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Iran’s top joint military command said on Saturday morning that it will close the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, due to ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon during a ceasefire agreement.

Khatam al-Anbiya Central ‌Headquarters said the attacks violated the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Israel targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah hours after the two sides agreed to halt fighting.

“In view of the United States’ bad faith and its clear breach of its commitments by failing to implement the first article of the memorandum ending the war, and in response to the continuous and ongoing violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon… It hereby announces that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels,” the military command said in a statement reported by state broadcaster IRIB.

“In view of the United States’ bad faith and its clear breach of its commitments by failing to implement the first article of the memorandum ending the war, and in response to the continuous and ongoing violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon… It hereby announces that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels,” the military command said in a statement reported by state broadcaster IRIB.

The announcement comes just days after President Trump signed a framework agreement with Iran that authorized the reopening of the critical waterway. The strait’s closure during the Iran war has sent energy prices skyrocketing and strained global fuel supplies.

Trump said in a speech at Joint Base Andrews on Friday that “ships are flying out of the Hormuz Strait like nobody’s ever seen before.”

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Three hikers died from suspected heat-related illness in Grand Canyon National Park amid extremely hot temperatures, officials said.

Grand Canyon National Park rangers and emergency personnel responded to incidents on June 12 and June 16, resulting in three deaths, according to a June 19 National Park Service news release. Hikers were on trails in the Inner Canyon, where officials said temperatures in the shade could reach 109 degrees around midday.

“Hiking in Grand Canyon can be a challenge for anyone, especially during the heat of summer,” the park service news release said. Park officials have warned visitors to avoid the Inner Canyon during peak daytime hours because of extreme temperatures.

On June 12, a 72-year-old man died from symptoms of heat-related illness along the South Kaibab Trail. The park service website said the trail offers expansive views but little shade and no water other than a water filling station at the trailhead during the summer.

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A broad coalition of former high-ranking Israeli officials, including former prime ministers and defence chiefs, have issued what they termed a “wake-up call” and “final warning”, demanding that the Israeli government act against Jewish settler “terrorism” in the occupied West Bank. 

In a joint statement reported by Haartez on Thursday, the ex-officials, who include former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, warn Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that they will appeal to the Supreme Court if immediate action is not taken to change policies on the matter.

The letter states that the government and its ministers “have done nothing to eliminate Jewish terrorism” and that some of its officials have even provided support to illegal settlement outposts where the attackers reside.

“He [Netanyahu] and all government ministers have done nothing and are doing nothing to eradicate Jewish terror in [the West Bank]," the statement says.

"They do not condemn it, do not require the Israel Defence Forces, the police, the Shin Bet and the Civil Administration to fight it, and some of them, at least, even support this terror by providing financial and equipment assistance, and building illegal farms and outposts that serve as residences for Jewish terror activists."

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Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed a bill to ban trade with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine, declaring them an impediment to peace.

The Norwegian government said on Friday that it had submitted a bill with legally binding stipulations for consultation. The proposal recommends prohibiting Norwegian citizens and companies from profiting from or supporting Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.

“The Israeli settlements in Palestine are in violation of international law. They contribute to displacement, extreme violence and a development that makes a peaceful solution impossible. We will prohibit trade with the illegal settlements,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a press release.

The Israeli government has built illegal settlements at a rapid pace, undermining the prospects of a Palestinian state.

The proposal follows a parliamentary resolution and would ban Norwegian exports to, and importation of goods from, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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The fee would effectively allow Iran to cement its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, but would likely require the cooperation of neighbouring Oman, whose territorial waters border Iran’s.

Iran agreed not to charge any fees in the waterway during the 60-day ceasefire with the US, termed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, but the agreement left open the possibility of a new system afterwards.

Tehran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority circulated a letter within the shipping industry that appears to lay out plans to charge a fee once the 60-day window passes.

“This insurance is provided free of charge to the vessel owner, with all expenses covered by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the letter said, according to Lloyd’s List, a maritime intelligence publication.

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Several dozen people, mostly women, rallied in Kyiv Friday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in a fifth year of Russia’s invasion. 

The Kremlin’s forces were last month added to a United Nations blacklist on sexual violence in conflict, outraging Russia.

The protesters called on releasing The protesters called on releasing women held in Russian captivity in Russia and Moscow-occupied Ukraine.women held in Russian captivity in Russia and Moscow-occupied Ukraine.

During its invasion, Moscow has taken thousands of Ukrainian troops and an unknown number of civilians captive.

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A federal appeals court has paved the way for the Trump administration to replace the slavery exhibit it removed at the President’s House Site on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall.

Thursday’s decision effectively discards a February injunction ordering the National Park Service to restore the site, which included a series of illustrated panels about the nine people enslaved by George Washington at the executive mansion while he was president in the 1790s.

The panels were taken down, then partially restored, as part of a monthslong legal fight rooted in an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. Citing a 2006 agreement, the city sued the Park Service and the Interior Department in January after it abruptly removed the exhibit to comply with the order.

In its unanimous ruling, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that the city does not have any “statutory, property, or contractual rights that empower it to curate the exhibits in the President’s House.” The judges also concluded that the Trump administration’s replacement panels, which NPS has posted online, are “full of historical context.”

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More than 26,000 New Jersey residents have been kicked off their monthly food benefits since the Trump administration’s federal work rules took effect, state officials said.

Emergency food advocates say it’s only going to get worse, further straining food pantries that are already seeing surging demand amid soaring gas prices and stubbornly high living costs.

“One of the most alarming things is it's just the beginning,” said Elizabeth McCarthy, CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, an anti-hunger group. “We really expect this to keep happening.”

The work requirements passed by congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump last summer overhauled the nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families afford groceries. The changes required states that were exempt from work requirements because of high unemployment rates to comply and made more groups of people subject to those rules, such as homeless people, veterans and older adults.\

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