Saturday, 25 July 2026

The United States went quiet over Iran for the first time in two weeks. After 13 straight nights of strikes, US Central Command announced no new attacks on Friday, and President Trump laid out two ways this ends: a "military exit where we just keep going," or "a smarter strategy, and that's you make a deal." He added that he does not think it is time for a deal yet, even as the number of US personnel killed in the conflict rose to 17 (via CNN).

Spain hit the panic button. The government declared its first-ever national wildfire emergency as blazes fanned by a brutal heatwave closed in on Madrid, with around 40,000 people ordered to flee or shelter indoors and a fire in Avila province burning through some 90 square kilometers. Police arrested a man accused of sparking one blaze with farm machinery, and across the border more than 60,000 people fled fires in southwestern France (via Al Jazeera).

In Liberia, the fight to save a culture is happening on TikTok. Young creators are moving centuries-old traditions, from palava-hut storytelling to local proverbs, onto social media before they fade, turning a dance app into an archive of national memory (via Al Jazeera).

Brussels just put a billion-dollar price tag on Google's home-field advantage. The European Commission fined the company 890 million euros (about $1 billion), its first penalty under the Digital Markets Act, for steering users toward its own shopping and travel results and blocking app developers from pointing customers to cheaper deals. Trump was not having it, warning the EU will "pay a very big price," floating a new trade investigation, and declaring the US "is not a 'PIGGYBANK' for Europe" (via Al Jazeera).

The quiet diplomacy is coming from an unexpected quarter. Pakistan, nudged by China, is exploring a way to restart stalled US-Iran talks to end a war now in its fifth month, with Iran's interior minister visiting Islamabad twice in 10 days. Beijing wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened for its own oil, but Pakistan says any talks hinge on Iran first halting its attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states (via Reuters).

The UN's top human rights official is staying put, over Washington's objections. Volker Turk won a second term as High Commissioner for Human Rights despite opposition from both the United States and Israel, a vote that doubles as a test of the office's willingness to criticize powerful governments (via Al Jazeera).

The war premium in oil just deflated fast. Brent crude tumbled about 4% to settle near $97 a barrel on Friday, its biggest one-day drop since late June, after reports that Pakistan and China were working to revive US-Iran talks cooled fears of a supply shock. Even so, crude ended the week up roughly 10%, a reminder of how twitchy the market is with the Gulf still on edge. Markets are shut for the weekend, so that is Friday's close (via Reuters).

Europe's new tech rulebook drew its first blood. Google became the first company penalized under the Digital Markets Act, with the roughly $1 billion fine split between favoring its own services in search and restricting how app developers steer customers on Google Play. The company must now change how it ranks results and handles app payments, and the timing could hardly be worse as Brussels and Washington trade threats over tariffs (via CNN).

China's answer to Nvidia is lining up a war chest. MetaX, a Shanghai GPU designer whose stock rocketed roughly 700% on its Shanghai market debut, has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong listing aimed at closing by year-end, with the proceeds earmarked for next-generation chips and its software ecosystem. It is Beijing's bet on breaking its dependence on American silicon as the US-China chip war grinds on (via Reuters).

And MetaX is not alone. A wave of Chinese chip designers is racing to the markets as authorities press homegrown AI firms to move off Nvidia hardware, turning what began as a US export-control fight into a scramble to build a domestic chip industry from the ground up (via The Guardian).

The heat is doing exactly what scientists warned it would. More than 200,000 people have now fled wildfires across Spain and France, with parts of Spain baking above 39C and France appealing to the EU for emergency help as fires outrun local crews, some residents escaping by boat. The blazes follow western Europe's hottest June on record, the kind of back-to-back extreme heat that turns an ordinary fire season into a national emergency (via France 24).

Jurgen Klopp is back, and Germany handed him a rebuild. The 59-year-old former Liverpool manager signed a four-year deal to coach the national team, starting August 15, after Germany crashed out of its home World Cup in the round of 32 to Paraguay and Julian Nagelsmann walked away. It is Klopp's first touchline job since he left Anfield in 2024 (via Al Jazeera).

With the World Cup wrapped, the transfer market has roared to life. Premier League clubs are leading a summer splurge as Europe's giants reload their squads for the new season, making the window the main event now that the tournament dust has settled (via Al Jazeera).

A Zulu-language soap has quietly conquered Netflix. "The Polygamist," a Johannesburg-set telenovela about a tycoon's double life, racked up more than 23 million views in its first month and reached the top 10 in 62 countries. It was made by two daughters of former South African president Jacob Zuma, himself the country's most famous polygamist, and back home it has reignited fierce debate over polygamy, women's rights and HIV (via The Guardian).