The Russian leader also vowed to strengthen national security despite the growing number of Ukrainian attacks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AFP photo)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said Moscow is going through a “difficult period” but insisted the country would overcome every challenge as Ukraine stepped up retaliatory strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Speaking at the congress of the ruling United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, Putin acknowledged the hardships facing the country but said they had made Russia stronger.
“We are going through a difficult period, but it has taught us much,” he said, according to Russian state news agency TASS, while wishing his party success in the upcoming polls.
The Russian leader also vowed to strengthen national security despite the growing number of Ukrainian attacks. “Yes, we see the problems, we are aware of them and are responding to them, but we will certainly ensure the security of both the country and our citizens, as well as the inviolability of Russia’s borders,” Putin said.
“We will undoubtedly overcome all the challenges facing us today, including terrorist attacks on our territory and infrastructure facilities,” he added.
Ukraine continues strikes inside Russia
Putin’s remarks came as Ukraine claimed responsibility for fresh drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
A Ukrainian drone attack reportedly killed one person in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region and triggered a fire at an oil refinery, according to regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes were aimed at weakening Russia’s ability to continue the war.
In a post on X, he said Ukrainian forces had struck the Slavyansk oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, around 300 kilometres from the frontline, as well as another refinery in the Yaroslavl region, about 700 kilometres from Ukraine’s border.
The latest attacks follow another Ukrainian strike last week that caused a major fire at a refinery southeast of Moscow, sending thick black smoke into the capital’s suburbs.
Poland recorded an all-time record temperature of 40.5C on Sunday as the heatwave move eastwards
Europe’s unprecedented early summer heatwave may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Temperature records were broken across the continent again on Sunday – including in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – as the extreme heat continued to move east.
In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe”.
“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he said.
On Sunday morning, France’s national health ministry said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in the country since Wednesday.
Many of the extra fatalities are among those aged 65 over, the agency said, after logging a 40% rise in the number of people dying at home.
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” Tedros warned.
Millions of people across the continent are currently “living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling”, he added.
On Sunday, Germany experienced its hottest-ever day for the third consecutive day after 41.7C was recorded in the east of the country, preliminary data showed.
A station in Coschen, near the Polish border in eastern Brandenburg, recorded 41.7C at around 16:00 local time.
The Czech Republic set its second temperature record in two days, recording 41.1C at Doksany, north of Prague, the meteorological institute CHMI said.
CHMI said it expected the heat to peak on Sunday, with storms forecast for western areas later.
Poland also broke its all-time temperature record with 40.5C in the town of Slubice, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
Climate change was responsible for the extreme weather, Tedros said, warning that Europe was warming at “twice the global average”.
“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annual,” he said.
He called on European countries to “implement heat health action plans”, as part of a push to safeguard health in the face of climate change.
The extreme weather has led European authorities to take drastic measures to prevent heat-related illnesses.
On Thursday, the Dutch music festival Defqon.1 was cancelled following an unprecedented code red warning for extreme heat.
In Paris, officials banned drinking takeaway alcohol in public and cancelled the city’s pride march to help stretched emergency services.
The ban began at noon on Friday local time ahead of France’s World Cup match with Norway and lasted until Sunday morning.
Mayor Mamdani laughed off the idea of changing the US Constitution so he can run for president when he’s done with New York City in an interview Sunday.
“No,” Mamdani told ABC News’ “This Week” when asked. “I think the Constitution looks good the way it is.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemingly closed the door to a future presidential run. ABC News
Under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, only natural born citizens 35 years and older can seek the presidency.
Hizzoner, 34, was born in Uganda and emigrated to the US around the age of seven. He became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
“I’m very excited to focus on New York City, but thank you for reminding me of my upcoming mortality,” Mamdani added, referring to how ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl referenced his upcoming 35th birthday.
During the 2025 mayoral campaign, Mamdani repeatedly needled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), accusing him of setting his sights on higher office.
Despite claiming that he’s not after the presidency, Mamdani was bullish on his role as a major powerbroker in the Democratic Party.
“Let them,” Mamdani snapped back when asked about Republicans trying to make him the poster child for Dems.
“We don’t have to ask ourselves what life looks like if a socialist wins. I won last November, and over the course of these last 6 months, what we’ve delivered.”
Last week, Mamdani scored a victory over Democratic leadership when three candidates he endorsed in competitive primary races — Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier — won.
Those three have championed a far-left agenda, with Avila Chevalier, in particular, having a history of bragging about wiping her dirty hands on the American flag, calling to abolish prisons and the border, blasting former President Joe Biden as a rapist, and more.
The remains of at least 117 dogs were found on the grounds of a California “no-kill“ animal shelter, many of them with gunshot wounds, authorities said.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that it also discovered 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and other remains during searches at Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary, a 50-acre (20-hectare) facility in Fortuna, California.
Investigators combing the site on Thursday located an area in a barn where they believe dogs were likely killed, the sheriff’s office said. More than 600 dog collars were found nearby, the office said.
Sheriff William Honsal called it a “horrific scene.” No charges have been filed.
A message seeking comment was left for the shelter’s founder, Shannon Miranda.
In a statement posted to the shelter’s website on June 18, Miranda said that recent media coverage and online commentary “have presented an incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate picture of our work.”
“At Miranda’s Rescue, our mission is to save as many animals as we safely can—always balancing compassion for animals with our responsibility to protect families, children, other pets, and the public,” Miranda wrote.
The sheriff’s office said it started investigating the shelter after receiving “credible information” in April “regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy.”
Miranda’s Rescue collects fees from shelter transfers, as well as donations that it says helps cover the costs of food, housing, veterinary care, medications, facility expenses and staffing.
An affidavit from an earlier search of the property said that the sheriff’s office was tipped off by a pair of animal advocates, one of whom owns property adjoining the shelter and used trail cameras to monitor activity near an alleged burial site.
The advocates later went onto shelter property and dug up dog remains, the affidavit said.
“This investigation is just getting started,” Honsal said in a statement. “There is a tremendous amount of data to process, witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine.”
Investigators using ground-penetrating radar found 117 intact remains in various stages of decomposition buried in an open field, the sheriff’s office said.
They X-rayed 70 of the remains on site and found evidence of bullet fragments in many of them. The cause of death for many of those animals appeared to be gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said.
FROM dogs forced to sprint on treadmills to horses doped with Viagra, gun-toting mafia gangsters are lining their pockets with millions from animal abuse.
The dark underworld of the so-called “zoo mafia” operates with impunity across Italy – with videos of illegal races published across social media.
Horses are often drugged with cocaine and caffeine to make them run fasterCredit: Enrico Rizzi Official
Horrifying footage shows masked Sicilian gangsters shooting AK-47s while chasing a horse on motorbikes.
Speaking to The Sun, criminologist Ciro Troiano said: “It is a blatant display of criminality, complete with the brandishing of Kalashnikovs.
“The message is clear and unmistakable: we’re in charge here.”
Animal activist Enrico Rizzi said: “They can’t even be called illegal anymore because they’re done in broad daylight.”
During his nearly 20 years of investigating animal abuse, Enrico said “what is most striking is the normality with which certain incidents occur… almost as if they were accepted”.
The abuse is widespread in Sicily where the mafia “still dominates and controls portions of territory”, he explained.
Trapani and Palermo are also hotspots where dogs are trained to fight using “extremely violent methods, based on isolation and deprivation”.
Police first coined the term “zoo mafia” in the late 1990s following several reports of animal abuse and illegal betting on dog fights and races.
“The business is multi-million dollar,” Enrico explained, adding that a single dog fight or horse race can rake in bets of up to €50,000 (£43,000).
Animals – including predators like alligators and cobras – are also used “as tools for prestige, intimidation, or territorial control”.
Criminals turn sniffer dogs into “veritable war machines” to intimidate locals, Enrico said.
He added: “I have witnessed situations where particularly aggressive dogs were used by individuals connected to criminal organisations to instill fear in residents of certain neighbourhoods.”
It’s not always possible to prove direct connection with the mafia – but that “the use of animals as tools of intimidation is a real phenomenon,” he said.
Enrico has been threatened by the mafia and has been living under state protection since 2016.
Marco Trapuzzano, the chief commissioner of Italy’s environmental police told Italian newspaper Corriere della Ser in 2014: “The Camorra [mafia] is combining the use of these animals with bullets.”
He recounted two attacks in Naples where gangsters hurled snakes – a 3ft cobra and a python – into the back seats of police officer’s cars.
Police raids have found parrots squawking “I’ll shoot you” and crocs used to threaten victims – allegedly because the predators were “more convincing and made less noise” than a shootout.
But the biggest money-makers for Italian mafias – and criminal cartels around the world – is the abuse of dogs and horses.
Makeshift pits are formed by bloodthirsty spectators and muscly canines are forced to maul one another – often until one of the dogs dies.
The large bets placed on the animals make dog-fighting a lucrative industry – and breeders spend years training their pups into vicious fighting machines.
One technique used to “train” the animals is forcing the dogs to pull heavy sleds of bricks – straining their necks to reach food or water, reported SFGate.
Sonny Richichi, president of the charity Italian Horse Protection, told The Sun that horses are pumped full of drugs to “hyperstimulate” the animals before the races – and numb the pain of their destroyed legs.
He said: “Many times they have found cocaine in the horse’s blood.”
Police have frequently cracked down on “zoo mafia” but the laws are not strong enough to punish the perpetrators, experts say.
Referring to Italy’s animal rights Brambilla law, Enrico said “the penalties are so ridiculous that no one ever ends up in prison”.
“If the state fails to severely punish those who commit these criminal acts, it’s only natural that unscrupulous individuals continue to commit crimes as if nothing had happened,” he added.
“They know they will go unpunished”.
Under the 2025 law, violators face four years in prison and fines of up to £51,000 (€60,000) – a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of thousands which may be won in two or three races.
Lesser fines of between £4,300 (€5,000) and £8,600 (€10,000) or one year in prison apply to criminals who chain up, abuse or abandon animals.
But according to Sonny, it’s “almost impossible” for mafia members to end up behind bars.
“Two days after a raid, they start again without any problem,” he said.
He described a case where the mafia built a racetrack in northwest Sicily and advertised it on Google Maps – and other gangsters posted details of the races on Facebook.
It is not only the Italian mafia who rake in millions from abusing animals.
In the United States, criminal networks across the country also imprison dogs and secretly train them up for fights.
In February, Dallas cops and animal rights groups stormed dozens of Texan compounds under “Operation Fight Club”.
TAYLOR Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding will be a star-studded celebration, as many A-listers are expected to gather for the couple’s big day – though not everyone made the guest list.
The lovebirds are rumored to be tying the knot next week at a lavish multi-day bash in New York City‘s Madison Square Garden.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are rumored to be getting married next week in an extravagant New York City weddingCredit: Getty
It’s foreseen to be one of the largest celebrity weddings, with reportedly 1,000 people invited to the festivities from July 2 to July 4, including an intimate 100-person gathering when they say, “I do.”
However, Taylor, 36, and Travis, 36, have still pared down their guest list to include only those they want to celebrate with, and some didn’t make the cut.
Those expected to attend include Taylor’s BFFs, Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid, whom The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed are in her bridal party.
Also, San Francisco 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk and his fashion designer wife, Kristin, will be present for the fairytale wedding.
“We’ve known Travis for a while now, and we’re just so happy that he found his person,” Kristin told Page Six earlier this week.
She has also designed many of the memorable gameday outfits that Taylor wore while cheering on her Kansas City Chiefs star husband-to-be.
“Really, it is just excitement … it’s the royal wedding!” Kyle added.
Another football star who scored an invite is San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, and his wife, Claire.
During the 2026 Tight End University event in Nashville, the duo confirmed they’ll be attending the wedding and that the bride and groom asked for no gifts.
It’s also suspected that many of Travis’ Kansas City Chiefs teammates will be present for his special day, as several have reportedly already booked rooms at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, and the team’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany, also received invites and are most likely attending the wedding.
Meanwhile, many other big names on Taylor’s side will be heading to NYC for the nuptials, including Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody.
Sources also told TMZ that Sombr is also on the guest list, after he and Taylor recently developed a tight bond.
All three Haim sisters, Alana, Danielle, and Este, are invited to the party, which comes as no surprise to fans, given their close friendship.
Suki Waterhouse, Robert Pattison, Cara Delevingne, and Ed Sheeran, who has been a part of Taylor’s inner circle for years, are also on the guest list.
It has also been reported that Zoë Kravitz will be attending, despite rumors that she and Taylor were feuding.
She’s likely to be going without her new fiancé, Harry Styles, who is currently out of the country for his Together, Together tour.
While there appears to be no bad blood between Taylor and Zoë, that can’t be said for several others who were once part of the pop star’s friend group.
Police have urged people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport in Tomblaine. The plane was reportedly carrying skydivers.
The plane crashed in Tomblaine, near the city of NancyImage: Alexandre Marchi/MAXPPP/picture alliance
A civilian aircraft crashed near the northeastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board.
Police urged people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport in Tomblaine, the French AFP news agency reported.
What do we know about the crash?
The plane was carrying a group of people on a skydiving trip.
Those killed were 10 passengers, including five students and five instructors, and the pilot, according to the prefecture.
Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, told reporters near the scene of the crash that authorities were collecting witness statements.
“There were no bystanders among the victims,” Seguy said, speaking at a press conference.
The aircraft was registered in Germany, an AFP journalist reported. It crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Speaking to broadcaster BFM, Seguy said the aircraft appeared to suffer damage before plunging vertically to the ground, near a shopping center.
The broadcaster Geo News was handed a 15-day suspension for a documentary that was “liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers,” Pakistan’s media watchdog said.
Geo News is a major TV news channel based in the southern Pakistani metropolis of KarachiImage: Akhtar Soomro/REUTERS
Pakistani broadcaster Geo News on Sunday apologized for airing a documentary after it was handed a 15-day suspension a day earlier.
Geo News said it apologized for the contents of the program “Safar-e-Ishq” that was transmitted during the sacred month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
“Geo News has acknowledged an editorial error regarding content aired during its 10th Muharram transmission,” the broadcaster said on its website.
It said that the program had shown “certain rituals practiced by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries.”
It did not clarify what rituals were portrayed in the documentary.
What did Pakistan’s media watchdog say about the Geo News suspension?
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said on Saturday that the “broadcast of such visual representation, given the religious, cultural and social sensitivities, constitutes a serious regulatory concern,” adding that the program in question “was liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers… and create a risk of disturbance to public peace.”
Pakistan has heightened media regulation during the sacred month of Muharram.
The statement also did not provide further details of the documentary’s content.
It’s been more than two weeks since the World Cup started, and Leon Goretzka still is getting familiar with the landscape.
A hilarious video emerged Saturday afternoon of Germany’s midfielder accidentally walking onto the wrong bus.
Goretzka was spotted accidentally walking into the Ecuador team bus instead of the Germany team bus.
As Goretzka entered the bus, he was seen through the windshield of the bus walking in and immediately turning around after realizing he was on the wrong team’s bus.
Goretzka played off the awkward moment very nonchalantly as he casually walked off the Ecuador bus without an expression and made his way over to Germany’s.
Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka after he accidentaly walked onto the wrong team bus. X/@FOXSoccer
The awkward moment between Goretzka and Ecuador came after Ecuador pulled off a come-from-behind 2-1 win to keep its World Cup dreams alive.
Throughout three matches during the World Cup, Goretzka has appeared in two of Germany’s games and has logged 22 minutes during the group stages.
His highest amount of playing time came during Germany’s dominant 7-1 victory over Curacao on June 14.
A gruesome underwater buffet drew a pack of hungry sharks to California’s central coast Friday, where drone footage captured the predators tearing into the rotting carcass of a dead whale in a feeding frenzy.
The dramatic video, filmed off Martin’s Beach just south of Half Moon Bay, showed everything from juvenile great white sharks to massive adults circling the floating whale before lunging in to rip off chunks of blubber.
Drone footage showing a great white shark feeding on a whale carcass. Instagram/@drone_guy650
The predators took turns darting in and out of the animals decomposing carcass like diners at some kind of all-you-can-eat buffet, feasting on the whale — the latest sign of increased shark activity along California’s coastline.
“I spent most of the day filming multiple Great Whites tear apart this whale carcass,” drone operator Sammy Rigling wrote about the action he posted on social media.
“I must have seen 6-8 different sharks throughout the day. A handful of juveniles and 2 or 3 large Whites.”
One shark he estimated was at least 15 feet long. In a second video, he posted a close up of all the action noting that Shark week came early this year.
The area is known as a natural habitat for the great whites.
Experts have said they expect more juvenile white sharks than typical along the coastline of Southern California up to Monterey this summer, due to unusually high ocean temperatures pushing them up the coast from Mexico.
The wild video surfaces just days after two paddle boarders were stalked by a great white, as a drone video showed the predator appearing to track them off the coast of Santa Barbara.
The two were visiting family during Father’s Day weekend and had initially heard about the shark sighting before going off to locate it.
The Chiatibo glacier in the Hindu Kush mountain range, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, October 16, 2019. Neil Hall/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
(This June 27 story has been corrected to say 20 people were injured, not no injuries, in headline and first bullet point)
A strong earthquake struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said, sending out tremors that could be felt from the capital Kabul across the border into neighbouring Pakistan.
There were no immediate official reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake, but checks were ongoing, the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.
The magnitude 6 quake occurred at a depth of 100 km (62 miles), EMSC said.
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Pakistan earlier on Saturday, according to EMSC.
More than 20 people were injured and dozens of houses were damaged in different areas of Musakhail district in Pakistan, the district’s deputy commissioner Abdul Razzaq Khajak told Reuters.
The disaster management authority in Pakistan’s Balochistan province said around 125 houses were damaged, adding that relief teams were sent to the affected area along with tents and food, solar panels, blankets and other items.
People ran out of their doors in panic in Swat district in northern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, resident Daniyal Ahmad told Reuters. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Soccer Football – CAF Africa Cup of Nations – Morocco 2025 – Round of 16 – Algeria v Democratic Republic of Congo – Moulay El Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco – January 6, 2026 Democratic Republic of Congo fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga poses as a statue of the country’s independence hero Patrice Lumumba during the match REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Democratic Republic of Congo superfan Michel Kuka Mboladinga will miss their key World Cupclash against Uzbekistan on Saturday because he was not granted a United States visa.
Mboladinga rose to prominence at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco at the turn of the year.
He cut a unique figure on the terraces as he stood motionless throughout DR Congo’s matches in tribute to his country’s first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, a revered figure in the country after being killed by firing squad in 1961.
Mboladinga bears a remarkable resemblance to Lumumba, wearing colourful suits with his country’s colours.
But after supporting the Congolese in their last match in Mexico, he will not be in Atlanta for their must-win game as they look to advance to the last 32.
Congolese Ambassador in Washington, Kapinga Yvette Ngandu told Reuters she hoped he would get a visa if DR Congo progressed to the knockout stage of the World Cup.
“I hope he brings his own brand of support to the team,” she said on Saturday.
Nicknamed ‘Lumumba Vea’ because of his tribute, Mboladinga raises his arm to strike a pose similar to one held by Lumumba in a statue of him in the capital Kinshasa.
In stark contrast to the vibrant singing and cheering fans around him, Mboladinga is still throughout the game.
His unique support won him worldwide notoriety and when he got back from Morocco in January he was gifted a jeep by the Congolese government.
Mamdani joined dozens of young swimmers for the plunge, fulfilling a promise he made to continue the obscure custom. Michael Nagle for NY Post
This stunt was all wet.
A suited-up Mayor Zohran Mamdani leapt into an East Harlem pool Saturday morning to officially kick off the Big Apple’s summer pool season.
Hizzoner joined dozens of young kids at Thomas Jefferson Pool for the plunge and broke the rules in the process, which requires all swimmers to wear bathing suits in the water.
Mamdani even kept his black socks on as he made his half-hearted cannonball.
“It was so fun. I didn’t think he would do it! And then he shook my hand. That felt amazing,” said Mila Mader, 12.
“I told my brother, Leo, I was like, ‘Oh my God, the mayor shook my hand.’ He shook my brother’s hands, too.”
The socialist mayor had committed to the leap after being pressed by Katie Honan of The City Reporter, who asked if he would resume the obscure practice of mayors jumping into pools on opening day.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the last to get wet, with Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams tapping out on the tradition.
“I’m gonna be honest, I may do it. I may commit to it,” Mamdani said in March, though he only officially confirmed his daring leap this week.
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir has blasted critics and fans who are giving a ‘sexist’ touch to the performance of the national team in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup.
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir has blasted critics and fans who are giving a ‘sexist’ touch to the performance of the national team in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan ended its campaign in the World Cup on Saturday with a consolation win over the Netherlands after losing four straight games to India, South Africa, Australia and Bangladesh. Mir said in an interview to a Pakistani media outlet that when the national men’s team doesn’t do well does anyone say that the players would be better off making ‘rotis’ in the kitchen.
“I see double standards while talking about the performances of the men’s and women’s teams. I don’t agree with the tone of the criticism. Yes the team has not come up to the expectations but just because it is the women’s team why add a sexist tone to it,” she said.
Sana, who is commentating in the World Cup, said everyone was disappointed with the team’s performance but it is the way we discuss the team is what is troubling for me.
“Even after so many years we still don’t give the required respect to the women’s team while discussing its performances.” Sana said fans and critics had to take into count the problems girls face when they take up professional cricket in Pakistan.
“Our players could not perform the way we expected. It took many years to convince everyone that Pakistan’s girls have what it takes, that they can cause upsets,” she said and also stressed that the mindset surrounding women’s cricket needed to change first.
“Until we change this mindset, we will get nowhere,” she added.
Sana also slammed the use of AI generated videos on social media by some people to mock the women’s players and spread misinformation which caused so much pain to their families.
Former President Joe Biden trashed his successor and hammered his efforts to refurbish the reflecting pool on the National Mall. He sought directions for which way to get off stage following his remarks to Maryland Democrats. Breanna Morello, /X
Former President Joe Biden was back onstage at a Democratic Party gala to excoriate President Trump Saturday – but needed a little help figuring out just how to exit.
Biden, who got pushed out of his reelection bid by fellow Democrats in 2024 following his debate disaster against Trump, defended his record and blasted his successor during his speech to the Maryland Democratic Party’s Fight Back & Win summit near Baltimore.
He ripped Trump for the “deliberate distraction – destruction of NATO” and hammered Trump’s White House ballroom as a “vanity project.”
At his speech’s conclusion Biden delivered a familiar refrain about the nation’s ability to overcome challenges – then sought an assist to find out which way to leave the stage.
He turned to the side seeking guidance, then pointed in two different directions to ascertain the best route. Once he had it sorted out, he walked away from the stage with his back to the audience.
His appearance at event, held at the Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Maryland, came just days after he appeared at the grand opening of the Barack Obama presidential library in Chicago.
At that event, a bewildered looking Biden was left awkwardly onstage at its conclusion. “Where’s my granddaughter?” he shouted while walking up to the podium as it ended. At other times, he was guided by former first lady Jill Biden.
Biden, 83, relied on a teleprompter during his Saturday night remarks, squinting at times as he read his verbal blasts at his rival, who he defeated in 2020, only to relinquish the White House in 2024. He coughed loudly several times early on.
“Have you noticed that Americans are saying the economy under the Biden administration is a hell of a lot better than under Trump?” he told party faithful in the deep blue state.
“It’s not just his vanity projects – tearing down the East Wing of the White House making room for his ballroom. Putting his name on the Kennedy Center. Building an arch in his own honor. Even hiring his own pool guy to fix the reflecting pool. Woah – what a loser,” Biden said to applause.
He called it “simply stunning to me” that Trump made “billions of dollars” as he returned to the White House, saying “he has no shame.”
Biden’s successive awkward exits come after a long history during his presidency of mangling stage directions, as he did famously at a G7 photo-op in Italy in 2024.
He made no reference to the ideological fight going on in his party after democratic socialists prevailed in three New York primaries.
King Charles has made history by revealing his £12.9m tax bill, but the payment is far from ordinary.
The announcement comes alongside the Royal Household publishing its annual financial report.
Here’s what the document tells us – and doesn’t tell us – about the King’s unique tax situation.
1. The King pays some taxes voluntarily
King Charles is not legally required to pay income tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax.
Instead, he voluntarily pays some income tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax according to an agreement with the government called the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
The MoU came about in 1993 following public pressure over the cost of running the Royal Family and is occasionally updated, most recently in 2023 to reflect the change of monarch following Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
The fact that some of the King’s taxes are voluntary is not the case for regular taxpayers, and some argue this means that it is not a tax at all.
HMRC defines tax as “money that individual people and businesses are legally required to pay to the government”.
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, told the BBC: “If it’s voluntary, it’s not tax.”
Meanwhile, the report says King Charles pays VAT, employer taxes, and local rates “in line with requirements”.
2. We don’t know how his tax bill was calculated
While the Royal Household describes releasing the King’s tax bill as part of its “commitment to transparency”, it’s not clear how it has been figured out.
So although we know that the King has agreed to pay tax on personal income, income from the Privy Purse not spent on official duties, and capital gains tax on private property sales, we don’t know what proportion of those taxes make up the £12.9m paid.
The Privy Purse is a source of private income for the ruling monarch.
It mostly comprises income from the Duchy of Lancaster, an estate that belongs to whoever is the ruling monarch and includes, among other things, thousands of hectares of valuable land, castles and quarries.
The report does say that the Privy Purse received £25.2m from the Duchy of Lancaster for the year to 31 March, but that is not all of the King’s income.
He also has personal earnings which the Royal Household says may include “investment income and trading profits”. The report does not put a figure on this.
Three unusual things about the King’s tax bill
Buckingham Palace described the move to publish the King’s tax bill – as well as Prince William’s – as increasing transparency which it said aimed to “encourage wider understanding of our accountability”.
Historian Anna Whitelock said the King revealing his tax bill puts him “front and centre as a very rich man”.
“I do think this is very much a sign of the times, and it’s an attempt by the monarchy to try and get on the front foot and before they were absolutely pushed to try and show they are responsive and not reactive.”
However, Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at wealth manager Quilter, said there’s ultimately not much detail to look at in report.
“The headline figure is a large sum of tax and there’s also a large sum of income quoted as well, but there’s not any breakdown of about how that was arrived at.”
3. He can deduct official royal business from the bill
Another thing not detailed in the report is what proportion of the Privy Purse income has been spent by the King personally and what proportion of it has been spent for official royal duties.
This matters because the King only voluntarily pays tax on income spent personally, meaning the King can effectively deduct royal business from his tax bill.
The King also does not pay tax on the Sovereign Grant, which is money paid from the Treasury to the Royal Household to pay for official duties.
This system is a bit like how a self-employed person can file expenses on their self-assessment tax return for things like uniform or training.
Except that the King has two tax-free ways in which he can fund official duties.
Also, what counts as official duties is very different from what a regular self-employed taxpayer can expense.
Rockstar revealed that the price of GTA 6 will be £70 for a standard edition and £90 for its more premium edition
Once, video games came with lots of physical goodies, such as guides, maps and manuals.
Those days are mostly gone, but gamers have, up to now, usually been able to rely on one thing they could literally get their hands on – a disc.
But when pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 went live on Thursday, developer Rockstar said customers who opted for the physical edition would get a box that just contained a code for a digital download instead.
It’s not the first time a physical edition has launched this way.
But if the makers of one of the biggest franchises in entertainment history has decided to follow suit, does that mean the disc is dead? And what does that say about game ownership in the digital age?
Unacceptable – or inevitable?
“My initial reaction was one of confusion and shock,” Ben, a UK-based 24-year-old gamer who covers GTA news on social media under the handle ‘videotech’, told me following the announcement.
In an interview with Variety in February, Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive of Take-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, had said a digital-only launch was “not the plan”.
Ben said this led many to hope the physical disc would be available at launch too – and for more than sentimental reasons.
“An important benefit of owning a disc is that you can lend the game to a friend or sell it later,” he said.
Online retailers selling the physical edition have stated that, as with other digital game codes, the one being offered for GTA 6 is single-use and will become invalid after it is redeemed.
Digital sales now account for the vast majority of game revenue, and online stores such as Steam for PC and the PlayStation Store have been around for many years.
The addition of consoles without physical disc drives is only helping further this trend, said Mat Piscatella, senior director and video game industry advisor at market research firm Circana.
“More than half of all Xbox Series consoles in the US don’t have a physical drive, while over a quarter of PS5’s are the same,” he posted.
For some gamers, the news they wouldn’t be able to play GTA 6 on a disc therefore felt like less of an upset.
“I’m pretty much all digital these days, I download most of my games directly onto my console,” Alogirlx, a gaming content creator from Canada, told the BBC’s What in the World podcast.
“Whether there’s a physical disc or not it doesn’t really change anything for me,” she said.
With physical game sales at an all-time low, the issue may well be less about the disc itself than what its absence may represent.
For some, it appears to be another step away from buying a physical product, and instead towards buying a licence or access to software controlled by the publisher and platform holder.
Ross Scott is the founder of the growing consumer rights movement Stop Killing Games.
The group is campaigning for publishers to leave online games playable if they end up switching off their servers.
He told me the issue raised by Rockstar’s code-in-a-box is less about the missing disc itself – after all, an online game on a disc can still become unplayable if its servers are shut down.
Instead, he said, it was about a lack of trust that publishers will preserve access to games consumers have already paid for.
“The problem is the industry has a very poor reputation of disabling games once they end support, so the trust from customers for many large publishers just isn’t there,” he said.
“I don’t think the lack of a disc is the problem in itself, but rather it can be a symptom of a larger, very consumer-hostile practice.”
Why might Rockstar have done this?
The BBC has reached out to Rockstar for more details on its decision, but it is yet to comment.
Chris Scullion, deputy editor of Video Games Chronicle, pointed to previous data leaks suffered by the studio as a possible explanation for why it may want to ensure its content cannot be easily ripped from a disc and shared before release.
He added that the game, which has already been delayed twice, may also be “so close to the wire” in development that players could still get an out-of-date version if they picked up a disc rather than the digital edition.
“A cynic would also say it’s simply a way to make more money on each physical copy sold,” he said.
Rockstar is not the only company moving away from the traditional physical format, however.
Nintendo has also shifted further towards digital distribution in recent years with the introduction of Game-Key Cards – physical cartridges that act as a key to download a game, rather than containing the game itself.
What have physical retailers said?
The GTA franchise is one of the biggest and most profitable entertainment properties in history.
GTA V has sold nearly 230 million copies, and the launch of its successor is expected to be such a major economic event that Bank of America has weighed in on its price.
Despite this, Rockstar’s announcement has prompted some independent retailers to refuse to stock the code-in-a-box version.
VGP, an online retailer with a physical store in Toronto, said while it had “tremendous respect” for Rockstar, it was “committed to preserving the value of physical game ownership”, so would not be offering the product.
Lootbox Gaming, an independent retailer in Delaware, also declined to stock it, telling me the decision “speaks volumes about the future for AAA (big-budget) releases on physical media”.
Meanwhile, PNP Games, an online retailer with three stores in Winnipeg, has launched a petition, calling on Take-Two to release a physical disc version.
Piscatella suggested the code “may provide a better opportunity for retailers, particularly those that don’t sell used games”, given the number of PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles without disc drives.
People search through the rubble unprotected, using whatever they can
Bare hands and shovels shift through the rubble, while a drone scans overhead. Every moment, every action matters. It is a race against time to find survivors.
Here in the coastal state of La Guaira, which borders the capital district containing nearby Caracas, catastrophic damage is seen almost everywhere you look. The state has been one of the hardest-hit areas after back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday.
Residents and families are desperately searching the rubble for their loved ones and belongings. They are listening carefully for any sound that might indicate someone is alive trapped under the concrete and metal wire debris.
So far, officials have confirmed at least 1,430 deaths from the magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes – the latter being one of the strongest quakes recorded in the country in the last century.
Hundreds of buildings collapsed and beneath the rubble, thousands of Venezuelans remain. The number of dead and injured rises by the hour. The UN estimates around 50,000 people are missing.
National rescue teams are scarce, although international rescuers from Mexico, Spain, the US and the UK have arrived to join the rescue effort.
But, it is still not enough.
Humanitarian aid agencies say the first 48 to 72 hours are crucial for rescuing people alive, although this window can be longer if those trapped have access to food and water.
“Every person saved is a miracle,” says Jorge Rodríguez, president of the country’s National Assembly. “We will not hide anything about the scale of this tragedy.”
‘It’s impossible to rescue him without machinery’
In Catia La Mar, one of the coastal towns in La Guaira state, the mood is bleak. Few structures remain standing.
Government forces have distributed food and water to survivors, and interim President Delcy Rodríguez has said the government is deploying a comprehensive rescue response during these “critical hours to rescue people alive”.
People linger anxiously around areas where they believe their relatives might be trapped.
Jesús Suárez is one of them. He travelled 200km (124m) to search for his son, Jean Suárez.
“There’s no information at all. People who know him say they didn’t see him come out or anything.”
“I believe he might be in there,” he says pointing to the rubble of a collapsed building.
Suárez faces a dilemma that many here also share: “It’s impossible to rescue him… There is no sophisticated equipment here. A human being alone cannot do it – it’s too dangerous.”
The relatives of Carlos Eduardo, a 31-year-old trapped under rubble, do know where he is.
From time to time, they hear him speak or groan.
“We started calling him: Carlos, Carlos, son… And then he made a sound (a groan). That was about an hour and a half ago,” his cousin told BBC News Mundo.
“Since then, we haven’t heard anything from him – he hasn’t spoken again or given any sign of life. But he had done this before. Yesterday afternoon he did the same (groaning and then going silent). And so here we are, waiting for help, hoping we can get him out alive.”
Traffic and crowds can sometimes hinder the search operations. Soldiers and Mexican volunteers have repeatedly called for silence, so they can listen for signs of life under the debris.
People are helping however they can. Those who have drones are using them to search for survivors or the deceased in hard-to-reach places.
Families huddle around drone video feeds searching for anything familiar. A piece of clothing, a strand of hair, a belonging. Anything that might bring news of a loved one.
As time passes, the unofficial death toll rises – and so do the consequences.
“There’s a smell… the dead are already being felt. That’s going to make us and the children sick,” says Glendys Delgado.
Two buildings near where Delgado lives are collapsed, but there has been no official help, she says. “No one from the government has come here, but I thank God that people from Caracas have come to support us with food.”
Deiyer Gabril, 27, says every area has been affected, “Macuto, Caribe… everything over there is bad. And we can all feel the odour.”
COUNTRY legend Alan Jackson is preparing to take the stage one final time – but behind his emotional farewell has been a grueling 15-year battle with a degenerative nerve disease that has changed his life.
The music icon was diagnosed with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease in 2011, but kept it private for a decade before publicly revealing the condition in 2021.
Alan Jackson first opened up about his health and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease diagnosis when he revealed his diagnosis on the TODAY show in 2021Credit: NBC
The hereditary disorder causes nerve damage, mostly in the arms and legs, leading to muscle weakness, loss of sensation, balance problems, and difficulty walking.
While it’s not typically considered fatal, it has led to deaths – including 911: Nashville actress Isabelle Tate, who passed away from the disease in 2025.
Behind Alan’s final curtain call is a brutal health battle that has quietly followed him for more than 15 years.
“It’s been affecting me for years,” he said in 2021 while first revealing the diagnosis on the Today Show.
“And it’s getting more and more obvious. I know I’m not going to be able to tour like I have.”
Alan, 67, also revealed the diagnosis runs in his family, explaining: “I have this neuropathy and neurological disease. It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy.”
The disease affects balance, coordination, and muscle control – making even simple movement more difficult as it progresses.
For a performer known for commanding massive stages and playing live instruments, the condition has made touring especially challenging.
Alan has opened up about his struggles, saying: “I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone.”
Over the years, Alan has continued performing despite worsening symptoms, though he acknowledged the disease has forced him to adjust.
“I don’t feel comfortable,” he said of performing while navigating the disorder. “It’s going to disable me eventually.”
While Charcot-Marie-Tooth does not always directly impact life expectancy, there is no cure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Treatment typically focuses on managing symptoms through physical therapy, braces, pain management, and mobility support.
Still, Alan said he has refused to let the diagnosis define him, pushing through multiple tours and live shows while accepting that the end of his road on stage would come in the nearer future.
Now, the singer is set for his final full-length concert, Last Call: One More for the Road – The Finale, on June 27 at Nissan Stadium.
The massive send-off will bring Alan back to Nashville – the city where his career first took off – and feature an all-star lineup including Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, and Lee Ann Womack.
Pope Leo XIV gathered the world’s cardinals behind closed doors Friday to debate whether the Catholic Church’s centuries-old just war theory still holds up in an era of drones and nuclear weaponsCredit: Shutterstock EditorialPOPE Leo XIV is set to hold a secret meeting with the world’s cardinals as his feud with JD Vance over the Iran war heats up. The pontiff will gather senior Church leaders behind closed doors on Friday to hash out new guidelines on when war can be justified, according to Politico.
It comes after Vance told the pope to be “careful” about his theology following Leo‘s condemnation of those who “once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
Rather than backing down, Leo has gone further — declaring the Church’s centuries-old just war theory is now “outdated.”
Vance argued that while Leo serves as a “shepherd” to the global church, he still has a responsibility to uphold law and order in the United States.
Francesco Sisci, director of the Rome-based Appia Institute think tank, said any statement to come out of the meeting would carry “greater force,” Politico reported.
Sisci said most cardinals are expected to fall in line, though a small number of clergy have continued to give theological backing to those who support the war.
“It’s messy,” he said. “If JD Vance and [tech billionaire] Peter Thiel are claiming Iran is a just war, maybe it’s because there are priests who are lending them credence.”
In a conversation with the New York Times’ Ross Douthat in May, Vance opened up about how he’s balanced his position as VP with his Catholic faith.
Vance also hit out at Leo’s stance on immigration, saying his goal is to build a more united America.
He argued that unchecked immigration tears communities apart and squeezes out the jobs and benefits that belong to American citizens.
“The point that I’ve tried to make is I think a lot about this question of social cohesion in the United States,” he said.
“And I do think that those who care about what might be called the common good, they sometimes underweigh how destructive immigration at the levels and at the pace that we’ve seen over the last few years is to the common good.
“I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly.”
Vance defended President Donald Trump‘s border crackdown, saying the administration is working around the clock to stop illegal immigration.
He said he respects those who come to America fleeing violence or poverty, but stressed his first responsibility is to American citizens.
Vance said: “I have a very sacred obligation, I think, to enforce the laws and to promote the common good of my own country, defined as the people with the legal right to be here.”
IRAN has accused the US of a “brutal and blatant violation” of its peace deal after Donald Trump launched fresh strikes on Tehran.
Dramatic footage shows the moment US forces struck missile and drone storage sites in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the US launched fresh strikes on Iran after the regime broke the ceasefireCredit: Getty
Iranian media said a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Iran on Friday.
Video shows a huge explosion erupt from the US strike, as a mushroom cloud of smoke rises from the target site.
“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation of the memorandum of understanding to end the war”, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran hit back with a series of dawn strikes on Bahrain today, the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said.
The ministry condemned the drone strikes as “heinous aggression” and placed “sole responsibility on Tehran for undermining peace efforts”.
US Central Command said: “CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.
“Military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
On Saturday, a tanker came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.
The crew of the tanker were reported to be safe, with no environmental damage.
Iranian state television reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had fired “warning shots” at ships crossing the waterway that had not been approved by the regime.
Friday’s strikes are the first time that the US has attacked Iran since the ceasefire was agreed to on June 14.
Trump said on Truth Social just hours earlier that Iran had broken the weeks- old ceasefire by attacking a tanker with a drone.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: “Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone.
“But violence will be met with violence.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) described the strikes as “a powerful response” to the drone attack in a statement, underlining the severity of the military action.
It added: “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire.”
Iran blitzed the M/V Ever Lovely as it was crossing the Strait of Hormuz yesterday with at least four one-way attack drones.
Trump said: “One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship.
“Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way.”
The president revealed three of the craft were shot down.
Trump said: “Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”
Ever Lovely, the Singapore-flagged vessel was following the UKMTO-recommended route through the Strait of Hormuz when it was struck.
The company added: “All crew members remain safe as does the vessel itself and all cargo.”
The incident prompted a planned evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stuck in the region.
The US military confirmed it continues to coordinate safe passage for commercial vessels travelling through the strait amid rising tensions.
CENTCOM said: “Iran’s dangerous behaviour undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”
“The U.S. military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.
The strait was reopened as a result of a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran earlier this month.
Paris has banned drinking alcohol in public as a record-breaking heatwave pushes its hospitals to breaking point. Here is the science of why alcohol turns dangerous in extreme heat, and what is fuelling Europe’s deadly temperatures.
Paris has banned drinking in public during its record heatwave. The reason is pure biology: in extreme heat, alcohol speeds up dehydration and can send blood pressure crashing. Here is the science behind the ban. (Photo: AP)
On a sweltering Friday afternoon by the Seine, the simplest Parisian ritual of all, a cold beer in the sun, briefly became against the law.
On June 26, with the city baking under record heat, police banned the drinking of alcohol in public streets and parks. The reason was not public order. It was human biology.
WHY HAS PARIS BANNED DRINKING ALCOHOL IN PUBLIC?
The Paris police chief, Patrice Faure, said the city’s hospitals had reached saturation point.
Ambulance crews were fielding around 2,500 call-outs a day, roughly double the normal figure, and the health minister, Stephanie Rist, reported four times the usual number of cardiac arrests over a single 24-hour period, with young people among them.
Alcohol drunk in direct sunlight, Faure warned, has devastating effects.
The ban runs across the weekend, alongside suspended sports events, a postponed Pride march and a cancelled music festival.
WHY IS ALCOHOL DANGEROUS IN A HEATWAVE?
The danger comes down to water, and how fast the body loses it.
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes the kidneys produce more urine. It does this by suppressing vasopressin, the hormone that normally tells the body to hold on to water.
In a heatwave, when you are already sweating out litres of fluid to stay cool, alcohol drains those reserves even faster and tips the body towards dehydration.
Alcohol also widens the blood vessels, a process called vasodilation.
That causes blood pressure to fall, which is why a few drinks in fierce heat can leave a person dizzy, faint or collapsed.
And because alcohol blunts judgment, drinkers often miss the early warning signs of heat exhaustion until it tips into heat stroke, a medical emergency in which the body can no longer cool itself down.
WHAT IS CAUSING THE EUROPEAN HEATWAVE?
The brutal weather is being driven by something meteorologists call an Omega block. Picture a vast dome of high pressure shaped like the Greek letter omega that parks itself over a region and refuses to budge.
It traps hot air underneath for days on end, pushing temperatures far above normal. Paris hit 40.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, a June record, and at least 55 people have drowned across France since June 18 while trying to cool off in rivers and lakes.
IS CLIMATE CHANGE TO BLAME?
Scientists say yes. The World Weather Attribution group, which runs rapid studies to measure how far human activity has loaded the dice on extreme weather, found this heatwave would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.
The warming has made the stiflingly hot nights, when the body most needs to recover, around 100 times more likely than they were two decades ago.
An investigation by The Telegraph reveals how Jeffrey Epstein allegedly used a sham science foundation office during work release to maintain his lifestyle, host associates and continue abusing women despite being behind bars.
A report by The Telegraph unveils that Jeffrey Epstein used a fake office to abuse women (File Photo – AP)
Jeffrey Epstein was meant to be serving an 18-month prison sentence in Florida after pleading guilty to state charges involving solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor in 2008.
Instead, according to a detailed investigation by The Telegraph, the ex-financier spent much of his sentence outside jail walls — working from a private office suite complete with sofas, a kitchen, entertainment systems and a steady stream of visitors.
The arrangement, centred around an organisation called the Florida Science Foundation, has returned to public scrutiny amid renewed examination of Epstein’s treatment in custody and fresh congressional testimony.
What emerged, according to records reviewed by The Telegraph, was a system that critics say allowed Epstein to preserve his lifestyle, maintain elite connections and continue interacting with women while technically serving jail time.
THE ‘SCIENCE FOUNDATION’ THAT WASN’T
The Florida Science Foundation was presented to authorities as a long-running non-profit organisation focused on funding scientific research.
Epstein told court officials he had worked there for years and needed access to continue supporting scientific programmes.
But documents reviewed by The Telegraph suggested otherwise.
The organisation had reportedly been registered only months before Epstein entered prison in 2008. His attorney filed the paperwork shortly before his incarceration began.
The office occupied nearly 4,000 square feet at 250 South Australian Avenue in Palm Beach — a modern glass-fronted building located near the county stockade.
According to photographs published by The Telegraph, the suite looked less like a research office and more like an executive workspace.
Inside were couches, framed photographs, premium furnishings, speakers, a television, decorative artwork and even a large kitchen.
Investigators later found little evidence that meaningful scientific work had actually taken place there.
WORK RELEASE OR PRIVILEGED FREEDOM?
Epstein secured access to a work-release programme that allowed him to leave jail for long periods each day.
Records reviewed by The Telegraph indicated that he was often outside prison for roughly 12 hours — and sometimes longer.
Emails and internal communications later revealed concern among prosecutors and officials over whether the arrangement had been properly scrutinised.
Questions were reportedly raised early on about whether the Florida Science Foundation existed primarily to create a legal pathway for Epstein to spend most of his sentence outside custody.
Despite those concerns, Epstein was approved.
The arrangement allowed him to commute between prison and the office while maintaining access to personal comforts unusual for an inmate.
Documents reviewed by The Telegraph showed deliveries of personal possessions, including electronics, luxury items and materials linked to renovations at his private properties.
Epstein also redirected subscriptions and correspondence to the office address.
WOMEN’S TESTIMONY RAISES NEW QUESTIONS
Among those connected to the office was Roza, who told Congress that she first met Epstein as an 18-year-old after travelling from Uzbekistan following promises of modelling opportunities.
She later alleged she was abused while working out of the Florida Science Foundation office.
Her testimony forms part of a wider pattern of allegations connected to Epstein’s time on work release.
Other women later claimed the office became a setting where inappropriate conduct and exploitation continued even while Epstein was officially incarcerated.
Court filings and FBI records cited by The Telegraph included allegations that women were brought to the office, where interactions occurred in private rooms containing couches and sleeping arrangements.
One woman alleged she visited Epstein repeatedly during his work-release period and later transported him back to jail.
Another lawsuit described the office as a mechanism that enabled continued abuse despite incarceration.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges. He denied wrongdoing before his death.
ELITE CONTACTS AND LIFE BEYOND JAIL
The office also allowed Epstein to remain connected to his influential network.
According to The Telegraph, visitors and communications linked to the office included public figures, lawyers, business associates and long-time acquaintances.
The publication reported that Sarah Ferguson, former Duchess of York, visited the premises during this period and that Lord Mandelson communicated with Epstein while serving in government.
Phone records and shipping documents reviewed by the newspaper also pointed to continued social and business interactions.
The office reportedly hosted gatherings, received packages and continued operating in ways that critics say blurred the distinction between imprisonment and ordinary life.
Iran launched missile and drone strikes on US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain after fresh American attacks on Iranian targets. As tensions surged despite a fragile ceasefire, US President Donald Trump warned Iran could “cease to exist” if Washington is forced to escalate its military response.
IRGC Navy also warned that US military bases across the region would experience “hell” in the coming days.
The Middle East plunged deeper into conflict early Sunday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that its navy and aerospace forces had launched a joint missile and drone operation targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for fresh American strikes on Iranian territory. In a strong-worded statement, Iran’s IRGC Navy said US strikes on Sirik would not weaken its control over the Strait of Hormuz and warned that action against “violators” would reinforce safe passage rules. It also threatened that US military bases across the region would experience “hell” in the coming days.
IRAN RETALIATES WITH MISSILE, DRONE STRIKES
The IRGC said the attacks were a response to US military operations carried out on Saturday against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar sites. According to Iranian state-linked media, the Guard also accused Washington of attacking five Iranian coastal positions under the pretext of responding to an incident involving a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait’s army confirmed that its air defence systems were intercepting what it described as “hostile” missiles and drones. There was no immediate confirmation from US officials regarding the extent of damage or casualties at the targeted military installations.
IRGC NAVY WARNS US BASES WILL EXPERIENCE ‘HELL’
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said US strikes on Sirik would not undermine Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that its response against “violators” served as a reminder to all vessels of the designated passage through the strategic waterway. The IRGC Navy also warned that US military bases across the region would experience “hell” in the coming days, signaling a sharp escalation in its rhetoric amid rising tensions.
Iran in Mumbai on X
IRAN WARNS CEASEFIRE COULD COLLAPSE
In a strongly worded statement, the IRGC accused the United States of violating the ceasefire and warned that any breach of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding would bring all ongoing diplomatic processes to a complete halt. It also warned that vessels it deemed to be in violation would face stronger action in the future and that any “enemy aggression” would receive a “crushing response.”
US SAYS STRIKES FOLLOWED TANKER ATTACK
The latest escalation came hours after the United States launched another round of strikes on Iran following an attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker *M/T Kiku* near the Strait of Hormuz. The operation marked the second consecutive day of US military action linked to attacks on commercial shipping in the strategically vital waterway.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were carried out at President Donald Trump’s direction after Iran allegedly violated the ceasefire agreement. According to CENTCOM, Tehran failed to honour the truce after a one-way attack drone struck the M/T Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions were also reported in southern Iran, with Iranian media saying blasts were heard on Sirik Island near the Strait of Hormuz. Reports added that US projectiles also targeted a village on Qeshm Island.
TRUMP THREATENS FURTHER MILITARY ACTION
Following the strikes, US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Tehran, saying the United States could be forced to “militarily complete the job” if Iran continued violating the ceasefire.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The new limited-edition US passport to mark the country’s 250th anniversary of independence featuring President Donald Trump. (Photo: X/WhiteHouse)
President Donald Trump on Friday (Jun 26) unveiled a rendering of a new limited-edition US passport to mark the country’s 250th anniversary of independence – featuring his stern-faced likeness.
“The USA’s New Passport, which says, ‘Welcome, but be good!'”, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform featuring the passport mock-up.
The image features a glowering Trump leaning on his desk and his signature, with the text of the Declaration of Independence in the background. It appears to be based on a portrait taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok.
The opposite page shows a painting depicting the declaration’s signing in 1776, with the words “United States of America 250”.
The White House posted the same passport rendering, with the words “PATRIOT PASSPORT”.
The State Department – which had previously announced that a commemorative passport with “custom artwork” would be available from Jul 6 – did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A department official said in April that the Trump-themed passports would only be available at in-person appointments in Washington “for as long as there is availability”.
Officials said more than 1,600 foreign rescuers had arrived and that additional teams were on the way, adding to a growing international response to the twin quakes that struck on Wednesday and unleashed hundreds of aftershocks.
A damaged building is seen from the base camp of the French Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment (UIISC 7) at the Karting La Guaira complex in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Jun 27, 2026, as they assist with rescue operations following earthquakes. (Photo: Pool via REUTERS/Miguel Medina)
The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes rose above 1,400 on Saturday (Jun 27) as foreign rescue teams poured into the country and authorities pressed on with the search for survivors in the hardest-hit coastal areas.
The updated toll came as rescuers fanned out across La Guaira and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble, often complaining of scant heavy equipment and a limited official presence.
Officials said more than 1,600 foreign rescuers had arrived and that additional teams were on the way, adding to a growing international response to the twin quakes that struck on Wednesday and unleashed hundreds of aftershocks.
In La Guaira, a coastal state popular with beachgoers, residents said the disaster response had been uneven, with some people digging through collapsed buildings by hand in search of missing relatives.
Top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez told state television that the death toll had reached 1,430. He said thousands had been injured, families had been moved to shelters and aid was being distributed across disaster zones, especially in La Guaira.
He also said authorities were still monitoring frequent aftershocks, underscoring the force of the twin earthquakes and the difficulties facing rescue crews working in unstable conditions.
Authorities continued to restrict access to La Guaira and kept controls on the main road from Caracas, saying traffic was slowing emergency vehicles. Civilians not attached to official rescue teams needed credentials to pass checkpoints.
Power throughout the region was gradually being restored. Venezuela’s power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.
55,000 MISSING
Although the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 55,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s opposition.
The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America’s deadliest of the last century.
The disaster could have political consequences for Rodriguez, who has tried to portray herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the US in January.
Pope Leo, speaking in Rome on Saturday, offered prayers for the victims, their families and those involved in relief operations, and said he hoped global solidarity with Venezuela would endure.
“The only person on board was the pilot, who died, and 13 people were injured at the scene,” said Beijing authorities.
The damaged exterior of CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, in Beijing, China June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A pilot was killed when his small aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest building, with 13 people also injured, Chinese authorities said on Saturday (Jun 27), without elaborating on the cause of the rare incident.
Witnesses of Friday’s crash reported plane debris at the base of the 528m CITIC Tower, with AFP journalists at the scene seeing a hole in the windows of one of the building’s upper floors.
Authorities in the capital’s Chaoyang District said in a statement shared on WeChat that “a single-engine, two-seat light aircraft crashed into a high-rise building” at 5.55pm on Friday.
“The only person on board was the pilot, who died, and 13 people were injured at the scene,” said the statement, the first official comment about the incident.
It said authorities were “conducting further investigation into the incident”.
Video footage taken by a witness from a nearby building showed fire trucks blasting water at small flames on the ground, as well as what appeared to be part of the plane beside the building.
Police and ambulances swarmed the area, with officers blocking people from taking photos.
A student at the scene told AFP he rushed to the building as soon as information about the crash was shared in a social media group for aviation enthusiasts.
Images and posts online were being rapidly deleted, he said.
The CITIC Tower, which has 108 floors above ground and seven below, is able to accommodate 12,000 office workers.
China imposes strict restrictions on its airspace, particularly around Beijing’s urban area, citing public security.
In April, China announced it was banning the sale of drones in Beijing and would require users to apply for permission for all flights in the capital.
While the cause of Friday’s crash remains unclear, the apparent censorship of images and information could suggest an attempt to downplay any possible security lapse.
The statement followed U.S. strikes on Iran’s missile, drone storage locations and coastal radar sites in retaliation for its attack on a commercial ship that was passing Hormuz
Ebrahim Azizi, a senior Iranian lawmaker, has warned the U.S. of retaliation following American strikes on the country’s south | Image: X
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, said Saturday that the U.S. had attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations, vowing the strike would lead to “retreat and regret” on Washington’s part.
Azizi, a former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), criticised U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he failed to commit to the “principles of negotiation“, adding the “blame game doesn’t work anymore“.
The statement followed U.S. strikes on Iran’s missile, drone storage locations and coastal radar sites in retaliation for its attack on a commercial ship that was passing the Strait of Hormuz –– the key waterway which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the global energy trade.
In a post on ‘X’, Azizi wrote: “The U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again. The failed U.S. President has shown he does not commit to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire.”
The U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again.
The failed U.S. President has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire.
This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part.
“This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part The blame game does not work anymore”, he added.
Azizi’s remarks came hours after the IRGC announced that it had targeted U.S. military positions across the region in response to American strikes on the country’s south.
‘Violence Will Be Met With Violence’
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Friday announced it had conducted strikes against Iran in retaliation for an attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone. The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack”, said the U.S. military in a statement.
Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone.
Following the strike, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Iran that “violence will be met with violence”, as he called on Tehran to engage in conversation to resolve disagreements.
The US launched strikes against what it described as missile and drone sites, along with coastal radar installations in Iran.
The West Asia region was on edge again on Friday night and Saturday morning as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed it had struck US military positions in response to American airstrikes on Iranian coastal areas. The reported retaliation marked the latest escalation threatening a fragile ceasefire reached just days ago. The IRGC’s response came after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian targets over attack on a cargo ship earlier.
The US military action marks the most serious test of an interim agreement reached just a week ago, under which both sides had agreed to begin efforts to end months of conflict and restore stability in the strategically vital shipping corridor. Track US Iran war news live.
The latest escalation began after a drone attack targeted a cargo ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack amounted to a violation of the ceasefire and signalled that Washington was considering a response.
“You’ll find out,” Trump told reporters when asked whether the US would retaliate.
Hours later, the US launched strikes against what it described as missile and drone sites, along with coastal radar installations in Iran. The operation was confirmed by US Central Command.
Speaking at the White House shortly before the strikes, Trump said, “I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them.”
When questioned about military action despite his repeated claims that talks with Tehran were progressing well, Trump replied: “They’re a little bit different.”
Iran rejects ceasefire violation claim
Iran swiftly pushed back against the US accusation that the drone attack breached the ceasefire.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, defended Tehran’s position and stressed Iran’s authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules,” Azizi wrote on social media, adding that others should “not mistake control for escalation.”
“This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is ceasefire management,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance later urged Iran to engage through diplomatic channels, warning that Washington would respond firmly to any future attacks.
“But violence will be met with violence,” Vance said, while adding that Iran should “pick up the phone” if disputes emerge over the ceasefire arrangement.
New communication channel
Even as tensions rise, Iran and the US have established a direct communication mechanism aimed at preventing incidents in the Hormuz Strait from spiralling into a broader military confrontation, reported Iranian state news agency, Press TV.
The channel was created following talks held in Zurich last week and forms part of the final statement issued by mediators. Its purpose is to reduce the risk of misunderstandings and help implement provisions contained in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
Iran has maintained that all vessel movements through the strait must follow routes approved by Tehran.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi reiterated that position on Friday.
“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran’s role as a coastal state into account,” he said.
He also warned that Iran could suspend alternative transit routes if ships fail to coordinate with Tehran.
People use umbrellas and fans to protect themselves from high temperatures in Munich, Germany, June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth Purchase Licensing Rights
Germans braced for sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in Western Europe was expected to move east after temperatures broke records above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany have all experienced record heat in June, and the weather system could test more records as it rolls across Germany towards Poland.
On Friday, a new German record of 41.3 C was reached near the city of Saarbruecken close to the French border, a spokesperson for Germany’s National Meteorological Service said, noting the reading was still preliminary.
In France, dozens of people both young and old have died during the heatwave. Temperatures above 40 C have disrupted rail travel and power generation, sparked alcohol bans, suspended schools and postponed outdoor events.
“The heatwave is going to peak at the weekend, well over 40 degrees in some parts of Germany,” said Karsten Brandt, a meteorologist at weather forecasting site Donnerwetter.de.
The Ironman European Championship long-distance triathlon taking place on Sunday in Frankfurt shortened the cycling and running courses due to the heat, organisers said.
Struggling with the prospect of damage to infrastructure like buckling roads and swelling train tracks, some major public service providers have sought to reduce traffic.
FREE CANCELLATIONS TO REDUCE RAIL TRAVEL
German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn has given customers the option of cancelling long-distance travel bookings into early next week without charge due to the heatwave.
The company said its infrastructure is under particular strain because of sun exposure and additional risk to signals, tracks and overhead wires stemming from thunderstorms and wildfires.
Parts of Germany, mainly in the southwest, have already experienced a much hotter June than usual.
The most extreme heat is forecast to begin fading at the weekend, with heavy thunderstorms expected on Sunday.
Across Europe, cultural landmarks have had to close, farming has suffered, and some hospitals have struggled to cope.
The heatwave has pushed temperatures up to 18 C above their seasonal average, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor, and is being driven by a phenomenon known as an Omega block.
Desperate Venezuelans and rescue teams raced to find survivors on Friday as the death toll from twin earthquakes rose above 900 with foreign crews and aid only beginning to reach devastated areas nearly two days after the quakes.
The government said 172 people remained trapped, 920 were dead and 3,360 injured after the quakes devastated parts of Caracas and surrounding areas on Wednesday evening. More than 50,000 people were reported missing.
The ground shook once again Friday afternoon, a weaker 4.9 temblor that was felt in the capital Caracas and nearby Maracay.
Frustration mounted over the uneven pace of relief in some of the hardest-hit areas including La Guaira state, where residents and volunteers were still digging through rubble by hand amid shortages of heavy equipment and limited official presence.
Jennifer Palacios, 25, said her 6-year-old son and five other relatives remained buried in La Guaira city’s eight-tower Hugo Chavez housing complex.
“It’s the community that has managed to get people out alive,” she said. “We need them to bring cranes to move the slabs. There are still people trapped.”
The disaster could have political consequences for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has sought to portray herself as an agent of political change even though she served as vice president to the ousted Nicolas Maduro.
A U.N. report estimated direct damage from the two quakes, magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, at about $6.7 billion. The second quake was Venezuela’s most powerful in more than a century.
EYES ON LA GUAIRA
Reuters witnesses traveled along highways cracked by the quakes and passed dozens of buildings reduced to broken concrete and twisted metal. Some ruins were spray-painted with building names to help rescuers identify locations.
Volunteers ferried supplies on motorcycles from Caracas and Valencia.
Despite initially thanking the volunteers, Rodriguez and other officials later told people to stay away from La Guaira city because clogged roads were making rescue operations more difficult. They announced roads would be closed starting at 8 p.m. (midnight GMT) except to official and registered response teams.
Lawyer Ricardo Trias, 73, was trying to obtain a death certificate for his godson Armando Lopez, 54, whose body was pulled from the rubble of his building in the coastal town of Caraballeda on Thursday night and remained at the site.
“We want them to give us the body … we can’t take it and here it will rot,” said Trias. “No forensic authority has come.”
INTERIM GOVERNMENT TESTED
Reuters witnesses saw people in Catia la Mar, a town in La Guaira, removing toilet paper, cooking oil, bread and other items from a damaged store.
Mexican soldiers participating in rescue efforts search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria Purchase Licensing Rights
Police, the national guard and other officials did not intervene in the looting, according to Reuters witnesses.
Rodriguez, who took power after the United States captured her predecessor in January, has pledged a major relief deployment.
Venezuela’s oil production was not affected by the quakes, Oil Minister Paula Henao said in a radio interview on Friday, adding that fuel distribution would be guaranteed.
Oil executives and workers said the sector had avoided major infrastructure damage.
WORLD RALLIES
Foreign rescue teams — including some from countries long at odds with Venezuela — began arriving late on Thursday and into Friday.
Rodriguez spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. Earlier she and other officials met with the U.S. military’s Northern Command and disaster experts.
The U.S. said it was mobilizing $150 million in aid and easing sanctions while the U.S. military dispatched two ships and said helicopters and aircraft would support rescue efforts.
In the beachside neighborhood of Los Corales, 50 members of El Salvador’s rescue team were assessing the ruins of three 10-story buildings using drones, heat scanners and dogs to locate survivors.
“People have told us they can hear people. They call them on the phone and they answer, and they can hear people screaming and calling,” said Roberto Gavidia, the head of the team.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared a video on X of the team preparing to enter one building, saying they had discovered a 15-year-old trapped with her pet on the ninth floor and were working to free them.
The U.S. military attacked Iran on Friday in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, with each country accusing the other of violating terms of a ceasefire agreed on last week.
U.S. Central Command said aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites, later publishing a grainy black-and-white video of an explosion labeled “unclassified.” A U.S. official reported the operation had concluded.
Iran said a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Iran, and that Iranian naval forces responded by striking U.S. military targets in the region. Tehran did not provide details about what may have been hit.
Elsewhere, however, there were signs of progress in ending the four-month-old conflict, as Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Both sides framed the deal as an initial step that calls for Hezbollah to disarm and Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, but it was not clear how it would be enforced. Hezbollah said it would not cooperate.
‘VIOLENCE WILL BE MET WITH VIOLENCE,’ VANCE SAYS
Tehran has said it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday’s attack on a cargo ship traveling near Oman’s coast. President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week’s interim agreement.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” U.S. Central Command said in its statement announcing strikes, which it called “a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
The U.S. military said it would continue to provide “safe passage coordination and support” to commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Vice President JD Vance, once seen as a skeptic on U.S. intervention in Iran but now a Trump administration point person on the conflict, said the Americans have honored the ceasefire deal, also known as a memorandum of understanding.
“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,” Vance said on X.
Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard there. The source said several warning shots had been fired from Sirik toward vessels that violated Strait of Hormuz regulations about five hours earlier, adding two warning missiles had also been launched from the nearby Karpan area toward the strategic waterway.
On Saturday, Iran’s Mehr news agency cited the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as saying that there was no damage to the port of Sirik after the attack by the U.S. The official said the port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities and equipment.
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 21, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency)via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that in response its navy “struck the locations where the terrorist U.S. military is stationed in the region” and warned that any further U.S. attacks would be met with a broader response, according to the statement carried on state media.
The ceasefire agreement gives Iran control over ship traffic in the strait, the Guards said.
“However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,” the Revolutionary Guards said.
OIL PRICES FALL BEFORE LATEST STRIKES
The U.S. did not immediately respond to Iran’s report of striking American targets, a tactic that has sought to undermine U.S. allies in the region during the conflict.
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said in response to the latest strikes that Trump has failed to show a commitment to the principles of negotiation or ceasefire.
“This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part,” Azizi posted on X.
Before the renewed outbreak of violence, oil prices fell about 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, in response to oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.
A “central figure” in a $250 million Minnesota welfare fraud scheme was arrested in Somalia this week after spending nearly four years on the run, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Abdikerm Eidleh, 42, was one of the original suspects indicted in connection to the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme – the infamous Feeding Our Future scam. He was taken into custody in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu on Thursday, according to prosecutors.
In September 2022, Eidleh was hit with 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering for his alleged role in the scheme to steal pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need.
Eidleh was indicted in connection to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme back in 2022. FBI
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald – President Trump’s fraud czar – described Eidleh as a “central figure in one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.”
“He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed,” McDonald said in a statement.
“Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” the DOJ official continued. “That attempt ended thanks to the exceptional work of our FBI partners.
“The Department of Justice will continue to track down and prosecute fraudsters wherever they run and wherever they hide.”
Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen said Eidleh’s arrest demonstrates that “if you commit fraud against the American taxpayer, and try hiding across the globe, the long arm of justice will find you.”
The indictment against Eidleh alleges he was responsible for recruiting and supporting criminals who set up sham food sites and fake vendor networks to bill the government for millions of meals that were never actually served to children.
Eidleh and other Feeding Our Future employees solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from individuals and companies seeking approval to operate fraudulent meal distribution sites, according to the DOJ.
The NHL world waited in anticipation for the 2026 No. 1 overall pick to be announced Friday night.
As expected, it was Penn State’s Gavin McKenna selected by the Maple Leafs. But the bigger surprise was who announced the pick.
Fellow Canadian and devoted Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber announced the selection in Buffalo on Friday night.
Before the draft commenced, the NHL shared that a special guest would be taking the stage to announce the pick.
Bieber’s presence brought on mixed reactions, however.
About halfway through Bieber’s nearly three-minute appearance, boos were heard spreading through Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.
Gavin McKenna poses with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and singer Justin Bieber after being selected with the first pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Fans had opinions on social media as well, with many commenting on the length of Bieber’s opening spiel.
“CEASE YOUR SPEAKING BIEBER,” one fan wrote on X.
“Wow the Leafs made this cringy as hell with Bieber,” another griped.
Others had more well-thought-out opinions on the subject. One fan commented on how the biggest moment of McKenna’s life felt more centered around Bieber than McKenna.
“Really feel like the NHL dropped the emotional ball on this,” the tweet read.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to never accept the US Supreme Court’s ruling allowing President Trump’s administration to strip deportation protection for Haitian and Syrian migrants.
“To have people who frankly taught the world about freedom have their own freedom put into jeopardy by the actions of a Supreme Court and federal administration — it is not only cruel, it’s not something we will ever accept,” Hizzoner said in a video statement after Thursday’s bombshell 6-3 ruling.
The high court ruled that the “temporary protected status” statutes don’t allow for judicial review and that lower courts can’t intervene in the Trump administration’s decision to remove deportation protections for more than 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians living in the US.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to never accept the US Supreme Court’s ruling allowing President Trump’s administration to strip deportation protection for Haitian and Syrian migrants. REUTERS
Mamdani immediately rallied with immigration advocates, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James following the ruling, and released the defiant video message afterward.
“The Supreme Court just sparked one of the largest attacks on immigrants in modern American history. In one fell swoop, thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the country they call home,” Mamdani also said in a statement issued by City Hall.
“This decision will cause enormous pain across the five boroughs. Here in New York, it falls hardest on our Haitian community, one of the largest in the country, alongside Syrian families,” the statement said.
“To the tens of thousands of New Yorkers with TPS who are watching the news, frightened about what comes next, hear me clearly: New York City is your home. You belong here. We will not turn our backs on you.”
City Hall said the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs would be sharing “additional information and resources soon.”
“You will not face this cruelty alone. This administration will stand alongside immigrant New Yorkers today, tomorrow, and every day that follows,” Mamdani said.
New York’s sanctuary rules largely prevent local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration laws and operations, or cooperating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But Mamdani has boosted the Big Apple’s sanctuary rules since taking office in January.
The mayor signed an executive order in February strengthening sanctuary protections, including a prohibition on ICE entering city property like public schools, homeless shelters and hospitals without a judicial warrant.
CHARLIE Kirk’s alleged assassin will still face the death penalty at trial despite a judge finding a prosecutor in contempt of court.
Judge Tony Graf refused to strip capital punishment from the case against Tyler Robinson after ruling that Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard violated a pretrial publicity order.
Tyler Robinson has been accused of killing conservative influencer Charlie KirkCredit: AP
The decision was handed down on Friday in Utah, where Robinson is accused of murdering the conservative activist.
Graf found that Ballard went too far in media interviews by discussing Robinson’s alleged guilt and the strength of the state’s evidence.
Robinson’s lawyers had urged the judge to punish the Utah County Attorney’s Office by removing the death penalty as a possible sentence.
But Graf rejected that request, meaning prosecutors can continue seeking capital punishment if Robinson is convicted.
Prosecutors said he was trying to correct misleading reports about ballistics evidence in the case.
Graf said Ballard had not spoken to reporters out of a malicious desire to defy the court or influence potential jurors.
However, the judge ruled that some of his comments went beyond what the court’s order allowed.
“Those additional public statements possessed a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the proceedings,” Graf said.
The dispute centered on a defense filing about the bullet recovered during Kirk’s autopsy.
The filing said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been unable to identify the bullet as coming from the rifle allegedly linked to Robinson.
Prosecutors argued that the filing left out the fact that investigators had also not excluded the rifle as the weapon that fired it.
The wording fueled reports suggesting that the bullet did not match the gun allegedly used in the shooting.
A RUSSIAN soldier has threatened to turn weapons on Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin tyrant stares down the barrel of another rebellion.
One veteran who vented his outrage at the bloody invasion of Ukraine in a viral social media post has vowed to spark an uprising if Putin doesn’t “tell the truth”.
Russian army veteran Alexander Lunin has threatened to stage an uprisingCredit: Reuters
The ex-soldier, called Alexander Lunin, declared he would launch a rebellion on Putin’s regime if the president didn’t meet with him to discuss the abuse of soldiers.
In the video which has been viewed over 11 million times, the veteran said thousands of soldiers were being held in pits and tortured “for refusing to carry out stupid, suicidal orders”.
He also said service members were being abused for refusing to hand over money to their commanders.
Lunin warned “the consequences will be very serious” if he wasn’t set up for meeting with Putin on live TV.
Lunin said: “If I don’t arrive at the Kremlin in the near future and speak live on the air right next to you, the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin.
“I’m merely passing along the message.”
He claimed that high ranking army and security officials had asked him to film the statement clip.
Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov said he had heard about the viral video but claimed neither he nor Putin had watched it yet.
“The phrasing sounds rather bizarre. We need to see it first,” Peskov said.
Lunin is a 39-year-old Ukraine war veteran from the Voronezh region in southern Russia, according to local media.
It comes after a failed uprising by the Wagner Group three years ago.
The group’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had vowed to “punish” Russia after he blamed the Kremlin for a deadly missile attack on one of his training camps in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The mercenary head then left Russia as part of a deal to end his uprising with charges against him being dropped.
But he was then killed when his private jet was blown out of the sky.
It also comes amid a string of setbacks for Putin’s war.
Ukraine launched devastating strikes on a key Russian oil depot earlier this month.
And on Thursday, Kyiv turned up the heat on Russia and unleashed a 40-day blitz “aimed at securing an end to the war”.
Russia suffered one of the biggest nighttime attacks – with air defences in a dozen regions, as well as Russian-occupied Crimea, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, intercepting 660 Ukrainian drones.
The barrage came hours after Volodymyr Zelensky said he had approved a massive campaign in an effort to turn the tables on Russia‘s grinding war of aggression.
“I approved a 40-day operation by the Service to influence the aggressor state in order to press for an end to the war,” the Ukrainian President said on Telegram.
His announcement followed his meeting with SBU chief Yevhenii Khmara, who reported on Ukraine’s “plan for long-range sanctions, medium-range sanctions” – a term used by Kyiv to describe its drone strikes.
For months, Ukraine has carried out devastating attacks on targets in Russia or Russian-held areas, with a heavy focus on the oil industry.
The Security Service said it deployed drones to strike Russian navy ships and air defence radars in Kerch, an important port city in Crimea.
Two reconnaissance and mine-laying ships, the Volga and the Vyatka, and the cargo-passenger ferry Petropavlovsk, were the targets, the agency said.
Fires were reported at a chemical plant in Novomoskovsk, which supplies the war machine with materials for explosives and artillery ammunition.
Meanwhile, the power station supplying it with electricity was also blown up.
SHOCKING surveillance footage shows the moment a woman wanted by cops in connection with alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reaches into the water.
The blurry video appears to capture the woman crouching down and reaching in before pulling at something along the edge of the pool.
In a surveillance footage released by White House a woman is seen reaching into the water and pulling at something along the edge of the reflecting poolCredit: White House
The incident unfolded at about 3.36pm on Friday, June 19, in Washington, DC.
The woman appears to have dark hair and is seen wearing a gray shirt, black shorts and carrying a light-colored handbag.
US Park Police released the footage on Wednesday as officers appealed for help identifying her.
Police have not accused the woman of damaging the pool and have only said they want to speak with her as part of their investigation into the destruction of government property.
Officials have not publicly said what she allegedly removed from the pool or whether she was carrying a tool.
However, a separate federal court filing revealed that a sharp knife or razor was previously used to slice through material sealing the renovated structure.
National Park Service Deputy Director Frank Lands said officers were called to the pool on June 9, shortly after the rehabilitation project was largely completed.
The damage included caulk covering foam sealant that “was cut with a sharp knife or razor,” according to Lands’ declaration.
The delaminating surface material was also destroyed, and around 70 fence-post caps were allegedly hurled into the water.
The court filing did not identify a suspect in that earlier incident.
It is also unclear whether police believe the woman shown in the newly released footage was linked to the June 9 damage.
An Interior Department spokesperson previously described that case as isolated while authorities investigated.
“So as not to encourage deranged individuals, we did not announce what we hoped to be an isolated incident,” the spokesperson told ABC News.
But officials said further incidents followed as videos emerged showing people pulling at the pool’s surface.
“It wasn’t until several days thereafter that there were recurring cases and videos of people ripping at the coating began to circulate,” the spokesperson said.
“We then knew this was not an isolated incident, but a new trend to attempt to damage the Reflecting Pool.”
Chain-link fencing has now been thrown up around sections of the landmark as officials tighten security.
Footage from Tuesday showed workers sealing off parts of the pool while officers guarded the surrounding area.
The barriers appeared after Trump announced that a sixth person had been arrested over the alleged vandalism.
The Interior Department said fencing had always been planned because fireworks will be launched near the pool during America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
However, officials said it was installed earlier than expected following the string of alleged attacks.
The Interior Department said on Thursday that seven people had been arrested, another seven had received federal citations and 18 police reports had been filed.
The White House also released photos and footage that it said documented deliberate slashes through the liner, sides and coating.
It claimed fencing and other debris had also been thrown into the water.
President Donald Trump said those responsible appeared to have used a box cutter, razor or knife before tearing at the surface.
“They went down with probably a box cutter or a very sharp razor of some kind or a knife, and they cut, and then they started ripping it up,” he said in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
“You know why? Because they’re sick people.”
Trump demanded lengthy jail sentences and claimed the attacks were driven by “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“These people should go to jail for a long time,” he said.
The president said some water would be released from the pool to allow crews to repair the damaged areas.
He also alleged that acid had been poured on grass surrounding the landmark.
“Around the Reflecting Pool, we have a huge field of grass,” Trump said.
“They poured acid on the grass, the same people, I guess.”
“It killed – you know, acid kills grass quickly – so that’s being fixed.”
Trump had earlier claimed chemicals were “illegally placed in the water” and speculated that fertilizer may have caused algae to return.
The green growth appeared shortly after his administration’s roughly $16million renovation aimed to give the pool an “American Flag Blue” appearance.
India has launched ‘Operation Amistad’ to help the victims of the Venezuela earthquakeImage: Vantor/AP Photo/picture alliance
India discloses names of six soldiers killed during ‘Operation Sindoor’
For the first time India has publicly revealed the names of six Indian soldiers who died during last year’s four-day military conflict with Pakistan, Indian media reported on Friday.
The names of five Indian army soldiers and one Air Force personnel have been published in the ‘Roll of Honour’ section of the National War Memorial website.
The personnel have been identified as Pawan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Murali Naik, Sunil Kumar Singh of the Army and the Air Force’s Surendra Kumar.
According to reports from The Times of India, Hindustan Times and NDTV, the names of the soldiers will also be permanently inscribed at the National War Memorial located at the iconic India Gate Circle in New Delhi.
On May 7 2025, India launched military strikes — dubbed “Operation Sindoor” — on what it said was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India’s military operation was in retaliation to a deadly militant attack in India-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam days earlier which had left 26 Indian tourists, mostly Hindu men, dead.
India blamed Pakistan for backing the militant group behind the attack. Islamabad denied New Delhi’s claim.
India sends assistance to quake-hit Venezuela on two Air Force planes
India has dispatched humanitarian aid to Venezuela after two major earthquakes struck the Latin American nation seconds apart on Wednesday, leaving death and devastation in their wake.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday announced the assistance under “Operation Amistad.”
Amistad is the Spanish word for friendship.
The cargo, which is being carried by two Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft, includes over 35 tons of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment.
“India is committed to support the government and people of Venezuela in this difficult time,” Jaishankar said.
A 41-member contingent of the Indian Army’s Field Hospital unit has also been deployed for the relief operation.
“Responding swiftly to the devastating earthquake in northern Venezuela, India has launched Operation Amistad, deploying a specialised medical contingent to support humanitarian relief efforts,” the Indian Army said in a statement.
According to figures from the Venezuelan government, at least 235 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 are unaccounted for after the twin earthquakes rattled areas in and around the capital Caracas.
Beating India’s heat with an ancient cooling hack
A series of brutal heat waves have left residents of New Delhi gasping but a low-cost, 3000-year-old cooling method is saving lives.
Modi sends message as Muslims observe Ashura in India
Indian Muslims on Friday observed Ashura — which falls on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Ashura holds a high importance particularly among Shia Muslims, who commemorate it as a solemn day of mourning marking the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hazrat Imam Hussain in the Battle of Karbala in A.D. 680.
Tazia processions carrying a symbolic representation of the mausoleum of Hussain are taken out on the occasion.
Some Shiite Muslims self-flagellate, even with chains. Rituals also inculde the beating of the chest and walking barefoot on fire to symbolize sharing in the suffering of Hussain.
Sunni Muslims observe Ashura as a day of voluntary fasting and gratitude.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a post talking about the sacrifices made by Hussain.
“The sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) continues to inspire many people to remain steadfast in the pursuit of truth and justice. It is also a reminder of the enduring power of courage and conviction,” Modi wrote on X.
How eggs sparked a row in West Bengal
West Bengal’s freshly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government plans to engage the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) — a global Hindu organization also known as the Hare Krishna movement — to provide cooked midday meals in schools that come under the purview of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The decision was announced as West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta presented BJP’s maiden budget for the state on Monday.
The move has led to a political firestorm as reports say that the new school dinner could be purely vegetarian. Eggs, which have long been a vital source of affordable nutrition in government school meal programs across India, could be off the menu.
Eggs were provided one to two days a week in the state’s school meal plan and are now expected to be swapped with vegetarian items such as paneer, rajma and soy-based foods, Kolkata-based daily, The Telegraph, reported.
Some opposition critics also see the decision as an attempt by Prime Minister Narenra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP to alter the food habits in West Bengal, whose culinary tradition consists of a non-vegetarian diet.
A local member of the Rajya Sabha, the lower house of the national parliament, also weighed in on the controversy.
“Throw eggs at rivals. But DEPRIVE CHILDREN of nutrition by taking eggs off from midday meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this.” said All India Trinamool Congress’ MP Derek O’Brien, in a post on X.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has called the change in school menu a “nutritional and hygiene-focused reform.”
“We are giving the responsibility of cooking midday meals to ISKCON. If you have an objection, do not say ‘Hare Krishna’ – no one will force you. You will get good food to eat. You will get pure food, nothing to worry about,” Indian media quoted Adhikari as saying.
The midday meal scheme was launched in 1995 for India’s government schools and has since been providing a mandatory, free school lunch to improve the nutritional levels among students.
Modi sends birthday wishes to education minister amid public ire
Amid the “Cockroach” protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent birthday greetings to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday.
“He is making commendable efforts towards the implementation of the National Education Policy, which seeks to make India a hub for knowledge, learning and innovation,” Modi praised Pradhan in a post on X.
The protest-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had previously given the Modi government an ultimatum saying that either Pradhan should resign “respectfully” or the prime minister should “sack him.”
CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke alleges assault by BJP workers
The founder of India’s viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has alleged that workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) physically assaulted reporters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where the movement has been holding a sit-in protest calling for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“BJP goons physically assaulting reporters and people at Jantar Mantar,” Abhijeet Dipke wrote on X on Friday.
He shared a video purportedly from the protest site, in which Delhi police officials are seen and a voice is heard saying in Hindi: “Our CJP members have been slapped and the Delhi Police is just watching.”
The footage does not show visuals of an assault.
There has been no statement from the BJP on the allegations,
Since June 20, the CJP has been leading an indefinite sit-in demonstration in the national capital over its long-standing demand that Pradhan step down following a flurry of following exam paper leaks and cancellations.
Dipke founded the satirical political movement in May after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likened some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” and “parasites.”
The parody party quickly became an online sensation, striking a cord among India’s discontented youth.
Four bodies from Qatar gas explosion repatriated to India, say officials
The mortal remains of four Indian victims of last week’s deadly explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub have been repatriated, the Indian Embassy in Doha said.
A total of 12 Indian nationals were among the 13 people killed in a blast at the Barzan gas processing facility on June 21.
Qatari authorities said 66 people were also injured in what they described as a “technical accident”.
The Embassy said in its statement that it was hoping to repatriate the remaining bodies to India soon and was in touch with families of the deceased.
It added that it was also in touch with the Indian nationals who were wounded in the incident.
Udit Utpal’s song Kachaudi Gali has become an overnight sensation
On a recent season of an Indian music show, a young singer from the northern state of Bihar performs a haunting, century-old folk song about separation, colonialism and longing.
It tells the story of a woman watching her husband leave to fight in a distant war under British rule. She mourns his absence, curses the empire that claimed him and, at one point, imagines taking up a dagger herself.
Performed by Bihar folk singer Utpal Udit in collaboration with acclaimed vocalist Rekha Bhardwaj, Kachaudi Gali went on to attract millions of views, becoming one of the breakout successes of the show Coke Studio Bharat, the Indian edition of the popular music franchise that has introduced regional and folk traditions to new audiences across South Asia.
The success thrust Udit into the national spotlight. More unexpectedly, it also brought renewed attention to Bhojpuri, a language often stereotyped as the tongue of migrant labourers and low-brow entertainment despite a rich literary and cultural history that stretches back centuries.
Spoken by tens of millions across northern India and a diaspora stretching from the Caribbean to the Pacific, Bhojpuri is one of South Asia’s most widely spoken languages, with a vast canon of folk songs, poetry, storytelling and theatre.
Yet that is not how many Indians encounter it today.
For many, Bhojpuri is synonymous with a hugely popular music industry known for songs rife with sexual innuendo, misogyny and double entendres. In films and television, Bihari accents and characters are often reduced to comic sidekicks, migrants or rustic outsiders.
Regional artists have spent decades preserving Bhojpuri folk traditions, but these are often eclipsed by the language’s more visible – and more stereotyped – image.
Now musicians like Udit are trying to broaden the picture.
“It hurts when you are deeply connected to the music of your roots, yet others perceive it poorly,” Udit told the BBC. “I really want to change that.”
Born in Saharsa district, Udit grew up moving across different parts of the state because of his father’s work, absorbing folk traditions along the way.
He says that at first, the melodies stayed with him more than their meanings. Later, curiosity led him deeper into the works of Bhikhari Thakur and Mahendra Misir, the poets and playwrights who helped shape Bihar’s folk imagination.
Many of those stories revolve around migration – a defining theme of Bhojpuri folk music and of Bihar itself.
One of India’s poorest states, Bihar has long been shaped by people leaving in search of work: first under colonial labour systems, later for the factories, construction sites and expanding cities of modern India. That journey has echoed through its music for generations.
One song Udit frequently performs, Jani Ja Bideswa Ke Or, from Bhikhari Thakur’s celebrated play Bidesiya, tells the story of a woman pleading with her husband not to leave home in search of work. The house will feel empty without him and her soul will suffer, she sings.
Written more than a century ago, the song emerged from a period of mass migration, but its themes remain strikingly familiar today.
Udit says preserving that connection between past and present has become central to his work.
“I want people to realise that Bhojpuri and Bihari music have much more depth than the stereotypes suggest,” he said. “I want them to hear the stories the music conveys.”
On social media, Udit often accompanies his performances with detailed explanations of their history and cultural significance. A short rendition of a folk song might be paired with a reflection on migration, colonialism or the work of a playwright.
It was what drew Khwaab, the producer of Kachaudi Gali, to Udit’s universe.
About a year ago, he came across a video of Udit performing the song in his village on Instagram. The video caught Khwaab’s attention. The caption held it.
“Utpal is obviously a brilliant singer,” Khwaab said. “But when I read his explanation of the song’s history, I literally sat up in bed. I knew then that something significant had to come from this.”
What also struck him was the sense that an entire cultural archive had been obscured by stereotypes.
So he and Udit decided to reimagine Kachaudi Gali for a new audience.
For the Coke Studio version, Khwaab wanted the production to feel modern while remaining faithful to its roots. Traditional instruments – including the shehnai, tabla, dholak, harmonium and dotara – were recorded live, while the arrangement drew on the scale and polish of popular music.
The challenge, he explained, was not simply preserving folk music, but translating it for listeners unfamiliar with the tradition.
“It’s about preserving what might be lost while creating something fresh. I wanted others to realise that folk music can be cool too.”
Not every artist seeking to reshape perceptions of Bhojpuri looks to the past, though.
A few hundred kilometres away, rapper Sanket Shikriwal has arrived at the same question from almost the opposite direction.
Over the past few years, Shikriwal has emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in India’s independent music scene, described as a rapper challenging assumptions about what Bhojpuri music can sound like.
If Udit’s work is rooted in recovery, Shikriwal’s thrives on collision.
In his music, Bhojpuri shares space with jazz, spoken word and hip-hop. Village memories coexist with references to Franz Kafka and John Coltrane. Bihar appears alongside Mumbai; migration alongside internet culture. His songs sound less like a folk revival than an ongoing conversation between past and present, village and city, belonging and escape.
The music can also be abrasive. It contains street language and profanity, complicating any attempt to cast him as a clean alternative to the excesses often associated with commercial Bhojpuri music.
But Shikriwal rejects the idea that profanity itself is the problem.
“I’m not using profanity for the sake of a tough-guy persona,” he said. “It’s my way of expressing agitation.”
The distinction matters, he argues, because Bhojpuri is often judged by standards that other genres are not.
Hip-hop has long used profanity as a vehicle for anger, social commentary and self-expression. Closer to home, Punjabi music – despite controversies over violence and hypermasculinity – has evolved into one of India’s most successful cultural exports. Artists such as Diljit Dosanjh and the late Sidhu Moosewala transformed regional identity into a source of pride and aspiration.
A drone view shows the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, June 8, 2026. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani Purchase Licensing Rights
Iraq has considered leaving OPEC if the oil producer group does not allow Baghdad to significantly increase oil production, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The prospect of Iraq leaving would be a serious blow to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which saw the United Arab Emirates walk away less than two months ago.
Iraq is the group’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and one of its five founding members. OPEC was formed in the Iraqi capital in 1960.
The country relies on oil for the bulk of its income, which has been slashed since the Iran war effectively blocked exports via the Strait of Hormuz.
The government is grappling with a financial crisis as a result of the war and a significant rise in its OPEC quota should be treated seriously, a senior Iraqi oil ministry official told Reuters on Thursday.
Iraq had considered leaving OPEC, but the current plan was to remain a member and seek a higher quota, he added.
Iraq’s quota for July is 4.378 million barrels per day though current output is significantly below this because of the Hormuz disruption.
“Saudi Arabia and other OPEC allies should treat this matter with the utmost seriousness. Failing that, Iraq will be compelled to consider all available options,” he said.
Asked if they had discussed an OPEC exit, he said: “It’s still premature for this step”.
Iraq’s oil ministry said on Thursday that reports suggesting Baghdad was considering ending its membership in OPEC did not reflect the Iraqi government’s official position.
OPEC and Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Oil prices briefly extended their decline after the Reuters report, trading below $73 a barrel.
OPEC+ IS REVIEWING MEMBERS’ OIL OUTPUT CAPACITY
The Iraqi officials’ comments come as OPEC+, which groups OPEC members with Russia and other producers, is undergoing a review of members’ oil production capacity.
The assessments will be used for 2027 output baselines, from which quotas are set.
Iraq has struggled to meet its OPEC quotas in the past, as it expanded oil capacity with the help of Western oil companies.
Iraq pumped 1.48 million bpd in May, according to OPEC data, down from almost 4.2 million in February before the closure of Hormuz.
A government spokesperson said Iraq was working to return to full export capacity, but declined to comment further on its OPEC quota or the possibility of exiting the group.
“Iraq is working to restore its full oil export capacity and aims to raise oil production to 7 million barrels per day over the coming years,” Iraqi spokesperson Haider al Aboudi said.
There was no official comment from Russia on the Iraqi officials’ comments, but a Russian oil source said they do not represent a major challenge for the OPEC+ deal and a slight increase in Iraq’s quota may help.
Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, U.S., April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A federal judge ordered Elon Musk to testify under oath in two proposed class actions accusing him of defrauding voters in swing states before the 2024 election by promising a $1 million-a-day giveaway.
In a decision on Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower in Austin, Texas, also recommended that Musk and his political action committee America PAC face a claim in one of the lawsuits that they tricked voters into providing personal identifying information as part of the giveaway. She said a related breach of contract claim should be dismissed.
Musk’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in both lawsuits did not immediately respond to similar requests or had no immediate comment.
PLAINTIFFS SAY $1 MILLION WINNERS NOT RANDOM
The respective plaintiffs Joy Harvick and Jacqueline McAferty, both from Arizona, said Musk and America PAC misled voters in seven swing states into signing his petition to support the U.S. Constitution, by promising that the $1 million recipients would be chosen “randomly” as in a lottery.
They said voters had no real chance of winning and, quoting a Musk lawyer, said the 18 winners were chosen because they might be good spokespeople for America PAC.
Musk founded America PAC to support Republican Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential run, and announced the giveaway at a Pennsylvania town hall that October.
He is also the world’s richest person, whose businesses include electric car company Tesla (TSLA.O), and rocket and satellite company SpaceX (SPCX.O).
Australia’s prime minister said on Friday he was keen to make sure the country’s social media ban for children was as strong as possible, as a new study found that the measure — the first of its kind and now six months old — had little impact on teen use.
The government plans to stress-test the law which bans platforms like Meta’s (META.O), Instagram and Google’s (GOOGL.O), YouTube from giving under-16s accounts.
“What we want to do is to make sure that the laws are as strong as possible and that they will withstand any legal challenges which are made,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He added that one key focus would be making sure that the eSafety Commission, the country’s internet regulator, was sufficiently empowered to do the job.
Albanese did not give further details about what steps the government would take and the regulator declined to comment.
Australia’s groundbreaking experiment is being closely watched with countries around the world seeking to emulate it amid concern about youth mental and physical health. Britain, for example, this month announced planned restrictions that go further as gaming and live-streaming platforms will also be affected.
A girl uses her mobile phone in Sydney, Australia, November 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Purchase Licensing Rights
The eSafety Commission and Communications Minister Anika Wells have said they are preparing legal action against multiple platforms, which face a maximum fine of A$49.5 million ($34 million) if they are found to have systemically failed to uphold the ban.
Reddit (RDDT.N), has launched a High Court challenge of the ban, which is still in preliminary hearings. Reddit was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
When Australia’s ban went live last December, there were early reports that it had shut down millions of accounts, but parents have said and studies have shown that teen social media use is little changed.
Hundreds of people in Venezuela were trapped under rubble and many more remained unaccounted for on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes devastated areas in and around the capital Caracas, killing hundreds, damaging buildings and leaving thousands homeless.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas on Wednesday evening, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, the strongest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The disaster hit a country already weakened by years of economic turmoil, which left much of its infrastructure fragile and complicated rescue efforts as aftershocks rattled the capital and surrounding coastal areas.
Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said late on Thursday that around 235 dead had been received by medical centers. He did not give a total number of casualties.
Jorge Rodriguez, head of Venezuela’s national assembly and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, said earlier in the day that 200 people had been trapped, with 250 buildings damaged or destroyed.
At least eight hospitals, the headquarters of the Venezuelan Red Cross and the French embassy were among buildings reported to have been badly damaged.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said some 70,000 families in La Guaira state had been affected.
‘DISASTER ZONE’
La Guaira, the coastal state adjoining Caracas and home to the capital’s main airport, was among the hardest-hit areas.
“It has become a disaster zone,” acting President Rodriguez said, adding that the government was working with private companies to bring in heavy equipment and speed up rescues.
Electricity remained scarce in parts of the state, while the Caracas airport was closed after suffering damage. Witness videos from the terminal showed scenes of panic as ceiling panels crashed down.
Emergency workers and volunteers searched through collapsed buildings into the night. But in some areas, residents said official help had been slow to arrive.
Yamileth Jimenez, a resident of La Guaira city, said her 19-year-old son was still trapped in the debris of their seven-story apartment building.
“He’s under the slabs and there’s no machinery to get him out,” said Jimenez, whose father died three days earlier.
In La Guaira city, volunteers dug through wreckage with their bare hands as families waited for news of missing relatives. Along the Caracas-La Guaira highway, streams of civilians headed toward the coast carrying water, food and medicine, stepping in as the scale of the disaster overwhelmed initial rescue efforts.
“We lost everything. We have no food or medicines … We hope help arrives quickly,” said Pedro Perez, 64, an upholstery workshop owner who said he had lost both his home and business and was sleeping on the street with his wife and children.
RESIDENTS RUSH OUTSIDE
A man stands amid the rubble of collapsed buildings, in the aftermath of earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 25, 2026. REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno Purchase Licensing Rights
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday. Residents rushed out of shaking buildings and into the streets as structures swayed or collapsed across Caracas and nearby coastal communities.
“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a Caracas resident who did not give her surname.
Near the epicenter in Moron, a seaside town in Carabobo state, houses crumpled and residents were left without water or electricity.
Some 200 families living in a damaged residential complex in Moron were salvaging what belongings they could, including mattresses, televisions and washing machines. Some planned to stay with relatives, while others were waiting for the government to open shelters.
Denis Sequera, 47, said her 5-year-old granddaughter helped guide her 79-year-old father to safety as the shaking began, while Sequera helped her 70-year-old mother.
“She kept telling my dad, ‘Grandpa, get out, put your hands over your head,’ and she led him into the yard,” Sequera said. “We couldn’t go back inside. We slept outside and are now waiting for help.”
WEBSITE SHOWS MORE THAN 46,000 PEOPLE UNACCOUNTED FOR
The U.S. Geological Survey’s predictive modeling indicated the death toll was likely to rise into the thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000.
A website created to track missing people and shared by opposition leaders listed more than 46,000 people as unaccounted for shortly after 7 p.m. (2300 GMT). Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Countries around the world pledged support, even some that have opposed Venezuela, which has suffered decades of international isolation amid a spiral of political repression, economic collapse and diplomatic pressure.
Rodriguez said international rescue teams were expected soon and thanked leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Washington moved to ease sanctions, authorizing transactions related to earthquake aid that would otherwise be prohibited.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 24, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights
The U.N. International Maritime Organization paused its operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a vessel reported an attack, reigniting concerns about whether a preliminary deal to end the Iran war will hold.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine (2603.TW), said on Friday its ship was hit close to Oman by an “unknown object” while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO. The agency said earlier a vessel had been struck by a projectile hours after Tehran warned vessels against taking routes it had not approved.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship, while Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it has set will not be guaranteed safe passage.
“Consequences arising from passage through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander,” the Iranian authority said.
Evergreen said its Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely was hit on the starboard side and initial inspections showed damage to the bridge windows. “The crew, vessel and cargo are all safe,” the company said in a stock exchange statement. “The vessel has safely departed the Strait of Hormuz.” A security source said it was probably targeted by a drone.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. government. U.S. President Donald Trump warned earlier this month that if Iran did not honour an agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the strait the U.S. would probably go back to bombing the country.
ARAMCO STARTS LOADING AT RAS TANURA
The IMO was helping to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out of the strait where they had been stranded for months since the start of the war on February 28.
It decided “to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region,” IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
The IMO said the ship in the suspected attack was not part of its evacuation initiative, a voluntary option it launched on Tuesday to enable ships and their crew to sail out of the Gulf using two routes — one via Iranian waters and the other via Omani waters, with U.S. oversight.
The Oman incident is likely to refocus attention on the extent of Iran’s future control over the Strait of Hormuz which, before the conflict, handled a fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Iran took effective control of the waterway when the war began, disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets, but oil prices dipped again on Friday and were headed for steep weekly losses as more stranded oil tankers exited, the strait.
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday three South Korean ships would leave the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after the Oceans Ministry reported eight more South Korean vessels had exited.
There were also signs that Middle Eastern producers were pushing forward with plans to boost exports.
Shipping data from LSEG showed Saudi Aramcoresumed oil loading, at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf on Friday after a near four-month halt.
Two Very Large Crude Carriers controlled by Saudi Arabia’s shipping arm Bahri were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura, the world’s biggest oil port, while another waited nearby, the data showed. Each VLCC is capable of loading 2 million barrels of oil.
Saudi Aramco could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.
The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for President Donald Trump’s administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants of a humanitarian status that protects them from deportation, giving another boost to his hardline approach toward immigration.
The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative justices, overturned decisions by federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., that had halted the administration’s actions terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.
The court also backed Trump in a second immigration-related decision on Thursday involving policy toward asylum seekers.
The State Department currently warns against traveling to either Haiti or Syria, citing widespread violence, crime, terrorism and kidnapping.
TPS is a designation that lets migrants from countries stricken by war, natural disaster or other catastrophes live and work in the United States while it is unsafe for them to return to their home countries. The United States first provided TPS to Haitians after a major earthquake in 2010 and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the ruling, wrote that courts cannot review the administration’s decisions concerning TPS, a decision that could doom legal challenges going forward on revocation of this status for any country.
The law governing TPS “plainly bars” such judicial review, Alito wrote.
Alito also wrote that the Haitian TPS holders who sued the administration were unlikely to succeed in their argument that the administration’s actions were racially biased, violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.
THE ROLE OF RACE
Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent joined by fellow liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson that the statute allows for judicial review of whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary “adhered to the procedures it mandates — which is what the plaintiffs dispute here.”
Kagan said evidence that race played a role in the administration’s Haiti decision was plain. Kagan highlighted several examples of Trump’s prior statements, including his false and derogatory claims while running for reelection in 2024 that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Ohio, and that Haitian immigration is “like a death wish for our country.”
“The references — of filth, disease and primitiveness — are shot through with racial stereotypes and tropes,” Kagan said. “It is hard to imagine the statements being made today of any White community.”
Alito said in his ruling that none of the cited statements was “overtly racial” and can “rest on race-neutral justifications.”
The dispute carries potentially wide implications, affecting 1.3 million immigrants from all 17 countries currently designated for TPS. Trump’s administration has said such protections were always meant to be temporary.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a Trump appointee, praised the court’s ruling in a social media post, saying the Justice Department “successfully defended the position that TPS was always meant to be temporary. This ruling rejects efforts to turn the program into a loophole abused by illegal aliens to remain in the United States.”
Lower courts ruled against the TPS terminations, finding that administration officials failed to follow mandatory protocols to assess conditions in a country before revoking its designation. The administration said it followed proper procedures, and made the broader argument that courts cannot second-guess its TPS determinations.
Viles Dorsainvil, a Haitian TPS holder and co-founder of the Haitian Support Center in Springfield, Ohio, said the ruling places thousands of families in immediate fear.
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“Haiti is not safe, and everyone knows it. The court’s ruling does not change the reality on the ground or the contributions we make here in the United States,” Dorsainvil said.
“Today the Supreme Court allowed the government to ignore a bedrock humanitarian protection that Congress, in bipartisan fashion, established three decades ago to ensure that vulnerable refugees would not be subject to partisan whims,” added Ahilan Arulanantham, a lawyer for the Syrian plaintiffs.
Lawyers for the Haitian immigrants, Geoff Pipoly and Andy Tauber, said in a statement that “immigrants are one of America’s greatest strengths. The responsibility to save these lives is now with Congress.”
In the other immigration-related decision on Thursday, also authored by Alito, the court sided with the Trump administration in its defense of the government’s authority to turn away asylum seekers when officials deem U.S.-Mexico border crossings too overburdened to handle additional claims.
EXECUTIVE POWER
The legal fight over TPS presented another test of Trump’s executive power and the Supreme Court’s traditional deference to presidents on matters of immigration, national security and foreign policy.
Actions revoking TPS and other humanitarian protections are part of Trump’s broader rollback of legal and illegal immigration since returning to office in January 2025. The Supreme Court last year let the administration end TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the ruling highlights the administration’s targeting of legal immigration, undermining the economic benefits that immigrants provide.
“It will be harder for the U.S. to compete on the global stage or keep up with a growing fiscal crisis if policymakers continue down a path that targets legal immigration pathways,” Bier said.
The Supreme Court previously granted Trump’s requests to immediately implement several key immigration policies while legal challenges continued to play out in courts. For instance, it let Trump deport immigrants to countries where they have no ties and let federal agents target people for deportation based in part on their race or language.
NOEM’S ACTIONS
The challenges centered on actions last year by Kristi Noem, who at the time served as Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, to revoke the TPS designations for Syria and Haiti, stating that providing this status to them was contrary to U.S. national interests. Noem’s TPS decisions were not at issue when Trump fired her in March.
Groups of Syrian and Haitian TPS holders filed class-action lawsuits separately challenging the administration’s moves. They said Noem’s actions and the pattern of ending humanitarian designations for various countries show that the decisions were a preordained effort to eliminate the TPS program.
Data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler shows vessel crossings through the key waterway jumped 105 per cent on June 24, 2026, reaching 70 crossings.
IRGC has warned ships against using any route through Hormuz unless approved by Tehran
Ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz has shown signs of recovery after months of disruption linked to the Iran war and rising regional tensions.
Data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler shows vessel crossings through the key waterway jumped 105 per cent on June 24, 2026, reaching 70 crossings. Of these, 53 were commercial vessels, with most considered low-risk ships. The rise came as more vessels began using routes cleared through ongoing demining efforts and passages supported by Oman.
The increase suggests a possible easing of tensions and growing confidence among shipping operators. The rebound followed the US-Iran memorandum of understanding and the apparent end of the US naval blockade that had restricted movement in the region.
Hormuz traffic sees a sharp d/d uptick
Confirmed Strait of Hormuz crossings rose to 70 on 24 June, up 105% day on day, as demining efforts advanced and operators increasingly used the Omani route. Commercial traffic accounted for most activity, with 53 transits, while low-risk… pic.twitter.com/Afhj0gqoHt
However, experts caution that normal traffic has not fully returned. Concerns remain over warnings from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), vessels using less visible tracking methods, incomplete demining work, and unresolved issues linked to sanctions and future control of the waterway.
The IRGC has warned commercial ships against using any route through the Strait of Hormuz unless it is approved by Tehran, creating fresh tensions as the United States and Iran continue fragile talks over the strategic waterway.
The warning came after Oman announced a new shipping corridor through the strait on Wednesday. Oman said the route was developed in coordination with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to help restore safer movement of vessels after weeks of disruption.
However, the IRGC objected to the move, claiming Iran was not consulted before the route was announced.
“Certain authorities have announced a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz without prior notification to or coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The proposed route is unacceptable and poses serious safety risks,” the force said.
The IRGC further stated, “The only authorised transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz are those designated by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and said ships passing through the waterway must remain in contact with the IRGC Navy.
Oman Defends New Shipping Corridor
Oman defended the newly announced route, saying it was created to support safe navigation and follow international rules.
Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Oman would continue working to ensure freedom of movement through the strait. He also clarified that “future arrangements related to the strait do not involve imposing any transit fees”.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important shipping routes, carrying a major share of global energy supplies. The disagreement comes as commercial traffic slowly begins to recover following recent tensions in the region.
The developments come as Washington and Tehran continue talks over their temporary agreement aimed at ending the Iran war permanently. Under the deal, both sides have a 60-day window to finalise details, but public statements from leaders on both sides have added uncertainty around the fragile arrangement.
Cargo Ship Attacked On Hormuz
Meanwhile, a cargo ship travelling through a United Nations-backed route in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a projectile on Thursday, according to the British military. The attacker and the type of vessel involved remain unclear.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the ship suffered damage, but there were no casualties or environmental impact reported. The incident came hours after Iran warned vessels against using the strait without Tehran’s approval.
Germany vs Ecuador Highlights, FIFA World Cup 2026 Match: Gonzalo Plata scored the all-important goal as Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32.
Germany vs Ecuador Highlights, FIFA World Cup 2026: Gonzalo Plata scored the all-important goal as Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32. Germany took the lead thanks to a strike from Leroy Sane but it was short-lived as Nilson Angulo scored Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament. The match seemed headed towards a draw when Plata scored from the corner and guided Ecuador to a historic win. Ecuador finished third in the group with 4 points and qualified for the Round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.
Germany vs Ecuador : Match recap
Gonzalo Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute, and Ecuador advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup by rallying for a 2-1 win over Germany. Germany, which clinched first place in Group E with victories in its first two games, went ahead on Leroy Sane’s second-minute goal. Nilson Angulo scored Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute. Plata scored after a corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodríguez. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the World Cup, was about the grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and with a toe put the ball into the net. Ecuador finished third in the group with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, the first since a round of 16 game in 2002.
FIFA World Cup 2026: Ecuador qualify
Ecuador have done it! They have qualified for the Round of 32 and Germany are left stunned! What a night! What a performance and what a victory!
FIFA World Cup 2026: Late miss for Germany
Undav found himself in a good position but the ball crashes in to the side netting. Still no success!
FIFA World Cup 2026: 7 minutes added
7 minutes to.go and Ecuador are holding on for dear life. They have successfully stopped all the German attacks and they are just minutes away from a famous victory!
FIFA World Cup 2026 : What the goal means
This changes everything! A win over Germany will take Ecuador to 4 points. It should be enough for them to book their Round of 32 berth as one of the best third-placed sides.
Germany vs Ecuador : Ecuador scores!
Ecuador score and the World Cup dream is still alive. A smart finish by Gonzalo Plata from the corner and Germany are trailing 1-2. This is huge!
Germany vs Ecuador : Neuer to the rescue
It was a brilliant volley by Valencia but Neuer was able to complete the save. Ecuador are showing great heart but they will never something special to break Germany.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Changes for Germany
Thaw and Undav introduced by Germany with Havertz and Kimmich coming off. Rudiger is the new captain and Germany will be looking to attack with renewed vigour.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Crucial period for Ecuador
If things remain the same, Ecuador’s run in the FIFA World Cup 2026 will come to an end. Ivory Coast lead in their match against Curacao and that will be enough for their qualification.
Germany vs Ecuador : Penalty overturned
No penalty! There was a foul in the build-up and the penalty is overturned!
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Second half underway
Second half is underway and what a start for Germany! Kai Havertz was tackled and Germany have a penalty!
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Half-time
It is half-time and the score is 1-1. Ecuador did have their phases of domination but it was truly Germany’s half. They controlled the game and it is surprising that they do not have the lead. Nagelsmann will be looking to make some changes to freshen up the attack.
Germany vs Ecuador : Wasteful Germany
Germany will be quite unhappy that they are not ahead in this match. Constant attacks from them but the finish was just not there.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Good spell for Ecuador
Ecuador have looked quite sharp since scoring the equaliser. This has been a good period of time for them as they had a couple of chances. However, nothing came off them.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Other result
In the other match, Ivory Coast have taken the lead against Curacao with Nicholas Pepe sccoring.
Germany vs Ecuador : More chances
Business as usual as Germany keep creating chances. But no more goals in this game. A long-range attempt from Nmecha had the sting but it was not on target.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Ecuador equalise
That lead was short-lived as Ecuador equalise! A brilliant long-range attempt from Nilson Angulo and Neuer could do nothing. The first goal caused a bit of uproar but this goal has calmed Ecuadorian nerves!
Germany vs Ecuador : Controversial goal
Leroy Sane scores to hand Germany an early lead but Ecuador players are not happy. Florian Wirtz provided the assist but Pavlovic’s high boot in the built-up was not given as a foul. The referee had a conversation with the VAR officials and the goal stands!
Germany vs Ecuador : We are underway
The match begins and Germany off to a rapid start. Couple of attacks already and they are looking in fine form.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Minutes away from start
The two teams are making their way to the middle and we are few minutes away from the start of the match. It is time for the national anthems and we can expect a competitive game between these two teams.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Equation for Ecuador
Nothing short of a win will do for Ecuador in the race for Round of 32. They need to win their game and hope that Ivory Coast lose to Curacao in order to finish second. However, if they win and Ivory Coast also win, they will finish third with 4 points and will have a good chance of qualification.
FIFA World Cup 2026: Germany in fine form
Germany have already booked their berth in the World Cup Round of 32 with wins over Curacao and Ivory Coast. However, they went with a full-strength team in the game against Ecuador.
Germany vs Ecuador : Big statement by the German coach
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has criticised the FIFA World Cup scheduling format, arguing that teams finishing at the top of their groups are placed at a disadvantage due to limited preparation time ahead of the knockout rounds. “I don’t think it’s ideal that you’re somewhat punished for winning the group. I’m not a big fan of it. Anyone can imagine that there are better setups than scrubbing through footage all Saturday night, only to present the opponent to the team on Sunday,” Nagelsmann told reporters.
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Ecuador starting XI
Hernan Galíndez; Alan Franco, Piero Hincapie, Willian Pacho, Joel Ordonez; Pedro Vite, Moises Caicedo, John Yeboah; Gonzalo Plata, Enner Valencia, Nilson Angulo
FIFA World Cup 2026 : Germany starting XI
Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Antonio Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah, David Raum; Aleksandar Pavlovic, Felix Nmecha; Leroy Sane, Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala; Florian Wirtz
Germany vs Ecuador : Hello and welcome
Welcome to the live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E clash between Germany and Ecuador. Germany will look to continue their winning run while a win is crucial for Ecuador to keep their Round of 32 dreams alive.
India’s long-held position that the bombing was orchestrated by Khalistani extremists operating from Canada has been formally corroborated by Canadian authorities.
The aircraft was on the way from Toronto to Mumbai when the explosion took place.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has for the first time acknowledged that Khalistani terrorists were involved in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985 that killed 329 people, most of whom were Canadians of Indian origin. However, only 131 bodies were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean.
India’s long-held position that the bombing was orchestrated by Khalistani extremists operating from Canada has been formally corroborated by Canadian authorities.
Calling the heinous attack the “deadliest terrorist attack” in the country’s history, the agency said that it acted as a “defining moment” for the national security community.
In a post on Facebook, the agency wrote, “On June 23, 1985, a bomb planted by Canada-based Khalistani extremists destroyed the aircraft, killing everyone on board, most of them Canadians. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canada’s history and a defining moment for our national security community.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated on Tuesday that the bombing remains the “deadliest attack in our country’s history” and that the country stands against all terrorism.
In 2005, the Canadian government officially designated June 23 as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.
The aircraft, a Boeing 747, which was also known as Emperor Kanishka, was on the way from Toronto to Mumbai when the explosion took place.
A bomb was placed in the aircraft’s luggage compartment by a member of the banned Khalistani group Babbar Khalsa, who did not board the flight. The explosive blew up mid-air 45 minutes before the aircraft was supposed to land at Heathrow Airport.
Why The Admission Matters To India
At the time, the bombing was looked at as a retaliation to ‘Operation Bluestar’, which was a major military operation ordered by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Its objective was to remove armed Sikh separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
But a public inquiry in 2010 led by former Supreme Court Justice John Major found a “cascading series of errors” by agencies that day that botched the investigation.
Moreover, the incident was seen as an “Indian issue”, which downscaled the urgency of the response.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologised to the families of the victims of the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing on June 23, 2010. He acknowledged the state’s failures, citing both the institutional lapses that led to the tragedy and the subsequent mistreatment and “administrative disdain” shown to grieving families by Canadian authorities.
Beyond chips, data and computing power, the battle between Beijing and Washington is increasingly being fought over the researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs shaping the technology’s future.
The flow of AI talent between China and the United States is evolving as both countries compete for leadership in a strategically important technology. (File Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
When Will Wang left Apple in Silicon Valley in 2018, he was not chasing the next tech startup.
He was looking for a place to build hardware.
A graduate of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and UC Berkeley, Wang worked on the Apple Watch team before returning to China.
After stints at Chinese consumer electronics companies including Anker Innovations and Oppo, he founded Shenzhen-based smart glasses startup Even Realities in 2023.
The reason, he said, was simple.
“Silicon Valley doesn’t really (reward) making hardware anymore,” Wang told CNA, adding that the industry’s focus had shifted to software, data, and now artificial intelligence.
For Wang, China offered the engineers, supply chains and manufacturing ecosystems needed to build the next generation of AI hardware.
“If I wanted to (lead) in AI, I needed to be in Silicon Valley,” Wang said.
“But if I want to innovate in hardware, I need to be located in the heart of hardware.”
Wang’s decision reflects a broader shift unfolding at the centre of the global AI race.
For decades, talent moved freely between China and the United States – but today, that once-familiar talent flow is becoming increasingly complicated.
As Beijing and Washington compete for AI leadership, talent is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource alongside advanced semiconductors, computing power and data.
Governments have been tightening scrutiny over technology transfers, investment and research collaboration, while companies on both sides are competing for a relatively small pool of elite engineers and scientists capable of pushing the frontiers of AI.
The contest is no longer just about who builds the best models, experts said – it is also about where the world’s most valuable researchers, founders and engineers choose to live, work and build.
Interviews with founders, recruiters and researchers suggest the result is not a simple reversal of talent flows from the US to China.
Instead, a more selective and politically charged pattern is emerging, one that could reshape how innovation moves between the world’s two leading AI powers.
TWO AI ECOSYSTEMS, DIFFERENT STRENGTHS
For years, Chinese scientists and engineers attended US universities, joined Silicon Valley firms and research labs – and in many cases, returned home with expertise, networks and experience to build companies and institutions of their own.
Li Yaqi, a research assistant at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore who studies US-China AI governance and tech ecosystems, describes the phenomenon as “brain circulation” – not “brain drain”.
“America’s AI advantage has been institutionally American but demographically global,” Li told CNA.
Chinese returnees have also played a significant role in developing China’s own tech ecosystem. Notable figures like Taiwanese computer scientist Lee Kai-Fu and Turing Award winner Andrew Yao helped train generations of entrepreneurs and researchers who would go on to shape China’s AI industry.
The educational pipeline also remains substantial. China was the second-largest source of international students in the US during the 2024 to 2025 academic year, according to Open Doors data.
For years, researchers moved between the two countries – carrying with them not just technical skills but networks, research practices and essential experience.
“The relationship was never only a flow of people,” Li said.
“It trained researchers, built companies, and kept each side legible to the other.”
Kelvin Sun, co-founder of talent intelligence platform DINQ, said China’s pull was no longer anecdotal.
A growing number of researchers and executives have taken on senior roles at Chinese firms and laboratories, reflecting the maturation of the country’s AI ecosystem.
Yet Sun argued that decisions about where top AI talent chooses to work are rarely driven by a single consideration.
“For the top tier, my top three are compensation, compute, and research freedom,” he told CNA.
“Cash gets people in the door; compute and impact are what keep them,” said Sun.
For elite researchers, access to computing resources has become especially important as AI development grows more expensive.
Training cutting-edge models requires sizeable amounts of capital and specialised hardware – resources that remain concentrated among a relatively small number of firms and laboratories – and those strengths continue to favour the US.
The San Francisco Bay Area still retains the densest concentration of elite AI talent, frontier research and computing resources needed to train advanced models.
But at the same time, China now offers something it could not provide a decade ago – a robust and mature tech ecosystem of its own with world-class companies, engineers and domestic markets large enough to build and test ambitious products at scale.
“Talents move to wherever the future is, not wherever the government is paying the most,” said Will Wang.
Wang Li, co-founder and chief operating officer of Even Realities, told CNA that young engineers and researchers are primarily looking for opportunities to work on cutting-edge products and learn from top teams.
“They just want to find the best company and the most innovative company that they can work for, and also grow with,” she said.
Others see the US and China ecosystems as being increasingly complementary, even as global geopolitical tensions grow.
Deng Honghao, co-founder and chief executive of Butlr, a US-based company that grew out of research at the MIT Media Lab, said his career had been shaped by both systems.
Born in China and raised in Beijing, Deng studied architecture at Tianjin University before moving to the US for graduate studies at Harvard University and later conducted research at MIT.
He stressed that talent decisions are rarely as simple as choosing between China and the US.
“Both sides have this strong magnetic field for talent and also resources,” he told CNA.
The result, observers said, is not convergence but specialisation.
The US remains the stronger draw for those seeking frontier models, elite research teams and deep pools of AI capital.
China is increasingly attractive for those focused on hardware, commercialisation and the physical deployment of AI-enabled products.
IS THE REVOLVING DOOR SLOWING?
The US has tightened China’s access to advanced chips, investment flows and some AI-related services, while China has become more alert to the possibility that strategically important technology, data and talent could move beyond its reach and control.
China’s new outbound investment rules, which take effect from Jul 1, are part of that broader shift.
The regulations tighten oversight of overseas deals involving Chinese investors, especially in sensitive sectors and transactions linked to technology, data and national security.
One closely watched case was Manus, an AI startup with Chinese roots that relocated to Singapore last year before attracting regulatory scrutiny in China.
After reports emerged of a Meta deal involving the company, Chinese authorities reviewed whether the deal violated investment rules.
Two Manus co-founders were also reportedly barred from leaving China while the matter was under review.
The episode highlighted how talent, ownership and technology transfer are becoming harder to separate.
Visa restrictions, export controls, national security reviews and travel scrutiny have added layers of uncertainty to decisions about where to live and work that were once framed largely as career choices.
Li of RSIS described the trend as one of segmentation.
Elite researchers, founders and executives may still have the networks and resources to move across borders – but the broader pipeline of students, mid-career engineers and early-stage entrepreneurs may become less fluid.
That could have wider consequences beyond a simple talent redistribution from one country to another.
“What stops moving is the tacit layer,” Li said.
The deeper loss would be the movement of research instincts, management habits, product experience, laboratory culture and informal knowledge that do not travel easily through papers, patents or public datasets, he added.
Severe Tropical Storm Mekkhala, downgraded from a typhoon, was packing gusts of up to 144kmh and could potentially converge with Tropical Storm Higos.
A Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350-900 (L) and an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787 passenger aircraft are seen from the observation area of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Apr 23, 2026. (File photo: AFP/Philip Fong)
Japanese airlines cancelled on Friday (Jun 26) more than 100 flights as two tropical storms barrelled towards the archipelago, with authorities advising evacuations in some areas because of possible flooding and landslides.
Severe Tropical Storm Mekkhala, downgraded from a typhoon, was packing gusts of up to 144kmh, according to forecasters, with heavy rain already pounding parts of southern and western Japan.
The weather system was expected to skirt the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku over the weekend and potentially converge with Tropical Storm Higos, which was also swirling further out into the Pacific.
That could result in the atmospheric phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara effect when two storms interact, making forecasting their movements and strengths more difficult.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways cancelled a total of 120 flights to and from the southern regions of Okinawa and Kagoshima.
The Kyoto region advised several thousand residents to evacuate, warning of potential landslides, as footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a raging brown river running through the area.
Officials in Kyoto and Osaka said water levels in rivers were rising and warned that vigilance was required because of the threat of flooding.
Automaker Toyota suspended operations at a plant in Kyushu because of road closures caused by heavy rain, while Nissan also said it planned to halt some production lines, Kyodo News reported.
The Japanese military also cancelled the maiden planned flight of a V-22 Osprey transport aircraft flight to Miyako Island that was part of joint exercises with the United States, Kyodo said.
In Taiwan, more than 1,600 people were evacuated from their homes, and schools and offices were shut in several areas, as Mekkhala triggered torrential rain, floods and landslides across the island.
VANDERPUMP Rules alum Tom Sandoval has filed for a restraining order against girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson after she was arrested.
Sandoval, 44, claims in the legal filing that the model, 33, hit him so hard in the face that his vision blurred.
Tom Sandoval and Victoria Lee Robinson had been dating for more than two yearsCredit: Getty Images
According to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun, Sandoval, 42, alleges the pair were in the middle of a heated argument on June 3 when he realized Robinson was filming him.
He claims the confrontation escalated after her father became aggressive, forcing Sandoval to lock himself in a room because he feared for his safety.
Sandoval is asking a judge to grant him protection while the matter moves through the courts.
In a lengthy declaration filed alongside his restraining order request, Sandoval accused Robinson of repeatedly abusing him throughout their relationship.
He claimed she punched him, threw objects at him, tracked his movements with Apple AirTags and accessed his social media accounts without permission.
He told the court, “I cannot tolerate Respondent’s abuse any longer,” adding, “I am gravely concerned for my safety and well-being and I need to regain access and control over my home, vehicle and belongings.”
Detailing the alleged confrontation, Sandoval claimed Robinson’s father chased him through their Los Angeles home after the couple argued.
He alleged the older man punched a hole through a bedroom door while threatening to “f*** me up” and “destroy” him as he hid inside.
“Terrified that he was going to attack me again, I stayed in the room,” Sandoval wrote, alleging Robinson later entered the bedroom and struck him hard enough to leave him bruised and bleeding.
“Respondent then entered the spare bedroom and hit my face and temple area towards my hairline, which I captured on video,” he claimed in the filing.
“The impact of the blow was so forceful that it caused my vision to blur.
“I sustained a bruise near my temple and eyebrow ridge and bled from my ear and neck as a result of Respondent striking me that night.”
He claimed that despite trying to keep the peace, Robinson’s alleged conduct had “persisted and even escalated,” leaving him “in fear of my safety and well-being.”
Sandoval claimed the pain in his mouth persisted for two weeks and although doctors ruled out a fracture, he still has difficulty fully opening his jaw, affecting his ability to eat and requiring further medical care.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to both Sandoval and Robinson for comment.
Robinson was arrested at 5:30 am the same day by the LAPD Hollywood Division, according to the filing.
She was officially booked on felony domestic violence charges and later released on a $50,000 bond.
Her arraignment was set to take place today and it is not yet known whether she has pleaded.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to police and Los Angeles Superior Court for more information.
The legal filing marks a stunning turnaround for the couple, who had appeared happier than ever earlier this year.
In March, Sandoval publicly gushed about their romance and even teased that wedding bells could be in their future after celebrating two years together.
The restraining order request has not yet been ruled on by a judge, and Robinson’s response to the allegations was not immediately clear.
TMZ was first to report the restraining order and the latest legal drama comes after the pair weathered previous breakup rumors and public controversy.
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board approved Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s key campaign promise to “freeze the rent” on Thursday — in a move landlord advocates slammed as “an absolute farce.”
The board passed a rent freeze on both one-year and two-year leases for the Big Apple’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized units in a 7-1 vote. Arpit Gupta, an appointee of Mamdani’s predecessor Eric Adams, was the one no vote.
It came hours after the public resignation of one of the RGB’s nine members, Christina Smyth, who accused the panel of ignoring its own data during the lengthy process to decide whether to adjust rents — claiming the decision was made “last year on the campaign trail.”
A rally in support of a rent freeze outside of the El Museo Del Barrio in Manhattan before the New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board hearing on June 25, 2026. REUTERS
The board “stopped being a fact-finding body” and was rebuilt “to deliver a rent freeze” no matter what, Smyth, one of two landlord advocates on the board, wrote in her scathing resignation letter.
“Everything else has been theater,” she wrote. “The hearings, the reports, the public comment, the data. None of it was ever going to change the result.”
Smyth was one of three members appointed by former Mayor Adams. Mamdani appointed the other six members after taking office this year.
Hizzoner has repeatedly claimed that the board is independent, noting it had been conducting “both fact finding as well as testimonies” for months before the highly anticipated vote.
“This is a historic victory for New York City tenants. After reviewing the data and hearing from New Yorkers across the city, the independent RGB has delivered a freeze on one-year leases, and the first-ever freeze on two-year leases in our city’s history,” Mamdani said in a statement after the win.
“This is the relief that working people across our city deserve,” he added.
The vote, during a meeting at El Museo del Barrio in Upper Manhattan, sparked an eruption of cheers from the crowd of mostly tenant groups.
But landlords have been sounding the alarm for months on the dangers of a rent freeze while costs continue to skyrocket.
A report released by the Rent Guidelines Board in April showed rent-stabilized housing insurance soared 10.5% in 2026 year-over-year, while fuel and maintenance rose 11% and 6%, respectively.
“The resignation of the only principled RGB member and the board’s only meaningful advocate for small owners validated our greatest fear, that the majority Mamdani-appointed RGB would cave to the political demands of City Hall,” said Ann Korchak, board president of the Small Property Owners of New York.
James Whelan, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, also blasted the rent freeze as a “terrible decision.”
“The Rent Guidelines Board ignored its own data and made a terrible decision tonight. Older rent-stabilized buildings are already struggling under rising operating costs, yet the Board chose to disregard those realities,” Whelan said in a statement.
“This decision will mean less investment in maintenance and repairs, accelerating the deterioration of the housing stock that millions of New Yorkers call home. Tonight’s vote may be politically popular, but it will make New York’s housing crisis worse.”
The King is the first British monarch to reveal their tax bill in modern times
King Charles has disclosed he paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025 – becoming the first monarch to reveal their tax bill.
The level of tax paid by the King puts him in the top 100 of UK taxpayers.
The Prince of Wales declared he paid £7.76m tax over the same period, the figures in the annual royal report and accounts show.
It has also been revealed the King and Queen Camilla will continue to live in Clarence House and not move into Buckingham Palace.
The accounts show the main source of annual public funding for the Royal Household, the Sovereign Grant, is rising to just under £100m for the year 2027-28.
The accounts also show the King paid £11.7m in tax for 2023-24, while Prince William paid £8.34m for the same period.
The publication of how much tax the King and Prince William voluntarily pay was a personal decision made by both men, according to their offices.
Buckingham Palace described the move as increasing transparency and aimed to “encourage wider understanding of our accountability.”
Since the King became monarch in 2022 and William the Prince of Wales, the combined tax bill of father and son paid to HM Revenue and Customs has been more than £50m.
The new figures do not give any detailed breakdown of how the tax has been calculated.
The monarch paid the highest rate of tax.
The King receives an annual income from his Duchy of Lancaster estate set up to give the monarch an independent source of money for official and private expenditure.
It is a portfolio of land, investments and properties. It provides the King with an annual income which in 2025-26 was £25.2m.
Other sources of income, liable for tax, include the King’s own investments and savings alongside money generated by his private estates, Balmoral and Sandringham.
Initially, the Prince William did not release his tax payments when he became heir to the throne – but in line with his father, he has now made his payment of income and capital gains tax public.
Prince William receives an income from the Duchy of Cornwall – a billion-pound 130,000 acre hereditary estate which also includes the Oval cricket ground in London – which funds official duties, his office and private family life.
“Prince William pays income tax at the highest rate on any net surplus after those costs have been met. Those costs are independently audited to ensure that any deductions are appropriate,” said the prince’s private secretary Ian Patrick.
“The prince recognises the interest in these arrangements and the importance of appropriate transparency.”
The tax payable for 2025-2026 is still being audited and will be made public next year.
The income or any detail on private investments for both the King and Prince William has not been disclosed.
Prince William has also announced he will no longer personally benefit from the £1.5m annual rent generated by the abandoned Dartmoor Prison.
He has asked for the sum to be removed from the income of the Duchy Of Cornwall with the money instead spent on supporting the local community particularly in the rural community of Princetown close to the prison.
Dartmoor has been empty since 2024 due to high levels of the toxic gas, radon, discovered within the building.
The publication of the annual royal accounts also reveal:
The most expensive overseas royal visit was Prince William’s three-day trip to Saudi Arabia in February this year costing just over £130,000
This was just ahead of the £126,946 in travel costs for the King and Queen’s four-day state visit to Italy in April 2025
The King’s trip on the royal train to Lancaster in June 2025 costing £48,460. The train is due to be taken out of service by 2027 to save money.
Some 177 helicopter journeys were made by Royal Family over the past year costing £733,063
Meanwhile, under a new formula for calculating the Sovereign Grant, the Royal Household will receive £99.9m a year from 2027-2028. Three years ago the figure was £51.8m.
The grant provides public funding for the running costs of the monarchy. This includes core staff costs, running expenses of the King’s official household including receptions, maintenance of palaces in England and travel costs for royal engagements.
The higher figure was decided upon by Royal Trustees – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the King’s keeper of the Privy Purse and treasurer James Chalmers.
The extra money will be used pay for the upkeep of historic buildings, strengthen cyber security at royal residences and support the transition to green energy with £11m earmarked to replace boilers at Windsor Castle.
Chalmers insisted the funding was “not a blank cheque” and there were strict checks to ensure the grant was value for money.
“Expenditure is governed by the same standards and disciplines as any publicly funded body, with strict value-for-money requirements, detailed planning, multi-year strategies, independent audit, and Treasury oversight,” he said.
For the past 10 years, the Sovereign Grant has been at a higher level than its core sum to cover the costs of the major refurbishment of Buckingham Palace which will be complete by the end of 2027.
With the work finished, the annual figure will fall from £137.9m to a core funding of £99.9m – a sum that will be unchanged for the next five years when it will next be reviewed but is significantly higher than previous years.
“It is important to emphasise that the Sovereign Grant does not provide personal income to members of the Royal Family,” Chalmers said. “It funds the work of the institution – not private lives or private wealth.”
The decision of the King and Queen to continue living in Clarence House, where they have been based since 2005, has been taken to allow greater public access to Buckingham Palace, officials said.
Refurbishments on the palace totaling just under £370m are set to be completed in March next year.
It is hoped it will also allow the landmark to generate more income.
It will mark the first time since Queen Victoria’s reign that a monarch has chosen to reside away from Buckingham Palace.
Historian Anna Whitelock told BBC News the King revealing his tax bill puts him “front and centre as a very rich man”.
She said the disclosure was a direct response to calls for greater accountability and financial transparency in the monarchy, particularly in recent weeks and months.
“I do think this is very much a sign of the times, and it’s an attempt by the monarchy to try and get on front foot and before they were absolutely pushed to try and show they are responsive and not reactive.”
Norman Baker, former Lib Dem Home Office minister and a critic of royal funding, told BBC News Buckingham Palace visitor ticket sales should go to the Treasury and not the Royal Family.
“They bring in millions every year, so what should happen is if they’re not living in Buckingham Palace, [they] should open it to the public and all the money from visitors 12 months of the year should go to the Treasury to help pay for refurbishment,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the funeral of Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, an Israeli solider and the son of Israeli cabinet minister and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who was killed in northern Gaza during the ongoing ground operation by Israel’s military in the Gaza Strip, in Herzliya, Israel, December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Purchase Licensing Rights
The biggest casualty of the U.S.-Iran deal may not be Israel’s Iran strategy, but the political brand Benjamin Netanyahu spent decades building as the Israeli leader who could uniquely bend Washington to his will on Iran, analysts, former U.S. officials and diplomats say.
Netanyahu shaped his political identity on an audacious assertion: that he alone could keep the U.S. and Israel in strategic lockstep on Iran. Cultivating Republican support, he cast himself as the only Israeli leader capable of influencing successive U.S. presidents and insisted that only sustained military pressure could contain Tehran.
At the height of his power, he was described by diplomats as the “American whisperer” — the Israeli leader who could pick up the phone and ensure Washington’s strategic calculus aligned with that of Israel. No other Israeli prime minister, they note, addressed Congress as often or built such enduring political capital across the American political system.
But analysts say Washington and Tehran’s interim pact to end the war that the U.S. and Israel launched in February shows how that narrative has been reversed. Rather than shaping Washington’s Iran policy, Netanyahu is now forced to accept it, as U.S. President Donald Trump pursues a settlement that increasingly treats Israeli objections as constraints.
At home, the reckoning is equally stark, said former U.S. official Dennis Ross. Netanyahu is increasingly boxed in between a U.S. president intent on ending the conflict and a domestic base resistant to concessions, particularly in Lebanon, he said. Withdrawal risks political backlash while escalation risks confrontation with Washington.
The war Netanyahu hoped would cement his legacy as the leader who confronted Iran may instead be remembered as the conflict that dismantled a central source of his power. Isolated abroad, constrained by his closest ally and vulnerable ahead of an autumn election, he now finds the political asset on which he built his career has become his greatest liability.
At the outset of the war with Iran, Netanyahu promised ultimate victory. He delivered neither the collapse of Iran’s ruling system, nor the defeat of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, nor safe return for residents of northern Israel.
“The U.S.-Iran deal is a decisive blow to Netanyahu,” said Aviv Bushinsky, a former Netanyahu adviser. “Not only did he lose the war with Iran, he has also lost Trump as a friend. He is now isolated not only internationally, but locked in a major dispute with Trump,” he said.
Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment. In a press conference this month, the Israeli premier described his relationship with Trump as one between partners who “agree many times and sometimes disagree”. There had been a systematic campaign to diminish Israel’s “huge achievements” against Iran and its proxies, he said.
A White House official said Trump and Netanyahu had a strong relationship and that Israel’s military forces had been “incredible partners” in a war that had “decimated the Iranian regime’s military capabilities”.
A State Department official said the United States maintains an “iron-clad” commitment to Israel’s security, stressing that “this is not changing.”
The official added that Israel retains the right to defend itself, particularly against Hezbollah, “a terrorist organisation that threatens its citizens and undermines the Lebanese government,” and cannot be expected to withdraw from Lebanon until that threat is addressed.
Normalisation and regional integration remain a top priority for the Trump administration, added the official.
PUBLIC REBUKES
The disagreement between the U.S. and Israeli leaders, analysts say, extends beyond personal ties to a growing divergence in goals: Trump seeks to disengage from another Middle East war, while Netanyahu views continued pressure on Iran and its ally Hezbollah as essential to Israel’s security.
Washington has negotiated directly with Tehran, folded Lebanon’s conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah into a broader framework, and created mechanisms to manage ceasefire disputes — moves that, according to three regional diplomatic sources, have increasingly sidelined Israel from key decisions.
The country that once viewed Netanyahu as an indispensable interlocutor is now, the regional sources say, treating him as an obstacle to an agreement it is determined to protect.
Trump has publicly rebuked Israel’s military conduct in Lebanon, while Vice President JD Vance has underscored the conditional nature of the relationship, warning Israeli critics of the deal against “attacking the only powerful ally they have left in the world.”
Two Israeli officials familiar with Netanyahu’s thinking said he was not concerned that public remarks by Trump and Vance would translate into meaningful shifts in U.S. policy toward Israel, such as delays in arms deliveries, even if Israel continues military operations in Lebanon.
Trump has signalled that he is prepared to override Israeli priorities in pursuit of U.S. interests. In a TV interview this month, he said that if he tells Netanyahu “to do something, he does it”.
A woman stands near her belongings on a sidewalk in Beirut, where she and her family have been living in a tent, as she prepares to return home following an interim deal between the U.S. and Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, June 24, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Purchase Licensing Rights
Lebanon and Israel are discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to transfer some of the Lebanese territory invaded in their war with Hezbollah to Lebanon’s military, officials on both sides said, in a possible step towards restoring Lebanese control of occupied territory.
The proposed pilot project is part of the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington, which are going ahead even after they appear to have been eclipsed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon central to its talks with the United States.
An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least two people, Lebanese security and medical sources told Reuters, despite a new ceasefire.
In response to questions from Reuters about the strike, the Israeli military said its air force had struck a vehicle carrying “suspects” into the zone controlled by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon in a separate incident.
Israeli forces have seized a swathe of southern Lebanon during the war that was ignited when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in support of Tehran, days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
A ceasefire has largely held since Sunday, but Israeli forces are still deployed deep inside southern Lebanon, citing the need to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.
Facing an election by late October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will keep its “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon as long as he remains prime minister.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told reporters in New York that Israel was looking to hand over some of the territory it was occupying to the Lebanese military, although it was unclear how much land Israel would withdraw from.
“Eventually, we want to pull back to the river and to allow the Lebanese military to take over those positions,” said Danon, referring to the Litani River about 30 km (19 miles) north of the border with Israel. Lebanon has said one of its key goals in the talks would be securing a full Israeli military withdrawal.
ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY TROOPS WOULD BE VETTED
The Israeli officials said the Lebanese troops involved in the U.S.-backed proposal would undergo U.S. training and vetting to ensure they are not linked to Hezbollah, while Israel would maintain a military presence in a buffer zone along the border.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was willing to help the Lebanese army build up the capacity to hold territory in south Lebanon but did not specifically address whether it would vet such troops.
“I think the willingness is there. I think we need to help build up that capacity,” Rubio told reporters in Kuwait City.
The concept focuses on “specific defined areas where the Lebanese Armed Forces can go in, take control, and secure that territory, and then move on to the next pilot zone,” Rubio said.
Asked about the Israeli officials’ comments, a senior Lebanese security official said discussions were ongoing in Washington and that specific military-to-military talks, including on the pilot zones, would take place on Wednesday.
The Lebanese official said the discussions would focus on a timeline for Israeli withdrawal and that any plan would emerge only after the final day of talks on Thursday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said discussions on the proposed “pilot areas” were ongoing and awaiting Israeli approval, the Lebanese presidency said.
Lebanon’s army, which recruits from across the country’s sectarian mosaic, has long received U.S. military aid, part of U.S. policy to bolster government security institutions in a country where critics say Hezbollah has undermined the state.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has consistently demanded the Lebanese government withdraw from the U.S.-backed talks with Israel — Beirut’s highest-level contacts with Israel in decades.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of of the United States of America, meet at Zuma restaurant, at Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, June 24, 2026. Abdulla Al Neyadi / UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on Wednesday, vowing not to undermine their security as he sought to reassure Gulf allies sceptical of a proposed deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
The U.S.-Iran accord reached last week — the first signed by American and Iranian presidents since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution — includes a proposed $300 billion fund and the waiver of some sanctions for Tehran.
Arriving in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi late on Tuesday for a three-day tour of the oil-rich Gulf, Rubio is undertaking his first high-level diplomatic mission on the agreement to end the four-month-old war with Iran.
“We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our longstanding allies in the region,” he told reporters in Kuwait, his second stop on the tour.
During the war Tehran fought two of the world’s most powerful militaries and took effective control of the Strait of Hormuz, where commercial shipping of oil and gas was heavily disrupted, rattling energy markets and the world economy.
Rubio held a working lunch in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other senior figures, including National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Rubio then went to Kuwait and will later head to Bahrain. All three nations host strategic American military bases and were hit by an onslaught of Iranian missiles in the conflict, resulting in civilian deaths.
Rubio held talks with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah on efforts to bolster security and stability, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA said. He also attended a flag-raising at the U.S. Embassy, which resumed operations after Iran-linked drone attacks forced a suspension, the State Department said.
“The American flag: a symbol of liberty, unity and freedom now flies proudly once again over Kuwait City. Kuwait is an indispensable partner for regional security and stability,” Rubio wrote on social media following the ceremony.
RUBIO TO ADDRESS REGIONAL CONCERNS
The State Department said Rubio discussed the memorandum of understanding with Iran, safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace in the region in a meeting with the UAE president.
Rubio also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the security of the Emirates, a major oil producer.
U.S. regional allies are especially concerned that Iran could use the proposed $300 billion to rebuild its military. The accord also does not address Tehran’s ballistic missile capacity, a concern for Gulf states, which were struck by Iranian missiles and drones in the war.
America’s top diplomat, Rubio has been largely absent from Iran-related discussions in recent weeks, with Vice President JD Vance instead leading a round of talks with Iranian counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland.
The UAE, a global financial centre which prides itself on stability in a volatile Middle East, faces significant economic strains as a result of the war.
SEPARATE NEGOTIATIONS OVER STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani visited Muscat on Wednesday for talks with Oman on initiating negotiations involving Iran, Iraq and Gulf Arab states on the Strait of Hormuz, a diplomat briefed on the talks said. The discussions are separate from U.S.-Iran peace talks.
Shipping has through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a fall in oil prices, although the longer-term operation and management of the waterway remain under discussion between Iran, Oman and other Gulf states.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer address the press at the end of their meeting of state leaders of the European Group of Five (E5)at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, June 24, 2026 JOHN MACDOUGALL/Pool via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
European leaders reaffirmed on Wednesday their commitment to a stronger defence partnership ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, following a series of spats with U.S. President Donald Trump and tensions among the main European members.
They also offered a warm farewell to outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he announced this week he would step down amid growing discontent in his party.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who invited the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Poland to Berlin, said the NATO summit on July 7-8 would be the moment to demonstrate Europe’s determination to take a stronger leadership role in defence.
“We want to renew the Alliance. We are strengthening its European pillar,” Merz said as the leaders made brief remarks before meeting over dinner.
A joint statement “affirmed their unwavering commitment to Euro-Atlantic security and the transatlantic bond”.
Behind the messages of unity, Merz’s invitation to Berlin came after several incidents that laid bare tensions over defence and security issues among the main European partners.
Berlin and Paris have seen their long-delayed FCAS joint fighter project abandoned over strategic and management disagreements, underlining the difficulties Europe has faced in joining forces to rebuild its defences as Trump has increasingly turned away from NATO.
In recent months, Washington has criticised the alliance for its reluctance to support the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and threatened to draw down troops in Europe.
Germany, France and Britain, the so-called E3 group, have also faced criticism from some European capitals, including Rome and Warsaw, that they have kept other countries from talks with Ukraine.
Merz, who has previously insisted that the E3 arrangement is intended to ensure Europe can act quickly, did not address differences directly but stressed the aim of reinforcing a joint approach, including a strong partnership with the United States.
“We are travelling this path together,” he said, adding, “Unilateral national actions in our defence policy would be a mistake.”
The Minab school damaged by a strike on February 28, in Minab, Iran, May 21, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the Iran war, that killed scores of children.
Reuters first reported in March that an initial internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike in Minab in southern Iran. The Pentagon has since elevated the probe but it has not acknowledged any preliminary findings.
“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem,” Trump told reporters.
“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying all over the place,” he said.
“Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was,” Trump remarked, adding: “I don’t think it was us.”
The strike on February 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials.
The strike may be the result of U.S. use of outdated targeting data, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in March.
Deliberately attacking a school would likely be a war crime under international humanitarian law. U.S. officials have publicly said Washington would not deliberately target a school.
The first earthquake in Venezuela had a magnitude of 7.1, while the second earthquake was of 7.5 magnitude.
Back-to-back powerful earthquakes struck off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday evening, causing widespread damage, collapsing buildings and sending panicked residents into the streets.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes roiled the region, with buildings evacuated in cities and areas spread as far as Brazil’s Amazon about 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) away.
In a brief address to the nation late Wednesday, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said the earthquakes caused damages in several states, but she did not give any figures of homes and buildings damaged, injuries or fatalities.
The earthquakes damaged the country’s main airport, Simon Bolivar International Airport, severely enough to lead to its closure, she said, adding that classes are being canceled for several days.
“We urge our population to remain calm,” Rodriguez said. “We urge unity.”
Rodriguez also asked all health care professionals in the country to report to hospitals to assist anyone who was injured.
In the state of Falcon, Gov. Victor Clark said 32 people had been hospitalized and more than four hours after the earthquake there were still 15 people trapped.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, later revising that to 7.2, and its epicenter was west of the community of Moron, located along the country’s Caribbean coast, about 168 kilometers (104 miles) west of Caracas. The quake had a depth of 22 kilometers.
The USGS reported an even larger 7.5-magnitude earthquake just a minute later. The second quake had a depth of 10 kilometers and its epicenter was 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
The quakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, struck shortly after 6 p.m. People evacuated swaying buildings in the capital Caracas, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy.
People remained on the streets for hours, even after sunset. Some sat on the ground hugging their pets as dust gathered around them. Collapsed buildings, toppled electric poles and debris blocked streets. Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone signal.
“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” Caracas resident Hector Ricci said.
The lack of cellphone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of many families, particularly those among the more than 7.7 million people who have left the country during its protracted crisis.
“May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult time,” opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said from exile on X.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the quake could be felt in several states. The Altamira neighborhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings, he said, suggesting people were injured in the earthquake and asking motorists to give way to ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello said on state television. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”
He also urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.
“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” Caracas resident Roberto Gamas said. “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out.”
Reaction pouring in swiftly on social media.
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in exile after leaving Venezuela in December, took to to X to send prayers and wish strength to Venezuelans.
“May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult time,” she wrote on X.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele expressed solidarity with Venezuela following the earthquakes, saying his country’s “heart is with the people of Venezuela during these difficult times.”
“We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela,” Bukele wrote.
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida said her “thoughts and prayers” were with Venezuela and expressed support for families affected, those still waiting for answers and first responders.
“The strength of the Venezuelan people has been tested time and again,” she wrote. “I have no doubt they will face this moment with the same resilience, courage, and hope that have carried them through every challenge.”
Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil’s Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo.
The quakes also were felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions, but there were no reports of damages or injuries. The Colombian Maritime Authority in a statement said the country’s Caribbean coast is at no risk of tsunami.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for Virgin Islands. Authorities in the Dominican Republic also issued one for the island. Another alert for Puerto Rico was quickly lifted.
During a closed-door testimony before the US House Oversight Committee, Gates admitted to having affairs with three women and said Epstein knew about two of them.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has told a US congressional panel that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein may have tried to use details about his personal life to pressure him.
During a closed-door testimony before the US House Oversight Committee, Gates admitted to having affairs with three women and said Epstein knew about two of them.
On June 10, Gates told lawmakers that Epstein knew about his affairs with two Russian women — bridge player Mila Antonova and nuclear physicist Karima Nigmatulina. He also acknowledged having a third affair with medical entrepreneur Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt.
The testimony came as lawmakers examined Epstein’s network and past associations following the release of additional documents.
Gates said the relationships were unrelated to his interactions with Epstein but admitted they caused pain to his family.
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said, according to the transcript. “Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities – in addition to many lies that he layered on top – to pressure me to re-engage with him.”
‘He Contemplated Blackmailing Me’
Gates told lawmakers that while Epstein never actually blackmailed him, he believed Epstein may have considered doing so.
“He never blackmailed me, but looking at these emails, it raises a serious probability that he contemplated blackmailing me,” Gates said.
He pointed to a 2013 email draft written by Epstein that appeared to reference allegations about Gates’ personal life and his former employee Boris Nikolic. Gates said the message seemed like an attempt to create leverage.
“Who knows if he ever sent it to Dr. Nikolic, but it looks like he’s musing on using a mixture of facts and falsities as an effort, almost like a blackmail, to advance some goal,” Gates said.
Gates has denied any connection to Epstein’s crimes and said continuing contact with him was a mistake. He said their meetings were mainly linked to discussions about philanthropy and possible donor connections.
“I know he was convicted. I knew about that. I was willing to take a chance on meeting with him in a limited role,” Gates said.
Gates Denies STD Claims, Details Meetings With Epstein
Lawmakers also questioned Gates about claims in Epstein-related documents suggesting he had concerns about a sexually transmitted infection after an affair.
Gates rejected the allegations and said he never had an STD or secretly provided medication to anyone.
“I never had an STD… I may have indicated some concern about whether I had an STD; I don’t recall that. But I never had an STD. I never gave medicines to anyone covertly,” Gates said.
Ben Stokes has apologised to his teammates after missing the second Test due to a nightclub incident.
Ben Stokes ahead of the third Test match against England. (Action Images via Reuters)
Ben Stokes has admitted that one of his first responsibilities after returning as England captain was to apologise to his teammates following the nightclub controversy that forced him to miss the second Test against New Zealand.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for England’s second Test after breaching team curfew following the first Test at Lord’s. In Stokes’ absence, Joe Root returned as stand-in captain, but England suffered a heavy 253-run defeat at The Oval, allowing New Zealand to level the series 1-1.
Speaking ahead of the third and final Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes accepted that his actions had affected far more than just himself. “Of course. That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain,” Stokes said at the pre-match press conference.
“You look at the situation, and it affects more than just myself. It affected Joe Root, the squad, the people outside the playing environment. It no doubt had an effect on lads who were making their debut. That should have been all about them. Unfortunately a situation outside of their control took precedence over their big days, making their debut for England in Test cricket. It would be stupid and naive of me not to acknowledge and address that.”
Stokes said leadership required accountability, especially when the team had been put under pressure because of events away from the field.
“It’s all well, everything being fine and dandy when it’s all going well, but you need to take responsibility for things. You need to be big enough and man enough to take that upon your shoulders, and look everyone who it has affected in the eye and apologise the way you need to apologise. That is something that I did,” he said.
Stokes says focus is now on Trent Bridge decider
The England captain said he addressed the squad after returning and made it clear that his focus had shifted fully to the series-deciding Test.
“Yesterday, the important thing for me as captain of the team was making sure that I was letting the lads know that I am back properly as the captain of this team. I did need to obviously say a few things and acknowledge a few things to the team, and the team only, and I feel like I voiced those quite well to everyone,” Stokes said.
“I feel I’ve also let them know where my concentration is, and it is thoroughly on what we need to do this week. Everyone in the dressing-room is fully aware of the responsibilities as players who got the call-up this week, and I’m fully aware of the responsibilities of me as captain to lead this team in a pretty important game.
“Yes, we didn’t get the result we wanted last week, but we can’t change that. What we can effect and decide on is how we go about this week. We’re desperate to get the results, I’m desperate to be the result. I think I’ve made a pretty good effort at making sure that the most important people know that, which is the team.”
Stokes also spoke about the criticism Root received after leading England in the second Test. Root had stepped in during a difficult week for the side and faced questions over some tactical decisions after the defeat.
“As his friend, it was hard to see the reaction that he got, and for me, that’s something that hurt me because I’m very close with Joe,” Stokes said. “As I said, when something happens, it is obviously going to affect someone else, and seeing the effect that it had on Joe from public opinion was hard to see and read from my point of view, if that makes sense. That shouldn’t take away the courage that Joe showed in taking that on that week. It would have been very, very easy for him to have said, ‘Nah, I don’t need this.’ But yet again, he put the team first as he’s done on multiple occasions.”
Stokes said watching England lose while Root faced criticism was difficult both professionally and personally.
“It was tough to watch from a few different angles, watching the guys lose and go through the emotions of losing the Test match. It’s never nice because I know what that feels like, losing. But then seeing some of the reaction that Joe undeservedly got was something that hurts you, not only as a colleague but as a friend,” he said.
The England captain also admitted that the current scrutiny is the heaviest he and head coach Brendon McCullum have faced since taking charge of the Test side.
South Korea’s military says it is investigating the soldier’s reasons for crossing the inner-Korean border. While dozens of North Koreans flee each year, usually via China, crossing directly south is very rare.
The inner Korean border is the most heavily guarded and among the least frequently crossed frontiers [FILE: Feb 26, 2026]Image: Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo/picture allianceSouth Korea’s military said on Wednesday that it had detained a North Korean soldier overnight after he crossed near the central section of the inter-Korean border.
“The military secured one North Korean soldier in the central front Tuesday night and relevant authorities are currently investigating the details,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to the media, including Yonhap.
South Korean news agency Yonhap also reported, without citing a source, that the soldier was believed to wish to defect.
How rare are inter-Korean border crossings?
North and South Korea are separated by a heavily fortified border with a special demarcation area known as the DMZ on either side of the frontier, and secondary buffer zones after that.
Although tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled south since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, they typically exit via the overland route north to neighboring China. From there they tend to enter a third country such as Thailand before ultimately heading to the South.
In 2024, the last year for which data has been published by South Korea’s Unification Ministry, 236 North Koreans arrived in the South.
Defections across the land border are very rare, though. Much of the frontier is densely forested, the territory is ridden with landmines, and both states’ militaries intensively monitor their respective sides.
Yonhap reports that the overnight crossing is the first such case of 2026.
It said there had been four registered cases since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration last June. Two took place in July and the most recent in October, according to Yonhap.
In 2019, the Indian government abolished Article 370 which resulted in the region’s separation from Jammu and Kashmir and its redesignation as a separate Union Territory [FILE: Sept 26, 2016]Image: Cathal McNaughton/REUTERS
Fire at Tata’s data center caused ‘extensive damage’
A fire at a data center owned by Singapore’s ST Telemedia and India’s Tata Communications caused “extensive damage” to parts of the facility, according to a report from Reuters news agency.
The fire was “so severe that it caused extensive damage” to parts of the facility and hindered services, Tata told one of its clients.
The fire has also made data recovery difficult.
One data center client, India’s Matrix Cellular, which provides international SIM cards, told Reuters it is struggling to recover two decades of data lost in the blaze.
“Despite our ongoing best efforts to recover the data, the severity of the damage … presents significant challenges to the recovery of the affected data and systems,” it said in the letter sent to Matrix Cellular.
The cause of the fire is not yet clear, and Delhi fire authorities said it occurred in lithium battery units.
“Matrix has potentially lost access to over 20 years of accumulated operational and business data stored in the affected Tata data center,” CEO Gaurav Khanna told Reuters.
“It’s been 20 days and they have not restored backup. If there is a backup it should have been restored by now.”
A representative of STT Global Data Centres India has told another client that it was running “detailed assessments and commissioned independent technical root cause analysis” of the incident, expected to be completed in five to seven weeks.
Trump named road in Congress-ruled state draws criticism from Modi’s BJP
A main road has been named after US President Donald Trump in the Congress-ruled tech hub of Hyderabad in the southern state of Telangana.
The move has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The road, named “Donald Trump Avenue,” runs next to the US consulate. Offices of major US tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are situated in the vicinity.
The road rename comes as Congress accuses Modi of being “compromised” for not standing up against Trump over issues like tariffs and US attacks on Indian-crewed tankers during the Iran war.
“Rahul Gandhi says President Trump (is) hurting Indian interests,” Shehzad Poonawalla, a BJP spokesperson, posted on X, referring to the prominent Congress lawmaker.
“Then why is his government in Telangana giving the ultimate tribute to him [Trump] by renaming a road after him?”
Congress said the road renaming gesture demonstrates Hyderabad’s “growing role” in the US-India partnership.
Flipkart, Amazon to ramp up quick commerce business
Walmart-owned Flipkart has said that it is planning to expand its quick commerce services in India.
Quick commerce, which allows the delivery of items within 30 minutes from neighborhood warehouses, is quite popular in India.
The company said that it is going to focus on smaller cities and increase its store count from 1,000 to 1,500 in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Amazon has also ventured into the quick commerce business and is also looking to expand it in the country.
In a statement, Amazon said it was expanding its ultra-fast delivery service “Now” to 300 Indian cities, a massive jump from the some 15 cities it is now active in.
Amid the service’s growing popularity in India, the government in January ordered companies to stop promoting their grocery deliveries as a “10-minute” service, with rider safety concerns in mind.
Government tightens foreign funding rules for NGOs
India’s Home Ministry has introduced changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) which will impose higher penalties on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOS) for several offences related to the receipt and usage of foreign contributions.
NGOs that utilize other than the permitted 20% of the foreign contributions on administrative expenses will now face a penalty of Rs 1 lakh or 5% of the excess amount spent, whichever is more, according to a report by Indian newspaper Financial Express.
Rules regarding the registration under FCRA is where heavy revision has been made.
Reportedly, the new rules oblige organizations applying for foreign funding to clarify its exact purpose.
“Every application for registration shall mention the purpose or purposes for which registration is sought” and the states or Union Territories where the association proposes to undertake activities.
Under the religious purposes, activities range from construction to renovation, and maintenance of religious places, religious education, and promotion of devotional music, among others.
Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has tightened restrictions on non-profit groups, suspending many and banning others from receiving foreign funding, accusing them of funneling the funds toward “anti-national activities.”
In 2020, a major FCRA amendment banned the transfer of foreign funds between NGOs, cutting administrative expense limits from 50% to 20%.
Ladakh businesses shutdown amid standoff with Delhi
Businesses were shut in India’s Himalayan region of Ladakh on Tuesday, at the calls of two main political groups representing the two regions that make up the Union Territory.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) called for the protests to express their disagreement with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Business establishments and private institutions remained closed in most parts of the Union Territory. Thousands joined a rally demanding a “credible dialogue” with the Union government.
The groups have alleged that the government omitted agreed upon proposals regarding authority over the bureaucracy as well as constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
The two groups accused the government of widening a “trust deficit” by failing to include key understandings reached during talks on 22 May in the official Minutes of Meeting (MoM).
What do we know about the Ladakh talks with Delhi?
The central government and the groups have held several rounds of talks since 2023. The talks were paused when four people were killed and over 80 injured in alleged police firing during protests in Leh last September over demands of statehood.
LAB and KDA have warned that if the “two essential” agreements are not reflected in the final minutes, they would return to their original demand of “full statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh.”
Inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution will safeguard tribal lands, local employment, and the fragile Himalayan ecology from outside conglomerates.
In 2019, the Indian government abolished Article 370 which resulted in the region’s separation from Jammu and Kashmir and its redesignation as a separate Union Territory.
The decision was initially welcomed by the Ladakhi residents but soon concerns grew over inadequate political representation.
A Florida teenager said YouTube’s addictive design contributed to depression, anxiety and sleep loss. Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are also facing similar allegations about their impact on young users.
The addictive design of social media applications was at the heart of the caseImage: Hollie Adams/REUTERS
Google’s YouTube settled a lawsuit brought by a Florida teen who alleged that the platform’s addictive design impacted his mental health, his lawyers said on Tuesday.
The terms of the lawsuit were not disclosed.
The lawsuit also named Meta’s Instagram, Snap Inc’s Snapchat and ByteDance’s TikTok who are scheduled to face trial in July.
Mental health struggles due to social media addiction
According to court filings, a 16-year-old boy from Florida, identified by his initials R.K.C., said that he was addicted to social media after being introduced to it when he was eight.
He particularly blamed features such as infinite scroll and autoplay, driving compulsive usage. R.K.C. said he lost sleep and suffered from depression and anxiety due to his addiction.
His attorneys said YouTube’s decision to resolve the case instead of facing a jury “speaks for itself.”
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the focus of the company is on “building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise,” adding that the lawsuit was cordially resolved.
Social media companies claim safety measures implemented
Thousands of lawsuits in the US are accusing social media companies of designing platforms to maximize engagement at the expense of young users’ wellbeing.
Many countries around the world have banned teenagers from social networks, or are considering doing so.
The companies deny the allegations and say they have implemented extensive safety measures.
President Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) got into a shouting match during a lunch meeting Wednesday over the US war with Iran, according to sources and lawmakers who were in attendance.
GOP senators described Trump as being “mad as a murder hornet” and raising his voice at the Louisiana Republican for joining three other Republicans in a vote limiting his wartime authority.
Cassidy — who later quipped that the talks went “swimmingly” — called the president “my brother” several times during the heated exchange to lower tensions, Senate GOP sources said. The president spat back that Cassidy wasn’t his brother and told him to sit down, per CNN.
President Trump speaks with the press while walking with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), to the Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC on June 24, 2026. REUTERS
“[Trump] did not particularly care for my comments, raised his voice, I lost my temper,” Cassidy later recounted to reporters. “It’s the Irish in me.”
“But again I matched his tone and his volume, and it went back and forth,” he further explained. “So I sat down and tried to de-escalate. I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we are being told. The Senate needs to know.”
Cassidy lost his reelection to the Senate this year, when Trump backed his primary opponent in Louisiana.
“We had a really great meeting, and we’re very proud of the party. We like our leader. We like everybody. Really, in the room, we don’t like a few people, but that’s OK,” Trump told reporters afterward, refraining from naming names. “For the most part, we had a really well unified party.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), sarcastically told reporters the exchange was “very pleasant” before describing how Trump and Cassidy butted heads.
“Very much like a hospital board meeting when a bunch of doctors are yelling at each other, but at the end of the day, we’ll figure out a way to get along,” said Marshall, a practicing OB/GYN before entering politics. “Voices were raised. … I think the vote yesterday on the War Powers Act, the president’s very disappointed.”
“[The administration is] trying to negotiate that [Iran deal], and they feel like that vote from Republicans chopped their legs out from under them,” added the Kansas Republican.
“The president was mad as a murder hornet about the War Powers vote,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) also said.
Congressional actions disapproving of the Iran war were going to “undermine the negotiators” working on terms of a peace agreement, Marshall said.
Cassidy — and Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul — later changed their votes to no and present, respectively, later Wednesday.
“Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed. Thank you to Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This vote puts Iran on notice!”
Cassidy indicated that he changed his vote after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff after the dustup.
“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran,” he wrote on X. “I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns.”
Tensions between Trump and the Senate GOP flared long before Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who chairs the Senate Republican Steering Committee, invited him to a caucus lunch.
Before the War Powers Act vote, Trump had been incensed by the Senate’s inability to wrangle through the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote and a bunch of conservative wishlist items.
Democrats have used the 60-vote filibuster to stop the SAVE America Act in its tracks. During the Senate lunch, Trump expressed support for Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) proposal to use a talking filibuster to push the bill through.
“We made it clear multiple times that if the SAVE Act requires nuking the filibuster, it’s simply not going to happen,” retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told The Post. “That’s been obvious long before this meeting.”
Ahead of the big meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump abruptly canceled a planned signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing, a comprehensive bipartisan bill aimed at making housing more affordable that lawmakers labored over for weeks. The measure scraps regulatory hurdles and streamlines environmental requirements to usher in more housing development.
Many Republicans viewed it as a key victory on affordability issues heading into the midterms. But Trump declared he wasn’t signing it into law until Congress sends him the SAVE America Act.
The bill could still become law if he doesn’t ink it within 10 days of being presented. The housing bill has yet to be officially signed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), meaning it could be held up for an even longer period than the usual 10 days.
Trump also clashed with the Senate GOP when he tapped Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, which raised bipartisan backlash and killed a bipartisan deal to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, warrantless spy power on foreigners. FISA Section 702 expired on June 12. Trump further demanded that a FISA renewal tack on the SAVE America Act.
This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Sun-like star TOI-791, background left, and two giant planets that NASA’s TESS space telescope discovered in its orbit. (Daniel Rutter/NASA via AP)
Astronomers have uncovered a pair of giant planets that are lighter than cotton candy — super-puffs the size of Jupiter.
The featherweight pair — orbiting a star 1,110 light-years away — are the biggest exoplanets found to have less density than cotton candy.
That makes them the lightest known planets of their size, said the University of Oxford’s George Dransfield.
“These two planets have densities comparable to a nice blob of shaving foam, fresh from the can,” Dransfield said in an email. She and her team reported their findings Wednesday in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Dransfield suspects these fluffy, wispy worlds are probably white or blue, depending on whether the skies there are cloudy — no shades of cotton-candy pink. The planets are probably mostly hydrogen and helium, although it will take follow-up observations by NASA’s Webb Space Telescope to confirm their chemical makeup.
Detected by NASA’s Tess satellite over the past decade, these two especially puffy-puffs orbit a star in the southern constellation Volans, known as the flying fish. The researchers studied the planets’ orbits using telescopes on Earth to determine their density, from 1,110 light-years away. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).
Jupiter, by comparison, is as much as 35 times denser than these two lightweights.
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have objected to any further military action.
The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request on Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch — engaging in a shouting match with one — over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities.
The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, including $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.”
“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “President Trump is asking taxpayers to clean up his messes, to the tune of $87.6 billion.”
“After dragging America into a reckless war, he now wants Congress to hand him tens of billions more to paper over the damage — while families are still paying higher prices.”
There may not be enough support in Congress to pass war funds
It’s unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House’s request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all. The funding faces a difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of test of their support for the war effort.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday briefing House GOP lawmakers from the conservative Republican Study Committee on the Pentagon’s budgetary needs. The White House is seeking as much as $1.5 trillion in defense spending in this year’s budget, a nearly 50% increase over previous levels.
But many lawmakers have complained they have yet to receive any formal briefing from the administration on the Iran war, nearly four months after it was launched, and as Trump’s team is now working to secure a fragile ceasefire and bring an end to the conflict.
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the request is not merely to pay for “the president’s disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities.”
Murray said she would review to ensure servicemembers are taken care of, “but I will not rubberstamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice.”
Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Ca., who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on Defense, said in a joint statement, “President Trump’s request reflects the reality that our defense strength must be maintained, not merely demonstrated.”
Money for farmers, the Ebola outbreak and other needs included
The bulk of the request, $67 billion, is to replenish the Pentagon from the Iran war. The largest portion of that defense funding, $21 billion, would go to weapons and munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover fuel costs, drone manufacturing and cybersecurity.
Trump declared that Tehran will “never have a nuclear weapon” under the framework of the deal.
US President Donald Trump (AFP file photo)
US President Donald Trump hailed the newly signed peace agreement with Iran as a historic diplomatic breakthrough, declaring that Tehran will “never have a nuclear weapon” under the framework of the deal.
Trump said the agreement aims to end the prolonged conflict between the United States and Iran, ensure the full reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, and establish what he described as unprecedented safeguards against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Last week, we signed a historic agreement to end the conflict with Iran, fully open the Strait of Hormuz, and accomplish what no President has ever been able to accomplish before — Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon!” Trump said.
“For the first time in 3,000 years, we are finally going to have peace in the Middle East,” he said while addressing crowd at the kickoff event for the Great American State Fair.
Trump said the United States and Iran are expected to finalize the agreement within the next 60 days. Over the weekend, American and Iranian officials, working with mediating parties in Switzerland, established a roadmap aimed at securing a final deal.
Vice President JD Vance, who was involved in the diplomatic efforts, said the latest round of talks “laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal” before departing Switzerland on Monday.
The proposed agreement is expected to address Iran’s nuclear program while easing tensions that have fueled instability across the Middle East in recent months. Trump presented the development as one of the key achievements of his administration, alongside economic initiatives and efforts to revitalize Washington, D.C.
Highlighting broader progress under his presidency, Trump told the crowd that the United States is currently living through a “Golden Age,” pointing to gains in diplomacy, economic growth, and national development.
The state funeral of Ayatolla Ali Khamenei is scheduled to begin on July 4, with Khamenei’s body lying in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex.
PM Modi Invited to Attend Funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has formally invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral and burial ceremonies of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.
The ceremonies, which were initially scheduled for March, were postponed because of the conflict in the region. They are now set to take place over several days in July across multiple Iranian cities.
Ceremonies To Begin On July 4
The state funeral is scheduled to begin on July 4, with Khamenei’s body lying in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex.
Public processions are planned in Tehran and Qom. Prayers will also be held in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The final burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown.
Authorities expect millions of mourners to take part in the ceremonies, which will mark the formal farewell to a leader who shaped Iran’s political system for nearly four decades. The funeral was originally expected to take place in Tehran and Mashhad between March 4 and March 6, 2026, but was delayed due to the war.
India-Iran Ties
Following Khamenei’s death in February, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi and signed the condolence book on behalf of the Government of India.
India has traditionally maintained close ties with Iran and regards the country as part of its extended neighbourhood with longstanding civilisational connections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have held several rounds of discussions with Iranian leaders during the 40-day conflict in West Asia.
Earlier, after the death of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar led the Indian delegation to Tehran for the state funeral on May 22, 2024.
India had also sent a high-level delegation to Iran following the death of then Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May 2024. At the time, New Delhi declared a day of national mourning and lowered flags to half-mast across the country. Former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar led the Indian delegation that attended the ceremonies in Tehran.
Later that year, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari travelled to Iran in July 2024 to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
US President Donald Trump refuted claims that Iran is imposing tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, labeling them as “fake news.” He stated that Iran assured the U.S. that no charges are being levied on vessels using the waterway.
US President Donald Trump (File Image) Photo : AP
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed reports that Iran is charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as “fake news.” However, Trump said that Tehran had assured Washington that no tolls, insurance fees or other payments were being sought from vessels using the crucial waterway. Meanwhile, the US President issued a warning of ending negotiations if Iran’s information turned out to be false. He also shared details about how the US would use Iranian funds.
“Iran has informed the U.S. that, despite troublemaking Fake News reporting to the contrary, there are “NO TOLLS, NO INSURANCE COSTS, & NO OTHER CHARGES OF ANY KIND BEING SOUGHT OR RECEIVED BY IRAN ON SHIPS TRAVELING THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. If this is false information, negotiations would end, immediately!,” the US President said in his Truth Social post.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed that 19 millions barrels of oil flowed out of the Hormuz Strait on Monday, which was an all time record. “Oil prices are tumbling down, and the world is a much safer place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Reports surfaced that Hormuz was closed over the weekend, while US Central Command said the strait remained open to ships, sowing confusion about the status of the sea lane. On Monday, the US formally waived sanctions on Iranian oil for a 60-day period, in line with the memorandum of understanding agreed to by Washington and Tehran last week.
Trump On Iranian Funds:
Trump also rejected reports that the United States had released funds directly to Iran as part of the proposed deal. However, he said the United States plans to use Iranian funds under its control to purchase essential food items, including corn, wheat, and soybeans, from American farmers for the Iranian people.
“Additionally, no money has been given to Iran, or released from their money to them, by the U.S. We will be releasing some of their money, that is totally controlled by us, to our Farmers and Ranchers, for the purchase of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans, and more. Food is desperately needed in Iran, and we will be purchasing it for them exclusively from the United States,” the US President stated.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced the plans at the commissioning of the Choe Hyon, one of two 5,000-ton-class warships the country launched last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes during the commissioning ceremony of the new multipurpose destroyer Choe Hyon at Nampho port, North Korea, on Jun 23, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS)
North Korea will equip its navy with nuclear weapons and build larger warships, leader Kim Jong Un said, according to state media Wednesday (Jun 24), as Pyongyang pushes ahead with a military expansion.
The hermetic nation is under multiple sets of sanctions over a nuclear programme its leaders have vowed to pursue as an essential deterrent to the United States and South Korea.
Kim made his remarks at the commissioning of the Choe Hyon – one of two 5,000-tonne class warships launched last year –\ in the port city of Nampho on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
“The programme of equipping the Navy with nuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly,” Kim reportedly told the ceremony.
“This is a strategic course of crucial importance as it will make it possible to keep the nuclear force of our state ready for multifaceted and efficient operation,” he said.
North Korea previously said the Choe Hyon is equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and Kim oversaw a cruise missile test from the vessel in April.
“Following the Choe Hyon, we will soon commission destroyer Kang Kon for operations. After that we will launch 10,000-tonne strategic warships one after another,” Kim said, according to a KCNA report released in English.
He added the North aimed to “build every year two surface ships, whose class is higher than the Choe Hyon” including one 10,000-tonne cruiser.
A 10,000-tonne class naval ship such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, of which the US Navy has dozens, or South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class at full load – is typically 150-170m long, roughly the size of 1.5 football pitches, and weighs as much as several thousand cars.
The South Korean navy runs more than 10 ships over 5,000 tonnes compared to the North’s two.
“The 10,000-tonne mark will carry symbolism for the North,” said military studies professor Choi Gi-il at Sangji University.
“A ship of that size will indicate Pyongyang’s determination not to fall further behind the maritime power of Seoul,” he told AFP.
Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state since a 2019 summit between Kim and US counterpart Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief.
North Korea remains technically at war with the South because the neighbours’ 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
DETERRENCE
Photos released by KCNA showed Kim saluting the Choe Hyon flanked by senior officials and delivering a speech aboard the newly commissioned vessel.
Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, said the move was primarily aimed at sending a message to the United States — South Korea’s main security ally.
“The key point is that North Korea sees these weapons as part of an effort to more effectively deter or impede US military intervention on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a conflict,” he told AFP.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem called for a full Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while Israel said its forces struck terrorists there despite a recent ceasefire.
A child stands next to the rubble of a building damaged in an Israeli strike in Qennarit, southern Lebanon, on Jun 20, 2026. Hezbollah said on Jun 23, 2026, that Israel had violated a ceasefire between them by striking a group of civilians. (File photo: Reuters/Stringer)
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Tuesday (Jun 23) demanded a scheduled withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon as authorities said Israeli gunfire killed two people there despite a recent lull in fighting.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected Israel’s occupation of the south and foreign interference in his country’s affairs – an allusion to Hezbollah’s backer Iran – as a fifth round of Israel-Lebanon talks began in Washington.
On Monday, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said that Tehran and Washington had agreed to set up a “de-confliction cell” to limit flare-ups in Lebanon following talks in Switzerland on ending the wider Middle East war, which Tehran has linked to halting the parallel conflict in Lebanon.
“We now have a ceasefire. The withdrawal must take place according to a timetable. Israel has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, without retaining an inch,” Qassem said, in a televised address.
Deadly clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday and Saturday had rattled the fledgling US-Iran deal, which provides for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The fighting in Lebanon has largely paused since Saturday evening.
“Israel withdraws and the Lebanese army deploys exclusively south of the Litani River,” Qassem said, referring to a waterway around 30 kilometres (some 20 miles) from the Israeli border.
“TREACHEROUS ATTACK”
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said two men were killed Tuesday when Israeli soldiers opened fire with machine-guns “while they were standing near an excavator that was unblocking a road” in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
The health ministry later confirmed the toll.
Hezbollah slammed it as a “blatant” Israeli truce violation and a “treacherous attack”.
Israel’s military said its forces fired warning shots at four alleged Hezbollah militants on a bulldozer and a motorcycle who entered an Israeli-declared “security zone” running around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanon, before “additional fire was conducted in order to remove the threat”.
Separately, it said its forces also “identified a cell of armed terrorists operating” near soldiers in the zone, adding it “struck the terrorists … to remove the threat”.
The NNA also reported that “an enemy drone targeted a parked car” on the outskirts of the town of Baraasheet, without immediately reporting casualties.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, had said earlier on Tuesday that it had not observed any launches, strikes or interceptions “since Sunday, marking more than two days without such activity”.
“SOVEREIGNTY”
Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks with Israel in April in Washington, with Lebanese authorities seeking to separate the negotiations from the US-Iran deal.
“We accept nothing less than an end to the Israeli occupation and at the same time, the fall of foreign tutelage,” Aoun said, according to his office.
The Lebanese president has previously accused Iran of using his country as a “bargaining chip”.
He expressed hope that the new round of talks would be “decisive” in helping achieve “the full restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty”.
Aoun’s office also said he spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron over the phone, discussing the situation “in light of the results of the US-Iran negotiations”.
THE cause of the Florida condo collapse that left 98 people dead has been revealed by federal investigators five years after the incident.
A 12-story beachfront condo building fell to the ground in Surfside, Florida, in the middle of the night on June 24, 2021, claiming the lives of 98 people.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building collapsed on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida, claiming the lives of nearly 100 peopleCredit: Getty
At the time of the collapse, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the building “literally pancaked.”
The cause of the collapse has been under investigation by federal officials for years, and a new technical findings report released on Monday has finally revealed the cause of the incident.
“Following an extensive technical investigation, the team has concluded that the collapse began in early June 2021, when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed,” the report said.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Construction Safety Team said there were failures with the columns three weeks before the deadly collapse.
The initial column failures caused cracks to grow and loads to redistribute in the pool deck, which resulted in the transfer of their loads to adjacent columns that were not strong enough to support them.
“This led to the larger catastrophic collapse on June 24,” NIST said.
Judith Mitrani-Reiser, a co-leader of the investigation said that while building structures are designed to support more of a load than they are expected to bear, the Champlain Towers South’s margins against failure “were too narrow from the start.”
Glenn Bell, the other leader of the investigation, said the low margins against failure were a result of two factors.
“First, severe and widespread deviations in the building’s original structural design from the codes and standards of the day, but also some limitations in those codes and standards,” he said.
“And second, deviations in the building’s construction from the design drawings.”
Families of the victims said they were disappointed in how long the investigation took.
“The federal government spent nearly $40 million, allocated every resource they needed, and they came back with pretty much nothing,” Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister and brother-in-law in the incident, told WPLG.
“Disappointed. Very disappointed. We waited five years.”
“It’s scary, because how many other buildings could potentially be ticking time bombs as well,” Langesfeld said.
Langesefeld told NPR the collapse is “more than just names. It’s stories. It’s families.”
“It’s an unfortunate reminder of how big this tragedy was.”
First responders rushed to the scene to pull survivors from the debris after the building collapsed around 1:30am.
Two-thirds of the building collapsed after the pool deck caved in, and just minutes later the tower began to fall as occupants were sleeping.
AMERICA is showing the world its “real truth” at the World Cup, and Donald Trump’s tournament chief says the country now commands more global respect than it has in generations.
From beer-draining Scots in Boston and “Viking” Norwegians rowing through New York’s subway to overseas fans trying to fly home with bottles of ranch, the tournament has become a wild showcase for life in the US.
Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup 2026 said people will see the real AmericaCredit: Reuters
The 48-team spectacle is unfolding across 11 American host cities as the country celebrates its 250th birthday, bringing millions of visitors into its bars, streets, stores, and transport systems.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Fifa World Cup 2026, says they are seeing a side of America often hidden behind political rows and headlines.
In an exclusive interview, he told The U.S. Sun: “We really think this was an unbelievable opportunity to show the real truth of the United States of America.
“And remember, this was not just going on in a vacuum, this is going on over our 250th birthday.
“So what a great opportunity to show the rest of the world the freedoms that the United States offers and what that can do for them.”
Giuliani argued that Trump’s “America First” message should not be mistaken for turning the country away from the rest of the world.
“As President Trump has said repeatedly, America first doesn’t mean America only,” he said.
His comments come after years of trade and tariff battles, strained alliances and fierce criticism abroad of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
But Giuliani rejected the suggestion that the tournament was needed to repair the country’s global standing.
“I would look at it actually the other way around,” he said.
“I think the United States has more respect in the world now than they’ve had in generations.”
He added: “Now, love and respect are not necessarily the same thing, but I think right now the United States gets and demands more respect from the key players in the geopolitical world.”
Away from the games, fans from around the world have quickly bonded over their shared love of soccer.
Scotland’s Tartan Army became local heroes after tens of thousands of supporters descended on Boston for their nation’s first World Cup appearance since 1998.
Bars were forced to arrange emergency beer deliveries, with one taproom selling more than 3,000 pints of Boston Lager in four days and collecting 70 empty kegs.
Videos of Boston women dancing, dating and partying with Scots also exploded online, with locals praising the visitors’ kindness – and joking about a possible baby boom in nine months.
The love affair became so intense that Mayor Michelle Wu signed a letter of intent designating Boston and Glasgow as sister cities.
Norwegian fans staged their own takeover in New York, flooding Times Square in red and navy before performing their “Viking ship” rowing celebration on subway trains and escalators.
Even the New Jersey Devils’ mascot joined the giant rowing display as Norway celebrated its first World Cup appearance in 28 years.
In Texas, foreign visitors have treated the enormous Buc-ee’s gas station as a tourist attraction, marveling at its brisket, Beaver Nuggets, souvenirs and supermarket-sized stores.
Fort Worth officials even launched a visitor shuttle taking fans from downtown to Buc-ee’s and other local attractions on non-match days.
Ranch dressing has become another unexpected hit, prompting the TSA to remind departing fans that bottles larger than 3.4 ounces must be packed in checked luggage.
But the tournament has not been one long love-in.
Argentina and Algeria supporters were filmed trading punches and kicks in Times Square before their opening game, with police stepping in as children and other bystanders were caught near the melee.
The clash was one of the first major outbreaks of fan violence during a tournament being protected by one of the largest sporting security operations ever staged.
Giuliani said the event’s ability to bring people together remains greater than the divisions surrounding it.
“It’s a great opportunity for all countries around the world to come to the United States, to see just how the UScan throw a 250th birthday party with the World Cup being a central part of that.
“Whatever differences we may have – political, religious, ethnic – when you get a soccer game and people sit together, there are a lot of different people from all different backgrounds that can bond just over the beauties of sport,” he said.
“And that’s one of the great things that this tournament offers.”
The expanded competition includes 104 matches across the US, Canada and Mexico, with 78 being staged in America.
Giuliani described the US operation as “78 Super Bowls in 39 days,” stretching from Boston to Los Angeles and Seattle to Miami.
“This is really unique,” he said.
“It’s really important that federal law enforcement is working hand in glove with local law enforcement.”
The task force says all 78 US matches have counter-drone protection, compared with just five special events across the country receiving such coverage last year.
One official fan festival in each of the 11 American host cities is also receiving counter-drone protection.
Cybersecurity teams are preparing for attacks targeting ticketing systems, QR codes, stadium screens, and other technology after billions of attempted breaches were recorded during the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
“What I can tell you is we have eyes everywhere making sure we are protecting our technology throughout this event,” Giuliani said.
Immigration enforcement has remained one of the most controversial parts of the tournament, with ICE and Homeland Security Investigations officers deployed around venues.
Giuliani insisted their presence was standard for major events and said removing experienced officers would create security gaps, particularly in operations targeting human trafficking.
He told concerned overseas supporters: “I think anybody who has come legally to the United States of America has nothing to worry about.”
The administration’s approach has already been tested by Iran, whose players have been forced to commute from a base in Tijuana, Mexico, while some officials were denied entry to the US.
Giuliani said every Iranian player and coach received a visa, meaning the restrictions would not affect the team competing on the field.
But he added: “We’re not going to let anybody connected with the IRGC into the country.
“We’re not going to let the soccer tournament allow bad actors to come into the United States.”
The Iranian team has continued competing despite complaining about its travel restrictions and unequal treatment, with its final group match scheduled against Egypt in Seattle.
Giuliani said the task force would do everything possible to protect Iran’s players and fans, as well as those representing every other nation in the tournament.
The administration previously secured a $625million federal grant to help host cities cover policing, emergency planning, equipment and other security costs.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said 209 people were detained, while 32 others remained at large. Turkey has announced a ban on demonstrations amid preparations for next month’s NATO summit in the capital.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting up strict security in Ankara ahead of next month’s NATO summit [FILE: June 25, 2025]Image: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/picture allianceTurkish security forces on Tuesday arrested more than 200 people suspected of links to the self-styled Islamic State and other groups Ankara deems terrorist organizations, prosecutors said.
NATO leaders will gather in the Turkish capital Ankara for the Alliance’s annual summit next month, and the government has started implementing security measures and stepping up policing in anticipation.
US President Donald Trump and the leaders of the other 31 member states are expected at the summit on July 7-8.
What do we know about Tuesday’s arrests?
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said that 241 arrest warrants had been issued and that 209 people had been detained.
Police operations seeking the suspects were ongoing.
Prosecutors said that 56 of those arrested were alleged members of the so-called Islamic Stategroup and 35 were members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), a communist group designated a terrorist organization by Turkey that has claimed responsibility for past attacks.
Turkish media also reported on a separate operation targeting the DHKP-C, coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, that led to 24 arrests across eight provinces.
The Taliban are tightening the screws on women’s clothing, shooting at protesters and ordering even their own officials to stop using smartphones. Behind the regime’s omnipresent control, there are signs of deep anxiety.
The Taliban are targeting women to fuel fear of dissent, Afghan activists told DWImage: Wakil Kohsar/AFP
The news from Afghanistan — or at least the news that can be gleamed and pieced together through the screen of censorship imposed by the Taliban regime — is alarming.
In early June, Taliban authorities detained at least 30 women in the western city of Herat over alleged violations of dress-code rules, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
The arrests triggered rare protests in Injil district, a predominantly Shiite area of Herat, a community already facing insecurity and discrimination at the hands of the extremist Sunni regime.
Taliban forces responded with violence, shooting at protesters, according to UNAMA and human rights groups. At least two people were killed, including a child, and more than 20 others were injured.
The Taliban have rejected reports of the arrests. But the news has sparked anger among women’s rights activists and renewed concern about the regime’s ever-expanding control on women and public spaces.
Herat protests show resistance
Two female members of the Afghan Women’s Movement Network, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, described the arrests as part of a broader system of repression.
“Every woman arrested in Herat today is a symbol of the suffering of millions of Afghan women who live under the shadow of gender apartheid,” one member told DW. “Women’s freedom is their right. No to the Taliban!”
Another member of the network said the Taliban were criminalizing women’s most basic choices. “The Taliban are arresting women for the crime of choosing how to dress,” she told DW. “This behavior is neither religious nor humane. It is oppression of women and a clear violation of human dignity.”
The protests in Herat were therefore not only a response to the arrest of women. They also showed that parts of Afghan society are still willing to challenge Taliban authority, despite the risks.
“These protests also showcase the resistance of the Afghan people and Afghan women,” Nigara Mirdad, a former Afghan diplomat and women’s rights activist, told DW. She said they also highlight “the solidarity of Afghan men with the women of the country,” adding that this challenges the narrative the Taliban have imposed through force and tyranny over the past five years.
A symbolic fifth anniversary
While Herat may seem as a local incident, it comes at a politically charged moment.
In August, the Taliban will mark five years since their return to power. Their first stint in power, from 1996 to 2001, also lasted roughly five years before it collapsed after the US-led invasion in response to the September 11 attacks.
Few observers expect a similar collapse now. The Taliban control state institutions, the security apparatus and most public life. Political opposition has been crushed. Independent media has been severely restricted.
But the five-year mark carries historical weight. It reminds the people of Afghanistan that Taliban rule collapsed once before, despite appearing unshakable.
Why the Taliban are tightening control
Mohammad Osman Tariq, a religious scholar and deputy head of the Afghan Ulama Research Council, says the latest measures suggest anxiety inside the Taliban system.
The Taliban present many of their restrictions on women as a religious matter. Tariq rejects this framing and argues that the clampdown is primarily about preserving power.
“One reason why this current Taliban administration is tightening control and not allowing anyone — even women — to go out and protest, and why they even want to ban smartphones, is because they view all of this as a threat to their rule and existence,” Tariq told DW. “Therefore, they are strictly avoiding it.”
He said the public mood in Afghanistan has changed since the first years of Taliban rule. Some people who initially supported the Taliban, or hoped they had changed during the 20-year insurgency, have now become disillusioned, Tariq said.
“It is natural that the Taliban fear for the continuation of their rule,” he told DW. “They understand that, ultimately, this is a regime of oppression, and it will collapse. Even some of their own members believe that it cannot last.”
Smartphone ban fuels fear in Afghanistan
The crackdown in Herat coincided with another draconian measure: Taliban officials and government employees were ordered to stop using smartphones. Videos circulating online appeared to show Taliban members destroying their phones in compliance with the order.
Many Afghans now fear that the same restrictions could eventually be extended to the entire population.
In a country where independent journalism has been severely weakened and many reporters face intimidation, phones have become political instruments. Smartphones are one of the few remaining tools people can use to document abuses, share videos of protests and send evidence to media and rights groups outside the country.
The new smartphone ban indicates the regime’s desire to control not only what people do, but also what can be seen.
Taliban view Afghan women as easy target
Shinkai Karokhail, a former Afghan member of parliament, diplomat and rights activist, says the Taliban’s repression is also linked to their failure to govern.
“Unfortunately, the Taliban regime has failed to meet the needs of the people, provide public services, or create employment opportunities,” Karokhail told DW. “Consequently, they now fear a public uprising against them.”
“In their view, the people must be intimidated and suppressed in various ways to prevent them from raising their voices,” Karokhail said. “For the Taliban, women are the easiest and a soft target against whom they can use force to silence them.”
The Herat arrests reflect a broader pattern. Since returning to power, the Taliban have issued dozens of decrees restricting women’s rights. They have barred girls from education beyond sixth grade, banned women from universities, restricted women’s employment, closed many public spaces to women and enforced strict rules on dress and movement.
While the Taliban defend these policies as Islamic and culturally appropriate, Afghan women’s rights activists see them as political tools to erase women from public life and incite fear.
Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech start-up Cred, has taken over as head of WhatsApp
Until recently, Kunal Shah was a familiar name mainly within India’s startup and investor circles.
The founder of fintech company Cred had steadily built a following beyond the businesses he created. His podcast appearances often ventured into topics such as trust, incentives, wealth creation and human behaviour. His social media posts ranged from artificial intelligence to philosophy.
Now, with Meta appointing him to lead WhatsApp, he has been propelled into the global spotlight.
The appointment follows Meta’s $900m (£679m) investment in Cred and comes at a time when WhatsApp is seeking to expand beyond messaging into payments, business services and AI-powered products.
While Indian-origin executives have led some of the world’s biggest technology companies, it is less common for a founder who built his career within India’s startup ecosystem to be handed control of a global consumer platform of that scale. WhatsApp has more than three billion users worldwide.
Long before Meta came calling, Shah had become a recognisable figure in India’s startup ecosystem.
His first major breakthrough came with FreeCharge, a mobile recharge platform he co-founded in 2010 as India’s internet economy was beginning to take shape.
The company grew rapidly and was acquired by e-commerce firm Snapdeal in 2015 in what was then one of the largest startup acquisitions in the country.
But Shah’s reputation would eventually expand beyond the companies he built.
After leaving FreeCharge, he spent several years investing in young technology firms and advising founders.
He also worked as an adviser with startup accelerator Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital – roles through which he became closely involved with a generation of founders, especially in the technology sector, as India’s startup ecosystem expanded rapidly.
Raised in Mumbai, Shah studied philosophy in college and did not follow the path taken by many of India’s best-known technology founders through elite engineering or management institutions.
In a post on X, Indian entrepreneur and investor Sanjeev Bikhchandani once recalled Shah telling him that he chose philosophy largely because the subject’s morning class schedule allowed him to continue working full-time after his family’s business ran into financial trouble.
In interviews and podcast appearances over the years, Shah has also spoken about taking up odd jobs while studying. Those early experiences, according to him, were followed by the launch of FreeCharge, the company that first brought him national attention.
Founded in 2018, Cred came up with a simple business model centred on rewarding people for paying their credit card bills on time.
In public appearances, Shah has often linked the company’s origins to questions of trust and incentives. The company later expanded into lending, insurance, commerce and wealth management products.
Meta’s latest investment values Cred at about $4.5bn, above its previous funding-round valuation but below the peak valuation it achieved in 2022, according to a Reuters report.
Cred also became a recognisable fintech brand, especially with its advertising campaigns that often relied on humour, nostalgia and unexpected celebrity appearances.
But its rise also brought scrutiny. For years, the company was admired for its brand and growth but frequently questioned over its path to profitability.
Critics questioned whether investor enthusiasm and lofty valuations were justified by the company’s financial performance, while supporters argued that many successful technology businesses had also endured long periods of losses while building scale.
The debate resurfaced last year when a social media post questioned why entrepreneurs were often celebrated despite a lack of sustained profits.
Shah responded by agreeing that profitable businesses deserved recognition but argued that entrepreneurship itself should be encouraged because it creates jobs and involves taking risks.
To his supporters, Shah represents a generation of entrepreneurs who helped shape India’s modern internet economy, first through digital payments and later through financial technology.
Shweta Rajpal Kohli, chief executive of the Startup Policy Forum, who has worked with Shah on policy issues for several years, described him as someone with “a rare ability to bring a product lens to regulatory complexity, and a regulatory lens to product design”.
“His creativity and problem-solving instinct have been consistently fascinating,” she told the BBC.
To critics, he embodies a startup culture that has sometimes prioritised valuations, fundraising and rapid growth over sustainable business models.
The latest appointment also reflects several themes that have run through Shah’s career.
WhatsApp is increasingly expanding beyond messaging into payments, commerce and business services – areas where Shah has spent much of the past decade building products, investing and advising companies.
India, which is WhatsApp’s largest market, has also been the centre of much of his entrepreneurial career. With this appointment, Shah is set to become the first Indian to lead WhatsApp.
But some observers caution against viewing Shah’s appointment solely through the lens of fintech or payments.
“There’s a tendency to assume Shah was chosen for this role because of his background in fintech and payments. I think that’s too narrow a view,” Nikhil Pahwa, the founder and editor of tech news website MediaNama, told the BBC.
“He’s someone who has spent years thinking about products, consumer behaviour, incentives and growth. And in his businesses, payments have been a mechanism for consumer acquisition, so that products can be marketed to them. This looks less like a payments appointment and more like Meta choosing a founder with experience in scaling the business side of a consumer business.”
Mahrang Baloch denies inciting protesters before a soldier was killed at rally in 2024
A leading human rights activist who has spent years campaigning against enforced disappearances in the Pakistani province of Balochistan has been sentenced to life in prison over the killing of a paramilitary soldier at a rally in 2024.
Mahrang Baloch, leader of the Balochistan Unity Committee (BYC), was convicted of murder and terrorism alongside fellow activist Sibghatullah.
Prosecutors accused the pair of inciting a mob which fatally attacked paramilitary soldier Shabbir Ahmed.
The activists, who boycotted the trial along with their legal team, deny the charges.
A security official had accused Baloch of giving a “very provocative speech” at the protest in the port city of Gwadar, resulting in 30-40 people striking one of his soldiers’ vehicles with sticks and stones.
The official claimed Shabbir Ahmed became separated from the others and was beaten to death.
An anti-terrorism court in Quetta said Baloch and Sibghatullah had been “active in the illegal gathering of the Baloch Unity Committee and had common objectives in the murder of the Federal Constabulary official”.
It sentenced them to life imprisonment and ordered they pay a fine of 200,000 Pakistani rupees (£543; $719) to Ahmed’s heirs.
Baloch and Sibghatullah have already been in jail for two years on a range of charges, according to local media.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for an immediate review of the verdict.
It said the state had “continued its policy of treating fundamental rights advocacy in the same way it treats extremism, resulting in administrative and judicial decisions that are one-sided and biased.”
Baloch’s sister, lawyer Nadia Baloch, and the activists’ legal team said they had been denied due process and rejected the verdict.
They said the ruling was delivered by a “faceless court” and that defence lawyers had been unable to cross-examine eyewitnesses properly, who testified via video link.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg also criticised the proceedings, posting a statement describing the trial as a “mockery of justice” conducted “in utter secrecy” and accusing the Pakistani state of criminalising dissent.
A spokesperson for Balochistan’s government told the Associated Press news agency that prosecutors had “undeniable evidence” and said the case was not politically motivated.
The unsettling swarm of drones that a downed US pilot in Iran said moved in a bizarre “jellyfish-like” formation indicates the Iranian regime has devoted significant resources to beefing up its drone program — so it can counter the conventional battlefield tech of its rivals.
“They are adapting faster than us,” Brett Velicovich, drone expert and founder of Powerus, told The Post.
“Iran has spent years developing capabilities designed to offset the overwhelmingly conventional advantages of the United States and its allies.”
Iran has beefed up its drone program to counter the conventional battlefield tech of its rivals. ZUMAPRESS.com
The unnamed F-15 pilot, who was rescued April 3 after hiding deep in enemy territory in the Zagros Mountains for more than a day, described a “minefield of drones” hovering in the air — which he surmised could have helped Iran shoot his plane down.
Velicovich said it was possible the injured pilot — who was badly concussed — might not have been seeing straight when he observed the swarm, but said what he saw could have been a so-called “mothership” drone.
Motherships, Velicovich said, are large drone aircraft capable of relaying communications or orders to other drones connected to them. Motherships are “a relatively normal way of warfare” in battle zones like Ukraine, he added.
The mothership goes way up in the air to provide an overview, sometimes connected to a tether, “then if it sees something out of the ordinary, it’ll drop a smaller drone like a [First-Person View drone] to conduct strikes” or surveillance drones to get the lay of the land.
Smaller drones can also be strung together using technology like Starlink or a mesh network, which Velicovich said Iran has the capabilities to do, and are commonplace on the battlefield in other war zones currently raging around the world.
“Right now, if you were to go to Ukraine and Russia, they use these mothership drones to extend the distance that a smaller drone is able to fly,” he said.
“Hypothetically, these drones could have been going up very high in the air to gain situational awareness, especially if US forces were in the area. It’s definitely within the art of the possible that this is something the Iranians have.”
Ronaldo vs Messi World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo avoided answering too many questions around Lionel Messi. He even ignored reporters who asked him questions about the Argentina great.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t keen to answer too many questions around Lionel Messi as he silenced his critics with a double against Uzbekistan in Portugal’s thumping 5-0 win in their second Group K match on Tuesday. Speaking to the media in the mixed zone after the game, Ronaldo spoke about how ‘dark’ the last week was for him, making him feel as if he had retired from football. The Portuguese forward, who loves to be under the spotlight, wasn’t keen on answering questions about his rivalry with Messi. He even ignored a reporter, moving on from a question midway because it was about his arch-rival.
Ronaldo and Messi, even in the twilight of their careers, continue to make headlines. While Messi has dominated the scoring charts in the FIFA World Cup 2026 so far — with five goals in two matches — Ronaldo bagged a brace in his second game after drawing a blank in Portugal’s opener.
As he arrived to speak to the media, questions around comparisons and the competition with Messi were bound to emerge. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Ronaldo could be seen ignoring a journalist who tried to ask a question about Messi.
“Yesterday,” a reporter began asking in the post-game mixed zone, “Lionel Messi scored two goals, [Kylian] Mbappe…” but Ronaldo spun his head to the other side and said, “Vale (Go on),” to take another question from a different reporter.
During his chat with the media, Ronaldo was asked by another reporter if they could pose a question, prompting a playful reply. “That depends on the question, otherwise I won’t answer you,” he said jokingly.
The 41-year-old then briefly spoke about playing Messi’s Argentina at a later stage in the tournament when asked by a reporter for his thoughts on such a match.
The comments were made early on in the second Trump presidency, according to New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
US Vice President JD Vance had suggested that troops from India or Saudi Arabia, could be deployed as peacekeepers in Ukraine (Nathan Howard/Pool Reuters via A)
US Vice President JD Vance had suggested that troops from India or Saudi Arabia, could be deployed as peacekeepers in Ukraine in a discussion at the White House on the American strategy on the Ukraine war, according to a new book published on Tuesday.
The comments were made early on in the second Trump presidency, according to “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump” by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The Trump administration held a meeting in the Oval Office ten days after inauguration, where the President and his top advisers were receiving a briefing by retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, whom Trump appointed as special presidential envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
During the discussion, Kellogg presented a proposal titled “An America First Plan: Trump’s Historic Peace Deal for Russia-Ukraine War”, Haberman and Swan write. As part of the proposal, the US would not formally recognise Russia’s claims over occupied Ukrainian territory but would also include “a significant concession that Ukraine would not try to recapture already-lost territory by force” — an approach that led the gathering to discuss non-NATO peacekeepers.
“Are there troops from other countries that could serve this purpose,” the book quotes the VP as asking, before suggesting “Saudi Arabia or India”. “Trump chuckled,” the book adds, quoting the president: “The Indians won’t do that. They won’t pay for something like that.”
Trump reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a good relationship with him. “Prime Minister Modi really liked him and wanted to visit, Trump said, but the Indians do not ever pay for anything”, according to the book.
Trump on tariffs on India
In another chapter of the book, Trump mentions India again while discussing tariffs. Days after tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had served as a “special government employee”, clashed with cabinet secretaries, the White House hosted a meeting of the Technology CEO Council on March 10. Among those in attendance in the Roosevelt Room were the heads of several major technology companies, including IBM, Dell, HPE, HP Inc., Qualcomm and Intel.
Donald Trump warns US could finish the job in Iran in under a week, insists Iran agreed to IAEA inspections, as US Senate moves to limit his military action against Tehran
File image of United States President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Source: Reuters)
United States President Donald Trump has warned that they could “finish the job” in Iran in less than a week if Tehran does not act “reasonably,” while reiterating that Washington’s primary objective is to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
“Iran has been great. Iran is reasonable if they’re smart; otherwise, we’ll have to finish the job, which will take about maybe less than a week. But they’re going to be okay, I think. They’re going to do what they have to do because we want to have it done,” Trump said.
Speaking about the Strait of Hormuz, the US president said, “Yesterday, 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz, a very beautiful place… You’ve never seen anything like it. It’s called an oil gush… I did it for this reason, 99% for this. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that.”
‘Iran’s Missiles Prevented Gaza-Like Fate’
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country’s missile programme had prevented the United States and Israel from treating Iran the way Gaza has been affected.
“If we did not have our missiles, which are for our self-defence, Israel and America would have ploughed through Iran the way Gaza was ploughed through, and they would have shown no mercy to the old or the young,” Pezeshkian said during a visit to Pakistan.
He also criticised the United States over its human rights record, saying, “They speak of human rights. It is a great lie.”
“If we could not defend ourselves, they certainly would not have shown mercy to our country and would have destroyed our power. Therefore, we will never, under any circumstances, negotiate with anyone over our defensive capabilities,” he added.
He further reiterated that Iran’s missile programme was not part of its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States and would not become a subject of future negotiations.
“The discussion over our missiles does not exist in the MoU, and it never will,” Pezeshkian said, according to CNN.
US-Iran MoU Did Not Cover Tehran’s Ballistic Missiles: Pak PM
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said the MoU signed between the United States and Iran did not cover Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Responding to a question on Iran’s nuclear and missile technology, Sharif said that he can claim “without fear of contradiction that Iran’s ballistic missile programme was not a subject of discussion between the US and Iran… it was not on the table.”
“There cannot be double standards… that some countries can have ballistic missiles and Iran shouldn’t have. You cannot digest this duplicity. You cannot digest this kind of duplicity,” he added.
Trump Insists Iran Agreed To Nuclear Inspections
United States President Trump rejected Iran’s claim that no visit had been scheduled for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), insisting Tehran had already agreed to allow the UN nuclear watchdog into the country.
“They’re wrong, they’re wrong, they know they’re wrong. They told us inside, and we have it down 100%. And if they were right, I’d cancel the meetings right now,” he said.
When asked when IAEA inspectors would be deployed to Iran, Trump did not specify a timeframe, saying only that they would arrive “at the appropriate time” and stressing that “there is no rush.”
US Senate Votes To Limit Trump’s Military Action Against Iran
The US Senate passed a resolution calling for an end to President Trump’s military engagement with Iran, marking the latest congressional pushback against the White House as it seeks to negotiate a long-term agreement with Tehran.
Elon Musk was pointing to a case cited by USAID in which a Syrian national was charged with diverting millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to an al-Qaida affiliate group.
Elon Musk Flags $9 Million Diversion of USAID Aid to Al-Qaeda Affiliate
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has drawn attention to cases where US-funded humanitarian assistance was diverted to terrorist organisations, reigniting debate over whether aid distributed through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) can be misused in conflict zones.
Musk was reacting to a 2024 case cited by USAID in which a Syrian national was charged with diverting millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance intended for civilians, to an al-Qaida affiliate group. Tagging an X post, he wrote, “USAID funding was used for terrorism.
In a press release issued in 2024, USAID said Mahmoud Al Hafyan, a 53-year-old Syrian national, was charged in a 12-count indictment.
According to the indictment, Al Hafyan, also known as Abu Abdo Al-Homsi, headed the regional office of a non-governmental organisation in Syria and managed around 160 employees.
He was accused of illegally diverting more than $9 million in US-funded humanitarian aid intended for Syrian civilians to armed combatant groups, including the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), a designated foreign terrorist organisation affiliated with al-Qaida in Iraq.
The indictment was announced by US Attorney Matthew M Graves, USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID-OIG) Special Agent in Charge Jason Donnelly and FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.
“This defendant not only defrauded the US government, but he also gave the humanitarian aid he stole to a foreign terrorist organization,” Graves said at the time.
He added that while the organisation was fighting the Assad regime, civilians who were meant to receive the aid suffered instead.
“This office has a history of pursuing criminals around the globe, no matter how many years it takes, and will do all it can to ensure that Mahmoud Al Hafyan is held accountable for these crimes,” Graves said.
Virmani said Al Hafyan diverted millions of dollars in USAID funding to support the Al-Nusrah Front and enrich himself. “Not only was Al Hafyan supporting violent terrorists, but he was stealing money from the US government that was meant for humanitarian efforts,” he said.
Donnelly said USAID-OIG works to ensure humanitarian assistance does not end up with terrorist organisations and pledged continued cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
What the evidence shows
Documented cases show that USAID-funded aid has, in some instances, been diverted to extremist groups. However, this differs from claims that USAID systematically funds terrorism.
The strongest publicly available evidence comes from Inspector General findings, criminal investigations and oversight reports highlighting diversion risks, particularly in conflict zones such as Syria and Gaza.
USAID-OIG stated in a 2024 advisory that assistance in Gaza faced a high risk of diversion and misuse. The advisory noted that oversight relied on partner self-reporting, third-party monitoring and vetting procedures.
At the same time, USAID said it uses anti-terrorism clauses, sanctions checks and partner screening systems to prevent assistance from reaching Hamas or other designated organisations.
USAID oversight concerns
Concerns about aid diversion are not new. A 2007 internal USAID audit warned that the agency could not “reasonably ensure” that its funds would not end up in the hands of terrorist groups in fragile environments.
In 2018, USAID suspended a $44.6 million Syria food-aid programme after an Inspector General investigation found local NGO staff had supplied food kits to members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a successor organisation to the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra.
In 2025, USAID-OIG reported an investigation into a Syria voucher scheme in which aid vouchers were diverted away from intended beneficiaries. A deputy chief of the party involved in the programme was later debarred for three years.
The U.S. Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress.
The Senate voted 50-48 in favor of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran.
It was the first time both chambers of Congress had passed a resolution directing a president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities since the War Powers Resolution, more commonly known as the War Powers Act, was enacted in 1973.
While likely to remain largely symbolic, the vote was a setback for Trump, who until recently had enjoyed near-unanimous support from Republican members of Congress.
It also comes as the administration is expected to ask Congress to authorize tens of billions of dollars to pay for the war.
Trump’s Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House, but a few have broken with the president on a handful of issues ahead of mid-term elections in November, which will determine whether the party will retain control of Congress.
Some Republicans recently balked at Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate political allies he says have been targeted by federal authorities and stalled a $70 billion bill to fund his immigration crackdown.
Reuters/Ipsos poll results released on Tuesday showed that just one in four Americans believe the war against Iran was worth its costs, and a majority worry that a truce with Tehran is unlikely to last.
The Senate vote was largely along party lines, with four Republicans joining all but one Democrat in favor. Two Republican senators did not vote.
In a post late on Tuesday, Trump criticized the vote, calling it “poorly timed and meaningless” and accused those who voted in favor of providing “comfort” to Iran and making his job “more difficult”.
CONSTITUTIONAL UNCERTAINTY
Trump’s administration is working to negotiate a peace agreement with Iran. Support for the resolution in Congress is likely to put pressure on the president not to resume hostilities, something he has suggested he might do if negotiations falter.
Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the concurrent resolution – passed by both the House and Senate – does not go to the White House for Trump’s signature. In the 1973 law, Congress intended such resolutions as a mechanism for ending military operations.
But legal experts said the issue remains unsettled. No war powers resolution had previously passed both chambers of Congress and a 1983 Supreme Court ruling said such a measure must be submitted for a president’s signature or veto to have legal effect.
People walk past a banner with pictures of the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, June 9, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The White House has insisted the War Powers Act is not constitutional and thus not binding.
On Tuesday, a White House official said the Senate vote has no significance because the resolutions do not go to the president and have no force of law and the measure passed only because two Republicans were absent.
The official also said the resolution directs Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities, which the White House says were terminated with a ceasefire on April 7.
Experts say the constitutionality of the War Powers Act likely will be settled in the courts.
“The executive branch will likely ignore it on constitutional grounds, and it’s not clear who might have standing to sue to enforce it,” said Scott Anderson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and senior editor of the online legal publication Lawfare.
Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, who sponsored the resolution in the House, said he viewed the resolution as binding and would pursue all legal avenues to ensure that the administration complies.
Democrats also noted that the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the right to take the country to war. “Congress has to own this responsibility,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said in a speech urging support for the measure.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity,” while Tehran said it had made no such concession in negotiations, raising questions about the viability of their fragile peace deal.
The two countries, which ended a first round of negotiations in Switzerland on Monday, also offered conflicting accounts about financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon – all major aspects of their framework deal signed last week aiming to end the war.
Nevertheless, Trump said negotiations with Iran were going smoothly. “We’re getting along quite well,” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The United States also relaxed travel curbs on Iran’s World Cup soccer team, allowing it to travel from Tijuana, Mexico, to Seattle two days before its next match instead of one.
In signs of withering domestic support for the war, Trump’s poll numbers weakened while the Republican-controlled Senate defied the president and voted to halt the war, in a largely symbolic move that highlighted fissures in his party.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 35% of Americans think the U.S. is now in a weaker position with Iran than before the war, while 23% believe it is in a stronger position.
The Senate vote of 50-48 endorsed a resolution passed by the House of Representatives this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28.
It was the first time both chambers of Congress had passed a resolution directing a president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities under the War Powers Act, though it was not immediately clear how the votes might affect the conflict.
RESCUING SEAFARERS
Though prospects for a lasting peace are far from certain, the initial agreement between Washington and Tehran has allowed traffic to flow again through the strait, which typically handles one-fifth of global energy supply.
Trump said on Wednesday he had told the Justice Department to look into oil companies for not lowering pump prices in line with falling crude costs.
“Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!” he said on social media.
Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, extending this week’s losses and trading near their lowest since before the war began on February 28.
The United Nations’ shipping agency said it was working to evacuate 11,000 seafarers stranded when Iran closed the strategic waterway.
The agreement calls for Iran to allow traffic to flow freely for 60 days, though it has said it might impose tolls or other fees on shipping subsequently.
A woman walks near a mural depicting the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
In a joint statement on Tuesday, Iran and Oman, which controls the other side of the strait, stressed their “sovereign rights” in the waterway, adding that they would work together to manage traffic, along with associated costs.
Oman said it had coordinated with the International Maritime Organization to provide a temporary corridor for vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Gulf allies unsettled by the peace deal, said Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls in the strait as part of any final agreement.
The deal calls for an immediate end to the war, including in Lebanon, lifting U.S. sanctions on Tehran and unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad. It also outlines a $300-billion investment fund for the Islamic Republic’s reconstruction.
AT ODDS OVER NUCLEAR INSPECTIONS, FROZEN ASSETS
The framework itself sets no limits on Iran’s nuclear program, an issue to be tackled in 60 days of negotiations.
Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to allow international inspectors indefinite access to its damaged nuclear sites.
“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump said on social media.
Iran denied it had discussed its nuclear program at the talks and said it had not agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back to the country.
The two sides also disagreed on details of a provision that would give Iran access to funds that have been frozen in overseas accounts.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with graduates of higher education institutions of the Defence Ministry, Emergencies Ministry, Federal Security Service, Federal Guard Service, National Guard, Interior Ministry, Investigative Committee and Federal Penitentiary Service in Moscow, Russia, June 23, 2026. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Russia has accused the United States of failing to deliver on “understandings” reached between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska last August, a shift that suggests growing frustration in Moscow.
In the space of three days, three senior Russian officials have said, without providing specifics, that Washington has not followed through.
Their comments follow an intensification of Ukraine’s drone strikes deep inside Russia – including two attacks last week on a Moscow oil refinery – and a Group of Seven summit at which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Trump and other Western leaders that Kyiv was turning the tide of the war.
Moscow rejects that, and has continued heavy attacks of its own.
RUSSIA SAYS U.S. NOT LIVING UP TO ‘SPIRIT OF ALASKA’
Ever since Trump began trying last year to end the war in Ukraine, sometimes criticising Putin but more often blaming Zelenskiy for failing to reach a deal, the Kremlin has repeatedly expressed gratitude for his efforts.
Since the Alaska summit, it has often spoken of “the spirit of Anchorage” – shorthand, analysts say, for Russia’s contention that Trump is sympathetic to its central demand that Ukraine give up the whole of its Donbas region in return for a freezing of battle lines elsewhere.
The U.S. has not spelled out what, if anything, was agreed, and allied leaders were unconvinced that Trump had achieved anything by rolling out the red carpet for Putin.
However, only a month after the summit, Trump, in a characteristic shift, suggested Ukraine could recapture all the land Russia had seized, and Moscow was soon expressing disappointment.
In the first of a flurry of high-level statements on the encounter, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday that only one side had remained committed to the understandings, “while the other side, as it now appears, has not been fully able to do its part”.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the summit may have been a U.S. “ploy to buy time to rearm the Kyiv regime”.
Lavrov’s deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, also accused the U.S. of departing from the “fundamental understandings” reached in Alaska, according to Interfax. It quoted him as saying, however, that dialogue with the U.S. would continue.
“We also see Washington’s line moving closer to the most rabid anti-Russian policies pursued by the U.S.’s closest European allies – namely, the UK and France,” another agency, RIA, quoted Ryabkov as saying, referring to last week’s G7 summit in France.
‘PUTIN NEEDS TO GIVE A RESPONSE’
Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian analyst and veteran Putin watcher, said the shift reflected Moscow’s nervousness at a “very critical situation for the Russian economy and military” in light of a surge in Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. He said Moscow believed these were being assisted by the U.S.
“Putin needs to give a response that is visible to the population and that demonstrates that he still has cards to play,” Mangott said, predicting further military escalation and a Russian push to get Trump back onside.
Putin, speaking about the recent Ukrainian strikes, said on Tuesday that “the entire West” was working for Kyiv.
A health worker in personal protective equipment (PPE) stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere Purchase Licensing Rights
The U.S. has provided doses of an experimental antibody drug from Mapp Biopharmaceutical for use in clinical trials to fight the widening Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, a Health Department spokesperson said, a shift from its position of making the drug available just for Americans.
After dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development and slashing aid to the region, the U.S. is now making modest contributions to assist with what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said could potentially be the worst Ebola outbreak yet without a strong response.
The Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson declined to comment on the number of doses it will provide, saying by email that the drug is being made available for compassionate use in Congo as well as to advance a clinical trial in the outbreak region.
The trial data could help inform future regulatory review and potential U.S. approval, the spokesperson said.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has caused more than 1,000 cases in Congo, including more than 250 deaths. A handful of cases and deaths have also been reported in neighboring Uganda.
Doses of the Mapp drug and other therapeutics intended for trials are being shipped now, the World Health Organization told Reuters on Monday. The agency is working with health partners to prepare for trial enrolment in health facilities, the spokesperson said.
This marks the first time the U.S. government has indicated it plans to directly support clinical trials of the antibody treatment known as MBP134 from San Diego-based Mapp, by providing stockpiled doses. The U.S. had previously said doses would only be made available for Americans deemed to be at high risk after exposure to the virus.
The U.S. has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to the Ebola response so far, and is building a controversial quarantine center in Kenya for American citizens, saying the priority is keeping Ebola from reaching the U.S.
TRIALS TO START IN COMING WEEKS
The Mapp drug is expected to be among the first to be tested in the outbreak, which was declared a public health emergency by the WHO just over a month ago and is already the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Despite the urgency of the need, the WHO has said experimental treatments and vaccines should still be tested in clinical trials before widespread use.
Trials of the Mapp drug and two Gilead Sciences (GILD.O), antivirals are due to begin in the coming weeks, according to the WHO and scientists involved in the testing.
Vaccines will take longer, the WHO has said, although a top official at an international vaccines group said earliest stage trials could begin next month, but probably not in Congo.
Running clinical trials in a conflict-hit part of the world, where disease testing and contact tracing are challenging, mistrust and attacks on health workers widespread, and supply chains disrupted, will be difficult, global health officials said.
Addressing these issues is a priority, the WHO said, as well as ensuring patients in the affected countries will be able to access the drugs after the trials if they are shown to be safe and effective.
TESTING MAPP AND GILEAD DRUGS
Mapp’s MBP134 will be tested on its own as a treatment for Bundibugyo and alongside Gilead’s antiviral remdesivir, also known as Veklury, which was widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO said.
The Mapp drug trial is sponsored by the WHO and led by the University of Oxford alongside the Congolese and Ugandan governments.
Another Gilead antiviral, obeldesivir, will be tested as a potential preventive option, likely starting this month, the WHO and scientists involved said. This trial will be led by Congo, Uganda, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and co-sponsored by Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research and France’s ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases agency.
Gilead declined to disclose details on shipments to Congo. Earlier this month, it said it was preparing to support requests for both drugs.
Ethics committees and regulators in Congo and Uganda are reviewing trial protocols, the WHO and Mapp said. The treatments have been shown in earlier trials to be safe but have not been tested for efficacy against Bundibugyo.
Workers at Elon Musk’s xAI facility, which houses a large supercomputer known as Colossus, used for Artificial Intelligence (AI) data processing, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
China has overtaken the U.S. to win the top spot on a list of the world’s fastest supercomputers, but the results may say more about Beijing’s desire to show self-sufficiency in computing systems than its standing in the global AI race, experts said.
The LineShine system at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, China, uses domestically designed chips and won the top spot on the TOP500, a biannual global ranking of supercomputers, with the country’s first listing in three years.
The ranking comes as the U.S. and China are increasingly competing in advanced computing, with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signing an executive order that aims to put the U.S. ahead of China in the emerging field of quantum computing.
In the June 2026 edition of TOP500, LineShine beat out the previous titleholder, El Capitan, a supercomputer housed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that the U.S. government uses to develop and maintain its nuclear weapons stockpile.
But technology and policy experts interviewed by Reuters said the results do not mean that China has the world’s fastest computer for AI work because of changes in the computing industry in recent years and the methods used to compile the list. LineShine ranked fourth on a benchmark test designed to simulate computing work that is more similar to AI.
BENCHMARK TESTS
For decades, supercomputers strung together many separate machines to work on complex scientific problems such as simulating how atoms interact with one another and were mostly the domain of national labs and universities. To be ranked on the TOP500 list, supercomputer operators must run a set of benchmark tests that aims to mimic such work.
But in more recent years, cloud computing companies such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), Amazon.com (AMZN.O), and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), Google built out massive supercomputers of their own but geared them for AI work instead.
Most of those companies do not opt to compete for a spot on the TOP500 list. A study last year by AI policy researchers Konstantin Pilz, James Sanders, Robi Rahman and Lennart Heim found that SpaceX-owned (SPCX.O), xAI’s Colossus system was already likely more powerful than the U.S. government’s El Capitan.
“If the hyperscalers submitted their systems, this ‘world’s fastest’ would not crack the top five,” said Jimmy Goodrich, a senior fellow at the University of California’s Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Cooling towers are seen at the nuclear-powered Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday $17.5 billion in conditional loans for utilities and energy companies to purchase parts needed to strengthen the U.S. commercial nuclear supply chain.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters the loans will help the U.S. achieve its goal of having 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors under construction by 2030, potentially accelerating that timeline by three years.
The U.S. industry has struggled to attract investment because nuclear projects are capital‑intensive, prone to cost overruns and subject to complex regulations, making them riskier than cheaper, quicker alternatives such as natural gas and renewables.
The loans would help companies procure items such as reactor vessels and steam generators, which can take years to secure, and potentially reduce the time to build large AP1000 nuclear plants.
Wright said the loans have attracted strong interest from data center hyperscalers — tech giants that run global cloud and computing infrastructure — and energy companies, as U.S. electricity demand soars with the rapid buildout of data centers to power AI capabilities.
“We are confident that these projects will be economic for utility shareholders, ratepayers and hyperscalers,” Wright said.
The loan announcement comes months after the DOE announced an $80 billion agreement with Westinghouse Electric’s owners, Canada-based Cameco (CCO.TO), and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.N), in which the government would arrange financing and help secure permits for the Westinghouse reactors in exchange for a 20% share of future profits.
LOANS TO SUPPORT WESTINGHOUSE REACTORS
The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly known as the Loan Programs Office, will back up to five loans, each of which will support two 1.1-gigawatt Westinghouse reactors per site.
Westinghouse will partner with up to five utilities and energy companies nationwide that will procure the reactors and other “long-lead” supply chain needs at a fixed price.
Wright said seven utilities have expressed interest, but would not disclose their names or project locations.
Each project will be jointly owned by Westinghouse and a utility or energy company, each required to commit $500 million before accessing DOE funds.
“This is not a risky endeavor,” Wright said.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the only use he made of the then-Loan Programs Office was for financing reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant.
FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group K – Portugal v Uzbekistan Purchase Licensing Rights
Cristiano Ronaldo silenced his critics in spectacular fashion, becoming the first player to score in six World Cups while netting twice in Portugal’s emphatic 5-0 Group K rout of Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday.
After the match the 41-year-old shouted “I’m back, I’m back” into the television cameras — an outpouring after critics had questioned his place in the team following a goal-scoring drought that had extended to 10 matches in major finals.
Allowed time and space in the box, Ronaldo was deadly in punishing an outclassed Uzbekistan as he took his overall World Cup tally to 10 goals, moving past Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time leading marksman at the global finals.
Ronaldo said that, while he was happy to break records, the most important thing for him was the team’s improvement and the confidence the players showed after a frustrating first match.
“The team performed really well and improved a lot,” he said. “As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Obviously, speaking personally, records are always nice but my goal is always to help the national team achieve its objectives.”
Portugal, who have four points from two games, face Colombia in their final Group K match, while Uzbekistan, teetering on the brink of elimination with no points, play DR Congo in their last outing.
EARLY INTENSITY
Portugal ramped up the intensity from the opening whistle as players seemed to want to make amends for the opening 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo as they moved the ball quickly up the pitch to create a host of chances.
Portugal created 17 attempts on goal with eight on target as players pushed forward throughout the match in search of a third goal for Ronaldo, who spurned a few good chances to bag a hat-trick.
Coach Roberto Martinez said the team — boasting attacking riches beyond Ronaldo — showed an improvement in decision-making and finishing against Uzbekistan.
“This was the response we had in the dressing room,” Martinez said. “There are times when you need a game like the first one in order to grow in the tournament.
“Today we saw a team with the same attitude and commitment, but with greater maturity because it was no longer the opening match.”
Ronaldo’s first goal in the sixth minute was a neat finish from six yards at the near post as he converted Joao Cancelo’s low cross, before placing Bruno Fernandes’ perfect pass into the far corner.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he was quitting, paving the way for what is expected to be an orderly transfer of power to frontrunner Andy Burnham, who could become Britain’s seventh leader in 10 years as early as next month.
In an emotional speech, Starmer said he had listened to his governing Labour Party and realised that he was no longer the man who should lead it into a national election due in 2029.
After making his announcement on the steps of his Downing Street office and London residence, Starmer’s move to stand down could have triggered a divisive leadership contest, but several Labour lawmakers said they now expected more of a coronation.
Burnham, a 56-year-old career politician, quickly won the support of another potential leadership rival, former health minister Wes Streeting, with one Labour lawmaker saying it was more likely the former mayor would now be installed as leader.
He entered parliament to cheers from Labour lawmakers, and the odd heckle from the opposition, including one person who shouted out: “He’s not the Messiah.” He then pledged allegiance to King Charles to take his place as a lawmaker, a necessary step to be able to become the new leader of Labour and Britain.
POLITICAL CHURN IN BRITAIN
The Labour government is the latest to fall foul of voter anger over politicians’ failure to deliver on their promises of change, 10 years after the vote to leave the European Union.
Starmer said he would ask the Labour Party’s organising committee to set out a timeline for a leadership contest to find his replacement. Nominations would open on July 9, close by mid-July, and if there is a contest, a new leader will be in place by September. A coronation could mean a new leader would enter office by mid-July.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer from my parliamentary party to that question and I accept that answer with good grace,” he said.
After describing the achievements his government had secured in his two years of power, a man who was often criticised for being robotic became visibly emotional, his voice cracking when he thanked his family for their support.
“When I leave the biggest job in the country I will spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife Vic who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children who are my pride and my joy.”
PRESSURE HAD BEEN BUILDING FOR MONTHS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacts as he announces the timeline for his resignation, outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy Purchase Licensing Rights
Starmer spent the weekend with his wife, Victoria, at his country residence to consider his future. With support draining away, he realised the political reality of his position.
There was some sadness in the Labour ranks, with industry minister Chris McDonald saying his speech underlined the fact “he’s a really decent man”. However, others said he had been treated the way he treated others as prime minister, being “royally done over”.
The threat to Starmer, which had been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when Burnham decisively won a parliamentary election in Makerfield, northwestern England, to return to Westminster, beating a candidate from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has led opinion polls for more than a year.
That victory gave hope to Labour lawmakers that Burnham, known for his strong communication skills, could transform the fortunes of a party that has lost support under Starmer.
The pound rose against other currencies and British government bonds rallied after Streeting’s announcement, as investors welcomed a more certain path to Burnham’s premiership.
Despite hoping for a smooth handover, the change is not without risk.
Burnham has yet to flesh out a full policy agenda and Reform’s Farage immediately called for a national election.
“I’ve had enough of waiting around. Britain needs change – real change, not another washed-up has-been shoved into place by the uniparty,” Farage said in a statement.
American allies of President Donald Trump this week defended him to an Israeli public anxious about a U.S. interim deal with Iran and White House criticism that together appeared to signal fissures in Israel’s decades-old alliance with Washington.
The U.S.-Israeli relationship has been on a roller coaster, from the early confidence they shared after their joint attack on Iran to public disagreements between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to end the four-month-old war.
Netanyahu and many other Israelis see a risk that Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran will empower a state they regard as their deadliest enemy and constrict their ability to respond to threats from Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
They sense the U.S. alliance – long the bedrock of Israel’s strategic approach – is under strain as opinion polls show Americans increasingly unhappy with Israel and their strongest champion in Washington appears to be turning away.
“The United States and Israel have an unbreakable bond,” Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said on Sunday after acknowledging there was an “enormous level of anxiety about the relationship.”
He spoke at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem where concerns about the state of the U.S.-Israel alliance dominated many of the discussions.
Mark Levin, a conservative Fox News commentator and longtime Trump supporter who has broken with the president over the Iran deal, told the audience that while he did not like the agreement and believed that the “Iranian regime” had to be destroyed, he nevertheless praised Trump for what he said was the president’s support for liberty, religious freedom, Christianity and Judaism.
ISRAELIS WORRY OVER CRITICISM FROM REPUBLICANS
Alongside their concerns about the wording of the Iran deal, Israelis worry about Trump’s insistence on Israel agreeing a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon and his language responding to Netanyahu’s resistance to those agreements.
In recent weeks Trump has called Netanyahu “fucking crazy,” lectured Israel that “you don’t have to knock an apartment down every time you’re looking for somebody” and publicly pondered asking Syria to replace Israeli troops in Lebanon.
Vice President JD Vance also struck a more critical tone, saying “Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” adding later that not all criticism of Israel should be dismissed as antisemitism.
The fact such sharp views are emanating from Trump’s Republican Party is especially worrying for many Israelis, with U.S. Democrats far more vocally critical of Israel than in previous years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the JNS (Jerusalem News Syndicate) International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, June 21, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Purchase Licensing Rights
Sid Rosenberg, a prominent conservative New York radio host, told Israelis that for all their concerns about Trump, he was the best option for them. “You could have JD Vance. Good luck with that,” he said, after acknowledging that “a lot of people in Israel are very, very upset” with the president.
While large majorities of Republicans 50 and older view Israel positively, younger conservative Americans have grown more critical, a Pew Research Center poll from late March showed. Some 57% of Republicans aged 18-49 have an unfavourable opinion of Israel, up from 50% a year previously.
Many Americans, including prominent Democratic politicians, were outraged by the scale of death and devastation in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza after the deadly Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, on Israeli communities and the taking of hostages.
Israel has also faced criticism over the joint decision to launch the war on Iran, a conflict that is deeply unpopular in the United States, including among Trump’s conservative base.
Victoria Coates, vice president at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and Trump’s deputy national security adviser during his first term, suggested on Monday that the U.S.-Israeli relationship was strained but expressed confidence that the leaders of both countries would bring it “back on track”.
A day earlier, speaking at the conference, she had said that recent days had been “challenging for all of us, to put it mildly,” but that there had been plenty of “great and good things” in Trump’s second term “for which we can and should be grateful.”
The United States waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the first talks under a nascent peace deal, while officials reported a sustained lull in fighting in Lebanon under the agreement aimed at ending hostilities across the region.
The developments followed a weekend that had appeared to put the week-old accord in jeopardy, including threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to restart the war if Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran declared the strategic waterway closed. Tanker traffic through the strait started to pick up on Monday and oil prices resumed their slide.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland had laid a good foundation for a final peace deal, although Iran denied that it had begun discussions of its nuclear program.
U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. The Iran war has also shaken markets around the world and raised global oil prices, which settled 3% lower on Monday after Vance reported progress had been made.
The two sides, trying to build on the interim deal they signed last week, agreed a roadmap towards a permanent agreement within 60 days at the talks in the Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said.
They also agreed on a mechanism to end fighting in Lebanon between U.S. ally Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah, and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in order to avoid conflict in the strategic waterway.
In the first of several steps envisaged under the agreement to provide economic relief to Iran, the U.S. Treasury announced a waiver until August 21 on sanctions, allowing Tehran to sell oil and related products and receive payment for them.
VANCE DELIVERS UPBEAT ASSESSMENT
Vance, who has maintained an upbeat tone since the memorandum of understanding was signed, said Tehran had agreed to allow in nuclear inspectors, and to establish mechanisms to handle its assets frozen abroad and manage ceasefires.
“We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal,” he told reporters after taking part in the talks.
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the official IRNA news agency that Iran had not yet discussed nuclear issues or made new commitments.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that Iran will agree to have weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty.”
“If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump later told reporters.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force Two, after the U.S. and Iran held high-level talks at the Lake Lucerne Summit, at Emmen Military Air Base, Emmen, Switzerland, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran has limited inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency since the U.S. and Israel launched a first round of air strikes last year, and suspended them entirely when war broke out in February. It says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on social media that Tehran had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some of its frozen assets abroad and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran.
Vance said White House envoy Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had come up with a process whereby the U.S. and Qatar would have control over Iranian funds when they are unfrozen, and the money could be spent on U.S. corn, soy and wheat.
“So, the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers,” Trump told reporters.
However, Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said there was no such obligation and said at least some of the remaining frozen funds could be used to buy other non-sanctioned goods, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
HALT TO HOSTILITIES
Technical talks were due to continue for the rest of this week.
The interim peace agreement calls for ending all hostilities, including in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March after Hezbollah fired across the border.
Israel was not party to the peace agreement and says it will not withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but on Friday it agreed a new ceasefire. Though intense fighting continued for another day, Lebanese officials said it had abated since Saturday night.
Israel and Lebanon were due to start a new round of talks in Washington on Tuesday, with Beirut determined to press ahead with direct negotiations even as they appear to be overshadowed by Iran’s decision to make Lebanon part of its negotiations with the United States.
Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion at a gas processing facility inside Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan industrial complex, Qatar’s energy minister said on Monday, one of the deadliest gas industry accidents in more than two decades.
Liquefied natural gas facilities were not impacted by the explosion, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said. State-owned QatarEnergy is working to restart LNG operations at Ras Laffan, which were halted after an Iranian attack in March.
Authorities said a “technical accident” occurred at the Barzan local gas processing facility on Sunday evening. Plant production had been completely stopped since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements and it was first restarted only two days ago, Kaabi told reporters.
The last comparable disaster was a 2004 explosion at Algeria’s Skikda LNG complex that killed 27 people. None of the 66 people reported injured and receiving medical treatment after the Barzan explosion was in a life-threatening condition, Kaabi said.
The people killed were Indian and Pakistani, he added.
QatarEnergy has started a full investigation into the cause of the accident, which Kaabi stressed was not sabotage or hostile in nature and posed no risk to the environment.
QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights
“QatarEnergy LNG facilities, Ras Laffan port and other logistical operations in Ras Laffan remain unaffected as a result of this explosion and fire and that will not affect in any way our export capabilities,” he added.
Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base, has come under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war, which trapped around 20% of global LNG supply in the Gulf before some shipments resumed recently.
The vast Ras Laffan LNG production and export site had annual production capacity of 77 million metric tons before an Iranian strike in early March damaged two trains, cutting 17% of production. QatarEnergy’s CEO told Reuters the damage would take three to five years to repair.
FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group J – Argentina v Austria Purchase Licensing Rights
Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, netting twice during Argentina’s 2-0 Group J win over Austria on Monday.
The double also extended Messi’s scoring streak to six consecutive World Cup matches.
The Argentina captain had moved level with Brazilian great Marta, whose 17 goals in the women’s tournament had stood as the overall record, before moving clear and setting a new outright benchmark for combined men’s and women’s World Cup scoring.
He also extended his tally to five goals at this year’s edition.
Messi crowned a flowing Argentina move in Dallas, starting the attack before arriving unmarked in the penalty area to sweep a first-time finish into the bottom corner from Facundo Medina’s low cross, before later adding a stoppage-time second as he reacted quickest inside the box to seal the victory.
The Argentine talisman, who turns 39 later this week, had earlier missed a golden opportunity when he sent a penalty wide after Lautaro Martinez was fouled.
At least 18 people died in France, including two children left in a hot car, as a heatwave hung over Europe, smashing temperature records in several cities on Monday.
As schools in France closed or modified timetables, forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could break records for June this week.
The temperature in Bordeaux in France’s western wine country rose to 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking a record set last August. In Poitiers in central France it reached 41.2 C, beating a previous high set in 1947.
In San Sebastian, in Spain’s traditionally cooler north, the temperature was set to reach 40 C, more than double the city’s historic average for June 22 according to the Reuters Climate Monitor, which showed Europe as the continent furthest from its historic norm on Monday.
An April report by the World Meteorological Organization found Europe is warming at more than double the global rate.
TWO CHILDREN DIE IN HOT CAR
First responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.
Three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died over the weekend in the Bordeaux region from health issues caused by the heatwave, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV late on Sunday.
“Swim only in places that are supervised,” French Civil Safety service spokesperson Jerome Boulanger said after 13 people were reported drowned from Sunday into Monday. Drowning deaths spiked by 172% in France last year during heatwaves as swimmers tried to cool off.
The heatwave affecting large parts of Europe is known as an Omega block because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air either side, said Clair Barnes, a research associate in extreme weather and climate at Imperial College in London.
People cool off in the Trocadero Fountain next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Purchase Licensing Rights
“It’s drawing warm air up from North Africa, from the Sahara, and that’s why we have this really intense heat. It’s very slow moving and it means there’s kind of no wind, no breeze for respite,” she said.
Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall, she said.
UK HEAT WILL BREAK JUNE RECORD SET IN 1976
The Met Office, Britain’s national weather forecaster, said on Monday that a four-day heatwave there could push temperatures above 39 C in some places, easily breaking the June record of 35.6 C set in 1957 and 1976. Just a few weeks ago, Britain had shattered its record high temperature for May.
“Thirty-six degrees is going to be disgusting,” said data scientist Lewis Jennings, out walking in central London.
Paris was due to register its highest temperature for June, with the mercury reaching 38.4 C, according to preliminary numbers from Meteo-France.
“We are seeing temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average,” said Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for Spain’s AEMET weather agency.
A handwritten message left by the Iranian national soccer team thanking Los Angeles for its hospitality during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran left a message in their SoFi Stadium locker room on Sunday thanking Los Angeles for its hospitality during the World Cup and saying they are leaving with dignity after a 0-0 draw with Belgium kept alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
Los Angeles hosted both of Iran’s Group G matches so far, with the team returning to their base in Tijuana, Mexico between games.
Iran have spent the tournament based in Tijuana commuting to the U.S. for their matches because of restrictions surrounding their stay in the country, while a number of Iran’s team staff and officials have been banned.
U.S. officials have said the squad’s travel arrangements would continue to be assessed, while discussions over easing some restrictions have continued.
“From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast,” read the handwritten note, which was released by Iran’s football federation.
“Thank you Los Angeles for your hospitality.
“We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity.”
The note also thanked Iranian supporters who gave their “heart, voice and soul” for the team during the two matches and ended with a call for peace, respect and friendship among all nations.
Smoke billows from a production plant following a Ukrainian attack, according the local governor, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Voronzeh, Russia June 22, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS. Purchase Licensing Rights
Ukraine’s military said it had hit a plant producing electronics for missiles in Russia’s border Voronezh region on Monday and the Russian region’s governor said five people were killed and dozens injured in the attack.
The missile assault on the city of Voronezh announced by the Ukrainian military was the latest blow to Russia’s defence industry inflicted by long-range strikes.
The Ukrainian General Staff said it had used air-launched cruise missiles to hit the facility, which it described as a “critical component” in Russia’s defence production in the city less than 200 km (125 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
“It manufactures electronics used in Russian missiles, in particular for the Iskander tactical missile system,” it posted on Telegram.
Voronezh Regional Governor Alexander Gusev, writing on Telegram, described the main target of the attack as “an industrial enterprise on the left bank of the Voronezh River in the provincial capital.
“We have sustained extremely heavy losses today. As a result of a missile attack on the city, five people were killed,” Gusev said. “Several dozen citizens sought medical help, but most were sent home after receiving treatment.”
Gusev said 10 apartment buildings and six private homes were damaged. Earlier, the governor said Russian air defences had destroyed several high-speed targets over the city.
