5 Big News Stories Overnight - Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Ghana's Partey loses bid to overturn Canadian visa refusal over rape charges - Team Base Camped in RI

France 24 reports:

A Canadian court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey after he was denied entry into the country for his team's ​game against ‌Panama at the World Cup.

The Canadian government last ⁠week refused a visa for Partey, 33, which led to his lawyers launching a last-minute appeal to ‌the Federal Court in Ottawa. The Black Stars face Panama ⁠in their Group L match in Toronto on Wednesday.

In dismissing the appeal, judge Roger Lafreniere wrote that Partey sought "extraordinary, mandatory interlocutory ​relief" that would have required Canada to set aside ‌a "lawfully rendered inadmissibility finding and facilitate his entry for a specific event."

Russian warship fires shots at yacht in Channel

The Telegraph reports: 

A Russian warship fired shots at an unarmed British vessel in the English Channel in a fresh escalation of tensions with Moscow.

A small, British-flagged yacht reported on Tuesday morning that the Admiral Grigorovich, a 409ft-long Russian frigate, had fired warning shots at around 11.40am.

Military sources told The Telegraph that the incident took place outside UK territorial waters during foggy conditions, and that the Russian vessel had issued several warnings before firing.

But it comes days after the Smyrtos, a shadow tanker carrying sanctioned Russian oil, was boarded and seized by Royal Marines in the Channel.

The incident also took place while G7 leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, met in Évian-les-Bains, France, for talks alongside Volodymyr Zelensky about bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

Iran warns of a ‘harsh response’ as Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon

Al Jazeera reports: 

Iran accuses Israel of violating the truce in Lebanon 84 times since the MoU with US and warns of a “harsh response” if attacks continue.

The warning comes after Israeli forces killed four people in southern Lebanon, and as Trump slammed Netanyahu, saying he has to be “more responsible” in Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says any agreement with the US must include the release of frozen Iranian assets, sanctions relief and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claims to have cancelled the 1997 Hebron agreement, potentially stripping the Palestinian municipality of its authority over construction in the occupied West Bank’s largest city.

Hollywood’s Mass Exodus: Why Film and TV Production Is Fleeing L.A. and What Can Be Done About It

Variety reports:

Los Angeles has been the world’s entertainment capital for 100 years and still has an unmatched concentration of talent and infrastructure. But in an age of globalization, with easy international travel and communication, the city is losing its edge.

Everything costs more in L.A., starting with labor, due to the high cost of living and elaborate union agreements. Other states and countries have developed crew bases of their own, are more solicitous of producers’ needs and offer more generous incentives. Producers are also under pressure from the audience to deliver ever more spectacular experiences. Creating a premium product — at a price — often means going overseas.

These trends have been underway for 20 or 30 years. But since the end of the streaming bubble in 2022, America has lost 73,000 production jobs — two-thirds of them in Los Angeles — bringing the issue of foreign competition to a rapid boil.
 

Senate Republicans want a say on Trump’s Iran deal

Politico reports:

President Donald Trump is touting a deal that would end the monthslong war with Iran — and potentially ease some of the political headwinds bearing down on Republicans.

GOP lawmakers still have lots of questions.

The absence of publicly released text for the “memorandum of understanding” Vice President JD Vance reportedly signed with Iranian officials Sunday left an information vacuum on Capitol Hill, where senators of both parties were left airing concerns about what the deal might entail.

Even most Republicans agreed: More information needs to come to Congress soon, and any agreement touching on the future of the Iranian nuclear program would have to eventually be subject to a congressional vote.

“If you want a deal to last, it can’t be an executive agreement,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “We’ve got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify [it] long term.”