Trump reinstates US blockade of Strait of Hormuz July 13, 2026 Donald Trump said the United States has restored its blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz and would demand a 20 per cent fee on all other cargo transiting the shipping lane. In a further breakdown of relations with Iran, the President said the US Navy would stop “Iran’s ships entering or leaving” [...]
Grid delays force Starmer-backed AI data centre to seek alternative power July 13, 2026 One of the UK’s flagship AI infrastructure projects is being forced to source its own energy supplies after discovering it would not be granted grid connection in time for its eagerly anticipated opening. Nscale, the British AI unicorn backed by Nvidia, is now looking beyond conventional electricity connections for its flagship £2bn data centre in [...]
Why do six Premier League clubs still not have front of shirt sponsors? July 13, 2026 Not so long ago it was unthinkable that a Premier League club would go into a new season without a sponsor on the front of their shirt. In recent years Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have made headlines for starting a campaign with a vacancy in that prime spot, precisely because it was such an anomaly. [...]
UK inks trade deal with Switzerland – despite shouting match July 13, 2026 The UK and Switzerland have inked a new free trade deal that ministers say will boost Britain’s services economy by some £5.2bn a year – despite talks breaking down just weeks ago to such an extent that both parties were “shouting at each other”. The agreement is the largest the UK has negotiated since it [...]
Monzo founder joins Anthropic as AI talent race heats up July 13, 2026 Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield has joined Anthropic, as the US AI giant steps up its recruitment drive for senior tech leaders. Blomfield announced on Monday that he is taking a leave of absence from Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator to join Anthropic’s compute team, where he will work alongside co-founder Tom Brown on the [...]
Fifa’s 64-team World Cup plan facing opposition from Uefa, Concacaf and Asia July 13, 2026 Fifa’s plan to consider expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is facing major pushback, with Uefa and other confederations believed to be firmly opposed to the proposal. The first edition of the tournament to feature 48 nations is yet to finish but Fifa president Gianni Infantino has revived the prospect of further expansion [...]
Paul Hastings opens global sports practice as another law firm enters sector July 13, 2026 Law firm Paul Hastings have launched a new global sports practice as the Bishopsgate-based US giant expands its offering. Former Baltimore Ravens general counsel Brandon Etheridge and former Slaughter figure Mark Zerdin, who advised TWG Motorsports on their Cadillac F1 team entry, will form the core of the practice, which will form part of deals-based [...]
Barclays and Lloyds back calls to digitalise UK markets and unlock £33bn boost July 13, 2026 Top financial institutions have rallied behind a new report calling for the government to accelerate the digitalisation of UK markets to deliver a £33bn annaul boost to the economy. The paper, backed by a 54-strong taskforce that includes the likes of Barclays, JP Morgan and Lloyds Banking Group, says the tokenisation of markets could add [...]
Wimbledon: HMRC set to slap Sinner and Noskova with £1.6m tax bill July 13, 2026 Wimbledon winners Jannik Sinner and Linda Noskova have been slapped with whopping multi-million pound tax bills after bagging £3.6m apiece at the All England Club. Sinner defended his title with a four-set win over French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Sunday while Noskova toppled Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova in three sets on Saturday. Both picked [...]
Kids aren’t using VPNs to watch porn and skirt social media bans, VPN firms say July 13, 2026 Only around one per cent of children use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access age-restricted content, research commissioned by VPN providers suggests, as the industry awaits a key announcement from government this week over how the under-16 social media ban will be enforced. A YouGov survey commissioned by the VPN Trust Initiative, founded by NordVPN, [...]