Deadly collapse at Florida condo happened slowly over several weeks, report finds
Building had been vulnerable before it collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in 2021The deadly destruction of a Florida beachfront condominium actually started weeks before it collapsed into a pile of rubble in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in 2021 – but the building had been vulnerable from the start, federal investigators found in a final report issued on Monday.The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said in the report that two connections between garage columns and the pool deck started to fail around early June. The combination of a structure design that did not meet building codes and alterations made to it over its 40 years meant that the other parts of the pool deck weren’t strong enough to withstand the extra load, leading to the type of slow-motion collapse. Continue reading...
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U.S.-Iran talks set ‘good foundation’ for deal to end war, Vance says
• Vice President JD Vance announced on Monday that high-level talks in Switzerland between the U.S. and Iran have established a "good foundation" for a deal to end the war. • As a key outcome of the marathon negotiations, Tehran has agreed to allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to return to the country.
Read original · nbcnews.com
NBC NewsAP Top International News at 7:51 a.m. EDT
• JD Vance stated that recent discussions with Iranian officials in Switzerland have established a "good foundation" for a potential deal to end the ongoing war. • The talks represent a diplomatic effort to stabilize regional tensions through direct engagement between the U.S. and Iran.
Read original · apnews.comVance touts ‘successful’ first round of U.S.-Iran talks after Trump threatened new attacks
• U.S. officials, including JD Vance, met with representatives from Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at a Swiss resort for a first round of talks to end the current conflict. • Iran reaffirmed its commitment to not procure or develop nuclear weapons, a primary catalyst for the attacks initiated by Donald Trump.
Read original · ms.nowHow Qatar Became the World's Most Trusted Mediator — Without an Army - Frontline
• Qatar has established itself as a premier global mediator, leveraging diplomacy rather than military power to facilitate peace agreements across various conflict zones. • The nation has successfully brokered deals in multiple countries, including Libya, Syria, Somalia, Chad, Djibouti, and Eritrea, while managing critical prisoner exchanges and humanitarian evacuations.
Read original · frontline.thehindu.com
FrontlineIran war live: Ghalibaf says US to release $12bn in frozen Iranian funds | US-Israel war on Iran News
• Iranian Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf announced that the United States will release $12 billion in frozen Iranian funds. • Donald Trump claimed the released funds would be used to purchase U.S. produce, a statement that Tehran immediately rejected.
Read original · aljazeera.comIran war updates: Trump says Iran ‘will agree’ to allow weapons inspections | US-Israel war on Iran News
• On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Donald Trump asserted that Iran "will agree" to permit international weapons inspections amidst ongoing conflict. • The statement comes during a period of heightened military tension involving a combined US-Israel war effort against Iran.
Read original · aljazeera.comForty drown across France in heatwave and parts of Spain above 30C at night
France has its hottest night on record, 15 Italian cities under red heat alert and UN chief says London is ‘cooking’Europe heatwave live – latest updatesForty people have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas across France in recent days, the prime minister has said, as people across the country sought respite from the record-breaking heatwave sweeping across much of Europe.“There is a tragic scourge of drownings,” Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday. “The latest figures we’ve received are 40 deaths since 18 June. Most of the victims are young people.” Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comBurnham adviser calls for billions of pounds in borrowing for infrastructure
Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says government should spend more on major projectsThe man tapped by Andy Burnham to be his chief economic adviser has called for billions of pounds more borrowing to pay for investment in infrastructure, in a sign of how Burnham may seek to break from the policies pursued by Keir Starmer.Jim O’Neill, an economist and former minister, said he wanted the government to create an independent body for infrastructure spending along the lines of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which could be freed up to spend significantly more on major projects. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comHantavirus quarantine ends for Americans held for six weeks in Nebraska
The US health department said the enforced 42-day quarantine was necessary to protect the publicEight Americans quarantined for six weeks in Nebraska after they were exposed to a deadly hantavirus outbreak were released on Monday, including one who accused the government of holding her against her will.The US health and human services department (HHS) confirmed that it had ended the required isolation for the group, who were among dozens evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands early in May. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comUK prioritised ties with UAE over averting mass atrocities in Sudan, MPs to be told
Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committeeThe British government had received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear.In May 2024, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told Nathaniel Raymond, an American human rights investigator at Yale University, that “significant private pressure” from the UAE meant the UK would not publicly divulge information linking Ethiopia and the emirates to their support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comHosepipe ban introduced by South East Water as heatwave causes surge in demand
Company urges customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire to use water only for essential purposes as temperatures soarEurope heatwave live – latest updatesA hosepipe ban has been put in place by South East Water in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, after a surge in demand amid the ongoing heatwave.The company said it treated and supplied 644m litres of water on Sunday 21 June, 56m litres more than the average daily demand for June of 588m litres. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comNew Trump book’s authors detail how they pried loose White House secrets: ‘We nearly killed ourselves’
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, the reporters behind Regime Change, were up against an administration that is ‘very good at keeping secrets’They cracked the White House situation room, unearthing secrets from the heart of a secretive administration. But the reporters behind Regime Change, a blockbuster new book on Donald Trump’s second term, ran up against a wall when reporting on one issue surrounding the 80-year-old US president: his fitness for office.“His health has always been a very specific lockbox for him, going back decades,” Maggie Haberman, co-author with Jonathan Swan, said in an interview. “Illness freaks him out; he perceives illness as weakness, usually, and he certainly perceives any sense that he is having an issue as a projection of weakness, and his advisers are very, very attuned to that. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com