Jon Stewart on Trump and Middle East: ‘Iran is a circumcision away from becoming Israel’

• UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari warned the Security Council on Monday that recent deadly drone and missile attacks in Ukraine signal a "dangerous cycle of escalation" in the ongoing war. • Edem Wosornu, crisis response director at OCHA, emphasized that the decisions made by the Council are critical and will directly determine whether lives are saved or lost.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Treasury also promises new first-time buyer Isa with no upper age limit reflecting ‘age at which a first home is bought is rising’Isa reforms announced on Tuesday promise a new first-time buyer account with no upper age limit, and a tax on interest on cash savings held in a stocks and shares wrapper.Savers and investors can currently hold up to £20,000 a year in Isas, which offer the chance to earn returns which are not subject to tax. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s president will not attend after sparking Polish ‘outrage’ over naming of military unitEurope live – latest updatesVolodymyr Zelenskyy will skip a high-level conference on the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine amid a deepening rift with Poland over his naming of a military unit for one that killed tens of thousands of Poles during the second world war.Ukraine’s president had been expected to co-host the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which begins in the Polish coastal city of Gdańsk on Thursday, but the Ukrainian delegation will instead be led by the prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko. Continue reading...

Two men due to share trophy-presenting on 19 July‘We are together all the time’, says Fifa president Donald Trump is set to hand over the World Cup trophy to the winners at the final on 19 July, Gianni Infantino has said.Infantino and Trump have forged a close relationship in the build-up to these finals, but the US president has barely talked about the tournament since it began on 11 June, and is yet to attend a match. Continue reading...

Denunciation comes after former Democratic Unionist leader convicted of child sexual offencesThe Democratic Unionist party has denounced Jeffrey Donaldson as a “wicked deceiver” who led a “double and duplicitous life” a day after its former leader was convicted of child sexual offences.Leaders at the Stormont assembly on Tuesday sought to distance the DUP from Donaldson and described him as a manipulator who had hoodwinked Northern Ireland and hid his crimes behind a facade of respectability and Christian faith. Continue reading...

Iran will be allowed into US 48 hours before crucial gameTeam Melli have complained about travel conditionsThe US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it will grant Iran extra time to prepare for their World Cup match against Egypt on Friday.The team had planned to lodge an official complaint with Fifa about the “restrictions imposed by the organisers” at the World Cup. Iran have been training in Mexico and were only allowed to enter the United States 24 hours before their first two matches. Continue reading...

US president planned to revamp the now algae-stricken pool ahead of the holiday and America’s 250th birthdayDonald Trump has acknowledged that repairs to the algae-stricken reflecting pool in Washington DC may not be completed in time for the Fourth of July, when the president plans to convene a big celebration on the National Mall to ring in the country’s 250th birthday.The iconic body of water began filling with algae blooms and peeling paint after the Trump administration ordered a $14.2m renovation to turn it “American flag” blue, prompting the president to claim – without providing evidence – that vandals armed with a knife had damaged it. Continue reading...