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A tourist walks during the sunset at a salt lake in Larnaca, Cyprus June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Russia Investigation Federal investigators probing the lobbying work of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn are focused in part on the role of Bijan Kian, Flynn’s former business partner, according to a person interviewed by the FBI. Investigators are also looking at whether payments from foreign clients - including three Russian companies and Inovo, controlled by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin - to Flynn and his company, the now-inactive Flynn Intel Group, were lawful, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the broad inquiry into Flynn's business activities. Special prosecutor Robert Mueller will hold talks this week with senior Senate Judiciary Committee members to ensure that there is no conflict between his investigation of potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and the panel's probe, two congressional aides said.
Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the U.S. Constitution limits how far lawmakers can go to redraw voting districts to favor one political party over another in a case that could have huge consequences for American elections. The court has been willing to invalidate state electoral maps on the grounds of racial discrimination. In May it found that Republican legislators in North Carolina had drawn two electoral districts to diminish the statewide political clout of black voters.
Foreign Policy
The Trump administration appears ready to harden its approach toward Pakistan to crack down on Pakistan-based militants launching attacks in neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. officials tell Reuters. President Donald Trump ordered stepped-up military operations against Islamic State and delegated more authority to his generals in Syria. But without a comprehensive Syria strategy, his approach risks further confrontation with Syria, Iran and even Russia, according to U.S. officials and analysts. 
People gather for Iftar (breaking fast), organised by Adaleh Foundation, amidst damaged buildings during the holy month of Ramadan in the rebel held besieged Douma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria, June 18, 2017. Picture taken June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
U.S. Nabra Hassanen, 17, a Muslim girl killed by a bat-wielding motorist near a Virginia mosque was an apparent victim of "road rage" and her death is not being investigated as a hate crime, police said. Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, of Sterling, has been arrested and charged with murder in the incident that began with a road dispute with a boy on a bicycle who was among a group of teenagers that included Hassanen, Fairfax County police spokeswoman Julie Parker said. Martinez chased the youths into a parking lot, emerged from his car with a baseball bat, and struck Hassanen, she said. Otto Warmbier, 22, a University of Virginia student who was arrested in North Korea while visiting as a tourist, died just days after he was released from captivity in a coma, his family said. He had been described by doctors caring for him last week as having extensive brain damage that left him in a state of "unresponsive wakefulness."
Congo Congolese security forces and a militia fighting them have killed at least 3,383 people in the central Kasai region since October, the Catholic church said, in the most detailed report to date on the violence. Church officials, citing their own sources in the remote territory bordering Angola, said the army had destroyed 10 villages as it sought to stamp out an insurrection.
Business
After Amazon completes its takeover of high-end grocer Whole Foods, it might launch another brand with different standards, the grocery chain's chief executive said in remarks reported in a securities filing. Oil prices fell to seven-month lows after news of increases in supply by several key producers, a trend which has undermined attempts by OPEC and other producers to support the market through reduced output.
A man killed in a crash last year while using the semi-autonomous driving system on his Tesla Model S sedan kept his hands off the wheel for extended periods of time despite repeated automated warnings not to do so, a U.S. government report said. Boeing lifts 20-year industry demand forecast to $6 trillion Barclays and four former top executives have been criminally charged over undisclosed payments to Qatari investors during a 12 billion pound ($15 billion) emergency fundraising in 2008. McDonald’s is trying to please customer palates with a new burger made with fresh beef and billed as hotter and juicer than the original made from a frozen patty. One problem: It takes longer to make. The success of the initiative may well hinge on satisfying speed-minded drive-through patrons who account for 70 percent of the firm's U.S. revenue. | 
