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Former England captain Alastair Cook believes Ollie Pope showed admirable control in the century that helped guide his side to 209-3 – trailing India by 262 runs – at the end of the second day of the first Test at Headingley.
MATCH REPORT: England v India first Test – day two
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After announcing the “very successful” US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, United States President Donald Trump addressed the nation.
Here is the full transcript of his speech on Saturday evening:
A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.
Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.
If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.
For 40 years, Iran has been saying, “Death to America, death to Israel”.
They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs – that was their speciality.
We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate, in particular, so many were killed by their general, Qassem Soleimani.
I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen.
It will not continue.
I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.
I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done and, most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight, and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.
Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that’s so. I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan “Razin” Caine – spectacular general – and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.
With all of that being said, this cannot continue.
There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.
Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal, but if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.
There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.
Tomorrow, General Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, will have a press conference at 8am (12:00 GMT) at the Pentagon, and I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God.
I want to just say, “We love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them.” God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Donald Trump has said Iran “must now make peace” or face future attacks, after the US struck struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
The US president said the strikes were a “spectacular military success” in a televised address to nation on Saturday.
Earlier, Iran’s foreign minister had warned that US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict would be “very, very dangerous”.
ReutersUS President Donald Trump says the American military has completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump added that a “full payload of bombs” were dropped on Fordo, an enrichment plant hidden in a remote mountainside that is vital to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israeli officials say they were in “full coordination” with the US in planning these strikes.
Iran could respond by targeting US military assets in the region. Its officials had earlier warned that they would retaliate and that any US attack risked a regional war.
Here is a breakdown of what we know so far.
Israel launched a surprise attack on dozens of Iranian nuclear and military targets on 13 June. It said its ambition was to dismantle its nuclear programme, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would soon be able to produce a nuclear bomb.
Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. In retaliation, Tehran launched hundreds of rockets and drones towards Israel. The two countries have continued exchanging strikes since, in an air war which has now lasted more than a week.
Trump has long said that he is opposed to Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.
In March, US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said that while Iran had increased its uranium stockpile to unprecedented levels, it was not building a nuclear weapon – an assessment that Trump recently said was “wrong”.
On the campaign trail, President Trump had criticised past US administrations for engaging in “stupid endless wars” in the Middle East, and he vowed to keep America out of foreign conflicts.
The US and Iran were in nuclear talks at the time of Israel’s surprise attack. Two days ago, President Trump had said he would give Iran two weeks to enter into substantial negotiations before striking – but that timeline turned out to be much, much shorter.
One of the sites the US attacked was a secretive nuclear site called Fordo. It is hidden away in a mountainside south of Tehran, and is believed to be deeper underground than the Channel Tunnel connecting the UK and France.
The uranium enrichment site is considered by experts to be vital to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Fordo’s depth below the Earth’s surface has made it difficult to reach with Israel’s weaponry. Only the US was considered to have a “bunker buster” bomb strong and large enough to destroy Fordo.
That American bomb is called the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It weighs 13,000kg (30,000lb), and is able to penetrate about 18m of concrete or 61m of earth before exploding, according to experts.
Fordo tunnels are thought to be 80m to 90m below the surface, so the MOP is not guaranteed to be successful, but it is the only bomb that could come close.
US officials have confirmed to the BBC’s partner CBS News that MOPs were used in the strikes, with two for each target struck.
It is unclear yet what damage the US attack has had on the nuclear enrichment facilities, or whether there are any injuries or casualties.
The deputy political director of Iran’s state broadcaster, Hassan Abedini, said Iran evacuated these three nuclear sites a “while ago”.
Appearing on state-run television, he said Iran “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out”.
Iran has said that more than 200 people were killed since its latest round of fighting with Israel began, and more than 1,200 were injured.
Meanwhile, Israel is ramping up security in the wake of the US attacks on Iran’s key nuclear sites.
Israel has tightened its public security restrictions across the country, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The upgrade – including a “prohibition on education activities, gatherings, and workplaces” – comes after the US strikes on Iran.
Iran has been weakened significantly by Israel’s attacks on its military bases so far, experts say, as well as the dismantling of its regional proxies in Lebanon (Hezbollah), in Syria and in Gaza (Hamas). But Iran is still capable of doing a considerable amount of damage.
Iranian officials warned the US against getting involved, saying it would suffer “irreparable damage” and that it risked an “all-out war” in the region.
It has threatened to target US bases in the region in retaliation. The US operates military sites across at least 19 regions in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the most obvious targets for Iran is the US Navy’s 5th Fleet HQ at Mina Salman in Bahrain.
It could also target a critical shipping route known as the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and through which 30% of the world’s oil supply is transported. It could also attack on other sea routes that risk destabilising global markets.
Iran could also target the assets of nearby countries it perceives to be aiding the US, which risks the war spilling over to the entire region.
Under US law, the president does not have the sole power to formally declare war on another country. Only Congress – lawmakers elected in the House of Representatives and the Senate – can.
But the law also states that the president is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. That means he can deploy US troops and conduct military operations without a formal declaration of war.
For example, Trump’s decision to conduct airstrikes in Syria in 2017 against the Assad regime did not require approval from Congress. Instead, Trump acted unilaterally, citing national security and humanitarian reasons.
Some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have recently tried to limit Trump’s ability to order US strikes on Iran by pushing a war powers resolution through Congress, though it may take weeks before it is put to a formal vote, and such measures are more symbolic than substantive.
Presenter, BBC Newsbeat
BBCAsk pop-punk band South Arcade about the inspiration for their breakout hit, Supermodels, and get ready to go on a journey.
It starts at Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna, swerves into nu-metal band Korn’s cover of Word Up and detours towards Genesis, by French dance act Justice.
The final destination is Just Dance – the popular video game series where players rack up points by mimicking routines from chart-topping hits.
“You know when you go to a gaming arcade and there’s those dance mat machines?” asks singer Harmony.
“I was like: ‘I want to write a song that could be on that’.”
South Arcade are riding the wave of Y2K core – a growing interest in the 90s and early 2000s culture.
The four-piece’s sound – upbeat, rocky guitar music – would have been right at home on MTV, or the soundtrack of a 90s slasher movie.
“It has that weird, nostalgic feel to it,” says Harmony.
Both she and guitarist Harry were born at the start of the millennium, so admit their fondness for that time comes from older siblings and friends introducing them to the material.
Despite their lack of first-hand experience, the band have been described as “figureheads of a growing Y2K revival” by website MusicRadar.
“We can’t accept that we missed it,” says Harry, laughing. “So we have to bring it back single-handedly.”
Getty ImagesSouth Arcade aren’t exactly alone, though. Some of the bands that inspired their sound have also had a surge in popularity.
At the recent Download festival, nu-metal veterans Korn headlined, and further down the bill fellow noughties heroes Alien Ant Farm pulled in crowds.
Linkin Park recently released their first new music since the death of original frontman Chester Bennington, and Limp Bizkit sold out arenas on a tour of the UK this year.
Harry says rap and dance music have dominated the mainstream landscape for the past 10 years, and believes more people his age are discovering what came before.
“Pre-2010 it was like a golden era of band music and guitar music,” says Harry.
“It was just full of great bands and then it just shifted, the pendulum swung.”
Parts of South Arcade’s rise have been far more 2025 than Y2K.
They started to gain traction via TikTok.
A spokesperson told Newsbeat that the Y2K hashtag has been used in four million posts on the app, with some of the most popular linked to noughties artists including Pitbull and Avril Lavigne.
Harmony says South Arcade’s videos began drawing an audience when they started uploading footage from their rehearsal sessions.
It’s something they’ve previously said was partly in response to accusations they were “industry plants” or “not a real band”.
They’re also not immune from the modern-day pressures facing musicians, with the cost-of-living crisis still biting.
A recent tour of America was “really expensive”, they admit, and keeping stage shows fresh involves getting creative with ideas “in the cheapest way possible”.
But the band say it’s been worth it and they’ve been seeing a mix of fans engaging with their music.
“It’s really great because we see a bunch of comments on YouTube from people that were in that era,” says Harmony, “and they can almost notice the references or pick it apart, but then there’s these much younger kids hearing that sort of stuff for the first time.
“It’s really cool to sort of bring everyone together on it.”
The appeal to fans who spent their teens listening to the likes of Korn is probably obvious. But what is the attraction of Y2K for people who were in nappies during the heyday?
“Everything’s going towards like, minimalism of phones,” says Harry.
“But in that era, your room was full of stuff, like not just a neat room, it was full of posters and action figures.
“Now people would just say they scroll on TikTok, but back in the day you’d have had gaming consoles and games and stuff like that, CD players and loads of things that are off your phone.
For Harmony, it’s a feeling of escapism.
“I get loads of nostalgia videos coming up for things from my childhood, you’ll see it and it’ll make you feel a certain sort of weird, twinkly way,” she says.
“And I think if we can capture that sort of feeling in music, when everyone’s bedrooms were their personality, it wasn’t just their Instagram feed.
“It was what the posters on their wall were, what characters they collected, things like that.”
Health correspondent, BBC East Midlands
BBCAnyone who has ever tried to get a GP appointment in England will be familiar with the “8am scramble“, as you phone your local surgery desperately hoping to get through.
Many surgeries – like the Tudor House Medical Practice – open their telephone lines at 08:00, meaning that if you want an on-the-day appointment, you have to phone on the dot at 08:00.
This can prove a source of frustration, with Jayne Bond – part of a four-strong team at the increasingly busy practice – often at the sharp end of patients’ upset.
“Some people think we are Rottweilers, and we are trying to stop them getting appointments,” she said.
The practice invited the BBC to watch them at work first thing in the morning during the busiest part of their day, when those phone lines open.
“When the phone lines open, it just goes manic,” fellow receptionist Sandra Brewster said.
She knows the scene at the practice, in Sherwood, is repeated at surgeries across the land when they release their same-day bookable appointments first thing.
“It is mad – we try and grab a cup of tea before the phones open up,” Sandra added.
Often potential patients can get frustrated when receptionists ask for more information.
Jayne, 66, said: “We are on the ball – we have to be.
“Some people think we are nosy, but we are just trying to get them to the right person.”
Eighty per cent of face-to-face GP appointments at the surgery are bookable on the day and released first thing, and typically within half an hour, they are gone.
We observed the pressure on a typical Wednesday morning.
Jayne said: “We normally call it ‘wacky Wednesday’ – it can be a very busy day.”
Only five minutes after the lines open, more than 30 people are queuing to get through.
The telephone system has recently been upgraded, with an option for people to request to be phoned back without the caller losing their place in the queue.
But despite this “improvement”, high demand will mean some inevitably miss out.
Sandra, also 66, admits receptionists can’t always give people they want.
“People have said to me, ‘well if I die it will be your fault’.
“There can be verbal abuse – you just have to go home and forget about it and remember it is the situation, not personal, but they are the calls you remember,” she said.
We observed that 50 people were booked in at the surgery within 25 minutes.
This relentless demand for appointments is a picture repeated across the country, and has seen the government step in earlier this year.
The Labour government had pledged in its manifesto to end the early morning phone “scramble” for appointments, and in February, confirmed a deal to give an extra £889m a year to general practices.
The new contract says patients should be able to arrange appointments online throughout working hours, freeing up the phones for those who need them most, and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need.
Practice manager Tricia Gibbons said patients were “getting more used to not always seeing a GP”.
The 56-year-old said: “When I first started 11 years ago, we only had access to GPs and trainee doctors.”
The surgery now has an expanded team of health professionals to complement the work of family doctors, including an advanced nurse practitioner and a clinical pharmacist, which can see patients.
Tricia stressed, though, that “the doctors are always there to offer back-up”.
“This model is about giving doctors more time to focus on more complex cases,” she said.
“Other members of the team are well placed to deal with the more minor illnesses and ailments.”
Dr Jonathan Lloyd, a GP partner at the surgery, said demand for primary care had gone up hugely since he began working as a doctor almost 30 years ago.
“The number of appointments the average patient has each year has increased, and people have got older, and there are more people with dementia and chronic disease,” he said.
“The number of GPs has not increased at the same rate, so there is more pressure on doctors.”
He said accessing primary care across the country was a “big problem”, but felt most patients were “comfortable” knowing they might not always see a doctor.
He said six out of 10 GP appointments were in person, with the rest on the phone, which “many people are quite happy about”.
“Our patients have control over that – if they want to see me face-to-face, they can,” he added.
Latest annual figures from NHS England show that record numbers of appointments – more than 370 million – were offered by GP surgeries in 2024-25, with almost two-thirds face to face, and the rest virtual.
Four out of 10 appointments at surgeries are with doctors, and the rest with other health professionals.
More than half of appointments were booked at least a day ahead, with the rest on the same day.
Katie Bramall-Stainer, who chairs the British Medical Association GPs’ committee, previously told BBC Breakfast that the new government deal could see patients begin to notice a difference in six to 12 months, but said the overall situation was “nowhere near a solution”.
So for now, the likes of Jayne and Sandra will continue to keep an eye on the clock as 8am approaches.
England’s Ollie Pope scores a century in second day fightback of first Test against India.
Ollie Pope and his latest century spearheaded England to 209-3 after India was bowled out for 471 on Day Two, Saturday, of the test series opener at Headingley.
Pope was 100 not out and the leading scorer as England slashed its deficit to 262 runs by stumps and won the day.
Pope was far from perfect. He survived a testing opening spell from speedster Jasprit Bumrah in gloomy bowler-friendly conditions, narrowly avoided lbw on 34 and was dropped on 60.
He rode his luck to his ninth test hundred and second against India.
Bumrah was England’s greatest threat as expected and took all three home wickets: Zac Crawley in the first over; Ben Duckett on 62 to break his and Pope’s 122-run second-wicket partnership; and Joe Root on 28 to break his and Pope’s 80-run third-wicket partnership.
Bumrah would have had a fourth wicket in the day’s last over — Harry Brook without scoring — but he overstepped for the third time in the over. The world’s best fast bowler was also the victim of two dropped catches in the field.
England wasn’t expected to be batting soon after lunch.
India was 430-3 about half an hour before lunch. A total of at least 550 was on the cards but the demise of captain Shubman Gill for 147 sparked a collapse of 41-7 in 68 balls bridging lunch.
Rodriguez burst out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai’s legs with a sharp left uppercut. Yafai struggled to fully recover as Rodriguez’s quick hands continued to find the mark through the early stages.
Yafai rallied in the fourth, landing clean with his backhand, but was hampered by blood pouring from a cut above his left eye. Rodriguez also suffered a cut later in the fight.
The Birmingham fighter – who cruised past Sunny Edwards in November – looked second-best throughout, his body language offering little encouragement to the home crowd. He frequently dabbed at the eye and found it difficult to match Rodriguez’s pace.
Rodriguez had his fired-up corner roaring in the seventh when Yafai was floored, although it was ruled a slip. The damage, however, had already been done earlier in the round, with the 31-year-old away fighter landing a flurry of punches.
A crisp straight right and uppercut connected in the eighth, with Yafai showing heart and toughness to stay in the fight. Both men were inspected by doctors before the ninth due to cuts, but it was Rodriguez who continued to dominate, hurting Yafai again as blood stained the referee’s shirt.
By the championship rounds, Yafai looked increasingly resigned to his fate. A clean left-right combination dropped him in the 12th. He rose with a wry, deflated smile before moments later leaving the ring without giving a post-fight interview.
A world title shot against Japan’s unified champion Kenshiro Teraji had seemed within touching distance but instead Yafai’s dream of becoming an Olympic and world champion is paused for now.
“He failed on the hurdle to elite level and that’s sometimes what happens. He’d only had nine fights,” Hearn added.
Authorities have confirmed a bomb explosion that killed at least five people and injured 15 others in Kano State, North West Nigeria, on Saturday, June 21, 2025.
The explosion in the Hotoro Eastern Bypass area near a metal company sent panic through the neighbourhood. Security and emergency response teams were quickly deployed to manage the situation and aid victims.
Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, told journalists that preliminary findings suggest the explosion may have involved military-grade explosives in transit, not a terror attack.
“Preliminary findings suggest the explosive material was being transported by a trailer, but it remains unclear whether the vehicle was carrying military personnel or contractors,” he explained.
“I received an emergency call about a disturbing incident. Upon arrival, it appeared the explosion came from ordnance possibly being transported by military personnel,” Bakori said.
According to the commissioner, an initial investigation indicated that a large truck carrying explosive materials, reportedly headed toward Yobe State, might have been involved in the blast.
With regards to the casualties, he said 15 people sustained various degrees of injuries, while tragically, five have been confirmed dead. He says those injured have been taken to nearby hospitals for urgent medical attention.
“Security agencies are currently investigating the incident. The facts will be clearer once the investigation is completed,” the Commissioner said.
He also urged residents to remain calm as security agencies continue their investigation.
Meanwhile, photos show officers cordoning off the area and examining debris.
Kano has a long and painful history with bomb explosions, many of them linked to Boko Haram’s violent campaign in Northern Nigeria. The city’s darkest day came on January 20, 2012, when coordinated attacks on police stations and government buildings killed over 185 people.
In the years that followed, bombings became frequent, especially in civilian areas like Sabon Gari, where explosions at motor parks in 2013 and 2014 claimed dozens of lives. The group’s use of female suicide bombers, including minors, created a new dimension of fear. Hospitals, markets, and schools were no longer safe.
Another devastating attack occurred in November 2014, when over 120 worshippers were killed at the Kano Central Mosque. Although military offensives have since pushed back the group’s operations, and urban attacks have declined, Kano has continued to face sporadic explosions from either suspected insurgent remnants or poor handling of explosives.
In May 2022, a blast in Sabon Gari killed several schoolchildren. Initial reports blamed terrorists, but authorities later said it resulted from the illegal storage of chemicals by welders. The incident and the recent one in Hotoro have exposed deep gaps in arms regulation and safety enforcement in civilian zones.
This latest explosion in Hotoro, which killed five people and injured 15, revives old fears. Although authorities have said they suspect the blast came from military-grade explosives being transported, the incident reflects Kano’s enduring vulnerability.
Extensive ungoverned forested areas in Kano State compromise security, serving as transit points for terrorist groups exploiting the complex landscape of northern Nigeria. Although Kano has historically been protected from widespread terrorism due to strategic military initiatives and its geographic advantages, recent incidents suggest a decline in safety. The local authorities’ inadequate communication and response during attacks heighten residents’ feelings of vulnerability and diminish their reliance on traditional security measures.
Here are the key events on day nine of the Israel-Iran conflict.
Here’s where things stand on Saturday, June 21:
Trump has repeatedly said he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives – and grumbled that he got no credit for it.
Pakistan says it would recommend United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves.
In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan.
Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives and grumbled that he got no credit for it.
Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries.
“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Islamabad said in a statement posted on X.
“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”
Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington, DC, or New Delhi.
Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel’s action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the so-called Abraham Accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”
Trump has repeatedly said that he is willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted.
But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favoured India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan’s move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US president for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad.
Trump’s planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said “India does not and will never accept mediation” in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government.
Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defence Committee in Pakistan’s parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified.
“Trump is good for Pakistan,” he said. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”
But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has inflamed passions.
“Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran isn’t a candidate for any prize,” said Talat Hussain, a prominent Pakistani television political talk show host, in a post on X.
“And what if he starts to kiss Modi on both cheeks again after a few months?”
The tourism balloon carrying 21 people went up in flames in the early hours of Saturday, crashing in the city of Praia Grande
At least eight people have been killed and 13 injured when a hot air balloon they were on caught fire and crashed in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina.
The tourism balloon carrying 21 people went up in flames in the early hours of Saturday, crashing in the city of Praia Grande on the Atlantic coast, according to Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade.
Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon as it plummeted dozens of metres toward the ground.
The survivors were transported to nearby hospitals, said firefighters.
“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,” said Jorginho Mello, governor of Santa Catarina, in a video on X.
Mello said he had asked authorities to head to the municipality “to do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families”.
Praia Grande is a common destination for hot-air ballooning, a popular activity in some parts of Brazil’s south during June festivities that celebrate Catholic saints such as St John, whose feast day is on June 24.
Last Sunday, a balloon came down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 other people, G1 reported.
Jack Draper’s hopes of winning Queen’s were ended by Jiri Lehecka when the British number one was beaten in a thrilling semi-final while suffering from tonsillitis.
The 23-year-old, who lost 6-4 4-6 7-5, had been feeling unwell for a few days but said he “wouldn’t have pulled out for anything” as he chased a childhood dream to reach the final on home soil.
Draper had battled back from losing the first set to take the second and then went toe-to-toe with his Czech opponent in the third.
But Lehecka got a crucial break at 5-5, prompting Draper to smash his racquet into the advertising hoardings as he knew just how damaging that was to his chances.
And so it proved as Lehecka served out the victory in west London to advance to Sunday’s final, where he will face either top seed Carlos Alcaraz or Roberto Bautista Agut.
He goes through to his fifth ATP Tour final but the wait continues for a first British singles champion since five-time winner Andy Murray’s most recent victory in 2016.
Draper will now take a few days rest before resuming his preparations for Wimbledon, which starts on 30 June.
“Today’s probably the worst I have felt,” said Draper, who was diagnosed with tonsillitis on Friday.
“Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semi-finals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg. I wouldn’t have pulled out for anything.”
The three largest European nations by population, Germany, France and the UK, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, in an effort to avert a protracted war in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump, who has said he will decide within two weeks whether to join the assault on Tehran, denounced the talks with European leaders as a failure.
“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one,” he told reporters.
Araghchi had said Iran was not attending the talks in Geneva to negotiate anyway, only to listen.
However, he added, “There is no room for negotiations with the US [either] until the Israeli aggression stops,” as Iran and Israel traded salvoes of missiles and drones.
The US has been Israel’s chief ally and supporter in all its wars, and is the only country with major military assets deployed in the region, which might be able to alter the course of the war.
Germany, France and the UK – referred to as the E3 in the context of Iran talks – helped negotiate a 2015 treaty with Iran.
The 2015 treaty, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saw Iran agree to develop only peaceful nuclear programmes and to submit to independent monitoring. Russia, China and the United States also helped negotiate it, as did the UN.
But Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA in May 2018, during his first term as president. The E3 tried to keep the treaty alive but failed. Iran abandoned it a year after the US did.
On Saturday, the EU high commissioner for external action, Kaja Kallas, who also attended the talks on Friday, issued a statement reaffirming “commitment to Israel’s security” and “longstanding concerns about Iran’s expansion of its nuclear programme, which has no credible civilian purpose, in violation of almost all the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provisions”.
But Israel’s war in Gaza has divided the E3 over their approach to Israel, weakening European foreign policy unity further, although all want to avoid another war on Europe’s doorstep.
The E3 positions on Israel have diverged since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023.
Germany has remained the most ardently pro-Israel, refusing to criticise Israel for indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza and halting its funding to UNWRA, the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees, which Israel accuses of aiding Hamas.
Originally pro-Israel, the UK somewhat changed its stance after Labour’s election victory last year. Earlier this month, the UK joined four other countries in formally sanctioning Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for “incitement of violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israel called the decision “outrageous” and “unacceptable”.
France is even more sceptical towards Israel. It was one of four EU members that started calling for a Gaza ceasefire in April last year. A year later, on April 9, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would formally recognise the state of Palestine within months, partly because “at some point, it will be right”, and partly to encourage Arab states to recognise Israel. France was reported to be lobbying other European nations to follow suit. Spain, Norway and Ireland all formally recognised Palestine the following month.
They are the three biggest economies in Europe, with a collective gross domestic product (GDP) of about $11 trillion.
Two of them, France and the UK, possess aircraft carriers and expeditionary forces that have deployed to the Middle East and North Africa regions. They are also nuclear powers.
Ultimately, though, none of these things is enough to sway either Iran or Israel on matters of national security. The true value of the E3 lies in their “acceptability” to both Iran and Israel as good-faith mediators and their ability to work towards common goals with the US.
“Germany, France and the UK have attempted to mediate for more than 20 years, and their approach has been milder than that of the US,” George Tzogopoulos, a lecturer in international relations at the European Institute in Nice, told Al Jazeera. “The same is happening now. We have a war crisis, and these three prioritise diplomacy for the conflict to stop if possible and for negotiations to restart.”
It would be difficult, given their failure to resuscitate the JCPOA without the US.
“The main reason [the E3 failed with the JCPOA] is the conclusion, made by both the Trump administration, President Trump himself, and the Israeli government that diplomacy cannot work in the case of Iran and, therefore, the role of the three was sidelined,” said Tzogopoulos.
But it is also difficult for them to coordinate with the US. Trump has now sidelined his own intelligence community to adopt the Israeli view that Iran is developing a bomb. On Friday, Trump told reporters that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was “wrong” when she testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not re-authorised the country’s suspended nuclear weapons programme.
“If Israel has evidence that Iran was dashing for a bomb, I think it needs to come out more publicly and share that, because nobody else is confirming that assessment,” said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, a nongovernmental organisation based in the US.
“If there is some coordination between the US and the E3, we might be more optimistic, but for Europe, for the E3 to act autonomously, I wouldn’t bet my money on their potential success,” he said.
“The Europeans have very low chances,” agreed Angelos Syrigos, a professor of international law at Panteion University in Athens. “The only people who can intervene seriously are the Americans. But I don’t know if the Iranians are open to that. To have final peace, you usually need a decisive defeat,” he said, referring to the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt of 1973, which led to the Camp David agreement six years later, and US intervention in the Yugoslav War, which led to the Dayton Accord in 1995. “One party has to understand there is no military solution.”
No, say experts, because China, Russia and the US disagree on Israel and Iran.
“The Security Council won’t find a solution to this,” said Syrigos. “Either the US or Russia or China will veto it. The difference is mainly between the US and China. The Chinese have invested a lot in Iran in recent years. That’s where they buy most of their oil; they send [Iran] materials for nuclear weapons. It’s China that is mostly connected to Iran.”
Russia has called on the US not to attack Iran, because of the risk of destabilising the region. But Russia also does not have the power to come to Iran’s aid, said Syrigos.
“Right now, Russia is going along with the US. It doesn’t want to get involved. It hasn’t the power. So, it’s turning a necessity into a voluntary act,” he said.
“The logic of war will guide diplomatic efforts at this point, and we cannot know how the war will go, or the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear programme,” said Tzogopoulos.
BBC News
Getty ImagesAt least eight people have died in a hot air balloon accident in Brazil, a state governor has said.
There were 21 people on board the balloon in the city of Praia Grande on Saturday morning, Governor of Santa Catarina Jorginho Mello said in a post on X.
Rescue teams attended the site of the incident to search for survivors. Mello later said 13 people had survived and eight had died.
“We are all shocked by the accident,” he added.
“Our teams continue to provide all necessary support to families and victims.
“We continue to monitor the situation.”
Praia Grande is in southern Santa Catarina and is a popular tourist destination. It is known as the “Capital of Canyons” as it has 11 canyons in its territory, including some in the Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral National Parks.
"Turkey has over 700km of borders with Iran.”
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It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict enters a second week, killing at least 430 people in Iran and 24 in Israel.
A key nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province has come under Israeli attack, with local officials saying there were no radiation leaks.
Early on Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in the city of Isfahan after Israeli air strikes hit the nuclear site overnight, triggering the air defence system.
It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict between the Middle Eastern nations entered a second week, killing at least 430 people and wounding nearly 3,500 others in Iran, according to Iran’s health ministry.
No casualties were reported in the Isfahan attack, authorities said.
Israeli forces also hit a military installation in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iranian media.
On the Israeli side, explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, where buildings were seen on fire.
In central Israel, the emergency services released images showing fire on the roof of a multi-storeyed residential building. Local media reports said the blaze was caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile that was intercepted.
At least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missile attacks in Israel, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel has killed Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) overseas arm, in a strike on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom.
Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said in a statement that Izadi had allegedly financed and armed the Palestinian group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
IRGC said five of its members died in Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on United States and British sanctions lists.
Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israel claims it attacked Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, although Iranian negotiators were engaged in talks with the US to curb its enrichment programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
The International Atomic Energy Agency and US intelligence have both said there were no signs that Iran was building a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran having enriched uranium beyond the threshold needed for civilian purposes.
However, Trump on Friday said US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was “wrong” in saying that Iran was not developing a nuclear bomb.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Al Jazeera that Tehran remains open to dialogue at the United Nations and other such forums.
“We believe in listening to the other side. That’s why our diplomats are present in Geneva, to hear the other side out,” Mohajerani said, adding that any diplomacy must begin with global recognition of Israel’s attack on Iran.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said Iranians are angry over Israel “not just targeting nuclear facilities and military complexes”.
“The reality on the ground is ordinary people are being attacked on a daily basis,” he said.
“Many in the Iranian capital have chosen to leave, but we have to keep in mind we’re talking about 10 million people living in Tehran city and 14 million in Tehran province. It’s putting pressure on surrounding areas.”
A young boy in Gaza was filmed wailing over the boy of his father, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Jabalia. Israel’s bombing of Gaza has not subsided despite it’s escalating military campaign on Iran.
Published On 21 Jun 202521 Jun 2025
BBC News
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesTulsi Gabbard says Iran could produce nuclear weapons “within weeks”, months after she testified before Congress that the country was not building them.
The US Director of National Intelligence said her March testimony – in which she said Iran had a stock of materials but was not building these weapons – had been taken out of context by “dishonest media”.
Her change of position came after Donald Trump said she was “wrong” and that intelligence showed Iran had a “tremendous amount of material” and could have a nuclear weapon “within months”.
Iran has always said that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and that it has never sought to develop a nuclear weapon.
On Thursday Trump said he was giving Tehran the “maximum” of two weeks to reach a deal on its nuclear activities with Washington. He said he would soon decide whether the US should join Israel’s strikes on Iran.
Disagreement has been building within Trump’s “America First” movement over whether the US should enter the conflict.
On Saturday morning, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was “absolutely ready for a negotiated solution” on their nuclear programme but that Iran “cannot go through negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardment”.
In her post on social media, Gabbard said US intelligence showed Iran is “at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months”.
“President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree,” she added.
Gabbard shared a video of her full testimony before Congress in March, where she said US intelligence agencies had concluded Iran was not building nuclear weapons.
Experts also determined Iran had not resumed its suspended 2003 nuclear weapons programme, she added in the clip, even as the nation’s stockpile of enriched uranium – a component of such weapons – was at an all-time high.
In her testimony, she said Iran’s stock was “unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons”.
Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the global nuclear watchdog – expressed concern about Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons.
Gabbard’s March testimony has been previously criticised by Trump, who earlier told reporters he did not “care what she said”.
The US president said he believes Iran were “very close to having a weapon” and his country would not allow that to happen.
In 2015, Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with a group of world powers after years of tension over the country’s alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran had been engaging in talks with the US this year over its nuclear programme and was scheduled to hold a further round when Israel launched strikes on Iran on 13 June, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted “the heart” of Iran’s nuclear programme.
“If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time,” Netanyahu claimed.
Israeli air strikes have destroyed Iranian military facilities and weapons, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Iran’s health ministry said on Saturday that at least 430 people had been killed, while a human rights group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, put the unofficial death toll at 657 on Friday.
Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel, killing 25 people including one who suffered a heart attack.
Every newborn baby in England will have their DNA mapped to assess their risk of hundreds of diseases, under NHS plans for the next 10 years.
The scheme, first reported by the Daily Telegraph, is part of a government drive towards predicting and preventing illness, which will also see £650m invested in DNA research for all patients by 2030.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said gene technology would enable the health service to “leapfrog disease, so we’re in front of it rather than reacting to it”.
It comes after a study analysing the genetic code of up to 100,000 babies was announced in October.
The government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, which is set to be revealed over the coming few weeks, is aimed at easing pressure on services.
The Department for Health and Social Care said that genomics – the study of genes – and AI would be used to “revolutionise prevention” and provide faster diagnoses and an “early warning signal for disease”.
Screening newborn babies for rare diseases will involve sequencing their complete DNA using blood samples from their umbilical cord, taken shortly after birth.
There are approximately 7,000 single-gene disorders. The NHS study which began in October only looked for gene disorders that develop in early childhood and for which there are effective treatments.
Currently, newborn babies are offered a heelprick blood test that checks for nine serious conditions, including cystic fibrosis.
The health secretary said in a statement: “With the power of this new technology, patients will be able to receive personalised healthcare to prevent ill-health before symptoms begin, reducing the pressure on NHS services and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”
Streeting added: “The revolution in medical science means that we can transform the NHS over the coming decade, from a service which diagnoses and treats ill-health to one that predicts and prevents it.”
Sequencing DNA gives a lot of information about a person which can then be used to make predictions about the likelihood of them having particular genetic diseases, according to Prof Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute.
These include conditions like muscular dystrophy, liver diseases and some kidney problems, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Funding for the new initiative will also support efforts by Genomics England to build one of the world’s largest research databases, with the goal of containing over 500,000 genomes by 2030.
It builds on work the NHS carried out in recent months, in which it embarked on a study to track the entire genetic code of up to 100,000 newborn babies in England to screen for genetic conditions.
But Prof Lovell-Badge cautioned that the government would not only need to hire people to collect the data, but qualified professions who could interpret it for patients.
“You need people to have conversations with individuals who might be affected by genetic disease,” he said, adding that “one of the things that worries me” was an insufficient number of genetic counsellors.
“It’s not just having the information, it’s conveying the information in an appropriate, helpful way.”