Morning Headlines

The US carried out its fourth strike in a week against Iran overnight Saturday, hitting roughly 140 military targets; Iran responded with salvos aimed at Kuwait, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Oman, and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed 'until further notice.' The exchange effectively ends a fragile memorandum of understanding and marks the sharpest escalation of the US-Iran conflict to date.

Brent crude surged to $79.16 a barrel — a 5.4% weekly gain — after Iran threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz through which roughly 20% of globally traded oil flows; maritime traffic through the strait fell from 18-22 daily crossings to just six over the past 48 hours. The spike raised fresh fears of an oil-price shock and prompted Goldman Sachs to push its next Fed rate-cut forecast back to 2027.

The DRC's Ebola outbreak — caused by the Bundibugyo species for which there is no approved vaccine — has reached 1,792 confirmed cases and 625 deaths, spreading beyond the Ituri epicenter into Tshopo and Haut-Uele provinces; cases have also been confirmed in Uganda and imported into Germany and France. WHO warns it is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak, and a clinical trial of two therapies began July 2.

A fast-moving blaze raced across more than 800 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest about 60 km south-east of Paris, forcing evacuations and shutting stretches of the A6 — France's main north-south motorway — during a peak summer travel weekend. France deployed fire-bomber aircraft to the Paris region for the first time on record, as the capital endures its third heatwave since May.

Defending champions Argentina edged Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in Kansas City — Julián Álvarez's long-range strike in the 112th minute proving decisive — and will face England in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday. The match drew global audiences in the billions as the North American-hosted World Cup reaches its final four.