COMM111 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Find Topics

Iran's foreign minister is in Europe meeting with diplomats there as war with Israel continues. Meanwhile, Iranians have been cut off from the global internet for nearly two full days now and hundreds of Israelis are caught in Cyprus, the EU country closest to Israel, still trying to get home. Also, cases of the recently identified COVID-19 variant dubbed "razor blade throat" are rising. And, the Enhanced Games allows athletes to actually take performance enhancing drugs. Plus, the Brooklyn Museum opens a Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.

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Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a draft peace agreement that’s expected to be signed next week and aims to end the fighting in eastern DRC. Also, a look at acts of kindness and support amid the airstrikes in Iran. And, El Salvador courts exiles to return with incentives and promises of safety. Plus, remembering Sir Geoff Palmer, Scotland’s first Black professor, as an innovating grain scientist and human rights activist.

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Protestors battle with police in downtown Nairobi, condemning the death of a 31-year-old teacher and blogger who died more than a week ago while in police custody. Also, Canada and India try to rebuild their fractured relationship. And, Finland cracks down on e-scooters to address a growing number of accidents. Plus, Jewish groups gather for the First Anti-Zionist Congress in Vienna.

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Israelis and Iranians spent the day today fleeing or hiding from the back-and-forth bombing between their two countries. Also, a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap faces a terrorism-related charge. And, the Louvre museum in Paris closes down as staff members protest working conditions. Plus, Switzerland offers 370,000 bunkers, enough to shelter all 9 million residents for up to two weeks during a national emergency.

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Iran agrees to a second day of talks in Geneva over the fate of its nuclear programme. Their meeting marked the first face-to-face dialogue between Tehran and western governments since Israel first attacked Iran a week ago. Also on the programme, witnesses say Israeli military kills 23 Palestinians near aid site in Gaza; and, 50 years since 'Jaws' became the first summer blockbuster.

(Photo: European foreign ministers to meet Iranian officials in Geneva, Switzerland - 20 Jun 2025. MARTIAL TREZZINI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock )

UK, French and German foreign ministers will hold talks with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva today as part of efforts to ease the Israel-Iran conflict.

Also on the programme: lawmakers in the UK hold a crucial vote on legalising assisted dying; and as Italian classical singer Andrea Bocelli releases a duet with the men's tennis world number one, Jannik Sinner, we'll ponder what draws some sports stars to dabble in music.

(Photo: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on June 20, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

In Washington DC earlier, President Trump said he would decide within the next two weeks whether or not to take military action against Iran. The US leader is reported to have agreed a potential plan of attack targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. The BBC’s Nomia Iqbal joins us from Washington to discuss what Trump might be thinking. We also get the latest on the Israeli Soroka Hospital that was struck by an Iranian missile overnight. Also in the programme: Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh tells the BBC it would be "a big mistake” for the US to join in Israeli attacks; One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets explodes on a Texas launchpad; and the project patching fragmented Roman frescoes back together in London.

(Photo: US President Donald Trump answers reporters' questions in the White House in Washington DC, USA, 18th June 2025. Credit: Ken Cedeno/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

In a rare interview with the Iranian government from inside Tehran, Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh tells the BBC's Lyse Doucet it would be "a big mistake" for President Trump to join Israel's bombing campaign. It's a view shared by many of Mr Trump's most loyal supporters; we assess what's at stake, militarily and politically.

Also in the programme: a draft peace deal to end the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and the American businessman buying the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for an eye-watering $10bn.

(IMAGE: Smoke rises near the Milad Tower following an Israeli airstrike on Tehran, Iran, 18 June 2025 / CREDIT: Abedin Taherkenareh / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)