World
Mixed response from MEPs after State of the EU speech

While the party she herself is a member of praised the speech, other parliamentary groups remained sceptical about Ursula von der Leyen’s priorities.
Members of the European Parliament had mixed reactions to Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union speech on Wednesday.
Von der Leyen received good marks from her own political group, the European People’s Party (EPP) but other political groups criticised the speech.
EPP chief Manfred Weber expressed support for the implementation of the Green Deal and welcomed the investigation into Chinese electric carmakers’ subsidies.
“With China, we have to see the unfair behaviour on the markets, the subsidies the Chinese are paying. And that’s why we have to protect ourselves,” he told Euronews.
“We have to use our methods, our tools. We have to protect our market. And what we see currently in the electric vehicles field is obviously financed by subsidies by the Chinese… yes to trade, but let’s not be naive,” Weber added.
The second largest group, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), were critical of what von der Leyen had to say in relation to migration, in particular when she stressed the need for more agreements like the one signed with Tunisia.
For the group’s vice-chair Pedro Marques, this practice not only leads to human rights violations but also helps to finance an authoritarian regime in Tunis.
The S&D group also missed any meaningful reference to current social issues, as Marques told Euronews:
“For us, what was bluntly absent from this speech were all the social dimensions of the current situation. There are millions of families suffering with inflation, with the cost of living, with the cost of housing. And we had no word from von der Leyen on concrete policies towards these European families,” he said.
Liberals from the Renew Europe Group, like its vice-chair Katalin Cseh said von der Leyen should have highlighted the fight to save democracy and rule of law in Poland and Hungary much more.
But their group leader Stéphane Séjourné welcomed the Commission’s call for a renewed effort at enlargement, and von der Leyen’s coupling of the issue with internal reforms of the bloc.
“I really want us to make progress on enlargement,” he told Euronews.
“But that also means that the European Union has to work on its institutions, its capacity to decide at 32 (or) 33 (states) and also all the rules on the rule of law.”
“There are still countries with a fair amount of corruption that need to be dealt with first, and there are countries where we still need to reform the judicial system,” he added.
Unsurprisingly, the eurosceptic far right in the chamber rejected the speech altogether.
Gerolf Annemans, a bureau member of the Identity and Democracy Group told Euronews:
“After Brexit, there could have been a European Union that would have been more modest and reluctant. But we saw a European Union ever since that is more radical and more extremist than ever before.“
The speech was the last such grand self-reckoning from President von der Leyen before Europeans go to the polls in June 2024.
Journalist • Andreas Rogal

World
The Latest: Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
The death toll is growing as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third consecutive day on Sunday, and Israel is warning that worse is to come.
Israel targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran’s nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.
The region braced for a drawn-out conflict after Israel’s strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, killing several senior generals and top nuclear scientists.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also had a warning for Tehran, saying it can expect “the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces” if it retaliates against the United States. Trump insisted that Washington had nothing to do with Israel’s attack on Iran.
Israel launched its attacks after weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran announced Thursday that it planned to activate a third nuclear enrichment facility shortly after the U.N. nuclear watchdog censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations.
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Here’s the latest:
Death toll grows in Israel
At least 10 people in Israel were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13.
At least six people, including two children, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.
An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases.
Four people were killed when a missile struck a building in the northern Israeli town of Tamra, and another 24 were wounded. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42 people.
Explosions in Tehran
New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran’s U.N. ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.
Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a “strong explosion” at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant, in what could be the first Israeli attack on Iran’s oil and natural gas industry. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.
World leaders are issuing urgent calls to deescalate.
But Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s strikes so far are “nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.”
Trump warns Tehran not to target U.S.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. had “nothing to do with the attack on Iran” and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.
Nuclear talks called off
Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, have been called off.
The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place.
Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were “unjustifiable” after Israel’s strikes, which he said were the “result of the direct support by Washington.”
Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
World
North Korea relaunches warship that suffered embarrassing failure during initial launch

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North Korea has repaired and relaunched their 5,000-ton warship after a botched launch in May, according to North Korean state media.
The second warship was once again upright in the water, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA.
The communist country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was in attendance to give a speech and spoke about the failed launch.
“Of course, we felt panic-stricken in front of the unexpected and ridiculous accident caused while launching this destroyer in Chongjin last month,” Kim said.
NORTH KOREA DETAINS SHIPYARD OFFICIALS OVER FAILED LAUNCH THAT LEFT NAVAL DESTROYER DAMAGED: STATE MEDIA
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, and his daughter stand on a destroyer named Kang Kon during its launch ceremony at the Rajin shipyard in Rason, North Korea, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, and his daughter stand on a destroyer named Kang Kon during its launch ceremony at the Rajin shipyard in Rason, North Korea, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) ((Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP))
Kim did not take the accident lightly, going as far as to call it a criminal act, according to KCNA.
“We judged the accident not as a simple mistake but as a never-to-be-forgiven, serious criminal act that lowered the dignity and self-respect of our state in a moment, and investigated the root cause of the accident in a comprehensive way,” Kim said.
In fact, the chief engineer of the Chongjin Shipyard, along with others, were arrested according KCNA.
KIM JONG UN LEFT FUMING AFTER NORTH KOREA’S NEW DESTROYER DAMAGED IN FAILED LAUNCH

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center, and his daughter attend a launch ceremony of a destroyer named Kang Kon at the Rajin shipyard in Rason, North Korea, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) ((Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP))
However, this setback hasn’t seemed to slow down Kim’s ambitions as he promised more warships to come.
“Warships of a new generation are to be launched one after another in the coming years, and they will form the backbone of our maritime defense forces,” Kim said.
The ship, which Kim has reportedly named “Kang Kon,” was moved to the Rajin shipyard after being set up right, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The total extent of the damage to the ship is unknown as it never left the dry dock.

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows a destroyer named Kang Kon during its launch ceremony at the Rajin shipyard in Rason, North Korea, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. ((Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP))
Satellite images previously released by South Korea had shown the ship lying on its side.
Reported previously by KCNA, the “Kang Kon” had slipped off of its ramp and became stuck.
The flatcar failed to move alongside the ship, throwing it off balance and crushing parts of the ship’s bottom.
This caused the massive warship’s stern to slide down the launch slipway, making the ship’s bow section unable to leave the ramp, according to KNCA.
The “Kang Kon” was the second naval destroyer launched within a month after Kim attended the successful launch of another 5,000-ton destroyer from Nampo, a port on the west coast of North Korea.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Landon Mion contributed to this story.
Nick Butler is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Do you have any tips? Reach out to Nick.Butler@Fox.com.
World
At least 100 people killed in gunmen attack in Nigeria: Rights group

Amnestly International called on the Nigerian government to do more to stop attacks in Benue State.
At least 100 people have been killed in a northcentral Nigerian town following an overnight attack by gunmen, as Amnesty International called for the government to end the “almost daily bloodshed in Benue state”.
The attack, which occurred from late Friday into Saturday morning, took place in Yelwata, a town in Benue State, according to Amnesty.
“Amnesty International has been documenting the alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity. These attacks have been causing massive displacement and may affect food security as majority of the victims are farmers,” the rights group wrote on X.
“The Nigerian authorities’ failure to stem the violence is costing people’s lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost,” the organisation said, adding that many people were still missing from the attack.
The Nigerian authorities must immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue state and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.
The horrifying killing of over 100 people by gunmen that invaded Yelewata; from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday 14 June 2025, shows…
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 14, 2025
Tersoo Kula, a spokesperson for the state governor’s office, told the AFP news agency earlier on Saturday that the attack lasted about two hours and a “number of houses [were] burnt down”.
He added that government officials and police officials had visited Yelwata and “confirmed” a lower death toll of 45.
Police spokesperson Udeme Edet confirmed the attack to AFP and said police had engaged the attackers in a gunfight.
But locals told AFP that they feared that more than 100 people had been killed in the attack.
“It is terribly bad, many people have died,” Amineh Liapha Hir, a resident of the town, said. “It could be more than 100, and many houses were also burnt,” Hir added.
Another resident, Christian Msuega, said he escaped the attack, but his sister and brother-in-law had died after being burned alive.
In the region, attacks are common as local herders, mostly Muslim ethnic Fulani, and farmers, many of whom are Christian, clash over the limited access to land and water.
Last month, gunmen who were believed to be herders killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue.
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