The 10 most important things in the world right now
REUTERS/Enrique Calvo Riders rear up on their horses while surrounded by a cheering crowd during the traditional Fiesta of San Joan (Saint John) in downtown Ciutadella, Balearic Island of Menorca, Spain June 23, 2015.Hello! Here's what you need to know for Thursday.
1. The eurozone's finance ministers will meet Thursday in Brussels to continue negotiations over a bailout deal for Greece after Athens' new proposals were rejected Wednesday by international creditors.
2. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected a 10-year restriction on nuclear research and said the country won't sign a final nuclear deal with world powers unless economic sanctions are lifted, less than one week before the June 30 deadline for a nuclear agreement.
3. Photographs released by the Syrian government suggest that Islamic State destroyed two historic tombs near Palmyra, the ancient Syrian city that militants seized last month.
4. The US Senate finally passed legislation on Wednesday that gives President Obama the power to negotiate major trade agreements with 12 countries, including Japan, Chile, and Australia.
5. France and Saudi Arabia signed deals worth $12 billion on Wednesday, including contacts for 23 Airbus H145 helicopters used for emergency services or border patrols.
6. Wildfires in the US are sweeping across drought-ridden Western states, leading to hundreds of evacuations across California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
7. A second New York prison employee has been arrested in connection with the escape of two convicted murderers for allegedly bringing them tools in frozen hamburger meat.
8. Germany warned Wednesday that there's been a sharp rise in the number of young women leaving Germany to fight with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, noting that about 700 Germans had left to join the militants.
9. The governor of Alabama has ordered the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the Southern state's Capitol, following nationwide calls to banish the symbol that has been embraced by white supremacists.
10. Four Greenpeace demonstrators breached security at New Zealand's parliament by scaling the roof to protest the government's lack of action on promoting renewable energy.
And finally ...
Lexus has built a functional prototype of a hoverboard.