While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 29, 2025
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 29, 2025
Iran could again enrich uranium 'in matter of months'
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months,' despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News said on June 28.
Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition the Islamic republic has consistently denied. The United States subsequently bombed three key facilities used for Tehran's atomic programme.
But Mr Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says some of Iran's nuclear programme 'is still standing.'
'They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,' Mr Grossi said on June 27, according to a transcript of the interview released on June 28.
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G-7 agrees to exempt US multinationals from global tax
The Group of Seven (G-7) nations said on June 28 they have agreed to exempt US multinational companies from a global minimum tax imposed by other countries – a win for President Donald Trump's government, which pushed hard for the compromise.
The deal will see US companies benefit from a 'side-by-side' solution under which they will only be taxed at home, on both domestic and foreign profits, the G-7 said, in a statement released by Canada, which holds the group's rotating presidency.
The agreement was reached in part due to 'recently proposed changes to the US international tax system' included in Mr Trump's signature domestic policy Bill, which is still being debated in Congress, the statement said.
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Pakistan flash floods and heavy rain kill 32
Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 32 people including 16 children since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.
Flash floods and roof collapses over the past 36 hours have claimed the lives of 19 people, eight of them children, a statement on June 28 by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management authority said.
Of the total deaths, 13 were reported from north-western Swat Valley.
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Fans celebrate Squid Game finale with Seoul parade
Thousands of fans gathered in Seoul on June 28 to celebrate the final Squid Game season, ending a global Netflix hit that is seen as a symbol of South Korea's cultural clout.
The third and final season was released on June 27, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had 'poured everything' into the series, which launched nearly four years ago.
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Emma Raducanu 'just friends' with Carlos Alcaraz
British number one Emma Raducanu refused to be drawn on rumours of a relationship with French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz as the duo gear up for a doubles partnership at the US Open.
Raducanu and Alcaraz practiced together at Wimbledon on June 27 as part of a sponsorship commitment and will play alongside each other at Flushing Meadows in September in the mixed doubles.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz revealed last week he had made the request to play with Raducanu, who shot to fame when she won the US Open in 2021.
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UK police studying Glastonbury performances after anti-Israel chants
Mo Chara of Kneecap performs at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy GLASTONBURY, England - British police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows. "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday. Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. "Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said. The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury. The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge. A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. "I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News. "I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a tent, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, June 29, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB A Palestinian injured in an overnight Israeli strike on a tent, bids farewell to his brother, who was killed in the same strike, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, June 29, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a tent, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, June 29, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled CAIRO - The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel's offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe. "The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army's bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
International Business Times
2 hours ago
- International Business Times
Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa: Hamas Leader and Oct. 7 Mastermind Killed in Israeli Airstrike
Israeli officials announced on Saturday that their military "eliminated" a key founding member of Hamas and the chief architect of the October 7 assault. Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was killed in a precision airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood, IDF said. Al-Issa was among the last surviving final leaders of Hamas' military wing and a key figure in orchestrating the October 7 attack that ignited the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. "Issa led Hamas' force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre. As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis," said an IDF post on X. Israel Takes Its Revenge Al-Issa was considered a "vital source of knowledge" for Hamas and had held several senior roles within the organization before the October 7 attack, including serving as the Head of the Training Headquarters. He played a major role in restoring Hamas' internal structures that had been weakened in recent months. Al-Issa also co-founded the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades' military academy, where he trained thousands of militants and helped shape the strategic framework of Hamas' military wing, according to the Jerusalem Post. He moved to Gaza from Syria in 2005 and was reportedly accompanied by his wife and grandson at the time of the airstrike. Another Major Blow for Hamas Issa's death comes just after the Israel Defense Forces announced they had eliminated the leader of a violent Palestinian jihadist faction accused of abducting and executing Hamas hostages taken during the October 7 attack. Asaad Abu Sharia, the commander of the Mujahideen Brigades, was targeted and killed in a coordinated operation in Gaza City by the IDF and Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency. The IDF also conducted an airstrike last month on a hospital in Gaza, killing senior Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar. Sinwar had been hiding in tunnels beneath the facility, and dramatic footage showed IDF troops pulling his body from the rubble.
