Washington’s nuclear weapons budget rose by $12.4 billion in a single year, according to ICAN
US spending on nuclear weapons surged by nearly a quarter in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to findings by an anti-nuclear watchdog.
In a report released on Tuesday, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said the world’s nine nuclear-armed states spent nearly $119 billion on their arsenals last year – the equivalent of $3,768 every second.
The US remained by far the biggest spender, pouring $69.2 billion into its nuclear arsenal – more than all other eight nations combined. Washington also recorded the largest annual increase, with spending rising 22% year-on-year, or $12.4 billion.
Combined spending by the US, Russia, China, the UK, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea jumped 19% year-on-year, or $16.8 billion, to a record high. China ranked second with spending of $13.5 billion, while the UK overtook Russia as the third-largest spender, allocating $12.6 billion compared to Moscow’s $9.5 billion.
ICAN, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group, said the increase reflects continued investment in modernizing and expanding nuclear arsenals amid mounting global tensions.
The nine nuclear powers have spent a combined $471 billion on their arsenals over the past five years, the group said. It added that a single day’s nuclear weapons spending in 2025 could have provided food for two million people for a year, while annual spending could have covered the UN’s regular budget for 32 years.
The report comes as the US is considering deploying its nuclear weapons to additional NATO member states in Europe, according to a Financial Times report last week. The outlet said US officials had discussed expanding the nuclear-sharing arrangement beyond its current participants.
Countries neighboring Russia, including Poland and the Baltic states, have reportedly expressed interest in hosting US nuclear weapons.
The US has stationed nuclear weapons in Europe under its nuclear-sharing program since the 1950s. B61 gravity bombs are currently believed to be deployed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye, while control of the weapons remains with Washington.
Moscow has warned that any further expansion of NATO’s nuclear infrastructure toward Russia’s borders would trigger a response. Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov reiterated a demand that all US nuclear weapons be withdrawn from Europe and the infrastructure supporting their deployment be dismantled.
More than 10 suspects are being pursued after a late-night attack near Johannesburg, police have said
A manhunt is underway in South Africa’s Gauteng province for the gunmen who opened fire in a marginalized residential area, killing at least 12 and injuring nine others, South African Police Service (SAPS) wrote on X on Wednesday.
The attack took place late Tuesday night at Jumpers, an informal settlement in Cleveland, east of Johannesburg.
According to investigators, officers responding to reports of shots fired shortly after 11 PM local time found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Eleven people – eight men and three women – were declared dead at the scene, while another male victim died after being hospitalized.
“At least nine other victims were transported to various medical facilities for treatment of gunshot wounds,” authorities said.
Police believe more than 10 suspects were involved in the shooting. The gunmen allegedly arrived in a white Toyota Quantum minibus, entered the settlement through different access points, and moved through the area shooting residents at several locations before escaping in the same vehicle.
A large-scale manhunt is now underway, with detectives, forensic specialists and crime intelligence units deployed to track down those responsible. Authorities have not announced any arrests, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear as the investigation continues.
South Africa remains one of the world’s most violent countries despite a recent decline in crime. SAPS data for October–December 2025 shows that 6,351 people were murdered nationwide during the three-month period, an average of nearly 70 killings per day.
#sapsGP [POLICE LAUNCH MANHUNT FOLLOWING MASS SHOOTING THAT CLAIMED 12 LIVES IN CLEVELAND]#SAPS in Gauteng has launched a manhunt for suspects following a mass shooting that claimed the lives of 12 people and left several others injured at Jumpers Informal Settlement in… pic.twitter.com/Pw7cH3M6of
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) June 10, 2026
In addition, Gauteng province, where the latest mass shooting occurred, accounted for the highest number of murders nationwide, with 1,536 killings reported during the three-month period.
The government has stepped up efforts to tackle crime in recent months. In February, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced increased spending on peace and security, with funding set to rise from 268.2 billion rand ($14 billion) in 2025/26 to 291.2 billion rand ($16 billion) by 2028/29.
In March, authorities also re-enlisted experienced retired detectives in a bid to strengthen investigative capacity and improve the country’s ability to solve violent crimes.
The live-fire drill comes as Taipei is expanding its missile arsenal despite repeated warnings from Beijing
Taiwan has launched approximately 36 US-supplied missiles into the water off the coast of mainland China, in a first-of-its-kind live-fire drill on the self-governing island’s west coast.
The exercise comes amid mounting tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which considers Taiwan sovereign Chinese territory.
The drills took place on Wednesday and involved the firing of reduced-range training rockets from US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) into the Taiwan Strait.
According to Taipei, the exercise was meant to simulate an attack on an invading Chinese force and demonstrate HIMARS’ ability to “shoot-and-scoot” by avoiding counter strikes.
HIMARS has a range of up to around 300 km, meaning it could potentially hit targets in China’s southeastern Fujian Province across the strait.
Taiwan has ordered 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and has also been building up anti-ship and air defense systems.
Chinese officials have repeatedly condemned US arms sales to Taipei as interference in China’s internal affairs and a violation of the decades-old One-China policy. While Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent state, it has maintained close unofficial ties with Taipei and remains its main arms supplier.
During his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping described Taiwan as the most important issue in China-US relations and warned that mishandling it could push the two countries into “a very dangerous situation.”
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and has consistently warned against separatism on the island. Xi has repeatedly said Beijing seeks peaceful reunification, but has refused to rule out the use of force if provoked.
The development comes as Brussels and New Delhi aim to advance a trade agreement finalized in January
The European Union’s latest proposed sanctions package on Russia includes entities based in India, potentially clouding the ratification of a trade deal the bloc signed with the South Asian nation.
Focusing on energy, crypto, and financial services and trade, including fisheries, according to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, it would be the 21st such package targeting Russia.
The new listings cover drone manufacturing and also seek to enforce export control measures on 50 companies, “including entities based in China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, UAE and India,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.
The nature and identities of the Indian entities in the sanctions list are not clear.
Any new sanctions will have to be agreed unanimously by all 27 EU member states before being finalized. This is expected to happen by July 15.
We are also targeting companies providing support to Russia military-industrial complex.
The new listings will cover more than 30 designations in the drones manufacturing as well as new export control measures on 50 companies, including entities based in China, Türkiye,…
A temporary freeze on the EU’s Russian oil cap and new curbs on the resale of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tankers to Russia are also included in the package.
The inclusion of Indian entities in the EU sanctions package is not without precedent, although the development comes amid a push to finalize a trade deal agreed with New Delhi in January. Dubbed the “mother of all deals” by EU leaders, it was the result of tortuous negotiations which were first launched in 2007.
The sanctions proposal has elicited a sharp response from diplomatic circles, with former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal demanding that New Delhi retaliate by sanctioning EU companies doing business with Pakistan.
New Delhi has rejected unilateral sanctions that are not backed by the United Nations and questioned the legitimacy of such actions against the backdrop of EU nations’ purchase of Russian gas and LNG.
New restrictions imposed by the EU would be in addition to 81 current listings targeting what the bloc describes as Russia’s shadow fleet, military-industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists, ANI reported.
Last week, India reacted angrily to a statement Kallas made in Islamabad that mentioned Jammu and Kashmir. Those with “no locus standi in such matters should refrain from making any comments on them,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The EU’s attempt to punish countries that have relations with Russia comes as India has repeatedly advocated “strategic autonomy” in trade and security.
On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar noted that “many Western countries are increasingly embracing the idea of strategic autonomy,” a stance India has repeatedly advocated.
New Delhi has maintained that India’s purchases of Russian oil were based on national interests, despite Western pressure and a US imposition of 25% tariffs as punishment for such buys.
Kiev has conducted an early morning raid on the city of Cheboksary, Oleg Nikolaev has said
Ukraine launched a missile and drone attack targeting the Russian city of Cheboksary early Wednesday morning, resulting in three injuries, local governor Oleg Nikolaev has said.
Two of the wounded were hospitalized with moderate injuries, while a third person with minor wounds was treated and sent home, the governor of Chuvashia Region wrote on Telegram.
Cheboksary is a city of almost 500,000 people on the Volga River, located some 900 km from Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian media claimed that Kiev deployed locally made long-range Flamingo missiles in the attack, which reportedly targeted an electronics plant in the city.
Ukraine also attacked Russia's Samara Region overnight. Three people were wounded in a drone raid, according to local governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev.
Several industrial facilities suffered damage in the attack, which involved dozens of UAVs, the governor said.
In total, 326 Ukrainian drones were shot down across Russia overnight as the country came under another large-scale Ukrainian aerial raid, the Defense Ministry reported.
The interceptions took place over Moscow, Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Novgorod, Ryazan, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Orel, Tver, Tula, Ulyanovsk and Krasnodar regions, as well as over Crimea and the Black Sea, the ministry said.
Last week, Russian forces launched a large-scale missile and drone barrage, targeting defense industrial sites in Kiev, parts of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions still under Ukrainian control, as well as locations in Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnitsky, and Sumy regions, according to the country’s Defense Ministry.
Another major raid by Moscow on May 24 saw two state-of-the-art intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik systems being deployed.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that it would respond to Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets with “systematic and consistent strikes” against military-related infrastructure. Russian officials have said potential targets include drone manufacturing sites, command centers, and other “decision-making centers.”
The warning followed a series of attacks by Kiev, including a strike on a college dormitory in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic that killed 21 people – most of them teenage girls – and left around 70 others injured. Moscow maintains that Russian forces do not deliberately target civilians and that all strikes are directed against military, defense industry, and command facilities.
The country’s child population has hit a record low, as falling births, fewer marriages and deep social shifts reshape society
In May, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released data showing that the number of children under the age of 15 in the Land of the Rising Sun had fallen to a new historic low: 13.29 million, which is 350,000 fewer than a year earlier.
To understand the scale and drama of what is happening, it is worth recalling that in 1950*, at the very beginning of Japan’s economic miracle, children under 15 made up 35.1% of Japan’s population. Half a century later, in 2000, the share of children had declined to 14.5%. Alarm bells rang in the country, measures were introduced, but the trend could not be reversed. And now, according to the results of 2025, the share of children in the total population has once again hit a new low, falling to just 10.8%.
The reduction of the number of children in Japanese society to what was once unthinkable is linked to falling birth rates, which in Japan are declining even faster than in the developed countries of America and Europe. The total fertility rate has fallen below 1.2 nationwide, while in Tokyo the average number of children per woman has dropped to just 0.99.
In turn, the fall in fertility is connected with the continual decline in the number of marriages. Over 45 years of uninterrupted decline in the number of children, younger generations of Japanese have themselves become far smaller. More importantly, an increasing number of young Japanese do not want to start any family at all, or even maintain stable sexual relationships.
And here we arrive at the root cause: Japan is a country of triumphant individualism. With the participation of American social-engineering strategists, Japan created a model of accelerated modernization built around a hollowed-out national tradition and a high standard of living as the central meaning-forming pattern of mass culture.
The results of the Japanese case, and of other social experiments – including alternatives to it – can be assessed using RT’s global Social Well-Being Index (SWI). According to the RT Index methodology, social well-being is determined by the production and preservation of life, as well as the minimization of social oppression. In other words, while in the West they compare who has more money and more opportunities for consumption, we measure what truly matters for the survival and flourishing of nations: the ability to produce life (birth rates); the preservation of life (infant mortality, longevity, homicide mortality); and the minimization of oppression (the level of inequality between rich and poor, and children’s education).
Read more here about the high standards, inherent contradictions, and uncertain prospects of social well-being in westernized Japan.
Moscow and Dodoma have identified several sectors, including energy and technology, as key areas for cooperation, Samia Suluhu Hassan has said
Russia intends to help Africa build a new economic order and remains committed to supporting the continent’s development, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has told RT.
Speaking during a visit to Moscow, Samia said Russia has historically supported African liberation movements and remains engaged in the continent’s development efforts.
“Russia has an intention to support Africa to develop the new economic world order,” she stated.
The president said relations between Tanzania and Russia are built on decades of cooperation dating back to the country’s independence. She noted that the Soviet Union was among the first states to recognize Tanzania and that the bilateral partnership is now entering a new stage focused on economic development.
According to Samia, the relationship “started as political relation but now we want to elevate it into the strategic sustainable economic development.”
She pointed out that the two countries have already identified several priority sectors for cooperation, including agriculture, mining, energy, healthcare, education, and digital technologies.
The Tanzanian leader identified digital transformation as one of the most promising areas for future cooperation between the two countries. She said the government is prioritizing the expansion of online public services and is looking to strengthen technical expertise in a number of advanced industries.
Among Tanzania’s long-term goals is the development of nuclear energy capabilities based on the country’s uranium resources. Samia said the project will require highly qualified specialists, creating opportunities for cooperation with Russian educational and scientific institutions.
Agriculture is expected to become one of the main drivers of future trade growth, Samia said, adding that Tanzania is also seeking to attract more Russian visitors, with direct Air Tanzania flights between Moscow and Dar es Salaam expected to strengthen tourism and business ties.
The interview with RT took place during Samia’s official visit to Russia last week, where she held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. More than half a century has passed since the previous Tanzanian presidential visit in 1969, when the country’s first president, Julius Nyerere, traveled to the Soviet Union.
Tehran said it attacked American-linked military sites in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has published footage of missile launches it said were aimed at American military facilities in several Arab countries, describing the operation as retaliation for recent US attacks.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have surged in recent days alongside a parallel escalation between Iran and Israel. US Central Command said it carried out strikes inside Iran on Tuesday after a US Apache military helicopter was lost near the Strait of Hormuz, an incident Washington blamed on Tehran.
The IRGC claimed the American strikes damaged a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island and destroyed two water reservoirs in the Bemani district. It said its response included attacks on the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and four targets at Jordan’s al-Azraq air base, including hangars housing F-35 fighter jets.
Video released by Iran shows several missiles being launched at night. The IRGC said drones were also used in the operation and claimed that 21 targets were engaged in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, including a Reaper drone.
🔺 The IRGC released footage of long-range missile launches targeting U.S. positions in the region, in response to the U.S. strikes on southern Iran earlier in the day. The video showed claimed launches of Qadr, Emad, and Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles — both solid and liquid… pic.twitter.com/6WWqiDavu7
The US has described its strikes on Iran as “defensive” and “proportional,” saying the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter was shot down over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated Tehran’s position that no international waters exist in the strategic passage separating Iran from Oman.
Earlier, Iran hit targets in Israel, saying the strikes were retaliation for Israel’s continued invasion of southern Lebanon and attacks on Beirut. West Jerusalem later responded with strikes of its own, despite calls by US President Donald Trump not to escalate further.
Tehran considers Israel’s operation in Lebanon a breach of a ceasefire announced by the US and Iran in April, which was presented as part of an effort to reach a peace agreement. Trump has argued that “moderate” shooting does not amount to a violation of a Middle East truce.
The US tech giant has responded by accusing the European Commission of “regulatory overreach”
The European Commission has demanded that Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – give competitors’ AI assistants free access to its messaging and social media platforms.
The interim measure will remain in place until the conclusion of an antitrust investigation against the American tech giant, the EU’s main executive body said in a statement on Tuesday.
Meta could face a fine of up to 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of abusing its market power to undercut its rivals.
The probe into Meta was launched in December 2025 when artificial intelligence developers from the US, France and Spain complained about the California-based company’s decision to block access to its WhatsApp for Business application programming interface (API) to all competitors.
Only its own Meta AI remained connected to the messaging app, which has over 3.3 billion active users worldwide. It’s also integrated into Meta’s social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
In March, the company allowed external AI chatbots to access WhatsApp for a fee, but Brussels argued that it was too high and not economically sustainable for rivals.
Meta now has five working days to make the use of WhatsApp for Business API free, like it used to be before October 2025, according to the European Commission.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said that the body acted to “preserve choice for citizens across Europe on the AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without that decision being made for them.”
The measure will also “safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, by preserving a key entry point to reach consumers in Europe – WhatsApp – and allowing AI companies to innovate, scale up and reach their full potential,” Ribera added.
A Meta spokesperson said in an-email to Reuters that the company disagrees with the order and is planning to appeal against it.
“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free. This is regulatory overreach subsidized by the many European companies that pay,” the spokesman stressed.
CNBC reported in April that Meta, Google and Apple have been ordered to pay around $7 billion in fines by the EU for antitrust and privacy breaches since the start of 2024. This prompted the administration of US President Donald Trump to accuse Brussels of unfairly targeting the US tech firms, with the European Commission insisting that it’s only protecting the bloc’s consumers.
President Donald Trump’s explanation for the latest escalation “doesn’t make sense,” Larry Johnson has told RT
The US and Israel carried out their latest strikes on Iran and Lebanon in a deliberate effort to sabotage the ongoing peace talks, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has told RT.
On Wednesday local time, the US struck Qeshm Island and targets in southern Iran in response to the crash of a US AH-64 Apache attack helicopter off the coast of Oman – an incident US President Donald Trump blamed on Iran. Tehran, however, has refused to confirm that it was responsible for the crash.
Johnson argued that Trump’s rationale for the latest escalation “doesn’t make sense,” especially since both pilots of the helicopter survived.
“If they are alive, why does Donald Trump launch strikes on Iran when they are supposedly in the midst of peace talks? The only reason I can come up with is that he did it deliberately to sabotage the talks,” he said.
Trump has been pressured by “the Zionist crowd” and pro-Israel politicians such as US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Johnson said.
“They are insistent on destroying Iran. They don’t want a deal with Iran,” he stated.
Johnson said Israel’s airstrikes on Beirut on Sunday were also aimed at provoking a conflict with Iran.
“Too much progress was being made during the peace talks for the neocons and for Israel, so they did everything in their power to sabotage it. I think this is going to lead to a new round of escalation that can go on for a week or two,” he said.
The sanctions imposed on the island nation by Washington are incompatible with international human rights law, according to Volker Turk
Children in Cuba are dying amid acute shortages of essential medical supplies caused by US-imposed economic sanctions, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
The island nation has endured daily blackouts and severe fuel deficits in recent months after Venezuela, once Havana’s main oil supplier, stopped crude shipments under pressure from the US in early 2026. This was preceded by the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by American commandos in January.
US President Donald Trump has since repeatedly stated that he intends to “take” Cuba “one way or another.”
Turk described the plight of ordinary Cubans as “unacceptable,” warning that “children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines,” as quoted in a statement issued on Monday. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), infant mortality in Cuba has doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 births, with childhood cancer survival rates down from 85% to 65% since the US imposed a fuel blockade on the Caribbean country.
“Critical medical services such as oncology, dialysis, and maternal health are under severe strain,” with essential medicines in “critical short supply,” the report warned.
International humanitarian efforts to alleviate the situation are being hampered by US extraterritorial sanctions, with private companies refusing to deliver such shipments for fear of running afoul of them, OHCHR stated.
“Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law,” Turk charged.
Last month, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla accused the US of meting out “collective punishment” in that Cubans are being subjected to conditions “that violate their human rights and cause pain, suffering, and anguish.”
Axios, citing several anonymous US officials, reported in late May that the White House was looking to further ramp up the pressure on Cuba in the hope that worsening economic conditions would eventually lead to regime change.
Russia, China, Mexico, and several other countries have been supplying Cuba with humanitarian aid. Moscow sent a shipment of around 700,000 barrels of crude oil in late March.
The White House has said the surcharge was meant to curb abuse of the program and protect American jobs
A US federal judge has struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new skilled-worker visas, ruling that the White House could not impose the charge without approval from Congress.
The fee applied to new H-1B visa petitions filed on behalf of foreign workers outside the US. The program allows American employers to hire specialists from abroad for up to six years, and is capped at 65,000 new visas a year, with another 20,000 available for applicants with advanced degrees. It is widely used by major technology companies.
Trump has argued that the system has been abused by companies seeking to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign labor. In September, he ordered a $100,000 surcharge on new applications, saying the measure would protect US jobs and national security.
On Monday, US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of 20 states that challenged the policy. He said the $100,000 payment was effectively a tax, “regardless of what the payment is called,” and that the administration had no authority to impose it.
The Department of Homeland Security has denounced the ruling as “blatant judicial activism,” insisting the fee was meant to protect US workers and prevent abuse of employment-based visa programs.
The lawsuit was led by California and joined by other states that argued the fee was unlawful and would harm schools, universities, hospitals and other public institutions that rely on skilled foreign workers.
The H-1B program has long divided US policymakers. Supporters say it helps companies fill specialized roles, while critics have argued that it allows corporations and staffing firms to undercut American workers and suppress wages.
US entry bans, outrageous ticket prices, and organizational problems have overshadowed football’s biggest spectacle
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to kick off this week, has already been overshadowed by political disputes and concerns over the tournament’s organization. Immigration rows, travel restrictions, and ticketing complaints have emerged as major flashpoints ahead of the opening match. Here is what we know so far.
When does the World Cup start?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on June 11 and concludes on July 19. A record 48 teams will take part, with the top two sides from each of the 12 groups and the eight best third-placed teams advancing to the knockout stage.
Where is the World Cup taking place?
The tournament is being co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, marking the first World Cup to be staged across three countries. Matches will be held in 16 cities across North America, with the final set to be played at New York-New Jersey Stadium.
How have US entry policies affected participants?
The World Cup is taking place against a backdrop of tighter US immigration controls and travel restrictions that have affected some participants.
Award-winning referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, the first Somali national selected to officiate at a World Cup, was denied entry to the US despite holding a valid visa. FIFA later confirmed that Artan would not be able to officiate at the tournament. The incident came amid broader restrictions affecting Somali nationals under the Trump administration.
Iraq’s national team also encountered entry difficulties. While all players were ultimately admitted, captain Aymen Hussein was reportedly detained and questioned for nearly seven hours after arriving in Chicago. The team’s official photographer, Talal Salah, was denied entry.
Footage circulating online shows members of Senegal’s squad undergoing extensive security checks upon arrival in the US, including pat-downs and metal detector screening. Senegal is among the countries affected by Washington’s latest travel restrictions.
Separate video appeared to show former Italy captain and Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro undergoing lengthy security screening after landing in the country.
Fabio Cannavaro, World Cup winner, former Italy captain and ballon d’or winner being searched like a suspected drug mule in the US. pic.twitter.com/rK7brpFama
How has the Middle East war affected Iran’s participation?
Iran’s World Cup campaign has been complicated by heightened tensions with Washington and the broad US sanctions regime imposed on the country.
Visas for the Iranian squad were reportedly approved only days before the tournament after months of uncertainty, while some members of the delegation are still said to be awaiting travel documents. The team has since moved its tournament base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico.
Adding to the controversy, Iran’s football federation said this week that its official allocation of World Cup tickets had been revoked just days before the opening match. The federation accused organizers of breaching the principle of equal treatment for participating nations.
FIFA said it remained in contact with the Iranian federation following the team’s arrival in Mexico.
Travel difficulties have not been limited to teams and officials. Supporters’ groups from several countries have reported problems entering the US, citing visa delays, enhanced screening procedures, and high rejection rates.
Fan organizations across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America have voiced particular concern. Supporters from Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, and Tunisia have reported difficulties navigating US entry requirements, while citizens of Iran and Haiti face some of the strictest restrictions. Some Scottish supporters have also reported issues with previously approved travel authorizations.
Human rights groups have also voiced concern over immigration enforcement during the tournament. Amnesty International has called on FIFA to ensure supporters can attend matches without fear of discrimination or arbitrary restrictions. Some Haitian fans have told reporters they are reluctant to travel to the US due to concerns about possible detention or deportation, even as Haiti prepares for its first World Cup appearance since 1974.
Outrageous ticket prices
FIFA is facing scrutiny from the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey over allegations of “impossibly high” prices, artificial scarcity, and misleading information about ticket availability and seat locations. Its use of demand-based pricing and resale fees has also drawn criticism.
While FIFA has promoted the expanded 48-team tournament as its most accessible World Cup yet, consumer advocates and supporters’ groups argue that soaring prices are putting many matches out of reach for ordinary fans.
Fans seeking tickets for the 2026 tournament have reported prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Some group-stage tickets have been listed for more than $4,000, while seats for the final have appeared on resale platforms for significantly higher amounts.
By comparison, group-stage tickets at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar generally cost between $70 and $220. At the 2018 tournament in Russia, the cheapest group-stage tickets available to foreign supporters started at around $105.
Could the controversies affect the tournament?
FIFA has largely distanced itself from disputes over visas and immigration, saying such matters fall under the authority of host-country governments and maintaining that preparations remain on schedule.
US President Donald Trump has described the event as being on course to become “the most successful World Cup” ever, while the White House World Cup Task Force has pledged to deliver “the largest, safest and most welcoming sporting event in history.”
Human rights organizations and supporters’ groups, however, have questioned whether those commitments can be met, arguing that travel restrictions, immigration concerns, and ticketing controversies risk undermining the tournament’s goal of bringing together football fans from around the world.
The unrest erupted after a Sudanese asylum seeker allegedly attempted to behead a man in the street
Anti-immigration riots broke out in Belfast on Tuesday night after a knife-wielding Sudanese asylum seeker allegedly attacked a man in the Northern Irish capital.
The incident occurred amid a heated debate over migration policies, fueled by a string of crimes involving foreign nationals across the UK.
Buses and cars were set ablaze as police urged the public to remain calm.
Videos from the scene showed vehicles engulfed in flames.
🚨 BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man pic.twitter.com/FX8maCMalK
— RTI OSINT (real time intelligence) (@RTI_imtel) June 9, 2026
Other footage shows a burning car rolling down the street.
Angry mobs set several homes on fire and vandalized bus stops with anti-Islam graffiti.
According to reports, crowds roamed the streets in parts of the city, attempting to break into homes of suspected migrants.
Groups of men are going ‘door to door’ “hunting migrants” setting fire to known HMO’s in Belfast… pic.twitter.com/jxr0Rczctm
— Pippa B 🇬🇧🏴 🚜 ❤️ 🇺🇸 (@pippaisright) June 9, 2026
The unrest followed a viral video from Monday showing a knife-wielding assailant pinning another man to the ground in the middle of a street. Several bystanders intervened, saving the victim, who suffered multiple stab wounds.
According to police, the suspect flew from Paris to Dublin before traveling by bus to Belfast in 2023, where he claimed asylum.
The UK has seen major anti-immigration protests and riots in recent years, with right-wing politicians and activists accusing authorities of failing to control illegal migration and adequately address crimes committed by migrants and other ethnic minorities.
In 2024, large-scale riots broke out in Southport, northwest England, after a man of Rwandan origin fatally stabbed three girls at a dance studio. The incident resulted in a rash of arrests for social media posts which allegedly stirred up racial hatred.
Earlier this month, demonstrations were held in memory of Henry Nowak, a university student killed by a British Sikh man in 2025. Public outrage intensified after police body-camera footage was released showing officers at the scene handcuffing the mortally wounded Nowak rather than his attacker, Vickrum Digwa.
Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 21 years for the murder.
CENTCOM described the attacks as “a proportional response” to the alleged downing of an AH-64 Apache
The US said it has launched strikes in Iran in response to what it described as the downing of an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US President Donald Trump had ordered “self-defense strikes… in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.”
“The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X.
Iranian broadcaster Press TV reported that several projectiles struck the strategic island of Qeshm near the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, which hosts a military base and a key oil terminal. Strikes were also reported in other parts of Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian…
Earlier on Tuesday, CENTCOM said the helicopter had crashed off the coast of Oman while patrolling the area and that its two pilots had been rescued.
Tehran has not directly confirmed the US claim that the helicopter was shot down, with Al Jazeera citing a senior Iranian diplomat as saying “there was no deliberate attack” on the aircraft.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that US forces operating near Iranian territory “are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire.”
Shortly after the latest US strikes, Araghchi warned that Iran “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
“Leave our region if you want to be safe,” he wrote on X.
Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination.
Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.
Leave our region if you want to be safe.
History of the Persian Gulf has many chapters on dire fates of intruding outsiders. pic.twitter.com/O17GGtklxA
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later said it had targeted the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as a US airbase in Jordan.
The latest escalation comes as Trump again claimed that his administration was close to reaching a deal with Iran and said the US would achieve a “total victory” within days or weeks.
A US official told CNN that the new strikes were intended as a “warning shot” and that Washington believed they would not derail the talks.
Iran threatened to suspend negotiations last week after Israel carried out airstrikes in Lebanon, where nearly 3,700 people have been killed since the IDF resumed its military operation in response to attacks by Hezbollah. Tehran’s peace terms with the US include the cessation of fighting “on all fronts,” including Lebanon.
Trump has since held several heated phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to hold off on further strikes in Lebanon.
Sixty-five were recorded in 2025, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo
The number of armed conflicts underway around the globe reached its highest level since World War II in 2025, according to a study published on Tuesday by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
Researchers found there were 65 state-based conflicts – involving at least one government actor – the highest number since systematic records began in 1946. The report estimates that about 245,000 people were killed in battle-related violence last year, making it one of the deadliest years in recent decades.
“The world today is … far more fragmented,” the researchers said, describing an “unprecedented” number of simultaneous wars fueled by both long-running crises and new outbreaks of large-scale fighting. They cited the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, Israel’s war in Gaza and the civil war in Sudan.
The number of interstate conflicts doubled from the previous year to a record eight in 2025, including clashes between India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Cambodia and Thailand.
PRIO said the 65 conflicts recorded were spread across 35 countries, with several states involved in multiple wars simultaneously. Israel, for example, was embroiled in conflicts linked to Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen, while Myanmar, Pakistan, and Nigeria also faced more than one armed conflict.
Africa was the region most affected by state-based violence, followed by Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Europe. According to PRIO, more than 930,000 people have been killed in state-based conflicts since 2021 – roughly matching the total recorded during the previous two decades.
Alice Weidel has also opposed the idea of giving Kiev associate membership in the EU and called for the resumption of dialogue with Russia
Ukraine should compensate Germany for the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the co-leader of the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has said.
German investigators have attributed the explosions, which crippled the pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Germany, to a small group of Ukrainian operatives. The alleged ringleader was extradited to Germany from Italy last autumn.
Moscow has repeatedly questioned Berlin’s account of the attack, arguing that such a sophisticated operation could not have been carried out by a handful of divers in NATO-monitored waters without state backing.
Speaking at a party event on Tuesday, Weidel rejected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s proposal to grant Ukraine associate membership in the European Union, describing the country as a “bottomless pit” that is already heavily reliant on foreign financial assistance.
“Germany has already transferred more than €100 billion to Ukraine over the past four years alone,” she said.
Weidel argued that Kiev should first explain its role in the Nord Stream sabotage.
“We need to know how this state-terrorist act against the most important infrastructure we had, namely the Nord Stream pipelines, came about and what role Ukraine played in it,” she said.
“The flow of payments should actually be moving in the opposite direction. Ukraine must pay reparations to the Federal Republic of Germany, because we have suffered enormous damage – and so has Europe as a whole – from the loss of cheap Russian fossil fuels,” Weidel added.
The co-leader of the AfD also called for an immediate halt to German military and financial assistance to Ukraine, urging Berlin to focus instead on facilitating negotiations between Kiev and Moscow and restoring dialogue with Russia.
According to several recent opinion polls, the AfD is currently Germany’s most popular political party. An INSA survey published by Bild on Saturday put support for the party at 29%, while 77% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Chancellor Merz’s performance – the worst rating of his tenure, according to the newspaper.
Germany and France have pulled the plug on a joint jet project that never got off the ground
The long-delayed €100 billion ($116 billion) project to develop a fully European next-generation fighter jet for NATO members has been formally abandoned.
Despite citing the need to counter a perceived threat from Russia and strengthen Europe’s military, France and Germany have failed to overcome years of industrial and political disagreements over a project intended to reduce Europe’s reliance on US-made military hardware.
Was the cancellation of the project a surprise?
Not really. The fate of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, had been uncertain for months.
In February, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the project, in which Belgium held observer status, was already “dead.”
SCAF is dood aldus de Duitse bondskanselier @bundeskanzler in deze podcast. Er komt geen Frans-Duits zesde generatie jachtvliegtuig.
België was observator in het programma. We zullen onze positie herbepalen.
Ivm de nucleaire afschrikking begrijp ik echt niet waarom Europese…
On Monday, media outlets reported that the industrial deadlock surrounding the proposed replacement for France’s Rafale jets, the Eurofighters used by Germany and Spain, and potentially US-made F-35s, had finally ended with the manned fighter component being dropped. Official confirmations soon followed.
“It was an ambitious, large European project that has now shattered against reality,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “In the end, one must distinguish between head and heart in this matter.”
In other words, FCAS has joined the growing list of European defense initiatives that failed to meet their original expectations.
What was FCAS?
FCAS was launched in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Its stated goal was to deliver a sixth-generation advanced combat aircraft sometime after 2040. At the time, a source at a major European defense firm said the proposed jet would have to “have capabilities to match or exceed that of the F-35” to win over potential buyers and justify the investment.
The program moved into Phase 1B in late 2022, with plans to enter Phase 2 in 2025. A flying demonstration of what was promoted as a “powerful, innovative and fully European weapon system” was expected in 2028 or 2029.
The aircraft was meant to operate alongside new drones and a “combat cloud” information network. Participants now hope those elements can still be preserved and folded into future national aircraft programs.
“The actual core of FCAS is to be continued as a European system,” a French official told Agence France Presse, suggesting that parts of the project may still produce some return on the money already spent.
Given Macron’s personal role in launching FCAS, the collapse of its central component is being seen as a major setback for his political legacy. According to Handelsblatt, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz informed the French president last week that the fighter jet project had no viable future.
All sides blamed an irreconcilable dispute between the two main contractors: France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany-headquartered European conglomerate Airbus Defence and Space. The disagreement centered on workshare and governance.
Both Berlin and Paris insisted that the industrial dispute did not reflect the broader state of relations between the two countries. Macron and Merz invited mediators in March, but those efforts reportedly collapsed the following month, leaving the final decision to their defense ministries.
Why did the contractors quarrel?
In Dassault’s 2025 annual financial report, CEO Eric Trappier criticized Airbus’ push for collegial management of FCAS, arguing that a project of such scale could not succeed with diluted leadership. He said the French company possessed the unique expertise needed to deliver the aircraft.
“Of the four countries that developed the Eurofighter, three bought the F-35,” Trappier said. “That’s what decline looks like.”
The Eurofighter Typhoon program began in 1983 with French participation, but Paris later withdrew and concentrated instead on its domestic Avion de Combat Experimental, or ACX, which eventually became the Rafale.
One of the major points of contention with the Eurofighter was incompatible national requirements. France wanted a nuclear-capable and carrier-capable aircraft, while other participants – the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain – did not see those features as necessary.
That same divide ultimately undermined the FCAS program.
Germany and France now plan to pursue their own aircraft programs. Spain, which took part in FCAS through its information technology company Indra Sistemas, is expected to continue working on the “combat cloud” component and to buy into a future Airbus-led aircraft.
Germany’s fighter jet effort could also involve Sweden’s Saab, the maker of the Gripen fighter jet. Berlin reportedly views the Swedish firm as far easier to work with than Dassault.
Germany needs foreign partners, as it has not independently developed a fighter jet since World War II. The only exception is the experimental EWR VJ 101 vertical takeoff aircraft, which never progressed beyond the prototype stage.
Several blasts and an ensuing fire have triggered the evacuation of some 250 homes in Dagestan
At least three explosions have occurred at a gas pipeline in Dagestan Republic, southern Russia, causing a major fire at the location and prompting the evacuation of more than 140 residents from the area.
The incident occurred in an industrial area of the town of Kyzylyurt. The flames erupting from the ruptured pipeline were up to 15 meters tall, according to the local authorities. A preliminary assessment indicated that the explosions and fire caused no casualties, the interim head of Dagestan, Fedor Schukin, has said.
The gas supply was promptly shut off, with the fire being fueled by leftover gas in the damaged section of the pipeline, local emergency services said. Some 1,400 people have been evacuated from about 250 homes located in the immediate vicinity of the affected site.
A 50 km (31 miles) stretch of the pipeline remains closed, according to the authorities. Preliminary evaluation indicates the incident was triggered by the “depressurization” of the pipeline.
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