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Sushila Devi sat sobbing on the floor of her house in Deoria, northern India after authorities told her that her husband was one of three sailors killed in a US attack on a ship off Oman.’If he had told us about the dangers, I would have called him back,’ she cried out as women from the family gathered round to console her. ‘The government should not allow people to go there.’India yesterday took the rare step of lodging a second protest with the US over the strike that took place more than three months into the Iran war. Sushila Devi's words echoed calls also building up among Indians for their own government to do more to protect its sailors stuck in the Gulf.CRITICS WANT MORE THAN 'ROUTINE PROTEST'Her husband Shivanand Chaurasia, the sole earner in the family with two young children, was among 24 Indian mariners aboard the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello when it was hit on Wednesday.The US military’s Central Command said an aircraft fired precision munitions into the vessel's engine room after the crew ‘repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces’.It said the strike was part of an ongoing blockade targeting oil shipments from Iran launched after Tehran sharply curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict.India's foreign ministry said it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires to convey ‘its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping’.’Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time.’ The US embassy in Delhi did not respond to a request for comment.The deaths have prompted calls on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go beyond registering protests.India — the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers behind the Philippines according to government figures — has had to pay a huge cost for the conflict it played no part in starting, say opposition and other critics.On Thursday, another ship with 20 Indian crew was attacked, with no deaths or injuries reported.’India has responded… with a routine diplomatic protest and apparent efforts to downplay the significance of the attacks,’ said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst in New Delhi.OPPOSITION SAYS MODI SHOULD TALK TO TRUMP’Had the victims been Chinese sailors instead, Beijing would almost certainly have reacted very differently, treating the strikes as a direct and lethal provocation by the US and elevating the incident into a major international crisis.’The opposition Aam Aadmi Party urged Modi to take up the matter with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of next week's Group of 7 summit.The main opposition Congress party said the government’s policies had ’emboldened external powers to act against Indian interests with impunity’.’India's strategic autonomy and abiding interests must be defended with clarity and resolve,’ it said.Such attacks could deter workers from taking up seafaring jobs, potentially worsening labour shortages in the industry, said Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India.’The repeated incidents demonstrate the alarming deterioration of safety and security in one of the world’s most important maritime corridors,’ he said. Source link
Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif announced today that a final text of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran has been agreed upon. In a post on the X platform, Sharif wrote, “we can confirm that a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps. Peace has never been this close as it is now.” In the same context, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, “The United States and Iran are closer than ever to reaching an agreement to end the war,” adding that “the media should refrain from speculating on the content of the Islamabad agreement until it is finalized and officially drafted.” The Pakistani Prime Minister announced four days ago that his country was very close to achieving the “ultimate goal” of its diplomatic mediation efforts between the United States and Iran to end the escalating tension in the region, stressing that the intensive diplomatic moves made by Pakistan with both sides throughout the past period have achieved tangible progress, in addition to a mutual desire to prioritize dialogue and avoid sliding towards a comprehensive confrontation. Source link
A prison vehicle that the police officers say is carrying Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed, also known as Adem Karadag, arrives at the South Bangkok Criminal…
France’s President Emmanuel Macron chairs a videoconference meeting dubbed “Global Convergence for Growth Summit” with officials and heads of state from China and G7 member states,…
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Thursday. (AFP) President Donald Trump Thursday said the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.The agreement, if finalised, would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands of people and sent global energy prices sharply higher.Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that Tehran is likely to approve the agreement, though it has yet to give a formal response.”We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” Trump told reporters at the White House.”The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend in Europe,” he said. Vice President JD Vance could sign for the United States, Trump added.When asked if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has approved the deal, Trump said: “I understand the answer is yes.”Trump’s announcement came after he called off planned military strikes on Iran, citing progress in talks.Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly claimed that a deal with Iran to end the war is close. The two sides have traded strikes throughout the week, straining a ceasefire announced in April.”It’s a very strong memorandum of understanding that is a little conceptual,” Trump told reporters.Trump has repeatedly said that any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.Iran’s demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its control of the Strait of Hormuz.”We have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So it was a very big thing,” he said Thursday.Iranian and Western sources said earlier Thursday that efforts to reach an interim deal to end hostilities had intensified.Three Iranian sources said a political understanding had been reached, but some issues remained to be discussed in detail.Critics within Trump’s Republican Party have said any agreement must close Tehran’s path to developing a nuclear weapon. Opposition from Iran hawks helped derail a previous effort to secure a deal to open the strait.Analysts have said Trump is concerned that any deal will be compared with a 2015 agreement that he criticised as overly lenient. Trump pulled the US out of that accord in 2018 during his first term in office.Trump said on social media the agreement had been approved by “the highest level” of Iranian leadership, as well as other countries in the region including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Thursday.Israel is “not a party to the memorandum of understanding”, and Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for Trump’s commitment to securing a final deal that includes resolving the issue of enriched nuclear material, according to a readout from Netanyahu’s office.Trump also told reporters that he would soon talk to Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan.US stocks rose and oil prices fell on the news. Related Story Source…
Seattle, Washington, USA downtown skyline at twilight with Mount Rainier. As many as 10mn visitors will head to 11 US cities this summer, helping turn the FIFA World Cup 2026 into the largest sporting event in history. While US host cities like Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco are world-famous, lesser-known US cities are primed to host soccer fans. In Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, Café Corazón owner Dulcinea Herrera says that people underestimate the Midwestern city of 500,000. Herrera and other local business owners are preparing for 650,000 visitors for FIFA World Cup 2026. White House World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani calls it “a tremendous privilege” to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 during the year the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, and says the federal government is working with host cities to ensure a safe and welcoming tournament. “Hosting the world during this historic year … gives us a chance to show the very best of America — our hospitality and our innovation — while also showcasing the America spirit of which we’re so proud of,” Giuliani said. Atlanta, famous for peaches, pecans and Southern hospitality, the Georgia state capital is a cultural and economic hub of the South. It boasts the country’s busiest airport and was home to famed Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Atlanta is home to numerous industries, including aerospace and financial technologies, as well as soft drink giant Coca-Cola. The Midwestern city called Kansas City straddles parts of two US states — Kansas and Missouri — and is known as the “City of Fountains,” as it has more in use than any other US city. Its famed Power & Light District boasts eight blocks of restaurants where visitors can sample the famous barbecue. New York, famous for skyscrapers, Broadway theatre and the lights of Times Square will host the FIFA World Cup 2026 finals at a stadium in neighbouring New Jersey. New York offers museums, libraries, walks in Central Park and the iconic Statue of Liberty. Known for the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is a city of steep hills, scaled by streetcars and packed with colorful row houses. It’s the northern hub of California’s Silicon Valley, a centre of technological innovation. San Francisco will be ready to host six FIFA World Cup 2026 matches. Qatar will play their inaugural match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, and their base training centre is located in Santa Barbara. Known for a drizzly climate, a pedestrian-friendly downtown and a thriving entrepreneurial spirit, Seattle will offer international visitors the chance to sample seafood at Pike’s Place Market and take in a view of the entire city from the Space Needle. Seattle’s pioneering companies include airplane manufacturer Boeing, software developer Microsoft, and Starbucks, which operates in 85 countries. The city, where the US National Team will make an early-round appearance, plans nine “fan zones” for the FIFA World Cup 2026, each offering big screens, food and live entertainment. Qatar will play their final group stage match at Lumen Field in Seattle. Related Story Source link
President Donald Trump said yesterday that the US military secretly helped 100mn barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran largely closed in response to US and Israeli attacks.“Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming the US “controls” the waterway. “Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market,” he said, adding that more than 200 commercial shipshad gone through. The United States began a military operation — dubbed Project Freedom — to escort ships through the strait in early May, but scrapped it after just a day in what Trump described as a bid to end the Middle East war, which Washington and Israel launched on February 28. Source link
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the United States was readying a second day of attacks on Iran, citing President Trump’s pledge earlier to “hit them hard again today.”The strikes, Hegseth said, are intended to get Tehran to make peace on terms agreeable to Trump, who said earlier in the day that Iran was taking “too long to negotiate.” “If we need to negotiate with bombs, we’ll negotiate with bombs,” Hegseth told reporters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. “And we’re very good at it. Nobody better in the world.”Earlier President Donald Trump threatened further escalation following one of the most significant exchanges of hostilities in two months. “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the strikes were coming. The US and Iran have traded fire several times since a tentative ceasefire took hold in early April, even as negotiators have sought an end to the three-month-old war. Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough. In the latest such incident, the US military targeted air defenses and radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz after a US attack helicopter was downed near the strategic waterway. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A US official said there was no significant damage. Iran said the US had violated international law by striking reservoirs that supplied drinking water to 10 villages. “This is not collateral damage — it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said.Trump, who has threatened before to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, did not say whether the coming strikes would target power plants and bridges. The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, warned in response that the “war won’t be limited to the region.”Despite the belligerent language from both sides, there were signs of continuing diplomatic efforts. A delegation from Qatar, which has been mediating between the US and Iran, landed in Tehran yesterday to hold talks on the latest developments, Iranian media reported.The war has killed thousands and disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, sending prices sharply higher. Iran has blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the US has maintained its own blockade on Iranian ports. Oil prices rose nearly $3 following Trump’s threat of escalation, to $94 per barrel. Trump said vessels carrying 100mn barrels of oil have defied Iran to travel through the strait as part of a secret military mission. He said oil prices would be much higher without the effort. Separately, the US military said it disabled an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday for a second consecutive day. Fighting in a parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has continued. Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people yesterday, Lebanese security sources said, whileHezbollah claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces. Tehran’s demands include an end to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets, and recognition of its control of the strait. Trump says Iran must end its restrictions on shipping through Hormuz. He also says any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.Iran denies any such ambition. The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a US-backed resolution yesterday telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them. Iran branded the resolution as “political”. Source link
President Donald Trump speaks at the White House Wednesday. (Reuters) President Donald Trump Wednesday said the United States would strike Iran again if no peace deal is secured, threatening further escalation following one of the most significant exchanges of hostilities in two months. “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the strikes were coming.The US and Iran have traded fire several times since a tentative ceasefire took hold in early April, even as negotiators have sought an end to the three-month-old war. Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough. In the latest such incident, the US military targeted air defenses and radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz after a US attack helicopter was downed near the strategic waterway. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A US official said there was no significant damage.Iran said the US had violated international law by striking reservoirs that supplied drinking water to 10 villages. “This is not collateral damage — it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said.Trump, who has threatened before to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, did not say whether the coming strikes would target power plants and bridges.The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, warned in response that the “war won’t be limited to the region.”Despite the belligerent language from both sides, there were signs of continuing diplomatic efforts.A delegation from Qatar, which has been mediating between the US and Iran, landed in Tehran Wednesday to hold talks on the latest developments, Iranian media reported.The war has killed thousands and disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, sending prices sharply higher. Iran has blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the US has maintained its own blockade on Iranian ports.Oil prices rose nearly $3 following Trump’s threat of escalation, to $94 per barrel. Trump said vessels carrying 100mn barrels of oil have defied Iran to travel through the strait as part of a secret military mission. He said oil prices would be much higher without the effort.Separately, the US military said it disabled an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday for a second consecutive day.Fighting in a parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has continued. Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, while Hezbollah claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces. Tehran’s demands include an end to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets, and recognition of its control of the strait.Trump says Iran must end its restrictions on shipping through Hormuz. He also says any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.Iran denies any such ambition. The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a US-backed resolution Wednesday telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them. Iran branded the resolution as “political”. Related Story Source link
Indonesian military personnel Sami Lakka, Nandala Dwi Prasetya, Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, and Edi Sudarko, charged over an acid attack on human rights activist Andrie Yunus,…