Morning Headlines

A shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran fell apart after American forces struck roughly 90 Iranian targets — including ports and military sites on the Strait of Hormuz — and Iran retaliated with waves of missiles hitting US allies across the region. Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' but signaled he does not want a full return to war, leaving the situation in dangerous flux.

The twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 have now killed at least 4,118 people and injured over 16,700, making this the deadliest quake to hit the country in more than a century. Eighty percent of buildings collapsed in the state of La Guaira alone, and rescuers warn the toll could climb well above 10,000.

Wrapping up the NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky that the US will license Ukraine to produce Patriot air-defense interceptors domestically — a long-sought Kyiv priority as Russian missile attacks continue. NATO allies also pledged €70 billion in military support for Ukraine in 2026.

Congo's Ebola outbreak — caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain with no approved vaccine or treatment — has now killed more than 600 people across 1,759 confirmed cases, and suspected new cases have appeared in Tshopo and Haut-Uele provinces far from the Ituri epicenter. Clinical trials for two therapies are underway, but the response is hampered by ongoing conflict and funding shortfalls.

Ali Khamenei, killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 that triggered the 2026 Iran war, was laid to rest at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad after funeral processions that drew an estimated 15 million or more mourners across Iran. His burial closes the formal mourning period even as the war he died in continues to escalate.