July 16 0800 UTC Brief

In sports Argentina beat England 2-1 in a dramatic World Cup semifinal in Atlanta and moved on to face Spain in the final. Tens of thousands celebrated in Buenos Aires, while England manager Thomas Tuchel said his side became too passive after taking the lead. In tech and privacy Meta’s chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, told staff he wanted to sue leakers, then audio from the same meeting leaked within days. Separately, a digital rights expert is warning that the EU’s proposed Chat Control law could amount to mass surveillance. The critic says the plan treats everyone as a suspect and argues for targeted scanning instead of blanket monitoring. In the Middle East and Asia Iranian military bases were hit after the United States launched a new wave of strikes, with explosions reported across Iran overnight. Nearby Gulf states were also reporting attacks as the situation escalated. The United Nations says more than 500 people are feared dead after two reported migrant shipwrecks off Myanmar. The boats are believed to have carried mostly Rohingya passengers and to have left Myanmar in late June. In the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to use his final visit to Kyiv to tell President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that British support for Ukraine will continue after he leaves office. He is also expected to say Ukraine’s resistance has helped preserve Europe’s security. British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant has been taken into public ownership under new government powers, in a move aimed at protecting a key UK supply chain. The government has reversed course on Dartmoor ponies, saying they will stay protected at current levels and will be removed from stocking calculations. Defra says the change avoids forcing farmers to choose between keeping ponies and maintaining sheep or cattle numbers.