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Jun 17, 2026 - World

A Fox News host blamed Vice President JD Vance — and not President Donald Trump — for a deal with Iran that he deemed too weak.Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade made the remarks Wednesday during an interview with Alex Gray, who served as chief of staff of the White House National Security Council under Trump."It doesn't look like Iran's been brought to its knees," Kilmeade said. "It seems like Iran got a lot out of it that many people weren't expecting.""Maybe the president wasn't even expecting" the outcome, Kilmeade continued, "because he's got enough plates in the air that he can't be into every detail.""I just wonder if the vice president, who was against this by all reports — was against the conflict to begin with — maybe wasn't the right person to bring this conflict to an end," Kilmeade added, turning his fire on Vance rather than Trump.Trump and Vance agreed to the terms of a memorandum of understanding with Iran on Sunday that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set up 60 days of nuclear negotiations — but leaves Iran's enrichment program unresolved. The deal is set to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland. Vance acknowledged on Hannity that "a lot of the technical details we're gonna figure out over the next month, over the next two months."Senate Republicans have been equally critical. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) warned Trump he was "being ill-advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on." Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Obama team could have negotiated the emerging deal.According to Israeli media, senior U.S. officials were divided on the agreement — with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all expressing doubts about Iranian compliance.The two sides have 60 days to negotiate the fate of Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

Jun 17, 2026 - World

Campaigners welcome announcement cutting levies on menstrual health items, but say their work to end period poverty is ‘far from over’Pakistan plans to abolish “period tax”, in a victory for young campaigners who had taken the government to court over the charges.Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that sanitary towels and related items were “daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities”, and said he intended to remove the sales tax. Continue reading...

Jun 17, 2026 - World

Online uproar follows Canadian brand’s use of taiko drum at sponsored festival held to celebrate Chinese cultureThe activewear brand Lululemon has apologised after a promotional event held on the Great Wall of China appeared to mistakenly feature a Japanese drum, prompting an uproar.The Canadian-headquartered company, known for its upmarket leggings, has been growing rapidly in China and arranged for a yoga festival to take place in late May on a section of the wall near Beijing. Continue reading...

Jun 17, 2026 - World

Major operation launched after spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City, according to local mediaPolice in Vietnam have rescued more than 400 cats in a bust of a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media reports.More than 40 cats were reunited with their owners after the multiday operation last week, but several dozen of those rescued have died due to the harsh conditions in which they were found, the groups said. Continue reading...

Jun 17, 2026 - World

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put a baffling spin on Trump's Iran War deal, but he didn't get off scot-free.Although details of Trump's Iran War deal remain murky, it's already being criticized for reportedly giving up a $300 billion reconstruction fund. Graham told reporters on Tuesday, however, what he believed the deal achieved."If this thing goes through, we've opened up the straits," the GOP senator said. "The war will be in a permanent ceasefire, and we'll try to get a nuclear deal with Iran."On X, commentators dogged Graham as they pointed out that these achievements were what was already in place before Trump started the war."We've achieved opening the Strait that was open before the war that Trump lost," wrote Ben Rhodes, a former Obama foreign policy advisor and political writer."The big achievement of the war, according to Lindsey Graham, is that things will hopefully go back to the way they were before the war," MeidasTouch, a political news network, piled on."Trump started the fighting and is responsible for the closing of the Strait," agreed Norman Ornstein, a political scientist and contributing editor for The Atlantic. "So he is giving Iran tons of money, draining $50 billion or more from taxpayers, depleting our vital stocks, bloodshed from our military, oil, helium, and fertilizer prices up, to return to status quo ante.""Not only were the straits open before Trump initiated combat operations, but the U.S. could have very likely prevented Iran from closing them & clearly was not able to/did not prioritize that part of mission," senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen wrote. "Now, Iran has demonstrated it can successfully close them."