Israel’s military said it has identified 10 additional targets to destroy in Jenin before pulling out of a

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss earned £80,000 ($101,600) in four hours this year during a visit to

Vladimir Putin claimed that Russians were more united than ever after responding to the short-lived but dramatic mutiny by his private mercenary Wagner group and its march on Moscow. The Russian president was speaking alongside Asian leaders such as his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday. He was delivering his first remarks outside of Moscow acknowledging June’s aborted coup – the biggest challenge to the Russian leader’s rule in decades. “The Russian people are consolidated as never before,” he said "Russian political circles and the whole of society clearly demonstrated their unity and elevated sense of responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland when they responded as a united front against an attempted armed mutiny,” Mr Putin said in his remarks to his allies. The speech on a united front to Russia’s key allies by Mr Putin comes as he looks to assure the leaders about his challenged authority on the world stage while Russian forces continue to carry out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine for nearly 500 days. Hundreds of Wagner fighters led by Mr Putin’s affiliate and the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin marched on Moscow after taking control of a southern city on 24 June, threatening to overthrow the defence ministry. After a failed rebellion, Mr Putin accused the Wagner group of a “stab in the back” and said Russia was “facing treason”. He also thanked his army and security services for averting chaos and civil war. On Tuesday, 10 days after the Wagner’s insurgency, Mr Putin shifted his focus to the invasion of Ukraine in his public remarks at the virtual summit helmed by New Delhi and tried to project confidence. He said Russia will stand up against the West’s sanctions and “provocations”. Moscow and the country’s oligarchs are reeling under hundreds of financial sanctions imposed by the international community for launching a war on Ukraine. Thanking the SCO nations for backing the Russian authorities during the rebellion, he said that the West turned Ukraine into “a virtually hostile state – anti-Russia”. Mr Putin said Moscow was looking to boost ties with the SCO member nations, and backed the transition to settlements in local currencies in foreign trade. The Russian president, who launched a “special military operation” on Ukraine in February last year, added that the world was seeing an increasing potential for conflicts, and that the risk of a global economic crisis was on the rise. Experts have said the summit gave Mr Putin a rare window to demonstrate control over rumblings in Moscow. “Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is very much still in charge, and leave no doubt that the challenges to his government have been crushed,” said Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The summit of the security-led group saw the top leaders of its member states China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in attendance as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi commenced the gathering virtually. Mr Modi, who wrapped up his state visit to the US two weeks earlier with pomp and fervour after meeting Joe Biden, did not mention the war in Ukraine in his opening remarks. While he warned of global challenges to food, fuel and fertiliser supplies, Mr Modi did not blame Moscow’s continuing invasion and halt on grain deal which has shot up the prices across the world. International trade, especially for Russia’s allies, suffered a major setback but all SCO members avoided directly mentioning the war. Mr Modi instead kept his focus on indirectly targeting Pakistan for terrorism, asking the SCO members to not hesitate while criticising the nations “using terrorism as an instrument of its state policy”. India has largely protested any support to Pakistan, accusing its neighbour of breeding terrorism and armed insurgent groups for decades. “Terrorism poses a threat to regional peace and we need to take up a joint fight,” Mr Modi said without naming Pakistan. He was joined by Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif in condemnation of terrorism, who defended his nation’s fight against it. “While the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fighting terrorism are without parallel, this scourge continues to plague our region and remains a serious obstacle to the maintenance of peace and stability,” Mr Sharif said. “Any temptation to use it as a cudgel for diplomatic point scoring must be eschewed,” Mr Sharif said. The Asian security grouping founded by Russia and China in 2001 to counter Western alliances also welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. Belarus has also queued up at the summit for membership. Read More Russia-Ukraine war– live: Putin claims Russia ‘united’ days after mutiny pushes country to brink of civil war Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Russia ‘arrests General Armageddon’ over knowledge of Wagner mutiny Putin admits Moscow paid Wagner mercenaries £800m in wages in a year – and that his forces ‘stopped civil war’ A week after an armed rebellion rattled Russia, key details about it are still shrouded in mystery

Russian troops are continuing to suffer from “key weaknesses” amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said Kremlin forces were particularly affected by “overstretched units” and a shortage of artillery munitions. Earlier, Russia said at least five drones headed for Moscow were intercepted in the skies over the capital region this morning. Russia’s defence ministry claimed Russian air defences destroyed four of the drones, and the fifth was intercepted and fell. Kyiv has not yet confirmed or denied the reports. Officials at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport diverted several flights and the schedules for both take-offs and landings were restricted, according to Russian news agencies. No reason was provided for the re-routings and there was no immediate confirmation that this was linked to the reports of drone activity. The drones were shot down near the village of Valuevo, located 30 kilometres (19 miles) southwest of the Kremlin. No immediate casualties or damage have been reported. Read More Russian tank explodes after driving over mine in Bakhmut Russians and Belarusians back at Wimbledon as war in Ukraine continues Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam How significant are the reported territorial advances made by Ukrainian forces so far?

Police in Atlanta said multiple department motorcycles were set on fire at a training facility early on Saturday. The fire comes amid a high-profile battle over another planned police training facility in a forest on the outskirts of the Georgia city that environmental and racial justice activists have dubbed “Cop City”, though the fire set on Saturday was at a different police training site. The fire was first reported by WANF-TV. Investigators have not yet identified any suspect or motive in the case. They do, however, believe the fire was set intentionally. Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department firefighters who responded to the scene of the fire around 2.20am on Saturday morning found “incendiary devices” used to start the flames. According to an Atlanta Police statement provided to the Associated Press, the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. Governor Brian Kemp, a strong supporter of the “Cop City” project, said in a statement that the fire was “outrageous”. “Those are the tactics of organized criminals, not protesters, and their supporters should ask themselves if they truly want to be associated with such radical and violent people,” Mr Kemp said. “Working with state, local, and federal law enforcement partners, we will find these criminals and bring them to justice.” Mr Kemp did not specify which “protesters” he was referring to, nor did he provide any context for linking protesters to the fire before any arrests in the case have been made. Tensions in Atlanta continue to run high over the construction of the training centre, which is expected to cost $90m and is being financed in part by the city. Opponents of the project argue that it will have disastrous environmental effects and lead to more militarised, racist policing in what is already the most-surveilled city in the country. The movement against the construction of the facility has grown following the law enforcement killing of activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán at the site in January. Police said they fired on Terán in self-defence, though other protesters have rejected that claim. The investigation into that shooting also remains open. Read More Atlanta police training center opponents sue over delays in approving referendum Atlanta clerk sued for denying 'Stop Cop City' petition lets effort move forward

The British tourist who attracted outrage in Rome after being accused of carving his name into the Colosseum walls with a key is facing up to five years in prison and a €15,000 (£12,850) fine. The man – identified as Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness instructor and delivery driver resident in Bristol but originally from Bulgaria – was visiting Italy’s Eternal City with his girlfriend Hayley Bracey when he was filmed scratching “Ivan + Hayley 23” into the ancient stone walls of the 2,000-year-old amphitheatre. The venue, a protected Unesco World Heritage site, was constructed during the reigns of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in the first century AD. It attracted the Roman public to see spectacular gladiatorial bouts, historical reenactments and parades of exotic wild animals imported from Africa and the Middle East, including elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, lions, leopards, panthers and ostriches. The act of vandalism was caught on camera by another visitor, Californian Ryan Lutz, who was incensed by the incident and asked “Are you serious, man?”. He then uploaded the footage to YouTube under the title “A****** tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome”, where it promptly went viral. The Italian Carabinieri responded to the video and quickly identified Mr Dimitrov as their suspect, with Major Roberto Martina telling the media he had expressed “sincere remorse” for his actions when confronted. “He told us he was very upset by what he had done, and he kept apologising for it,” Major Martina told Mail Online. “I think he was worried about the consequences of any trial and we explained that he could be jailed for between two and five years and be fined up to €15,000,” he said. The major went on to say he believed the case would be reasonably straightforward to prosecute because of the video evidence. “He had contacted us after we secured his mobile telephone from hotel records and left a message for him to call us,” Major Martina said of the Carabineri’s investigation. “He was naturally worried about the legal implications, and these were all explained to him. “We didn’t ask him why he did it, that will be for a judge to hear, we just told him that he was a suspect and was part of the investigation.” The officer added that Ms Bracey “is not part of any complaint so is an innocent party as far as we are concerned”, adding: “Although technically, she could be seen as an accessory.” Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano thanked the police for identifying the suspect of the “uncivilised and absurd act committed at the Colosseum”. “It was an act that offended those around the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history,” he said. “Now I hope justice will take its course by rigorously applying the laws.” This is not the first such incident at the Colosseum. A Russian tourist was given a suspended four-year jail sentence and fined €20,000 (£17,000) in 2014 for engraving a “K” on its walls. The following year, two American tourists were also cited for aggravated damage after they likewise carved their names into its stones. Read More British tourist who carved name into Colosseum begs for forgiveness Tourist accused of vandalising Colosseum in Rome could face trial and up to five years in prison Tourist who carved name into Rome’s Colosseum ‘is British fitness trainer’ What happened to the tourist accused of carving his name into Rome’s Colosseum? Tourist who carved name into Colosseum begs for forgiveness Tourist who carved name into Rome’s Colosseum ‘is British fitness trainer’

At least four were killed after a mass shootout on Monday evening in Philadelphia, according to reports. There were “multiple gunshot victims”, the Philadelphia Police Department said but didn’t reveal the identities or any further details about the victims. Reports said that at least eight people were shot. Six victims were taken to the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, according to local reports. There was no information available regarding the condition of the injured. The shooting took place on the 5700 block of Warrington Avenue in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighbourhood at around 8.30pm local time, police said. The Philadephia Inquirer reported that the bodies of four victims were found at several locations. Police spokesperson Miguel Torres said in a statement to CNN that officers have taken a suspect into custody and recovered a rifle, a handgun, and additional magazines of ammunition from him in the alleyway behind the 1600 block of South Frazier Street. At least two juveniles were among those shot, according to local reports. According to Gun Violence Archive, at least 339 mass shootings – with four or more killed or injured – have occurred in the US so far this year. “Horrified by the reports of a shooting in Southwest Philadelphia,” Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney tweeted. “My heart is with the loved ones and families of everyone involved, and I send my prayers to the victims. This devastating violence must stop,” he added. Meanwhile, police said that officers did not discharge their firearms during the arrest.

Federal prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to charge Donald Trump and his associates with crimes related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and recently interviewd teh former president’s top attorney for that project as their investigation winds down. Rudy Giuliani spoke to investigators in a voluntary interview in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, and is likely to be among the DoJ’s eventual targets for a criminal indictment if the agency goes forward with a case. According to the Journal, Mr Giuliani spoke among other things about a chaotic December 2020 meeting between the so-called “war room” established at Mr Trump’s now-shuttered DC hotel and the White House legal team, which was revealed throughout the January 6 committee’s investigation to have been firmly opposed from the beginning to the various theories regarding how Mike Pence or others could interfere in the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. The Journal reports that meeting devolved into a “shouting match” as conspiracy monger Sidney Powell and others presented their case — prompting Mr Trump to ask Mr Giuliani, another devotee of those conspiracies, to mediate the discussion. Mr Giuliani’s interview with the DoJ, previously reported by The Independent, was described as a so-called “queen for a day” interview in which a subject of an active investigation can testify to prosecutors about the case and generally receive immunity for whatever criminal acts are described in the session — assuming they are truthful. The former New York City mayor was reported by The Independent last week to be among those that DoJ investigators are considering for potential criminal charges as the agency weighs a decision on whether to file a superceding indictment charging the former president with dozens of crimes related to the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. A source familiar with the situation told The Independent last week that Mr Smith’s office will “most definitely” bring at least a handful of charges against Mr Giuliani for his service on Mr Trump’s legal team in the weeks following the November 2020 election and leading up to the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol. In addition to possible criminal charges, Mr Giuliani previously saw his law license suspended in both Washington DC and New York for false statements he made regarding the 2020 election. Other Trump attorneys like John Eastman have faced similar consequences. The ex-president and his legal team also remain under a separate criminal investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, over their efforts to overturn the lawful election results in that state; a grand jury investigation as part of that case recently concluded and a decision on whether charges will be filed is expected over the summer. Andrew Feinberg contributed to this report Read More What's 'Bidenomics'? The president hopes a dubious nation embraces his ideas condensed into the term Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video with ‘oiled-up bodybuilders’ Melania Trump hawks $50 NFTs to ‘celebrate our great nation’ ahead of July 4 Mike Pence and Liz Truss among VIPs who speak at Iranian dissident rally despite pressure from Tehran Trump’s own words about an indicted president come back to haunt him Ex-Trump spokesperson claims she saw him show off documents on Mar-a-Lago dining patio

A new immigration law passed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, described by observers as one of the harshest in the country, has caused a massive decline in the Sunshine State’s labour force since it took effect, according to some business owners. The Republican leader and 2024 presidential campaign’s signature immigration law, which took effect 1 July, makes it a third-degree felony for unauthorised immigrants to knowingly use false ID’s for employment, and business that knowingly employ unauthorised immigrants or who avoid using the E-Verify system can lose their licenses or face up to $1000 in fines. The law also requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to check for immigration status, and invalidates drivers licenses issued to unauthorised immigrants from other states. In Miami’s booming construction industry, some companies are reporpting up to a 25 per cent decline in workers, The Wall Street Joural reports. “We’ve seen some fallout on job sites, particularly as it relates to hourly labor as a result of this new law,” Tom C Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction, a company with more than 30 active projects across the state, told the paper. There at least 400,000 undocumented immigrants working in the state, according to Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the American Business Immigration Coalition’s Florida director. “We are in dire need of workers,” he told the Associated Press last month. “So there is a lot of fear from across the state ... that this new law will actually be devastating.” Migrant groups protested the new law in June, while the governor’s office told the AP in a statement, “Any business that exploits this crisis by employing illegal aliens instead of Floridians will be held accountable.” Mr DeSantis, despite governing a state known for its vibrant immigrant populations from Latin America, has positioned himself as a hard-line anti-immigrant crusader as he runs for president. In late June, he visited the US-Mexico border, where he blamed security issues on the Biden administration and proposed a return to most of Donald Trump’s most controversial immigration policies. That includes detaining migrant families with children beyond the customary 20 days, finishing the US-Mexico border wall, and ending the long-standing practice of releasing migrants into the US ahead of their court dates on potential immigration charges, which are usually civil violations rather than criminal ones more typically associated with prison. Read More Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video with ‘oiled-up bodybuilders’ 'Parental rights' group Moms for Liberty plans nationwide strategy for school board races in 2024 Florida's new DeSantis-backed laws address immigration, guns and more Giuliani grilled by prosecutors about ‘shouting match’ in fight to overturn election Former sheriff who nabbed 'Green River Killer' to run for Washington governor Senegalese President Macky Sall says he won't seek a third term in 2024 elections after protests

A 27-year-old Indian woman has started a petition to put an end to the social evil of dowry.

Thousands of Iranian dissidents crowded the streets of a Paris neighbourhood on Saturday while western opponents of the government in Tehran gathered for a politically star-studded event aimed at poking a finger in the eye of the Ayatollah’s supporters. Despite warnings from French authorities and the US Embassy in Paris that alleged threats of a terror attack made a large outdoor event unwise, there were no incidents over the weekend as Iranian dissident activists mingled with prominent current and former officials from the US, UK and other European nations. If that threat of a terror attack was real, it was hard to spot the concern of French authorities on Saturday, given that police did not provide more than a handful of officers to patrol the area, those on the scene told The Independent. Dissidents with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) have long held a chequered relationship with the west, in addition to their long campaign against the Iranian government. This year is no exception to that dynamic. Formerly classified as a terrorist group by the US, the MEK now resides in Albania, where just weeks ago a massive police raid was blamed for the death of a senior MEK member while others sustained serious injuries — all, the MEK alleged, at the behest of Iran’s government. The same day, French authorities moved to cancel Saturday’s rally. Varying explanations for the raid were presented in the hours following, but over the weekend a top Iranian official tweeted that computers seized from the MEK by Albanian police had been transferred to Iranian custody, a development first reported on Monday in Iranian state media. A senior NCRI official fumed about the news in a statement to The Independent, demanding that the US State Department take a position on Albania’s collaboration with Iran’s intelligence agencies; the Biden administration had previously reacted to the raid by calling it a police action while carefully avoiding any suggestion of Iranian involvement. The Independent has reached out to the State Department for comment on the news of the computers being transferred to Iranian custody. The agency had previously issued a brief statement in the wake of the raid depicting it as a typical law enforcement action and noting that the Biden administration doesn’t view the MEK as a viable political alternative to the regime in Tehran. NCRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi also had sharp words for the State Department specifically in her address on Sunday. “As for the advocates of appeasement within the US State Department, who concurrently backed the tragedy in [Albania], it is enough to note that the mullahs waved their turbans and lavished them with commendations,” she insisted. Ms Rajavi also questioned: “Why do [Ayatollah Ali] Khameni and [Iranian President Ebrahim] Raisi demonstrate such fear over a gathering taking place 5,000 kilometres away from Tehran?” Seemingly growing efforts by Tehran to punish the MEK and the Biden State Department’s rejection of the group as a viable alternative-in-waiting to the Iranian regime made Saturday and Sunday’s events all the more of a coup for the NCRI and MEK; with increasing support from prominent members of the DC and London foreign policy establishments, the position of the current administration is looking all the more tenuous. That fact was hammered home by the virtual address of Sunday’s convention by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, characterised by The Independent’s sources as maintaining one of, if not the, friendliest relationship between the State Department and MEK during his tenure. Other VIPs at Sunday’s event were equally impressive gets for the dissident group, especially given the State Department’s coldness: former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who appeared remotely, 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pence, former Sen Joseph Lieberman, ex-House of Commons speaker John Bercow, Trump national security adviser John Bolton and a dozen sitting members of the US Congress from both parties. Members who have attended the NCRI’s events in Washington typically skew conservative or towards the hawkish wing of foreign policy thought in the US government. Mr Pence used his remarks to lash out at Joe Biden’s White House for supposedly “working overtime” to restore the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015 under the Obama administration (and later abandoned by Donald Trump). “Now, a new administration is threatening to unravel all of the progress we made in marginalising the tyrannical regime in Tehran,” Mr Pence claimed. “They are working overtime to restore the Iran Nuclear Deal, putting Tehran back on the fast track to obtaining nuclear weapons.” He also claimed that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in a year if sanctions were rolled back and the 2015 deal snapped back into place. Ms Truss, meanwhile, appeared to take aim at the west for “appeasement” of the Iranian regime — remarks that were timely in the wake of the Albanian police action and accusations of similar betrayals by the French. “There’s been too much appeasement. There’s been too much wishful thinking, there’s been too much hope that things would change when it was evident that things were not going to change and have not changed,” she said. Then speaking of Iran along with Russia and other authoritarian governments, she argued: “We need to be clear…we won’t treat these countries as part of the normal international system.” While Saturday’s rally went off without incident, the NCRI is no stranger to facing the threat of more serious revenge plots carried out by agents of Iran’s government. The rally and convention attended by Mr Pence and others was targeted in 2018 in a terror plot that was uncovered and halted by authorities, who arrested an Iranian diplomat and five others accused of planning a bombing. The diplomat, Assadolah Assadi, was sentenced in Belgium to 20 years in prison and the French government blamed Iran’s intelligence ministries for being behind the plans. The Iranian foreign ministry publicly condemned France over the weekend for allowing the rally to go forward, after a court battle resulted in a victory for the dissidents over authorities who had hoped to call it off. Read More A year of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians just escalated. Is this an uprising? Putin to meet Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi in first virtual summit since Wagner mutiny Sir Salman Rushdie and Prima Facie among winners of South Bank Sky Arts Awards From Starbucks to Walmart: What stores are open on July 4? Record number of 40-year-olds in the US have never been married, study reveals Canadian wildfire smoke smothers Detroit as air quality alerts issued

Over the weekend, Elon Musk appeared in a Twitter post to endorse the idea of taking the right to vote away from people without children. The billionaire Tesla co-founder replied “Yup,” to a series of posts from Twitter user @fentasyl, which argued “democracy is probably unworkable long term without limiting suffrage to parents.” The exchange came as Mr Musk continued his recent run of interacting with right-wing figures on the social network. The posts from fentasyl themselves were a response to a previous post from Mr Musk. On Saturday, in the comments under an Islamophobic nonprofit’s video, where commenters insinuated that single white women were turning France into a majority-Muslim country, Mr Musk claimed, “The childless have little stake in the future.” The Independent has contacted Mr Musk for comment. These opinions are hardly surprising for Mr Musk, who has long expressed concerns about declining birth rates in the US and the lack of “smart” people having enough children, views which critics have argued are verging on eugenicist. In 2022, Musk, who has fathered nine children, wrote on Twitter that, “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far. Earlier this year, he elaborated, telling former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that society hasn’t “evolved” to respond to abortions and contraception, which the billionaire incorrectly claimed were invented in the last 50 years. “I’m sort of worried that hey, civilisation, if we don’t make enough people to at least sustain our numbers, perhaps increase a little bit, then civilisation’s going to crumble,” Musk said. “The old question of, will civilisation end with a bang or a whimper?” (In fact, the world population has doubled in the last 50 years to more than 8 billion, according to the UN, though the birth rate has slowed in some places.) Observer argue that such so-called “natalist” views are often entangled with eugenicist ideas about intentionally manipulating future births to privilege and center certain groups of people. Mr Musk has previously lamented that “smart” people aren’t having enough children. “If each successive generation of smart people has fewer kids, that’s probably bad,” he once told a biographer. The tech billionaire has touted a prototype robot as a solution to a hypothetical world where declining numbers of workers are available to toil in Tesla factories. For someone concerned with human civilization’s long-term longevity, Mr Musk lives a fabulously carbon intensive life. The carbon footprint from his 2022 private jet flights alone was 132 times greater than the average US resident’s total footprint, a doubly astounding figure given people in the US consume far more resources than less wealthy nations. Read More Twitter rival Bluesky halts sign-ups after huge surge in demand following Musk’s rate limits Tweetdeck down: Major Twitter client not working amid chaos on site Thousands of Twitter users complain of issues with social media website and app Twitter users run into service issues after Elon Musk imposes daily limits on reading tweets Threatened by shortages, electric car makers race for supplies of lithium for batteries