International News from Friday, July 17th, 2026

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck near the coast of Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas on Friday, triggering a tsunami warning and shaking buildings in neighboring Guatemala and El Salvador.

Andy Burnham, nicknamed the 'King of the North', was elected leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, the final step before becoming its seventh prime minister in a decade on a pledge to thwart the rise of the populist Reform UK.

One of Kuwait's power generation and water desalination stations was hit in an Iranian attack, causing damage to facilities, a fire and the disruption of a large number of electricity generation units, Kuwaiti authorities said on Friday.

US President Donald Trump escalated his effort to make election security a central issue in November's midterm elections, asserting that China interfered in the 2020 presidential campaign despite a US intelligence assessment that found no evidence to support that claim.

Torrential rains have killed two people in Texas as floodwaters swept them away in their vehicles while the state braced for "record-shattering" rainfall over the next 24 hours, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Thursday afternoon.

SpaceX's Starship rocket triggered a last-second abort before liftoff for its 13th flight test from Texas on Thursday as some of its 33 engines failed to start, with CEO Elon Musk saying it will likely try to launch again early next week.

Qatar's Ministry of Interior has announced that a child has sustained an injury as a result of falling debris from interception operations against Iranian attacks early on Friday.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced that it completed its latest major wave of strikes against Iran, while Kuwaiti and Qatari defence forces reported intercepting missile attacks early on Friday.