Wednesday, June 18, 2025

BIG Wrap

Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’ of Iran as conflict escalates

(BBC News) Donald Trump says "we" are not going to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - "at least not for now.” The US president says "we know exactly where" the ayatollah is — "he is an easy target, but is safe there." But Trump warns "our patience is wearing thin," and then posted: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" Five days since Israel began attacking Iran, both sides continue to fire at each other. Iran warns people in Tel...

Israel, Iran trade deadly strikes for fourth day with no signs of restraint

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israel has attacked civilian targets in Iran, striking a hospital and an Iranian state TV building as intensive strikes exchanged by the two countries rage for a fourth consecutive day, with the military confrontation between the longstanding enemies showing no sign of ending. After those attacks late on Monday, Iranian state TV reported that a new wave of drone and missile strikes had begun, targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa. In Haifa, all refineries...

Manhunt under way after two Minnesota state politicians targeted, one of them killed

(BBC News) A manhunt is under way in Minnesota after two state lawmakers were targeted and one of them killed on Saturday morning in what Governor Tim Walz called an "act of targeted political violence". Melissa Hortman, 55, a Democrat, and her husband were killed in Brooklyn Park, a city near Minneapolis. John Hoffman, 60, also a Democrat, and his wife were shot several times at their home about 15 km away in a related attack....

Iran strikes Israel with new missile, drone attack; Israel bombs Tehran

Iran strikes Israel with new missile, drone attack; Israel bombs Tehran (Al Jazeera Media Network) Israel and Iran have carried out a new wave of attacks on key cities, fuelling fears of an all-out sustained war, with heavy exchanges now entering a third day. Iranian missiles struck northern Israel, killing at least three people and wounding 13 others, late Saturday into Sunday, according to Israeli media. Israel targeted the Iranian defence ministry headquarters in Tehran early Sunday,...

Israel carries out strikes targeting Iranian nuclear, military sites

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Israeli military has carried out several waves of airstrikes targeting nuclear facilities and military sites across Iran, killing senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists. In a prerecorded video message posted early Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at hurting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories. “This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat...

‘Catastrophic’ Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad – what we know

(Al Jazeera Media Network) An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane with at least 242 people on board crashed in a densely populated residential area close to an airport on the edge of India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday morning. Later on Thursday, the local police chief in Ahmedabad said at least 204 bodies had been recovered. Local rescue workers said they had retrieved between 30 and 35 bodies from a building hit by the aircraft, Reuters reported. ANI,...

Austria’s deadliest mass shooting – who are the victims and shooter?

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A shooter opened fire at a high school in Austria’s second most populous city, Graz, on Tuesday. At least 11 people have died, including the suspect, according to the city’s mayor and police. The attack on Tuesday represents the Central European nation’s deadliest mass shooting outside of wars. Here is what we know so far: The shooting occurred in the morning at the BORG Dreierschutzengasse secondary school in Graz, the capital of the southern Austrian province...

RFK Jr sacks entire U.S. vaccine committee

(BBC News) US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has removed all 17 members of a committee that issues official government recommendations on immunizations. Announcing the move in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy said that conflicts of interest on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were responsible for undermining trust in vaccinations. Kennedy said he wanted to "ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible." Doctors and health experts have criticized Kennedy's...

Colombia presidential hopeful shot in head at rally

(BBC News) A Colombian presidential candidate remains in intensive care after he was shot three times – twice in the head – at a campaign event in the capital, Bogotá. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a 39-year-old senator, was attacked while addressing supporters in a park on Saturday. Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, the attorney general's office said. Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, called on the nation to pray for his survival, saying: "Miguel is...

Trump warns Musk of ‘serious consequences’ if he funds Democrats

(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump has warned billionaire former ally, and campaign benefactor to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, Elon Musk against funding Democratic candidates in the country’s 2026 midterm elections as the pair’s volcanic break-up continues to play out on the world stage. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” Trump told US network NBC News in an interview published Saturday, without spelling out what...