US official says Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreed as Trump lashes out at Iran deal critics – Middle East crisis live
Here are some images from Friday, 19 June, that came through our wires:
Macron calls for vigilance as western Europe faces second heatwave of year
More than half of France’s population is under a severe weather warning as large swathes of western Europe endure the second extreme heat event of the year, with temperatures expected to exceed 40C (104F). The French president called for “extreme vigilance”, urging people to “take care of our oldest and most vulnerable people” and follow government advice. “We are going through difficult days,” Emmanuel Macron said. A 30-year-old man died after going into cardiac arrest on an athletics track near Paris on Thursday as the temperature reached 37C. The rail operator SNCF cancelled 71 intercity trains, while schools rescheduled exams. Météo-France extended its orange heatwave alert to 60 of the country’s 96 mainland departments – home to about 41 million people – on Friday and Saturday, warning of a “widespread, prolonged and intense” heatwave. The national weather service said several more departments could be added over the weekend and that some alerts could be raised to red, the highest level. “In terms of duration and severity, this event could equal that of August 2003,” it said. The 2003 heatwave was France’s worst on record, with temperatures above 40C for nearly a fortnight. More than 14,800 people, most of them elderly care home residents, died, leading to a government heatwave planaimed at preventing a repeat. Although astronomical summer does not begin until Sunday, France is already experiencing its second extreme temperature event of 2026, after an unusually hot spell in May shattered local and national monthly temperature records. Météo-France said temperatures were likely to average 36C in the north-west and 39C in central and southern regions on Friday. After a slight dip on Saturday, they are forecast to rise to 40C in many regions, including Paris, early next week. With so much of the country affected, the agency said the national heat index, an average of day and night temperatures recorded at 30 weather stations nationwide, could approach a record high on Sunday and Monday. The power utility EDF has said four nuclear plants were likely to curb output next week because of unusually warm cooling water in the Rhône and Garonne rivers. Meanwhile, several municipalities have cancelled Sunday’s Fête de la Musique festivities. A spokesperson for Spain’s state meteorological office, Aemet, said temperatures would reach 40C as the country entered “an episode of persistently high temperatures likely to meet the technical threshold for a heatwave”. Rubén del Campo said it was likely to exceed 35C across the Iberian peninsular and Balearic Islands, climbing to 40C in southern areas – including the Tagus, Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys, as well as in eastern Cantabria and the Ebro valley in the north. The heatwave could persist until Wednesday or Thursday, after which temperatures are expected to fall. However, it could remain “very hot” across much of the country, with overnight lows remaining above 25C in many areas. Temperatures in south-west Germany are forecast to rise to 36C by the weekend, prompting authorities to issue heat warnings even at altitudes of 600 metres (2,000ft). The DWD weather service also forecast heavy thunderstorms and downpours. The agency advised people to avoid strenuous physical activity where possible, regardless of fitness level, and urged non-swimmers to take extra care after a series of drownings during hot spells. A hitzefrei (heat-free) day was declared for Friday, with lessons cut short and pupils sent home early as school buildings became uncomfortably hot.
The real reason a hantavirus disaster was averted | Letters
Devi Sridhar writes about some of the global public health responses to the outbreak of hantavirus centred on the MV Hondius, but her conclusions as to how the world avoided another global outbreak failed to recognise the real reason disaster was averted (Right now, we could be living through a hantavirus disaster. The world avoided that, and this is why, 15 June). The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) programme funded by the Foreign Office and managed by the UK Health Security Agency supports health services in all UKOTs around the globe. These are small and vulnerable communities with very limited medical services in most cases. The key success of this lean but effective programme lies in close communication and strengthening the health services. The astute doctor on Ascension Island recognised a cluster of cases on the MV Hondius when a sick passenger was brought ashore for treatment. Newly developed diagnostic equipment on the island was able to exclude common causes. We knew we were dealing with something unusual. Possible causes were reviewed during a meeting across continents between Ascension, the UKOT programme infection doctor, the ship company medical adviser and a colleague in the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, who tracked down samples from two cases medevaced to South Africa. The diagnosis of hantavirus was made. It was this that alerted the World Health Organization and national public health organisations, and averted disaster. Without this, the ship would have sailed on to Cape Verde. Passengers incubating hantavirus would have disembarked and travelled to their home countries. The outbreak would have been much wider. Dr Matthew Dryden Consultant in infection, UKOTs programme, UKHSA • The good fortune that was with the hantavirus cruise ship, discussed in the excellent article by Devi Sridhar, doesn’t necessarily apply to those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or neighbouring countries, like the Batwa pygmies, a highly vulnerable, marginalised and endangered group of people in Uganda currently fighting the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rare variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Until all people throughout the world have equal access to public health measures against novel infectious diseases, we will all be vulnerable to the next unexpected product of a world stressed by inequality and a privileged elite. Dr Brian Jones Yarcombe, Devon • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Italian PM Meloni says she was ‘astonished’ by Trump claims that she ‘begged’ him for a photo - as it happened
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today! European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are due to give a briefing after a two-day EU summit in Brussels. They are a bit late (15:50), but when they eventually come you will be able to watch it here. The leaders discussed the support for Ukraine, and the multiannual financial framework for the bloc (10:54, 10:54, 10:59, 16:25), among other things. Meanwhile, A new transatlantic drama is emerging in Italy, after US president Donald Trump told an Italian broadcaster that prime minister Giorgia Meloni “begged” him for a picture on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier this week (13:03). The Italian PM said she was “astonished” by “completely made up” claims by Trump. Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani cancelled his planned trip to the US in response, with other senior Italian figures also expressing their outrage over Trump’s comments (13:34, 14:03, 14:51). If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Hormuz disruption will continue until 80 mines blocking route are cleared
The centre of the strait of Hormuz is blocked with about 80 mines that will need clearing for normal shipping to resume, the independent tanker owner trade body has said. Several vessels began to exit the Gulf through the key maritime chokepoint on Thursday after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran. However, shipping is not expected to return to normal for some time, even if a ceasefire lasted, because of the mines and other obstacles, underlining the continuing challenges facing global trade. “The main route … through the middle of the strait of Hormuz, that’s closed, that’s dangerous,” said Phil Belcher, the marine director at Intertanko, the tanker owners association. “The latest figure we had was that there’s 80 mines in the strait of Hormuz. It’s an enormous amount and it’s going to take some time to clear.” During the conflict Tehran laid mines in the centre of the strait in the traffic separation scheme, which has been in place between Iran and Oman since 1968, to restrict the movement of tankers and other vessels. About 20,000 seafarers were left stuck either side of the channel, although some ships managed to sneak through at night near the Omani coast with their transmitters off and with US assistance. Others paid to travel through Iranian waters in an arrangement nicknamed “Tehran’s tollbooth”. The shipping industry is keen to see a return to using the standard route, which before the conflict allowed about 130 ships a day to cross the strait, through which about 20% of global oil used to flow. “This is like a highway where the road in the middle is closed and you are using the hard shoulder,” said Belcher. “We need to get the highway open so we can get the volume of traffic through safely. One of the big issues we’ve got at the moment is the navigational risk, the risk of running aground on the rocks. It’s very close to the rocks on the southern route, the Omani route.” With high numbers of vessels trying to pass through narrow areas of the strait, the shipping industry is warning of the risk of collision. This risk is intensified by the “signal jamming” that Iran has reportedly carried out during the conflict, where electronic interference has prevented ships’ navigating and positioning systems from operating, leaving them effectively sailing blind. A collision, grounding or sinking could further disrupt global trade. Shipping companies still remember the disruption caused in 2021 when the container ship Ever Given blocked the Suez canal for a week. Almost 600 vessels are believed to still be in the Gulf, where they have been anchored since February, meaning the backlog will take time to clear. Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at the maritime data provider Lloyd’s List, said: “We are in uncharted territory. I don’t think [shipping in the strait] is getting back to normal this year.” The shipping industry is cautiously waiting to see whether the ceasefire in the strait will hold, after Israel and Hezbollah traded deadly strikes on Friday. The industry was already on high alert after the April ceasefire unravelled within hours of being announced. The MoU signed by the US and Iran this week should be “greeted with realism and extreme caution”, said Peter Sand, the chief analyst at the ocean and air freight analytics firm Xeneta. “Even if the ceasefire holds, around 10% of global container shipping capacity is impacted by the blockade and freight rates are spiralling across major trades. This scale of disruption and market volatility cannot be reversed overnight.” Further concerns remain over Iran saying it plans to charge a maritime fee to vessels crossing the strait. Such tolls are illegal under international law. Under the terms of the US-Iran memorandum, Iran is required to ensure toll-free passage for commercial vessels for at least 60 days, with full restoration of traffic within 30 days. Tehran has said it would charge ships fees to cover the cost of managing the waterway after the 60-day period. The German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has said it would be “fundamentally wrong” to charge vessels to pass through international waters. A company spokesperson added: “Tolls for infrastructure such as the Suez or Panama canals are different, as they reflect major infrastructure investments. That’s not the case in the strait of Hormuz.” The shipping industry is concerned that Iran charging fees could set a precedent for other key maritime channels that are bordered by several states, including the strait of Malacca – a narrow stretch of water between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia – or the Taiwan strait separating the island of Taiwan from mainland China.
Venice’s new mayor seeks to raise day-tripper fee to up to €50
Venice’s new mayor has said he hopes to raise a controversial entrance fee for day-trippers to the lagoon city to as much as €50 (£43). Simone Venturini, the rightwing former tourism councillor who was elected as mayor in late May, said the proposal was aimed at further discouraging arrivals “during periods of heightened tourist pressure”. In 2024, Venice became the first tourist city in the world to charge people to enter, introducing a €5 fee on 29 peak dates between April and July. The levy returned in 2025, with an expansion to 54 dates and charging last-minute day-trippers double. This year, the initiative covers 60 dates. Although the scheme has had little impact on visitor numbers, it did rake in €2.4m for the city’s coffers in its first year, much more than expected, and Venice authorities still believe it will eventually contribute to helping the Unesco world heritage city tackle overtourism. Venturini pledged during his election campaign to raise the fee to between €30 and €50, depending on the dates. He said the council was studying a proposal that it intended to present to the national government seeking permission to increase the entrance fee “on certain days and when specific booking thresholds are exceeded”. The toll is payable online, and in return visitors get a QR code that they must present to stewards hired to patrol the city’s main entrance points, such as Venezia Santa Lucia train station. Anyone who books an overnight stay in Venice is exempt from paying the fee, as are tourists from the wider Veneto region, which is where most day-trippers come from, as well as children under the age of 14. But even if a visitor has booked a hotel room, they are still obliged to register their presence on the website. Venturini said: “The admission fee is currently the only effective tool to control daily visitor numbers. We are therefore working on a proposal to make it more effective on high-traffic days, with the aim of finding a new balance between the needs of residents, workers and visitors.” He said the funds generated from the fee would be used “to finance city services and support the maintenance and protection of a unique city, built on water, whose costs exceed €100m each year”.
US-Iran talks abruptly called off after Israel and Hezbollah trade deadly attacks
Talks due to take place on Friday between the US and Iran in Switzerland to implement a peace deal were cancelled as Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers and Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes in south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley that killed at least 18 people. The talks had been due to begin in the Swiss village of Obbürgen two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that opened a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent understanding over Iran’s nuclear programme, while getting oil traffic moving through the strait of Hormuz. The White House said the US looked forward to “beginning technical talks as soon as possible”, as it announced that JD Vance, the vice-president, who is leading negotiations for the Trump administration, would now not be travelling. “The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now, the vice-president is not departing tonight,” a White House spokesperson said late on Thursday. The cancellation of the talks came as Israel and Hezbollah traded their most violent strikes since the ceasefire was established. Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces near the city of Nabatieh, in south Lebanon, with several salvoes of rocket fire and drones overnight after intermittent Israeli shelling throughout Thursday. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on the city and surrounding towns on what it said were Hezbollah targets, leaving at least 18 people dead and 33 wounded, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health. Hezbollah said it was targeting Israeli forces that were trying to advance towards the foothills surrounding Nabatieh – a flashpoint where there has been intermittent fighting since the US-Iran ceasefire was announced. Prior to the truce, Israeli forces were advancing towards the southern Lebanese city. The killing of Israeli soldiers prompted fury within Israel, with the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, calling for scorched earth in Lebanon. “With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, called on Israel on Friday to stop its strikes in Lebanon and said the US must put pressure on it to respect the ceasefire deal. “This agreement provides for a cessation of hostilities, the Israeli government must respect it, and the United States in particular must exert all the necessary pressure on the Israeli government to ensure that this is the case,” Barrot said on France Info radio. The cancellation of the talks between Iran and the US on Friday came so abruptly that Vance’s staff and a small pack of journalists had gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington in anticipation of the trip. Dozens of White House officials, advance staffers and media were already in Switzerland to prepare for Vance’s anticipated arrival. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday that he had approved the MoU despite reservations, while at the same time the US officially lifted a blockade of Iranian ports. Before the talks were cancelled, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iranian negotiators needed to see signs of implementation of the interim agreement from the US before the next rounds of peace talks could begin, and that there was no confirmation that its delegation would travel to Geneva. The cancellation of the talks came after a report from Al Mayadeen, an Arabic-language network that is politically allied with Hezbollah, that said Tehran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland owing to Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon. Israel, which was not included in the peace talks and has distanced itself from the US-Iran agreement, has continued its fighting in Lebanon and launched fresh airstrikes early on Friday, accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, an accusation the armed group has thrown back at Israel. Hezbollah said on Friday that its fighters destroyed three Israeli tanks in the country’s south and that clashes were ongoing. Israel had not confirmed its tanks were hit. Fighting began in Lebanon on 2 March when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in what it said was revenge for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader by the US and Israel. The subsequent Israeli invasion of south Lebanon and bombing campaign has left more than 3,900 people dead in Lebanon. Hezbollah has killed at least 32 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and three Israeli civilians. On Thursday, Israel announced what it called its “security zone” in south Lebanon, which comprises hundreds of square miles of Lebanese territory. Lebanese officials have demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, something Iran said was required by the MoU. The MoU calls for the “permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon and for the country’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” to be ensured. Donald Trump has said he expects a complete ceasefire on all fronts. Israel has so far insisted it will not pull out its troops from south Lebanon, leading to open criticism from Trump and Vance. On Thursday, Vance said Israel needed to respect the peace process. “What the president has grown frustrated with, at times, is that we seem to be right on the cusp of a major breakthrough in the agreement and then all of a sudden there’s a major explosion that goes off in a civilian population centre in Beirut, and a lot of people who have nothing to do with Hezbollah lose their lives,” Vance told reporters, adding that such actions were “not acceptable”. On Friday, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned against any breach of the agreement, saying: “In case of misconduct, breach of treaty and excess of the other side, we have no doubt that decisive response will be given to the enemy.” The diplomatic back-and-forth over the planned talks adds to the uncertainty over whether a lasting truce can be found to a regional war that has killed at least 7,000 people, sent energy prices soaring and shaken global markets. Khamenei on Thursday said Trump had signed the deal “out of desperation” and signalled that further talks would not be easy. “If the American side wants to be too demanding, we will not accept it,” he said in a written message. The deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach agreement on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme unless both sides agree to an extension, and sets up a $300bn reconstruction fund for Iran and other financial incentives. On Thursday, US forces lifted their naval blockade of Iranian ports that had prevented ships from sailing to or from the country, the US military said, noting that American warships “will remain in the general area”. Activity was still muted in the strait of Hormuz, the strategic bottleneck for energy shipments that Iran blockaded during the conflict.