Politics & World Affairs — July 16, 2026

Italian judges rule on Genoa collapse. Judges are delivering verdicts in the first trial over the Morandi motorway bridge collapse that killed 43 people, one of Italy's largest-ever criminal proceedings.

The verdicts come eight years after the motorway bridge gave way, and the proceeding has grown into one of the largest criminal trials in Italian history, according to Al Jazeera. The scale of the case reflects both the death toll of 43 and the number of parties drawn into questions of responsibility for the disaster. The ruling marks the first judicial resolution of the collapse.

Al Jazeera · Read more →

Over 500 feared dead off Myanmar. UN agencies said two boats carrying mostly Rohingya refugees that departed Myanmar's Rakhine State in late June may have capsized, leaving more than 500 people feared dead.

Al Jazeera · Read more →

Pentagon mandates testosterone screenings. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced annual testosterone-deficiency screenings for service members age 30 and older, a policy he said is about 'restoring and optimizing' natural capabilities.

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Maine Democrats race to replace Platner. Eight Democratic candidates are competing to replace Graham Platner in Maine's Senate race after his abrupt withdrawal, with no clear front-runner emerging.

According to the Washington Examiner, the contest is as much about inheriting the progressive coalition Platner assembled as it is about winning the nomination itself. His exit left that base without an obvious standard-bearer, and the outlet reports Democrats are now scrambling to reunify a fractured party. With eight contenders and no front-runner, the primary field remains unsettled as candidates compete for Platner's former supporters.

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U.S. strikes expand into northern Iran. U.S. strikes hit targets near Tehran for the first time, and U.S. forces disabled a tanker under the naval blockade; Iran struck military sites in Kuwait and Jordan.

The strikes near Tehran reached farther north than any previous point in the conflict, according to the AP, marking an expansion of the U.S. campaign. The disabled tanker was accused of attempting to break the resumed naval blockade. Iran's retaliation against military sites in Kuwait and Jordan widened the confrontation to third countries, and Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz a red line, raising the stakes for regional shipping and escalation.

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Ukraine's parliament votes on government. Ukrainian lawmakers vote Thursday on a new wartime government after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a move that triggered street protests.

Fedorov's removal set off a wider backlash beyond the street demonstrations, including the resignation of a deputy air force commander, according to the reporting. Reuters described Fedorov as a reformist, and his abrupt dismissal by Zelenskyy fueled the public outcry in Ukrainian cities. Thursday's parliamentary vote will determine the composition of the new wartime government amid that continuing pressure.

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