Days after declaring the Bab al-Mandeb (BAM) Strait closed to Saudi vessels, the Houthis of Yemen claim to have struck two ships in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) group has confirmed an attack on at least one vessel in that area.

“The Yemeni armed forces have carried out a significant military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the ban imposed by the armed forces in the Red Sea,” the Houthis claimed on Telegram. “The operation involved a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. Thanks to God’s help, the strikes were accurate and caused a large fire on both vessels.”

TWZ cannot independently verify the Houthi claim. However, in a post on X, UKMTO stated that a master of an oil tanker “reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting.”

The incident took place 70NM southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, the organization added. “There are no reported casualties and no environmental impact. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”

A police drama that has gripped viewers is returning for a new series on the BBC

The BBC has shared a first look at the new series of a police drama fans have called “the best cop show”.

Belfast-set Blue Lights has become a huge success since it started in 2023, with viewers gripped by its first three series.

It is now set to return for a fourth run, and the broadcaster has given fans a peek at what’s to come in images showing Siân Brooke, Martin McCann, Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff back in uniform.

The series, which follows officers at the fictional Blackthorn police station in Belfast, will also see the return of Game of Thrones’ Richard Dormer.

He played Gerry Cliff in series one, and will be back alongside Hannah McClean as solicitor Jen Robinson and Jonathan Harden as disgraced former Inspector, Jonty, in an episode “that will answer important questions from the past”.

The new images come weeks after the BBC shared an exclusive clip from the new season.

The brief look at series four showed Constable Shane Bradley (Frank Blake) pulling over elderly driver David (Trevor Gill) and his passenger, Imelda (Rosamund Monteith), to quiz him about whether he had been drinking.

Fans are eagerly awaiting the new episodes, after declaring the first three series of Blue Lights were “excellent” and “outstanding”.

One posted a comment on IMDb.com saying the show was “entertainment at its best”, while another remarked: “As an ex-cop, I’m so sick of US made cookie cutter police shows. Blue Lights in my opinion is bang on what it’s like to be cop.”

“Brilliant acting, directing, production – award winning drama all round,” said someone else. “Absolutely outstanding British drama. It’s poignant, emotional, engaging. The cast are brilliant. Best show I’ve watched in a long time.”

“If you haven’t watched Blue Lights yet, you’re missing out on one of the best shows in years,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “This is a must watch show, one of the best of the 2020s and will one day be a classic,” they continued.

“Watched this whole thing in like a week, it is fantastic,” said someone else, as another wrote on Reddit that it was “a masterpiece of a show”.

“This is probably the best cop show since Southland and Bosch,” another viewer commented.

Blue Lights will be available on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this autumn.

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a defense policy bill that incorporates President Trump’s request for a historic $1.15 trillion in spending for national security and would designate the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

It also would provide for a pay raise next year ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, depending upon their rank.

The National Defense Authorization Act is generally one of the more bipartisan bills that Congress takes up on an annual basis. That’s not the case this year. The vote was 216-212.

Democrats took issue with steep spending increases for the Pentagon as Republicans attempted to cut numerous non-defense programs through other bills. They also opposed some of the conservative social policy riders that were included.

For example, the bill includes a prohibition on gender-related medical care under the military health program known as TRICARE. It also eases hurdles for service members to carry a privately owned firearm on base, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s lead on the issue.

Republican leaders’ decision to attach Trump’s elections overhaul bill to the defense bill upon its passing also amplified the partisan divide. Speaker Mike Johnson is working to accommodate Republican lawmakers who are angry that the Senate won’t pass the SAVE America Act and are insisting that it be included in must-pass bills until the Senate relents.

House bill tests a normally bipartisan process

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he knows there were areas of disagreement, but emphasized that Wednesday’s vote was a step in a long process. He promised to work in a bipartisan manner on a final product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Rogers said the United States needs to reverse decades of underinvestment and neglect in the nation’s armed forces and defense industrial base.

“This bill will do that and much more,” he said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.”

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee, said the defense spending the administration has asked for this year is approaching $1.6 trillion including separate efforts to pay for the war in Iran and boost weapons stockpiles.

“The American people are struggling to pay their bills and we’re going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It’s not a reasonable thing to ask,” Smith said.

Smith also expressed concern about the war with Iran and that in supporting the defense bill, lawmakers are “de facto supporting this war with no end in sight.”

“We are in an incredibly, incredibly dangerous time,” Smith said. “I want to maintain the bipartisan nature of this bill. I do. And I know that the chairman does. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to need some Republicans to stand up to the president of the United States and say, ‘No. No, we’re not going to get you $1.6 trillion. No, we’re not just going to give you a blank check for a war that is totally out of control.‘”

White House backs parts of the legislation

The spending increases authorized in the bill would not take effect until Congress follows up with a separate defense appropriations bill. The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure. It’s possible a final product won’t be ready until after the midterm elections.

The White House applauded the spending levels authorized in the House bill and the Department of War designation that it says recognizes the “willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation.”

The president issued an executive order last year renaming the Defense Department, but it’s up to Congress to make the change official. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the renaming could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The White House’s statement also said that the administration has a number of concerns with certain provisions in the bill and would work with Congress before a final bill is presented to the president. Among those concerns was a section of the bill it said would limit or undermine the president’s ability to name military installations and property.

In 2023, during a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders. Last year, those bases reverted to their original names, but with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames. The Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

Freking writes for the Associated Press.

Liverpool are confident of signing Bradley Barcola, Alex Scott favours a move to Arsenal, Bruno Fernandes is ready to commit his future to Manchester United.

Liverpool are confident they can beat Arsenal and Bayern Munich to the signature of Paris St-Germain forward Bradley Barcola, after the 23-year-old impressed with four goal contributions at the World Cup with France this summer. (Sun), external

Arsenal are edging the battle with Manchester United for sought-after Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, 22 – but the England Under-21 international has concerns around how much game time he would get at the Emirates. (Mirror), external

Scott is keen on a move to Chelsea after the Cherries rejected a £64m bid from the Blues. (The Standard), external

Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 31, has decided to commit his future to Manchester United, with talks around a new deal ongoing. (Express), external

Besiktas are trying to sign English midfielder Joe Willock, 26, who is in the final year of his contract at Newcastle and will not be offered a new deal. (Telegraph), external

Arsenal are not ruling out the sale of their captain Martin Odegaard, and will listen to offers for the 27-year-old Norway midfielder. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United are exploring a move for Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, who missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squad this summer. (Nicolo Schira), external

Roma have asked about the availability of Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi, 28 – and the Blues have set an asking price of around £17m for the Frenchman. (Footmercato – in French), external

Fulham have opened negotiations with Real Madrid over a potential move for highly-rated striker Gonzalo Garcia, 22. (The Athletic – subscription required), external

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Claimed attacks come days after Houthis announced naval embargo on Saudi vessels.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed an attack on two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea.

“We targeted two Saudi oil tankers, named ENCELA and LAYLIA, for their violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday.

Saree added that the attacks were carried out, “using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”, and led to fires on the ships.

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, had also forced “nearly ten ships… to abandon their routes, and turn back”, Saree said.

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the claims, but the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said it had received reports that a tanker has been struck.

“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” UKMTO, which monitors shipping in the region, said.

Yemen’s Houthi group, which has fought the Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition that backs it for more than a decade, imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20. That followed some of the worst violence Yemen has seen for four years, after the Yemeni government bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian plane from landing.

The Houthis said the declaration of the maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia was “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’ and affirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade”.

The group, which seized Sanaa in 2014, accused Saudi leaders of imposing “an unjust and oppressive siege” for nearly 12 years, “plundering our resources and imposing a comprehensive blockade on our ports and airports by land, sea, and air”.

“The Saudis feel that they can instigate a popular uprising against the Houthis using these economic strangulation methods,” Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a journalist based in Sanaa told Al Jazeera.

Riyadh has rejected claims that it was imposing a siege on the Yemeni people, and the group’s critics point out that they have rejected a proposal from Jordan to resume flights between Amman and Sanaa.

“The ultimate goal for Ansar Allah’s naval blockade against the Saudis, is to force Riyadh to lift its embargo on the ports and airports controlled by the Houthis,” al-Bukhaiti said.

Amid the disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israel war on Iran, Saudi Arabia has been attempting to facilitate oil flow through alternative routes through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. But that route is now under threat from the Houthis.

The Houthis disrupted global commerce when they began attacking ships around the Bab al-Mandeb after the launch of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The attacks ended with the announcement of a “ceasefire” in Gaza in October 2025.

“The people who are questioning if the Houthis can successfully do a blockade against the Saudis should remember, how successfully the Houthis closed access to the Red Sea for the Israeli ports, which in fact resulted in the closure of Eilat port in southern Israel,” said al-Bukhaiti. “Eventually the Americans had to do a deal with the Houthis, with mediation from Oman,” he added, referring to a May 2025 agreement.

The Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, including for oil exports.

Between Yemen to the northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa to the southwest, the strait is just 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound vessels using the Suez Canal.

In 2024, about 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through the strait – about 5 percent of the global total.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since Israel and the US launched their war on Iran in late February, shutting down Bab al-Mandeb as well could block 25 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply.

US and Iran trade new threats as more explosions are reported in Iranian cities, including Sirik, Ahvaz and Bushehr.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s youngest daughter, Vivienne, is seeking to drop “Pitt” from her name, according to People.

The 18-year-old filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court to remove her father’s surname from her legal name, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt. The reason for her request was listed as “personal.”

The request is a common theme among the Jolie-Pitt siblings since the couple’s marriage was formally dissolved in 2019 and divorce became finalized in 2024 after a long legal battle.

In August 2024, the court granted Shiloh’s request to drop the surname. Zahara and Maddox have both asked for the same, but their petitions are pending hearings.

Before her request, Vivienne had already informally dropped the last name. In May 2024, the youngest of six was credited as “Vivienne Jolie” on the Playbill for “The Outsiders,” a play she co-produced with her mom.

The couple wed on Aug. 14, 2014, nine years after they met while filming their movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016 after the couple allegedly had a physical altercation aboard a private plane, which also involved several of their children.

The Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI investigated the alleged physical altercation between Pitt and his son Maddox. No charges were filed against Pitt.

The court has scheduled a hearing for Vivienne’s request for Nov. 2.

Trump-endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton formally launched his general election campaign Wednesday by pitching himself to California’s abundance of anti-Trump voters.

In a speech, Hilton said Democrats had “abandoned” working-class and Latino communities and crushed small businesses. He criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for leading the state into decline, pointing to low literacy rates and slow responses to crises such as the Boyle Heights warehouse fire.

Hilton, a British-born conservative political commentator and former Fox News host, faces an uphill battle in California, a Democratic stronghold. In June, Hilton clinched second place in California’s gubernatorial primary behind veteran Democratic politician Xavier Becerra.

In an effort to persuade voters who are dissatisfied with the status quo, Hilton bought a full-page ad in the Wednesday editions of the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.

The ad read, “Can you be anti-Trump and still vote for me?,” followed by a checklist readers could use to “test” if they shared common ground with Hilton.

“I can’t stand Trump, but I’m not happy with the way things have been run in California lately,” reads one line in the ad.

“I want to fight climate change, but $6.00 gas is crazy!” reads another.

At a news conference Wednesday, Hilton said the ad is aimed at voters who “know that we need change in California.”

Trump’s unpopularity in the state “doesn’t matter because we’re not talking about national policies here,” he said. “This is about what we can do in our state to make life better for Californians.”

Hilton then framed himself as a “pragmatic, problem-solving change-maker” focused on affordability, promising to lower gas prices, electricity costs and taxes and the cost of homes.

“We may not agree about national politics, but I think we can agree that we need change in California, and I’m going to bring that change,” he said.

The news conference, which marked the formal launch of Hilton’s general election campaign, took place at a Boyle Heights auto body shop across the street from the Lineage cold storage facility that was destroyed by a fire last month.

The location was chosen because it is a “symbol of Democrat failure,” Hilton said. The nauseating stench of rotting food filled the surrounding neighborhood. Swarms of flies buzzed about, occasionally landing on top of Hilton’s head.

Hilton said he’s not expecting Trump to campaign on his behalf in California. But, he added, “I’m proud to be endorsed by the president and I think it’s a very good thing to have a governor who has a good relationship with the federal administration.”

No Republican has been elected to a statewide office since 2006. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California published earlier this month showed Becerra with support from 61% of likely voters, compared with 36% for Hilton.

Hilton insists his campaign is different from previous Republican bids.

“We’ve got to the point in California where people are looking for a positive alternative,” Hilton told The Times. “We’re going to be fighting very hard … already in the last year and a half I’ve fought a campaign like no one’s seen in California for 20 years. I’ve been to nearly every single county in our state.”

It just adds to what will be an especially special Games for Marshall, who is joined in the bowls team by his niece Beth Riva.

“It’s a bit nerve-wracking really,” 59-year-old Marshall told BBC Scotland. “It’s not very often I get a bit emotional, but I certainly had a tear in my eye when I came out the lift this morning and all the athletes were there. It’s just a huge honour.”

Resplendent in full kilt on a sweltering day, and proprietorially clutching the flagstick like a child would a favourite toy, the East Lothian bowler was in his element when talking about the news on Wednesday.

Marshall conceded he would have to let it go for the evening before having it returned before the big show.

But he might have to battle with Adlington for first shot of it when that time comes. “And I’d win that fight,” joked the 39-year-old heavyweight.

Adlington, who won judo gold in 2014 and 2022 and is looking to end her career by completing the treble, revealed the two of them have known the news for a few weeks but had been sworn to secrecy.

“That’s been really hard,” she told BBC Sport Scotland. “I was told I could tell my nearest and dearest but for everyone else it will be a massive surprise.

“I’m just so excited. I was so nervous when I woke up this morning, and I think I’ll be even more nervous tomorrow. I might not even sleep tonight but if it’s even half as good as it was in 2014, it will be amazing.”

For decades, neo-Nazis and far-right extremists flocked to the Austrian home where Adolf Hitler was born to glorify the Nazi leader. Now, the building has been transformed into a police station following a $22.8-million renovation.

The main job of the U.S. Air Force’s growing fleet of F-15EX Eagle IIs has been and continues to be air-to-air combat, especially in defense of the U.S. homeland. However, operational and test units are laying the groundwork for F-15EXs to also take on air-to-ground missions.

Despite its primary mission set, air-to-ground capabilities are inherently a part of the F-15EX’s design. The Eagle II is a member of the extended F-15E Strike Eagle family, having been derived from the F-15QA developed for Qatar.

Last week, the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing shared that one of its F-15EXs had dropped training bombs for the first time ever during a trip to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho back in May. The 142nd, based in Portland, Oregon, is currently the Air Force’s only operational unit flying the Eagle II.

“The crew dropped a total of 24 BDU-50s and 12 BDU-56s over 10 missions with zero safety incidences and satisfactory scores,” according to an official release. “These ‘bombs’ were loaded onto the F-15 EXs and dropped in the Mountain Home firing range complex.”

The BDU-50/B and BDU-56/B are inert training bombs with the same shape and weight as live 500-pound-class Mk 82-series and 2,000-pound-class Mk 84-series bombs, respectively. In U.S. service today, bombs in the extended Mk 82 and Mk 84 families are far more commonly employed in combination with Paveway laser guidance or Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS-assisted guidance kits.

The BDU-50s and BDU-56s are still useful tools for training more general ‘dumb bombing’ skill sets for aircrew and for handling of air-to-ground weapons on the ground. This includes things like going through the procedures for targeting and safe release from an aircraft, as well as loading and unloading the bombs from planes.

Basics are especially important for the members of the 142nd, which previously flew F-15C Eagles with no operational air-to-ground capability. It’s also worth noting here that the F-15C was a single-seat type, while the F-15EX is a two-seater. However, the Air Force’s plan, at least initially, has been for a single pilot to fly the Eagle II, something we will come back to later on.

The 142nd does have some personnel with air-to-ground mission experience from prior assignments, but this is still a new mission set for the unit as a whole, which requires new training regimens.

Three pilots from the 142nd “attended a 9-month training course to understand the science behind dropping bombs and the tactics involved. They were tasked with creating a program to train the rest of the wing’s pilots on the basics so they could make the first steps to be able to drop munitions,” according to the official release. Earlier this year, weapons loaders from the Wing also “traveled to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. where they worked with F-15 E-models assigned to the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron to become certified on loading bombs.”

The Air Force’s Test and Evaluation community has already been validating the F-15EX’s air-to-ground capabilities. This testing is now extending overseas. Earlier this month, the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron brought an Eagle II from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to Kadena Air Base in Japan to support a munitions load training event. An F-15E Strike Eagle also took part in that training. Pictures the Air Force released on Monday show that live GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb IIs (SDB IIs), also known as StormBreakers, were among the munitions that ground personnel at Kadena practiced loading onto the jets.

Two active duty squadrons of F-15EXs are set to be established at Kadena, taking the place of units previously based there that had flown F-15Cs. The Air Force has been deploying F-15Es and other fighters to the base on a rotational basis to fill the gap in the meantime.

The Air Force has previously announced plans to stand up National Guard F-15EX squadrons in California, Louisiana, and Michigan. The service’s proposed budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year outlines plans to dramatically expand the total size of the Eagle II force, which could lead to a dozen squadrons or more flying the jets in the end, as you can read more about here. How this might change the Air Force’s plans for employing the jets remains to be seen.

In its 2027 Fiscal Year budget request, the Air Force continued to stress that “the F-15EX aircraft will be used predominantly in defensive and offensive counter-air missions at both Air National Guard (ANG) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operational squadrons.” However, it did also note that the “F-15EX will perform the Homeland Defense mission and provide Combatant Commanders (CCDR) with strike packages capable of operating in Highly Contested Environments (HCE).”

As TWZ has been reporting for years, it has been more or less clear from the start that the F-15EXs would eventually take on more of a multi-role mission after entering service, despite the emphasis on the air-to-air role. This has also raised the possibility that Eagle IIs could be flown with Weapon System Officers (WSO), another pilot with multi-role skills, or a mission specialist, in their backseats, just like their F-15E cousins.

“We currently don’t have conformal fuel tanks [CFTs] for it [the F-15EX], but there is a plan to get us conformal fuel tanks. And then when we do, we can start talking about putting all kinds of air-to-ground capabilities into the airplane, potentially putting WSOs or other experts in the backseat as well to have us do any number of multi-role capabilities that it’s just physically not possible to in the C model,” now-retired Col. Michael Kosderka, then commander of the 142nd, told TWZ in an interview back in 2024. “So the X has tremendous growth capability. It’s really exciting.”

The F-15EX is capable of being fitted with the same CFTs as the F-15E, which give the aircraft more hardpoints for stores on top of providing extra fuel. The current status of the plan to get CFTs for the Eagle IIs assigned to the 142nd is unclear. The initial pair of jets for the Wing were delivered without them. The picture released of the F-15EX at Mountain Home for the air-to-ground training in May, seen at the top of this story, shows that jet, at least, still lacks them. The default configuration for Eagle II test jets includes the CFTs, as seen below.

“Basically, what it’s going to do is turn a wing with a primary mission that is on life support, frankly, into something that has America’s newest fighter, and we’re going to be relevant with that airplane for decades to come,” Kosderka added at that time.

“Gen. Kelly made it very clear in his public address here that the F-15EX is going to have an inherent capability that we need to put to work from day one, to include limited air-to-ground capability,” Lt. Col. Robert Waller, then commander of the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, also told TWZ in a separate interview in 2024. Waller was referring to now-retired Gen. Mark “Grace” Kelly, who was head of Air Combat Command at the time.

All of this makes perfect sense given the F-15EX’s inherent ability to carry a lot of payload, including both air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, over a long distance. The Eagle II can also accommodate outsized stores. These are attributes that have already made the F-15E one of the most heavily in-demand platforms in the Air Force today.

Strain on the aging Strike Eagle fleet, which has been further magnified by the total loss of four of those aircraft this year during operations against Iran, might prompt the Air Force to consider further expanding the air-to-ground role of the Eagle II. Additional planned F-15EX purchases could very well enable the retirement of at least some older F-15Es, as well as other aircraft. In 2024, Congress blocked an attempt by the Air Force to divest roughly half of its Strike Eagles.

There is already substantial overlap between the F-15E and F-15EX communities, as underscored by the 142nd Wing’s milestone air-to-ground training at Mountain Home in May.

Air-to-air missions still look set to be the dominant task for the F-15EX fleet, at least in the near term, but work is being done now to ensure the jets can also take on air-to-ground missions if the call comes.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Love Island fans have been left furious after dramatic scenes played out between Aidan and Priya and he tried to salvage his relationship with her after his “disrespectful” comment

Love Island fans have been left furious after dramatic scenes played out between Aidan and Priya. The couple had been going strong on the ITV2 reality dating show, but things went awry when Aidan made a comment about his significant other, claiming that she “pounced” on him when they were in bed.

The property broker, 23, came under fire from the public and his fellow contestants for the way he spoke, and swept the board on Wednesday night’s episode during the Graftie Awards, scooping up publicly voted titles of Flirtiest Performance, Plot Twist Award, and Raunchiest Moment.

After it all played out, Priya and Aidan had a heart-to-heart about where they are at as a couple as they went on their first date, with Aidan trying to explain that he doesn’t necessarily have feelings for the business development manager, 25, but still hopes to build some sort of future with her.

Speaking about his comment directly, she told him: “It makes a girl feel a certain type of way… it’s nasty.”

Later on, around the makeup table, the girls tried to persuade Priya that Aidan’s comment was “disrespectful” and opined that he would never have said it if he really did love her.

Taking to X, one fan said: “this series is just a priya humiliation ritual atp, and another said: “Priya… Calm down!”…. SORRY!???? Aidan bro dont piss me off”

A third wrote: “I’m sorry but Priya is not in the wrong. What Asian said is digusting.” A fourth said: “you definitely did deserve them aidan”

Other Islanders, including Jasmine, have accused the couple of being “fake” and viewers certainly had a lot to say about that as well.

One said: “Why can’t we vote couples out? I am so sick of mica and samraj and Aidan and priya they really don’t need any more time in there blowing their own horns saying there still there. ITS CAUSE WE CANT PUBLICLY VOTE.”

Another said: “Jas I like you but Julia’s opinion has f*ck all to do with her wanting to see Aidan and Priya together. We can all see that their connection isn’t real by the way Aidan carries himself. Please REST.”

Another said: “Jasmine wants Aiden’s validation so bad and it’s so disgusting to watch. This is a well educated woman embarrassing herself on live TV for bunch of losers. “

* Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat ,Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

WASHINGTON — The House adopted a Republican-only $95-billion budget proposal Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over objections from Democrats and a few GOP holdouts in a final push before the midterm elections.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Trump’s priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump’s military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year’s big budget bill.

Even as the House action advanced the resolution, Johnson’s strategy faces uncertainty in the Senate.

The package has $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes aligned with the SAVE America Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements that are Trump’s top priority.

Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which enables approval on a majority vote in Congress, bypassing the Senate’s ability to filibuster the measure to stall or kill it.

Once rare, the reconciliation process is now Johnson’s preferred strategy for pushing proposals through Congress. It’s the way Republicans approved Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last summer and funded Homeland Security this year over Democrats’ refusal to fund Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“No matter how you feel about current events, these funds are necessary to ensure our fighting forces remain ready, our troops are paid and our nation is safe,” said Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said, “Republicans have literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans to sustain the Trump war machine.”

Among those opposed was Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, a former Republican turned independent who said he felt any war funding bill should be bipartisan. He also wanted to ensure Congress had a “much higher level of involvement” in bringing the war to an end, and he said this proposal did not set that process in motion.

Republicans Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio also voted against.

This is the third time GOP leaders have relied on reconciliation, dubbing this version 3.0, and it’s a lengthy process. If the House approves the budget resolution, it next goes to the Senate for a round-the-clock session to consider politically tough amendments — something senators would rather avoid in an election year.

The budget resolution sets out instructions for the various committees to draft legislation, which Johnson hopes could be done this summer, with final voting on the package once lawmakers return after the August recess.

Senators pan House’s budget and have their own ideas

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has been noncommittal on the House package that also divides his own GOP majority, with some Republican senators preferring more money for the military and others demanding the costs be offset with cuts elsewhere.

“We’ll see,” Thune said this week.

Thune’s focus, at the moment, is avoiding another government shutdown. He wants the Senate to approve a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution, to provide routine government funding before lawmakers leave for the summer break.

If senators are unable to reach agreement on government funding, Thune has said he may hold onto the House’s budget resolution and use it later in the fall as a way to push the resolution through the Senate over objections. He wants to prevent a federal shutdown when current funds expire on Sept. 30.

“It’s a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” Thune said. “I hope that’s not necessary.”

Thune has also clashed with Trump over the president’s push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. The measure, while popular among Trump’s most ardent supporters, does not have enough support among Senate Republicans for passage.

It’s already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and experts warn the proposed new rules could make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast ballots.

Mascaro writes for the Associated Press.

Fox TV executives knew their telecast of Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Final would be big.

But bigger than every NFL game outside of the Super Bowl, the perennial ratings blockbuster, was not on their radar.

“I have to admit that I didn’t see it coming, that we and Telemundo would combine for almost 65 million viewers for the final,” Mike Mulvihill, executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics for Fox Sports. “That’s beyond what we could have hoped for.”

Spain’s World Cup victory over Argentina by a 1-0 score attracted the largest audience for any sports telecast outside of the Super Bowl since the 1994 Winter Olympics when Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding competed in the women’s figure skating short program.

The 38.9 million viewers who tuned in on Fox was enough to make the final the most-watched soccer telecast in history. Telemundo’s coverage set the record for a Spanish language soccer telecast with 23.9 million viewers.

It capped a month of massive viewing for the quadrennial tournament. In the United States,128.4 million people watched some portion of the World Cup across Fox’s broadcast network, its cable outlet FS1 and streaming platform Tubi. The 104 matches averaged a record high 7.7 million viewers, a 116% increase over the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Spanish language coverage on NBCUniversal’s Telemundo and the Peacock streaming platform combined to average 6.3 million viewers across the 104 matches, up 143% over the 2022 tournament.

Ad revenues for the tournament topped $1.2 billion, according to data from Guideline, which tracks media spending.

Having the tournament in the U.S. with games airing in daytime and prime time helped. Mulvihill noted the tournament came up at a fortunate time on the sports viewing calendar. The NBA Finals were over and Major League Baseball’s post-season and the NFL season are months away.

But even with that soft competition for sports fans’ attention, the World Cup demonstrated an ability to bring in viewers who don’t follow the sport. Fox data showed 53% of viewers who tuned into its coverage had not watched any soccer in the past year. The network’s research found that a majority of U.S. sports fans could name only two stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and their home countries.

What brought the audience in? Mulvihill credits social media, which tends to be an angry place during big sporting events. The lead up to the World Cup was no different, but the doom and gloom went away once the action began.

“There was a lot of negativity around this tournament on social as there always is about everything related to the cost of tickets and related to challenges that foreign visitors might face coming to the U.S.,” Mulvihill noted. “As soon as the ball was kicked, and the matches were in progress, that just completely pivoted to overwhelming positivity.”

Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, said the global reach of social media made the international stars accessible to U.S. fans and created a “fear of missing out” effect that likely drove them to watch.

“There is a communal aspect of soccer, in particular, where you can be in a room with people wearing 10 different colored jerseys, and they all just kind of get into the camaraderie of it, and the highs and lows of it, and the drama of it,” Rishe said. “So even if you don’t have rooting interests, it’s just fun to be a part of it.”

The appeal of communal viewing showed up in the Nielsen data. Out-of-home viewing accounted for 27% of the audience. For Sunday’s final, the figure was 35%

People were having viewing parties or gatherings at home as well. An average of 1.955 viewers per home watched the World Cup. The figure for last year’s regular season NFL games was 1.685 viewers.

The question going forward is whether the World Cup will spur more interest in soccer in the U.S. Major League Soccer has reportedly seen significant increases in ticket sales. The league, which has most of its matches on Apple TV, launched an ad campaign with the tagline, “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here.”

Versant acquired the rights to carry 300 Bundesliga matches. The company’s USA Network will carry at least 30 matches from the German domestic league, with the rest streaming on the company’s free Fandango platform. The league was previously available on ESPN’s streaming service, which required a subscription.

Telemundo acquired the Spanish-language TV rights to the Union of European Football Assns. men’s club competitions, including the Champions League.

Fox paid $485 million for the rights to the 2026 World Cup, while Telemundo shelled out $600 million for the Spanish-language telecasts.

But the real prize is the rights for the 2030 World Cup, which both TV networks and streamers are expected to vigorously pursue, even though the time zones will not be as hospitable to the U.S. (The host countries are Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.)

During a recent appearance at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit in New York, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro made it clear where he stands.

“Of course we’re interested,” Pitaro said. “This has been a juggernaut. We’re not at all surprised by it.”

July 22 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party leadership race has descended into an increasingly bitter dispute over allegations that members of a controversial religious group may be attempting to influence the party’s Aug. 17 national convention.

The dispute began after former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a candidate for party leader, raised the possibility that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus was intervening in the election.

Shincheonji is a South Korean religious movement whose alleged political activities have become the subject of a national investigation. The church has denied allegations that it directed members to join political parties or interfere in elections.

Kim’s claims have revived questions about why proposed legislation authorizing a special counsel investigation into Shincheonji was abandoned while rival candidate Jung Chung-rae was serving as Democratic Party leader.

The controversy has escalated beyond the original allegations. Jung has denied wrongdoing and threatened legal action, while his allies have demanded that Kim produce evidence, apologize or withdraw from the race.

Party members have warned that the dispute could deepen factional divisions and make it difficult to reunify the party after the convention.

The conflict is increasingly being viewed as a proxy battle between supporters of President Lee Jae Myung and those aligned with Jung.

Kim is generally associated with the party faction loyal to Lee. Jung, a former party leader, has developed his own base among rank-and-file members, and several senior party figures have publicly rallied behind him.

“The essence of this convention is to defeat an alliance of anti-Lee forces, divisive elements and Shincheonji,” Kim said Tuesday. “We must also examine, one by one, why the Shincheonji special counsel investigation did not proceed.”

Kim did not identify Jung by name. His remarks, however, were widely interpreted as criticism of Jung because proposed special counsel investigations into Shincheonji and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification were abandoned during Jung’s tenure as party leader.

Rep. Lee Geon-tae, an ally of President Lee, reinforced Kim’s allegation in a social media post.

“It appears difficult to dismiss Shincheonji’s alleged intervention in the party convention as mere speculation,” Lee said. “We need to determine why the special counsel legislation was halted.”

Jung denied the allegations and said he would take legal action against the dissemination of false information.

Rep. Moon Jeong-bok, a Supreme Council member aligned with Jung, challenged Kim during a party leadership meeting Wednesday.

“What evidence supports the claim of a secret alliance with Shincheonji, and why is this allegation being used to place the party in danger?” Moon said. “He said he has evidence, so he must disclose it and accept responsibility.”

Reps. Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo, who are running for seats on the party’s Supreme Council and are considered Jung allies, issued a similar demand at a news conference.

They said Kim should apologize and withdraw his candidacy if he could not substantiate the allegation.

“He is portraying the Democratic Party as though it were violating the constitutional separation of religion and politics to gain an advantage in the election,” they said.

Some party officials said Kim’s accusation could backfire because Jung’s supporters may interpret it as an attempt to associate all of them with Shincheonji.

“It could be understood as linking every party member who supports Jung to Shincheonji,” a Democratic Party official said. “That could provoke voters and create even greater barriers between groups of supporters.”

Party members said the larger concern was that the fight could undermine unity long after the leadership election ends.

The repeated allegations, threats of lawsuits and demands for candidates to withdraw have pushed debate over party policies and future priorities into the background, they said.

“A certain level of conflict was expected before the convention, but the candidates are now crossing lines that should not be crossed,” another Democratic Party official said.

“The candidates and party leadership must prevent further division so these wounds do not remain after the primary is over.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260723010008191

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a gathering of southeast Asian foreign ministers, to discuss how to manage bilateral tensions ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering of foreign ministers in Manila on Wednesday came amid tensions over China’s conduct in the disputed South China Sea and the US war against Iran. ASEAN countries have expressed concerns about both issues at the meeting.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have also been complicated by Trump’s accusations that China meddled in US elections, allegations Beijing has dismissed as “pure fabrication”.

Rubio said the US and China have “great differences” that are likely to persist “for the foreseeable future”, but that he and Wang discussed the need to manage those disagreements to ensure Xi has a “very positive visit” to the US. Xi is expected to visit in September.

Wang said the US must “respect China’s core interests … effectively manage differences and disagreements, and address China’s legitimate concerns”, according to an official Chinese summary of their meeting. It described the talks as “pragmatic, positive and constructive”.

The two sides agreed to “make sound preparations for the next stage of high-level exchanges,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

‘Commerce as geopolitical weapon’

Wednesday’s meeting came two days after a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea left a Philippine sailor injured, leading both countries to summon each other’s ambassador.

The incident this week took place on Monday at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippines ⁠said Chinese coastguard struck one of ⁠the Philippine navy staff on the head with a wooden baton, while China said the Philippine personnel were the first to attack and accused Philippine vessels ⁠of ramming a Chinese patrol boat.

Rubio said the altercation benefited nobody, adding that Washington had ⁠reiterated in all its meetings that it was bound by a defence treaty to stand up for Manila.

“We intend to live up to our treaty obligations, and I think we’ve done so, and will continue to do so,” he said.

Rubio’s remarks echo an opinion piece he published in Philippine media on Tuesday about Beijing’s conduct in the South China Sea. Rubio warned of “dire new threats” if those waters were to “fall under the control of a power willing to use commerce as a geopolitical weapon”.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea via a line on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and is at the centre of long-running disputes over a multitude of islands.

Disputes between the Philippines and China have increased in recent years as Manila takes a bolder stance while pursuing closer defence ties with the US, Australia and Japan.

The US has increased military financing for the Philippines to $100mn for the 2026 fiscal year and is providing an additional $9mn to expand a coastguard pier on the island of Palawan “to enhance Philippine maritime ⁠law enforcement presence and sustain operations in the South China Sea”, the State Department said in a fact sheet.

Discussing the US relationship with ASEAN member states, Rubio said the security and prosperity of the US and southeast Asia were closely interconnected.

“I believe very much that the future and the story of the 21st century will be written in this region and by how events unfold here,” he said.

Iran ‘not serious about talks’, says Rubio

Rubio also addressed the situation with Iran in a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers, claiming that Tehran was responsible for the latest escalation.

“The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks,” Rubio said. “If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies.”

The US has carried out strikes on Iran for eleven consecutive nights, including targeting roads, bridges and power plants in recent attacks, all but shattering an interim peace deal agreed by the two sides last month.

Rubio stressed that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of ‌Hormuz, as it could set a dangerous precedent for other parts of the world.

The top US diplomat also confirmed he would meet on Thursday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the Ukraine war, saying that Washington remained open to playing a constructive role in ending the conflict.

Pat McAfee knows just what the world needs in 2026.

More Pat McAfee.

The former Indianapolis Colts punter and kicker already is seemingly everywhere — as the host of his own show every weekday on ESPN, as an analyst on “College GameDay” and guest on a number of other shows on the network, as a commentator/participant with WWE until earlier this year, as host of multiple podcasts, etc.

McAfee has not, however, released an album full of songs written and sung entirely by the two-time Pro Bowl selection himself.

That situation will be rectified in a matter of weeks.

McAfee announced Wednesday that he would be dropping his debut record, “The Diary of a Polarizing Figure,” on Aug. 14, a musical collaboration with country singer-songwriter Ernest.

“For as long as I can remember my mere existence has made people hate my guts,” McAfee wrote in an X post announcing the project. “I’ve been writing songs about it for 20yrs & it’s time to let them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d like my kids to know exactly who their dad is.”

Although McAfee definitely has his detractors, it’s interesting that he’s putting out an album focusing on the haters, considering his current popularity is such that he is reportedly in talks for a contract extension with ESPN that would pay him more than $60 million a year.

Some online commenters have criticized McAfee for the timing of his announcement, which comes a day after a number of his ESPN colleagues were laid off by Walt Disney Co. McAfee reposted one such complaint on X and commented simply, “The Diary of a Polarizing Figure, August 14th, 2026.”

He said Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show”: “A lot of things are being said about me at this exact moment. [People] are going to hear my responses through these songs because these types of situations have been happening to me throughout my entire life. … Literally since elementary school I’ve had people that just don’t like me because I’m too loud and everything like that.”

In December, McAfee released a country-rock single called “Dookie,” also a musical collaboration with Ernest. A news release at the time stated that the single marked “a new partnership between McAfee and DeVille Records / Big Loud Records.”

Ernest told Whiskey Riff early this year that he and McAfee had recorded eight or nine songs together.

“Any EA Sports game should have a Pat McAfee song on it,” Ernest said in describing the former West Virginia standout’s musical style. “It’s locker room hype s—.”

Many athletes have attempted musical careers, with varying degrees of critical and commercial success. It would seem far fewer sports broadcasters have tried the same crossover, with John Tesh probably being the best-known example after his stint covering athletic events for CBS and NBC in the mid-1980s.

If he wants advice from a peer, perhaps McAfee might seek it from Terry Bradshaw, the four-time Super Bowl champion and longtime NFL analyst who also has released a number of country/gospel albums and even had a top 10 country hit with a cover of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in the 1970s.

McAfee said on his show that he “wrote this entire thing over the last 20 years or so in the notes section” of his phone.

“A lot of very personal stuff in here,” he said. “Finding my singing voice has been fun. That has been a blast. Then [to] all the incredible people in Nashville who have assisted and kind of helped me piece all this together, I’m so grateful and thankful.”

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has agreed to work with Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear program, a watershed moment following a years-long effort to curb the proliferation of nuclear technology in the Middle East.

The announcement comes as President Trump has vowed to continue executing a war against Iran over its own nuclear ambitions. On Wednesday, the president warned he would target a bridge or power plant for every commercial vessel Iran fires upon in the Strait of Hormuz, after earlier this week threatening to strike a new facility Tehran is reportedly building to conceal its continued nuclear work.

The Saudi deal stoked surprise and immediate concern across Washington, where lawmakers are expected to have a vote on the matter, as well as in Israel, itself a nuclear power that has long feared an atomic arms race could grip the region.

A Saudi nuclear program has long been tied to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear work, which successive U.S. administrations have said extends beyond civilian purposes. After Iran struck a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, Saudi Arabia vowed to match whatever nuclear capabilities Tehran was allowed to keep.

In the decade since, U.S. officials had tried to keep Saudi Arabia from developing its own program, fearing it would fuel nuclear competition across the Middle East. But it became a consistent and central point of negotiation between the two allies.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations ultimately offered to support a limited, monitored program as part of a broader deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, hoping that a diplomatic breakthrough would mitigate the risks of an arms race.

But the agreement secured this week left skeptics in Washington and the region unclear what the United States had secured in return.

The deal comes after Trump told reporters this week that the goal of resuming war with Iran was to prevent them from ever obtaining nuclear weapons, a challenge that has vexed the international community since the outset of the century.

U.S. presidents have long sought to prevent Middle Eastern countries from acquiring technologies that could be used to build weapons of mass destruction. The 2003 invasion of Iraq over false claims about Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs prompted Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi to abandon his nuclear work. Over the next two decades, the United States and Israel also targeted Syria’s nuclear and chemical weapons programs under Bashar al-Assad.

But Iran’s slow march to nuclear weapons capability, enriching uranium near to weapons-grade with no clear civilian or scientific ends, has prompted other countries in the region to question whether they, too, might need similar capabilities to counterbalance a historic foe. Israel, which views the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program as existential threats, is widely believed to possess its own nuclear weapons.

Hours after the nuclear deal was reported by the Wall Street Journal, the White House was silent on the details and Trump administration officials were left scrambling when asked by lawmakers and reporters for answers.

While traveling in Manila, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was aware of the news reports, but deferred to the White House to provide more public information.

When pressed about the risks of such a deal, Rubio said he would not “opine directly on the agreement,” but said the United States “is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”

The White House confirmed the deal Wednesday afternoon.

Back in Washington, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he has not yet seen the agreement with Saudi Arabia.

The deal, which would last 30 years and involve American firms developing the program, is expected to be submitted for review to Congress. Lawmakers will consider the deal as they grow increasingly uneasy about the Trump administration’s handling of an expanding Iran war, which Trump and Israel launched, arguing for the need to wipe out Tehran’s capabilities to build nuclear weapons.

As the war enters its fifth month, Trump has continued to defend the military efforts and has dismissed the idea that war is unpopular among Americans as they feel the economic effects.

“Americans aren’t against the war,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they’re not against the war.”

Trump’s remarks were made as he traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend a dignified transfer of U.S. service members killed in the war. Asked what he would say to the families who lost their loved ones, Trump said he’d tell them they’re loved.

“All I’m going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. There’s no games, no nothing,” Trump said. “That’s their child, and all you can do is throw out your heart.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said the United States will destroy a bridge or power plant in Iran each time it shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the global energy supply.

Trump’s threat to target bridges and power plants would mark yet another escalation that could affect civilians in the region.

Hasan Ghashghavi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, denied Trump’s claim on Tuesday that Iran was requesting negotiations, saying in a statement on X that it was “in no way consistent with the facts.”

“It seems that Trump, in order to extricate himself from the quagmire he’s trapped in, should seek better paths,” he wrote. “Repetitive lies no longer even bring about short-term market relief.”

Times staff writer Nabih Bulos in Beirut contributed to this report.

Captain Phil Salt led from the front as he finished unbeaten on 47 to guide Welsh Fire to a six-wicket victory against Southern Brave in a low-scoring match in Southampton.

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