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Iran Says No Technical Meeting Expected with US in Coming Days

Iranian girls walk past an anti-US mural (depicting an Iranian and US negotiation table) next to the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 22 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranian girls walk past an anti-US mural (depicting an Iranian and US negotiation table) next to the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 22 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Says No Technical Meeting Expected with US in Coming Days

Iranian girls walk past an anti-US mural (depicting an Iranian and US negotiation table) next to the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 22 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranian girls walk past an anti-US mural (depicting an Iranian and US negotiation table) next to the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 22 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday denied reports that Iranian and American technical teams will meet in the coming days to discuss the implementation of the deal to end the Middle East war.

Both sides have traded fire in the Gulf in recent days, testing their fragile ceasefire, said AFP.

"No technical meetings of the working groups are planned for this week," Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, quoted by state TV, referring to the Iranian week ending on Friday.

Citing US officials, American news site Axios reported on Sunday that Tehran and Washington would hold a meeting in Qatar on Tuesday to resolve their dispute over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

CNN reported similar comments from a Trump administration official, though the White House has not issued an official statement.

Qatar, alongside Pakistan, has acted as a mediator in talks between Iran and the United States aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.

The most recent discussions between Tehran and Washington took place in Switzerland on June 21 with the attendance of delegations from all four countries.

Qatar -- located across the Gulf from Iran -- is playing a key role in the financial aspects of the negotiations.

Iran holds assets there that have been frozen due to US sanctions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated on Monday that the necessary steps to unfreeze these funds were "underway".

"In accordance with established plans, $6 billion out of the total $12 billion held in Qatar will be released and returned to the country," he said, quoted by the presidency.

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World

Russian Strikes Kill Seven Across Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A resident watches from his balcony as another flat burns after being hit by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov
FILE PHOTO: A resident watches from his balcony as another flat burns after being hit by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov
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Russian Strikes Kill Seven Across Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A resident watches from his balcony as another flat burns after being hit by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov
FILE PHOTO: A resident watches from his balcony as another flat burns after being hit by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 22, 2026. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least seven people on Monday and wounded more than two dozen others, Ukrainian officials said.

Five people were killed in the central city of Dnipro, when a private business was hit by a Russian missile, while two were killed in an attack on a city bus in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.

In Dnipro, 28 were wounded -- four in a critical condition.

"People have traumatic brain injuries, shrapnel wounds, fractures, and blast trauma," AFP quoted regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha as saying.

The police force posted photos showing paramedics tending to the wounded under the bright sun.

In Zaporizhzhia, the drone strike blew out the windows and back doors of a white minibus, photos published by the regional authorities showed.

Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated aerial attacks in recent months as stalled negotiations have made no progress in halting the four-year war.

Dnipro, an industrial city around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front line, has been regularly targeted by Russia's military.

Zaporizhzhia, 30 kilometers from the front, is the capital of a region which Moscow claims as its own and is fighting to capture.

World

Southeastern Europe Feels Effects of Heatwave, Wildfires Break Out

The thermometer reads 36 degrees Celsius in the center of Warsaw, Poland, 27 June 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
The thermometer reads 36 degrees Celsius in the center of Warsaw, Poland, 27 June 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
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Southeastern Europe Feels Effects of Heatwave, Wildfires Break Out

The thermometer reads 36 degrees Celsius in the center of Warsaw, Poland, 27 June 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
The thermometer reads 36 degrees Celsius in the center of Warsaw, Poland, 27 June 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT

The Balkans felt the impact on Monday of the record-breaking heatwave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across the continent for more than a week, with growing concerns over the spread of wildfires, said Reuters.

There was also a warning that the heat was likely to build again from the start of next week in countries such as France and Germany that bore the brunt over the past few days.

In Croatia, the weather service issued a red alert on Monday for regions including the capital Zagreb and the ‌tourist destinations of ‌Split and Dubrovnik.

Dozens of firefighters, assisted by four aircraft, battled ‌a wildfire ⁠burning pine forests ⁠on the tourist island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, some 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Split.

In neighboring Serbia, the State Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) has warned temperatures would reach 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

Further south, Albania contained a wildfire that has consumed many hectares of bushes and olive trees near the southern village of Klos over the weekend.

Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, and the ⁠blistering conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.

France ‌has reported 1,000 excess deaths during the heatwave. The ‌French public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people and warned the number ‌was expected to rise.

The heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, which ‌has made this week's soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according to scientists.

HEAT TO RISE AGAIN FURTHER WEST

Luca Mercalli, the president of Italy's Meteorological Society, said temperatures were set to soar again from July 5-6.

"The areas affected look ‌broadly the same as in the first wave, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and to some extent Britain," he told Reuters.

"With ⁠the extreme heat ⁠the risk of forest fires increases, but we are also seeing a lot of rainstorms, which obviously mitigates that risk," he added, noting that storms were very localized so rainfall amounts could vary greatly.

Further tragedies related to the heat were reported at the weekend.

Two boys aged 8 and 10 from Bulgaria were found dead in a hot car in Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, police said. Cyprus is currently experiencing temperatures of around 38 C, which is not classified as a heatwave on the east Mediterranean island for the time of year.

Two cyclists, a 30-year-old and a 71-year-old, died while taking part in an event in the Poland Bike Marathon series in Marki near Warsaw on Sunday.

Temperatures in Poland reached a new record high on Sunday at 40.5 C.

World

Congo: Number of Confirmed Ebola Cases at 1,274, Including 360 Deaths

FILE - Health workers attend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, file)
FILE - Health workers attend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, file)
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Congo: Number of Confirmed Ebola Cases at 1,274, Including 360 Deaths

FILE - Health workers attend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, file)
FILE - Health workers attend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, file)

The Democratic Republic of Congo said late on ⁠Sunday that confirmed ⁠Ebola ⁠cases in the country had reached 1,274, including 360 deaths.

US health authorities on Friday activated the highest level of response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo, while announcing the shipment of experimental treatments to the region.

"Our assessment (is) that the risk to the United States continues to remain low," said Satish Pillai, who is leading the Ebola response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The leading US public health agency nevertheless announced a Level 1 response -- the highest level -- as it did for the worst-ever Ebola epidemic in 2014.

The heightened response level is an "internal cue" indicating that the outbreak is a top priority for the agency, a CDC official said.

"We will mobilize staffing and additional resources as efficiently and rapidly as possible," he added.