Nepali disaster authority confirms jump of more than 400 in total of those unaccounted for, with 584 deaths confirmed in Nepal and five in Tibet

• Flood rescue efforts resume

• Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded

• Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?

More now on the Nepali army’s rescue operation to save about 100 people trapped in a tunnel at a hydropower project swamped by Wednesday’s flooding.

“Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel,” army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

Relief efforts are also under way to provide the rescued people what they need.

The army is still working to safely evacuate more than 100 people trapped in the same tunnel.

Authorities say water rising at lake at site of disaster and it could burst

• Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killed

• Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded

• Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?

Eyewitness accounts have been emerging from the Tibetan side of the border, with a woman saying she was travelling from Gyirong town towards Nepal on Wednesday morning when her group encountered the flood about 4km from Gyirong port.

“Trees and electricity poles had already been knocked down, and the flood water was bearing down on us. We didn’t dare turn around, so we could only reverse,” the woman, surnamed Fang, told Xiaoxiang Morning News.

I was really scared. My whole body was trembling.

Latest Nepal police update says 157 bodies found after powerful floods in Himalayan border area sweep away houses, roads and bridges

• Flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border leave scores dead and hundreds missing

• Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?

The British embassy in Kathmandu said it is “deeply saddened” by flash floods in parts of Nepal and urged people in affected areas to follow local advice.

A joint statement with the embassies of Australia, the EU, Finland, France, Norway and Switzerland said:

We are deeply saddened by the devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time.

Reform UK leader’s re-election restarts inquiry into £5m gift from cyrpto-billionaire

• Watchdog resumes investigation into Farage over financial gifts

• Farage wins Clacton byelection

• Analysis: Futile Clacton byelection has done Farage no favour

This election is a novelty with a record 34 candidates, including Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party.

They have pounded the streets of Clacton over the past few weeks as they seek to win the support of about 80,000 voters.

Search teams and civilians sift though debris after at least 1,500 buildings damaged and dozens collapse in country’s most powerful quake this century

• Scores dead in Colombia after powerful earthquake strikes west of country – full report

People remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, ​after more than two dozen structures ‌collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said. ‌

He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams ‌to support rescue efforts.

The agreement is a ‘great breakthrough’, the president says in response to media questions

• Trump claims agreement for ‘complete disarmament’ of Hamas in Gaza but support uncertain

• Saudi Arabia prepares sea and possible land offensive against Houthis

Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud has reported the mood in Gaza this morning following news of Hamas’s potential disarmament.

Palestinians have heard repeated statements about their fate in the three years since the current war began between Israel and Hamas, so last night’s announcement by Donald Trump wasn’t met with any particular joy or celebration. “There is scepticism and cautiousness among Palestinians,” Mahoud writes from Gaza City in the north of the Strip.

US president says his Board of Peace reached ‘historic’ deal for disarmament of Hamas while militant group says if Israel does not implement deal, ‘neither will we’

• US launches fresh strikes on Iran after days-long pause, amid fears the war is widening

A liquefied natural gas tanker controlled by QatarEnergy exited the strait of Hormuz overnight – the first such vessel ⁠visible on ship-tracking data to ⁠leave the waterway ​since 11 July, data from analytics firms showed on Thursday.

The Al Areesh tanker, which loaded a cargo at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal around 4-6 July, sailed ⁠out of the strait overnight on 29 July, according to Kpler and LSEG data.

Secretary general António Guterres tells security council the Middle East is being pushed to the ‘edge of the unimaginable’ amid latest threats from Donald Trump

• Trump says he is close to decision on largest-yet attack on Iran

Earlier in the US day, before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump issued this threat on his Truth Social platform:

From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.

In a letter to shippers, the Houthis have threatened to attack any ships that load or discharge Saudi oil

• Houthis threaten to attack shipping tankers if they use Saudi Arabian ports on Red Sea

Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, is due to meet Donald Trump for the first time today as he wraps up a four-day visit to Washington.

The meeting coincides with ongoing US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel. The two sides announced a “framework agreement” on 26 June which stipulates the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah.

This blog is now closed – our live coverage of the Middle East crisis continues here

The price of oil jumped in early Asian trade on Monday after the US carried out its latest wave of strikes on Iran and a vessel caught fire in the strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude for September delivery rose 2.72% to $90.50 a barrel by around 0100 GMT, after briefly crossing $91 – its highest price since June.

CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction.

Centcom announces third confirmed troop death from separate incident in Iraq following new round of airstrikes to ‘swiftly punish’ Iran

• Two US troops killed and one missing in Jordan after Iranian attacks

Jordanian authorities ⁠have not issued any decision ⁠to ​evacuate the airport or ⁠seaport in the city of Aqaba, and have not detected ⁠any potential threats ​in ‌the past ‌hours, the state ‌news agency cited the government spokesperson as saying.

This denial comes in response to the US embassy in Jordan earlier saying the airport and seaport in Aqaba had been evacuated by Jordanian authorities because of a “specific and credible threat” (see this post for more details).

Central Command says US aircraft fired missiles into oil tanker’s smokestack in strait of Hormuz as US strikes Iran for fourth consecutive day

• Trump again threatens to strike Iran’s power plants amid impasse over strait of Hormuz

For a second day in a row, US strikes targeted Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, according to the state news agency IRNA quoting a local official.

“In continuation of the brutality of the American enemy, three points in the city of Bushehr were attacked today,” Mohammad Mozaffari, the governor of Bushehr, was quoted as saying.

In the recent attacks on the southern part of the country, more than 30 civilians lost their lives. While expressing our condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families, we honour the memory of the fallen. The government will stand by the people with all its might. The south of Iran is the beating heart of this land. The south of Iran, the soul of Iran.”

Donald Trump claims shipping route is open for all except Iranian ships as US issues new Iran-related sanctions Tuesday

• US launches third night of strikes on Iran as Trump announces Hormuz blockade

Resurgent oil and fuel prices could cement a fourth interest rate rise in Australia this year if Donald Trump’s renewed conflict with Iran is not resolved within a week, economists warn.

US missile strikes on Iran and Trump’s announcement of a new maritime blockade has lifted oil prices to their highest point in the month since the two countries agreed to a peace deal.

US military says latest strikes will ‘continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping’ in strait of Hormuz

• Trump renews Iran blockade and again threatens to take control of strait of Hormuz

Bahrain’s military has accused Iran of targeting civilians with its latest attacks on the country, after Tehran said it had struck US military facilities and infrastructure there earlier.

“Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its heinous attacks with missiles and drones that target civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the general command of Bahrain’s military said, adding that air defences “intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks” this morning.

France records hottest ever day as much of Europe endures extreme heat; ‘London is cooking,’ says UN secretary general

• Tell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?

• Forty drown across France in heatwave and parts of Spain above 30C at night

Italy’s health ministry has declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.

During a red alert – the highest level – the ministry advises people to eat light, stay indoors in the hottest parts of the day and sprinkle themselves with cool water.

The vice president said the move represented a ‘major milestone’ in ending Iran’s nuclear programme

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, a high school student was killed and several other civilians were injured earlier today in an Israeli attack on a civilian vehicle in Gaza City. The Gaza health ministry says at least 1,021 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ‘ceasefire’ between Israel and Hamas came into effect in October 2025.

In a post on X, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said US-Iran talks have concluded “successfully” ⁠in Switzerland, adding that discussions produced agreement on the establishment of a “high-level committee” to provide “political oversight” of the talks which are now entering a more “technical” phase.

This live blog is now closed.

• Israel and Hezbollah agree to renew ceasefire after flareup of violence

Inside the city of grief hit hardest by Israel strikes on southern Lebanon

As the procession wound its way through mounds of rubble, the crowd chanted and beat their chests, their lamentations echoed by the dull thud of shelling in the foothills just beyond the city.

Pete Hegseth said the US is prepared to reimpose a blockade against Iran if it fail to fulfil its commitments under the agreement

• Reaction: Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulity

• Analysis: Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war

Donald Trump had urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop blowing up buildings” during a phone call about Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper cited sources who overheard the phone conversation between the two leaders, whose relationship has grown increasingly hostile as the war raged on.

This blog is now closed – see our full report on the latest in the Middle East crisis

Trump also addressed media reports of a leaked US-Iran deal (see post at 11:57), denying claims it includes a $300bn reconstruction fund for Tehran.

“We’re not putting up 10 cents,” he said. “We are not investing and we do not have a fund.”

It’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head.

If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, okay, because they’ve misbehaved for 47 years.”

Benjamin Netanyahu rules out Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon despite initial US-Iran deal expected to be signed on Friday

• Full report: Trump declares deal ‘all signed’ as G7 leaders try to tie loose ends

• Trump hails Iran deal that fixes nothing except a problem his war caused

The agreement between the United ⁠States and Iran should allow for the “immediate reopening” ⁠of the ⁠Strait ​of Hormuz, EU Commission President Ursula von ⁠der Leyen said on Monday.

“The priority now is ⁠its swift and full implementation ​by all parties,” ‌von der ‌Leyen said about the ‌announced deal.