Category: World

Until Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump was riding a near-perfect record of endorsements, with wins in Indiana, Louisiana and Texas. ​But that ended with the defeat of U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra in the Republican primary for Iowa governor.
Nonetheless, the Trump-backed candidate for governor in ‌California appears to be on track to compete in the November election after a night that saw bright spots for Democrats as well.

Cathy Smithwick, now 67, has lived with breast cancer, and then ovarian cancer, for more than 20 years with the help of targeted drugs, drugs that harness the body’s ​immune system, chemotherapy and hormone pills.
Michelle Vacca, who recently turned 59, has had lung cancer for nearly 10 years and is doing well on an experimental drug that targets ‌a rare tumor mutation.

Both are among a growing number of Americans living with cancer as scientists continue to unravel the biological underpinnings of the disease and develop new drugs that target a tumor’s genetic signature.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 18 million, Americans who have ever had cancer are alive today.
A record 7 out of 10 cancer patients now survive for at least five years, up from less than half in the 1970s and 63% in the mid-1990s, when drugs designed to ​specifically damage cancer cells began to emerge, according to the cancer society.
Chemotherapy that kills all fast-growing cells — still a backbone in oncology treatment — had been the only option for most cancers.
“It’s ​taken decades for us to really understand the biology of cancer,” said Rebecca Siegel, head of surveillance research at the cancer group. She expects survival rates ⁠to continue to rise, although cancer, which becomes more common with age, will likely remain the No. 2 cause of death after heart disease.

The just-concluded meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago ​highlighted a study showing that cancer deaths in people between the ages of 15 and 49 have dropped 25%, since 1990, along with trial results for new life-extending drugs for pancreas cancer, skin cancer and blood cancers.
Cancer develops when ​mutations in cellular DNA cause cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. The changes can be triggered by exposure to things like tobacco or ultraviolet rays, but in a smaller number of cases the mutations are inherited.
To secure regulatory approval, a new drug needs to be safe and effective, often using measurements like tumor shrinkage rather than overall survival. Less than a third, of cancer drugs approved in recent years were shown to extend life spans.
Success rates are improving in part because ​trials that select patients based on specific genetic markers or mutations have nearly doubled, the success rate of unselected trials.

Newer options like Revolution Medicines’ (RVMD.O), daraxonrasib, which targets a variant of the RAS gene that drives cancer ​growth, can allow patients to overcome resistance to standard treatments, said Dr. Vincent Chung, pancreas cancer specialist at City of Hope, a national cancer research and treatment organization.
“This is how you have patients that are living with cancer… ‌if you’ve been ⁠on a targeted therapy, you’re going to be probably more sensitive to the older chemotherapy again,” he said.

LIVING, BUT WITH CANCER

Smithwick, who worked as a management consultant in Silicon Valley until retiring after a second ovarian cancer recurrence four years ago, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Her tumor tested positive for a protein called HER2 – found in around 25% of breast cancers – and she was given Roche’s (ROPC.S), Herceptin, one of the first antibody drugs designed to block a cancer-causing protein.

She was not tested for the BRCA1 gene mutation associated with cancer risk until a sister was diagnosed with breast cancer several years later.
Smithwick was diagnosed ​with ovarian cancer after surgery in 2010. If ​her cancer became resistant to a drug, other ⁠treatments were started, but she had an allergic reaction to platinum-based chemo and can no longer get that treatment.
She now takes an estrogen-targeting pill, but if her tumor gets large enough, doctors at Kaiser Permanente will do a biopsy to test for other genetic markers.
“They will test for all available markers,” said ​Smithwick, who did a 4-mile climb in the Himalayas of Bhutan in November and will embark on a fourth trip to Kenya this summer. “Meanwhile I ​am living my life.”
Vacca, an ⁠office manager in Orange County, California, who has never smoked, was diagnosed with lung cancer at an early stage during an unrelated chest x-ray.
After surgery, a biopsy showed a mutation known as EGFR and Vacca was treated with AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L), tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tagrisso, but the cancer came back.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/its-still-working-more-are-living-with-cancer-era-targeted-drugs-takes-hold-2026-06-03/

Ukrainian drones hit ​an oil terminal in St Petersburg and a warship in dry-dock at a nearby naval base, hours before Vladimir Putin’s showcase economic forum got under ‌way in the city, in a clear attempt to embarrass the Kremlin chief.
The attack on Putin’s home city, location of his own ‘Davos’ – a glitzy annual economic forum designed to attract foreign investment – comes as both sides dial up strikes against each other in their more than four-year-old war with no imminent end in sight.

The Kremlin said Russia would keep striking Ukraine systematically in ​response to such attacks, part of what it has described as a new “paradigm” in the conflict.
Unspecified “infrastructure objects” had been attacked in three districts ​of Russia’s second-biggest city and home to over 5 million people, Alexander Beglov, its governor, said. Air defences shot ⁠down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said.
“Several facilities have been damaged. Clean-up operations are currently underway. Several people have ​been injured. There have been no fatalities,” Beglov said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed his drones had struck the fuel terminal and said they ​had also targeted a military facility in Kronstadt on an island near the city where elements of Russia’s Baltic Fleet and major shipbuilding and repair facilities are located.
Ukraine released a video which showed a drone striking a Russian warship, the corvette Boiky, in what it said was a dry dock at Kronstadt. Reuters was able to verify the location of the attack ​and the model of the vessel, but could not independently verify how seriously the ship or the oil terminal had been damaged.

Unconfirmed video posted to social media ​showed locals filming Ukrainian aeroplane-style drones as they flew over parts of the city as fires appeared to rage at the export fuel terminal in the background. What sounded ‌like anti-aircraft ⁠fire could be heard as one drone flew on unhindered.

Given the importance of the event to Moscow, the Ukrainian attack is likely to raise questions inside Russia about how effective its own air defence capabilities are, a problem that Ukraine is also grappling with. The location of the economic forum itself was heavily protected and there was no suggestion that Ukrainian drones had got close to the venue.

PLUME OF SMOKE

A plume of grey smoke was visible from St ​Petersburg’s historic city centre and Reuters ​correspondents reported hearing loud explosions on ⁠Wednesday morning. The same explosions would also have been heard by hundreds of forum guests, some of whom had flown in ahead of the first day of discussion.
Some of the most prominent guests this year are from Saudi Arabia, ​including Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
An eclectic group of Americans, including ex-Hollywood star Steven Seagal and right-wing ​influencer Candace Owens, are ⁠due to attend. Rodney Mims Cook Jr, named by President Donald Trump to head the Commission of Fine Arts overseeing his White House ballroom, is the first serving U.S. official to attend since 2018, according to the Kremlin.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-drones-strike-oil-terminal-st-petersburg-putins-davos-gets-under-way-2026-06-03/

The Brazilian government expressed “deep ​disagreements” with the United ‌States’ proposal of new tariffs linked to forced ​labor in a ​statement on Wednesday, saying ⁠the move distorts the ​issue of protecting ​working conditions to justify unilateral, protectionist measures.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-rejects-proposed-us-tariffs-related-forced-labor-2026-06-03/

Two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members on Wednesday distanced themselves from his pick of loyalist Bill ‌Pulte to serve as acting U.S. spy chief, as Republican lawmakers criticized his lack of national security experience.
The unusual pushback from members of Trump’s own party highlighted concerns about his decision to appoint a mortgage regulator with no national security experience to oversee the nation’s sprawling intelligence apparatus.

Testifying in separate congressional hearings, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury ​Secretary Scott Bessent did not defend Trump’s decision. Bessent clarified that he had not threatened to punch Pulte in the face during ​a confrontation last year.
“I actually said I was going to kick his ass,” Bessent told lawmakers.

SOME REPUBLICAN SENATORS WOULDN’T SUPPORT ⁠NOMINATION

Several Republican senators said they would not support Pulte if Trump nominated him to serve permanently as director of national intelligence. With a narrow ​53-47 majority, Trump’s Republicans can afford few defections to approve his nominees.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said the law that created the job required nominees with extensive ​national security experience.

“No nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote,” he said in a statement.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis likewise said he would not support Pulte’s nomination.
The unusual pushback comes as Trump’s grip is loosening on Capitol Hill.
Republican lawmakers this week refused to fund his White House ballroom and forced him to shelve a fund that ​would have distributed $1.8 billion to alleged victims of government “weaponization,” including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Pulte, an heir to the residential development ​firm PulteGroup, has used his position as head of a low-profile mortgage regulator to push for fraud investigations of several of Trump’s perceived foes, though none have resulted ‌in criminal ⁠charges.
Pulte had no national security experience before Trump said he would replace Tulsi Gabbard when her tenure ends on June 30. The interim appointment would last 210 days.

That is seen as an asset by some of Trump’s supporters.
“He is independent from the CIA and from other corrupt and politicized elements within our intelligence community. Bill Pulte is committed to exposing the truth to the American people, and is 100% loyal to the president of the United States,” ​Roger Stone, a political operative who ​has worked on and off with ⁠Trump for decades, told Reuters.
The DNI oversees the 18 intelligence agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency.
Pulte’s appointment comes as the U.S. is embroiled in a war with Iran and confronting other foreign ​policy challenges, including Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s growing military and financial clout.
Testifying before the House Foreign ​Affairs Committee, Rubio, who ⁠also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, was asked if he knew of Pulte’s name “in the context of the intelligence community.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rubio-never-heard-trump-pick-pulte-matters-involving-us-intelligence-2026-06-03/

Around 20 flights carrying medical equipment and specialist staff have landed at a base in Kenya where the U.S. ​government is continuing to build an Ebola quarantine facility despite protests and Kenyan court orders blocking it, according to flight data and officials.
At least two ‌people have been killed in protests in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki, home to the Kenyan air force base where the U.S. military is building a 50-bed unit for Americans who might be exposed to the virus, which has infected hundreds in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

A U.S. diplomatic cable, part of which was seen by Reuters, said Kenya’s President William Ruto may have underestimated domestic opposition to the plan, which has ​triggered criticism the U.S. is offloading the risk of caring for its own patients.
A Kenyan court first ordered work on the Ebola facility to be suspended on May ​28, yet U.S. military flights into Nanyuki continued in the days that followed, according to data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
The data showed at ⁠least six military aircraft, including C-130 and C-17 transport planes, had landed in Nanyuki since May 24, with three landing after the court order.

The planes have brought in technical ​equipment as well as dozens of physicians, engineers, lab experts and construction workers, but no patients, according to a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified.
The U.S. embassy in ​Nairobi said on Wednesday it was aware of the court action and it was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections”.
Ruto has defended approving the facility, telling reporters on Monday: “We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing.” He did not comment on the court order.

EVERYONE IN, EXCEPT THE PATIENTS

Around 20 flights had landed between May 23 and May 31, according to the U.S. official and ​another source with direct knowledge of the matter.
“They have got everything and everyone in, except any patients,” according to the second source.
On Tuesday, a Kenyan court blocked the plan for ​a further three weeks and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington.

But the second source said work was continuing and the facility could be ready by Thursday. “The U.S. will only stop ‌if the Kenyan ⁠government tells them to stop,” the source added.
The U.S. official said flights were paused on Monday due to “confusion” over the court order and what it means, but the pause was lifted on Wednesday after the Kenyan authorities told U.S. officials that they could proceed with preparations.
Further supplies, including specialised equipment, testing kits and protective gear would be flown in, they said.

UNDERESTIMATING OPPOSITION TO PLAN

In the cable, sent to Washington on June 2 according to two U.S. officials, the embassy in Nairobi flagged that anger over the Ebola facility came on top of ​pressure on Ruto’s government stemming from rising fuel ​prices and the imminent anniversary of anti-government protests ⁠that killed dozens in 2024.

“In agreeing to host the bio-isolation facility, President Ruto may have underestimated the depth and intensity of public opposition,” the U.S. cable said.
“The continued work on the facility – despite a court injunction halting construction – has further fuelled criticism.”
Ruto said the facility ​was part of a wider plan to prepare Kenya for any Ebola cases and was in line with a long-running health partnership with ​Washington. The U.S. said ⁠last week it would provide $13.5 million for Kenya’s Ebola preparedness effort.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-kit-experts-arrive-kenya-ebola-facility-despite-court-order-protests-2026-06-03/

Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration said on Wednesday, ​in a boost to hopes for a broader deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Tehran, which had conditioned any deal with the U.S. in part on an end to fighting ‌between Israel and Lebanon, earlier struck Kuwait, damaging its airport and injuring dozens while the U.S. military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.

The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the evacuation of all its operatives from the South Litani Sector, a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department said following negotiations in Washington.
The two sides had agreed last month to a ceasefire but hostilities had continued. Israel invaded Lebanon in March in pursuit of Lebanese ​militant group Hezbollah, which fired across the border in support of Tehran.
The attacks on Kuwait and in the strait are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran, sending oil prices up nearly 2%, ​as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended after an Iranian drone and ⁠missile attack damaged airport facilities and diplomatic missions, killing one person and injuring more than 60 others, Kuwaiti authorities and state media said.
Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways later resumed flights after taking safety measures, the civil aviation ​authority said.
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they did not fire at Kuwait’s airport and blamed the destruction on U.S. interceptor missiles that failed to hit their targets, according to Iranian state media.
The U.S. military said that was not ​accurate, and that Iranian drones targeted the airport deliberately.
Earlier, Iranian media reported the Revolutionary Guards had attacked the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a U.S. airbase, as well as a vessel identified as Panaya. U.S. Central Command denied its bases had been hit and said Iranian ballistic missiles failed to strike their targets in the region.

CENTCOM said it had carried out a new round of “defensive strikes” in southern Iran, targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats seeking to lay mines, and conducted ​strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz after attempted Iranian attacks.

CEASEFIRE STRAINED BY FLARE-UPS

Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region, home ​to U.S. military bases.
Hostilities have periodically flared up in recent weeks despite a ceasefire agreed in early April, as the U.S. has pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas ‌shipments before the ⁠war.

Last week, Iran and the U.S. signalled progress towards a tentative initial agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait, but the two sides have yet to sign off on the deal, which would leave more complex negotiations for later.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen on Wednesday that talks had not been cut off but no progress had been made.
In addition to Tehran conditioning a deal on an end to fighting in Lebanon, it also wants access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, waivers on sanctions on crude exports, a lifting of a U.S. blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the strait.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is under pressure to ​bring down fuel prices, has said his top priority is ​to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran ⁠says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes. In a podcast interview released on Wednesday, Trump said Iran had agreed to not have a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei was involved in negotiations.
Later on Wednesday Trump suggested there could be progress in negotiations with Iran as soon as this weekend.
“If it happens, it could happen over the ​weekend,” Trump told reporters in the White House’s Oval Office, without elaborating on what he expected to happen within that timeframe.
Trump said that parties were working to ​separate the issue of reopening ⁠the strait from the conflict in Lebanon.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hostilities-flare-iran-war-oil-jumps-with-talks-stalemate-2026-06-03/

Scott Pelley accused CBS News management under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to inject “falsehoods and bias” into reporting after the veteran correspondent was fired Tuesday.

Pelley, who spent 37 years at CBS News and became one of the most recognizable faces of “60 Minutes,” leveled a series of extraordinary allegations against CBS News leadership without giving specifics.

“For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story,” the 68-year-old Pelley wrote. “I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.”

Pelley claimed he repeatedly resisted those efforts.

“To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them,” he said.

He also alleged that politicians had been given influence over editorial decisions.

“Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast,” Pelley wrote. “Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done.”

Pelley appeared to be alluding to a Post exclusive that found that Weiss allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to choose CBS News correspondent Major Garrett as the journalist who would interview him — even though “60 Minutes” star Lesley Stahl had been angling to get the sit-down for months.

Garrett’s interview with Netanyahu was aired on “60 Minutes” even though he is not a part of the show’s full-time roster of correspondents.

In his first public statement since CBS News terminated his employment, Pelley blasted the network’s new leadership and claimed “the collapse of values at the top has become untenable” following the recent ouster of top producers and correspondents.

“Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause,” Pelley wrote in a statement posted to Instagram early Wednesday.

“Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.”

The broadside comes just two days after Pelley confronted newly installed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton during a contentious staff meeting.

See more

According to accounts of the meeting, Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering ‘60 Minutes’” and said she “was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.”

CBS News terminated Pelley after the confrontation, capping a tumultuous week that also saw the departures of executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, veteran producer Guy Campanile and staffer Matthew Polvoy.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/media/fired-60-minutes-star-scott-pelley-accuses-cbs-of-pushing-falsehoods-and-bias/

 

 

The warning marks one of the clearest public statements the “Five Eyes” intelligence partners have ever made about an active, ongoing foreign intelligence operation targeting everyday job seekers.

The US and its “Five Eyes” intelligence partners have issued an unprecedented joint warning that Chinese military spies are systematically infiltrating professional job platforms to recruit government insiders and security clearance holders into handing over classified information.

The bulletin, titled “Safeguarding Our Secrets” and published on Wednesday, was jointly released by the US’s FBI, the UK’s MI5, Canada’s CSIS, Australia’s ASIO and New Zealand’s NZSIS – the “Five Eyes” partnership that forms the backbone of Western intelligence sharing.

The warning marks one of the clearest public statements the alliance has ever made about an active, ongoing foreign intelligence operation targeting everyday job seekers.

At the heart of the scheme, according to the bulletin, are Chinese military intelligence officers who construct elaborate fake identities, posing as HR consultants and recruiters working for seemingly legitimate private companies based outside China.

These cover companies advertise analyst positions on mainstream platforms including LinkedIn, Indeed and the freelance marketplace Upwork, sites used daily by millions of professionals worldwide.

The targets are not chosen at random. Agencies said recruiters rank resumes based on the likelihood that an applicant has access to sensitive government information. Security clearance holders, defence specialists and military personnel, particularly those with knowledge of Indo-Pacific operations, are considered prime targets. But the net is cast wider than might be expected: academics, journalists, think tank researchers and freelance writers with even peripheral links to government policy or defence sectors are also considered attractive targets.

The recruitment playbook is methodical. Initial contact is made through a job application. Interviews are conducted virtually, with recruiters concealing their true identities while quietly probing candidates about their access to government contacts or military activities. Candidates are then asked to produce a trial report on topics such as China’s bilateral relations or Indo-Pacific defence matters – an innocuous-sounding test that serves to establish willingness and capability.

From there, the pressure escalates. Recruits are told that future assignments require increasingly privileged or non-public information. Conversations are migrated to encrypted messaging platforms to avoid detection. Payment ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per report – is made through third-party services including PayPal, Wise, Zelle and cryptocurrency, often from accounts belonging to individuals the recruit has never met.

The consequences of participation can be severe. The report noted that Five Eyes agencies have already identified individuals involved in these activities, resulting in criminal prosecutions, job losses and security clearance revocations. Even sharing unclassified information carries risk – agencies warn that routine details about government policy or military installations can be pieced together with other intelligence to build a damaging operational picture.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinese-spies-posing-as-hrs-on-linkedin-to-recruit-assets-warn-us-five-eyes-allies-11588572?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

Protesters have clashed with police in Southampton over the December murder of finance student Henry Nowak. The fatally injured victim was handcuffed by police after his killer accused him of racist abuse.

Demonstrators clashed with police in the southern English city of Southampton on Tuesday while protesting at what they said was an example of anti-white policing in the case of a student killed in December.

Protesters threw stones and other missiles at police in clashes close to the site where 18-year-old Henry Nowak died of his wounds while handcuffed by police after his killer, a Sikh man, accused the victim of racist abuse.

Protest in Southampton turns violent

The protest, attended by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, came after the killer, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years in prison on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters first gathered outside Southampton Central Police Station, with violence breaking out after many of them walked to the area of Portswood where the murder occurred.

Riot police there were forced to retreat from the line they were holding as they were pelted with chairs, rocks and flares, with demonstrators chanting “Henry, Henry.”

The murder has aroused a heated debate in the UK on policing, race and knife crime in the UK.

Unrest has been additionally fueled by the release of a video showing police initially disbelieving Nowak’s statements that he had been stabbed.

What did the video of Nowak’s arrest show?

Body cam footage of the incident on December 3, 2025, shows Nowak lying on the ground in handcuffs repeatedly saying: “I’ve been stabbed,” to which an officer replies: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

Nowak is also heard saying repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.”

When officers finally discovered his injuries, they uncuffed him and started CPR, police said.

His killer was standing nearby and told officers he had also been injured, while claiming that Nowak had knocked off his turban and pulled his hair.

Digwa’s claim of racist abuse was dismissed by the judge who sentenced him.

“You are the only person to make that claim and it is completely at odds with his previous character,” Judge William Mousley told the accused.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and there are questions to be answered about how “accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.”

Digwa used a 21cm (8in) blade he said he carried as part of his Sikh religion to stab Nowak, who was walking home alone after a night out with friends.

Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, has been convicted of assisting an offender after trying to hide the murder weapon. She will be sentenced on July 17.

Far-right outrage

The leader of the far-right party Reform UK, Nigel Farage, said people should respond with “pure cold rage” to Nowak’s treatment by police, calling it evidence of a “two-tier culture.”

Nowak was “actually treated in a way that meant an accusation of a racial slur was treated more seriously than an act of murder,” Farage said, calling it an example of “anti-white prejudice.”

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, however, has criticized the protests in Portswood as being “completely unacceptable.”

She accused the demonstrators of “hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder” despite Nowak’s family’s call not to instrumentalize the murder to fuel social division and hatred.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/uk-protest-erupts-over-student-murder/a-77399817

The scheme was linked to cases of food poisoning that have reportedly affected at least 33,000 children as of April.

Indonesia on Wednesday (Jun 3) arrested the former head of the country’s free school meals programme, blighted by mass food poisonings and corruption claims, a day after he was fired.

The programme was the flagship policy of President Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 election campaign.

Prabowo fired Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist who had led the National Nutrition Agency since its inception in August 2024, along with two deputies on Tuesday. All three were taken into custody in Jakarta on Wednesday.

They stand accused of “crimes in the management” of the programme, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi of the attorney general’s office (AGO) told reporters.

Dadan allegedly influenced the selection of several foundations managing the programme’s kitchens even though they had not met standards, Syarief said, adding that he owned those foundations through external parties.

He was also allegedly involved in the marked up procurement of items, including more than 21,000 electric motorbikes, 32,000 pairs of shoes, and 5,400 televisions.

Authorities earlier raided the nutrition agency’s office as well as the homes of the three defendants, Syarief said.

Two sources, requesting anonymity, told Reuters that AGO personnel raided the agency’s headquarters at 2am local time on Wednesday in multiple vehicles.

The building remained under lockdown at 11am, and employees who were meant to report for duty were not allowed to enter the premises.

The government has budgeted at least US$15 billion for the ambitious programme, which aimed to feed at least 82.9 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women – nearly one-third of the country’s population.

However, investors wary of Prabowo’s big spending plans have worried that fiscal deficit thresholds could be challenged due to the programme.

The programme was among the first budget items to be cut back as Jakarta moved to counter the economic impact of the Middle East war.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-arrests-free-meal-scheme-chief-6159666

CONVICTED murderer Mackenzie Shirilla showed tell-tale signs she was trying to force emotion during her arrest and in her bombshell Netflix interview, a body language expert has claimed.

Shirilla, 21, has been languishing behind bars in Ohio after being found guilty of murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan.

Her case has sent true crime fans into a tailspin after the success of the Netflix documentary, The Crash, in which she broke her silence and maintained her innocence.

Shirilla’s TikToks and Instagram posts have resurfaced, showing her regularly posing in the mirror, showing off designer clothing, and even smoking weed in her car.

Text messages revealed by police showed her toxic relationship with Dominic, her boyfriend of four years, whose family claims had tried more than once to break up with her.

She reportedly threatened to harm him during arguments before purposefully plowing into a brick wall while driving her Toyota Camry on July 31, 2022.

Renowned body language expert Logan Portenier, host and creator of the popular YouTube channel Observe, spent hours breaking down her movements in dozens of social media clips and footage.

Here he gives The U.S. Sun his biggest takeaways from the case.

TikTok star

Shirilla was a social media-obsessed teen before the crash and shared daily posts on TikTok of her and Dom, both at home and out and about, as she was often the center of attention.

Reviewing one clip of them in the car together, Logan said, “He doesn’t seem to be as stoked for this video that she’s filming as she does.

“It didn’t seem as though they were quite on the same page emotionally.

“She’s doing her different poses and expressions for the sake of the video and for his side of things, he seems much more reserved and subdued.

“Because he’s not performing as much for the camera as she is, we’re seeing a fair bit of synchronization across the upper half of his face and the lower half of his face, which lets us know that anything that we’re kind of seeing on that is probably going to be forced. It’s performative.

“And he does, a little lackluster kind of asymmetrical smile on the bottom half of his face.”

Uncomfortable posing

In another clip from Shirilla’s TikTok, the couple is at home, and she is trying to get him to pose in a full-length mirror as he is seen hiding behind her.

“Mackenzie is doing a lot of the posing,” Logan said. “She’s hitting her different looks that she wants to do during this.

“In the background, you could see initially Dom’s nonverbal communication.

“He’s doing a self hug. You can see him holding both of his arms there.

“That is misconstrued in a lot of areas as exclusively defensive,” but Logan feels this is more about comfort.

“What I do find more interesting is that he does shift later on to holding both hands in front.

“So both of those clusters there, he has one in front and then he has his hands clasped in front like that. Both of those signal a level of discomfort.”

Logan added, “We’re seeing again this dichotomy between the two of them.

“He’s kind of there and he’s being present, albeit uncomfortable, reserved, and needing to do a little bit of self-soothing to be able to make it through.”

Distracted driving

Shirilla, who made no secret of being image-conscious before her arrest, frequently posed for TikTok videos — even when she should have been concentrating on the road.

In hindsight, clips showing her filming herself while driving are especially unsettling, given that two young men would later lose their lives in a crash while riding in a car with her behind the wheel.

“It’s very focused on the phone and what she appears like on it, hitting her specific facial expressions as well,” Logan said.

“And on those facial expressions, this helps us understand how she will behave and appear when she’s performing.

“There might be some of that lip pursing that we kind of see in there.

“There are some head tilts in there as well as she’s trying to be perceived in a very specific way, so that performative non-verbal communication comes in handy in future situations, because then you can keep an eye out for some of those patterns that may or may not show up in the future.”

Cuffed and anxious

Shirilla survived the crash and police launched an investigation, as evidence slowly proved it was not an accident and she recovered from multiple surgeries.

Fast-forward to November 2022, and Shirilla’s life blows up in smoke as she’s finally arrested and later charged with murder.

“I don’t know that she’s aware that there’s a camera pointed at her, that she’s going to be perceived in this area, and so what we’re going to be able to see is more of her unfiltered nonverbal communication,” Logan pointed out.

“And with this, she is feeling what would be considered in that vein of the universal emotion of sadness.

“There’s grief, there’s panic, and stress, everything that can go into that.

“What really gives it away is the action in her forehead area.

“What we’re seeing predominantly is unit one activation, which is the middle portion of your eyebrows when they go upward during genuine sadness and grief.

“You can see that happening symmetrically, but if it’s more performed, a lot of people will end up having light asymmetrical activation because it’s not genuine.”

Frozen with fear

In further footage of Shirilla in the back of a police car after her arrest, Logan said she appears frozen with fear despite not shedding a tear as she heads to the station.

“She has fairly relaxed eye positioning in general when she’s not panicked,” he said.

“And so this widening of her eyes, it indicates, genuinely, that she’s feeling anxious. This would be considered fear.”

Logan added that while Shirilla “might not be terrified, it would at least trigger as fear to the anxiety levels” as she rides in the police car.

“So we’re seeing both the combination of the grief across the upper half of her forehead and her eyes are showing the fear as well,” Logan said.

“Then when we get down to the rest of her face, some things that show more physiology rather than just physical movements, is a lot of the inflammation around her nose and upper lip,” which Logan claims “[lets] us know that this is coming from an authentic place.”

Putting on an act

Logan explained that emotional states have a profile, and things can usually shift after around four and a half seconds.

During the journey, Shirilla seems to relax, despite the situation that she’s in, and is seen rolling her head back and looking bored.

But as they approach the station, Logan feels she starts to perform as she realizes she should be more upset than she is if she’s not guilty of murder.

“When you’re watching somebody who’s performing, you’ll see a lot of crashes in between,” he told The U.S. Sun.

“So they’ll be emoting a specific way and then it’s almost like they remember like, ‘Oh, I should be sad right now.’ And then they’ll crash into sadness, something like that.

“You can see it start to kind of creep through the cracks of her rather reserved expression beforehand.”

This is where Logan returns to Shirilla’s “eyebrow activation.”

He claims Shirilla’s outer and inner eyebrows are working together at this point to show sadness, stress and anxiety.

Again, the corners of her nose are also activated, not in disgust, but trying to show she is upset, something he says he doesn’t often see.

Oscar-worthy performance

She is later seen sobbing during her trial before being locked up for 15 years to life on murder charges.

Shirilla starts to mix with people from different walks of life, and it’s years later when we see her sit down with film producers for her bombshell interview.

She is seen walking into the frame and sitting down at a table wearing her prison scrubs, her hair tied up in a large bun.

“The fact that she’s sitting down, crossing her arms, immediately lets us know that she’s probably feeling uncomfortable about what’s about to happen there and needs to block off and self-soothing a little bit,” Logan said.

Shirilla then activated her glabella – the smooth area of skin on her forehead located directly between the eyebrows and just above the bridge of her nose, Logan said.

He claims this was to give the impression she is empathetic, but instead of it being symmetrical, she delivered asymmetrical activation.

“Her right eyebrow does not have the same activation as her left eyebrow.

“Her left eyebrow is doing the exact same expression that we saw in the cruiser. Her right eyebrow is not.

“It’s an asymmetrical expression which lets us know this isn’t authentic empathy.

“This isn’t authentic pain or fear or grief that she’s feeling here. It’s forced.”

Logan said this was also visible further down the vein on the bottom half of her face.

She also began pursing her lips – something she would do in her performative TikTok videos, where she wanted to control how she was being perceived.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16449070/mackenzie-shirilla-murder-truth-revealed-bodycam-expert/

In US talks, Israel and Lebanon agreed on a conditional ceasefire tied to cessation of Hezbollah fire and removal of its operatives from southern Lebanon. Both sides will reconvene week of June 22 toward a comprehensive deal, including pilot zones under Lebanese Armed Forces control and US-backed capacity building. The talks also condemned Iran-linked proxy activity amid fragile tensions.

In a significant diplomatic breakthrough, Israel and Lebanon have found common ground on “the implementation of a ceasefire”, which remains strictly conditional on “a complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire and the removal of all Hezbollah operatives from southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement released after the latest round of US-mediated talks on Wednesday.

This development follows recent warnings from the Israeli government regarding a potential escalation of its actions in Lebanon, a friction point that threatened to derail parallel US-Iran talks.

The diplomatic progress unfolds amidst a fragile security environment, as the ongoing ceasefire has seen repeated violations, with Israel and Hezbollah continuing to trade strikes.

The intensive negotiations, held at the US State Department, lasted nearly nine hours on Wednesday and followed a full day of preliminary talks on Tuesday.

Looking ahead to build on this momentum, Israel and Lebanon “agreed to reconvene the political and security tracks the week of June 22, with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement”, while the US “agreed to continue facilitating communication between the parties in the interim.”

As an immediate step towards stabilising the border, the joint statement noted that the two sides have agreed to “swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors”, though the cross-border decree did not lay out a timeline for those pilot zones.

The structural framework for long-term regional stability remains a primary focus of the discussions.

According to the joint statement, “Israel reaffirmed that its security and respect for its territorial integrity can only be achieved through the disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantlement of its infrastructure throughout Lebanon.”

Addressing these core security demands, Beirut detailed its own sovereign expectations within the peace process.

“Lebanon reaffirmed the necessity for mutual respect of internationally recognised borders, the urgent need for full implementation of the cessation of hostilities, underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty,” the text read.

To meet these international benchmarks, “Lebanon committed to enhancing the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, with US support, to assert effective control throughout the country.”

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/israel-lebanon-agree-to-ceasefire-conditional-on-hezbollah-withdrawal-disarmament

It’s something many of us have experienced: You go on your phone to check something and – in the blink of an eye – you’ve been scrolling for an hour.

People estimate more than a third of time on their phones is spent without a clear purpose, according to a new report.

Dr Eleanor Drage of Cambridge University said “this isn’t just a question of people making unwise choices,” but that we are “undermined by the immersive nature of the technology”.

And while asking people to self-report their phone use can be unreliable, recognising our own habits is a “really important first step” to managing them, said Prof Pete Etchells of Bath Spa University.

Surveys commissioned by Virgin Media O2 found UK adults on average spent four hours per day on their phone, with 36% of this taking place unintentionally.

The report also revealed many people are aware of tools to control their screen time, but struggle to find the will to use them.

“Despite growing awareness of the downsides of habitual and excessive device use, people struggle to successfully manage their time online,” said Drage, a senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Those surveyed reported their smartphone use was mostly intentional – comprising actions such as sending messages, using maps or checking the weather.

But participants said they also spent time mindlessly scrolling or flicking through apps.

The survey suggested those who said they spend more time using their phone without a clear reason were also were more likely to report negative experiences – including feeling worse afterwards or seeing harmful or unpleasant content.

The report, titled Age of Autopilot, drew on insights from three surveys carried out between 2024 and 2026.

Its latest survey asked some 6,000 people aged 16 and over how they felt about their screen time.

But some experts say relying on self-reported screen time statistics can fail to capture the full picture of someone’s habits, wellbeing or screen time nuances.

Human error

“We’re really bad at estimating about time we spend doing things, particularly around tech use,” said Etchells, a professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University.

He told the BBC studies had shown self-reported statistics around phone use and screen time were often exaggerated when compared to objective measurements – meaning it could create an “inflated correlation” if drawn to someone’s health.

But Etchells said despite his wariness about this, the Age of Autopilot report is useful in suggesting people may be growing more aware of their phone habits.

“Being able to notice when you’re using it when you don’t want to or need to is a really important first step,” he said.

Key to understanding the impact of screen time is knowing it does not always “equal bad” but rather, identifying where it can lead to unwanted behaviour or dangerous activity, such as checking your phone while driving, Etchells added.

Netta Weinstein of Reading University said people should avoid becoming too judgmental about their directionless phone use – with scrolling providing relaxtion, distraction, humour or connection for some.

“But it is worth asking whether it really leaves us feeling restored, or whether we simply emerge later feeling no better, and sometimes worse,” she said.

Towards ‘manageable’ use

Experts say the findings are also an opportunity to challenge how smartphone design affects our habits.

Etchells noted that he would like to see more pressure on tech companies over notifications – saying the fact they are often switched on by default is “not a design choice that’s got us in mind”.

Rafe Clayton, senior lecturer in media and communication at Leeds University, told the BBC disabling notifications for all but essential apps could be one way to exercise more control over them.

Advice for curbing mindless scrolling could also include “spending more time engaged in activities that are not connected to the digital world,” he said.

Drage said her goal was to make device use “manageable” and help people have more of a say in how tech is designed.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd2mq505dpo

Germany’s foreign minister says support for Ukraine and Israel may have cost votes after Berlin failed to secure a rotating spot on the UN Security Council.

Johann Wadephul described losing out to Portugal and Austria as a “bitter defeat” after a vote on which countries would become one of the five new members of the council was held on Wednesday evening.

“There is our firm support for Ukraine, the fact that Russia does not want such a voice at the Security Council,” Wadephul said, adding it was “no secret” Russia had stirred up sentiment against Germany.

There are five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US – and 10 temporary ones.

“We have always taken a clear stance on certain issues, and these are positions that not all member states share,” Wadephul said.

“The fact that Germany must always assume a special responsibility for Israel in the Middle East conflict may also have cost votes,” he said.

Wadephul also in part blamed his country’s late entry into the race for the two-year term on the Security Council.

Russia has not responded to accusations it lobbied against Germany’s membership.

Germany secured 104 votes in its push for one of the two places on the council for the Western European and ​Others Group, with Portugal getting 134 votes in its favour ​and Austria 131.

Kyrgyzstan, Trinidad ​and Tobago and Zimbabwe were also elected to the Security Council, which is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions ​such as imposing sanctions and authorising use of force.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmp3pg71edo

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early ​on Tuesday, killing 23 people and wounding 130, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow could launch a new assault for the second night in a row.
The strikes on cities including ‌Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of “systematic” attacks on the capital after a drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory.

It was the third heavy assault on Kyiv in under a month, but Russia has been relentlessly attacking Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, since it invaded its smaller neighbour in 2022.
U.S.-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine have stalled, with Washington focused on Iran, while Russian battlefield advances have slowed and Kyiv has boosted strikes on Russian oil refineries.

ZELENSKIY CALLS FOR AIR ​DEFENCE SUPPLIES

Zelenskiy said there was evidence Russian forces could strike again on Tuesday night.
“According to our intelligence, another large-scale attack may occur tonight,” he said in his nightly video address.
“Please, I strongly urge ​you to pay attention to air raid alerts.”

Zelenskiy repeated that Ukraine was short of weapons to counter incoming Russian missiles. “Unfortunately, the current level of supplies for our air ⁠defence does not enable us to intercept a significant portion of the missiles,” he said.
He said more than 70 missiles and 650 drones had been deployed overnight and Russian forces had deployed 100 more drones throughout the ​day on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president urged Washington to send additional Patriot missile interceptors.
“If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
The Kremlin said the war had entered “a ​new paradigm” after what it called “inhumane acts of terror” by Ukraine’s military against civilians, echoing accusations Kyiv has made against Russian forces. Moscow warned last week of systematic strikes and urged foreigners to leave Kyiv.

Zelenskiy sent a letter last week to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress, asking for air defence systems. As of Monday, officials said he had not received a response.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged partners to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow and provide more military support.
“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of ​missiles can change this. What we can change is Russia’s ability to continue terror,” he said on X.
The U.S. has been Ukraine’s main foreign supplier of weapons but Kyiv has also been purchasing Patriot missiles through a ​NATO initiative, financed by its European allies.

‘SOME KIND OF APOCALYPSE’

Moscow’s war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands, forced much of the population out of their homes and devastated cities, towns and villages. Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine.
Ukraine has also ‌hit civilian ⁠targets during attacks on Russia or Russian-occupied areas, though on a much smaller scale. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
In New York, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemned” the Russian attacks. He repeated Guterres’ appeal for “immediate de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire in this conflict.”
Photographs on Tuesday showed explosions and smoke billowing over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where officials said seven people were killed, including one person Mayor Vitali Klitschko said had died while being treated in hospital. At least 90 were wounded.
“We couldn’t understand what was happening – some kind of apocalypse?” Olha Mudra, her face and clothes covered in dust, said at the site of one strike, accompanied by her ​six-year-old daughter Natalia.
Sixteen people were killed overnight, including two ​young boys, in the southeastern city of Dnipro, ⁠local officials said. New attacks later on Tuesday injured at least two more people.
In Kyiv, at least nine high-rise buildings, a kindergarten, a clinic, offices and administrative buildings were damaged. The attack cut power to 140,000 residents, power company DTEK said.
More than 40,000 took shelter in the Kyiv subway system – the biggest number in recent years. Some carried pets, ​belongings and mattresses.
The Russia-installed head of parts of Donetsk Region held by Moscow said one person died in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/large-pillar-smoke-seen-kyiv-after-air-raid-alert-issued-reuters-witness-reports-2026-06-01/

Democrat Rebecca Bennett emerged from a highly competitive primary on Tuesday to take on Republican U.S. Representative Thomas Kean in the November general election in New Jersey’s seventh congressional district, U.S. media projected.
Bennett ​emerged from a crowded field as the winner with a 28 point-lead over ​her closest rival, Tina Shah, with 48% of the vote counted, according to ⁠the Associated Press. Kean, who has been absent from Congress with a mystery medical issue ​since early March, ran unopposed.

Kean and Bennett will now square off in November for a seat ​that has changed party hands twice within the past eight years and now ranks as a key target for Democrats hoping to capture the House of Representatives. Independent analysts rate the contest as a toss-up.
The swing district ​of suburbs and small towns stretches from Staten Island to the Pennsylvania border and includes ​President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course. Trump carried the district in 2024, edging out Democrat Kamala Harris by ‌just ⁠over a percentage point.
Kean, 57, is the scion of a storied New Jersey political family. His father, Thomas, was governor for nearly two decades. His great grandfather was a longtime congressman. And he is descended from the state’s first governor, William Livingston. Most recently, Kean has been ​prominent for missing more ​than 100 House votes ⁠due to an undisclosed medical condition.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bennett-wins-democratic-nod-new-jersey-primary-face-us-house-republican-kean-2026-06-03/

Gulf hostilities flared anew on Wednesday, with the U.S. military saying Iranian missile ​attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional targets were either thwarted or failed, as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran showed little progress.
Two Iranian missiles shot at Kuwait fell short ‌or broke apart in flight, while several ballistic missiles aimed at regional targets failed and three missiles heading for Bahrain were intercepted, U.S. Central Command said.

Since the conflict began in late February, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region where U.S. military bases are located.
Central Command said the U.S. military also downed Iranian drones targeting civilian ships in regional waters and U.S. forces in Kuwait, and carried out strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz following attempted attacks ​by Iran.
According to Iranian state media, the country’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) attacked the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters, located in Bahrain, as well as an airbase and helicopters in an unspecified regional ​country using missiles and drones in response to what the IRGC described as a U.S. attack on a communications tower south of Qeshm.

Central Command said all ⁠the attacks failed and that U.S. forces remained ready to repel “unwarranted Iranian aggression.”
The latest flare-up, which lifted oil prices by more than 1% in early trade on Wednesday, comes more than three months after the initial ​U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, with the conflict mired in a stalemate under a shaky ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to maritime traffic.
Iran and the U.S. said last week that they ​had reached a tentative initial agreement to halt the war. But the two sides have yet to sign off on the deal.
Iranian media reported that Tehran has not communicated with Washington for several days, but U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations have not stopped.
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” he said in a social media post.

DISCUSSIONS ON NUCLEAR PROGRAM

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly ​said he is close to a deal that would end the fighting and allow negotiators to tackle thorny issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump has said stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is ​his top priority. Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb and says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.
Tehran is seeking access to billions of dollars in oil revenues, waivers on crude exports, a lifting of a U.S. blockade ‌on its ⁠ports and continued leverage over the strait, which handled a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traffic before the war.
Iranian media said the IRGC’s navy targeted a vessel it identified as “Panaya” with missiles in response to what it said was a U.S. attack on an Iranian tanker near Hormuz.

“Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the U.S. military,” Iranian media cited the IRGC as saying.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the U.S. would agree to sanctions relief only if Iran agrees to give up its nuclear activity.
Rubio declared, “The war is over,” during a ​sharp exchange with Democratic Senator Cory Booker of ​New Jersey, who disagreed.

ISRAEL KEEPS UP STRIKES IN ⁠LEBANON

The war that began on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, while also causing global economic pain by pushing up energy prices.
It also triggered the latest round of conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, with Israel pursuing its deepest incursion into Lebanon in 25 years.
On Tuesday, ​Israel kept up strikes on a string of towns in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said, despite a U.S.-mediated partial ceasefire announced on Monday.
The announcement failed ​to reassure many Lebanese, 1.2 million ⁠of whom have been displaced, and an Israeli drone over Beirut kept residents on edge on Tuesday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hostilities-flare-again-iran-war-talks-stalemate-2026-06-02/

The Trump administration is abandoning the president’s nearly $1.8 billion “weaponization” fund, U.S. Acting Attorney ‌General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday, after a rare backlash from Republican senators.
“We are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said. “Period.”

But Blanche also told lawmakers that an agreement with Trump to bar future audits of his or his family’s past tax records will remain in place.

The fund emerged from a legal settlement between President Donald Trump and the ​Justice Department to resolve an unprecedented $10 billion Trump lawsuit against the IRS over the alleged mishandling of his tax records.
The fund was dropped after ​furious Republican lawmakers said it might threaten the passage of a $72 billion bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Blanche, Trump’s ⁠former personal attorney, has held the top job at the Justice Department since early April, when Trump fired Pam Bondi as attorney general. A person ​familiar with the White House’s thinking said Blanche’s future hinged on his ability to address the concerns of Republican lawmakers about the fund.

The $1.776 billion fund ​was meant to pay people who said they had been the subject of government abuse, and Blanche angered senators last month when he would not commit to excluding people who assaulted police officers during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
White House officials spent much of Monday calling lawmakers to assure them there would be no payouts after the ​Republican revolt, said two sources familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, where ​a spokesperson said compensating people who have suffered from government abuse is still a priority for the administration.
“The goal of the fund was about continuing the process of ‌fixing the ⁠wrongs committed by past administrations, but given the extraordinary misunderstanding of this, the DOJ is not proceeding with the fund,” spokesperson Emily Covington said.

At a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Democratic lawmakers pressed for a definitive promise that the fund was dead, but Blanche said he would not put that in writing.
“Why do I need to put something in writing?” Blanche said. “I’m not committing to doing anything in writing.”
Democratic Representative ​Rosa DeLauro said Blanche should not ​have signed off on the ⁠portion of the agreement that bars future tax audits of Trump and his businesses, noting that he formerly served as Trump’s personal attorney.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/with-weaponization-fund-doubt-trump-will-keep-tax-audit-immunity-sources-say-2026-06-02/

President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as acting director of national intelligence, succeeding outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard.

Pulte, who has served as an attack dog against Trump’s foes, has no known prior intelligence experience.

But in his new role, he will oversee the sprawling U.S. intelligence community, which includes the CIA and National Security Agency.

Pulte at the same time will continue working as FHFA director and chairman of the mortgage groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the decision.

Democrats immediately condemned Pulte’s appointment, and the Senate’s top Republican also criticized the move.

“We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Thune said he is seeking more information from the Trump administration “about the current state of their thinking about that position.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in an X post called Pulte “a partisan thug with no experience in intelligence.”

“He is another unqualified Trump appointee that will make our country less safe. And you won’t hear a word from the Republicans who claim to care about national security,” Schumer said.

Bill Pulte is a partisan thug with no experience in intelligence.

He is another unqualified Trump appointee that will make our country less safe.

And you won’t hear a word from the Republicans who claim to care about national security. https://t.co/sE6d9MYyZV

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 2, 2026

Trump had previously announced that Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would take over as acting DNI after Gabbard, who was slated to depart June 30.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for clarification on when Pulte’s tenure at DNI would begin, and whether Lukas would remain in his current role.

“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

From his perch atop the normally low-profile housing regulatory agency, Pulte has spurred a firestorm of controversy by raising allegations of mortgage-related wrongdoing against several of Trump’s political opponents.

Pulte last year filed a criminal referral against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud based on Cook allegedly claiming two different properties as her primary residence at the same time.

Trump, who has long urged the Fed to lower interest rates and frequently complains about the central bank’s refusal to act accordingly, attempted to fire Cook based on the mortgage allegations.

Cook sued to stop her firing; her case is currently pending before the Supreme Court.

Pulte also submitted a criminal referral against New York Attorney General Letitia James on allegations of falsifying bank documents and property records in connection with a home mortgage she obtained in 2020.

James was charged in October with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. In November, a federal judge dismissed her case after ruling that the interim U.S. attorney who brought the indictment, former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, was invalidly appointed.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement Tuesday morning that Pulte’s appointment “speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation’s top intelligence official.”

“The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the ‘extensive national security experience’ required by statute for the job,” Warner said. “It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need.”

Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/02/intelligence-trump-bill-pulte-tulsi-gabbard.html

 

The CIA has stopped contributing to some intelligence assessments, including those related to the Iran war, produced by the office of the nation’s top spy as disputes over intelligence-sharing and areas of responsibility boil over, say people familiar with the matter.

The infighting between the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has flared for more than a year, disrupting collaboration on national security analyses on which presidents long have relied to navigate complex foreign challenges, said a U.S. official and three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters.

At the heart of the disagreements is a clash over a task force set up in April 2025 by Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, the sources said.

The CIA, led by Director John Ratcliffe, contends that Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group has acted recklessly by circumventing traditional intelligence-sharing and declassification protocols, said two of the people. ODNI officials say the CIA has consistently blocked the group’s access to intelligence.

The breakdown in collaboration between intelligence agencies comes at a perilous time for the Trump administration, with the U.S. embroiled in the Iran conflict and grappling with national security challenges ranging from Chinese military expansion to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

It also suggests that the post-September 11, 2001, reforms, which created a director of national intelligence to coordinate the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, have not ended dysfunction.

“ODNI is supposed to be the oil in the system that keeps the arteries of the intelligence community flowing, that removes blockages,” said Beth Sanner, a former deputy director of national intelligence during President Donald Trump’s first term.

“When you’re not doing that, then you set up the potential that agencies are just going to kind of pull back into their stove pipes and you set yourself up for intelligence failures.”

Gabbard said last week that she will step down as Trump’s top spy on June 30, citing her husband’s illness. Trump said on Tuesday he was appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

“The president and policymakers continue to receive the best intelligence and analysis” from the intelligence agencies, said Olivia Coleman, an ODNI spokeswoman, adding that ODNI and the agencies it oversees “communicate and collaborate daily with CIA counterparts across the full spectrum of intelligence products and operations.”

The Director’s Initiatives Group “operated within ODNI’s oversight authorities and in support of the president’s executive orders,” Coleman said.

Reuters in February reported that Gabbard had wound down the group and reassigned its personnel elsewhere in her agency amid congressional scrutiny of its activities.

“Under Director Ratcliffe, CIA quickly moved out on President Trump’s priorities with a more aggressive agency taking smart risks to outmaneuver our adversaries and give the United States a decisive advantage,” CIA Director of Public Affairs Liz Lyons said.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump’s “peace through strength foreign policy is a tried-and-true approach that keeps America safe and deters global threats,” and media efforts to sow internal division would fail.

“President Trump has full confidence in his entire exceptional national security team,” Ingle said.

LESS COOPERATION ON INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS

The CIA’s move to significantly pare back its contributions to assessments produced by Gabbard’s office is one of the most serious consequences of the agencies’ mutual distrust.

The CIA has been one of the main contributors to the reports produced by the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the premier U.S. intelligence analytical body. The reports carry weight, especially during a war.

Two of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said that assessments about Iran — where the U.S. military has been fighting since February — are among those the agency no longer regularly participates in.

The CIA and ODNI now operate largely as two separate analytical operations, the sources said.

At one point last year, the CIA, in response to friction between the two agencies, stopped publishing NIC reports on the internal intelligence community distribution service it controls, briefly limiting the accessibility of the analytical products, the sources said.

A U.S. official said the reports were only withheld for “a few hours” as a result of a “processing issue.”

The interagency friction started soon after Gabbard assumed her post in February 2025, the four sources said.

Among her first acts was to assert tighter control over production of the Presidential Daily Brief, the sources said. The CIA long had taken a lead role in compiling the brief, a highly classified daily compendium of intelligence reports prepared for the president.

The relationship soured further with the creation of the Director’s Initiatives Group to “root out” alleged politicization of the intelligence community, according to the sources.

The group also worked to declassify documents related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, as well as investigate the security of election voting machines and the origins of COVID-19.

Critics, including some former intelligence officials, charge that the group was established as a tool to exact retribution against Trump’s perceived political foes.

Task force members at several points pushed the CIA to share intelligence and materials needed to complete ODNI-assigned probes, but believed not enough was provided, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

OUSTER OF CIA OFFICERS

In May 2025, Gabbard ousted two senior CIA officers who led the NIC.

An intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal government matters said the ODNI removed the two “because they created a toxic work environment, as documented in a workforce survey, and because they had a history of politicizing intelligence.”

The official did not provide evidence to substantiate those claims.

Then in August, Gabbard stripped the security clearances of 37 current and former officials, in the process revealing the identity of an undercover CIA officer serving overseas.

Gabbard charged that the 37 had politicized and leaked intelligence, but did not offer proof.

Source : https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ar-AA24F0jn

The issue has drawn attention because Pakistan’s Ambassador to Japan, Abdul Hameed, attended the mosque’s inauguration earlier this year.

Pakistan’s embassy in Japan has distanced itself from a mosque project in Kawagoe after Japanese authorities said the building was constructed without the approvals required under local laws.

The mosque, located in Kawagoe in Saitama Prefecture, stands on a 4,500-square-metre plot classified as mountain forest land. The site falls within an urbanisation control area, where construction is generally prohibited unless special permission is granted by local authorities.

According to a report by The Asahi Shimbun, property records show the land changed hands in March 2025, moving from a Fujimi-based real estate company to a firm registered at the Kawagoe address.

Kawagoe city officials said the mosque was built without the necessary clearance.

“The building (mosque) was constructed in an urban development control area where construction is generally prohibited unless specific permissions are secured under the City Planning Act,” the municipal government said in an official statement. “The building in question was constructed without the city’s permission.”

The issue has drawn attention because Pakistan’s Ambassador to Japan, Abdul Hameed, attended the mosque’s inauguration earlier this year.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Yashio Masjid has long worked with local authorities and residents. The mosque began operating in a converted factory in 2000 and was formally registered as a religious corporation in 2007.

Over the years, it has maintained ties with the local community by sharing information with neighbourhood associations, informing residents before major events such as Eid celebrations and taking part in local clean-up drives.

Shakeel Sheikh Mohammad, a 62-year-old Pakistani who represents Yashio Masjid, criticised the Kawagoe project.

“If they are building a mosque without getting permission, that is not a good thing,” he said. “The environment for a mosque can only be established by getting along well with the local people.”

Following reports about the construction, Pakistan’s embassy issued a statement on X on Monday urging Pakistanis living in Japan to follow local regulations.

“The Embassy of Pakistan earnestly requests and emphasises to the Pakistani community residing in Japan that they fully comply with Japanese laws in all matters, particularly with regard to the construction of places of worship. No construction project may be initiated without obtaining the necessary permits from local governments.”

In a separate statement issued on May 31, the embassy said the ambassador had accepted the invitation to attend the inauguration only after organisers assured him that all required approvals had been obtained.

“The Embassy of Pakistan has no connection to any such projects, especially those that do not comply with the laws of local governments. This includes the event held in Kawagoe on April 3, 2026, for which the Ambassador of Pakistan accepted the invitation on the basis of information that all required permits in accordance with Japanese law had been obtained,” the statement said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-inaugurates-mosque-in-japan-tokyo-says-its-illegal-11582763?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Scaloni also highlighted that despite every record Messi has broken, every trophy won, he still stays at the top of his game because of his relentless drive for “more”.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has asserted that the team’s FIFA World Cup-winning legend Lionel Messi “will play untill he wants”, adding that it is his desire to want more out of his sport that still makes him one of the finest in the sport even at the age of 38. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, having conquered supremacy at individual/team level at every club, every country he has been to for his football, finally conquered the international football’s biggest prize in 2022 at Qatar, making it the crown jewel of his legacy. Despite having conquered it all, Messi looks all set for his sixth FIFA World Cup appearance, getting to play as a defending world champion for the first time in his career.

In an exclusive interview with Diario Ole, as quoted by Goal.com, the manager has quashed any concerns of Messi stepping away from international football after the WC, saying, “He will play until he wants to because we already know what he is and it is not surprising that he plays his sixth World Cup.”

Scaloni also highlighted that despite every record Messi has broken, every trophy won, he still stays at the top of his game because of his relentless drive for “more”.

“He continues to be the best because he always wants more and shows he wants more,” Scaloni added.

Messi trained separately during Argentina’s first practice session in the United States as he continues his recovery from a hamstring issue.

The Inter Miami captain has been sidelined since May 24 due to muscle fatigue in his left hamstring, but is expected to regain full fitness in time for Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria on June 16, according to ESPN.

The 38-year-old joined the national team at their base camp in Kansas City and completed an individual training programme on Monday.

On how the Argentina forward’s workload management is being planned, keeping in mind the expanded version of the tournament and the more game time that comes with it, Scaloni said that the strategies involving Messi are based on mutual respect, rather than forcefully imposing strict physical restrictions and every step is evaluated and taken together.

Source : https://sports.ndtv.com/fifa-world-cup-2026/lionel-messi-to-retire-after-fifa-world-cup-2026-argentina-coach-gives-clear-response-11583538

The sea is sometimes so tranquil that Captain Hassan Khan forgets his ship has been stuck in the middle of a war zone for three months.

“It is really strange that everything looks normal outside, but people inside are not calm,” says the Pakistani sailor, who doesn’t want to use his real name.

Things may look normal in this part of the Gulf, but they are certainly not. Khan and 20,000 other sailors have been trapped in or near the Strait of Hormuz by the US-Israeli war with Iran since late February. What was once one of the world’s busiest waterways, used to transport a fifth of the globe’s oil and gas, has ground to a halt as missiles fly overhead and mines are laid beneath the waves.

Despite this, the crew on Capt Khan’s ship has been trying to follow the usual work routine – although no one wants to leave the ship for rarely-allowed shore breaks, while cheerful banter has given way to anxious silence punctuated by the buzzing of phones. People jump at the smallest sound, even in their sleep.

“The stress stays in our mind all the time,” Khan says. “Everyone is just exhausted – both physically and mentally.”

Crossings and supplies

Even without the danger posed by the missiles and mines, the 1,600 ships that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) estimates to be stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz are unable to leave. Days after the war began, Iran shut the narrow waterway – the only way out of the Gulf – and refused to let anyone through without its express permission.

“It is as if we are trapped in a pond. There’s only one way out, and that’s Hormuz,” explains the captain of another vessel, Shafiqul Islam.

Islam, whose Bangladesh-owned ship the Banglar Joyjatra is carrying about 37,000 tonnes of fertiliser bound for South Africa, has twice tried to leave in the months since.

Both attempts have ended in failure.

After the announcement of a ceasefire on 8 April, Islam caught wind that another ship had been given permission by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to cross. He then steered his ship towards the critical waterway along with four other vessels. Shortly after, they were warned not to proceed.

Nine days later, Islam tried again as Iran said the strait would be “completely open” for all commercial vessels in line with the ceasefire. But Iran quickly reversed the decision after the US kept the blockade of its ports in place.

By then, Islam’s ship had already come within 30 nautical miles of the strait. He had no choice but to turn it away as warnings of attacks continued to crackle over the radio.

Ships have moved to different ports or anchored offshore within the Gulf for safety. But now, getting supplies of food and water has become increasingly pressing.

Doing so is still possible without necessarily entering ports, as the Gulf region – especially around Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait – has well-established supply services. But deliveries are now unpredictable.

Among all essential items, the price of water has increased the most, says Banglar Joyyatra’s chief engineer Rashedul Hasan. “We purchased about 180 tonnes of water for the ship two days ago. Earlier, it would cost between $1,500 and $2,000. Now, it costs us $11,000.”

“It also feels like some food and water suppliers are trying to take advantage of the situation and make excessive profits,” says a Korean sailor who doesn’t want to be named. He is on a different ship.

The stranded ships will need even more water as summer is coming. The air temperature has already exceeded 30C in May – and it can go as high as 45C.

On Khan’s ship, they “still have food and water, but things are simpler now”. While he can still get beef and chicken, vegetables and lentils are hard to come by.

Death and diplomacy

But then, Islam still considers himself lucky. On the second day of the conflict, his ship was only 200m (656ft) – barely the length of a medium-sized tanker – from Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, which was targeted by an Iranian strike.

Since then, Islam and his 30 crew members have lost count of the attacks they have witnessed. “Sometimes missiles fly over one ship, and sometimes debris falls on the next,” the captain says.

“Whenever attacks continued throughout the night, none of us could sleep,” says Hasan, the engineer. “We have witnessed horror and devastation with our eyes.”

They are scared for good reason. At least 11 sailors have been killed and another is unaccounted for in 39 verified incidents, the IMO says.

Tension eased somewhat after the ceasefire, but the ongoing military activities in the strait are reminders of its fragility.

Some sailors continue to see drones and fighter jets, while others spot naval ships and submarines regularly.

“These ships use bright lights. We also hear announcements over the loudspeakers. The captain says the Iranians are doing this to stop anyone from passing through,” says Sajid Masood, a Pakistani who works as a cook on an oil tanker. His name has been changed to protect his identity.

So is there any way out for the trapped sailors?

Shipping companies, which are facing huge losses, are hoping they may be able to cut staffing costs.

Many sailors’ contracts are expiring and large-scale crew rotations are overdue. Given the circumstances, it will be difficult to find enough hands to man these ships – even after the war is over.

“This crisis has shown how dangerous the job can become,” says Pakistani sailor Kamil, who spoke to the BBC using an alias. “Many sailors may think differently about this profession.”

He is worried that access to international waterways will become weaponised in future conflicts.

Masood, the cook, is also having second thoughts about his seafaring career – he has only one month left on his contract.

But before making the big decision, he is just looking forward to returning to Pakistan and bringing gifts from Dubai for his family: Barbie dolls for his daughters and a toy airplane for his son.

“I thought I would be home soon, but we are still stuck,” he says.

“Every day my family asks when I will come back, but I have no answers for them.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy02rz27l32o

If Vladimir Putin’s Russia had an official slogan, what would it be?

“Russia is what it is, and we’re not ashamed of showing it,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once told me in an interview.

That fits.

But I recently heard an updated version from veteran pop and folk singer Nadezhda Babkina.

After receiving an award from President Putin, Babkina told an audience in the Kremlin: “Russia will never surrender thanks to our remarkable, multi-ethnic genetic code… that holds us all together.

“Anyone who doesn’t like that,” she added, “can go and poison themselves.”

In many ways, the line “they can go and poison themselves” encapsulates Russia in 2026 – unapologetic, unrepentant and uncompromising.

Like Vladimir Putin himself.

Since ordering the mass invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin leader has displayed no regret, no remorse over his decision to attack Russia’s neighbour – and no intention of ceasing hostilities.

This week Russia launched another massive missile and drone strike across Ukraine.

The attack came on the eve of the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, an event designed to showcase Russia to the world.

High-profile Western investors and politicians have long stopped coming. But the organisers say that delegations from more than 130 countries and territories will attend.

For a country seeking foreign investment, more than four years of war with its neighbour doesn’t seem the best advertisement.

But, as we have established, “Russia is what it is”. Forum or no forum, the attacks on Ukraine continue.

President Putin’s public position on the war is unwavering. He continues to demand that Ukraine cede control to Russia of the entire Donbas region.

Vladimir Putin has not changed. But one thing in the Kremlin has.

And that is to do with Donald Trump.

Last year Russian officials appeared confident that the US president would help deliver a Ukraine peace deal on Moscow’s terms. In other words, that President Trump would pressure Kyiv into accepting Moscow’s maximalist demands.

Following last summer’s US-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska, for months afterwards senior Russian officials waxed lyrical about the “spirit of Anchorage” – as if Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had reached a mutual understanding on Ukraine to Moscow’s benefit.

But no peace deal materialised.

“I don’t know about the spirit of Anchorage,” President Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian state TV recently. “I have never used that phrase.”

It was a sign that the “spirit of Anchorage” has, if not disappeared, then at least started evaporating.

This may well be one of the factors fuelling Vladimir Putin’s obvious frustration.

There are many others.

What the Kremlin leader had conceived as a short-term “special military operation” has turned into a bloody war of attrition which is now in its fifth year. Since February 2022, Russia has suffered huge battlefield losses, significant damage to its economy and technological decline.

What’s more, the war has moved closer to home. Today Ukrainian drones reach deep inside Russia. Oil refineries and other energy infrastructure are regularly targeted. Last month, a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region highlighted that air defences around the Russian capital could be penetrated.

Amid fears of an attack, the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square on 9 May was scaled back.

More than four years of war – and thousands of international sanctions – have put enormous strains on Russia’s economy. The budget deficit has been growing, the economy stagnating.

And how has the Kremlin responded to these challenges?

Not by scaling back the “special military operation”.

Far from it.

Judging by recent large-scale Russian air raids on Ukrainian cities, the response is escalation.

Not that the Kremlin accepts responsibility for this. It blames Kyiv, claiming that Russia is reacting to a recent Ukrainian strike on a college dormitory in Starobilsk, Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. According to official figures, 21 students there were killed.

Ukraine’s military has said it hit the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone military unit in Starobilsk. It has not said whether it was the same building as the one identified by Russia.

An end to the fighting looks as distant as ever.

In previous years President Putin has used appearances at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum to transmit his current worldview and to repeat his criticisms of the West. In St Petersburg, he is expected to meet chief editors of international news agencies and deliver a keynote address.

Will he use this year’s forum to signal a change of position on Ukraine? So far there is nothing to suggest that.

Yet, inside Russia, there are signs of a growing public discourse on whether it is time to end the war.

I see evidence of it even in the country’s highly controlled media landscape.

Writing in the journal Russia In Global Affairs, which has close links to the country’s foreign policy establishment, political scientist Vasily Kashin recently concluded: “The goal of eliminating the anti-Russian regime in Ukraine at the current stage is fundamentally unachievable without the complete military occupation of the entire country, including the western part, for a long period. For Russia this is technically impossible.”

A few days later, pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets quoted political commentator Alexander Nosovich: “The expert community is split between those in favour of continuing the special military operation until the goals are achieved, and those who believe it’s time to end it, since the worst-case scenario is not even defeat, it’s an endless special operation.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy82339793go

Former Manchester United and England superstar to be honored for role in “elevating soccer’s profile in America” ahead of FIFA World Cup.

English football legend David Beckham is set to be honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, organizers announced on Tuesday, as the United States counts down to the FIFA World Cup, which it is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.

The 51-year-old former England captain’s plaque on the famous Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles will be unveiled at a ceremony on June 12 ahead of the first game of the tournament on US soil between the United States and Paraguay in nearby Inglewood later that evening.

“David Beckham’s recognition with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in the Sports Entertainment category comes at a fitting moment as the United States prepares to host the FIFA World Cup,” said Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

“Beckham’s role in elevating soccer’s profile in America and his lasting influence on sports, entertainment, and global culture make this honor especially meaningful,” she said.

Beckham: From English talent to global celebrity

In a highly decorated club playing career, Beckham enjoyed most success at Manchester United where he won six Premier League titles and the Champions League – the latter as part of an unprecedented treble in 1999.

He went on to star for European giants Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as American MLS side LA Galaxy, and also made 115 appearances for England, who he represented at three World Cups.

Since retiring in 2013, he has become a co-owner of the American team Inter Miami CF, which signed Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and won the Major League Soccer Cup Championship last year.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/world-cup-david-beckham-to-get-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star/a-77398896

Princess Leonor of Spain becomes the first Spanish royal to complete a parachuting course as part of her military training, according to Spanish media.

The heir to the Spanish throne, Princess Leonor, has completed basic paratrooper training at the Military Parachuting School in Murcia in southeastern Spain, the Royal Household announced in Madrid on Tuesday.

Leonor, 20, completed several jumps, including a night jump in May, in order to earn the “Cazador Paracaidista” badge and a diploma alongside 50 other cadets.

The parachuting course formed part of Leonor’s military training at the General Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AGA), where she is currently in her third and final year of officer training.

As the daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Leonor is next in line to the Spanish throne and will become commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces upon her accession.

Leonor began her military career at the Army Academy in Zaragoza aged 17 before joining the Navy for a training voyage lasting several months.

She has been stationed with the Air Force since last September and has since completed her first solo flight.

Leonor is considered somewhat shy but is also described as level-headed, prudent, determined and well-organized.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/spains-princess-leonor-makes-history-with-parachute-training-reports-say/a-77398657

British police faced a national backlash on Tuesday (Jun 2) over the inflammatory case of an 18-year-old student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack.

Henry Nowak died after the knife attack in the southern England city of Southampton in December last year.

His murderer Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday, having lied to police at the time that Nowak had assaulted him.

In police bodycam footage, Nowak is seen lying on the street saying “I’ve been stabbed” and “I can’t breathe” while an officer responds “I don’t think you have mate”.

Nigel Farage, whose anti-immigration Reform party leads opinion polls, said it was an example of the rights of ethnic minorities trumping those of white British people.

“The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak’s murder,” he said in a statement.

“We should respond to this with pure cold rage.”

Judge William Mousley acknowledged in court on Monday that the case had stirred racial tension across Britain.

A protest was expected in Southampton on Tuesday evening, with anti-immigrant activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – known as Tommy Robinson – rallying supporters to attend.

Others have been advertised for this week.

Digwa stabbed Nowak with a knife he said he was permitted to carry due to exemptions for Sikhs to have ceremonial daggers.

When the police arrived, Digwa said his turban had been knocked off and he had an injury to his eye.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, Cabinet Office minister, told BBC Radio that “the conduct of the police when you look at it at the scene is shocking”.

“INHUMANE AND DEGRADING” TREATMENT

Nowak’s family called his treatment by police “inhumane and degrading” but in a statement outside court, his father said his death should not be “used to create further division, hatred or tension”.

That was echoed by Britain’s interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, who told parliament on Tuesday that everyone was equal before the law and urged calm during an investigation.

Mahmood acknowledged that the footage released was “disturbing and tragic” but said the case had brought unacceptable threats against police officers and that inflammatory commentary was making a dreadful situation worse.

“We must condemn those who seek personal political profit from tragedy,” she said.

Mahmood added that for public services, the only consideration they should weigh is the risk a person poses, not race or religion.

Referencing previous efforts to tackle racism in policing, she said, “Whatever changes are made, it is important that nobody over-corrects or course-corrects such that all of us as citizens are no longer equal before the law.”

Reform leader Farage sought to draw parallels with the 2020 killing of George Floyd in the US, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. Floyd had said “I can’t breathe” as a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/stabbed-student-handcuffed-uk-police-6157071

Indonesia is counting on waste-to-energy plants to tackle its waste crisis, but experts say it’s no substitute for reducing trash at the source.

With its sandy beaches and lush paddy fields, Bali has long been sold as Indonesia’s picture-perfect island paradise.

But to locals, especially those living in southern Bali, their streets have been far from dreamy, with piles of trash filling up parts of the island in recent months.

Since Apr 1, residents in Bali have had to separate organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste has largely been barred from the island’s biggest landfill, Suwung, which serves the heavily populated and tourism-driven south.

Under the new regulation, residents are supposed to compost or send their waste to recycling centres.

Inorganic waste can be sent to a newly established small inorganic landfill in southern Bali.

Organic waste is biodegradable waste such as fruits and eggshells that originate from plants or animals. Inorganic waste is non-biodegradable waste originating from non-living, synthetic, or mineral-based materials, such as bottles and styrofoam.

The rule was meant to push households and businesses to sort and process waste at the source, rather than sending everything to a landfill already at breaking point.

But many residents were still confused and struggling to do so when CNA spoke to them two weeks after the new rule was enforced.

“I am confused. But after I learned how to separate the waste, it is not even collected,” said domestic worker Kuswati in Jimbaran, southern Bali, who goes by one name.

Bali’s waste problem has had serious consequences. Last September, the island suffered deadly floods caused by waterways blocked by trash, among other factors, which claimed the lives of 17 people.

The island offers a glimpse of the waste crisis unfolding in Indonesia.

INDONESIA’S LANDFILLS HITTING CAPACITY

Indonesia generates 56.6 million tonnes of waste annually, its then-Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said last year.

The country has 550 landfills, The Jakarta Post reported in June 2025, and Hanif said they are projected to hit maximum capacity by 2030 unless significant measures are taken.

Under former President Joko Widodo, the target was for Indonesia to achieve 100 per cent waste management by the end of 2025, but current President Prabowo Subianto has extended it to 2029.

Waste management refers to waste that is properly sorted and collected, then converted into raw materials or energy sources, or recycled.

In February 2026, Hanif said Indonesia’s waste management rate had hit 24.95 per cent, up from 10 per cent in early 2025, Antara news agency reported. But that means three-quarters of waste is still unmanaged, often ending up in open dumps or rivers, or burned, polluting the environment, the Jakarta Globe noted.

Environmental expert Mahawan Karuniasa from the University of Indonesia said Indonesia’s waste problem is not mainly about litter or cleanliness but rather a structural crisis of governance, capacity, and urban growth.

“It’s clear that Indonesia has a waste problem,” Mahawan told CNA.

“The problem isn’t simply the high volume of waste generated, but rather the inability of the waste management system to keep pace with, among other things, the growth in consumption and urbanisation.”

Indonesia’s population is currently about 285 million, up from 258 million a decade ago.

Acknowledging the problem, President Prabowo declared waste management a national priority during a visit on Apr 28 to a waste processing facility in Banyumas, Central Java, saying Indonesia must bring waste under control within two to three years.

This month, the government is also targeting the groundbreaking of five waste-to-energy projects, namely in Denpasar, Bekasi, Bogor, Bandung and Yogyakarta, while pushing regions to end open dumping by this year.

Indonesia currently has two waste-to-energy plants – typically incinerators that generate electricity from the burning of waste – in Surabaya and Solo, according to a policy brief last year by researchers from University of Maryland in the United States alongside others from Indonesia and Denmark.

News reports in recent years have also cited the presence of some small incinerators in the country, such as one in Bogor.

However, experts CNA spoke to said these waste-to-energy projects are not enough to tackle the waste problem, and viable solutions must be implemented to suit each region, such as Bali, which faces overtourism, and Jakarta, with an overpopulation issue.

WHAT IS BALI’S WASTE PROBLEM?

In Bali, trash has usually been most visible at the end of the year, when monsoon currents bring waves of plastic and debris onto its beaches.

But the current problem is different.

In some neighbourhoods, confusion about the new regulation has led residents to burn or dump their waste onto sidewalks and into drains when they do not know what else to do.

Bali generated about 3,400 tonnes of waste per day in 2025 but only 29 per cent, or around 916 tonnes, was managed, according to Bali’s environment agency.

The pressure is not evenly spread across the island.

Environmental expert Shinta Enggar Maharani from Mahasaraswati University said the problem is worse in tourism-centred southern Bali, especially in the island’s capital, Denpasar, and Badung, where hotels, restaurants, villas, construction and changing urban lifestyles generate far more waste than in rural districts.

“Five-star hotels already have a system (to manage their waste), but there are more small hotels than four- and five-star hotels,” she said.

“In fact, the worst are villas, many of which are not registered.”

For decades, open dumping and reliance on landfills have been the main ways to manage waste in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Indonesia banned open landfills in 2013 because hazardous waste disposal in open fields or landfills pollutes soil and water, emits toxic gases, and poses severe public health risks to surrounding communities.

But it is only now attempting to fully implement the measure.

In southern Bali, the Suwung landfill in Denpasar is the main landfill and has already reached capacity.

Shinta said Suwung was initially supposed to be a final disposal site at the end of a proper waste management process that includes sorting.

Instead, it effectively became an open dumping ground for years, accepting mixed waste from Denpasar, Badung and surrounding areas. Bali officials said organic material accounts for around 65 per cent of the island’s waste, creating methane, odour, leachate and fire risks when dumped in bulk.

The government wants to close Suwung permanently as of Aug 1, and only organic waste can be disposed of there in the meantime.

But the transition has been messy, analysts and locals told CNA.

Many residents supported a cleaner Bali, but they had not received clear instructions on how to sort their waste, who would collect it, or what would happen if their neighbourhood did not yet have working composting or recycling facilities.

Tri Sakti Hasibuan, a 27-year-old postgraduate student, said the situation in Bali saddened him.

“Because all parties are washing their hands of the matter. The government says waste should be managed by the people,” he said.

“And then the Suwung landfill was closed, which we, the public, felt was a bit sudden, even though the news had been circulating for months. But without an alternative, what good would it do?”

Bali-based freelancer Erzsa Maharani, 26, shared similar views.

“This waste is clearly a problem because there is no system. The (partial) closure of Suwung (landfill) was both good and bad, as it forced people who had previously been indifferent to waste management to now see it as a problem,” she said.

“It wasn’t the people’s fault, as the government failed to prepare a system. But now everyone’s eyes have been opened to the fact that waste is a problem.”

Waste collectors felt the impact too. Imam Mustakim, 44, said each load rejected by the landfill costs him time, fuel and income.

On Apr 16, truck driver collectors staged a protest outside the governor’s office, eventually forcing the central government to take charge and ease the transition.

Then-Environment Minister Hanif – who was appointed deputy coordinating minister for food affairs on Apr 27 – visited Bali on Apr 17.

He decided that organic waste could enter Suwung twice a week until the new waste-processing facilities are fully operational.

Head of Kediri municipality in southwest Bali, I Made Surya Dharma, said his residents need time to adjust to the new rule, but the residents are trying to minimise problems by consistently educating people about it.

“We tell them how to compost, how to make composters or buy affordable ones. We also have waste banks where people can bring their inorganic waste, such as bottles, every month, creating a circular economy,” he told CNA.

Waste banks are community-based systems where residents take their sorted household solid waste and may receive payment based on the type and weight of the waste material.

The waste bank would then sell the sorted waste to recycling factories and other agencies, according to the University of Maryland policy brief.

By the end of May, in Kuswati’s Jimbaran neighbourhood, residents had begun to get used to sorting waste, and both organic and inorganic waste was being collected more regularly.

JAKARTA: LANDFILL COLLAPSE, POLLUTED RIVER HIGHLIGHT CHALLENGES

Over in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, a deadly landfill collapse in March highlighted its waste management problem.

A garbage avalanche at Bantargebang on Mar 8 killed seven people, including truck drivers, scavengers and food stall sellers, after heavy rain triggered a collapse.

The 110-hectare Bantargebang, in Bekasi city near Jakarta, is the country’s largest landfill. It receives about 7,400 to 8,000 tonnes of Jakarta’s waste every day, while the capital generated 3.17 million tonnes of waste in 2024, according to government data.

The landfill has operated since 1989 and remains Jakarta’s main final disposal site.

In the wake of the collapse, the environment ministry launched a full investigation and vowed to hold responsible parties accountable.

The government now wants Bantargebang to stop accepting mixed waste before it accepts only residual waste – what’s left after reusable, recyclable, compostable and recoverable materials have been separated out – on Aug 1.

As of May 10, the Jakarta government has made it mandatory for people to sort their waste.

The city is also preparing a refuse-derived fuel facility in Rorotan, North Jakarta, as a medium-term solution.

Jakarta’s waste problem is also seen in the Ciliwung river, which flows through the heart of Jakarta.

The waterway has long been choked with household waste, plastic debris and other pollutants.

Besides piles of rubbish clogging waterways and causing regular floods, microplastics have also been found in Jakarta’s rainwater, with Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) reporting that microplastics were detected in every rain sample collected across the capital since 2022.

Muna, who goes by one name and lives just a few metres from the Ciliwung in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, said she usually throws her waste into the river because there are few proper bins and collection points.

But Abdurazak, 64, also in Kampung Melayu, said the real problem is attitude.

Even when people know the river is dirty and not a garbage bin, he said, some still throw trash into it because it is convenient.

“We also have waste bank programmes, but they don’t function because people still prefer throwing waste into the river,” said Abdurazak, whose house gets flooded regularly.

The city’s open dumping sites, meanwhile, are both a hazard and source of livelihood for informal waste workers.

Wiwi, who goes by one name, is part of the informal sector that quietly recovers recyclables while living with the health and safety risks.

CNA spotted her at the end of April in Kampung Melayu, sorting through discarded materials under the scorching sun for items she could sell. Wiwi, who is homeless, said she has no other means of earning a living, but risks being taken away by authorities if they catch her napping near disposal sites.

The national government said that Indonesia can no longer treat waste as a local housekeeping issue and is determined to fight the problem.

On a visit to a waste-processing facility in Banyumas, Central Java, on Apr 28, Prabowo said the central government would provide direct assistance to improve such systems.

Banyumas, which has an integrated waste processing facility that turns waste into roof tiles, is being presented as proof that waste can generate economic value rather than simply dumped.

INDONESIA’S WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANS

The government is also leaning heavily on waste-to-energy programmes.

Former presidential Chief of Staff Muhammad Qodari, who is now head of the government communication agency, said in April that the five waste-to-energy projects that are targeted to break ground in June 2026 could become operational in 2028.

In the long term, the government is preparing such projects in 30 areas across 61 districts and cities, with each site expected to process more than 1,000 tonnes of waste daily.

“The waste-to-energy programme is targeted to reduce landfill waste by around 33,000 tonnes per day (by 2029) or the equivalent of 22.48 per cent of the total national waste,” said Qodari at a press conference in Jakarta on Apr 22.

“In the long term, the existence of a waste-to-energy programme is expected to improve the quality of life of the community, encourage behavioural changes in waste management, and strengthen the role of regions in supporting the transition to a circular economy and sustainable, low-carbon development,” he added.

Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara is expected to help the financing of the projects.

The government said waste can also be treated through other technologies, including refuse-derived fuel, biogas from biodigesters, pyrolysis, modular incineration, and other approaches suited to regional characteristics.

Waste-to-energy projects may help large cities reduce landfill pressures, said experts, but they cannot be Indonesia’s main answer to the waste problem.

The technology works best when waste has a stable quality and relatively low moisture content.

Indonesia’s household waste is often wet and dominated by organic material, which makes incineration less efficient unless the waste is sorted and dried first, said Mahawan from the University of Indonesia and Ibar Akbar, zero waste campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia.

That means waste-to-energy does not remove the need for sorting; it makes sorting more important.

The Jakarta Post reported in February that Solo’s waste-to-energy plant – commissioned in 2023 – is only operating at 15 to 20 per cent of its processing capacity of 545 tonnes a day due to insufficient sorting of waste at the household level.

The head of a local neighbourhood unit reportedly said the plant’s chimney was too short, causing residents to be affected by the ash from the burning process. Meanwhile, the city’s Putri Cempo landfill has been at overcapacity since 2010 and landfill operators have been dumping trash close to residents’ homes near the landfill.

Mahawan said waste-to-energy can be part of the downstream toolkit, but it should not be treated as a substitute for reducing waste at the source.

“Waste-to-energy programme can indeed be used in a limited way, but importantly, it shouldn’t be the sole solution,” he said.

“It is useful as it reduces waste volume. And on the other hand, it can provide (a source of) energy.”

Shinta of Mahasaraswati University said that some technology will be needed to handle residual waste that cannot be composted, reused, or recycled, especially in dense urban areas.

But she said the technology must match local waste characteristics, financing capacity and environmental safeguards.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-waste-crisis-bali-jakarta-environment-6141746

Lebanon announced ​a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has ‌killed thousands of people and inflamed the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
According to Lebanon’s embassy in Washington, the agreement would not end the conflict in that country. But it calls for Israel to refrain from strikes on Beirut and its suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, while the Iran-aligned group would halt its attacks on Israel.

Hostilities in southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March, continued ​on Monday evening. Early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said that it intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel, and that no ​injuries were reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who first announced the agreement, said Hezbollah, through intermediaries, had pledged not to attack Israel. ⁠No U.S. president has ever spoken with Hezbollah, with or without intermediaries. The U.S. has designated the group as a terrorist organization.
Trump also said Israeli Prime ​Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pull back any troops preparing to attack Beirut.

After Trump’s announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would continue military operations in southern Lebanon, where ground ​forces are pushing toward the Zaharani River, their deepest incursion in Lebanon in 25 years.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the militia would support a full ceasefire across all Lebanon as a precursor to the withdrawal of Israeli troops. He did not say whether the group would stop its strikes on Israeli territory.
Lebanon said it would seek to expand the ceasefire in talks ​with Israel in Washington on Wednesday.
That could clear the path for renewed efforts to end the three-month-old war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. The ​process has been stuck in limbo for weeks under a fragile ceasefire as negotiators have been unable to agree on an initial framework for peace talks.

The Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on ‌March 2 ⁠as an offshoot of the broader conflict and has been entangled with it ever since.

Iran has insisted on a halt to Israeli attacks in Lebanon as a condition of any deal to end the war, while the U.S. has said the two conflicts are separate.
“The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a statement.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-says-it-struck-iranian-military-sites-tehran-responds-with-air-base-attack-2026-06-01/

Florida sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform, which the lawsuit said has harmed children by ​providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and addicting young ‌users.
Marking the first state to take legal action against the company, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, filed the lawsuit in Florida state court. It cited a shooting at a Tallahassee university last year ​and a number of events in other states where ChatGPT allegedly provided information ​to people who went on to commit violence.

At a press conference, Uthmeier ⁠said the state named Altman personally because he had been “very central” to pushing some of ​the features on ChatGPT that Uthmeier said had been the most harmful.
“People are getting hurt, ​parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it,” Uthmeier told reporters.
The lawsuit seeks damages up to billions of dollars, Uthmeier said, plus a court order directing the company to change how ​it interacts with young users.

A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request ​for comment.
OpenAI has said it trains its models to refuse requests that could “meaningfully enable violence,” and notifies ‌law ⁠enforcement when conversations suggest “an imminent and credible risk of harm to others,” with mental health experts helping assess borderline cases.

Uthmeier announced in April that he was launching a criminal investigation into ChatGPT’s role in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University after prosecutors reviewed ​the chat logs between ​the alleged shooter and ⁠the program.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/florida-becomes-first-state-sue-openai-over-child-safety-risks-2026-06-01/

President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged government “weaponization” has ​been put on hold after the White House faced fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress, three sources familiar with the plan said on Monday.
The rare rebuke of Trump ‌demonstrated some Republicans’ increased willingness to flex their political power against the president, particularly after his endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn ahead of a crucial midterm election.

The proposal was dropped as senators returned to Washington after their Memorial Day break and faced an impasse with the president over a $72 billion bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol operations. Speaking to reporters, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he made clear to the White House ​the fund needed to be killed.
“They gave us an ultimatum,” a White House source said, describing how Republican lawmakers negotiated with the White House over the fund. The White House’s goal is ​to speed passage of the funding package, said the source, who like other sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The Republican ⁠rebellion was an extraordinary act of defiance given Trump’s insistence on loyalty and his threats to back primary candidates against those who do not toe the line.
The fund emerged from a legal settlement between ​Trump and the Justice Department to resolve an unprecedented $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the alleged mishandling of his tax records. The $1.776 billion was meant to pay people who said they had been the ​subject of government abuse.
The fund sparked swift legal challenges and political uproar, including from Senate Republicans, who expressed anger that people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, could receive taxpayer-funded payouts. Critics condemned it as a slush fund.
On Friday, federal judges in Virginia and Florida issued orders that temporarily halted the fund until June 12 and called for further review, respectively.

In a statement on Monday, a Justice Department spokesperson said the DOJ “disagrees strongly” with those decisions but, “the Department will ​abide by the Court’s ruling.”
The Justice Department statement did not commit to abandoning the fund entirely, only to following the court ruling pausing the fund that is likely to expire this month. A DOJ spokesperson did ​not immediately address whether the fund had been permanently scuttled.

BLANCHE AUDITION AT STAKE

Since taking over as acting attorney general in April, Todd Blanche has moved quickly to prosecute Trump’s perceived enemies as he seeks to secure the job on ‌a permanent basis. ⁠The department secured criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, ramped up its investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan and removed press releases from its website about prosecutions of rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But the backlash over the fund may represent the stiffest challenge yet to his bid to win the job permanently, raising questions over whether he can earn Senate approval if Trump names him as attorney general.
Two sources sought to distance the White House from the fund, claiming it was the Justice Department and Blanche’s idea.
A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely, said Blanche was ​never in settlement negotiations. But Trent McCotter, Blanche’s senior ​deputy, and attorneys from DOJ’s Office of ⁠Legal Counsel were, said a source familiar with the matter.
In a tense meeting last month between Senate Republicans and Blanche after the fund’s announcement, lawmakers yelled at the acting attorney general over the political optics of the fund. “He did not come back with any answers,” a White House source said, referring to ​Blanche.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/trumps-weaponization-fund-is-hold-sources-say-2026-06-01/

Hundreds of people took ​to the streets in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki on Monday to protest moves by the ‌United States to set up an Ebola quarantine facility at a military base there, residents told Reuters, days after the High Court ordered the government to suspend the plan temporarily.
The court ordered the temporary suspension on Friday after a lawsuit was brought arguing that the site ​could endanger public health.

Senior U.S. officials said the 50-bed unit at an air force base in Laikipia county ​would serve Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Kenya’s ⁠government has also confirmed plans to set up the facility, with Health Minister Aden Duale saying in a statement on ​Saturday that it was part of a wider push to strengthen emergency response systems.
The U.S. officials said the site was ​expected to have become operational last Friday. A number of military aircraft flew in and out of Nanyuki late last week and over the weekend, in what diplomats and experts said appeared to be part of ongoing U.S. preparations for the quarantine unit despite the court ​order.

A Reuters witness on Saturday said police and military had increased their presence on roads leading to the air ​base.
Footage obtained by Reuters on Monday showed a crowd of about 100 people standing about 4 km from the site of the planned ‌facility, ⁠blowing whistles and some riding atop a pickup. Smoke could be seen rising from something burning on the road. Local residents put the number of protesters in the hundreds.
NTV Kenya and Citizen Kenya television channels showed footage of people standing by a wall outside the air base, with a tank stationed there and a handful of soldiers on guard.

Patrick Wahome, ​one of the organisers of the ​protest, told Reuters that ⁠they wanted the health facility to be shut down for good by Tuesday, June 9.
“Nanyuki is a very small town. The military personnel who serve the base… live with us. ​Our kids go to the same schools and that means if anyone is infected, ​we are all ⁠infected,” he said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hundreds-protest-against-planned-us-ebola-quarantine-facility-kenya-2026-06-01/

An alleged member of an Iran-backed militia pleaded not guilty on Monday to U.S. criminal charges he was involved in multiple attacks against American interests in Europe, proclaiming in a courtroom outburst, “I am not ​a criminal.”
Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi spoke in Manhattan federal court after ​his lawyer, Andrew Dalack, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to ⁠eight counts including conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia ​the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

“I am not guilty and we are in a war situation,” ​Al-Saadi said through an Arabic interpreter.
“Children are being killed by your rockets,” Al-Saadi added, gesturing in front of him toward where U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon and prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office were ​seated.
Al-Saadi did not say if he was referring to a specific incident.
A February 28 strike ​at a girls’ school in Iran killed more than 175 children and teachers, Iranian officials say.
Reuters has reported ‌that an ⁠initial, internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible, citing two U.S. officials.

The Pentagon has not acknowledged any preliminary findings. A Pentagon spokesperson said on Monday the investigation was still ongoing.
Al-Saadi wore a beige prison outfit and was shackled at his feet at Monday’s hearing.
As he ​spoke, McMahon raised her ​voice and ordered ⁠he be seated. Two U.S. marshals who had been sitting behind Al-Saadi approached the defense table, and he sat down as they arrived.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/we-are-war-alleged-iran-backed-militant-exclaims-us-court-2026-06-01/

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday in a heavy attack that authorities said killed 22 people and wounded more ​than 100.
The strikes on cities including Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of “systematic” attacks on the capital after a drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held ‌region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory.

It was the third heavy assault on Kyiv in under a month, but Russia has been relentlessly attacking Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, since it invaded its smaller neighbour in 2022.
U.S.-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine have stalled with Washington focusing on Iran, while Russian advances on the battlefield have slowed this year and Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian oil refineries.

ZELENSKIY CALLS FOR AIR DEFENCE SUPPLIES

Ukrainian President ​Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had fired 73 missiles and more than 600 drones in the overnight attack and urged Washington to send additional Patriot missile interceptors to replenish Kyiv’s ​dwindling supplies.

“This was a large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these ⁠attacks will continue,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
The Kremlin said the war had entered “a new paradigm” after what it called “inhumane acts of terror” by Ukraine’s military against civilians, echoing accusations Kyiv has made ​against Russian forces. Moscow warned last week of systematic strikes and urged foreigners to leave Kyiv.
Zelenskiy sent a letter last week to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress, asking for air defence systems. As of ​Monday, officials said he had not received a response.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged partners to take “concrete steps” to help Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia, appealing for tougher sanctions and more military support.

“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this. What we can change is Russia’s ability to continue terror,” he said on X.
The U.S. has been Ukraine’s main foreign supplier of weapons but Kyiv has also been purchasing Patriot missiles ​through a NATO initiative, financed by its European allies.

‘SOME KIND OF APOCALYPSE’

Moscow’s war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of people, forced much of the population out of their homes and ​devastated cities, towns and villages. Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine.
Ukraine has also hit civilian targets during attacks on Russia or Russian-occupied areas, though on a much smaller scale. Both sides deny targeting civilians.

Photographs on Tuesday ‌showed large ⁠explosions and smoke billowing over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where officials said six people were killed and over 80 wounded.
“We couldn’t understand what was happening – some kind of apocalypse?” Olha Mudra, her face and clothes covered in dust, said at the site of one strike, accompanied by her six-year-old daughter Natalia.
Sixteen people were killed overnight, including two young boys, in the southeastern city of Dnipro, local officials said. Russia attacked the city again later on Tuesday, and at least two more people were injured.
In Kyiv, at least nine high-rise buildings, a kindergarten, a clinic, offices and administrative buildings were damaged, and ​the attack temporarily cut power to 140,000 residents, ​power company DTEK said.
More than 40,000 took ⁠shelter in the Kyiv subway system – the biggest number in recent years. Some carried pets, belongings and mattresses.

HYPERSONIC MISSILES

Ukraine’s Air Force said the attack included 33 hard-to-shoot-down ballistic missiles and eight Zircon hypersonic missiles, which appeared to be the largest number of such missiles used at once during the ​war.
The Zircon has a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travels at nine times the speed of sound, Moscow says. Ukrainian Air Force ​units shot down or neutralised ⁠40 missiles and 602 drones, but no Zircon was listed among them.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/large-pillar-smoke-seen-kyiv-after-air-raid-alert-issued-reuters-witness-reports-2026-06-01/

Police said that preliminary findings indicate the shootings stemmed from a domestic-related dispute, as all victims were found to be family members of the suspect.

At least seven people, including the suspect, were killed in a shooting spree at multiple locations across Iowa, United States, in an apparent domestic dispute. The “series of homicides” occurred at two residences and a business in the city of Muscatine, according to police.

In a statement, the Muscatine Police Department said cops were dispatched at approximately 12:12 pm on Monday to a report of a shooting at a residence on Park Avenue.

When officers and emergency responders arrived at the scene, they found four people with gunshot wounds inside the house. All four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators soon identified the suspected shooter as Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, of Muscatine, who had left the residence before police arrived.

Law enforcement officials located McFarland a short time later near a pedestrian bridge with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers and paramedic personnel provided medical aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

As the investigation progressed, detectives learned there were additional victims and, subsequently, located two men dead from apparent gunshot wounds. One was found at another residence on Mill Street, and the other at a nearby business on Grandview Avenue, authorities said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/5-including-suspect-killed-in-shooting-after-a-domestic-dispute-in-us-iowa-11578248?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Nepal and India share a long and open border, much of which was defined by the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli. However, mapping remains incomplete in areas such as Susta and Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh-Kalapani.

Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah has triggered a political storm at home after claiming that the Himalayan nation had also encroached on Indian territory despite Kathmandu’s consistent complaints about alleged Indian encroachment. Shah made the claims during his maiden address to the Nepali Parliament since becoming the South Asian nation’s youngest prime minister earlier this year.

He acknowledged that the border dispute involving Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani areas remains a sore point in bilateral ties and said both nations should seek the help of historians, surveyors and experts to resolve the issue, adding that Kathmandu has also taken up the matter with China and the United Kingdom.

Nepal and India share a long and open border, much of which was defined by the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli. However, mapping remains incomplete in areas such as Susta and Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh-Kalapani. The long-running border dispute has remained one of the key irritants in bilateral relations.

Though Nepal has consistently complained about Indian encroachment on Nepali land, Prime Minister Shah’s remarks appeared to suggest that encroachment has taken place from both sides.

India has, meanwhile, maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand and has said the issue should be addressed through bilateral dialogue.

Shah’s statement soon received backlash, with opposition political parties, foreign affairs experts, and border analysts criticising his comments, saying they undermined Nepal’s long-standing position on the border dispute with India and weakened Nepal’s stance in future negotiations with New Delhi on border issues.

What The Nepal PM Said

In his maiden appearance in the ongoing parliament session that started on May 11, 35-year-old Shah said, “You will be surprised to know a fact that I have learnt recently, only after becoming prime minister. India has not only encroached Nepali territory, but Nepal has also encroached Indian territory in many places.”

“Now both countries should study the facts and sit together as friends and resolve the issue,” he added.

Shah, however, did not disclose any details about where Nepal had allegedly encroached on Indian land. He told Parliament that Nepali lawmakers have taken up the matter with China and the United Kingdom — the latter due to its colonial legacy in the region.

The Controversy

Shah’s comments about Nepal encroaching on Indian territories soon triggered a controversy, with Opposition lawmakers, including Basana Thapa of the Nepali Congress and Ramesh Malla of the Nepali Communist Party, objecting to the PM’s comments and demanding that they be expunged from the parliamentary record.

They said the prime minister should either provide evidence to support his claim that Nepal had encroached on Indian territory or withdraw the statement.

Former Nepalese ambassador to India Nilambara Acharya told the Kantipuronline media portal that Shah has “no information regarding Indian territories being encroached upon by Nepal.”

According to Acharya, 97 per cent of the border disputes between the two sides have already been resolved. “There are reports about some Nepalese using land in India and some Indians using land in Nepal due to the missing border pillars in some border areas,” he said, but the Nepal government, as such, has not encroached on India’s territory.

Another former ambassador of Nepal to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, said that Nepal’s encroachment on India’s territory is not documented in any record.

“India has also not raised this issue on record…So far, we have conducted studies, but this issue has never surfaced…I don’t know in which context the prime minister spoke about such a serious matter,” he told the Nepalpress online news portal.

Many Nepalese social media users also criticised the prime minister’s comments, while several experts dismissed them.

Nepal’s Clarification

After the controversy erupted over Shah’s comments, the Nepal government went into damage control mode, claiming the prime minister was talking about “cross-border occupation” and encroachment in the no-man’s land along the border with India. In a statement, the country’s Foreign Ministry said the Shah’s comments were connected to technical studies conducted in border areas where citizens of one country have been using or occupying land that technically falls within the territory of the other country.

“The matter mentioned by the Prime Minister in Parliament was primarily related to encroachment in the no-man’s land area and cross-border occupation,” the statement said.

The Ministry noted that due to the “Fixed Boundary Principle” adopted in river boundary areas, situations have emerged in some places where Nepali citizens cultivate or reside on land technically located on the Indian side, while Indian citizens use land falling within Nepal’s territory.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated that Nepal’s official position regarding disputed border areas, including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, remains unchanged and that unresolved border issues would be addressed through diplomatic dialogue and mutual understanding with India.

According to the ministry, technical committees and border mechanisms of the two countries are currently engaged in repairing border pillars, addressing encroachment in the no-man’s land, and collecting records of cross-border occupation in mapped areas along the frontier.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pm-balen-shahs-nepal-encroached-india-too-remark-triggers-row-at-home-11574423?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

Diplomatic discussions between Tehran and Washington are ongoing, with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi highlighting the complexities of transferring Iran’s highly enriched uranium, which poses transport challenges due to its gaseous form.

As diplomatic efforts between Tehran and Washington continue, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has said that transferring Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium outside the country would be a challenging operation, but one that remains technically possible. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Grossi said the process would be complicated because the uranium is stored in a gaseous form that is difficult and potentially hazardous to transport.

“Such an operation is not easy, because this is in gas form, highly contaminant, and it’s not an easy operation,” Grossi said.

A suspected shell left over from World War II exploded under a stilt house in an Indonesian fishing village, killing five people and wounding nearly 20, police said on Monday (Jun 1).

The blast in Indonesia’s restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom on Sunday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.

Nine homes were destroyed.

“The source of the explosion is strongly suspected to have been a bomb or mortar left over from World War II,” Papua police spokesman Cahyo Sukarnito told AFP.

THE SECRET Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul has won back partial custody of her two-year-old son after a nasty battle with her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Taylor, 32, initially lost total access to her son Ever when Dakota filed a protective order against the reality star in March, accusing her of repeated abusive behavior.

During Monday’s court hearing in Utah, the judge acknowledged that the volatile exes did make some headway in mediation and came to some agreements on Ever’s care.

The judge decided to lift supervised visitation, so Taylor will be able to see their son without additional oversight.

He also granted Taylor one weeknight every week with Ever – but not an overnight – and she will get every other weekend with him as well.

It’s a big step up from the just 12 hours of supervised visitation she previously was given.

The judge also said he also expects both parents to closely follow the recommendations by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The judge also ruled that both parents should not make disparaging remarks about each other.

He also told Dakota, 33, and Taylor to hire a private guardian ad litem, or child advocate, for Ever by the end of this week, and he expects to approve the selection by next week.

The exes will be back in court on July 8, with the judge aiming to rule on parenting time for Ever’s holidays and summer months.

Until then, the judge said that Dakota should be considered the custodial parent for holidays, which includes July 4.

During the hearing, Taylor’s attorney ripped into Dakota and said he was found to be unemployed with a criminal history and no family support in Utah.

Taylor’s attorney insisted she has lots of support in Utah, and just purchased a home with plenty of space for her three children.

Dakota’s attorney said they were open to lifting the supervised visits for Taylor, but expressed concerns about how much time Taylor has utilized in her allocated parenting time thus far.

The legal battle kicked off on March 19, when Dakota filed for a protective order against the Hulu reality star right on the toddler’s second birthday.

The judge initially stepped in and blocked Taylor from seeing their son until a scheduled court date on April 7.

Just hours before they were set to face the judge on that date, Taylor retaliated with her own protective order, bringing forward fresh allegations of abuse from a fight back in February.

In court, Taylor’s legal team brought out photos of bruises, claiming Dakota slammed her head into a truck dashboard during that February dispute.

Taylor also alleged that Dakota hit her knee and elbow, and then demanded sex right after the altercation.

She also brought up an older incident from May 2025, claiming Dakota refused to leave her house and kicked her.

After hearing the claims, the judge granted Taylor a temporary protective order, ordering Dakota to stay at least 100 feet away from her.

Taylor was given eight hours of supervised visitation with Ever weekly after that first hearing; it was upped to 12 hours of supervised visitation during a May hearing.

Dakota, however, gave the Draper City Police a completely different version of what happened in February.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tv/16439916/taylor-frankie-paul-win-custody-battle-son-dakota/

A MASSIVE World Cup security operation is being rolled out as officials brace for huge crowds, drone threats, fake tickets and fears of violence.

Fans are also being urged to act as extra eyes and ears as police prepare for one of the biggest deployments the city has seen in decades.

Los Angeles will host a wave of World Cup events beginning June 11, with games, fan festivals and public watch parties expected to draw tens of thousands of people.

All eight World Cup matches in the region will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The first match is set for June 12, when the US faces Paraguay.

But police will also have a major presence at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where FIFA will livestream matches for massive crowds.

Captain Eric Eppolito, the LAPD operations chief for the FIFA Fan Fest, said the scale of the plan is rare, ABC affiliate KABC reported.

“It is probably one of the bigger deployments I’ve seen in my 29 years on the job,” he said.

The Coliseum event is expected to act as a giant watch party, with games shown live and musical acts performing on the field.

“It was allotted for up to 40,000 (people) a day, and what will, in essence, be a watch party with some musical acts and stuff down on the field,” Eppolito said.

The Official FIFA Fan Festival Los Angeles will run for four straight days starting June 11.

Other World Cup celebrations, programs, and interactive events will continue across the city for 39 days.

Officials said 10 additional fan zones are planned across the county, stretching from Venice Beach to Union Station.

Federal and local agencies outlined the security push at a press conference on Monday.

The LAPD, LA County Sheriff’s Department, Inglewood Police Department, FBI, and Secret Service are all involved in the operation.

Security will be even tighter for Iran’s two World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium.

Sheriff Robert Luna at a press conference said Iran “does bring a different dynamic,” with law enforcement gathering “information and intelligence” ahead of the team’s arrival.

Iran is set to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 22 at SoFi Stadium.

The team will reportedly stay in Tijuana, Mexico, and fly in and out of Los Angeles on the same day as its matches.

Luna said agencies are “prepared for any contingency,” with extra staffing expected at the games.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned anyone trying to cause chaos would be arrested.

“Anyone who seeks to turn the celebration into chaos, you will find no refuge in this city. You will be arrested,” McDonnell said.

“This is a terrible time to commit a crime in LA,” Hochman added.

Officials described the effort as one of the largest security operations in Los Angeles history.

They also said it will act as a preview for the massive security planning needed for the 2028 Olympics.

Authorities said officers and deputies have been training in crowd control and counterterrorism tactics.

They are also preparing for crimes that could target fans, including drunk driving, counterfeit tickets, fake merchandise, human trafficking, and fights.

One of the biggest concerns is the use of illegal drones.

Flight restrictions will be in place above and around World Cup venues and will disable and confiscate all unauthorized drones.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/16440360/la-world-cup-security-cops-fans/

Three new vaccines are being developed to tackle the rare species of Ebola that has already killed nearly 250 people.

The International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), which is working on one vaccine, said the outbreak was threatening to be the worst ever.

The University of Oxford and the pharma company Moderna are also researching vaccines against the Bundibugyo species.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which is providing funding to each group, said “every day counts”.

There are now more than 1,000 suspected cases in the DR Congo with nine confirmed cases in neighbouring Uganda.

There is growing concern this outbreak – which was detected only after it had spread in a conflict zone with limited healthcare resources – could reach the size of the largest ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-16. Then, nearly 29,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died.

Dr Mark Feinberg, head of IAVI, said: “I think this is clearly threatening to be as severe an outbreak as that, if not even worse, and development of a vaccine, and other countermeasures, is clearly a priority.”

It echoes concerns from the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) which said the situation was “deeply alarming” and never before had “so many cases” been recorded so soon.

Vaccines must be developed for each individual species of Ebola – there are six, but only three are known to cause outbreaks.

There is a vaccine for the most common Zaire species, but this outbreak is being caused by another species, called Bundibugyo. It has only been seen twice before and there is no approved vaccine.

IAVI is working on a modified version of the Zaire Ebola vaccine to fight Bundibugyo. The experimental jab has been tested in monkeys where it rapidly trained the immune system and gave close to 100% protection.

Feinberg said their evidence so far meant he was “optimistic about the potential”, but currently it would take seven to nine months to get the vaccine ready for clinical trials – although they are trying to “accelerate those timelines”.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company Moderna has announced it is using its mRNA technology – which was deployed to rapidly develop vaccines in the Covid pandemic – to work on Bundibugyo.

“We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most,” said Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna.

And the University of Oxford has already said it is working on its own vaccine technology, which also saved lives in Covid, to develop a fresh Ebola vaccine.

This should be ready for clinical trials in two to three months.

Each vaccine aims to train the body to spot the same structure on the surface of the virus – known as the Bundibugyo glycoprotein. However, each uses a different technology to get there.

IAVI uses a live, but harmless virus that has been engineered so it also has the Ebola glycoprotein. The immune system fights off the harmless virus and learns to fight Ebola in the process.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8pw93929wo

The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down.

The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested with back-and-forth attacks, though officials from both countries are still trying to negotiate an end to the war. It’s not clear how close they are to a deal — and there is always the risk that an attack could derail those talks.

Fighting has also been escalating between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire, and that has increasingly threatened the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire.

On Monday afternoon U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to dial back their fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah through mediators. Moments later, though, Israel said it had detected missile launches from Lebanon and warned Israelis in part of northern Israel to take cover in protected spaces.

Meantime, Iran maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up the price of fuel around the world, with far-reaching consequences. A cargo ship came under attack off Iraq Monday afternoon, the British military said.

Fighting in Lebanon poses risks to Iran ceasefire

Israel has extended its occupation deep into Lebanon, and Hezbollah — which joined the war in support of its main backer, Iran — continues to launch drones into Israel.

Iran wants any agreement to include Lebanon, and its foreign ministry on Monday highlighted the rising tensions in Lebanon, saying via government media: “The responsibility of the results and consequences of this situation is on the U.S.”

Israeli military pushes north, demands civilians leave

Israel has declared a “combat zone” south of the Litani River and fighting has erupted north of the river as well. Israel has demanded evacuations from many towns north of the river.

In his social media post about Israel and Hezbollah scaling back their fighting, Trump added that talks with Iran “are continuing, at a rapid pace.”

In Pakistan, which has been a mediator between Washington and Tehran, a former ambassador to the U.S. said that Israel’s actions in Lebanon were complicating the diplomatic environment.

“Israel is creating a new strategic reality in its neighborhood,” Masood Khan told The Associated Press.

US military attacks Iran

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it carried out the strikes in Iran on Saturday and Sunday around the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island, hitting air defenses, a ground control station and two attack drones it said threatened ships in the region.

“The measured and deliberate strikes occurred … in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” Central Command said.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a trickle compared to before the war, with ship owners deterred by the risk of an Iranian attack. Only 36 ships transited the waterway in the seven days leading up to to Friday, a third of them carrying crude oil or petroleum products, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which counts only ships big enough to carry globally significant amounts of oil or cargo. That compares to an average of more than 130 ships per day before the war began.

A fifth of all the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed through the strait. Its closure has put pressure not only on energy supplies but on chemical fertilizer, generating fears of food shortages. The Gulf region produces 30% of globally traded chemical fertilizers.

Kuwait reports incoming fire

Kuwait said its air defenses opened fire early Monday morning to intercept incoming drone and missile fire.

Around the same time, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it responded to an American attack without saying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, the Guard said that U.S. forces had targeted a telecommunications tower.

Kuwait is home to U.S. Army Central, the Mideast forward command for the Army.

Iranian state television shared footage of the ballistic missile launch, including a close-up showing a sticker on its body depicting a bruised Trump overlaid on a “closed” Strait of Hormuz with the caption: “Until the last American soldier leaves the region.”

Central Command said U.S. forces shot down two ballistic missiles Iran launched toward bases home to American troops. No Americans were hurt, it added.

Attacks rattle ceasefire talks

Over the weekend, the U.S. fired a missile into the engine room of a Gambia-flagged cargo ship trying to break its blockade of Iranian ports.

On Monday, a cargo ship off Umm Qasr, Iraq, was struck by a projectile that caused a “large explosion,” the British military said. It offered no other details, and no one claimed the attack. Iran previously has attacked ships off Iraq.

Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-irael-war-kuwait-strikes-88daa9f90b48baaa7beb18e35515c59d

 

President Donald Trump is reconsidering whether to move forward with a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate his allies, a person familiar with his thinking said Monday, as the Justice Department also said it would temporarily pause the program’s implementation in compliance with a court order.

The potential retreat is a nod to the legal setbacks the fund has encountered since it was announced two weeks ago and a recognition of the mounting political backlash from Republicans concerned by a lack of oversight of the money disbursement and the possibility of payouts to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The Trump administration had defended the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” established to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, as an appropriate corrective measure for what officials insist was weaponized law enforcement during the Biden administration.

But while some Trump supporters — including participants in the Capitol riot — celebrated the announcement of the fund, the reaction among Republicans in Congress has been decidedly more hostile. The outrage came to a head last month at a closed-door meeting between senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas described on a recent episode of his podcast as “one of the roughest meetings I’ve seen in my entire time in the Senate.”

The furor has especially complicated matters in the Senate, where Republicans defiantly left town 10 days ago without passing legislation to fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies after Democrats said they would offer amendments to scrap or scale back the judgement fund.

Republicans who returned to Washington on Monday said they won’t have the votes to pass the Homeland Security spending bill until the White House works with them to place parameters on the fund. Many have pushed the administration to impose limits or cancel the idea altogether.

Amid the backlash, a person familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking, said Monday that Trump was reconsidering whether to move forward with the fund. The Justice Department separately said Monday that it would comply with a judge’s order from Friday that temporarily halted implementation of the fund pending additional arguments later in the month.

But Republicans said they were still seeking a more explicit commitment that the fund would be pulled back.

“They need to say what they actually mean,” said Republican Sen. Jim Lankford. “They need to say, ‘We’re setting this whole thing aside.’”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated Monday that he hoped the White House would move to drop the fund. He said he wasn’t sure if the immigration spending bill would move this week.

“I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Thune told reporters.

He said any additional statements from the administration would be helpful, but: “I think the statement they made effectively shuts it down. We’ll find out.”

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that if the settlement is “completely pulled, then I’m satisfied. But I haven’t heard anybody say that.”

It was not immediately clear whether the retreat being signaled on the fund Monday indicated that the administration would also backtrack on another element of the IRS settlement — a commitment by the government to abandon any probes of Trump, his family and other associates over whether they’ve paid their fair share of taxes.

The fund was dealt a pair of legal blows on Friday, including an order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema that temporarily barred it from being implemented. The judge scheduled a June 12 hearing for arguments on whether to extend her order. The Justice Department statement did not say whether the government intended to continue to make legal arguments for the fund.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-fund-jan6-capitol-riot-39b193211349b42e6218c5a1007785c9

 

The authorities have faced days of protest by pro-immigrant groups at the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey, with the center’s residents reportedly on a hunger strike over living conditions in the facility.

The mayor of the US city of Newark ordered a curfew around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in the state of New Jersey due to ongoing demonstrations.

The curfew will be in effect between 9:00 PM local time and 6:00 AM the following morning, Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement, adding that the measure will remain in place until further notice.

Pro-immigration protesters have been clashing with the police at the ICE facility for several days as concerns mount for the well-being of the center’s residents.

Lawyers representing some of the detainees had told media outlets that detainees were given expired food and did not have access to medical care. They also said their clients started a hunger strike over the poor conditions within the facility, which has some 1,000 beds. With some 300 residents reportedly launching the hunger strike in May, the Delaney Hall center became the latest symbol of the embittered debate on US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said she was denied entry last week when she tried visiting the center with state lawmakers.

In turn, the Department of Homeland Security has accused New Jersey politicians of spreading “smears” against ICE.

New Jersey governor calls for calm

With violence escalating, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has now imposed a nightly curfew ​in the half-mile (805 meters) area surrounding the facility.

On Sunday, Governor Sherrill said masked protesters attacked police barricades and threw projectiles, utilized the barriers as weapons and lit tires on fire in the street. She added that such actions “put peaceful protesters and law enforcement in danger.”

She urged protesters to focus on “better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-newark-mayor-orders-curfew-after-delaney-hall-protests/a-77368968

(This May 31 story has been corrected to remove a reference to tens of thousands of Israelis being displaced by Hezbollah fire, in paragraph 3)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the ‌battle against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, he said on Sunday, despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago.

The fighting in Lebanon has been the broadest spillover of the Iran war, displacing more than 1.2 million Lebanese through Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2, when Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into Israel to back its ally Iran.

The incursion has so far killed more than 3,370 ​people, according to the Lebanese government. Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
In the latest advance, Israeli ​troops seized the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and a strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, the military said, a day after one of the ⁠heaviest days of Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel since the April ceasefire, prompting school closures and restrictions.
“I instructed the (military) to expand its ground manoeuvre in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in ​a statement.
Citing the escalating violence in Lebanon, France called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, its foreign ministry said in a statement.

ISRAEL AIMS TO ​EXPAND GRIP ON HEZBOLLAH AREAS

Israeli troops and Hezbollah have continued to trade fire since the mid-April ceasefire, with Hezbollah resorting to the use of cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones that are hard for air defences to thwart and that have killed several Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military already controlled territory up to the Litani River in Lebanon, but troops are pushing to the Zaharani River, around ​10 km north.
Netanyahu said his aim is to “deepen and expand our grip on the places that were under Hezbollah’s control”.
Naftali Bennett, a challenger to Netanyahu in an upcoming election, ​said he seeks stronger action in Lebanon, including hitting suburbs of Beirut.
The military on Sunday issued an evacuation warning for residents south of the Zaharani. Eight people were killed when overnight airstrikes ‌Saturday hit ⁠the southern village of Deir El Zahrani, Lebanon’s state news agency said.

Throughout Sunday, the Israeli military conducted more than 40 strikes across southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese security sources and state news.

BEAUFORT CASTLE GIVES VANTAGE POINT

On Friday, the U.S. military had hosted Israeli and Lebanese defence representatives in Washington to pursue a U.S.-brokered plan to forge peace between the two countries and disarm Iranian-backed Hezbollah. On May 15, the two sides agreed to extend the ceasefire by 45 days.
The advance into Beaufort Castle has granted Israeli troops a vantage point ​over much of southern Lebanon and northern ​Israel, from which attacks have been launched ⁠towards Israeli residential areas.
It was the first time Israel had held the site since May 2000, when Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon after 18 years.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said soldiers will retain Beaufort as part of Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon.
“The ​campaign is not over yet,” he said. “We are all determined to crush Hezbollah’s power.”
Katz circulated a photo on social media of ​the castle with the ⁠Israeli flag and also that of the military’s Golani brigade.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/israel-troops-capture-beaufort-castle-southern-lebanon-push-against-hezbollah-2026-05-31/

The U.S. ‌Department of Commerce on Sunday moved to close a potential loophole that may have led companies to export the world’s most advanced chips – like Nvidia’s (NVDA.O), most sophisticated Blackwell processors – to subsidiaries of Chinese companies located outside China.
The unexpected guidance suggests that the United States’ best AI chips may have been making ​their way to the subsidiaries of Chinese AI firms based in places such as Malaysia despite broader U.S. efforts to ​starve Chinese firms of semiconductors needed to develop critical AI capabilities.

The new guidance was posted on the ⁠Commerce Department’s website on Sunday after a paper about the loophole circulated in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. ​The paper, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, says “the floodgates have quietly opened.” Dated Friday, the paper does not list any ​author.
It is unclear how many of the chips have been exported in the year that the Trump administration left the door open. One chip industry source with deep supply-chain knowledge estimated it was in the hundreds of thousands.
In the unusual weekend guidance, the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said it ​would enforce license requirements for advanced chips to entities headquartered in China when the entities were located outside China.

“BIS issued guidance clarifying ​export license requirements that have been in place since 2023,” a bureau spokesperson said. “BIS will continue to enforce export controls rigorously to safeguard critical ‌American technology.”
The ⁠new guidance does not change anything for Nvidia, a company official said, adding that it could not ship the chips because the Commerce Department had clearly imposed a license requirement on Nvidia in a letter.
AMD, another big producer of sought-after AI chips, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Commerce Department created the opening when it announced in May 2025 that it would not be enforcing ​the AI Diffusion rule issued ​in the last days of ⁠the Biden administration. The rule had licensing requirements governing global access to AI chips.

Former State Department official Chris McGuire, an expert on technology and national security, said in a social media post on Sunday ​that the loophole allowed the overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies to buy Nvidia Blackwell chips without ​a license. “This is a ⁠HUGE problem,” he said.
“Chinese companies have been buying these chips, very likely at scale,” McGuire said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-takes-step-halt-nvidia-ai-chip-shipments-chinese-firms-outside-china-2026-05-31/

Caught between China’s rapid military rise and growing ​doubts about the U.S. focus on a region it has long dominated, Indo-Pacific nations are racing to arm themselves, and each other.
At Asia’s ‌premier defence forum on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed regional partners to shoulder more of the security burden. Yet, he faced persistent concerns that U.S. priorities may be drifting, with conflict in Iran competing for attention.

“We can do two things at one time,” Hegseth told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a free-wheeling gathering of global defence chiefs, military and intelligence officials.
His Japanese counterpart Shinjiro ​Koizumi said he believed the U.S. commitment was “unwavering”, while acknowledging that some countries may still underestimate its resolve.
In interviews with Reuters on the sidelines of the ​annual gathering, regional defence chiefs and military officers made clear the push was on to do more with each other beyond ⁠the traditional U.S. umbrella.
“All the defence secretaries here present are unanimous in the need to make agile and speedy upscaling of their own individual defence capabilities,” Philippines’ Defence ​Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told Reuters.

He described it as “buttressing” the U.S.’s traditional role, with Manila deepening defence ties with partners such as Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
“The commitment of ​the United States becomes more solid when more actors, at least in the deterrence phase, come in, because there is a common threat.”
Japan is positioning itself as a hub for that broader network.
Koizumi said Tokyo aims to act as a “connecting point” for closer regional cooperation beyond China.
In April, Japan unveiled its biggest overhaul of defence export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and ​opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other weapons.
“Japan will be even more proactive in defence equipment cooperation,” Koizumi said at the forum. “Our aim is to ​ensure that each country has the capabilities it needs and to make them available when needed.”

“INTENSE LEVEL”

Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said in the current environment “we should…develop flexible partnerships with like-minded ‌countries forming ⁠coalitions of the able and willing.”
This, he said, would help “bridge gaps, test ideas, find paths in new and uncharted territories.”
Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan said her forces were expanding their presence in the region, co-operating with Japan and the Philippines on cybersecurity and maritime exercises while also helping Indonesian counterparts with English language training.
“There is a lot of work to do in the Indo-Pacific region. And I think this is why we are seeing probably an increase of partnership across the board,” Carignan told ​Reuters.
New Zealand, meanwhile, is weighing closer ties ​and fresh hardware. Defence Minister Chris ⁠Penk confirmed Wellington is actively considering Japanese and British vessels to replace its ageing ANZAC-class frigates.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/great-indo-pacific-hedge-deeper-defence-ties-us-doubts-grow-china-ascends-2026-05-31/

Hundreds of thousands of Arsenal fans from far and wide lined the streets of north London on Sunday chanting and lighting red flares as they celebrated their club’s first Premier League ​title in 22 years.
The players celebrated in an open-top bus along with the gleaming ‌Premier League trophy that the club had finally got their hands on after Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ last won it in the 2003-04 season.

Arsenal had clinched the Premier League title prior to the final game of the season when they had an ​unassailable lead over second-placed Manchester City, who eventually finished seven points behind Mikel Arteta’s side.
It ​was Arsenal’s first trophy since Arteta won the FA Cup in his debut season ⁠as manager in 2020 as a dream was finally fulfilled for the club after finishing second ​three years in a row prior to this season.
Even Saturday’s Champions League final loss to Paris St Germain on ​penalties in Budapest could not dampen the enthusiasm of the fans, with fireworks and vuvuzelas adding to the noise.

“We’re not European champions but we are champions of England, which is what matters. So we’re happy to celebrate with everyone,” ​said Julien Guillenenat, a French Arsenal fan.
“I feel that we’re going to be fine next season. I ​feel like a weight has been lifted off the shoulders and this season was like on a knife edge,” ‌Mathieu Garnier, ⁠a 44-year-old Arsenal fan, told Reuters.
“Three years in a row second and finally this pressure is behind us and these boys are going to be flying. I believe that.”

The Arsenal women’s team joined in the celebrations following their FIFA Champions Cup triumph this season.

‘THEY’RE NOT LAUGHING ANYMORE’

Declan Rice, who was signed for a ​club-record fee of 105 million ​pounds ($141.32 million) in 2023, ⁠said the men’s side had sent a message to those who mocked Arsenal in the past.
“They’re pointing and they’re laughing. And what happened? They’re not laughing ​anymore. I love this team. I love this manager,” Rice told Sky Sports.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/arsenal-paint-london-red-with-victory-parade-after-premier-league-title-win-2026-05-31/

Iran has successfully restored access to numerous underground missile facilities after recent US and Israeli strikes targeted them. Satellite imagery indicates that Iranian crews have been actively clearing debris and repairing roads to reopen tunnel entrances.

Iran has restored access to many of its underground missile facilities following weeks of US and Israeli strikes, according to a new report by CNN that cited satellite imagery it reviewed. The images show Iranian crews using construction equipment, including bulldozers, front-end loaders and dump trucks, to clear debris, reopen tunnel entrances and repair roads damaged during the conflict.

Military analysts quoted in the report said that the developments highlight the challenges of neutralising Iran’s extensive network of underground missile bases, many of which have been under construction for more than two decades.

During the conflict, the United States and Israel focused on targeting tunnel entrances and access roads to Iran’s underground missile facilities, aiming to prevent missile launchers from operating. According to CNN’s analysis, Iran has now reopened 50 of the 69 tunnel entrances struck at 18 underground missile facilities.

At a missile base in Dezful, satellite imagery from May 12 showed that four of the site’s five tunnel entrances had been reopened, with only one remaining blocked. Roads damaged by air strikes have also been repaired. Images reviewed by CNN show that craters created to restrict vehicle movement have largely been filled in, with some roads repaved.

Military analysts say the repair effort has accelerated since a ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect more than seven weeks ago.

US President Donald Trump has sought amendments to a draft Iran deal, focusing on nuclear material and Hormuz terms.

United States President Donald Trump has reportedly asked for several amendments to the deal his envoys reached with their Iranian counterparts during the recent negotiations. The US and Iran are engaged in negotiations to finalise a peace deal and end the war that began on February 28.

Trump wants the deal and expects to finalise it soon, but is keen to strengthen several points that are important to him – particularly around Iran’s nuclear material, Axios reported quoting two US officials on Sunday.

“It’s more specifics about how the US gets the material and the timing,” a senior administration official told the news portal, referring to the enriched uranium.

The second source told Axios that Trump also wants to amend some of the wording around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Man through which one-fifth of the world’s energy flows in normal times.

The US official said Trump was told it would take around three days before the Iranians get back with a response.

Earlier today, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said that the US and Iran are close to a “very good deal”.

Trump said that there could be two ways – either the two sides reach a deal, or it could end “militarily.”

“We’re close to a very good deal. If you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal, and slowly but surely, we’re getting what we want — and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it a different way,” Trump said during an interview to his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, which was telecast on Fox News.

He said that Iranians are “good negotiators,” adding that the US has “significant leverage” over Iran.

The US President held a meeting with his top cabinet colleagues and officers of the armed forces in the situation room on Friday, but it concluded without any clarity on future actions.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/donald-trump-wants-tweaks-to-iran-deal-focus-on-nuclear-material-strait-of-hormuz-article-154436007

US President Donald Trump said that the US and Iran are close to a “very good deal”, adding that there could be two ways – either the two sides reach a deal, or it could end “militarily.”

United States President Donald Trump said that any deal between Washington and Tehran will bar the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons. Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Fake News CNN said today, routinely, that my Iran Nuclear Deal doesn’t talk about Nuclear, when actually it states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon.”

“It then goes on, in very strong and lengthy detail, to discuss various other aspects of Nuclear. In fact, that’s what most of the agreement is about. CNN, and aso many other Fake News Media, is a Low Ratings disaster. Even with new ownership, it is unlikely to ever get better!!” Trump wrote.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that the US and Iran are close to a “very good deal”. Trump said that there could be two ways – either the two sides reach a deal, or it could end “militarily.”

“We’re close to a very good deal. If you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal, and slowly but surely, we’re getting what we want — and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it a different way,” Trump said during an interview to his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, which was telecast on Fox News.

He said that Iranians are “good negotiators,” adding that the US has “significant leverage” over Iran.

The US President held a meeting with his top cabinet colleagues and officers of the armed forces in the situation room on Friday, but it concluded without any clarity on future actions.

Trump has reportedly asked for several amendments to the deal his envoys reached with their Iranian counterparts during the recent negotiations.

Trump wants the deal and expects to finalise it soon, but is keen to strengthen several points that are important to him – particularly around Iran’s nuclear material, Axios reported quoting two US officials on Sunday.

“It’s more specifics about how the US gets the material and the timing,” a senior administration official told the news portal, referring to the enriched uranium.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/donald-trump-defends-iran-deal-says-it-ensures-no-nuclear-weapon-for-tehran-article-154438630

A blast in northern Myanmar killed dozens of people on Sunday (May 31), two rescue workers said, with rebels controlling the region saying it was caused by the accidental detonation of mining explosives.

One first responder in Shan state’s Namhkam district, where the blast occurred, said 46 people were killed, including six children, and more than 70 others were injured.

The massive explosion destroyed many houses and injured people were transported to a local hospital, said the emergency worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

“There could be more dead people under their destroyed houses,” he added.

Another rescuer, who also asked not to be named, said the death toll was higher, at 59 killed, and bodies were collected by emergency personnel for cremation.

Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military grabbed power in a 2021 coup, with the armed forces fighting an array of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic minority armed groups.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s most powerful ethnic minority factions, said the “accidental explosion” of stored explosives used in mining and stone quarrying detonated at around 12pm local time on Sunday in Namhkam.

“Because of this explosion, many local villagers lost their lives and suffered injuries and damage to their homes,” the TNLA said in a statement, without giving a specific toll.

The explosives belonged to its economic department, and the exact cause of the blast was under investigation, the group said.

Many rebel groups in Myanmar rely on mining of precious minerals to fund their campaigns against the military, with lax safety measures making mine collapses and other accidents common.

The country’s borderlands are home to a myriad of ethnic minority armed groups, many of which have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

The so-called Three Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic minority armed groups – made up of the TNLA, the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – agreed to a China-brokered ceasefire with the military in early 2024.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/blast-in-rebel-held-myanmar-kills-dozens-rescuers-6152966

BEAMING Dua Lipa leaves a register office with new husband Callum Turner — after wrong-footing fans with a surprise low-key wedding yesterday.

The loved-up singer, 30, and actor Callum, 36, tied the knot in central London in front of just eight guests.

They are to have a second lavish bash in Italy later this week.

Hollywood actor Callum wept with joy as he married the pop superstar in a surprise wedding ceremony yesterday.

Sources revealed the 36-year-old became emotional as he wed The One Kiss singer in front of a handful of family and friends — at a register office that has been a hot-spot for celebrity nuptials.

The understated affair, which saw the glamorous couple covered in confetti, came ahead of their second wedding — a lavish three-day event in Sicily which starts later this week.

Dua wore a wide-rimmed hat, custom-made off-white skirt and blazer from designer Schiaparelli paired with Louboutin heels.

Meanwhile Callum — who has been linked with becoming the next actor to play James Bond — looked suave in a navy suit.

An insider confirmed to The Sun that Callum had become emotional during the service at seeing his stunning bride. They said: “He was in tears and shaky.”

Dua’s parents Dugi and Anesa, her sister Rina and brother Gjin were all beaming as they threw confetti over the happy couple as they exited Old Marylebone Town Hall, in central London, after the ceremony.

In the moments leading up to Dua and Callum’s departure down the steps outside, several of the singer’s security team scouted the area.

The pair then left in a simple black cab.

The modest affair did not draw much undue attention from onlookers, with one saying: “I just thought it was another wedding.”

And a staffer at the register office said the couple wore “really nice, really expensive outfits”.

He added: “It all happened very fast. In and out, job done.”

The couple then continued the low-key vibe with a small dinner with their nearest and dearest.

A source said: “Dua and Callum said their vows in a ceremony with their closest family and friends. Last night they had a quiet celebration dinner. It was chic and simple — exactly as Dua and Callum wanted.

“Dua’s dad and manager Dugi is a massive Arsenal fan so there were a few jokes made about the timing, as the Premier League victory parade was happening at the same time not far away. Both him and Dua’s mum Anesa were beaming with pride.

“The celebration was relatively low-key as they fly to Sicily this week for their second, big wedding.”

The Sun has previously revealed that the couple were planning a star-studded bash on the Italian island, kicking off on Thursday.

Showbiz pals including singers Charli XCX and Tove Lo are on the guestlist.

There are even whispers that Sir Elton John — who collaborated with Dua on 2021 song Cold Heart — could perform.

Insiders said Dua has been planning their big day for months after it was revealed Callum had popped the question to her in December 2024 following a year of dating.

A source added: “Dua and Callum have put together the most incredible itinerary for their celebrations in Sicily.

“The last-minute preparations have been hectic — and she’s been back and forth to Italy for dress fittings — but it’s all coming together perfectly.”

Insiders say it will be a massive affair, inspired by pal Charli — who held a wedding party in Sicily herself last September after having an initial ceremony in the UK.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16436028/dua-lipa-callum-turner-intimate-wedding-groom-cries/

At least 46 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after an explosion in a village in a region of Myanmar under insurgent control, rescue teams have told the BBC.

A rescue worker in Kaung Tat, a village in Namkham Township in Shan State, near the Chinese border, said six children including a one-year-old toddler were among the dead.

The blast is said to have damaged around 200 homes in Kaung Tat and another 100 in the nearby Pan Lone village.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which controls the area and has been fighting the military junta, said explosives kept in a warehouse for use in local mining operations had ignited, causing the blast.

A source familiar with the situation on the ground previously told the BBC at least 55 people had died.

The bodies of all 46 victims, including three Chinese nationals, were cremated on Sunday evening, with rescue operations expected to resume on Monday.

Around 74 injured people were transferred to the nearby Namkham General Hospital for treatment, rescue teams added.

The “accidental explosion” occurred at around 12:00 local time (05:30 GMT) on Sunday, the TNLA said.

“Because of this explosion, many local villagers lost their lives and suffered injuries and damage to their homes,” the group said, without providing details.

Footage from the scene shows a vast crater of earth and rubble surrounded by shattered buildings, with smoke still drifting from charred debris and twisted trees.

Taking to social media, one resident said some villagers initially believed the blast was caused by an air strike.

“By sheer luck, my phone saved my life,” the resident wrote.

“I was sitting in my bedroom eating noodles and looking at my phone. If I had been eating in the kitchen, I probably would not be alive today.”

The resident, who said she had suffered a minor leg injury and her own home had been destroyed, described scenes of panic and grief in the aftermath of the blast.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglp7p787njo

The Israeli military has captured the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “decisive shift” in its offensive against Hezbollah.

It comes as ground troops move ever deeper into Lebanese territory beyond their original demarcation line of the Litani river.

The UK, France and Germany criticised Israel’s latest escalation, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned more residents to evacuate a larger swathe of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of carrying out “collective punishment”.

The latest evacuation warning is the second time in recent days that Israel has told residents to leave the entire south of Lebanon below the Zahrani river.

“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities or means of combat endangers their life,” an IDF spokesman said.

The spokesman said a “significant number of IDF ground soldiers” were involved in the operation, which was “currently expanding to additional areas”.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper joined European allies on Sunday in calling for Israel and Hezbollah to stop the escalating conflict.

“Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon has killed and displaced civilians, destroyed infrastructure, and eroded space for diplomacy,” Cooper wrote on X. “It must end.”

Hezbollah “must end attacks on Israel and disarm,” she added.

In Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made a televised address in which he accused Israel of a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” in the south of the country.

France, which has historical ties with Lebanon, has requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the Israeli military operations.

President Emmanuel Macron said on X “it is urgent that the weapons fall silent – all of them, and for good”.

“Nothing justifies the major escalation currently under way in southern Lebanon,” he added.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told French network BFMTV the situation was a “major mistake for Israel”.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the Israeli army’s advance further into southern Lebanon was a “cause for serious concern”.

“Any further escalation will exacerbate the already tense situation and trigger new waves of displacement within Lebanon,” he added in a statement.

Perched over the Litani valley, Beaufort Castle has been key to controlling the region around it since the Crusaders built it some 900 years ago. The Israeli army captured it 44 years ago in what’s known in Israel as the First Lebanon War.

In a statement on Sunday following its capture, Netanyahu said it was “a decisive stage and decisive shift in our policy”.

“We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts – in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon,” he said.

Netanyahu added that his aim was to “deepen and expand our grip on the places that were under Hezbollah’s control”.

Defence Minister Israel Katz recalled the battle 44 years ago against the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – one of the first of the Lebanon war. He said the Golani Brigade, which took it then, had returned and raised the Israeli flag above it.

So, it’s a highly symbolic as well as strategic victory, as far as Israel is concerned.

In 1982 Israeli forces occupied the castle – which is just 14.5km (nine miles) from the Israeli border – but left in 2000 when they withdrew from their self-declared buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

For the Lebanese, it’s the latest historic landmark to be seized in recent days, while the city of Nabatieh further north appears to increasingly be a target for the IDF.

Katz said control of the castle and the ridge it stands upon was an important step in protecting Israeli communities on the other side of the border.

The evacuation orders are another clear indication that Israeli ground forces are moving ever deeper into Lebanese territory beyond their original demarcation line of the Litani river.

Israel says it’s been intensifying its onslaught against Hezbollah in response to the Iranian-backed group’s ramping up of its own explosive drone and missile attacks, both on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and communities across the border.

On Sunday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 13 hospital staff had been injured in an airstrike in the vicinity of Hiram hospital in Tyre, southern Lebanon, which caused significant damage.

The military confirmed another soldier had been killed, while schools in communities on the Israeli side of the border have been closed on Sunday as a precaution.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdep04kzz5wo

The authorities have faced days of protest by pro-immigrant groups at the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey, with the center’s residents reportedly on a hunger strike over living conditions in the facility.

The mayor of the US city of Newark ordered a curfew around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in the state of New Jersey due to ongoing demonstrations.

The curfew will be in effect between 9:00 PM local time and 6:00 AM the following morning, Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement, adding that the measure will remain in place until further notice.

Pro-immigration protesters have been clashing with the police at the ICE facility for several days as concerns mount for the well-being of the center’s residents.

Lawyers representing some of the detainees had told media outlets that detainees were given expired food and did not have access to medical care. They also said their clients started a hunger strike over the poor conditions within the facility, which has some 1,000 beds. With some 300 residents reportedly launching the hunger strike in May, the Delaney Hall center became the latest symbol of the embittered debate on US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said she was denied entry last week when she tried visiting the center with state lawmakers.

In turn, the Department of Homeland Security has accused New Jersey politicians of spreading “smears” against ICE.

New Jersey governor calls for calm

With violence escalating, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has now imposed a nightly curfew ​in the half-mile (805 meters) area surrounding the facility.

On Sunday, Governor Sherrill said masked protesters attacked police barricades and threw projectiles, utilized the barriers as weapons and lit tires on fire in the street. She added that such actions “put peaceful protesters and law enforcement in danger.”

She urged protesters to focus on “better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-newark-mayor-orders-curfew-after-delaney-hall-protests/a-77368968

Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend are piling up wins on the court at the French Open.

Their success comes after drawing attention off the court for organizing a dinner for Black players before the tournament started.

“It caused a bit of a stir, which I thought was pretty funny because for so long we have been the ones that (are) the minority in a sport where we kind of stick out,” Townsend said about chatter on social media. “And now coming together all of a sudden seems like a problem.”

While Townsend said the reaction from her Instagram post about the evening was “mostly positive,” she said there was also online criticism.

Several comments on Osaka’s and Townsend’s posts suggested the dinner as “segregation,” while another asked, “When are the white, Latino, and Asian parties?”

It all prompted Townsend to quote a lyric from the rapper Finesse2tymes: “He said, ‘It’s cool when they do it; it’s a problem when I do it.’”

Keeping in the rap theme, Townsend quoted Tupac Shakur in her post about the evening: “Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice; I say the darker the flesh, then the deeper the roots.”

Besides Osaka and Townsend, the other attendees of the dinner were 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff, retiring Frenchman Gael Monfils, doubles specialist Asia Muhammad and retired player turned TV commentator Chris Eubanks.

“Growing up, there weren’t a lot of tennis players I could look up to that looked like me,” Osaka — whose father is from Haiti and mother is from Japan — said in her Instagram post about the dinner. “Being a minority in a sport like tennis is very isolating but the positive is that you keep tabs on everyone that … being blunt, is black. There’s a fellowship, a camaraderie.”

“I felt like everyone in that room was a part of my family,” Osaka — who represents Japan but grew up mostly in the U.S. — added in a news conference.

For Townsend, “it wasn’t just about the culture, it was healing for us to all be able to speak about our journeys.”

While Gauff’s title defense ended with a loss to Anastasia Potapova on Saturday, Osaka has reached the fourth round in Paris for the first time in her career while showing off her taste for fashion with her elaborate walk-on outfits. American player Townsend and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova — the top-seeded doubles team — have won their opening three matches and are into the quarterfinals.

Althea Gibson broke tennis’ color barrier

Gauff beat Townsend in the opening round of singles, after which a ceremony was held on Court Philippe-Chatrier to honor the 70th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s 1956 French Open victory — the first Grand Slam title for a Black tennis player.

Gibson was also the first Black player to compete at a major tennis tournament when she fought with the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association just to get admitted in 1950 to what was then called the U.S. Nationals — now the U.S. Open.

“Taylor and I playing on Philippe-Chatrier is a direct product of Althea Gibson,” Gauff told the crowd after beating Townsend. “It just shows the importance of breaking barriers in all aspects of the world, but especially in sport. I’m very grateful for people like her and Serena and Venus (Williams), Zina Garrison for paving the way for us.”

‘Soul Food’ Sunday at Wimbledon

The dinner recalls how going back to the Harlem Renaissance, Black athletes, entertainers, musicians and writers held salons and dinners to celebrate their successes in a familial space. Such events were not meant as a slight to non-Blacks.

Katrina Adams, a former pro and then the first Black president of the U.S. Tennis Association, said she was pleased to see “an old tradition” re-emerging.

“In our era in the 80’s/90’s, we hosted ‘Soul Food’ Sunday on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon, when there was no play,” Adams said in a comment on Townsend’s post. “All the black players, got together, cooked, ate and enjoyed each other.”

Adams said players like Garrison and Lori McNeil hosted the Wimbledon gatherings for years and that she passed on the tradition to the likes of Chanda Rubin, the Williams sisters, MaliVai Washington and Roger Smith.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/taylor-townsend-naomi-osaka-french-open-cb77889cda30218d0f772e533b086d5b

The Trump administration is pushing to unleash the power of artificial intelligence for the U.S. military while facing calls to put up guardrails around the rapidly developing technology from some companies — and even notes of caution from top leaders in uniform.

Adm. Frank Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told attendees of a recent annual special forces conference in Tampa, Florida, that troops “have to be very careful about how we come to (AI’s) employment and its inspiration into the delivery of lethality.”

Bradley said he can see a future where AI determines what targets to hit but that “we, as humans, have to have the confidence that … it’s going to deliver violence only where we intend it to be delivered.”

The remarks from Bradley, who oversees the units that handle the military’s most difficult and dangerous operations, about the need to ensure safeguards come as his boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is pushing to rapidly evolve the military through AI. It is a push that has led to clashes with some tech companies worried about safety measures.

Hegseth has insisted that the Pentagon be allowed to use the technology any legal way it sees fit. He told an audience of SpaceX employees in January he would reject any AI models “that won’t allow you to fight wars” and that his vision for the technology was systems that operate “without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications.”

AI’s use in the military is part of the Republican administration’s larger push to grow the capability it sees as a unique American advantage even as it faces pressure to ensure responsible safeguards.

President Donald Trump abruptly called off plans to sign a new AI executive order hours before an expected White House ceremony over concerns the measure could dull America’s edge on AI technology.

“We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters.

Two differing AI worlds within the military

When asked about Bradley’s remarks, a Pentagon official said efforts are focused on using AI to create “functional battlefield tools” that can help troops come up with and identify targets more quickly and, as a result, speed up strikes on those targets. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to offer more candid remarks.

Officials at U.S. Special Operations Command talked about AI not as something that will help eliminate targets but rather as a tool that can offer troops more time to focus on their mission.

Sgt. Maj. Andrew Krogman, the top enlisted official for U.S. Special Operations Command, said at the conference that he sees AI handling administrative tasks to free up operators or helping modernize how the command does business.

Melissa Johnson, the top acquisition official for the command, said AI should be “reducing the cognitive workload on mundane tasks.”

“We’re leveraging AI more and more, but it’s not to replace operator judgment, it’s to enhance it,” she added.

Helen Toner, interim executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said those differing descriptions about AI in the military are both true.

“There are a huge number of potential uses for AI in these kinds of bureaucratic settings, which the U.S. military is actively exploring,” Toner said.

Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, told a congressional committee in May that his troops used AI “bots” to convert top secret intelligence down to a secret classification within seconds to make it easier to share with drone operators on the ground during the Iran war.

However, there is no doubt that AI also is helping the military find and strike targets.

The center that Toner oversees published a case study two years ago on how the Army’s 18th Airborne Corps used AI to target artillery strikes “just as efficiently as the best unit in recent American history” and with 2,000 fewer service members.

“Human operators are still the ones making crucial decisions, but AI … is making it possible to operate with a new level of speed and scale,” she said.

AI safety has created a public dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic

The clash over the integration of AI into the military, who ultimately controls the technology and the ethics behind its use has played out in unusually public fashion during the Trump administration.

Hegseth and Anthropic are embroiled in a bitter contract dispute over the company’s concerns about unchecked government use of its technology, including the dangers of fully autonomous armed drones and of AI-assisted mass surveillance that could track dissent.

After CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns about how the chatbot Claude is used in classified Pentagon networks, both Trump and Hegseth accused Anthropic of endangering national security.

The Pentagon formally labeled the San Francisco-based company a supply chain risk — ending its $200 million defense contract and prohibited other government contractors from working with the company.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-military-hegseth-anthropic-d5fbaee17ee0bdb9738dbb808ea2d047

A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers reported Sunday, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer.

“While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward,” said Dr. Zev Wainberg, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped lead the study.

The drug is called daraxonrasib and it blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases — a target that had eluded treatment for decades.

The daily pills nearly doubled survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned the experimental drug or more chemotherapy to 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented Sunday at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Those taking daraxonrasib lived for a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for chemotherapy recipients. While that may seem like a small improvement, Wainberg said it marked the first drug to show a substantial advantage over chemotherapy.

“Having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying” when first seeing the study results, Dr. Rachna Shroff of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, who wasn’t involved with the research, said from the ASCO meeting. She was struck by how “patients stayed on this treatment because it was providing durable and meaningful benefit to them.”

The pills’ effects eventually wane but recipients used them for significantly longer than the comparison group stayed on chemotherapy, reporting less pain and a better quality of life as their tumors shrank. Many still were using the drug after the data was analyzed, which Wainberg said means the survival gap may widen as researchers continue tracking them.

Dr. Brian Wolpin, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented the findings Sunday. He said the drug should become “a new standard of care” for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, adding that researchers also will explore its use earlier in the disease, including to see if tumor shrinkage might let more patients qualify for surgery.

Side effects most likely to affect pill usage were a rash that can be severe and mouth sores, he said.

Maker Revolution Medicines funded the study and the Food and Drug Administration plans to expedite review of the drug. Meanwhile, the agency is allowing what’s called “expanded access” to the experimental drug for patients who meet certain criteria. The drug garnered public attention when former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse described on “60 Minutes” how he’s had less pain while taking it. Oncologists are being flooded with requests as the special access program gets started.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly forms in large part because it’s hard to detect before it starts spreading to other organs. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year and more than 52,000 people will die from the disease. The five-year overall survival rate is 13%.

Unlike with other cancers that have benefitted from a variety of chemotherapy alternatives, pancreatic cancer has been harder to tackle.

Cancer specialists not involved in the new research expressed optimism that this may be a turning point in the quest for new options, with dozens of experimental drugs in development.

The new drug targets mutations in the RAS gene family that normally regulates cell growth. So-called KRAS mutations are especially critical in fueling pancreatic cancer. But a structure that made it hard for drugs to stick to the mutated proteins meant this cancer driver was long considered “undruggable.”

Revolution Medicines’ drug uses what’s essentially a molecular glue to bind with multiple KRAS subtypes. Wainberg said researchers next will probe whether the drug worked better in certain of those subtypes.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/pancreatic-cancer-daraxonrasib-chemotherapy-kras-62537cbc43c5286edb4c00806dc1c2de

Despite the positive assessment, the doctor’s report showed Donald Trump has gained weight over the past year.

US President Donald Trump’s doctor said that the commander-in-chief is in excellent health but must lose weight and exercise more. The White House released the results of Donald Trump’s annual physical examination, revealing that White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella provided preventive health counseling that included recommendations for improved diet, increased physical activity, continued weight loss and the use of low-dose aspirin.

“President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function,” Sean Barbabella wrote in a medical memo released by the White House, adding, “Cognitive and physical performance are excellent. He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”

Why Did The Doctor Recommend Weight Loss?

Despite the positive assessment, the doctor’s report showed Donald Trump has gained weight over the past year. According to the exam, the president stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 238 pounds. During his previous physical examination in April 2025, Donald Trump weighed 224 pounds. The report therefore included a recommendation that the president increase his physical activity and continue efforts to lose weight.

What Health Concerns Of Trump Have Prompted Public Discussion?

The release of the medical report comes amid ongoing public discussion about the US President’s health during his second term. Visible bruising on Donald Trump’s hands and swelling in his legs and ankles have fueled speculation in recent months, prompting the White House to disclose additional details about his medical condition.

In the report, Sean Barbabella noted that “slight lower leg swelling was noted,” adding that the condition had improved compared with the previous year. The physician also addressed concerns surrounding bruising visible on Donald Trump’s hands. The White House has previously attributed the marks to frequent handshakes and the US President’s aspirin use, occasionally using concealer to reduce their visibility in official photographs.

What Did Donald Trump’s Neurological Examination Show?

According to the report, Donald Trump underwent a comprehensive neurological examination that found no abnormalities. The assessment showed normal mental status, intact cranial nerves, normal strength, sensation, reflexes, gait and balance.

Donald Trump also completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a screening test commonly used to identify signs of mild cognitive impairment and early dementia. Sean Barbabella reported that the US President achieved a perfect score of 30 out of 30.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/lose-weight-doctor-wants-trump-americas-commander-in-chief-and-president-to-do-ws-l-10121955.html

US forces launched a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room, effectively disabling the vessel. CENTCOM said the ship was “no longer transiting to Iran”.

The United States military said it fired a Hellfire missile at a commercial cargo vessel after it allegedly ignored repeated warnings and attempted to enter an Iranian port despite an ongoing US naval blockade.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the Gambia-flagged cargo ship Lian Star was struck in its engine room while “transiting international waters toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”

The incident comes as tensions remain high despite a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, with US secretary of war Pete Hegseth warning on Saturday that American forces are prepared to resume strikes on Iran if diplomatic efforts fail.

Ship ignored more than 20 warnings, says US military

In a statement issued Saturday, CENTCOM said US forces repeatedly attempted to stop the vessel before taking military action, claiming that the Lian Star ignored “more than 20 warnings” overnight informing it that it was violating the US blockade on Iranian ports.

US forces then launched a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room, effectively disabling the vessel. CENTCOM later said the ship was “no longer transiting to Iran” but did not provide further details on its status.

A US official familiar with the operation told the Associated Press that the vessel remained adrift in the Gulf of Oman and had not been boarded by American forces.

Sixth vessel stopped under US blockade

The interception marks the latest enforcement action under the US blockade, which Washington launched in April.

According to an AP report citing the US military, six ships have been stopped so far while attempting to breach the blockade. One vessel was eventually allowed to continue its voyage, while more than 116 others have been redirected.

On Friday, CENTCOM said it had “redirected” at least 115 ships since the blockade began.

The United States imposed the blockade after Iran effectively shut down access through the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the current conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28.

Ceasefire hangs in balance

The military action comes as uncertainty surrounds efforts to extend the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

A ceasefire has largely held since early April, but negotiations are underway over a possible 60-day extension that would allow talks to continue on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

US President Donald Trump met advisers on Friday in a Situation Room meeting, but has not yet decided whether to move ahead with a deal to prolong the truce and reopen maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, news agency AFP reported, citing sources.

Iran, meanwhile, has said no final agreement has been reached.

On Saturday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military remains prepared to resume military operations against Iran if diplomatic efforts collapse.

Strait of Hormuz remains flashpoint

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, remains at the centre of the standoff.

Disruptions to shipping through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman have rattled global markets, with oil, natural gas and fertiliser shipments facing significant delays.

While some commercial traffic continues to move through the strait, volumes remain well below pre-war levels.

Iran has maintained that vessels require its approval to transit through the waterway and has reportedly imposed transit fees that have reached as high as $2 million, reported AP.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ignored-over-20-warnings-us-fires-hellfire-missile-disables-cargo-ship-bound-for-iran-strait-of-hormuz-news-101780178420112.html

 

Drones, robotic vehicles and remotely controlled weapons platforms are now playing a growing role in Kyiv’s war effort, giving it a technological advantage against a larger Russian force.

Ukraine’s war against Russia is increasingly being fought by machines rather than soldiers on the battlefield. Far from the frontlines, commanders who once fought in some of the war’s bloodiest battles now direct attacks through screens, livestreams and drones instead of leading troops into combat.

A single operation can involve several explosive-laden robots targeting Russian positions without a single Ukrainian soldier setting foot on the ground, according to a report by CNN. The attacks are monitored from reconnaissance drones overhead while operators guide the machines remotely from control centres.

Faced with a prolonged manpower shortage and uncertainty over continued Western support, Ukraine has rapidly expanded its use of unmanned systems. Drones, robotic vehicles and remotely controlled weapons platforms are now playing a growing role in Kyiv’s war effort, giving it a technological advantage against a larger Russian force.

In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had, for the first time, captured a Russian position using only robots and drones. He also said unmanned systems had carried out 22,000 missions since the beginning of the year.

Russian Soldiers Call It “Silent Death”

According to Ukrainian troops, captured Russian soldiers have given these robotic bomb carriers a grim nickname – “silent death”. The machines move quietly enough that Russian troops often hear them only when they are about 10 metres away, already within the blast zone.

For commanders who once fought house-to-house battles in eastern Ukraine, the transformation has been dramatic.

“I couldn’t even imagine such a thing, back then,” said Bar, a deputy commander who previously fought in Donbas. “But I realise that if such equipment had been available at the time… more of my comrades would have survived.”

Reflecting on how warfare has changed, he added, “Back then, war was somehow more, shall we say, masculine. It was your skills that mattered there – how well you’d trained, how disciplined you were, and so on. Now, technology decides everything. There is no going back.”

Ukraine’s growing reliance on automation is partly driven by necessity. After more than four years of war, the country’s smaller population has paid a heavy price in casualties. As a result, Kyiv has focused on expanding drone production and improving the effectiveness of unmanned systems.

Ukraine Aims To Kill 35,000 Russians A Month

Ukrainian officials now aim to inflict around 35,000 Russian casualties every month, a target they say has been met this year. The strategy is intended to increase pressure on the Kremlin by forcing it to recruit more heavily from Russia’s urban population and middle classes.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ukraines-key-weapon-has-wheels-a-bomb-its-killing-thousands-of-russians-11569965?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair ‌of Russia’s powerful Security Council, warned European leaders on Friday that drones would continue to stray into their countries and prevent their populations from sleeping ​peacefully.
Medvedev spoke out after NATO accused Moscow of reckless behaviour and ​pledged to “defend every inch of Allied territory” after Romania said ⁠a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the ​alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

Medvedev said it still ​needed to be ascertained which country the drone belonged to, but said that Europe’s “impotent” leaders should stop expressing outrage over the incident since they were directly ​participating in a war against Russia.
“Let them get ready: this ​will continue to happen,” Medvedev said in a statement. “There is a war going on! ‌And ⁠the citizens of EU states, as the population of the belligerent countries, will not be able to sleep peacefully.”
He said such incidents were particularly likely to continue in places where drones were being ​made for Ukraine.
“After ​all, European drones, ⁠spare parts for them, and other weapons, not to mention intelligence, are used in attacks on our ​country every day. As a result of their ​actions, residential ⁠buildings are being damaged, in which our civilians are dying,” said Medvedev.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-official-warns-europe-brace-more-drone-incidents-after-romania-episode-2026-05-29/

Paris St Germain held their nerve in a cagey Champions League final to retain the title by beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as Saturday’s nail-biting showdown ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French side’s ​status among Europe’s modern greats.
Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonov’s crossbar at the Puskas Arena, his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain ‌the trophy since Real Madrid completed their three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.

Long dismissed as glamorous underachievers despite vast resources, the Ligue 1 champions have now forged a dynasty under Luis Enrique, marrying attacking brilliance with resilience to establish themselves as the dominant force in European football.
“It’s stronger than last year because we knew before the match just how difficult it would be to play against Arsenal,” said Luis Enrique, whose side had thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 to claim ​Europe’s elite trophy for the first time.
“As a club and a city, it’s incredible to win, and I think we deserved it over the course of the season. The final ​was a real battle,” added the Spanish coach.

The outcome left Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice devastated but proud as his side finished their European campaign without losing ⁠a match aside from the shootout defeat in the final.
“It’s gutting. It’s devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties,” he said. “But we try to take a lot of perspective from ​how far we’ve come as a group.
“An incredible season. Given it absolutely everything up until this point. We took the game to penalties. It’s a lottery.”

EUROPE’S BIGGEST STAGE

Eleven days after celebrating their first Premier League ​title in 22 years, Arsenal looked set for a maiden triumph on Europe’s biggest stage after Kai Havertz’s sixth-minute opener and a first hour spent smothering PSG’s vaunted attack.
However, the final became chaotic once PSG’s Ousmane Dembele equalised with a penalty in the 65th minute, the pace turning frantic before exhaustion took the match to a shootout.

Under Luis Enrique, PSG have won the six shootouts they have contested. The 56-year-old has now won 12 of the 13 one-off ​club finals he has overseen as a coach.
After brushing aside Premier League opposition on their way to the final by eliminating Chelsea and Liverpool, PSG were facing a much sterner test against an ​Arsenal team playing their second Champions League final after losing to Barcelona in 2006.
Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead when Marquinhos’ clearance bounced off Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard into the path of Havertz, who raced into the ‌box and fired ⁠into the roof of the net.
He is the fourth player to score in two different European Cup or Champions League finals with two different clubs.
It was the nightmare scenario for PSG – trailing so early against the best defence in the competition.

Arsenal lived up to their reputation as the best team without the ball and looked perfectly content with the script, doubling up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and suffocating the usual danger brought by the Georgian magician on the left flank.
PSG’s Fabian Ruiz was unable to impose his usual rhythm in midfield and, despite monopolising possession for long spells, Luis Enrique’s side struggled to carve out ​clear-cut chances.
By halftime, PSG had attacked 32 times, ​Arsenal three times.
Arsenal, however, were flirting with ⁠the boundaries with their challenges and Cristhian Mosquera brought down Kvaratskhelia in the area, with Dembele converting the penalty to equalise with his eighth goal in the competition.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/psg-retain-champions-league-title-with-shoot-out-win-over-arsenal-2026-05-30/

A U.S. judge in Florida said she will review a deal between the Justice Department and President Donald Trump to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue ​Service, intensifying scrutiny of the heavily criticized agreement.
Trump filed the lawsuit against his own ‌government over an alleged mishandling of his tax records that resulted in leaks to the media. The proposed agreement would create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of political “weaponization.”

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered Trump’s lawyers on ​Friday to respond by June 12 to a motion filed by 35 retired federal judges alleging that the ​settlement “is a product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the court” ⁠and to address the question of whether the case should be reopened over the contention ​the suit was the result of “deception” by Trump and the government.
Following the settlement, Trump moved to dismiss ​the lawsuit in a bid to prevent any judicial scrutiny of the deal.
Williams initially granted that dismissal on May 18, but her new order said the “court is empowered to investigate serious misconduct.”

It is unusual for a judge ​to order the government to respond to a motion after a case has been dismissed. If the judge ​reopens the case, she could order a hearing or take further action.
The retired judges said the settlement, which was never ‌placed before ⁠the court, raises profound questions about Trump and the government’s actions “and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice.”
Separately, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from setting up the “Anti-Weaponization Fund”. Brinkema’s order will remain ​in effect at least until ​June 12.
The fund ⁠spurred a backlash, even from some lawmakers in Trump’s Republican Party, who expressed anger that some people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, ​could receive taxpayer-funded payouts. It was derided by some critics as a “slush fund.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-orders-review-trumps-irs-lawsuit-settlement-2026-05-30/

REMEMBER when none of us could agree whether that viral dress was blue and black, or white and gold? It may be a sign of things to come.

A bizarre future where we can no longer trust our eyes might await us as a top AI expert reveals how deepfakes might reshape the future, speaking to The Sun on Future Tech Feed with Sean Keach.

From ‘deepfake’ voice clones that scam your poor gran out of her life savings to hyper-targeted propaganda designed just for you, AI risks rewriting our reality.

Cyber expert Mhairi Aitken, of Our AI Collective, revealed how it’s not just that AI has got better, but also that we can all use it so easily.

“There’s this big leap forward in what generative AI is able to do,” said Mhairi, who previously worked at The Alan Turing Institute.

“But also that these tools became available and accessible to pretty much anybody with internet access.”

DEATH OF THE ‘WONKY HAND’

Until quite recently, you could spot a fake image very easily – just look for six fingers on a hand or an ear in the wrong place.

But those days are long gone, according to Mhairi, who said that the pace of changing is “dramatic”.

Just a few years ago, “deepfakes” of celebs like Tom Cruise were poor quality and could only made by the computer-savvy.

Now anyone with a smartphone can do it for free.

DONALD Trump’s secret blueprint for how he could pull off a daring full invasion of Cuba has been revealed by a former intelligence officer.

Lt Col Hal Kempfer, ex-Marine intelligence officer, told The Sun how the US could neutralise Havana’s Navy and Air Force in as little as 48 hours so US special ops can bundle out wanted former Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

For months US President Donald Trump has waged a pressure campaign against Cuba to squeeze its communist regime by starving the island of fuel.

The recent indictment of former Cuban president Castro for murder, “set the seeds” for a Venezuela-like insurgency.

And with no deal in sight Pentagon sources told The Sun “blocks are being put in place” for military intervention which could begin within a month.

A strike group of US warships including aircraft carrier Nimitz were ordered into position in the Caribbean Sea this week.

Cuba, a nation of 10 million, is just 90 miles off Florida’s coast where giant C-17 transports have been landing troops.

One scenario could see the US launch a salvo of airstrikes from southern Florida, Hal said.

Next a mass of military forces would roll in as part of “highly complex” operation.

“Because it’s an island, it is implicitly an amphibious assault”, Hal said.

Ground and air power would be projected from battleships in the sea onto Cuba’s shore.

The mission would rely on specialised war ships acting as bases for helicopters, landing craft and hovercraft to rapidly move soldiers and equipment onto land.

Once on land, US forces could attempt to cut off Havana and conduct “the modern day version of a siege”, Hal said.

It comes as the USS Iwo Jima amphibious attack group with 2.500 Marines is reported to be sailing towards Cuba.

Reaper drones and E-3 Poseidon spy planes are reportedly mapping out Cuban army communications and troop movements with surveillance flights.

US Army War College professor and senior Latin America specialist, Evan Ellis, told The Sun limited air strikes targeting key military “command nodes” could be launched in “two weeks”.

The mission would aim both to topple the Cuban regime and to extract Castro.

Hal said: “Going in to take Castro is very intelligence intensive.”

Ahead of the operation a joint planning team must assess an array of risks to ensure its success.

This includes the enemies location, preparation, military structure and command and control communications capability.

The terrain would also be considered to understand how US forces could operate in urban areas near the water as well as the threat of militia groups, Hal said.

These considerations will be put to president Trump for the final call.

Cuba has long been on America’s watch list after its 1959 revolution – led by Fidel Castro – sparked a wave of communist revolts across the western hemisphere.

But the Trump administration officially declared the island a national security threat.

Just last week US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “Having a failed state 90 miles from our shores is a threat to the national security of the United States.”

The likelihood of a peaceful agreement is “not high”, he added.

For months the US has blocked oil from reaching the island, triggering a humanitarian crisis that threatens to collapse Cuban society.

Power cuts now stretch all day as state hospitals are left starved of many basic medicines.

The strategy echoes Trump’s January invasion of Venezuela – Cuba’s close ally – to extract president Nicholas Maduro.

Ahead of Operation Absolute Resolve, the US enforced an oil blockade against Caracas, stationed an armada in the Caribbean sea and indicted Maduro on drugs trafficking charges.

After months of threats, US forces hit Venezuela with a large-scale strike and captured Maduro and his wife who were flown out of the country in an extraordinary overnight raid.

The US warrant out for Castro now gives Trump a “legal predicate” to snatch the former Cuban president in “much the same way” , Hal said.

“I have read some assessments where they say, within 48 to 72 hours we could essentially neutralize your [Cuba’s] Navy and Air Force.

“And could pretty much gut their command control communications capability.”

In the clearest sign yet that tensions are reaching critical mass, CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visited to Havana earlier this month.

But a former Cuban military officer who served in Castro’s personal security team told The Sun the Cuban military will fight back hard.

“The Americans will never take Raul Castro alive”, Cuban army lieutenant Carlos Calvo said.

Casto is protected by 800 “highly armed and dedicated” Russian thugs from Cuba’s Black Wasp special forces, Carlos said.

Members of Castro’s “Point Zero” security team are all equipped with AK-103 automatic rifles and RPG-7 anti-tank rockets.

They guard entrances to Castro’s various bunkers and fortified homes which are connected by tunnels.

“Castro’s personal residence is surrounded by trees and mine fields. It would be impossible for helicopters to land there”, Carlos said.

“Cuba’s armed forces have been preparing to fight a US invasion for decades, using guerrilla tactics learned from North Vietnamese instructors”.

Cuba’s Foreign ⁠Minister Bruno ​Rodriguez has warned any military action ​would lead to a “bloodbath” in which thousands of Cubans and Americans would die.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16431213/trump-secret-cuba-invasion-plan-marines-special-ops-castro/

In some parts of Europe, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine can feel like a distant threat. But in Romania, that war is right next door and increasingly dangerous.

In Galati, there is an apartment block with a hole in the roof that proves it.

Residents have just begun returning to check on their homes, after an attack drone slammed into the building early on Friday as dozens of people slept.

It sparked a fire and panic.

We climbed 11 floors up to the roof on Saturday to see where the drone punched through the concrete. There’s a jagged hole, a couple of metres wide, now covered with plastic.

The flat below was badly damaged, and a woman and her teenage son remain in hospital with bruises and minor burns.

But it’s clear the consequences of this strike could have been far worse: the drone hit the lift shaft on the roof, which absorbed much of the blast.

“It was really very terrifying,” says Costel Patrichi, a resident who’s in charge of the building. “But if the drone had hit the side, it could have destroyed a whole floor or more.”

He describes how his phone buzzed with an alert that morning just before 02:00, warning of the danger: a drone was approaching from the Ukrainian border a few miles away.

Moments later came the bang.

“They told us we are protected by Nato, not to worry. But look where we are now!” Costel tells me, frustrated like many that Romania’s air force couldn’t intercept the drone.

When a Ukrainian drone targeting northern Russia was recently knocked off course into Estonia, it was a Romanian fighter jet there that shot it down – part of Nato’s quick reaction force.

Here, though, pilots only had moments to react before the weapon was over a built-up area. At that point, interception was too risky.

“Now I’m afraid. If go back to my flat tonight, I will sleep with fear. Because this could happen again,” Costel admits.

It is the same fear that Ukrainians endure nightly as Russia launches ever more attack drones at its neighbour. Very often, they smash into residential areas, destroying homes and taking lives.

Now Romania, a member of both Nato and the EU, has been hit.

It is the most serious incident of its kind in this country since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

True to form, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims there is no evidence this was a Russian drone.

But Romania has been very clear: it was a Geran-2, otherwise called a Shahed, and it was Russian.

“It’s sure, because we had another one four or five weeks ago that didn’t explode. We compared and they are completely identical,” Romania’s President Nicosur Dan told the BBC World Service.

The drones are used to target Ukrainian ports on the other side of the river Danube that are vitally important to Ukraine’s grain exports.

On Friday, Romania tracked a swarm of 43 of them as they travelled from east to west.

“One hit by the Ukrainian army changed direction and passed to Romanian territory. That is sure,” Dan said.

Romania’s Nato allies have called Russia’s conduct “reckless” and stressed that Moscow’s war of aggression was to blame for what happened.

In Washington, though, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ignored reporters’ requests to comment.

And there is clearly caution in the response, as well as condemnation.

No-one is accusing Moscow of mounting a deliberate attack on Romania.

And whilst government sources in Bucharest tell us they considered invoking Article 4 of the Nato treaty, which would trigger an emergency meeting, that idea was rejected to avoid creating panic.

The next potential step would have been Article 5: the mutual defence clause, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

That’s not on the table.

Instead, Romania has shut down a Russian consulate in the port city of Constanta as a “warning”, according to its president. Dan said the next move in the “diplomatic hierarchy of measures” would be to kick out the Russian ambassador.

But for now, he’s going nowhere.

Romania has called for Nato to move faster with a pledge to transfer more military equipment to this stretch of its eastern edge.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzyp93jq1o

A family of four from Massachusetts who were killed when a bus crashed into multiple vehicles in Virginia were traveling to a wedding with a carload of homemade desserts for the celebration.

The family wedding will go forward Sunday in South Carolina, but it also will be a time to mourn the loss of Dmitri and Ecaterina Doncev and their two children, Emily and Mark, a relative said Saturday.

“A son, a father — the whole family — everyone that has been dear to us,” Carolina Bublik said.

The Doncevs were killed when a motorcoach caused a chain-reaction crash with vehicles that had slowed down for a work zone on Interstate 95 in Stafford County around 2:35 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

The bus struck a Suburban, which then hit an Acura carrying the Doncev family, police said. Priscilla Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was in the Chevrolet SUV and also died.

More people were treated for injuries, including one who was in critical condition, though most were discharged, Mary Washington Healthcare said.

The bus driver, Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and additional charges were likely, Virginia State Police said. The prosecutor’s office in Stafford County said Dong was arrested and would be in custody while he is treated for his injuries at a hospital.

Prosecutors said in a statement that Dong’s first court appearance will not be scheduled until he is discharged but a magistrate approved holding him without bond until that time. It also said prosecutors saw enough probable cause to believe Dong was “driving in a criminally negligent manner.”

It was unclear whether Dong has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The case did not yet appear in the state’s online court records, and a call to the area’s public defender went unanswered at a closed office Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, a monthslong task separate from the work of state police. NTSB board member Tom Chapman revealed few new details but said the bus was moving at a high rate of speed.

“It seems fairly clear that if there was any braking there wasn’t much, because of the speed and severity of the collision,” Chapman said.

The bus, which was taking people from New York to North Carolina, was operated by E&P Travel Inc., based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

Chapman said the driver’s language proficiency would be part of the NTSB investigation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, citing police, said on social media that Dong, a native of China, does not speak English.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/virginia-bus-crash-family-deaths-c876a390609b6e66cb70020f8f715362

For nearly a year, public demand and increasingly outspoken calls from the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse have driven Congress to mostly set aside party politics and search for accountability.

Yet even after interviews with some of the highest-ranked officials to ever appear before a congressional investigation, including a former president, lawmakers have little to show in terms of criminal culpability for Epstein’s crimes or a definitive acknowledgment of government failure.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who sponsored legislation to force the release of case files on Epstein, told The Associated Press he is still asking, “Why there has not been a single investigation of people who have allegedly abused or committed financial crimes?”

Lawmakers hoped to get some answers to those questions during a transcribed interview Friday with Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump’s former attorney general who oversaw the release of the files.

But the interview left Democrats fuming at Bondi’s decision to defend the Trump administration’s handling of that material, as well as her refusal to answer questions about the Republican president’s involvement. Democratic lawmakers also singled out Republican Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, saying he has allowed administration officials to dodge tough questions from Congress.

For survivors of Epstein’s abuse, including several who traveled to Washington to confront Bondi, it was a frustrating development at a time when many are weary of pleading their case before government officials. They say the Department of Justice’s chaotic release of the files, which included nude photos and personal information of potential victims, has only added to a wider failure by the criminal justice system to believe or protect them.

“The government’s refusal to acknowledge the failures that were there have led to so much harm,” said Annie Farmer. “And I think whenever you’re thinking about things from a perspective of justice or healing, without acknowledgment, it’s really hard to move forward.”

Push for accountability scrambled political lines

The committee’s investigation has been remarkably bipartisan at many moments, with Democrats and Republicans joining to issue subpoenas and force witness testimony. Besides Bondi, lawmakers have interviewed former Democratic President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick.

That effort shows lawmakers are willing to cross political lines when there is overwhelming public pressure to act. Dozens of women have accused Epstein, a wealthy and well-connected financier, of sexual abuse and rape, including in the years after he reached a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 to dispose of a federal investigation in exchange for pleading guilty to state level sex offense charges in Florida.

Epstein, who was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges, was accused of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them.

His case has captured the public imagination as an example of how the rich and powerful escape accountability for wrongdoing. Lawmakers took up the cause last year after the administration failed to meet promises to provide transparency on the case.

Different continents, different standards?

Despite the investigation originating in the United States, the reckoning over Epstein has been relatively mild in the country compared with Europe. There, senior figures in governments including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway and Slovakia have all been forced to step down over their ties to Epstein.

In its investigation, the House committee spoke to some of Epstein’s closest associates, including his former financial client Les Wexner, his lawyer Darren Indyke and his accountant Richard Kahn. The Clintons, Lutnick and others were also called to testify.

All have said more or less the same thing: They knew nothing about Epstein abusing underage girls.

Still, the release of Epstein files has had consequences. At least eight American academic and business figures have been forced from positions of power, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers from teaching at Harvard University and Kathy Ruemmler from her post as the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs.

Bank of America and Epstein’s estate have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with women who have accused the institutions of facilitating Epstein’s sex-trafficking operations.

Comer, R-Ky., said last week that the names of three people allegedly involved in abuse had come up in an interview with Epstein’s former personal assistant, Sarah Kellen. The congresswoman plans to interview six more people with connections to Epstein in the coming weeks, including billionaire Bill Gates, private equity investor Leon Black, the former CEO of Barclays Bank Jes Staley and Ruemmler.

“The government has failed the survivors. There’s no doubt about that,” Comer said, adding, “What we’re trying to do is connect all the dots and see if there is a way to hold people accountable.”

But it has stung lawmakers to see a reckoning over Epstein for figures such as Britain’s former Prince Andrew at time when the administration has tried repeatedly to move past the issue.

“A prince has been taken down and here in the United States, our Department of Justice, which is sitting on millions of files, is refusing to act,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., pointing to unreleased case files that the Justice Department is withholding on the grounds that they are duplicative or illegal to make public.

“That is not a failure, that is a choice,” Stansbury said.

Survivors and Democratic lawmakers have also taken issue with the administration’s decision to move Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidant and former girlfriend, to a minimum-security prison camp. She is serving a 20-year sentence for luring teenage girls for Epstein to abuse.

Will survivors be heard?

Scattered across the country and busy with lives of their own, survivors of Epstein’s abuse have made repeated trips to Washington to push for government action. After years of fighting in court and sharing traumatic stories privately, they have become increasingly outspoken in their quest for accountability.

“It is very taxing to be continually focused on this case,” Farmer said. She added that even if the government’s response has not met her hopes, she has seen a wider cultural movement to address sexual predation.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/epstein-investigation-congress-trump-justice-department-files-92d83b2e51088d3b8b75f556ce4135ba

A recent study shows that e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among young people in Germany, with even elementary school kids picking up vapes. Health experts are alarmed.

At least Antonia S.* has no desire to smoke cigarettes anymore. She started smoking at 18, and six years later switched to vaping. Watermelon flavor is her favorite, and a ten-milliliter bottle of e-liquid, the equivalent to about 60 e-cigarettes, lasts her a week.

“I’ve tried to quit smoking time and time again. It never worked until I tried vaping. I do feel that it’s made me healthier. But on the other hand, I think I’m much more dependent on vaping than I was on smoking. Everyone I know says they vape much more than they would smoke,” the 30-year-old told DW.

From a consumer perspective, vaping has the advantage that it doesn’t smell like normal cigarettes. Antonia also vapes at home; smoking in the apartment was an absolute no-go but the sweet vapor from blueberry, cola or apple peach from her e-cigarette isn’t a problem. Above all, it’s possible anytime, anywhere.

“You’re on it all the time. With cigarettes, you might have said ‘I’ve only got five minutes, that’s not enough,’ and then you didn’t spark up after all. I don’t even have to go outside to vape,” Antonia says. When would she stop using e-cigarettes? “Right now, I feel like it’s doing me more good than harm. But if I got pregnant, I’d stop immediately.”

Number of young smokers is rising

Health experts in Germany are worried that young people, in particular, are once again turning to e-cigarettes and even to regular cigarettes much more frequently than the generation before them. According to a recent survey, almost 10% of Germany’s 12- to 17-year-olds smoked in 2025, compared to only around 6% four years earlier. Almost 7% of this age group regularly use vapes, more than twice as many as in 2021.

The Federal Government’s Drug Commissioner, Hendrik Streeck, who commissioned the study, sees a trend reversal.

“Tobacco prevention has been successful in Germany for years, but this success no longer seems guaranteed,” Streeck said. “Starting with vapes makes young people nicotine-dependent and often leads them to also smoke cigarettes in the long term. Nicotine itself is not harmless. Neither are the additives in vapes.”

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has identified 13 additives that are harmful to health and, in some cases, carcinogenic: “Tobacco and nicotine are highly addictive products. We shouldn’t downplay that. In Germany, 360 people die every day as a result of consuming them.”

Tobacco industry: ‘E-cigarettes less harmful’

Streeck is calling for a ban on flavors that appeal to young people, a higher tobacco tax with the additional revenue flowing directly into the health system, and stricter age controls. According to the Youth Protection Act, the purchase, possession and consumption of tobacco products and nicotine-containing products is prohibited for persons under 18 years of age — this also applies to nicotine-free vapes.

And what about the tobacco industry? The German Association of E-Cigarette Retailers told DW that e-cigarettes are explicitly not products for young people or non-smokers.

“With regard to health risks, there is a broad international scientific consensus that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes. This explicitly does not mean that e-cigarettes are harmless, but according to current scientific understanding, they represent a significantly lower-risk alternative to tobacco cigarettes for adult smokers,” it said.

Elementary school kids at risk?

For Bob Blume, the idea of ​​a lower-risk alternative is a bit of a double-edged sword. Germany’s most famous education influencer, with nearly 240,000 Instagram followers, used to be a social smoker himself, he told DW, until he switched to vaping. He inhaled his first e-cigarette first thing in the morning, continued vaping happily at his desk, and as an adult, managed to stay smoke-free for more than two months. That was reason enough for him to explicitly warn of the dangers of its high addictive potential on social media and in his podcast “Die Schule brennt” (“The School is on Fire”).

“Vaping has a certain coolness factor and the ‘coming-of-age’ factor,” he said. “Many teachers report that vaping is happening in school restrooms. After my video on the topic, I received comments and messages saying that it’s already starting in elementary schools.”

Blume observes a certain helplessness about how to deal with the issue: “That’s perhaps something that vaping and smartphone use have in common.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/germany-vaping-becoming-more-popular-among-young-people/a-77340236

The recall comes a day after Putin warned Armenia against seeking EU membership and alluded to the “Ukrainian scenario.” Armenia historically has strong ties with Russia but has pivoted toward the West in recent years.

What you need to know

• Armenia has strong economic ties with Moscow
• The government argues that Russia and allies failed to help Armenia in the 2020 and 2023 wars with Azerbaijan
• Russia says Armenia can’t be both in the EU and the Russian-led Eurasian economic bloc
• Putin stressed that Russia’s conflict with Ukraine started over Kyiv’s seeking to join the European Union

Russia announced on Saturday it had recalled its ambassador to Yerevan over Armenia’s efforts to strengthen its ties with the European Union.

Armenia historically has strong economic, diplomatic and security ties to Russia, but its government has in recent years increasingly pivoted toward the West.

The Caucasian country held an Armenia-EU summit earlier in May, which Brussels hailed as a “leap forward” in ties.

Why did Russia recall its ambassador to Armenia?

Moscow said that Armenia’s rapprochement with Brussels could undermine its membership in a Russian-led economic bloc.

“The Russian ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, S. Kopyrkin, has been recalled to Moscow for consultations on steps taken by the Armenian leadership on a rapprochement with the European Union, undermining cooperation within Eurasian Economic Union,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is a single market which, besides Armenia, is also made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Moscow has previously stressed that Armenia can’t be a member both of the EU and the EEU.

Putin cites ‘Ukrainian scenario’ in warning to Yerevan

The statement comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin tied the dispute with Armenia to what he called the “Ukrainian scenario,” saying that Moscow’s military confrontation with Kyiv began after Ukraine began to seek closer ties to the European Union.

During a EEU summit in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on Friday, Putin also called for Armenia to hold a swift referendum on whether its citizens wish to remain in the Moscow-led bloc or instead go ahead with advancing EU accession talks.

At the same summit, the Eurasian bloc’s leaders warned that Armenia’s plans to apply for EU candidacy posed “significant risks” for their economic security and ordered officials to prepare a report on the “possible consequences of suspending” Armenia’s membership in the EEU.

Russia has also warned Yerevan it could halt supplies of cheap Russian natural gas to Armenia and ban imports of Armenian brandy, fruit and vegetables, which Putin said could make Armenia lose at least 14% of its GDP.

Why is Armenia pivoting away from Russia?

Armenia began to pivot away from Moscow after it was defeated in 2020 and 2023 wars with Azerbaijan, which led to the effective dissolution of the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The territory was within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders but had been governed by Armenian separatists since a war in the 1990s, and the 2023 war led to the exile of the vast majority of its population, largely ethnic Armenians.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/russia-recalls-armenia-ambassador-over-eu-ties/a-77354081

 

Addressing the public from the epicenter of the DRC Ebola outbreak, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the residents to stay safe during burials of Ebola victims and called on the infected to seek care early.

What you need to know about the Ebola outbreak

• The epicenter of the Ebola outbreak is in Ituri province in eastern DR Congo
• Ebola has also been detected in other parts of eastern DR Congo and in Uganda
• DR Congo has recorded at least 1,077 suspected Ebola cases and 246 deaths
• The outbreak was declared on May 15
• Health officials warn that the actual spread of the disease could be much larger

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Saturday urged people in the Democratic Republic of Congo to take precautions during burials, warning the public that the bodies of Ebola victims are highly contagious.

Tedros made the remarks during a visit to the epicenter of a severe Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo.

“I understand how painful it is to lose someone and how much it means to honor them properly,” the Ethiopian chief of the UN’s health agency said, referring to the local traditions of relatives washing and handling the body without protective equipment.

“While we grieve for ‌those we have lost, we must do everything we can so that we do not lose another,” he added.

Tedros also repeated the WHO’s warning that the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus,which is driving the current DR Congo outbreak, has no approved vaccines or treatments. He urged the infected to seek medical care for issues such as rehydration and pain management, but also to ensure isolation.

“Seeking care early makes a real difference,” Tedros said.

DR Congo: ‘We know what we are doing’

In Ituri, Tedros met DR Congo Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba, who has spent days in the affected area. Previously, the UN agency chief met senior Congolese officials in the country’s capital, Kinshasa.

At a press conference with Tedros, the DRC health minister said his country had experience dealing with Ebola, and called on neighboring countries to keep their borders open.

“We defeated Ebola last year,” Mulamba said, referring to a smaller outbreak of the virus.

“We tell you, trust us, we know what we are doing.”

Besides Ituri, Ebola cases have also been detected in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as in neighboring Uganda.

What is the state of the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda?

DR Congo has registered at least 1,077 suspected cases of Ebola since the outbreak was declared on May 15, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease is believed to have led to the deaths of at least 246 people, according to the latest data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak is centered in the country’s northeast, in a war-torn area that borders South Sudan and Uganda, which closed its border this week. At least nine cases have been confirmed there, and one death has been reported in the capital, Kampala.

Ebola spreads between people through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated objects.

It can take up to 21 days for symptoms to show, according to the WHO, which has warned that the reach of the outbreak is likely to be much wider.

DR Congo’s response to the outbreak has been hampered by cuts to international development aid, and the WHO’s own funds have been limited after the United States withdrew from the body in January.

Eastern DR Congo has also been grappling with armed conflict for three decades.

Fighting between Kinshasa’s forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia reignited in 2022, with the rebels taking large swathes of eastern DR Congo, including major cities in North and South Kivu.

While DR Congo reached a US-brokered peace deal with the armed group in 2025, fighting has continued.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/who-chief-visits-ebola-epicenter-in-eastern-dr-congo/a-77355201

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southwestern Iran in April, marking the first time in decades that a US fighter jet had been downed by enemy fire. At the time, President Donald Trump said the aircraft had been struck by a shoulder-launched missile.

A new report is raising serious questions about China’s role in the conflict between the United States and Iran, after it emerged that the missile which likely brought down an American fighter jet (F-15E Strike Eagle) last month may have been made in China.

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southwestern Iran in April, marking the first time in decades that a US fighter jet had been downed by enemy fire. At the time, President Donald Trump said the aircraft had been struck by a shoulder-launched missile.

NBC News is now reporting, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, that the weapon used was probably of Chinese manufacture. Shoulder-launched missiles of this type, formally known as man-portable air defense weapons or Manpads, are roughly seven feet long, weigh around 40 pounds and offer a relatively cheap and effective way to bring down low-flying aircraft.

US officials are still investigating the full circumstances surrounding the shootdown, the sources told NBC News.

The US Department of Homeland Security clarified its recent guidelines regarding permanent residency applications, which initially raised concerns about applicants needing to leave the country while awaiting green cards.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday clarified its recent circular on seeking permanent residency, after an earlier announcement appeared to suggest that many applicants would have to leave the United States while waiting for their green cards.

Immigrants have been allowed to stay in the United States while they apply for their green cards but concerns were raised following the latest DHS circular. However, it has been clarified that the circular doesn’t mean a blanket policy change. “This was just a reminder to officers of their discretionary authority, which has always existed on a case-by-case basis,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said groups that could potentially face greater scrutiny included individuals who overstay visas and applicants from countries whose citizens make extensive use of public assistance programmes.

NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behaviour and pledged to “defend every inch of Allied territory” after Romania said a Russian drone ​had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Romania’s defence ministry said a woman and a child suffered minor injuries in Galati near the border ‌with Ukraine overnight after radar tracked a Russian drone entering Romanian airspace.

Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-storey apartment block, which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, tearing through a top-floor flat.
Russia’s TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said all the accusations about Russian drones flying in Europe were unsubstantiated, RIA reported.
Separately, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s powerful Security Council, warned European leaders that drones ​would continue to stray into their countries and prevent their populations from sleeping peacefully.

It was the first time a densely populated area in a NATO country had been hit causing injuries during Russia’s war in Ukraine, and ​the incident is likely to increase tensions on the alliance’s eastern flank as member states worry about the war spilling over their borders.
The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, condemned the “reckless ⁠incursion” in a post on X and pledged the U.S. “will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ​on X after speaking by phone to Romanian President Nicusor Dan, whose country is in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
“I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,” he said, without making ​any mention of triggering NATO’s mutual defence clause. “We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones.”

Dan said the Russian consulate in the southeastern city of Constanta would be closed and the consul expelled.
TASS quoted Zakharova as saying Moscow would respond swiftly to Bucharest’s decision to close the consulate.

‘NATO NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING’

The incident seemed certain to stoke worries that Russia could be testing NATO’s resolve.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sown uncertainty about whether he would abide by the NATO charter’s obligation to defend allies that are ​attacked, saying the U.S. would only do so for those that meet spending targets and suggesting he could withdraw from the alliance.
Still, several pro-NATO lawmakers from Trump’s Republican Party slammed Russia over the incident. Representative Don Bacon suggested that U.S. Defense ​Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to slash the number of U.S. troops deployed in Romania showed “weakness” that “incites Russian aggression.”

Romania, which shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine, said Russian drones had breached its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube River ‌following its full-scale ⁠invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Stephen Evelyn, a 44-year-old American citizen who lives in Galati, called it “another provocation by the Russians”.
“I don’t believe this was an accident; this has happened too many times for the Russians to be doing this by accident,” he said. “Either that or they’re highly incompetent at waging war, but NATO needs to do something about this.”
There have been multiple airspace incursions into NATO airspace since Moscow invaded Ukraine, most notably when more than 20 Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace on the night of September 9 to 10.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries’ airspace, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia.
Romania has asked NATO allies to deploy additional anti-drone capabilities to Romania, with official sources saying Bucharest needs low-altitude radars and interceptor ​drones. A NATO spokesperson said on Friday that “potential additional defensive ​measures are considered.”

ROMANIA SCRAMBLED F-16 JETS

Local authorities in ⁠southern Ukraine said Izmail port in the Odesa region, across the border from Galati, had come under attack from drones early on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was ready to support Romania “in whatever way is necessary”.
The Romanian defence ministry said two F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled and a military helicopter was sent to monitor the attack, with the pilots authorised to ​shoot down any drones without endangering inhabited areas. The residents of border counties Braila, Galati and Tulcea were warned to take cover.
The drone was in Romania’s airspace for four ​minutes and flew at a low ⁠altitude for 10 km (6.2 miles), making it difficult for radar to detect, Romanian Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/apartment-building-hit-by-drone-romanias-galati-close-ukraine-border-radio-says-2026-05-29/

Novak Djokovic’s latest bid to capture a record 25th Grand Slam title was left in tatters after ​a stunning third-round defeat by Brazilian teen sensation Joao Fonseca in an entertaining epic at the French Open on Friday.
Djokovic’s 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 defeat meant the 39-year-old ‌Serb’s wait to surpass Margaret Court will go on in the twilight of a glorious career, as the draw in Paris opened up further a day after world number one Jannik Sinner’s shock exit.

Victory in an epic clash lasting four hours and 53 minutes ensured that Fonseca became the first teenager to beat Djokovic at the Grand Slams, as he announced himself as another genuine contender to claim a maiden major crown.
“I actually didn’t believe I could win the match, I just played and enjoyed ​being on the court. What an idol we have and what a pleasure it was to step onto the court against him, so I thank him. I’m very happy,” Fonseca said.
“I was just ​trying to hit the ball as fast as I could, I mean Djokovic doesn’t miss, and we still think he’s 20. At the end of the ⁠match, he was more fit than me, which is crazy.

“But I felt as it was getting darker, it was a bit slower, and for me that was better, because I could produce a bit more power, ​for sure.”
Fonseca dedicated the hard-fought win to his mother, who was beaming in the stands on her birthday, while Djokovic walked off to a standing ovation from 15,000 fans and hailed his young opponent in his press ​conference later.
“Incredible match to be part of. Obviously a tough one for me to lose, being two sets to love up, but huge credit to Joao for really deserving to win the match,” Djokovic said.
“I think he, without a doubt, was the better player in important moments in those crucial fourth and fifth sets. Some amazing exchanges and points. He just found incredible shots, lines. It was amazing.
“Not great for me to be facing a player playing at such a level, but I ​don’t think I’ve done too much wrong with my game. It’s just that he was just better.”

FIRST-TIME CHAMPION

While Djokovic was less sure about his return next year, Roland Garros will crown a first-time Grand Slam champion, with holder ​Carlos Alcaraz skipping the tournament due to a wrist injury and Sinner going down early.
“He definitely has the potential,” a gracious Djokovic said of Fonseca’s title chances.
Alexander Zverev is another player who will sense a glorious chance after three unsuccessful visits ‌to finals, and ⁠the German remained on course with a 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-2 victory over French hope Quentin Halys.
Dutchman Jesper De Jong beat 13th seed Karen Khachanov 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-7(2) 6-2, Spaniard Rafael Jodar downed Alex Michelsen 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 4-6 6-3 6-3 and Czech Jakub Mensik stunned eighth seed Alex de Minaur 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3.
They were joined by Andrey Rublev and Pablo Carreno Busta.
There were few surprises in the women’s draw as four-times champion Iga Swiatek defeated fellow Pole Magda Linette 6-4 6-4, while Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Marta Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva all moved into the next round.

EARLY MARKER

A week after turning 39, Djokovic began strongly and played like a ​younger version of himself as he comfortably won five ​of the opening six games and put down ⁠a marker in the first set on a sun-drenched Court Philippe Chatrier.
The Serb produced a stunning lob, a couple of heavy forehand winners and two delightful drops in that spell, almost schooling his 19-year-old opponent on the art of playing on Parisian clay, and wrapped up the set after a late Fonseca comeback attempt.
Fonseca, ​who was still in his crib when Djokovic lifted his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open, went toe-to-toe with his senior colleague in ​the next set only to ⁠drop his serve in the fifth game.
It was the opening Djokovic needed, and the third seed took full control, letting out a roar when he went up 5-3 and pumping his fists after he closed out the set with a sharp passing shot through the middle.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/fonseca-knocks-out-djokovic-french-open-ends-his-bid-25th-grand-slam-2026-05-29/

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete ​Hegseth on Saturday urged Asian allies to ramp up military spending to counter China’s growing power and prevent its dominance in the region, warning of “rightful alarm” ‌over its rapid military buildup.
Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, said a stronger, more self-reliant network of allies is essential to deter aggression and preserve the balance of power.

“There is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” he said.
“A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power,” Hegseth ​said. “No state, including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question.”
The U.S. expects its Asian allies and ​partners to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP as it pledged a $1.5 trillion investment in its military, the Pentagon chief said.
“Less Shangri-La, more ⁠ships, more subs,” Hegseth said, and stressed that allies want stability, not escalation.

“What they want, and what the United States delivers, is strength that is disciplined, resolve that is steady, and ​leadership that is confident enough to speak and walk softly while carrying a big stick.”
Hegseth also struck a measured tone on U.S.-China ties, saying relations are “better than they have been in many years,” ​with more frequent military-to-military engagement helping to manage tensions.
“We are meeting more frequently with our Chinese counterparts by maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication.”
Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University and retired People’s Liberation Army senior colonel who was part of the Chinese delegation, described U.S.-China relations as “complicated.”
Nonetheless, he said Hegseth struck “a much better tone” this year than last, attributing the shift to Trump’s visit to China.

“Both sides have open channels of ​communication, the situation is not as exaggerated as the outside world makes it out to be,” Zhou said.
China, whose defence minister is skipping the dialogue for a second consecutive year, accused Hegseth ​last year of making “vilifying” remarks.

“NO FREELOADING”

Hegseth echoed President Donald Trump’s long-standing demand that allies shoulder more of their own defence costs. Trump has pointedly said European and NATO partners should reduce reliance on Washington.
“The era ‌of the United ⁠States subsidizing the defence of wealthy nations is over,” Hegseth said. “We need partners, not protectorates,” he added. “We don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game. No freeloading.”
Hegseth praised contributions from allies including South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and said Japan was taking concrete steps to bolster its defences.

President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration will transfer control of the Kennedy Center ‌to Congress, after a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the iconic Washington venue and blocked his plans to close it for renovations.
Trump said on social media that he instructed the U.S. Commerce Department to “make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution” and give lawmakers responsibility over its operation, maintenance ​and management.

It was not immediately clear how Trump’s directive could be carried out. The Kennedy Center was created by Congress in 1958 and ​is run by a board of trustees that the president has packed with allies in his second term.
Trump’s announcement came ⁠after a judge on Friday ruled that the performing arts center, which Trump renamed the “Trump Kennedy Center,” cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.
U.S. District ​Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington directed the Trump administration to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and to eliminate any references to a “Trump Kennedy Center” ​from official materials within 14 days.

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
Cooper’s order also stopped the Trump administration’s ​planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center for major renovations, though the judge said “sorely needed” repairs to the aging building could move forward.
The judge said ​his decision “does not purport to dictate how the Center should be run, nor does it prescribe any particular plan for the institution — construction, closure, or otherwise — moving forward.”
In a ‌Friday post ⁠on Truth Social, Trump said large-scale renovations set to begin next month would be impossible without a closure and that Cooper’s order to keep the center open would be dangerous.

“I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight,” Trump said.
Cooper ruled in a lawsuit brought by Ohio Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board by virtue of her position in Congress. Beatty ​in a statement after the ruling ​said the “Kennedy Center is an institution ⁠that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.”

PUSH TO REMAKE WASHINGTON

Trump’s plan to renovate the center is part of a broader push by the Republican leader to reshape Washington’s monumental core. He also intends to erect a ​250-foot (76-meter) arch and to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the site of the demolished East Wing of the White ​House.
Those efforts also face ⁠court challenges. A federal appeals court has allowed the Trump administration to move ahead with building the ballroom as it considers a lawsuit seeking to block it.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us-judge-orders-removal-trumps-name-kennedy-center-2026-05-29/

New Jersey’s governor on Friday ordered state police to assume control outside a migrant detention center in Newark that has become a ​weeklong flashpoint for clashes between protesters and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said she was acting to ‌quell escalating tensions and episodes of violence outside Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed jail operated by the private company Geo Group (GEO.N), opens new tab on behalf of ICE.

Sherrill, who has repeatedly called for the closure of Delaney Hall, said the aim was to ensure both freedom of assembly and public safety.
“I will not give ICE the pretext to expand operations in our state,” Sherrill told ​a press conference, joined by state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and acting state police Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle.
Other U.S. cities have experienced mass deployments ​of ICE agents, with President Donald Trump claiming that federal immigration officers needed reinforcements to safely do their jobs.
State police ⁠moved in on Friday to set up “protected protest zones” beyond the gates to give demonstrators safe places to gather, and have established vehicle checkpoints to control ​traffic flow, state police Lieutenant Colonel David Sierotowicz told reporters.

“ICE agents and their partners have agreed to remove themselves from the immediate area,” he said.
Officials said that ​anti- and pro-ICE protesters would be kept apart in separate assembly zones.

DHS CHIEF WELCOMES MOVES

In a message posted to social media on Friday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cast the moves by New Jersey officials as a “win for law and order” and thanked the governor for “allowing New Jersey State Police to cooperate with us.”
He added that Sherrill acted after ​days of “refusing to allow state police to assist @ICEgov law enforcement against violent anti-ICE rioters.”
Protesters confronted by ICE agents have gathered daily outside Delaney Hall since late ​last week, after immigrant detainees contacted relatives and supporters to announce a labor and hunger strike demanding their release and calling attention to conditions they described as inhumane.

Among the ‌complaints they ⁠listed were “food containing worms in a state of decay,” faulty ventilation, unsanitary bathrooms and unchecked spread of influenza-like illness inside the facility.
Mullin has denied the allegations, saying detainees are provided with adequate calories and sanitation, but “it isn’t a Holiday Inn.”
The facility has held more than 850 immigration detainees, only about a 100 of whom had criminal convictions, according to the Deportation Data Project, which gathers and analyzes U.S. government figures.
Trump weighed in this week at a White House Cabinet meeting, ​calling Delaney Hall “a nice facility” that is ​doing a great job.
“These aren’t protesters, ⁠these people are fake,” he said, alleging without evidence that people rallying outside the detention center were being paid to protest.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-jersey-state-police-assert-control-outside-migrant-detention-center-2026-05-30/

A reporter’s question on whether Pakistan would recognise Israel stole the spotlight ahead of Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. Both officials ignored the query and walked away. The moment came amid US efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, while Pakistan continues to maintain its longstanding support for Palestinian statehood.

A reporter’s pointed question “Will Pakistan recognise Israel?” became the defining moment of Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as both officials ignored the query while departing the venue.

Pakistan Maintains Position on Israel

The exchange comes as Pakistan continues to reject recognising Israel or joining the Abraham Accords. Islamabad has repeatedly stated that any change in its position depends on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

#WATCH I have Asked Pakistani FM @MIshaqDar50 About @POTUS Demand to Recognize Israel pic.twitter.com/EEbQ0JjCuo

— Faisal Ali Shah (@FaisalzUpdates) May 29, 2026

Dar has previously asserted that Pakistan’s stance remains unchanged and that there is no flexibility on the issue until Palestinian statehood is realised.

US Push for Abraham Accords Expansion

 

The movement is significant because Iran holds a major geographical advantage over the Strait and has repeatedly targeted vessels in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that triggered the war.

Since Iran entered the war on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil routes, has effectively been under blockade. The narrow passage between Iran and Oman carries nearly 20 per cent of global oil and natural gas supplies, and the disruption has rattled energy markets, pushed up fuel prices, and raised fears of wider economic instability across Asia and beyond.

Even after the April 9 ceasefire halted active fighting, the Strait itself remained largely shut, with maritime movement still heavily affected by the conflict.

Yet amid the uncertainty, several Indian-linked ships have continued to pass through the risky stretch, helping India maintain energy supplies despite severe disruptions in the region.

The movement is significant because Iran holds a major geographical advantage over the Strait and has repeatedly targeted vessels in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that triggered the war.

Behind-The-Scenes Coordination

Speaking at an inter-ministerial briefing on Friday, officials from the shipping ministry shed some light on how India has been managing ship movements through the tense waterway, though they did not reveal operational details.

“In terms of how we coordinate with India, Iran, how do we decide the priority, I would not like to, you know, tell you how we coordinate for obvious reasons. So we coordinate through MEA, and that is where we are,” said Opesh Kumar Sharma, director of shipping at the Ministry of Ports.

He said vessel priority is worked out jointly with key ministries handling energy and essential supplies.

“He added that in terms of priority, it is decided in coordination with MOPNG (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas), Ministry of Fertilisers, and thereafter the coordinated priorities prepared and through which we try and get the ships out.”

13 Indian Vessels Still In Hormuz

According to Sharma, around 13 Indian-flagged vessels are currently in the Strait of Hormuz region. These include one LPG tanker, five crude oil tankers, one chemical or product tanker, three container ships, two bulk carriers and one dredger.

Despite the danger, India has continued to maintain maritime traffic through the route and remains among the countries with the highest number of vessels transiting the Strait.

The Indian-linked ships that have crossed the waterway since February 28 include Shivalik, Nanda Devi, Jag Laadki, Pine Gas, Jag Vasant, BW Tyr, BW Elm and Green Sanvi.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/strait-hormuz-is-shut-indian-ships-still-passing-centre-shares-secret-strategy-11565953?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

“India is powerful and modernising its military,” Pete Hegseth said. He also highlighted that it is maintaining a balance of power, particularly in the Indian Ocean.

India is “powerful” and “modernising” its military with heavy industrial and logistics capacity to sustain “high-end military operations,” US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday.

Hegseth made these remarks while talking to the delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday in Singapore.

“India is powerful and modernising its military,” he said and also highlighted that it is maintaining a balance of power, particularly in the Indian Ocean.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, he noted that India was also “building a heavy industrial and logistics capacity to sustain high-end military operations.”

“We’ve also committed to pursuing co-production with India to advance capabilities,” said Hegseth, adding that America was undergoing a national manufacturing globalisation of its defence.

He also assessed defence-related relations with Japan, South Korea, ASEAN and Australia.

Hegseth highlighted several points on the US’ defence strategy in the region, noting that the Asia-Pacific was the most consequential region in the world, that the security of the region rested “disproportionately” on the US military power and called on nations to invest seriously in their own defence.

He pointed out that the US and China relations are better than they have been in many years under President Donald Trump, but also that “no state, including China, can impose hegemony and hold the security of our nation and allies in question”.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/india-us-relations-india-powerful-modernising-military-with-high-end-ops-us-secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-top-trump-aide-11567015?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

The US Department of Homeland Security has clarified that most immigrants applying for green cards will not need to leave the United States while their applications are processed.

Most immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States will not be required to leave the country while waiting for their green cards, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has clarified, according to The New York Times. The clarification follows confusion over a recent announcement by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which appeared to suggest that applicants would generally have to return to their home countries and wait abroad unless they qualified for “extraordinary” exceptions.

However, DHS said on Friday that there had been no broad change in policy. According to The New York Times, immigration officers have long had the discretion to decide on a case-by-case basis whether an applicant should complete the green card process from outside the United States.

A DHS spokesperson said the latest guidance was simply a reminder of that existing authority and not a new requirement for all applicants. The department stressed that most people seeking permanent residency would still be allowed to remain in the country while their cases are processed.

Officials indicated that certain factors, such as visa overstays or other immigration concerns, could influence individual decisions. However, DHS has not provided detailed guidance on exactly who might be affected.

The clarification represents a notable shift from the impression created by last week’s announcement, which sparked concern among immigrant communities and immigration advocates. Even some officials within the department were reportedly uncertain about the scope of the guidance when it was first publicised.

According to The New York Times, a senior White House official described the move as a routine administrative matter rather than a significant shift in immigration strategy.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-green-card-most-immigrants-will-not-have-to-leave-america-says-dhs-11567131?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Karachi’s water shortages stem from decades of rapid population growth, ageing pipelines, poor urban planning, water theft and delayed infrastructure projects.

Karachi Water Crisis: Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi is facing a severe water shortage, with nearly 70 per cent of the city’s population reportedly experiencing frequent supply disruptions amid soaring temperatures.

The water crisis comes at a time when the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan remains in abeyance for more than a year, adding to broader concerns over water availability in Pakistan.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered in 1960, governs the sharing of waters of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan. Under the treaty, India received unrestricted rights over the eastern rivers while Pakistan received primary rights over the western rivers- the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

However, in the aftermath of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of at least 26 tourists, Indian announced to put Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

The crisis, however, is not new. According to a report in Asia News Network, Karachi’s water shortages stem from decades of rapid population growth, ageing pipelines, poor urban planning, water theft and delayed infrastructure projects.

According to ARY News, residents across several parts of the city have been forced to rely on expensive private water tankers as regular supplies remain disrupted. Areas including Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Azizabad, Liaquatabad, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad and North Karachi have reportedly faced acute shortages for more than two weeks.

The issue has also sparked a political row. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Sindh government of failing to address Karachi’s chronic water shortages despite being in power in the province for nearly two decades.

Speaking to journalists during Eid-ul-Adha celebrations, Rehman said thousands of residents were struggling to access basic necessities. He blamed the PPP-led Sindh government for failing to deliver essential public services and questioned why Karachi’s water woes remained unresolved despite the party’s 18-year rule in the province.

Naeem further lashed out at the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, claiming that the authority had failed to ensure proper sanitation and disposal of sacrificial animal waste despite receiving a massive budget.

He also rejected the claims by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab that the city was not facing a shortage.

Karachi currently requires over 1,080 million gallons of water daily for its nearly 30 million residents but faces a daily shortfall of over 400 million gallons, according to the ARY News report.

The city depends on sources including Keenjhar Lake, Haleji Lake, Hub Dam and Dumlottee wells, but supply has failed to keep pace with rising demand.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/is-pakistan-feeling-heat-of-indus-treaty-standoff-karachi-reels-under-water-crisis-ws-l-10120690.html

Russia has signed a military cooperation agreement with Afghanistan’s Taliban. The move could boost India’s engagement space. At the same time, it raises questions about any potential impact on the Ukraine war.

A year after becoming the first country to recognise the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, Russia has reportedly signed a military cooperation agreement with Kabul. The two sides signed the Military-Technical Cooperation Agreement at the inaugural International Security Forum hosted by Russia’s Security Council in Moscow.

According to a Politico report, the agreement was signed earlier this week during a meeting between Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoub and Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu. However, exact details of the agreement are still under wraps.

“Interaction with Russia is important for us. Afghanistan and Russia have long-standing and historic relations, and we want to move forward in this direction. Russia is an important country in our region and throughout the world,” Afghan minister Yaqoub said.

Meanwhile, Russia also called for the unfreezing of the assets. “We are convinced that Western countries should unfreeze blocked Afghan assets, fully recognise their responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and bear the burden of the country’s post-conflict reconstruction,” said Shoigu, considered an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.