Daily Digest — 10 Jul 2026

The US and Iran traded direct strikes this week as the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was held, with Centcom confirming it hit 90 Iranian targets and the Iranian health ministry reporting 14 deaths since Tuesday. Oil edged down 0.3% to $⁠71.87 despite the escalation, suggesting markets are pricing in limited disruption to supply, while gold slipped 0.2% to $⁠4,132. Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $⁠63,140, perhaps reflecting a flight to non-sovereign assets amid geopolitical uncertainty. In the UK, Andy Burnham is set to become the next prime minister after securing 322 Labour MPs’ backing, unopposed to replace Sir Keir Starmer — who may award resignation honours. The country is also baking in a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 34°C for the eighth day this year.

In tech, OpenAI launched its GPT-5.6 family of models, promising improvements in cybersecurity and reasoning, while Lyzr, an AI agent startup, proved its own product by using an agent to raise a $⁠100 million round. The European Parliament controversially approved “Chat Control 1.0”, allowing mass scanning of private communications — a measure it had twice rejected. Meanwhile, in the crypto world, Coinbase’s top legal officer Paul Grewal is stepping down, and New Hampshire blocked a pioneering bitcoin municipal bond effort. Elsewhere, Venezuela’s earthquake death toll has risen to 3,889, and the UN is appealing for $⁠300 million in aid.