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WASHINGTON — As the United Nations and global aid groups sound the alarm of widening starvation resulting from U.S.-backed Israeli food distribution policies in the Gaza Strip, the Trump administration said Thursday it is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing its negotiating team home from Qatar to discuss next steps.

The apparent derailing of the talks comes as Israel’s blockade and military offensive have driven Gaza to the brink of famine, according to aid groups. The U.N. food agency says nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe, acute malnutrition, and the Gaza Health Ministry has reported a rise in hunger-related deaths.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an emergency call Friday with officials from Germany and France to discuss how to urgently get food to people in need and pursue a plan to build a lasting peace.

“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,” he said in a statement. The three European countries “all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay.”

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France would recognize Palestine as a state, saying, “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.

“Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron posted. “Peace is possible.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.

Israel has come under mounting pressure, with 28 Western-aligned countries calling for an end to the war and harshly criticizing Israel’s blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. More than 100 charity and human rights groups released a similar letter, saying even their own staff are struggling to get enough food.

In an open letter, 115 organizations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”

The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid-distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.

The Israeli government’s “restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.

The U.S. and Israel rejected the allegations and blamed Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting their terms for a ceasefire.

Hamas’ latest response “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday.

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff said in a statement. “We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott would not offer details on what “alternative options” the U.S. is considering to free hostages held by the militant group.

A breakthrough on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas following 21 months of war has eluded the Trump administration as humanitarian conditions worsen in Gaza. Thursday’s move is the latest setback as Trump has tried to position himself as peacemaker and vowed to broker agreements in conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza.

Israeli troops Wednesday at the border with the Gaza Strip.

(Jack Guez / AFP / Getty Images)

Israel says it is allowing in enough aid and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. But those agencies say it is nearly impossible to safely deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, with crowds of thousands unloading food trucks as soon as they move into Gaza.

A separate Israeli- and U.S.-backed system run by an American contractor has also been marred by chaos.

“Of course, we want to see the end of devastation that is taking place in Gaza,” Pigott said. “That is why we have supported the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. That is why we’ve seen those 90 million meals being distributed.”

When pressed on whether and how the U.S. would proceed on seeking a truce in Gaza, Pigott did not offer clarity and told reporters that “this is a very dynamic situation.”

He said there’s never been a question of the U.S. commitment to reaching a ceasefire and faulted Hamas.

The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.

Witkoff said the U.S. is “resolute” in seeking an end to the conflict in Gaza and it was “a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way.”

The White House and representatives for Hamas had no immediate comment.

Macron, in making his announcement Thursday recognizing Palestinian statehood, posted a letter he sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about his decision.

The French president offered support for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism. But he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel’s war in Gaza, especially in recent months.

France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognize Palestine. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.

France has Europe’s largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France.

Israel also calls back its negotiators

Earlier Thursday, Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s office recalled his negotiating team in light of Hamas’ response. In a brief statement, Netanyahu’s office expressed appreciation for the efforts of Witkoff and other mediators Qatar and Egypt but gave no further details.

The deal under discussion was expected to include an initial 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting ceasefire.

The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the conflict until Hamas gives up power and disarms. The militant group says it is prepared to leave power but not surrender its weapons.

Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in different locations, including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach.

Trump has been pushing for peace

Trump has made little secret of the fact he wants to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. For instance, he has promised to quickly negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but little progress has been made.

On the war in Gaza, Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House this month, putting his weight behind a push to reach a deal.

But despite a partnership further solidified by their countries’ joint strikes on Iran, the Israeli leader left Washington without any breakthrough.

The State Department had said earlier in the week that Witkoff would be traveling to the Middle East for talks, but U.S. officials later said that Witkoff would instead travel to Europe. It was unclear if he held meetings there Thursday.

Price and Krauss write for the Associated Press. Krauss reported from Ottawa, Canada. AP writers Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.

Israel has launched a series of intense strikes on Damascus, Syria’s capital, intensifying a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group.

Syria, on Wednesday, strongly condemned Israeli attacks, denouncing the strikes as a “dangerous escalation.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Israel of pursuing a “deliberate policy” to  “inflame tensions, spread chaos and undermine security and stability in Syria”.

The strikes killed three people and injured 34, according to Syrian officials.

Here is what we know:

What happened in Syria on Wednesday?

Israel carried out a series of air strikes on central Damascus, hitting a compound that houses the Ministry of Defence and areas near the presidential palace.

The Israeli military also struck targets in southern Syria, where fighting between Druze groups, Bedouin tribes, and Syrian security forces has continued for more than four days. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 250 people have been killed in Suwayda province during the clashes.

Israel, which already occupies the Syrian Golan Heights, says its operations aim to protect the Druze minority – whom it considers potential allies – and to strike pro-government forces accused of attacking them. Syria rejected this and called the attack a “flagrant assault”.

Where did the attacks happen?

The main attacks focused on central Damascus: the Defence Ministry, military headquarters and areas surrounding the presidential palace. Additional strikes were carried out further south.

Syria’s Defence Ministry headquarters: The compound was struck several times, with two large strikes about 3pm (12:00pmGMT), including its entrance, causing structural damage and smoke rising visibly over the city.

“Israeli warplanes [were] circling the skies over the Syrian capital,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said, reporting from Damascus. “There was panic in the city,” she added.

Near the presidential palace (Umayyad Square): Strikes also hit areas immediately around the presidential palace in central Damascus. Another air strike landed near the presidential palace in Damascus.

In a post on social media, Israel said “a military target was struck in the area of the Syrian regime’s Presidential Palace in the Damascus area”.

In the south: Israeli drones also targeted Syria’s city of Suwayda, a mainly Druze city close to the border with Jordan.

Why did Israel bomb Syria?

Israel’s air strikes followed days of deadly clashes in Suwayda between Syrian government forces and local Druze fighters. The violence began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between Druze fighters and local Bedouin tribes. When government troops intervened to restore order, they ended up clashing with Druze groups – and, in some cases, reportedly targeted civilians.

The Druze, a small but influential minority in both Syria and Israel, are seen in Israel as loyal allies, with many serving in the Israeli military. A ceasefire declared on Tuesday quickly collapsed, and fighting resumed the next day.

Suwayda’s Druze appear divided. One leader, Yasser Jarbou, declared that a ceasefire had been agreed with the Syrian government. Another, Hikmat al-Hijri, rejected any ceasefire. And many Druze in Syria do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf.

Israel has its own considerations and has been attempting to expand its control in southern Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel has shunned any attempts to come to a security agreement with Syria and has instead repeatedly bombed the country this year. Many analysts believe that Israel would prefer a weak Syria over a country it believes could potentially threaten it should it grow strong.

Intensifying attacks

Israel, citing a commitment to protect the Druze and prevent hostile forces from gaining ground near its borders, warned Wednesday it would escalate its operations unless Syrian troops withdrew from Suwayda. The province sits near both the Israeli and Jordanian borders, making it a key strategic zone.

“This is a significant escalation,” Khodr, Al Jazeera’s correspondent, said. “This is the Israeli leadership giving a very, very direct message to Syria’s new authorities that they will intensify such strikes … if the government does not withdraw its troops from southern Syria.”

As part of its campaign, Israeli forces struck the General Staff compound in Damascus, which it said was being used by senior commanders to direct operations against Druze forces in Suwayda.

Israeli officials said the strikes were also aimed at blocking the buildup of hostile forces near Israel’s frontier.

Shortly after the Damascus attacks, Syria’s Ministry of Interior announced a new ceasefire in Suwayda. According to state media, government troops began withdrawing from the area.

Syrian response

Syria condemned the Israeli strikes as a violation of international law, a stance echoed by several Arab governments.

Syria’s new government has been trying to assert control, but it has struggled to do so in Suwayda, in part due to repeated Israeli threats against any government military presence in the province.

“The Israelis are not going to allow the Syrian government to spread its authority all over the territory,” said Ammar Kahf, executive director of Omran Center for Strategic Studies, who is based in Damascus.

With the fall of al-Assad’s government and the infancy of a new one, Israel is trying to impose its will on the new leadership, he said.

“We are still in the early stages, but this requires all Syrians to come together. For a foreign government to come in and destroy public property and destroy safety and security is something that’s unexplainable,” Kahf told Al Jazeera.

The Syrian government has now announced that army forces will begin withdrawing from the city of Suwayda as part of a ceasefire agreement. It did not mention any pullout of other government security forces.

Two groups of commercial pilots reject initial probe into the deadly June 12 crash, calling it a ‘reckless and unfounded insinuation’.

Two groups of commercial pilots have rejected claims that human error caused an Air India plane crash that killed 260 people after a preliminary investigation found the aircraft’s engine fuel switches had been turned off.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India) issued statements on Sunday after the release of the initial findings, which showed that fuel control switches to the engines of Flight AI171 were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before last month’s deadly impact.

The report sparked speculation by several independent aviation experts that deliberate or inadvertent pilot action may have caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to crash soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India.

Flight AI171 was headed to London’s Gatwick Airport when it crashed on June 12.

The report on the crash, issued on Saturday by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the disaster but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel and the second pilot responded that he had not.

After the switches flipped, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner immediately began to lose thrust and altitude, according to the report.

One pilot can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he had cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.

It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight’s captain and which by the first officer or which pilot transmitted “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” just before the crash.

No more details about the cockpit dialogue between the pilots were revealed.

The ICPA said it was “deeply disturbed by speculative narratives, … particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide”.

“There is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage,” it said in a statement. “It is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved.

“To casually suggest pilot suicide without verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession.”

The ICPA was referring to a number of aviation experts suggesting engine fuel control switches can only be moved deliberately and manually.

United States-based aviation safety expert John Cox earlier said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. “You can’t bump them and they move,” he told the Reuters news agency.

ALPA India, which has 800 members, also accused the investigative agency of “secrecy” surrounding the investigation, saying “suitably qualified personnel” were not involved in it.

“We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots and we strongly object to this line of thought,” ALPA India President Sam Thomas said in a statement issued on Saturday.

ALPA requested the AAIB be included as “observers so as to provide the requisite transparency in the investigations”.

Meanwhile, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the probe into last month’s crash is far from over and it is unwise to jump to any premature conclusions.

Wilson added: “The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over.”

The crash killed all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground.

In the aftermath of a magnitude 5.7 earthquake, the five men were accused of robbing damaged homes in the Santa Maria de Jesus municipality.

Five men have been lynched after rural community members accused them of robbing damaged homes following an earthquake that struck Guatemala and caused widespread damage.

Police spokesperson Cesar Mateo told the AFP news agency on Friday night that the men were accused of using the dark of the night to break into homes following the tremors, which led people to sleep in shelters or with relatives.

“While it’s true that robbery is illegal, lynching is also a crime,” Mateo said.

Guatemala’s Ministry of the Interior said residents of Santa Maria de Jesus municipality searched for the men late on Thursday and then blocked authorities who tried to detain and take them away.

Residents beat the men with sticks and stones and then burned them in the community, which lies in the Sacatepequez department southwest of the capital.

Santa Maria de Jesus was the worst-affected area by the earthquake that created tremors of up to 5.7 magnitude. At least seven people were killed across Guatemala after Tuesday’s earthquake.

Vigilante violence is a recurrent response to criminals who are not prosecuted in Guatemala.

According to a local civil society organisation, between 2008 and 2020, vigilante justice left 361 people dead and 1,396 injured in the country.

The earthquake left Santa Maria de Jesus, home to an Indigenous Mayan community, without power, while access to roads was cut off by landslides.

The government flew in humanitarian aid to Santa Maria de Jesus to help residents.

The disaster coordination agency, Conred, which has been evaluating the level of damage in affected areas, said a delivery of solar lamps, buckets, mats, mosquito nets, blankets and kitchen kits has been received from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

In a separate statement on Friday, the agency said it was continuing to assist, including the “mobilisation and delivery of humanitarian aid” to parts of the country.

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July 3 (UPI) — The government of President Dina Boluarte has extended Peru’s small-scale mining formalization program through December, even as doubts persist more than a decade after its launch and experts warn that criminal organizations have exploited the system.

According to official figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, just 2,108 of the 86,000 miners enrolled in the Integral Registry for Mining Formalization, or REINFO, had completed the process as of November 2024 — a rate of only 2.4%.

REINFO was launched as part of a government effort to contain the unchecked growth of informal and illegal mining. It gave registered miners a deadline to submit documents, meet environmental and labor standards and transition to legal operations. But after four extensions, the process has failed to deliver lasting results.

Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Montero said the situation could improve in the coming months. He noted that another 5% of registered miners are close to completing the formalization process, and added that the government aims to mediate agreements between concession holders and roughly 15,000 small-scale miners who are working informally on those sites.

But experts say repeated deadline extensions have turned the program into a legal gray area that criminal groups exploit.

“We’re talking about a failed system by every measure,” Mónica Muñoz-Nájar, an economist with the Red de Estudios para el Desarrollo, said in an interview with RPP. She pointed to the low rate of formalization and the expansion of informal mining.

“Forty-four percent of the gold Peru exports comes from illegal mining, which has become more profitable than drug trafficking. It’s estimated that illegal mining generates $12 billion a year,” she said.

One of the strongest criticisms of REINFO comes from the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy. Its president, Julia Torreblanca, said the registry has become a “shield for illegality” and that its indiscriminate extensions distort the market by protecting individuals who have no intention of following the law or meeting formalization requirements.

A growing concern, however, is the infiltration of organized crime into informal mining zones operating under REINFO’s protection. Organizations such as the Observatory of Illegal Mining and advocacy group DAR have warned that criminal networks use the registry to operate unregulated mining fronts, traffic illegal gold, transport chemical supplies and even facilitate human trafficking and forced labor.

These warnings align with reports from the National Police, who have identified criminal networks in regions including Madre de Dios, Puno and La Libertad. Authorities say these groups use informal mining concessions to conceal a range of illegal activities, including fuel smuggling, arms trafficking and the export of gold to international markets.

In early May, police reported the kidnapping and murder of 13 private security guards employed by a contractor linked to the Poderosa mining company in the Pataz region. Authorities said the bodies showed signs of torture and were found bound and unclothed — a sign of the extreme violence used by criminal gangs tied to illegal mining.

The case marked a critical moment in Peru, underscoring the violence and criminal networks that operate alongside illegal mining in the Andes and the direct threat they pose to people working in the region.

A recent report from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru warns that illegal mining is one of the most destructive activities environmentally, socially and economically.

It found that in regions like Madre de Dios, up to 50,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed. The state collected about $12,000 in taxes, compared with an estimated $565 million in extracted gold. Estimated tax evasion ranges from $85 million to $168 million.

England will look to hold on to their crown when the 14th edition of the UEFA European Women’s Championship, or Women’s Euro 2025, begins in Switzerland on Wednesday.

The continent’s top nations will compete over the course of the 26-day tournament across eight host cities.

Here’s everything you need to know about the championship:

When and where is Euro 2025?

Switzerland is playing host to the Women’s Euro for the first time.

The tournament begins in Thun on Wednesday, July 2 and concludes in Basel on Sunday, July 27.

How many countries are participating in the Women’s Euro 2025?

Of the 51 national women’s bodies associated with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), 16 have qualified for the championship.

They will be divided into four groups:

Group A

• Switzerland
• Norway
• Iceland
• Finland

Group B

• Spain
• Portugal
• Belgium
• Italy

Group C

• Germany
• Poland
• Denmark
• Sweden

Group D

• France
• England
• Wales
• Netherlands

Which teams are favourites to win Women’s Euro 2025?

Apart from holders England and world champions Spain, former Olympic gold medal winners Germany are firm favourites to lift the trophy. Here’s a brief look at each team’s pedigree:

• England: The defending champions will gain confidence from their top rank in UEFA’s rankings heading into the tournament. Under the leadership of their trusted coach, Sarina Wiegman, the Lionesses enter the tournament on the back of mixed results in their UEFA Nations League matches. The young-looking squad will lean on the experienced Lucy Bronze, who will be playing in her fourth Euro, as they look to build on the success of their predecessors.
• Spain: Arguably the most exciting women’s team to watch thanks to their prowess in front of the goal, Spain are the current world champions. The women in red and gold would like to one up their men’s team of the early 2010s by winning the Euro on top of a World Cup title. La Roja have won five of their six competitive matches in 2025, scoring 21 goals in the process.
• Germany: Germans are the undeniable queens of European football, having won the tournament on a whopping eight occasions, including six consecutive titles from 1995 to 2013. Also the world champions twice, they are another in-form team, having won five of their six games in 2025 with 26 goals scored and only three conceded.

Will Aitana Bonmati play in Euro 2025?

Up until Friday, Bonmati’s participation in the tournament was unquestionable as the superstar midfielder is the centrepiece of the Spanish side. However, the 27-year-old tested positive for viral meningitis and was hospitalised in Madrid.

The Spanish football federation, RFEF, however, is hopeful that the star player will return to the squad in a few days despite not being part of the contingent travelling to Switzerland on Sunday.

“After several days hospitalised with viral meningitis, Aitana Bonmati has been discharged from the hospital and will join the Spanish national team in the coming days,” RFEF said in a brief statement.

The Barcelona player, winner of the Ballon d’Or award in 2023 and 2024, posted a photo from her hospital bed on social media on Sunday, giving a thumbs-up and stating: “Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to return soon.”

Bonmati has been pivotal for Spain, scoring 30 goals in 78 appearances and helping them win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and last year’s UEFA Nations League.

Gracias a tod@s por los mensajes recibidos y a l@s que me habéis ayudado estos días. Afortunadamente todo va bien, espero volver pronto. 💪🏼⚔️🧠

Gràcies a totes i tots, us he sentit a prop❤️ pic.twitter.com/GV6ORVEn8i

— Aitana Bonmatí Conca (@AitanaBonmati) June 29, 2025

Who are the key players to watch at Euro 2025?

• Ewa Pajor (Poland): The Barcelona forward is ranked among the world’s top strikers and has scored 43 goals in her 45 appearances for the club in the past season. She has won more than 100 caps for her country, scoring 68 goals in the process and has been named the nation’s top women’s player on five occasions. The tournament debutantes will rely on Pajor’s red-hot form to see them through to the knockouts and beyond.
• Alexia Putellas (Spain): Arguably one of the greatest women to play the game, Putellas will be the mainstay of Spain’s midfield and attack as the world champions seek a third title. The Barcelona player had another incredible season for the Spanish champions, scoring 17 goals in 25 appearances to add to her control of the team’s midfield. Putellas missed out on the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 and would like to make up for it with a Euro win.
• Klara Buhl (Germany): The German winger has been playing for the European giants Bayern Munich since 2020 and has made 102 appearances. Making her international debut in 2019, Buhl has scored 28 goals for Germany in 67 games. She will be among the top young players at the 2025 championship.
• Lauren James (England): Another bright young European footballer, James has swiftly climbed up the ranks in Wiegman’s squad. The 23-year-old will have plenty of eyes on her as she leads England’s attack in Switzerland. She scored 22 goals for Chelsea in the last season and has seven goals in 27 international appearances.

Who are the past winners of the Women’s Euro championships?

• 1984: Sweden
• 1987: Norway
• 1989: West Germany
• 1991: West Germany
• 1993: Norway
• 1995: Germany
• 1997: Germany
• 2001: Germany
• 2005: Germany
• 2009: Germany
• 2013: Germany
• 2017: Netherlands
• 2022: England

Where are the Women’s Euro 2025 venues?

From stadiums located in the heart of Switzerland’s main cities, to picturesque arenas sitting in the lap of the Alps, these are the eight venues hosting the championship:

• Basel (St Jakob-Park): The venue in Switzerland’s most populous city will host five games, including the home team’s opener, the last quarterfinal and the final. The 35,000-capacity stadium was opened in March 2001 and is the home ground for the city’s eponymous team in the Swiss league.
• Bern (Stadion Wankdorf): The 32,000-capacity home of the Young Boys football club was rebuilt on the site of the 1925-built Wankdorf Stadium, which hosted the famous “Miracle of Bern” FIFA World Cup 1954 final between West Germany and Hungary. It will host four Women’s Euro 2025 fixtures, including the third quarterfinal.
• Geneva (Stade de Geneve): The venue was one of the co-hosts for the UEFA Euro 2008 and has also held rugby games. In the Women’s Euro 2025, the 30,000-capacity stadium will host five matches, including the first quarterfinal and the first semifinal.
• Lucerne (Allmend Stadion): The glittering golden structure of the Swissporarena stands out in the city of Lucerne and is home to its Swiss Super League side. It will host three group-stage games during the tournament.
• St Gallen (Arena St Gallen): The venue in the northwest of Switzerland can host close to 20,000 football fans. It will also host three group-stage games.
• Sion (Stade de Tourbillon): A picturesque football venue, the Stade de Tourbillon sits amid the Alps, overlooked by two prehistoric castles. It is the smallest venue by capacity, 9,570, and will host three group-stage games.
• Thun (Arena Thun): Spectators will have a view of a football match on the field and the Alps in the background when they attend one of the three group-stage games in Thun.
• Zurich (Stadion Letzigrund): The Stadion Letzigrund in Switzerland’s largest city will host three group-stage fixtures, as well as the second quarterfinal and the second semifinal. The home ground for two of the city’s football clubs has a capacity of more than 24,000.

What is the prize money for the Women’s Euro 2025?

According to UEFA, the total prize pot for the tournament is 41 million euros ($48m), more than double the 16 million euros (about $19m) given in 2022.

The champions can get a maximum of 5.1 million euros (about $6m) if they also win all three of their group-stage matches.

All 16 teams will receive a participation fee of 1.8 million euros ($2.1m).

How to buy tickets for the Women’s Euro 2025?

Tickets for all games go on sale at 09:00 GMT on every match day from the group stage up until the knockouts. They will be available on the UEFA ticketing website and start from 22 Swiss Francs ($27.5) and go up to 90 Swiss Francs ($112).

How to watch Euro 2025?

The tournament will be streamed live on the UEFA.tv website, as well as regional broadcasters and streaming services.

Al Jazeera Sport will provide live text and photo commentary stream for a selection of knockout matches, including the final.

What is the format and full match schedule of the Women’s Euro 2025?

Format: All four teams in each of the four groups will play each other once, and the top two teams will progress to the knockout stage, which begins with the quarterfinals.

⚽ Women’s Euro 2025 group stage schedule

Wednesday, July 2
Group A: Iceland vs Finland (16:00 GMT, Thun)
Group A: Switzerland vs Norway (19:00 GMT, Basel)

Thursday, July 3
Group B: Belgium vs Italy (16:00 GMT, Sion)
Group B: Spain vs Portugal (19:00 GMT, Bern)

Friday, July 4
Group C: Denmark vs Sweden (16:00 GMT, Geneva)
Group C: Germany vs Poland (19:00 GMT, St Gallen)

Saturday, July 5
Group D: Wales vs Netherlands (16:00 GMT, Lucerne)
Group D: France vs England (19:00 GMT, Zurich)

Sunday, July 6
Group A: Norway vs Finland (16:00 GMT, Sion)
Group A: Switzerland vs Iceland (19:00 GMT, Bern)

Monday, July 7
Group B: Spain vs Belgium (16:00 GMT, Thun)
Group B: Portugal vs Italy (19:00 GMT, Geneva)

Tuesday, July 8
Group C: Germany vs Denmark (16:00 GMT, Basel)
Group C: Poland vs Sweden (19:00 GMT, Lucerne)

Wednesday, July 9
Group D: England vs Netherlands (16:00 GMT, Zurich)
Group D: France vs Wales (19:00 GMT, St Gallen)

Thursday, July 10
Group A: Finland vs Switzerland (19:00 GMT, Geneva)
Group A: Norway vs Iceland (19:00 GMT, Thun)

Friday, July 11
Group B: Italy vs Spain (19:00 GMT, Bern)
Group B: Portugal vs Belgium (19:00 GMT, Sion)

Saturday, July 12
Group C: Sweden vs Germany (19:00 GMT, Zurich)
Group C: Poland vs Denmark (19:00 GMT, Lucerne)

Sunday, July 13
Group D: Netherlands vs France (19:00 GMT, Basel)
Group D: England vs Wales (19:00 GMT, St Gallen)

⚽ Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals

Wednesday, July 16
Winners of Group A vs Runners-up of Group B (Geneva, 19:00 GMT)

Thursday, July 17
Winners of Group C vs Runners-up of Group D (Zurich, 19:00 GMT)

Friday, July 18
Winners of Group B vs Runners-up of Group A (Bern, 19:00 GMT)

Saturday, July 19
Winners of Group D vs Runners-up of Group C (Basel, 19:00 GMT)

⚽ Women’s Euro 2025 semifinals

Tuesday, July 22
Winners of quarterfinal 3 vs winners of quarterfinal 1 (Geneva, 19:00 GMT)

Wednesday, July 23
Winners of quarterfinal 4 vs winners of quarterfinal 2 (Zurich, 19:00 GMT)

⚽ Women’s Euro 2025 final

Sunday, July 27
Winners of semifinal 1 vs winners of semifinal 2 (Basel, 19:00 GMT)

Years of fighting between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda may be at an end – thanks to a peace deal signed in the United States.

Rwanda has agreed to remove thousands of troops from eastern Congo that were supporting the Rwandan-backed armed group M23, as it took control of major cities and mining areas.

That was widely seen as a major escalation and stoked fears of a regional conflict.

So can this agreement succeed where many others have failed?

And is this deal really about US interests in Congolese minerals?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

• Gatete Nyiringabo Ruhumuliza – Political commentator and writer
• Zainab Usman – Senior fellow and director of the  Africa Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Vava Tampa – Founder and chief campaigner of Save the Congo

The streets of Port-au-Prince have become a combat zone. Fighting between armed groups and beleaguered government forces has caused hospitals to shut down, overwhelming the ones that remain with mostly civilian casualties. Doctors at the Tabarre Hospital are caught in the crossfire and doing everything they can to save lives, including sacrificing their own comfort and safety. This is the story of the doctors and patients trying to survive in a country torn apart by violence.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court.

The center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to begin processing people who entered the U.S. illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on “Fox and Friends.”

The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the Miami-Dade County-owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles west of downtown Miami.

The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.

Payne and Anderson write for the Associated Press.

Lebanese state media reports civilian casualties after Israeli attack on residential apartment building in Nabatieh.

At least one person has been killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in Israeli air attacks on southern Lebanon, the health ministry has said, as the Israeli military said it struck sites linked to the armed group Hezbollah.

In a report on Friday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency cited the country’s health ministry saying that a woman and 13 other people were targeted in an air raid that hit a residential apartment building in Nabatieh. Seven others were wounded in air raids on the outskirts of the city, it added.

The Israeli army said its fighters attacked an underground site used by Hezbollah for its fire and defence system in Belfort, a site in the Nabatieh governorate. The military said it identified attempts by the Lebanese group to resume activities there after Israel had taken it out of use in the past.

The resumption of activities there would have been in breach of the November truce agreed by the two sides, which halted more than a year of fire exchanges and nearly two months of an all-out war.

Later on Friday, the Israeli army spokesman said that Lebanese reports that an Israeli drone hit a residential building, causing civilian injuries, “were inaccurate”.

In a post on X, Avichay Adraee said that “the explosion that damaged the civilian building was caused by a rocket located at the Hezbollah site, which detonated as a result of the Israeli strike”.

He accused Hezbollah of “continuing to store its aggressive rockets near residential buildings and Lebanese civilians, thereby putting them at risk”.

Footage shared on social media, and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, shows large plumes rising from the hill where Israeli aircraft struck their target, as the roar of jets is heard overhead.

سلسلة غارات تستهدف النبطية الفوقا#الجنوب_اللبناني pic.twitter.com/hZtkBw7Aco

— Fatima.Fatima (@Fatimash28) June 27, 2025

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun on Friday accused Israel of continually violating the US-brokered ceasefire deal by keeping up strikes on Lebanon.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that southern Lebanon must be free of any non-state arms or fighters, Israeli soldiers must leave southern Lebanon as Lebanese troops deploy there and all fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border must stop.

Israeli troops remain in at least five posts within Lebanese territory and its air force regularly launches air raids, which it claims target rank and file Hezbollah members or people affiliated with the group.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are expected to sign a United States-mediated peace deal on Friday following several months of conflict that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions in resource-rich eastern DRC.

Neither country is formally at war, but the DRC accuses its neighbour, Rwanda, of backing the M23 rebel group, which is waging war in eastern DRC. Rwanda denies this charge.

In January, a deadly offensive by the rebels – aided by Rwandan forces, according to a United Nations expert panel – escalated a decades-long conflict in eastern DRC. The M23 has since seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, and its attacks have raised fears of a regional war.

The peace agreement comes amid reports that the US is considering investments in the mineral-rich region in return for security and calm in an area where dozens of militias vying for resource control have operated since the mid-1990s.

Here’s what we know about the peace agreement to be announced:

What’s the background to the crisis?

The DRC and Rwanda conflict dates back to the Rwandan genocide of Tutsis and centrist Hutus in 1994.

Following the overthrow of the genocidal government by the Rwandan Defence Forces, Hutu genocidaires fled into the neighbouring DRC’s poorly governed eastern region. They hid among civilian refugees and continued to launch attacks on Rwanda.

Kigali’s attempts to attack those forces led to the First and Second Congo Wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003). Rwanda and Uganda were accused of targeting Hutu civilians, and looting and smuggling the DRC’s coffee, diamonds, timber, coltan and gold. Other neighbours similarly interfered, choosing Rwanda or the DRC’s side.

Eastern DRC has been in the throes of low-level conflict since then. More than six million people have been killed, and millions have been displaced. At least 100 armed groups taking advantage of a security vacuum operate in the area and control lucrative mines. The DRC has one of the world’s largest reserves of coltan and cobalt. It is also rich in gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten, which are critical for tech gadgets.

M23, which first emerged in 2012, is one of those forces. The group mostly comprises Congolese Tutsi soldiers who fought in the war and were to be integrated into the army. In 2011, they revolted, claiming ethnic discrimination in the force. M23 now says it is defending the rights of Congolese Tutsis. However, critics accuse the group of being a front for Rwanda’s ambitions to control the region – a charge that Kigali rejects. President Felix Tshisekedi has also accused longtime Rwandan leader Paul Kagame of backing the group.

A 2022 United Nations expert report noted that Rwanda is actively backing the M23 and that about 3,000 to 4000 Rwandan troops are on the ground in the DRC. The US has also said that Rwanda backs the group. Rwanda counters the allegations by accusing the DRC of working with other armed groups like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu rebel outfit. Kinshasa insists that it does not work with the group.

Why did the conflict resurface?

M23, which was initially pushed back with the help of a UN force, resurfaced in 2022 with a series of violent, sporadic attacks. In January 2025, it launched a lightning offensive, armed with heavy artillery, seizing towns in quick succession and promising to march on Kinshasa.

An alliance of the Congolese Defence Forces, the FLDR, and a force from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) attempted to push the group back. In May, the SADC forces withdrew.

African Union-led mediation attempts like the Luanda Peace Process (2022) and the Nairobi Peace Process (2023) have failed to end the violence, as each side blames the other for violating ceasefires. In March, President Joao Lourenco of Angola, who attempted to strike a deal for months, stepped down as official mediator.

Meanwhile, the European Union has cut military aid to Rwanda and the United States has imposed sanctions on key Rwandan army officials for their involvement in the conflict.

In April, US Secretary of Defence Marco Rubio began negotiations with DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart, Olivier Nduhungirehe.

Qatar is also involved in the mediation. Tshisekedi and Kagame met Qatar’s emir in Doha in rare first face-to-face talks in March.

What’s in the peace agreement?

A full draft of the agreement to be signed on Wednesday has not been made available.

Earlier drafts during the negotiation process included standard provisions like:

• Either side’s respect for territorial integrity and a cessation of hostilities.
• Disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups.
• The return of refugees and displaced persons.

Earlier in April, the US Department of State released conditions that would guide the negotiations, although it is not confirmed if they were included in the final agreement. They were categorised as such:

• Sovereignty: Both sides agreed to recognise and respect each other’s territorial borders.
• Security: Both committed to not supporting any armed groups and to establishing a joint security mechanism to target militias.
• Economic issues: Both countries agreed to use existing regional framework structures, such as the East African Community, to expand transparent trade and investment opportunities, including those to be facilitated by “the US government or US investors” in mineral supply chains, hydropower development and national park management.

Is the deal a bargaining chip for DRC’s minerals?

Some critics have raised fears that the US could use the deal as leverage for greater access to the DRC’s minerals. Such a scenario, they warn, could cause a replay of the violence of past decades, when the DRC’s minerals were a major draw for interfering foreign governments.

These fears are rooted in a February pitch from the Tshikekedi government to the US. The DRC offered a minerals-for-security deal to Washington, essentially asking the US government to oversee the stability of eastern DRC in exchange for minerals.

US envoy to Africa Massad Boulos confirmed on a trip to DRC in April that Washington was interested in a mineral deal. Talks have been ongoing in parallel with the Rwanda-DRC peace deal, according to some reports, although there are no details yet.

Under President Donald Trump, Washington is racing to secure supplies of minerals used to manufacture high-tech gadgets and weapons.

“The intertwining of peace and mineral interests is deeply alarming, echoing a tragic and persistent pattern in the DRC’s history,” analyst Lindani Zungu wrote in an opinion piece for Al Jazeera, recalling how colonial rulers exploited the DRC’s resources, and how its neighbours did the same during the Congo wars.

“This ‘peace deal’ risks becoming another instrument of neo-colonialism,” Zungu warned. “In this context, foreign capital is used not to build, but to extract – deepening the divide between resource-rich African nations and wealthy consumer economies.”

Will this fix the DRC crisis?

Questions remain over how this deal will fix myriad tensions in the DRC. The draft agreements do not mention remediation or resolution processes.

Chief among the issues, analysts say, is the overall weak governance and justice system in the country that historically sees corrupt officials and perpetrators of injustice go scot-free. Analysts point to some politicians in the country who were part of the Congo wars and who did not face trials.

Both the M23 and the Congolese armed forces have been accused of atrocities, including extrajudicial killings and sexual assault. One M23 rebel leader, Corneille Nangaa, was the head of the country’s elections commission before he fell out with President Tshisekedi over alleged “backroom deals” related to contested 2018 general elections. In December 2023, he announced that his Congo River Alliance was joining M23.

Another cause of tension is the discrimination that Congolese Tutsis say they face in the DRC, in the form of ethnic killings and workplace discrimination, among others. The minority group is largely associated with Rwanda, and hate speech by politicians canvassing for votes often inflames tensions with local Congolese. The M23 claims to be fighting for this group, although critics say that’s a pretext to justify its violence.

When the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Obergefell vs. Hodges case 10 years ago that same-sex couples have a right to marry nationwide, the sense of triumph was palpable. Celebrations broke out in the streets, and courthouses were flooded with newlyweds.

But that wasn’t the only response.

Opponents of LGBTQ+ rights immediately began implementing new strategies to limit the decision’s reach and reverse the broader momentum toward LGBTQ+ acceptance, including by casting a small, less understood subset of the queer community — transgender people — as a growing threat to American families and values.

“Right after Obergefell, every effort to advance any equality measure was met with an anti-trans backlash,” said Chase Strangio, a transgender attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union and one of the nation’s leading voices on LGBTQ+ legal rights.

In statehouses and governors’ mansions across the country, the number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights have increased year after year, with 800 being introduced this year alone. The Trump administration also has embraced the shift, with federal agencies aggressively investigating California and threatening its funding over its trans-inclusive policies. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that states may ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

The White House is lighted in rainbow colors in 2015 after the Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage.

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

The strategy has delighted many conservatives. But it has also frightened a community that had seen itself as being on a path toward progress, reviving discussions about the legacy of the Obergefell decision and igniting a fierce debate within the community about the wisdom of its political strategy over the past decade.

Some have questioned whether the efforts since Obergefell to broaden transgender rights were pursued too fast, too soon, playing into the hands of the movement’s political foes. Others say those concerns sound strikingly similar to ones raised during the fight for marriage equality, when some argued that same-sex couples should settle for civil unions to avoid alienating religious moderates.

The conversation is not a comfortable one. Nerves are raw and fear is palpable. Some worry that pointing the finger will further embolden those working to dismantle LGBTQ+ rights. But others argue that a strategic reassessment is necessary after years of setbacks.

“This can be an inflection point for how we move forward — whether we galvanize resources in [an] aligned effort to push back, [or] continue to let ourselves be divided by campaigns and movements and strategies that seek to divide us,” Strangio said. “That’s the real question for this moment.”

The shifting debate

Strangio, now co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, had worked on the Obergefell case and was outside the Supreme Court the day the decision came down. He thought about his younger self, and how impossible such a ruling would have seemed just years before — when state marriage bans were sweeping the country.

But he didn’t have much time to dwell on the victory, he said, as it became clear “within minutes” that anti-LGBTQ+ forces were already regrouping and preparing for the next fight.

One of their first targets was transgender people’s use of public bathrooms. Within months of the Obergefell decision, voters in Houston rejected an anti-discrimination measure after opponents falsely claimed that the ordinance’s gender-identity protections would allow sexual predators to enter women’s bathrooms.

In 2016, North Carolina passed the nation’s first law barring transgender people from using bathrooms aligned with their identities. The measure sparked huge backlash and statewide boycotts, led in part by corporate America — and the bill was rolled back in 2017.

People gather in North Carolina in 2016 to protest the state’s restrictive bathroom bill.

(Emery P. Dalesio / Associated Press)

LGBTQ+ activists were jubilant, viewing North Carolina’s embarrassment as a clear sign that history was on their side and that expanded transgender rights and protections were inevitable. And there would be big wins to come — including the 2020 Supreme Court ruling that the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ+ employees from workplace discrimination nationwide.

However, the tide was already beginning to shift, including as right-wing groups began to identify specific transgender issues that resonated with voters more than bathrooms, and as Trump — in his first term — began taking aim at transgender rights.

Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said his organization “poll tested all of these issues, the bathrooms, the showers, the locker rooms,” and found that many were “incredibly unpopular to voters” — but some more than others.

One of the issues that resonated the most, Schilling said, was kids’ healthcare and competition in girls sports. So his group ran with that, including in the 2019 race for governor in Kentucky, when it ran an ad suggesting the Democratic candidate and ultimate victor — Andy Beshear — supported boys competing in girls’ wrestling competitions, when in fact Beshear supported policies barring discrimination based on kids’ gender identity.

Schilling said it was “the left’s insistence that we need to start trans’ing kids” that made the issue a political one. But his group’s strategy in Kentucky helped wake conservatives up to the political value of highlighting it.

“We’re really just tapping into a real vulnerability that Democrats started for themselves,” Schilling said.

Trump had pursued various anti-transgender policies during his first term, including a ban on transgender service members. But during his campaign for reelection, he centered transgender issues like never before, dumping millions of dollars into anti-transgender ads that cast his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, as an extreme progressive on such issues.

“Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you,” one ad said.

Once in office, Trump moved even more aggressively against transgender rights than the community had feared — prompting various lawsuits from LGBTQ+ organizations that are still pending.

He issued an executive order declaring there are only two genders, and suggesting transgender people don’t actually exist. He again banned transgender people from serving in the military. He threatened the funding of states such as California with trans-inclusive school policies. He ordered transgender athletes out of youth sports. He said federal law enforcement would target those who provide gender-affirming care to minors. And his administration said it would stop providing transgender people with passports reflecting their identities.

President Trump signs an executive order in February banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

(Jabin Botsford / Washington Post via Getty Images)

Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said the American people “voted for a return to common sense,” and Trump was “delivering on every campaign promise.”

“President Trump’s historic reelection and the overall MAGA movement is a big tent welcome for all and home to a large swath of the American people,” Fields said.

From offense to defense

Reggie Greer, who served as a senior advisor on LGBTQI+ Persons at the State Department in the Biden administration, remembers being in North Carolina during the 2016 bathroom bill fight. While local Democrats were pleased with how it had backfired on Republicans, it was clear to him that “hate is lucrative,” Greer said — with the anti-rights groups raising hundreds of millions of dollars.

He now sees the episode as an early warning of what was to come.

Nick Hutchins handled public affairs around the Obergefell case before joining the Human Rights Campaign, where he worked on state affairs and communications. Traveling through conservative states, he watched as more Republicans began seizing on LGBTQ+ issues after Trump’s 2016 victory.

“It was a moment when Republicans saw an opening and wanted to chip away at LGBTQ rights in any way they could,” Hutchins said. “That’s where you began to see a spaghetti-against-the-wall approach from their end, pursuing the bathroom bills that evolved into various education-focused bills, and healthcare.”

Inside the HRC during Trump’s first term, leadership felt confident that public opinion remained on their side. LGBTQ+ rights organizations had secured victories in statehouses on bathroom and healthcare issues, and were buoyed by Trump’s electoral defeat in 2020.

Yet, several warning signs emerged. Internal state polling by the HRC found large majorities of Americans supported trans rights, but a plurality opposed allowing transgender athletes to compete in sports.

One former HRC staffer, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the organization had not paid much attention to the issue until a series of political attacks in conservative states. The governor’s race in Kentucky was one, followed by a statehouse push in Louisiana.

Still, other battles — including “confronting whiteness in the movement” — took precedent, the former staffer recalled.

“There were significant generational divides within the organization between the older teams and their younger staff that were more diverse on these issues,” the staffer said. “It was a distraction.”

Hutchins said LGBTQ+ organizations today are having “autopsy conversations” to take stock of how things have played out in recent years and identify lessons to be learned.

Leaders look ahead

Among the most prominent leaders of the modern LGBTQ+ movement, there is consensus on many things.

It’s a scary time for LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable groups, including immigrants and women. Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy. The LGBTQ+ rights movement needs more resources to continue fighting back. Nobody is going to throw transgender people under the bus just because some Democrats have suggested it would help them rebound politically.

“No one person, no one community, is expendable. End of story,” said Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the marriage case.

The actor Laverne Cox, one of the most recognizable transgender women in the country, said the marriage victory in 2015 left the right in need of “a new boogeyman,” and they picked transgender people — a tiny portion of the U.S. population, at around 1%.

They further picked on transgender people in sports — an even tinier group — in order to focus the conversation on “hormones and physical ability,” which is “a great way to objectify trans people, to reduce us to our bodies, and thus dehumanize us,” Cox said.

The best way to fight back, she said, is to refocus the conversation on transgender people’s humanity by allowing them to tell their own stories — rather than allowing their narratives to be “hijacked by propaganda.”

The actor Laverne Cox, shown in April, said trans people should be able to tell their own stories.

(Andy Kropa / Invision / Associated Press)

“We’re just like everybody else in terms of what we want, need, desire, our hopes and fears,” she said. “Living authentically and being able to be oneself is where the focus should be.”

Evan Wolfson, an attorney and founder of the advocacy group Freedom to Marry, which is widely credited with securing the 2015 victory in the Obergefell case, said there are “three significant factors” that got the country to where it is today on transgender issues.

The “most important factor by far,” he said, “is the right-wing attack machine and the political agenda of some who are trying to attack and scapegoat and divide” the country around transgender issues.

A second factor, he said, is that transgender identities are still a “relatively new” concept for many Americans, and “that conversation is just not as far along as the very long conversation about who gay people are.”

A third and far less significant factor, he said, are the “missteps” by LGBTQ+ advocates in the last decade, including some vocally renouncing anyone who is not 100% supportive of trans rights.

“We worked hard in the Freedom to Marry campaign to bring people along and to distinguish between those who were our true opponents, those who were really anti-gay, anti-rights, anti-inclusion on the one hand, and those who I called the ‘reachable but not yet reached’ — people who weren’t with us, but weren’t our true opponents, people who were still wrestling with the question,” Wolfson said.

Allowing people a bit more time and space to be brought along on transgender issues will be necessary moving forward, he said — though he stressed that does not mean that advocates should slow down or pull back.

Wolfson rejected the idea that the LGBTQ+ community is moving too fast on transgender rights, which was also argued about marriage, and the idea that transgender rights should be abandoned as a political liability. “There is no reason to believe that we would profit from selling out our principles and doing the wrong thing just to avoid this tough moment,” Wolfson said.

Strangio said the fight for LGBTQ+ rights today cannot be viewed in a vacuum, and that zooming out, “there are a lot of reasons to be concerned about basic constitutional principles and civil rights protections” for all sorts of vulnerable people under the Trump administration.

Still, he said, he believes in the queer community’s “ability to move through setbacks” and come out on ahead of the “billion-dollar global campaigns to undermine equality protections” that began after the Obergefell decision.

“Fighting back was the right course,” he said, “and continuing to assess how we can effectively build support for the entire community is going to be a critical part of this next decade.”

British government will use antiterrorism laws to ban campaign organisation in the wake of damage to planes by activists.

The British government has said it will deploy antiterrorism laws to ban Palestine Action, a prominent campaign organisation that has protested against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the United Kingdom’s role in supporting it, in the wake of its activists damaging two military planes.

Protesters clashed with police in London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday at a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine Action. The crowd moved towards police when officers tried to detain someone, while protesters chanted “let them go”.

The government’s move will make it a criminal offence to belong to the pro-Palestinian group and effectively place them in the same category as Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda or ISIL (ISIS) under British law.

It would be illegal for anyone to promote Palestine Action or be a member. Those who breach the ban could face up to 14 years in prison.

Activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in central England last week and claimed to have damaged two military aircraft to protest against the UK government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Palestine Action said two of its members entered the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire, spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and attacking them with crowbars.

“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” the group said in a statement on Friday, posting a video of the incident on X.

The group said the red paint “symbolising Palestinian bloodshed was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene”.

It said the activists were able to exit the military facility undetected and avoid arrest.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “vandalism” as “disgraceful”.

There has been condemnation of the government’s move on Monday. Labour Party MP Apsana Begum said: “Proscribing Palestine Action as ‘terrorists’ while continuing to send arms to a state that is committing the gravest of crimes against humanity in Gaza is not just unjustifiable, it is chilling. The ongoing crackdown on the right to protest is a threat to us all.”

Palestine Action called the police response to the solidarity protest “draconian”.

Draconian response by the police at the protest in solidarity with Palestine Action.

They want to ban us, they banned our protest at parliament and now they attack us.

The people will not be intimidated.

WE ARE ALL PALESTINE ACTION. pic.twitter.com/CsmebIriek

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) June 23, 2025

Weekly protests in the UK have drawn tens of thousands of people opposed to Israel’s war on Gaza and its besieged and bombarded population, as well as Britain’s supply of weapons to the Israeli military, which the government says it has suspended but still continues.

NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) found the UK increased its licences to Israel for military equipment after the government announced a temporary arms suspension in September 2024.

The government also refused to suspend the shipment of components of F-35 fighters, arguing it would cause a “profound impact on international peace and security”.

The blast in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Syria’s capital was carried out as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church.

A suicide bomber in Syria has carried out an attack inside a church filled with people, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, according to the Syria’s Ministry of Health and security officials.

The explosion in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying during mass inside the Mar Elias Church on Sunday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said a fighter from the ISIL (ISIS) group entered the church and fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.

The death toll reported was a preliminary one. “Rescue teams from the Syria Civil Defence continue to recover bodies from the scene,” a statement on Telegram said on Sunday.

Official state agency SANA, citing the Health Ministry, said that at least 50 others were wounded.

Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as the fledgling interim government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa is trying to win the support of minorities.

As al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across Syria, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of groups like ISIL (ISIS) in the country recovering from nearly 14 years of devastating civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

Syria has made significant inroads back into the international fold since al-Sharaa became president in January 2025, with both the United States and the European Union lifting sanctions from the era of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

‘He was shooting at the church’

A witness who identified himself as Rawad told The Associated Press that he saw the attacker, who was accompanied by two others who fled as he was driving near the church.

“He was shooting at the church … he then went inside the church and blew himself up,” he said.

Security forces and first responders rushed to the scene.

Panicked survivors wailed, as one woman fell to her knees and burst into tears.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mostafa condemned the blast, calling it a “terrorist” attack.

“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together,” he said in a post on X.

“We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship … and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organisations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen condemned “in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack at St. Elias Church” and expressed “his outrage at this heinous crime.” His statement also noted “that the Syrian interim authorities have attributed this attack to ISIL and (he) calls for a full investigation and action by the authorities.”

Turkiye’s foreign ministry said the “treacherous” attack aimed to disrupt efforts to achieve stability and security in Syria.

France’s foreign ministry also condemned the “despicable” attack. France “expresses its full solidarity with the Syrian people, who hope that Syria will find its way back to peace,” the ministry said in a statement.

Photos circulated by the Syria Civil Defence showed the church’s interior area in ruins, with pews covered in debris and blood.

June 20 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law that allows victims of terrorism to sue two Palestinian entities in U.S. courts.

The decision reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals in the New York-based 2nd Circuit that found the law denied the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority fair legal process.

All nine justices ruled that the bipartisan 2019 law, called the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, does not violate due process rights of the PLO and PA.

The lawsuit and appeal involve cases from the early 2000s and not the Israel-Hamas war and airstrikes between Israel and Iran. It was based on the Antiterrorism Act of 1990, which creates a federal civil damages action for U.S. nationals injured or killed “by reason of an act of international terrorism.”

Founded in 1964, the PLO is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. The PA, founded in 1994, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 46-page opinion that included a concurrence by Justice Clarence Thomas and backed by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wanted to define the boundaries of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Lawsuits by U.S. victims of terrorist attacks in Israel can move forward in American courts.

“It is permissible for the Federal Government to craft a narrow jurisdictional provision that ensures, as part of a broader foreign policy agenda, that Americans injured or killed by acts of terror have an adequate forum in which to vindicate their right to ATA compensation,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.

In April, the high court consolidated two cases for arguments: a Justice Department appeal and an appeal by the family of Israeli-American Ari Fuld, who was fatally stabbed at a shopping mall in the West Bank in 2018.

The Biden administration initially intervened in Fuld’s case and another one brought by 11 American families who sued the Palestinian leadership groups and were awarded $650 million in a 2025 trial for several attacks in Israel.

The tiff between Donald Trump and Pope Francis on Thursday was the latest example of what’s become a persistent theme of Trump’s presidential campaign: caustic battles over religion, immigration or sexuality that animate his supporters and capture headlines.

When Trump first began campaigning, his comments baffled political observers, but as his lead in the polls only increased, it has become clear that his backers see his unapologetic, brash style as a strength, no matter whom he goes after.

In no particular order: Trump has called Iowans “dumb” for backing Ben Carson, has complained that any number of television anchors treated him badly and has repeatedly mocked rival candidate Jeb Bush as “low-energy,” a preferred insult of Trump’s.

More gravely, Trump has also labeled Mexicans “rapists” and drug runners; has dismissed the war record of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was held captive in Vietnam for several years; and has called to ban Muslims from entering the country.

So what has Trump said exactly?

Iowans

As his poll numbers began to lag in Iowa last fall, he offered choice words for voters in the state, which kicked off primary season Feb. 1.

“How stupid are the people of Iowa?” he said at a local event.

Trump finished second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s caucuses.

Jeb Bush

The former Florida governor has become a relentless target for Trump, who calls him “low-energy” on the campaign trail and in debates. Trump has even gone after Bush’s family — in particular, former President George W. Bush, whom he recently blamed for failing to keep America safe from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Ted Cruz

The Texas senator is Trump’s main rival for the party’s nomination. In recent weeks, Trump has questioned Cruz’s citizenship (he was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father) and has assailed him repeatedly as a “nasty” person who will “lie” to capture the nomination.

Bill and Hillary Clinton

They used to be family friends — but no longer. Hillary Clinton said Trump had a “penchant for sexism,” and after former President Clinton hit the campaign trail on her behalf, Trump pounced.

The media

Women

After the first Republican presidential debate in August, Trump took aim at Megyn Kelly, the Fox News anchor who co-moderated the gathering. The billionaire businessman felt that her questions about misogynistic comments he’d made in the past were unfair.

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes,” he said in a CNN interview after the debate. “Blood coming out of her wherever.”

He also has gone after Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who exited the race after a disappointing showing in New Hampshire, disparaging her appearance.

“Look at that face!” he told a Rolling Stone reporter aboard his private plane when Fiorina appeared on a television screen. “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?

Mexicans

During his campaign launch in June, Trump labeled Mexicans “rapists” and drug runners — statements he has not backed down from.

Muslims

In the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks, carried out by individuals who indicated they were inspired by Islamic State, Trump called to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

The proposal was condemned by Democrats and Republicans alike.

He defended the proposal and has remained committed to it in an effort, he says, to protect Americans.

Sen. John McCain

In comments at an Iowa forum, he mocked McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner in North Vietnam.

“He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK? I hate to tell you. He’s a war hero because he was captured, OK? And I believe — perhaps he’s a war hero. But right now, he’s said some very bad things about a lot of people,” Trump said.

Pundits predicted his campaign would quickly end after he criticized McCain. Not even close.

The disabled

While on the campaign trail, Trump cited a Washington Post article from days after 9/11 to undergird his claim that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the attacks. But when the reporter, Serge F. Kovaleski, who now works for the New York Times, corrected Trump, he took aim. At a rally he flailed his arms and mocked Kovaleski, who suffers from a chronic condition that limits the movement of his arms.

The pope

Trump took on Pope Francis on Thursday, complaining that the pontiff’s criticism of Trump’s proposal to build a border wall was “really not very nice.” And in typical Trump fashion, he went well beyond explaining how insulted he was, also claiming that Islamic State, or ISIS, wanted to attack the Vatican and warning, middle-school-style, that Francis would be sorry that he ever trusted in politicians other than Trump.

“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened,” Trump said in his statement. “ISIS would have been eradicated, unlike what is happening now with our all-talk, no-action politicians.”

Follow @kurtisalee on Twitter for political news.

A coalition of press rights organizations is seeking a court order to stop the “continuing abuse” of journalists by the Los Angeles Police Department during protests over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The federal lawsuit, filed Monday by the Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup, seeks to “force the LAPD to respect the constitutional and statutory rights of journalists engaged in reporting on these protests and inevitable protests to come.”

The suit cites multiple instances of officers firing foam projectiles at members of the media and otherwise flouting state laws that restrict the use of so-called less-lethal weapons in crowd control situations and protect journalists covering the unrest. Those measures were passed in the wake of the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis when journalists were detained and injured by the LAPD while covering the unrest.

The recent suit filed in the Central District of California describes journalists being shot with less-lethal police rounds, tear-gassed and detained without cause.

Carol Sobel, a longtime civil rights attorney who represents the plaintiffs, said LAPD officers have also been blocking journalists from areas where they had a right to be, in violation of the department’s own rules and Senate Bill 98, a state law that prohibits law enforcement from interfering with or obstructing journalists from covering such events.

“You have people holding up their press credentials saying, ‘I’m press,’ and they still got shot,” she said. “The Legislature spent all this time limiting how use of force can occur in a crowd control situation, and they just all ignored it.

Apart from journalists, scores of protesters allege LAPD projectiles left them with severe bruises, lacerations and serious injuries.

The Police Department said Monday that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. A message for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which represents the LAPD in most civil suits, went unreturned.

Sobel filed a similar action in the wake of the LAPD’s response to the 2020 protests on behalf of Black Lives Matter-L.A. and others who contended that LAPD caused scores of injuries by firing hard-foam projectiles. A federal judge later issued an injunction restricting the department’s use of 40-millimeter and 37-millimeter hard-foam projectile launchers to officers who are properly trained to use them.

Under the restrictions, which remain in place with the court case pending, police can target individuals with 40-millimeter rounds “only when the officer reasonably believes that a suspect is violently resisting arrest or poses an immediate threat of violence or physical harm.” Officers are also barred from targeting people in the head, torso and groin areas.

The city has paid out millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards related to lawsuits brought by reporters and demonstrators in 2020 who were injured.

On Monday, the LAPD announced an internal review of a June 10 incident in which a 30-year-old man suffered a broken finger during a confrontation with officers of the vaunted Metropolitan Division.

According to the department’s account, the Metro officers had been deployed to contend with an “unruly” crowd on Alameda Street and Temple Street and said that Daniel Robert Bill and several other demonstrators refused to leave the area and instead challenged officers. During a confrontation, several officers swung their batons and fired less-lethal munitions at Bill “to no effect” and then “used a team takedown” before arresting him.

After his arrest, Bill was taken to an area hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair a broken finger on his left hand.

The department’s Force Investigation Division will review the case, as it does all incidents in which someone is seriously injured or killed while in policy custody.

Department leaders have in the past argued that officers need less-lethal weapons to restore order, particularly when faced with large crowds with individuals throwing bottles and rocks.

The department’s handling of the recent protests is expected to be addressed at Tuesday’s meeting of the LAPD Police Commission, the department’s civilian policy-making body. The body reviewed complaints of excessive force against the department stemming from the 2020 protests but has not staked a public position about the continued use of the 40-millimeter projectiles and other crowd control measures.

Amnestly International called on the Nigerian government to do more to stop attacks in Benue State.

At least 100 people have been killed in a northcentral Nigerian town following an overnight attack by gunmen, as Amnesty International called for the government to end the “almost daily bloodshed in Benue state”.

The attack, which occurred from late Friday into Saturday morning, took place in Yelwata, a town in Benue State, according to Amnesty.

“Amnesty International has been documenting the alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity. These attacks have been causing massive displacement and may affect food security as majority of the victims are farmers,” the rights group wrote on X.

“The Nigerian authorities’ failure to stem the violence is costing people’s lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost,” the organisation said, adding that many people were still missing from the attack.

The Nigerian authorities must immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue state and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.

The horrifying killing of over 100 people by gunmen that invaded Yelewata; from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday 14 June 2025, shows…

— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 14, 2025

Tersoo Kula, a spokesperson for the state governor’s office, told the AFP news agency earlier on Saturday that the attack lasted about two hours and a “number of houses [were] burnt down”.

He added that government officials and police officials had visited Yelwata and “confirmed” a lower death toll of 45.

Police spokesperson Udeme Edet confirmed the attack to AFP and said police had engaged the attackers in a gunfight.

But locals told AFP that they feared that more than 100 people had been killed in the attack.

“It is terribly bad, many people have died,” Amineh Liapha Hir, a resident of the town, said. “It could be more than 100, and many houses were also burnt,” Hir added.

Another resident, Christian Msuega, said he escaped the attack, but his sister and brother-in-law had died after being burned alive.

In the region, attacks are common as local herders, mostly Muslim ethnic Fulani, and farmers, many of whom are Christian, clash over the limited access to land and water.

Last month, gunmen who were believed to be herders killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue.

Israel pounds Iran – and Iran strikes back, hitting Tel Aviv.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has damaged Iran, not just at home, but also outside its territory – by striking its allies.

Hezbollah‘s leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut, the Houthis in Yemen have taken hits, as well as militias in Iraq.

Israel struck Iranian interests in Syria and Tehran’s ally, former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, was deposed.

Hamas’ leadership has also been decimated, including in assassinations carried out in Tehran.

So is Iran now fighting from a weakened position?

Presenter: Cyril Vanier

Guests:

Ronnie Chatah, Political commentator, writer and host of The Beirut Banyan podcast.

Setareh Sadeqi – Professor at the University of Tehran’s Faculty of World Studies.

David DesRoches, Professor of National Defense University and former Pentagon director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs.