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Sky News
16 minutes ago
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Donald Trump arriving back at White House as Security Council mulls Iran action
22:23:11 Analysis: Trump facing 'biggest call of his presidency to date' Donald Trump is preparing to make the biggest call of his presidency to date, US correspondent David Blevins says. The president is due to arrive back at the White House shortly, where he'll hold a National Security Council meeting to discuss the Israel-Iran conflict. "It's very unusual for Donald Trump to spend Saturday and Sunday at the White House," says Blevins. "And equally unusual for him to be meeting with his national security team as often as he is." The US currently has a group of B-2 bombers heading from America towards the Pacific region, which could then potentially head onwards to the Middle East if Trump approves it. On Thursday, Trump said that he will decide whether the US gets directly involved in the conflict within a fortnight. In a call on the same day, Israeli officials reportedly expressed their displeasure at such a timeframe (see 21.10pm post). "All of this speaks to the challenge facing the president right now," adds Blevins. "With his own base divided, his own administration arguably divided, it's going to be the biggest call of his presidency to date." 22:21:26 Iran launches new wave of attacks on Israel - report Attack drones have been moving towards Israel "for hours" as part of Iran's latest attack, local media says. "This operation will be continuous and unsettling," a spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying. We'll bring you more on this as it develops. 22:07:34 More buildings struck at Isfahan, nuclear watchdog says The UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed that several more buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site have been struck amid Israel's ongoing attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The site in central Iran was first hit on 13 June when four buildings were damaged, with six other buildings attacked today, the International Atomic Energy Agency says. These include a fuel rod production facility, nuclear material storage and laboratory, it added. 21:51:01 Israeli strikes heard in southern Iran - report Iranian media says that Israel had launched strikes on the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases. The Mehr news agency says the city's air defences have been activated and have been "engaged in fighting hostile targets and Zionist aircraft". Air defences are also reportedly being engaged in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. A little earlier, the Israeli military said it was attacking drone and weapons warehouses in the region. 21:34:24 Iran's internet partially restored after 62-hour blackout Iran's internet connectivity has been partially restored after a widespread 62-hour blackout that began early Wednesday, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. The outage was described by NetBlocks as the most severe and extensive internet shutdown in Iran since the November 2019 protests. In the initial hours of the blackout, only 3% of Iranian users had access to the global internet, NetBlocks reported. 21:10:01 Israel seeks swift action on Iran, sources say Israeli officials have reportedly told the Trump administration they don't want to wait two weeks to learn if the US will join the Israel-Iran conflict. Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will decide whether the US gets directly involved in the conflict within a fortnight. According to the Reuters news agency, citing two unnamed sources, Israel believes it has a limited window of opportunity to move against the deeply buried nuclear site at Fordow, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program. The US is the only country with bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into the side of a mountain. Four sources said it is now increasingly likely that Israel will launch a solo military operation at Fordow. Israeli air superiority over much of Iran makes an operation more feasible, though still risky, said two of the sources. Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir reportedly part in the "tense" phone call with Washington on the Israeli side. JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth participated in the call on the US side, a security source said. 20:50:01 Watch: How close is Iran to producing a nuclear weapon? Last night, Donald Trump said US intelligence agencies were "wrong" after they said they had no evidence that Iran was building a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly denied that it is seeking a nuclear weapon and the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said this month that it has no proof of a "systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon". But Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60% - a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. So, how close is it to producing a nuclear weapon? Our US correspondent Mark Stone takes a look... 20:30:01 Palestine a 'central issue' to Iran, supreme leader says Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has this evening shared a message in support of the Palestinian people. Posting on X, he said the victory of Palestinians "is something that's definite".
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Photos of Bolivians ushering in the Andean New Year 5533 with sunrise celebrations
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Furious summer vacationers want to shake off $100k 'Taylor Swift tax' headed their way
Rhode Island has approved a controversial bill, dubbed the ' Taylor Swift Tax', on million-dollar second homes people use for summer breaks. The tax will target the second homes of all the residents in the state who don't use their home full time. The Rhode Island House of Representatives has already greenlit a proposed $13.9 billion state budget that includes the sweeping new real estate tax. This means the pop star will face her own six-figure tax on her $17 million Watch Hill estate if the bill goes into law. The measure passed by a 66 to 9 vote on June 18 and now moves to the state Senate. Swift has famously owned the mansion in the upmarket beach town since 2013 and spends July 4th there every year. Under the guise of helping Rhode Island's affordability crisis, those who have 'non-primary residences valued over $1 million' will be taxed under the proposal. Overall, homeowners would face an annual surcharge of $2.50 per $500 of assessed value above the first $1 million — meaning a $3 million second home would see a $10,000 yearly fee. Swift and her beachfront estate neighbors would likely get taxed $100,000 and up based on the size of their mansions. The budget also proposes a 63 percent hike in the real estate conveyance tax, which sellers pay upon transferring property. The state says revenue from both tax hikes would go toward affordable housing projects, including the construction of low-income units and expansion of housing tax credits. But Watch Hill realtor Larry Burns warns there will be economic backlash. Burns specializes in coastal and luxury properties, and says the impact of the tax will trickle down to longtime residents who are not wealthy, and to local economies. He said the state has not been specific about how exactly the money is going to be spent — and the tax will unfairly penalize those who own inherited or family properties. Watch Hill famously passes homes on for generations. 'Rhode Island economy for the most part is driven by tourism, especially in all in New England especially coastal state like Rhode Island,' he told the Daily Mail. 'And it's really going to discourage people from buying second homes here because of the added expense.' Burns warns that neighboring states like Massachusetts, Maine, or Connecticut could become more attractive to buyers and Rhode Island will take a massive hit. 'You squeeze them here they're going to go somewhere else,' he warned. He continued: 'There's people like Taylor Swift — people will look at her and think, "Well, she has so much money she'll never even notice an increase like this." 'But it's not like the residents here have inexhaustible resources. '$100,000 here might be college education for the year for a kid, or two kids.' Burns added the tax could force many to part with cherished family homes. 'There's a lot of older folks or multigenerational properties where the siblings have inherited the property, and if you keep adding expenses people end up selling because they can't keep up with the cost,' he said. Part-time residents are also crucial to the local economy, Burns said. 'They spend an enormous amount of money in those six to eight weeks that they're here,' Burns said. 'And they don't impose a lot of demand on municipal resources like schools, police, or the hospital.' Local businesses are bracing for the fallout. 'I hear from people in the construction business, landscaping, any kind of service work, restaurants — everybody's going to be really negatively affected if this goes into effect,' Burns said. 'You're creating a welfare state at that point for service workers.' Burns stressed that tourism and the summer season is what gives the state its money. 'They're worried about funding low income housing, but the problem is you've got to give people jobs before you worry about the housing,' he said. 'If your economy runs on tourism and you do this to it, you're really negatively impacting those people's ability to earn a living.' Whether the tax becomes law remains uncertain, but it now awaits Senate approval and the Governor Dan McKee's signature. Burns says it could go either way. 'I don't know if they're posturing for political reasons, but this is really killing the goose that lays the golden egg,' he said. If the tax does pass, the tax would take effect in July 2026.
