While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 29, 2025
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A Maxar satellite image showing damage at Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility after strikes on June 23.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Iran could again enrich uranium ‘in matter of months’
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium “in a matter of months,” despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News said on June 28.
Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition the Islamic republic has consistently denied. The United States subsequently bombed three key facilities used for Tehran’s atomic programme.
But Mr Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says some of Iran’s nuclear programme “is still standing.”
“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Mr Grossi said on June 27, according to a transcript of the interview released on June 28.
G-7 agrees to exempt US multinationals from global tax
The Group of Seven (G-7) nations said on June 28 they have agreed to exempt US multinational companies from a global minimum tax imposed by other countries – a win for President Donald Trump’s government, which pushed hard for the compromise.
The deal will see US companies benefit from a “side-by-side” solution under which they will only be taxed at home, on both domestic and foreign profits, the G-7 said, in a statement released by Canada, which holds the group’s rotating presidency.
The agreement was reached in part due to “recently proposed changes to the US international tax system” included in Mr Trump’s signature domestic policy Bill, which is still being debated in Congress, the statement said.
Pakistan flash floods and heavy rain kill 32
Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 32 people including 16 children since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.
Flash floods and roof collapses over the past 36 hours have claimed the lives of 19 people, eight of them children, a statement on June 28 by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management authority said.
Of the total deaths, 13 were reported from north-western Swat Valley.
Fans celebrate Squid Game finale with Seoul parade
Thousands of fans gathered in Seoul on June 28 to celebrate the final Squid Game season, ending a global Netflix hit that is seen as a symbol of South Korea’s cultural clout.
The third and final season was released on June 27, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children’s games for a massive cash prize.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had “poured everything” into the series, which launched nearly four years ago.
Emma Raducanu ‘just friends’ with Carlos Alcaraz
British number one Emma Raducanu refused to be drawn on rumours of a relationship with French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz as the duo gear up for a doubles partnership at the US Open.
Raducanu and Alcaraz practiced together at Wimbledon on June 27 as part of a sponsorship commitment and will play alongside each other at Flushing Meadows in September in the mixed doubles.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz revealed last week he had made the request to play with Raducanu, who shot to fame when she won the US Open in 2021.
