Sunday, July 6, 2025

BIG Wrap

Iran, Syria denounce U.S. attacks on Iran-linked facilities

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The governments of Iran and Syria have condemned the United States for attacks on Syrian soil that reportedly killed 19 people, which Washington said it carried out following a drone attack on U.S. forces. Both the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministries late on Saturday slammed the U.S. air attacks that targeted the strategic region of Deir ez-Zor bordering Iraq. In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the “terrorist” attacks by the U.S....

NATO condemns Russian nuclear rhetoric

(BBC News) NATO has condemned Russia's "dangerous" and "irresponsible" rhetoric after Vladimir Putin's decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The organization is "closely monitoring" the situation and said the move would not lead it to change its own nuclear strategy. The U.S. said it did not believe Russia was preparing to use nuclear weapons. Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine, as well as with NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Ukraine has called for an...

Trump warns of ‘potential death and destruction’ if he is charged

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Former United States president Donald Trump has warned of “potential death and destruction” if he is charged in a New York investigation into a hush-money payment that his personal lawyer paid to a porn star in 2016. Trump made the comment on Friday, nearly a week after he claimed he would be arrested in relation to the case and urged his supporters to protest. “What kind of person can charge another person, in this...

Subject of Hotel Rwanda film’s prison sentence commuted

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda and was serving a 25-year sentence in Rwanda on terrorism charges, has had his sentence commuted by presidential order. The decision was made after a request from Rusesabagina for clemency, government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told Al Jazeera on Friday. But “no one should be under any illusion about what this means as there is consensus that serious crimes...

Go ahead and look up — asteroid to pass between Earth and Moon this weekend

(BBC News) An asteroid large enough to destroy a city will pass between the orbits of the Earth and the Moon this weekend. The object, named 2023 DZ2, was discovered a month ago. On Saturday, it will pass within 515,000 kilometres of the moon, before flying by Earth hours later. It is rare for such a huge asteroid — estimated to be between 40 and 90 metres in diameter — to come so close to the planet. According...

Bordeaux town hall set on fire in France pension protests

(BBC News) Bordeaux town hall has been set on fire as French protests continued over plans to raise the pension age. More than one million people took to the streets across France on Thursday, with 119,000 in Paris, according to figures from the interior ministry. Police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital, and 80 people were arrested across the country. The demonstrations were sparked by legislation raising the retirement age by two years to 64. Fire...

Crypto founder Do Kwon indicted in U.S. after Montenegro arrest

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Do Kwon, the South Korean entrepreneur behind the $40-billion collapse of the cryptocurrencies terraUSD and Luna, has been charged with fraud in the United States following his arrest in Montenegro. U.S. prosecutors on Thursday announced eight charges against Kwon, including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy. Kwon, 31, was arrested in Montenegro earlier on Thursday along with another South Korean citizen, the European country’s interior ministry said. “The person is suspected...

Khamenei says U.S. wants to keep Ukraine war going

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the United States is not interested in putting an end to the war in Ukraine, which he maintains the western military alliance created. “The U.S. actually started the Ukraine war,” he said during a speech on Tuesday in Mashhad. “The U.S. created the grounds for this war to expand NATO in the east.” “Now, it is also the U.S. that benefits the most from the...

Xi calls for ‘rational way’ out of Ukraine conflict

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is due to arrive in Moscow later on Monday for talks, has called for a “rational way” out of the Ukraine crisis, but has acknowledged it will not be easy to reach a solution. Writing in the Russian newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, Xi said discussions could be based on China’s 12-point proposal for a political settlement published last month. “The document serves...

Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal extended, UN and Turkey say

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain over the Black Sea, which had been due to expire today (Saturday), has been renewed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the United Nations have announced. The agreement was concluded after talks with Russia and Ukraine, Erdogan said in a speech in the western city of Canakkale, but he did not specify how long the extension of the deal was for. Russia said it...