包容巧固球运动将引入本地三学校 料明年中落实

2026年6月17日 23:32 / 联合早报

律政部长兼内政部第二部长唐振辉（前右一）星期三与来自12个国家的国际巧固球联合会成员，一起体验轮椅巧固球。 （陈渊庄摄）

国际巧固球联合会计划在新加坡的学府和机构推出包容巧固球运动，希望最迟于明年6月引进三所学校。

国际巧固球联合会会长林子轩星期三（6月17日）集合了12个国家联合会成员，在明智中学向媒体推介巧固球和融行动（Unified Tchoukball Movement）。律政部长兼内政部第二部长唐振辉当天也出席这一活动，并坐在运动轮椅上打球，亲身体验参与轮椅巧固球赛。此外，他也宣布正式出任新加坡巧固球总会的顾问。

当天，也是新加坡巧固球总会秘书长的林子轩汇集了26名来自欧洲、泛美、亚洲及非洲大陆的国际巧固球联合会国家代表参与巧固球和融行动。这些国家代表在新加坡逗留期间，将参与一系列工作坊、技术评审和实践训练课程，旨在提升轮椅巧固球（Wheelchair Tchoukball）及和融巧固球的教练标准、裁判培训和参与路径。

轮椅巧固球与和融巧固球的比赛规则不同，但目前联合会还在审核当中。轮椅巧固球旨在让残障人士参与巧固球运动，而和融巧固球是通过让身体健全的人与残障人士一起参与轮椅巧固球，来促进对残障人士的包容和理解。

包容巧固球（Inclusive Tchoukball）正是两者的结合。林子轩希望将这两项运动引进本地校园，提供给不同需求的学生，让那些因残障而无法参与体育课的学生有一项他们能够参与的运动，也让身体健全的学生理解坐轮椅的感觉。他的初步计划是在明年6月前，将包容巧固球引进本地三所学校。

但目前联合会正面临资金上的挑战，一个巧固球赛需要14架轮椅，而这种为运动专门设置的轮椅，一架5000元，如果要长期推行这项运动，学校须购买这些轮椅。这对于学校来说是相当艰巨的。因此，在接下来的四到八年内，林子轩的计划是将这类巧固球带给社区，让更多人能够参与，这样一来才有办法筹集更多的资金。

唐振辉当天是第一次接触和融巧固球，他接受媒体采访时说：“这项运动深化了我对残疾运动员和残障人士的尊重，也让我意识到包容并不是同情，而是通过互动、共同的体验及合作来加深对残障人士的理解。”

意大利退休体育教师发起轮椅巧固球

来自意大利的国际巧固球联合会副会长琪亚拉（Chiara Volonte）正是轮椅巧固球的发起人。她是一名退休的体育教师，在2005年阅读了一本巧固球相关的书后，被当中的“人人都能参与体育”的概念所吸引，萌生了发起轮椅巧固球的想法。

她和团队在米兰的一所医院与运动科患者、物理治疗师以及医生和护士，进行了几轮试验之后，在2008年向意大利巧固球协会提交轮椅巧固球的规则，并在2010年得到批准，正式在意大利推行。

琪亚拉随后提出全球推广设想并获得林子轩支持，两人携手开启了巧固球和融行动。

新加坡是意大利之后，推介轮椅巧固球的第二站。林子轩希望未来能将这项运动推展到更高的赛事舞台，让更多世界各地的人参与。

巧固球和轮椅巧固球规则的异同

普通巧固球的基本玩法是球员于3米半圆的禁区外射球，球反弹出禁区且落场区内得分。但轮椅巧固球的玩法则是球员于2米半圆的禁区外射球，球必须反弹出3米半圆的禁区外才能得分。

琪亚拉解释说，这是因为当人坐在轮椅上，是很难控制轮椅在3米半圆的禁区外扭转方向射球的，因此她和团队就想到多加入一个禁区。

此外，在普通的巧固球赛中，运动员最多能持球三秒，但轮椅巧固球却允许持球五秒。这是考虑到球员须边传球边操控轮椅。其余规则与普通巧固球保持一致。

截至2025年3月，BBC雇有约2万1500名员工。 （路透社）

英国广播公司（BBC）星期三（6月17日）宣布削减550个工作岗位，新闻部门及内容部门也将受影响。

路透社报道，这是BBC新总裁布里廷（Matt Brittin）在未来三年砍掉5亿英镑（约8亿6000万新元）运营成本的一部分。

随着受众群体尤其是年轻群体转向流媒体和其他数码平台，BBC在保持影响力和吸引力面对艰巨挑战。

今年3月，BBC任命谷歌前高管布里廷为新总裁。当时BBC主席萨米尔·沙（Samir Shah）说，BBC需要进行彻底改革，而布里廷说，BBC面临生死存亡的“真正风险”。

此次新闻部门裁员将包括关闭一些长寿节目、合并不同节目的制作团队以及对资深出镜岗位如主持人和记者等进行重新评估。

截至2025年3月，BBC雇有约2万1500名员工。BBC说，6月17日宣布的改革方案预计将为公司节省约1亿6000万英镑，离5亿英镑的目标还有一段距离。未来几个月内将公布更多节省开支的举措，其中包括在BBC行政部门裁员约700人。

未来三年，BBC预计将裁员1800人至2000人。

称G7峰会成功 马克龙：特朗普承认俄罗斯不愿实现和平

2026年6月17日 23:43 / 联合早报

马克龙说，特朗普与其他出席G7峰会的领导人都承认，俄罗斯并不希望结束与乌克兰的战争，这表明美国在俄乌战争问题上的立场发生了真正的转变。 （路透社）

法国总统马克龙说，七国集团（G7）领导人一致认为，俄乌战争的战场态势已转向有利于乌克兰。

路透社报道，为期三天的七国集团峰会星期三（6月17日）在法国埃维昂闭幕，马克龙在峰会闭幕后的新闻发布会说：“乌克兰正在推进、抵抗，而俄罗斯正在倒退。”

他指出，美国总统特朗普与其他出席峰会的领导人都承认，俄罗斯并不希望结束与乌克兰的战争。

马克龙认为，这表明美国在俄乌战争问题上的立场发生了“真正的转变”。

他也认为，此次七国集团峰会取得成功，此前数月“充斥着分裂、分歧和争执”，而此次峰会是“团结、有意义的讨论、与会领导人真诚合作的时刻”。

马克龙还赞扬七国集团领导人“重新动员”加大对俄罗斯的压力，以促成乌克兰和平进程。

王毅与伊朗外长通电话 吁妥善处理霍尔木兹通航问题

2026年6月17日 23:55 / 联合早报

中国外长王毅（右）5月6日在北京同伊朗外长阿拉格齐举行会谈。 （路透社）

中国外长王毅星期三（6月17日）应约同伊朗外长阿拉格齐通电话，表示中国对美伊达成第一阶段谅解备忘录表示欢迎，和平的曙光已经出现。王毅并呼吁妥善处理霍尔木兹海峡通航问题，稳妥回应国际社会的普遍关切。

为美伊居中斡旋的巴基斯坦总理谢里夫星期一（6月15日）宣布，美国和伊朗已达成协议，同意立即永久停止在所有战线的军事行动，并定于星期五（19日）在瑞士正式签署协议。

美国总统特朗普星期二（16日）在法国出席七国集团（G7）会议期间表示，将在星期五前实现霍尔木兹海峡全面重开。

据中国外交部官网消息，阿拉格齐星期三在与王毅的通话中，通报了伊朗和美国达成第一阶段谅解备忘录有关情况，衷心感谢北京为推动谈判和达成协议发挥的积极作用。

王毅表示，中国对美伊达成第一阶段谅解备忘录表示欢迎。事实证明，武力和强权解决不了问题，对话谈判才是正确的选择。

王毅指出，作为全面战略伙伴，中国始终支持伊朗的合理正当主张，支持伊朗维护自身主权和安全，支持巴基斯坦以及国际社会的斡旋努力，并且一直以自己的方式止战促和。和平的曙光已经出现，下步的关键是各方把承诺真正落到实处，并排除来自各方面的干扰。

王毅强调，霍尔木兹海峡通航问题应得到妥善处理，稳妥回应国际社会的普遍关切。中国支持伊朗同地区国家改善关系，探索共同构建地区安全架构。北京也愿同德黑兰加强沟通协调，在巩固深化中伊关系的同时，为维护和促进地区和平稳定继续作出贡献。

中国官方引述阿拉格齐表示，有关谅解备忘录应得到执行，包括以色列停止对黎巴嫩的军事行动。伊朗始终从战略高度看待对华关系，期待同中国增进彼此互信，深化各领域合作，共同推进两国全面战略伙伴关系。

Her ex racked up $7,000 of credit card debt, crumbling her finances. Now, a new law could require abusers to pay.

June 17, 2026 / 11:25 AM EDT / CBS News

By Cara Tabachnick News Editor

Four years into her second marriage, she didn’t ask questions when her husband asked her to sign on to a credit card in her name. But then the relationship turned abusive, she said. When she left her marriage, she found herself in financial distress, with her credit score tanking hundreds of points after her former husband used the credit card and didn’t make payments.

“I never used the card that was issued,” Juliette, who asked CBS News not to use her full name for personal safety reasons, said.

But she now had close to $7,000 of debt in her name and no clear way to remove herself from their shared account. The bank wanted the couple to meet in person to dissolve the account, Juliette said, but she had an order of protection against her former husband and didn’t want to be in the same room.

“There was an issue of safety,” she said, adding she couldn’t believe or understand how the bank didn’t have a system in place to assist survivors of domestic abuse.

She said she fled her former husband’s home with her two children to live in a roach-filled apartment in the Bronx. She had no choice, she said, after her credit score fell from around 800 to 460. No other landlord would rent to her.

Juliette has a story similar to thousands of domestic violence survivors — but states are beginning to enact legislation that could help them and other survivors of economic abuse.

Legislation in New York, which was signed into law last year and goes into effect on Wednesday, will make it the eighth state to allow relief from coerced debt for survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse and human trafficking.

Proponents of the law say that relief can be life changing. Opponents say the law can be ripe for abuse. New York’s law was amended after pushback from financial institutions, narrowing the scope of relief. A spokesperson for the American Financial Services Association said the amendment closed the loopholes: “A remedy built for legitimate survivors can’t double as a roadmap for cheats.”

Half of domestic violence survivors are coerced into relatively small debts of up to $20,000, according to the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, but the impact reverberates across their life.

“The rippling effects of coerced debt are quite vast,” CSAJ Executive Director Erika Sussman told CBS News. Over the two decades that her organization has been advocating for economic rights for survivors, she has seen debt serve as a barrier to housing, employment, or transportation to work — all things needed for physical safety.

“It adds up and compounds over time,” said Sussman.

When money is tight, abuse can start

Like so many other survivors of economic abuse, Juliette brushed aside her growing concerns about her husband’s gambling problems. Instead, she focused on studying for her nursing degree and raising her teen son and college-age daughter in a brand new country. Widowed in Jamaica, she had followed her second husband to the United States six years after they started dating, eager for a new life.

He would routinely place bets of $4,000, Juliette said, but his salary mostly covered his gambling. Then his debts started to outpace his earnings — and violence began, she said.

“Money got tight, and that is when the abuse really started,” Juliette said.

One night, while she was studying for a nursing exam, the couple got into a fight. She said that after her then-husband broke a chair and threatened her, she called the cops and decided to leave.

A police officer gave her the phone number for Her Justice, a New York-based nonprofit that represents victims of violence, and advised her to call if she needed help. Juliette worked with a lawyer there who helped her file for divorce in 2018.

“I’d make arrangements to leave. And that’s where it started,” she said, recounting the difficulties she faced once she was on her own.

The couple had property in common and an outstanding credit card. She and her attorney said her former husband didn’t pay the credit card bills.

Notices of late statements and bills started to arrive, and Juliette said she had no way of really knowing what was happening. “I could not see the transactions, not get prompts on his late payments or get statements with the late payments,” she said.

Juliette said she was embarrassed to turn to her parents in Jamaica for help.

For some, a clear economic path forward

After more than five years of litigation, Juliette and her former husband finalized their divorce in 2023 — and he was deemed responsible for the credit card debt.

Her lawyer said they had tried to negotiate with the bank several times. The bank didn’t have any reasonable systems to remove Juliette from the card, her lawyer said, which they hope the new law can address.

“The bank can and should go after the person who’s rightfully responsible. So we’ve seen this a lot in the divorce. But what’s new here is now, instead of doing it through the divorce, there’s this other remedy that involves the banks directly,” said Susanna Saul, director of legal services for Her Justice.

The New York coerced debt law won’t help Juliette because it will only apply to debt incurred for survivors after the effective date, June 17, but her hope is that sharing her story will raise awareness for others.

Beyond New York, states like California, Texas, and Illinois have enacted similar measures, granting victims a mechanism to contest liabilities directly with banks. This shift allows survivors to bypass traditional court litigation, such as lengthy divorce proceedings, and seek relief by engaging with creditors.

“This is a critical issue and given the absence of protection at the federal level, states have really taken up the charge to protect survivors,” Sussman said.

New York-based survivors will now be able to challenge their debt directly with creditors. If they succeed, the creditor can go after the responsible party.

“So, the debt is not erased, but the survivor’s liability is discharged,” said Rachel Braunstein, policy director for Her Justice.

After getting a Notice of Coerced Debt, the creditor must review the account, mark the debt “disputed” on credit reports and keep the survivor’s contact info confidential. If the bank accepts the notice, the creditor must stop collecting from the survivor.

Experts do share some concern about how banks will manage the requests. The survivors, however, can sue the creditor and also the alleged abuser if they fail to follow the law.

Juliette has now graduated from nursing school. Her daughter graduated from college. Her son joined the military. And slowly, her credit is inching its way back up. Last she checked, she said, it was hovering in the 600s.

“I’m still able to do a lot of things to date, but the report still has it sitting there,” she said.

Social Security recipients face looming benefit cuts. Can the program be saved?

2026-06-17 11:39:47 EDT / CBS News

By

Social Security’s trust fund is projected to run out of money in just six years, triggering automatic cuts in retirement and disability benefits. Yet experts say the program’s financial problems are fixable — if lawmakers are willing to make difficult choices.

The latest trustees’ report found that Social Security’s finances are being strained by an aging population, lower immigration and tax changes. But unlike some fiscal challenges, the retirement program’s funding gap can be closed through a combination of higher taxes, lower benefits or both, according to policy analysts.

In other words, the debate is less about whether Social Security can be saved than which Americans should bear the cost of saving it.

“It’s a simple math problem — it’s not a simple political problem,” Karen Glenn, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, said in a recent conference call to discuss the program’s finances. “We need to either raise scheduled revenue, reduce scheduled benefits or some combination of the two.”

A common misconception is that Social Security’s insolvency would mean it would no longer offer benefits to the more than 70 million Americans who rely on the program for income.

Instead, beneficiaries would continue to receive monthly checks, though the typical payment — currently $2,071 per month — would be cut by roughly $500, according to a report published earlier this month by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an advocacy group focused on fiscal issues.

“The program is incredibly beloved, so contemplating the idea of reducing those benefits is really difficult,” said Kathleen Romig, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a Social Security expert, on the same call. “We really need to think hard about how to raise enough money so we can afford those benefits because that is what people want.”

Here are five ideas for saving Social Security before it becomes insolvent.

Eliminate the Social Security tax cap

Social Security has applied a tax cap since the program debuted in the 1930s. The cap shields any income over a given amount from the payroll taxes that fund the program. In 2026, the threshold stands at $184,500, meaning that any earnings over that amount are exempt from a 6.2% payroll tax for workers and 6.2% tax for employers.

There are multiple proposals for eliminating or reducing the cap, ranging from phasing it out over time to introducing a “donut hole,” meaning that people earning $184,500 to $250,000 (or even $400,000) wouldn’t be subject to the payroll tax on those earnings. The tax would then kick in again for earnings above $250,000 or $400,000.

Impact: The Social Security Administration’sscoring ofthese proposals found they could close between 22% to 67% of the program’s funding gap, depending on the approach.

Hike the payroll tax

The Social Security payroll tax finances most of the program, but as the U.S. population ages and benefit payments rise, that revenue is no longer enough to cover all of its obligations. As a result, Social Security has been tapping its trust fund to cover the funding gap.

One option would be to raise the payroll tax to make up the difference. The Social Security Administration estimated in this year’s report that a 4.6% tax increase would be needed to keep pace with the program’s requirements. Split between workers and employers, the tax would rise to about 8.5% for each, or a combined 17% — currently, the tax is set at 6.2% for workers and 6.2% tax for employers, or 12.4% overall.

To be sure, raising the payroll tax might be politically unpalatable for lawmakers, who would almost certainly face pushback from businesses and employees, experts note.

“You are getting close to a 20% payroll tax to fund these programs,” said Jason Fichtner, senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank, and a former Social Security Administration official. “That is a huge burden on payrolls — that might really be harmful to labor hiring and labor productivity.”

Another proposal from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests a hybrid approach that would replace the employer’s side of the payroll tax with a flat employer compensation tax on all employer compensation costs. The tax would maintain the same 6.2% rate for employers, but would eliminate the cap and tax all benefits, including wages, stock options and employer-sponsored health insurance.

Impact: Hiking the payroll tax by 4.6% would entirely erase Social Security’s gap, while the employer compensation tax would raise $2.5 trillion over a decade and close two-thirds of the shortfall, the CRFB estimated.

Raise the retirement age

Republican lawmakers have previously proposed raising the U.S. retirement age, reasoning that Americans should delay retirement to account for longer life expectancy. Still, research shows that most people stop working at about age 62, well before they had planned, due to issues beyond their control, such as health concerns or job loss.

Lawmakers pulled that lever in 1983 when the program was also on the verge of insolvency. That raised the full retirement age from 65 to 67 over two decades, with people born in 1960 or later having 67 as their threshold for claiming their full Social Security benefits.

Still, raising the retirement age would amount to a benefit cut because people would receive Social Security payments for fewer years. A 2024 Congressional Budget Office analysis found that increasing the full retirement age from 67 to 69 would reduce annual benefits by an average of 13%.

Although a cut of that size is clearly preferable to a 22% reduction if Social Security becomes insolvent, such a change is unlikely to be acceptable to millions of workers and retirees.

Impact: Depending on how quickly and by how much the retirement age is raised, such a step could address between 16% and 64% of the funding gap, the Social Security Administrationestimates.

Cut benefits for higher-income workers

Some policy experts and Republican lawmakers are suggesting tweaks that would reduce benefits for higher-income workers, reasoning that these Americans are more likely to be financially prepared for retirement through their own savings and 401(k) plans than lower-income workers.

For instance, the 2025 Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House of Representatives, proposed changing the formula that calculates a worker’s benefits by reducing the amount for younger, high-income workers. That means people nearing retirement wouldn’t be affected — nor would lower-income workers, although the proposal didn’t include details on the age or income thresholds for the changes.

A similar idea from the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, would tweak the formula for people earning about $90,000 annually, resulting in a cut to their benefits. For instance, someone who earns an average monthly wage of about $5,000 — a middle-income worker — would see no cut, but a high-income worker with an average monthly wage of $10,000 would see their monthly Social Security check cut by about $260.

Earlier this year, the CFRB suggested another approach: capping Social Security benefits at $100,000 for couples.

Impact:

• Changing the formula for high earners would close 9% of Social Security’s 75-year solvency gap, the American Action Forum said.

• Capping benefits at $100,000 per couple could save as much as $190 billion over a decade and close at least 20% of the program’s solvency gap, the CFRB found.

Tax investment income

Social Security relies on payroll taxes to fund its benefits, but some experts point out that investment income, such as capital gains and dividends, is shielded from tax. That primarily benefits the nation’s wealthiest, highest-earning workers, who also currently don’t pay Social Security taxes on any income above $184,500.

Following the trustees’ report and Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire through the SpaceX IPO, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, touted his plan to shore up Social Security through new taxes on high-income Americans. Aside from raising the tax cap, Sanders is proposing adding a 12.4% tax on all investment and business income.

Blockbuster tech IPOs, such as SpaceX’s June 12 initial stock sale, could prove a boon for Social Security if they were taxed, said Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist and a professor at The New School for Social Research in New York, on the June 11 call.

“We would solve the problem now,” she added.

Impact: Sen. Sanders’ proposal would close Social Security’s funding gap entirely, according to ananalysisfrom the Social Security Administration.

Edited by Alain Sherter

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/social-security-is-on-track-to-become-insolvent-by-2032-putting-benefits-at-risk-of-a-cut/

Social Security is on track to become insolvent by 2032, putting benefits at risk of a cut

(03:03)

4月14日，在黎巴嫩南部城市提尔，流离失所的儿童在收容所里排队，等候领取玩具。 （路透社）

联合国儿童基金会警告，持续冲突对黎巴嫩儿童的影响不断加剧。今年3月以来，黎巴嫩与以色列的冲突已造成247名儿童死亡、992人受伤。

新华社报道，联合国儿童基金会星期三（6月17日）发表声明说指出，受安全局势影响，许多家庭无法返回原居住地，社会基本公共服务中断，数十万儿童流离失所。

据估计，黎境内有超77万名儿童正在承受暴力冲突带来的心理创伤。基会驻黎巴嫩代表科尔西说，许多儿童多次搬迁流离失所，一些人失去亲人或经历严重创伤事件。

儿基会呼吁立即停止敌对行动，切实保护平民及关键基础设施，确保人道主义组织能够不受限制地进入受影响地区开展援助工作。国际社会需加大支持力度，帮助儿童重返校园、恢复获得基本公共服务的机会，并减轻冲突造成的长期负面影响。

Ukraine’s deep strikes leaving Russia short on air defense missiles, possibly at an “unsustainable rate”

2026-06-17 10:14 EDT / CBS News

By

Updated on: June 17, 2026 / 10:16 AM EDT / CBS News

Kyiv — Russia is running low on a key type of missile interceptor, sources tell CBS News, which could be helping Ukraine launch effective strikes deeper inside Russian territory as analysts note a possible changing of the tide in Kyiv’s favor more than four and a half years into the war.

Moscow is experiencing a shortage of S-300 missile interceptors, three Ukrainian officials familiar with the country’s intelligence estimates have told CBS News. The S-300, a surface-to-air missile system designed by the Soviet Union during the 1960s and 70s, has traditionally served as a vital component of Russia’s air defenses against cruise and ballistic missiles.

Throughout its war on Ukraine, Russia has turned to more advanced interceptors for that purpose, including the newer S-350, S-400 and Pantsir-S1 systems. But the S-300s have remained part of Moscow’s defenses against Ukrainian missile and drone strikes.

In 2025, estimates from Ukraine’s intelligence services reported by The New Voice of Ukraine suggested Russia had more than 400 interceptors on hand for S-300PM and S-400 air defense systems.

A Russian S-300V missile launcher operates during a show at the International Military Technical Forum, in an Aug. 17, 2022 file photo taken in Patriot Park, outside of Moscow, Russia. Contributor/Getty

The Ukrainian officials who spoke with CBS News this week did not specify how many interceptors Russia is still believed to have, but they noted a “reduction in Russia’s stockpile of S-300 surface-to-air missiles,” and suggested several possible explanations.

While traditionally used exclusively for air defense, Russia’s military has recently repurposed S-300s for offensive strikes on Ukraine, according to two officials. This has meant reconfiguring their trajectory so they work as surface-to-surface missiles, supplementing other Russian weapons systems such as the Iskander-M and Kinzhal ballistic missiles.

Ukraine has also depleted Russia’s stocks by forcing it to try and intercept regular volleys of newer, more capable drones, including some equipped with jet engines that are faster and fly further than older models. That has led Russia to expend interceptors it might otherwise have reserved to defend itself against Ukrainian missiles.

Ukraine has sought to exacerbate the shortages by directly targeting Russia’s air defenses, analysts say.

“In the last few months, Ukraine has destroyed or targeted a large number of air defense systems in the occupied areas — in Crimea, in Dniester, Luhansk, and elsewhere,” said Rob Lee, a Russian military expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Many of Russia’s air defense missiles are being used up very rapidly, at a kind of unsustainable rate, because Ukraine can produce more deep strike drones than Russia can, in some cases, produce air defense missiles.”

Replenishing stocks may prove challenging for Russia. One Ukrainian official told CBS News that Moscow lacks key components to build interceptor missiles — including guidance seekers and control modules. The official said Russia, long under heavy sanctions, is encountering difficulties in obtaining such components from Western and Chinese manufacturers.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/russia-war-rages-on-as-ukraine-generals-claim-advances-against-putins-troops/

Ukrainian intelligence officials cautioned that Russia still has other capable, more modern air defense systems to defend against strikes.

Moscow prioritizes “producing missiles for the more modern” air defense systems to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, Oleh Chornyi, the acting head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), told CBS News.

And Ukraine has air defense problems of its own. Kyiv has sounded the alarm this year on its shortage of American PAC-3 interceptors, which are the most reliable defense against Russia’s ballistic missiles.

Fabian Hoffman at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies estimates that Russia may soon ramp up its production of ballistic missiles to 600 or even 800 per year. Lockheed Martin, which makes the PAC-3 interceptors used by Ukraine, only delivered 620 worldwide last year.

Still, the intelligence analysis suggesting Russian shortages comes amid wider assessments of a shift in favor of Kyiv on the battlefield.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met G7 leaders in France this week, drones launched by his country struck an oil refinery deep inside Russia.

“This time, the Moscow region felt the reach of Ukraine’s long-range capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia must be forced to end its war against our people, and Ukraine’s long-range weapons are one of the important components of such pressure.”

4月14日，在黎巴嫩南部城市提尔，流离失所的儿童在收容所里排队，等候领取玩具。 （路透社）

联合国儿童基金会警告，持续冲突对黎巴嫩儿童的影响不断加剧。今年3月以来，黎巴嫩与以色列的冲突已造成247名儿童死亡、992人受伤。

新华社报道，联合国儿童基金会星期三（6月17日）发表声明说指出，受安全局势影响，许多家庭无法返回原居住地，社会基本公共服务中断，数十万儿童流离失所。

据估计，黎境内有超77万名儿童正在承受暴力冲突带来的心理创伤。基会驻黎巴嫩代表科尔西说，许多儿童多次搬迁流离失所，一些人失去亲人或经历严重创伤事件。

儿基会呼吁立即停止敌对行动，切实保护平民及关键基础设施，确保人道主义组织能够不受限制地进入受影响地区开展援助工作。国际社会需加大支持力度，帮助儿童重返校园、恢复获得基本公共服务的机会，并减轻冲突造成的长期负面影响。

Tropical Storm Arthur, the first Atlantic tropical cyclone of the year, forms off Texas’ Gulf Coast

June 17, 2026 / 11:23 AM EDT / CBS News

Tropical Storm Arthur formed Wednesday off the Gulf Coast of Texas, becoming the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The storm developed near the middle of the Texas coast, about 40 miles from Port O’Connor and 190 miles from Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was traveling northeastward with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, which just cleared the threshold to be considered a tropical storm.

Minimal changes in strength are forecast as Arthur makes its way toward and, potentially, onto land, the National Hurricane Center said. But the storm is expected to speed up while its center moves either along or over coastal Texas at some point on Wednesday. After continuing on its track into southern Louisiana, Arthur is expected to turn inland before weakening.

Regardless of Arthur’s progression, the National Hurricane Center warned the storm would continue to bring heavy rain and flooding to a vast stretch of the southeastern United States, from Houston to Atlanta. In an advisory, forecasters said the storm was “expected to cause life-threatening flooding” and powerful winds in parts of the region.

Nikki Nolan/CBS News

Tropical storm warnings were in place from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, meaning tropical storm conditions were expected in those areas within 12 hours. A tropical storm watch was also issued from Sargent, Texas, to High Island, which means tropical storm conditions were possible within the same time frame, but not necessarily guaranteed.

Arthur started developing earlier this week, as a tropical disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico. It emerged and strengthened as coastal communities in the path of the storm contended with ongoing bouts of intense rain, which triggered dangerous flash flooding in multiple states.

Arthur will likely dump 5 to 10 inches of rain on sections of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, along with western portions of the Florida Panhandle. They also warned that storm surge could reach 4 feet above normal levels in coastal areas that normally stay dry, depending on the timing of high tide.

“The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves,” the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was also expected to produce “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the northwestern Gulf Coast for the next couple of days,” it added. Some tornadoes may be possible, too.

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, although tropical storm and hurricane activity usually peaks between August and October. Forecasters predicted this season will bring fewer storms than an average year, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest outlook calling for eight to 14 named storms, of which three to five might grow into hurricanes.

Nikki Nolan contributed to this report.