US strike on an oil tanker off Oman kills three Indian sailors: civilian shipping attacked, or a blockade enforced?

Three Indian sailors were killed when US forces struck the tanker Settebello off the coast of Oman on June 11, amid the widening US-Iran war over the Strait of Hormuz. India lodged a rare formal protest and summoned a senior US diplomat, demanding an end to attacks on commercial shipping; US Central Command says its forces warned the crew before firing on a vessel that was trying to run Iranian oil through a US naval blockade.

India: an attack on civilian seafarers

New Delhi lodged a rare protest and summoned a senior US diplomat to convey its 'deepest concerns' after three Indian crew were killed aboard the tanker Settebello off Oman. India's foreign ministry said it expects the US 'to take due note of our protest against attacks on vessels carrying Indian seafarers' and called for an end to the 'targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region.' The head of the UN's International Maritime Organization also condemned the strike.

Al Jazeera ↗

US Central Command: a warned vessel running a blockade

US Central Command says American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship, which it alleges attempted to breach the US naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. Washington frames the strike as enforcement of its campaign to choke off Iranian oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during the war, rather than an attack on civilian shipping.

Deutsche Welle ↗

World

World Jun 11

Thailand sentences two Uyghur men to death for the 2015 Erawan shrine bombing: justice, or a coerced verdict?

A Thai court has sentenced two Uyghur men to death over the 2015 bombing of Bangkok's Erawan shrine, which killed 20 people and injured more than 120. Prosecutors call it justice for a mass-casualty attack; the men have long denied involvement, and rights groups question the trial — pointing to allegations of coerced confessions and a decade in detention.

World Jun 10

Deadly protests in Kenya over a US-built Ebola facility: reckless imposition, or a needed health partnership?

Deadly protests have erupted in Kenya against a US plan to build an Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base — demonstrators cite infection fears and a lack of transparency, and a protest leader says police shot dead protesters. President Ruto defends the facility as 'the right thing,' pointing to a longstanding US-Kenya partnership on health.

World Jun 10

Turkey and Saudi Arabia revive the Hejaz railway: regional integration, or a corridor built to bypass Israel?

Saudi Arabia has signed a railways deal with Turkey — after similar moves with Syria and Jordan — to help revive the historic Hejaz railway linking the four countries. Ankara casts it as vital regional connectivity and a sign of Turkish-Gulf rapprochement; Israeli coverage frames the emerging corridor as one that pointedly bypasses Israel.

World Jun 9

Peru's runoff: a pro-US conservative, or a leftist for the poor?

Peru's presidential runoff between right-wing Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez — for the ninth president in a decade — went down to the wire. With about 95% of ballots counted, Sanchez has edged ahead of Fujimori, though the overseas vote is still to come and the result is not yet final.

Conflict

Conflict Jun 11

US and Iran trade direct strikes after a US helicopter is downed near Hormuz: self-defense, or spiralling aggression?

The US and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day after a US Apache helicopter was downed near the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran hitting American bases in Jordan and the Gulf and the US striking back inside Iran. Trump now threatens to take 'total control' of Iran's oil industry and warns of a 'very hard' attack unless Tehran agrees to a deal; Iran casts the strikes as aggression it will not bow to.

Conflict Jun 10

Pakistani airstrikes hit Afghan border: counter-terror operation, or killing civilians?

Pakistan's military says cross-border airstrikes hit 'terrorist hideouts' and killed 26 militants along the Afghan frontier; Afghanistan's Taliban government says the same raids killed at least 13 people — including, it says, 11 children, a woman and an elderly man — and were a deadly violation of sovereignty. Each side gives sharply different casualty accounts.

Conflict Jun 10

West Bank Bedouins driven off their land: 'state-led ethnic cleansing', or an unfounded charge?

Amnesty International accuses Israel of a 'state-sponsored' campaign of ethnic cleansing against Bedouin and Palestinian herding communities in the West Bank — citing UN figures that some 117 communities (about 5,910 people) faced full or partial displacement since early 2023, amid settler violence and rapid settlement expansion. Israel's military rejects the charge, casting Amnesty as a biased critic.

Conflict Jun 9

Six countries sanction settler-violence networks and ban Smotrich: accountability, or anti-Israel bias?

Six Western countries — including the UK, France, Canada and Norway — imposed sanctions on networks financing and enabling settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and France barred Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four settler-group leaders and 21 violent settlers from entry. They cite record settlement expansion and rising violence; Israel condemns the move as anti-Israel and warns it will fuel antisemitism.

Politics

Politics Jun 11

UK defence secretary resigns over military spending, in blow to Starmer

Defence Secretary John Healey quit on June 11, publishing a resignation letter that accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Treasury of failing to fund the armed forces adequately at a dangerous moment. The government's side is the fiscal case: defence spending is already rising at a record pace, but must be balanced against strained public finances, weak growth forecasts and competing departmental demands.

Politics Jun 10

Trump downsizes US intelligence under interim chief Pulte: overdue reform, or politicizing the spies?

President Trump has directed interim national intelligence chief Bill Pulte to downsize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and is sticking with him despite a looming lapse in surveillance powers. The administration frames it as cutting a bloated bureaucracy; critics — Democrats and even some Republicans — call Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no intelligence background, unqualified and warn the move politicizes US intelligence.

Politics Jun 9

Congress passes $70bn immigration crackdown — border security or cruelty?

Congress has now passed the $70 billion package to fund ICE and Border Patrol through 2029 — the House sent it to President Trump's desk after the Senate's narrow 52-47 vote — without banning Trump's controversial 'anti-weaponization' fund. Republicans call it securing the border; Democrats call it cruelty plus a slush fund.

Politics Jun 7

Hegseth's D-Day speech: defending the West, or insulting allies?

At a D-Day commemoration, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned of an 'invasion' and 'dangerous ideologies' over European immigration. Supporters call it plain talk; European leaders call it grotesque.

Economy

Economy Jun 10

Trump says he won't renew the USMCA trade pact: leverage for a better deal, or a blow to North American trade?

President Trump says he is 'not looking to renew' the USMCA free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, raising the prospect that it could lapse. Washington frames it as leverage to rework the deal on better US terms; Canada is publicly urging the US and Mexico to renew the pact for another 16 years, warning of disruption to deeply integrated North American trade.

Economy Jun 10

US inflation flares again: should the Fed hold rates high, or stop squeezing households?

US inflation has jumped to a three-year high, driven by spiking gas prices from the Iran-war energy shock — and traders are now betting the Fed may even hike. One side says the Fed must keep (or raise) rates to choke off the new inflation wave; the other says high rates mostly punish ordinary Americans while doing little against supply-driven price spikes.

Economy Jun 7

OPEC+ opens the taps for July: steadying the oil market, or a hike too small to matter?

OPEC+ approved another modest output increase for July — its fourth since the Strait of Hormuz was closed during the Iran war. Producers call it a careful return of supply to keep the market stable; critics say it is too small to offset a war-driven price shock that is still squeezing airlines and households.

Economy Jun 1

The EU–US tariff deal: pragmatic peace, or caving to Trump?

The EU agreed to scrap tariffs on US industrial goods and accept a 15% cap on most US tariffs, under threat of escalation to 25%. Brussels calls it stability; critics call it a lopsided deal signed under pressure.

Technology

Technology Jun 9

Pentagon lists Alibaba, Baidu and BYD as 'Chinese military companies': security flag, or discriminatory smear?

The US Defense Department added tech giants Alibaba and Baidu and carmaker BYD to its '1260H' list of firms it considers tied to China's military — a move that could pressure American companies to drop them as suppliers. Beijing's embassy condemned the designation as 'discriminatory,' and the named firms reject it, with some weighing legal action.

Technology Jun 8

Apple's new 'Siri AI': a privacy-first leap, or just catching up?

At Tim Cook's last WWDC as CEO before handing over to John Ternus, Apple unveiled a more conversational 'Siri AI' built on a two-tier, partly Google-powered model, and pitched a privacy-first approach to AI across its devices. Supporters call it a thoughtful, user-centred alternative to rivals 'racing forward'; skeptics say Apple is simply catching up after a year of Siri delays.

Technology Jun 8

Meta moves to hold Israeli spyware maker NSO Group in contempt

Meta says NSO Group ran fresh phishing attacks and tested its spyware on WhatsApp accounts, defying a court order barring it from targeting WhatsApp users — and is asking US courts to hold the firm in contempt, backed by a dozen digital-rights groups. NSO, blacklisted by Washington, is appealing the underlying injunction and has warned it could be put out of business.

Technology Jun 8

The AI gold rush: a trillion-dollar opportunity, or a bubble about to pop?

A wave of giant AI IPOs is beginning as Washington and Brussels race to claim leadership in the technology. But the rally has cracked: by June 8 the retreat deepened — tech stocks sold off and SoftBank fell about 6% as investors soured on AI names, after a two-month 80% surge in chip stocks and a spike in Wall Street's 'fear gauge' — reviving warnings the AI trade is dangerously overheated.

Science

Science Jun 11

NASA defends an all-male Artemis Moon crew: best for the mission, or breaking the 'first woman on the Moon' promise?

NASA's chief is defending the all-male crew picked for the Artemis 3 Moon landing, saying the choice reflects experience and readiness. Critics note that Artemis — named after the Greek goddess — was long sold as the mission to land 'the first woman and first person of color' on the Moon, and say an all-male crew breaks that pledge.

Science Jun 8

DR Congo's Ebola outbreak: can vaccines stop it, or does the fight need much more?

The Ebola outbreak is now spreading at an 'unprecedented' pace, the Africa CDC says, with the virus crossing from DR Congo into Uganda — the WHO chief has flown in and the EU pledged €5 million. The response leans on vaccines and emergency funds, but a burned treatment centre and clashes with responders show that trust and community engagement matter as much as any vaccine.

Science Jun 3

Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS: alien craft or just a weird comet?

When the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS swept through our solar system, Harvard's Avi Loeb flagged 'anomalies' he said could hint at alien technology. Most astronomers said it was simply an unusual comet.

Science May 31

Dark matter or modified gravity? Cosmology's deepest standoff

Most physicists invoke invisible 'dark matter' to explain how galaxies move; a minority argue our laws of gravity need modifying (MOND) instead. Decades on, neither side has landed a knockout blow.

Environment

Environment Jun 11

Europe's next carbon costs: strengthen the climate market, or shield households from the bill?

The EU's plan to extend carbon pricing to road transport and heating fuels from 2028 (the 'ETS2') is set to push energy prices higher — and Brussels is moving to shield households from the spike. Investors managing trillions urge Europe to evolve and strengthen the carbon market rather than dilute it; others stress the cost-of-living hit on ordinary Europeans.

Environment Jun 7

Trump fires up coal with wartime powers: energy security, or propping up the dirtiest fuel?

President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to steer some $700 million to coal-fired power — including two new plants in Alaska and West Virginia — backing what he calls 'clean, beautiful coal.' Supporters call it a grid-reliability and energy-security move; critics call it an emergency-powers lifeline for the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Environment Jun 4

Trump family-linked mega-resort splits Albania: tourism boom or a sold-off coast?

A €1.4bn luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners — on Albania's Sazan island and the protected Vjosa-Narta lagoon — has triggered mass protests and an anti-corruption probe. The government calls it a once-in-a-generation investment; opponents call it a stolen, protected coast.

Environment May 26

Is nuclear power a climate saviour or a costly distraction?

With climate deadlines looming, one camp says we need nuclear's reliable, carbon-free power now; another says it's too slow and expensive, and the money should go to renewables.