Briton Held By Islamic State Sends Audio Message To Family

The U. S. suspended some new avocado shipments from Mexico after an incident that reportedly threatened the safety of American agricultural inspectors. The U. S. Department of Agriculture notified the Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico (APEAM) of the decision to halt new exports out of Michoacan late on June 14, according to a notice from the trade group seen by Bloomberg News.

London — Actor Ian McKellen was hospitalized Monday after toppling off a London stage during a fight scene in a play. The 85-year-old known for playing Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” films and many stage roles over a six decade career cried out in pain after the fall, according to a BBC journalist at the theater. McKellen was playing John Falstaff in “Player Kings,” a production of Henry IV, parts one and two, adapted and directed by Robert Icke, at the Noel Coward Theatre. He lost his footing and fell off the stage in a scene with the Prince of Wales and Henry Percy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved Israel’s war cabinet on Monday, after two key members quit last week amid disagreement over the direction of the war in Gaza. The cabinet had been made up of six political leaders including Netanyahu and has been responsible for making most major decisions in regards to how Israel conducts the war in Gaza. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Netanyahu cited the resignation of Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Israel Resilience Party, for his decision to dissolve the war cabinet.

NEW DELHI — A cargo train rammed into a passenger train in India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, officials said. Doctors, disaster-response teams and ambulances were engaged in rescue work, the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on social media platform X.

BERLIN — German police said Sunday they shot and wounded a man who was threatening them with an ax and a Molotov cocktail in the northern city of Hamburg, hours before it hosted a match in the European Championship soccer tournament. Police officers opened fire after the man refused to put down the ax and a Molotov cocktail, hitting him in the leg, police spokesman Thilo Marxsen said.

To mark Father’s Day, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, snapped a picture of her husband Prince William, and their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. The official Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales posted Middleton’s photo on Sunday, June 16, with the caption “We love you, Papa.