Inflation cools to 3.5% in June in relief brought by brief US-Iran peace deal
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

Recent strikes have sent oil prices climbing again, with average gas price per gallon up by 70 cents on last year

Inflation cooled to an annual rate of 3.5% in June as the brief US-Iran ceasefire, which has since ended, brought energy prices down, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures a basket of goods and services, has been elevated since the start of the war, largely because of higher energy prices. After mostly staying under 3% since mid-2024, CPI reached a three-year high of 4.2% in May – up from 2.4% in February. Month-over-month, CPI fell 0.8% in June, the largest one-month decrease since April 2020.

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China’s monthly car ‌exports top 1m for first time as overall trade soars
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

Country risks new tariffs from US and EU as it looks likely to match or beat last year’s record surplus of $1tn

• Business live – latest updates

China’s monthly car ‌exports topped 1m for the first time in June as overall overseas shipments from the world’s second biggest economy rose 27%.

Official Chinese customs data showed that a stronger-than-expected trade performance kept China on track to match or beat last year’s record trade surplus of $1tn (£748bn), achieved despite Donald Trump’s curtailed tariff war.

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‘If we die, we die together’: wife of Ryanair passenger almost sucked through window speaks
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

Svetlana Grković says she grabbed her husband’s legs while he was ‘outside up to his chest’ for two minutes

• Ryanair passenger almost sucked out of window during flight

• Ryanair has axed family seating policy – but kids’ fees add up

A woman who saved her husband from being completely sucked out of a Ryanair plane mid-flight has said she thought as she held on to his legs: “If we die, we die together.”

Ljubisa Karović was sucked out headfirst on the flight on Friday after an engine failure resulted in parts smashing the acrylic window.

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T rex fossil ‘Gus’ sells for $50.1m at New York auction, setting new record
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

Skeleton judged to be one of the largest and most complete ever unearthed was excavated on a ranch in South Dakota

A vast, fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Gus sold at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday for $50.1m with fees (£37.4m) to a phone bidder – making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil sold at auction.

It also sold well above a pre-sale estimate of $20m to $30m (£15m to £22.4m).

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The UK wants to catch up in the global AI race – but is too wary to go all-in
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

UK fears a ‘triple whammy’: oversized investment in AI stocks, slower adoption of AI than predicted and the breakneck pace of AI’s development

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian. Today, we’re discussing the UK’s difficult position in the AI race, new doubts over OpenAI’s path toward a trillion-dollar stock market debut and the changes to IRL tech reporting in the age of AI.

My patients use ChatGPT for therapy. Now I use it too | Sarah Darghouth | The Guardian

Chasing new skills, going back to basics and pushing for collective action: how software engineers are adapting to AI

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 review: a quality PC whose trackpad taps you back
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

Snappy performance, long battery life, great keyboard and excellent new haptic touchpad make the best of Windows 11

Microsoft’s Surface laptop for consumers is back, faster and with longer battery life and a hefty price increase because of the high cost of memory and chips.

The Surface Laptop 8 is a straight replacement for the seventh edition from 2024, which was the first of Microsoft’s new generation of ARM-based, Qualcomm-powered PCs designed to better rival Apple’s MacBook Air and other thin and light machines.

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France v Spain: World Cup 2026 semi-final – live
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

⚽ Kick-off time: 2pm local/3pm EST/8pm BST/5am AEST
⚽ Player guide | Golden Boot | Football Daily | Mail Scott

France and Spain have only met once before at the World Cup. That was 20 years ago, back in the day when Les Bleus very much had La Roja’s number (the Euro 84 final, the Euro 2000 quarters, all that).

Spain have had the better of the tournament football since. Wins in the Euro 2012 quarters and the Euro 2024 semis, plus an absurd 5-4 victory in last year’s Nations League semis. France did win the 2021 Nations League final, though.

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England rue selection errors after Patel and Sundar lead India to comfortable win
Posted on Tuesday July 14, 2026

• England 258 lost to India 262-4 by six wickets

• All-rounders share century stand to secure victory

A recent ascent to No 1 in the men’s T20 international rankings saved one half of Brendon McCullum’s job as England head coach and yet half of that half – one-day international cricket – continues to be a struggle.

A six-wicket defeat by India in the series opener at Edgbaston was England’s 13th ODI loss since McCullum took charge of the white-ball teams at the start of last year. Just six victories have come in this time – including three against lowly West Indies – and they have now slipped to eighth in the world overall.

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