UpdateZone24

President Trump says today Iran will be hit very hard. This as the US strikes on Iran continue to intensify. According to the US Central Command the US has  hit 3,000 targets in the first week of "Operation Epic Fury" and they have no plans of slowing down.

President Trump has said there will be "no deal" with Iran except "unconditional surrender" as the US-Israel war with Iran entered its seventh day. Israel's military says it has launched a new wave of strikes in Iran and destroyed a military command bunker in Tehran using 50 fighter jets. And Tehran residents tell BBC Persian "last night was the worst night" so far and describe strikes "every few hours".

The war involving the United States, Israel and Iran is also a battle of financial and military resources. Analysts estimate the United States is spending around $891 million per day, with the first 100 hours costing about $3.7 billion. Weapons used in the conflict are expensive, with Tomahawk cruise missiles costing up to $2 million, Patriot interceptors up to $4 million and THAAD missiles about $12 million each. The United States has deployed more than 50,000 troops and 200 aircraft in the region. Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones, while Israel faces weekly war costs of roughly 3 billion dollars.

Double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died after a mountaineering accident in Pakistan.

The 31-year-old German was caught in a rockfall during an expedition in the Karakoram mountains on Monday.

Her climbing partner, Marina Eva, called emergency services after the accident, which occurred at about 5,700 metres (18,700 feet) altitude.

Rescue teams, containing expert climbers from Germany and the United States, immediately began a rescue mission but their searches were hindered by adverse weather conditions.

Dahlmeier's management company said on Wednesday that it is likely she died on 28 July - the day of the accident.

"It was Laura's clear and written wishes that in an instance such as this, no one should risk their own lives in order to rescue her," a statement posted to Dahlmeier's Instagram read.

"Her wish was that in this case her body should be left behind on the mountain.

"This is also in line with the express wishes of the relatives, who have requested Laura's last wishes be respected."

A recovery operation was launched before being called off on the evening of 29 July.

"The recovery of the body under the current prevailing conditions of rockfalls and changeable weather on Laila Peak is attached to a high risk and not achievable," the statement continued.

"Laura enriched the lives of many with her warm and straightforward manner.

"She showed us that it is worth standing up for your dreams and goals and always staying true to yourself."

The German Olympic Sports Confederation said Dahlmeier was "more than an Olympic champion - she was someone with heart, attitude and vision".

International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said Dahlmeier's death is "deeply shocking for all of us in the Olympic movement".

She added: "She lost her life in her beloved mountains. She will be remembered forever."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Dahlmeier was an "ambassador for our country around the world and a role model for peaceful, joyful and fair coexistence across borders".

Dahlmeier, an experienced mountaineer, represented Germany at two Winter Olympics, winning two golds and one bronze medal in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Athletes who want to compete in the female category for world ranking competitions from September will have to take a one-time gene test, says governing body World Athletics.

The new regulations come into effect from 1 September, external and will be applied to the World Athletics Championships, which take place from 13-21 September in Tokyo.

The test for the SRY gene - which is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics to develop - can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test.

If the test is negative for the Y chromosome, the athlete is eligible to compete in the female category.

If it is positive, they can compete in the female category in non-world ranking competitions or in another category other than the female one.

It is a test to be taken once in a lifetime and will be overseen by member federations.

"It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling," said World Athletics president Lord Coe.

In a frequently asked questions page published by World Athletics, the test is described as being "extremely accurate" and states "the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely".

World Boxing also approved the use of the SRY test in May when it introduced mandatory sex testing for all athletes.

"We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category you have to be biologically female," said Coe.

"It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology.

"We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations."

World Athletics approved the introduction of a test in March to determine if an athlete is biologically female.

It was one of several recommendations approved at that month's World Athletics Council meeting, to tighten regulations over the eligibility of transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes.

World Athletics banned transgender athletes who had gone through male puberty from competing in the female category in international competition in March 2023.

A working group also recommended World Athletics merge regulations for both DSD and transgender athletes after it said new evidence showed testosterone suppression "can only ever partly mitigate the overall male advantage in the sport of athletics".

The current rules for DSD athletes required them to reduce their testosterone levels to a set level for at least six months to compete in any female category event internationally.

Earlier in July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that two-time Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya had her right to a fair hearing violated by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court when she lost a 2020 appeal against World Athletics regulations that effectively barred her from competing.

Semenya, 34, was born with DSD and has been unable to compete in the 800m since 2019, when World Athletics brought in rules restricting testosterone levels for track events from 400m up to the mile.

Five overs, in case you're wondering.

There have been five overs of actual cricket in the time we've had a row about shaking hands, a Royal Rumble on the Oval square and a national state of emergency over another part of Ben Stokes' anatomy.

If two of those incidents are little more than storms in teacups, one is anything but. Of all the possible combinations England could have fielded for the decisive final Test against India from Thursday, the absence of Stokes did not feature high on the list of probabilities.

The announcement of the team on Wednesday was a jaw-dropping moment, mainly for the stark reality of what a Stokesless England team looks like.

The stakes are high here – a first series win against India since 2018 and first in a five-Test series against anyone in the same timeframe are up for grabs – and will be even higher in England's following Test, in Perth in November.

he US central bank has kept interest rates unchanged again, despite pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs.

The decision, which was widely expected, left the Federal Reserve's key lending rate between 4.25% and 4.5%, where it has stood since December.

But in an unusual dissent, two members of the board voted against the plan, saying they preferred to cut, which is a sign that support for lower rates may be broadening.

At least 25 people have been killed across Ukraine in overnight and early morning Russian air strikes that hit a prison and a hospital, local officials say.

They say the deadliest attack was on the Bilenke penitentiary in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where 16 inmates were killed and more than 50 injured.

A separate Russian strike on people queuing for humanitarian aid killed five in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. Three people were killed in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, including a pregnant woman. Another casualty was reported elsewhere in the region.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has invited resident doctors' leaders for fresh talks next week in a bid to end the long-running pay dispute.

It comes after the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), wrote to Streeting on Tuesday evening asking for negotiations.

In response, Streeting said he would not negotiate on pay, but was willing to continue the talks that broke down last week looking at working conditions, including career progression, exam fees and rotas.

However, he warned the union it had lost the government's goodwill because of the latest strike, which finished on Wednesday.