*) EU: Iran nuclear deal talks closer to saving 2015 deal

The European Union has said that negotiators are closer to saving the Iran nuclear deal but sticking points remain.

The announcement from Enrique Mora of the European External Action Service comes a day after Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge, won Iran’s presidential election.

Sunday’s meeting was part of regular discussions aimed at bringing the US back to the 2015 pact and Iran back into compliance with curbs on its nuclear programme.

*) Ethiopia votes in greatest electoral test yet for Abiy

Ethiopia has begun voting in general elections, the greatest electoral test yet for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Tigray's war and logistical issues mean ballots wouldn't be cast in more than 100 constituencies of the 547 across the country.

Abiy’s ruling Prosperity Party is widely expected to retain power as opposition groups accused it of harassment, manipulation and threats of violence that echo abuses of the past.

*) Libya reopens highway linking east and west

Libya’s unity government has reopened the coastal highway linking the country’s east and west, which remained closed for years due to fighting.

Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said the announcement was another key step in a UN-led peace process.

The highway connects the war-torn North African country’s border with Tunisia to its frontier with Egypt.

*) Armenian PM’s party wins snap parliamentary vote

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party has won snap parliamentary elections with 53.9 percent of the vote.

His rival ex-president Robert Kocharyan's alliance received 21 percent of the vote, the election commission said.

Early elections were called by Pashinyan in a bid to ease public anger over a peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan in November.

And finally ...

*) Italy beat Wales, both advance to round of 16 at Euro 2020

Matteo # scored the only goal as Italy made its three wins out of three games at Euro 2020 by beating Wales 1-0, with both teams advancing to the last 16.

The win means Italy will play the runner-up from Group C in the next round, with Wales facing the team that comes second in Group B.

Italy extended their unbeaten run to 30 games with 25 wins and five draws, a feat last achieved under two-time World Cup winner coach Vittorio Pozzo between 1935 and 1939.

*) Israeli warplanes target besieged Gaza

Israel has launched air strikes on besieged Gaza for a second time this week. No injuries have been reported so far by Palestine's Health Ministry.

The army said it hit sites in both Gaza City and in Khan Yunis in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli army said the air strikes were launched after Palestinians in Gaza again launched incendiary balloons into southern Israel.

*) US to spend $3.2B on treatments for Covid-19, other viruses

The US is devoting $3.2 billion to speed the development of antiviral pills to treat Covid-19 and other viruses that could turn into pandemics.

The new programme will invest in “accelerating things that are already in progress” for Covid-19 but also in treatments for other viruses, said US expert Dr Anthony Fauci.

Health experts have called for a pill that patients could take themselves when symptoms first appear with some candidate drugs in the pipeline.

*) Iran election set to hand presidency to hardline judge

Iranians have begun to vote in a presidential election, which the ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been tipped to win.

Some analysts say electing a cleric will weaken Iran's international standing as the country tries to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

After a lacklustre campaign, turnout is expected to plummet to a new low in a country exhausted by a punishing regime of US economic sanctions.

*) N Korea to prepare for ‘both dialogue and confrontation’ with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said that the country should prepare for both dialogue and confrontation with the US.

This was Kim’s first direct comment on US President Joe Biden’s administration since the Democrat took office.

Kim has also emphasised the need to create a "favourable external climate" for the North's own initiatives.

And finally ...

*) Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics to prolong career

Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka are sitting out Wimbledon, leaving the oldest Grand Slam tournament without two of the sport's biggest stars.

Nadal announced on social media that he would also miss the Tokyo Olympics to rest and recover after listening to his body.

Osaka’s agent said the four-time Grand Slam champion does plan to head to the Summer Games after skipping Wimbledon for "some personal time".

*) Russia and US to launch nuclear arms control talks

US President Joe Biden says he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed in detail the steps to adopt arms control measures to reduce the risk of war.

Biden said diplomats and military experts from both countries will discuss the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures.

Putin said that he and Biden agreed in a “constructive” summit to return ambassadors to their posts, lowering tensions.

*) Several arrested as Hong Kong police raid Apple Daily newspaper

Hong Kong police have arrested the chief editor and four other senior executives of the Apple Daily newspaper under the national security law.

Police said five executives were arrested "for collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security".

It is the second time that Hong Kong's police force have conducted an operation on Apple Daily, with police arresting founder Jimmy Lai and other executives last year.

*) Myanmar village burned after fighting; residents blame security forces

Security forces set ablaze a village in central Myanmar after clashing there with people opposing the ruling junta.

At least two elderly people burned to death, several village residents said after the incident.

State television said the blaze at Kin Ma, a village of about 800 people in the Magway region, was caused by “terrorists”.

*) Iran presidential race narrows as more candidates drop out last minute

Iran’s presidential contest is heading toward a showdown between the country’s hard-line judiciary chief and moderate former Central Bank chief.

Ultraconservative lawmaker Alireza Zakani withdrew in the morning hours after reformist Mohsen Mehralizadeh had also thrown in the towel ahead of Friday's vote.

In the afternoon another ultraconservative, Saeed Jalili, also pulled out.

And finally ...

*) China dispatches first crew to new Tiangong space station

The first astronauts for China's new space station have blasted off for the country's longest crewed mission to date.

The trio launched on a Long March-2F rocket for the Tiangong station, where they will spend three months.

It is China's first crewed mission in nearly five years.

*) Israel launches air strikes on besieged Gaza

Israel has launched air strikes on besieged Gaza, the first such strike in the Palestinian enclave since a May ceasefire ended 11 days of war.

The strikes were the first under the new coalition government headed by Naftali Bennett, who took over after ousting former PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier, more than a thousand ultranationalist Israelis marched in Jerusalem's flashpoint Old City, triggering counterprotests and incendiary balloons launched from Gaza.

*) Fresh farmer-herder clashes in CAR claim more than a dozen lives

At least 14 people have been killed in a revenge attack by Chadian herders after a farmer killed a herder in the far north of the Central African Republic.

A Central African Republic prefect said Chadian herders went on a rampage, killing women and children and torching 66 homes as well as granaries.

The two groups have a long and troubled history in the northern region, where weapons abound and violence often flares after cattle destroy crops.

*) Dozens wounded in car bomb explosion in Colombia

A car bomb has exploded inside a military base used by the 30th Army Brigade in Colombia's border town of Cucuta, leaving 36 people wounded.

Colombia's defence minister said the country's last recognised guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, is suspected to be behind the attack.

Cucuta is the capital of North Santander state, where criminal groups fight over drug trafficking routes and use the loosely patrolled border with Venezuela to smuggle fuel and weapons.

*) Oldest party wins most seats in Algeria voting

Algeria’s oldest party has won the most seats in weekend legislative elections, with a dismal turnout of 23 percent.

The National Liberation Front, or FLN, secured 105 of 407 parliamentary seats, according to the provisional results.

Independent candidates, including young people new to politics and many others who broke away from the FLN, placed second, winning a total of 78 seats.

And finally ...

*) France 1-0 win over Germany at Euro 2020

Title favourites France launched their Euro 2020 Group F campaign with a 1-0 victory over Germany.

The World champions had German defender Mats Hummels to thank for their win after he scored an own goal in the Group F match.

French fans flooded the streets in Munich and celebrated their win against Germany in the European Championship.

*) Beijing accuses NATO of exaggerating 'China threat theory’

Beijing has accused NATO of exaggerating the threat from China after the Western allies vowed to work together to counter "systemic challenges" posed by its policies.

NATO leaders made the commitment as US President Joe Biden renewed Washington's transatlantic ties at his first summit with the allies.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Biden met on the sideline of the summit, where they discussed a new commitment to resolving the problems between their countries.

*) ICC seeks to probe Philippines' crackdown on drug crime

The ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is seeking a full investigation into crimes against humanity during the Philippines' "war on drugs."

The Philippines left the ICC in 2019 after the court launched a preliminary examination into President Rodrigo Duterte's drug crackdown.

A presidential spokesperson said Duterte would not cooperate with the investigation as the country is no longer a member.

*) Covid-19 deaths in US pass 600,000 milestone

The United States has crossed the grim milestone of 600,000 Covid-19 deaths.

With 70 percent of US adults receiving at least one Covid jab, the vaccine rollout has slowed the pace of fatalities in the country.

It took 113 days to go from 500,000 total US deaths to 600,000 - the second slowest 100,000-death jump since the pandemic began.

*) Suspect charged in terror attack on Canada Muslims

Canada is pressing terrorism charges against a man accused of mowing down a Muslim family with a pickup truck in an attack.

Four members of the Afzaal family were out for a walk in London, Ontario on June 6 when a truck driver struck them on purpose.

Prosecutors said they were adding terrorism charges to four counts of premeditated murder and one of attempted murder levelled last week against 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman.

And finally ...

*) US runner says tainted burrito led to test for banned substance

Record-setting American runner Shelby Houlihan says she has been banned for four years following a positive steroid test that she blames on a tainted pork burrito.

Houlihan tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in a test administered by the World Anti-Doping last year.

She posted on social media that she has since learned it has “long been understood by WADA that eating pork can lead to a false positive for nandrolone”.

*) G7 vows action on Covid vaccines and climate change

G7 leaders have vowed to start delivering one billion doses of Covid vaccines and step up action on climate change.

The leaders of the rich countries' club largely responded to US President Joe Biden’s push to regain the West’s cohesion after Donald Trump’s tenure.

The Group of Seven agreed to increase climate finance contributions and meet an overdue spending pledge of $100 billion a year to help poorer countries.

*) Naftali Bennett sworn in as Israel’s new prime minister

Israel's parliament has voted in favour of a new government to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year consecutive tenure as premier.

Ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett will head the new cabinet for a little over two years before his centrist ally Yair Lapid takes over.

Palestinians described Bennett’s take over as “internal Israeli affairs”, saying they didn’t expect any positive changes from the post-Netanyahu government.

*) Erdogan: Turkey and US must leave troubles behind at NATO meeting

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he and US President Joe Biden must use Monday’s meeting to move on from past troubles.

Erdogan said a wide range of issues, including a dispute over Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defence systems, will be discussed during the meeting.

Ties between the two NATO allies are strained over the US supporting YPG terrorists in Syria, harbouring FETO leader Fetullah Gulen, and removing Turkey from the F-35 jet programme.

*) New Zealand’s Arden criticises Christchurch film amid uproar

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has criticised a planned movie about her response to the Christchurch attacks.

Ardern said the movie is poorly timed and focused on the wrong subject.

The US-backed film “They Are Us” sparked a backlash among New Zealand Muslims who slammed the project for pushing a “white saviour” narrative.

In 2019, a white supremacist gunman had killed 51 people and wounded 40 others at two mosques during Friday prayers.

And finally ...

*) Djokovic wins 19th Slam, beating Tsitsipas at French Open

Novak Djokovic has beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final to win his 19th Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s second trophy at Roland Garros moves him one major championship away from tying the men’s record of 20 Slams, shared by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Australian Open champion Djokovic’s win also puts him halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, something no man has accomplished since Rod Laver in 1969.

*) G7 nations expected to pledge 1B vaccine doses for world

When G7 leaders meet in Britain today, they are expected to expand global Covid vaccine manufacturing to provide at least one billion doses to the world.

Britain has committed to giving 100 million doses following the United States which says it will donate 500 million jabs to 92 countries.

The G-7 leaders have faced mounting pressure to share vaccines as inequities in supply become more pronounced.

*) Iran sends warships to Atlantic prompting US concerns

An Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from Iran.

Officials from the United States voiced concerns over the development as Iran’s state media stopped short of offering the vessels’ final destination.

However, US media reports, citing anonymous American officials, said the ships were bound for Venezuela.

*) Rebel missiles hit Yemen's Marib city, killing at least 8

At least eight people have been killed in the Yemeni city of Marib in what a minister said were missile and drone strikes launched by Houthis.

There was no confirmation from the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

The US on Thursday announced sanctions on a smuggling network that generates millions of dollars for the Houthis to press them into peace talks.

*) Three Percenters militia members charged in US Capitol attack

US federal prosecutors have charged six members of right-wing militia group the Three Percenters with conspiring to attack the US Capitol on January sixth.

The indictment is the latest in a series of such charges arising from the Capitol riot led by former president Donald Trump's supporters.

The Three Percenters is a loosely organised anti-government group founded in 2008.

And finally ...

*) Microsoft putting Xbox games directly in TVs

Microsoft has said that it is working on software to let people play Xbox video games on smart TVs without needing consoles.

The news came as Microsoft and other video game heavyweights prepare to show off coming titles at an annual Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Video gameplay has surged during the pandemic, as people turned more than ever to the internet for entertainment.