Daily World Briefing, June 14

Iran media says 2 Israeli jets down, Israel denies

Iran's air defense has downed two Israeli Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets as well as a large number of micro aerial vehicles, capturing a female Israeli pilot, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The Iranian army has not officially confirmed the report.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rejected the report. In a statement, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee called the claim "completely baseless."

Israeli army says struck Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Effie Defrin said in a video briefing that Israeli air force fighter jets had completed an attack on the Isfahan nuclear facility in central Iran on Friday evening.

It added that the strike was carried out with precise guidance from the IDF Intelligence Directorate.

The IDF claimed that the site was undergoing a uranium re-enrichment process, the next stage after enriching uranium in the nuclear weapons production process.

The attack destroyed a uranium metal production facility, an infrastructure for converting enriched uranium, laboratories, and other infrastructure, it added.

Indian aviation minister says black box of crashed plane recovered

Indian Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu posted on social media on Friday that the flight data recorder (Black Box) of the crashed plane has been recovered from the accident site in Ahmedabad by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

"This marks an important step in the investigation and will greatly help the accident investigation," He posted.

The Hindustan Times reported on Friday that the black box of the plane had been found on the rooftop of a building aircraft crashed into.

Trump's immigration crackdown in California impacts state economy

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is stepping up deportation efforts in California with immigration raids at restaurants, traffic stops and routine legal check-ins, but economists warn that, long term, fewer immigrants could take a hit to the economy, prompting labor shortages and slowing economic growth.

"Immigrants play a huge role in the California economy," USA Today on Friday quoted Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, as saying. Without immigrants, "there will be less economic growth. Less opportunity, also, for local companies and American workers."

Rebel leaders open to peaceful resolution in DR Congo: UN envoy

Leaders of the rebel group, March 23 Movement, have expressed their willingness to resolve the ongoing crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through peaceful means, a senior United Nations official said Friday.

The statement was made during a press briefing by Bintou Keita, special representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC, following a meeting with the leadership of M23 and the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a politico-military group allied to the M23, in the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu Province, which has been under rebel rule since late January.

"The leaders of AFC/M23 conveyed their readiness to engage in dialogue and pursue a peaceful solution," the UN envoy said.■