WAFCON 2026: All to know about Africa’s biggest women’s football tournament

Berths in the 2027 Women’s World Cup and continental bragging rights will be up for grabs when 16 teams compete at the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026.

The action in Morocco begins on Sunday, four months after it was initially supposed to start.

AusAlert test will blast emergency warning siren over most phones in Australia on Monday. Here’s what to know

Virtually every phone in the country will blare an emergency siren at 2pm AEST on Monday 27 July as part of the first Australia-wide test of a new national warning system called AusAlert.

Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science

More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.

Analysing DNA from seawater samples of 48 reefs, researchers have mapped the microbiome of the Great Barrier Reef, documenting more than 360,000 distinct viruses as well as more than 500 new bacterial species not previously known to science.

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement

The publisher of Harry Potter has received a multimillion-pound payout as a beneficiary of a $1.5bn (£1.12bn) copyright settlement between the AI startup Anthropic and thousands of authors over the use of their protected work to power chatbots.

Ex-Southern Water boss to face trial over allegedly manipulating sewage testing

The former chief executive of Southern Water is being prosecuted for conspiracy to defraud along with three other former employees, over allegations they manipulated sewage wastewater testing results to avoid tens of millions of pounds in fines.

Nottingham attacks NHS trust faces manslaughter probe

A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: "Northumbria Police, acting on behalf of Nottinghamshire Police, have begun an investigation into matters relating to the care and treatment of Valdo Calocane.

Kaylee Hottle: 'Devastated' Millie Bobby Brown leads tributes

Millie Bobby Brown is among the stars who have remembered the "talent" and "kindness" of US actress Kaylee Hottle, who died in a car crash aged 18.

Hottle was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Frederick, Maryland on Tuesday morning.

France becomes first EU country to ban social media access for under-15s

France’s parliament has approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making it the first EU country to bar children from apps such as TikTok.

The president, Emmanuel Macron, has championed the ban as a key reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September.

Netherlands to sanction trade with illegal Israeli settlements

Dutch ban on Israeli goods from occupied territory comes as efforts to implement EU-wide sanctions remain stalled.

The Netherlands is set to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Houthis may soon discover the limits of Saudi strategic patience

The Houthi declaration that they intend to block Saudi shipping and vessels bound for Saudi ports in the Red Sea is not another act of revolutionary theatre. It is Iran’s latest attempt to test Saudi Arabia’s strategic patience through one of its most capable regional proxies. That is a dangerous gamble because Riyadh has spent nearly a decade avoiding the wider regional war that Tehran increasingly appears determined to provoke.