Photos this week: June 19-26, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pays tribute to people who were killed in Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 19. The Russian assault was the deadliest on the capital in almost a year, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout/Reuters
Kiara Daniels holds her son Kayson while twirling her daughter, Kehlani, at the Dodge Fountain in downtown Detroit's Hart Plaza on Monday, June 23. They were waiting for the start of a fireworks show. Ryan Garza/USA Today Network/Imagn Images
Activists of the international environmental group Greenpeace deploy a giant banner at St. Mark Square in Venice, Italy, on Monday, June 23. It reads, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax." Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez are getting married in Venice this week. Stefano Rellandini/AFP/Getty Images
Demonstrators march in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday, June 25. Protesters took to the streets this week to mark one year since the anti-tax demonstrations last June that left dozens dead and sparked nationwide outrage. The demonstrations in 2024 forced the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill that raised taxes. However, many of Kenya's youth are still enraged over several cases of alleged police brutality, including the death of a teacher in police custody and the shooting of an unarmed street vendor. Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images
Spruce trees affected by bark beetles are seen in Canal San Bovo, Italy, on Wednesday, June 25. After the Vaia storm in 2018 felled millions of spruce trees in the region, the resulting surge of deadwood enabled bark beetles to shift from a low-level presence to an epidemic.This satellite image, taken on Sunday, June 22, shows an overview of the underground Fordow nuclear site after it was struck by US warplanes near Qom, Iran. An early US intelligence assessment suggested that the US strikes in Iran did not destroy some key components of Iran's nuclear program and likely only set back Tehran's nuclear ambitions by a matter of months. The White House has pushed back on that assessment, calling it 'wrong.' The final US military 'battle damage assessment' by the Defense Intelligence Agency could take days or even weeks to complete, multiple sources familiar with the Pentagon's process told CNN. Maxar Technologies/Handout/Reuters
A photo of a child is seen in the rubble of a damaged building in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday, June 25. Iran and Israel traded attacks for nearly two weeks after Israel launched strikes against Iran that targeted its nuclear program and military leaders. Vahid Salemi/AP
This image of the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region in the Sagittarius constellation, was released by the National Science Foundation on Monday, June 23. The first test images from a groundbreaking observatory using the largest camera ever built have captured the light from millions of distant stars and galaxies on an unprecedented scale. RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
Mahmoud Khalil and his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, react during a rally to welcome him home in New York on Sunday, June 22. Khalil, a Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's student protest movement demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, was arrested and detained by federal agents in March. A judge ordered Friday that he be released from a Louisiana ICE detention center. Khalil is a lawful permanent resident who has not been charged with a crime. Angelina Katsanis/Reuters
Mahout Hsu Mon Htike takes care of injured baby elephant Kyaw Pearl; his mother, Pearl Sanda; and his sister, Pearl Sint, at the Wingabaw Elephant Camp in Phayargyi, Myanmar, on Tuesday, June 24. Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images
US sailors stand on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford as they wait for the aircraft carrier to leave Norfolk, Virginia, on Tuesday, June 24. They were leaving for a scheduled deployment.People in Holon, Israel, gather near a public bomb shelter after receiving a message about an incoming missile launched from Iran on Tuesday, June 24. The ceasefire between Iran and Israel went into effect that day. See last week in 37 photos. Bernat Armangue/AP
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Russia captures key lithium deposit in Ukraine in move that could impact US mineral deal
Russian troops have seized control of a key lithium field in eastern Ukraine despite fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces — in a move that some analysts speculate could potentially impact the United States' mineral deal. President Vladimir Putin's forces captured the village of Shevchenko in the Donetsk region, which is close to the lithium deposit, within the last few days, Russian officials declared Thursday. The deposit, which is located on Shevchenko's eastern outskirts and covers roughly 100 acres, is believed to be one of Ukraine's most valuable lithium deposits and sits at a depth that would allow commercial mining. Ukrainian servicemen of the 101st Guard Brigade Of General Staff prepare to fire a 122-mm howitzer D-30 toward Russian positions on the frontline in the Donetsk area on Wednesday. VITALII NOSACH/EPA/Shutterstock Some industry analysts warned of possible impacts to the US-Ukraine mineral deal given that the seizure deprives Kyiv of a critical asset it could have offered up as part of the long-awaited partnership. 'If Russian troops go further, capture more and more territory, they will control more and more mineral deposits,' Mykhailo Zhernov, director of the US company Critical Metals Corp, which previously held a license at the Shevchenko deposit, told the New York Times. 'It's an issue for this deal.' The deal, which was inked in April, created a joint fund to boost the reconstruction of the war-torn nation and gave the US preferential access to investment in Ukraine's oil, gas and rare mineral industries. Analysts suggested the ongoing Russian advancement and subsequent occupation of Ukrainian territory — including the likes of the Shevchenko deposit — would prove to be a challenge for the deal. Workers operate machinery at an open-pit titanium mine in the Zhytomyr region back in February. AFP via Getty Images Russian forces have been inching toward the Shevchenko field for months and, at one point, were advancing on it from three different routes, according to open-source mapping from Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian military blogging resource. 'The village of Shevchenko, which is located on the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region, is another settlement that has a lithium deposit,' Igor Klimakovsky, a Russian-appointed official in Donetsk, was quoted by Russian state media as saying. 'This was one of the reasons why the Ukrainian armed forces sent a huge number of their soldiers to hold it.' Russian-backed officials have previously suggested the Shevchenko field will be developed when the situation permits. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine in the wake of the Shevchenko capture. With Post wires
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
I was in Venice for George Clooney's wedding. Jeff Bezos' feels completely different — and not in a good way.
Christine Matthey is a Swiss-Italian art gallery owner. Business Insider interviewed her in Venice, where she lives, ahead of Jeff Bezos' wedding to Lauren Sánchez. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. I was living in Venice when George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin. The mood in the city was nothing like it is now, for the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. To start with, George Clooney is not Jeff Bezos. Bezos is a friend and donor to Donald Trump. Ivanka Trump is even here for the wedding. For that reason, among others, I'm not happy with Jeff Bezos being this close to my house, or in Venice at all, for that matter. It's not only because of politics, but also because of Amazon, what he represents, and the potential damage his wedding is bringing to this city. I grew up in Venice until I moved to Switzerland for school. I now live here for six months of every year, and I care about the city's preservation. One major concern is the "moto ondoso," or "wave motion." It refers to the damage caused by the yachts, water taxis, and other boats in the canals, which erode the foundations of Venice's historic buildings. It's causing real damage to the city. Bezos has hired fleets of water taxis. It adds to the problems of a city already in danger. He says he has donated 3 million euros to three local institutions, but what does 3 million euros mean to him? (Editor's note: The wedding will use around 30 of Venice's 280 water taxis, according to Venice city officials.) Sure, the wedding brings money to the local economy. But I don't think the long-term damage is worth the short-term gain. Around San Marco, many people depend on tourism. They sell expensive goods to wealthy visitors. I imagine they're happy to see celebrities, and less concerned with the politics. But for young Venetians, it's a different story. Wages are low. Housing is nearly impossible to afford. It's hard to be OK with a billionaire wedding in the middle of all of these difficulties. That's part of what is fueling the protests. On Monday, I passed by San Marco Square just as Greenpeace unfurled a huge banner with Bezos's face. It read: "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax." I've also been following the "No Space for Bezos" movement on Instagram. As of Thursday, I haven't noticed major disruption. But I'm nervous. I have an art gallery near the Arsenale, and I just hope I can get to it this weekend without being blocked by police because of the wedding. The wedding has divided Venice. For me, I sit in the camp of thinking the protesters are brave, especially so in a country where the police can be tough. They're putting themselves on the line, unafraid of being hurt or brutalized, to make their point. And honestly, I admire them for it.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Russia has amassed 110,000 troops near strategic Ukrainian city, Kyiv says
Russia has amassed 110,000 troops in the vicinity of Pokrovsk as part of its efforts to take over the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian military chief said Friday. Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday that the area around Pokrovsk was the 'hottest spot'along the 1,200-kilometre (745 miles) front line which runs across the east. Russian forces have been trying to capture Pokrovsk for almost a year, staging one grinding offensive after another. But despite having a clear advantage in terms of the number of troops and weapons available, Moscow has failed to take over the city. Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk his forces partially occupy. Kyiv and its allies accuse Russia's President Vladimir Putin of stalling on peace efforts so that his forces can seize more Ukrainian territory. Although not a major city, Pokrovsk sits on a key supply road and railroad that connect it with other military hubs in the area. Together with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, it forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that are still under Kyiv's control. Some 60,000 lived in Pokrovsk before the war, but the majority have left in the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine's last operating coking coal mine was in Pokrovsk and many of its employees were staying in the area to keep it going. Once it was forced to shut down early this year, they too began to leave. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, said late last year that Ukrainian defensive operations in Pokrovsk have forced Russia to abandon its original plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal assault. The ISW said this was because Ukrainian troops began using drones as integral part of their defensive strategy, successfully integrating drone operators with their ground forces. At the same time, Russia was unable to increase the number of troops in the area by much, because it was trying to contain the surprise incursion of Ukrainian troops into its own territory in the southern Kursk region. Syrskyi told reporters last week that at one point, the Kursk operation pulled back nearly 63,000 Russian troops and some 7,000 North Korean troops. 'This allowed us to weaken the enemy's pressure on the main fronts and regroup our troops. And the enemy's capture of Pokrovsk, announced back in September 2024, has not yet taken place, thanks in part to our Kursk operation,' he said. Instead of continuing to attacking the city directly, Russian troops then began encircling the city from south and northeast. The ISW said in its most recent assessment on Friday that Russian forces were continuing assaults with small fireteams of one to two soldiers, sometimes on motorcycles, in all-terrain vehicles and buggies. In a statement issued on Friday, Syrksky said Russia continued to try to break through to the administrative border of the Donetsk region. 'They want to do this not only to achieve some operational results, but primarily for demonstrative purposes. To achieve a psychological effect: to put the infamous 'foot of the Russian soldier' there, plant a flag and trumpet another pseudo-'victory',' he said.
