
NUS senior research fellow Jean-Loup Samaan on boiling Israel-Iran tensions
Iran has vowed revenge and demanded swift response, after a barrage of strikes from Israel targeted its military and nuclear sites, killing several of its top military brass. Dr Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior research fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore, discussed more about the conflict.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump's military parade steps off after day of protests against him
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's long-sought military parade rolled through the streets of downtown Washington on Saturday (Jun 14), but the celebration of the US Army's 250th anniversary was marred by a day of violence and discord. In the hours before the parade began, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched and rallied in streets in cities from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, protesting Trump's actions while in office. Earlier in the day, a gunman assassinated a Democratic lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota and remained at large. Meanwhile, Israel on Saturday pounded Iran with a second barrage of strikes in a bid to destroy its nuclear program after Iran retaliated with strikes the evening before, stoking fears of a mushrooming conflict between the two nations. All of it followed a week of tension in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration raids resulted in Trump calling in National Guard troops and US Marines to help keep the peace. All planned "No Kings" protests in Minnesota were canceled following that Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said was the "politically motivated assassination" of one Democratic lawmaker and wounding of a second. "The ghastly targeted shootings of Senator Hoffman and Represtative Hortman are not just horrific—they're acts of political extremism and an assault on our democracy itself," said Democratic US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "This is where hate and violent rhetoric lead". Trump also condemned the shooting, saying, "Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America". People heading into Washington for the parade encountered a massive security presence, with some 30km of 2.4m-high black fencing, much of it reinforced with concrete traffic barriers, cordoning off streets and surrounding landmarks including the Washington Monument. The celebrations will cost the US Army between US$25 million and US$45 million, US officials have told Reuters. That includes the parade itself as well as the cost of moving equipment and housing and feeding the troops. Critics have called the parade an authoritarian display of power that is wasteful, especially given Trump has said he wants to slash costs throughout the federal government. "SHAME! SHAME!" Earlier in the day, thousands marched in Washington and in other cities in protest of Trump's policies. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, and marked the largest outpouring of opposition to Trump's presidency since he returned to power in January. Anti-Trump groups planned nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country to coincide with the parade. Many took place under the theme "No Kings," asserting that no individual is above the law. All planned "No Kings" protests in Minnesota were canceled following that Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said was the "politically motivated assassination" of one Democratic lawmaker and wounding of a second. In Los Angeles, a large crowd of protesters faced a large contingent of Marines guarding the Roybal federal building downtown, the site of clashes between protesters and officers earlier this week. Standing about 10 feet away from the Marines, the crowd yelled in unison, 'Shame! Shame!' and 'Marines, get out of LA!' Despite rain, thousands of people of all ages turned out in and around Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, many carrying homemade signs that played off the 'No Kings' theme. 'No crown for a clown,' said one. Actor Mark Ruffalo was among the demonstrators, wearing a hat that read "immigrant." 'We're seeing dehumanizing language towards LGBT people, towards people with autism, towards people with other disabilities, racial minorities, undocumented people,' said Cooper Smith, 20, from upstate New York. 'Somebody's got to show that most Americans are against this.' Protestors in downtown Chicago stood off against police on Saturday, with some waving upside-down American flags and chanting: 'Who do you protect? Who do you serve?' and 'No justice, no peace'. Allan Hallie, a 70-year-old retired gastroenterologist, traveled from the northwest Indiana town of Ogden Dunes to protest policies of the Trump administration. 'I am quite afraid of the direction of this country,' he said. Members of the far-right Proud Boys, ardent Trump supporters, appeared at an Atlanta "No Kings" protest, wearing the group's distinctive black and yellow colors. About 400 protesters, organized by a group called marched through Washington and gathered for a rally in a park opposite the White House. Trump had warned people against protesting at the parade itself, saying that "they're going to be met with very big force." Sunsara Taylor, a founder of RefuseFascism, told the crowd, 'Today we refuse to accept Donald Trump unleashing the military against the people of this country and in the streets of this country. We say, 'hell no.''


CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Israel and Iran strike at each other in new wave of attacks
TEL AVIV: Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other late on Saturday (Jun 14), stoking fears of a wider conflict after Israel expanded its surprise campaign against its main rival with a strike on the world's biggest gas field. Tehran called off nuclear talks that Washington had said were the only way to halt Israel's bombing, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days. Israel's military said on Saturday that more missiles were launched from Iran towards Israel, and it was working to intercept them. It also said it was attacking military targets in Tehran. Iranian state television said Iran had launched missiles and drones at Israel. Several projectiles were visible in the night sky over Jerusalem late on Saturday. Air raid sirens did not sound in the city, but were heard in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Israel's ambulance service said 14 people were injured, including one critically, at a two-storey house in northern Israel following an Iranian missile strike. Israeli media reported that one person had been killed in the strike. US President Donald Trump had warned Iran of worse to come, but said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign if Tehran accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme. A round of US-Iran nuclear talks due to be held in Oman on Sunday was cancelled, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi saying the discussions could not take place while Iran was being subjected to Israel's "barbarous" attacks. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran partially suspended production at the world's biggest gas field after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on Saturday. The South Pars field, offshore in Iran's southern Bushehr province, is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran. Fears about potential disruption to the region's oil exports had already driven up oil prices 9 per cent on Friday even though Israel spared Iran's oil and gas on the first day of its attacks. An Iranian general, Esmail Kosari, said on Saturday that Tehran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz controlling access to the Gulf for tankers. IRAN SAYS SCORES KILLED Iran said 78 people were killed on the first day of Israel's campaign, and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. B'Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, said on Saturday that instead of exhausting all possibilities for a diplomatic resolution, Israel's government had chosen to start a war that puts the entire region in danger. Tehran has warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 15, 2025
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