Latest from Reuters
Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Sceptres sign D Kali Flanagan to 1-year contract
June 19 - The Toronto Sceptres signed defender Kali Flanagan to a one-year contract extension on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team for Flanagan, who recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in 30 games last season. "It was crucial for us to retain Kali; she brings so much to our blue line. She is a great skating defender who has played a lot of minutes over the past two seasons," general manager Gina Kingsbury said. "Kali has mentioned to us how Toronto has become her second home and was committed to staying a Sceptre throughout this process. We value her commitment to our organization and are excited to have her back on the ice, in the locker room and in our community." Flanagan, 29, was selected by Toronto in the sixth round of the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft. "I could not be more excited to be coming back to Toronto," Flanagan said. "My teammates, this organization, and our amazing fans have made this city feel like home. I can't wait to put the Sceptres jersey back on this season with my teammates and compete to bring home a championship to Toronto!" --Field Level Media
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Australia closes Iran embassy citing deteriorating security environment
SYDNEY, June 20 (Reuters) - Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran due to the deteriorating security environment in Iran and has directed the departure of all Australian officials, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday. Australia's ambassador to Iran will remain in the region to support the government's response to the crisis, Wong said. "We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries," Wong said in a statement.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Ukraine's Zelenskiy: Russia's defence of Iran shows need to tighten sanctions
June 19 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Russia's defence of Iran's authorities underscored the need for intensified sanctions against Moscow. Zelenskiy said Russia's deployment of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and North Korean munitions was proof that Kyiv's allies were applying insufficient pressure against Moscow. "Now Russia is trying to save the Iranian nuclear programme. There cannot be any other possible explanation for their public signals and their non-public activity on this," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "When one of their accomplices loses their capability to export war, Russia is weakened and tries to interfere. This is so cynical and proves time and again that aggressive regimes cannot be allowed to unite and become partners." When Russia deploys weaponry from Tehran and Pyongyang, he said, "it is a clear sign that global solidarity and global pressure are not strong enough." Russia signed a strategic partnership with Iran this year. Moscow has denounced Israeli strikes against Iran and offered to mediate. A Russian deputy foreign minister said Moscow was urging Washington to refrain from direct involvement. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the conflict between Israel and Iran had exposed Russian hypocrisy, with Moscow defending Iran's nuclear programme and condemning strikes against Tehran while "ruthlessly" attacking Ukraine. "The only rational conclusion is that Russia cannot be trusted in any situation, and it is always part of the problem rather than the solution," Sybiha wrote in English on X. Zelenskiy has accused Russia of refusing diplomatic approaches and rejecting an unconditional ceasefire in the war, which has lasted more than three years. In his address, he said he was "very much counting on" U.S. President Donald Trump to consider tougher sanctions and boost diplomatic efforts to end the war. Trump has so far ruled out calls to intensify sanctions against Moscow. Zelenskiy also expressed willingness to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he said the Kremlin leader had stayed on beyond the constitutional limit of his office. That comment was a reference to Russian accusations that Zelenskiy had remained in office without agreeing, under provisions of martial law in Ukraine, to hold an election.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Yankees bats finally awaken to avoid 4-game sweep to Angels
June 19 - Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt hit back-to-back home runs as the host New York Yankees stopped a season-high six-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday afternoon. Carlos Rodon (9-5) overcame allowing three solo homers and pitched six quality innings as the Yankees avoided losing seven straight for the first time since a nine-game slide from Aug. 12-22, 2023. It also halted New York's five-game home losing streak. The teams played through an eight-minute rain delay after the Angels batted in the second and 35-minute stoppage in the eighth. The Yankees' offense exceeded their run total from their six-game slide (six). Grisham and Goldschmidt went deep in the second inning off Tyler Anderson (2-5) to make it 4-2 after Giancarlo Stanton had an RBI groundout in the first. Cody Bellinger collected three hits with an RBI single in the seventh for a 5-3 lead as the Yankees finished with 12 hits. Anthony Volpe added an RBI groundout and Austin Wells lifted a sacrifice fly following the second delay. Rodon allowed solo homers to Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Taylor Ward but held the Angels to four hits and improved to 8-2 in his past 12 starts. The left-hander struck out seven, walked one and notched several outs with his slider. The Angels were unable to complete their first four-game sweep of the Yankees in team history. Los Angeles also saw a team-record five-game winning streak at Yankee Stadium halted and came up shy of reaching .500 for the first time since May 23. Trout opened the scoring by hammering Rodon's 1-1 fastball into the Los Angeles bullpen beyond the left-center-field fence for his third homer since being activated off the injured list. After Goldschmidt doubled, he took third on an infield single by Bellinger and scored when Stanton was able to avoid a double play. Adell gave the Angels a 2-1 lead by hammering a 1-0 fastball into the right-center-field seats. Following a two-out single by DJ LeMahieu, Grisham hit Anderson's first-pitch sinker to the right field bleachers and Goldschmidt followed with a shot down the left field line. Anderson allowed four on eight hits in six innings. The left-hander struck out four, walked two and lost his fifth straight decision. Mark Leiter Jr. pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Jonathan Loaisiga stranded Trout in the eighth and Devin Wiliams pitched the ninth in a non-save situation. --Field Level Media
Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
IAEA chief identifies Isfahan as Iran's planned uranium enrichment site
VIENNA, June 19 (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday identified Isfahan, home to one of Iran's biggest nuclear facilities, as the location of a uranium enrichment plant that Iran said it would soon open in retaliation for a diplomatic push against it. The day before Israel launched its military strikes against Iranian targets including nuclear facilities last Friday, Iran announced it had built a new uranium enrichment facility, which it would soon equip and bring online. Tehran did not provide details such as the plant's location. Iran's announcement was part of its retaliation against a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Tehran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations over issues including its failure to credibly explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. Had it gone online, the new enrichment plant would have been the fourth in operation in Iran. But Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed one of those plants and put another out of action by killing its power supply, the IAEA has said. "There was an announcement, quite coincidentally, on the eve of the start of the military operation by Israel of a new enrichment facility in Isfahan, precisely, that we were going to be inspecting immediately, but this inspection had to be postponed, we hope, because of the start of the military operation," Grossi said. He did not say where exactly in Isfahan the planned plant was, but he said the nuclear complex there is "huge". The IAEA has previously reported that Israeli military strikes on Friday damaged four buildings at Isfahan, including the Uranium Conversion Facility that transforms "yellowcake" uranium into the uranium hexafluoride feedstock for centrifuges so that it can be enriched. Grossi told the BBC on Monday that the "underground spaces" at Isfahan did not seem to have been affected. Officials say those spaces are also where much of Iran's most highly enriched uranium stock has been stored. The IAEA has not, however, been able to carry out any inspections since the strikes.
