US President Donald Trump left the G7 summit in Canada early, warning people in Tehran they should evacuate immediately. His departure fuelled speculation about US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle unpacks what may lie ahead.
This is how things stand on Tuesday, June 17:
”If you are married in the Philippines, there’s no way you are getting out of that marriage until you die.”
Divorce remains illegal for most people in the Philippines – making it the only country besides Vatican City where it’s banned. With no legal pathway out, activists say women are often forced to stay in abusive or unwanted marriages.
Dozens more people have been killed as Israeli soldiers yet again opened fire on crowds trying to reach Gaza’s Israeli and United States-backed food distribution centres.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Monday’s shootings, reported to Al Jazeera by medical sources. The 38 people killed, mostly in the Rafah area in the south, made it the deadliest day since the new aid system was launched last month.
After previous shootings, which have been a near-daily occurrence since the aid centres opened three weeks ago, the military has said its soldiers had fired warning shots at what it called suspects approaching their positions, although it did not say whether those shots struck anyone.
Palestinians say they face the choice of starving or risking death as they make their way past Israeli forces to reach the distribution points, which are run by a private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
More than 300 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded so far while trying to collect aid from GHF sites, which began operating in late May.
Palestinians are desperate to feed families suffering from hunger amid food shortages created by Israel’s blockade of the enclave. A trickle of aid has been allowed through since last month.
Israel and the US say the GHF system is intended to replace the United Nations-led humanitarian operation that had delivered aid across Gaza since the start of the war 20 months ago.
Israel contends that the new mechanism is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid.
However, UN agencies and major aid groups deny that there is widespread theft of aid by Hamas and have rejected the new system.
They say it cannot meet the population’s needs and turns food into a weapon for Israel to carry out its military goals, including moving the more than two million Palestinians into a “sterile” enclave in southern Gaza.
Speaking at Britain’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, an official with Doctors Without Borders (or Medecins Sans Frontieres, known by its French acronym MSF) said Israel’s claims of extensive diversion by Hamas were “specious and cynical”, and were intended “to undermine a humanitarian system which was actually functioning”.
“This is neither a humanitarian enterprise nor a system. This is basically lethal chaos,” said Anna Halford, a field coordinator for the group.
Experts warn that Israel’s continuing military campaign and restrictions on aid entry put Gaza at risk of famine.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 55,432 people and wounded 128,923, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The extraordinary story of Eshete, a refugee who escaped war in Ethiopia as a young man and is now a devoted caretaker of a feral cat colony in New York City.
Eshete has become the heart of a close-knit community while living on the streets. Together with neighbours who help feed the cats and look out for him, Eshete’s story reveals a moving portrait of grassroots community care.
Jalen Williams erupted for 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Indiana Pacers to score a 120-109 victory and move to within one win of clinching the NBA Finals.
An enthralling Game 5 battle in Oklahoma on Monday saw the Pacers climb out of an 18-point first-half hole to get within two points of the Thunder in the fourth quarter.
But just as Indiana threatened the latest in a series of trademark comebacks, the Thunder found an extra gear with Williams and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steering the team to a pivotal victory.
The win leaves the Thunder 3-2 up in the best-of-seven series, meaning they can seal the NBA crown with victory in Game 6 in Indianapolis on Thursday.
Williams finished with 40 points, six rebounds and four assists while Gilgeous-Alexander co-starred with 31 points and 10 assists, four blocks and two steals.
“My teammates instil a lot of confidence in me to go out and be me,” Williams said. “And [coach] Mark [Daigneault] has done a good job of telling me to just be myself.”
Williams said Oklahoma City’s experience in Game 1 – when they blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to lose – had helped them close out victory.
“Tonight was the exact same game as game one, to be honest,” Williams said. “Learning through these finals is what makes this team good and we were able to do that.”
Pascal Siakam led the Indiana charge with 28 points but the Pacers were left sweating on the health of star point guard Tyrese Haliburton after the loss.
Haliburton, whose fitness has been under a cloud since game two of the series, left the game in the first quarter with a right calf problem before returning later in the contest.
The Pacers talisman finished with just four points from a bitterly disappointing outing – all of them coming from free throws – as the Thunder’s vaunted defence clamped down on the Pacers.
“He’s not 100 percent, it’s pretty clear,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game.