Monday, June 30, 2025

BIG Wrap

Lula says Putin would not be arrested at Brazil G20 meeting

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not be arrested in Brazil if he attends the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year. Lula, speaking to the Firstpost news show at the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Delhi on Saturday, said Putin would be invited to next year’s event. He added that he himself planned to attend a BRICS bloc...

G20 laments war in Ukraine but avoids blaming Russia

(BBC News) The G20 summit in India has agreed on a joint declaration, including a statement on the war in Ukraine. On the first of their two-day meeting, G20 leaders denounced the use of force for territorial gain but stopped short of directly criticizing Russia. The Ukrainian government said the statement was "nothing to be proud of." The summit in Delhi discussed a number of global issues, including climate change and the debt burden of developing countries. But...

Where in Morocco did the 6.8-magnitude earthquake strike?

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The earthquake’s epicentre was the Ighil area, a mountainous rural commune home to small farming villages in the al-Haouz province near the ski resort of Oukaimeden in the Atlas Mountains. Lanchen Haddad, a Moroccan senator and former minister, told Al Jazeera the area was “not known for being active in terms of earthquakes.” The epicentre, he said, was near some “very difficult terrain” and is home to the Tizi-n-Test, a small pass...

North Korea will ‘pay a price’ if it supplies Russia with weapons, says U.S.

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A top White House official has said North Korea would pay “a price” if it sells weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, after Washington warned that Pyongyang was in talks with Moscow about a potential arms deal. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the United States believes the negotiations between North Korea and Russia are “actively advancing.” “Providing weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield to...

Ex-Proud Boys leader jailed for 22 years for Capitol riot involvement

(BBC News) The Proud Boys' former leader has been jailed for 22 years for orchestrating the U.S. Capitol riot, the longest sentence so far for a ringleader of the raid on the seat of American democracy. Enrique Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy, a U.S. Civil War-era charge, and other counts in May. Tarrio, 39, was not in Washington during the riot, but helped organize the far-right group's involvement. More than 1,100 people have been arrested on...

74 dead in Johannesburg blaze

(BBC News) At least 74 people have died — including 12 children — in a Johannesburg building fire. More than 50 others were injured. Officials say it is unclear what sparked the blaze at the city centre five-storey building, which had been abandoned but was being occupied by homeless people. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called it a "tragedy", adding that the "unprecedented" incident was a "wake-up call". In a news conference at the site of the fire,...

Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election case

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to election interference charges in the U.S. state of Georgia, a court filing showed, as the former United States president waived a formal arraignment hearing in the widely watched case. Thursday’s court filing, which was signed by Trump, reads: “As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the indictment in this case.” The former president faces...

U.S. urges North Korea to halt arms negotiations with Russia

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The White House has warned North Korea against selling munitions to Russia for its war in Ukraine as tensions between Pyongyang and Washington continue to mount. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday that the United States is concerned about potential arms deals between Russia and North Korea. “We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not...

Gabon coup – who is Brice Oligui Nguema?

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Minutes after Gabon’s electoral commission announced on Wednesday that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office, senior military officers announced a coup and annulled the election results. According to local media reports, Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema, the commander-in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard – the country’s most powerful security unit – and a cousin to Bongo, is the ringleader of the attempted coup. Nguema is one of the...

At least 67 arrested at gay wedding in Nigeria

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Police in Nigeria said Tuesday they detained at least 67 people celebrating a gay wedding, in one of the country’s largest arrests targeting outlawed homosexuality. The “gay suspects” were arrested in southern Delta state’s Ekpan town at about 2 a.m. (01:00 GMT) on Monday at an event where two of them were wedded, state police spokesman Bright Edafe told reporters. He added that homosexuality “will never be tolerated” in the West...