Trump continues pause on Iran strikes as Pentagon reveals higher casualty figures | First Thing

Good morning. The US has paused strikes on Iran for a third night as top military officials advised Donald Trump to halt his bombing campaign, and diplomatic negotiations have continued to avoid a return to all-out war. Oil prices fell on Monday as markets responded to the pause in combat. Tehran said on Sunday it would pause what it called “retaliatory” attacks against US allies in the region.

Trump is said to be weighing up diplomatic and military options in the nearly five-month-old conflict. Axios reported on Sunday that Adm Bradley Cooper, the top US military commander in the region, had told Trump the US military campaign had reached the limits of its effectiveness.

• How many US service personnel have been killed and injured in Trump’s Iran war? The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than ۱۴۰ wounded service members. The new figures show that ۱۸ US troops have been killed and ۶۲۴ wounded since the US launched its war against Iran on ۲۸ February.

• How has Katy Perry become embroiled in debate over the war? The pop star has condemned the White House after it used her hit song Firework in a TikTok video showing US military strikes on Iranian targets, saying: “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it. I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength … my music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”

Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of ‘fomenting hate’ in calls for PM’s arrest

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, was “fomenting hate” by calling the Israeli prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over Israel’s war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations general assembly. “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu said, adding: “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.”

• What has the international court accused Netanyahu of? The court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, issued a warrant accusing the Israeli prime minister of being “allegedly responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

Police have shot dead Berlin Pride van and knife rampage suspect, officials say

A man suspected of driving a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride festival then going on a knife rampage in an Islamist terror attack has been shot dead by police, German officials have said. One woman was killed on Saturday evening and ۲۹ others were injured in an attack that took place in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at about ۱۰pm local time on Saturday, close to one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations. Police confirmed on Sunday evening that the chief suspect had been shot dead.

Two dead in shootings at Bite of Seattle food festival, say authorities

Two people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting on Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said. Susan Gregg from the Harborview medical center said it had admitted four victims including a toddler, a ۲۳-year-old man and two women. One patient was in a critical condition, she said.

In other news …

Stat of the day: Uganda begins emergency food handouts after ۱۹ die from hunger

Uganda has launched emergency food relief distribution after at least ۱۹ deaths from hunger were reported in an area of prolonged drought in the east of the country. Health facilities report treating hundreds of children for severe malnutrition. Experts attribute the region’s recurring food insecurity and vulnerability to climate crisis shocks, environmental degradation such as deforestation and overgrazing, as well as poverty and low agricultural productivity.

Building Power: From Bernie to Mamdani, how the Occupy movement transformed American politics

Yotam Marom, who helped lead Occupy Wall Street, discusses its legacy, ۱۵ years after the movement fell apart.

Don’t miss this: How Trump could undermine the midterms

George Chidi with a timely warning that while the president really has no power over elections in the US, that hasn’t stopped Trump from laying the groundwork to challenge results he doesn’t like in November.

… or this: ‘I thought it didn’t stand a cat’s chance in hell’: Andrew Ridgeley on Wham’s surreal trip to China

I miss George Michael. Four decades after they became the first western pop act to tour China, Michael’s bandmate Andrew Ridgeley recalls silent gigs and awkward embassy receptions as a new documentary with footage of the tour is released.

Climate check: US heatwave stretches on with millions still under warnings

At least ۴۰ million people were under extreme heat warnings across central and southern parts of the United States on Sunday as high temperatures and severe humidity gripped large swaths of the country for a second straight day. Meanwhile, Europe is suffering a spate of dangerous wildfires. Kate Lamb explains what a “fire cloud” is, and how the unprecedented phenomenon – pyrocumulonimbus – could exacerbate the effects of the blazes.

Last Thing: International Cowboy Day celebrations in Nairobi – in pictures

Who knew that they celebrated International Cowboy Day in Nairobi, Kenya. Certainly not me. Here is a spectacular set of photos from the event.

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