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CAIRO, June 21 (Reuters) – Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Sunday that Israel will not stay in Lebanon, adding that the group would respond to any violation from the Israeli side.

His statements came as Israeli officials say that troops are free to act without restriction to eliminate threats in Lebanon despite an agreed ceasefire that took effect on Friday.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) – Scottish police said on Sunday they had charged a 36-year-old man after a series of attacks in Edinburgh on Friday, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer said appeared to have an anti-Muslim motive.

Five men sustained injuries in the attacks and three required hospital treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, police had previously said.

Videos on social media showed a half-naked, tattooed, white man who appeared to be carrying a large weapon chasing an Asian man and then attempting to break his way into a restaurant, before later being handcuffed on the ground by police.

The BBC reported that the attacks appeared to have begun near a mosque in the west of the Scottish capital before continuing at other locations in the city.

In a brief written statement on Sunday morning, Police Scotland said a 36-year-old man had been charged and a report submitted to prosecutors, and that the man and would appear in court in due course.

In a post on social media on Saturday, Starmer said the attacker “appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred”.

That view was shared by the Muslim Council of Britain, which said the incident was “a direct consequence of political rhetoric that demonises entire communities”.

The Scottish Association of Mosques also blamed “language that portrays migrants, refugees and Muslims as threats to be feared rather than people to be understood”.

Northern Ireland suffered two days of anti-immigrant rioting earlier this month which the British government described as “racist thuggery”, following a knife attack for which a Sudanese man was charged with attempted murder.

Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party that tops British opinion polls, regularly criticises the government for failing to stop small boats that brought 41,000 immigrants across the Channel last year.

Rupert Lowe, who broke with Reform to set up the smaller Restore Britain party, focuses heavily on organised child sexual abuse which he says is largely carried out by Muslim men of Pakistani heritage.

Last year, the government told police to record the ethnicity of gangs involved in this type of abuse after a report detailed state failures to tackle the issue and a reluctance to recognise an “over-representation” of Asian men.

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by David Holmes)

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TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance left for Switzerland on Saturday as the White House gets negotiations with Iran back on track.

Vance is expected to meet on Sunday with Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, as well as mediators from Pakistan and Qatar dispatched to Switzerland for the talks.

The technical talks are aimed at adding key details to the preliminary accord to halt the nearly four-month war between U.S. and Iran signed earlier this week by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Vance was initially supposed to hold a first round of talks with senior Iranian officials on Friday at a mountainside resort in the tiny Swiss village of Obbürgen, Switzerland, but his Iranian counterparts initially canceled their plans to attend because of escalating fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But negotiators for the U.S. and Qatar, with help from Iran, worked out an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah to tamp down the active hostilities, according to U.S. and regional officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Afterward, Iran’s state media later announced Saturday that its top officials would travel to Switzerland.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in response, threatened to impose American tolls in the crucial waterway if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days, saying the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” His social media post underscored that the agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days.

The announcements indicated a rough start to technical-level U.S.-Iran talks that key mediator Pakistan said will begin Sunday, with Qatari mediators also participating.

Iran’s joint military command said the strait was closed because of the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts.

Iranian state media said the negotiating team leaving for Switzerland includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, among others. The deal calls for billions of dollars of Iran’s assets to be unfrozen.

The U.S. disputed Iran’s announcement on the strait.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The military said that 55 merchant ships transited Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil.

Negotiations toward a final agreement will begin once key commitments are upheld, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. If they are not, “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that top negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were in Switzerland and working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but the issue is intricate and the time can be extended.

Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland in “the next couple of days.”

As part of efforts to revive direct talks, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday, according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The global economy braced for more uncertainty.

Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that left plenty of questions unanswered. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely — terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government, and Israel is expected in Washington next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

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June 20 (Reuters) – Three people have died following a fire in White City, London, which involved a single-story pavilion, the London Fire Brigade said on Saturday. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Brigade’s specialist fire investigation officers and the Metropolitan Police Service. 

(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru)

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LONDON (AP) — Thousands gathered before dawn at Stonehenge to welcome the summer solstice, celebrating the year’s longest day with music, dancing and quiet reflection as the sun rose over the ancient stone circle.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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June 20 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russian forces were preparing an impending massive attack on Ukraine and warned residents to take special care as Russian strikes in different regions killed at least six people.

“Tonight and in the coming hours, it is especially important to pay close attention to air raid warnings,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “The Russians have prepared for a massive attack. Please take care of yourselves.”

Russian forces have staged a series of heavy attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks and in other major cities. Strikes last Monday killed 10 people throughout the country and badly damaged the Pechersk Lavra monastery, a 1,000-year-old monastery that stands as a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural heritage.

Zelenskiy has pledged that his military would press on with its campaign of medium and long-range strikes, focused on the oil sector.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Tyumen region in western Siberia on Saturday and Ukrainian drones also struck Moscow’s oil refinery twice this week.

On Saturday, Russian forces attacked the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs, killing five people and injuring 10, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram.

He said the city had endured nine strikes and several residential buildings and other infrastructure had been damaged.

Near the Russian border, a bomb attack killed one person on the outskirts of the city of Sumy, local officials said.

In southern Kherson region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one person had died in a drone attack on a village north of the region’s main city, also called Kherson.

Three children were injured when the central city of Poltava came under Russian shelling, local officials said.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Editing by Franklin Paul)

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BERLIN (AP) — Two freight trains collided on a railway bridge in Germany overnight, officials said Saturday, the crash sending two wagons plunging off the bridge and onto the street below. One person was killed.

The German news agency dpa did not identify the victim in the crash, which occurred in the city of Munich. The cause of the collision was not immediately known.

The wagons fell about 5 meters (16 feet) from the bridge, dpa said. Munich police said the street beneath the bridge has been closed and urged drivers to avoid the area while recovery and clearing operations were underway.

According to dpa, the derailed wagons were not carrying any cargo and there was no threat to public safety.

There were no report of anyone else had been hurt in the crash.

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PARIS, June 20 (Reuters) – Protestors against political executions in Iran gathered in Paris on Saturday in defiance of a ban on the rally, at which police arrested 20 people, according to organisers.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Place Vauban near the Les Invalides monument in central Paris, but were dispersed by police, Shahin Gobadi from the Paris-based NCRI said.

Paris police could not immediately be reached for comment.

French police banned the NCRI Iranian opposition from holding the rally on Saturday, saying there was a risk of clashes between activists holding opposing views, an argument the group described as “bogus”.

Organisers appealed the ban, but on Saturday it was upheld by a Paris court.

The ban on Thursday evening came hours after a call between France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi, during which they discussed the latest developments to end the Iran war.

France’s foreign ministry rejected an allegation by the Iranian group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, that the ban was linked to the call.

The Paris-based NCRI, the political arm of the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, has held frequent rallies in the French capital over the years.

They have been attended by thousands of people, including high-profile former U.S., European and Arab officials critical of the Islamic Republic.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Lewis Macdonald and Sarah Meyssonnier; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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By Ruma Paul

DHAKA, June 20 (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will embark on his first overseas trip since taking office on Sunday, visiting Malaysia and China in a mission aimed at attracting investment, boosting overseas employment and signalling foreign policy priorities.

The six-day trip comes as Rahman’s administration seeks foreign capital to support an ambitious economic agenda, while strengthening ties with key Asian partners.

Rahman will leave for Kuala Lumpur on Sunday afternoon to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, before travelling to China on Monday for a three-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

BANGLADESH AIMS TO SIGN BILATERAL DEALS IN CHINA

A key outcome to watch during the China visit will be the signing of 15-17 bilateral instruments, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam told reporters on Saturday. He also confirmed that discussions on the long-delayed Teesta River project would be on the agenda.

Rahman is scheduled to meet Premier Li on June 25 and President Xi Jinping on June 26.

He will also attend the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as the Summer Davos Forum, in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, where global business and political leaders will discuss growth, innovation and emerging technologies.

The Chinese leg of the tour comes as Dhaka seeks to deepen ties with one of its largest trading partners and development financiers.

The visit follows the government’s recent approval of a 41.89 billion taka ($340 million) infrastructure project for the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chittagong, backed by 24.67 billion taka in concessional Chinese loans.

The project is expected to create around 100,000 jobs and attract more than $500 million in foreign direct investment during its initial phase.

In Malaysia, discussions are expected to focus on labour migration, recruitment of Bangladeshi workers and broader economic cooperation.

Malaysia remains one of the largest destinations for Bangladeshi migrant workers, whose remittances are a crucial source of foreign exchange for the South Asian nation.

TIES WITH INDIA HAVE IMPROVED, BUT TENSIONS PERSIST

The trip also has broader diplomatic significance.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted during a mass uprising in 2024 and has since been living in India, was widely seen as closer to New Delhi, but maintained ties with both India and China while securing significant Chinese-backed infrastructure investments.

While relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have improved since Rahman’s government took office in February, disagreements remain, including border tensions and alleged migrant push-ins across the frontier.

“Although ties with India have improved somewhat, tensions persist, notably over border issues. Strengthening relations with China reflects Dhaka’s broader effort to balance its external partnerships,” said Asif Shahan, a professor of development studies at the University of Dhaka.

“The visits are as much economic as diplomatic,” he added. “China is crucial for investment, while Malaysia remains key for overseas employment — both align with the government’s economic priorities.”

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian guided bombs struck an apartment block in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring nine, including a 6-year-old, authorities said Saturday.

A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

He said bombs slammed into the low-rise block in Kharkiv’s Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours of Saturday. The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said at least nine people were injured, five of whom hospitalized.

Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian car on Friday evening, killing a man and injuring the woman driving, Syniehubov said.

Moscow did not immediately acknowledge or comment on the attacks.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations.

Meanwhile, Russian air defences repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said there was no damage to the refinery and staff was evacuated.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages.

In one of the biggest drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion over four years ago, Ukraine on Thursday struck a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting hundreds of flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday its forces shot down 177 Ukrainian drones during the night. It did not say how many reached their targets.Two drones were shot down on approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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