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When Pope Leo XIV last week completed his seven-day trip to Spain by visiting the Canary Islands, where thousands of migrants have died attempting to reach Europe, one would expect the usual boilerplate language typical of the Catholic hierarchy of late. This would include that Western nations need to treat immigrants with respect and dignity (hint: unreservedly welcoming them in and putting them on the fast track to citizenship) and that immigrants have the right to leave their nations of origin. There was certainly some of that, similar to his predecessor, Francis.
But what was surprisingly welcome was that the pope tempered that language with exhortations and warnings to those same migrants, a message that has been often frustratingly absent from the Catholic Church’s public commentary regarding one of the greatest crises facing the West. It’s language that many of the Catholic faithful — and the broader world that, to various degrees, still looks to the papacy as a moral compass — desperately yearned to hear, especially given that Catholic teaching is actually quite nuanced and moderate on the topic of immigration and borders. One hopes the rest of the Catholic hierarchy were paying attention.
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Monday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) claimed President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran were the “height of incompetence.”
Host Erin Burnett said, “I got to start with this new reporting coming out of Axios, that U.S. intelligence has raised serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to make the nuclear concessions. And that Director Ratcliffe of the CIA, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have all expressed concerns about the agreement. What’s your reaction to that?”
Kelly said, “I’m not surprised to hear that. I haven’t verified that. I haven’t seen the intelligence you’re talking about. But, you know, as I listen to, you know, how you describe this, agreement, this one and a half page MoU that is going to be signed and then 60 days of negotiation. I mean, the word that comes to mind to me is incompetence.”
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Iran’s decision to hold a July funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a high-stakes bet that any emerging peace deal with the United States will hold, potentially creating a “target-rich” gathering of Tehran’s most isolated leaders, a counterterrorism expert warned Sunday.
The multi-day state funeral, announced by Iranian state media on June 13, is scheduled to begin in Tehran on July 4 and end with Khamenei’s burial in the holy city of Mashhad on July 9, Reuters reported.
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President Donald Trump is touting a deal that would end the monthslong war with Iran — and potentially ease some of the political headwinds bearing down on Republicans.
GOP lawmakers still have lots of questions.
The absence of publicly released text for the “memorandum of understanding” Vice President JD Vance reportedly signed with Iranian officials Sunday left an information vacuum on Capitol Hill, where senators of both parties were left airing concerns about what the deal might entail.
Even most Republicans agreed: More information needs to come to Congress soon, and any agreement touching on the future of the Iranian nuclear program would have to eventually be subject to a congressional vote.
“If you want a deal to last, it can’t be an executive agreement,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “We’ve got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify [it] long term.”
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On May 28 in New York, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared that a strong Canada “will help make America great again.” His announcement came at a high-stakes moment, with China’s foreign minister arriving in Ottawa to build out the road map for the Canada-China “strategic partnership” and Minister Dominic Leblanc heading to Washington in an attempt to salvage USMCA. It’s all interconnected.
Struck last fall against the backdrop of trade tensions with Washington, the Canada-China partnership is alarming security experts on both sides of the border. They understand Beijing is working hard to build up its coercive power over Canada and to use Canada as a back door into the United States. They also know the U.S. will use its economic power — including its ability to impose harsh trade terms on Canada — to stop Canada from getting too deeply ensnared by Beijing.
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President Donald Trump warned Iran that it will face “ultimate consequences” if the regime obtains a nuclear weapon, drawing a hard red line as he works to lock down a Middle East peace deal.
Speaking during a G7 news conference and bilateral meeting with Qatar early Tuesday, Trump said Tehran “will not” be allowed to develop, buy or otherwise acquire a nuclear weapon under his emerging memorandum of understanding.
“And if they do, they suffer unbelievable consequences,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Qatar early Tuesday morning. “Not just a little bit, I won’t even tell you the consequences, but the consequences are the ultimate consequences.”
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Trump wants to go down in history as one of the great US presidents, but what is unfolding is one of the biggest presidential trainwrecks in American history. Through a series of bad policy decisions, Donald J. Trump has wrecked the economy. Corruption in this administration is approaching levels that haven’t been seen in the country since the 19th Century.
The president started a war with Iran, which he lost, and negotiated a ceasefire extension that he will not let Congress or the American people view.
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Qatar solidified its role as the Trump administration’s preferred negotiator after playing a decisive role in bringing together the Memorandum of Understanding to end the U.S. war with Iran.
Speaking alongside Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani at a summit on Tuesday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on the Qatari leader and his nation’s efforts to help the United States.
“We have a great relationship,” Trump said. “The emir is a fantastic man, respected all over the world … highly respected people, great people, and we work very well together. We have our deal done with Iran, and to be successful, it goes to a second stage, which I think will be actually easier.
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The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s seen a copy of the preliminary deal struck between the U.S. and Iran to end hostilities in the Middle East and is calling it a “game changer.”
“I have to say, it’s exceeded my expectations. We’re very pleased with the deal that’s been struck,” the prime minister said in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France.
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A cargo ship crossing the North Pacific encountered a powerful storm that swept several shipping containers into the ocean. One of those containers carried 28,800 plastic bath toys consisting of yellow ducks, blue turtles, red beavers, and green frogs. What appeared to be a routine shipping accident soon turned into one of the most unusual scientific experiments in history. As the toys drifted across oceans for years, researchers tracked their movements and used the information to gain a deeper understanding of how ocean currents move around the planet. The accidental spill provided scientists with valuable data that would have been extremely difficult and expensive to collect through traditional methods.
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… Now, a stunning new inquiry from a member of Parliament is dragging that truth into the light.
The sheer number of alleged victims — and the obvious signs of what was happening to them that were ignored at every level — reveals the repeated failures that became endemic to the British system.
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Tuesday on CNN’s “The Source,” former Vice President Mike Pence said President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran “smacks of appeasement.”
Pence said, “Iran has been at war with the United States, and our cherished ally Israel, for 47 years. And I strongly supported, the president’s decision for the first time in modern history to take the fight directly to the mullahs in Tehran last year. And then again, this year. And I do believe the president has earned some latitude in negotiating an end to hostilities. But I have very real concerns. I look like apparently an awful lot of people on this, I just don’t trust the Iranians. I’ve been quite close to those issues from my time in the White House, many briefings in the Situation Room, as well as my years on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. So I’ve been the Iranians, particularly with regard to their nuclear ambition, have essentially a legacy of lies.”
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The U.S. government’s decision to stop Anthropic from offering its Mythos and Fable 5 models to non-U.S. nationals may end up providing a big boost to the adoption of open-source models, including those from Chinese AI labs like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI.
Users can download open-source models and run them on their own computers or cloud networks, effectively sidestepping the ability of both AI developers and governments to control access. These models can also be more easily fine-tuned by developers to tailor them for specific needs.
Chinese labs are already claiming a public relations win from the Anthropic controversy.
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Just over 75,000 people in the constituency of #Makerfield, near #Manchester, will be voting for their new representative in parliament on June 18th… possibly leading to the fall of the #UK’s prime minister.
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TOKYO, June 17. /TASS/. Japan purchased approximately 364,000 barrels of oil from Russia in May this year, according to TASS calculations based on statistical data published by Japan’s Finance Ministry.
According to the data, Japan imported 58,000 kiloliters of Russian oil last month, equivalent to approximately 364,800 barrels. The purchases concerned oil linked to gas supply contracts under the Sakhalin-2 project, which is exempt from anti-Russian sanctions. The oil is also exempt from the price cap introduced by the G7 countries. According to TASS calculations, the price of Russian oil purchased by Japan in May amounted to approximately $103 per barrel.
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The U.S. military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, killing one man and leaving two survivors, as the Trump administration continues its monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.
The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 208 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.
As with most of the military’s statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. A video posted on X showed a boat traveling in the water before being hit by the strike and bursting into flames.
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Apparently, it’s “Loneliness Awareness Week,” thanks to a global campaign emanating from the United Kingdom.
On the surface, the idea of a “Loneliness Awareness Week” sounds as cozy as the founding organization’s name, Marmalade Trust. That group self-identifies as a “charity,” but it acts more like a nongovernmental organization (NGO) devoted to government and globalist involvement in shaping our social connections.
Marmalade Trust’s home page proudly announces that its mission to fight loneliness is “joined by organisations globally,” including 10 Downing Street, the U.K.’s National Health Service, the BBC, The Guardian, Public Health England, and various other globalist and media outlets. On another page, it boasts that Loneliness Awareness Week has had the involvement of “the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of London, NHS trusts, and all government departments. We have even had a special Royal Mail postage stamp!” The London transit authority is also partnering with the campaign by encouraging people to chat with strangers on public transit, seemingly to help overcome the loneliness epidemic.
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President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, as the leaders of the world’s largest economies renew their focus on the war in Ukraine amid hopes the Iran conflict is nearing a conclusion.
Mr. Trump told reporters after the sit-down that the two had a “very good meeting” and that he planned to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart again later in the day.
Asked about the war, Mr. Trump responded, “Russia should make a deal.”
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The United States supports Gulf countries contributing hundreds of billions of dollars to Iran, but will not contribute itself, according to Vice President JD Vance.
The subject of funds either given to or made available for Iran has been a primary source of questions as the Trump administration prepares to sign its Memorandum of Understanding with Tehran on Friday.
“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast Coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation,” Vance told CBS News on Monday, when asked whether the U.S.-Iran memorandum electronically signed Sunday allowed for a “$300 billion reconstruction fund.”
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By a single vote, the Senate shot down a proposal on Tuesday that would have reined in President Donald Trump’s ability to use military force against Iran without Congress’s approval.
The vote fell just one vote short of advancing with 48-47. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul voted with the Democrats. On the flip side, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) crossed the aisle to vote alongside the Republican majority against the bill.
Introduced by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the resolution sought to require congressional approval for continued U.S. military action involving Iran. Warnock had urged Republicans to vote for it, arguing that Congress shouldn’t just sit back and let the president make all the decisions on foreign wars.
The vote occurred as lawmakers pressed the White House for details about an agreement Trump announced Sunday between Washington and Tehran that he has promoted as a path toward ending months of fighting.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!” Trump declared on Truth Social.
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A crash in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region has left 31 people dead(Image: Amhara Communications)
At least 31 people have been killed and 33 others injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia, police said.
The bus was travelling from Dessie to the capital, Addis Ababa, early on Monday when it veered off the road and fell down a cliff in the northern Amhara region, according to state-run Amhara Media Corporation.
The crash occurred in an area leading to Kombolcha, according to commander Getachew Muhiye, who was quoted in a statement from the regional government’s communications bureau. Among the 31 people killed was the driver, while 33 others suffered a range of serious and minor injuries, Mr Muhiye told state media. The death toll had previously been reported as 28.
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KAMPALA, Uganda — An opposition figure in Uganda was detained Monday on the orders of the army chief, whose increased role in his father’s administration has worried opposition and human rights defenders.
Erias Lukwago was taken from his house by armed soldiers after he had sought to serve Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is army chief and the president’s son, with court papers related to Kainerugaba’s threats against another opposition figure, according to Lukwago’s party. Kainerugaba confirmed the arrest on his social media and threatened to inflict “hurt and pain” against him.
Lukwago is a former mayor of the Ugandan capital of Kampala and the president of the People’s Front for Freedom opposition group. He is the attorney for Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate who faces treason charges in a criminal case that his supporters see as politically motivated.