Duke of Sussex and other prominent figures lost their case over claims the newspaper used unlawful methods to source stories about themPrince Harry and six other prominent figures are facing a legal bill of up to £50m after losing their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail over claims it used unlawful methods to source stories.In an emphatic ruling that is likely to signal an end to new litigation relating to the phone-hacking scandal era, the high court dismissed all the group’s claims, stating that the claimants had not proved that any information had been obtained unlawfully. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/07/prince-harry-lawsuit-mail-publisher-phone-hacking-claims">Continue reading...</a>

Duke of Sussex and other prominent figures lost their case over claims the newspaper used unlawful methods to source stories about them

Prince Harry could face £50m legal bill after losing phone-hacking lawsuit against Mail publisher

Audience of 9.1 million watch 2am BST kick-off live and on iPlayer with 48m requests for digital content on MondayEngland’s triumph over Mexico in the World Cup attracted a peak live audience of 9.1 million on BBC One and BBC iPlayer despite kicking off at 2am BST – the biggest television audience ever for a live UK broadcast at that hour.The dramatic 3-2 win drove the biggest day ever recorded for BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app and for BBC Sport’s social video views, the broadcaster said. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/07/england-world-cup-win-mexico-breaks-viewing-records-bbc">Continue reading...</a>

Audience of 9.1 million watch 2am BST kick-off live and on iPlayer with 48m requests for digital content on Monday

England’s World Cup win over Mexico breaks viewing records across BBC

Reform UK leader confronts journalist after question about gifts from friend and convicted fraudster<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jul/07/nigel-farage-reform-uk-donations-investigations-parliament-electoral-commission-defence-nato-keir-starmer-latest-news-updates">UK politics live – latest updates</a></li></ul>Nigel Farage has said Sky News bosses face “serious consequences” in an outburst triggered by questions over fresh revelations about his finances.The Reform UK leader has faced renewed scrutiny after the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/revealed-nigel-farage-secretly-funded-by-convicted-criminal-j0brtrlnk">Sunday Times revealed</a> he had received funding from his longtime ally, the convicted fraudster George Cottrell. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/07/serious-consequences-farage-attacks-sky-news-after-question-about-george-cottrell">Continue reading...</a>

Reform UK leader confronts journalist after question about gifts from friend and convicted fraudster

‘Serious consequences’: Farage attacks Sky News after question about George Cottrell

Valter Lavitola suspected of planning bomb attack on Sigfrido Ranucci, for which four people have been arrestedItalian prosecutors have placed a businessman and former journalist under investigation for allegedly masterminding a bomb attack at the home of Sigfrido Ranucci, a prominent investigative reporter.Valter Lavitola was supposedly friends with Ranucci, the host of Report, an investigative programme aired by the state broadcaster, Rai, and is being investigated on suspicion of trying to cause mass murder. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/07/italy-businessman-valter-lavitola-investigative-reporter-sigfrido-ranucci-bombing">Continue reading...</a>

Valter Lavitola suspected of planning bomb attack on Sigfrido Ranucci, for which four people have been arrested

Italian businessman questioned over bombing at investigative reporter’s home

Director of current affairs programmes who was a pioneer of drama-documentaries on British televisionThe film-maker Leslie Woodhead, who has died aged 88, helped to establish the hard-hitting ITV current affairs programme World in Action, and was a pioneer of drama-documentaries on British television. He invented the format as a way of telling the stories of those behind the iron curtain during the cold war between the Soviet Union and the west, when direct access for journalists and film crews was difficult. “For us, the dramatised documentary is an exercise in journalism, not dramatic art,” he explained.The first was <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdWb9AnUEwA">The Man Who Wouldn’t Keep Quiet (1970)</a>, which told the story of the Russian dissident and former Soviet army general Petro Grigorenko, who was being held in a psychiatric hospital, portrayed by actors. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/06/leslie-woodhead-obituary">Continue reading...</a>

Director of current affairs programmes who was a pioneer of drama-documentaries on British television

Leslie Woodhead obituary

TV writer who created the 1970s police drama The Sweeney and later worked on Juliet Bravo and The Chinese DetectiveThe writer Ian Kennedy Martin, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 90, created one of British television’s most realistic, groundbreaking television police dramas. With action shot on the streets of London, the 1970s series The Sweeney featured screeching tyres, punch-ups, officers who could be as violent as the criminals, and lines such as: “Get yer trousers on – you’re nicked!”It began as Regan, a 1974 story in the ITV Armchair Cinema series, starring <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/22/broadcasting.guardianobituaries">John Thaw</a> as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/09/dennis-waterman-obituary">Dennis Waterman</a> as Detective Sergeant George Carter, members of the Flying Squad (known in cockney rhyming slang as Sweeney Todd), a Metropolitan police section tackling armed robbers. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/07/ian-kennedy-martin-obittuary">Continue reading...</a>

TV writer who created the 1970s police drama The Sweeney and later worked on Juliet Bravo and The Chinese Detective

Ian Kennedy Martin obituary

The revered writer and political exile’s publisher says her ‘legacy in literary history can’t be compared to anyone else’s’Shahrnush Parsipur, the celebrated Iranian writer whose subversive works of feminist fiction saw her repeatedly imprisoned, has died aged 80.A pioneer of women’s literature in Iran, Parsipur excoriated the country’s patriarchal culture in novels including Women Without Men and Touba and the Meaning of Night. She was imprisoned four times, under the Shah and then the Islamic Republic. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/07/shahrnush-parsipur-iranian-author-women-without-men-dies-80">Continue reading...</a>

The revered writer and political exile’s publisher says her ‘legacy in literary history can’t be compared to anyone else’s’

Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian author of Women Without Men, dies at 80

My friend Jimmy Adams, who has died aged 79, was a writer on chess known for his witty personality and encyclopedic knowledge. Editor of Chess magazine from 1991 to 2010, in which role he brought every game and player to life with his enthusiastic, almost tabloid-like style, he was also a Fide master, the third highest ranking behind international master and grandmaster, a title he was awarded at the age of 67.Jimmy was born in Islington, north London, to James, a delivery driver, and Ivy (nee Soule), a shopkeeper, and attended Highbury county grammar school for boys. As a youngster he discovered the children’s novel John and the Chess Men in his local library, and quickly graduated to borrowing adult books on the game, with which he taught himself. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/07/jimmy-adams-obituary">Continue reading...</a>

My friend Jimmy Adams, who has died aged 79, was a writer on chess known for his witty personality and encyclopedic knowledge. Editor of Chess magazine f...

Jimmy Adams obituary

US telecom giant Comcast to snap up free-to-air TV channels and streaming platform to create UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster Sky has announced a long-awaited £1.6bn deal to buy ITV’s broadcasting and streaming arm to create the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster.Sky, which is owned by the US telecoms company Comcast, will pay £1.2bn in cash initially for ITV’s media and entertainment business, which includes its free-to-air TV channels in the UK and ITVX streaming platform. It has agreed to pay a further potential £200m in the second half of 2028, depending on 2027 advertising revenues. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/06/sky-owner-announces-16bn-takeover-of-itvs-broadcasting-arm">Continue reading...</a>

US telecom giant Comcast to snap up free-to-air TV channels and streaming platform to create UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster

Sky owner announces £1.6bn takeover of ITV’s broadcasting arm

While everyone agrees the deal is the end of an era, it was also unavoidable in the era of Netflix and Disney+A generation ago, ITV was regarded as such a precious jewel in the UK broadcasting firmament that there was outrage when BSkyB, as it was, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/nov/17/bskyb.itv">bought a 17.9% stake</a> to stop anybody else getting their hands on the business. After a drawn-out saga, the then Murdoch-controlled Sky was forced by regulators to divest in the interests of plurality. Politicians breathed a sigh of relief.That was 2006. To say the UK television game has changed since those days is to understate matters grossly. As ITV <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/06/sky-owner-announces-16bn-takeover-of-itvs-broadcasting-arm">unveiled its £1.6bn deal to sell its broadcasting business</a> – but not its more valuable programme-making studios operation – to Sky, now under the ownership of US group Comcast, it was hard to detect any political uproar that might threaten the deal. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2026/jul/06/streaming-storm-made-itv-sharing-a-roof-with-sky-sadly-inevitable">Continue reading...</a>

While everyone agrees the deal is the end of an era, it was also unavoidable in the era of Netflix and Disney+

Streaming storm made ITV sharing a roof with Sky sadly inevitable

New Legally Blonde prequel Elle features a lovely appearance from the late Dawson’s Creek actor. Here are some of television’s other fantastic post-death appearancesThose watching Amazon’s Legally Blonde prequel series Elle were treated to a surprise recently, as the show offered a posthumous appearance by James Van Der Beek. The actor, who died in February aged 48, had a fun little role as a crooked school district superintendent. As with most of his roles since Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek’s performance was bright and happily self-aware.However, Van Der Beek is far from the only actor to have appeared on screen after their death. Here are some other standout posthumous performances. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/07/from-james-van-der-beek-to-carrie-fisher-tvs-greatest-posthumous-performances">Continue reading...</a>

New Legally Blonde prequel Elle features a lovely appearance from the late Dawson’s Creek actor. Here are some of television’s other fantastic post-death...

From James Van Der Beek to Carrie Fisher: TV’s greatest posthumous performances

Axel Springer boss has ‘bold vision’ for the media group, but identifying a gap is no guarantee of stateside successAs he addressed staff at the London headquarters of the Telegraph Media Group last week, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/30/telegraph-takeover-germany-axel-springer">Mathias Döpfner</a>, the German chief executive of Axel Springer and latest proprietor of the most traditional of conservative British newspapers, referred to his company’s decades-long pursuit of the venerable titles.As staff nibbled Axel Springer-embossed biscuits, Döpfner also exchanged some distinctly European ribbing with the Daily Telegraph’s editor, Chris Evans, about Germany’s World Cup exit. However, it was clear to all that Döpfner’s ambitions for the titles were focused on another country and another continent. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/06/daily-telegraph-new-owner-mathias-dopfner-plan-break-america">Continue reading...</a>

Axel Springer boss has ‘bold vision’ for the media group, but identifying a gap is no guarantee of stateside success

‘No one’s even heard of the Telegraph’: can the UK’s most conservative paper take on Murdoch in the US?

This week social media giants have faced questioning at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion as it asks: what more needs to be done to combat online hate? Reged Ahmad speaks to senior reporter Tory Shepherd on what the platforms have to say about accusations that they have fuelled antisemitic content online <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/jul/07/have-social-media-platforms-fuelled-antisemitism-full-story-podcast-ntwnfb">Continue reading...</a>

This week social media giants have faced questioning at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion as it asks: what more needs to be done t...

Have social media platforms fuelled antisemitism? – podcast

End of News Feed

From a massive DOGE data breach and the hacking of critical energy and water systems to the hack of an FBI surveillance system, here are the most damaging security incidents and data breaches of 2026.

From a massive DOGE data breach and the hacking of critical energy and water systems to the hack of an FBI surveillance system, here are the most damagin...

Hacked, leaked, and held for ransom: The worst breaches of 2026 so far

With this update, users can start a task from their desk, get status updates on their phone, and pick up the finished output later — even if their laptop is closed. 

With this update, users can start a task from their desk, get status updates on their phone, and pick up the finished output later — even if their laptop...

Claude Cowork expands to mobile and web

X is rolling out a new video editor and recorder for iOS with multilingual captions, green-screen effects, and other editing tools.

X adds a video editor to encourage creators to post original content, not stolen reposts

Chemistry Ventures, the VC firm launched by Bessemer, Index Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz alums, is raising $500M for its second fund.

Chemistry Ventures is raising $500M for its second fund

AI law startup Norm has raised a $120 million Series C round led by Khosla Ventures, valuing the startup at $1.2 billion. 

AI law startup Norm raises $120M, hits unicorn valuation

Bidbus, which lets dealerships bid on used cars, has raised $15 million in a Series A round that was led by early-stage mobility fund Ibex Investors.

This startup pits dealerships against each other to bid on your used car

The U.S. Army has fixed two of its websites that were hacked to display messages calling President Trump a "pedophile" and a "thief."

Hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites

The company just raised $7 million in seed funding, and is launching its app for iPhone and Android on Tuesday. 

Savi’s app aims to protect consumers from realistic AI scams like kidnappers demanding ransom

Forterra has deployed more than 100 of its self-driving ATVs in conflict zones in Ukraine.

The first American autonomous ground vehicles are fighting in Ukraine

A new report suggests Netflix viewers aren’t sticking around for Season 2. The bigger issue may be that binge-watching itself is no longer the advantage it once was.

A new report suggests Netflix viewers aren’t sticking around for Season 2. The bigger issue may be that binge-watching itself is no longer the advantage ...

Netflix invented binge-watching. Now it may have outgrown it.

An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the victim, set up the infrastructure, and supplied stolen credentials — meaning it wasn't quite the fully autonomous cybercrime debut that last week's headlines suggested.


An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the ...

The ‘first’ AI-run ransomware attack still needed a human

SK Hynix is experiencing a boom credited to AI. It will ride that to a multibillion-dollar U.S. IPO, expected to take place on Friday.

US investors will soon get access to SK Hynix, another memory maker riding the AI boom

"The reality is, when you're optimizing for production, you start looking at a price/performance," Guillermo Rauch tells TechCrunch.

Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch on the fight to split off models from agents

The update is part of Apple's broader effort to make Siri feel more natural and personal, as it rebuilds the assistant around generative AI. 

You can now customize Siri’s pace and expressivity in the latest iOS 27 beta

A running look — in reverse chronological order — at the bigger tech companies that have announced significant layoffs this year with AI as a stated factor.

Every major tech layoff in 2026 that has name-checked AI

Bookship.org seemed to delay this anticipated partnership again, but tells TechCrunch that it has settled business terms  and is working on integration.

Amazon competitor Bookshop.org says Kobo eReader support will happen this year after all

Consider this a belated PSA: A recent change to Google’s privacy settings is allowing the company to store more of your data, including media such as “images, files, and audio and video recordings,” to improve its AI models. 

Consider this a belated PSA: A recent change to Google’s privacy settings is allowing the company to store more of your data, including media such as “im...

If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out.

Apple has started a phased rollout of card payments for Apple Account purchases in India after adapting to the country's payments framework.

Apple brings back card payments for Apple Account purchases in India after a four-year hiatus

Microsoft cut around 4,800 roles, or 2.1% of its global workforce, on Monday — the latest in a series of layoffs that’s stoking fears of AI replacing jobs. The layoffs will hit Xbox and commercial sales the hardest.

Microsoft cut around 4,800 roles, or 2.1% of its global workforce, on Monday — the latest in a series of layoffs that’s stoking fears of AI replacing job...

Microsoft lays off nearly 5,000 employees across Xbox, commercial sales

In the AI era, platforms have no choice but to fight fire with fire to cull spam.

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