User Articles

Kremlin ready to act as ‘mediator’ for Israel-Iran

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow’s previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin says. Tehran says it has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but...

Reuters

Aviation

Air India flight turns back after suspected technical issue

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane bound for New Delhi has returned to its origin of Hong Kong as a precautionary measure after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air, a source with direct knowledge of the matter says. The incident...

Reuters

Conflict

EU urges more pressure on Russia

More pressure must be exerted on Russia to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, urging the G7 nations to ramp up sanctions to achieve that goal. Leaders of the world’s largest industrial nations are meeting in Canada’s Rockies with European countries seeking to keep the war in Ukraine firmly on the mind of U.S. President Donald Trump despite fighting breaking out between Israel and Iran in the Middle East.

Reuters

Israel

UK signals support for Israel

Britain could potentially support Israel in its conflict with Iran, but the decision to send additional military jets to the Middle East was made mainly to protect British bases and personnel, British finance minister Rachel Reeves has said. Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks by Israel so far were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days. Speaking to Sky News, Reeves called for a de-escalation in the conflict and said the decision to send additional jets to the region was a “precautionary move”.

Reuters

Tragedy

Ahmedabad family hopes for ‘second miracle’

Around 30 minutes before an Air India jet crashed into a college hostel in India, Ravi Thakor, the cook in the hostel canteen, and his wife stepped out to deliver lunchboxes - leaving behind their two-year-old daughter and his mother. The grandmother and child are missing. Thakor is hoping for what he calls a “second miracle”, one like the astonishing survival of the sole passenger among the 242 people on board the plane.

Reuters

Trade

China trade truce leaves rare earth issue unresolved

The renewed US-China trade truce struck in London left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal, two people briefed on detailed outcomes of the talks told Reuters. Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialised rare-earth magnets that US military suppliers need for fighter jets and missile systems, the people said. The United States maintains export curbs on China’s purchases of advanced artificial intelligence chips out of concern that they also have military applications. At talks in London last week, China’s negotiators appeared to link progress in lifting export controls on military-use rare earth magnets with the longstanding US curbs on exports of the most advanced AI chips to China. That marked a new twist in trade talks that began with opioid trafficking, tariff rates and China’s trade surplus, but have since shifted to focus on export controls.

Reuters

Ukraine

Russia’s Sumy advance halted

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village in northeastern Sumy region as part of a drive to expel Russian forces from the area. Zelensky has in the past week focused on what he describes as a drive to push out Russian forces from the Sumy region, with border areas gripped by heavy fighting. He says Russia has amassed 53,000 troops in the area.

Reuters

Tragedy

British Indians mourn plane crash victims

Dozens from the British Indian community have gathered at a Hindu temple in London to mourn the victims of an Air India crash in western India that killed at least 270, of whom 20 had a personal connection to the temple. The vigil at the Siddharshram Hindu temple in London’s Harrow neighbourhood honoured the people who died when the London-bound Boeing 787 crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad, in the worst aviation disaster in a decade. Leaders from the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Muslim, Parsi, Zoroastrian and other communities offered their prayers, as attendees recited chants with folded hands.

Reuters

Austria

Gun laws to be tightened after school rampage

The Austrian government plans to tighten national gun laws after enduring its worst school shooting, Chancellor Christian Stocker has said in an interview. Speaking to ORF radio, Stocker said officials aimed to set stricter eligibility rules for possession and purchase of arms after a 21-year-old Austrian man on Tuesday shot dead ten people at a high school in the city of Graz before killing himself.

Reuters

Tragedy

‘It’s a miracle’: Sole survivor can’t explain how he’s alive

The lone passenger who survived the Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard couldn’t believe he was alive when he opened his eyes, surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies, saying that “it’s a miracle” that he survived. The British national of Indian origin, Viswashkumar Ramesh, was heading to London when the flight crashed minutes after taking off from India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

Reuters

Politics

Musk, Trump feud disrupts SpaceX’s ‘Golden Dome’ play

The role of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in an ambitious new US missile defence system is in question following the dramatic feud last week between the billionaire entrepreneur and President Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the project. The White House until recently had considered a plan for SpaceX, Musk’s rocket and satellite venture, to partner with software maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril to construct crucial elements of the project, dubbed “Golden Dome.“ The administration had instructed the Pentagon to prioritize a network of satellites for the purpose, these people said.

Reuters

Protest

Marines sent in to quell LA tension

After a week of protests over federal immigration raids, about 200 Marines have moved into Los Angeles while communities across the country prepare for what’s anticipated to be a nationwide wave of demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s polices. The Marine troops wearing combat gear and carrying rifles took over some posts from National Guard members who were deployed to the city after the protests erupted last week. Those protests sparked dozens more over several days around the country, with some leading to clashes with police and hundreds of arrests.

Reuters

Aviation

Airlines face more chaos amid Mideast tensions

Airlines have steered clear of much of the Middle East after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region. Proliferating conflict zones around the world are...

Reuters

Migration

Returned migrant appears in court

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant returned to the US last week after being wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador, has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of taking part in a conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the United States. Abrego...

Reuters

Aviation

Is 11A safest seat on plane?

The survival of a passenger who escaped through an exit door seconds after his Air India flight crashed killing everyone else on board has prompted speculation over whether his seat, 11A, is the safest. Aviation experts say it is not so...

Reuters

Conflict

Israel, Iran edge towards all-out war

Israel has attacked Iran in strikes that took out top military officers and hit nuclear and missile sites, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

Reuters

Iran

Russia condemns Israeli attack

Russia says that Israeli strikes on Iran were unprovoked and in breach of the United Nations charter, accusing Israel of wrecking diplomatic efforts to strike a deal to allay Western concerns about Tehran’s nuclear programme. Israel launched strikes against Iran, saying it had targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of an operation to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon.

Reuters