Category: World

Russia introduced a ban on diesel exports on Wednesday as part of a raft of ​measures to support the domestic fuel market after systematic Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries triggered gasoline shortages and ‌price spikes.
Drivers in many regions are facing hours-long lines to refuel, as intensifying Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure squeeze supplies of diesel and gasoline.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a televised government meeting, chaired by President Vladimir Putin, that the fuel situation remained complex and that “it is clear that the current situation ​at filling stations is causing concern among the public.”

“Today, a ban on diesel fuel exports was introduced, and this will ​make it possible to increase supplies to the domestic market,” he said, adding that Russia would start ⁠importing fuel in July.

BAN TO STAY IN PLACE UNTIL JULY 31

Industry sources said last week that Russia had started seaborne imports of gasoline ​from India.
The government said the ban on diesel exports, which includes producers of the fuel, will be in place until July 31. Supplies ​under pre-existing government agreements, such as a deal with Mongolia, will be exempt from the restrictions.
Putin told the meeting that Ukraine was trying to damage Russia’s economy.

“But most importantly, it seeks to create a sense of anxiety in society. We all understand that this goal is unattainable. The resilience of Russia’s power ​system is very high — among the highest in the world,” said Putin.
Ukraine says its attacks on Russian fuel facilities are designed to ​limit Russia’s ability to wage war on it and force Moscow to start peace talks.
Benchmark European diesel margins rose to a record $60.17 per barrel after ‌Russia announced ⁠the export ban, as analysts viewed a tightening market as a result of the ban.
“The Russian diesel export ban has landed at almost the worst possible time. The Iran war had already forced heavy inventory draws to bridge disrupted Middle Eastern supply, leaving diesel stocks in key markets thin,” Sparta Commodities analyst Abhishek Kumar said, adding that Russia and its buyers will now compete aggressively with Europe for ​diesel imports from other suppliers.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-bans-diesel-exports-increase-domestic-supply-says-deputy-pm-2026-07-08/

Thailand’s parliament passed an amnesty bill on Wednesday (Jul 8) benefitting hundreds of activists found guilty over the last 20 years, but not those sentenced for corruption or violating the royal insult law.

The bill covers members of both the conservative, royalist “Yellow Shirts” and the “Red Shirts” who backed populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, rival groups who clashed over two decades.

While most have served their sentences, the amnesty lifts the bar on them holding political office, according to Yutthaporn Issarachai, an analyst from Sukhothai University.

It also covers youth protesters involved in the pro-democracy movement in 2020 and 2021.

Yutthaporn told AFP that between 1,000 and 2,000 people could benefit, but there were some important exemptions.

“It is the country’s largest amnesty because it covers 20 years,” from Jan 1, 2005, to Jul 16, 2025, he said.

Yet it does not cover anyone convicted of breaching Thailand’s strict lese majeste law, which shields the king and his family from criticism.

This means it will not benefit many leaders of the 2020-2021 youth-driven demonstrations calling for monarchy reform.

It will also not cover anyone convicted of corruption and therefore would not benefit Thaksin, who was released from prison in June following a royal pardon after serving eight months of a one-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power.

In addition, “this bill will not cover civil lawsuits, for example, Yellow Shirts who were found guilty of closing the airports will still have to pay compensation for their actions”, Yutthaporn said.

The bill, which must still be approved by the king, will end trials of political activists not related to the excluded offences. However, Yutthaporn said most of them had already served their sentences.

“The bill does not mean to erase their guilt but will return their political rights,” he said.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-amnesty-yellow-red-shirt-activists-6241356

A CAT-themed Instagram troll is suing after claiming armed Secret Service agents blocked her from a JD Vance event.

Amanda McGonigle says she was singled out because of her satirical posts mocking the vice president.

The 37-year-old had registered to attend Vance’s event in Bangor, Maine, where he was speaking about healthcare fraud.

But while waiting in line, McGonigle claims five armed Secret Service agents approached her.

She says they identified her by name and refused to let her inside.

According to her lawsuit, authorities told her, “we know where you stand.”

McGonigle, who runs the Instagram account @catsonacouch, filed the legal action Tuesday against the Office of the President and the Secret Service, NBC News reported.

She claims the Trump administration violated her First Amendment rights by keeping her out of events because of her online criticism.

Her account describes itself as a “petty cat account” that exists “purr-ly to troll the current administration & have more followers than J.D. Vance.”

It has nearly two million followers.

McGonigle launched the account in 2024 after Vance’s old “childless cat ladies” remark resurfaced.

Vance made the comment in 2021 while attacking Kamala Harris and other Democrats.

He later called the statement “one of the dumbest things I ever said” in his new memoir.

McGonigle has used the account to mock Vance with memes, jokes, and other satirical posts.

The account has shared memes about Vance and a couch, as well as mock “Wanted” posters showing him as a suspect in the death of Pope Francis.

She also uses the page for mutual aid efforts with followers she calls her “petty besties.”

“It’s absurd that the Secret Service is wasting their time tracking a satirical cat account on social media,” McGonigle said in a statement released by the ACLU.

“The government can’t exclude me from official vice-presidential events just because I mock people in power on the internet.”

She added, “The Trump administration has routinely retaliated against people exercising their first amendment rights, and this is just the latest example.

“But the first amendment protects our right to criticize the government, and it’s well within my rights to say that I think JD Vance is an unlikeable idiot.”

McGonigle had signed up for the May 14 event in advance, according to the lawsuit.

Vance was appearing with acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.

The lawsuit says McGonigle followed all instructions sent to guests by the Executive Office of the President.

She also received confirmation from Vance’s office and event materials bearing the White House seal.

But when she arrived, Secret Service agents allegedly told her the event was private.

“Every single sign pointed to this being a public event,” McGonigle wrote in a May Instagram post.

“Either it was a public event as advertised, and I was denied entry because I think J.D. Vance is a sentient jar of mayonnaise, or it was a private event and taxpayer dollars were being used to fund J.D. Vance’s little ‘safe space.’

“Either way, it’s giving lawsuit vibes.”

The ACLU of Maine filed the complaint on McGonigle’s behalf in federal court in Maine.

The lawsuit claims she was barred from the event because of her political views and online speech.

It argues that keeping her out amounted to retaliation and viewpoint discrimination.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16658880/jd-vance-bizarre-legal-battle-cat-troll/

The recent US Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship has eased concerns and reduced uncertainty for Indian families living in the United States.

The US Supreme Court’s recent decision to leave birthright citizenship intact offers relief to thousands of Indian families, even as the political battle over who deserves to be American is far from over.

When the top court’s ruling came through on June 30, Rajesh and Neha, an Indian couple living in Seattle, read the news over breakfast before leaving for work.

Rajesh, a software engineer, moved to the US from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru in 2016 on an H-1B visa. Neha joined him a year later. Their six-year-old daughter, Aanya, was born in the United States.

“It was a relief,” Neha told DW. “For months, we kept wondering if something so fundamental could really change.”

Their daughter remains an American citizen. But for her parents, little else has changed. Like thousands of Indian professionals in the US, they are still waiting for employment-based green cards after years in the queue.

“We’re happy our daughter’s future is protected,” said Rajesh. “But we’re still living one visa renewal at a time.”

A sigh of relief

The US Supreme Court at the end of June left birthright citizenship intact, ruling that children born on US soil remain citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year decreeing that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become US citizens.

That order now remains blocked and under legal challenge.

“The ruling is a profound affirmation of who belongs in America,” said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, a civic and political advocacy organization.

“Indian and South Asian immigrant families are among those most directly threatened by Trump’s executive order, communities navigating long visa backlogs and uncertain immigration timelines, where children are often born here long before their parents have a clear path to permanence,” said Patel in a statement.

Indians are the second-largest Asian-origin group in the US after Chinese Americans, according to a May 2025 Pew Research Center fact sheet.

About 5.2 million people of Indian origin lived in the US in 2023, roughly 21% of the country’s population of Asian origin.

Indians are the largest recipients of H-1B visas, the program that lets US companies hire skilled foreign workers. They also face the longest waits for employment-based green cards, because of per country caps.

Community organizations estimate that hundreds of thousands of children have been born in the US to Indian parents on temporary work visas.

The court ruling now preserves their citizenship, along with the rights that come with it, including US passports and social security numbers.

Life in immigration limbo

For many Indian professionals, the ruling addresses only one part of a much larger problem.

Employment-based green cards are subject to annual country quotas, creating an enormous backlog for Indian applicants. Various estimates suggest well over a million Indians are waiting for permanent residency, some for decades.

Workers hesitate to change employers, afraid of disrupting their status. Spouses can face restrictions on employment.

Children who came in as dependents can lose their legal status when they turn 21, if their parents have not yet secured permanent residency, a problem known as aging out.

Against that backdrop, birthright citizenship has remained one of the few certainties families could count on.

“The ruling reinforces the longstanding constitutional principle that anyone born in the US is a citizen, irrespective of their parents’ immigration status,” Rajkrishna S Iyer, a US immigration attorney specializing in employment and family-based immigration, told DW.

“For Indian H-1B families, it means their children continue to acquire US citizenship at birth.”

The political fault line

The ruling also brings back into focus one of the most divisive questions in American politics.

For years, Trump and many conservatives have argued that automatic birthright citizenship encourages abuse of the immigration system.

The deliberate attempt to use the current system to get US citizenship is one of the concerns for conservatives and immigration opponents.

Supporters of Trump’s position say birthright citizenship creates incentives for what they call “birth tourism,” where foreign nationals travel to the US specifically to give birth so their children acquire American citizenship.

Iyer said this objection generally doesn’t apply to H-1B visa holders.

“Notably, the conservative public has voiced comparatively little objection to legal immigrant workers having children in the US,” he pointed out.

According to Iyer, H-1B holders are legal workers who contribute to the tax base and generally aren’t perceived as a drain on public resources.

“Hence, the underlying objection appears less about immigration status in the abstract, and more about circumventing the legal system altogether, entering the country unlawfully, or exploiting a legal visa for a purpose, birth tourism, it wasn’t intended for,” he said.

Immigration lawyers caution that birthright citizenship is often misunderstood.

Children born in the US cannot sponsor their parents for permanent residency until they turn 21, meaning citizenship at birth does not provide an immediate pathway to legal status for families.

They draw a line between rare cases of organized birth tourism and families who have lived and worked legally in the US for years on employer-sponsored visas.

That distinction matters for Indian H-1B families in particular.

Unlike undocumented migrants, most Indian professionals enter the United States legally, pay taxes and maintain legal status while navigating one of the world’s longest employment-based immigration backlogs.

Karan Thukral, a lawyer based in New Delhi, said Indian professionals are being swept into a debate aimed largely at undocumented immigration.

“The ruling removes one major layer of uncertainty for Indian H-1B families,” Thukral told DW.

“It does not change the reality of decades-long green card waits or life on temporary visas. They are lawfully admitted professionals, and concerns about abuse should not come at the expense of the constitutional rights of US-born children,” added Thukral.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-birthright-citizenship-ruling-eases-fears-among-indians/a-77879632

The wreckage of a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane has been recovered from the Arabian Sea after a 12-hour search, following its disappearance en route from Sharjah to Karachi.

The wreckage of a K2 Airways cargo plane that went missing off the coast of Pakistan has been located and recovered from the Arabian Sea, while search efforts continue for the five crew members who remain missing.

Pakistan’s Airports Authority said the Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, operating as K2 Airways flight KTA1732, departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was en route to Karachi when it reported a navigation system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday.

According to the authority, the aircraft rapidly descended and lost radar and radio contact at about 9:21 p.m. local time (16:21 GMT), approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.

After a 12-hour search operation involving the Pakistan Navy, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), and civilian air and sea assets, the wreckage was located about 53 nautical miles south of Ormara in the Arabian Sea. Ormara is located around 360 kilometers west of Karachi.

Officials said search and rescue operations are continuing for the five crew members who were on board the aircraft. Three officials familiar with the operation said the vast search area and rough monsoon seas have posed significant challenges to the rescue effort.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sympathy with the families of the missing crew members and directed authorities to deploy all available resources for the ongoing search.

In a statement, K2 Airways identified the missing crew as Capt. Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan.

Aviation expert Imran Aslam said it remains unclear what caused the aircraft to disappear from radar, noting that even in the event of an engine failure, an aircraft would normally continue gliding rather than descend suddenly. He said investigators would determine the cause after gathering more evidence.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/asia/pakistan-plane-crash-k2-airways-cargo-plane-wreckage-recovered-from-arabian-sea-article-154997053

Former Defence Minister Al Carns has said he will not stand for the Labour leadership and urged his party to get behind Andy Burnham.

He told Sky News a leadership contest was “not the best use of Labour’s time” and in his view “we need to get on board” with Burnham.

Carns’s decision means Burnham is the only Labour MP who has declared his intention to bid for the Labour leadership, following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister last month.

Earlier this week, Carns had said he could not support Burnham until he had seen more detail about his plan for government.

But Carns said after speaking with Burnham on Tuesday, he had concluded the Makerfield MP would “make the right decisions and move the country forward”.

Burnham is widely expected to be the next Labour leader and prime minister later this month.

The process to elect a new Labour leader starts on Thursday, when the window for MPs to nominate candidates opens.

Leadership candidates need nominations from 20% of the party’s MPs – 81 – to be eligible.

They also need to be nominated by at least three of the 31 socialist societies and trade unions affiliated to the party, or 5% of the constituency Labour parties (CLPs).

As there are 403 Labour MPs, if Burnham gets 323 nominations, it is mathematically impossible for anyone else to enter the contest.

In this scenario, Burnham could be Labour leader by 17 July, and then take office as prime minister three days later on 20 July, to allow time for the transfer of power.

Burnham said he would seek the Labour leadership after winning a by-election in Makerfield and returning to Westminster last month.

Sir Keir resigned as prime minister on the same day Burnham was sworn in as an MP, saying in his resignation speech he had heard the answer to the question of whether “I am best placed to lead us into the next general election”.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, was considering a bid to replace Sir Keir as Labour leader.

But he decided to back Burnham shortly after Sir Keir’s resignation.

Carns had also been weighing up his chances at becoming the next Labour leader.

He resigned as defence minister over a row about the level of military spending.

But when asked by Sky News presenter Cathy Newman if he would put himself forward, Carns said “internal blood letting” was not in the party’s best interests.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9rzelexqlo

US President Donald Trump has offered to give Ukraine the right to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, which could help Kyiv defend against Russia’s ballistic missile attacks.

“We are gonna give you a licence to make Patriots,” Trump told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky during Wednesday’s Nato summit in Ankara. “I think they can produce them very quickly once we explain it.”

He said he had not yet informed defence manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon of his decision, “but that’ll work out alright”.

Patriots detect and intercept missiles and are regarded as one of the world’s best air defence systems – and the most expensive: a single battery, with missiles, is worth around $1bn (£740m).

It also has lengthy production times, with only 600 missiles produced per year, according to the US Department of Defence.

The US is reluctant to part with any, given that it used more than half of its stockpile during its war with Iran earlier this year, according to the US-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“We have Patriots, but we don’t have that many. We need them for ourselves too,” Trump said.

Yet Ukraine needs them urgently. In recent months Moscow has increased its ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine, causing dozens of deaths in Kyiv alone over the course of the last week.

In late May, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine had formally asked the US to authorise licensed production of Patriots.

After four-and-a-half years of war the fighting on the front line has mostly stalled, the Black Sea is at a standstill, and Ukraine has by and large learned to counter the hundreds of drones Russia fires at it on a nightly basis.

But ballistic missiles – which Zelensky called Russia’s “last major advantage” – travel at high velocity and a steep path which makes them difficult to stop.

Many manage to pierce through Ukraine’s depleted air defences.

Earlier this week the Ukraine Air Force said a “serious shortage” of interceptor missiles meant none of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia on Sunday night were shot down. More than 20 people died in that attack.

Trump said the US would give Kyiv the licence to produce Patriots so that it couldn’t “complain that we’re not giving them enough”.

In Kyiv, there was some degree of scepticism that the interceptor missiles could be produced on Ukrainian territory at this stage.

Military expert Ivan Stupak, an ex-security service officer, told the BBC that while the Patriots were vital for Ukraine’s defence: “Unfortunately, Ukraine is not able to produce such kinds of advanced munition, because it’s really sophisticated, cutting-edge equipment.”

“Technically and legally, I think this will be deployed to European soil instead – and supervised,” he said, adding that the process could take many months.

“It’s a matter of security. We have no safe place on the entire Ukrainian territory,” Stupak said.

During the news conference, Trump acknowledged that Ukraine had been recently having significant success in launching long-range strikes on Russia, which have hit targets thousands of kilometres away from the frontline.

“It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end,” Trump said.

Sitting next to Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries were needed to show Moscow “how difficult it is to defend its airspace”, and thus push the Kremlin to end the war.

In his remarks Trump also claimed Vladimir Putin – with whom he said he spoke often – wanted to make a deal to end the war with Ukraine, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8klree690o

Military spokesman warns fighters ‘we will chase you, we will hurt you’ amid the spate of deadly ambushes.

The latest attacks, which unfolded in the province of Balochistan, have brought the death toll since Monday to 42 people, military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a televised news conference Wednesday.

Chaudhry said the casualties included four civilians, while security forces also killed 54 fighters across several operations.

“We will chase you, we will hurt you,” Chaudhry said, claiming that “many Afghans” were behind the attacks.

“We will take on each and every terrorist, their facilitators, those who harbour them, those who nourish them and those who provide them bases, wherever they are located,” he added.

The 18 slain police officers were abducted Monday, when dozens of fighters descended upon a post guarding the large Mangi dam project in Balochistan’s Ziarat district. Nine other officers were killed in the attack.

Then, on Wednesday, fighters ambushed a vehicle as it travelled on a Balochistan highway, killing the 11 soldiers, Chaudhry said.

Escalating attacks

Pakistan has been battling a separatist uprising for years in Balochistan, which is the country’s largest, but least populated, province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

Fighters from the banned Pakistan Taliban (TTP) – which is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban – and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army have targeted state forces, foreign investment projects and infrastructure in the mineral-laden region. At least five separatist uprisings have been recorded since Pakistani independence in 1947.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of serving as a base for separatist groups seeking to overthrow Pakistan’s central government, which Kabul has denied.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s military said it intercepted four drones launched by the Afghan Taliban into Balochistan, the latest in a string of tit-for-tat strikes since October 2025.

The strikes came after Pakistani security forces killed 29 fighters along the Afghan border in late June, following an assault on a Karachi paramilitary compound for which the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility.

Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/8/pakistan-military-says-42-killed-in-fighter-attacks-in-balochistan

Trump’s remarks came aboard the Air Force One plane, after the reporters he was interacting with were asked to shut the blinds next to their seats.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that Iran poses him a threat all the time and that he was “number 1” on the country’s list. His remarks came aboard the Air Force One plane, after the reporters he was interacting with were asked to shut the blinds next to their seats.

As one of the media personnel asked Trump what the reason for this directive could be, he answered: “Because you are probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with. These (Iranians) are sick people…,” Trump said.

Another reporter asked the US President if he faces a threat from Iran, to which he said: I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list, before you (addressing the reporters). But if I go, you go.” In the same vein, he also said the press may want to switch professions.

#WATCH | The Press onboard Air Force One with US President Donald Trump were asked to shut the blinds next to their seats.

On the matter, President Trump said, “Because you are probably on a dangerous flight… These (Iranians) are sick people… I have a threat all the time.… pic.twitter.com/UdrAh4DGfI

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2026

Trump’s surprise plane swap after NATO Summit

His remarks came during an interaction with the media aboard Air Force One. According to news agency AP, after attending the NATO Summit in Turkey, Trump flew partway home on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet he arrived in.

Trump had traveled to Ankara for the summit aboard a new Air Force One jet, a Boeing Co. 747-8, gifted by Qatar. But the jet he travelled in was sent on ahead of the president’s departure to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the UK, Bloomberg reported. The US president flew from Ankara to the UK on the older Air Force One.

The President reportedly said he was flying on the legacy aircraft “for old time’s sake,” and hinted that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the United States at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by US troops.

“We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base’s request,” the Republican president said on social media. “They were very excited.”

According to AP, the US spent $400 million to retrofit the new Qatari-gifted jet and his travel switch raised fresh security questions.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/trump-claims-threat-aboard-air-force-one-warns-reporters-number-1-iran-list-dangerous-flight-us-war-ceasefire-over-101783560339694.html

By Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signalled there was little hope of reviving the agreement, saying the ceasefire was effectively “over”.

The ceasefire between the United States and Iran has effectively collapsed after weeks of military exchanges that steadily chipped away at the agreement, culminating in US President Donald Trump’s declaration on Wednesday that the truce is “over”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said he believed the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran had run its course after Washington struck more than 80 targets inside Iran and reinstated sanctions on Iranian oil sales following attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded with one of its largest retaliatory operations, launching missiles and drones at 85 US military sites and facilities across the Gulf. Air defence systems were activated in Bahrain and Kuwait as the attacks unfolded.

Trump also made it clear that he no longer wanted to engage with Tehran, describing Iran’s leadership as “scum”, “sick people”, and “vicious, violent people”.

His remarks came only hours after another round of hostilities threatened a ceasefire that had struggled to hold from the very beginning.

Here’s how the agreement gradually unravelled.

June 17: A Signing And An Early Warning

In an unexpected move during the G7 summit, Trump signed the ceasefire agreement at a dinner at the Palace of Versailles, catching even members of his own team off guard. Officials had expected the formal signing to take place two days later in Lucerne.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the document remotely from Tehran. The 14-point Islamabad Memorandum called for a permanent end to hostilities, a 60-day negotiating period for a broader agreement, and the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Even after signing the deal, Trump warned Tehran of the consequences if it backed out.

“I don’t want them to. I want them to honour the agreement,” Trump said at a press conference.

June 18: Implementation Begins

The US started withdrawing its naval blockade while Iran began clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, endorsed the memorandum despite reported divisions within the country’s clerical leadership.

In a written statement carried by Iranian state media, Mojtaba Khamenei said he had “a different opinion” on the agreement but approved it after President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior officials assured him they would protect “the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front” and accepted responsibility for the deal.

June 19-20:  The First Cracks Appear

The planned signing ceremony in Lucerne was scrapped after Iran pulled out amid renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Within days, Tehran temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz again, arguing that continuing Israeli attacks violated the spirit of the agreement.

June 25: Military Exchanges Resume

The Singapore-flagged cargo vessel M/V Ever Lovely was struck by an Iranian one-way attack drone near the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington responded with airstrikes targeting multiple Iranian military facilities, including drone storage sites, air defence positions and coastal radar installations near Sirik.

July 7-8: The Ceasefire Collapses

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was accused of attacking three commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US answered by revoking Iran’s oil-sale waivers and carrying out strikes on more than 80 targets across Iran, including air defence systems and naval assets.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-iran-war-live-updates-signing-in-versailles-to-its-over-timeline-of-fragile-iran-us-deal-11746064?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said officials have already issued multiple subpoenas as part of the large-scale probe into suspected labour trafficking and abuse of foreign worker programmes.

The Donald Trump administration has launched its first major probe into alleged fraud linked to H-1B and PERM employment visas, with a senior federal official naming IT giant Cognizant while speaking about the investigation.

Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said officials have already issued multiple subpoenas as part of the large-scale probe into suspected labour trafficking and abuse of foreign worker programmes.

H-1B visa refers to a non-immigrant work permit that US employers use to hire professionals specialising in some occupations. Every year, thousands of Indians are hired using this visa.

“Without a doubt… we are going to take an aggressive action, which we believe is probably the most aggressive action against foreign labour fraud by an Inspector General, this administration,” the senior official told Fox News in an interview. “We’ve already started to issue dozens of subpoenas.”

He vowed to “track down every lead”, and said whistleblowers had raised concerns over “some of the biggest companies, like Cognizant.”

The investigators will “work side by side with the president and vice president’s fraud task force” during the course of the probe, D’Esposito said.

An official statement by the Labour Department said the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labour has uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labour brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploiting foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements.

“These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labour programs designed to address genuine labour shortages – not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs,” the statement said.

Trump Official Links Fraud To Violent Crimes

In the interview, D’Esposito called the H-1B and PERM visa frauds “another example where fraud is fuelling violent crimes.”

“Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labour is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs. And this is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again,” he said.

He further claimed that the alleged fraud extends beyond labour-intensive professions.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/in-us-major-h-1b-fraud-probe-trump-officials-cognizant-mention-11746201?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in ​the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on an already fragile ceasefire.
After a day in which huge crowds mourned Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the holy city of Qom, U.S. Central Command said ‌it completed strikes that hit over 80 targets in an effort to impose what it called heavy costs. The military command said it struck more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.

“The unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces is a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, denounced the U.S. strikes as a “blatant act of aggression,” threatened a “crushing response,” and warned that Tehran would not allow U.S. interference in ​the management of the strait.
Iranian media reported explosions early Wednesday local time on Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas. No civilian deaths ​were reported, but several people were injured by shrapnel from an “enemy projectile” that hit a commercial pier in Sirik, according to an Iranian state TV reporter. The reports said strikes also ⁠hit fishing piers in Sirik and in Bandar Abbas, where several fishing boats were set ablaze.

Iran’s Press TV said several blasts were heard on Kharg Island in southern Iran. The report did not provide details on the cause of the explosions, ​possible damage or casualties. The CENTCOM statement made no mention of Kharg Island, from which Iran exports 90% of its crude oil. The island was last attacked by the U.S. in April.
A U.S. official told Reuters that strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, coastal ​surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites.
The incidents were only the latest threat to the ceasefire agreement the U.S. and Iran struck last month, pausing the conflict that started in February with U.S. and Israeli strikes across the Islamic Republic. In a potentially major blow to that agreement, Washington moved on Tuesday to withdraw a key concession that had allowed Iran to sell oil on international markets.

Oil prices rose more than 3% after the U.S. announced the move.
A U.S. official said earlier that negotiators continued to work in good faith toward a ​final agreement with Iran. But control of the strait has given Tehran immense leverage, effectively allowing it to force a stalemate with the world’s most powerful military. Analysts say Tehran uses attacks on ships to underscore that leverage as it negotiates a ​long-term peace deal with the U.S.
Under the interim U.S.-Iran agreement, the U.S. Treasury issued a June 22 general license to allow the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21. In revoking that license on Tuesday, it gave Iran until ‌July 17 to ⁠wind down any transactions.

ANY MEASURE NECESSARY

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the move as a breach of the framework agreement to end the war and said Washington would bear responsibility for the consequences.

The ministry said early on Wednesday that Iran would take any measure it deemed necessary to safeguard its interests and national security.
Qatar blamed Iran for attacking the vessels, including the huge Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, the Al Rekayyat, which reported being struck overnight by a drone that caused a fire in its engine room. The crew were safe and being evacuated.
A Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, believed to be the supertanker Wedyan, was also damaged off Oman, maritime security sources said. The cause was not immediately clear.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador and handed him a ​protest note following the attack on the tanker.
Iran’s foreign ministry ​said Qatar’s accusations were perplexing and that Tehran was ⁠diligently fulfilling its commitments but asserted that commercial vessels faced risks for using routes not coordinated with Iran.
A second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial indications were that Iran had fired at three commercial vessels.
Iran’s clerical rulers aim to install a permanent system to collect fees in what would amount to a huge shift of the balance of power in ​a region where Washington has long acted as guarantor of security.
At home, the leadership has used the mourning for Khamenei that began last week to show its control after Khamenei was killed ​with his daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and ⁠daughter-in-law on the war’s first day.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ship-hit-hormuz-millions-march-ayatollah-iran-says-no-talks-unless-trump-halts-2026-07-07/

NATO leaders unveiled arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Turkey on Tuesday, driving home the message that they are heeding U.S. calls to ‌spend more to defend Europe even as President Donald Trump said he felt let down and renewed his push to control Greenland.
Leaders were convening for a summit in the capital Ankara, hoping to project unity after another bruising year, in which the Iran war once again exposed cracks in the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War Two.

In a meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he might have boycotted the NATO summit altogether had it not been for his warm relations with the Turkish leader, and ​did not rule out further troop withdrawals from Europe.
“Well, we’re going to see. I was very disappointed with NATO,” he said, singling out Britain, France, Germany and Italy for not doing enough to support the ​U.S. war on Iran.
Trump added that “we weren’t treated well” by the allies, even as he reiterated that he did not want or need their help.
“Before I asked, they ⁠said they wouldn’t be there, and we’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO,” Trump said.

Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before the summit about ending the war that started in ​February 2022 when Russia invaded its neighbour.
“I think they both want to make a deal. It’s too bad it took so long … Something’s going to come out,” Trump said.
While sharply criticising longstanding allies, Trump announced Washington would lift sanctions ​on Turkey that were imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian air defence missiles. He also expressed a willingness to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets.
The move would be a major gesture to Erdogan and remove a longstanding irritant in bilateral ties.

RUTTE WANTS DEFENCE INDUSTRY REVOLUTION

NATO members have repeatedly tried to show Trump that they are stepping up.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday Europeans had made “staggering” increases in defence spending.

Before Trump’s arrival, Rutte trumpeted a series of initiatives and deals at a defence industry forum, and called ​for a defence industry “revolution” across the alliance, warning over Russia’s massive military spending as well as China, North Korea and Iran.
“We don’t have the luxury of time. We need capabilities now to ensure we remain ready. The security ​situation demands it,” Rutte said. “The hum of machinery must become a roar.”
The deals, estimated to be worth at least $50 billion according to one NATO official, included European countries buying surveillance drones from U.S. company Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), and NATO buying planes from Sweden’s Saab (SAABb.ST).

Saab ‌shares at ⁠one point rose more than 5% as investors bet on the company benefiting from European rearmament. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock.
Separately, the British government said in a statement that 12 European nations including the UK, France and Germany will spend more than $50 billion over the next 10 years to develop long-range precision weapons to strengthen NATO’s defence capabilities.
Starmer will unveil the UK-led initiative in Ankara on Wednesday, and the countries are set to release a joint statement with additional details.
Europe’s defence sector has often been criticised as fragmented and saddled with red tape and rivalries between companies and countries. That has left Europe more reliant on purchases of U.S. weapons.
Weak economic growth and the need to maintain generous state welfare provisions ​have also made defence spending a tougher sell in ​Europe.

IRAN WAR PROMPTED TRUMP TO REVIVE CRITICISM OF NATO

Tensions ⁠within NATO, already strained over Ukraine and Trump’s desire to wrest Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, have deepened since the U.S. attacked Iran in February. Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO members for insufficient support in the conflict, threatening to quit the alliance.
On Tuesday, he renewed his push to wrest Greenland from Denmark.
“That should be controlled by ​the United States, not by Denmark,” he said.
“That’s what hurt my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, ​but it’s an important part for ⁠the United States.”
Speaking at the summit, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected allies to respect her country’s sovereignty and accept that Greenland is not for sale.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/nato-unveil-big-arms-deals-ankara-before-summit-with-trump-2026-07-07/

The United States has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, the imprisoned head of an Indian criminal gang, and his North American deputy with directing the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep ​Singh Nijjar in Canada, which plunged relations between Ottawa and New Delhi into crisis.
A ‌federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleges Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh, also known as “Goldy Brar,” ordered the shooting of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.

The indictment says Bishnoi ​directed the operation from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones and provided a co-conspirator ​with a photograph and multiple addresses of Nijjar’s to facilitate the killing. Singh, ⁠a childhood friend of Bishnoi, allegedly directed the North American operations of the criminal group, known as ​the “Lawrence Bishnoi Organized Crime Group.”
Nijjar’s killing triggered a diplomatic crisis after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said ​months later that Canadian authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the murder. New Delhi rejected the claim as absurd.

The U.S. indictment charging Bishnoi and Singh does not allege any Indian government role in the killing.
Nijjar, ​a Canadian citizen, had campaigned for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of ​India, and had been designated a terrorist by New Delhi.
Neither First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli nor any other ‌official ⁠at a press conference in Los Angeles alleged that the Indian government was involved in or aware of the killing.
The charges against Bishnoi and Singh were part of a broader investigation by U.S. and Canadian authorities that charged 37 defendants tied to three India-based organized crime groups with racketeering, extortion and drug ​trafficking, 24 of whom ​were arrested or already ⁠in custody, authorities said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-charges-imprisoned-indian-gang-leader-with-ordering-2023-murder-canadian-sikh-2026-07-07/

Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a remarkable World Cup fightback as they came from ​two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a dramatic last-16 game on Tuesday before sobbing tears of relief at the final ‌whistle.
The holders were trailing 2-0 and 11 minutes from a shock defeat, but goals by Cristian Romero, Messi and two minutes into stoppage time from Enzo Fernandez kept them in the competition.

Egypt had been on the brink of one of the great World Cup upsets after Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico scored excellent goals, one in each half, and Messi ​had squandered an early penalty.

The North Africans fell apart in the closing stages, however, as the 39-year-old Messi, whose record World Cup goal ​haul is now up to 21, orchestrated Argentina’s dramatic revival.
The captain provided the cross from which Romero headed home to ⁠start the comeback in the 79th minute and four minutes later Messi crashed home the equaliser after substitutes Lautaro Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel had both ​got vital touches to keep the ball away from Egyptian defenders.

COUNTER-ATTACK WINNER

The winner came from a counter-attack as Lautaro Martinez crossed from the right and Fernandez cushioned ​a back-post header past goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir.

“I’d been longing for this goal for three years. We have a phenomenal group, one that never gives up,” Fernandez said.
“We had to take advantage of the spaces they gave us, and we did. We came here to enjoy another World Cup and to represent our country. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Egypt felt they ​deserved a penalty before the breakaway and vociferously complained but to no avail.
They had been surprisingly attacking in the early stages, bucking their recent tendency ​of sitting back and looking for counter-attack opportunities, and they opened the scoring after 15 minutes.
Emam Ashour attempted to tease his way past the Argentine defence on the right ‌flank but, ⁠seeing no way through, passed back to Marwan Attia, who floated in a long cross that Ibrahim rose to head home.
The lead should have only lasted four minutes as Haissem Hassan caught overlapping Argentine fullback Nicolas Tagliafico with a late tackle to give away a penalty.

But it only served to mark the start of the goalkeeping heroics of Shoubir, whose dive to the left easily stopped a weak left-footed effort from Messi that was too close to the keeper.
Messi became ​the first player to miss two ​penalties at a World Cup after ⁠also failing from the spot against Austria in the group phase.

MIRACULOUS SAVES FROM EGYPT GOALKEEPER

Shoubir made a reflex stop to deny a point-blank header from Alexis Mac Allister in the 28th minute, and pulled off an even more extraordinary ​save six minutes from halftime to stop Julian Alvarez’s shot, stretching to turn the ball around the post.
In between, ​Messi crashed a free ⁠kick against the post.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/argentina-stage-stunning-late-comeback-see-off-egypt-2026-07-07/

Saudi Arabia is considering expanding the capacity of its crude ​oil pipeline to the western Red Sea coast, five sources close to the matter said, enabling the kingdom and possibly neighbours ‌to transport more oil without crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
The East-West pipeline was built in the early 1980s and has become crucial since the start of the Iran war in February and the resulting halt to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

It can transport up to 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to the Red Sea port ​of Yanbu. About 2 million bpd feed refineries on the west coast and roughly 5 million bpd are for export, the CEO ​of state-backed oil company Aramco (2222.SE), said in May.

IN TALKS WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

The kingdom is in preliminary talks with ⁠some of its neighbours about the potential expansion of the pipeline’s capacity by up to 2 million bpd, the sources said.
It was unclear if Aramco’s ​planned capacity increase would involve upgrades to existing infrastructure or construction of a new pipeline. One of the sources said the increase would include a ​smaller second pipe for oil products.

Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar all lack routes that can bypass Hormuz while Iraq’s pipeline to Turkey, dogged by disputes and repeated shutdowns, runs well below capacity.
“We are in discussions with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and in the emirates to look at how to expand the pipeline system that they have ​to accommodate Kuwaiti barrels,” Kuwait Petroleum Corporation CEO Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum last month.
The expansion could be for ​1 million to 2 million bpd, two of the sources said, with refined products also under consideration. It would take years, cost billions of dollars and require changes ‌to Saudi ⁠crude’s pricing mechanism, another source said.
Iran’s blockade of the strait forced Gulf producers to shut in as much as 12 million bpd, sending prices surging. Flows have resumed partially after a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal last month, but they remain below pre-war levels.

Iraqi output collapsed from 4.3 million bpd to less than 1.5 million bpd in May, Kuwait declared force majeure in March and Bahrain’s Sitra refinery was struck by Iranian missiles several times.
“The recent talks ​about new pipeline corridors involving Saudi ​Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar reflect a ⁠broader strategic reality. The conflict has focused minds regionally on the perils of relying solely on Hormuz,” said Zaid Belbagi, managing partner at London-based Hardcastle Advisory.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-arabia-considers-expansion-oil-pipeline-red-sea-sources-say-2026-07-07/

Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s largest oil refinery in Omsk, deep in Siberia, on Monday in what would be one of Ukraine’s ​longest-range attacksof the war, Kyiv’s military said on Monday. Local Russian authorities confirmed the strike.
In ‌a statement, Ukraine’s General Staff said that the strike had caused a fire at the Omsk refinery, located around 2,700 km (1,700 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory and close to Russia’s border with Kazakhstan.

Vitaly Khotsenko, governor of the Omsk region, said ​Ukraine had attacked the refinery and said that Russian air defences had destroyed most of ​the drones involved in the strike.
There were no casualties and emergency services were ⁠working at the scene, Khotsenko said in a post on the Russian messaging app MAX. It ​was not immediately clear how much damage the refinery had sustained.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in ​his nightly video address, described the attack as “an important achievement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine…Siberia, too, is now within reach of Ukrainian precision strikes.”

The Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point said its upgraded FP-1 drones carried out ​the attack and described it as a record for strike drones “not only in Ukraine, but worldwide. ​Prior to this, the Omsk oil refinery had remained out of reach for Ukrainian drones.”
“The Omsk refinery had remained ‌one of ⁠only two refineries in the top 10 that had never been hit by Ukrainian drones,” Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh said in a statement.
“The other is the Angarsk Petrochemical Company in Irkutsk Oblast. Both are beyond the Urals. It was counted on to balance out the fuel crisis after the successful ​campaign by Ukraine’s Defense ​Forces.”
Sources told Reuters that ⁠the Gazpromneft-owned (SIBN.MM), Omsk refinery processed around 23 million metric tons last year, or around 460,000 barrels per day.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukrainian-drones-hit-russias-largest-refinery-one-deepest-strikes-yet-2026-07-06/

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that artificial intelligence is developing faster than anyone can ‌keep up, calling for globally harmonised rules to reduce potential risks – especially to children.
“A technology that can reshape economies, transform the world of work, sway elections and tilt the balance of security is being deployed faster than anyone, including the people building it, can keep up,” Guterres told delegates at the first-ever government-level global dialogue on AI in Geneva.

“Innovation needs ​guardrails … If AI is to be powerful, it must be governed,” Guterres told delegates.
The two-day inaugural U.N. Global Dialogue on AI Governance is ​not intended to forge a treaty, but to discuss how to set rules to mitigate the potential harms of ⁠AI and take advantage of its opportunities.
Delegates will consider a report by a U.N.-backed independent scientific panel of 40 experts, who will present findings from the first ​global, independent scientific assessment of AI.
A more comprehensive report is planned next year, alongside a second global meeting in New York.

NEED FOR GLOBAL RULES ON AI

Guterres ​stressed that globally harmonised rules on AI must prioritise safety for children after examples of minors being steered towards self-harm and being deceived by machines posing as friends.

“We do not let medicine reach a child until it is proven safe. We test every toy. Yet AI has reached our children – their learning, their friendships, their most private questions – before ​anyone asked what it would do to them,” he said.
He called for an AI Child Safety Pledge, where companies building systems would have to prove ​they are safe before making them accessible to children.
Systems should also not be allowed to generate sexual images of children, and when a child shows signs of distress, the ‌system should ⁠stop and connect them to a human for help.
While AI poses significant opportunities, such as in healthcare, Guterres said the world’s institutions were not prepared for machines that make decisions, and that AI’s breakneck speed of development meant machines were increasingly making choices with little human or government oversight.

“The internet took 15 years to reach a billion people. AI got there in two,” Guterres told delegates.
He also warned about the concentration of the most advanced AI systems within ​a handful of companies and countries, ​meaning developing countries have little say ⁠in the progress of AI and risk being left behind.
The independent report of scientific experts found that AI development is even more concentrated, with the U.S. accounting for 75% of the computing power among the world’s top 500 AI ​supercomputers, and China 15%.
While globally over a billion people now use conversational AI weekly, adoption in developing countries ​lags, the report added.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/technology/un-chief-warns-ai-is-developing-faster-than-rules-can-keep-up-2026-07-06/

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding guests are pulling back the curtain on how the couple shared private moments of whispers and laughs during the unforgettable celebration.

“Taylor and Travis looked completely relaxed, even with everything going on,” one attendee exclusively told Page Six of the wedding, which had a massive guest list of 1,000 loved ones. “You’d catch them leaning in to whisper to each other and laughing before going back to their guests.”

The source added, “They made a point of circulating and it seemed like they genuinely wanted every guest to feel appreciated and welcome.”

The pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, both 36, had an impressive mix of family members, longtime friends, teammates and celebrity guests attend their Madison Square Garden bash on Friday.

“The space was completely transformed and guests almost forgot they were inside an arena,” the insider said.

Another detail that helped create the intimate atmosphere was the couple’s no-phone policy.

“Nobody seemed bothered by giving up their phones because everyone understood why,” the source continued. “It actually made people more present throughout the evening.”

People magazine reported Swift and Kelce said 20-minute vows each. The songstress was even brought to tears when the tight end promised to “protect her forever,” per the Daily Mail.

“The room went completely silent during the vows, and guests were hanging onto every word,” the insider said.

As for the menu, guests had no shortage of options. We’re told one station featured fresh pasta tossed inside giant Parmesan wheels, while another served burgers and fries. Full-service bars were also set up throughout the venue.

Page Six previously reported other food items included lobster, chicken and more.

Grammy Award-winning music producer Smittybeatz, a childhood friend of Kelce’s who attended the celebration, also reflected on the ceremony while speaking exclusively to Page Six.

“All I can say is that it was a beautiful ceremony and a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple,” he shared. “I’m extremely happy for the both of them.”

“They turned the Garden into a garden of love and wonderment,” he added. “It was timeless. Again, very happy for them both. They are soulmates for sure.”

Jermski, another childhood friend of the NFL athlete and his former college teammate, echoed that sentiment.

“It was the most beautiful event I’ve ever been to in my life,” he exclusively told Page Six, recalling the emotional moment “when they gave their vows to each other.”

Meanwhile, the happy couple kicked off their wedding weekend with a rehearsal dinner that was just as star-studded as the reception itself.

In addition to immediate family members, Swift’s close friends Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Jack Antonoff and his sister, and Ashley Avignone, gathered at the Infosys Theater inside the iconic arena for the rehearsal dinner, on Thursday evening, Page Six exclusively confirmed.

On Friday, over 1,000 guests attended the pop icon and the NFL star’s ceremony at NYC’s iconic arena.

Just around 7:30 p.m., the Garden’s exterior lit up with pink digital screens reading “JUST&T MARRIED!”

Swift’s longtime publicist, Tree Paine, who was at the wedding, confirmed to Page Six the “Love Story” singer walked down the aisle in a Christian Dior haute couture gown, and Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/07/07/celebrity-news/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-wedding-guests-lift-lid-on-couples-intimate-moments-decor-and-menu/

The Donald Trump administration is preparing a series of immigration rule changes that could significantly alter the H-1B visa programme, employment-based green cards and student visa regulations in the United States.

The proposals, outlined in the latest regulatory agendas issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of State (DOS), are expected to roll out over the coming months through the formal rulemaking process.

If implemented, Indian professionals, IT companies and students are likely to be among those most affected because they represent one of the largest groups using these immigration pathways.

Here is a look at the major changes under consideration.

H-1B rules may become stricter

One of the biggest proposals concerns the H-1B visa programme.

According to the DHS regulatory agenda, a proposed rule expected in August would tighten eligibility for certain exemptions from the annual H-1B cap, introduce stricter conditions for companies placing H-1B employees at third-party client locations and increase scrutiny of employers with a history of programme violations.

The proposed changes could particularly affect Indian IT and consulting companies, many of which deploy H-1B professionals at client sites across the United States.

The administration is also expected to require employers to provide stronger evidence of a genuine employer-employee relationship, prove that workers perform specialty occupation duties at client locations and maintain additional documentation of assignments.

Companies with previous H-1B compliance violations may face closer review of future visa petitions.

Higher costs for employers relying on H-1B workers

Another rule expected in July would expand an existing surcharge paid by certain employers that rely heavily on H-1B and L-1 workers.

Currently, companies with more than 50 US employees where over half the workforce holds H-1B or L-1 visas pay an additional fee only when sponsoring new workers or hiring employees from another company.

Under the proposed change, the fee would also apply when employers seek extensions for existing employees.

This could increase costs for several large Indian IT outsourcing companies that regularly renew H-1B visas for long-term employees.

Prevailing wage requirements may increase

The Department of Labor is also expected to finalise new prevailing wage regulations covering both H-1B visas and employment-based green cards.

Under the proposal, the wage threshold for entry-level positions would rise from the current 17th percentile to the 34th percentile for a particular occupation and location.

If implemented, employers sponsoring foreign workers would have to offer higher salaries, increasing the overall cost of hiring through both temporary work visas and permanent residence programmes.

Green card sponsorship process set for overhaul

The Department of Labor also plans to update the PERM labour certification process, which employers must complete before sponsoring most employment-based green cards.

The proposal, expected this month, would modernise recruitment standards to reflect current hiring practices, introduce tighter rules regarding layoffs before sponsoring foreign workers and strengthen compliance with anti-discrimination requirements during recruitment.

Officials say the existing PERM framework has remained largely unchanged since 2004.

Student visas may no longer remain open-ended

International students could also face significant changes.

The DHS is expected to replace the current “duration of status” system under which students remain in the US for as long as they continue their academic programme.

Instead, student visas would be issued for a fixed period. Earlier draft proposals suggested a maximum validity of four years, after which students would need to apply for extensions from US immigration authorities.

The final regulation is expected this month.

India remains the largest source of international students in the United States.

According to the latest Open Doors Report, around 360,000 Indian students studied in the US during the 2024-25 academic year, accounting for nearly 31 per cent of the country’s approximately 1.1 million international students.

Possible changes to OPT programme

The administration is also planning future changes to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme.

A proposal currently scheduled for February 2027 is expected to review both the two-year STEM OPT extension and Curricular Practical Training (CPT).

Although detailed proposals have not yet been released, any restrictions could directly affect international graduates seeking work experience after completing their studies.

Automatic work permit extensions to end

Another significant change concerns Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

A final regulation expected this month would formally end the automatic extension that currently allows certain applicants to continue working while renewal applications remain pending.

The change is expected to particularly affect H-4 visa holders, many of whom are spouses of H-1B professionals pursuing employment-based green cards.

Under the new rule, eligible applicants would have to stop working once their existing work permit expires and wait until the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves the renewal application.

Since H-4 EAD renewal applications can only be submitted up to 180 days before expiry and USCIS processing often takes longer, applicants could face gaps in employment.

Source : https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/trump-eyes-sweeping-h-1b-green-card-and-student-visa-changes-why-indians-could-be-hit-hardest-explained-article-13968329.html

The aircraft was travelling from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi when it reported a navigation system issue.

A Pakistan Cargo aircraft with five crew members on board went missing on Tuesday evening after losing radar contact near Karachi, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said.

The aircraft was travelling from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi when it reported a navigation system issue.

According to a PAA statement shared on X, the K2 Airways B737 cargo flight reported the problem at 9.18 pm local time and was guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC).

Following the occurrence RESCUE COORD CENTRE has been activated and coordinated Search & Rescue launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.

There were five crew members onboard the aircraft.

— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026

However, a few minutes later, the aircraft was seen rapidly descending on radar and making a sudden change in direction. Radar contact and communication with the aircraft were then lost around 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.

Search Operation Launched

Following the incident, the Rescue Coordination Centre was activated and a search and rescue operation was launched at sea with the help of various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.

The PAA confirmed that there were five crew members on board the aircraft but did not provide further details about their identities or the current status of the crew.

“Following the occurrence RESCUE COORD CENTRE has been activated and coordinated Search & Rescue launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft,” the PAA said.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/pakistan-cargo-plane-with-5-crew-on-board-goes-missing-after-losing-contact-near-karachi-ws-l-10196346.html

The High Court dismissed all 97 allegations brought by six claimants against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail.

Prince Harry on Tuesday (Jul 7) lost his high-profile case against the Daily Mail’s publisher for alleged unlawful information gathering in yet another blow to the estranged royal as he begins a fraught five-day trip back to the UK.

A written judgement by London’s High Court published following an 11-week trial earlier this year said the “claimants failed to prove their pleaded allegations … the claims are therefore dismissed”.

The ruling was delivered as Harry attended an event in the capital, with Associated Newspapers calling it an “overwhelming victory” and a “magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism”.

It said the court’s dismissal of “every single one of the 97 allegations made by the claimants” showed Judge Matthew Nicklin had “accepted the honesty of our journalists’ evidence on how they sourced their stories”.

Allegations that bugs had been placed in people’s cars and homes, calls listened to and bank accounts illicitly accessed had been “lurid” and “preposterous” with “no credible evidence” ever presented, Associated said in a statement.

“The reputations of our decent and hard-working journalists were terribly impugned, and today they have been exonerated,” it added.

There was no immediate reaction from the prince’s spokesperson.

The ruling came shortly after Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, arrived at an Invictus Games event in central London.

The prince launched the games for wounded veterans in 2014, and the next one will be held in Birmingham in July next year.

At the same time, his estranged brother, heir to the throne Prince William, was also in the city, visiting the London Welsh School to promote next month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Harry will now face another court hearing on Jul 29-30 which could see him and the six other complainants ordered to pay substantial legal costs.

Associated said it had spent £50 million (US$66 million) “defending ourselves against this egregious litigation”.

“We will look to resolve outstanding issues, including the recovery of the costs we have incurred,” it added.

The prince gave emotional testimony during the proceedings in which several high-profile figures, including singer Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, accused the tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.

The case, the third and final one brought by the Duke of Sussex in his acrimonious legal battle with British tabloids, has further strained relations with the royal family.

“SECURITY WOES”

Harry, 41, has also been involved in other legal spats, including over his police protection in Britain following his dramatic departure from frontline royal duties six years ago.

The prince, now living in California, arrived in Britain on Monday for a five-day visit expected to go ahead mostly without his wife and children after the family was refused police protection.

The trip, to mark the one-year countdown to next year’s Invictus Games, was meant to be his first family trip back to the UK in four years.

But a source close to the Duke of Sussex told AFP that Harry’s wife Meghan, son Archie and daughter Lilibet would not accompany him on the London leg of the trip after the family was refused a security detail.

Arrangements for the rest of the trip were still under consideration, the source said, leaving it unclear whether the whole family would visit but stay outside the capital.

It was also unclear whether the prince would meet his father during the trip.

He is last understood to have met Charles, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, at the monarch’s London residence Clarence House in September 2025.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/prince-harry-lost-trial-daily-mail-uk-6238946

If successful, DeepSeek’s expansion into semiconductor development would mark a major strategic shift for a company widely hailed in China as the country’s AI champion, potentially adding to challenges faced by Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Chinese startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, according to three people familiar with the matter, a push that could reduce its reliance on Nvidia and Huawei chips, which it has depended on to train and run its globally popular models.

The chip is designed for inference – the stage of AI computing in which a trained model generates responses for users – rather than for training new models, the sources said.

If successful, DeepSeek’s expansion into semiconductor development would mark a major strategic shift for a company widely hailed in China as the country’s AI champion, potentially adding to challenges faced by Chinese tech giant Huawei.

DeepSeek rose to global fame more than a year ago after releasing two highly efficient AI models that went viral worldwide, surprising many in Silicon Valley and Washington.

The company has long been known for emphasising AI model breakthroughs rather than commercialising its technology.

Although Huawei’s offerings still lag Nvidia’s most advanced chips by a wide margin, a US ban on their exports to China has helped Huawei gain around half of the US$50 billion domestic AI chip market, supplying DeepSeek and several other leading industry players.

However, Huawei’s hold on the market is already weakening as tech rivals Alibaba and Baidu develop their own AI chips and gain market share.

DeepSeek’s effort to join that race remains at an early stage, with the company reaching out to external partners and holding discussions with chip-design, foundry and memory companies, the three sources said. The effort began about a year ago, one of the people said.

The Hangzhou-based company has also increased hiring of chip-design engineers in recent months, but recruitment has been done privately without job postings on public hiring platforms, two of the sources said.

All three people declined to be identified because the information is not public. Despite becoming a standard-bearer of China’s AI ambitions, DeepSeek has kept a low profile. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

FOLLOWING GLOBAL TRENDS

With an in-house chip, DeepSeek would be joining other global AI developers in seeking greater control over the hardware behind their models and reduced dependence on Nvidia’s.

OpenAI last month unveiled Jalapeno, its first custom inference chip, developed with Broadcom, while Anthropic has been weighing building its own AI chips, Reuters reported in April.

For DeepSeek, the effort carries an added strategic dimension. US export controls bar Chinese companies from buying Nvidia’s most advanced chips, and Beijing has been pressing its technology champions to build domestic alternatives.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng said in a rare 2024 interview with a Chinese media outlet that chip export controls were a challenge for the company.

DeepSeek has used both Nvidia and Huawei chips. The company has said the foundation model underpinning R1, the reasoning model whose low-cost performance triggered a rout in US tech stocks in January 2025, was trained on Nvidia’s H800, a chip designed for the Chinese market that Washington banned in late 2023.

The company has since leaned increasingly on Huawei. In April, it released its V4 model adapted for Huawei’s Ascend chips, and Huawei said its processors were used in part of the training of V4-Flash, a lighter version of the model. Orders for Huawei’s Ascend 950 chips from Chinese tech conglomerates surged after the launch, Reuters has reported.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/deepseek-china-ai-chip-developing-6238206

George E. Johnson Sr., a pioneer in Black hair care whose multimillion-dollar business was the first Black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange, has died at age 99, according to his family.

Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released.

Johnson and his late wife and high school sweetheart, Joan, started Johnson Products in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to Black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen.

People who remember Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen in their heyday also remember the brands’ marketing campaigns and their association with the “Black is Beautiful” movement, which promoted cultural and racial pride among Black people. The iconic 1970s commercials, which featured variations of the “Watu Wazuri” (“Beautiful People”) jingle, have enjoyed a resurgence on social media in recent years.

The commercials aired primarily during the hit music-and-dance television show “Soul Train,” which his company was a national sponsor of and once owned.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity for Don Cornelius to be able to go national. He wouldn’t have been able to do that without George Johnson’s partnership,” Rogers said. “And so, to see it work out for everyone and for our community all together was part of his genius.”

A legacy worth celebrating

During its annual gala in November, the Chicago Urban League celebrated Johnson as the Edwin C. “Bill” Berry Civil Rights Award honoree, named for the League’s iconic leader. Berry joined Johnson Products Company when he left the organization, according to Karen Freeman-Wilson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She said the honor was a full-circle moment for Johnson, who was a longtime board member.

“Just 12 or 14 days ago, he was standing with Barack Obama in the presidential library, dedicating a room for he and my mother,” Eric George Johnson, the eldest of Johnson’s four children, told The Associated Press. “It’s a wonderful life to celebrate.”

Johnson’s trajectory started from humble beginnings.

He was born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi. Johnson’s mother, Priscilla Dean Johnson, was just 18 when she left her husband, took her children to Chicago and found a job at a local hospital, said Hilary Beard, a Philadelphia-based author who worked with Johnson on his memoir.

Their move occurred during what’s known as the First Great Migration, between 1910 and 1940, when tens of thousands of southern Black people moved to northern and Midwestern cities for jobs and to escape racial oppression.

“There was just enough money for food, clothing and shelter, but not for anything extra,” Beard said.

Johnson and his older brother, John, would collect cigarette packages, peel out the aluminum linings, roll them into balls and sell them to people who collected junk for resale, Beard said. Johnson also shined shoes, cleared tables in eateries and set up pins in a bowling alley.

A source of pride and inspiration

As an adult, Johnson worked for the Black-owned Fuller Products Co. in Chicago. Beard said Johnson met a barber who was distraught because he couldn’t convince Fuller to back a product he was developing that straightened men’s hair. The drawback was the product burned the scalp.

Johnson worked with Fuller’s chemist to revamp the barber’s formula and started his business after ultimately convincing a bank he needed a $250 loan to take his wife on a vacation, Beard said. That business would become Johnson Products.

Johnson’s company offered above-market salaries, profit-sharing for its workers, healthcare and other benefits at a time when many companies didn’t provide such perks, Beard added. Johnson Products was sold in 1993 to a pharmaceutical firm in a deal worth more than $60 million.

Johnson later founded Independence Bank and became the first Black person to serve on the board of directors of the Illinois electric utility Commonwealth Edison. The George E. Johnson Educational Fund awarded more than 1,000 college scholarships.

John W. Rogers, the founder of Chicago-based Ariel Investments, remembers his father taking him to Independence Bank to open a checking account and being awed that Johnson owned it.

“That was just so impressive to me that he would start the largest Black bank in the country” which helped Black entrepreneurs, homeowners and anyone who needed assistance as they were building their lives, said Rogers, a mentee of Johnson.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/johnson-chicago-black-hair-products-5d079f962e901cb87642f59b55acbd94

Japanese and Chinese coast guard vessels confronted each other near the disputed Senkaku island chain, with both sides claiming they expelled the other. The incident comes amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Japanese and Chinese coast guard vessels traded accusations on Tuesday after an encounter near the disputed Senkaku islands — also known as the Diaoyu islands in China — in the East China Sea.

Japan’s coast guard said four Chinese vessels were operating near the islands, two of which entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters.

The Chinese ships were approaching a Japanese fishing vessel in the area, according to Japan’s coast guard.

The Japanese coast guard said it then “issued orders to leave … successfully forcing the Chinese coast guard vessels to leave Japanese territorial waters by approximately 9:20 am (0020 GMT) today.”

Tokyo described the Chinese vessels’ actions as “a violation of international law.”

In a separate statement, China’s coast guard said that a Japanese fishing boat had “intruded into” its territorial waters and that its ships had taken “necessary measures to warn and expel it.”

The statement said that the disputed island chain was “China’s inherent territory,” and that the Chinese coast guard urged the “Japanese side to immediately stop all rights-violation and provocative acts in relevant waters.”

Senkaku islands part of long-standing territorial dispute

The uninhabited Senkaku island chain is administered by Japan but claimed by China.

Located between Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa island chain, the islands have long been a source of friction between Beijing and Tokyo. Interest in the area has been amplified by the possibility of oil and natural gas reserves beneath the East China Sea.

Chinese government vessels frequently operate near the islands, although approaches to Japanese fishing boats are comparatively rare. Chinese coast guard ships were last reported to have entered waters claimed by Japan on June 10.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/japan-china-coast-guards-square-off-near-disputed-islands/a-77860700

Explosions occurred near the Four Seasons hotel in the Syrian capital as French President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a landmark visit.

Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed that a series of explosions rocked the capital, Damascus, on Tuesday amid a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Local reports indicated that the blasts, which wounded at least 18 people, happened near the Four Seasons hotel where Macron is staying.

However, they occurred while the French president was meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in the presidential palace.

Macron is the first Western European head of state or government to visit Syria since al-Sharaa came to power following the ouster of strongman Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Authorities told reporters that Macron and al-Sharaa were unharmed. The bombs were placed in a parked car and a garbage bin near the hotel, police said, which is on a busy street in the heart of the city near the National Museum.

The incident comes just days after 10 people were killed when a bomb went off in a Damascus cafe located near the Justice Ministry.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/syria-18-injured-in-damascus-blasts-during-macron-visit/a-77861204

French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen has said she will run for the presidency in 2027, and appeal to the country’s highest court against an embezzlement conviction that requires her to wear an electronic tag for a year.

“The campaign begins tonight,” she told French TV in a combative primetime interview.

The National Rally (RN) leader said she would “pursue all legal avenues” to defend her innocence and appeal to France’s top civil court, the Court of Cassation.

The appeal means the order to wear the tag is suspended until the Court of Cassation delivers its verdict on the case – likely early in 2027.

Hours before Le Pen’s TV appearance, a Paris appeal court found her guilty of misusing €2.8m (£2.4m) in EU funds in a fake jobs scheme, but ruled she could stand for the presidency while wearing a tag.

The decision is a remarkable political gamble – and it puts an end to months of speculation that Le Pen would hand the candidacy to the 30-year-old president of her party, Jordan Bardella.

Bardella did not immediately react to Le Pen’s announcement, but the pair are due to appear together at a market in the Sarthe region of north-west France on Wednesday.

Public prosecutors have also said they will appeal against the appeal court’s decision to reduce the sentences against Le Pen.

Asked whether there was a scenario in which she might not run, Le Pen said: “No, there isn’t. I am here tonight to tell you I am a candidate for the 2027 election.”

She said her campaign would start immediately to “begin the rebirth of France” – and that she would not change her mind.

Although Le Pen continues to maintain her innocence, she and a number of party colleagues have now been found guilty twice of a scam that she denied organising but did admit earlier to being “a mistake”.

The Paris appeal court confirmed the initial ruling that between 2004-16 she and others had embezzled funds meant for members of the European Parliament and had used the money to pay for party staff.

Her decision to announce her candidacy comes less than 10 months before the first round of the French presidential elections on 18 April and 2 May 2027.

The Court of Cassation is likely to take a few months to reach a decision. If it does confirm Tuesday’s verdict, Le Pen could find herself having to wear an electronic tag as the election campaign moves into its most important period early next year. This would risk becoming an embarrassment as well as a handicap.

In the hours after Tuesday’s court verdict, Le Pen was locked in talks with Bardella, as well as lawyers and party colleagues. Then she and Bardella were driven to the studios of TF1 TV for her decision.

If elected, she stated she and Bardella would work together – she as president and he as prime minister. “We have a solid partnership, we complement each other… We have offered the French a duo… that I believe is complementary, balanced, coherent, solid.”

She said Bardella had been with her for years and the cause was greater than the two of them: “The tests we have gone through have made us stronger, both in will and in the quality of our work together.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s verdict Le Pen had said several times she would not run for president if she had to wear a tag as she would not feel “totally free” to campaign.

Political opponents criticised Le Pen’s decision to run for president despite her guilty verdict.

“Her candidacy, despite her conviction, is yet another reversal that damages the French people’s trust in politics,” Othman Nasrou, secretary-general of the right-wing Republicans, told news agency AFP.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vygl3zymjo

Microsoft (MSFT.O), said on Monday it would cut 4,800 jobs, or ​about 2.1% of its global workforce, overhauling its Xbox gaming business and divesting up to five studios as it looks to ‌boost returns after years of heavy investment in the division.
The restructuring of its gaming division will involve 3,200 job cuts, including laying off 1,600 employees on Monday.

Despite spending tens of billions of dollars to expand Xbox, including its blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has struggled to narrow the gap with Sony’s PlayStation, and Nintendo, prompting a broader rethink of ​the gaming business.

The company has increasingly shifted its strategy toward distributing its games across more platforms rather than relying on console-exclusive titles ​to drive Xbox hardware sales.
The Xbox restructuring will involve divestment of four studios, Xbox’s new head, Asha Sharma, said in ⁠a note to employees.
‘South of Midnight’ producer Compulsion Games and ‘Psychonauts’ maker Double Fine Productions will become independent studios, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will ​be spun off to grow ‘Senua’ and ‘State of Decay 3’, Sharma said.
The management of Arkane Studios, which developed ‘Dishonored’ and is currently working on a game based on ​Marvel Comics character Blade, has started consultations with its workers union in France to review options, she added.

AI-DRIVEN EFFICIENCY PUSH

Big Tech’s historic AI outlays, set to top $700 billion this year, are piling pressure on companies to show returns from the technology and offset the rising cost of rolling it out across their businesses. Amazon (AMZN.O), and Meta Platforms (META.O), have also laid off ​thousands of employees this year.
Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, however, told employees in a memo that “the roles eliminated today are not being replaced by AI.”
“At the same time, ​what  is  true is that AI is changing how work gets done.”

BURGEONING AI SPEND

“That (targeted cuts) makes the announcement read more like portfolio reallocation and operating discipline than a fresh ‌catalyst for ⁠the stock,” said Parth Talsania, CEO of Equisights Research.
“In the near term, the market is likely to reward Microsoft less for headcount reductions and more for evidence that AI monetization is scaling faster than AI-related costs.”

The company’s shares were down 1.4% on Monday, following a nearly 23% slump in its shares in the first six months of 2026, their worst first-half performance since 2022.

The software giant earlier this year offered voluntary buyouts to about 7% of its U.S. ​workforce, or about 9,000 employees. Microsoft often ​trims jobs near the end of ⁠its fiscal year in June as it sets spending plans for the new year.
“Microsoft has been managing down its workforce in order to pay for its AI investments. By keeping its headcount down they have been able to ​accelerate revenue growth while maintaining the same margins,” said Gil Luria, managing director of D.A. Davidson.
Booming AI demand has ​powered growth at ⁠Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business, which was the exclusive seller of OpenAI’s models until April, but the mounting cost of building data centers to run those services is squeezing its cash flows.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/microsoft-joins-ai-driven-tech-layoff-wave-with-4800-job-cuts-2026-07-06/

Italy’s defence minister stressed the importance of good transatlantic relations on Monday after U.S. President Donald ​Trump again goaded erstwhile ally Giorgia Meloni, the ‌Italian prime minister.
Meloni last month accused Trump of fabricating a story about her after the U.S. president told an Italian TV channel that ​she had “begged” him to take a photo with ​her at a G7 summit in France.

With the ⁠two leaders due to attend a NATO summit in Turkey ​this week, Trump appeared to reignite the dispute when he ​posted on Truth Social a picture of Meloni looking up at him with the caption “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED”.

The Italian prime minister has yet ​to respond.
“I did not have any reaction (to the post), ​the fundamental thing is to maintain relations with a key ally ‌like ⁠the USA,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Italy’s Sky TV.
“People come and go but relationships remain,” he added.
Opposition politicians were less restrained.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-goads-italys-meloni-again-eve-nato-summit-2026-07-06/

NATO leaders plan to unveil arms deals ​worth tens of billions of dollars in Ankara on Tuesday to show they are heeding U.S. calls to spend ‌more to defend Europe before joining President Donald Trump for a summit.
European governments will announce the deals at a NATO defence industry forum before Trump flies in to meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and join fellow leaders of the military alliance for the summit, which begins with a dinner on Tuesday evening.

NATO Secretary General Mark ​Rutte said on Monday Europeans had made “staggering” increases in defence spending in part due to fears of Russia, which have surged ​since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but also because Trump had been “extremely forceful” in encouraging them to do ⁠so.
Trump has long accused European governments of over-relying on the U.S. to defend them through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has protected ​the continent since the early years of the Cold War.
“We are now creating an alliance which is sustainable, where the U.S. knows it ​is a fair deal,” Rutte told reporters in Ankara on the eve of the summit.

Rutte said last month that NATO’s European members and Canada spent $90 billion more on defence in real terms in 2025 than in 2024, to reach a total of more than $570 billion – an increase of around 20% in a single year.

IRAN ​WAR PROMPTED TRUMP TO REVIVE CRITICISM OF NATO

But Trump has renewed harsh criticism of fellow NATO members in recent months, accusing them of ​failing to do enough to help the U.S. in its war with Iran and suggesting he could quit the alliance or disregard its mutual defence pact.
European ‌officials insist ⁠they largely honoured commitments to let the U.S. use their airspace and bases in their countries, despite not having been consulted about a war that roiled their economies and was deeply unpopular in Europe.
The U.S. has also announced troop withdrawals from Europe, cut the forces it assigns to NATO’s defence plans – including an aircraft carrier, refuelling aircraft, fighter jets and drones – and launched a six-month review of its military presence ​on the continent.

European officials say they ​are braced for a repeat ⁠of some of Trump’s recent criticism at the summit but hope Erdogan and Rutte will use their close relationships with the U.S. president to keep the summit on an even keel.
But they say they cannot ​be sure of a positive outcome, given lingering tensions over Greenland and Iran, and Trump’s volatile ​relationship with some leaders, ⁠most recently seen in a feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/nato-unveil-big-arms-deals-ankara-before-summit-with-trump-2026-07-07/

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia is a fundraising juggernaut, raising more than $81 million so far this cycle ​and holding nearly $33 million in campaign cash, or $30 million more than his opponent in the November election, Republican Representative Mike Collins.
It might not matter anymore.

Ossoff’s financial edge in ‌a state that President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election may have effectively been erased by the U.S. Supreme Court, which last week struck down limits on how much individual candidates could coordinate their spending with national political parties.

The Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee, among others, will now be able to spend unlimited funds from their big donors in coordination with political campaigns.
That could well tilt the playing field in favor of Republicans, who tend to ​raise more money from big, corporate donors through national committees, over Democrats, whose candidates tend to raise more money from small individual donors.
While the national committees could previously spend on behalf ​of their candidates, party officials say the restrictions on coordinating their messaging and strategy with individual campaigns made that spending far less targeted and effective.

Democratic ⁠candidates currently have a staggering cash advantage over Republican rivals in competitive Senate races: $16 million in North Carolina, $9 million in Ohio and $8 million in Texas.
Unlimited funds from the Republican Party’s national apparatus, however, ​can now shore up lagging fundraisers such as Collins in Georgia and Texas’ Republican Senate nominee, Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Under existing laws, donors are permitted to give national political committees tens of thousands of dollars, ​but their contributions to individual campaigns are capped at $7,000 per election cycle. And until Tuesday’s ruling, coordinated expenditures for Senate races were limited to between $130,000 and $4 million, depending on each state’s voting-age population.
Now that those caps no longer exist, Republican committees instantly stand to benefit. Each entered June with more cash than their Democratic counterparts, including a $110 million gulf between the RNC and the DNC, which has $18 million in debt.

POLLS SHOW TIGHT RACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Republicans hold a 53-47 ​majority in the Senate, where Democrats would need to net four seats in the November election to win control. Despite a favorable political environment for Democrats as high living costs and the U.S.-Israeli ​war with Iran erode President Donald Trump’s popularity, winning the Senate will be an uphill battle.
Democrats are defending seats in Trump-won Georgia and Michigan, while targeting Republican-held seats in North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska. They have also ‌set their ⁠sights on more Republican-leaning seats in Iowa and Texas.
A series of New York Times/Siena polls, released on Wednesday found Democrats leading in North Carolina and within the margin of error in Maine, Texas, Alaska, Iowa and Ohio. The Democratic candidates are out-raising Republicans in every state but Alaska and Iowa.

REPUBLICANS WANT DISCOUNTS ON ADVERTISING

Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall near Guam, a US territory located in the western Pacific Ocean. The storm brought powerful winds and heavy rain to the Northern Mariana Islands.

Super Typhoon Bavi arrived in the US Pacific Island territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, bringing torrential rains and hurricane-force winds, with the authorites reporting “major” damages.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Bavi made landfall on Monday on Rota, the southernmost island of the Marianas.

“The western eyewall of Super Typhoon Bavi is currently moving over the island of Rota. The latest forecast intensity is at 180 mph (290 kph) as it passes over Rota,” the NWS said. “Catastrophic winds exceeding 150 mph will continue across Rota during eyewall passage.”

Bavi was forecast to move westwards over the archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean on Monday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 280 kilometers (173 miles) per hour and gusts of 333 km/h, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

Super typhoons are equivalent to a Category 4 or Category 5 storm, according to the NWS.

The NWS has warned that the “very dangerous” typhoon is expected to cause “catastrophic wind damage” near the storm’s eye, as well as storm surges and “hazardous” surf.

What do we know about Bavi’s predicted path?

The eye of the storm is expected to pass closest to the island of Rota, which lies between Guam and the Northern Marianas, at around 8 am on Monday (2200 GMT Sunday).

The NWS also said Rota was in store for “extremely dangerous hurricane winds.”

“Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!” the agency said in a post on X.

If Bavi does move over or close to Rota, as forecast, much of the area “will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer.”

“Many non-concrete, non-reinforced homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse,” the NWS said, adding that “nearly all trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed…. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months.”

Flash flood warnings were also in effect for Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas, the NWS said.

Most seek shelter but some hit the waves

The two US territories are home to a combined 210,000 people, but the islands’ streets were largely deserted on Sunday afternoon as people heeded official advice to seek shelter.

Shops, restaurants and other businesses have been boarded up ahead of the typhoon making landfall on Sunday night or early Monday.

While most of the islands’ residents were indoors, around a dozen surfers made the most of the choppy conditions at Guam’s Talofofo Bay.

“We are hanging in there. We are experiencing heavy winds and flooding here… Some people already reporting major damages,” the Rota Municipal Operations Center’s public information officer Lou Rosario said.

Region still reeling from typhoon Sinlaku

Bavi is set to barrel into the archipelago on Monday morning, with the area still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku in mid-April.

Sinlaku, the world’s strongest tropical cyclone this year, cut off power for tens of thousands of people and caused widespread damage.

Power has yet to be fully restored to parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, with some people living in tents because high winds destroyed their homes.

Another huge typhoon, Mawar, also struck in 2023. That storm was the region’s biggest in decades.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/super-typhoon-bavi-hits-us-pacific-islands/a-77840713

Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” came true at her Madison Square Garden wedding.

The pop star walked down “an extra long aisle” to a string quartet version of her 2008 hit “Love Story,” ahead of exchanging vows with her now-husband, Travis Kelce, Us Weekly reported.

Swift and Kelce were both highly emotional as they exchanged their vows, the outlet also reported.

“The heartfelt vows took everyone back to how they first met and the journey that led them here,” a source shared.

A second source said, “Travis teared up more than Taylor. They shared very personal details and anecdotes that some guests had never even heard before.”

“Love Story” was the lead single for Swift’s second album, “Fearless,” which was released in September 2008.

Swift reflected on the song — one of her biggest hits — in an interview with the New York Times magazine published in May.

“I think the first time I felt I don’t care if people hate this because I love it so much was when I wrote the song ‘Love Story’ when I was 17, sitting in my bedroom, mad at my parents because they wouldn’t let me go on a date with a guy who was too old so I shouldn’t have been on a date with him anyway,” she said.

She went on to joke, “And this is why you need to discipline your kids because they might write songs that go No. 1.”

Back in 2009, she called the catchy single “the most romantic song” she’d ever written in a Q&A for Time, though she didn’t even date the person it’s about.

Swift and Kelce, both 36, tied the knot Friday with a lavish wedding celebration at MSG in New York City. More details are emerging from the star-studded event, including the top-secret invitation that went out to their guests as well as what the two said during their 20-minute vows.

“Taylor talked about how Travis was the guy in high school who, even though he was the star athlete, would go sit with the less-popular kids who were being bullied at lunchtime,” an insider told People Monday.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/07/06/entertainment/taylor-swift-reportedly-walked-down-the-aisle-to-one-of-her-biggest-songs/

Iranians loyal to the regime called for the assassination of President Trump during the funeral procession for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday.

Footage from the streets of Tehran showed a group of sycophants honoring Khamenei by hurling stones at a billboard that showed Trump with a bullet aimed at his head — and the loyalists are demanding vengeance.

“The US killed our father,” the banner read. “We won’t let you go!”

Many on the streets could also be seen marching in the procession with placards that read, “KILL TRUMP,” in bold lettering with pictures of the American president.

Groups could also be seen marching with long banners that carried the same message against Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Others also held ominous boards depicting Trump, Netanyahu, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — all of whom had crosshairs of a gunsight on them with the words, “There will be blood.”

Calls for revenge for the slain Khamenei have grown in recent days, with Iran’s most senior clerics calling for the assassinations of both Trump and Netanyahu last week.

The 88-member Assembly of Experts issued a 10-point statement in which it said killing “the wicked prime minister of the Zionist regime” and “the criminal American president” was a religious duty that must be carried out “under any circumstances.”

The statement was issued just two days after hardliners in the assembly claimed it was a moral obligation for anyone with access to Trump to take revenge “on American soil.”

Iran and the US currently have a cease-fire in place for Khamenei’s six-day funeral procession, which began on Friday in a national procession led by the slain ayatollah’s casket.

Khamenei’s coffin, which was displayed in the holy city of Qom, will travel to two Shi’ite shrine cities near Iraq before returning for a burial in Mashhad, officials said.

The supreme leader was killed in Israel airstrikes within the first hours of the Iran War. The strikes also badly wounded his son, Mojtaba Khamenei and killed his family.

Mojtaba, whom US intelligence believes is “probably gay,” took over the top role from his dad and is believed to have strong ties to the hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He has not been seen in public since the war began.

Trump said over the weekend that peace talks with Iran had been delayed for a week by the funeral ceremonies. On Monday he reiterated that the US would either reach a deal with Iran or “finish the job,” renewing his threat of military action.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday that the elder Khamenei had been killed because he led a program to destroy Israel.

“Any Iranian leader who will again try to pursue plans to destroy Israel will be killed as well,” Katz said.

While Tehran was filled with thousands of mourners on Monday, analysts — and even senior Iranian officials — cautioned that the crowd size cannot be equated to a popular endorsement of continued theocratic rule.

“If anyone’s thinking this is a litmus test for the popularity of the Islamic Republic, history tells us otherwise. It’s a funeral, and Iranians do funerals very well,” said Ali Ansari, professor of modern history at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Reuters spoke to people attending the rallies who said they were only there as spectators or were motivated by a sense of religious duty in a country of strong Shi’ite Muslim tradition, rather than to display political allegiance.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/06/world-news/iranian-loyalists-vow-to-assassinate-trump-during-ayatollah-khameneis-funeral/

Riots at a prison in western Sri Lanka have killed 26 people, seven of them guards, and injured more than 100.

The two days of violence at Negombo Prison, in a coastal town north of Colombo, began with clashes between two groups of inmates.

Prisoners are alleged to have grabbed guards’ guns on Sunday. Two people were killed that day, with dozens injured. Later, groups of male prisoners, and women from an adjoining unit, climbed on to prison rooftops demanding to be released.

Fresh violence erupted on Monday when inmates tried to rush the prison gates. Security forces were deployed and multiple gunshots heard from inside the prison.

The violence was reportedly triggered by a clash over an inmate informing on a drug trafficking operation inside.

A total of 23 prison officers, and 54 inmates, are still receiving treatment, officials said.

Some of the wounded were taken to Negombo Hospital. The hospital director told the AFP news agency that some had bullet wounds, while others had sustained cuts and severe bruises. Others were transported to Colombo National Hospital.

Police said part of the prison’s roof collapsed during the incident, which injured some of the women involved, AFP reported.

Crowds of inmates’ relatives gathered outside on Monday as the situation unfolded. Some told BBC Sinhala they had not been given information about where their relatives were, or who was alive and who had died.

Areas within the prison are still being cleared, and the military has been placed on standby after police requested support, the Reuters news agency reported.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg77klne3yo

Canada has chosen a German defence company to build its navy’s new submarine fleet, in the largest military procurement deal in Canadian history.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday that the government had chosen the company TKMS for the multi-billion dollar, 12-vessel contract.

The announcement comes just before Carney leaves for a Nato summit in Turkey, where members are expect to face pressure to show they are boosting defence investment. Since taking office, Carney has bumped Canada’s defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), and has committed to reaching 5% by 2035.

According to the government, only one in four of Canada’s submarines is currently seaworthy.

The country – which has the longest coastline in the world – is growing increasingly concerned about climate change warming Arctic waters and opening up new fronts for adversaries to attack.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada must be prepared to defend our interests, protect our citizens, build our economy, and secure our future,” Carney said. “To that end, we are making the largest defence procurement in our nation’s history with speed, ambition, and discipline.”

The government has not released an estimated cost for the deal.

Speaking in Halifax, Novia Scotia, on Monday, Carney also said the government would enter into negotiations with TKMS to sign a contract, which could take several months.

“This project is about much more than acquiring submarines,” Carney said. “It builds Canadian industrial capacity.”

TKMS – the world’s largest non-nuclear submarine manufacturer – was competing with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean shipbuilding company for the submarine bid.

The latest fleet of submarines is a part of Carney’s effort to increase military spending and intended to bolster the country’s maritime sovereignty, especially in the Arctic.

US President Donald Trump has put pressure on 32 members of Nato’s military pact to increase defence spending.

Canada announced in July 2024 that it was seeking a contractor to build the new fleet of submarines, with Carney saying he would decide the winner to replace the country’s aging Victoria-class vessels, bought in 1998, by this June.

The submarine contract gives Carney “significant credibility” in his efforts to prove he is bumping up defence spending, said David Perry, the president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“He committed to move the project on a very expedited schedule – astonishingly fast by Canadian standards, and appears to have delivered,” he said. “This project will push our core defence speeding up consequentially.”

Perry said the Canadian government was focused on awarding the contract to a country with whom it wanted to create a strategic partnership. Carney has sought to strengthen economic and security ties with Europe, as Canada faces trade tensions with the US, its longtime ally to the south.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4ddppz3jqo

A summary of a proposed “Libya Reunification Plan” showed it would set out a 36-month transitional power-sharing arrangement under a body called the Government of National Consensus and Presidential Council.

After mediating an interim ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran, Pakistan has reportedly turned to Libya to further its peacemaking efforts. Islamabad is quietly mediating between Libya’s rival eastern and western power centres, according to news agency Reuters.

The report of Pakistani involvement comes amid months of a US-led push to find a diplomatic solution in Libya. If Pakistan is successful in its endeavour, it’ll help in further raising its diplomatic profile.

The North African country has been split between rival eastern and western administrations since a civil war that broke out in the years after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

Inside Pak’s Mediation Efforts

US President Donald Trump, who has credited Islamabad for its mediation efforts in reaching a deal with Iran, was “fully aware and involved” in Pakistan’s role in Libya, sources told Reuters.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia, which has a mutual defence pact with Islamabad, is also supporting Pakistan’s peacemaker role bid in Libya. The kingdom long sought influence in Libya, too.

Sources told Reuters that efforts began late last year, and both Libyan sides requested its involvement. But it remains unclear to what extent Islamabad has been coordinating with other regional stakeholders for its efforts.

Neither Pakistan nor any Libyan officials– western or eastern — or any foreign patron, including Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia or the US, has issued any comment on the matter yet.

Inside The Unity Plan

Any successful plan to reunify Libya would need to balance the vastly different interests of foreign patrons. The disputes in the country range from administrative posts and election rules to oil revenues and have derailed the attempts for decades.

“The United States has been pushing hard in Libya,” Jalel Harchaoui, a contributor to Britain’s Royal United Services Institute think tank, told Reuters. “But the format it is trying to impose is still loose and ill-defined,” he added.

A summary of a proposed “Libya Reunification Plan”, reported by Reuters, showed it would set out a 36-month transitional power-sharing arrangement under a body called the Government of National Consensus and Presidential Council.

The proposal – which one Pakistani source cautioned was still being discussed in detail – would establish a transition period with Abdulhamid Dbeibah of the UN-recognised and western-based Libyan Government of National Unity as prime minister and Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, as chairman of the Presidential Council.

The faction around Haftar’s father, Khalifa Haftar, the commander-in-chief of the LNA, controls many of Libya’s biggest oilfields and key infrastructure, and the proposed plan would hand him authority over the budget.

A Pakistani source said Islamabad would play “an active role in making sure this whole arrangement stays in play”, with details still being worked on.

Pak’s Mediation

Last month, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir met Saddam Haftar in Rawalpindi – a meeting that was followed days later by Haftar’s visit to Washington, where he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The State Department said in a statement at the time that Rubio welcomed Libyan leaders’ efforts to overcome divisions and reaffirmed US support for Libyan unity.

While analysts view Pakistan as a secondary player in Libya, where the US, the UAE, Turkey and Egypt have for years wrestled for influence, Islamabad has maintained ties with both sides that other regional actors may be lacking.

Pakistani officials have pursued defence ties with the eastern-based LNA, as Reuters reported in December, including the possible sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, despite a UN arms embargo.

But the rival western GNU also recently sought direct talks with Pakistan, according to an unreported document seen by Reuters.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/after-us-iran-deal-pakistan-turns-peacemaker-for-fractured-libya-report-11736522?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he preferred a diplomatic solution but insisted the US retained the ability to strike key Iranian infrastructure if necessary.

United States President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran, declaring that the US is prepared to completely dismantle the country’s infrastructure “in a small part of an afternoon” if a diplomatic deal cannot be reached.

“We’re going to win one way or the other. We’re going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job, okay. And it won’t be tough to finish the job,” Trump was quoted as saying.

Trump said that he would prefer a deal with Iran as he doesn’t want to “affect 91 million people.”

“We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply. We can knock out their electricity and power generating plants. And I would say in a small part of an afternoon, every plant will be gone. And they know that,” Trump said.

On the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, “Three weeks ago, in one night, 22 ships came out of the Strait. The famous Strait of Hormuz, nobody ever heard of it before, but it’s a huge money machine. We took out so much oil that people didn’t even realise it.”

Trump remarks came as negotiations between the US and Iran remain on hold for the funeral ceremonies of former Iranian Supreme Leader late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Earlier, reacting to Khamenei’s funeral, Trump told Axios that he was “shocked” by the massive turnout. “I was shocked. I thought people hated him,” Trump said, later adding, “Maybe it’s fake tears,” after seeing mourners crying during the funeral ceremonies.

In a remark that quickly drew attention, Trump said, “They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with.” He said neither side would launch attacks during the funeral period.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/donald-trump-warns-us-can-dismantle-iran-infrastructure-in-an-afternoon-calls-strait-of-hormuz-big-money-machine-article-154951824

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Trump to curb Turkish President Erdogan’s anti-Israel rhetoric and hold off on arms sales that would modernize Turkey’s air force.

As President Trump gets ready to sit down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a different agenda in mind. He wants Trump to pressure Erdogan to tone down his anti-Israel comments, and he’s also lobbying against any weapons deals that would give Turkey’s air force a boost.

According to a report from Axios, the two leaders spoke by phone last Friday, during which Netanyahu voiced frustration over Erdogan’s increasingly harsh statements about Israel. He used the call to push Trump to hold back on any arms sales that could help Turkey upgrade its military aircraft capabilities.

Relations between Israel and Turkey have been deteriorating for roughly two years now, largely because of the fighting in Gaza and Iran. The tricky part for Netanyahu is that Trump values his relationship with Erdogan just as much, since Turkey functions as both a major NATO military power.

Making Netanyahu’s position even shakier is the fact that his influence in Washington has diminished somewhat in recent months, largely a byproduct of the Iran war denting Trump’s approval numbers and splitting opinion within his base of supporters.

The attack came after a one-week agreement between the US and Iran to halt attacks in the strait expired, raising concerns about the MoU.

An oil tanker off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unknown projectile” on Monday, sparking a fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

It said that the incident took place eight nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, when the tanker was travelling south near the Omani coast in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to UKMTO, the tanker caught fire after being struck by a projectile.

“A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile on the port side causing a fire, whilst travelling southbound,” UKMTO said in a post on X.

The agency confirmed that there were no reports of casualties or any kind of environmental damage.

“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the agency added, saying authorities were investigating.

US Claims Iranian Missiles Hit Tankers

Meanwhile, two US officials told Axios that at least two missiles were fired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night.

The US official claimed that two commercial ships were hit by an Iranian missile and added that the vessels suffered significant damage; however, there were no casualties, according to Axios.

The US is expected to launch retaliatory strikes against the Iranian targets.

The incident occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy shipping routes, despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran and ongoing efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement.

US-Iran Agreement To Halt Attacks In Strait Expires

The reported attack came after a one-week agreement between Washington and Tehran to halt attacks in the strait expired, raising concerns that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed less than three weeks ago could begin to unravel.

A round of indirect talks between the two sides in Doha last week ended without significant progress on the future of the strategic waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz had been the chokepoint of the US-Iran conflict. Tehran had blockaded the waterway, and several commercial vessels came under attack, sending global energy prices sharply higher.

The United States responded with a naval blockade before launching retaliatory strikes against Iran, accusing Tehran of targeting commercial shipping. Maritime traffic resumed after Washington and Tehran signed an MoU last month aimed at ending hostilities and reopening the strategic route.

Iran Confirms Hormuz Transit Fees

However, Iran has maintained that there will be no return to the pre-war arrangement under which ships could pass freely through the strait. Tehran has also warned vessels against using routes outside a corridor it has authorised along its coastline.

Speaking at the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday, Iranian Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Iran and Oman were working in “collaboration and cooperation” on “new arrangements” for the waterway.

“As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees,” Azli said in translated remarks, while insisting such fees would not be a “toll.”

“These new arrangements will be concerning guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz, supervision of the passage of the vessels… and also guaranteeing and dealing with the environmental consequences of the massive number of ships,” he said.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/oil-tanker-hit-by-projectile-near-hormuz-us-alleges-iranian-missile-attack-ws-l-10194007.html

Calling the matter “hypothetical”, the New Zealand PM said any decision regarding a Khalistan referendum would depend on police assessments of potential risks.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday addressed concerns over the Khalistan issue and stated his government will not tolerate criminal behaviour. He said that while New Zealand values free speech, any intimidation or violence would be dealt with strictly under the law.

Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Luxon said the Khalistan issue has caused significant “suffering” in India but maintained that it would not become a stumbling block in ties between the two countries.

Won’t Tolerate Violence Linked To Khalistan Issue: Luxon

Turkish authorities detained more than 100 people taking part in an anti-NATO protest march organised by the Communist Party ​of Turkey (TKP) on Sunday, ahead of an alliance summit in Ankara next week, ‌the party said in a statement.
Turkey will host leaders from the 32 allied countries, as well as officials from NATO’s partners, in Ankara for a summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Authorities have ramped up security measures across the ​Turkish capital ahead of the meeting, banning demonstrations, barricading large parts of the city, ​and closing off roads.

In a statement, the TKP said it had organised the ⁠protest march in Ankara’s central Kizilay square, adding that more than 100 party members, including administrators, ​had been detained.
Footage showed flag-waving protesters chanting slogans including “Murderer NATO, get out of country” and “No passage ​to NATO”, as riot police intervened using tear gas to disperse crowds.
In a separate protest organised by the TKP, hundreds of people marched from Istanbul’s Taksim Square to Dolmabahce. There were also two separate protests organised by leftist ​groups in the Kadikoy district. Despite a heavy police presence, there were no scuffles during the ​protests in Istanbul.

“We have gathered today in many parts of Turkey to protest against NATO,” TKP Secretary General ‌Kemal ⁠Okuyan said in Istanbul.
“We said that we would not hand over Ankara to supporters of NATO, that we would not allow Ankara to remain silent. We have fulfilled that promise.”

The government did not immediately comment on the protests or the detentions.
Authorities last month arrested 103 people as part of anti-terror raids in ​Ankara in which 225 ​people were detained.
Separately, 39 ⁠others, including journalists from independent outlets, activists, and academics, were detained in anti-terror raids across the country, media reported on Sunday.
Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of ​Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party, and main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) court-appointed chairman ​Kemal Kilicdaroglu ⁠criticised the detentions as unacceptable measures hindering basic rights ahead of the NATO summit.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/more-than-100-detained-leftist-groups-hold-anti-nato-protests-turkey-2026-07-05/

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which begins on Monday, is set to frame the Philippines 2028 presidential race and deepen a schism between two ​storied political dynasties that has plunged the Senate into turmoil.
The outcome will not only determine whether Duterte could run for the presidency, it will also test ‌confidence in the Southeast Asian nation’s institutions and politicians. Analysts say the key will be whether the public sees the verdict as credible or instead driven by partisan interests.

“If it is seen as politically motivated or lacking credibility, questions may linger regardless of the outcome,” said Ederson Tapia, a public administration professor at the University of Makati.
It remains unclear how long the trial will last, with factors such as procedural disputes, the ​number of witnesses and the presentation of evidence likely to determine its pace. The impeachment trial of a former chief justice in 2012 lasted four months. A conviction ​requires the votes of at least 16 of the Senate’s 24 members. Opinion polls show Duterte is a leading contender for the 2028 ⁠election, but a guilty verdict could jeopardise her presidential ambitions.

“If the public perceives the process to have been fair, an acquittal could strengthen her position,” Tapia said.
The first impeachment trial of ​a vice president centres on allegations that Duterte misused public funds, amassed unexplained wealth and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady and a former House Speaker.
Duterte, ​the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, denies wrongdoing and insists the impeachment is politically motivated.
“That is to be expected,” Congressman Robert “Ace” Barbers, spokesperson for the prosecution, said of the vice president’s assertions. “We will let the evidence speak for itself.”
Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, said both sides must be able to properly present their case to ensure public confidence.

She cited the impeachment proceedings ​against then President Joseph Estrada, in which a Senate vote to withhold key evidence triggered public outrage, halted the trial and fuelled mass protests that led to Estrada’s removal from office in ​January 2001.
“They really have to make sure that both the prosecution and the defence are given enough time and voice … so the public does not perceive the trial as favouring one side,” she ‌said.
Duterte’s lawyer, Michael ⁠Poa, said the defence was prepared to prove the allegations were “baseless”. He could not yet say whether Duterte would attend Monday’s proceedings, as the summons said she could be represented by counsel.

JOINT TICKET TO BITTER SPLIT

Marcos and Duterte, heirs to two of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, ran on a joint ticket in 2022. Their alliance has since unravelled in an increasingly bitter feud that deepened after Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and transfer to International Criminal Court custody in March last year.

The schism has spilled into the Senate, raising questions about how the trial will ​unfold.
In May, just as the Senate was ​preparing to receive the impeachment complaint from ⁠the House of Representatives, Duterte ally Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa turned up in the chamber after being absent from public view since November, and cast the decisive vote to install Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president.
Dela Rosa then holed up in the Senate before slipping away early on ​May 14, hours after chaos and gunfire erupted in the parliament building. His whereabouts are unknown.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/impeachment-trial-philippine-vp-sara-duterte-open-divided-senate-2026-07-05/

Britain tightened its rules on overseas political donations on Monday, as ‌part of efforts to stop foreign money influencing elections, and as concerns swirl around what Housing Minister Steve Reed called “dodgy funding”.
Last year, the government ordered a review into foreign financial interference in politics after a former politician in Reform ​UK was jailed for taking bribes to make pro-Russia speeches and statements.

The review found Britain faced a ​persistent problem of foreign countries, including Russia, China and Iran, trying to influence and ⁠undermine the country’s democracy, prompting the government to introduce the new rules.
They come as the leader ​of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, is under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over whether he ​should have declared a £5 million ($6.68 million) donation from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire, which was given before Farage said he would stand as a member of parliament.
Britain’s Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said on Monday that from now on ​political candidates would be required to declare donations of over £2,230 received prior to becoming a candidate and ​prove any pre-candidacy funding had come from legitimate sources.

“By holding overseas donors to tougher standards and requiring candidates to ‌prove where ⁠their funding comes from, we are taking world-leading action to protect the integrity of our elections and tackle the threats we face from abroad,” Reed said in a statement.
The tougher rules also mean individuals moving to the UK from overseas now have to live permanently in the UK for a year ​before they can make a ​political donation of £100,000 or ⁠more, while donations from companies are to be assessed against past post-tax profits rather than revenue, helping to ensure only legitimate UK-linked businesses can donate.
These ​rules build on those announced in March, which capped donations by Britons living ​abroad at £100,000 ⁠per year, and introduced a ban on crypto donations until a system to regulate them effectively is established.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-tightens-rules-overseas-political-donations-stop-dodgy-funding-2026-07-05/

Juan Zapata had just eaten dinner in his fifth-floor apartment overlooking the Caribbean and was about to take a shower when he was thrown ​across the room by the force of the twin earthquakes that ripped across Venezuela’s coast 10 days ago.
He spent two days and seven hours trapped in the rubble, wedged ‌between two pieces of rebar, before civilian rescuers pulled him out.

“When they were rescuing me I said, ‘I’m on the fifth floor’ and they told me, ‘no, you’re in the lower basement.’ I couldn’t believe what had happened to me,” Zapata said, as he stood next to his cot in a field hospital in La Guaira state run by disaster relief group Samaritan’s Purse.

Zapata was initially treated at the public hospital in La Guaira, the site hardest hit by the quakes, ​and came to the field hospital after visiting his building, Costa Brava, and finding it destroyed.
He is recovering from several fractured ribs, as well as serious cuts and scrapes. His lower ​legs are bandaged and it still hurts to breathe.
“All my material things were lost, but God has given me health,” he said.
Zapata has not been ⁠able to contact his daughter in the United States or his sister in Canada, as he lost his phone in the quake. He also has no identification card or other documents.

On Saturday the ​government raised the official death toll to 2,954 and said nearly 30,000 officials have been deployed alongside 3,281 international rescue workers to help people affected by the quakes.
More than 16,000 people are homeless, according to ​official figures. Some are living in official shelters and others in tent encampments. An unofficial but widely used tally of the missing stands at just over 41,000.
The field hospital, part of the U.S. State Department’s coordination with several groups providing aid in Venezuela, has treated some 400 patients so far, said its medical director Peter Holz, including surgeries that are set to number nearly 30 by Saturday evening.
“In the beginning it’s all trauma from the earthquake, then we ​will have follow-up surgical visits,” Holz said, as he stood inside the hospital’s pharmacy, erected over what is normally a baseball field.

Gradually the Samaritan’s Purse 100-person team will hand over operations to local ​doctors, either continuing to operate at the field site, or integrating all their equipment and supplies into local clinics where they will remain for good, he said.
“It will develop more into a community health center,” Holz added. “There’s a ‌lot of ⁠sad stories but also a lot of hope in the midst of all of it.”

CIVILIAN COMMITMENT

Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has vehemently rejected allegations that her government reacted too slowly to the quakes after days of widespread criticism of the official response.
On Saturday the government raised the official death toll to 2,954 and said nearly 30,000 officials have been deployed alongside 3,281 international rescue workers to help people affected by the quakes.
More than 16,000 people are homeless, according to official figures. Some are living in official shelters and others in tent encampments. An unofficial but widely used tally of the missing stands at just over ​41,000.

Civilians of all stripes — including survivors, family members, ​volunteer paramedics and foreign rescue teams — have descended on ⁠disaster areas since the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes struck on June 24.
Many of those digging through the rubble, along with international aid organizations, say the government’s response was slow and ineffectual, with aid like food and medical supplies delayed and a continuing lack of heavy machinery to move debris amid search operations.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-venezuela-quakes-rises-2954-2026-07-04/

The United States’ World Cup campaign took an extraordinary turn on Sunday when FIFA made the unprecedented decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s automatic red-card ban, clearing the ​striker to face Belgium in Monday’s last-16 clash after U.S. President Donald Trump personally urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the case.
The move thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight, ‌prompted an angry response from Belgium and ensured that one of this tournament’s biggest talking points would centre not on tactics or team selection, but on the relationship between football’s governing body and political power.

Within minutes, the decision had ignited one of the tournament’s biggest media storms, dominating sports bulletins and talk shows as pundits, commentators and former players argued over whether FIFA had upheld justice or undermined its own rules.
As questions mounted over the circumstances surrounding the decision, FIFA did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment about the decision and Trump’s call with ​Infantino.
Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina but was shown a red card in the second half for planting his boot into the ankle of Tarik Muharemovic.

The ​25-year-old was sent off after a VAR review, with U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino saying it was never a red card offence.
Trump called Infantino to ask world soccer’s governing body to ⁠review the sending-off, according to a source briefed on the call.
FIFA is allowing Balogun to play without rescinding the red card.
“In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a ​probationary period of one year,” FIFA said in a statement.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed ​for the new infringement.”
The judicial body has the discretion to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction.

‘A GREAT INJUSTICE’

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while the White House celebrated Balogun’s reinstatement in the squad with a post on X saying: “USA-USA-USA.”
U.S. Soccer accepted the decision while Balogun’s teammates said they only found out via social media on their way to training ahead of Monday’s game in Seattle.
“We found out about it just coming over here,” American forward Christian ​Pulisic told reporters. “At first, you’re like, ‘Oh really, is this real?’ And then ‘Oh, this is great news’.”

Pochettino welcomed the news at a U.S. press conference in Seattle on Sunday evening.
“I think 99.9% of people in football have said this is an ​unfair punishment and there’s evidence from the past that makes it possible to suspend a punishment and to fulfil it later on, so I don’t understand how people can be surprised,” he told reporters.
“This has happened in the past. It’s not something extraordinary that ‌has only happened ⁠for us, it has happened in the past. And we’ve seen many players in this World Cup that were not punished and I’m happy for this because it would have been unfair.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he believed Balogun did not deserve a red card, but questioned the decision to suspend his punishment, having just seen his defender Jarell Quansah get sent off in his side’s 3-2 last-16 win over Mexico on Sunday.
“I think first of all to be very clear that it is not a red card (for Balogun). But VAR got involved and obviously three people from VAR checked it and were of the opinion that it was a red card. So the decision is made,” Tuchel told reporters at the Azteca ​Stadium.
“Who overturns this decision then and when? And on what ​grounds? How far does this go now? This is ⁠strange for me… Where does this start and where does this end?”

BELGIUM ‘ASTONISHED’ BY DECISION

President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the United States on Saturday with ​a campaign-style speech that repeated his calls for new voting restrictions, warned that “communists” could gain ground in the country and cycled through what he touted ‌as his achievements.
After a storm-related delay of nearly two hours, Trump appeared on the National Mall in Washington to deliver a speech that mixed broad appeals to patriotism with pointed attacks on perceived ideological threats at home and abroad.

Trump lauded American achievements such as war victories, the lunar landing and the Wright brothers’ pioneering flight, as well as the U.S. system of government in general. But he also urged Congress to pass stalled ​legislation that would limit mail ballots and require proof of citizenship to register to vote, said he had “wiped out” Iran’s military and cautioned against a rise of ​communism in the United States.

TRUMP WARNS OF COMMUNIST ‘CANCER,’ WHITE NATIONALISTS APPEAR

“We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It’s ⁠like a cancer – you’ve got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast,” he said.
The Republican president has in the past repeatedly referred to left-wing Democratic ​candidates who have won a string of primary elections as “communists,” though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.

Before Trump, presidents generally avoided in-person appearances at July 4 celebrations, but he has ​blurred the line between official commemoration and campaign-style politics. Aside from a similar address that Trump gave in 2019, no U.S. president has delivered a July 4 speech on the Mall since 1951.
Visitors had waited hours to get into the event, contending with stepped-up security and temperatures that reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). The record-breaking heat wave forced the cancellation of several parades and other events in the area.
Authorities ordered an ​evacuation when a line of thunderstorms approached, forcing spectators to shelter in nearby museums and government buildings before they were allowed to return.
Trump had said this week he would “make a really ​long speech” for Saturday’s rally “just to show that I can do anything.” Instead, it lasted less than 40 minutes, far shorter than many of his past speeches.

Other visitors included the white nationalist organization Patriot Front, ‌which marched ⁠through the capital earlier in the day and rode on Metro trains serving the region. Police said they had not received any reports of violence.
The Trump administration’s Freedom 250 group has largely sidelined a nonpartisan body set up in 2016 to handle the 250th anniversary and has fenced off much of the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) Mall for a “Great American State Fair” featuring attractions such as a Ferris wheel alongside displays by conservative groups and defense contractors.

TRUMP SEEKS TO REVAMP CAPITAL

Freedom 250 says the fair aims to showcase the people and innovations that make the U.S. “the greatest nation ​on Earth.”
Several Democratic-led states declined to send delegations, and ​many performers scheduled to appear dropped out, citing ⁠concerns about partisanship. Trump opened the event with a rally on June 24.
Crowds were sparse at first but have swelled in recent days, forcing visitors to wait in entrance lines that stretched several blocks. Gift shops and restaurants at the Smithsonian Institution museums near the event reported ​near-record sales on Friday, said Frank DiGiovine, a Smithsonian executive.
Other activities with Freedom 250 branding include a faith rally featuring mostly conservative Christian ​speakers, and multiple sports events, ⁠including a card of mixed martial arts bouts on the White House grounds for Trump’s 80th birthday on June 14. An IndyCar race in Washington is scheduled for August.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-mark-us-250th-anniversary-with-campaign-style-rally-national-mall-2026-07-04/

Posters and graffiti at the Grand Mosalla even called for the assassination of Trump and Netanyahu, with similar slogans echoing the crowd.

Calls for the killing of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reverberated through Tehran’s packed Grand Mosalla prayer complex as Iran’s top political and military leadership reappeared in public for the funeral of assassinated former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. After over four months of delay due to the chaos of war in the Middle East, Iran has organised a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei and four other members of his family who were killed on the first day of the US and Israeli war on February 28.

The funeral prayers created a political spectacle that melded grief with calls for revenge. Crowds of hundreds of thousands stayed in the mosque overnight or arrived well before dawn to participate in prayer reading at 8 am. Holding Iranian tricolour and red flags symbolising vengeance, along with photographs of the 86-year-old supreme leader, people chanted, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” as they called for revenge.

‘Kill Trump’ Calls

Posters and graffiti at the Grand Mosalla even called for the assassination of Trump and Netanyahu, with similar slogans echoing the crowd.

“From now on the shroud is our garment. I swear by your blood; Trump’s murder is our responsibility,” Mohammad Rasouli, a poet who emceed the event before the prayers, said to the crowd over loudspeakers.

“Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive? The world is no longer a good place for Trump. Why should we not kill the man who killed our imam? It would be a disgrace if we did not,” he added as the crowd cheered.

“I came here to shout and seek revenge,” said Gholamreza Sabooni, a 29-year-old man who works in a grocery store. “They killed our imam. We should kill their leader, Trump.”

Later, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, Khalil Shirgholami, took to his X account and wrote, “You can kill people, but you can’t kill ideals. You killed Ayatollah Khamenei, but in reality you broke a bottle of perfume, the fragrance of which has now spread everywhere. You will never understand this because you have no civilisation, no history, no honour.”

“People are shouting two slogans in farewell to their leader: resistance against enemies and revenge for the blood of the martyred leader of Iran,” said Mohammed Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of the National Security Council.

The United Front

Iran’s top officials and brothers of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, emerged into public view on Sunday amid the Israeli threat to attend Ali Khamenei’s funeral prayers. Khamenei’s other sons, Masoud, Meysam, and Mostafa, and Revolutionary Guard head General Ahmad Vahidi, who had not been seen since the war, were photographed for the first time since the war.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf –who has led the negotiations with the US –and Esmail Qaani, who leads the elite Quds Force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also attended.

Their appearance projected unity, defiance, and confidence in their safety as Iran pushes back on US demands in negotiations to permanently end the war.

Missing from the action was Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father. At the height of the war, before an April ceasefire, Israel had targeted top leaders, in at least one case likely using their public appearance to fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei.

The Funeral

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led the prayers at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla for the late Khamenei and several other members of his family, including his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad Adel and his 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani. The contrast in size of the granddaughter’s coffin to other coffins was one of the most poignant sights at the ceremony.

Khamenei’s body will be transported to cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq, with authorities planning to drive his casket and others through the streets of Tehran on Monday. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace, and daily life for the mourning, which will end on Thursday as he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s place of birth.

Authorities offered no attendance count for the event Saturday and Sunday. Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kill-trump-calls-at-supreme-leader-ali-khameneis-funeral-in-iran-11731638?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Former Dem political darling Calla Walsh attended attended the funeral for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, declaring that he was the “greatest anti-imperialist leader” in a propaganda video while covering up in a hijab and traditional garb.

Walsh, 22, who has been previously arrested for antisemitic vandalism in the US, spoke with Iran’s PressTV to talk about her attendance at Khamenei’s funeral over the weekend, where she hailed him as a heroic figure standing up to America and Israel.

“He was a leader to all people of the world who struggle against imperialism, arrogance, against Zionism, against genocide,” she said.

“To me, he was the greatest anti-imperialist leader to have lived during my lifetime.”

It’s the latest extremist turn for Walsh, the daughter of a Boston University English professor and a Harvard writing teacher. She attended prestigious prep schools and was praised in Democratic circles for her activism beginning when she was just 14.

She was previously a volunteer for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign and also work on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s campaign.

Walsh on Saturday claimed there was much love in Iran for Khamenei despite his government’s brutal crackdown earlier this year that left between 7,000 to 30,000 protesters dead, according to human rights groups.

She was briefly a leader in the Democratic Socialists of America after quitting over after making dubious claims that it was too cozy with pro-Israel interests.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, she has been one of the biggest American mouthpieces for Iran’s Islamist regime.

The regime ally, who lives in Lebanon, claimed more Iranians than ever were now standing with the regime following the war with the US, slamming the conflict as a total loss for America.

“It’s still fair to say that the US has been more humiliated than it has ever been before in its history,” Walsh said.

The pro-regime activist ended her praise by describing the slain supreme leader as a “humble” man whose teachings, along with those of the Islamic Revolution, could be “especially” used in the US.

Khamenei was killed in Israeli airstrikes as the war began on Feb. 28. Iran launched a six-day funeral for the slain ayatollah that began over the weekend.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/world-news/calla-walsh-attends-khameneis-funeral-in-iran-hails-him-as-greatest-anti-imperialist-leader/

The AfD has strengthened its hardline leadership despite ongoing scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence agencies. Co-leader Alice Weidel says the far-right party is ready to govern after strong polling gains.

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reaffirmed its ambition to govern the country. Wrapping up the party’s national convention in Erfurt, the capital of the eastern state of Thuringia, re-elected co-leader Alice Weidel was pointing to current opinion polls that see the party in the lead across Germany. “We are the strongest force. We are a people’s party with 30% support. And we will govern,” she said.

Earlier, delegates had confirmed the party’s co-leadership. Weidel, who ran as the AfD’s main candidate in Germany’s 2025 federal election, slightly improved on her result from two years ago, winning 81.3% of the vote. Her co-chair, Tino Chrupalla, by contrast, lost significant support and received just 70%.

More importantly for Weidel, many of her supporters were elected to the new federal board. This has strengthened the influence of Weidel, who holds a doctorate in economics, over the party’s future direction. Within the AfD and in the media, there has long been speculation over Weidel’s ambition to lead the party on her own in the future.

Boost for the far-right wing

The composition of the newly elected board suggests that the AfD is set to continue pursuing a hardline strategy to set itself apart from all other parties. No fewer than six of the 14 members of the new board come from state branches that Germany’s domestic intelligence authorities classify as right-wing extremist organizations.

One of the new additions to the party leadership is Jean-Pascal Hohm, a far-right politician who also heads the newly founded party youth group, “Generation Deutschland.” In the past, Hohm had to give up his job with the AfD parliamentary group in the eastern state of Brandenburg because of his contacts to right-wing extremists.

Stefan Möller, from Thuringia, is also joining the board. He is considered one of the closest political allies of Björn Höcke, one of the AfD’s most controversial figures. In 2025, Höcke was twice ordered to pay fines after repeatedly using a slogan associated with the Nazi-era SA, a paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler. His ally Möller is now expected to oversee the party’s dealings with Germany’s security authorities.

Domestic intelligence agencies versus the AfD

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, along with its state-level counterparts, is a particular target of AfD criticism. In five states — Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia — the AfD is officially classified as confirmed right-wing extremist. In six other states, and at the national level, it is under observation as a suspected extremist organization.

The authorities point to repeated negative statements by party members about Germany’s democracy and judiciary. But above all, they point to repeated attempts by AfD politicians to question the legal equality of German citizens, especially when it comes to migrants, Muslims and Black people.

Stefan Möller, now a member of the federal board, has also questioned the equality of all Germans in the past. In a post published on Twitter, now X, on July 17, 2023, he wrote: “What makes someone German is decided between the ears, not on paper.”

Unlike at previous AfD conventions, the party’s internal power struggles this time played out without major clashes or splits. Earlier gatherings had seen furious public infighting and attacks from the convention stage, with party leaders repeatedly toppled after bitter verbal battles.

In Erfurt, by contrast, there were no such escalations. With three important state elections still to be held in 2026, and the AfD hoping to get its first state premier in either Saxony-Anhalt or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, party leaders successfully avoided any conflict that might affect the favorable poll numbers.

Few policy details from Weidel

But the absence of open conflict also meant there was little real policy debate. In her speech, Weidel largely avoided making concrete policy proposals. Instead, she stuck to a general critique of German government policy over the past 20 years: “Saving the euro, saving refugees, saving the climate, saving Ukrainians — while consistently deindustrializing the country and pursuing disastrous energy policies — is overwhelming the people in our country.”

In the past, Weidel and the AfD have called for a return to nuclear energy, the resumption of Russian gas deliveries to Germany, an end to climate protection measures and an end to German support for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022 and has been defending itself ever since.

At the convention, however, Weidel limited herself to stressing the AfD’s claim to government responsibility. She did not propose any specific measures. Instead, to loud applause from delegates, she invoked a spirit of German nationalism: “Let us drape the entire country in black, red and gold. Black, red and gold — that is what we live. Those are our colors.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/far-right-afd-reaffirms-ambition-to-govern-germany/a-77840272

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised “unequivocally” for comments he made about popstar Kylie Minogue in a podcast interview last week.

The leader had made an appearance on the Bush Deep podcast with comedian Nikki Osborne, who asked him during a 20-minute interview whether he would “shag, marry or date” Minogue, actress Nicole Kidman or entertainer Rhonda Burchmore.

After initially trying to avoid the question, Albanese said “Oh, Kylie, clearly”.

He was quickly met by a wave of condemnation, with one MP calling his remarks “entirely inappropriate”, and another adding that they were “disrepectful to women… and demean the office of Prime Minister.

Osborne, who is best known for posting crude comedy sketches on YouTube, had launched her podcast series earlier this year. Her podcast site describes her as a “wildly inapproriate journalist” who asks “questions no one else would dare”.

In a one-line statement issued early on Monday, the prime minister said: “I apologise unequivocally for the comments”.

The remarks were made during an interview that took place in the prime minister’s official residence in Canberra and which was released at the end of last week.

After Osborne first posed the question, Albanese, who married his partner Jodie Haydon in November, had initially responded: “I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in.”

But after being pushed by Osborne, he added: “Oh, Kylie, clearly.”

“You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” Osborne said.

“All of the above,” Albanese said. “She’s terrific.”

Community Strong MP Zali Steggall said the remarks were “entirely inappropriate”, adding that he “needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist”.

Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson said in a post on X the comments were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.”

Richard Marles, who is acting prime minister while Albanese is on a visit to the Pacific, told news outlet ABC that the government was “utterly committed” to the elevation of women in society.

“From time to time, we obviously do different interviews to the one we are doing now, but I think the other point to make here is that the government that the PM leads is the first in history that has had equality in terms of the number of men and women in cabinet,” Marles said on the broadcaster’s Radio National Breakfast programme.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr477en6w3go

UKRAINE has warned that Russian forces may be deliberately dumping anthrax-infected cattle carcasses in occupied areas – sparking bioweapon fears.

According to a warning from Kyiv’s military intelligence, Russian troops have been dumping anthrax-diseased livestock near groundwater sources across occupied Ukraine.

Many sites lie a short distance from homes, farms, rivers, and communal wells.

Hundreds of livestock “graveyards” packed with rotting animal carcasses cover Ukraine – and these used to be monitored by agricultural agencies, who carried out testing and controlled burns.

Now, Kyiv says Russian forces are deliberately dumping infected carcasses near vital water courses – turning areas into ticking biological timebombs.

Ultra-toxic anthrax spores can survive underground for a thousand years or more – raising fears that Kremlin forces are “mining” swathes of Ukraine with bioweapons that could remain contaminated for centuries after the war has ended.

When introduced to reservoirs or rivers, anthrax can survive for up to two years – meaning an outbreak could spread with terrifying speed.

Speaking to The Sun, Jerry Smith, a former weapons inspector for the UN, said: “The malicious use of anthrax is essentially salting the earth.”

He added: “Putting anthrax into a water source – firstly, you’ll kill all the cattle. Secondly, assuming there’s a reoccupation, there will be an absolute fear that the water will be drunk.”

Anthrax poisoning normally begins with flu-like symptoms that can lead to vomiting blood, severe breathing difficulties, multiple organ failure, septic shock, and hemorrhagic meningitis.

Jerry said: “You’ve got various ways you can infect somebody. Inhalation, when it gets into your lungs, that’s the dangerous one.

“Inhalation of anthrax, without treatment you’ve got a very high fatality rate – 50 per cent plus fatality rate.”

Anthrax can last as a spore for thousands of years in a hard shell, Jerry said.

He added: “It’s not so much the toxic nature of the weapons, it’s more that it becomes a psychological weapon… it’s the fear of breathing something in and choking.

“If live cattle were infected, that would spread around the population and people would avoid those areas.

“Secondly, the authorities would have to deploy some level of response, and that’s pretty intensive.”

The Ukrainian 30th Marine Corps is heavily involved in holding Kherson.

It is poised to infiltrate currently occupied regions should Russian retreat.

A senior military source told The Sun: “They’re crazy enough to do it, but this is beyond crazy. For them, nothing is impossible.”

Speaking of the reoccupation by Ukrainian troops, Jerry said: “Your speed of advance is governed by a few things, and one of them is obviously logistics.

“One of the things that is bulky is water. If you become aware that the water courses are potentially infected with anthrax, then you’re not going to drink from that.

“The only alternative is to bring up tankers, bowsers full of water to resupply them, and that’s going to slow you down.”

Jerry added: “Mass disruption and destruction by Russian forces is entirely credible. They’re just vindictive and they’ll do it. There will be a level of military purpose for it, but I would argue that their thought system is just being nasty and vindictive.

“It’s cheaper and easier for them to do this than to mine the place.

“You could generate a level of anthrax capability that ultimately, when needed, you could deploy into areas there.”

The deadliest recorded outbreak of anthrax was the 1979 Sverdlovsk Incident, where 68 people died.

Caused by the accidental release of deadly Bacillus Anthracis spores from Compound 19, a Soviet military biological weapons facility in Sverdlovsk – now Yekaterinburg – Russia, authorities in Moscow attempted to cover up the disaster by blaming black market meat supplies.

Claims that Moscow is waging a new form of warfare, one that threatens not just soldiers, but farmers, families, and future generations, follow allegations that Russian forces have deployed illegal chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops more than 13,000 times since the start of Moscow’s main invasion in 2022.

Jerry, who led the investigation into Russian involvement in the use of chemical weapons in Syria, said: “If you’re talking about Russia’s MO, then this is entirely credible.

“This is not a Rubicon that they would be worried about crossing.”

He added: “There are protocols for chemical attacks and biohazards. It is very possible to take a contaminated region back.

“The 30th Corps is fully ready to retake no matter what evil, illegal things the Russians do while retreating.”

If the intelligence from Ukraine proves to be accurate, the deployment of a bioweapon as lethal as anthrax could mark a sinister turning point in Moscow’s strategy in Ukraine.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16637149/putin-ukraine-anthrax-carcasses-bioweapon/

Maritime trade between Iran and Qatar resumed after a roughly five-month suspension, Iran’s commercial attaché in Doha told state media on Sunday (July 5).

An interim deal between Tehran and Washington signed last month announced the end of hostilities after a four-month conflict and mandated a return to pre-war maritime traffic in the Gulf. However, transit in and out of the Gulf remains contested.

Abbas Abdolkhani said shipping between Iran’s Dayyer port and Qatar’s Al Ruwais port had resumed following coordination between the Iranian embassy in Doha and Qatari authorities.

The two geographically opposite ports mainly cater to regional trade. Dayyer port was hit several times during the war.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/iran-qatar-maritime-trade-iranian-6233051

Talks will cover bilateral projects since last year’s retreat and the impact of the Middle East crisis.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Jakarta for his second Singapore-Indonesia leaders’ retreat with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday (Jul 6).

The retreat reaffirms bilateral ties and both governments’ commitment to deepening cooperation, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Sunday.

The two leaders will explore ways to strengthen collaboration in areas of mutual interest and receive updates on bilateral projects undertaken since the last retreat, held in Singapore in June 2025.

They will also exchange views on regional and global developments, including the impact of the Middle East crisis.

Indonesia was Singapore’s sixth-largest trading partner in 2025. Singapore has been the country’s largest foreign direct investor since 2014, with US$17.4 billion in investment flows in 2025.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawrence-wong-prabowo-leaders-retreat-indonesia-6227816

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had recently alerted that Moscow was likely planning further large-scale attacks.

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under attack by Russian ballistic missiles early Monday morning, the country’s air force said, on the eve of a critical NATO summit in Turkey that US President Donald Trump plans to attend. Many civilians are feared dead.

The fresh waves of missiles and drones launched at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight on Sunday hit multiple residential buildings, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was preparing another large-scale assault on the capital. The fresh attack comes barely days after a similar strike on houses in Kyiv had killed at least 41 people on Thursday.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said a residential apartment block in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district was partially destroyed between the seventh and ninth floors after it was hit during the attack. Images and videos shared on social media appeared to show part of the building’s facade collapsing following the strike.

Russia’s war in Ukraine will feature majorly in the upcoming NATO summit, which starts on Tuesday in Ankara. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump on a July 4 call lasting nearly 90 minutes, in which the US President offered to help end the Ukraine war.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said debris also struck another residential building in the same district and destroyed a separate non-residential building. Additional damage was reported to garages, a warehouse and another non-residential building in the Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi districts.

In Bucha, just outside Kyiv, at least three people were taken to hospital, according to Kyiv regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.

Explosions were heard across the capital at around 01:40 local time, followed by a second wave of strikes about 30 minutes later. Ukraine’s Air Force warned that dozens of missiles were heading towards Kyiv, while air raid alerts were issued across almost the entire country.

Residents in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, a suburb west of Kyiv, also reported power outages during the attack.

In neighbouring Poland, the Air Force said it had scrambled fighter jets as a precaution to protect the country’s airspace. There were no immediate reports of fatalities in Kyiv, although Mayor Klitschko said some residents remained trapped inside the damaged apartment building.

The latest strikes came hours after President Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing another major missile attack and urged civilians to follow air raid warnings. “Intelligence once again indicates that the Russians are preparing a new massive strike,” he said during his evening address. “This is typical of Putin: right after America’s Independence Day and before the NATO Summit in Ankara.”

Zelenskyy also called on Ukraine’s allies to speed up deliveries of Patriot air defence missile systems.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-kyiv-ballistic-missile-attack-death-toll-zelenskyy-putin-warning-latest-updates-article-154948379

A major oil terminal in Russia’s north-western city of St Petersburg was struck overnight by Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian president described it as key “infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war”. Ukraine also said a major Russian naval base in the region was hit.

St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said the city had been under a “massive” drone attack, admitting the oil terminal was hit but saying there had been no casualties.

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. Kyiv says nearly 43% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been “disabled” as a result.

The BBC has not independently verified this figure.

Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin – who last week made a rare admission that fuel shortages had been caused by Ukrainian attacks – on Saturday signed into law a bill aimed at boosting supplies to the domestic fuel market.

Zelensky said on Saturday morning that the targets hit in St Petersburg and the surrounding region had been about 850km (528 miles) from Ukraine’s border.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but a video posted by the Ukrainian president showed a drone flying towards a target and a huge column of black smoke billowing from the area following the strike.

The BBC later verified that St Petersburg’s oil terminal had been hit.

Ukraine’s military described the terminal as “one of the largest” in Russia, capable of producing 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products per year.

It also said it hit a key naval base of the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt.

Russia has not publicly commented on the claim.

Governor Beglov said that 72 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over St Petersburg and the wider Leningrad region.

He urged city residents to stay indoors until the drone threat was over and warned that mobile internet services may have also been disrupted.

More than five million people live in St Petersburg.

In a separate development on Saturday, Ukraine’s military denied that the key eastern Ukrainian town of Kostyantynivka was now under full Russian control.

Military spokesman Maj Andriy Kovalyov told the BBC that “Kostyantynivka remains under the control of the Defence Forces of Ukraine”.

He admitted that there had been “cases of infiltration by small infantry groups deep into the combat formations of our forces”, but added that those groups were being identified and destroyed.

His comments came a day after Putin said that Russian control had been established over the town in June. The Kremlin leader provided no evidence to back up his claim.

Zelensky wrote on Telegram later on Saturday: “If Kostyantynivka is now under Russian control, then Putin will probably have no problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war.

“But still, he will not cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin’s words.”

Kostyantynivka is one of several heavily fortified towns that make up Ukraine’s “fortress belt” in the eastern Donetsk region, most of which is occupied by Russia.

In its latest operational bulletin on Saturday afternoon, the Russian defence ministry said it had shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones and missiles launched overnight and in the morning.

It described the Ukrainian attacks as an attempt by Zelensky to “distract the attention” of Ukrainians and “foreign sponsors” from the consequences of one of the biggest and deadliest Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on 2 July and also a “catastrophic failure” of Ukrainian forces in Kostyantynivka.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j2vmzxezro

America 250, you’re a firework.

Thousands of spectators decked out in red, white and blue gathered across the Big Apple to watch the 50th Annual Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show — a dazzling spectacle that was nothing short of a patriotic pyrotechnic miracle.

The sparkling showcase kicked off at 9:02 p.m. after being brought forward due to looming bad weather and was bigger than ever to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

“It’s the best firework show I have ever seen,” said 11-year-old Liam Long, who traveled with his parents, Amber and Andy and siblings, Palmer and Kolt from Ohio to see the explosive magic.

“This is the best day ever!,” 6-year-old Palmer excitedly said.

Over 85,000 shells were launched into the night sky from the barges on the Hudson and East rivers, stunning the thousands of onlookers waving American flags who had been waiting hours to catch a glimpse of the extravaganza.

The pyrotechnics display reached heights of up to 1,000 feet and was launched from over two hundred points between the main towers of the Brooklyn Bridge, where a handful of fires were seen burning during the display.

Chants of “USA, USA, USA” could be heard along the Hudson River at Battery Park in downtown Manhattan as the dazzling 30-minute spectacle lit up the night sky.

New York Fire Department veteran Dominick Crescenzo usually orchestrates the Macy’s firework spectacular from a barge on the Hudson, but this year he enjoyed the show from the sidelines in Battery Park due to an injury.

“I will really miss not being part of the working crew,” said the 57-year-old deputy chief inspector, who has worked on the firework show for over 30 years.

“But I’m recovering, so I brought my wife and son and we want to enjoy the 250th,” he said.

“I wanted to be part of it. For my family, for the legacy, for the country.”

Across the river in Brooklyn, crowds flocked to Dumbo hours ahead of the firework display to secure a prime position.

Westchester local Jagruti Tiwari, 39, arrived six hours in advance of the dazzling firework display to secure a spot without a ticket.

“We came to watch the fireworks here from White Plains,” Tiwari said. “That’s not far compared [to] people who came from other states.”

“We wanted to come see them for the 250th anniversary,” she said.

Towards the end of the 30-minute spectacle, Palmer pushed herself off the railing in Battery Park and shouted, “It’s the finale! It’s the grand finale!”

However, not everyone was as impressed by the extravaganza that was said to be bigger than ever before.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/07/04/us-news/macys-fourth-of-july-fireworks-spectacular-light-up-the-nyc-sky/

The fleet will conduct “law enforcement patrols” in the area, China’s Coast Guard said in a statement, adding it would strengthen such patrols in what it called China’s jurisdictional waters.

China said on Saturday (Jul 4) it had launched a new coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, drawing a sharp response from Taipei after a task force last month off the island’s coast caused alarm in some Western capitals.

China’s military operates almost daily around Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory. But China has begun using its coast guard to enforce its territorial claims in what Taiwan calls “lawfare” to claim a legal basis for Chinese actions.

The fleet will conduct “law enforcement patrols” in the area, China’s Coast Guard said in a statement, adding it would strengthen such patrols in what it called China’s jurisdictional waters.

The coast guard will “firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”, it added.

SECOND PATROL IN A MONTH

Trump struck a confident tone while discussing his relationship with the Israeli PM Netanyahu, saying, “We get along very good.”

US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “knows who the boss is” as he revealed that the Israeli leader has requested a White House meeting that could take place in the coming weeks, US media outlet Axios reported.

In a brief phone interview, Trump struck a confident tone while discussing his relationship with the Israeli leader, saying, “We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” US President said, referring to himself.

According to Axios, the proposed meeting would mark the first face-to-face engagement between Trump and Netanyahu since their February meeting in the White House Situation Room, where the Israeli leader reportedly presented a plan for a joint military campaign against Tehran that snowballed into a full-fledged war.

While discussions are underway, the timing of the visit has not been finalised.

An Israeli official told Axios that next week may be too early because of Trump’s planned trip to Turkey for the NATO summit on July 7-8.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the United States’ 250th Independence Day.

“During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Growing scepticism within Trump’s circle

Despite public expressions of goodwill, Axios reported that some of Trump’s closest advisers have become increasingly critical of Netanyahu in the months since the February meeting.

A US official familiar with the matter told the outlet: “Many of Trump’s closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything.”

The report also said Trump personally criticised Netanyahu during a phone call last month following Israel’s escalation in Lebanon. According to Axios, Trump described the Israeli Prime Minister as “crazy” and accused him of being ungrateful.

Axios reported that disagreements between the two leaders have expanded in recent months, particularly over Iran, regional security issues and domestic political considerations.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/trump-says-netanyahu-knows-who-the-boss-is-hints-at-white-house-meeting-with-israeli-pm-iran-war-latest-101783215538483.html

A protest movement in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, is organizing global demonstrations on July 5 to raise awareness of escalating crackdowns by Pakistani security forces.

Trump offered to help resolve the Ukraine war in calls with Putin and Zelenskiy. Putin claimed battlefield gains, while Zelenskiy called his discussion “very good.

US President Donald Trump has offered to help find a solution to the war in Ukraine during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, while also holding a separate call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey.

According to Reuters, Trump spoke to Putin for nearly 90 minutes on Saturday, with Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov saying the US President reiterated Washington’s willingness to help end the conflict.

“The American President once again confirmed his readiness to work towards a rapid end to the fighting and find solutions to overcome the crisis,” Ushakov said.

Reuters reported that Ushakov described the conversation as “business-like and quite constructive”.

They said Russia continued to seek “a political-diplomatic resolution of the conflict, with due account of Russia’s fundamental approach.”

The discussion took place in the context of Trump’s participation in the NATO summit in Turkey next week.

Ushakov said Putin used the conversation to present Russia’s assessment of the conflict, telling Trump that Russian forces were making steady gains on the battlefield.

Putin “depicted the real situation on the battlefield where the Russian armed forces are confidently advancing, liberating one locality after another,” Ushakov said.

Ushakov also accused Kyiv and its European allies of “counting on extending and even escalating the conflict, and on terrorism against civilians,” Reuters reported.

He was referring to Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian targets, mainly linked to Russia’s oil industry, which Moscow says have caused fuel shortages in several regions.

Reuters further reported that Russian commanders informed Putin on Friday that Moscow’s troops had captured the strategically important city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

However, Zelenskiy and Ukraine’s General Staff rejected that claim on Saturday, saying Ukrainian forces remained in control of the city.

Russia maintains that any settlement must include Moscow assuming full control over Ukraine’s Donbas region, a demand Kyiv continues to reject.

US ENVOYS TO CONTINUE DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

Reuters reported that Trump told Putin that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue trying to broker a settlement and were prepared to make another visit to Moscow.

According to Reuters, Ushakov said US diplomatic efforts on Ukraine had largely stalled as Washington focused on the conflict involving Iran.

During the call, Putin also expressed hope that American diplomacy on Iran would “allow for mutually acceptable long-term solutions to be found on key issues of a settlement.”

Reuters added that Putin reminded Trump that he had an open invitation to visit Moscow.

Zelenskyy also spoke with Trump on Saturday and described the conversation as “very good.”

Writing on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the two leaders discussed the situation along the 1,200-km front line.

“There is a real prospect to end this war, and American resolve will have a crucial meaning,” he said.

Reuters reported that Zelenskyy said he and Trump agreed to continue discussions during the NATO summit.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/donald-trump-putin-zelenskyy-phone-call-ukraine-war-peace-deal-nato-summit-turkey-ws-l-10191062.html 

The possible meeting comes amid reports of tensions between the two leaders over efforts to end the war against Iran that the US and Israel started in late February.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as early as next week, US President Donald Trump told Axios on Saturday, adding that the prime minister “knows who the boss is” in their relationship.

The possible meeting comes amid reports of tensions between the two leaders over efforts to end the war against Iran that the US and Israel started in late February.

“We get along very good. (Netanyahu) knows who the boss is,” Trump said in a brief phone interview with Axios, referring to himself.

An Israeli official told the US media outlet that next week might be too soon for the visit because Trump will be traveling to Turkey for a NATO summit on July 7-8.

“It might take place the week after,” the official told Axios.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-iran-war-he-knows-who-the-boss-is-president-donald-trump-on-possible-israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-white-house-visit-11728366?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

From passports and visas to proof of funds and hotel bookings, Indian travellers should keep key documents ready before flying to Thailand.

Thailand remains a popular destination among Indian travellers, but those planning a trip may need to pay closer attention to entry requirements before departure. On July 2, the Indian Embassy in Bangkok issued an advisory detailing the documents and requirements Indian nationals should carry while visiting the country. The advisory comes after Thailand ended its visa-free entry programme for Indian passport holders, making it important for travellers to ensure they comply with the latest immigration and documentation rules before starting their journey.

What Indian Travellers Need To Know

According to the embassy, visitors must carry a valid passport with at least six months’ validity from the date of arrival in Thailand. They should also have confirmed return tickets, hotel bookings and a clear travel itinerary. Travellers are also required to complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) within 72 hours before arrival. The online form can be submitted through Thailand’s immigration portal and generates a QR code that may be required during immigration checks.

Advisory for Indian nationals visiting Thailand. pic.twitter.com/wEAMyH7H0D

— India in Thailand (@IndiainThailand) July 2, 2026

Visa And Cash Requirements

The embassy has advised travellers to obtain the appropriate visa based on the purpose of their visit. It also said that tourists using the Visa Waiver or Visa on Arrival (VOA) facility should carry at least 20,000 Thai Baht (THB) (Rs 57,446) per passenger in cash. Immigration officials may also ask visitors to show proof of sufficient funds during entry checks.

Important Advice For Job Seekers And Transit Passengers

The advisory cautions travellers against using the Visa Waiver or Visa on Arrival facility if they have secured a job offer in Thailand. Such visitors should obtain the appropriate visa before travelling, as entering the country on a tourist status for employment purposes may violate local immigration rules.

Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed on February 28 – the day the US and Israel began striking Iran, triggering a war in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump issued a fresh threat to Iran, claiming that he could eliminate the remaining leadership in the country with just “one shot” during the funeral ceremonies of the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. He, however, said that he would not do so since there would be “no one left” to negotiate with.

“They are all there. One shot and we can take them all out, but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with…They are begging to make a deal,” Trump told Axios.

He also asserted that both sides have decided to take a week off from the talks until the events around Khamenei’s funeral end. In the meantime, Trump said, neither side will attack the other.

Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed on February 28 – the day the US and Israel began striking Iran, triggering a war in the Middle East. Speculations regarding the timeline of the final ceremonies had been building since March. While the Islamic jurisprudence typically dictates that a dead person be buried as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, this was an exception due to a state of war.

Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the US, to begin Khamenei’s funeral. The funeral rituals will include events in Qom – a holy city south of Tehran, on July 7, and other religious observances. It will conclude on July 9 with Khamenei’s burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.

Millions of Iranians have been gathering on the streets, making the funeral one of the closely tracked global events.

On Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were seen crying during the farewell ceremony for the former Iranian Supreme Leader.

To this, Trump expressed surprise over Iranians crying at the funeral, saying he thought people “hated” Khamenei.

“Maybe it’s fake tears,” he said.

‘Gave a week off’

Earlier, Trump had said that the US  gave Iran a “week off” for a funeral.

“We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran; they’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we’re nice,” he said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-warns-iranian-leaders-at-ali-khameneis-funeral-one-shot-and-i-can-take-them-all-out-us-iran-war-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-us-strikes-11728447?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The allegations involve Raza Dar, who, the news agency PTI, citing police sources, said, is the grandson of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

The investigation into the alleged kidnapping and gang rape of two foreign women in Pakistan has taken a dramatic new turn, with investigators now examining whether a cryptocurrency dispute worth millions of dollars was at the heart of the case.

The allegations involve Raza Dar, who, the news agency PTI, citing police sources, said, is the grandson of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is among the accused in the case.

The latest development follows the recording of a statement by one of the alleged victims, Astrid Gabriela Robinson Bracho, before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Victim Alleges Captors Wanted Crypto, Not Just Ransom

According to Astrid’s statement, armed men barged into the Lahore residence where she and her friend, Stephani Adriana, were staying soon after they arrived in Pakistan.

She alleged that the attackers restrained both women and repeatedly demanded access to a computer containing cryptocurrency assets, according to a report by ARY News.

“They asked where the computer with the money was, and I told them it was in the green bag,” she said, adding that Raza Dar continued demanding money and passwords.

Astrid further alleged that one of the attackers struck her on the head while another threatened to kill both women unless they handed over the funds.

“He told me if we gave them the money, we would live. If we didn’t, they would kill us,” she said in her statement.

Allegations Of Sexual Assault During Captivity

Astrid told the magistrate that she was later taken to an upstairs bedroom, where she alleged that two men sexually assaulted her while another stood guard carrying a rifle.

“They were laughing, slapped me and told me to keep quiet when I started crying,” she alleged before the magistrate.

She also claimed that Raza Dar used her mobile phone to contact people she knew in an effort to obtain money.

According to her account, no one initially responded. She later learnt that Stephani’s mother had managed to arrange $100,000.

Astrid alleged that after the money was received, Dar informed them they were free to leave, returned their passports and drove them towards the airport.

During the journey, she claimed to have overheard a phone conversation.

“The boss’s instructions are different.”

She alleged that after the vehicle crashed, she and Stephani escaped, screamed for help and were rescued after passersby alerted a traffic police officer.

Four Accused Sent To Police Custody

A Lahore court has remanded four suspects, Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan and Sajid Ali, to five days of police custody.

Investigators told the court they still needed to recover weapons allegedly used in the crime, along with money believed to be connected to the case.

The court directed police to complete their investigation and submit a report. The accused are due to appear again on July 8.

Victims Reportedly Leave Pakistan

According to ARY News, citing judicial sources, the two foreign women may have already left Pakistan after recording their statements before the magistrate.

Journalist Abid Khan said authorities have not disclosed their current whereabouts.

He added that if the women have indeed departed the country, it could complicate the prosecution’s case.

Their statements have reportedly been sealed and remain in the magistrate’s custody, with one copy handed over to investigators.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/crypto-horror-in-gang-rape-case-linked-to-pakistan-deputy-pms-relative-11727977?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the United States on Saturday with ​a campaign-style speech that repeated his calls for new voting restrictions, warned that “communists” could gain ground in the country and cycled through what he touted ‌as his achievements.
After a storm-related delay of nearly two hours, Trump appeared on the National Mall in Washington to deliver a speech that mixed broad appeals to patriotism with pointed attacks on perceived ideological threats at home and abroad.

Trump lauded American achievements such as war victories, the lunar landing and the Wright brothers’ pioneering flight, as well as the U.S. system of government in general. But he also urged Congress to pass stalled ​legislation that would limit mail ballots and require proof of citizenship to register to vote, said he had “wiped out” Iran’s military and cautioned against a rise of ​communism in the United States.

TRUMP WARNS OF COMMUNIST ‘CANCER,’ WHITE NATIONALISTS APPEAR

“We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It’s ⁠like a cancer – you’ve got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast,” he said.
The Republican president has in the past repeatedly referred to left-wing Democratic ​candidates who have won a string of primary elections as “communists,” though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.

Before Trump, presidents generally avoided in-person appearances at July 4 celebrations, but he has ​blurred the line between official commemoration and campaign-style politics. Aside from a similar address that Trump gave in 2019, no U.S. president has delivered a July 4 speech on the Mall since 1951.
Visitors had waited hours to get into the event, contending with stepped-up security and temperatures that reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). The record-breaking heat wave forced the cancellation of several parades and other events in the area.
Authorities ordered an ​evacuation when a line of thunderstorms approached, forcing spectators to shelter in nearby museums and government buildings before they were allowed to return.
Trump had said this week he would “make a really ​long speech” for Saturday’s rally “just to show that I can do anything.” Instead, it lasted less than 40 minutes, far shorter than many of his past speeches.

Other visitors included the white nationalist organization Patriot Front, ‌which marched ⁠through the capital earlier in the day and rode on Metro trains serving the region. Police said they had not received any reports of violence.
The Trump administration’s Freedom 250 group has largely sidelined a nonpartisan body set up in 2016 to handle the 250th anniversary and has fenced off much of the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) Mall for a “Great American State Fair” featuring attractions such as a Ferris wheel alongside displays by conservative groups and defense contractors.

TRUMP SEEKS TO REVAMP CAPITAL

Freedom 250 says the fair aims to showcase the people and innovations that make the U.S. “the greatest nation ​on Earth.”
Several Democratic-led states declined to send delegations, and ​many performers scheduled to appear dropped out, citing ⁠concerns about partisanship. Trump opened the event with a rally on June 24.
Crowds were sparse at first but have swelled in recent days, forcing visitors to wait in entrance lines that stretched several blocks. Gift shops and restaurants at the Smithsonian Institution museums near the event reported ​near-record sales on Friday, said Frank DiGiovine, a Smithsonian executive.
Other activities with Freedom 250 branding include a faith rally featuring mostly conservative Christian ​speakers, and multiple sports events, ⁠including a card of mixed martial arts bouts on the White House grounds for Trump’s 80th birthday on June 14. An IndyCar race in Washington is scheduled for August.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-mark-us-250th-anniversary-with-campaign-style-rally-national-mall-2026-07-04/

A dangerous heat wave upended Fourth of ​July celebrations across swaths of the central and eastern U.S. on Friday, forcing officials in the nation’s capital and elsewhere to cancel ‌or postpone dozens of parades, concerts and fireworks displays.
Among the events disrupted by the sweltering heat was the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s efforts to mark the nation’s 250th birthday.

The fair, designed to showcase all 50 states, was temporarily closed on Friday afternoon as temperatures reached 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees ​Celsius).
Late on Friday, organizers of the National Park Service’s Independence Day Parade in Washington announced they had canceled the annual event due to ​safety concerns. The parade had been scheduled to start at 10:30 ET (1430 GMT) on Saturday, with the Weather Service projecting ⁠heat index values to reach as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Record-breaking temperatures spread to the eastern U.S. from the Midwest earlier this week due to ​the emergence of a high-pressure system known as a “heat dome,” which traps a mass of hot air over a region and can cause humidity to spike.

The scorching ​conditions also strained power grids. PJM, the largest U.S. power grid operator serving 67 million people in the Mid-Atlantic, South and Washington, D.C., areas, ordered customers enrolled in emergency conservation programs to curb usage. The steps were needed to battle generator outages, overloaded transmission lines and a surge in air-conditioning demand due to the heat.
In New York, Con Edison said roughly ​17,000 customers were without power as of late Friday afternoon. As demand surged, it urged customers in New York City and Westchester County to conserve ​electricity.

In New York City, shoe soles stuck to Manhattan streets as adhesives softened in the heat. The city’s extreme heat warning did not stop fans from gathering on sweltering ‌sidewalks to ⁠watch celebrity guests arrive at Madison Square Garden for what was widely expected to be the wedding celebration of pop megastar Taylor Swift and football hero Travis Kelce.

A worker waved SUVs carrying guests into the venue while holding a water bottle in one hand and a towel to wipe sweat from his face in the other.
Over 185 million people, more than half the U.S. population, were under heat alerts on Friday, the National Weather Service said. Peak heat indexes could ​reach 115 F (46 C) in parts ​of the country, with several cities ⁠setting record temperature highs.
Forecasters and government officials have warned that the heat wave could prove deadly. They urged Americans spending the long weekend outdoors to stay hydrated, seek shade and watch for signs of heat illness at gatherings and ​public events.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/heat-wave-disrupts-fourth-july-events-across-eastern-us-2026-07-03/

Juan Zapata had just eaten dinner in his fifth-floor apartment overlooking the Caribbean and was about to take a shower when he was thrown ​across the room by the force of the twin earthquakes that ripped across Venezuela’s coast 10 days ago.
He spent two days and seven hours trapped in the rubble, wedged ‌between two pieces of rebar, before civilian rescuers pulled him out.

“When they were rescuing me I said, ‘I’m on the fifth floor’ and they told me, ‘no, you’re in the lower basement.’ I couldn’t believe what had happened to me,” Zapata said, as he stood next to his cot in a field hospital in La Guaira state run by disaster relief group Samaritan’s Purse.

Zapata was initially treated at the public hospital in La Guaira, the site hardest hit by the quakes, ​and came to the field hospital after visiting his building, Costa Brava, and finding it destroyed.
He is recovering from several fractured ribs, as well as serious cuts and scrapes. His lower ​legs are bandaged and it still hurts to breathe.
“All my material things were lost, but God has given me health,” he said.
Zapata has not been ⁠able to contact his daughter in the United States or his sister in Canada, as he lost his phone in the quake. He also has no identification card or other documents.

On Saturday the ​government raised the official death toll to 2,954 and said nearly 30,000 officials have been deployed alongside 3,281 international rescue workers to help people affected by the quakes.
More than 16,000 people are homeless, according to ​official figures. Some are living in official shelters and others in tent encampments. An unofficial but widely used tally of the missing stands at just over 41,000.
The field hospital, part of the U.S. State Department’s coordination with several groups providing aid in Venezuela, has treated some 400 patients so far, said its medical director Peter Holz, including surgeries that are set to number nearly 30 by Saturday evening.
“In the beginning it’s all trauma from the earthquake, then we ​will have follow-up surgical visits,” Holz said, as he stood inside the hospital’s pharmacy, erected over what is normally a baseball field.

Gradually the Samaritan’s Purse 100-person team will hand over operations to local ​doctors, either continuing to operate at the field site, or integrating all their equipment and supplies into local clinics where they will remain for good, he said.
“It will develop more into a community health center,” Holz added. “There’s a ‌lot of ⁠sad stories but also a lot of hope in the midst of all of it.”

CIVILIAN COMMITMENT

Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has vehemently rejected allegations that her government reacted too slowly to the quakes after days of widespread criticism of the official response.
On Saturday the government raised the official death toll to 2,954 and said nearly 30,000 officials have been deployed alongside 3,281 international rescue workers to help people affected by the quakes.
More than 16,000 people are homeless, according to official figures. Some are living in official shelters and others in tent encampments. An unofficial but widely used tally of the missing stands at just over ​41,000.

Civilians of all stripes — including survivors, family members, ​volunteer paramedics and foreign rescue teams — have descended on ⁠disaster areas since the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes struck on June 24.
Many of those digging through the rubble, along with international aid organizations, say the government’s response was slow and ineffectual, with aid like food and medical supplies delayed and a continuing lack of heavy machinery to move debris amid search operations.
At ​a devastated public housing complex in La Guaira, known colloquially as Los Cocos, a team of civilians managed by Alexander Delgado, who is usually ​a physical education teacher, were ⁠still trying to pull victims out on Saturday, nine days since Delgado arrived from the state of Aragua.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-venezuela-quakes-rises-2954-2026-07-04/

India’s government on Friday ​sought to contain a growing backlash against its mandatory use of 20% ethanol-blended petrol, as consumers ‌unhappy about lower fuel efficiency and vehicle performance, planned a protest against the policy.
The mandate to use the blend, called E20, came into force last year but is now one of the biggest political flashpoints for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and motorists in the world’s third-biggest car market.

The ​controversy intensified this week after Attorney General R. Venkataramani told a court hearing that E20 was an “experiment” whose ​results would only come out next year.
The government denied the remark was ever made, but ⁠video of the court hearing showing Venkataramani saying the words has since gone viral on social media.
Venkataramani told Reuters on ​Friday he used the term “experiment” in the context of the volume of ethanol supplies, not the ethanol petrol policy itself.
This ​has done little to quell public anger, with opponents of the policy accusing the government of rushing its rollout.

The government’s press office dismissed the criticism as “wild claims” on Friday, asking people to not “fall for the rage bait”.
Seeking to reassure motorists, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday ​compared ethanol fuel to its use in motor racing.
“They use it in racing cars also, the acceleration increases. Mileage, yes, ​it may drop a little,” Puri said.

PLAN FOR PROTEST IN NEW DELHI

Tehseen Poonawalla, a New Delhi-based socialite and Congress party supporter, said ‌he was ⁠planning a protest against the E20 policy in New Delhi on Sunday, and had received interest from thousands of people wanting to join in.
Many motorists are frustrated that they no longer have a choice at fuel stations and have seized on the attorney general’s comment to vent their anger on social media.
Priyank Kharge, a state minister in India’s opposition Congress party, ​said on X that the ​E20 policy rollout lacked consultation ⁠and that the government “cannot challenge citizens to prove damage when your own data is still pending”.

Hundreds of motorists have posted complaints on X alleging reduced fuel efficiency and increased wear ​and tear of car parts from E20.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-seeks-quell-public-backlash-ethanol-mixed-fuel-after-experiment-remark-2026-07-03/

Chinese tech giant Alibaba (9988.HK), has banned employees from using Anthropic’s Claude ‌Code at work after the tool drew scrutiny for features that can help identify China-linked users, according to a person familiar with the order.
The ban is part of a deepening spat between the two companies after Anthropic accused Alibaba of illicitly extracting ​its Claude AI model capabilities — a dispute that highlights the frantic race between the U.S. and ​China to take the lead in artificial intelligence.

Claude Code is Anthropic’s AI coding assistant ⁠for software developers. It has become popular among programmers in China despite Anthropic’s restrictions on access by users ​and entities in China.
The person, who was not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified, ​said that Alibaba employees were being told to use the company’s own coding platform Qoder.
Alibaba and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Alibaba has not publicly commented to date on Anthropic’s accusations.

ANTHROPIC ACCUSES ALIBABA OF DISTILLATION STRIKE

Anthropic said ​last month that it had suffered a strike by Alibaba, which it described as a “distillation” effort that involves ​training a less capable model on the outputs of a stronger one.

The distillation helps accelerate China’s ability to reach Anthropic’s ‌advanced Mythos ⁠Preview capabilities, it said in a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to two U.S. senators.
Alibaba’s ban comes just days after developers said Claude Code contained mechanisms that inspected user environments, including timezone and proxy-related information, and inserted subtle markers into prompts sent to Anthropic’s servers.
An Anthropic employee wrote on Tuesday on X ​that the feature was “an experiment ​we launched in March” ⁠intended to prevent account abuse by unauthorized resellers and protect against model distillation.
The person who spoke to Reuters about Alibaba’s ban said that Anthropic’s restrictions targeting China ​were difficult to enforce on individual users who can deploy servers in the United ​States and ⁠make traffic appear as if it originated there.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/alibaba-ban-claude-code-workplace-over-alleged-backdoor-risks-source-says-2026-07-03/

Two gaping holes were blasted into the women’s draw at Wimbledon on Saturday as defending champion Iga Swiatek was outplayed by Filipino crowd-pleaser Alexandra Eala and second seed Elena Rybakina was sent packing ​by Belgian Elise Mertens.
Disgruntled Polish third seed Swiatek lost a titanic first-set battle that lasted almost 90 minutes and had no answer to a fearless Eala after that as ‌she lost 7‑6(9) 6-2.

Rybakina, the 2022 champion who doubled her Grand Slam tally this year by winning the Australian Open, also fell away badly after a close first set, going down 7-6(4) 6-1 to Mertens who has reached the last 16 for the fourth time.
“Definitely I need to analyse and change something because it’s not working,” said Rybakina, for whom a run to the quarter-finals here could have seen her become world number one.
There was American disappointment on the ​day of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence as Serena Williams, one of its greatest ever athletes, withdrew from her eagerly-awaited doubles with sister Venus because of injury.

In an ​Instagram post Williams, who returned to the tournament after a four-year absence but lost to Maya Joint in the singles, said she was “heartbroken to have ⁠to withdraw”.
But there were July 4 fireworks on Centre Court as 26th seed Madison Keys upset last year’s runner-up Amanda Anisimova, seeded six, 3-6 6-2 6-3 in an all-American blockbuster.

AMERICANS TAKE CENTRE STAGE

Keys, ​on a roll on the grass after her title run in Eastbourne last week, was one of eight American singles players in action on the nation’s big day.
There was further U.S. success as qualifier Ashlyn Krueger ​enjoyed a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s Daria Snigur but 23rd seed Emma Navarro went out to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in three sets.
The shocks did not continue to the men’s draw though where second seed and newly-crowned French Open champion Alexander Zverev maintained his impressive start with a 6-2 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over American Marcos Giron.

Frances Tiafoe, the 17th seed, fell 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(11) 4-6 6-3 to Kazakh 10th seed Alexander Bublik.
With defending champion Jannik Sinner already through, ​Italy began the day with hopes of four men in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 1947 French Open.
French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, seeded nine, lost ​the opening set 6-0 against Russia’s Karen Khachanov but rallied to win in five 0-6 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-2.
Cobolli will face Australian Alex de Minaur next after he beat American Zachary Svajda 6-2 5-7 6-2 6-4.
Lorenzo Sonego could ‌not join ⁠the Italian surge though despite a strong start against American sixth seed Taylor Fritz, losing 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(5).
Former runner-up Matteo Berrettini then went down 6-3 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3 to Grigor Dimitrov in a late Centre Court duel.

EALA SETS UP PAOLINI CLASH

Eala, seeded 29, the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam, has a message in Tagalog etched on her cap which translates as “once it grows, it cannot be stopped”.
That motto will be tested by 13th seed Jasmine Paolini after the 2024 runner-up thrashed Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-1 6-2.
“For someone who grew up in the Philippines… I ​went to training with my brother and my ​grandfather every day after school with my ruffled ⁠socks and my light-up shoes and chubby cheeks, so… to her, this is everything,” Eala told an enchanted Centre Court crowd.
“But because I’m emotional does not mean I’m satisfied, so yeah, okay, next round. Let’s go.”
She went toe-to-toe with Swiatek in a gripping first set and saved a set point in ​the tiebreak as her opponent netted a forehand — the Pole laughing sarcastically and shouting at her entourage in the stands.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon-womens-draw-blasted-open-swiatek-rybakina-crash-2026-07-04/

Betsy Halsey, 63, still has memorabilia from America’s 1976 bicentennial in her childhood bedroom at her parents’ home. But the retired teacher is so appalled by President Donald Trump that she refuses to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.
“I don’t want to be at the same party with people feeling enthusiastic about where our country is going,” said Halsey, a frequent ​Democratic voter who lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Dan Marrazzo, 70, a Republican and laundromat owner who lives in nearby Langhorne Manor, is ready to celebrate, believing America under Trump is thriving, and will mark the occasion by cooking for friends and family. “The ‌poorest person in America has a better lifestyle than some of the richest people in the rest of the world,” he said.
As the U.S. prepares for its semiquincentennial – the 250th anniversary of its July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain – political divisions that have defined the Trump era are testing what is traditionally a unifying summer ritual: celebrating the country’s founding with fireworks, parades and red-and-white bunting.

With Trump stamping his imprint on the official commemoration, and with his second White House term marked by polarizing policies on immigration, the economy and foreign affairs, many Americans are struggling with how to separate the politics from the pageantry.

“The very idea of celebrating has become political and partisan,” said Beverly Gage, a ​Yale University historian. “What is striking about our moment is how widespread the pessimism seems to be.”
One in five Americans say they won’t celebrate Independence Day this year – including a quarter of Democrats and 8% of Republicans – according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Two in five do not ​believe the country will survive another 250 years.
To better understand how Americans feel about the anniversary, Reuters interviewed more than two dozen residents, activists, historians and elected officials in Bucks County, where Halsey and Marrazzo live.

Once a political ⁠backwater, Bucks County today is a microcosm of the cultural and partisan schisms convulsing the U.S. A deeply divided region in a critical electoral swing state, Pennsylvania, it is a county Trump won by fewer than 300 votes out of some 400,000 cast in 2024.

TRUMP’S IMPRINT

Trump has put himself at ​the center of the country’s birthday celebration.
Last year, the White House created Freedom 250, a public-private partnership, to organize anniversary events despite the existence of America250, a congressionally chartered commission that had spent years planning activities.
Freedom 250’s marquee event is the Great American State Fair, a two-week exposition on the National Mall. ​Trump held a campaign-style rally to kick off the fair and will deliver a second one on July 4, drawing criticism that he is turning the nation’s celebration into a political event.

Several Democratic-led states and a number of musical acts refused to participate over concerns the fair was too closely tied to Trump. Meanwhile, the U.S. Mint is planning to issue a 250th commemorative gold coin bearing Trump’s likeness.
In Bucks County, Tabitha Dell’Angelo said she was so dismayed by the direction of the country under Trump that she did not plan on celebrating July 4, something she would normally do.

“I love my country. I am a proud American,” the 56-year-old college professor and former Democratic school board member said. “But this ​version of the celebration does not feel like it’s about America, but instead a celebration of Trump.”
Among the county’s quaint river towns, wooded enclaves and farmland are some of the country’s best-known Revolutionary War sites. But Bucks County has also been riven by unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, fights over book ​bans and protests over what version of American history should be taught in schools.
In interviews, residents said the holiday – despite its traditional themes of national identity and shared history – had done little to diminish their concerns about local and national divides.
Many were wrestling with questions that strike at the core of what it means to ‌be an American: Are ⁠there still principles that unify the country? Or has partisanship so fractured voters that they put party over patriotism?
Jim Worthington, 69, a Trump supporter and health club owner, can’t understand why anyone would sit out the 250th celebrations. He believes the longevity of America’s existence is a marvel worth honoring, no matter who is president.
“This is a celebration of 250 years of history, the greatest experiment in the history of the world,” Worthington said.

Doylestown Councilman Connor O’Hanlon, 30, a Democrat, noted members of his generation have spent their entire adult lives in a hyper-partisan era marked by “an overall nihilism and cynicism about the direction our country is going in.”
But he thinks Americans should use July 4 to reflect upon their shared beliefs – though some of his neighbors doubted many remain.
Doreen Stratton, an activist and writer in Doylestown, can trace her family back to the republic’s earliest days: her great-great-grandfather was among the few free Black residents living in ​Philadelphia in 1776.
Now she fears that years of progress, especially for Black ​Americans, is stalling under the Trump administration, which has rolled back ⁠some civil rights protections for minorities.
“I almost look at it like I’m in mourning,” she said of the upcoming Independence Day.

The divided sentiments have left local organizers of July 4 events facing a challenging task: how to mark the holiday without alienating swaths of residents.
Dick Creter, whose nonprofit America Celebrates is hosting celebrations in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and neighboring Lambertville, New Jersey, said several people had sought reassurance the program would be nonpartisan.
“I think that to let the ​celebration of our 250 go by without embracing it, regardless of your political stance, is a mistake,” Creter said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/happy-birthday-america-250-nation-may-be-too-divided-celebrate-one-2026-06-29/

Australia welcomed a draft UNESCO decision not to list the Great Barrier Reef as an endangered site, its assistant ​tourism minister said on Saturday, despite ongoing struggles of ‌the world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem with coral bleaching.
The reef, which has suffered several mass coral bleaching events in recent years, is not currently on ​the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list ​of world heritage sites that are in danger, although UN ⁠scientists have previously recommended that it should be added.

Australia’s government has ​lobbied for years to keep the reef – which contributes more than ​A$9.0 billion ($6.25 billion) to the economy annually – off the list, as it could damage tourism at the site, which receives more than 2 million visitors ​each year.
Assistant Tourism Minister Nita Green said the decision overnight by ​the UNESCO World Heritage Centre “recognises Australia’s continued efforts to protect and manage this ‌important ⁠icon”.
“Australia welcomes UNESCO’s decision to not list the reef as endangered, and recognise all of the work that’s been going into protecting the reef,” Green said in televised remarks from the capital ​Canberra.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/australia-welcomes-draft-unesco-decision-keep-great-barrier-reef-off-danger-list-2026-07-04/

Reigning champions Argentina were pushed to the brink by a Cape Verde side with incredible levels of resilience and needed an extra-time own goal to clinch a dramatic 3-2 victory on Friday and a ​place in the last 16 at the World Cup.
Cape Verde, playing in their first global finals, twice came from a goal behind in a thrilling contest that went down to the wire ‌in front of a noisy crowd of 64,478 packed into a hot and humid Miami Stadium.

Six minutes into the second period of extra time, however, Lionel Messi swung a corner into the box and Cristian Romero rose to head home off the arm of Cape Verde’s Diney Borges and secure Argentina a date with Egypt in Atlanta next Tuesday.
Messi had, almost inevitably, given Argentina the lead in the 29th minute with his seventh goal of the tournament but Deroy ​Duarte equalised just before the hour mark.
In the second minute of the first period of extra time, Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez thought he had won the match when he lashed a sumptuous shot ​into the roof of the net.
Cape Verde were not done yet, however, and left back Sidny Lopes Cabral curled a beautiful shot into ⁠the top corner of the net to put the scores back on level terms at 2-2.

Lopes Cabral could have equalised again after the decisive own goal but his finely struck free kick ​was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who had to be at his best to deny Cape Verde in the dying minutes.
“The match was incredibly tough. You always have to take the ​positive, and it’s that this team never gives up,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who was overseeing his 100th match in charge of the Albiceleste.
“I want to congratulate our opponents. Today they showed they are a great team. When it is said there are no easy matches in the World Cup, it’s true.”
Cape Verde were beaten but far from outclassed by the three-times world champions as they put in a fourth magnificent ​display of teamwork and grit in their debut World Cup.
“I’m proud of my team, the work they’ve put in,” said coach Bubista. “We must take pride in what we’ve done for our country. To be ​able to play the way we did against the world champions, and to draw level twice, is something incredible.”

OBDURATE DEFENCE

The only one of the four World Cup debutants to make it to the last ‌32 and ranked ⁠67th in the world coming into the tournament, Cape Verde had hoped to frustrate Argentina as they did Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in group-stage draws.
They succeeded for much of the game with their never-say-die attitude, while showing no shortage of quality of their own in a neat pass-and-move game.
Messi aside, Argentina were largely bereft of ideas against an obdurate defence and Cape Verde libero Kevin Pina was the most impressive player on the park for long periods.
It was Argentina who made the breakthrough in the 29th minute, however, when Martinez lofted a long ball over the top ​of the defence to the feet of ​Messi.
The 39-year-old maestro took a touch with ⁠the outside of his left boot and buried it in the roof of Vozinha’s net for his 20th goal over six editions of soccer’s global showpiece.

Cape Verde knew they would need to score to keep their World Cup campaign alive and Duarte fired a shot at goal ​soon after halftime that drew a diving save out of Martinez.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/extra-time-own-goal-finally-gets-argentina-past-cape-verde-into-last-16-2026-07-04/

Ageless Novak Djokovic reached yet more milestones at a sun-drenched All England Club as he advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round with his 105th victory on the lawns on Friday, while top seed ​Jannik Sinner showed he was slowly warming to the task of defending his title.
The 39-year-old Djokovic, aiming for a men’s record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown and outright record 25th ‌Grand Slam title, beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) with another vintage Centre Court display.

Italian world number one Sinner, whom Djokovic could meet in the semi-finals, has taken a while to stamp his authority on his return to the grass but stepped up a level as he outclassed American Jenson Brooksby 6-4 6-3 6-4.
While Djokovic and Sinner dominated the spotlight, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime continued to fly under the radar as he moved past American Michael Zheng 7-6(1) 6-2 ​6-1 for a meeting with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka also moved ominously into the last 16 as she comfortably dispatched Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 6-4 in a high-octane Centre Court ​duel.

Sabalenka’s bid for a first Wimbledon title faces a big test next in the shape of Japan’s Naomi Osaka who paired her flair off the court with ⁠growing confidence on it to thrash Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 and reach the last 16 for the first time.
Coco Gauff, another Grand Slam champion for whom Wimbledon has proved a tricky puzzle to ​solve, scrambled into the fourth round past fellow American Claire Liu, winning 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 after squandering match points in the second set.
Iva Jovic, one of 15 Americans to advance to the third round of the ​singles draws, continued to impress as the 18-year-old beat experienced Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 3-6 6-4.
But it was the end of the road for two 19-year-old dark horses in the men’s draw as Brazil’s Joao Fonseca and Spain’s Rafael Jodar got reality checks with defeats to qualifiers.

Fonseca, the 24th seed, was outplayed by Russian Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-3 6-3 while Jodar crumbled to Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki, going down 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4.

DJOKOVIC LOOKS TO MOVE PAST FEDERER

Djokovic will ​face Safiullin next when he could take sole ownership of second place on the all-time list of most Wimbledon match-wins ahead of Roger Federer with whom he drew level on Friday while also equalling ​the Swiss maestro’s record of 18 fourth-round appearances.
“I propose a match-up between me and Roger for 106,” seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic joked in his on-court interview after celebrating the win with some “dad dancing” for his laughing daughter ‌Tara.
“Let’s just stop ⁠it here and call Roger to come.”
For two sets Djokovic had all the answers against the dangerous 25th seed Rinderknech who last year shocked Alexander Zverev in the opening round.

Djokovic’s precision shot-making and trademark elasticity had the crowd roaring their approval and the Serb lapped it up, at one point offering a regal bow after one diving volley winner.
But things took an unexpected turn as Rinderknech romped through the third set, coming within two points of serving Djokovic his first 6-0 drubbing in a set at Wimbledon.
Djokovic was pushed to the limit in the fourth set and needed a flawless tiebreak to end Rinderknech’s ​resistance, both players ending up on the deck ​on match point.
Sinner has improved after his first-round ⁠scare against Miomir Kecmanovic and he looked dominant against Brooksby.
“Trying to move better. Return today was a little bit better. So all things considered, today was a small step forward,” said Sinner, who faces 151st-ranked Shintaro Mochizuki next and cannot face a seed until the semi-finals.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/djokovic-reaches-another-milestone-sinner-warming-task-2026-07-03/

A few minutes’ walk from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the nation’s founding ideals were debated and declared, another part of the American story has become a flashpoint.
At the President’s House, an early residence used by presidents George Washington and John Adams, an outdoor exhibit examines what the National Park Service describes as “the paradox between slavery and freedom.” It centers the lives of enslaved people, including ​Oney Judge, a woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington, who escaped in 1796 and remained free despite efforts to recapture her.

In January, the National Park Service removed slavery-related panels from the site after President Donald Trump issued an executive ‌order last year directing federal agencies and cultural institutions to review and revise programs it says promote “divisive ideology.”
Administration officials say the changes restore balance to institutions they say focused too heavily on America’s injustices while critics say they narrow discussion of slavery and race.
The Philadelphia move triggered a legal battle and a federal judge ordered the panels’ restoration in February. Then, a federal appeals court ruled last month that the Trump administration could remove and replace the exhibit.

Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association nonprofit, said the controversy’s implications extend beyond Philadelphia, raising questions about whether historic sites can offer uncensored interpretations.
“When you take down those panels, you are sanitizing, softening, whitewashing ​and erasing American history,” Spears said.
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the debate over historical inclusion has become part of a larger national argument over how the country should tell its story: as a celebration of founding ideals and national achievement ​or a more nuanced reflection that includes slavery, Indigenous dispossession, immigration, exclusion and the struggles of marginalized groups to secure the rights promised in the nation’s founding documents.

Museums, historic sites, parks and cultural institutions across ⁠the country have spent years preparing events intended to draw millions of visitors during the semiquincentennial. But those plans have become entangled in a broader fight over historical memory, patriotism and political power.
In Florida, the Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library, one of the nation’s leading LGBTQIA+ archives, ​is facing pressure of its own.
Stonewall president Robert Kesten said funding losses could limit efforts to preserve and share historical records as corporate and private donors become more cautious about supporting organizations they view as politically controversial. The museum expects to lose between $70,000 and $90,000 in county grant funding by ​the end of the year. Kesten attributed the cuts to Florida Republican officials he said have opposed LGBTQ+ inclusion.

“That’s a hell of a lot of money for an organization like ours to make up,” he said.
The museum’s current exhibit features Baron Friedrich von Steuben, the Prussian military officer who helped transform George Washington’s Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Historians have debated his sexuality, but some scholars and LGBTQ+ advocates cite him as a possible prominent gay figure in the nation’s founding.
Kesten said that U.S. history has disproportionately skewed toward the stories of white, Christian and heterosexual men. “And if you are anything else, you are expendable.”’
Historians, museum leaders and cultural advocates ​told Reuters the federal push risks narrowing the range of stories that museums and historic sites are able to tell.
The fight is unfolding even as museums offering fuller accounts of American history remain major draws. Last year, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in ​Washington, D.C., drew 1.4 million visits, while the National Museum of the American Indian drew more than 620,000.
The Smithsonian Institution did not respond to a request for comment on whether its museums had altered exhibits or curatorial work to comply with response to Trump’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” order.
The National ‌Museum of African American ⁠History and Culture said its programming for the 250th anniversary will “explore the nation’s pursuit of a more perfect union.”
“History is remembering the full scope of the past, whether it supports or undermines a political goal,” said Howard University history professor Ibram X.Kendi.
Meanwhile, new application language for federal African American history and culture museums grants led many to forgo applying, according to John Dichtl, president and CEO of the American Association for State and Local History, potentially leaving some longstanding museums with uncertain finances.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small federal agency that distributes the grants, now welcomes projects that “foster in all generations a greater appreciation…through uplifting and positive narratives of our shared American experience.”
“It makes one wonder what was pushed out of the way to make room for that,” Dichtl said. The Institute of Museum and Library Services did not provide a comment.

ADMINISTRATION PUSHBACK

Administration officials have ​rejected accusations of historical erasure, saying the goal is not to eliminate ​difficult chapters of the American story but to restore greater ⁠emphasis on the nation’s founding ideals, including freedom of religion and speech.
The White House-backed Freedom 250 initiative has promoted patriotic education and public programming tied to the nation’s founding through a public-private partnership organization.
Its “Freedom Trucks” — mobile museums housed in tractor-trailers — have traveled the country with exhibits on the Declaration of Independence, George Washington and the Revolutionary War, with limited inclusion of slavery and experiences of minorities in the founding era.
“Our role is to integrate ​different initiatives so Americans can celebrate through one connected experience,” Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250 said in a May interview with Reuters.
Clifford Murphy, director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, ​said the institution’s work around the 250th ⁠anniversary is rooted in presenting American history as both celebration and reflection, even amid broader debates over historical erasure.
For many historians and academics, the concern is not the celebration of the founding era but what they believe is being left out.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a law professor and scholar who helped shape critical race theory, said public institutions risk encouraging celebration while minimizing harms caused by policies and systems that helped shape the nation.
“If our mainstream institutions are not going to critically engage with our past, then we have to ask: What is your role in this democracy?” Crenshaw said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/america-turns-250-museums-parks-fight-preserve-countrys-troubled-history-2026-07-03/

Despite severe fuel shortages across Russia, President Vladimir Putin appears unbothered by Ukraine’s increasing attacks on his country’s oil refineries.

He has shrugged off the setback for one of the world’s leading oil-producing nations as “not critical,” dismissed ceasefire proposals and insisted the war will continue until his goals are met.

Putin has described the attacks on Russian energy as an effort by Ukraine to distract attention from its losses on the battlefield, although analysts say the advance of Russian forces has been stymied in recent months. The Russian leader appears to believe his government can keep the fuel crisis from eroding his authority and support for the war he launched more than four years ago.

The Russian military unleashed a massive 11-hour barrage on the Ukrainian capital overnight into Thursday morning that killed at least 30 people. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Here’s a deeper look at the latest exchange of strikes and Putin’s refusal to halt the fighting:

Gas shortages worsen in Russia as more oil facilities are hit

There have been more than 50 reported Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and other energy facilities in Russia and occupied Crimea since March — a barrage Ukrainian leaders have said is intended to pressure Moscow to end the war.

At the very least, the attacks have brought the war home even more poignantly for millions of Russians, shattering Putin’s narrative of the conflict as something that doesn’t affect the lives of ordinary people in his country.

An estimated one-third of Russia’s refining capacity has been cut off, according to Chris Weafer, CEO of the consultancy Macro-Advisory. The attacks have inflicted lasting damage that will be costly to fix.

Despite significant air defenses protecting Russia’s capital, a top refinery in Moscow has been hit twice. The second strike on June 18 set it ablaze, damaging key equipment that will reportedly take until the end of the year to repair.

With gasoline production in Russia reduced by roughly 17% to 850,000 barrels a day, according to government statistics, rationing has been introduced in many regions, and motorists have had to wait in line for hours to refuel.

In an effort to ease the fuel deficit, the government has allowed production of lower quality gasoline with higher sulfur content through the year’s end.

Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has faced the worst fuel shortages. Gasoline sales to individuals have been periodically halted there altogether.

Putin downplays the impact of Ukrainian strikes

Putin chaired a meeting of government officials last weekend to discuss the fuel shortages.

In televised statements, he acknowledged the country was going through a “difficult period.” He pledged to accelerate repairs of energy facilities and said Russia would consider importing gasoline to help make up for what he described as “temporary” shortages. He also said Russia’s arms industry will boost production of air defense systems to fend off future Ukrainian attacks.

Putin portrayed the Ukrainian strikes as an attempt to divide Russian society, halt Moscow’s offensive and try to force the Kremlin into negotiations on “terms advantageous to our adversary.”

“We will not give them that chance,” he said.

While Putin said Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities “have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front,” Western military analysts say midrange strikes on the Russian army in recent months have hampered military logistics and slowed the tempo of its advance, leaving the battlefield in a stalemate.

On Friday, Putin visited the Russian military headquarters directing the action in Ukraine to receive a report on the capture of the city of Kostyantynivka after weeks of intense street battles. He hailed it as a key step toward capturing the nearby cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the key remaining strongholds in the so-called “forest belt” of heavily fortified cities in the Donetsk region that remain in Ukraine’s hands.

The capture of Kostyantynivka, a big transport and industrial hub, is of “major strategic importance,” Putin, clad in military fatigues, said in televised comments.

There has been no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials on the Russian claim. Earlier Friday, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff reported repelling 24 Russian assaults near Kostyantynivka and other settlements.

Putin also warned Friday that “the more strikes Kyiv launches on our civilian facilities … the bigger security zone we will need to create” in Ukraine.

He issued another threat to Ukraine’s Western allies, saying that Russia will look into the details of their “engagement in hostilities,” adding that “we will need this analysis for making possible responsible decisions in the future.”

Putin dismisses Ukraine’s ceasefire offers

The Russian president has responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to meet by challenging him to come to Moscow, a non-starter to Ukraine.

Putin has rejected a truce that Kyiv and its Western allies have proposed. He says it would only give Ukrainian forces time to rest and regroup.

He has made any ceasefire conditional on Ukraine’s withdrawal from the part of the Donetsk region it still controls, a demand rejected by Ukraine. Putin has said that a final peace deal must oblige Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO, reduce its military and protect Russian language and culture.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-attacks-fuel-refineries-a2f9eb36ad610ec8070b462244083f7b

The suspects, identified as Muhammad Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan and Sajid Ali, were sent to five-day police remand by a Lahore court on Friday.

A relative of a senior Pakistani politician was among four suspects arrested for the alleged gangrape of two foreigners here, police said on Friday.

The suspects, identified as Muhammad Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan and Sajid Ali, were sent to five-day police remand by a Lahore court on Friday.

Raza Dar, identified as the prime suspect, is linked to senior politician Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

“Since it is a very sensitive matter as a close relative of Deputy PM Ishaq Dar is involved in this high-profile case, police are investigating it from all aspects,” a police officer said.

The foreign nationals, one from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela, were allegedly kidnapped and gangraped by five men in Lahore on June 29.

The police rescued the women after receiving a call from Spain from one of the victims’ fathers.

Lahore police on Thursday registered a case against five suspects and arrested four of them under sections 365A (kidnapping) and 375A (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The fifth accused is on the run and raids are underway to arrest him, police said.

The women told police that they met Raza Dar in Singapore in October 2025, and he invited them to visit Pakistan.

A second police official told PTI that the women and Raza Dar were partners in a cryptocurrency venture.

Raza Dar arranged business visas for their Pakistan visit, and they arrived in Lahore on June 29.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-deputy-prime-minister-ishaq-dars-relative-muhammad-raza-dar-among-4-arrested-in-gangrape-of-2-foreign-women-11724906?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Leavitt’s remarks quickly drew criticism online, with many commentators arguing that they overlooked the economic challenges facing young Americans.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has called her own generation, Gen Z, “lazy” and “liberally indoctrinated”. Speaking on Fox News with host Jesse Watters, Leavitt said young people who complain about the economy should be sent to Cuba or Iran. She added they would “want to come back real quick”.

She blamed “liberal professors and teachers” for what he described as poor work ethic among Gen Z during the discussion. The conversation also touched on young, left-wing Democratic candidates.

The host was discussing the sweep of young, Democratic leftist candidates in the recent primary elections, whom President Donald Trump has labeled “communists.”

“Things are expensive when you don’t have a real job,” the anchor told Leavitt. “Do you think that’s getting traction? Complaining?”

“Unfortunately, I do because this generation, my generation, and I hate to say it, Gen Z and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths, just getting everything handed to them,” 28-year-old Leavitt said, adding that those were not the values America was built on.

“US was built on meritocracy and hard work, pulling up your sleeves, pulling yourself up from your bootstraps, and achieving the American dream, and we need to protect it with all we’ve got,” she said.

During a discussion on Gen Z’s work ethic, Fox News host Jesse Watters asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt whether “laziness” was to blame, suggesting that liberal professors and teachers had contributed to the problem. Leavitt agreed, arguing that both laziness and what she called “liberal indoctrination” were factors. She went on to praise parents who choose homeschooling or Christian schools, saying they do not want their children exposed to what she described as communist and liberal ideas. As the conversation continued, Watters jokingly suggested that misbehaving young people should be forced to join the Army. Leavitt responded by saying they could be sent to Cuba or Iran instead, adding that they would “want to come back real quick.”

Social Media Reactions

Leavitt’s remarks quickly drew criticism online, with many commentators arguing that they overlooked the economic challenges facing young Americans. Critics pointed to soaring housing costs, student loan burdens, and a difficult job market as key factors affecting Gen Z, noting that a record number of young adults are living with their parents due to financial pressures.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/send-them-to-iran-or-cuba-trump-spokeswoman-slams-lazy-gen-z-in-viral-remark-11724903?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

An American woman discovered that a Rs 85,000 ($900) pill in the US costs only Rs 35 (30 cents) in India.

An American woman in India has caught social media’s attention after comparing the healthcare costs in the two countries. In an Instagram video titled “Indian vs American healthcare,” the woman named Liz claimed that people were being ‘robbed’ in the US compared to India. She detailed her aunt’s medical condition and highlighted that the same medicine pill that costs $900 (Rs 35,000) in America was costing a measly 30 cents (Rs 35) in India.

Highlighting India’s reputation for highly affordable medicines, Liz contrasted the steep price of branded Revlimid in the US with the cost-effective generic alternative available there.

“India has some of the cheapest medicines in the world. My aunt has a type of blood cancer, and she takes this medicine called Revlimid,” said Liz.

“In the US, one pill costs $900, which is Rs 85,000. I checked. The price of this medicine in India, it ranges from Rs 35 to Rs 300, which is around 30 cents to $3 again, for one pill.”

Liz added that India provided affordable healthcare to its people, which wasn’t the case in America. “In the US, we are being robbed, whereas India provides affordable healthcare for its people,” she said.

As of the last update, the video had garnered over 772,000 views and hundreds of comments as social media users praised the affordable medications in India.

“Unfortunate but true. US regulators need to do better for people,” said one user, while another added: “Free cancer treatment is also available at government hospitals in India.”

A third commented: “$900? Shame on them. Every time I go to India, I take the chance to buy some generic medicines, also cheaper than Europe.”

A fourth said: “I think Americans needing medicines should take a flight to India. Even after travelling in India for around 10 to 15 days, you will have some money left.”

‘A Scam’

Liz is not the only American citizen to voice her concern about the high cost of healthcare and medicine in the US. Last month, another user named Victoria labelled the US healthcare system a “scam” after buying a $1,000 medication for just $25 from India.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/us-woman-says-we-are-being-robbed-after-discovering-rs-85-000-pill-costs-just-rs-35-in-india-11722003?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

The international governing body for chess on Friday suspended former world champion Vladimir Kramnik for at least a year after he leveled unproven allegations of cheating against fellow players, including Daniel Naroditsky, who died last year at age 29.

Kramnik accused Naroditsky of cheating last year and continued to share suspicions on social media. Naroditsky, a prodigious chess player and American grandmaster who helped usher in the game’s online boom with educational YouTube videos and livestreams, denied the allegations.

Kramnik said in an email to The Associated Press that he plans to appeal the suspension.

“I am absolutely confident that this unlawful verdict will ultimately be overturned, and I intend to pursue all necessary instances to the very end in order to restore justice and, in particular, my reputation,” Kramnik said in a social media post.

The chess federation said Kramnik publicly alleged cheating without “adequate evidentiary support,” violating its rules against cyber bullying.

The federation said combating cheating was one of its priorities, but that allegations must be addressed through its procedures and supported by appropriate evidence.

“He exposed identifiable players to unjustified reputational harm and undermined the safeguards established by the disciplinary framework,” federation representatives said in their decision.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/daniel-naroditsky-chess-kramnik-suspended-31ddc1be97e00504d517f864f2732439

Small changes in how children experience food every day can have a lasting impact on what they eat.

Getting children to eat enough vegetables can be a struggle. Parenting forums and chat groups are full of questions like: “Is it normal that my child only eats beige foods?”

One reason for this is that their preference for sweet foods starts early. Even breast milk contains natural sugars that can make it taste quite sweet. Once they start eating solids, getting them to eat a stick of broccoli or spoonful of spinach can be hard going.

But children need a varied diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. A poor diet affects cognition, concentration, behaviour and even academic performance. Obesity among children is increasing, which is linked to long-term health concerns, as well as worse educational outcomes.

Fortunately for parents, researchers have looking for new ways to improve childhood eating habits and have found some innovative solutions. These are six simple things that the science says you can try at home:

1. Frequent exposure

Feeding little ones as many different types of vegetables as possible in early childhood – and doing it often – can make a difference, says Marion Hetherington, professor of biopsychology at the University of Leeds in the UK. The most successful time to improve your child’s liking of vegetables is in the preschool years.

“If you don’t start to increase children’s vegetable exposure by five years of age, it’s [almost] too late,” says Hetherington. “That’s a really a hard message, but the fact is if they’ve missed out on all of that exposure, it’s not impossible, but it’s hard work.” Studies have found that children tend to require several repeat exposures before a child will accept a food.

The evidence is mixed, however, when it comes to exactly how many times you might need to give them a food for them to accept it, ranging from five to 15. (This probably reflects the fact that all children are different.)

But those under the age of one may need fewer exposures than preschool children (three to four years old), who typically show higher levels of food neophobia, an aversion to trying new food.

And this process can start even before your child is born. There’s evidence that what a mother eats is passed onto the foetus through amniotic fluid and can shape an infant’s food preferences.

2. Offer vegetables first

Simply telling children a food is good for them can backfire, as children are more likely to choose foods that are described as “tasty” versus “healthy”. Instead think about when in a meal you offer them vegetables.

Serving vegetables at the start of a meal when children are at their hungriest increases the likelihood of consumption. “Kids will often eat the thing they like the most,” says Hetherington. “And then by the time they reach their peas, they don’t want them anymore.” So it can help to remove that competition with other higher calorie foods.

Encouraging vegetables first also helps children not to overeat, says Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University in the US.

And while vegetables are not typically part of breakfast in Western diets there’s no reason why they can’t be eaten first thing in the morning too. You could try adding mushrooms and spinach in an omelette or courgettes in breakfast muffins. In one 2023 trial in eight UK child-care centres, researchers found that children would eat vegetables for breakfast over 60% of the time they were offered.

3. Increase the portion sizes of healthier foods

If introducing vegetables at breakfast or before a meal feels unrealistic, another approach might be to simply adjust the ratios of what is being served – reduce the amount of high calorie ingredients in favour of vegetables.

You can do this by simply increasing vegetables as a side dish or by grating vegetables such as carrots and courgettes into sauces.

This can be effective as studies have shown people tend to eat a similar volume of food and increased amounts of vegetables when portion ratios of meat to vegetables are altered. Increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables by 50% on a child’s plate has been found to increase how much of these they eat.

Other research has found that preschoolers eat more vegetables and less unhealthy food when they are given a choice of different types of vegetables at meal times.

4. Change how the vegetables look

Changing how a child perceives the food they are eating is also beneficial. Consider that much of what we want to eat starts with our eyes. When faced with multiple options, children will gravitate toward the food that looks the most familiar and appealing.

This means changing how food is presented could help children to eat more vegetables.

A team found that children were more likely to eat new foods when they presented it artistically on a plate. Other research has shown that children eat more fruits and vegetables if they are cut into interesting shapes, such as a butterfly, flower or teddy bear, showing that making healthy foods look fun increases their appeal.

Making healthy food more visible and easy to access as a snack also encourages consumption, research has shown. Children aged 10-13 were found to eat and choose more vegetables when presented with several in a single container with pre-portioned servings, rather than on several different plates. Preschoolers have also been found to eat 36% more vegetables when food was divided up into portions on a plate with different sections.

5. Eat together

What parents eat plays a huge role in normalising what children expect to eat. If parents eat unhealthy snacks their children are more likely to do so. Parents who eat fast food or skip breakfast are also more likely to have children who do the same.

A study of school children in New Zealand found the children of parents with healthier diets ate fewer cakes, chocolates and other savoury snack food. Similarly, children whose parents regularly modelled healthy eating have been shown to enjoy more fruits and vegetables.

Eating together at least three times per week has been linked to healthier body weight, better eating patterns and an increased likelihood to eat healthier if parents are also doing so. One longitudinal study also found that those who took part in regular family mealtimes had higher fitness levels and drank fewer soft drinks.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260629-six-ways-to-get-children-to-eat-vegetables

US tech giants Google and Amazon have reported a strong increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. AI data centers are behind the rise, challenging the companies’ climate pledges.

Google warned that reaching its climate goals was “getting harder” amid the AI boom, with the business reporting a 16% annual jump in its carbon emissions.

“Our AI infrastructure buildout is currently accelerating faster than the grid is decarbonizing,” said Kate Brandt, Google’s chief sustainability officer.

The company’s report for 2025, released on Tuesday, came just a day before Amazon published its own figures, showing an 18% risecompared to 2024.

Put in a long-term perspective, Amazon, which emitted 80.85 million tons of CO2 equivalent last year, saw a 58% increase compared to 2019. Google, which had 18.8 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, saw an 82% rise in the same period.

Amazon’s emissions are more than those of the entire country of Austria (71 million tons) or Greece (71.5 million tons) and less than the Netherlands (145 million tons), according to 2024 figures from the EU’s Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research.

AI fuels tech giants’ emissions

Both Big Tech companies have invested heavily in AI data center construction.

Amazon’s emissions from buying electricity rose by 34% in the last year, which the company attributed to the data center boom and the electrification of its delivery network.

Google also pointed to the resources needed to construct and run data centers, as well as the supply chain for chips and servers, to explain its growing carbon footprint.

Google, Amazon climate goals growing distant

The large rise in emissions has cast doubt on both tech companies’ climate goals.

Amazon, for its part, has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

But in this week’s report, Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer, acknowledged new hurdles toward reaching the company’s climate benchmarks.

“We may be able to move faster — or the demand may slow us down,” Hurst said on the impact of AI technology on Amazon’s environmental targets.

Google’s climate pledge is to cut its 2019-level emissions in half by 2030.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/google-amazon-emissions-rise-sharply-driven-by-ai-boom/a-77821598

Authorities urged people to stay cool as extreme heat threatened power grids, outdoor celebrations and World Cup matches.

A brutal heatwave hit peak temperatures across the eastern United States on Friday (Jul 3), straining power grids, threatening World Cup matches and playing havoc with celebrations for America’s 250th independence anniversary.

With the heat index threatening to top 115F (46°C), records could be broken in New York City, as extreme heat warnings blanketed the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Combined with very humid air, the “feels like” temperature could reach 105F in Boston, 112F in Philadelphia, and 113F in Washington.

“Numerous daily temperature records are expected today and Independence Day, with some consecutive-day, monthly, and all-time records possible,” the National Weather Service said.

Hang Dang, a 76-year-old retiree, was not letting extreme temperatures deter her from attending celebrations in Washington for the 250th July Fourth anniversary.

“I came to the US in 1975 from Vietnam and … I was here for the bicentennial,” Dang told AFP, noting she drove 12 hours from Florida to attend festivities.

“I said I’ve got to get back for the 250th because I don’t think I’ll make it to the 300th!” she joked as a Marine Corps Osprey aircraft hovered nearby.

In New York, the most populous US city, Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to “stay cool, stay vigilant and check in on your neighbours”.

The city has transformed hundreds of public buildings into cooling centres, dispatched volunteers to check on vulnerable citizens, and extended the hours of swimming pools across the city.

WORLD CUP IMPACT

Three World Cup matches were slated for Friday in the US, including in Miami, where Argentina and Cape Verde face off at 6pm (Saturday, 6am, Singapore time). The stadium has no air conditioning and the heat index at kickoff was expected to hit 100F.

On Saturday, France and Paraguay will clash in Philadelphia, where the heat index could reach 105F.

In response to concerns over heat, FIFA has introduced a mandatory “hydration break” in each half of every game at this World Cup, although it was not clear whether that would be adequate for matches taking place outdoors during the heat wave.

Although many buildings in the United States are air-conditioned, heat waves cause more deaths in the country than hurricanes and floods.

This particular heat wave is worrying because of its duration and intensity, but also because high nighttime temperatures could threaten vulnerable people and strain energy infrastructure.

On Thursday, Chicago utility company ComEd said its power grid was under “critical strain,” and urged residents to “raise your thermostat as high as is comfortably safe.”

The current extreme heat and humidity would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, a study from the World Weather Attribution group of leading climate researchers said Friday.

HEATED CELEBRATIONS

In Washington on Friday morning, hundreds of people braved sizzling heat to visit the Great American State Fair taking place on the National Mall.

Many visitors told AFP they had altered their plans so they could avoid the afternoon sun.

“The problem here is that the heat builds,” said Kevin Ashley of Alexandria, Virginia.

“In the afternoon it becomes really intolerable, because this is reclaimed swamp,” he said, nodding to Washington’s geography.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-east-heatwave-temperatures-extreme-6231366

Authorities reported 2,645 deaths and more than 12,000 injured as rescue operations began to wind down after the earthquakes.

With little hope of finding loved ones alive, frustrated families of those affected by Venezuela’s double earthquakes clamoured for help to recover their loved one’s bodies Friday (Jul 3) as uncertainty grew over the death toll from the tragedy.

Authorities on Friday reported a total of 2,645 deaths and more than 12,000 wounded from the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck the country last week, with most fatalities in the coastal town of La Guaira, where scores of residential complexes were flattened.

Officials have avoided estimating the number of missing, though the UN has put that figure at as many as 50,000.

Many survivors who were left homeless meanwhile are sleeping in the streets or in makeshift shelters set up in parks and public spaces.

Nine days after one of Latin America’s worst earthquake disasters, rescue teams were beginning to wind down search operations for survivors, although many relatives still clinged desperately to any sound from the rubble as a sign of life.

In front of the Tahiti building in the Caraballeda sector of La Guaira, one rescuer reported hearing shouts from an adult in the early morning hours Friday.

Reports also emerged that a 9-year-old boy had been found alive, but foreign rescuers told AFP there was no trace of any survivors.

Outside the Tahiti, frustrations boiled over as families trying to recover bodies shouted at others wanting to clear the way for a potential rescue.

“Until I recover the bodies, I won’t be at peace,” said Jose Francisco Liendo, who was trying to dig out the remains of his father and sister.

“Don’t let the machines come and take them away like garbage.”

STABILISING PRESENCE

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez has suggested there is still a possibility of finding survivors, but after nine days, that scenario is remote.

The critical window for rescues in such disasters usually closes after 72 hours, though a few people have miraculously been found alive this week.

Rodriguez assumed interim power after the capture of Nicoles Maduro in a US military operation six months ago.

The government’s response to the tragedy has been the target of harsh criticism from many in La Guaira, who denounced the absence of rescuers until the arrival of international brigades.

Many residents in La Guaira said neighbors, family members, and volunteers were the first to remove rubble and search for people by hand.

AFP witnessed one volunteer urging soldiers to put down their rifles and help with the rubble removal.

Rodriguez has defended the official response and denounced the backlash as media manipulation.

“Anyone who wants to audit the reality is welcome,” she said in her first formal press conference as president on Thursday.

The interim president currently has the support of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The United States is helping coordinate international rescue efforts in Venezuela.

But exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who wants to return to the country, criticized the government response.

“The total absence of the state has become evident; the country needs figures it can trust,” she told correspondents in Venezuela via Zoom, arguing she would be a stabilising presence there.

“DEAD INSIDE”

Rodriguez has ruled out the possibility of the dead ending up in mass graves and ordered their proper identification.

A makeshift morgue is operating outdoors in the port of La Guaira, where long lines formed to receive the bodies of loved ones and their death certificates.

La Guaira State Governor Jose Alejandro Teran told AFP that more than 170 buildings had been completed destroyed and more than 700 damaged by the earthquakes.

Authorities were supplying between 40 to 50 tons of humanitarian aid a day to those staying in temporary camps, he said.

But many families are denouncing a lack of support and heavy machinery needed in the recovery of bodies from collapsed buildings.

“They tell us no, that they’re looking for the living, but what about the dead? Aren’t they human beings too?” said Dalimer Diaz, 43.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/venezuela-earthquakes-death-toll-rescue-6231426

As the US marked 250 years of independence, Pope Leo XIV urged Americans to show “respect for the views of others” and “find common ground”.

Pope Leo praised the United States’ history of welcoming immigrants in his first major address to his home country on Friday (Jul 3), urging in a video appearance that Americans live up to the ideals in the Declaration of Independence.

The US pope, who has criticised US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as “inhuman,” said the word “America” had become a “byword for freedom” across the world because of the way the country welcomed immigrants.

In a speech he gave live from the Vatican to the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia as he received the Centre’s Liberty Medal, Leo said he hoped that ideals of “unity, justice and peace” held by the Founding Fathers would guide the US as it celebrated its 250th anniversary.

“This historic anniversary presents us with the opportunity to reflect once again on the nation’s founding principles in the hope that America will remain ever true to the dream that has earned it the title of land of the free and home of the brave,” said the pope.

Leo, who is originally from Chicago but has not visited the US since becoming pope in May 2025, has previously sent a few video messages to local events in the US but not to a national audience.

The pope warned last month that history would condemn world leaders who treat immigrants harshly. He gave the address a day before he was due to travel to Lampedusa, an Italian island that has become a port of call for one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.

POPE URGES US TO UNITE AROUND COUNTRY’S IDEALS

Leo also urged the US in his speech to pass laws that “recognise and safeguard” life from conception until natural death.

“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to support, protect and cherish the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable and those whose worth is questioned,” said the pope.

Leo did not mention Trump or any other US political leader by name. He urged the US to be united and to work for long-term solutions to its problems.

“In order for a nation to flourish, it must be truly united; united not by goals bound to momentary endeavours, but by ideals that do not fade with the passing of time,” he said.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/pope-leo-america-250-us-politics-speech-6231041