TRUMP WARNS IRAN OF 'DECAPITATION' AS TEHRAN DENIES ANY TALKS WITH WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the current standoff represents Tehran's "last chance" to reach a deal, saying he wants to give every remaining opportunity "before decapitation."

The warning came as the president outlined a two-phase plan — first reopening the Strait of Hormuz, then pursuing total Iranian denuclearisation — while Tehran denied any direct talks with Washington were under way.

There are now signs, however, that some within the Trump administration may be questioning whether the strategy of maximum military pressure can succeed.

Jagruti Dave has more from Washington.

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Jagruti Dave in Washington says Iran appears to be banking on the United States tiring of the war first — whether through depleted weapons stocks or waning public support ahead of November's midterm elections.

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Jagruti Dave, our reporter in Washington, says the pattern of engagement followed by backtracking has echoes of previous US-Iran negotiations — including the nuclear deal — and that there is a growing sense within the administration that repeating the same approach may not yield different results.

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US NAVAL BLOCKADE TALLY JUMPS TO 44 VESSELS AS TRUMP WARNS IRAN OF 'DECAPITATION'

The US Central Command says it has now redirected forty-four commercial vessels under the naval blockade of Iran — up from thirty-five the day before — as the dispute between Washington and Tehran extends to control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says it is in the final stages of talks with Oman to establish a temporary shipping route through the waterway, but US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran's assertion that it controls the strait, saying it should be fully open.

The president also warned Iran it faced "decapitation" if it did not come to the negotiating table.

Nick Harper has more from Washington.

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US STOCKS RALLY AS AUGUST BEGINS WITH NASDAQ UP 1.7% AND ISM MANUFACTURING AT HIGHEST SINCE MAY 2022

US stocks have rallied on the first trading day of August, with the Nasdaq up 1.7 per cent, the S&P 500 gaining 1.1 per cent and the Dow rising one per cent, boosted by Big Tech earnings and manufacturing data hitting its highest level since May 2022.

Among the major corporate stories driving markets, the Financial Times is reporting that AstraZeneca has held talks about a potential merger with US pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb — a deal that could be worth around four hundred billion dollars.

AstraZeneca shares have fallen sharply on the news, while Bristol Myers Squibb's stock has risen.

Mitch Mccann reports from New York.

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IRAN DENIES DIRECT TALKS WITH US, SAYS IT IS NEGOTIATING ONLY WITH OMAN ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ ROUTE

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson has said Tehran has no plans to hold direct talks with Washington, saying its negotiations are with Oman and focused on a safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement contradicts US President Donald Trump, who announced on Sunday that a new round of talks with Iran would begin on Monday covering both the strait and Tehran's nuclear programme.

The president had called off a joint US-Israeli bombing campaign targeting Iranian energy infrastructure over the weekend, saying the two countries had been "locked and loaded."

James Gooderson has more from Washington.

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HUNGARY'S PAKS NUCLEAR PLANT SHUTS DOWN FOR FIRST TIME IN 44 YEARS AS DANUBE HITS RECORD LOW

The Danube has fallen to a record low of around ten centimetres in Budapest on Monday, as Hungary's only nuclear power station — which supplies nearly half the country's electricity — has been fully shut down for the first time in its 44-year history.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar says mandatory power restrictions for businesses could be imposed as early as Monday, with rail cargo services already suspended during peak hours to reduce demand.

The crisis could cost Hungary up to around 630 million US dollars in additional electricity imports.

Pablo Gutierrez reports from Budapest.

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Reporter Pablo Gutierrez in Budapest says the crisis is also hitting Hungary's tourism and commercial shipping sectors hard.

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IRAN DENIES ANY TALKS WITH US AS TRUMP SAYS DIPLOMACY WITH TEHRAN 'FULL STEAM AHEAD'

Iran's Foreign Ministry has denied that any negotiations with the United States are taking place, directly contradicting US President Donald Trump's claim on Sunday that talks with Tehran would begin on Monday.

President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that a deal was imminent and that Saudi Arabia believed an agreement was close — but Iran says its only discussions are with Oman over a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting accounts mark the latest in a series of contradictory statements from Washington and Tehran since a ceasefire and memorandum of understanding collapsed at the start of July.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

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Nick Harper in Washington says the repeated cycle of US claims of diplomacy and Iranian denials is eroding trust on both sides of the dispute.

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PAKISTAN'S ARMY CHIEF IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH IRAN AND US AS ISLAMABAD PUSHES TO RESTART STALLED TALKS

Iran's foreign minister has held two telephone calls in less than twenty-four hours with Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, in what diplomats in Islamabad see as a significant step towards restarting stalled US-Iran negotiations.

The indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, hosted by Pakistan, collapsed in late April after the two sides failed to agree on the Strait of Hormuz blockade and Iran's nuclear programme — and US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned visit by his envoys, saying Iran could call if it wanted to talk.

General Munir is seen as a trusted go-between by both sides, and has previously been praised by President Trump.

Hira Mustafa reports from Islamabad.

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HUNGARY'S SOLE NUCLEAR PLANT FACES FIRST FULL SHUTDOWN IN 44 YEARS AS DANUBE HITS RECORD LOWS

Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant is heading for a full shutdown on Monday after the Danube fell to record lows, starving the facility of the cooling water it needs to operate.

The plant's four reactors had already been running at roughly ten per cent capacity before the halt, and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has called on major companies to reduce their electricity consumption during peak hours.

More than a hundred towns and villages across Hungary have been placed under water-use restrictions as a top-level heat alert remains in force.

Pablo Gutierrez has more from Budapest.

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WALES FA FIRST TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR INFANTINO'S RE-ELECTION AS PRESSURE MOUNTS ON FIFA PRESIDENT

The Football Association of Wales has become the first national association to publicly withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino's re-election, citing failures of governance and leadership.

The move comes after FIFA was forced on Saturday to abandon its controversial Forward Enterprise plan, which would have allowed private investors to buy stakes in major competitions — a proposal UEFA said crossed a line football's governing bodies should never cross.

FIFA's chief operating officer described the scheme as the project of one person, and a senior Infantino adviser resigned over it.

David Bernstein, former chairman of England's Football Association, says the threat of a European boycott of the FIFA World Cup should remain in place.

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David Bernstein, former chairman of England's Football Association, says the growing opposition to Gianni Infantino — including the departure of his own chief operating officer — could prove impossible to withstand.

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David Bernstein, former chairman of England's Football Association, says whoever replaces Gianni Infantino should be an internationally recognised figure from outside football.

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TWO KILLED AS FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTERS COLLIDE MIDAIR OVER GREEK WILDFIRE WEST OF ATHENS

Two firefighting helicopters collided midair on Sunday while battling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, killing a Greek national and a Danish national.

A Greek coordinator and a British pilot survived the crash over the Psatha area on the western edge of Attica, where a blaze has been burning for four days, destroying more than a hundred homes.

Both aircraft were Bell helicopters leased from the Australian aerial firefighting company McDermott Aviation.

Daphne Tolis, a journalist based in Athens, says the crews were carrying out water-dropping operations when the collision happened.

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Daphne Tolis, a journalist based in Athens, says all Bell-type helicopters were grounded after the collision as part of standard safety procedures.

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IRAN SAYS STRAIT OF HORMUZ DEAL WITH OMAN IN 'FINAL STAGES' AS TRUMP ANNOUNCES MONDAY TALKS

Iran says a deal with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz is in its "final stages," as US President Donald Trump announces fresh talks with Tehran are set to begin on Monday.

President Trump called off what he described as the largest planned military operation since the Second World War, saying he did so partly at the urging of Gulf allies including Saudi Arabia. Iranian state media, however, has denied that Tehran requested the strikes be halted, and has mocked the US president's announcement.

Cosro Isfahani is Director of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, and is sceptical that any agreement with the Islamic Republic will hold.

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Cosro Isfahani, Director of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, says Tehran can disrupt shipping through the strait cheaply and has every reason to keep doing so.

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Cosro Isfahani, Director of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, says there is no prospect of a lasting diplomatic solution with the Islamic Republic.

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CEUTA MIGRANT DEATH TOLL RISES TO 72 AS SPAIN FACES DIPLOMATIC FALLOUT OVER BORDER CRISIS

The death toll from the mass border crossing into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta has risen to at least 72, after five more bodies were recovered along the coastline on Sunday.

Around 60,000 people surged across the Moroccan border last week, though Spanish authorities say the vast majority have now returned to Morocco.

Questions are now being asked about what triggered the sudden mass movement, with some pointing to a coordinated social media campaign.

Stephen Burgen, a freelance writer who reports on Spain for the Guardian, says several countries have been accused of involvement.

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EU INTERIOR MINISTERS TO HOLD EMERGENCY TALKS ON TUESDAY AS CEUTA MIGRANT CRISIS DEATH TOLL REACHES 72

Twenty-two EU member states have called for an extraordinary meeting of interior ministers after Italy moved to suspend the Schengen border-free arrangement with Spain over the Ceuta migrant crisis.

Spain says it restored control of the border within forty-eight hours and has returned virtually all of those who crossed irregularly.

Helena Hahn, a policy analyst at the European Policy Centre in Brussels, says reinstating border controls is a familiar political reflex across the bloc.

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JAPAN'S ECONOMY MINISTER KIUCHI PLEDGES GREATER MARKET TRANSPARENCY AMID YEN CRISIS

Japan's Economy Minister Minoru Kiuchi has pledged to step up two-way communication with financial markets to maintain trust in the country's fiscal sustainability, as Tokyo and Washington prepare to formally confirm their first joint currency intervention since 2011.

The coordinated action to halt the yen's slide to forty-year lows saw Japan sell as much as fifty-nine billion dollars on Thursday, while the US Treasury bought yen worth between five and ten billion dollars on Friday, according to Reuters and the Financial Times.

The Bank of Japan held interest rates at one per cent on Friday but warned that inflation could accelerate clearly above its two per cent target.

Jagruti Dave reports from Washington.

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MOSCOW RESTAURANT BOMBING DEATH TOLL MAY BE RISING AS MAYOR SOBYANIN CALLS ATTACK A 'BRUTAL TERRORIST ACT'

The death toll from a bomb attack at a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening may be climbing, with Russian media reporting that two more victims have died of their injuries in hospital.

The official toll stands at three dead and twenty-one wounded after an improvised explosive device detonated at the entrance to an Italian restaurant at Kudrinskaya Square. Investigators say the bomb was triggered remotely and was packed with metal ball bearings designed to maximise casualties.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has called the blast a brutal terrorist act.

Dasha Chernyshova reports from Moscow.

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Reporter Dasha Chernyshova in Moscow says there are unconfirmed reports the casualty figures are worsening because of the severity of the injuries sustained in the blast.

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Dasha Chernyshova in Moscow says the restaurant had been shut for a private gathering, and investigators have yet to comment on who the bomber may have been targeting.

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NO STRIKES REPORTED OVERNIGHT AS US AND IRAN FACE UNCERTAIN PATH TO DEAL AFTER TRUMP CALLS OFF PLANNED ATTACK

No US or Iranian strikes were reported overnight into Sunday, following US President Donald Trump's announcement on Saturday that he was cancelling a planned attack on Iran because the outlines of a deal had been agreed.

Tehran has disputed that account, with Iranian state media saying it was the American president who backed down — and giving no indication that Iran had asked for the strikes to be called off.

President Trump said any agreement would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to what he called Iran's nuclear threat.

Jagruti Dave reports from Washington.

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Jagruti Dave, our reporter in Washington, says the website Axios first reported that the Saudi crown prince had asked President Trump to hold off on new strikes — and Saudi state media appeared to confirm the role Riyadh played in brokering the pause.

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WHO CONFIRMS DRC EBOLA OUTBREAK IS COUNTRY'S LARGEST EVER AS DEATH TOLL PASSES 1,500

The World Health Organization has confirmed the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the largest the country has ever recorded, with more than three thousand six hundred confirmed cases and nearly sixteen hundred deaths.

The epidemic, driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola for which there is no licensed vaccine, has spread across five provinces and forty-nine health zones since it was declared in mid-May.

Health workers in the affected areas have been striking over unpaid wages, disrupting efforts to contain the disease.

Chris Ocamringa reports from Kinshasa.

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Chris Ocamringa, reporting from Kinshasa, says the true scale of the outbreak may be far worse than official figures suggest because the disease is spreading through a conflict zone with large displaced populations.

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Chris Ocamringa in Kinshasa says China's support for the Congolese government extends beyond the mining sector, with Beijing providing medical supplies and funding to help combat the epidemic.

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US PLANS FRESH STRIKES ON IRAN AS DRONE ATTACKS HIT KUWAIT AND TANKER STRUCK NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ

The United States is planning a new wave of military strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, according to US officials cited by CNN, as the war between Washington and Tehran continues to escalate.

US President Donald Trump signalled the plan on Friday, saying the US would hit Iran hard, while the State Department has issued a fresh travel warning urging Americans in the Middle East to prepare for flight cancellations and airspace closures.

Iran has responded with new threats against countries hosting American military bases, and Kuwaiti authorities have reported Iranian drone attacks early on Saturday.

Jagruti Dave reports from Washington.

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Jagruti Dave, our reporter in Washington, says many analysts are questioning whether the US strategy of applying military pressure will succeed in changing Iran's behaviour.

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Jagruti Dave in Washington says Gulf allies have previously urged the White House to hold off on strikes, and there are concerns about the potential impact on global financial markets if military action goes ahead.

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US PLANNING NEW WAVE OF STRIKES ON IRAN AS SOON AS THIS WEEKEND AS TRUMP VOWS TO HIT TEHRAN 'VERY HARD'

The United States is planning a new round of military strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, according to officials cited by CNN and Fox News, though the Pentagon has given no confirmation and the operation could still be called off.

The prospect of further escalation comes as Iran's Revolutionary Guard has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and to punish what it calls the aggressor, following heavy US strikes earlier in the week.

Officials appear to be weighing the risks carefully.

From Washington, Jagruti Dave reports.

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HAMAS CONFIRMS DISARMAMENT DEAL BUT CONTRADICTIONS EMERGE OVER WHO RECEIVES WEAPONS

Hamas has confirmed it will disarm as part of a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, but significant contradictions have already emerged over how the process would work.

The militant group says it will not give up its heavy weapons until Israel withdraws from Gaza and a Palestinian state is created — a condition the Israeli government has long rejected.

President Trump, speaking at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, appeared to contradict his own officials over who would take custody of the surrendered weapons.

James Gooderson reports from Washington.

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James Gooderson in Washington says the most telling reaction may be the silence from the Israeli government, which has yet to issue any official response.

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Reporter James Gooderson in Washington says the deal could open the door to far-reaching changes in Gaza — from new governance arrangements to a possible path to statehood.

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