# The Latest: Iran fires more missiles at Israel after Israeli military continues strikes

By The Associated Press
June 14th, 2025, 04:48 AM

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Iran launched a second round of missiles against Israel late Saturday as Israel's military kept up attacks in Iran following earlier strikes that targeted nuclear and military sites. They also killed key leaders in the country's governing theocracy.

Israel said hundreds of airstrikes over the past two days killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program, in addition to several top generals. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.

The U.S. and Iran had been scheduled to hold their sixth round of indirect talks over Iran's nuclear program on Sunday in Oman, but Oman's foreign minister said that the meeting was canceled after Israel's strikes on Iran.

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Here's the latest:

## Trump says US 'had nothing to do' with attack on Iran

President Donald Trump said the U.S. had "nothing to do with the attack on Iran" and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.

"If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.

## First responders search for survivors after Tel Aviv missile strike

First responders were looking for survivors and clearing the remnants of a missile that fell on a neighborhood outside of Tel Aviv early Sunday morning.

An AP reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass.

Responders used a drone to look for survivors in areas that were too hard to access. Some people were fleeing the area with their belongings in suitcases.

## Israeli military says it targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters

The Israeli military said early Sunday it targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran.

Israel's military also said it targeted sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program around Tehran.

It alleged the sites were "related to the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons project."

U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon before Israel unleashed its campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran beginning Friday.

## Israel announces more missiles incoming from Iran

Israel's military says the latest missiles from Iran are incoming, and explosions are heard overhead in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Iran state television has announced the latest missile barrage.

The countries have been trading blows a day after Israel's blistering attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites.

## Drones launched toward base housing US forces in Iraq shot down

Three drones were launched toward a base housing U.S. forces in Iraq following Israel's strikes on Iran, a U.S. military official and a second U.S. official said Saturday.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The drones were shot down, the officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack on Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.

A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has remained mostly quiet amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. In the past, the militias had periodically attacked U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for Washington's support for Israel in its war against the Iran-allied Hamas militant group in Gaza.

Also Saturday, for the second day, supporters of armed factions in Iraq demonstrated in central Baghdad to denounce the Israeli bombing of Iran. The protesters did not attempt to breach the heavily fortified Green Zone where the U.S. Embassy is located.

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By Abby Sewell in Beirut and Lolita Baldor in Washington.

## Macron speaks by phone with Iranian president and calls for restraint

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday, Macron's office said.

Macron called "for the utmost restraint to avoid escalation," the statement said.

The French president urged his Iranian counterpart to return to the negotiation table quickly: "The Iranian nuclear issue … must be solved through negotiation."

Macron also demanded the immediate release of two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held hostage by the Iranian regime for over three years, Macron's office said.

Macron also spoke on the phone Saturday with U.S. President Donald Trump about the situation in the Middle-East

## Britain sending jets and other military assets to Middle East

Britain is sending Royal Air Force jets and other military reinforcements to the Middle East as the confrontation between Iran and Israel threatens to escalate.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region."

Fast jets and refueling aircraft are being deployed from British bases to the region.

Iran has threatened to attack U.S., French and British bases if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes.

Speaking as he flew to Canada for a summit of leading industrialized nations, Starmer said he had discussed efforts to de-escalate the situation with President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as other world leaders.

He said "intense discussions" would continue at the summit in the Canadian province of Alberta.

## An Iranian provincial governor says 30 troops and 1 rescuer were killed in Israeli strikes

A governor of a province in northwestern Iran said Saturday that 30 troops and one rescuer had been killed there in Israeli strikes, while 55 others had been wounded.

The remarks by Eastern Azerbaijan provincial Gov. Bahram Sarmast represent one of the first acknowledgments of mass casualties from the ongoing Israeli campaign, which began Friday.

The casualties figures come from strikes in Tabriz, the provincial capital, as well as towns in the province like Azarshahr, Bostanabad, Maragheh, Shabestar and Torkmanchai.

So far, Iranian authorities have not offered any overall death toll as the country's theocracy has been reeling from an assault that killed many of its top military commanders. The closet number has been 78 people killed and over 320 wounded, which came from Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.

Earlier Saturday, state TV said strikes Friday killed 60 people in one location in the capital, Tehran.

## China's foreign minister speaks with counterparts in Israel and Iran

China says Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with counterparts in Israel and Iran and warned that Israel's attack on nuclear facilities sets a "dangerous precedent."

A Foreign Ministry statement on Wang's call with Israel says that "China clearly opposes Israel's violation of international law by attacking Iran with force, especially when the international community is still seeking a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue."

Wang also said diplomacy for the issue of Iran's nuclear program has not been exhausted, and force cannot bring lasting peace.

A separate foreign ministry statement on the call with Iran says that "China clearly condemns Israel's violation of Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity" and supports Iran in defending it. The statement adds that "the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities set a dangerous precedent that could have disastrous consequences."

## Putin and Trump discussed Middle East tensions, Ukraine on phone call

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia's proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.

## Netanyahu thanks Trump for support in a birthday message

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a birthday message to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for his "clear support" and for helping to "protect Israeli lives" from Iran. He also repeated his concerns about Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and said that "our victory will be your victory."

Netanyahu added that "our pilots over the skies of Tehran will deal blows to the Ayatollah regime that they cannot even imagine."

## Erdogan expresses condolences to the Iranian president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday to condemn Israel's attacks on Iran and pass on his condolences to the Iranian people, Erdogan's office said.

"Our president stated that Israel's attacks are a clear violation of international law, aiming to draw the entire region into the fire, and that Netanyahu is attempting to sabotage the nuclear negotiation process with the attacks," the statement said.

"Turkey is closely following the developments regarding the possibility of a nuclear leak at the facility in Natanz and that the only solution to the nuclear dispute is diplomatic processes," it said.

## Leaders of Egypt and Turkey say Israel risks pushing Mideast into 'full-fledged chaos'

The leaders of Egypt and Turkey on Saturday warned that Israel's "escalatory approach" risks plunging the entire Middle East into a "full-fledged chaos."

A statement from the Egyptian presidency said President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed in a phone call that Israel's attacks on Iran could lead to "catastrophic repercussions" in the region.

They called for an immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the Omani-mediated nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

## Israeli drone strikes a refinery in Iran's South Pars gas field, semiofficial news agencies say

An Israeli drone struck a refinery in Iran's South Pars gas field Saturday, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.

If confirmed, it would mark the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel did not immediately acknowledge attacking the field, but such sites do have air defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting since Friday.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies both reported the strike, saying it happened in Phase 14 of the field. Iran shares the gas field, which stretches across the Persian Gulf, with Qatar.

## Oman says US-Iran talks over Tehran's nuclear program 'will not now take place'

Oman's foreign minister says planned talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program "will not now take place" after Israel's strikes targeting the Islamic Republic.

Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement on social media Saturday. It comes after Iran's foreign minister said any talks would be "unjustifiable" amid the ongoing attacks. Oman has been mediating the talks.

"The Iran-U.S. talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place," al-Busaidi wrote. "But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace."

A sixth round was due to happen in Muscat, Oman's capital, before the Israeli strikes began Friday.

## Russia offers to assist in de-escalating tensions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to help resolve issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program and to assist in de-escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the conversation, initiated by the Iranian side, followed a call Friday between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian. The ministry said Russia reiterated its condemnation of Israel's military actions against Iran, calling them a violation of the U.N. charter and international law.

## The Israeli military says its strikes on Tehran were deepest ever

Israeli warplanes hit more than 400 targets across Iran in the past 24 hours as part of Operation "Rising Lion," including dozens of missile sites and air defense systems in Tehran, the military said.

Separately, it said over 20 senior Iranian commanders were eliminated, including top intelligence and missile officials.

Israeli army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the road to Tehran was now "open," calling the strikes the deepest ever carried out by the Israeli Air Force.

## Britain's prime minister and Saudi crown prince call for a de-escalation

Keir Starmer and Mohammed bin Salman spoke on Saturday about the "gravely concerning situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate,'' Downing Street Office said in a statement.

The United Kingdom is "poised to work closely with its allies in the coming days to support a diplomatic resolution," it said.

## Egypt pushes back the opening of its new museum, blames Israel-Iran conflict

The Grand Egyptian Museum will open later this year because of the Israeli-Iranian escalation, authorities said Saturday. The megaproject near the famed Giza Pyramids was sent to open on July 3.

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said the opening was moved to the fourth quarter of 2025, without giving a date and citing ongoing regional developments.

The museum has been under construction for about two decades. Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours. However its overall opening has been repeatedly delayed, including because of the coronavirus pandemic.

## Iran's Natanz nuclear facility suffered huge damage, satellite images show

The images show multiple buildings either damaged or destroyed, including structures experts say supply power to the facility. The images were shot on Saturday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press.

Natanz's enrichment plant — where Iran enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — was also destroyed.

All the Natanz facilities damaged in Israeli strikes are above ground and it doesn't appear from the images that belowground enrichment halls had any apparent damage, though they likely are without electricity.

## No nuclear talks with US this weekend, signals Iran's foreign minister

Abbas Araghchi says nuclear talks with the United States would be "unjustifiable" after Israeli strikes on his country — an indication there would be no negotiations this weekend. The U.S. and Iran teams were to hold talks in Oman on Sunday.

Araghchi spoke in a phone call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat.

Israeli airstrikes were the "result of the direct support by Washington," he alleged, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. has said it is not part of the strikes.

The "continuation of the indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. is unjustifiable in a situation where the wildness by the Zionist regime continues," he added.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House.

## Egypt's top diplomat says Israeli strikes on Iran can push the region into 'chaos'

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty denounced Israel's strikes on Iran as a "serious escalation" that could push the region to "a state of instability and chaos."

Abdelatty's comments came in phone calls with his Italian and Spanish counterparts, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

## Iranian media report more Israeli strikes

Footage shared by an affiliate of Iran's state TV showed a fire after an Israeli strike at Zagros Khodro, a former car manufacturing plant in Borujerd.

The state-run IRNA news agency also reported an Israeli strike on Saturday around Abadan in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province. Other strikes appeared to be happening in Kermanshah near a military barracks.

## Israel gives first report of wounded soldiers

The Israeli military says seven soldiers were lightly wounded on Friday night in an Iranian missile strike in central Israel.

It says they were briefly hospitalized and sent home. This is the first report of military casualties in the operation. It gave no further details on where the soldiers were located.

## Iran's supreme leader names new head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Gen. Majid Mousavi, to replace Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.

The Guard's aerospace division oversees Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles.

## Israel's main international airport will stay closed

The airport authority says the it will stay closed until further notice. Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv has been closed to traffic since Israel attacked Iran's military and nuclear facilities on Friday morning and Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes at Israel.

The announcement came as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria said they were reopening their airspaces on Saturday after closing them.

## Satellite images confirm damage to Iran's ballistic missile arsenal

Satellite images analyzed Saturday by The Associated Press began to confirm some of the damage sustained by Iran's ballistic missile arsenal by the Israeli assault on the country.

Images from Planet Labs PBC taken Friday showed damage at two missile bases, one in Kermanshah and one in Tabriz, both in western Iran.

At Kermanshah, where the base is up against a mountainside, burns could be seen across a wide area after the attack. In Tabriz, images showed damage at multiple sites on the base.

Iran has not acknowledged the damage, though it reported on Israeli strikes in the area.

## Top Sunni university condemns Israel's attack on Iran

Al-Azhar al-Sharif, the Sunni world's foremost institution of religious learning, has condemned Israel's attack on Iran, describing Israel as a "rogue entity."

"The arrogance displayed by the Israeli occupation reflects the darkest form of occupation in modern history," the Cairo-based university said in a statement early Saturday.

It called on the international community to take "urgent actions to halt the repeated violations committed by this rogue entity."

Iran is a powerhouse of Shiite Muslims in the region and often at odds with Sunni nations.

## Israeli military says it hit dozens of targets in Iran overnight

The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, in the area of Iran's capital, Tehran.

Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the Israeli air force commander, said the strikes carried "operational and national significance."

## Israel pauses natural gas supplies to Egypt, authorities in Cairo say

Israel has paused natural gas supplies to Egypt amid its conflict with Iran, authorities in Cairo said.

The move has forced the Egyptian government to stop supplying gas to some industries, according to a Friday statement from the Ministry of Petroleum.

Some power plants that use natural gas in their operations have also reported fuel oil shortages amid peak summer demand, it said.

Egypt faces a deepening domestic gas shortfall, with a more than 7% shortage in its daily gas needs to operate its power grid.

## Iran's Foreign Ministry calls nuclear talks with US 'meaningless' after Israeli strikes

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday called further nuclear talks with the United States "meaningless" after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said.

The comments by Esmail Baghaei further threw possible talks between the two nations, initially scheduled to take place Sunday in Oman, into doubt.

"The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless," Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel has passed all Iran's red lines by committing a "criminal act" through its strikes.

However, he stopped short of saying the talks were canceled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: "It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday talks."

## Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft

Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft on Saturday morning, its state-run media reported, signaling the Mideast kingdom believes there is no immediate danger of further attacks.

Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the skies would reopen at 7:30 a.m. local time.

Jordan's airspace had seen Iranian drones and missiles cross through it, with Israeli fighter jets likely engaging targets there.

The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Mideast, a key global aviation route.

## Woman dies in missile strike in Tel Aviv, hospital says

A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital in Tel Aviv said a woman was killed in an Iranian missile strike, bringing the total number of fatalities in the barrages from Iran to three.

The hospital also treated seven people who were wounded in the strike early Saturday. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said a projectile hit a building in the city.

## Israel's paramedic service says 2 people killed when missile hit central Israel

Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom says an Iranian missile struck near homes in central Israel early Saturday morning, killing two people and injuring 19 others. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged.

## U.N. chief calls for escalation to stop, saying 'peace and diplomacy must prevail'

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy.

"Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," Guterres wrote on X on Saturday.

## Iran fires a second wave of missiles at Israel

Sirens and the boom of explosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard in the sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Saturday.

AP journalists in Tel Aviv could see what appeared to be at least two Iranian missiles hit the ground, but there was no immediate word of casualties.

The Israeli military said another long-range Iranian missile attack was taking place and urged civilians, already rattled by the first wave of projectiles, to head to shelter. Around three dozen people were wounded by that first wave.

The Iranian outlet Nour News, which has close links with the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said a fresh wave was being launched.


Court rejects Trump’s appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case

# Court rejects Trump's appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case

By Michael R. Sisak
June 13th, 2025, 11:24 PM

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NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court won't reconsider its ruling upholding a $5 million civil judgment against President Donald Trump in a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a writer in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

In an 8-2 vote Friday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's petition for the full appellate court to rehear arguments in his challenge to the jury's finding that he sexually abused advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and defamed her with comments he made in October 2022.

Carroll testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack after they playfully entered the store's dressing room.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the verdict in December, rejecting Trump's claims that trial Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's decisions spoiled the trial, including allowing two other Trump sexual abuse accusers to testify.

The women said Trump committed similar acts against them in the 1970s and in 2005. Trump denied all three women's allegations.

In an opinion Friday, four judges voting to reject rehearing wrote: "Simply re-litigating a case is not an appropriate use" of the process.

"In those rare instances in which a case warrants our collective consideration, it is almost always because it involves a question of exceptional importance," or a conflict between precedent and the appellate panel's opinion, Judges Myrna Pérez, Eunice C. Lee, Beth Robinson and Sarah A.L. Merriam wrote.

All four were appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump's one-time Democratic rival.

The two dissenting judges, Trump appointees, Steven J. Menashi and Michael H. Park, wrote that the trial "consisted of a series of indefensible evidentiary rulings."

"The result was a jury verdict based on impermissible character evidence and few reliable facts," they wrote. "No one can have any confidence that the jury would have returned the same verdict if the normal rules of evidence had been applied."

Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement: "E. Jean Carroll is very pleased with today's decision."

"Although President Trump continues to try every possible maneuver to challenge the findings of two separate juries, those efforts have failed. He remains liable for sexual assault and defamation," said Kaplan, who is not related to the judge.

Trump skipped the trial after repeatedly denying the attack ever happened. He briefly testified at a follow-up defamation trial last year that resulted in an $83.3 million award. The second trial resulted from comments then-President Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first made the accusations publicly in a memoir.

Kaplan presided over both trials and instructed the second jury to accept the first jury's finding that Trump had sexually abused Carroll.

Arguments in that appeal are set for June 24.


# UK to hold national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse

By Jill Lawless
June 14th, 2025, 05:25 PM

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LONDON (AP) — The British government announced Saturday it will hold a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, something it has long been pressured to do by opposition politicians — and Elon Musk.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would accept a recommendation from an independent reviewer for a judge-led inquiry with the power to summon witnesses.

Starmer said he would "look again" and hold a probe into what the press have dubbed "grooming gangs" of men who prey on often young and vulnerable women.

In some of the most high-profile cases to come to trial, the perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage, and the issue has been taken up by right-of-center politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and stoked by Musk, who took to his X platform to condemn Starmer over the issue.

Musk criticized Starmer for not backing a national inquiry into the matter following a request from the local authority in the northern English town of Oldham, where police found girls under 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s. Musk also alleged that Starmer failed to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, a charge that the prime minister vigorously denied.

Because the cases in Oldham and similar ones in several other towns involved predominantly white girls abused by men largely from Pakistani backgrounds, the issue has been used to link child sexual abuse to immigration, and to accuse politicians of covering up the crimes out of a fear of appearing racist.

A 2022 report into what happened in the northwest England town of Oldham between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but that there was no cover-up despite "legitimate concerns" that the far-right would capitalize on "the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country."

In January the government said it would support several local inquiries into child exploitation in cities where gangs of men were prosecuted. It had previously said there was no need for further investigations following a string of previous inquiries, both local and national.

A seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, but many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented.

Starmer's government also asked Louise Casey, an expert on victim's rights and social welfare, to review previous findings. Her review has been submitted to the government but has not yet been published.

"I have never said we should not look again at any issue," Starmer said as he flew to Canada for a Group of Seven summit. "I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit.

"Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.

"I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation."

The main opposition Conservative Party offered a swift response.

"Those in authority deliberately covered up the systematic rape of thousands of girls as young as 10 because the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. They thought race relations were more important than protecting young girls,'' Conservative law and order spokesman Chris Philp said. "The truth must now come out and people in positions of authority responsible for the cover up held to account.''


Heavy rains flood Congo’s capital, killing at least 19 people

# Heavy rains flood Congo's capital, killing at least 19 people

By Jean-Yves Kamale
June 14th, 2025, 01:49 PM

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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Major flooding hit several neighborhoods in Congo's capital Kinshasa, killing at least 19 people and causing severe damage, authorities said Saturday.

Heavy rains Friday through Saturday triggered floods and landslides in Kinshasa's western neighborhood of Ngaliema, killing at least 17 people, the local mayor, Fulgence Bolokome, told the radio station Top Congo. Two avenues in the city were also cut off, he added.

Two other people died when the deluge toppled a wall in the southern neighborhood of Lemba, Mayor Jean-Serge Poba said. A police camp and a bridge were damaged.

"It was around 3 a.m. when we heard a loud noise. When we went outside, the neighbors' wall had collapsed. The man and his wife both died, leaving behind five children who made it out unharmed," resident Clovis Kalenga told The Associated Press.

In April, floods in Kinshasa killed at least 22 people and cut off access to over half the city and the country's main airport.


# Trump clears path for Nippon Steel investment in US Steel

By Josh Boak and Marc Levy
June 13th, 2025, 11:55 PM

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a "national security agreement" submitted by the federal government.

Trump's order didn't detail the terms of the national security agreement.

But the iconic American steelmaker and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement that the agreement stipulates that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028 and includes giving the U.S. government a " golden share " — essentially veto power to ensure the country's national security interests are protected against cutbacks in steel production.

"We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for our historic partnership," the two companies said. "This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come. We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again."

The companies have completed a U.S. Department of Justice review and received all necessary regulatory approvals, the statement said.

"The partnership is expected to be finalized promptly," the statement said.

U.S. Steel rose $2.66, or 5%, to $54.85 in afterhours trading Friday. Nippon Steel's original bid to buy the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in late 2023 had been valued at $55 per share.

The companies offered few details on how the golden share would work, what other provisions are in the national security agreement and how specifically the $11 billion would be spent.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said the order "ensures U.S. Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security."

James Brower, a Morrison Foerster lawyer who represents clients in national security-related matters, said such agreements with the government typically are not disclosed to the public, particularly by the government.

They can become public, but it's almost always disclosed by a party in the transaction, such as a company — like U.S. Steel — that is publicly held, Brower said.

The mechanics of how a golden share would work will depend on the national security agreement, but in such agreements it isn't unusual to give the government approval rights over specific activities, Brower said.

U.S. Steel made no filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

Nippon Steel originally offered nearly $15 billion to purchase U.S. Steel in an acquisition that had been delayed on national security concerns starting during Joe Biden's presidency.

As it sought to win over American officials, Nippon Steel gradually increased the amount of money it was pledging to invest into U.S. Steel. American officials now value the transaction at $28 billion, including the purchase bid and a new electric arc furnace — a more modern steel mill that melts down scrap — that they say Nippon Steel will build in the U.S. after 2028.

Nippon Steel had pledged to maintain U.S. Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh, put U.S. Steel under a board with a majority of American citizens and keep plants operating.

It also said it would protect the interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters and it wouldn't import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel's blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana.

Trump opposed the purchase while campaigning for the White House, and using his authority Biden blocked the transaction on his way out of the White House. But Trump expressed openness to working out an arrangement once he returned to the White House in January.

Trump said Thursday that he would as president have "total control" of what U.S. Steel did as part of the investment.

Trump said then that the deal would preserve "51% ownership by Americans," although Nippon Steel has never backed off its stated intention of buying and controlling U.S. Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary.

"We have a golden share, which I control," Trump said.

Trump added that he was "a little concerned" about what presidents other than him would do with their golden share, "but that gives you total control."

The proposed merger had been under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, during the Trump and Biden administrations.

The order signed Friday by Trump said the CFIUS review provided "credible evidence" that Nippon Steel "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," but such risks might be "adequately mitigated" by approving the proposed national security agreement.

The order doesn't detail the perceived national security risk and only provides a timeline for the national security agreement. The White House declined to provide details on the terms of the agreement.

The order said the draft agreement was submitted to U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel on Friday. The two companies must successfully execute the agreement as decided by the Treasury Department and other federal agencies that are part CFIUS by the closing date of the transaction.

Trump reserves the authority to issue further actions regarding the investment as part of the order he signed on Friday.