tension

US naval forces have unsettled some in South America who see them as a precursor to possible intervention in Venezuela.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised the deployment of United States naval forces to the Caribbean, calling them a source of strain that could undermine peace in the region.

The South American leader expressed concern on Monday over the concentration of US forces, seen by some as a possible prelude to an attack on Venezuela.

“The presence of the armed forces of the largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension,” Lula said during the opening of a virtual BRICS summit.

The US has said its military forces are in the region to counter drug trafficking. But the deployment has been paired with US threats against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused of being closely linked with drug trafficking groups.

The Trump administration has provided no evidence for those claims and has often used vague allegations of connections to drug trafficking or criminal groups to justify extraordinary measures both at home and abroad.

Last week, the US carried out an unprecedented lethal attack on what the Trump administration said was a boat transporting drugs from Venezuela. Analysts have said the extrajudicial strike, which killed 11 people, was likely illegal, but US officials have promised to carry out more attacks in the region.

Maduro has said the deployment is part of an effort to depose his government and called on the military and civilians to make preparations for a possible attack.

BRICS meeting

As the Trump administration takes aggressive steps to advance its priorities on issues such as trade, immigration and drug trafficking, some countries are seeking to bolster ties with powers like China.

Addressing the virtual BRICS conference via video call on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more cooperation in areas such as technology, finance and trade, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

“The closer the BRICS countries cooperate, the more confidence, options and effective results they will have in addressing external risks and challenges,” he was quoted as saying.

Officials from India – a country, like Brazil and China, that has become a recent target of the Trump administration’s severe tariff policies – also called for greater collaboration.

“The world requires constructive and cooperative approaches to promote trade that is sustainable,” External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in comments published by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to nontrade matters.”

The virtual conference came a week after leaders from China, Russia, India and other Eurasian nations gathered in Tianjin, China, where they presented a vision of a new international order at a moment of widening rifts between partner nations and the US.

During a dark moment in Bing Liu’s “Preparation for the Next Life,” our protagonist, Aishe (Sebiye Behtiyar), seeks guidance in a place she did not think she’d return to: a mosque. An undocumented Uyghur immigrant from China, Aishe has left behind the religion in which she was raised. But feeling alone and stuck in New York City, she turns toward this place of cultural familiarity, where the imam counsels her that she’ll be rewarded for her obedience in her next life. But what about this life, the one she’s living now?

Aishe has been preparing for her next life since she arrived in New York, getting stronger, smarter, faster, so that she can make the leap to an existence that’s more comfortable, safer, more abundant. Like most young girls with big dreams, there’s only one thing that can slow her forward momentum and that is, of course, a boy.

“Preparation for the Next Life” is the narrative feature debut of Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Liu. His much-lauded film “Minding the Gap” is a searing and searching project about his childhood friends, a group of skateboarders he followed over the course of a heady transition period, often turning the camera on himself and his own family.

In “Preparation for the Next Life,” Liu once again trains his lens on the delicate coming-of-age that is the early 20s. As the title of this adaptation of Atticus Lish’s 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award-winning debut novel suggests, it captures a liminal time in which Aishe, in reflecting on her past while getting ready for her future, is surprised by the arrival of a new person who enters her life and asks her to stay in the moment, at least for a little while.

Aishe locks eyes with Brad Skinner (Fred Hechinger) on the street in Queens and they share an immediate intrigue. He’s recently been discharged from the Army, arriving in New York with some cash and a desire to do anything but go home. The young couple fall into lust, then love, over beers in a Latin American cowboy bar, Uyghur street food and then in a shabby basement apartment. Skinner is a reprieve from Aishe’s life working in brutal restaurant kitchens for under-the-table wages; Aishe is a grounding force for Skinner, grieving the loss of his best friend and managing his PTSD symptoms with a cocktail of meds and plenty of booze. They are both utterly alone in the world until they have each other.

Liu transports us into this small but affecting love story with stunning, saturated, fluid cinematography by Ante Cheng and a swooning score by Emile Mosseri. The filmmaker deploys this lush aesthetic to make us fall in love with Aishe and Skinner’s impossible, head-over-heels romance.

He weaves in Aishe’s childhood memories of her father, with her Uyghur language narration addressed to him, as she asks imploring questions of a man who will never be able to answer. Skinner’s military background inspires her own physical training, jogging miles and lifting weights. She’s always seeking her father, not just in Skinner the soldier but in herself too, the remnants of his presence thrumming through her memory.

Ambitious, driven and desperate to change her station in life, Aishe contemplates marriage, hoping for a path to legal status, though the only free advice she can get from an immigration lawyer is to be careful about whom she marries. She heeds this warning, starting to realize that this boyfriend might not bring her freedom but deadweight, as much as she tries to help him help himself. The scenario is high stakes given both Aishe’s status (she’s at one point arrested and detained) and Skinner’s mental health struggles, but this is a classic tale of a first love that curdles from sweet to sour.

The compelling performances and Liu’s artful direction elevate the script. Behtiyar, in her debut feature, is spectacular, eyes fiery, her expression often inscrutable, body in constant motion as Cheng’s camera follows close behind. Her connection with Hechinger is palpable, heady and heated, despite their characters’ differences, and it’s nice to see Hechinger in a more adult, romantic role, even as Skinner falls prey to his own demons.

Liu does indulge in the prolonging of heartache and indecision, and the story stalls while heading into the third act, the film stretched beyond what the material can sustain. Nevertheless, “Preparation for the Next Life” is a powerful assertion of dreams, humanity and hard work, arguing that every person has a past, a future and a story to tell. Some loves are for a lifetime, others just a moment, but nothing’s stopping Aishe from what she wants in this life — or her next.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

What started as a local conflict in southern Syria between local Druze and Bedouin communities over the weekend escalated on Wednesday into Israel bombing Syria’s Ministry of Defence and other targets in the capital Damascus.

At least three people were killed in the Damascus attacks, the Syrian Ministry of Health said. Other Israeli air attacks on Wednesday hit the southwestern provinces of Suwayda and Deraa.

Suwayda – where the majority of the population are members of the Druze religious group – had been the epicentre of the violence in recent days. Israel had already struck Syrian government forces there earlier this week.

Israeli officials claim their attacks on Syria aim to protect the Druze community in Suwayda, where scores of people have been killed in clashes involving local armed groups, as well as government forces.

However, local activists and analysts say Israel is fueling internal strife in Suwayda by continuing to bomb Syria – as it has done repeatedly since former President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in December. And Israel has continued to attack Syrian government forces, despite ceasefire agreements between some Druze leaders and the Syrian authorities.

“Not only is Israel now painting the entire [Druze] community as pro-Israel, but they are painting them as supporting Israel’s bombardment of Damascus,” said Dareen Khalifa, an expert on Syria and a senior adviser with International Crisis Group.

Exploiting strife

The recent violence in Suwayda began after Bedouin armed groups kidnapped a Druze trader on the road to Damascus on July 11, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based monitor.

The abduction quickly turned into more widespread violence between the two communities – which have a longstanding rivalry due to land disputes – eventually dragging in Syrian government forces.

Syria’s new government has been attempting to impose its authority after a 14-year civil war and the end of half a century of al-Assad family rule. However, it has found it difficult to do so in Suwayda, partly because of Israel’s repeated threats against the presence of any government forces in the province, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Suwayda’s Druze initially welcomed the deployment of government forces following the weekend’s violence, but clashes soon began between some Druze fighters and those forces, with reports of the latter carrying out human rights abuses, according to civilians, local monitors and analysts.

The actions committed by members of the security forces – acknowledged as “unlawful criminal acts” by the Syrian presidency – have given Israel a pretext to bombard Syria in an attempt to keep the country weak and divided, as well as to pander to its own Druze citizens who serve in the Israeli army, experts say.

“From the Israeli perspective – and how they view Syria and how Syria should be – they prefer a weak central government and for the country to be governed and divided into sectarian self-governing enclaves,” said Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, an expert on Syria who has extensively researched local dynamics in Suwayda.

Al-Tamimi added that reactions in Suwayda have been mixed regarding Israel’s conduct, which speaks to the lack of trust many in the province have in the new government in Damascus – which is led by members of Syria’s Sunni majority, many of whom, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, were members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former affiliate of al-Qaeda.

Civilians in Suwayda said that part of the distrust stems from the government’s failure to hold fighters accountable for either allowing or partaking in the killing of hundreds of Alawites on Syria’s coast in March.

Alawites belong to an offshoot of Shia Islam, a sect that al-Assad and his family hailed from. The government has launched an investigation into the fighting, in which more than 200 Syrian government security personnel were also killed after attacks by pro-Assad forces, with the findings expected in October.

Abuses and fear

Government forces have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses in Suwayda, including carrying out “field executions,” according to SOHR and other local monitors.

“I personally wanted the government forces to restore order, but not like this,” said Fareed*, a young man from the Druze community.

The local outlet Suwayda24 reported that fighters believed to be linked to the government executed nine unarmed civilians after raiding a family compound on July 15.

Al Jazeera’s verification unit, Sanad, confirmed the reports.

Written questions were sent to Uday al-Abdullah, an official at Syria’s Ministry of Defence, asking him to respond to accusations that government forces carried out execution-style killings.

He did not respond before publication.

However, on Wednesday, the Syrian Health Ministry said that dozens of bodies had been found in Suwayda’s National Hospital, including security forces and civilians.

Ceasefires have been repeatedly agreed between Druze factions and the Syrian government. The most recent, on Wednesday, included an agreement that Suwayda be fully integrated into the Syrian state, according to Youssef Jarbou, a Druze leader.

However, as in the case of a ceasefire agreed on Tuesday, Israel has continued to attack.

What’s more, several Druze religious and armed factions retreated from the Tuesday ceasefire primarily because government forces continued to carry out violations in Suwayda, according to al-Tamimi.

During the civil war, clerics and armed Druze factions were able to negotiate de facto autonomy while repelling attacks by groups such as ISIL (ISIS).

After al-Assad fell in December 2024, one notable Druze religious leader, Hikmat al-Hijri, demanded that the new authorities in Damascus change the constitution to ensure greater regional autonomy for Suwayda and secularisation.

His position had significant backing, but not the majority, said al-Tamimi.

“His specific position – that the government needed to rewrite the constitution – was not the majority position in Suwayda,” he told Al Jazeera, saying there were pragmatists willing to engage with the government to safeguard a degree of autonomy and integrate with the new authorities.

“[But after these government violations], al-Hijir’s positions will likely enjoy more sympathy and support,” al-Tamimi warned.

Calls for intervention

As fighting continues in al-Suwayda, al-Hijri has controversially called on the international community to protect the Druze in Syria.

Critics fear that his call is a veiled request for Israeli intervention, a position that many people in Suwayda disagree with.

Samya,* a local activist who is living in a village several kilometres away from where the clashes are unfolding, said Israel’s attacks make her “uncomfortable” and that she doesn’t support intervention.

At the same time, she said she is increasingly worried that government forces will raid homes, endangering civilians.

“We don’t know what to expect,” she told Al Jazeera.

“We don’t know who may come to our house and who that person will be, and what he might ask us once he enters. We don’t know how that person or soldier might treat us, you know? So, there is fear. Honestly, we are all really terrified,” she added.

Al-Tamimi warned that Israel’s discourse of “protecting” the Druze of Syria could exacerbate internal strife, leading to collective punishment.

“[What Israel is doing] is inflaming sectarian tension, because it gives fuel to the suggestions that Druze are secretly working with Israel to divide the country,” he said.

Some names have been changed to protect sources from reprisal

The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and has authorised “the voluntary departure” of dependants of US personnel from locations across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as regional security concerns rise.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised the departure of military dependants in the region and that CENTCOM was “monitoring the developing tension”.

Orders for all nonessential personnel to depart the US Embassy in Baghdad – which was already on limited staffing – was based on a commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad”, the Department of State said.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump said the order to move staff out had been given because the region “could be a dangerous place”.

“We’ll see what happens. We’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Trump then added in reference to Iran: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We’re not going to allow that.”

Uncertainty has been growing in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme appear to have hit an impasse.

US news broadcaster CBS reported late on Wednesday that US officials have been informed that Israel is “fully ready” to launch an attack on Iran and that Washington “anticipates” that Tehran could retaliate by targeting “certain American sites in neighbouring Iraq”.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said there have been clear signs in recent days of high-level discussions between senior military officials and the Trump administration amid concern around the ongoing talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.

“Donald Trump has in the last couple of days … expressed his concern that a deal might not be able to be done,” Fisher said.

“Therefore, we are seeing, effectively, the partial evacuation of the embassy in Baghdad with non-military personnel and non-essential staff being moved out. And the voluntary evacuation of other embassies in the region,” he said.

“They’ve done this sort of thing before,” Fisher said, noting the Baghdad embassy was partially evacuated previously over “concerns that the embassy could become a target for Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq”.

“Clearly, there is some concern that the discussions with the Iranians aren’t going well. Or, it could be that this is all designed to put pressure on Iranians. Because, you will remember, that Donald Trump said that if they couldn’t get some sort of deal, then … there could be some sort of military action against the Iranians.”

As reports of US embassy staff and dependants departing the Middle East region emerged, Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on social media that “Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability”.

“Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change the facts,” the Iranian mission said.

“Diplomacy – not militarism – is the only path forward,” it added.

Threats of “overwhelming force” won’t change facts:
Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and U.S. militarism only fuels instability.

CENTCOM’s legacy of fueling regional instability, through arming aggressors and enabling Israeli crimes, strips it of any credibility to speak on…

— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) June 11, 2025

Separately, Iranian Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters earlier that he hoped talks with the US would be successful, though Tehran stood ready to respond to any aggression.

“If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said.

“We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”

The next round of talks – the sixth – between the US and Iran on limits to Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions on the country have been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, according to reports, and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is still scheduled to attend.

The United States and China say they’ve reached in principle a framework to roll back some of the punitive measures they have taken against each other’s economies.

That means Washington could ease restrictions on selling chips to China if Beijing agrees to speed up the export of rare earths.

Whether that happens depends on the approval of presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The plan reached after talks in London marks the latest twist in a trade war that has threatened to disrupt global supply chains.

Also, what’s behind the surge in Russia’s rouble?

Plus, are nations choosing warfare over welfare?

Love Island viewers witnessed one Islander risk drama with another girl on the ITV2 series, as she boldly set out to steal their man amid a brutal dumping looming

There could be our first bit of drama on Love Island this week, as a possible feud was teased.

One girl’s bold decision sparked tension in the villa, and even led to a co-star making an equally brazen decision. Two girls sparked a rivalry over the same man, with one vowing not to be left single.

Maya Jama had tasked Islander Shakira with wooing one of the boys after being left single by her own partner Ben during Monday’s episode. New girl Toni had just entered the villa as a bombshell and claimed Ben for herself.

Maya warned Shakira that if she did not strike up a connection with another boy in 24 hours, then she would be sent home. So on Tuesday night we saw the Islander getting to work, grafting with the boys.

As she spent time with them to try and find a connection, desperate to stay in the villa, she certainly sparked concern amongst the other girls. It had been revealed that if Shakira picked a boy and they agreed to couple up with her, then that person’s current girl would be dumped instead of Shakira.

READ MORE: Love Island LIVE: First spoilers as girl dumped and two bombshells tear up villa

With the pressure on, Shakira made some bold moves by getting to know the guys and pulling them for chats, keeping them away from their current partners. But one girl was far from happy, and soon had the backing of her fellow Islanders.

Megan took matters into her own hands as she witnessed her boy Tommy speaking with a flirty Shakira. Clearly worrying about being dumped, she shared her fears with her co-stars, with Meg, Helena and Dejon all telling her not to sit back and let it happen.

As she prepared to “claim her man” she brazenly walked over and interrupted Shakira and Tommy’s cosy chat. She took him to the terrace, far away from her new rival, before confessing she was “jealous”.

With the girls clearly rattled by Shakira’s plan it certainly got tense – but a kiss between Megan and Tommy sealed they were definitely on the right track. But could Shakira’s actions in the villa spark drama with the others or even Megan going forward if she manages to survive the looming dumping?

It comes after fans questioned some “missing scenes” after some drama between two Islanders. Just last night on the series fans saw the couples formed, before bombshell Toni caused carnage.

While some couples were clearly thrilled by their pairings, others were not. Shakira and Ben even had a frosty moment just moments before Toni entered the villa and stole him.

Ben had claimed to Maya that their pairing was “love/hate” sparking confusion with fans. Many wondered if they’d missed some scenes, unsure why the couple were already “bickering” as one of their co-stars put it just hours into the show.

They’d had a chat before Toni’s entrance where Ben had seemed to hint he was already thinking about who else might come in, and he didn’t seem interested. Fans picked up on this, also noting Shakira didn’t look impressed by their chat.

The British monarch is expected to voice support for Canada’s sovereignty against Trump’s 51st state comments.

King Charles III, the British monarch, has arrived in Canada for a two-day visit that officials say aims to assert support for the country’s sovereignty amid Donald Trump’s calls for annexing the United States’ northern neighbour.

The monarch’s trip, which started on Monday, comes at the invite of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won general elections last month amid Trump’s threats.

Charles is the ceremonial head of state in Canada, which remained a commonwealth realm after gaining independence from Great Britain in 1867.

The king is set to open parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday with a “Speech from the Throne” speech – the first such address to be delivered by a British monarch in Canada since 1977.

While the British monarch has refrained from interfering in politics in recent decades, remaining a symbolic figure, Charles is expected to deliver a message of support for Canada against Trump’s statements.

“The prime minister has made it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever,” Canada’s envoy to the UK, Ralph Goodale, told reporters last week.

“The king, as head of state, will reinforce the power and the strength of that message.”

Canadian officials have forcefully rejected Trump’s comments about making their country the 51st US state, as a trade row between the two countries continues. During a visit to the White House earlier this month, Carney told Trump that Canada is “not for sale”.

Charles’ trip, which he will make with his wife Queen Camilla, will be his first visit to the former British colony since becoming king in September 2022.

Governor General Mary Simon, the monarch’s ceremonial representative in Canada, said the royal couple’s visit holds “profound significance”.

“It reaffirms the enduring constitutional bond that has shaped Canada’s journey into a proud and independent nation,” Simon, who is the first indigenous person to hold the position, said in a statement.

On Monday, the royal couple will visit a large park in Ottawa and meet vendors and artists, according to Buckingham Palace. The king will then participate in a ceremonial puck drop to launch a street hockey demonstration before planting a tree in another part of the city.

TEHRAN — Iran’s top diplomat insisted Wednesday that Tehran will never stop enriching uranium, reinforcing the Islamic Republic’s hard line ahead of a new round of indirect talks with the United States over its fast-advancing nuclear program.

The comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi come after multiple rounds of talks between the two nations, including at an expert level over the details of a possible deal. However, none has been reached yet, and American officials, including President Trump, Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, maintain that Iran must give up enrichment — something it didn’t do in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

“I have said it before, and I repeat it again: Uranium enrichment in Iran will continue — with or without an agreement,” Araghchi said, according to state television.

Araghchi added that Iran is “currently reviewing whether to participate in the next round and when to take part” in talks with the United States. Trump’s trip to the Mideast last week delayed any new meeting. Negotiators previously met in Muscat, Oman, and Rome.

Later Wednesday, Oman’s foreign minister announced that the fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States would be held Friday in Rome. Neither Tehran nor Washington has confirmed the meeting or announced whether they will attend. The minister made the comment on social media. Oman has long served as a mediator, facilitating quiet diplomacy amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional security.

“We have never abandoned diplomacy. We will always be present at the negotiating table, and the main reason for our presence is to defend the rights of the Iranian people,” Araghchi said. “We stand against excessive demands and rhetoric at the table.”

Araghchi’s remarks came a day after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he didn’t expect the negotiations to produce a deal.

“I don’t think nuclear talks with the U.S. will bring results. I don’t know,” Khamenei said.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, closing in on half a century of enmity.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own if it feels threatened, further worsening tensions in the Mideast already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers capped Tehran’s enrichment level at 3.67% and reduced its uranium stockpile to 661 pounds. That level is enough for nuclear power plants, but far below weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Since the nuclear deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program and enriched uranium to up to 60% purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. There have also been a series of attacks at sea and on land in recent years, stemming from the tensions even before the Israel-Hamas war began.

Vahdat writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Gabe Levin and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.