Monday, 22 June 2026
First round of US-Iran talks ends with encouraging progress, mediators say
The first round of negotiations between the US and Iran to reach a final deal to end the war has ended with "encouraging progress", mediators Qatar and Pakistan say.
In a joint statement early on Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said that a "High Level Committee" had agreed to "a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days".
Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said there had been "major progress" towards ending the conflict in Lebanon.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last week includes a commitment to ending the fighting on "all fronts" - including Lebanon - and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
"Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War," Araghchi posted on social media.
"Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran."
The Iranian lead negotiators have now left Switzerland, where talks began on Sunday, Iranian media said, with technical discussions between the parties due to continue.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy0q41v1lzo
"Why the First Crusaders Lobbed Severed Heads into Nicaea" by Raymond Ibrahim
Today in history, the First Crusaders were giving thanks for their first major victory, the Christian reconquest of Nicaea on June 19, 1097. But the back story of how they got there was beyond brutal and worth recollecting.
In the years following the decisive Battle of Manzikert (1071), which saw the Seljuk Turks defeat the Eastern Roman Empire and conquer that ancient bastion of Christianity, Anatolia (modern day Turkey), mindboggling atrocities were committed. Whether an anonymous Georgian chronicler tells of how “holy churches served as stables for their horses,” the “priests were immolated during the Holy Communion itself,” the “virgins defiled, the youths circumcised, and the infants taken away,” or whether Anna Comnena, the princess at Constantinople, tells of how “cities were obliterated, lands were plundered, and the whole of Anatolia was stained with Christian blood” — the same scandalous tale of woe reached the West.
As a result, what came to be known as history’s First Crusade was launched. Paraphrasing Pope Urban II’s famous call at Clermont in 1095, Crusades historian Thomas Madden writes, “The message was clear: Christ was crucified again in the persecution of His faithful and the defilement of His sanctuaries.” Both needed rescuing; both offered an opportunity to fulfill one of Christ’s two greatest commandments: “Love God with all your heart,” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Trump Threatens to Charge Hormuz Toll if No Deal is Reached
Pathetic Lady Archbishop of Canterbury promises to help give Palestinians 'the freedom you deserve'
The Archbishop of Canterbury has promised to give Palestinians the "freedom they deserve" on a landmark visit to the West Bank.
Dame Sarah Mullally delivered a sermon on Sunday at St Peter's Church in Birzeit, becoming the first holder of the office to visit the town.
She told the congregation: "I will not forget what I have seen and what I have heard. I could not forget it. I will carry these encounters with me as I return home.
"I will use my role as Archbishop to seek the peace you desire and the freedom you deserve." The 64-year-old began her five-day pilgrimage across the Holy Land on Saturday.
There, she said: "I am aware that I have certain freedoms that many of you do not enjoy, being able to cross borders and checkpoints, spending time in neighbouring communities, and going to Jerusalem.
"I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to join you in prayer and fellowship."
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.gbnews.com/news/archbishop-of-canterbury-palestine-west-bank
Children aged just SIX in line for 'care' at NHS trans clinics
Children aged six or younger are in line for appointments at NHS gender clinics.
Shocking new figures have revealed that more than 250 children of primary school age are waiting for care at the controversial clinics across England.
Among those on the waiting list, as many as nine are aged six or younger - and are described as experiencing "gender identity issues".
Freedom of Information data from NHS England shows that youngsters are offered the "care" at three children's gender services operating in England.
These clinics were established following the 2024 closure of the Gender Identity Development Service, previously run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The total number of children on the national waiting list stood at 4,079 at the end of March this year. This represents a 34 per cent reduction from the 6,225 children waiting at the same point in 2025.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.gbnews.com/news/nhs-gender-clinics-children-aged-six
IDF Kills Hamas Terrorist Posing as Al Jazeera Cameraman
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Sunday, 21 June 2026
"The Night Dracula Tried to Kill the Sultan" by Raymond Ibrahim
The Night Dracula Tried to Kill the Sultan
‘You’re not a man, but a woman...” by Raymond Ibrahim
This week in history, Vlad the Impaler launched a midnight raid against the Muslim invaders of his nation that would cause his name to live on forever as Dracula, the terror of the night.
The year was 1462. Ottoman sultan Muhammad II (or “Mehmet”) had demanded tribute, by way of gold and Romanian boys, to serve as his slave soldiers (Janissaries). Vlad III Dracula — better known as Vlad Țepeș, or the “Impaler” — the ruler of Wallachia (modern-day Romania) responded by sending the Muslim emissaries back to Muhammad with their turbans nailed onto their heads.
So it would be war. Muhammad mobilized one of the largest Ottoman armies in history, according to some estimates — between 150,000 and 300,000 — and invaded Wallachia, terrorizing all and sundry and engaging in unspeakable atrocities, especially against women and children.
With only some 30,000 men — many of them peasants whose “armor” consisted of sheep’s wool, their weapons axes, scythes, and hammers — Vlad was forced to resort to guerilla tactics. Though he launched several successful sorties against the Turkish invaders, these barely made a dent in the Ottoman force, which consisted of “Allahu Akbar”-hollering jihadists “as numerous as the stars in the sky,” to quote an early source.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://uk.mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/63/messages/AAIUk3yeOEoxcOq5uox1xk2yS7bUS-Iran talks to begin in Switzerland as Tehran says it closed Strait of Hormuz
Direct talks between the US and Iran are set to begin in Switzerland despite the Iranian military saying it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon.
Iran also cited a breach of its agreement with the US to end the war as a reason for the closure. However, the US military has said "traffic continues to flow" in the strait.
US Vice-President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland early on Sunday morning. The new round of negotiations is expected to start later in the day.
An Iranian delegation including parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived late on Saturday. Officials from the US and Iran will be joined at the talks by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the head of the country's armed forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war, and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran.
"Pakistan will continue to support the implementation of the understandings between Iran and the United States," the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement ahead of the talks. Vance said he hoped to make progress "on the nuclear issue" and on the "Lebanon ceasefire issue".
Speaking to the press before he boarded his flight, he was asked about clashes between Israel and Hezbollah and Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon and said: "Things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit."
"It's going to be something we're just going to have to continuously manage to ensure that Israel and Lebanon are both safe and secure. That's fundamentally the goal of this, to make the whole region safe and secure," he said.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyekkwm1mmo
Study Reveals What Israelis Say is Biggest Threat (It's not Iran)
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Israeli strikes kill six people in Gaza including Al Jazeera cameraman, officials say
Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least six people, including an Al Jazeera cameraman and at least one child, according to health officials and rescuers.
Al Jazeera said it "strongly condemns the heinous crime of targeting and killing" of its correspondent Ahmed Wishah, who was killed in a strike on a central Gaza home on Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Wishah of being "a terrorist in Hamas' military wing who served as a sniper operative".
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN regards as reliable, says the Israeli military has killed 1,007 people since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last October.
Al Jazeera said Wishah's death on Saturday "constitutes a new and flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and reflects a continued systematic policy of targeting journalists and silencing the voice of truth".
The IDF said that Wishah in recent months had advanced sniper attack plans against Israeli troops, without providing evidence.
Two other people were killed along with Wishah in the strike on the home in Bureij refugee camp, according to a local hospital and the Hamas-run civil defence agency, which conducts rescue operations. The IDF also accused the two others killed of being a part of Hamas.
Wishah's brother Mohamed, who was also a correspondent for Al Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli strike in April. The IDF accused him of working in Hamas rocket and weapons production headquarters, without further details.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gy26p6pwzo
Israel and Hezbollah continue strikes despite ceasefire agreement
At least 20 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.
Local officials said 16 people had been killed in the Nabatieh district and seven in neighbouring Saida, with others injured, after Israeli warplanes, drones, and artillery targeted several areas.
A family of four - a father, a mother and their two children - was killed in the town of Barich in southern Lebanon, state media reported.
The Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of Hezbollah targets after the group fired over 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region. It also reported that an Israeli soldier was killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
The US government has criticised Israel's ongoing operations in Lebanon, which was drawn into the US-Iran war when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
Washington also fears that the continuing tensions between Israel and Lebanon could undermine the US peace deal with Iran, which includes a commitment to end fighting on "all fronts" including Lebanon.
US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reported to be heading to Switzerland for initial talks with Iran to help cement the agreement.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx240k9l112o
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