03 World

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who once claimed to be Israel’s “guardian” in Congress, put out a statement late Saturday night opposing President Donald Trump’s airstrike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

After a delay of several hours, and long after his colleagues — Republican and Democratic — had reacted, Schumer issued a statement criticizing the attacks and backing legislation to limit Trump’s war powers.

The criticism from Schumer and other Democrats echoes their criticism of his successful airstrike on Iranian terror general Qasem Soleimani, when they again cited constitutional limitations on the commander-in-chief.

In reality, Trump’s actions are constitutional, provided that he complies with deadlines established by the existing War Powers Resolution of 1973, which allows the president to conduct war, provided that he report to Congress within 60 days. Few Democrats objected when President Barack Obama used his war powers — even in excess of those allowed by the War Powers Resolution, as Breitbart News has noted in the past:

[F]ew Democrats raised objections when President Barack Obama went to war — often exceeding the boundaries of his legal authority as president. The most notorious case was the Libya War, which President Obama launched in March 2011 without congressional authorization. He continued the war effort beyond the War Powers Resolution’s deadlines because, the administration argued, the U.S. was not engaged in “hostilities” but “leading from behind.”

Some on the left bent over backwards to defend Obama’s unconstitutional war. Former Yale Law School dean Harold Koh was once “one of the country’s foremost defenders of the notion that the president of the United States can’t wage wars without the approval of Congress,” the New York Times noted, but later became “the administration’s defender of the right to stay engaged in a conflict against Libya without Congressional approval.”

Later, when Obama was mulling military action against Syria, an administration that came to power by arguing that the Iraq War had been waged “without strong international support” argued that war against Syria would have been justified even without the backing of the United Nations Security Council because there was no way to win Russian support regardless, and because the threat of weapons of mass destruction against civilians was dire. Few objected.

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Activist group Palestine Action took credit for the startling break-in at Royal Air Force Brize Norton, posting footage online that shows alleged members of their organization spray painting the runway and the inside of jet engines.

“Flights depart daily from [RAF Brize Norton] to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. From Cyprus, British planes collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza,” the group explained as their motivation.

FILE – A British Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft carrying members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade arrives at Brize Norton, England, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool, File)

“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets,” a spokesman for the group said.

The scooter-riding vandals committed the crime without being detected and successfully fled the scene without arrest.

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Israel is placing strict limits on video that news organizations can take at the scene of Iranian missile attacks.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announced the policy, which requires prior approval from “the Israel Police, the Government Press Office (GPO), and the military [Israel Defense Forces] censor,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

“In accordance with new zero-tolerance enforcement measures led by the national security minister and the police commissioner, any transmission — live or recorded — from areas under missile fire must receive explicit clearance from the IDF censor,” GPO Director Nitzan Chen said.

The new policy was enacted after missile attacks in Beersheba, Holon, and Ramat Gan.

In those incidents, footage was appearing on Al Jazeera. The Jerusalem Post report said CNN and The New York Times were targeted by the new rule in addition to Al Jazeera.

Although some photographers said they represented other outlets, Israeli officials said the footage was used by Al Jazeera, regardless of who might have recorded it.

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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) increased his criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to enter Israel’s war with Iran.

Massie and other members of Congress have criticized Trump for circumventing congressional approval for war as outlined in the Constitution. The president can only authorize strikes if there is an imminent threat to the United States, but Massie said such a threat did not exist.

“There was no imminent threat to the United States which would authorize that,” Massie said.

He said the administration “misinterpreted” the War Powers Act.

“Congress was on vacation when all of this was happening. We haven’t been briefed, they should have called us all back [from House recess], and, frankly, we should have debated this War Powers Resolution that Ro Khanna and I offered,” he said.

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) Iran War Powers Resolution highlights that the Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) had introduced his own version of the resolution in the Senate.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz after the United States attacked three of the country’s nuclear facilities on Saturday.

Rubio claimed that while the U.S. would be affected, the impact would be greater on the rest of the world, most notably China.

“It would be a suicidal move on their part because the whole world would come against them if they did that,” Rubio said on CBS News’s Face the Nation.

In this image provided by the White House, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in foreground, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sit in the Situation Room, Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (The White House via AP)

The strait, which is about 100 miles long and 21 miles wide, is shared between Iran and Oman and connects the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It handles about a quarter of the world’s oil trade, and disruptions in the supply chain there would likely increase oil prices globally.

Rubio said a move to close the strait would escalate tensions and prompt a response from the U.S., saying such an action would be “the worst mistake they’ve ever made.”

<b>Exclusive: Israel blasts EU report accusing it of breaching human rights in Gaza</b>- <i> www.euronews.com</i>

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Israel has blasted the EU-Israel Association Agreement (EUSR) review, saying “this report and its conclusions should not be taken seriously or used as a basis for any future actions or conversations”, in a letter from the country’s foreign ministry to the EU seen by Euronews.

”Decency would dictate addressing the report’s shortcomings and dismissing it in its entirety,” the letter, sent to the Commission and External Action Service, concludes.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement review released on Friday said that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip indicate a breach of the human rights provisions contained in its Association Agreement with the European Union. The issue is set to be considered by foreign ministers meeting on Monday.

Citing a collection of findings by independent international organisations, the highly anticipated review from the bloc’s diplomatic service said it found “indications” that Israel breached its human rights obligations with actions in Gaza.

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Tens of millions of people across the midwest and east braced on Sunday for another sweltering day of dangerously hot temperatures as a rare June heatwave continued to grip parts of the US.

Most of the north-eastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some type of heat advisory on Sunday. So were parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The temperature had already reached 80F (26.6C) in the Chicago area by 7.30am on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasts called for heat indices of between 100 and 105F.

The heat index in Pittsburgh was expected to top 105F. The temperature in Columbus, Ohio, was 77F at 8.30am. Highs there were expected to reach 97F with a heat index around 104F.

<b>Iran Injures 86 Israeli Citizens After Missile Strikes</b>- <i> dailycaller.com</i>

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At least 86 Israeli civilians were injured early Sunday morning after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles into the Jewish state in what is being described as a furious retaliatory strike following the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said 27 ballistic missiles were fired at the country in two waves, according to The Times of Israel. The first included 22 missiles, followed by a second wave of five, striking at least 10 locations across northern and central Israel. (RELATED: JD Vance Says US ‘Not At War’ With Iran)

<b>Israel-Iran war live: Trump says key nuclear facilities ‘obliterated’ by US; missiles hit Israel after Iran launches retaliatory strikes - The Guardian</b>- <i> news.google.com</i>
<b>Israel says 21 people wounded as Iran fires dozens of missiles following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities</b>- <i> www.cbsnews.com</i>

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Tel Aviv, Israel — Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel on Friday morning, wounding at least 21 people — four of them seriously, paramedics said — after the U.S. joined Israel’s week-long attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.

Iranian missiles made impacts in four sites across Israel: in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Be’er Yaakov and Nes Ziona, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency response service.

Searches were underway for people believed to be trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in Tel Aviv, local media reported.

The Israel Defense Forces told CBS News that Iran had launched about 30 missiles at Israel.

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RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said.

Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande.

On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spread onboard the aircraft.

Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, on X. “It hurts the soul.”

Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot.

“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can,” Gov. Jorginho Mello said in a video on X.

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police arrested on Sunday 22 suspects accused of a mob attack that left at least a dozen people killed two days ago in central Nigeria.

A passenger bus was mobbed in the Mangu area of the state of Plateau, according to a police statement released Saturday. The passengers traveled from Zaria, in north-western Kaduna state, about 400 kilometers (about 249 miles) from Mangu and were on their way to a wedding when the attack happened Friday night after they lost their way.

Police said 21 were rescued from the “angry mob,” and that some passengers were killed, without providing further details. Nigeria’s police, a federal authority, often provide lower death tolls than local authorities and witnesses.

Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International said 12 people were instantly killed and 11 others injured in the attack.

<b>Iran launches wave of missiles at Israel following US bombing of nuclear sites</b>- <i> www.euronews.com</i>

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Iran launched a wave of more than 40 missiles at northern and central Israel, leaving at least 86 people injured. The attack came just hours after Israel and the United States launched a coordinated attack on Iran, which included the bombing of three of its nuclear sites.

Israel’s health ministry reported that of those who arrived at hospitals, two people were moderately wounded and 77 others were in good condition.

Israeli local media reported residential areas in Tel Aviv and the central town of Nes Ziona being struck. Tel Aviv’s Deputy Mayor Haim Goren said that hundreds of homes were damaged in the attacks.

Meanwhile in the northern city of Haifa, an IDF spokesperson said an Israeli air defence interceptor malfunctioned and crashed during the Iranian attack, causing damage and lightly wounding several people.

<b>EU officials hold talks with Iran as conflict with Israel rages - National</b>- <i> globalnews.ca</i>

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Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump weighed American military involvement and new diplomatic efforts got underway with Iran’s foreign minister arriving in Geneva for talks.

Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs. He said he’ll decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in the war given the “substantial chance” for renewed negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Britain’s foreign secretary said he met at the White House with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the potential for a deal that could cool the conflict.

Before flying to Geneva for meetings with the European Union’s top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was “not seeking negotiations with anyone” as long as Israel’s attacks continued. He also accused the U.S. of collaborating with Israel, noting that Trump regularly used “we” in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran.

<b>Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces kill 60, half near aid centres</b>- <i> www.channelnewsasia.com</i>

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Similar incidents have occurred in that area regularly since late May, when the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened its distribution centres, as Israel eased a two-month aid blocakde.

The privately run foundation’s operations in Gaza have been marred by chaotic scenes. United Nations agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Elsewhere in the territory on Friday, Bassal said 14 people were killed in two separate strikes in and around the central city of Deir el-Balah, and 13 others in three Israeli air strikes in the Gaza City area.

One of those strikes, which killed three people, hit a phone charging station in the city, Bassal said.

In southern Gaza, two people were killed “by Israeli gunfire” in two separate incidents, he added.

<b>Israeli forces recover remains of three hostages from Gaza | World News</b>- <i> news.sky.com</i>

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Israeli forces have recovered the remains of three hostages from the Gaza Strip.

The military identified the remains as those of Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19.

All three were killed when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, an act which ignited the ongoing war.

The militant group still holds 50 hostages, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive.

“The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israel’s military did not provide any details about the recovery operation.

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The roughly 30 graves containing artifacts and treasures represent the era’s entire social hierarchy spectrum, according to an announcement by the Moesgaard Museum. The findings include a gold-threaded box, pearls, coins, ceramics, and even a pair of scissors likely owned by an important noblewoman of the time. The box itself is a particularly remarkable find, as experts believe it’s only the third confirmed example of its kind. Human remains such as bones and teeth were also found at the site along with smaller, less ornate graves that possibly held an elite family’s enslaved workers.

Conservators work to lift a Viking Age coffin from the archeological site. Credit: Moesgaard Museum poul madsen

“Together, they paint the picture of an aristocratic environment that was linked to royal power, and which was part of the Vikings’ vast and dynamic world,” Kasper Andersen, a Viking Age historian at Moesgaard, said in a statement.

Archeologists speculate the burial site is probably related to a nobleman’s farm located less than 0.65 miles away. That find, discovered in the 1980s, may have belonged to an earl or steward of King Harald Bluetooth—a legendary figure in his own right.

The son of King Gorm the Old, Harald ruled over Denmark and Norway from around 958–986 CE and allegedly earned his nickname from a conspicuously colored tooth. More importantly, he is remembered for spreading Christianity across Denmark, as well as consolidating power over the regions of Jutland and Zealand.

X-ray photograph of the Lisbjerg box, showing a cross-shaped fitting on the lid as well as beads, scissors and gold thread inside the box. Credit: Moesgaard Museum

China Warns: ‘World Will Not Be at Peace’ if Middle East Unstable– time.com
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Iran’s friends don’t like the war decimating Tehran, but they’re not ready to join the fight against Israel and potentially the U.S.

Instead, Russia and now China have urged deescalation, emphasizing the dangerous consequences the escalating conflict could have on the whole world.

“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

“The warring parties, especially Israel, should cease fire as soon as possible to prevent a cycle of escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war,” Xi added.

Xi’s comments came in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which both leaders called for a ceasefire, according to a readout by China’s foreign ministry. Earlier this week, Russia warned that Israel’s attacks have brought the world “millimeters” from nuclear calamity, and Putin urged Trump against attacking Iran, as the President is mulling direct U.S. military engagement in the war that has already killed hundreds in Iran and dozens in Israel.

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ROME — ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that artificial intelligence could negatively impact the intellectual, neurological and spiritual development of young people as he pressed one of the priorities of his young pontificate.

History’s first American pope sent a message to a conference of AI and ethics, part of which was taking place in the Vatican in a sign of the Holy See’s concern for the new technologies and what they mean for humanity.

In the message, Leo said any further development of AI must be evaluated according to the “superior ethical criterion” of the need to safeguard the dignity of each human being while respecting the diversity of the world’s population.

He warned specifically that new generations are most at risk given they have never had such quick access to information.

“All of us, I am sure, are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development,” he said in the message. “Society’s well-being depends upon their being given the ability to develop their God-given gifts and capabilities,” and not allow them to confuse mere access to data with intelligence.