Category: World

Japan’s core inflation hit a more than two-year high in May and exceeded the central bank’s 2% target for well over three years, keeping it under pressure to resume interest rate hikes despite economic headwinds from U.S. tariffs.
The data underscores the challenge the Bank of Japan faces in juggling pressure from sticky food inflation and risks to the fragile economy from uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade policy.

The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs, rose 3.7% in May from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, exceeding market forecasts for a 3.6% gain and accelerating from a 3.5% increase in April. It was the fastest annual pace since the 4.2% hit in January 2023.
The increase was driven by stubbornly high prices of food, excluding volatile fresh items like vegetables, with Japan’s staple rice seeing prices double in May from year-before levels.
Rice balls cost nearly 20% more than year-before levels, while a bar of chocolate saw prices rise 27%, the data showed.

While slower than the 5.3% increase in goods prices, service-sector inflation accelerated to 1.4% in May from 1.3% in April in a sign firms were steadily passing on labour costs.
“Given heightened uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy, the BOJ is taking a wait-and-see approach to scrutinise developments in bilateral trade talks,” said Ryosuke Katagi, market economist at Mizuho Securities.
“But today’s data shows anew that domestic inflation is heightening particularly that for goods. When looking just at price moves, conditions for additional rate hikes will likely stay in place throughout 2025,” he said.
A separate index that strips away the effects of both volatile fresh food and fuel costs rose 3.3% in May from a year earlier after a 3.0% rise in April, the data showed.
The rise in the index, which is closely watched by the BOJ as a better indicator of demand-driven price moves, was the fastest since January 2024 when it increased 3.5%.

Food prices, excluding those of volatile fresh food, rose 7.7% in May from a year earlier, faster than the 7.0% gain in April, reflecting the pain households are feeling from rising living costs.
BOJ policymakers expect such cost-push pressures to moderate later this year and, coupled with expected rises in wages, underpin consumption and keep Japan on track to durably achieve their 2% inflation target backed by solid domestic demand.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect core inflation in Tokyo, considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends, to slow to 3.3% in June from 3.6% in May.
But some analysts are less convinced.
“Inflation is overshooting expectations. The rise in food costs is particularly big and re-accelerating this year,” said Yoshiki Shinke, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, adding that firms seem keen to raise prices further.

“Core consumer inflation will likely slow below 3% in August and below 2% early 2026. But the pace of slowdown could be more moderate than we expect,” he said.
The BOJ ended a massive stimulus programme last year and in January raised short-term rates to 0.5% on the view Japan was on the cusp of durably meeting its 2% inflation target.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japans-core-inflation-hits-2-year-high-keeps-rate-hike-bets-alive-2025-06-19/

A Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women in the UK and China was on Thursday (Jun 19) jailed for life, with a minimum term of 24 years.

Passing sentence, UK judge Rosina Cottage said that to the world, Zou Zhenhao, 28, appeared “well to do, ambitious and charming” but this was in fact a mask hiding a “sexual predator”.

Zou, who lived in south London, used online platforms and dating apps to meet women, inviting them to his home under the pretext of having drinks or studying before drugging them.

Zou was found guilty of 28 offences: 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of extreme pornographic images, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Over the course of the four-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence proving Zou was a serial rapist who used social media platforms and dating websites to target his victims.

After inviting them to his apartments in London and China, he drugged them before carrying out his attacks. Zou would secretly film these rapes using a mobile device and hidden cameras.

He kept some of the victims’ jewellery and clothing afterwards, prosecutors said.

Police officers found hundreds of videos of the attacks.

He was jailed at Inner London Crown Court, with the 24-year minimum term reduced by time he had already spent in custody.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. His life sentence reflects the heinous acts and harm he caused to women and the danger he posed to society,” said prosecutor Saira Pike.

Detective Inspector Richard MacKenzie from London’s Metropolitan Police said outside court: “The sheer scale of his offending, which spanned two countries, makes him one of the most prolific predators we have ever seen.”

Originally from Dongguan in Guangdong Province, Zou is believed to have moved to the UK in 2017 and began studying for a PhD at University College London in 2019.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/rapist-zou-zhenhao-chinese-phd-student-uk-china-jail-life-sentence-5192461

A SMALL plane has crashed and left one person dead and another critically injured near Boston.

The Mooney M20 aircraft crashed on a street close to Beverly Regional Airport in Massachusetts at around 8.45am on Thursday.

Two men were inside the aircraft that crashed on Sam Fonzo Drive, just outside the Beverly Regional Airport, according to the Beverly police and fire departments.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene while the other was airlifted to a hospital, authorities said.

The names of the pilot and passenger have not been made public.

No one on the ground was injured.

The reported fixed-wing aircraft with four seats appeared to be badly damaged – and was resting against a utility pole.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said: “The preliminary information we have is the plane crashed under unknown circumstances.”

It added: “Once on site, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft.

“The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation.”

The NTSB investigator said a preliminary report would likely be out in two weeks’ time.

Witnesses told WBZ-TV that they saw a puff of smoke before the plane came tumbling down.

This could be a sign of an engine failure.

Police Chief John Lelacheur told the TV channel: “It’s a holiday [Juneteenth], there’s not a lot of businesses open right now.

“We’re going to go through footage when we can with the various businesses when they open, bring some people in and then, obviously, do some follow up tomorrow.”

The plane, which departed from Beverly, was flying to Ticonderoga Municipal Airport – around 100 miles north of Albany, New York, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Beverly is a suburb of Boston with a population of over 42,000 people.

It comes as five people died after two helicopters crashed into each other in Finland in May.

The helicopters had reportedly taken off from Estonia, and were on their way to an aviation event.

Flight tracking data showed the aircraft flying closely together for most of their journey.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14518644/light-plane-crashes-boston/

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed a strategic partnership agreement with Russia on Thursday following talks in St Petersburg with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The agreement comes as Indonesia enters the BRICS grouping as a full member, and Prabowo on Thursday thanked Putin for his support on Indonesia’s BRICS bid.

“Today we have met and our relationship is getting stronger again,” Prabowo said in a statement.

“My meeting with President Putin today was intense, warm and productive. In all fields of economics, technical cooperation, trade, investment, agriculture, they all have experienced significant improvements,” the statement said.

Putin called Indonesia one of Russia’s “key partners” in the Asia Pacific.

“Our relations are mutually beneficial and are steadily developing on the basis of long-standing traditions of friendship and mutual assistance,” he said.

Another BRIC in the wall

The BRICS grouping was conceived as a counter to Western-led forums like the G7, and has provided Putin with an avenue out of international diplomatic isolation over his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow’s deepening of ties with Indonesia is seen as part of a bid to partner with more global south countries.

During the meeting Thursday at St Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, Putin said he was confident Indonesia would make a significant contribution to the BRICS grouping, whose other members include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Russia has also proposed deepening military, security, trade and nuclear ties with Indonesia.

During the meeting, sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia and the Russian Direct Investment Fund agreed to create an investment fund worth $2.29 billion (€2 billion).

Indonesia’s non-alignment

Indonesia’s president maintains a non-aligned foreign policy, vowing to share close ties with any country, including Russia and the United States.

Prabowo’s government has already announced trade concessions to avert the threat of tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

He also insists Indonesia will not join any military bloc, although it conducted joint naval exercises with Russia in the Java Sea last November.

In 2023, it upgraded its relationship with the US to a comprehensive strategic partnership. And Prabowo’s government has already announced trade concessions to avert the threat of tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/indonesia-inks-strategic-partnership-with-russia/a-72978138

The world is on course to crash through a dangerous warming threshold with key climate indicators shifting at an alarming rate, more than 60 top UN scientists have warned.

Bill Hare, CEO of think tank Climate Analytics, said Thursday it was “inevitable” that the world would breach the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) limit in around five years “unless emissions are reduced quickly.”

“If emissions are reduced quickly, rapidly, as we know they can be, there is still a likelihood of exceeding a low overshoot of the 1.5 limit, and by low overshoot, I mean 1.6 degrees,” he said during a press briefing at the UN interim climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany.

Unless action is taken now, Hare added, it would not be long before the world also “bust through 2 degrees.”

‘We are already in crunch time’

The global surface temperature briefly exceeded the 1.5-degree limit in 2024, as greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation hit a new high. Coal, oil and gas account for more than 80% of global energy consumption, despite increasing investment in renewable energy.

Scientists have said crossing the 1.5 limit, first set in the 2015 Paris climate agreement by nearly 200 nations, would see a rise in extreme heat waves, devastating droughts and more intense storms. That increase has already been felt in recent years.

The Indicators of Global Climate Change report, out Thursday, says that to have a 50% chance of staying under the threshold, the world can only release 130 billion tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide. At the current rate of CO2 emissions, however, that “carbon budget” will likely be spent by 2028.

“We are already in crunch time for these higher levels of warming,” co-author Joeri Rogelj, a professor of climate science and policy at Imperial College London, told journalists, adding there was a “very high chance” that the world would “reach and even exceed 1.5 C.”

The report’s authors said the findings should be taken as a reality check by global policymakers.

“I tend to be an optimistic person,” said lead author Piers Forster, head of the University of Leeds Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in the UK. “But if you look at this year’s update, things are all moving in the wrong direction.”

Sea level rise has doubled

The report, a regular update between the landmark UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports released every five to seven years, also highlighted other concerning key climate indicators.

Sea level rise has doubled in recent years, up from around 1.8 millimeters per year between 1908 and 2018 to 4.3 mm since 2019, putting coastal cities and small island states at risk.

The Earth’s energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy entering the atmosphere and the smaller amount leaving it, has nearly doubled in the last 20 years. Until now, 91% of human-caused warming has been absorbed by the oceans, but scientists said they don’t know how much longer humanity can rely on them to soak up the excess heat.

Rogelj said actions moving forward now could still “critically change” the rate of warming and limit the increasingly destructive effects of climate change.

“It’s really the difference between just cruising through 1.5 C towards much higher levels of 2 C or trying to limit warming somewhere in the range of 1.5,” he said.

Global conflict, Trump’s policies weaken climate efforts

But action on that front has taken a hit, with global concerns shifting to security and other pressing matters amid multiple ongoing conflicts. Climate experts have pointed out that President Donald Trump’s move to target climate action and pull the US out of the Paris agreement could also weaken international efforts to tackle the problem.

“You need everybody on board doing the right thing, and this is very difficult,” said Brazilian climate secretary Andre Correa do Lago, president of the upcoming COP30 climate summit, speaking with DW before the report was released.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/crunch-time-for-climate-action-scientists-warn/a-72974250

Since a Hamas-led terror attack left nearly 1,200 people dead in Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 55.000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, and destroyed large parts of Gaza. Israel has blocked nearly all foreign journalists from reporting from Gaza. Palestinians journalists have worked within the territory to get news and images out to the world.

There are many online videos that show mass destruction. However, there is also a lot of confusion about the images shared online. Though much of the content is real, oftentimes AI-generated images go viral, contributing to the confusion. DW has confirmed that one video that has recently circulated widely is real.

Does this video really show Gaza?

Claim: This viral video, which had been viewed more than 9 million times when this article was published, shows some of the mass destruction in Gaza (archived here). “The world was silent while Israel committed genocide — now they lecture us about ethics? Gaza,” the post on X reads. In the video, you can see footage taken with a drone, showing a large area after a bombing and massive destruction.

The low quality and grey tones make the video look suspicious, so some users are asking in the comments if it is real. DW found that the video is not manipulated or AI-generated, as asserted by some, but what Gaza really looks like at the moment.

The first clue that the footage is real is the name Abu Samar, written as a watermark in the left corner of the video. DW found out that this is the name of the photographer and even found his Instagram profile. His full name is Mohammed Abu Samar. He posted a higher-quality version of the video on Instagram on April 4. It’s very detailed, the colors are realistic, and the movements of the people are authentic.

Additionally, we found the footage on Associated Press, dated February 16 and 17, 2025. It says that it’s the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza. Samar has contributed to AP several times.

Media report that Israel has bombed Jabaliya multiple times since the strikes began, claiming it was a Hamas command center. That claim cannot be verified independently.

What can be verified is the mass destruction of Jabaliya caused by Israel. Recent satellite images from Google Earth show the destroyed refugee camp in December 2024.

The video posted on X shows an accurate example of the destruction in Gaza.

False narratives cause confusion

We also had a closer look at the account that posted the video on X. It’s called Iranian Military Commentary and has a blue check mark next to it, implying that it is a real and official account. However, that is not true. The blue check mark indicates that the account subscribes to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), which any user who pays and meets basic eligibility requirements can get.

It is not an official account.

It is labeled a “commentary account” which means that it is commenting on topics related to Iranian military actions. It also states that in its bio: “Updates on the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-viral-drone-video-of-gaza-destruction-is-real/a-72968972

International Yoga Day is observed every year on June 21 to promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being

British Conservative MP Bob Blackman on Thursday hosted a special yoga session in the UK Parliament. The event, held just ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21, saw the participation of several Members of Parliament and staff.

Sharing photos from the gathering on social media platform X, Blackman wrote, “I hostedhosted a fantastic Yoga event in Parliament, atended by many MPs and colleagues. Yoga is India’s gift to the world!”

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I hosted a fantastic Yoga event in Parliament, atended by many MPs and colleagues. Yoga is India’s gift to the world! This Saturday marks #InternationalYogaDay2025 https://t.co/r7g6SGK4iF pic.twitter.com/x3SZFmQNuI

— Bob Blackman (@BobBlackman) June 19, 2025

Earlier in the day, he had invited his fellow parliamentarians to join the session.

“This Saturday is the longest day and also #InternationalYogaDay – India’s gift to the world! I invited colleagues to our Yoga event in Parliament, to practice yoga and having a healthy, long life,” he shared on the platform.

International Yoga Day is observed every year on June 21 to promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Recognised by the United Nations in 2014, the day highlights the many benefits of yoga, from improving flexibility and strength to reducing stress and anxiety.

Events are held across the globe to raise awareness of the positive impact of yoga on overall health and quality of life.

Blackman, MP for Harrow East, is well-known for his strong support for India in the UK Parliament. He has repeatedly spoken out in favour of India’s domestic and foreign policy stances and has openly criticised Pakistan for allegedly backing cross-border terrorism.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/indias-gift-to-the-world-british-mp-bob-blackman-hosts-yoga-event-in-uk-parliament-ws-l-9394491.html

New Zealand announced on Thursday (Jun 19) it was suspending NZ$18.2 million (US$10.97 million) in budget funding to the Cook Islands, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the Cook Islands’ deepening ties with China.

A spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that the country’s core sector support funding relies on a high trust bilateral relationship and New Zealand decided in early June to pause the funding.

We “will also not consider significant new funding until the Cook Islands Government takes concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust”, the spokesperson said.

“New Zealand hopes that steps will be taken swiftly to address New Zealand’s concerns so that this support can be resumed as soon as possible.”

New Zealand along with Australia has become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific region and the potential threats it poses to the country’s national security. In January, the government halted new development funding to the Republic of Kiribati, an island in Micronesia.

The Cook Islands is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand. New Zealand commits to defend the South Pacific nation if asked, Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens, and the two countries commit to consult on security, defence and foreign policy issues.

Over the past three years, New Zealand has provided NZ$194.2 million to the Cook Islands through the development programme, according to the government.

In February, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown visited China and signed a strategic partnership that spanned areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excluded security ties.

This concerned New Zealand, which says the Cook Islands did not properly consult on the documents ahead of the signing, which breached the arrangement between the two countries.

The Cook Islands government had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing. The New Zealand government said Brown was told of the decision in early June by letter.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/new-zealand-halts-cook-islands-funding-china-row-5191106

As this club concludes its latest summit by defining success merely as avoiding a rage quit by the American guest, one wonders: What’s the point anymore? Bloomberg Opinion’s Andreas Kluth weighs in.

Fifty years ago, it seemed like such a good idea. At the initiative of the West German and French leaders, the six leading industrialised democracies convened their first regular meeting to manage a troubled world – problems included the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the oil shocks and stagflation.

They later became the Group of Seven (G7), then briefly Eight, then Seven again. But as this club concludes its latest summit in the Canadian Rockies by defining success merely as avoiding a rage quit by the American guest, one wonders: What’s the point anymore?

The world is on fire from Eastern Europe to the Middle East and beyond, and the G7 leaders are at odds over how to analyse, let alone solve, any of these conflicts.

French President Emmanuel Macron and others want Israel to desist from further escalation against Iran. US President Donald Trump may not have wanted Israel to attack Iran while his own envoy was trying to negotiate a deal with Tehran, but now that the war is underway he seems fine with Israel finishing the job.

Macron also intends to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. By contrast, Trump’s ambassador to Israel told Bloomberg that the US no longer believes in a two-state solution, not even in the long term.

The discord over the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has even deeper roots. Trump promised to end it in a single day but, five months into his second term, has all but walked away from even trying. The blame belongs to Russian President Vladimir Putin (who once was the eighth summiteer in the group, until he was kicked out for annexing parts of Ukraine in 2014).

Putin shows no interest in good-faith negotiations and adroitly strings Trump along – the two just had another call, after which Trump even suggested (to Macron’s horror) that Putin might mediate the Israel-Iran showdown.

NOT QUITE DEJA VU

As Trump wavers in supporting Ukraine, the Europeans understand that they need to step up; they are urging much harsher sanctions against Russia. In that demand, they have backers in the US Congress, even among Republicans. But Trump, so far, has other instincts.

That’s hardly a secret to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who does not represent a G7 nation but is again on the guest list, along with leaders from the Global South such as South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. Both men were recently humiliated by Trump in reality-TV-inspired ambushes at the White House – Trump in effect accused his South African guest of presiding over genocide against white Afrikaners.

The host, Canada’s Mark Carney, survived his own visit to the White House relatively unscathed but owes his election largely to his promise to Canadians to resist one of Trump’s most outlandish taunts: his repeated threat to annex Canada as America’s 51st state. Apropos outlandish threats: Macron none-too-subtly travelled to Canada via Greenland, to show support for that Danish territory, which Trump also covets.

All this and more is happening against the backdrop of the trade wars that Trump has launched against his fellow summiteers and other guests (Mexico’s leader is also invited).

Coordinating a harmonious and open global monetary and commercial regime was the original purpose of these annual summits. Now the best that the six non-American participants can hope for is to talk Trump out of his worst protectionist impulses before even more draconian trade barriers snap into action next month.

Deja vu all over again, you might shrug. After all, Trump already disrupted a G7 meeting in Canada once. That was in 2018, when he balked at signing the joint communique – the ritual common statement produced at the end of a summit – and for good measure called his host, Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, “dishonest and weak”.

“PREPARING THE RED CARPET FOR GODZILLA”

At the time the G7 could still write off the drama as a breach of decorum rather than the beginning of its own demise. That is becoming harder. (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which holds its summit next week, is nervous for the same reason.)

The underlying issue is that Trump doesn’t share the values of the other six democracies and no longer has any checks on his whims. To the extent that the G7 used to embody “the West”, that common basis is gone.

Running a summit in these circumstances is “like preparing the red carpet for Godzilla”, one Canadian official told the Financial Times. Nobody expected agreement on anything of substance. Carney has even scrapped the formality of trying to issue a joint communique at the end of the meeting. As it happens, Trump didn’t even stick around that long.

All this is great news if you’re watching from Moscow or Beijing. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in particular, probably delights as the formerly US-led West dissolves in slow motion, just as he tries to rally other blocs under China’s hegemony – while the G7 summit is in progress, he’s visiting Kazakhstan for meetings with Central Asian nations.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/g7-summit-donald-trump-relevant-west-global-politics-5189106

Iran’s supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.” European diplomats prepared to hold talks with Iran on Friday.

The second public appearance by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since the Israeli strikes began six days ago came as Israel lifted some restrictions on daily life, suggesting that the missile threat from Iran was easing.

Khamenei spoke a day after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded in a social media post that Iran surrender without conditions and warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”

Trump initially distanced himself from Israel’s surprise attack aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, but in recent days he has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something “much bigger” than a ceasefire. The U.S. has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

Senior European diplomats were set to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva, according to a European official familiar with the matter.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss matters freely, said the meeting would include high-ranking diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat.

There are no plans for American involvement in the talks, although that could change, according to another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications.

Separately, the U.N. Security Council scheduled a second emergency meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict for Friday at the request of Russia, China and Pakistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help mediate, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement allowing Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

“In my view, a solution could be found,” Putin said Wednesday at a session with journalists.

In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump’s support in the conflict, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and praising U.S. help defending Israel’s skies.

“We speak constantly, including last night,” he said Wednesday. “We had a very warm conversation.”

‘The Iranian nation is not one to surrender’

Khamenei dismissed the “threatening and absurd statements” by Trump.

“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” he said in a low-resolution video.

“Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.”

Iran released Khamenei’s statement before the video was aired, perhaps as a security measure. His location is not known, and it was impossible to discern from the tight shot, which showed only beige curtains, an Iranian flag and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei’s immediate predecessor, who died in 1989.

An Iranian diplomat had warned earlier Wednesday that U.S. intervention would risk “all-out war.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons. The U.S. has threatened a massive response to any attack.

Another Iranian official said the country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently ruling out Trump’s demands that Iran give up its disputed nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iranian state TV reported late Wednesday that it was under a cyberattack by Israel.

Social media users reported that the regular broadcast on state TV was briefly interrupted and replaced with an anti-government video urging people to take to the streets. After the normal broadcast resumed, a message on the screen said, “If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime.”

Strikes in and around Tehran

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told a news conference Wednesday that Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks in the last 24 hours, deploying dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces, without specifying the agency or location. The strike marks a shift toward targeting Iran’s domestic security apparatus, which has long cracked down on dissent and suppressed protests.

Iran’s police force acknowledged the strike hours later, saying that Israel hit its central command buildings in Tehran and wounded some officers, without saying how many.

In addition, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said, Israel hit two centrifuge-production facilities in and near Tehran.

The Israeli military said it began a new round of airstrikes Thursday in Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating.

Israel’s air campaign has struck several nuclear and military sites, killing top generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.

In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage.

Israeli military officials said their defenses intercepted 10 missiles overnight and several more Wednesday evening as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminished. Air-raid sirens forced Israelis to run for shelter. There were no reports of injuries.

Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles.

Some U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Israel were evacuated Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements. A number of diplomats left on a government plane shortly before U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that the embassy was making evacuation plans for private American citizens, the officials said.

By Wednesday, Israel eased some of the restrictions that it had imposed on civilians when Iran launched its retaliatory attack, allowing gatherings of up to 30 people and letting workplaces reopen as long as there is a shelter nearby.

Casualties mount in Iran

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 263 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 154 as security personnel.

The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports against a network of sources it has developed in Iran.

Iran has not published regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missile-attacks-nuclear-news-tehran-trump-06-18-2025-c6c90028dc340e2716724412fcec2cf0

Sam Cooper had just trekked 7 miles (11 kilometers) through a rain-sodden stretch of the Appalachian Trail when he sat down outside a little country store in Pennsylvania to take on its ice cream challenge.

Nearly 40 minutes and 2,500 calories later, the dairy farmer from Chapel Hill, Tennessee, was polishing off the final titanium sporkful of chocolate chip cookie dough on Tuesday and adding his name to the list of “thru-hikers” who have celebrated the trail’s halfway point by downing a half-gallon of ice cream.

By the end Cooper, 32, whose trail name is Pie Top, was calling the experience “pure misery.”

“I don’t think anybody should be doing this,” Cooper said cheerfully. “This is not healthy at all.”

The ice cream challenge is thought to have begun more than four decades ago at the Pine Grove Furnace General Store in Gardners, a few miles north of the current true halfway point on the 2,197-mile (3,536-kilometer) trail. Thru-hikers, as they’re known, are the fraction of the trail’s 3 million annual visitors who attempt to walk its entire length in a single, continuous trip.

As they slog their way north through Virginia and Maryland, the ice cream challenge is a regular topic of conversation among thru-hikers at shelters and campfires, said Stephan Berens, 49, a psychiatric nurse from Nuremberg, Germany.

Berens, whose trail name is Speedy, polished off his black cherry and vanilla in about 25 minutes after completing 17 miles (27 kilometers) on the trail that day — and with seven (11 kilometers) more to go that afternoon.

‘The most free I’ve ever felt’

Trail experts say hikers can need up to 6,000 calories a day, a practical challenge when food needs to be carried up and down rocky terrain. The slender Berens figures he’s lost about 20 pounds (9 kilograms) since starting April 8.

“I thought it would be worse, but it’s OK,” said Berens, smiling and patting his stomach after finishing the half-gallon. “Such a crazy idea.”

Zeke Meddock, trail name Petroglyph, didn’t bother timing himself but finished his choice of a quart and a half carton of chocolate chip cookie dough and a pint of strawberry. The diesel mechanic from North Amarillo, Texas, began his hike on March 27, two months after finishing a stint in the U.S. Army.

“You’re basically walking away from life,” said Meddock, 31. “It’s the most free I’ve ever felt.”

So far this year, about 50 thru-hikers have finished the challenge, earning the honor of having their photos posted on a store bulletin board. In a notebook to record their thoughts, Chicken Louise wrote on May 24: “Life choices?” The next day, Seagull weighed in with, “I feel bad,” and Hyena issued a cry for help: “It was very fun for the first 15 minutes. Now, I (and my family) want to die.”

The ice cream challenge record, less than 4 minutes, was set two years ago by a man with the trail name Squirt. Two decades ago, the mark to beat was about 9 minutes.

Thru-hikers who want to attempt the record may only allow the $12 worth of ice cream to start to melt in the sun for a few minutes. They must be timed by a store employee.

“It’s called the half-gallon challenge,” Cooper said. “Very appropriately named.”

Bragging rights and a spoon

Bruce Thomas, a 41-year-old disability support worker from Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada, passed on the ice cream challenge, opting instead for a breakfast sandwich and another one for the road.

“It’s early morning and I’m pretty sure I cannot do it,” said Thomas, trail name Not Lazy.

Those who do finish in a single sitting are awarded a commemorative wooden spoon — and bragging rights for the rest of their hike. Some people get sick. Others wash down the ice cream with a hamburger.

The ice cream challenge is one of several quirky traditions and places along the trail. There’s a shelter in Virginia where hikers confess their sins in a logbook, a two-hole outhouse in Maine with a cribbage board between the seats and a free canoe ferry across the Kennebec River that’s considered an official part of the trail. And at Harriman State Park in Tuxedo, New York, hikers encounter the renowned “Lemon Squeezer,” a narrow rock formation.

About one in three people who launch a thru hike take the roughly 5 million steps required to go the distance. They most often walk from south to north, starting in Springer Mountain, Georgia, and wrapping up 13 states later at Maine’s Mount Katahdin.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/appalachian-trail-hiker-ice-cream-challenge-dd293db68ec54812658347a1ea23d954

3D-printed guns could become “the weapon of choice” for criminals and violent extremists around the world, an expert has told the BBC. These DIY, untraceable firearms have been recovered in several recent criminal cases, including the alleged use of a partially 3D-printed gun in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

BBC Trending has investigated the global spread of 3D-printed guns across social media platforms including Telegram, Facebook and Instagram, as well as websites offering how-to guides.

3D-printed guns, often described as a type of “ghost” gun, are untraceable firearms that can be assembled using a 3D printer, downloadable blueprints and some basic materials. Designed to evade gun-control laws, the technology has advanced rapidly in the last decade, with the latest models capable of firing multiple rounds without their plastic components breaking.

According to Nick Suplina of Everytown, a US-based gun control organisation, 3D-printed guns could become the “weapon of choice” for people planning acts of violence: “The materials have gotten better, the cost has gone down, and the ease of access of these blueprints is at a high,” he said.

BBC Trending’s investigation began with advertisements for guns on Instagram and Facebook. In October 2024, the Tech Transparency Project, a non-profit that monitors technology companies, found hundreds of gun ads – including for 3D-printed and other ghost guns – appearing on Meta’s platforms, in violation of its policies.

Meta declined to comment on the findings at the time. Several months later, BBC Trending found similar gun adverts still showing as active in Meta’s ad database.

Many of these gun adverts directed potential customers to Telegram or WhatsApp channels. On Telegram, we found channels displaying a variety of guns for sale. Some of these appeared to be 3D-printed. One Telegram account with over 1,000 subscribers claimed to ship weapons globally.

BBC Trending contacted the account, which called itself “Jessy”, to confirm whether it would be willing to break the law by shipping 3D-printed guns to the UK. Within an hour, Jessy offered us a Liberator or a Glock switch.

A glock switch (also known as an auto sear) is a small, sometimes 3D-printed part that converts a pistol into an automatic weapon.

The Liberator, designed in 2013 by “crypto-anarchist” Cody Wilson, is the world’s first widely available 3D-printed gun, capable of firing a single shot.

Jessy claimed he could smuggle the weapon through UK customs, asked for payment of £160 in bitcoin, then suggested a bank transfer to a UK account we couldn’t trace.

When we later contacted Jessy, identifying ourselves as the BBC, he acknowledged that selling weapons in the UK is illegal but sounded unapologetic.

“I run my business, sell some straps [slang for weapons] online,” he said.

We did not proceed with the transaction to test Jessy’s claims. While his casual attitude suggested he might have been a scammer, his ability to advertise on Meta and operate on Telegram highlights apparent loopholes that real gun dealers could exploit.

When contacted, Meta told the BBC that the adverts we highlighted had been “automatically disabled in line with our policies”, and that inclusion in its ad library “doesn’t necessarily mean the ad is still live or visible”.

Telegram said that Jessy’s account had been proactively removed for breaching its policies. A spokesperson added: “The sale of weapons is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and is removed whenever discovered. Moderators empowered with custom AI and machine learning tools proactively monitor public parts of the platform and accept reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including the sale of weapons.”

Concerningly though, people seeking 3D-printed guns don’t need to buy readymade ones through social media. They can assemble their own. Models like the FGC-9 are designed using only 3D-printed plastic and repurposed metal components, with no commercially available gun parts required.

“You are essentially becoming a DIY gunsmith,” says Dr Rajan Basra, a researcher at King’s College London. However, “It’s not as easy as printing off a sheet of A4 paper in your office printer.”

As the BBC has previously reported, there are websites offering free step-by-step guides and downloadable blueprints for building 3D-printed guns.

One such guide was written by Matthew Larosiere, a gun rights attorney in Florida. He’s associated with the global pro-3D-printed gun community, which has many members in the USA who see the Second Amendment right to bear arms as a human right.

BBC Trending challenged him about why he is sharing information to help people build a lethal weapon.

He replied: “It’s just information. It’s ones and zeros. The fact that the information has a use case that makes you uncomfortable, I understand and I sympathise with that, but that doesn’t make it correct to say it’s anything more than information.”

Asked about the risk of this “information” being used in a school shooting or massacre, he replied: “I thank God that has not happened.” He cited Myanmar as a country where, in his view, 3D-printed guns have served a positive cause.

Myanmar is currently the only known case of 3D-printed guns being used in active military conflict. The FGC-9’s use by resistance fighters against the junta has been widely reported.

But as BBC Burmese’s Hnin Mo discovered, many of these groups have since stopped using 3D-printed guns. This is despite resistance forces producing hundreds of FGC-9s in 2022 and 2023, which cost over ten times less than machine guns on the black market.

The rebel leaders Hnin Mo spoke to cited the junta’s tight control over imports of essential materials like glue and metal. Additionally, these groups now have more conventional weapons at their disposal, such as RPGs or machine guns.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg84rke4ejo

HULK HOGAN has been hospitalized after deathbed rumors swirled on social media.

There had been talk on social media the WWE legend was suffering major health concerns.

However, according to TMZ, it is understood he is NOT on death’s door.

They report the 71-year-old was taken to hospital this week to address lingering neck and back issues.

The concerns around his health started after a report by radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge.

He suggested Hogan was not in good shape, according to reports.

But TMZ say the Hulkstar is doing well after his hospital visit.

He is understood to be back up and moving again.

The wrestling icon had undergone neck surgery last month.

It is believed he had a fusion operation.

He was said to “feel a little better” after the procedure.

The WWE ace – real name Terry Bollea – was back to work under 24 hours later.

He was preparing for the launch of his own wrestling league, the Real American Freestyle.

“Quick turnaround,” a rep told TMZ at the time.

Hogan told Logan Paul on his podcast he’s had at least 25 surgeries between 2014 and 2024.

“I’ve had 10 back surgeries,” he said.

“Both knees and both hips replaced, shoulders – everything.”

Hogan had been battling against the wear-and-tear of years in the ring.

Social media set ablaze after rumors of him being on his deathbed.

“We do not want to lose Hulk Hogan,” one said.

Another said: “Even though I don’t like the Hulkster anymore glad to hear that rumor was false.

“I don’t wish death on anyone.”

A third added: “Death doesn’t work for me brother.”

And a fourth commented: “What a legend.”

Donald Trump supporter Hogan has been a divisive character in and out of the ring over the years.

He joined the WWE in 1979, going to the main event numerous WreslteManias.

The NWO icon appeared in New Japan Pro Wrestling and other promotions through his long career.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/14510330/hulk-hogan-dead-wwe-rumors-hospital-wrestling-health/

 

For Juliana Lumumba, he was not just a politician: Patrice Lumumba was her father. That’s why she continues to demand the truth about an assassination for which no one has faced justice.

For more than 60 years, Juliana Lumumba has had questions. Who murdered her father? How did the Americans help? What did the United Nations do? Did they stand idly by, even though he was under their protection?

They are uncomfortable questions, political questions. And Juliana will not rest until she has answers.

“You cannot be the child of Patrice Lumumba without this impacting your life” she says.

Her gaze is composed as she looks out of the window of her house in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Lumumba murder case could go to trial

On June 17, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office announced that it has requested that the case in connection with the assassination of Juliana’s father be referred to a Brussels criminal court. It follows more than a decade of investigation.

The Belgian state is partly responsible for the murder. A 2001 parliamentary investigation established that King Baudouin, Belgium’s then-monarch, knew about the assassination plan but did nothing to stop it.

Juliana’s brother Francois, the plaintiff in a 2011 complaint, accused the Belgian state of war crimes and torture, and of having been part of a conspiracy aimed at the political and physical elimination of his father.

Lumumba fought for the Congo’s independence

On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba freed the Congo from Belgian colonial rule and became the country’s first prime minister. He promised democracy, prosperity and an end to the exploitation of Congolese minerals by foreign powers. But that never happened.

The West – in particular Belgium and the US — opposed Lumumba’s plans to nationalize Congo’s raw materials and his proximity with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War.

On January 17, 1961, half a year after Lumumba was elected the first prime minister of a free Congo, Congolese separatists took him to the hostile province of Katanga – with Belgian and American blessing.

Lumumba and two of his aides were shot in the forest under the command of Belgian officers. The facts only came to light thanks to investigations by the likes of Belgian sociologist and writer, Ludo De Witte, whose findings were detailed in his 2003 book, “The Assassination of Lumumba.”

Another Belgian officer, Gerard Soete, sawed the bodies in pieces and dissolved them in sulfuric acid. Two teeth were all that remained of Lumumba. Soete kept them as a trophy. Juliana learned about this on television, in a 2000 report on a German broadcaster in which Soete himself recounted the details and held the teeth into the camera. This gruesome memory still angers Juliana.

“How would you feel if they told you that your father was not only killed, buried, unburied, cut in pieces but they also took parts of his body?”, she asks. “To many, he was the first prime minister of the Congo, a national hero. But for me, he’s my father.”

Still fighting for the truth

Years later, Juliana wrote a letter to the Belgian king demanding one of the teeth be returned. No one knows where the second one is. Soete had claimed that he had thrown it into the North Sea. He died shortly after, but later his daughter showed the golden tooth to a journalist. Ludo De Witte then sued her and Belgian authorities confiscated the remains.

In 2022, then prime minister Alexander de Croo returned the tooth to Lumumba’s children at a ceremony in Brussels and apologized – unlike King Philippe, a direct descendant of King Baudouin, who did not utter the word “sorry.” He merely expressed his “deepest regrets” for the violence inflicted on the Congolese people under Belgian rule.

But apologies are not the point for Juliana.

“It’s not a problem of apology. It’s a problem of truth. Verité,” she says. “I need to know the truth.”

Growing up in exile

When her father was murdered, Juliana was just five years old. She learned of it while in exile in Egypt. A few months before Lumumba’s assassination, she and her siblings were smuggled out of their house in Congo, where their father was placed under house arrest, and taken to Cairo with fake passports.

Patrice Lumumba knew he was going to die, Juliana says. He also hinted at it in his last letter to his wife.

In Cairo, Lumumba’s children grew up with Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ishak, a diplomat and friend of Lumumba. But they couldn’t escape their own history.

“We are a political family,” says Juliana. “We came to Egypt for political reasons, hosted by President Nasser. Politics is the core of our lives, whether we like it or not.”

The children also entered politics. Juliana held various ministerial posts, and her brother Francois is the leader of the Congolese National Movement, the party his father founded.

Juliana says that she always knew that her father’s assassination was political, even when she was still a child in Cairo. The news of Lumumba’s death in 1961 spread quickly in the city.

“They set fire to the library of the American university and looted the Belgian embassy,” she recalls. “People in the streets shouted ‘Lumumba, Lumumba.'”

Guilt, accountability and colonial continuities

It wasn’t until 1994, when Congo’s Mobutu dictatorship was on the verge of collapse, that Juliana returned to her homeland after years in exile. This had been her father’s wish.

“He told us, no matter what happens, you have to come back home. So, when it was safe for us again, we came back home, where we belong,” she says.

Today, Juliana is less active in Congolese politics. She doesn’t want to talk about the current situation, the conflict between the Congolese army and the rebel militia M23, or the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by Western nations, China, Rwanda, and other foreign powers.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/who-killed-patrice-lumumba/a-72949990

The Israel-Iran conflict could trigger new security and economic challenges for Pakistan, which is already grappling with militancy, separatism and economic instability.

The escalating Israel-Iran conflict has far-reaching security, geopolitical and economic implications for Iran’s neighbor Pakistan.

Iran shares a 909-kilometer (560-mile) border with Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. On Monday, Pakistani officials announced several border crossings with Iran were closed indefinitely.

The crossings at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan in southwest Balochistan remain open for Pakistani nationals seeking to return home. On Wednesday, hundreds of Pakistanis who are usually based in Iran arrived at the Taftan border crossing to make their way further into their homeland.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is expected to meet US President Donald Trump later on Wednesday during his official visit to Washington. The meeting is deemed significant in the light of the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

Pakistan’s relationship with Iran

The relationship between predominantly Sunni Pakistan and Shiite-majority Iran has been complex, with the cross-border region affected by attacks from Baloch separatists who are fighting a war of independence against the Pakistani state.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) accuses Pakistan’s central government of unfairly exploiting the region’s natural resources.

The BLA has for decades launched attacks against the government, armed forces and even Chinese interests in the region.

The Israel-Iran conflict marks a dangerous turning point not only for Middle East geopolitics, but for Pakistan, according to US-based Pakistan analyst Raza Rumi. To Islamabad, Rumi told DW, “the implications are [anything but] distant.”

“As a country with close ties to key Gulf allies and a complex relationship with Iran, Pakistan will be under pressure to maintain neutrality while safeguarding its strategic interests,” Rumi added.

As fighting between Israel and Iran entered its sixth day on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they were attacking Tehran, Iran’s capital, fueling fears of an all-out war in the region.

Increasing conflict and a potential collapse of the Islamist regime in Tehran could have serious security implications for Pakistan. Also, separatist attacks in Balochistan could impact Pakistan’s border security and internal stability — challenging its already strained security apparatus.

“There is the thorny issue of the Baloch region [in Iran] and a collapse in Tehran could trigger autonomy claims which will embolden the Baloch in Pakistan. Iran and Pakistan have been at loggerheads over this issue in the past,” Ghaffar Hussain, a London-based security, expert, told DW.

For analyst Rumi, “Islamabad would have to bolster border surveillance and work carefully in balancing law enforcement with diplomatic sensitivity toward Tehran.”

“A war on the western border [with Iran] is problematic for Pakistan, especially its restive Balochistan province,” said Muhammad Shoaib, an assistant professor at Quaid-i-Azam University.

Shoaib added that any change to the status quo will be troublesome and a weakened regime would also “present a security challenge.”

Economic impacts

The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has renewed focus on security in the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic waterway between Oman and Iran that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

A wider conflict in the Middle East, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, could disrupt global oil supplies and drive prices higher, said Rumi.

“Like the rest of the world, Pakistan would be severely impacted, and the war could risk major disruption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which could lead to soaring global energy prices,” said Rumi, who noted that Pakistan is already grappling with inflation, currency depreciation and energy shortages.

As a result of the war, rising fuel costs could disrupt markets and key sectors, such as electricity generation, transportation and agriculture, deepening the fiscal crisis and putting further strain on vulnerable households.

“Whether or not Iran has the ability to block the strait of Hormuz remains to be seen… but this would embroil the entire region including GCC nations,” asserted Hussain, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Shoaib, however, feels that the “Iranian conflict, in particular, will impact Balochistan province where a significant chunk of population is [engaged in] informal trade of oil and other commodities.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-iran-israel-conflict-could-destabilize-pakistan/a-72962163

DONALD Trump’s nuclear-hardened “Doomsday Plane” has touched down near to Washington DC as speculation grows over a strike on Iran.

The impervious US Air Force E-4B “Nightwatch” aircraft landed at Joint Base Andrews under the cover of darkness on Tuesday – hours after Trump’s crisis meeting in the White House Situation Room.

Eager aviation followers managed to track the huge Boeing as it went on the move and went on a highly irregular flight path from Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Its movement has sparked fears that it could be a clear indication of Trump and the US joining the war against Iran.

The US government has been urged to join forces with Israel in recent days and bring an end to the Iranian regime in the Middle East.

Trump has even directly threatened Tehran’s Supreme Leader this week, saying “we know where you’re hiding”.

US officials have stressed no official decision has been made yet about their intervention.

But the Nightwatch being moved to just outside of the capital has raised many eyebrows around why it is now so close to the president.

The craft took off from Bossier City and traveled along the coast before landing at the airbase in Maryland at 10:01pm.

The flight lasted for over four hours with never-before-seen call signs also being noticed by online trackers of ORDER01 instead of the typical ORDER6.

The militarized Boeing 747-200 is only used by the White House’s top staff and defence forces in case of a major emergency or global crisis.

The aircraft has only been called into action once before – on September 11, 2001 during the attack on the Twin Towers.

This is due to it being specially designed to keep the US’s most powerful figures safe even in the most deadly conditions.

It is designed to withstand electromagnetic pulses and even nuclear and thermal blasts – hence the “Doomsday Plane” nickname.

They have been in operation since the 1970s and were long considered the best chance for a Cold War president to survive a nuke.

The massive 231ft jet can hold up to 111 crew and passengers on board and features six main areas from a relaxing lounge to a command work area and briefing room.

Another key safety feature is that the plane has four engines and is capable of refueling mid flight allowing for over 35 hours in the air.

Elsewhere, an advanced satellite communications system allows for worldwide conversations with global senior leaders.

An engine can produce 52,500 pounds of thrust from the planes and they can carry up to 800,000 pounds.

This weight can be easily distributed across the massive 231ft long craft that also boasts a 195ft wingspan.

Each individual plane is believed to have cost a whopping $223million to make.

While it is still unclear why the plane was moved overnight, the aircraft is operational 24/7 to make sure it is always available when needed.

Regular training flights are often done throughout the year as well.

It follows a week of signs that the US is preparing to blitz Iran with the most notable being a huge US air armada made up of dozens of military jets landing in Europe this week.

At least 30 large air-to-air refuellers swooped across the Atlantic followed by at least a dozen F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning jets.

Experts said the F-22s and F-35s would most likely be used to bolster Israel’s air defence amid fears Tel Aviv cold run low in its Iron Dome and interceptor missiles.

But there are fears the fighter bombers could also be used to strike targets inside Iran.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was also seen steaming towards the Gulf to reinforce the carrier USS Carl Vinson.

The US President has already warned the “full strength and might” of the military would be used if America was attacked.

Dozens of USAF KC-135 Stratotanker refuelers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers swooped into bases in Prestwick, Scotland, Ramstein, Germany, Moron in Spain and Chania in Crete.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14509510/trump-doomsday-plane-moves-iran/

The crew from an oil tanker was rescued on Tuesday following a collision involving two such vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Arab Emirates National Guard said the evacuation took place on Tuesday after the crude oil tanker, Adalynn, struck another ship — understood to be the Front Eagle oil tanker — managed by the Anglo Eastern shipping firm which is headquartered in Hong Kong.

The Adalynn was bound for Egypt’s Suez Canal at the time of the incident in the Gulf of Oman.

“The ship’s crew was evacuated from the incident site, located 24 nautical miles off the country’s coast, to the Port of Khor Fakkan using search and rescue boats,” the Emirati National Guard said in a post on X.

Collision not security related — British maritime intelligence

British maritime security firm Ambrey said the cause of an incident, 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, was not security-related.

Shipping company Frontline said its oil tanker Front Eagle had been involved in a collision and described the event as a navigational incident that was not related to the ongoing regional conflict between Israel and Iran.

“Following the incident immediate action was taken to extinguish a fire on deck of the Front Eagle. We are aware of reports of a fire onboard the Adalynn following the collision,” a Frontline statement said.

The company went on to say that it was “closely monitoring the situation and is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities as emergency response efforts continue.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/uae-rescues-24-from-burning-oil-tanker-after-ship-collision/a-72942917

FORD’S CEO has revealed that the brand was forced to shut down some factories thanks to an industry-wide issue plaguing automakers.

Jim Farley opened up about the “day-to-day” struggle that has sometimes made car production impossible.

The 63-year-old CEO made the admission on Friday, when he spoke about supply chain issues stemming from America’s tense trade relations with China.

Ford and other US auto brands are heavily reliant on the rival nation to get rare earth minerals, which are essential to car production.

American companies get about 90% of their rare earth supplies from China to build features like windshield wipers, seat belts, and speakers, CBS News reported.

So when President Donald Trump sparked a tit-for-tat trade war with the country that resulted in China implementing a 125% revenge tariff, automakers were left worried about the future.

Now, Farley has revealed that the trade issue has had devastating effects on the iconic American brand.

“It’s day to day,” Farley told Bloomberg TV.

“We have had to shut down factories. It’s hand-to-mouth right now.”

Farley didn’t clarify which factories were closed or for how long. The U.S. Sun has reached out to the brand for comment.

The brand shake-up came after Farley warned that Trump’s sweeping 10% global tariffs would “blow a hole” in the auto industry.

He feared his company would be most affected because it has already “maxed out” its footprint in the US, and has relied on overseas production.

“We’re the largest US producer. A lot of people don’t realize that Ford exports a lot of cars outside the US,” Farley told Bloomberg in February.

“We don’t have a lot of excess capacity.”

However, now Farley said he has renewed hope for the industry as the US struck a trade deal with China that left both countries pleased.

Last week, Trump declared that the trade war was over and called his relationship with China’s President Xi Jinping “excellent” after months of heated talks came to a close.

Farley said Ford is working with China’s ministry of commerce to approve new trade plans “one at a time.”

“We’re educating the administration,” he told Bloomberg.

“We’re educating the Chinese leadership about how important these jobs in the Midwest that are dependent,” he said of China’s rare earth supply.

In other Ford news, the brand had to urgently recall over 1 million vehicles over a dangerous “glitch.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/motors/14500928/ford-shut-down-factory-ceo-jim-farley/

NEWLY elected Pope Leo XIV is related to a high-profile cast of A-list celebrities, but his ancestry still has humble roots, his family tree has revealed.

Researchers found that Robert Francis Prevost, the first American to ever lead the Catholic Church, is related to Madonna, Justin Bieber, Hillary Clinton, and other influential stars.

Prevost’s ancestry was traced by academic Henry Louis Gates Jr., the American Ancestors research center, and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, and the results were published in a bombshell New York Times story.

Gates Jr, who is known for his research on African American culture and history, took an interest in the project after learning about Prevost’s Black ancestry.

According to the researcher, the Pope’s maternal grandparents, who lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, were described as “mulatto” and “Black” in public records.

“This was earthshaking news, but we knew it was only the beginning,” Gates Jr. wrote.

Prevost was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and is of French, Italian, Spanish, and Creole descent.

One of his eighth-great-grandparents moved from France to Quebec, Canada, by the mid to late 1650s, which is where his celebrity links come from.

Prevost descends from Canadian ancestor Louis Boucher de Grandpre, who was born in Quebec, and through Grandpre has several distant cousins.

These cousins include former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his brother Pierre, actress Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, singer Justin Bieber, novelist Jack Kerouac, and Madonna.

After Prevost’s family tree was published, superstar singer Madonna, whose parents were Roman Catholic, shared her excitement on social media.

In an Instagram story, she shared a picture of herself throwing her hands up in excitement alongside her father Silvio Ciccone and wrote, “Silvio! We’re related to the Pope!

“Strike a pose!” she wrote in the excited picture, before sharing the New York Times headline with her followers.

POPE’S ANCESTRY

The motley crew of celebrities wasn’t the only bombshell revelation found in the Pope’s family tree.

The farthest back that his ancestry was traced was back to Spain in the 1500s on his mother’s side, and through that lineage, genealogists found that Prevost is related to minor nobility.

Four of his 11th-great-grandfathers were listed as “hidalgos,” which means gentlemen, in the 1573 census for the small town of Isla.

But Prevost’s ancestry isn’t all noble. At least 17 of his ancestors were identified as partially Black, and many of them were once enslaved.

Researchers say that his ancestry became intertwined with African Americans when relatives moved from Canada to New Orleans.

One fourth-great-grandmother of the Pope, Marie Jeanne, was an enslaved “mulata,” a dated term to describe someone with Black and white ancestry.

She was counted among the property of François Lemelle, who lived in New Orleans.

After Lemelle died, he left Jeanne one-fifth of his estate, including some enslaved people. Thirty years after his death, she owned 1,040 acres, and she went on to own at least 20 slaves.

LEO’S FAMILY

Today, Prevost is known as a beloved sibling and uncle by his brothers, who were elated to hear about his election.

After he was chosen for the sacred position, Pope Leo’s brother John, 71, said his sibling used to “play priest so he put a tablecloth over our mom’s ironing board and we had to go to Mass.”

He said the Pope would use the candy Necco Wafers as “communion” wafers as they played pretend.

“It was all taken very seriously, it was not a joke,” John said.

Louis Prevost, the Pope’s oldest brother, said that he always knew that his sibling was destined for greatness.

“From the time he was five or six years old he knew this was his fate — not that he would be Pope, but that he would be a priest,” Louis told Good Morning America.

“He had that from a very young age, and he never faltered

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14503354/pope-leo-family-tree-madonna-celebrity-relatives-justin/

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Jun 17) said Japan was being “tough” in trade talks and the European Union had not yet offered what he considered a fair deal, as a team led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stayed at the G7 meeting in Canada to keep working on trade issues after Trump’s abrupt early departure.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the EU would need to offer Washington “a good deal” or face higher tariffs.

Trump spoke after leaving the Group of Seven (G7) summit early, in order to focus on the Middle East. He told reporters Bessent was staying on in Kananaskis, Alberta, to keep talking with counterparts on trade.

White House officials said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also remained in Canada and would be meeting with their counterparts. They said Trump met informally with all G7 members, but had not seen the leaders of India, Australia or Mexico, who were also slated to meet him in Canada this week.

“We’re talking, but I don’t feel that they’re offering a fair deal yet,” Trump said of the European Union. “They’re either going to make a good deal or they’ll just pay whatever we say they have to pay.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit that the objective was still to reach a deal before higher reciprocal tariffs go into effect on Jul 9 after a 90-day pause.

“It’s complex but we are advancing, that is good, and I push hard to pick up more speed, so we are mixed in the negotiations, and we will see what the end brings,” she said.

PHARMA LEVIES COMING

Trump also said there was a chance of a trade deal between Washington and Japan.

“They’re tough, the Japanese are tough, but ultimately you have to understand we’re just going to send a letter saying ‘this is what you’re going to pay, otherwise you don’t have to do business with us’. But there’s a chance,” he said.

Trump also said pharmaceutical tariffs were coming very soon, repeating a threat he has made repeatedly to impose import taxes on medical goods in a bid to force drug makers to rebase production to the US.

“We’re going to be doing pharmaceuticals very soon. That’s going to bring all the companies back into America,” he said. “It’s going to bring most of them back into, at least partially back in.”

Matthew Goodman, a former senior US official and fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it was always a “stretch goal” for Trump to reach any deals at the G7 summit beyond finalizing the terms of a limited deal with Britain.

The US-UK deal, announced by Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada, reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK aerospace sector, but the issue of steel and aluminum remained unresolved.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-says-eu-not-offering-fair-trade-deal-japan-being-tough-too-5187906

Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cuts an increasingly lonely figure.

Khamenei has seen his main military and security advisers killed by Israeli airstrikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.

One of those sources, who regularly attends meetings with Khamenei, described the risk of miscalculation to Iran on issues of defence and internal stability as “extremely dangerous”.

Several senior military commanders have been killed since last Friday, including Khamenei’s main advisers from the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite military force: the Guards’ overall commander Hossein Salami, its aerospace chief Amir Ali Hajizadeh who headed Iran’s ballistic missile program and spymaster Mohammad Kazemi.

These men were part of the supreme leader’s inner circle of roughly 15 to 20 advisers comprising Guards commanders, clerics and politicians, according to the sources who including three people who attend or have attended meetings with the leader on major issues and two close to officials who regularly attend.

The loose group meets on an ad hoc basis, when Khamenei’s office reaches out to relevant advisers to gather at his compound in Tehran to discuss an important decision, all the people said. Members are characterised by unwavering loyalty to him and the ideology of the Islamic Republic, they added.

Khamenei, who was imprisoned before the 1979 revolution and maimed by a bomb attack before becoming leader in 1989, is profoundly committed to maintaining Iran’s Islamic system of government and deeply mistrustful of the West.

Under Iran’s system of government he has supreme command of the armed forces, the power to declare war, and can appoint or dismiss senior figures including military commanders and judges.

Khamenei makes the final decision on important matters, though he values advice, listens attentively to diverse viewpoints and often seeks additional information from his counsellors, according to one source who attends meetings.

“Two things you can say about Khamenei: he is extremely stubborn but also extremely cautious. He is very cautious. That is why he has been in power for as long as he has,” said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute think-tank in Washington.

“Khamenei is pretty well placed to do the basic cost-benefit analysis which really fundamentally gets to one issue more important than anything else: regime survival.”

KHAMENEI’S SON AT THE FORE

The focus on survival has repeatedly been put to the test. Khamenei has deployed the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliated Basij militia to quell national protests in 1999, 2009 and 2022.

However, while the security forces have always been able to outlast demonstrators and restore state rule, years of Western sanctions have caused widespread economic misery that analysts say could ultimately threaten internal unrest.

The stakes could barely be higher for Khamenei, who faces an escalating war with Israel, which has targeted nuclear and military sites and personnel with air attacks, drawing retaliatory Iranian missile fire, insiders and analysts said.

The five people familiar with Khamenei’s decision-making process stressed that other insiders who have not been targeted by Israel’s strikes remain important and influential, including top advisers on political, economic and diplomatic issues.

Khamenei designates such advisers to handle issues as they arise, extending his reach directly into a wide array of institutions spanning military, security, cultural, political and economic domains, two of the sources said.

Operating this way, including in bodies nominally under the elected president, means Khamenei’s office is often involved not only in the biggest questions of state but in executing even minor initiatives, the sources said.

His son Mojtaba has over the past 20 years grown ever more central to this process, the sources said, building a role that cuts between the personalities, factions and organisations involved to coordinate on specific issues, the sources said.

A mid-ranking cleric seen by some insiders as a potential successor to his ageing father, Mojtaba has built close ties with the Guards, giving him added leverage within across Iran’s political and security apparatus, the sources said.

Ali Asghar Hejazi, the deputy of political security affairs at Khamenei’s office, has been involved in sensitive security decisions and is often described as the most powerful intelligence official in Iran, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the head of Khamenei’s office, Mohammad Golpayegani, as well as former Iranian foreign ministers Ali Akbar Velayati and Kamal Kharazi, and ex-parliament speaker Ali Larijani, remain trusted confidants on diplomatic and domestic policies issues such as the nuclear dispute, the sources said.

The loss of the Revolutionary Guards commanders nonetheless decimates the top ranks of a military organisation that he has put at the centre of power since becoming supreme leader in 1989, relying on it for both internal security and Iran’s regional strategy.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/iran-leader-khamenei-sees-his-inner-circle-hollowed-out-israel-5186936

Israel needs a 15-ton ‘bunker buster’ bomb to destroy the last untouched nuclear facility in Iran, but only the US has one.

Such a powerful weapon – the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal – is needed because the target, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, is built some 300 feet inside a mountain near the city of Qom, two hours south of Tehran.

The heavyweight explosive is known as a GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator and was designed by Boeing for the United States Air Force.

Its huge weight means it can only be delivered with a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber – a jet Israel’s air force does not possess.

“The United States controls the bomber and the bomb,” John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point military academy, told The Post. “It would be an American plane and an American munition.”

The missile cost over $500 million for the US Army to develop, and was built to specifications which would allow it to penetrate deep enough into the Fordow plant to destroy the nuclear centrifuges in the complex, according to a 2013 article in the Wall Street Journal, which said at that time 20 of the bombs had been manufactured for the US military.

If the US does opt to help Israel with this extraordinarily powerful weapon, it will almost certainly turn the nuclear facility, protected by layers of granite and steel, to rubble.

“By weight and kinetic force, the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator is designed to penetrate a certain amount of distance into the ground before it blows,” said Spencer.

“That’s why these bunker busters are called Penetrators. They penetrate the ground before they explode. The explosion is strategically delayed.”

Although the US has sold less powerful bunker buster weapons to Israel, they have declined to share the Massive Ordnance Penetrator with any of its allies, partly to ensure it retains an upper hand, according to various reports.

As to what an explosion from a Massive Ordnance Penetrator would feel like, Spencer can only guess. “I’ve seen 500 pounders, and they’ll shake your teeth when they go off. It’s like an earthquake. This will be much more than that.”

However, minimizing the likelihood of a nuclear explosion or leak, said Spencer, “this [explosion] is pretty contained,” He explained that since the bunker buster explodes so far underground, under such strong armor, it is unlikely to cause a nuclear reaction. Instead of breaking through the surface, rubble would cave in. “The risk is for leakage, not an explosion.”

US intelligence has long agreed Fordow is strategic to disabling the Iranian nuclear program.

“If you don’t get Fordow, you haven’t eliminated their ability to produce weapons-grade material,” Brett McGurk, who served as Middle East coordinator for several American presidents of both parties, recently told the New York Times.

In a less than ideal scenario, a state-of-the-art bunker buster is not the only solution.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/17/world-news/the-15-ton-bunker-buster-which-could-destroy-irans-last-nuclear-facility/

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from refusing to issue passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans nationwide that reflect their gender identities.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded, a preliminary injunction she issued in April that allowed six transgender and nonbinary individuals who challenged the policy to obtain passports consistent with their gender identities or with an “X” sex designation while the lawsuit moves forward.

Kobick did so after concluding the policy the U.S. Department of State adopted pursuant to an executive order Trump signed likely discriminated on the basis of sex and was rooted in an irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans that violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.
While Kobick’s April ruling was limited in its scope, the judge, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, on Tuesday granted the case class action status and halted the policy’s enforcement against transgender, nonbinary and intersex passport holders.
Kobick said granting class action status to two categories of passport holders was appropriate given that the administration’s actions affected them uniformly “by preventing them from obtaining passports with a sex marker consistent with their gender identity.”

Li Nowlin-Sohl, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the American Civil Liberties Union, called the ruling “a critical victory against discrimination and for equal justice under the law.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement called the decision “yet another attempt by a rogue judge to thwart President Trump’s agenda and push radical gender ideology that defies biological truth.”
The case is one of several concerning an executive order Trump signed after returning to office on January 20 directing the government to recognize only two biologically distinct sexes, male and female.
The order also directed the State Department to change its policies to only issue passports that “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”
The State Department subsequently changed its passport policy to “request the applicant’s biological sex at birth,” rather than permit applicants to self-identify their sex, and to only allow them to be listed as male or female.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-blocks-trump-passport-policy-targeting-transgender-people-2025-06-17/

Anne Burrell was noticeably missing from her longstanding role on “Worst Cooks in America” months before her shocking death.

Fans were baffled by the Food Network star’s absence from the celebrity edition of the culinary competition series, which was instead led by chefs Jeff Mauro and Antonia Lofaso.

Neither Burrell nor the network gave an explanation for her absence from Season 28 of the show. Food Network did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on the matter Tuesday.

In January, confused viewers flocked to the comments of one of Burrell’s Instagram posts to question her unexplained absence.

“Why aren’t you in Worst Cooks? It’s not the same,” one fan wrote at the time, with Burrell cryptically responding, “Honestly I don’t know. 🤷🏼‍♀️😑❤️.”

“Hi Anne, r u still with Food Network?? U r missed very much❤️❤️,” another follower shared, to which she replied, “I miss you guys!!!😊❤️😊❤️.”

When another fan requested that she “come back next season,” the TV personality replied, “I will SO try. 😊❤️.”

Burrell co-hosted and served as a mentor on the popular cooking series from 2010 to 2024.

The TV star unexpectedly died at her home in Brooklyn, NY, Tuesday morning. She was 55 years old.

A New York Police Department spokesperson told Page Six that Burrell was discovered unconscious around 7:50 a.m. Though emergency services arrived promptly, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation is currently in progress — and a cause of death has not been revealed.

“Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,” her family said in a statement obtained by Page Six.

“Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.”

Food Network also released a statement obtained by Page Six.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/17/entertainment/anne-burrell-was-missing-from-worst-cooks-in-america-ahead-of-shocking-death/

BILL Maher has hit back at an A-list star with an expert takedown on why he decided to sit down for dinner with President Donald Trump in April.

The comedian called out his guest’s hypocrisy in an instant and brought a swift end to their heated debate.

The tiff started when guest Sean Penn questioned the comedian’s decision to meet with Trump in an episode of his podcast Real Time With Bill Maher.

Despite months of hurling insults and criticisms at the president, Maher shocked his audience by grabbing dinner with Trump earlier this year.

He agreed to the meeting after he was introduced by mutual friend Kid Rock, a staunch Trump supporter, and left the meal with a much kinder perspective on the commander in chief.

Penn was explaining why he would never agree to meet with the president before Maher quickly called out his inconsistency, saying, “You’ll meet with f*****g Castro and Hugo Chavez but not the President of the United States?”

Penn quickly dodged the question as he admitted that Trump “triggered” him and said that he “wouldn’t get anywhere” with the president if they had a chat.

Meanwhile, Maher hit back that Trump was a “very different guy” behind closed doors and was grateful to have had a one-on-one meeting with him.

The comedian accused Penn of having a “bad attitude” about America’s leader.

“You don’t know that. You don’t know anything,” blasted Maher.

“I’ll tell you this about Donald Trump, and you don’t know it because you don’t go to dinners […] it’s all about personal relationships.”

The comedian then speculated that Trump would likely want to meet Penn if he were ever willing.

Despite their differences, Penn agreed that sitting down with the president was a good decision.

“You’re so smart […] Look, this is the president of the United States, whether we like it or not,” he said.

“There’s a lot of reasons I was speculating that […] it would be good for you to do that.”

PENN’S POLITICS

Penn has met with powerful political players across the globe for filmmaking and activism purposes.

He once tracked down Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a hideout to try and strike a movie deal.

The actor has also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is a staunch supporter of the Russian rival amidst the ongoing war.

In November 2022, Penn gave the president one of his Oscars and told him to return it only when his country defeats Russia.

The war has been one of Penn’s biggest sticking points with Trump, who has been outspoken about his intentions to help devise a peace deal.

Penn, who was once married to Madonna, has also stirred controversy for his relationship with former Venezuelan President Chavez.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14492025/bill-maher-sean-penn-interview-trump-dinner-comeback/

THURSDAY night at 3am was a strange moment.

We had an air raid siren – nothing unusual given this has been almost nightly for months due to missiles from the Houthis.

But having spent days hearing rumours that something was about to go down with Iran, my senses instantly told me this was different.

Shortly after the country-wide alarm, every person throughout Israel received a message from the Home Office Command.

It was both vague and nerve-racking.

It told us to wait for further alerts in case of an “extreme threat” – with nothing more added.

At the same time, we began to hear non-stop warplanes – which have been relentless ever since.

After that, it was clear the whole country was awake, all of social media and every single WhatsApp group was abuzz with “what is going on?” type of anxious chatter.

At some point in the night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a seven-minute speech on YouTube, explaining that Israel is attacking Iran, and with good reason.

A report recently showed that the regime there now has enough uranium for nine nuclear weapons, and can build them within a matter of months.

As this would be enough to obliterate our country – and Iran has made no secret of its intent to do so – Bibi was right when he said we had no choice but to strike.

His speech was articulate, somehow reassuring, and widely applauded. It feels that the country is very much behind him. If pockets of the country aren’t – its fringe groups are.

And like last year, after Israel’s incredible pager operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, everyone is once again in complete awe at Mossad and the IDF for the magnificent long-planned military feat they’ve pulled off.

The next morning, everyone was bleary-eyed from a poor night’s sleep, and in repetition of the days after October 7, the supermarkets were once again wiped of supplies, having been cleared out by panic-buyers as soon as the doors opened.

The hospitals were also cleared, ready for a potential influx of casualties, and everyone told to stay home, attending emergency services only in the most extreme cases.

Then it was shabbat. For those who observe it like me, it was a tough evening – our usual happy gathering and meal was constantly interrupted by air raid sirens, trips to the safe room and countless ear-shattering booms.

The missiles from Iran are far higher in volume and when intercepted, it feels like the whole earth is shaking.

It’s nothing like the missiles from Gaza and Yemen we’ve become accustomed to, which now feel insignificant in comparison.

Since the weekend, we have had the odd siren in the day, but mostly they’ve been going through the night.

We heard the Iranian regime generally sends missiles at night due to the weather – it is too hot in the day to load the missiles up with fuel as the intense sun often causes them to burn out.

So we have some respite during the day, but our nighttimes are fraught with the planes, sirens, shakes and constant sonic booms.

This war has been hanging over our heads for a long time.

Throughout the battle with Hamas, we’ve been fearful of this escalating to what it now has.

But as contradictory as this sounds, now that it has, in some ways it is a relief – especially as we couldn’t have started in a stronger way.

Those who know the bible and the story of Esther, the woman who became Queen of Persia and managed to save the Jewish people from total destruction – there is a line from that story generally being quoted.

Haman – the Perisan courtier who tried to destroy the Jewish people – was told by his wife after his first humiliation that his life will be in danger if he continues to go after the Jews – he didn’t listen and was later hanged along with his whole family.

Even the least religious among us feel it is a precursor to modern day.

It is clear that the nation of Israel is divinely protected, and Iran is going to suffer the same fate as their ancient predecessor Haman if they don’t heed.

Even the few missiles and shrapnel that have managed to get through during the war have generally hit Arabs not Jews.

There is a general feeling of deep resilience and unity within Israel. A very different feeling to the anxious unity of October 7.

This is a stronger feeling – more of a “we got this” rather than the pain of gathering ashes and burying the dead together.

There is hope for the future, not just for Israel, but for the people of Iran too.

We know that deep down, they are our friends, who are suffering the oppression of those in power that terrorise their daily lives.

Unlike the people of Gaza, who have only ever been taught to hate Israel, Iranians remember a time when we treated each other with respect.

The people of Israel and the people of Iran want those times back.

The camaraderie of the nation is now so strong that we are hearing far more complaints of Israelis trying to get back into the country than we are hearing of anyone trying to leave.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14490857/extreme-threat-bombers-israel-war-iran/

DONALD Trump left the G7 summit in Canada a day early after warning “foolish” Iran to evacuate “everyone” from Tehran immediately, sowing fear of a major imminent escalation.

Israel and Iran continued to trade missiles for a fourth night, with Tehran’s civilians fleeing the city in their thousands, but no casualties were reported by Tel Aviv.

Trump said: “I have to be back as soon as I can,” with the White House pinning his return on “what’s going on in the Middle East”.

The President ordered his National Security Council to convene and await his return, though officials maintain that the US will not be joining Israel’s bombing campaign on Iran.

He had originally been scheduled to stay in Canada until late on Tuesday, but by midday Monday had begun signalling he would take flight early.

As Monday night fell, Iran vowed to unleash continuous ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel “until the morning”, though the damage appears limited.

The IRGC’s General Naeini said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency: “The ninth wave of the combined drone and missile attack began and will continue continuously until the morning.”

Monday saw a major escalation in the brewing conflict with Israel directly targeting an Iranian state TV studio which was on air at the time.

Israel accused Iran of using the building “under the guise of civilian activity” as they claimed it was a military communication centre.

Just moments after the blast, Iranian state media announced that Israel should prepare themselves for the “largest and most intense” missile attack in Israel’s history.

Only a handful of ballistic missiles were registered by Israel in the end with minimal damage reported.

But damning satellite pictures have shown just how effective Israel’s attacks have been since the conflict started on Friday.

Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has been decimated by IDF jets who have hammered Iranian depots, HQs, and plants – turning the prized buildings into charred, burnt-out wrecks.

Experts still believe Israel hasn’t yet delivered a fatal blow to Iran’s program with the international atomic body saying some sites are yet to be damaged.

Israel now claims to have air superiority over the enemy which would allow it to methodically target any sites without the threat of having its jets shot down.

A US aircraft carrier also is barrelling towards the Middle East after President Trump warned the “full strength and might” of the military would be used if America was attacked.

The move piled more pressure on Iran’s Ayatollah and comes as Iranians have been heard shouting “Death to Khamenei” – their supreme leader.

Some Tehran locals could be heard yelling for freedom as bombs fell around them, footage posted to social media showed.

Israel possibly may have widened its war goals to include overthrowing Khamenei, according to the Washington Post.

Benjamin Netanyahu has also said that Iran is now “very weak” as he warned of an impending “regime change” in Tehran.

Tension across the Middle East is now skyrocketing as the conflict threatens to spiral into a wider regional war after Pakistan called for the Islamic world to back Iran.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14467652/israel-iran-attack-live-updates/

THE man accused of fatally shooting a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband allegedly had a hit list with dozens of names after being caught by police.

Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of shooting and killing Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home on Saturday, along with injuring Senator John Hoffman and his wife in another shooting.

During the search for the suspect, investigators found a fake police vehicle that Boelter allegedly used to pose as a police officer to carry out the shootings.

Inside the car, police found a cache of weapons, including at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a manifesto with the names and addresses of other public officials.

There were about 45 names in the manifesto, some of which were abortion rights advocates, said law enforcement officials.

Boelter was arrested near his home in Green Isle on Sunday night after a brief manhunt.

He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to Hennepin County court records.

LIST OF DEATH

Named on the list were Senator Amy Klobuchar and “squad member” Rep. Ilhan Omar, reported The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Others include Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott.

Some doctors who worked for Planned Parenthood were on the list, as well as several abortion clinics, including one that is scheduled to open in Omaha, Nebraska.

Former congressman Dean Phillips claimed in an X post that he was on the list as well, writing, “I extend heartfelt gratitude to Minnesota’s law enforcement professionals,” after Boelter’s arrest.

“Now, we must take steps to prevent political violence before it’s too late.”

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirmed that investigators found the manifesto in a press briefing, saying the documents “gives some indications” on a possible motive.

“This is not a document that would be like a traditional manifesto that’s a treatise on all kinds of ideology and writings, Evans said.

He called it a notebook “with a lot of lawmakers and others … as opposed to a succinct document.”

“I don’t want the public to have the impression that there’s this long manifesto that’s providing all of this information and details and then associated with names,” he added. “It’s much more about names.”

NIGHT OF TERROR

Boelter was named as a suspect on June 14 after shootings were reported at the homes of Hortman and Hoffman.

Hortman and her husband, Mark, were pronounced dead at their Brooklyn Park home.

The couple’s dog, Gilbert, was severely injured in the attack and had to be euthanized.

“Her children had to put him down after learning their parents had been murdered,” former Minnesota House member Erin Koegel said on X of Hortman’s children.

“Gilbert wasn’t going to survive.

Hoffman and his wife Yvette had surgery after suffering multiple gunshot wounds at their residence in Champlin, about nine miles away from the Hortmans.

Officials said they are “cautiously optimistic” that the pair will survive what Governor Tim Walz called an “unspeakable tragedy” and a “politically motivated assassination.”

The Hoffmans’ nephew revealed that the couple had been shot 11 times during the horror attack.

He shared in a Facebook post how his aunt Yvette had thrown herself on top of her daughter to protect her.

Boelter is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for the charges against him and a federal warrant for “unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14492885/vance-boelter-minnesota-shooter-manifesto-names/

 

KYLIE Jenner caused a fan frenzy when she revealed exactly what breast surgery she had done, but a top New York plastic surgeon is warning against women copying her order.

Kylie, 27, made the admission in response to influencer Rachel Leary who begged for specifics in a TikTok video.

Leary had praised the beauty mogul’s chest as “the most perfect, natural boob job ever,” requesting Kylie to share what she “asked for” when getting her breasts done.

She captioned the clip, “Help a girl out @Kylie Jenner, I just want to know how to get them to sit like that, respectfully.”

To the surprise of many, Kylie replied directly to the clip, writing, “445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!!!! silicone!!! garth fisher!!! hope this helps lol.”

The exchange came two years after Kylie first confirmed she had undergone a secret breast augmentation at 19 – something she denied for years.

New York plastic surgeon Dr. Norman Rowe, who has not treated Kylie, shared his thoughts on the order in an exclusive chat with The U.S. Sun.

A 450 cc breast implant weighs approximately one pound.

He said, “Kylie, in my opinion, I think they’re a bit too big. I rarely put in big. I always tell my patients – bigger implants, bigger problems, implants will drop.

“I don’t know what technique was used. There are some ways to try and keep them up, but even with the adjunct ways to keep a breast implant up, a 500 on each side, that’s almost a pound.

“Now you say, ‘Oh, it’s not much, it’s only a pound.’ But imagine for the next ten years. On your breast, it will drop.

“I’ve seen those complications, and they’re not fun to deal with.”

“The larger the implant, the quicker it will drop and cause problems.”

He said he’s glad the days of giant breast implants in the 90s and 2000s are over, and most women just want to “get a little cleavage, look better in a sweater.”

Rowe explained, “Two and a quarter is more than enough for me. That’s the patients I see. I don’t do a lot of stripper boobs, as they say.

“Don’t go that big, unless you’re making $20 million on a pole,” he laughed.

Asked if he feels Kylie will need further work done, he said, “She will need to do it. She’s too young to not have them done [again]. She’ll need them done in the next five or six years.

“She’s skinny. Those are those implants are going to drop.

“I’m very conservative. I’ve seen those complications, and they’re not fun to deal with.

“Patients aren’t happy, and once you go down that road, you have two options, either you keep going bigger or you solve it.

“When they drop, you solve the problem by putting in a bigger implant, or you have to put more scars on the breast and put in a smaller implant.

“And I see a lot of people who started off at 300. They had a problem. And rather than take out that implant, put in a 250, a doctor will put in a 400.

“So maybe she had some issues. And to solve the problem they went a little bit bigger as opposed to putting more scars on the breast and doing that.”

Meanwhile, Rowe complimented Kylie’s mom Kris Jenner’s recent facelift which has caused a stir, and said the family still leads the way when it comes to inspiring others to get plastic surgery.

SURGERY SECRETS

He said, “Anything that the Kardashians do on social media or post, the next morning, [or] the same day, my phone blows up. They have millions upon millions of impressionable followers.”

Influencer Rachel was stunned when Kylie revealed her order in the comment section, and she wrote back, “KYLIEEEEE!!! you are the best THANK YOU!!!!”

Fans quickly flooded the comments with praise for the star.

Kylie’s surgeon, Dr. Garth Fisher, is a well-known celebrity doctor and is a longtime favorite of the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

He gave Kourtney Kardashian her boob job, and even carried out a revision facelift for Caitlyn Jenner pre-transition.

Kylie first confirmed her surgery in a 2023 episode of The Kardashians, revealing she had the procedure done before giving birth to daughter Stormi, now seven.

She told Stassie Karanikolaou, “I got my breasts done before Stormi. Within six months of having Stormi – not thinking I would have a child when I was 20 – they were still healing.”

She admitted she regretted the decision, adding, “I had beautiful breasts, like natural t*ts, just gorgeous… and I just wished, obviously, I never got them done to begin with.

“I would recommend anyone who was thinking about it to wait until after you have children. I have a daughter too. I would be heartbroken if she wanted to get her body done at 19.”

She also shared that she wanted to be “the best mom and best example for,” adding, “I wish I could be her and do it all differently because I wouldn’t touch anything.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/14494006/kylie-jenner-breast-implants-big-surgeon-warning/

THIS is the dramatic moment an Iranian state TV studio was hammered by an Israeli bomb leaving the anchor fleeing for her life.

The female host is delivering a stirring propaganda monologue during the live broadcast when she is interrupted by heavy shaking and a thundering bang from the blitz.

The woman, in a black hijab, is speaking about another nearby bombing which isn’t seen in the clip.

She said: “What you just heard and saw was the sound of enemy invasion to our country…”

Then a mighty roar happens and the camera shakes as the building the studio is in is hit directly by the IDF.

The Ayatollah’s mouthpiece, working for the channel IRIB, looks visibly shaken and begins to cower.

The green screen behind the presenter cuts out and dust and plaster flies across the studio.

The anchor then turns and flees – but the inset video continues to show Iranian missiles bombing Israeli civilians.

Production staff shout and scream as they also flee the building.

Following the strike, one of the channel’s propagandists spoke to a camera outside the building.

The five-story structure can be seen burning with black smoke rising into the sky as a small firetruck tries to extinguish the blaze.

He raved “the child killing Zionist regime hit the building while we were working.

“We were warned to evacuate, but we all went to work and I was on the first floor. I do not know how many of my colleagues are injured.”

Iran has now threatened the headquarters for Israeli TV studios N12 and Now14 saying that those working there should evacuated immediately.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described Tehran’s state TV broadcaster as a “communication centre for the military”.

They said in a statement the air force targeted a “communication centre that was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces”.

The building was being used “under the guise of civilian activity”, they added.

It comes after the IDF issued an evacuation order for the part of Tehran that IRIB is based in.

Defence Minister Israel Katz had said ahead of the evacuation warning: “The Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappear.”

Israel has now been bombing Iran for four days and believes it has air superiority now over the country as it seeks to wipe out Tehran’s nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iran is retaliating by bombing Israeli civilian areas – with missiles sneaking past the Iron Dome and killing dozens.

With air superiority, Israel has widened its targets away from nuke and military facilities to energy infrastructure, manufacturing plants, and now TV studios.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14492913/iran-israel-tv-presenter-bombed/

Oil prices were volatile on Monday (Jun 16), after surging 7 per cent on Friday, as renewed strikes by Israel and Iran over the weekend increased concerns that the battle could widen across the region and significantly disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.

Brent crude futures were up 6 cents, or 0.08 per cent, to US$74.29 a barrel by 0742 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 21 cents or 0.29 per cent, to US$73.19. They had surged more than US$4 a barrel earlier in the session and also fell into negative territory briefly.

Both benchmarks settled 7 per cent higher on Friday, having jumped more than 13 per cent during the session to their highest levels since January.

Iranian missiles struck Israel’s Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa on Monday, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week’s G7 meeting that the battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.

An exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran on Sunday resulted in civilian casualties, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes.

The latest developments have stoked concerns about disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage.

About a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption, or some 18 to 19 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, condensate and fuel, passes through the strait.

Buying was driven by the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, with no resolution in sight,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

“But as seen last Friday, some selling emerged on concerns of overreaction,” he said.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ IN FOCUS

While markets are watching for potential disruptions to Iranian oil production due to Israel’s strikes on energy facilities, heightened fears over a Strait of Hormuz blockade could sharply lift prices, Tazawa added.

Iran, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), currently produces around 3.3 million bpd and exports more than 2 million bpd of oil and fuel.

The spare capacity of OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to pump more oil to offset any disruption is roughly equivalent to Iran’s output, according to analysts and OPEC watchers.

“If Iranian crude exports are disrupted, Chinese refiners, the sole buyers of Iranian barrels, would need to seek alternative grades from other Middle Eastern countries and Russian crudes,” said Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil analysis at S&P Global Commodity Insights, in a note.

She performed for the large crowd at Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, on Jun 13, the first night of the Beijing leg of her Aut Nihilo tour. She had her second performance there on Jun 15.

Singaporean singer-songwriter Stefanie Sun has been performing to massive crowds as part of her ongoing tour, Aut Nihilo.

For the first night of the Beijing leg of her tour, on Jun 13, she performed for over 50,000 people at Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest. She performed there again for her second and final show in Beijing on Jun 15.

Sun has also completed the Shanghai and Shenzhen legs of her concert in April and May, respectively. For the first night of her Shanghai concert on Apr 26, she performed in front of 46,000 people, according to her post on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Taiwanese actress Michelle Chen was among the many attendees on the first day of Sun’s Beijing concert.

The actress said on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Jun 14 about the show: “As my favourite Chinese female singer, I have waited too long for this concert.

“I had a chance to watch it (her last concert) more than ten years ago, but I missed it because of work. I didn’t expect that it (her next concert) would be so many years later. I wanted to cry as soon as you came on stage. After all, you carried my youth for so many years,” said the actress known for her role in the 2011 film You Are The Apple Of My Eye.

“Fortunately, there were fast songs, so I only cried for half of the concert,” the 42-year-old added jokingly.

“​​Listening to your songs in those years, the songs always carried one part of innocence, two parts of stubbornness, and three parts of freedom. I found myself in the songs and pursued my dreams. I saw you in person today, and you are so cute! Different from any meaning, you are the green light and so unique.”

This is Sun’s first major tour in a decade since her 2014 Kepler World Tour.

Source : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/stefanie-sun-beijing-concert-large-crowd-466526

Eric Dane, who announced his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in April, has revealed the first symptom he experienced about a year and a half ago.

“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand, and I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” the actor, 52, explained to Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” Monday.

“I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was fatigued. But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse.”

Dane said he went from one hand specialist to another, then to two neurologists. After nine months of doctors’ appointments, he finally received his “sobering” diagnosis.

Since then, Dane’s right arm — his dominant — has “completely stopped working.”

“And then your left arm is fine?” Sawyer, 79, asked.

“No, it’s going,” the “Grey’s Anatomy” alum replied, adding that he feels he has “a few more months” left of use of his left.

He’s also “worried” about his legs going next.

A few months ago, the father of two — a former competitive swimmer and water polo star — was on a boat trip with one of his teenage daughters, whom he shares with his on-again wife, Rebecca Gayheart.

When he jumped into the ocean, he quickly realized he “couldn’t swim or generate enough power to get [himself] back to the boat.” It was then that he had to accept, “I’m not safe in the water anymore.”

As his daughter “drag[ged]” him back to the boat, Dane was “breaking down in tears.”

“I was just heartbroken,” he lamented.

Asked how “angry” the illness makes him, the “Euphoria” star responded sternly, “Very.”

He elaborated, “I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young, and now there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young.”

(Dane’s dad died by suicide when the actor was 7.)

As he continues “fighting” the disease, which is largely “out of [his] control,” Dane plans to “spend time with [his] family and work a little bit — if [he] can.”

He made sure to note that he doesn’t believe this is “the end” of his story.

ALS, according to the ALS Association, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to the eventual demise of motor neurons.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/16/celebrity-news/eric-dane-reveals-first-symptom-that-led-to-als-diagnosis/

Kanye West did not change his name for a second time despite online documentation stating otherwise.

“There is no ‘Ye Ye,’” the “Heartless” rapper’s rep told Page Six on Monday.

The misunderstanding was due to “an oddity created by an online form that required something in both first name and last name fields,” West’s spokesperson explained.

Reps for West, 48, did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Last week, Page Six obtained business documents filed in California by West’s chief financial officer, Hussain Lalani, under the name “Ye Ye.”

The new moniker was listed under “manager or member name” on the rapper’s businesses, including Yeezy Record Label, LLC and Yeezy Apparel.

Previous documents listed his name as “Ye West.”

The “Bound 2” rapper announced in 2018 that he wanted people to call him “Ye” instead of Kanye West.

“the being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE,” he declared via X.

West filed legal paperwork to make the name change permanent in 2021, citing “personal reasons.”

Despite the change, the “All of the Lights” rapper has still been referred to by his former name in the music industry.

In March 2024, his former chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos demanded West be called “Ye” rather than his “slave name” in a letter obtained by Page Six.

“Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes,” Yiannopoulos wrote.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/16/celebrity-news/the-truth-behind-kanye-wests-second-name-change-revealed/

Meghan Markle isn’t letting the haters knock her down.

In a preview clip for the next episode of the “Aspire” podcast, set to drop Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex jokes about the now-viral video she shared of her and Prince Harry dancing around the delivery room.

“You have to be authentic,” the As Ever founder tells host Emma Grede, before asking, “Did you see my ‘Baby Momma’ dance?”

Grede admits that she had indeed seen the video, telling Markle that she even “did a little secret cheer” for her while watching it. “Like, I wanna see that happiness and that honesty and that ‘I don’t give a f–k’ kind of thing,” the podcast host adds.

“By the way, that wasn’t yesterday,” Markle clarifies, reminding fans and critics that she recorded the video while she was pregnant with Princess Lilibet in 2021.

“That was four years ago. So it’s also a really great reminder that, with all the noise or whatever people do, there’s still a whole life. A real, authentic, fun life that’s happening behind the scenes.”

“I’m just grateful that now, being back on social as well, I have a place where I can share it on my own terms,” she concludes.

The comments come after the “With Love, Meghan” host, 43, shared the throwback video via Instagram for her daughter’s fourth birthday on June 4 — and faced immediate backlash.

In the clip, Markle danced next to her hospital bed in a black labor and delivery gown to the viral “Baby Momma Dance Song.” Prince Harry, 40, could be seen crossing back and forth in front of the screen in a casual hoodie and jeans.

“Four years ago today, this also happened,” Markle captioned the video post.

“Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do! 😂.”

Followers took to X to express their dismay. “Everything they do to be ‘relatable’ is weirdly not relatable. It’s bizarre how they never miss,” wrote one person, while another called the video “fake and cringe.”

Others, however, enjoyed the pre-birth dance, writing things like, “SO CUTE,” “LOOOOVE!! Go Meghan and Harry!” and “parenting goals.”

Markle’s pal Christopher Bouzy also came to the couple’s defense, blasting the harsh critics of the video.

“Imagine, for a moment, what it would feel like to have some of the happiest and most vulnerable moments of your life turned into ammunition for hate,” Bouzy told Newsweek.

He further slammed conspiracy theorists who questioned the legitimacy of Markle’s baby bump.

“Every maternity dress and every baby video becomes ‘evidence’ for strangers obsessively trying to prove your pregnancies were a sham. It is sickening and cruel,” he argued.

“Beyond the personal toll on Meghan and Harry, there’s a broader societal damage to consider.”

He continued on, adding, “When conspiracy theories like these flourish, they corrode our collective grasp on reality and decency.”

Despite the intense backlash, the couple was seen stepping out for a family trip to Disneyland with Lilibet and Prince Archie, 6, in June.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/16/royal-family/meghan-markle-speaks-out-on-viral-delivery-room-dance-video-with-prince-harry/

When North Korea’s new warship capsized into the sea during its launch last month, it made international headlines. News organisations followed every development, from its successful refloating to its relaunch last Friday.

But why such interest, given there were no casualties, and the damage to the hull appeared relatively minor?

The intrigue has less to do with the failure itself and more with how Kim Jong Un reacted.

Kim immediately denounced the failure as “a criminal act” that “could not be tolerated”, saying it had damaged the country’s “dignity”. He ordered that the ship be restored immediately, and those responsible be punished. Four party officials were subsequently arrested.

This furious outburst, followed by the ship’s swift repair, teaches us a lot about the North Korean regime, whose moves are often so difficult to decipher.

First, it reveals how serious North Korea is about building a nuclear-armed navy.

Despite having a nuclear arsenal, which is growing in size and sophistication, and an enormous standing army, North Korea’s navy is considered greatly inferior to those of its enemies – South Korea, Japan and the United States – who have some of the most powerful naval fleets in the world.

“Kim Jong Un believes nuclear weapons are the only way he can protect his country, and yet all it has at sea is an old submarine and some small support ships,” said Choi Il, a retired South Korean navy captain.

Therefore, almost since the start of his reign, Kim has prioritised building a modern and powerful navy, equipped with nuclear weapons.

This warship is a key first step towards this goal. It is one of two destroyers North Korea has built over the past year, the first of which launched successfully in April. Weighing 5,000 tonnes, they are by far the biggest warships North Korea has, and are capable, in theory, of firing nuclear short-range missiles.

According to Mr Choi, who now heads South Korea’s Submarine Research Institute, it is extremely rare for a destroyer of this class to capsize during its construction and launch, given the advanced technology required to build one.

This would therefore have been “a very embarrassing incident” for Kim Jong Un, he said, as it “highlights the limitations of North Korea’s shipbuilding”.

Worse still, this flagship project failed in front of his eyes. Kim was attending the ship’s launch ceremony, along with his daughter and a crowd of spectators.

“North Korea is obsessed with showing off. I imagine they were planning a whole series of performances, so of course Kim couldn’t help but be furious”, Mr Choi added.

But experts in North Korea propaganda believe there is far more to Kim Jong Un’s outburst than raw anger and humiliation.

Choosing to publicise the capsizing in the way he did was a deliberate political strategy, they say, and shows Kim is shifting away from the regime’s tendency to conceal unpleasant truths.

Rachel Minyoung Lee from the Washington-based Stimson Centre, who has analysed North Korean propaganda for decades, explained how this has become a core pillar of Kim’s propaganda strategy.

Before Kim came to power, and even in the early years of his rule, the regime would hide anything negative as a way to control the narrative.

But as information has started to spread more freely in North Korea, it has become harder to cover up such major incidents.

“The leadership decided it was almost silly to try and hide what people already knew, and much more effective to show people they were dealing with problems,” Ms Lee said.

“Now, when there’s a problem, you publicise it, you call out those responsible, and demonstrate to people that if you don’t do your job, you will be held accountable. And in doing so, you let everyone know that the government and the leadership are doing their jobs well”.

In the case of the warship, this strategy appears to have worked remarkably effectively. The repairs were completed ahead of schedule, in just over three weeks, defying the expectations of naval experts.

“The rapid relaunch shows how even a failure can be turned into a political success,” said Kim Dong-yup, an assistant professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

But he and others say Kim has used this incident not just to project success but to strengthen people’s loyalty to the regime and its ideology – another consistent feature of his rule.

The ship capsized as it was launched sideways from the dock into the sea – a complicated maritime manoeuvre – and part of the bow got stuck on the launching ramp. But rather than present this as a technical failure, Kim Jong Un claimed the incident was caused by “absolute carelessness and irresponsibility.”

In contrast, he praised a worker who died during the ship’s construction, for “putting his blood and sweat” into the project.

“They turned his death into a symbol of devotion, to strengthen people’s loyalty,” said Professor Kim Dong-yup.

Rather than present Kim Jong Un as an infallible god as was the case for his father and grandfather, they elevated the loyal worker, he said. “This is a big shift in North Korea’s governing technique and shows Kim Jong Un’s astonishing ability to adapt and control the narrative”.

The biggest takeaway for Ms Lee, the propaganda expert, is that “the North Koreans achieve whatever they set out to do.”

“They set this goal of having a nuclear armed navy, and now they’re demonstrating they’re on their way to achieving that”.

No-one thought they could build the destroyers in just over a year, or repair this damage in less than a month, but they have, Ms Lee added, much like they did with their nuclear and missile programme despite the world’s initial scepticism.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9898zjgq2ro

The U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials also said the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.

Taken together, the deployments, which were first reported by Reuters, suggest the United States is greatly strengthening its air power for potentially sustained operations as Iran and Israel trade blows in unprecedented open warfare.
Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Since then, Iran and Israel have launched large salvos against each other, killing and wounding civilians and raising concerns about a broader regional conflict.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X late on Monday, said he had ordered the deployment of additional defensive capabilities to the Middle East, but did not offer specifics.

“Protecting U.S. forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,” Hegseth said in a post on social media platform X.
AirNav systems, a flight tracking website, said more than 31 U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft – primarily KC-135s and KC-46s – left the United States on Sunday, heading east.
The U.S. officials declined to comment on the number of aircraft. The Pentagon referred Reuters to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The sudden eastward deployment of over two dozen U.S. Air Force tankers is not business as usual. It’s a clear signal of strategic readiness,” said Eric Schouten at Dyami Security Intelligence.
“Whether it’s about supporting Israel, preparing for long-range operations, logistics is key, this move shows the U.S. is positioning itself for rapid escalation if tensions with Iran spill over.”

AirNav systems said the U.S. military flights had landed in Europe, including at Ramstein air base in Germany and airports in the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Greece.
The United States has been cautious so far, helping Israel knock down incoming missiles. Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.
One of them said the United States did not support going after Iran’s political leadership, as long as Americans were not being targeted.
Trump has lauded Israel’s offensive and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include U.S. targets.
A third U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the tanker movement but stressed that U.S. military activities in the region were defensive in nature.

Another source familiar with the issue said the United States has told regional countries that it is making defensive preparations and would switch to offensive operations if Iran strikes any U.S. facilities.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-bolsters-military-options-trump-with-refueling-aircraft-officials-say-2025-06-16/

Shocking footage captures the moment a knife-wielding maniac lunged at officers inside a Manhattan courthouse Monday, slashing two in the neck and face.

The crazed suspect, identified as Jonathan Wohl, 37, of Queens, is seen calmly approaching the metal detectors in Manhattan Criminal court around 9:30 a.m. – but then suddenly pounces on a court officer, video obtained by The Post shows.

The maniac then turns and brutally attacks the second officer, stabbing him repeatedly before he gets tackled into a barrier near the entrance of the courthouse.

Several other officers are then seen taking the unhinged attacker to the ground and putting him in handcuffs, the clip shows.

Law enforcement sources said the accused assailant did not have a scheduled hearing at the 100 Centre Street courthouse and a motive for the assault is not known – although officials called it “targeted.”

“The assaults, captured on surveillance video, appeared preliminarily to be a targeted attack of the uniformed officers working security details at the courthouse,” a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration said in a statement. “Several court officers immediately rushed to stop the assailant, subduing him near a bank of magnetometers, disarming him and taking him into custody.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/16/us-news/shocking-footage-captures-moment-knife-wielding-maniac-lunges-at-officers-inside-nyc-courthouse/

President Trump warned that “everyone” in Tehran should “immediately evacuate” in an alarming Monday night Truth Social post as it was revealed he would be leaving the G7 summit a day early due to the Iran-Israel conflict.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump posted on social media.

About an hour later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted that the president would be departing the G7 in Canada early “because of what’s going on in the Middle East.”

“I have to be back early for obvious reasons,” Trump told reporters ahead of his departure from the summit.

“We had a, just a really great relationship with everybody and it’s really nice. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand. This is big stuff.”

The commander in chief, according to an NBC News report and Fox News host Lawrence Jones III, asked the National Security Council to be ready in the Situation Room upon his return to Washington, DC.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s reported NSC request.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be returning with Trump to DC, NBC News reported, citing a State Department spokesperson.

The president’s evacuation warning came after Israeli officials called for those in Tehran to evacuate earlier Monday ahead of its continued military campaign against Iran, which has included slews of missile exchanges between the conflicting countries.

The evacuation area includes an estimated 330,000 people in central Tehran, including Iran’s state television headquarters, police headquarters and three key hospitals including one owned by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Iranian authorities dismissed Israel’s call for evacuation as nothing more than “psychological warfare.”

Still, thousands have been pushed to flee, the chaos only exacerbated by Tehran’s lack of publicly accessible bomb shelters. A majority of the 9.5 million people in Iran’s capital have been left in limbo as mass evacuations clogged traffic while others lack the means to leave at all.

Those who can’t flee have resorted to waiting out the strikes in their basements or subway stations.

Monday marked the fourth day of military escalation after Israel originally launched multiple missiles aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership last Friday. Since then, both countries have swapped missiles back-and-forth, including some that struck an Iranian television news network while live on air.

As the G7 summit began in Canada on Sunday, world leaders assured that the expanding conflict would be a high priority for discussion. Trump, though, skirted a question on the potential for US military involvement.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” he told reporters.

Earlier that same day, Trump told ABC News that it is “possible” the US could get involved in the conflict.

“We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” Trump told the outlet.

The summit representatives intended to issue a signed G7 statement regarding Iran and Israel urging restraint on both sides, but Trump refused to pen the letter.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/16/us-news/trump-warns-everyone-should-immediately-evacuate-tehran-in-ominous-truth-social-post/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was adamant that the intelligence was “absolutely clear” that Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon — and described himself as President Trump’s “junior partner” while defending the preemptive strikes.

“These [are] people who chant Death to America, try to assassinate President Trump twice, killed 241 of your Marines in Beirut, killed and injured thousands of American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, try to bomb a restaurant in Washington, DC, chant ‘Death to America.’ Burn the American flag,” Netanyahu said on a special edition of Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“Look, they also tried to kill me, but I’m his junior partner,” he later added, referring to Trump. “They fired a missile into my bedroom window. They missed.”

That appears to be a reference to a drone shot fired by Hezbollah that hit Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea last year. The drone did not fully penetrate his house, due to reinforced glass and other protective measures.

The Israeli leader also pledged that he would not allow the Jewish people to suffer a “second Holocaust” from a nuclear-armed Iran.

“That is something that we couldn’t possibly accept. Whether it would be six months or 12 months or 13 months is immaterial. Once they go that route, it’s too late, and we will not have a second Holocaust, a nuclear holocaust,” Netanyahu said.

“We already had one in the previous century,” he added. “Never again is now, and we have to act now.”

Israel had conducted preemptive strikes on Iran late last week, targeting its nuclear facilities, top military brass, missile capability and top scientists, sparking a tit-for-tat conflict between the two adversarial nations.

Back in March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iran “is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”

But Netanyahu brushed off that assessment and insisted that Israel had “excellent” intelligence to the contrary.

“The Intel we got and we shared with the United States was absolutely clear — was absolutely clear, that they were working in a secret plan to weaponize the uranium. They were marching very quickly. They would achieve a test device and possibly an initial device within months, and certainly less than a year,” the longstanding Israeli leader claimed.

“We saw enough uranium, enriched uranium for nine bombs,” the Israeli PM later reflected. “It’s like Hitler’s nuclear scientists. Would you leave them? Of course not.”

Iran has quickly retaliated against Israel, with Khamenei vowing that “life will be dark” for Israelis. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared Sunday that “If the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop.”

But Netanyahu didn’t seem keen on letting up on Iran, calling Araghchi’s statement “hogwash.” The Israeli prime minister cited two main reasons for the preemptive strikes on Tehran, claiming that the attack was done to “not only protect ourselves, but to protect the world.”

“We were facing an imminent threat, a dual existential threat. One, the threat of Iran rushing to weaponize their enriched uranium to make atomic bombs with a specific and declared intent to destroy us. Second, a rush to increase their ballistic missile arsenal,” the Israeli leader claimed.

Many military analysts believed that a driving factor in Israel’s decision to strike Iran was that the theocratic regime is widely perceived as vulnerable at the moment. Iran’s proxy forces have been battered over the past two years or so.

Israel mounted a pager attack on Hezbollah that wiped out much of the terror group’s top leadership, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed and Hamas has been beaten back significantly.

However, Netanyahu insisted that Israel was forced to act and that it was the “12th hour,” and heavily implied that the threat was imminent.

“Our intel shows that they intend to give these nuclear weapons to their Houthi proxies and others. And that’s nuclear terrorism on a global scale,” Netanyahu warned.

Netanyahu, who has spent some 17 nonconsecutive years as prime minister, also invoked concerns about Iran’s efforts to assassinate President Trump. Last year, it was revealed that the feds foiled an attempt by a Pakistani man who had been collaborating with an Iranian handler to potentially kill Trump. Netanyahu said there was a second attempt as well.

While the Israelis have dramatically diminished Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities, there are looming questions about whether they can get at Iran’s facilities that are buried deep underground, such as the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is thought to be about half a mile deep.

Many military observers believe Israel would need American bombers capable of dropping heavy bunker-buster bombs to destroy that facility. Netanyahu declined to delve into the specifics about that conundrum.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/15/world-news/netanyahu-vows-we-will-not-have-a-second-holocaust-says-clear-intel-warned-iran-was-on-verge-of-a-nuclear-weapon/

While ICE arrests and deportations have grabbed headlines, President Trump is also running a separate but complementary “mass deportation” program — one that encourages aliens here unlawfully to go home voluntarily.

And if reports are correct, that plan is more successful than anyone could have imagined.

Based on government data, my organization, the Center for Immigration Studies, has conservatively estimated there are about 15.4 million illegal aliens in the United States, a 50% increase over the four tumultuous years of the Biden administration.

That’s no surprise, given how Biden and his Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ignored congressional detention mandates and ushered millions of illegal migrants into the United States.

Trump rode a wave of concerns about the costs those migrants are imposing on schools, hospitals, housing, and essential government services in cities and towns across the United States to a second term.

Now that he’s back in the Oval Office, it’s up to him, “border czar” Tom Homan, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to drive the unauthorized population down and restore credibility to our immigration system.

They’ve implemented a two-track plan to tackle this onerous task.

One of those tracks relies on arrests and deportations of aliens unlawfully here, which at the outset has focused mainly on criminals (the “worst first” strategy).

The other track is more subtle but also cheaper for taxpayers and arguably much more effective —encouraging illegal migrants here to self-deport.

It began with an Inauguration Day Trump directive requiring DHS to ensure all aliens present in the United States — legal and otherwise — have registered with the federal government, and to prosecute those who don’t comply.

By late February, Noem had implemented that registration program.

DHS next launched a multi-million-dollar ad campaign warning migrants not to enter illegally or, alternatively, to leave voluntarily now and possibly “have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream.”

Noem also rebranded the notorious CBP One app — which the Biden administration used to funnel hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants into our country — as “CBP Home,” which aliens can use to “notify the U.S. Government of their intent to depart”.

That rebranding coincided with an offer of financial incentives for aliens who leave voluntarily, a stipend of $1,000. That’s in lieu of costly physical deportation, which can cost taxpayers $17,100 per person on average.

How effective has self-deportation been?

One way to track the program is by checking employment numbers. One financial wiz cited by the Wall Street Journal calculated a decline in the immigrant population of 773,000 in the first four months of Trump II.

The Washington Post claims “a million foreign-born workers have exited the workforce since March.” The Post frames this as “a sign of the weakening labor supply.” Yet the paper also notes, “Average hourly wages accelerated, rising by 0.4 percent over the month, to $36.24 in May, as earnings continue to beat inflation in a boost to workers’ spending power.”

In other words, with fewer illegal immigrants, businesses had to raise wages to attract workers.

But aliens will only leave if they believe Trump and Homan are serious about arrests, and employers know the feds are targeting shady businesses.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/15/opinion/nearly-1-million-illegal-immigrants-have-self-deported-under-trump-which-has-led-to-higher-wages/

President Donald Trump rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.

After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.

Asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan.

“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do,” Netanyahu said. “And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”

Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei “fake.”

Netanyahu in the Fox interview also said regime change “could certainly be the result” of the conflict “because the Iranian regime is very weak.”

Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran not to retaliate against U.S. targets in the Middle East.

Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. Iran, however, has said it would hold the U.S. — which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry — responsible for its backing of Israel.

“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said.

Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal” and that it could come “soon.”

But as he departed the White House on Sunday evening for the Group of Seven leaders summit in the Canadian Rockies, Trump was more tempered in comments to reporters about when the Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation would wind down.

“I hope there is going to be a deal, and we’ll see what happens, but sometimes they have to fight it out,” Trump said.

The conflict is expected to loom large during his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union.

The U.S. president said he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities “just like I got India and Pakistan to” after the two countries’ recent cross-border confrontation.

India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India’s strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases.

It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.

Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.

“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump posted. “Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”

There’s a divide in Trump world about how far the president should go in backing Israel.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are among the prominent backers of Trump who have argued that voters supported Trump because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-israel-attack-43e3b1ce47d12477ae4533c941386b75

“Stuck”. That is the word most people who have spoken to the BBC use to describe life in Iran right now.

After three days of Israeli attacks, “everyone is trying to escape” Tehran “one way or another,” one resident told BBC News Persian.

On Sunday, long queues formed at petrol stations across the city. Many people tried to leave for remote areas, away from any possible Israeli target, but could not even get out of the province because of heavy traffic.

“Tehran isn’t safe, clearly,” one resident said. “We get no alarms or warnings from officials about Israeli attacks. We just hear the blasts and hope our place isn’t hit. But where can we go? Nowhere feels safe.”

One person who managed to move from Tehran to another province said: “I don’t think I’ve fully processed that I’m living in an active war zone, and I’m not sure when I’ll reach acceptance.”

“This is not my war. I’m not rooting for either side, I just want to survive along with my family.”

Since Friday, Israel hit Iran with its biggest wave of air strikes in years.

Israel’s strikes have led to retaliation from Iran, which has launched missile attacks on Israel.

At least 10 people have been killed in Israel, authorities said. Iranian media, citing the health ministry, reported that 128 people had been killed in Israeli attacks as of midday on Saturday.

One Iranian told the BBC she has not been able to sleep for two nights: “I’ve gone through really tough situations.”

She said the current situation reminds her of bombings and going to shelters during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when she was a child.

“The difference is that back then, at least when an attack happened, we heard the air raid siren or at least warnings before it happened. But now, during this bombing or any air raid, there’s no sirens or warnings.”

Younger people, born after the war, do not know what it was like, BBC News Persian’s Ghoncheh Habibiazad said.

One woman in Tehran said she has considered leaving the city to escape the attacks.

“We’ve all wanted to go to smaller cities or villages, anywhere we can go, but each of us has loved ones who can’t leave, and we’re thinking of them,” she said. “What we’re experiencing is not fair to any of us, the people of Iran.”

“We’re all trying to get through these days in fear, exhaustion, and a lot of stress, this is extremely hard and painful.”

One resident in the capital said: “I can’t just leave Tehran. I can’t leave my elderly parents who can’t travel far and long and leave the city myself. Besides, I need to show up to work. What can I do now?”

The internet has been unstable, so it is very hard to keep in touch with people inside the country.

Many of those living outside the country are sending messages to loved ones, hoping for a reply.

Some people have also received warnings from the Israel military asking all Iranians to leave areas near military sites. People in Tehran seem most worried about this.

“How are we supposed to know where a military site is and where isn’t?” one said.

Separately, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a message to Iranians on the second day of the attacks said “the time has come” for Iranians to unite “by standing up for your freedom”.

However, people in the country have so far chosen to stay safe and there is little evidence that Netanyahu’s call has resonated on the ground, BBC News Persian’s Daryoush Karimi said.

Inside Iran, what perhaps shocked people the most was the destruction of residential buildings, even more than the attacks on nuclear facilities and airbases, said BBC News Persian’s Pouyan Kalani.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xgxdr01wro

King Charles III shared a heartfelt Father’s Day tribute after his second-born son, Prince Harry, made a plea for them to reconcile.

On Sunday, the monarch shared a throwback photo of himself and his sister, Princess Anne, playing on the swings while their late father, Prince Philip, pushed them.

Charles also shared a photo of his wife, Queen Camilla, with her late dad, Major Bruce Shand, from their April 2005 wedding day.

“To all Dads everywhere, we wish you a happy Father’s Day today,” the British king, 76, captioned the post.

Charles’ tribute comes more than a month after Harry, 40, shared that he would be willing to make amends with his estranged father and brother, Prince William.

“There have been so many disagreements, differences, between me and some of my family,” the Duke of Sussex told BBC News on May 3.

“This current situation that has been ongoing for five years with regard to human life and safety is the sticking point. It is the only thing that’s left,” the dad of two said, referring to him losing his appeal against the UK government’s decision to strip him of his publicly funded security after he stepped down from his royal duties and moved to North America in 2020.

Harry acknowledged that “some members” of his family would “never forgive” him for “lots of things,” including writing his tell-all memoir, “Spare.”

The Invictus Games founder admitted that he didn’t “know how much longer” his father, Charles, had left amid his cancer battle.

“He won’t speak to me,” the prince claimed, “because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”

Despite their “disagreements” and “differences,” Harry said he would “love reconciliation with [his] family” because “there’s no point in continuing to fight.”

The prince released his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” in 2023.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/15/royal-family/king-charles-shares-heartfelt-fathers-day-message-after-prince-harrys-pleas-for-reconciliation/

A royal tribute.

Meghan Markle shared adorable home videos of husband Prince Harry and their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in honor of Father’s Day on Sunday.

“The best,” the Duchess of Sussex captioned the heartwarming montage via Instagram. “Happy Father’s Day to our favorite guy 💕.”

See more

The reel — which was set to Jason Mraz’s song “Have It All” — featured candid moments of Harry with their two children over the years.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, was seen happily dancing with toddler Archie in the kitchen, as well as laughing during storytime with his giggly mini-me.

Another sweet clip showed the royal dad being smothered with kisses by his son, 6, and daughter, 4, on a backyard swing.

Markle, 43, also included footage of Harry teaching Archie how to ride a bike.

The doting father was seen cautiously jogging closeby as his son pedaled down a path at their $14 million estate in Montecito, Calif.

The “With Love, Meghan” star was heard cheering from behind the camera as Lili sweetly came up running behind her brother.

Harry and Markle — who married in 2018 — welcomed son Archie in May 2019 and daughter Lilibet in June 2021.

Earlier this month, the royal couple was mocked online after the “Suits” alum shared a throwback video of their “Baby Momma Dance” in the delivery room to celebrate Lili’s birthday.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/15/royal-family/meghan-markle-celebrates-best-dad-prince-harry-with-adorable-home-videos/

 

Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place.
“Your holidays, my misery,” protesters chanted in the streets of Barcelona while holding up banners emblazoned with slogans such as “mass tourism kills the city” and “their greed brings us ruin”.

Under the umbrella of the SET alliance – Sud d’Europa contra la Turistització, or Catalan for “Southern Europe against Overtourism” – protesters joined forces with groups in Portugal and Italy, arguing that uncontrolled tourism was sending housing prices soaring and forcing people out of their neighbourhoods.
Barcelona, a city of 1.6 million, drew 26 million tourists last year.
Authorities in the north eastern Spanish city said around 600 people joined the demonstration there, some firing water pistols or setting off coloured smoke and putting stickers saying ‘Neighbourhood self-defence, tourist go home’ on shop windows and hotels.

Outside one hotel, an agitated worker confronted the protesters saying he was “only working” and was not the venue’s owner.
There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada. Protests in Italy took place in cities including Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice, where locals oppose the construction of two hotels that will add around 1,500 new beds to the city, the organisers told Reuters.
In Barcelona, the city government said last year it would bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 to make the city more liveable for residents.
“I’m very tired of being a nuisance in my own city. The solution is to propose a radical decrease in the number of tourists in Barcelona and bet on another economic model that brings prosperity to the city,” Eva Vilaseca, 38, told Reuters at Sunday’s demonstration in Barcelona, dismissing the common counterargument that tourism brings jobs and prosperity.

International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11% to $838 billion this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/protesters-against-overtourism-take-streets-southern-europe-2025-06-15/

Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday, as the two foes launched fresh attacks and raised fears of a wider conflict.
“The Iranians informed Qatari and Omani mediators that they will only pursue serious negotiations once Iran has completed its response to the Israeli pre-emptive strikes,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conflict.

Iran made “clear that it will not negotiate while under attack,” the official said.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days.
Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation in what has emerged as the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies.
The official told Reuters media reports that Iran appealed to Oman and Qatar to engage the U.S. to broker a ceasefire and renew nuclear talks were inaccurate.
Iran’s foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters request for comment, nor did Qatar’s foreign ministry or Oman’s ministry of information.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-rejects-ceasefire-negotiations-while-under-israeli-attack-official-says-2025-06-15/

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have claimed to have discovered a second hidden city sat deep beneath Egypt’s famous pyramids of Giza.

The potentially seismic revelation could even help to prove the existence of a whopping complex of chambers buried 2,000ft underground.

Back in March, a clever team of Italian and Scottish archaeologists sensationally claimed that “an entire hidden world of many structures” is hidden beneath the pyramids.

This was described as a secret city at the time.

They used radar technology to see a complex network sat more than a kilometre below the ground of the Khafre pyramid.

It is said to include huge vertical columns with spiral stairs, a water system and connecting corridors which all formed a city.

But now, the same team has uncovered a similar phenomenon under a second pyramid in Giza.

Just months after the Khafre discovery, they claim to have found another city beneath the Pyramid of Menkaure – the smallest of the three main pyramids at Giza.

The newly-discovered shafts and pillars would blow apart the accepted wisdom about the origins of the pyramids, if ever proven.

Filippo Biondi, a radar expert from University of Strathclyde and co-author of the research, told the Daily Mail their data shows a 90 per cent probability the Menkaure and the Khafre share the same pillars.

The team used “objective analysis of the tomography data” to help uncover the mystery structures beneath the pyramids.

Biondi said: “We firmly believe that the Giza structures are interconnected, reinforcing our view that the pyramids are merely the tip of the iceberg of a colossal underground infrastructural complex.

“This network likely consists of a dense system of tunnels linking the main subterranean structures.

“Discoveries like these under Menkaure challenge us to rethink our understanding of ancient Egyptian history and humanity’s past, opening new perspectives on our origins and capabilities.”

In an even bolder claim, they theorised the Giza complex of pyramids, widely thought the be around 4,500 years old, was actually built 38,000 years ago.

The shafts and chambers they identified below ground are said to be a similar age.

Another major suggestion is that the people who built the pyramids may have been wiped out by a “divine flood” triggered by an asteroid pact.

According to the theory, the pyramids were the only “megastructure” to survive the extinction event.

Many fellow researchers remain sceptical about the existence of a hidden network underneath the great pyramids.

Some have even outright blasted the archaeologists for their proposals.

Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former Minister of Antiquities, labelled the findings “completely wrong” and not rooted in science.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tech/14487853/hidden-city-egypt-pyramids/

Another transfer of 1,200 bodies from Russia was received by Ukraine as part of an exchange agreement that was struck in Istanbul talks earlier this month, Ukrainian officials announced on Sunday.

“Another 1,200 bodies which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel, were returned to Ukraine,” the coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war in Kyiv reported, adding that the bodies would have to be forensically identified.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Facebook that a total of 4,812 bodies have been returned this week. “I am grateful to everyone involved in this humanitarian mission,” he said.

Ukraine has not commented whether it has sent any bodies to the Russian side.

Russian news outlets also reported on the handover, which was part of a series of agreements reached between the two warring sides in Istanbul on June 2, that included also several prisoner exchanges.

According to the media reports, Russia did not receive any of its fallen soldiers from Ukraine on Sunday. Russia plans to return the bodies of 6,000 Ukrainians.

Exact extent of the losses remains unknown

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, neither Moscow nor Kyiv has typically disclosed its military losses.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC, a US news channel, earlier this year that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died and some 380,000 were hurt.

Russia has not disclosed the number of its military fatalities since September 2022, when it reported that fewer than 6,000 soldiers had died. This figure is widely considered to be significantly lower than the actual number of casualties.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-receives-1200-more-war-dead-bodies-from-russia/a-72917337

THIS is the heartstopping moment a six-year-old drowns in a pool as his cousin watches on helplessly – before a bystander bravely intervenes.

Shocking footage showed the boy desperately trying to stay afloat for nearly two minutes – before a quick-thinking stranger leapt into the water to help him.

The harrowing video begins with the two cousins standing on the side of a Fort Lauderdale pool in Florida.

The six-year-old boy named Oscar then decides to jump recklessly onto a blue inflatable sunbed.

He suddenly loses his balance, and then falls into the water.

Seemingly unable to swim, he starts wailing his arms around desperately, failing to tread water.

Standing on the side of the pool, his cousin realises he can’t do anything as he does not know how to swim either.

Desperate to help his drowning relative, the adult cousin tries dipping his feat in the water, in an attempt to get himself into the water too.

But he hesitates a few times when he realises he would also end up drowning.

He even tries to push out the sunbed for the child to grab on to.

But still struggling, the child takes no notice if the inflatable and continues to flail around in the water.

The youngster even appears to remain under the surface of the water for an extended amount of time.

He is trapped without air for over a minute and a half before someone comes to his rescue.

Luckily construction worker Roque Ivan Ocampo who was at the same building heard the screams and was alerted to the commotion.

He rushed into the pool area through a gate, before jumping in without any hesitation.

The heroic worker dragged the child to the side of the pool, before starting CPR.

Police are then seen arriving at the poolside, also helping the boy who luckily survived the frightening ordeal.

Ocampo told NBC News: “He doesn’t move at all, that’s why I thought maybe, ‘He’s dead,’ because he wasn’t moving.”

He also said in the moment there was “no time to think, just to act”.

The boy was rushed to hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

Police officer Jamie Bodine said: “It takes a lot of bravery to do what he did, and I think Oscar’s outcome would’ve been a lot worse if [he] hadn’t jumped in the pool, pulled him out, and done CPR right away.

“I don’t think we thanked him enough that day.”

The boy and Ocampo reunited the next day, where he told Oscar: “You’re very strong and I’m so proud of you.”

But the internet was somewhat confused by the footage – especially the bizarre fact his cousin stood by for so long without doing anything.

One user said: “Where were the parents? Why were [they] left alone near the pool without supervision?

“Something is wrong with this scenario.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14485495/boy-drowns-cousin-watches-stranger-saves/

Supporters of police officer killed in 2022 tell The U.S. Sun why they are confident justice will be served

ONE dead police officer, two furious camps of supporters, and a flood of sickening, bitter online hate that’s threatening to destroy lives.

The small Massachusetts suburb of Canton, just 20 miles south of Boston, will hold its breath this weekend as the tumultuous Karen Read murder trial enters a decisive stage.

DRAMATIC ENDING

Closing arguments were heard Friday, as Read fights a second degree murder charge over the January 29, 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.

The jury were sent for deliberation after eight weeks in Norfolk Superior Court and will return on Monday with a decision expected imminently.

She also faced charges for driving drunk when the fatal incident occurred, along with fleeing the scene after allegedly causing O’Keefe’s death.

He was found dead in the snow outside a private party at the house of Brian Albert, a retired Boston cop and lifelong Canton resident.

What began as a tragic incident has spiraled into one of the most polarizing legal battles in recent state history.

And at the heart of the drama —played out daily via live courthouse streams — is a vicious tug-of-war between two increasingly hostile groups of observers, each convinced they know where justice truly lies.

The U.S. Sun spoke last month with Read supporter Rita Lombardi, who described how the town has been “torn apart,” with relatives and friends turning on her over her defense of the accused woman.

She even said her lawn had been vandalized with bleach filled balloons which were allegedly thrown onto her property.

Theories of police misconduct have circulated widely, with critics pointing fingers at investigators for alleged interference and a lack of transparency.

Read’s defense team alleges that O’Keefe, who was the legal guardian of his niece and nephew after their parents died, actually entered Albert’s house, only to be beaten, possibly bitten by a dog, then hauled out into the snow.

FURIOUS COUNTER-CLAIM

But O’Keefe’s loved ones argue that Read acted out of malice after a night of heavy drinking, insisting she is solely responsible for the 46-year-old’s death by reversing into him.

Read, who chose not to testify in either trial, has since become outspoken in the media.

She’s spoken to reporters outside court, appeared on TV, sat down for a Vanity Fair interview, and participated in a true-crime docuseries — all while maintaining her innocence.

But in court, prosecutors played a pivotal moment from her October 2024 Dateline interview, where Read appeared to waver. “I didn’t think I hit him,” she said in the clip. “But could I have clipped him… knocked him out… and in drunkenness and in the cold, he didn’t come to again?”

“She was drunk, she hit him and left him to die” said prosecutor Hank Brennan, who is best known for defending James “Whitey” Bulger, the notorious mob boss, in his closing statement Friday, where he described their two year relationship as “toxic.”

“It was crumbling. The discontent was palpable.”

The late officer also has a vocal group of backers on X, many of whom remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation — but are convinced of Read’s guilt.

The U.S. Sun spoke to two O’Keefe supporters who requested anonymity due to ongoing harassment.

They claim some Read advocates have contacted their employers and launched smear campaigns that spilled into their professional and personal lives.

“We get death threats,” said one supporter. “People stalk and dox us. They post old photos and dig through every account you’ve ever had. The harassment is unreal.”

The unnamed woman said the online chaos reminds her of the Delphi murders, where amateur sleuths posted graphic crime scene images of two slain Indiana teens.

The twisted man behind one of America’s most haunting child murder cases was unmasked not in court—but online, as chilling footage of his confession exploded across social media.

Richard Allen, the Indiana pharmacy worker who butchered two schoolgirls on a wooded trail, is now serving 130 years behind bars—but it’s the internet, not the justice system, that truly blew this case wide open.

The 2024 trial ended with Allen handed the maximum sentence for murdering 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German, who vanished while hiking in Delphi back in 2017.

But it wasn’t until after the courtroom drama wrapped that the most disturbing evidence began surfacing online — uncensored, unfiltered, and horrifying.

Clips from Libby’s phone — captured just moments before her death—and video of Allen breaking down and confessing during a police interrogation have been shared across X, TikTok, and YouTube in recent months.

Viewers were stunned to see the killer’s face twitch and crumble as he admitted to the murders, confirming years of whispers and theories that had dominated true crime forums and Reddit threads.

The footage, originally shown in court, was leaked or obtained through media pressure — and once it hit the web, it spread like wildfire.

“No matter what the verdict is, someone died.That’s the real tragedy here.

While there is no smoking gun confession in this case, critics say social media has done more to expose the truth than the authorities ever did, while the victims’ families wrestle with grief all over again as the killer’s confession plays out on loop for millions.

WILD THEORIES

In Canton, accusations have flown around about YouTubers profiting off false narratives. One blogger, known as Turtleboy, has been indicted on 16 counts including witness intimidation.

The woman we spoke to estimates “500 to 1,000 people” are involved in targeted harassment.

“It’s terrible. The same thing happened in Delphi. People are attacking witnesses and families. Defense teams have worked directly with TikTokers and YouTubers to push propaganda,” she said.

“We’re tired of seeing victims’ families get dragged. A group of us is working to name and call out the people spreading lies for clicks.”

She also noted that while some O’Keefe supporters have been physically stalked, they’ve avoided retaliation—focusing instead on courtroom updates.

“To me, it’s obvious. You’d have to suspend all logic to think this wasn’t a domestic violence drunk hit-and-run,” she said. “It’s shocking how badly we treat male victims. He was trapped in a coercive relationship.”

The public attention has overwhelmed Canton. Last year’s street demonstrations during the first trial, she said, were “humiliating.”

“It’s an embarrassing circus,” she added.

Another O’Keefe supporter from Massachusetts said he’s been forced to speak anonymously behind a parody account.

He told the U.S. Sun the case has “divided the community” and made it nearly impossible to talk about openly.

He also pointed to recent anti-police sentiment in cities like Los Angeles as a factor in the case.

“People are quick to believe police are hiding something,” said the man, who posts under @cccuomo870. “Whether that’s true or not, the fact that so many think it is shows how far trust has eroded.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14475310/karen-read-murder-case-john-okeefe-delphi-murders/

DUCK Dynasty star Willie Robertson’s store Duck Commander has been slammed as “unimpressive” and “cheap” by customers.

Willie, 53, owns Duck Commander in West Monroe, Louisiana with the warehouse holding a store, museum, tour and other family businesses.

On Duck Dynasty: The Revival, Willie revealed he hasn’t been as involved in the business recently, as he shocked workers by making a rare appearance at the store.

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal the shop has faced backlash from customers because of the “cheap” merchandise.

One customer wrote, “Just stopped in because we were in the area. Our kids used to love the show. Didn’t take the tour so maybe we should have, but the store was not very impressive. Not sure what I expected but definitely something more.”

Another commented, “Buyer Beware… Love the show and the family so of course we had to stop at the store on our way through town. I bought my son a hat and my daughter a shirt.

“When we got home from Spring Break, I washed the shirt and a lot of the brown paint came off the duck. I called the store and they told me to email customer service, which I did.

“Maybe they should pick a better screen printing company to work with, which would allow them to stand behind their merch!”

A third said, “Big disappointment! Used to be a cool place to stop and stretch your legs but it’s not what it used to be. Don’t waste your time.”

A fourth wrote, “Kinda small. Not much to it.”

But other fans loved the experience, as one wrote, “The Duck Commander was amazing. We particularly enjoyed the museum and it was well worth the money as each of us got to make a duck call.
It was a very special day bc they filmed an episode of Duck Dynasty: The Revival Season 1 the same day we visited.”

A second praised, “Absolutely loved the store and the self guided tour of the Robertson family history.”

The store sells merchandise including $34.99 shirts, $29.99 hats, $42.99 duck callers, $42 water bottles and more.

FAMILY BUSINESS

The Robertson family returned to A&E with Duck Dynasty: The Revival on Sunday, June 1.

On the premiere episode, Willie visits Duck Commander headquarters.

Even though he is head of the business, he was completely out of the loop with his wife, Korie, taking the reins.

He explained on the series, “Duck Commander warehouse is totally different, five or six businesses. It’s got a museum, family history, pretty much everything we’ve ever said or done is up on the walls of the museum.

“The gift shop, we have podcasts, we’ve written books, it’s a lot for one man to manage.”

When Willie showed up to the warehouse, he didn’t know the name of the woman at the front desk.

When a producer asked who is in charge of the business in a confessional with Willie and Korie, he said, “I am still currently in charge of this business.”

Korie smiled and quipped, “For the most part.

“It’s kind of complicated now because other people have really stepped up and done a great job of taking over different aspects of it.”

Willie then said, “Well when something big comes up I still come.”

Korie shot back, “Every few months.”

He then learned Korie runs the company meetings, which he didn’t know existed.

At the company meeting, Willie announced he is going to semi-retire and is looking for his replacement.

The U.S. Sun previously reported that despite Korie’s involvement in the company and his semi-retirement on the show, she has been snubbed from the business.

According to Louisiana business records, Willie is president and director of Duck Commander INC, while his late father, Phil, is listed as the director.

Korie is not listed on the business license.

Instead, she is listed as a member on Duck Commander The Tour, LLC while Willie is listed as the manager and the member.

RATINGS CRISIS

The U.S. Sun previously reported Duck Dynasty: The Revival premiere had just 510,000 viewers for the episode.

The Sunday, June 8 show dropped down to 438,000 viewers.

While the show exceeded the current programs on A&E, ratings plummeted drastically compared to its heyday.

The highest Duck Dynasty episode was on August 14, 2013.

The season four premiere drew a whopping 11.8 million viewers, making it the number one nonfiction series telecast in history at that time.

Duck Dynasty ratings remained in the millions throughout the show’s 11 seasons.

The final episode on March 29, 2017 brought in 1,507,000 viewers.

Variety reviewed the episode, claiming the show will “bore” viewers “to tears.”

One viewer said after watching the premiere, “Tonight’s show was a huge disappointment. I’ll watch next week bc I want this to succeed. Hoping it gets legs and takes off.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tv/14475121/duck-dynasty-willie-robertson-store-ripped-unimpressive-cheap/

THE best friend and roommate of the suspected Minnesota assassin revealed the final chilling text he received from the alleged killer.

Suspected gunman Vance Boelter is believed to have killed Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home while disguised as a police officer wearing a latex mask.

The killer, who is still on the loose, also seriously injured Senator John Hoffman and his wife at their residence in Champlin just hours before, early on Saturday.

The alleged shooter’s friend, David Carlson, has now detailed his childhood pal’s final goodbye message, according to KARE.

Reading his text messages with Boelter, Carlson said: “David and Ron, I love you guys.

“I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while.

“May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way.”

The suspected political assassin’s friend read the eerie messages to TV cameras in front of his home in North Minneapolis.

He continued to read the texts: “I don’t want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don’t know anything about this.

“But I love you guys and I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”

Fearing his friend may have done something to harm himself, Carlson immediately called the cops.

The texts were sent at around 6am – after Boelter is believed to have commited the murders.

The 59-year-old, who met Boelter, 57, all the way back in fourth grade, was shocked at the prospect that his friend could have carried out the ruthless killings.

“He wasn’t a hateful person,” Carlson said.

He added: “But he needed help.”

The haunting texts were revealed after the accused killer’s wife was detained following a dramatic traffic stop – before cops said they found weapons and passports in her car.

Jenny Boelter was stopped by police while driving with several relatives near Onamia, Minnesota, on Saturday at around 10am, according to KTSP.

In the car she also had cash and ammunition, local cops said, adding that the wife was also held for questioning but not arrested.

It is currently unclear whether the Boetlers lived together – since Vance is understood to have lived at a residence in Camden, Minnesota.

The couple are understood to have joint-ran Praetorian Guard Security Services, a Minnesota-based security company.

Their website says: “Here to set up security options and provide security services right to your doorstep and property to keep what you own safe and secure.”

The site also says that Boelter had experience working with “security situations” across Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East.

Online biographies also showed he was the CEO of Red Lion Group – which is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Additionally, he is said to have worked with Minnesota Africans United – a local organization working with African immigrants in the state.

2022 footage showed Boelter speaking about Red Lion Group’s ventures in the DRC, claiming to have business ventures there in fishing, farming, media, security, and motorcycle-taxis.

Last month, his online profiles said he was open to work.

Boelter’s longtime pal Carlson seemingly confirmed his search for work, and added that his friend was experiencing financial trouble, according to CNN.

Carlson said: “He was looking around, but maybe things didn’t work out and he just gave up and decided to go out in a blaze of glory.

“I have no idea what he was thinking.”

Boelter was twice appointed to Minnesota government by different Democratic governors.

In 2016, then Governor Mark Dayton appointed Boelter to the Workforce Development Council.

Later in 2019, current Governor Tim Walz enlisted him to serve a four-year stint on the Workforce Development Board, according to documents.

Despite his work under Walz, roommate and friend Carlson revealed that Boelter had voted for Donald Trump at the last election.

The security services worker also last registered to vote in 2022 as a Republican, according to the New York Post.

Carlson added that he wasn’t aware of what Boelter’s political leanings on state politics were, however.

He also shared that Boelter was also strongly anti-abortion – but not in a way that could have motivated him to kill.

“It wasn’t the thing that defined him,” Carlson said.

“I mean, it wasn’t his total existence. He would talk about other things.”

Boelter lived at Carlson’s home in North Minneapolis just a few days a week, according to the roommate.

He explained how Boelter was not at the residence at the time officers executed a search warrant on Saturday.

Cops were called to Senator Hoffman’s home at 2:08am on Saturday and responded to Rep. Hortman’s home at 3:35am — where they exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

The shooter was seen on home security footage released by the FBI outside one of the victim’s homes, wearing a fake police uniform and an eerie latex mask.

As cops launched an extensive manhunt for the killer who is still at large, they named 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as a suspect in the shootings.

He should be considered armed and dangerous and the public should not approach him, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has warned.

A $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction has been announced by the FBI.

A motive has not been released by cops, but the shootings come as millions take to the streets as part of the anti-Trump No Kings movement.

They came during and in the lead up to the President’s huge military parade in Washington DC.

Minnesota State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said: “We don’t have any direct links, however there were some fliers that said ‘No Kings’ within the suspect’s vehicle.

“And as we know, the events planned throughout the state of Minnesota is a No Kings event.”

Boelter was last seen in the Twin Cities area wearing a light-colored cowboy hat, a dark long-sleeved shirt and light pants.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14483960/minnesota-assassin-vance-boelter-best-friend/

In the heart of Spain’s capital, Sobrino de Botín holds a coveted Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest restaurant. Exactly three hundred years after it opened its doors, Botín welcomes droves of daily visitors hungry for Castilian fare with a side of history.

But on the outskirts of Madrid, far from the souvenir shops and tourist sites, a rustic tavern named Casa Pedro makes a bold claim. Its owners assert the establishment endured not just the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and the Napoleonic invasion in the early 1800s, but even the War of Spanish Succession at the start of the 18th century — a lineage that would make Casa Pedro older than Botín and a strong contender for the title.

“It’s really frustrating when you say, ‘Yes, we’ve been around since 1702,’ but … you can’t prove it,” said manager and eighth-generation proprietor Irene Guiñales. “If you look at the restaurant’s logo, it says ‘Casa Pedro, since 1702,’ so we said, ‘Damn it, let’s try to prove it.’”

Guiñales, 51, remembers her grandfather swearing by Casa Pedro’s age, but she was aware that decades-old hearsay from a proud old-timer wouldn’t be enough to prove it. Her family hired a historian and has so far turned up documents dating the restaurant’s operations to at least 1750.

That puts them within striking distance of Botín’s record.

Clients and rivals

Both taverns are family-owned. Both offer Castilian classics like stewed tripe and roast suckling pig. They are decorated with charming Spanish tiles, feature ceilings with exposed wooden beams and underground wine cellars. And both enjoy a rich, star-studded history.

Botín’s celebrated past includes a roster of literary patrons like Truman Capote, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Graham Greene. In his book “The Sun Also Rises,” Ernest Hemingway described it as “one of the best restaurants in the world.” While Casa Pedro may not have boasted the same artistic pedigree, it boasts its own VIPs. Its walls are adorned with decades-old photographs of former Spanish King Juan Carlos I dining in one of its many rooms. The current Spanish monarch, King Felipe VI dines there, too, albeit more inconspicuously than his father.

But the similarities between the two hotspots end there.

Casa Pedro was once a stop on the only road heading north from the Spanish capital toward France. Its clientele is largely local regulars, like David González and Mayte Villena, who for years have spent every Friday lunching at the tavern.

“It wouldn’t change a thing for us,” Villena said about the restaurant someday securing the Guinness title.

Botín, on the other hand, is a stone’s throw from Madrid’s famed Plaza Mayor, where any day of the week tour guides are herding groups around town — and often straight through the restaurant’s front door.

Antonio González, a third-generation proprietor of Botín, concedes that the Guinness accolade awarded in 1987 has helped business, but said the restaurant had enough history to draw visitors even before.

“It has a certain magic,” he said.

Pretenders to the crown

The question then becomes: How can either restaurant definitively claim the title? Guinness provides its specific guidelines for the superlative only to applicants, according to spokesperson Kylie Galloway, noting that it entails “substantial evidence and documentation of the restaurant’s operation over the years.”

Israel and Iran traded another round of blows late Saturday – in a series of overnight attacks that killed at least eight civilians in the Jewish state and struck Iran’s Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tehran.

Iran continued its response to Israel’s preemptive strike from earlier this week with a massive barrage of missiles on Sunday, sending countless people running for bomb shelters to escape the incoming fire, The Times of Israel reported.

Sunday’s most recent strike by Iran hit buildings in Bat Yam, Rehovot, and Tel Aviv as well as a mall in the town of Kiryat Ekron, that outlet stated citing first responders.

The evening’s later round of Iranian strikes killed four people in Bam Yat and injured a dozen with as many as 35 people still unaccounted for, according to the outlet.

Those victims included two children ages 8 and 13, a woman in her 60s, and a woman in her 70s, the report said, citing first responders.

In strikes earlier Saturday, a total of four Israeli civilians were killed and 200 more were injured. All four of those fatalities were women from the same family, according to The Times of Israel.

Manar Khatib and her daughters Hala, 20, and Shada, 13, alongside a relative also named Manar, perished in the bombings on the city of Tamra earlier Saturday, the outlet reported.

Overall throughout the day, some 140 were wounded.

The IDF lifted instructions to remain near bomb shelters just before 3:30 a.m. local time — however warnings remained in place for an ongoing drone attack, The Times of Israel reported.

Targets struck by Iran included Israel’s largest oil refinery in the Haifa region in the north of the country.

Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot was also hit with at least one building containing laboratories ignited in flames, The New York Times reported.

Hours after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to bring the full force of the air force down on Tehran during a fiery address, sirens could be heard in the north of Israel, as Iran fired the “heavy and destructive” ballistic missile attack.

Meanwhile, Israel hit Iran’s central command and caused minor damage to one of the Ministry’s administrative buildings, while a separate attack targeted the defense ministry’s Organization of Defense Innovation and Research, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.

Footage shared on social media captured smoke rising from the buildings following the strike conducted by the Israel Defense Forces.

Iran state media stated Israel struck the world’s largest natural gas field in South Pars, Shahran oil depot, and more fuel depots in Tehran.

“Tehran is ablaze,” Israel Defense Minister Katz posted on X, as footage circulating on social media from the strike showed large fires at the oil depot.

Earlier Saturday, Iran’s largest natural gas production facility, the South Pars gas field, erupted in flames, and piles of smoke were seen from the oil refinery in Abadan, off the Persian Gulf, after IDF air strikes

Israel has asked the United States to join the war to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities but the US has rejected those requests, Axios reported citing two Israeli officials.

The US is specifically being asked to provide assistance in destroying Iran’s uranium enrichment site in Fordo, which is beyond Israel’s military range, that report stated.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/14/world-news/iran-fires-another-round-of-missiles-at-israel-and-explosions-are-heard-in-tehran/

A massive “No Kings” rally opposing President Trump erupted into an alarming scene of chaos in downtown Los Angeles Saturday, as rocks, concrete and “commercial-grade” fireworks were lobbed at officers — as another rally in Portland near an ICE facility was reportedly decared a riot.

What started as a peaceful protest of more than 20,000 people quickly descended into mayhem as demonstrators clashed with the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies in a cloud of tear gas outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building.

It prompted officials to declare the group and unlawful assembly.

Footage showed cops on horseback charging into the sea of people wielding their batons, as others in gas masks and tactical gear unleashed several rounds of mace and crowd-controls — sending protesters and bystanders scrambling through the streets.

Cops, who arrived at the scene in armored vehicles, said on X that protestors were hurling concrete, rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers trying to disperse the crowd and clear the streets.

See more

Broadway and 3rd St ~ Commercial Grade fireworks are being launched at officers.

— LAPD Central Division (@LAPDCentral) June 15, 2025

The department’s Central Division later said that “commercial grade” fireworks were being launched at responding officers.

“We just wanted to come and support our people and we’re getting tear gassed for it,” Melissa Bran, 28, said while dabbing her red eyes with a wet cloth.

A citywide curfew will take effect at 8 p.m. to control the escalating unrest, which has continued for hours.

Volunteer medics are currently at the scene offering saline solution to those in need.

Some protesters thought the response by police was excessive.

“It was a total 100% over-reaction,” Samantha Edgerton, 37, said.

“We weren’t doing anything but standing around chanting peaceful protest.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/14/us-news/unlawful-assembly-declared-in-la-as-no-kings-protests-grow-chaotic-cops-hit-with-concrete-fireworks/

 

North Korea has successfully repaired and relaunched its new 5,000-ton naval destroyer less than a month after the boat embarrassingly capsized, according to state media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency said the destroyer — the second one Pyongyang has built this year — was back in the water on Thursday.

The reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reportedly at the launch, held along the country’s east coast.

Kim said the new battleship stood as “convincing proof of the rapid transformation of our Navy. … No one will doubt, I think, the rapid transformation of our Navy as they have witnessed the launching of another new-type destroyer less than two months after a similar event at the Nampho Shipyard.”

Kim repeated prior claims he would bolster North Korea’s navy in response to perceived threats posed by the US and its Asian allies.

“The super-radical growth of our Navy’s operations capability is now being proved by powerful entities, not by a prediction or possibility, and this has already become an unstoppable, powerful current of history,” said Kim.

The ruler of the hermit kingdom previously attributed last month’s botched launch to criminal negligence. Four officials were later detained, including the vice director of the Workers’ Party’s munitions industry department.

Meanwhile, Kim has been visiting military industrial factories across the country, calling on the country to ramp up production of shells in order to meet the demands of war in the 21st century.

KCNP reported Kim “gave field guidance at a major munitions industry enterprise” on Friday, and “learned in detail about shell production, capacity expansion and modernization projects in the first half of 2025.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/14/world-news/sunken-warship-relaunched-in-north-korea-as-part-of-naval-beef-up/

We are driving at speed through the green hills of rural Hertfordshire. Through the passenger seat window, large elegant houses flash by. Each front lawn is neat, each hedgerow well-kept. It looks like England from a storybook – but this part of the country is actually on the frontline of a relatively new (and some might say divisive) approach to crime prevention.

In the driver’s seat is Robert, a guard employed by Blueline Security. His car is painted with blue and yellow stripes, meaning it looks a lot like a police car. Inside there’s a walkie-talkie, a first-aid kit, and a Belgian Malinois dog called Bella (given similar training to a police dog, I’m told).

But Robert – who wears a bullet-proof vest and carries a pair of handcuffs – is careful to point out that he is not a real policeman.

“The more keen eye will realise that this isn’t a police car,” he says as he flicks his indicator. He points out that they follow the regulations on vehicle markings designed to distinguish police cars from other cars.

“But it looks similar enough where criminality will see it at a distance and think, ‘Let’s maybe not go there’.”

Blueline is one of a handful of “private policing” firms that have emerged in recent years. It has operated mostly in wealthy enclaves of southern England since 2019 and, for a fee, its team of ex-police or ex-army guards can patrol villages, looking for burglars and car thieves. Robert, in fact, spent 14 years working in the police force.

Various similar businesses have sprung up around the UK in recent years, including My Local Bobby, which was founded in 2016 and now has almost 150 security guards, as well as a fleet of cars.

According to some customers who spoke to the BBC, this fills a gap left by the real police, who they claim they no longer trust to turn up promptly to a 999 call in their villages.

To residents who can afford these firms, they are a “lifeline”, as one customer tells me. But to others, they represent an affront to the values on which British policing was founded; a step towards a country in which the wealthy get better access to law enforcement than the poor.

One former senior figure in the Metropolitan Police says she fears the emergence of a “two-tier society”.

So, with pressures on real police growing, is there room for private firms to help ease the load – or do so-called “private bobbies” blur the lines between police and profit?

Stark images, captured from a drone by environmental campaigners and shared with the BBC, appear to show how nickel mining has stripped forests and polluted waters in one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth.

The Raja Ampat archipelago – a group of small islands in Indonesia’s Southwest Papua Province – has been dubbed the “Amazon of the Seas”.

But mining for nickel – an ingredient in electric vehicle batteries and in stainless steel – has ramped up there in recent years, according to the organisation Global Witness.

In a move that was welcomed by campaigners, the Indonesian government this week revoked permits for four out of five mining companies operating in the region.

In a statement published online, Indonesia’s Ministry for the Environment said: “Raja Ampat’s biodiversity is a world heritage that must be protected.

“We pay great attention to mining activities that occur in the area.”

But photographs – taken by Global Witness as part of an investigation – appear to show environmental damage already done.

Aerial images show forest loss and sediment run-off into waters that are home to biodiverse coral reefs.

Global Witness told the BBC that land use for mining, across multiple small islands in the archipelago, increased by 500 hectares – equivalent to about 700 football pitches – between 2020 and 2024.

Some conservationists, including the organisation Greenpeace, are concerned that the government’s decision could be reversed by legal action by the mining companies.

And one company that operates on Gag island, which has particularly rich deposits of nickel, has been allowed to continue its operations. The government said it would order the “restoration of the ecological impacts that occur” there.

Coral reef conservationist and ecologist Dr Mark Erdmann told BBC News that he was “blown away, and so happy” about the government’s decision to revoke the mining permits.

“This is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity,” he told BBC News.

Dr Erdmann has worked in Raja Ampat for more than two decades and is one of the founders of a shark rewilding project there called Reshark. He added: “It was a voice of outrage form Indonesian people that made the government pay attention.”

But this ecological controversy is an example of how the demand for the metals needed to power battery technology – for electric cars and other low carbon energy sources – can damage the environment.

Indonesia now accounts for more than half of the world’s nickel mine production, according to a report last year by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

And while the beauty and biodiversity of the Raja Ampat has drawn attention to mining activity there, mining has been linked to ecological damage elsewhere too.

A 2024 study by Forest Watch Indonesia found a link between the loss of forests associated with mining activity and increased local flooding and landslides.

Increasing demand for so-called critical minerals is shaping economic decisions around the world. It was the driving force for President Trump’s recent executive order to jumpstart the mining of metallic nodules from the deep sea in international waters. It is a move that China has called illegal.

Dr Erdmann pointed out that balancing economic growth with environmental protection was a particular dilemma for Indonesia. “It has a lot of nickel – one way or the other, some of it’s going to come out of the ground,” he said.

Dr Michaela Guo Ying Lo from the University of Kent led a study in 2024 of the impact of mining on local communities in Sulawesi, the large Indonesian island that has most of the country’s nickel deposits.

That concluded that mining activity reduced poverty slightly, but that there was significant “worsening of environmental well-being” including increased local water and air pollution.

“Indonesia is positioning itself globally in the nickel market,” Dr Lo told BBC News. “But it’s important not to forget what’s happening locally.”

Imam Shofwan, an environmental campaigner from an organisation called Jatam, based in Jakarta, told BBC News: “They say nickel is a solution to the climate crisis. But it’s causing deforestation and destroying farmland.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k36v50zvro 

They hoped for a better career but ended up in Russia’s war factories. A new study reveals how young women, mainly from Africa, have been being exploited. Some of those affected have shared their stories with DW.

“I like Russia, its language and culture,” Aminata, 20, told DW. She wants to leave her home country of Sierra Leone in a few weeks to pursue an apprenticeship around 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles) away in Russia.

Her travel costs will be covered by the Alabuga Start program, named after an industrial area in southwestern Russia, where dormitories are provided for program participants.

Alabuga Start offers female applicants from poorer countries the prospect of a well-paid career.

Shattered dreams

For most of them, the dream is shattered shortly after their arrival in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a large industrial area in the Russian region of Tatarstan.

According to a report published in May by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, many new arrivals find themselves assembling cheap drones under poor conditions.

DW contacted several program participants — most of whom do not want to talk about their experiences on the record for fear of reprisals.

Chinara, a young Nigerian woman who took part in the Alabuga program and left Russia disappointed, was willing to give an interview via social media messaging services.

“They turned us into hard laborers with low wages,” she wrote in the chat with DW.

“At first we felt good because when we applied, we were offered areas such as logistics, service and catering, crane operators,” wrote Chinara, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

She explained that at first it seemed like a rare opportunity for African girls to gain a foothold in these professions. “But when we got here, they changed everything and gave excuses.”

Some said they were assigned to a drone assembly factory, others supervised drone production, and the rest worked as cleaners.

The young women were exposed to “highly dangerous and life-threatening chemicals,” Chinara claimed, adding that “Even the Russians themselves do not work there for long because it is a very dangerous place.”

A center of the war economy

The Alabuga SEZ is a major production hub for Geran-2 drones, which are based on the Iranian-made Shahed 136 and play a key role in attacks on Ukraine.

The SEZ was established in 2006 to attract companies and investments to Tatarstan.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the facility expanded rapidly and parts were converted to military production by adding new buildings or renovating them, as satellite images show.

Labor shortages are repeatedly reported from war-torn Russia. At the same time, migrant workers from the Global South are apparently becoming more of a focus for recruiters.

According to figures from the Single Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (SIISS), an official Russian government database, more than 111,000 African workers arrived in Russia in 2024 — a 50% increase compared to the first year of the war in 2022.

The strongest growth was recorded by Cameroonians, with many others coming from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, the Central African Republic and Gambia.

Almost all of these countries appear in the GI study in connection with Alabuga Start. Initially, according to the study, mainly African women between 18 and 22 were recruited.

The program has since been expanded to other developing countries in Asia and Latin America, and several former Soviet republics.

The authors of the study analyzed data and conducted around 60 interviews between December 2024 and March 2025.

Co-author Julia Stanyard told DW that girls as young as 16 were also hired for drone production by the Alabuga Polytech training facility, which is located on the production site.

“The working conditions are exploitative, the young women spoke of working long hours and being supervised by Alabuga management. They work with chemicals that pose a risk to their health,” said Stanyard.

‘Our daughter talks about forced labor’

“The program seems to resemble a form of fraudulent exploitation,” Stanyard told DW. “They are not told what they will produce when they are recruited. Many young girls are trapped in Alabuga and leaving the country seems impossible.”

In Zimbabwe, parents are worried about their children who applied online and set off for Russia with a plane ticket paid for by Alabuga.

The mother of a girl from rural northern Zimbabwe complained about her daughter’s suffering.

“She wanted to further her technical education. Now she told us about forced labor, she is hardly allowed to use her phone and is under surveillance. She has not received the $1,500 (€1,300) she was promised,” she told DW. “Now I can’t even get her back.”

A father of another girl who left Zimbabwe for the Alabuga SEZ told DW it was a nightmare that a supposedly credible training program had turned into “a death trap.”

And a mother in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, told DW about her 20-year-old daughter in Alabuga, who was also supposed to undergo technical training.

“But she is doing something completely different. We can hardly speak to her, her passport has been withheld so that she can’t run away,” the woman told DW.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/exploitation-in-russia-building-drones-instead-of-training/a-72881545

Israel’s strikes on Iran have taken aim at its nuclear facilities, amid fears that the Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons – an accusation Tehran denies

Experts told AFP that while the attacks might have caused some damage to Iran’s nuclear programme, they are unlikely to have delivered a fatal blow.

WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE?

Israel’s operation included strikes on Iran’s underground uranium enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, and a uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, according to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing information from Iranian officials.

IAEA said on Friday that a key, above-ground component of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, also citing Iranian officials.

There was “extensive” damage to the site’s power supply, according to a report from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a US-based organisation specialising in nuclear proliferation, which analysed satellite images.

A loss of electricity to underground facilities can significantly damage the site’s centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium, the ISIS institute said.

If backup power is lost, “at the least, the enrichment plant is rendered inoperable for the time being”, it said.

Iran has said the damage to Fordow, south of Tehran, was minor.

But experts said it is impossible at this stage to determine the impact the strikes might have had on uranium stockpiles believed to be stored around the Isfahan site.

Ali Vaez, International Crisis Group’s Iran project director, told AFP that if Iran managed to transfer significant quantities to “secret facilities,” then “the game is lost for Israel”.

CAN THE PROGRAMME BE DESTROYED?

While “Israel can damage Iran’s nuclear programme … it is unlikely to be able to destroy it”, Vaez said, arguing that Israel does not have the massively powerful bombs needed “to destroy the fortified, bunkered facilities in Natanz and Fordow”.

Destroying those would require US military assistance, added Kelsey Davenport, an expert with the Arms Control Association.

She also stressed that Israel’s unprecedented attack cannot erase the expertise Iran had built up on nuclear weapons, despite killing nine Iranian nuclear scientists.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS TO THE IRANIAN POPULATION?

The IAEA has not detected any increase in radiation levels at the affected sites.

“There is very little risk that attacks on Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities would result in a harmful radiation release,” said Davenport.

But an attack on Bushehr, Iran’s only nuclear power plant, could “have a serious impact on health and the environment”, she added.

After Israel launched its strikes, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that nuclear facilities “must never be attacked” and that targeting Iranian sites could have “grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond”.

IS IRAN CLOSE TO DEVELOPING NUCLEAR BOMBS?

After the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from a landmark deal that sought to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities, Iran has gradually retreated from some of its obligations, particularly on uranium enrichment.

As of mid-May, the country had an estimated 408.6 kilogrammes enriched to up to 60 per cent – just a short step from the 90 per cent needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for about 10 nuclear bombs, according to the definition by the Vienna-based IAEA.

Iran is the only non nuclear-armed state producing uranium to this level of enrichment, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/how-much-damage-has-israel-inflicted-irans-nuclear-programme-5182566

Princess Charlotte is keeping Queen Elizabeth II close to her heart.

During the 2025 Trooping the Colour ceremony in London over the weekend, the 10-year-old daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton subtly paid tribute to her late great-grandmother with a sweet gesture.

Charlotte wore a short-sleeved turquoise dress with white trim and white Mary Jane flats. She accessorized with a diamond brooch in the shape of a horseshoe.

Queen Elizabeth II reportedly gifted the equestrian fashion accessory to the pre-teen prior to her death at the age of 96 in 2022, as the late monarch and her great-granddaughter shared a mutual passion for horseback riding.

Charlotte debuted the sentimental brooch while attending Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022.

At the time, she styled the accessory with a black coat dress by Spanish childrenswear label Ancar, matching tights, buckled dress shoes and a chic boater hat by Jane Taylor.

The fashion move marked the first time Charlotte wore a significant piece of jewelry to a public event with the royal family.

As Page Six reported earlier Saturday, the Trooping the Colour event was held to honor the official birthday of King Charles III, who will turn 77 on Nov. 14.

For the occasion, Charlotte twinned with her mom, Kate Middleton, who wore an aquamarine coat dress with ivory lapels by Catherine Walker.

She completed the look with a matching wide-brimmed hat by Juliette Botterill and Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings formerly owned by Queen Elizabeth.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/14/style/how-princess-charlotte-sweetly-paid-tribute-to-queen-elizabeth-ii-during-trooping-the-colour-2025/

The bizarre LA property has a history of nuclear testing and was transitioned into a now-shuttered rehab facility before becoming Jared’s private home

JARED Leto’s $20 million abandoned military compound that he’s turned into his private home has been revealed.

The eerie property once housed nuclear weapons and remains a guarded fortress in the Hollywood Hills as the actor faces a slew of sexual misconduct allegations from nine women.

Jared, 53, purchased Lookout Mountain Air Force Station for $5 million in December 2014.

The 1.5-acre gated estate is now estimated to be worth upwards of $20 million, real estate records show.

The eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom compound, which was built in 1941, is a whopping 50,000 square feet.

In addition to being a personal residence, the home also offers a creative space with several galleries, a sound stage, a theatre, and a massive motor court.

Outdoors, there is plenty of lounging space with multiple lawns, gardens, and an oversized swimming pool.

MILITARY GRADE HISTORY

Tucked away in the hills of Los Angeles, Lookout Mountain was originally built in 1941 as a World War II air defense center that coordinated radar installations at the time.

The United States Air Force built a military installation studio on the property, which was responsible for producing motion pictures and photographs for the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Between the years of 1947 and 1969, the studio, which included a large sound stage, a film laboratory, four editing rooms, an animation, two screening rooms, and still photo department, sound mixing studio, and numerous climate controlled film vaults, operated in secret from Lookout Mountain.

The property was crucial in documenting nuclear testing, beginning with Trinity, the first nuclear test the U.S. conducted, back in 1945.

According to historical records, the government at the time needed film documentation of a nuclear explosion in order to understand the implications of that level of weapons.

During this time, when it was still operating in secret, it was reported to have also housed nuclear weapons within the property perimeters.

In January 1948, the building was acquired from the War Assets Administration by the Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission for further military use.

At that time, the property underwent extensive remodeling, commenced by the Los Angeles Office of the Army Corps of Engineers, and was paid for by the Atomic Energy Commission.

It continued to provide military footage in the following decades and was officially designated as the Lookout Mountain Air Force Station in March 1958.

During the 1960s, Lookout Mountain Air Force Station was “responsible for all documentary photographic capabilities and the maintenance and operation of laboratories and production facilities in the western part of the United States,” historical records state.

Lookout Mountain Air Force Station also assisted the AEC with documentation of underground nuclear tests at their Nevada Test Site.

In the span of the 1960s, 250 military and civilian personnel were stationed on the property, including executives from Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Universal Pictures.

However, in June 1969, the government discontinued use of work at Lookout Mountain Air Force Station, and all of the equipment was relocated to a nearby air force base.

The decommissioned facility was sold to a private buyer for just $50,000 in 1970, and the estate continued to go through a carousel of new owners in the following years.

To make the history of the home even more bizarre, in November 2012, it was leased by One80Center to turn it into a “celebrity-targeted” rehab facility that cost $50,000 per month.

However, the company shuttered its doors in August 2013 following an investigation by The Hollywood Reporter, which raised concerns about allegations of negligence and a wrongful death lawsuit.

After the rehab center was forced to close up shop, Jared became the next immediate owner of the property.

LETO’S LAIR

Jared has lived in the unique home for over 10 years now as he faces allegations of sexual misconduct from nine women who came forward this month.

In an Air Mail exposé, the publication interviewed nine women, the majority of whom remained anonymous, who all alleged that Jared acted inappropriately with them.

According to some of the women, they claim they were underage at the time of their interactions with the Oscar winner.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/14474739/jared-leto-military-compound-nuclear-weapons-sexual-misconduct/

THIS is the moment a drunk Delta Air Lines passenger refused to get off a flight – forcing the whole plane to disembark so cops could carry her off.

Police bodycam footage shows cops repeated attempts to get the woman, stubbornly seated on the plane, to cooperate.

In the shocking newly released video shared by police, the passenger, named Alicia, can be seen refusing to budge from her seat on a flight scheduled to travel from Dallas to Boston on April 14, 2024.

After repeated warnings, officers resort to physically removing her from the plane.

As officers cuffed her, she pleaded: “Give me my one and only warning back.”

She can also be heard saying: “I do not trust this state and I’m trying to go home. So do not hold me here.”

The officer responds: “You need to stand up and get off the airplane, ma’am.”

Frustrated passengers are then seen disembarking the plane to allow officers’ to handcuff her.

As she is being dragged off the plane, Alicia says in a more emotional tone: “Why would you do that? Why would you do that?

“All I was trying to do is f**king fly home?””

A flight attendant told police that the passenger had a glass of prosecco and two shots of tequila while on board.

But Alicia later admitted that while waiting for her delayed flight, she had drunk six glasses of wine.

While escorted by police through the terminal, angry passengers in the terminal – who had been forced off the plane – booed her.

At the exit of the airport, police can even be seen lifting her off the ground as she tries to resist.

Outside the airport, the intoxicated passenger refuses checks for weapons before being placed in a squad car.

She was reportedly arrested for criminal trespassing and public intoxication.

It comes as Delta Air Lines passengers had to evacuate a plane by the emergency slides during a scary landing at an airport in Atlanta.

The Boeing 717-200 was going to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina when smoke suddenly filled the plane cabin.

The Delta flight was en route from Atlanta to South Carolina when it had to turn around.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14477761/passenger-hauled-off-flight/

SEAN ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex-trafficking case could result in a hung jury and second trial as the prosecution has a lot more to prove, an expert has told The U.S. Sun.

The disgraced music mogul, 55, is currently on trial in New York and facing life behind bars if convicted.

He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution, as prosecutors alleged his business empire was also a criminal enterprise.

Combs’ trial has been ongoing for more than 20 days and is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

The jury has already heard disturbing accounts of the star’s alleged behavior over the years, including his abuse of ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who took to the stand.

They also heard from former employees, including personal assistants, who claim they survived threats, were assaulted, and forced to supply drugs.

Los Angeles-based trial attorney Tre Lovell feels the accusations against Combs are strong enough that he will not be acquitted.

However, he feels the prosecution has faced some difficulties early on and jurors still need to see a lot more evidence for each of the charges.

He said, “I don’t think he’ll get an acquittal, which means you have to have a unanimous jury saying he didn’t do anything wrong, but there is a chance of a hung jury.

“And the way that’s gonna happen is one or more jurors are going to believe that these witnesses consented and wanted to be part of his world and that a lot of what they said is fabricated.

“There’s no way he’s going to take the stand.”

“One of the overall themes of the testimony is.. all these employees and people who were raped, who were assaulted, who were threatened, stayed. They didn’t leave, continued to work for him, and then, even after they worked for him, even after they left, they stayed in touch with him.

“And so if the defense can be successful [in] cutting that down and say, ‘Hey, this just doesn’t make sense. It’s not consistent.’ Thus you have reasonable doubt.”

Lovell also feels the start of the trial felt more like a domestic violence case.

He said, “I think throughout the first week of testimony with Cassie Ventura that the prosecution was having some problems, and that was because, they weren’t able to differentiate that this was a sex-trafficking or racketeering case, as opposed to, domestic violence between two people in a relationship.

“However, as the cases started to progress we have seen assistant after assistant after assistant come forward with testimony, that of criminal act, criminal conduct.

“Whether or not it’s arson, whether or not it’s kidnapping, whether or not it’s extortion, threats, physical violence.

“The most difficult offense to prove is the racketeering because a lot goes into that and those tend to be a big hike.

“Sex trafficking would probably be the second most difficult to prove, and then the easiest could be the prostitution, the transportation to engage in prostitution, which means if he [was] hiring sex workers and bringing them across state lines, and the jury believes that is a form of prostitution.

Lovell went on, “I often say it’s like building a house. Opening arguments are the framing, and then as each witness comes in, each document comes in, you’re starting to build more and more of the house, and at the very end through closing arguments, that’s when the house is finished.

“Sometimes things aren’t going to seem as organized, maybe a little discombobulated, but it’s about tying it up at the end.

“So that we will see witness after witness after witness.

“Sometimes we’ll wonder why the order is as it is, but [by] the end the picture should be painted.”

Lovell says the prosecution’s case is getting stronger but believes it’s not a slam-dunk win and the defense still has a good chance.

He also feels there is no way Combs will take to the stand because his legal team will have a strong strategy and be focusing solely on reasonable doubt.

Lovell said, “There’s no way he’s going to take the stand. There’s no way his lawyers are going to let him.

“There is so much negative testimony out there, so many negative acts that they could use to cross-examine him.

“It would just be a waterfall of pain, and so I don’t think they would ever put him on the stand. They’re going to go through reasonable doubt.

“They’re going to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.

“They’re going to have some testimony from witnesses on his side that are going to corroborate that he’s a good person, that they never saw any of this. Everybody in his orbit was consenting, wanted to be there.”

Meanwhile, even if Combs is found guilty, he could be pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Trump surprised reporters by commenting on the court case during a news conference with Elon Musk and revealed he would consider whether or not he has been “mistreated.”

Asked if he would consider pardoning him, Trump said, “Nobody’s asked. But I know people are thinking about it. I think some people have been very close to asking.”

He said he felt the former music mogul used to like him “a lot” but wasn’t his biggest fan after he went into politics.

Despite this, Trump said, “I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”

Lovell previously told The U.S. Sun a pardon would mean Combs would be out in days.

He said, “The pardoning power is one of the ultimate powers of the President. It’s virtually unchecked, and he can do it.

“He doesn’t even have to wait for the conviction. He can do it at any time after somebody’s charged, even after the crime occurs.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/14464176/diddy-risks-second-trial-even-wins-over-jury/

THE Minnesota shootings suspect wore a fake police uniform and an eerie latex mask when he killed a lawmaker and her husband.

In the early hours of Saturday, suspected gunman Vance Luther Boelter shot and killed Minnesota Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home in Brooklyn Park.

Boelter has now been identified as a former appointee of Governor Tim Walz.

The FBI released stills from home security footage of the gunman donning a bald-headed mask while disguised as a cop as he knocked on the door of his victims.

He also shot Senator John Hoffman, 60, and his wife Yvette multiple times at their home in Champlin just hours beforehand, leaving them seriously injured.

Hoffman and his wife have both undergone surgery at the Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and are said to be in a stable condition with officials “cautiously optimistic” of their survival.

As cops launch an extensive manhunt, police have named 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as a suspect in the shootings.

He should be considered armed and dangerous and the public should not approach him, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has warned.

A $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction has been announced by the FBI.

Boelter was last seen in the Twin Cities area wearing a light-colored cowboy hat, a dark long-sleeved shirt and light pants.

He is described as 220lbs and 6 foot 1 and cops believe he is trying to flee the area and may be carrying a dark bag.

The public should call 911 or sent tips to bca.tips@state.mn.us or call 877-996-6222.

Boelter is a former appointee of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, per the Post.

Documents obtained by the outlet show that he was appointed by Walz in 2019 to serve on his Workforce Development Board for four years.

A notice of appointment signed by Walz reads: “Because of the special trust and confidence I have in your integrity, judgment, and ability, I have appointed and commissioned you to have and to hold the office of: Business Member Governor’s Workforce Development Board.”

In 2016 he was on the Workforce Development Council under the previous Governor Mark Dayton.

He is listed as living in Green Isle, Minnesota and according to his LinkedIn, works with the Red Lion Group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Praetorian Guard Security Services.

The gunman posed as a police officer to gain entry to the lawmakers’ homes, cops previously revealed.

Walz led a press conference on Saturday to confirm the deaths of Hortman, 55, and her husband Mark in what he called a “politically motivated assassination”.

“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said.

“Those responsible for this will be held accountable and each and every one of us are committed to making sure a tragedy like this never repeats itself,” he added.

The Governor has not publicly commented on the reports that the suspect is his former appointee.

Cops were called to the Hortman residence around 3:35 am, less than three hours after the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home located just five miles away, around 2 am.

Hortman and her husband were pronounced dead at the scene where officers exchanged fire with the suspect who managed to flee on foot.

A search of the suspects’ vehicle, which was found in the driveway of the Hortmans’ home, revealed ‘No Kings’ protest fliers and a manifesto with the details of many officials including Hortman and Hoffman.

The SUV was made to look like a police squad car and the emergency lights were flashing in the driveway when cops arrived at the residence.

Security has been ramped up for other elected officials following the shootings with some of those listed in the manifesto being placed in protective custody.

A motive has not been released by cops, but the shootings come as millions take to the streets as part of the anti-Trump No Kings movement as the President holds a military parade in Washington DC.

“We don’t have any direct links, however there were some fliers that said ‘No Kings’ within the suspect vehicle, and as we know, the events planned throughout the state of Minnesota is a No Kings event,” Minnesota State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said.

Officials have urged the public not to attend protests planned for the area including the Minnesota State Capitol in St Paul.

Organizers have confirmed that the events have officially been canceled but many are still gathering to demonstrate.

President Donald Trump called the shootings “horrific” and vowed that those responsible will face “the fullest extent of the law”.

BADGE BETRAYAL

Law enforcement was first notified of a shooting around 2 am where Hoffman and Yvette were found with multiple gunshot wounds and given life-saving measures by attending officers.

Due to the political nature of the shooting, officers immediately went to the speaker’s home to check in on her and while doing so, calls of the second shooting were made.

Attending officers from Brooklyn Park Police saw the fake cop car in the drive way and the suspect posing as a police officer at the door.

“When our officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire and the suspect retreated back into the home,” Brooklyn Park Police chief Mark Bruley told reporters.

“It was not a real officer this is somebody who clearly had been impersonating a police officer using the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.”

Bob Jacobson, the commissioner of Public Safety for Minnesota called it a “dark day” and said the targeting of elected officials was “cowardly”.

“The suspect exploited the trust of our uniforms and what our uniforms are meant to represent,” he told reporters.

“That betrayal is deeply disturbing to those of use who wear the badge with honor and responsibility.”

Hundreds of police officers, SWAT teams, and the FBI are involved in the search for Boelter as a shelter-in-place order remains active within a three mile radius of Edinburgh Golf Course.

The order for Champlin has since been lifted but with the manhunt now going past the 12-hour mark, the search area is widening.

“I’ve activated the State Emergency Operations Center,” Walz said on X.

“Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them.”

Residents were initally told to look out for a white male with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants and to call 911 immediately.

They also warned that the suspect may still pretending to be law enforcement and that any real police officers in the area will arrive in pairs as the search continues.

Hortman, 55, represented District 34 B and was minority leader between 2017 and 2019 before becoming speaking from 2019 to 2025.

She and her husband Mark Hortman and the pair are survived by their two children.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14481517/minnesota-shooting-suspect-vance-boelter-melissa-hortman/

The ‘No Kings’ protests being held today across the United States saw a major setback after the Minnesota leg was cancelled after two Democrat leaders were shot early morning, resulting in the death of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her spouse. Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also the victims of this shooting, with police suspecting that they were two among the long ‘hit list’ prepared by the shooter. According to reports, Governor Tim Walz’ name also featured in this hit list, which was left behind by the suspect after the incident.

Fliers of ‘No Kings’ protest found inside suspect’s car

According to CBS, sources claim that there were fliers connected to the ‘No Kings’ protests that were found inside the suspect’s vehicle. Moreover, a car was reportedly towed away from the Hortmans’ home, and it had a license plate that said “police”, say sources. Interestingly, the suspect, according to reports, was impersonating a police officer while carrying out his deeds.

A Minnesota State Patrol X Page showed glimpses of the documents seen in the suspect’s car. The X Post reads,”Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution.”

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Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution. pic.twitter.com/7hFccnrQUT

— MN State Patrol (@MnDPS_MSP) June 14, 2025

More than 50 individuals, including high-profile Democrat leaders and officials were a part of this list prepared by the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, of Minnesota, who is employed with a security firm.

Protest called off

In the wake of these incidents, the organizers of the No Kings protest in Minnesota issued a statement that read, “Out of an abundance of caution and in adherence to guidance from Governor Walz and the Minnesota State Patrol, all remaining No Kings events in Minnesota are being canceled immediately. This decision comes in light of the ongoing shelter-in-place order and the tragic shooting that targeted two elected officials and their spouses.”

Source : https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/no-kings-protest-anti-trump-demonstrators-crowd-into-streets-parks-and-plazas-across-the-us-11749930319657.html

 

Everybody loves to travel to new, iconic places they have never seen. Nothing is more exciting than packing a bag and exploring a new culture and landscape.

However, some countries aren’t quite as perfect as the media makes them out to be. After all, every country has its fair share of problems.

Below, we will discuss some of the world’s most unfriendly countries, ranked by their lack of hospitality. While you may be able to guess a few, it’s safe to say that our list might just have you rethinking your next holiday…

#1. Qatar

When you think of Qatar, you probably think of luxury, high-rise buildings, scorching hot temperatures, and beautiful marinas.

Thanks to the Fifa World Cup, Qatar has become an increasingly popular holiday destination in recent years, but it’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea.

In fact, many tourists to the country claim that they won’t visit Qatar again simply because they feel unwelcome.

The traffic is also some of the worst in the world, which may explain why the locals would prefer the tourists to stay away.

#2. South Africa

For many, South Africa may seem like the perfect holiday destination. While there are many great things about this country, it’s hard to overlook the high crime rates.

In fact, most tourists are told to avoid the big cities, such as Johannesburg, as local criminals will specifically target them.

South Africa has many political problems, which means that the locals may seem angry or, in some cases, violent.

You’ll probably be safe if you plan to go on a safari, but we recommend avoiding any built-up areas.

#3. The Czech Republic

Prague is another popular tourist destination that may surprise you. In recent years, the city has become so popular amongst tourists that it has actually downgraded its reputation.

The government throws so much money at Prague that other areas of the Czech Republic have been put on the back burner.

For this reason, you could probably understand why the locals resent tourists. There’s no denying the fact that Prague is a stunning city with plenty of culture, architecture, and activities to keep you busy.

However, the unwelcoming attitude of the locals seems to overshadow this slightly.

#4. Hungary

Most people associate Hungary with one city in particular: Budapest. While this large country has plenty to offer in terms of architecture and natural beauty, tourists tend to flock to Budapest, ignoring the many other wonderful cities and sites to see.

As a result, Budapest has garnered a rather poor reputation for being one of the world’s rudest and most unwelcoming cities.

Like most popular tourist destinations, the city locals get rather annoyed when hoards of tourists visit.

#5. Argentina

The people living in neighboring countries consider Argentina one of the rudest places in the world. In fact, Argentina and Brazil have had a few clashes of opinion in recent years, mainly because they have very different cultures.

Like most places, you will encounter a few rude and unwelcoming locals in Argentina. While many tourists claim that Argentina is generally a very unwelcoming country, this may come down to a simple difference in social etiquette.

#6. Morocco

When you think of Morocco, you are likely to think of bustling streets and crowded souks. In general, overpopulated areas are considered unwelcoming, as there isn’t enough space for tourists.

For this reason, Morocco has gained a rather poor reputation for being rude to visitors.

Some tourists feel they are taken advantage of when visiting the country. Vendors often hike their prices when they realize that a customer is foreign or a tourist, which can make the whole experience unpleasant.

#7. Northern Sentinel Island

North Sentinel Island is arguably the most unwelcoming destination on our list. While most countries allow tourists to visit (even though the locals may not want them there), North Sentinel Island refuses to let tourists in.

As a result, we aren’t even sure how many people actually live on this island.

The natives are very primitive and even resort to violence when they encounter tourists approaching their island.

Many people who have attempted to get close to the natives mysteriously disappear… We’ll give this place a miss.

#8. Brazil

There is so much to see and do in Brazil. From the iconic Copacabana Beach to the Christ the Redeemer statue…

it does seem like a tropical paradise tourist destination. While Brazil is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world, there are a few downsides.

For starters, the crime rate is high, and the locals are considered very rude – especially during the holiday season.

However, it is important to remember that South American customs are very different from those of other places.

#9. The Caribbean

It’s safe to say that the Caribbean is on everybody’s list of must-see places. These islands are famous for their sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, and tropical lifestyle.

Iran on Saturday claimed that the air defence force of its army has successfully shot down and destroyed two Israeli F-35 fighter jets and a large number of other micro air vehicles.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday accused the Iranian media of “spreading lies” while terming reports about the downing of two Israeli F-35 fighter jets as “fake news”.

Iran on Saturday claimed that the air defence force of its army has successfully shot down and destroyed two Israeli F-35 fighter jets and a large number of other micro air vehicles.

IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani took to social media, labelling it as a “complete FAKE NEWS”.

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It is complete FAKE NEWS

While the Iranian regime spreads lies, we’re taking down real threats like this Iranian UAV shot down over northern Israel this morning: https://t.co/lQwOo1Ypz9 pic.twitter.com/DBZLxozpwj

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) June 14, 2025

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Is there any confirmation on this? pic.twitter.com/KKmnUsuzpy

— Abier (@abierkhatib) June 14, 2025

“While the Iranian regime spreads lies, we’re taking down real threats like this Iranian UAV shot down over northern Israel this morning,” he posted on X along with a video of Israeli defence forces downing an Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced the launch of ‘Operation Rising Lion’ against Iran, a targetted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat of nuclear weapons to Israel’s very survival. He asserted that the operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated further early Saturday as Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks on Israel. The renewed offensive comes amid a period of heightened hostilities between the two nations.

“Two salvos of surface-to-surface missiles were launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel, and in both salvos less than a hundred missiles were fired, most of which were intercepted by air defence systems or did not arrive. There is limited damage to the buildings, some from landslides,” IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Efi Dufferin said on Saturday afternoon.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/israel-denies-irans-claim-of-downing-f-35-jets-calls-it-fake-news-amid-rising-tensions

 

The blaze was brought under control by firefighters and other authorities after nearly six hours. There were 3,820 residents in the high-rise, all of whom were safely evacuated. No injuries or fatalities have been reported in this incident.

A massive fire broke out inside the 67-storey residential tower, Marina Pinnacle, in Dubai Marina late Friday night. The blaze was brought under control by firefighters and other authorities after nearly six hours. There were 3,820 residents in the high-rise, all of whom were safely evacuated. No injuries or fatalities have been reported in this incident.

According to a report in Gulf News, some residents said they were unaware their own building was on fire until it was nearly too late. The report also mentioned that while some had smelled smoke, they only realised the urgency of the situation after first responders arrived.

Social media was flooded with videos and images showing the high-rise engulfed in thick smoke, which continued to intensify during the blaze.

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#BREAKING

Dubai Skyscraper Fire | 3,800+ Evacuated

A massive fire broke out at Tiger Tower (Marina Pinnacle) in Dubai Marina

Nearly 4,000 residents safely evacuated, no casualties reported

Firefighting teams acted swiftly, cooling ops still ongoing

Authorities confirm… pic.twitter.com/M9o2sQWuqx

— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) June 14, 2025

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The #fire has been going on for hours. I hope everyone living in the building and the area is alright. It’s in #Dubai Marina. pic.twitter.com/j4hlQRYmBG

— Juhri Selamet (@juhriSL) June 14, 2025

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A Massive fire broke out in a Skyscraper at DAMAC Bay by Cavalli in Dubai Marina. Nothing is safe as long as #Modi is PM.

Mudi shud regin. pic.twitter.com/KDkvX9bYQt

— BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon) June 14, 2025

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Dubai marina fire pic.twitter.com/eCaSLZ6fHa

— Simon CK (@SimonCarte18081) June 14, 2025

Many social media users applauded the authorities and firefighters for their diligent efforts in rescuing over 3,820 residents and ensuring there were no casualties during the evacuation.

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Nearly 4000 residents of this high-rise tower were safely rescued from a major fire.

Fire broke out at Tiger Tower (Marina Pinnacle) in Dubai Marina.

Firefighting teams acted swiftly, cooling ops still ongoing.

Authorities confirm situation under full control pic.twitter.com/xfqPJPZtkN

— Shuja ul haq (@ShujaUH) June 14, 2025

Issuing an official update on the situation, the Dubai Media Office in a X (formerly twitter) post said “Following the containment of the fire and the safe evacuation of all residents, the smoke currently visible at the site is due to ongoing cooling operations as part of the firefighting process. Control measures remain in place and the situation is fully managed by the firefighting teams.”

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/viral/video-massive-fire-erupts-at-dubais-67-storey-marina-pinnacle-3820-residents-safely-evacuated

 

FOX News reporter Trey Yingst has been seen running for his life while reporting live on air as Iranian missiles struck Israel on Friday.

Yingst yelled at his team to take cover as his camera crew showed the panicked moment that the missile attack reached Tel Aviv.

Fireballs could be seen coming from the sky and plumes of smoke were seen rising as explosions rumbled throughout the city in a missile strike at around 9 pm local time on Friday.

Yingst, Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent, was reporting from the scene as the missiles could be seen from far away.

“There’s a massive amount of fire coming to Tel Aviv right now,” Yingst said calmly at the beginning of the video.

Missiles could be heard screeching in the distance.

The energy in the broadcast then turned tense as explosions lit up the sky and Yingst said, “Time to go!”

“Guys, come on, everyone move!” he yelled.

He told his crew to grab their equipment and go as the cameras jostled.

A man could be heard shouting instructions behind Yingst.

After the panicked broadcast, Yingst posted on social media.

“Just getting a moment to post here,” he wrote on X.

“As you saw in our reporting, a massive ballistic missile barrage targeted central Israel.

“We could see impacts and many interceptions.”

Yingst later appeared on Fox News again to speak about the missile attack.

Multiple people were injured in the blitz in Tel Aviv on Friday night.

While some missiles landed, others burned up in the sky while being intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems.

The US is reportedly helping Israel intercept Iran’s missiles, according to the Associated Press.

Explosions were reported in Tel Aviv and Ramla.

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as the missiles were launched in retaliation for deadly Israeli attacks.

Just hours earlier, Israel launched strikes across Iran targeting nuclear sites.

The attacks killed at least three top Iranian military officers.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14475908/trey-yingst-fox-tel-aviv-video-israel-live/

There are now 138 million child laborers, down from an estimated 160 million in 2020, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a joint report that was released to mark Thursday’s World Day Against Child Labor.

The drop represents good news for child welfare; in 2000, the ILO estimated 245.5 million children were forced to work. The almost 50% decrease is especially promising, as the number of children has risen by 230 million over the same period.

The number of children, which the ILO defines as 5 to 17-year-olds, engaged in “hazardous work” — mostly in mining, industrial or agricultural sectors — has also decreased from 79 million in 2020 to 54 million in 2025.

However, the ILO said even optimistic estimates project it will be decades before child labor is completely eliminated.

Challenges remain across Africa

Around 86.6 million child laborers — almost two-thirds of all child laborers — are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nankali Maksud, regional adviser for child protection at UNICEF, told DW: “In terms of prevalence rate, it has been reduced. So we’ve gone from 24% to 22% between 2020 and 2024. But what we’re challenged with in this region is the rapid population growth. So in absolute numbers, we haven’t made much progress.”

Particularly concerning for Maksud is that younger children, between the ages of 5 to 11, make up the largest share of child laborers.

“We’re not addressing seriously enough poverty at household level, particularly in rural areas. Unless we have the right political will and financing to lift those households, we will not be able to address child labor,” she said.

Additionally, Maksud believes regional efforts to increase access to quality education — through building schools and encouraging parents to send children to school — must be prioritized, as well as stronger enforcement of laws to punish child labor practices.

Recommendations also include more stringent labor inspections in high-risk sectors like mining and agriculture, and improved supply chain accountability.

“The majority of our countries have laws in place,” said Maksud, noting that enforcement of those laws is weak. “The ministries responsible for issues like child labor, most of the time, they have the smallest budget lines.”

Lisa Zimmermann, Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Madagascar, said 47% of 5- to 17-year-olds there are affected by child labor — much higher than in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

“Child labor affects boys a little bit more than girls. It also affects children in rural areas more than those in urban areas, and it generally affects children from poor families,” Zimmermann told DW, adding that “32% of all children in Madagascar actually engaged in child labor work under dangerous conditions, so that is the worst form of child labor.”

Climate change brings more misery to child workers

Multiple climate-related problems, from drought to cyclones, have plagued agriculture-dependent Madagascans.

“Climatic shocks push families and children into labor, new forms of labor and into more hazardous forms of labor,” said Zimmermann.

Some rural communities in arid southwestern Madagascar have turned to mica mining, instead or alongside agricultural practices.

Madagascar is the third-largest exporter of mica, after Russia and India, and the sector has boomed in recent years as the mineral is used in the renewable energy sector.

“It’s then mostly children that have to climb into the mines to support their families and to have enough to eat,” Zimmermann added.

Mica mining in these communities often involves the whole family, from elders to young children. They also told UN researchers that if their family members do not work, they cannot afford to eat.

How is child labor perpetuated?

While the ILO defines child labor as work that deprives children of their childhood, dignity, potential and development, especially with regard to schooling, communities across Africa have their own understandings of what constitutes child labor, and when it is necessary.

Lydia Osei, a researcher from the University of Ghana, has observed trends within Ghanaian society.

“Child labor is a huge problem, except we haven’t as a people made conscious efforts to deal with it,” she told DW.

Particularly under scrutiny in West Africa is child labor in mining, agriculture and housework. In Ghana, reports of child labor in cocoa farming and informal mining are rife.

“I don’t think any parent would want their child as young as 8 years to be at the quarrying site, to be hit and hurt. But because tradition allows that the child helps in the maintenance of the family, they take their children to artisanal mining sites,” said Osei.

Often, employers at mining sites participate in child labor by allowing children to work alongside their parents, with small children given jobs in sorting, or climbing into areas that adults cannot reach.

“Usually, young people do not get physical cash as payment. They get some of the rocks or ore as payment,” said Osei. “But because the underage workers are usually able to get something they classify as enough, they don’t see it as exploitation. And that is why the relationship keeps going.”

As in other communities, the effects of children being unable to attend school and entering the job market early become apparent only in the long term. For this reason, the ILO and UNICEF have said governments across sub-Saharan Africa need to introduce strategies that break the cycle of child labor.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/world-fails-to-meet-2025-child-labor-target/a-72871346

 

Trapped between what it sees as a historical responsibility to Israel and international law and diplomacy, Germany is facing a tough foreign policy test after the latest Israeli attacks on Iran.

Germany’s foreign policy in the Middle East has always involved a delicate balancing act — a balancing act that just got a little more difficult. Israel’s attack on Iran this week is likely to put further pressure on Germany’s close relationship with Israel.

Israel’s security is part of Germany’s so-called “Staatsräson,” or “reason of state.” Former Chancellor Angela Merkel popularized the term when she addressed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in 2008. Although the idea has no official legal standing, Merkel’s successor, Olaf Scholz, doubled down on it in the months after the militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

More recently though, the severe humanitarian consequences of Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip have made it difficult for the German government to find a suitable position on the conflict there. Only a few days ago, Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “frankly speaking, I no longer understand what the goal of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip is,” during a television interview.

“Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism,” he told German public broadcaster WDR. Despite those statements though, there have been no consequences. For example, Germany continues to send weapons to Israel.

Germany’s support to Israel

The Israeli government is defending its latest strikes against Iran by saying it was acting against “an existential threat.” Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz called it a “pre-emptive strike” because Iran was close to developing a nuclear bomb, something Israel wanted to prevent happening.

The German government appears to share that opinion. In a press statement issued the morning of the first Israeli strikes, Merz said Israel had “the right to defend its existence and its citizens.” Merz had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone and Netanyahu had informed him of the military action and its objectives.

The press statement also said that the German government has repeatedly expressed concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. Iran’s “nuclear program violates the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and poses a serious threat to the entire region, especially to the State of Israel,” the German government statement said.

The goal of any diplomatic intervention and de-escalation, which Germany supports, must be that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, the statement concluded.

That reaction from the German government was to be expected, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Netherlands-based Counter Extremism Project, told DW.

“Now it is the direct negotiations between the US and the Iranians that are crucial,” Schindler said. “The previous negotiating format — Germany, France, the UK and the US, with the Iranians — is not a part of this any longer. In this conflict the Europeans are increasingly spectators, rather than actors.”

Growing criticism of Israel

Schindler does not believe that the current military escalation will change anything around Germany’s position on Israel. “We’re not just any other country. We’re Germany, with the history of the Holocaust,” he explained. “In that sense there’s absolutely no other moral or ethical option than expressing solidarity with Israel.”

That does not mean that Germany has to approve of each Israeli military operation and every Israeli government decision, Schindler continued. “The new German government seems much more prepared to criticize than the previous one,” he noted.

Voices critical of the Netanyahu government had recently been growing louder in the German government, including in the governing coalition made up of conservatives from the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, and the Christian Social Union, as well as the left-centrist Social Democrats, or SPD.

Some members of the government seem to fear being pressured by Israel. At the end of last month, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany would not allow what he called “compulsory solidarity.”

During his visit to Cairo, Wadephul commented on the Iranian strikes that came in retaliation for the earlier Israeli ones. “We condemn the indiscriminate Iranian attack on Israeli territory in the strongest possible terms,” ​​Wadephul, a member of the CDU, said. “Iran is currently attacking Israel with hundreds of drones. There are initial reports of casualties. These developments are more than worrying.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had apparently informed him of the attack.

After the Israeli attacks on Iran, SPD foreign policy specialist Rolf Mützenich told German public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that Israel had the right to defend itself. However, that right should be connected to imminent danger and an existential threat. Whether those prerequisites had been present for Israel to base its attack on, would certainly be discussed at the United Nations Security Council, or UNSC.

At the same time, Mützenich also confirmed the dangers posed by the Iranian nuclear program, adding that Teheran had also acted irresponsibly and was also part of the current escalation spiral.

International law?

Whether Israel’s attack on Iran was legitimate under international law is also being discussed. Law experts say a preemptive strike is actually only permissible under certain, very specific conditions — for example, when there is an imminent threat that cannot be prevented any other way.

Foreign policy spokesperson and co-chair of Germany’s Left party, Jan van Aken, described the Israeli attack as “a serious violation of international law, which cannot be justified as self-defense.”

The UNSC should meet today in order to decide on the nature of this attack, van Aken said. “All sides must immediately deescalate, also to protect the affected civilian population in Iran and Israel,” he added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/israel-attacks-put-pressure-on-germanys-middle-east-policies/a-72900451

Scale AI founder and chief executive Alexandr Wang will join Meta to help with the tech giant’s own AI efforts as part of the deal.

Scale AI announced a major new investment by Meta late Thursday that values the startup at more than $29 billion and puts its founder to work for the tech titan.

Company founder and chief executive Alexandr Wang will join Meta to help with the tech giant’s own artificial intelligence efforts as part of the deal, according to the startup.

Meta was reportedly pouring more than $10 billion into San Francisco-based Scale AI, and acquires its 28-year-old CEO amid fierce competition in the AI race with rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft.

“Meta has finalised our strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI,” a Meta spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

“As part of this, we will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts.”

Meta promised more details about the move in coming weeks.

Scale AI works with business, governments and labs to exploit the benefits of artificial intelligence, according to the startup.

“Meta’s investment recognises Scale’s accomplishments to date and reaffirms that our path forward — like that of AI — is limitless,” Wang said in a release.

“Scale bridges the gap between human values and technology to help our customers realize AI’s full potential.”

Since Wang founded Scale AI in 2016, it has grown to more than 1,500 people, he wrote in a post on X.

He said a few other employees, whom he referred to as “Scaliens,” will go with him to work on Meta’s AI initiative.

Wang described his departure as “bittersweet,” adding he will remain a member of the Scale AI board of directors.

– Military AI –

Along with work that includes AI data, agents, and optimizing systems, Scale AI late last year announced an artificial intelligence model built on Meta’s Llama 3 model that is customized for US national security missions including planning military or intelligence operations and understanding adversary vulnerabilities.

Listed capabilities of “Defense Llama” include assessing scenarios and answering tactical questions such as how enemies might attack and how to effectively counter, according to Scale AI.

“Scale AI is committed to ongoing collaboration with the defense community to ensure Defense Llama remains a trusted and effective asset for US military and intelligence operations,” Wang said at the time.

Scale AI will use the infusion of capital to accelerate innovation and strengthen partnerships, along with distributing proceeds to equity holders, according to the startup.

Meta will hold a minority stake in Scale AI after the investment deal closes, but an exact figure was not revealed.

Tech industry veteran and investor Jason Droege, a co-founder of Uber Eats food delivery platform, will take over as chief of Scale AI, according to the company.

“Scale has led the charge in accelerating AI development,” Droege said in a release.

“We have built the strongest foundation to tackle AI’s data challenges and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/meta-invests-over-10-million-in-scale-ai-takes-in-ceo-alexandr-wang-8657154

Strike a pose.

Madonna’s the latest A-lister to carry one of Aupen’s signature Nirvana bags, but the Queen of Pop’s pricey purse is quite literally a cut above the rest.

Created in partnership with French luxury conglomerate LVMH’s Métiers d’Art program, the patchwork crocodile style is valued at a whopping $100,000.

What’s more, “one of one” couture carryalls like Madonna’s will be available to order by invitation only as part of Aupen’s new Haute Maroquinerie initiative.

For those without such deep pockets — or fashion-world connections — the brand’s calfskin leather Nirvana bags start at $340 and are available in several colors with either buckled, braided or chain-link straps.

Aupen, whose brand name is a portmanteau of “authentic” and “open,” was founded in 2022 by Singaporean designer and entrepreneur Nicholas Tan.

“Influenced by art and architecture, we wanted to move away from the idea of perfection and embrace irregularity and to truly appreciate beauty with all its flaws,” Tan told Page Six Style the following year of the label’s signature asymmetrical shapes.

Taylor Swift was among the first stars to be spotted with a Nirvana, toting hers to Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley’s wedding in 2023 and later during a date with boyfriend Travis Kelce (and sending orders through the roof in the process).

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/13/style/madonna-shows-off-her-100000-aupen-bag-on-instagram-one-of-one/

Kanye West made a shocking — and bizarrely quick — appearance at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial Friday to support the fellow rapper.

West, 48, arrived with Combs’ son Christian “King” Combs, wearing the same all-white denim ensemble he sported Thursday.

Completing his outfit with black sunglasses, the musician stopped to shake a fan’s hand before beelining into Manhattan federal court.

When a reporter asked if he was there to support Diddy, West gave a slow nod and replied, “Yes.”

He did not respond when asked whether he would be testifying on Diddy’s behalf.

Page Six can confirm that West was not allowed into the main courtroom because his name was not included on a list of Diddy’s friends and family that was required to be submitted in advance to the court marshals.

Therefore, he went to the 23rd floor to watch the trial via a TV screen in one of the overflow rooms.

The Grammy winner saw some testimony with King and a few members of his team before other reporters caught wind of his presence, prompting him to leave roughly 45 minutes after arriving.

He exited the building with King and what appeared to be security guards before getting into the backseat of a black car.

West’s wife, Bianca Censori, did not accompany him, even though she is in New York with him.

His rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

A source told CNN Thursday that West had been in touch with King about attending the trial with the Combs family.

The source noted that West and King are currently working on music together.

West, who has faced a myriad of his own controversies in recent years, has publicly supported Diddy, 55, since the latter was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.

In fact, West advocated for Diddy’s release from jail in February.

“FREE PUFF,” the former posted on X at the time.

“ALL THESE CELEBRITY N—-S AND BITCHES IS P—Y YALL A WATCH OUR BROTHER ROT AND NEVER SAY S–T.”

“… FOR EVERY SON WHO DAD IS LOCKED UP WRITE [sic] OR WRONG I WANT YALL TO LISTEN TO DAVE CHAPELLES JOKES VERY CLOSE THIS TIME,” West captioned the post.

“LETS SEE HOW FUNNY IT GETS WHEN FAMILIES ARE SEPARATED ESPECIALLY BLACK FAMILIES.”

In March, West released via his social media channels a song featuring Diddy, King and his daughter North, 11, which infuriated her mother, Kim Kardashian.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/13/celebrity-news/kanye-west-shows-up-in-court-at-sean-diddy-combs-trial/

Four staffers have left Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s team, Page Six can confirm.

Kyle Boulia, the couple’s Los Angeles-based deputy press secretary, and Charlie Gipson, their UK press officer, have quietly exited their positions after the couple took on new advisers, Hello! reported Friday.

A source also confirmed to the outlet that two members of their private team have also departed their roles in recent weeks.

The exits came after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched a new team headed by Meredith Kendall Maines, who was appointed as their Chief Communications Officer earlier this year.

Maines addressed the changes in a statement to Page Six Friday, telling us, “As the Duke and Duchess’s business and philanthropic interests grow, I have made the strategic decision to move toward a more traditional communications structure of specialist agency support, as previously reported in Forbes and PR Week several weeks ago.”

She continued, “Transitioning from a team of two to an agency support staff of eight, operating across five different time zones, will give international media and stakeholders better access, and critically, faster response times to inquiries.”

Boulia and Gipson hung up their hats just over a year after they were hired by the Invictus Games founder and his wife in April 2024. Boulia previously worked at United Talent Agency and Gipson was a brand manager at Edelman.

A source familiar with the situation told Hello! that they believe there will be “another change in the future.”

“Meghan and Harry have hired some of the most incredible people at the top of their fields, yet somehow none of them ever work out,” the source said.

Last summer, the Sussexes’ then-chief of staff, Josh Kettler, memorably quit after just three months on the job.

In January, a former media staffer accused the “Suits” alum of creating a toxic work environment.

It was “really, really, really awful. Very painful,” the unnamed staffer claimed in a Vanity Fair exposé.

“Because she’s constantly playing checkers — I’m not even going to say chess — but she’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board. And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/06/13/royal-family/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-abruptly-lose-four-more-employees-as-staffing-woes-continue/

Like many in Singapore, 37-year-old Ella Lyn would spend her days off indulging in a hobby, namely rollerblading with friends.

What’s unique about Ms Lyn’s experience is that her fellow rollerbladers are made up mostly of migrant workers – though not entirely by choice.

The domestic helper from the Philippines said that during her 12 years here, she has encountered Singaporeans who openly express their displeasure at the mere sight of migrant workers meeting up with their friends in public spaces.

“In my experience, and my group of friends’ experience, they (locals) like making bad comments and have bad opinions about us,” she told CNA TODAY.

Even when her friends in the Skate Club Singapore cruise around without bothering members of the public, they become the target of negative comments.

Ms Lyn set up the club with her friends in 2022 and it now comprises mainly migrant workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India.

“We have experienced them (members of the public) shouting at us, telling us that we just formed the group to find boyfriends and girlfriends … they also tell us our group is for ‘lust’,” she recounted.

Ms Lyn wishes that Singaporeans would see migrant workers like her as “the same (like them), fellow humans who want to relieve stress after work”. She added that she is open to making friends with locals – though she is hesitant about making the first move.

Meanwhile for Mr Mosharof, a lorry crane operator from Bangladesh, told CNA TODAY that he “don’t have many” Singaporean friends, despite having worked here for 17 years.

He said that the Singaporeans he has met are generally nice and helpful, but given the very little and precious rest time that he has, he would rather spend it catching up with his friends and family members who are also working here.

“No need, thank you. My work hours are already so long,” he replied when asked if he would like the opportunity to make friends with more Singaporeans.

The experiences of Ms Lyn and Mr Mosharof highlight the challenges that work permit holders face when it comes to integrating into and forming friendships with the wider community here.

This group of foreign workers often work in roles which are traditionally shunned by Singaporeans such as in construction, marine shipyards and domestic work.

As many observers have pointed out over the years, they are viewed in a different light to foreign professionals who hold higher-tier work passes, who are regarded by many Singaporeans as a form of job competition.

Still, the migrant workers interviewed by CNA TODAY said they are aware that they are not fully welcome by some segments of Singaporeans.

Despite such negative perceptions about them, most said they would welcome that chance to befriend Singaporeans should they be given the chance.

After all, even though these foreigners are often seen as transient due to the relatively short-term nature of their work permits, many have ended up working here for years, even decades.

This is why Ms Dipa Swaminathan, founder of non-governmental organisation It’s Raining Raincoats, said it is a “misconception” to regard such workers as merely transient.

“You put yourself in their shoes…. If you have studied abroad in a particular country, or work there…people who go and live somewhere else, want to belong in that place,” she said.

“You may have your own family back in your country that you left, but while you’re in a place, it’s the human instinct to want to belong.”

This underscores the importance of integrating such workers and building bonds with them so that they can feel that they are part of the Singapore that they have helped build, Ms Swaminathan said.

In a speech at an appreciation dinner held in his honour by organisations from Singapore’s Indian community earlier this year, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on Singaporeans to help immigrants and foreign workers adapt to the country’s social norms to build a cohesive and inclusive society.

“Immigrants and foreign workers raise political sensitivities in many societies,” Mr Lee noted.

But as Singapore relies on them “to top up our population base and talent pool”, the inflow and integration must be be managed with “utmost sensitivity”, while Singaporeans at the same time “must also stand firmly against nativism and xenophobia, and welcome the new arrivals to become part of our extended family.”

Currently, work permit holders are only allowed to work here for a maximum duration of between 14 and 26 years based on skill level, sector and country of origin.

From July, this cap will be removed, which some observers believe will provide a stronger impetus to reassess the integration of such workers and their relationship with the local community, given their even longer duration of stay here.

Sociology experts, advocacy groups and volunteers who work with migrant workers noted that as a society, Singapore will benefit from a more integrated pool of migrant workers since they make up over one-quarter of the total population here.

To achieve this goal, however, would require a gradual approach of dismantling long-held stereotypes and concerns among Singaporeans that have led to the current separation between migrant workers and local citizens.

There is, however, the matter of priority too — and integration is not necessarily high up the list of issues that the migrant worker workforce face.

Non-government organisations (NGOs) and advocacy groups, as well as workers CNA TODAY spoke to, generally agreed that there are more pressing issues that directly impact the daily lives of work permit holders, which still require significant attention.

Such issues include wage theft, welfare protection and physical safety, be it in workplaces or when being transported to their work sites.

Vice-president of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) Alex Au noted that low-wage work permit holders do not have the right to bring in their family members, stay beyond their employment and have to return home at some point.

“If, by ‘integration’, we mean turning them into Singaporeans, and getting Singaporeans to accept them as one of ‘us’, then it is all quite pointless,” said Mr Au, adding that it applies more to those holding higher-tier work passes and their dependents.

“It has no reason to be a priority when we’re talking about work permit holders — at least if that is the definition we use.”

The “far more important discussion”, he said, is how such low-wage workers get mistreated through “active disempowerment and exploitation or through neglect”.

Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), acknowledged that integration and forging relationships with locals is a “second, third order” issue relative to the immediate ones listed earlier.

“But I think the bigger picture, in the longer term, fostering a relationship (with Singaporeans) will increase the motivation that Singaporeans have of ensuring that migrant workers are better protected.”

HOUSED SEPARATELY FROM WIDER SOCIETY 

Work permit holders here have long formed a big part of Singapore’s population, yet many have remained removed from the wider society.

The number of work pass holders here have grown from 990,000 in 2019 to close to 1.7 million as of December 2024. Singapore’s total population is about 6.04 million as of June 2024, according to the latest available official figures.

About 301,600 work pass holders are domestic helpers, and 456,800 are from the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors.

As the number of such foreign workers increases, so too have efforts to house them largely away from the wider society.

Since 2006, public flat owners have been disallowed from renting out their homes to non-Malaysian work permit holders from the construction sector. The restriction has since been extended to the manufacturing as well as marine shipyard and process sectors.

The authorities said then that they had taken into account the sentiments of HDB dwellers towards their migrant neighbours in introducing the restriction.

At the same time, dormitories – mostly situated away from residential areas – were built to house male migrant workers.

In 2008, about 1,400 residents in the affluent neighbourhood of Serangoon Gardens petitioned against the proposed construction of a migrant worker dormitory next to their homes. While their concerns were framed around practical concerns such as overcrowding and traffic, the arguments increasingly took on a classist and xenophobic tone, observers noted at the time.

In 2015, during the debate on the Foreign Employee Dormitories Bill to license and regulate dormitory standards, several Members of Parliament also raised concerns from local residents over the prospects of having migrant workers in their neighbourhoods.

The law, which regulates and licenses purpose-built dormitories, came two years after the Little India riot, which primarily involved migrant workers and had accentuated public order and safety concerns.

All these developments influenced how the majority of male permit holders are housed today in relation to the wider community, said experts.

Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said: “What we’re doing now, is to mitigate potential tension that could arise due to factors such as very different cultures, different economic backgrounds.”

Dr Leong heads the social cohesion research programme at RSIS.

As of end 2024, there were 1,441 dormitories which can accommodate about 439,200 work permit holders – most of them operating at “near full” capacity, according to an industry report by the Dormitory Association of Singapore Limited and property consultancy Knight Frank Singapore.

In April this year, the government announced six new dormitories with a combined capacity of about 45,000 will be built “over the next few years”.

Aside from dormitories, there are also eight recreation centres (RCs) for migrant workers, designed to be one-stop places providing basic amenities, shops and services as well as event venues for them.

Six of them are run by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the NTUC-affiliated Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC). The remaining two are managed by private operators.

More and more migrant workers are turning to such centres for their recreational needs.

MWC’s executive director Michael Lim told CNA TODAY that there was a 41 per cent increase in visitorship in 2024 from the year before, averaging 150,000 visitors each month at the RC it operates at Soon Lee.

“This positive momentum has continued into 2025,” said Mr Lim.

Meanwhile, an MOM spokesperson said overall, each of these centres drew an average of over 80,000 monthly visitors in 2024.

Also, the nearly 90 outreach events organised in 2024 attracted over 75,000 migrant workers, the spokesperson added.

Experts cautioned that the physical distance between workers’ dormitories and the heartlands pose a challenge to integration efforts.

Associate Professor Laavanya Kathiravelu from the department of sociology and human geography at the University of Oslo said: “Migrant worker dormitories and recreation centres at the edges of the island or in less accessible places means that these men don’t interact at all with Singaporeans on a regular basis.

“They are not seen by locals as members of the neighborhood and nation,” added the Singaporean academic who concurrently holds a position in Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Indeed, a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published in December 2020 on public attitudes towards migrant workers in Singapore said that physical distance in accommodation “hinders migrant workers from integrating into the local community and encourages segregation and discrimination”.

“City planning can promote social inclusion by avoiding separation of migrant workers’ accommodation,” it added.

The report also found that between 2010 and 2019, there was a seven-point decline on a 100-point index measuring public support towards migrant workers. It noted that respondents with no interaction at all with migrant workers recorded a decline of 22 points, more drastic than the four-point decline among locals who had interacted with such workers.

Ms Ratna Mathai-Luke, a programme technical officer from ILO, told CNA TODAY: “People who have regular interactions with migrant workers generally tend to have a more positive perception of migrant workers. So we do know that is one condition that will support positive attitude towards migrant workers.”

Commenting on the locations of RCs, MOM said: “They provide attractive options for workers who do not wish to travel far to unwind, connect with their peers and participate in events and activities.”

The ministry spokesperson added that workers can still choose to visit any part of Singapore on their rest days.

Agreeing, Mr Lim of MWC added that his organisation “does not see them (RCs) as tools of segregation.”

“In fact, many of our programmes at the RCs are designed to bridge communities and build understanding. The RCs are one of several platforms through which we engage migrant workers meaningfully.”

Mr Lim added: “Importantly, there are no restrictions on where migrant workers can go during their rest days – they are free to visit the public spaces, malls, parks, and places of worship as any other member of the community.

“They are also free to catch up with their friends and social circles both within the RCs and beyond.”

Both MOM and MWC highlighted various programmes organised at the RCs that provide opportunities for locals to interact with migrant workers.

For instance, MWC work with corporate partners to hold “meaningful corporate social responsibility activities” that allow employees connect with the migrant worker community.

“These include hosting appreciation events, skill-sharing workshops, and inter-cultural team-building activities that highlight the contributions and personal stories of migrant workers,” said Mr Lim.

Meanwhile, MOM also works with schools and youth groups to encourage ground-up initiatives that support and care for the well-being of migrant workers and promote appreciation for the latter, said a ministry spokesperson.

“Last year, over 4,000 youths from schools and youth groups took part in activities supporting the well-being of our migrant workers. These initiatives include health screenings, financial and computer literacy classes, recreational sports and cultural exchanges as well as youth-hosted visits to local cultural and heritage centres,” said the spokesperson.

GROUND-UP EFFORTS TO BUILD BRIDGES

Apart from these official initiatives, there are notable efforts by civil society, Singaporeans and migrant workers seeking to integrate work-permit holders and to forge a closer relationship between them and residents.

Those involved in such initiatives cited the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, as a turning point that shed light on the plight of migrant workers confined to their dormitories during the health crisis.

“The whole nationwide attention on the migrant worker situation has, of course, gone down since then, but I think many of the groups that have actually started during COVID-19 have sustained themselves,” said Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, senior manager for research and advocacy at Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME).

SayurStory is one such initiative started by Singaporean Leong Man Wei during the pandemic. Her interest in gardening during the pandemic prompted conversations about plants with her own helper, which made Ms Leong realise how much the woman could share with others about the subject due to the latter’s own experience back home in Indonesia.

Ms Leong, now 25, felt that SayurStory could be a way to momentarily “reverse the power dynamics and direction of teaching and learning”, so that employers see their helpers as empowered individuals with knowledge to share, and not just view them as employees.

The community has since organised various activities and events, such as workshops and visits to the park.

One instance that left a deep impression on Ms Leong was an event last October at the National Library where migrant helpers from the SayurStory community acted as facilitators, sharing information on jamu, the Indonesian traditional medicine, with members of the public.

“They (attendees) engaged with the facilitators, with a lot of respect and curiosity in the topic that they were teaching, with a lot of questions around their Indonesian heritage, which in the setting of a typical home between a helper and employer, you don’t actually get so much of,” said Ms Leong.

Sports is another area of interest that could transcend ethnic boundaries, if the experience of Mr Shaji Philip is any indicator.

The 55-year-old naturalised Singaporean who came from India, started organising cricket games in 2007 for himself and his friends – but word soon spread and the league now has over 100 teams with more than 3,000 players, of which about 20 per cent are local residents.

“They actively mingle and help the fellow migrant workers to get accustomed and take care of game expenses, if any. When it comes to sports there is no differentiation or segregation between the nationalities and other ethnic factors,” said the deputy director at a public transport operator here, referring to the interactions he saw on the pitch.

“I do observe there are a lot of team parties outside the pitch as well. For some parties, they invite me to be part of their gatherings and I try my best to be available for their invitations.”

Migrant workers, too, are also taking steps to forge closer bonds with the local community.

Ms Janelyn Dupingay, 34, a migrant domestic helper from the Philippines, is a member of the core team behind the Migrant Writers of Singapore, which organises many literary-related events all year round that are attended by both migrant workers and locals.

“For our art and writing workshops, usually there are four Singaporeans out of 10 participants and the rest are migrants. And for (the group’s event) Carnival of Poetry, there would be at least two Singaporean writers out of five,” she said, referring to the group’s monthly poetry reading sessions.

These events not only provide an outlet for participants to express themselves through the arts, but also to interact with people of different backgrounds and bond over common interests.

“Two years ago, we paired a local and migrant writer to collaborate on a poem that they will perform at Esplanade and just recently, they asked me for a foreword for their upcoming anthology book,” said Ms Dupingay.

“As an organiser, I feel amazed how they stayed connected even after their performance. So I’m looking forward to their book coming out.”

WHY IT’S WORTH FORGING A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP

NGOs and experts noted that in reality, due to how certain policies are structured, low-wage work permit holders cannot be expected to be as fully integrated into the wider Singaporean community as the foreign workers who hold higher-tier passes.

“Integration is typically measured by factors like levels of inter-marriage with locals, inclusion into different sectors of the labour market, access to healthcare and spatial inclusion,” said Assoc Prof Kathiravelu.

“Because low-wage migrants are structurally kept out of institutions like marriage, allowed to work only in certain sectors, have to rely on private healthcare, and stay outside the public housing system in privately run dormitories, the notion of integration is really quite inappropriate,” she added.

Ms Jaya of HOME and Ms Dipa of IRR noted that many migrant workers they have worked with would love a long-term residency in Singapore, a place where they typically spend over a decade working.

“They want to bring their children, they want to bring their spouses, but because they’ve remained a work permit holder, it’s tough for them to do so, and at the end of their tenure, they have to go back,” said Ms Jaya.

Though the migrant workers’ stay here is temporary by design, the negative attitudes held by some Singaporeans towards them must still be addressed.

Experts noted how these low-wage migrant workers tend to do “3D” jobs – dirty, demeaning and dangerous – that Singaporeans generally do not want to do themselves, yet acknowledge that they are necessary.

Ms Dipa said that this led to the “conflicting” way in which Singaporeans treat permit holders.

“They are everywhere, we want them to do the work around us. We don’t mind that. Yet, we don’t want them living around us,” said Ms Dipa. “It’s something for us to really reflect on ourselves.”

As in other parts of the world where citizens are grappling with the presence of immigrants, two main concerns often underlie locals’ fears: economic competition and perceived cultural erosion.

It is the fear of cultural erosion that sometimes takes primacy in the minds of some Singaporeans, said Dr Leong.

“You can reassure Singaporeans as much as you want about the importance of the migrant worker community. You can reassure them as much as you want in terms of what economic benefits, and whether they are law abiding or not.

“But at the end of the day, a lot of what’s driving how sharp you want to define the the intergroup boundary has a lot to do with whether you feel that you are being marginalised, whether you feel that your sense of community is being eroded because you have an influx of people who are alien to you,” Dr Leong added.

Given these negative sentiments held by some locals, the importance of integrating work permit holders to the rest of society still needs to be reinforced.

At the most economically pragmatic level, experts and NGOs noted that Singapore, with its fast-greying population and declining birth rate, will constantly be in need of migrant workers. However, as their home countries develop and other countries, too, seek the services of such migrant workers, the latter may not automatically view Singapore as a top destination to work.

For the migrant workers, integration could benefit them in tangible ways too.

Mr Ripon Chowdury, a worker from Bangladesh who runs a self-help community initiative called Migrant Workers of Singapore, said that the social distance between the two sides means that migrant workers’ issues “are not fully understood” by locals.

“When local communities see migrant workers not just as laborers but as individuals contributing to society, fairer treatment becomes a shared cause rather than an isolated issue,” he said.

“In that sense, integration may serve as the foundation that strengthens calls for safer work environments, fair wages, and better living conditions.”

As a society, keeping migrant workers apart from the rest of Singapore will only perpetuate negative sentiments towards the workers.

Dr Mathews from IPS said: “I don’t know how tenable it is to keep the groups so separate. I think it does breed all the stereotypes, all the (negative) concerns. A continual gap between the two groups may not be the most healthy in the longer term.”

Providing shared spaces for both sides to meet and interact meaningfully, on the other hand, would engender trust and greater shared sense of responsibility towards Singapore.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/big-read/not-just-cheap-labour-case-greater-integration-singapores-migrant-workers-5177546

A GIRL was attacked by a school of piranha fish just moments after taking a dip in a scenic lake in Brazil.

Nine-year-old Yasmin Luis Vieira’s foot was mutilated in the savage attack that took place before her mum’s eyes.

Mum Janaina Luis Pereira, 31, said the horror unfolded on a day trip to a lake in the Brazilian municipality of Caldas Novas on June 8.

She said the piranhas pounced on Yasmin within seconds of her feet entering the water.

The fish bit off two of her middle toes on her right foot while also injuring her left foot, according to the mum.

Gruesome images show victim Yasmin’s wounded feet.

Janaina said: “We went to the lake to have a family picnic. We went to the edge so she could put her feet in the water.

“I heard her scream, ‘Mummy, a piranha got my foot’.

“She jumped and got out of the water. When she sat down, I saw that her toes were gone. It was terrifying.

“I never imagined a piranha would do that.”

The mum said plenty of families, along with their children, were bathing in the lake at the time of the attack.

She said: “It’s a freely accessible place. There’s no fee to enter, but the signage is very poor.

“The area where everything happened is the same one where visitors have free access to the water. There is no isolation or protective barriers.”

Paramedics rushed Yasmin to hospital where she was treated for shock and a possible infection and doctors carefully stitched up her mutilated toes.

Her mum said: “She was losing a lot of blood. She was taken to the Mother and Child Hospital and treated immediately.”

Yasmin, said to be in intense pain, will soon have to learn how to walk again.

Janaina said: “The pain is constant, she screams a lot. She is sad because she keeps missing something that was ripped from her body.

“As a mother, seeing this is devastating.

“My emotional state is terrible. She tries to be strong, but she is going through a lot of suffering.”

Environmental experts are investigating the attack, according to city officials.

Around 30 different species of piranha fish are believed to dwell in the lakes and rivers of South America.

They are known for their razor-sharp teeth – the word ‘piranha’ literally translates to ‘tooth fish’ in Tupí, a language spoken by indigenous Brazilians.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14471966/girl-attacked-piranhas-lake/

Nippon Steel’s (5401.T), $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel (X.N), poses a national security risk, but those concerns can be mitigated if the companies fulfill certain conditions laid out by the Trump administration, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a executive order on Friday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-says-nippon-us-steel-deal-has-resolvable-national-security-risk-2025-06-13/

 

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed condolences for the loss of lives in a plane crash in Ahmedabad. In a post on micro-blogging website X, Sharif said, “My heartfelt condolences to the families of the precious lives lost in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.”

“This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India,” Sharif wrote on X.

See more

My heartfelt condolences to the families of the precious lives lost in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India.

— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharifMNS) June 12, 2025

Netizens on X have slammed the President of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) pointing fingers and expressing suspicion at Pakistan for the tragic plane crash.

One of the users on X said, “Tum log ne he kuch kiya hoga aatankwadiyo ??? Agar aisa nikla na to ready raho map se pakistan ko hataane k liye.”(sic)

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My heartfelt condolences to the families of the precious lives lost in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India.

— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharifMNS) June 12, 2025

Another user “Mayur” said, “Sach bol de pakistan ne hi kiya hai ye, IsI se bachane ki zimedari India ki, bol?”(sic)

“Didn’t you deny permission to Delhi-Srinagar IndiGo flight while attempting to avoid a very severe hailstorm and turbulence? Save your tears!!” (sic) another user said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condoled the loss of lives in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.

“Saddened by the tragic crash of Air India flight near Ahmedabad today. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy,” he said.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/tum-log-ne-hi-kuch-kiya-hoga-netizens-react-after-former-pakistan-pm-nawaz-sharif-expresses-grief-over-ahmedabad-flight-crash

 

Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country’s international internet links.

Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead.

Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead.

Cambodian and Thai authorities engaged in saber-rattling last week, though they have since walked back much of their earlier statements emphasizing their right to take military action.

But they continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at border crossings. Much of their war of words actually has appeared intended to mollify nationalistic critics on their own sides.

The confrontation reportedly took place in a relatively small “no man’s land” constituting territory along their border that both countries claim is theirs.

The area is closed to journalists, but it appears that both sides withdrew soon after the fatal confrontation to avoid further clashes, without explicitly conceding the fact in order to save face.

“Neither side wants to use the word ‘withdraw’. We say ‘adjust troop deployments’ as a gesture of mutual respect—this applies to both Cambodia and Thailand.” Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was quoted telling reporters this past week.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Friday on the Telegram social network that his government would act preemptively to establish self-reliance in response to exhortations by Thai nationalists to cut off electricity and internet connectivity to Cambodia.

Camboia’s Minister of Post and Telecommunication Chea Vandeth announced on his Facebook page that “all telecommunications operators in Cambodia have now disconnected all cross-border internet links with Thailand,” and that the move would deprive Thailand of as much as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, a claim that could not be immediately checked.

The reported move to use circuits bypassing Thailand temporarily disrupted internet connectivity for users of at least one Cambodian service provider.

Thai officials said any plans to cut services to Cambodia were unrelated to the territorial conflict and would actually be targeting the infamous online scam centers in the Cambodian border town of Poipet that have been a problem for several years.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Fine Arts meanwhile informed all film distributors and cinemas owners that starting Friday, the import and screening of all Thai films must be immediately suspended.

Som Chhaya, deputy director general of a popular Cambodian TV channel, People Nation Network, told The Associated Press that his company will comply with another government order to drop Thai-produced shows, and in their place broadcast Chinese, Korean or Cambodian dramas.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/border-internet-tv-movie-ban-1d554bda4b59aa89b79f02ad2913acc7

President Trump reported more than $57 million in income from his family-linked cryptocurrency venture — one of several sources of revenue the commander in chief listed in his financial disclosure on Friday.

The disclosure, released by the Office of Government Ethics, shows Trump’s stake in crypto platform World Liberty Financial netted him $57,355,532, one of his largest sources of income last year.

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, was co-founded in 2024 by Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy for Ukraine-Russia peace talks and Iran deal discussions.

The president’s three sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, are co-founders as well.

Trump’s personal crypto wallet is valued at between $1,000,001 and $5 million, according to the disclosure.

The 234-page document also lists several royalty payments the president received for selling items with his name and likeness, including $3 million for the “Save America” coffee table book, $2.5 million for “Trump Sneakers and Fragrances,” $2.8 million for Trump-branded watches, $1,055,100 for his “45 Guitar” and $1,306,035 for “The Greenwood Bible.”

A licensing agreement with a company hawking Trump digital trading cards generated another $1,057,490 for the president.

The president’s stock and bond investments span 145 pages of the document, which also shows he received north of $700,000 in fees for speaking engagements.

The White House has said that Trump’s assets are being held in a trust managed by his children while he serves his second term, and maintains that none of his business ventures present a conflict of interest.

The liabilities section of the disclosure shows Trump has yet to pay off more than $100 million mortgage loans received for various properties, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.

The president also listed the $88 million in damages jurors awarded to E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who sued Trump, alleging sexual abuse and defamation.

The $454 million civil fraud judgment won by New York Attorney General Letitia James is also noted.

Trump notes that all the judgments have been “stayed pending appeal.”

Between $15,001 to $50,000 owed on an American Express credit card is also listed in the liabilities section.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/13/us-news/trump-raked-in-57m-income-from-family-crypto-firm-seven-figures-from-guitars-sneakers-watches-and-books-financial-disclosure/

Two shocking attacks within two hours of each other, in France and Austria, have left parents and governments reeling and at a loss how to protect school students from random, deadly violence.

At about 08:15 on Tuesday, a 14-year-old boy from an ordinary family in Nogent, eastern France, drew out a kitchen knife during a school bag check and fatally stabbed a school assistant.

Not long afterwards in south-east Austria, a 21-year-old who had dropped out of school three years earlier, walked into Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz at 09:43, and shot dead nine students and a teacher with a Glock 19 handgun and a sawn-off shotgun.

In both countries there is a demand for solutions and for a greater focus on young people who resort to such violence.

Austria has never seen a school attack on this scale, but the French stabbing took place during a government programme aimed at tackling the growth in knife crime.

Australia’s defence minister woke up to a nightmare earlier this week – and it’s one that has been looming ever since the United States re-elected Donald Trump as president in November.

A landmark trilateral agreement between the US, UK and Australia – which would give the latter cutting-edge nuclear submarine technology in exchange for more help policing China in the Asia-Pacific – was under review.

The White House said on Thursday it wanted to make sure the so-called Aukus pact was “aligned with the president’s America First agenda”.

It’s the latest move from Washington that challenges its long-standing friendship with Canberra, sparking fears Down Under that, as conflict heats up around the globe, Australia may be left standing without its greatest ally.

“I don’t think any Australian should feel that our ally is fully committed to our security at this moment,” says Sam Roggeveen, who leads the security programme at Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank.