Mahmoud Khalil vows to continue to ‘speak up for Palestine’ after release

Mahmoud Khalil, a former student at Columbia University, has pledged to continue protesting Israel’s support for Israeli military operations and the US’s war against Gaza.

Khalil, who was released on Friday night after being held in a detention facility for more than three months, claimed Columbia University was funding “this]Gaza genocide” and that the government was funding it.

“I will continue to protest with each of you because of this. Not just if they threaten to detain me. I would still speak up for Palestine, he said, even if they killed me.

You are not illegal in this country, whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, or any other person. You don’t become less human as a result.

Khalil, 30, was born in Syria and has Palestinian parents. He was detained by immigration officials in March at his university, where he quickly rose to prominence as a symbol of President Donald Trump’s harsh crackdown on pro-Palestine student protesters and their possible deportation in the name of alleged anti-Semitism.

Khalil, a legal US citizen, was detained and deported because of errors in his application for permanent residency, according to the government.

However, District Judge Michael Farbiarz claimed it was “highly, highly unusual” for the government to keep a legal US resident incarcerated despite the fact that they were unlikely to flee and have not been accused of any violent behavior.

Khalil is subject to restrictions on where he can travel in the US and is prohibited from leaving the country under the terms of his release.

Pope century leads England fightback against India at Headingley

After India was bowled out for 471 on Day Two of the Test series opener at Headingley, Ollie Pope and his most recent century led England to a score of 209-3.

Pope was the leading scorer and 100 not out as England fought back from stumps to reduce its deficit to 262 runs.

Pope had some flaws. In gloomy bowler-friendly conditions, he was only able to escape lbw on 34 and was dropped on 60. He survived a testing opening spell from speedster Jasprit Bumrah.

He won his ninth test hundred and placed second against India with his luck.

As expected, Bumrah faced England’s greatest threat in the first over, taking all three of his wickets with the help of Joe Root on 28 to end his and Pope’s 80-run third-wicket partnership, and Zac Crawley with 62 to end their 122-run second-wicket partnership.

Harry Brook, who was the only overkeeper, would have had a fourth wicket in the final over, but Bumrah overstepped for the third time in the over. The best fast bowler in the world also suffered two field-to-field catches.

Soon after lunch, England wasn’t supposed to start batting.

Israel-Iran conflict: List of key events, June 21, 2025

On Saturday, June 21, 2018, this is how things are going:

Fighting

    A significant nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province was struck by Israeli air strikes. According to a spokesperson for the Israeli army, the air force “struck the central facility along with the buildings used to make centrifuges.”

  • The site had no nuclear material present, and there were no radiological effects, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
  • Lanjan, Mobarakeh, Shahreza, and Isfahan were targeted, according to the deputy governor of Isfahan.
  • Later, Iranian media reported that Isfahan had been attacked by drones.
  • A military installation in Shiraz was also hit by Israeli forces.
  • According to reports from Fars news agency, “frightening explosions” were audible in the provincial capital of Ahvaz and a large column of smoke rose above Mahshahr, the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, in two cities.
  • Defense systems were activated over Najafabad in other Israeli attacks, and Malard reports explosions. Attacks were reported on Tehran as well.
  • The army was instructed to be prepared for a “prolonged campaign” to destroy Iranian targets, according to the chief spokesperson of the Israeli military.
  • According to a report, “most of the drones hit the intended targets,” the Iranian army reported that the seventh and eighth stages of launching numerous “destructive” drones at Israel had been completed.
  • Iranian military forces threatened to strike any military aid shipments to Israel, warning that “any military or radar equipment delivered by any nation to support the Zionist regime” would be regarded as a “legitimate target.”
  • About 40 drones launched from Iran were shot down, according to the Israeli army.
  • According to the German newspaper Bild, Israel’s foreign minister claimed that “at least two or three years” had passed since Iran’s attacks had delayed the nation’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
  • Above Tel Aviv, explosions were audible, and buildings were on fire. The emergency services in central Israel released images of a multistory residential building’s roof that showed fire.
  • In a video statement, a Houthi group spokesman in Yemen threatened to attack US “ships and warships” in the Red Sea in the event that Israel joins Israel’s counter-insurgency.

Accidents and turbulence

  • According to Israel’s defense minister, Israeli forces executed three of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) senior commanders.
  • Five of the organization’s members died as a result of Israeli attacks, according to the IRGC.
  • In the Iranian city of Khorramabad, Israeli attacks claimed at least five lives.
  • A 16-year-old was killed and two others were hurt when an Israeli aircraft struck a residential building in Qom.
  • Hussein Khalil, a former bodyguard of Hezbollah’s killed leader Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli attack on Tehran.
  • Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarghandi claimed that Israel had attacked six ambulances and three hospitals, killing two health workers and a child in the attacks, according to Iranian Fars news agency.
  • In the event that nuclear reactors are targeted, Iran’s deputy health minister said the country was prepared to treat any victims who might be affected by Israel’s continued use of its nuclear arsenal.
  • According to Iran’s information minister, “international” internet access should be fully restored by 8pm on Saturday, according to Tasnim News Agency.
  • According to Iran’s health ministry, at least 430 people have been killed and roughly 3,500 have been injured by Israeli airstrikes in the past nine days.
  • At least 25 people have been killed by Iran’s strikes in Israel.
  • Since Israel’s assault on the nation started on June 12, the head of Qom province’s intelligence police reported that the force had detained 22 people “on charges of being connected to the Zionist regime’s spy services.”

Protests

  • More than 10,000 people gathered in Berlin’s center to support Gaza, gathered in the city center.
  • More than 1, 000 demonstrators gathered in front of Berlin’s Reichstag, the country’s capital, to demand that the Iranian government be ousted.
  • Pro-Palestine demonstrators chanted Iranian flags in a march through London’s center, calling on the UK government to stop allowing arms exports and military cooperation with Israel.
  • In Stockholm, there was also a pro-Palestine demonstration.
  • In Kadhimiya, a Shia district in Baghdad, a mass rally was held under the slogan “Iran is not alone.”
On June 21, 2025, a girl holds an Iranian flag as Iraqis demonstrate their support for Iran in Baghdad, Iraq’s Shi’ite district.

diplomacy and politics

  • In a statement from Iran’s leader and his French counterpart, Iran’s leader warned of “more devastating” retaliation if Israel’s bombing campaign continued, stating that it would “under no circumstances” stop its nuclear program.
  • Macron claimed that the two countries had come to an agreement to “accelerate” Iran’s nuclear negotiations. Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and he commanded that it give every assurance that its intentions are peaceful.
  • Israel, which “has always felt complete immunity from punishment for its crimes,” was cited as a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry as the “nation has ever violated international human rights more than Israel.”
  • Iran’s foreign minister, who was speaking at an OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) meeting in Istanbul, denied Washington’s assertions that the country had been involved in Israel’s “aggression from day one”.
  • Netanyahu was the “biggest obstacle to regional peace,” according to Turkiye’s president, who addressed the OIC summit, and that Israel’s attacks on Iran intended to sabotage US nuclear negotiations.
  • Ambassadors from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Qatar’s state news agency expressed concern about Israel’s “dangerous repercussions” striking Iran’s nuclear facilities close to their nations to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi.
  • According to a representative from the German Foreign Ministry, the Embassy’s staff in Tehran has been temporarily relocated abroad.
  • India’s embassy in Iran declared that it was “evacuating all Iranian citizens.”
  • Over the past week, hundreds of US citizens have taken off Iran via land-based routes.

Eight killed after hot air balloon catches fire, crashes in Brazil

In Santa Catarina, Brazil’s southern state, a hot air balloon carrying eight people caught fire and crashed, killing at least eight people and injuring 13 others.

In the city of Praia Grande, the tourism balloon carrying 21 people caught fire in the early hours of Saturday. on the Atlantic coast, according to Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade.

Local news outlet G1 shared footage of the balloon’s descent, which emitted billows of smoke as it soared hundreds of meters toward the ground.

According to firefighters, the survivors were taken to nearby hospitals.

We are mingling,” he declared. There has been a tragic incident. We’ll find out how it develops, what transpired, and why. However, it’s crucial for the state structure to take action right away, according to Jorginho Mello, the governor of Santa Catarina, in a video posted on X.

Mello stated that he had requested that the authorities travel to the municipality “to do as much as possible to rescue, to assist, to take to hospital, to comfort the families.”

During the June celebrations that honor Catholic saints like St. John, whose feast day is June 24, a common destination for hot-air ballooning is Praia Grande.

Aid seekers in Gaza continue to be targeted as Israeli attacks kill 26

In the most recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, at least 26 people have died, including more aid workers.

In addition to the ongoing hunger crisis, the attacks come as desperate Palestinians who are currently encircled by Israel continue to wait at food distribution centers.

11 of the victims were victims of Israeli-led bombings of the besieged enclave on Saturday, according to the United Nations’ condemnation of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which administers aid programs in distribution centers.

Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi claimed the lives of at least three Palestinians and injured several others, according to Wafa news agency.

According to the report, the attack targeted a tent that the Shurrab family had been displaced. The tent was situated in a region that the Israeli military had previously designated as a “safe zone.”

According to the Health Ministry, at least 202 people have been killed in the past 48 hours, including four bodies that have been recovered from Israeli attacks, and 1, 037 have been injured in Gaza.

At least 55, 908, and 131, 138 people have died in Israeli attacks since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023.

attacks on humanitarian sites

Following a two-month Israeli blockade of aid deliveries, thousands of Palestinians have been gathering every day in Gaza in hopes of receiving food rations as a result of Israeli attacks on aid distribution sites in recent days.

After Israeli forces opened fire on a GHF site in Khan Younis on Saturday, three people were killed. Additionally, several people received injuries and were treated there.

Omar al-Hobi, a Palestinian who fled to Khan Younis, claimed that visiting those sites would “enter the point of death.”

The point of death is what I call it. There are soldiers on the ground with snipers, and the tank is in front of us, the machinegun is in front of us, and the quadcopter is above us. Anyone who runs before the tank retreats before the time is shot will start to run,” al-Hobi said.

Israel claims that the aid organizations were targeted to control crowds, but witnesses and aid organizations claim that many of the shootings were unprovoked and left hundreds of people dead.

Since the GHF aid system’s introduction at the end of last month, the Red Cross has reported that the “vast majority” of patients who have visited its field hospital in the enclave have reported being wounded while attempting to access aid or close to distribution points, according to the Red Cross on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Wafa reports that the governorates of Gaza, including Gaza City and north Gaza, have experienced a disruption in internet and landline services, citing the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the Gaza Strip.

Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski freed from jail, says wife

Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the head of the Belarus opposition, was released from jail after five years, his wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya announced in a post on X.

After his release, Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition movement after her husband was sentenced to a prison term, posted a video of him embracing her on Saturday with the caption “FREE.”

Siarhei, my husband, is unemployed! She thanked US President Donald Trump, US Ambassador Keith Kellogg, and allies on X for their joyous heart.

“We’re not done,” he declared. There are still 1150 political prisoners in prison. She continued, “Everyone must be released.”

According to his wife’s office, Tsikhanouski, 46, is currently in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The spokesperson added that 14 prisoners were released overall. Additionally, Lithuania reported that five Belarus nationals, three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese, and one Swede were among those who were released.

Former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who was detained in 2023 for his involvement in an “extremist” organization, was one of the people who was released.

Those who were released have now been moved from Belarus to Lithuania, where they are receiving “proper care,” according to the Lithuanian foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys.

The meeting, which was the most prominent US official’s official visit to the authoritarian state in a long time, took place just hours after Lukashenko met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk.

Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukrainian envoy, were both reported to have received the news shortly after their meeting in Minsk.

In the presidential election scheduled for August 2020, Tsikhanouski intended to challenge incumbent Lukashenko. When he called Lukashenko a “cockroach,” and his campaign slogan read, “Stop the cockroach,” he made a brand-new insult to the charismatic activist. At demonstrations, his supporters waved insecticide-used slippers.

However, Tsikhanouski was detained and detained prior to the election. His wife, who was a political novice at the time of his arrest, replaced him in the polls.

Tsikhanouski received an 18-year prison sentence in 2021 for “inciting hatred” and “organizing riots,” and an additional 18-month prison sentence for “insubordination.”

Belarus, which has been in power since 1994 under Lukashenko, is the only European nation to have the death penalty as a sanction.