO, IsraAID is pivotal to soft power initiatives aimed at laundering Tel Aviv’s international image. It has deployed in several disasters worldwide, including in Japan, Kenya, and Puerto Rico.

Following the double earthquake in Venezuela, IsraAID brought in a team from neighboring Colombia that reportedly delivered humanitarian assistance to affected communities in La Guaira.

In close coordination with Israeli occupation forces, IsraAID entered the Gaza Strip in early 2024 amid efforts to displace UNRWA and local authorities and subject millions of Palestinians to an “architecture of starvation.”

IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer has repeated “mass rape” blood libel accusations against the Palestinian resistance.

Non-profit SmartAID and private contractor Magen teamed up to send a search-and-rescue team to Venezuela following the June 24 double earthquake.

Founded by Shachar Zahavi, a former co-founder of IsraAID, SmartAID presents itself as an organization integrating technology into humanitarian aid, including solar panels, water purification systems, and other relief solutions. Highlighting its philanthropic purposes, SmartAID has deployed on-the-ground teams after the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and the 2021 earthquake in Haiti.

At the same time, SmartAID has entered Gaza alongside the Israeli occupation forces, setting up shelters and food distribution as part of Israel’s efforts to displace Palestinian authorities and UNRWA in the course of its extermination campaign.

Magen, founded by IDF Colonel Eran Magen, is deeply embedded with the Israeli military and is the premier provider of disaster management training to Israeli government, armed forces, and civilian organizations. Colonel Magen led the IDF’s Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Unit during the 2006 Lebanon War.

Also on the ground in Venezuela was World Central Kitchen (WCK), serving meals to displaced families, rescue workers, and volunteers in the days after the earthquake. WCK was founded after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Based in the US and with close ties to US authorities, it has been instrumental to US foreign policy goals in places like Gaza and Ukraine.

The organization drew scrutiny after coordinating with Israeli occupation forces to bring aid into Gaza in early 2024 while Israel blocked relief efforts from other organizations, particularly UNRWA. WCK’s arrival was sponsored by the UAE and announced by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who alongside Netanyahu is under ICC indictment for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.”

At the same time that it targeted flotillas bringing much-needed aid to Gaza, Israel actively coordinated WCK’s efforts. The relationship was strained in April 2024 when Israeli forces bombed a WCK convoy, killing seven workers.

The organization’s founder, Spanish-American celebrity chef José Andrés, has consistently parroted Israel’s “self-defense” narrative and blasted the Spanish government for referring to Israeli actions as “genocide.” The attack against the WCK convoy led Andrés to question Israeli operations.

There seem to be more significant upgrades from a number of teams this year, McLaren’s being the latest. Will the top four teams be bringing many more in the second half of the season or is there a limit to what they can do? – Richard

All the F1 teams headed into 2026 knowing that the season would be defined by development.

When there is a new rule set, this is always the case. The longer a set of rules exists, the more a) the car designs converge; b) teams get into diminishing returns.

But at the start, progress comes faster and in bigger steps, and that explains the fluctuation in form between the top teams so far this season.

Typically, a team will bring an upgrade, their competitiveness will increase, but then it will shift as other teams bring their own upgrades.

The longer a team leaves it between upgrades, the more they fall back.

That’s why McLaren, for example, made a leap forward with their Miami upgrade, but slowly slipped back as Mercedes and Ferrari brought their own big developments in Canada and Spain.

Then, McLaren leapt forwards – even more than they expected – with their Hungary upgrade. And they have another due in Zandvoort. And more to come after that.

Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull also have developments to come after the summer break.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said in Hungary: “I still believe that if we want to be in a position to fight for victories consistently in the future, we need to keep our focus on delivering more upgrades. That is the plan, but we are not naive. We know that this will be the plan for all the teams.

“Like it’s always been in this 2026 season, it’s a matter of a race of upgrades. And the good news is that McLaren is now back in this race of upgrades while fighting for the lead.

“But I expect that the car that will be the best car at the end of the season will keep adding tenths of a second in the next 11 races, probably as much as half a second. So definitely a lot of work ahead of everyone, not only McLaren.”

The limiting factor is the cost cap – all teams are restricted to spending no more than $215m on racing and development this season.

This means teams have to be strategic in how they deploy their new parts, “rather than just throwing it in at every grand prix, like in the past”, as Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff put it in Hungary.

He added: “We’re bringing upgrades, we’re closely monitoring how much we can bring. At the moment, cost cap-wise, we’re in a good spot. We’ve tried to have it a little bit more second-half-of-the-season weighted, and we’ll see if that’s enough.”

Why don’t McLaren make their own engines? They often seem to struggle because they rely on others’ (Mercedes) power units, who are also a direct competitor. Surely McLaren have the expertise and they could benefit their road car industry and their F1 car if they became a works team. – Jack

Making a Formula 1 engine is a highly specialised enterprise. It’s also extremely expensive. The manufacturers supplying engines to F1 this year have all spent hundreds of millions of pounds developing their power-units.

Apart from Red Bull, all are car manufacturers who have wider automotive companies to offset the cost, and expertise on which to lean.

There is now an engine budget cap, set at $190m in a company’s inaugural year, and $148.5m after that.

McLaren is a road-car manufacturer. But it does not build engines. It outsources its engines to a UK company called Ricardo.

The plans for the next F1 engine, due in either 2030 or 2031, are still being formalised, and there is considerable debate about them.

However, one aspect all stakeholders are agreed upon is for the costs to come down, perhaps even to the point where becoming a supplier of customer engines becomes a viable business proposition, which is not the case at the moment.

McLaren have proved they can win titles as a customer team, but they have also had frustrations with their Mercedes relationship this year. They have discovered how customer teams are on the back foot when it comes to maximising the operations of such complex engines at the start of a new regulation cycle.

As for the future, McLaren Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown said at the Monaco Grand Prix: “Priority one is to stay with Mercedes. They’ve been a great partner. Any time a new regulation comes out, we’ll take a look and see, is it something technically that’s interesting? Is it something fiscally that makes sense?

“We’ll go through that process when that happens. But sitting here right now, we’re extremely happy with Mercedes and we anticipate continuing with them.”

Future subvariants of the U.S. Navy Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) fitted with Virginia Payload Modules (VPM) will now be categorized as guided missile types (SSGN) instead. The VPM is a 70-foot hull extension that contains four additional large vertical tubes designed to launch Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles, and other payloads. The recategorization decision comes as the service is moving to retire all four of its Ohio class SSGNs by the end of 2029. The Ohio SSGNs are some of the most capable and heavily-in-demand submarines in the Navy’s inventory today.

The Navy currently plans to acquire 19 VPM-equipped Virginia class SSGNs, according to a press release the service put out today. The first boat in this class to feature the VPM will be the future USS Arizona, which is actually the second Block V subvariant being built. The first Block V version, the future USS Oklahoma, will lack a VPM, but the other 10 boats in this batch are expected to have this feature.

Block VI Virginia class submarines are also expected to have VPMs, as well as other upgraded capabilities. However, last week, the Navy announced a new monster $76.6 billion contract award for nine Block VI boats, as well as five additional Columbia class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs. This creates a discrepancy of one submarine (11 Block Vs together with nine Block VIs, for a total of 20, not 19) when it comes to the stated SSGN plans. One possible explanation might be that the outlier is a planned one-of-a-kind seabed espionage subvariant. TWZ has reached out to the Navy for clarification.

Regardless, the decision to formally recategorize Virginia class submarines with VPMs as SSGNs is significant.

“This reclassification is a clear acknowledgment of the increased lethality VPM brings to the undersea fight,” Navy Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs, said in a statement. “These VPM-equipped SSGNs will ensure the Navy continues to dominate the undersea domain for decades to come. By integrating this additional payload capacity, we will have the ability to surge strike power to assure our allies, deter aggression, outmatch any adversary, and give our Fleet commanders an incredibly versatile, hard-hitting instrument of national power.”

“Reclassifying Virginia Payload Module-equipped submarines as SSGNs accurately reflects the extraordinary strike capacity, operational flexibility, and global reach these platforms bring to the Fleet,” Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the service’s top office, also said in his own statement. “These submarines will provide our Nation with a powerful and persistent deterrent, expand options for our combatant commanders, and ensure the Navy remains ready to fight and win whenever and wherever called upon.”

Virginia class submarines with VPMs do have significantly greater magazine depth than their predecessor. Block I and II boats had vertical launch system (VLS) arrays capable of firing a dozen Tomahawks. Block III and IV versions have a pair of Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) in place of the earlier VLS configuration, but with the same number of tubes (12) for Tomahawks.

VPM-equipped types will be able to carry 28 more Tomahawks for a total load of 40. Using different inserts, future Virginia class SSGNs will be able to carry other munitions in those tubes. This includes the aforementioned IRCPS hypersonic missiles. The Navy is also now looking to acquire a surface-to-air missile designed to be fired vertically from these submarines, which you can read more about here.

It should be noted here that all Virginia class submarines have four 21-inch torpedo tubes, which also offer another option for launching Tomahawks. They can also be used to fire Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, as well as launch and recover uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV). It’s also possible, if not highly probable, that the VPMs will be capable of launching (and potentially recovering) other payloads, including additional uncrewed platforms.

Some existing Virginia class submarines can be fitted with Dry Deck Shelters (DDS) on top of their hulls for deploying special operations forces, swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs), and other assets, as well. That is a capability that could be carried over to the enlarged SSGNs.

All of this brings us to the matter of the Ohio SSGNs. These boats are best known for being able to carry up to 154 Tomahawks at once, though they more typically deploy with loads of around 100 of those missiles. However, these submarines, which were converted from Ohio class SSBNs, are really multi-mission platforms. Beyond their ability to launch barrages of dozens of Tomahawks, they can act as motherships for special operations forces and uncrewed platforms, as well as serve as underwater intelligence fusion nodes and command centers. You can read more about their capabilities in this past War Zone feature.

“This transition [in categorization from SSN to SSGN] comes at an important moment as USS Georgia, one of the Navy’s four Ohio class guided-missile submarines, begins the inactivation process after more than four decades of exceptional service,” CNO Caudle also said in his statement today. “Georgia and her sister ships proved the enduring value of combining undersea stealth with unmatched clandestine strike capability. The next generation of Virginia class SSGNs builds on that legacy with greater survivability, adaptability, and sustained combat power.”

USS Georgia returned home from its final scheduled operational patrol last month. It is now scheduled to be formally inactivated next year.

At the same time, as TWZ has noted for years, the VPM-equipped Virginia class boats will not be a one-for-one replacement for the Ohio class SSGNs, at least based on what is publicly known about the former’s expected capabilities. Just in terms of missile launch capacity, each one of the converted Ohios is equal to roughly four Block V/VI Virginias. This means the Navy will need to field 16 new Virginia SSGNs before it fills the gap left by the retirement of USS Georgia and its three sisters, and can then start adding capacity with three additional boats. The Navy is facing a broader deficit in VLS capacity across its surface and subsurface fleets in the coming years, due also in part to the impending retirement of the last of its Ticonderoga class cruisers.

It is unclear what other capabilities the Block V and VI Virginia class submarines might have that will help make up for the loss of the specialized intelligence gathering and command and control tasks currently performed by the Ohio class SSGNs. As noted, some existing Virginia class submarines also perform the special operations support mission, but on a more limited level.

“By putting high-volume, long-range precision strike capabilities directly into the hands of the Fleet, these SSGNs will serve as a vital cornerstone for Distributed Maritime Operations and high-end warfighting,” the Navy’s press release today says. “Once operational, these highly survivable platforms will be dynamically employed across crucial global theaters – providing persistent forward presence, reinforcing robust alliance deterrence, and standing ready to project decisive combat power at a moment’s notice.”

On top of all this, the Navy does not expect the full fleet of 19 Virginia SSGNs to be in service until Fiscal Year 2038, at the earliest. This will be nearly a decade after the last Ohio SSGNs sail into mothballs. Concerns are regularly voiced now about the ability of General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding (a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries) to keep up with demand for submarines in this class. There is even more pressure on the program with the addition of plans to sell some of those boats to Australia as part of the trilateral Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) defense pact. The Navy is hoping to see the Virginia class production rate eventually rise to two per year, but is not expecting that to come until sometime in the 2030s.

If nothing else, the Navy has at least outlined more of a formal plan to supplant the Ohio class SSGNs with what it has now dubbed Virginia class SSGNs.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here.

USS George Washington dropped anchor off the coast of Da Nang, Vietnam, on July 30, beginning a five-day port call. The carrier entered the South China Sea the prior week and conducted operations southwest of Luzon, Philippines, from July 24 to 28. This marks the fourth time a U.S. aircraft carrier has visited the country since normalizing relations in 1995 and the first time since 2023. The crew aboard George Washington welcomed the local community, hosting public tours and participating in local events. Guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls and destroyer USS Shoup also arrived alongside the flattop.

“While our ship represents the high-end capabilities of the U.S. Navy, our visit here to Vietnam supports a U.S.-Vietnam relationship that continues to grow stronger across an increasingly broad range of subjects, reflecting our shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the commanding officer of George Washington, Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, said. “Our Sailors are excited to step ashore, learn about Vietnam’s rich culture, and work side-by-side with the community here in Da Nang. It is through these personal connections that we build the trust necessary for a peaceful and prosperous region.”

The Theodore Roosevelt CSG returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on July 28, after completing the at-sea phase of exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026. The large-scale exercise, which successfully concluded on July 31, brought 30 nations, 30,000 personnel, 30 surface ships, five submarines, and nearly 200 aircraft together to execute 2,400 sorties and respond to 5,000 scenario-based operational problem sets.

“No single nation can ensure security in the Pacific alone,” the commander of the RIMPAC Combined Task Force, Vice Adm. Jeff Jablon, said. “The network of allies and partners in the region is an asymmetric advantage. The work participating nations do at RIMPAC builds the combined and joint ability to deter conflict and supports all nations in exercising their sovereign rights and freedoms in the maritime domain.”

USS Theodore Roosevelt departed Pearl Harbor over the weekend and will head back to San Diego before deploying, likely to replace the Abraham Lincoln CSG in the Middle East, depending on how negotiations with Iran play out in the near term. Less than two weeks remain on the 60-day timetable initially agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both countries on June 17.

In the Middle East, U.S. forces, led by USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush, “continue to strictly enforce the U.S. blockade against Iran,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X this morning. To date, CENTCOM has redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two by force, and boarded another two to ensure compliance. The pace of redirections is ramping up, with more vessels turned around in the past week (27) than in the first two combined (17). In audio released with the update, dock landing ship USS Comstock, part of the three-ship Boxer ARG – the only amphibious group in the region – issued a simple warning: “If you do not comply, we will compel compliance with force.”

Overall, three U.S. carriers are deployed, three are working up or at homeport in various states of readiness, four are in maintenance, and one is being used for training. One amphibious ready group is deployed, five are training or in port, and three are in maintenance availabilities.

Note: Positions are general approximations. Non-deployed LHA/LHD amphibious warships are not shown.

Contact the author: ian.ellis-jones@teamrecurrent.io

Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to extend his tenure as coach of the United States men’s soccer team for another four years through the 2030 World Cup. The 54-year-old Argentinian took the US to the round of 16 at this year’s finals.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – Captain Ibrahim Traore, a 38-year-old army officer who seized power in a 2022 coup, has become one of Africa’s most recognisable leaders, hailed by supporters as a symbol of sovereignty and resistance to foreign influence.

But while his image has grown across the continent, his rule has also been marked by increasing restrictions on political activity, persistent insecurity and questions over whether his message of national renewal can translate into lasting change.

In April, Traore told Burkinabe people to “forget about democracy”, arguing that the country was in a revolutionary phase rather than a democratic one. The remark came after his government extended the military-led transition and dissolved political parties, signalling that a return to civilian rule was no longer an immediate priority.

The contrast between Traore’s growing international reputation and the realities inside Burkina Faso has become one of the defining questions of his presidency.

Burkina Faso has been at the centre of the Sahel’s security crisis for nearly a decade, with armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) expanding across large parts of the country and overwhelming successive governments.

Why has Traore become so popular?

Traore’s appeal extends well beyond Burkina Faso because he has tapped into wider frustration across parts of Africa over foreign military intervention, economic dependence and political elites seen as disconnected from citizens.

Since taking power in a coup in September 2022, he has expelled French troops, strengthened ties with Russia, promoted local industry and agriculture, and presented economic self-reliance as a national priority. His government has joined other military-led governments in the Sahel region moving away from traditional Western security partnerships.

His speeches frequently invoke the legacy of former revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, who ruled Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination in 1987 and who remains a symbol of anti-imperialism and self-reliance across Africa.

Supporters argue that Traore has restored national pride and challenged a system in which Burkina Faso remained politically and economically dependent on external powers.

“What’s happening in Burkina Faso is a genuine decoupling of legitimacy from performance,” Kabir Adamu, a security analyst and founder of Beacon Consulting Limited in Nigeria, told Al Jazeera. “Traore has restructured the security architecture around sovereignty rather than efficacy.”

Adamu said measures such as the creation of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, Burkina Faso’s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and closer security ties with Russia have resonated with a population exhausted by years of foreign-backed military efforts that failed to stop the spread of armed groups.

A Burkinabe diplomat based in Ghana, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said Traore’s appeal reflects a desire among some citizens for a leader who appears less influenced by external powers.

“I have followed the speeches of Western leaders for decades,” the diplomat told Al Jazeera. “Traore is the first leader in years who looks like he isn’t reading from their script.”

The diplomat said some supporters view criticism from Western governments as evidence that Burkina Faso’s attempt to pursue a more independent path challenges established relationships.

What has changed under his government?

Traore has sought to turn his sovereignty message into policy, with his government prioritising local production, state control of strategic sectors and reduced dependence on foreign partners.

Officials say Burkina Faso has increased investment in agriculture, particularly in staple crops such as rice and maize, while encouraging local manufacturing and processing industries. The government has also promoted infrastructure projects and sought greater national involvement in strategic economic sectors.

Supporters argue that these measures are laying the foundations for greater economic independence and ensuring that national resources are directed towards domestic development rather than external interests.

The government has also expanded the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland programme, a government-backed civilian force created to support the military in areas where the state has struggled to maintain security.

Has security improved?

This remains the central test of Traore’s presidency.

He came to power promising to reverse the deterioration in security that had plagued Burkina Faso for years. Successive governments struggled to contain armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) that expanded across the Sahel following instability in neighbouring Mali.

Since 2022, the military has intensified operations across the country and repeatedly announced the recapture of towns and strategic positions. Government officials say security has improved in several areas and that the state has regained ground previously controlled by armed groups.

“Traore’s presidency is ultimately judged by whether security has improved,” Mustapha Bature Sallama told Al Jazeera. He is a private investigator and security and intelligence specialist from Ghana who is based near the Ghana–Burkina Faso border.

Sallama said Burkina Faso continues to face serious threats from armed groups linked to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Sahel, and ISIL’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), with millions of people requiring humanitarian assistance, more than two million displaced and limited independent verification of official security claims.

He added that Burkina Faso and Ghana maintain intelligence cooperation to monitor cross-border threats and prevent the spread of armed group violence into the region.

Despite government claims of progress, Burkina Faso remains one of the countries most affected by armed group violence. Attacks continue across multiple regions, civilians are regularly killed and humanitarian organisations report that millions of people require assistance.

More than two million people remain displaced and access to many affected areas is limited. Independent verification of military claims has also become increasingly difficult as access for journalists, researchers and humanitarian groups has narrowed.

What about political freedoms?

Traore’s government has increasingly moved beyond a military transition towards a broader consolidation of power.

In January, authorities dissolved political parties and suspended political activities, arguing that they fuelled division during a period of national crisis. The move followed an earlier extension of the military transition, effectively postponing a return to electoral politics.

The tightening of state control has also extended beyond politics. Last month, Traore publicly declared that “the battle has begun” against Muslim scholars he accused of promoting religious extremism, following the adoption of a new Religious Freedoms Law and the arrest of several prominent Sunni clerics.

The confrontation was significant because many Muslim leaders had previously been viewed as part of Traore’s support base. Critics warned that the measures risked weakening religious independence and freedom of expression, while authorities argued that extraordinary steps were necessary during a national security emergency.

Rights groups have also raised concerns over restrictions affecting political parties, journalists and civil society organisations.

So does the record match the reputation?

Traore’s rise has been built on a powerful message: that Burkina Faso should have greater control over its security, resources and political direction.

For many supporters, he represents a generation of African leaders willing to challenge former colonial powers, reject Western security frameworks and demand greater control over national resources. In a region where frustration with foreign intervention has been growing, that message has resonated strongly.

But the strength of Traore’s image has also created a difficult test: whether symbolic victories can translate into improvements in people’s daily lives.

If the measure is sovereignty, political messaging and the ability to inspire supporters, Traore has achieved remarkable influence in a short period and become one of Africa’s most recognisable political figures.

If the measure is security, humanitarian conditions and political freedoms inside Burkina Faso, the picture is far more complicated. Armed violence continues, displacement remains widespread and questions remain over whether military rule can deliver lasting stability.

Traore has proved highly effective at turning sovereignty into a powerful political message. The question now is whether that message can deliver the security and justice that many Burkinabe people expect.

“We are proud to see a leader who stands up to the West and wears our traditional clothes. That pride is real,” a youth leader in Ouagadougou, who requested anonymity because of concerns for their safety, told Al Jazeera.

“But pride doesn’t feed a family, and it doesn’t protect a village. We want Captain Traore to be a symbol of strength, but we also need him to be a symbol of safety and justice here at home.”

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.

About one in seven women develop breast cancer in their lifetime, yet only 5-10% of cases are linked to inherited genes.

Most cases – 96% – are in women over 40, while 25% are in women over 75.

Men can get breast cancer too, with about 420 new cases every year in the UK.

In England, guidance from Nice recommends GPs ask about family history if a woman is worried that she might have a higher risk of breast cancer, and sometimes if they are over 35 and using an oral contraceptive pill or considering taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Hormones have been linked to a slightly increased risk of breast cancer, although larger risk factors include alcohol intake and obesity.

The study, by a team from Cambridge University and the Institute of Cancer Research, looks at how to predict breast cancer risk in younger women.

They used a risk calculator called Boadicea that combines factors such as family history, lifestyle, reproductive history and genetic information to give a risk score.

If all women under 50 were to have this done, they estimate about a quarter (26.5%) would be categorised as at above-average risk and referred for further assessment.

This would include a third of women under 50 (34.8%) who develop breast cancer within 10 years.

By comparison, the current Nice criteria would result in 1.4% of women under 50 being referred for further assessment, which would include just 4.4% of those women who develop breast cancer.

A main reason for the disparity, the researchers say, is because three-quarters of women (73%) under 50 who develop breast cancer within a decade have no family history of breast cancer – the key criterion in the Nice guidelines.

In a separate statement, Lissie Harper, PC Harper’s widow, said it was “disgusting” that his killers could be eligible for early release.

She said she was “beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew’s killers are soon to be free to roam the streets”.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg said the decision not to exclude them was “demoralising for all police officers”.

The Sentencing Act was amended in January, with the eligibility for early release based on the length of fixed sentence, rather than the type of offence.

The act already excluded some of the most serious and dangerous offenders, such as murderers serving life sentences or those on extended sentences.

But last month, Burnham paused the plans after backlash from survivors. The scheme will now restart in October.

Announcing the changes on Monday, he said: “I fully understand the anger, anxiety and distress that’s been caused. I’ve heard that loud and clear.”

Under the revised plans, rape and child sexual offences will now also be excluded from early release.

The government also announced an extra £10 million will go to front-line victim support services, including a new national helpline.

This move does not require changes to the existing legislation before October, the government said, though it may make amendments in the future to exclude certain offenders from being released.

Offenders of other crimes serving longer sentences of four years or more will be eligible for release halfway through their sentences rather than two-thirds as had previously been the case.

Those serving less serious sentences could be freed after a third of their time, rather than half.

The changes are due to be phased in, beginning with prisoners serving sentences of less than 575 days, going up to inmates jailed for 12 years or more being eligible for early release in June 2027.

The “presumption” will be that offenders are tagged and will face longer periods of supervision and tough new rules including “restriction zones”, Burnham said.

The number of individuals released each time will depend on the make-up of the prison population, which the government says will evolve between now and implementation.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez says 6,125 people confirmed dead as government response faces scrutiny.

The Venezuelan government has announced that the confirmed death toll from a pair of heavy earthquakes that struck the country in June has risen to 6,125 people.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced the updated figures on Monday, stating in a post shared on the Telegram messaging app that 61,000 people had been treated in hospitals.

The announcement comes as the Venezuelan government, headed by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, faces mounting criticism for shortcomings in the government’s response to the deadly earthquakes.

As Venezuelans searched for missing friends and loved ones in the aftermath of the quakes, some criticised the government and military forces for their perceived failure to do enough to help residents.

The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes occurred on June 24, with the coastal state of La Guaira and the national capital, Caracas, hit the hardest.

Rodriguez said that 16.5 percent of debris from the tremors has been removed, but questions have continued about the country’s path to recovery.

A report from the World Bank has placed the physical damage from the earthquakes at nearly $20bn. Despite pledges of support from countries around the world in the days following the earthquake, it remains unclear where such funds might come from.

The United States has maintained a high degree of control over Venezuela since abducting former President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January, and some US economic sanctions from Maduro’s tenure in office remain in place. Advocates have called for the remaining sanctions to be loosened or cancelled to help facilitate the flow of funds into Venezuela.

Dearborn, Michigan – Yemeni-American activist Samraa Luqman has no regrets about voting for President Donald Trump in 2024.

While the United States president has been a disappointment to Arab Americans in Michigan with his pro-war and anti-immigration policies, she stressed that it was untenable for the community to vote for Democrats as Israel’s genocide unfolded in Gaza.

“There had to be accountability for the genocide. We’re OK with what we voted for,” Luqman told Al Jazeera.

“I said from the beginning, I’m willing to live through another four years of Trump, that we expected him to be bad on our issues, but it was a pill we were willing to swallow in order to hold the Democratic Party accountable.”

Luqman is not alone.

Despite Trump’s staunchly pro-Israel policies and unpopular war on Iran, many say supporting Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in 2024 was out of the question, and it was the right choice for the community to break with the Democratic Party.

“I could not – with a good heart, good conscience – tell someone to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump”, but the approach of “lesser of two evils” no longer works to sway Arab voters, Hussein Dabajeh, a prominent political strategist in the Detroit area, home to large Arab and Muslim communities, told Al Jazeera.

Democrats’ popularity amongst Arab Americans nosedived in 2024 as President Joe Biden ignored calls to compel a ceasefire in Gaza and continued to provide Israel with weapons and military aid as it killed tens of thousands in Palestine and Lebanon.

Then, Vice President Harris refused even to consider an arms embargo against Israel.

As a result of these policies, many Arab Americans, who had been reliable Democratic voters for years, ditched the party and refused to support Harris in her presidential bid.

Trump swept in, presented himself as a “peace” candidate, and his campaign forged ties with Arab community advocates.

Trump’s policies

At a rally in Michigan ahead of the 2024 vote, Trump brought local Muslim imams to the stage and praised the community.

The Republican leader also visited the predominantly Arab and Muslim Detroit suburb of Dearborn ahead of the election.

Trump ended up winning Michigan as many Arab voters in the Dearborn area refused to back Harris. Some voted for him, while others voted for a third party, left the top of the ticket blank, or skipped the election altogether.

According to an Al Jazeera analysis of election results in heavily Arab precincts in east Dearborn, about 45 percent of the votes went to Trump, 29 percent to Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and 16 percent to Harris.

As president, Trump allowed Israel to continue its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon and launched an unprovoked war against Iran that has sent petrol prices soaring.

He has also intensified the crackdown on Palestinian rights advocacy at home with a campaign to deport noncitizen student activists critical of Israel.

In February, he also terminated immigration protections for Yemeni nationals, sowing fear and uncertainty in a community where many leaders had endorsed him in 2024.

Asked how Arab Americans feel about Trump now, Dabajeh said: “They hate him. There’s no other way of putting it. I don’t think there is a single person I know that voted for Trump from the Arab and Muslim community specifically that looks at what Trump is doing and is happy with what he’s doing, or what he’s done.”

‘The genocide matured us’

Many Arab Americans stress that withholding support for Harris in 2024 was not out of love for Trump.

“No one understands the horrors of Trump’s policy more than us. We were his first victims in 2017,” said Amer Zahr, a comedian and Dearborn Board of Education trustee.

Shortly after starting his first term in 2017, Trump implemented a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.

“No one is more aware of the harm that Trump can cause than we are,” Zahr added. “But the genocide matured us in a way that we finally got to the point where we were willing to tell politicians ‘no’.”

As the election season returns to Michigan, Arab Americans once again find themselves at a political crossroads.

The community is rallying behind Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed – who had previously endorsed Harris – but some are keeping their political options open.

Luqman, the Yemeni activist, said she will certainly vote for El-Sayed and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib – who are outspoken critics of Israel – in the Democratic primary on Tuesday and in the general elections in November.

Luqman said Democratic voters’ support for progressive candidates will help the party regain credibility with Arab voters.

“Those are things that do bring the Democratic Party a little bit of relevance and credibility within our community,” Luqman told Al Jazeera.

“It has kind of brought the community back to centre, whereas they were kind of swinging to the right by a large margin.”

Palestine or bust

While some political commentators have been questioning why US support for Israel has become a decisive issue in US politics, particularly Democratic primaries, the answer in the Arab community is clear.

Advocates say domestic policy takes a backseat when their loved ones are being killed, and their hometowns are being wiped out by their own tax dollars via military aid to Israel.

“Gaza and Palestine and Middle Eastern issues have now become the forefront, the top of everybody’s issues, and it’s become a red line for my community,” Luqman said.

“So if you’re a Republican or Democrat and you hate AIPAC and you value Palestinians’ rights to self-determination, then you’re going to be getting our vote, regardless of what party you’re in,” she said, referencing the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby group.

Zahr echoed that message.

“People want us not to be single-issue voters. In other words, they want us to forgo our main issue, get screwed on it, watch our families die because Trump’s bad, and accept all that,” he said.

“Well, we said ‘no’. The blood of the children of Gaza had to mean something.”

Zahr emphasised that Arab Americans are not alone in centring Palestine in their electoral choices, pointing to the defeats that pro-Israel incumbents have suffered across the map in this primary season.

“You’ve gotten to a point where if somebody says, ‘Stop bombing hospitals’, everyone knows you’re talking about Israel. That’s because of Israel. That’s not because of us. That’s because of what Israel did,” he told Al Jazeera.

“And so, people are keying into the truth. And when you learn the truth, something that comes along with that is you learn that you’ve been lied to, and you get angry. A lot of righteous anger is pushing a lot of this.”

Dabajeh, the political strategist, said that while Arab voters care about the economy, affordability and infrastructure – like all Americans – they cannot overlook US policy on Israel.

“Are we supposed to call our family members overseas and be like, ‘Listen, khalto [auntie], this guy over here that’s running for office might kill some of your neighbours, might kill some of your kids, but don’t worry about it, he’s going to take care of the flooding in our homes’?”

“It’s not going to work. We can’t do that.”

Islamophobia and racism

Republicans tried to court Arab and Muslim voters in 2024 and capitalise on the discontent over Gaza policies, but now, many conservatives have returned to demonising the community as an electoral strategy.

Weeks after he was elected, Trump endorsed Randy Fine, a Florida politician with a history of anti-Muslim statements, for Congress. Fine would go on to win and call for the “destruction” of all Muslims.

Meanwhile, Republican governors in Florida and Texas have designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a “terrorist” group.

In Michigan, Republican Congressman John James, who is running for governor, has also pledged to blacklist the group.

Luqman said James had spoken to community members and promised to engage voters in Dearborn before that announcement.

“There was a really big opportunity for the Republican Party to solidify the swing of the pendulum, if you will, and they lost that option. They really missed that opportunity,” she said.

Migrants rushed to receive water and beverages in Ceuta, Spain, where many have spent days on a beach holding signs seeking asylum. Hungry and thirsty, they remain in the tiny Spanish territory as authorities struggle to manage thousands after a mass border rush.