Global Pulse

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  • ‘It’s a fit man’s game’: How Cameron Murray changed Origin as calls grow louder for him to start for the Blues

    ‘It’s a fit man’s game’: How Cameron Murray changed Origin as calls grow louder for him to start for the Blues

    Nearly a decade after he entered the National Rugby League, Cameron Murray has emerged as the public face of a sweeping transformation reshaping Australian rugby league’s most iconic competition, State of Origin. Once known as a proving ground for oversized power athletes, where 34 massive players from New South Wales and Queensland would trade brutal hits across 80 minutes of nonstop physical play, the elite representative series is now seeing a clear evolution: while team benches have grown in size, the average build of starting forwards has shrunk, with speed and endurance now prioritized over raw bulk.

    When Murray made his NRL debut in 2017, he lined up alongside the sport’s signature giants: the 100+ kilogram Burgess brothers and other heavy-boned forwards who dominated the era. Just 20 years earlier, the 2006 State of Origin series featured a roster of legendary heavyweights including Steve Price, Willie Mason, Petero Civoniceva and Brent Kite, all tipping the scales well above Murray’s current listed weight of 96 kilograms. Today, that 96kg frame fits perfectly into the new-look game shaped by rule changes designed to speed up rucks and open up play.

    Looking back on his career, Murray recalled early pressure to bulk up to match the sport’s old guard. “When I was coming in, it was the era of the Burgess boys, Ben Te’o, John Sutton and Dave Taylor — all big fellas,” Murray said. “In your mind, you’re like ‘I’ve got to put size on. I’ve got to make sure that I’m as big as these guys’. But as luck would have it, I came in at the right time. The fatigue and the speed of the game started going up, and it probably suited me a little better.”

    Murray credits incremental rule tweaks over the past decade with shifting the sport’s trajectory toward a faster style of play that caters to smaller, more agile forwards. “Some little tweaks in the rules over the years and then the way that the NRL are wanting the game to be played now, they kind of catered that to suit the rules,” he explained. “It’s the way that they want the game to go based on the speed of the game and bringing back the smaller guys. I think that’s suited me well, so I’m not complaining.”

    The impact of Murray’s unique skill set has not gone unnoticed among teammates and analysts. Former rugby league star Braith Anasta is among those calling for Murray to take the starting lock position for the NSW Blues, pushing current captain and long-time standout lock Isaah Yeo to shift to prop or move to the interchange bench. That arrangement already proved successful during the 2024 series, when Murray delivered a dominant performance wearing the number 13 jersey in games two and three.

    Data from Fox Sports Lab underscores how transformative Murray’s presence is for the Blues: the team holds an undefeated 3-0 record when Murray starts at lock. Across 16 total Origin appearances for NSW, the Blues have outscored opponents by 174 points when Murray is on the field, while posting a negative 48-point differential when he sits on the bench. That gap was on full display in 2024’s game one, where Queensland jumped out to an 18-0 lead before Murray entered the game off the bench.

    Even Yeo, who has been the Blues’ starting lock for six years, openly praised Murray’s game-changing ability. “He’s been outstanding for a long time, and we’ve definitely missed him in the Origin arena when he had the achilles (injury) last year and when he had a concussion in another game,” Yeo said. “He’s just one of those players who makes every team he’s in better, whether that’s at lock, coming off the bench or playing in the back row. He’s the ultimate professional. I thought what he and Victor Radley brought into the game off the bench was really important. They brought a point of difference for us.”

    NSW halfback Nathan Cleary, who plays alongside Yeo weekly at club level and teams up with Murray annually for Origin, highlighted the unique dynamic the two forwards create. “The world’s best playmaker loves working with two of the most effective link men in rugby league, with Murray providing a point of difference that Yeo can’t match. He just adds a different type of leg speed,” Cleary said. “I’ve seen Cam play in the centres before, and that speaks volumes to what he brings with his leg speed. He’s got great ball-playing ability as well, so I think the mix of him and ‘Yowie’ is so dynamic. It’s a pleasure to play alongside those two guys.”

    For Murray himself, the debate over whether he deserves a starting spot is irrelevant. His only goal is helping the Blues claim the State of Origin shield after an injury forced him to miss the entire 2023 series. “When I play Origin, I just try to be myself out there. I try to go out and play to my strengths and do what I know needs to be done to get the job done in Origin,” he said. “Origin’s all about effort and going out and doing your best for your teammate, and so that’s what I try to do. If I’m coming off the bench, then I try to bring energy. If I start, I try to start with a level head and I just go out there and try to be the best version of myself and play as best I can in a Blues jersey.”

  • What to know about the EU’s new rules on migration and asylum as they come into effect

    What to know about the EU’s new rules on migration and asylum as they come into effect

    BRUSSELS — After years of fractious, high-stakes negotiations, the European Union’s sweeping new migration and asylum regulatory framework is set to take effect this Friday, marking the most significant overhaul of the bloc’s broken migration system in decades. What has become the European Migration and Asylum Pact was crafted to replace a decades-old system widely derided as ineffective, a failure that has proven a powerful political catalyst for far-right populist parties across the bloc to galvanize voter support in recent elections.

    Under the original agreement, all 27 EU member states were required to complete domestic preparations ahead of implementation — including updating national legislation, training border and asylum staff, and expanding border processing infrastructure. But even the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, has acknowledged that no country has finished all required preparations to fully roll out the new rules.

    The new framework introduces a series of sweeping changes to how the EU processes irregular migration and asylum claims. All foreign arrivals will now undergo mandatory screening at external EU borders that can last up to seven days before being admitted into member states. Asylum seekers originating from nations classified as “safe” by the bloc or deemed to pose a security threat will be pushed through accelerated three-month processing procedures, half the length of the previous timeline. In some cases, applicants will be detained at the border for the full duration of their case review, and rejected claimants will only be granted a single opportunity to appeal the decision.

    A key uncompleted task cited by the Commission is the rollout of Eurodac, an updated centralized biometric database that will store identifying information for all asylum seekers, including children as young as six. The Commission also noted that most member states still need to construct new border facilities purpose-built for screening, processing, and temporary detention, and many have not yet established required independent human rights monitoring mechanisms at border crossings.

    One of the core policy pillars of the new pact is accelerating the return of rejected asylum seekers, both through voluntary repatriation and forced deportation. The framework automatically issues a return order immediately after an application is rejected, a top political priority for centrist and far-right parties that gained significant ground in 2024 EU elections. Under the new rules, returnees will be deported to countries labeled as safe, including Syria and Bangladesh. As of March this year, the European Agency for Asylum reported roughly 802,000 pending first-time asylum claims across the bloc. Currently, member states and EU lawmakers are negotiating plans to establish “return hubs” in third-party countries, where migrants who cannot be directly repatriated to their home countries can be transferred. The details of these offshore facilities are currently being discussed quietly by a coalition of five member states and potential host countries abroad.

    Burden-sharing between member states was the most contentious issue throughout years of negotiations, dividing the bloc along geographic and political lines. Under the old system, asylum claims must be processed in the first EU country a migrant enters, leaving frontline Mediterranean states such as Greece and Italy to bear the overwhelming majority of the burden of irregular arrivals. For years, these countries have argued they lack the capacity to handle the influx, and many have allowed migrants to travel onward to northern and western Europe without formal authorization — shifting the burden to countries like Germany and Sweden, which saw asylum applications surge to record highs at the peak of the 2015 migration crisis, pushing their national systems to the edge of collapse.

    The new pact addresses this gap with a formal solidarity mechanism, designed to share the burden across all member states. When frontline countries face high influxes, other member states are required to either accept a proportional share of asylum seekers or provide substantial financial compensation to offset the cost. Countries can also reduce their required contribution if they receive migrants who have moved onward from other EU member states, a common practice known as secondary movement.

    Despite this compromise, the burden-sharing framework remains unpopular with several Central European member states. Poland has suspended the right to asylum since early 2025, claiming Belarus is weaponizing migration to destabilize the bloc, and has repeatedly extended this temporary emergency measure. Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar has retained the hardline anti-migration policies of his predecessor Viktor Orbán, including a blanket refusal to accept relocated asylum seekers. However, Magyar has signaled he will align Hungary’s national asylum rules with the new pact to avoid daily fines of 1 million euros that were imposed for Orbán’s previous violations of EU asylum law.

    EU officials have stressed that implementation will continue long after Friday’s official launch, given that no country is fully prepared. Susan Fratzke, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, noted the transition will be gradual, not immediate. “It won’t be like a light switch turning on on June 12,” Fratzke said. “Some of these things will take time.”

    Susanna Zanfrini, director of the International Rescue Committee’s Italy office, warned that widespread lack of clarity and inconsistent preparation creates harmful uncertainty for all stakeholders. That ambiguity “creates uncertainty for both people seeking protection and the organizations supporting them at the very moment they most need clear information about their rights, options, and access to support to survive, recover and rebuild their lives,” Zanfrini said.

    Leading human rights organizations have roundly criticized the new pact, arguing the accelerated procedures undermine the fundamental right to seek asylum by rushing claims assessments. Critics warn that fast-track processing opens the door to racial profiling, will result in legitimate protection claims being wrongfully rejected, and will lead to a sharp rise in prolonged detention of asylum seekers at EU borders.

    Judith Sunderland, senior refugee and migrant rights adviser at Human Rights Watch, said the new pact “slams the door in the face of people who deserve to be treated with dignity and to have a fair hearing of their claims for protection.” Lukas Gehrke, Brussels chief for the International Organization For Migration, added that even after deportations, many rejected claimants will remain in the EU, and the new pact’s budget cuts integration funding for remaining migrants. “If we under focus on this, the failure of integration becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Gehrke said.

    The reporting was contributed by reporters based across Cyprus, Spain, and Poland, with correspondents in Nicosia, Barcelona, and Warsaw.

  • Ex-UK political aide Steve Hilton pledges ‘common sense’ overhaul if elected California governor

    Ex-UK political aide Steve Hilton pledges ‘common sense’ overhaul if elected California governor

    A former top advisor to one-time British Prime Minister David Cameron has launched a surprising bid for California’s governorship, framing his November campaign as a mission to rescue the state from what he calls suffocating bureaucratic overreach and spiraling economic decline. In his first interview with a UK media outlet since securing a spot in the general election this week, Steve Hilton told BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme that his candidacy draws directly from California’s long-held “rebel spirit”, a tradition he argues has been eroded after 16 years of uninterrupted Democratic control of the state government.

    Having relocated to California in 2012, Hilton is running as a Republican in the deep-blue liberal state, but he has positioned his campaign around a self-described “common sense” policy platform rather than strict partisan ideology. Casting himself as a political outsider untainted by decades of Sacramento insider politics, Hilton says he is running to rebuild housing affordability and expand economic opportunity in what he describes as “the most incredible place in the world”.

    At the core of his policy agenda is a push for widespread tax cuts, broad business deregulation, and deep cuts to what he calls wasteful bloat in state government. “The quickest way we can get more money into people’s pockets is for government to take less out,” Hilton explained, outlining a pledge to set a $100,000 tax-free income threshold for Californians, alongside measures to slash sky-high energy and housing costs across the state.

    Hilton’s political path to this race has been anything but conventional: he served as the architect of the UK Conservative Party’s iconic “Big Society” agenda under Cameron before becoming an early backer of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. When asked to place himself on the ideological spectrum between Cameron-style centrist conservatism and Trump-era right-wing populism, he rejected the framing entirely, arguing neither movement defines his personal political identity. Instead, he ties his platform to a broader cross-partisan critique of decades of stagnant wages and growing economic inequality, a trend he says has fueled populist backlash across both the American left and right.

    This economic-focused message shapes his entire pitch to California voters, where he blames decades of Democratic policy making for the state’s crippling cost of living, rising business exodus, growing homelessness, and surging violent crime rates. “The record is a disaster,” he said, pointing to data that puts California among the highest U.S. rates for poverty, unemployment, and cost of living. When asked to draw comparisons to high-profile left-wing campaigns like that of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Hilton dismissed the comparison, saying he pays little attention to that race.

    One of the biggest lingering questions for Hilton’s campaign is his close alignment with former President Donald Trump, who holds extremely low approval ratings in California. Trump has officially endorsed Hilton’s candidacy, claiming the British-born candidate would align fully with his policy agenda if elected. When asked whether Trump’s backing would prove a liability in the general election, Hilton pushed back, arguing it is actually an “asset for Californians”. He argued that closer cooperation with a second Trump White House would unlock critical policy progress, particularly on domestic energy production. Pointing to the state’s sky-high gasoline prices, he blamed restrictive environmental policies for forcing California to import most of its oil despite holding massive untapped domestic reserves. “I will work co-operatively to expand energy production,” he said, noting the shift would immediately bring down consumer costs.

    Immigration policy also emerged as a key talking point in the interview. As the son of Hungarian immigrants, Hilton describes himself as a champion of the “legal immigrant community”, but he has come out strongly against California’s decades-old “sanctuary state” policies, which limit state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies. If elected governor, he says he would not obstruct federal immigration authorities, and would instead return to the more cooperative intergovernmental framework that was in place during the Obama administration. When pressed on civil liberties concerns, including cases where immigrants without criminal records have been detained by federal authorities, Hilton argued better coordination between state and federal agencies would eliminate these problematic scenarios.

    Hilton’s Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra, a former cabinet secretary under President Joe Biden, has already struck a sharp contrast in his own campaign, framing himself as a defender of the “California dream” who answers only to Golden State voters, not Washington D.C. insiders. Becerra has repeatedly accused Hilton of being a loyal ally of Trump who would hand control of the state over to the former president, and has questioned whether Hilton can be trusted to defend California’s election system against Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. “Californians didn’t build the greatest state in the nation to hand it over to a Trump errand boy dead-set on throwing our progress into reverse,” Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for the Becerra campaign, told the BBC. “Voters know Steve Hilton means higher prices, rights stripped away, and an all-out attack on our values — and they don’t want anything to do with it.”

    Hilton’s advancement to the general election has already surprised most political observers, who did not expect the outsider candidate to break through a crowded primary field. He advanced in large part due to a split in the Democratic vote across multiple candidates, and Hilton has openly acknowledged the steep challenge he faces in a state where Democrats hold overwhelming majorities in nearly every level of government. Even so, he argues that widespread voter discontent has created a unique opening for a change candidate: polling consistently shows a majority of Californians believe the state is heading in the wrong direction. He also points to the 2024 presidential election, where more than six million Californians cast ballots for Trump, arguing that mobilizing that base of Republican voters, combined with winning over independent voters frustrated by the status quo, could be enough to pull off an upset. He added that a proposed ballot measure on mandatory voter ID, which is popular with Republican voters, could drive higher turnout that benefits his campaign. While Hilton says he has not seen evidence of widespread voter fraud in California, he has still called for sweeping electoral reform, including ending the practice of automatically mailing ballots to all 23 million registered voters — a system that he argues is the root cause of the state’s famously slow vote counting process.

    The November election will now test whether Hilton’s pragmatic, outsider-focused message can resonate beyond the small Republican base in a state that has been dominated by Democrats for a generation, and whether a one-time Westminster political operative can successfully reinvent himself to win high office in American politics.

  • Thai princess dies aged 47 after three years in hospital

    Thai princess dies aged 47 after three years in hospital

    Thailand’s royal household has confirmed the passing of Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s eldest daughter, at the age of 47. The announcement, made Friday, comes more than three years after the princess was hospitalized for a sudden illness that would ultimately claim her life. She died peacefully on Thursday evening after her abdominal infection led to a steady and irreversible decline in health, the Bureau of the Royal Household said in an official statement.

    Following royal tradition, the princess will lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace, and a state funeral will be held with the highest royal honors, the statement added. Popularly known to Thais as “Princess Bha,” Bajrakitiyabha was the only child from the king’s first marriage to Princess Soamsawali. She first fell ill in December 2021, and by May of this year, her condition had deteriorated to the point that she required continuous medical device support for her lung and kidney function alongside round-the-clock medication.

    A highly accomplished public figure beyond her royal status, Bajrakitiyabha built a diverse professional career as a trained prosecutor and diplomat. She pursued her education across three countries, earning a law degree from Cornell University in the United States after studying in Britain and her native Thailand, and went on to serve as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria. She also held multiple senior roles with the United Nations, and emerged as a prominent advocate for women’s rights, most notably pushing for improved living and working conditions for incarcerated women across the region. Speaking to students at her alma mater Cornell University during a 2012 visit, she described her multifaceted career as that of a “hybrid” professional, blending expertise in law, criminal justice and diplomacy.

    In a televised national address following the announcement, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul paid tribute to the late princess, noting she was deeply loved, respected and admired by people across the kingdom. He praised her as kind, talented and of exemplary conduct, adding that she dedicated her entire life to advancing justice, equality, human dignity and rights across Thai society. Anutin called on all Thai citizens to join in national mourning and hold up the princess as an inspiration for public service to the nation and monarchy.

    Within Thailand’s hierarchical social structure, where the royal family occupies the highest position of public reverence, Bajrakitiyabha held significant ceremonial influence. She was widely known to be close to her father, and just one year before her hospitalization, she was appointed to a senior leadership position in the king’s personal bodyguard command. Even Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a prominent Thai scholar known for his public criticism of the monarchy, offered a warm reflection after her death, recalling meeting her in Singapore and describing her as someone who treated every civil servant with inherent kindness and respect.

    By Friday morning, crowds of mourners had already gathered outside Chulalongkorn Hospital, where the princess had received all her treatment since falling ill. Many held hand-signed portraits of the late princess, and dozens shared their grief with reporters. Sixty-six-year-old retiree Thanyaporn Arammekha, whose eyes were swollen from hours of crying, told reporters she had rushed to the hospital as soon as she heard the official announcement. “When I heard the announcement, I was very sad,” she said, noting that she had visited the hospital regularly throughout the princess’s treatment. She added that the Thai monarchy had long been a source of personal comfort for her after her parents’ divorce when she was a child, with former King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) serving as a father figure.

    Another retired provincial official, 67-year-old Kanokpan Chantarapetch, struggled to speak through her tears as she paid her respects. “I can’t really speak. I’m overwhelmed,” she told AFP. “I have loved Princess Bha since she was very young, and as a former government worker, I understand how much the royal family has done for the country.”

    Bajrakitiyabha’s death marks the second major loss for the Thai royal family in less than six months, following the death of King Vajiralongkorn’s mother, former Queen Sirikit, in October at the age of 93. The 73-year-old king, who has seven children from four separate marriages, has not yet publicly named an heir to the throne. Current Thai succession laws prioritize male heirs for the throne. Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws, which carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison per charge for any criticism of members of the royal family, continue to heavily regulate public discussion of the monarchy.

  • Japan’s struggling flagship H3 rocket returns to flight with the debut of a low-cost variant

    Japan’s struggling flagship H3 rocket returns to flight with the debut of a low-cost variant

    Japan’s long-troubled next-generation flagship H3 rocket has notched a pivotal victory for the country’s commercial space ambitions, as its new low-cost variant successfully completed its debut flight and reached its targeted orbital destination on Friday.

    Lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center, located on a remote island in southwestern Japan, the mission unfolded without incident during live broadcast coverage from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Confirmations from the agency indicate that the rocket’s second stage properly inserted itself into the planned orbit, and all six small research satellites carried onboard — developed by Japanese universities and independent research institutions — successfully separated from the launch vehicle as scheduled.

    Friday’s flight marked the first operational deployment of the H3’s new 30 configuration, a cost-optimized variant fitted with three liquid-fueled LE-9 main engines and no supplemental solid rocket boosters. Designed as the most affordable option in the H3 product line, this new variant is one of three modular configurations engineered to meet diverse payload demands from commercial and government customers around the globe, boosting the rocket series’ competitiveness in a crowded global launch market.

    This successful flight comes after two costly early failures that grounded the H3 program for the better part of a year, and delivered a much-needed win for the program that was built to replace Japan’s workhorse H-2A rocket — a launch vehicle that boasted an almost unbroken record of successful missions over its decades of service. The H3 program’s core mandate is to deliver dramatic cost reductions that let Japan compete in a global launch market currently dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has upended the industry with its low-cost reusable rocket technology. For Japanese policymakers and space industry leaders, a reliable, commercially competitive domestic launch capability is viewed as a critical strategic asset for both the nation’s long-term space exploration plans and national security.

    The H3’s development has been marked by early setbacks. During its maiden flight in March 2023, the rocket failed to ignite its second-stage engine, forcing a planned destruction of the vehicle mid-flight. A second attempt in December 2023 successfully launched, but a second-stage malfunction left the rocket unable to insert its navigation satellite payload into the correct orbit, resulting in another total mission failure. The rocket has remained grounded while engineers investigated and corrected the flaws that caused those failures, and a third consecutive failure on Friday would have delivered a devastating setback to Japan’s upcoming space initiatives — including the country’s planned 2028 robotic Mars exploration mission. Japan’s other small-lift rocket program, the Epsilon S, has also faced delays after a test firing accident in early 2024.

    Co-developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the H3 program aims to eventually reach a cadence of six to eight launches per year once the design is fully mature and operational. Friday’s successful debut of the low-cost 30 configuration puts the program back on track to meet that goal, opening the door for future commercial and scientific missions.

  • Trump says ‘settlement’ reached to end war on Iran

    Trump says ‘settlement’ reached to end war on Iran

    On Thursday, both the United States and Iran sent optimistic signals that a breakthrough had been reached in ceasefire negotiations aimed at ending ongoing open hostilities, with top leaders from both sides hinting a formal agreement could be finalized as early as the coming weekend.

    Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, former US President Donald Trump announced that a broad framework to end the conflict and open the door to wider comprehensive negotiations was nearly complete. “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” Trump stated, adding that once final documentation is wrapped up over the next few days, a signing ceremony will likely be held, potentially on European soil. Trump also confirmed he plans to send Vice President JD Vance to represent the US in his absence, noting “I won’t be able to be there, but JD Vance will.”

    The announcement comes amid a well-documented pattern for Trump: the president has repeatedly claimed a deal with Iran was imminent in recent months, only for high expectations to collapse and armed clashes to reignite shortly after. Even so, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency offered a similarly upbeat assessment Thursday, reporting that the text of the agreement accepted by the US has already been approved by Iranian negotiating teams, and Tehran is highly likely to formalize the deal in the coming days, though no official formal response has been released to the public yet.

    Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in through a muted official statement that acknowledged a tentative agreement was taking shape. “President Trump spoke this evening with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the emerging memorandum of understanding with Iran for entry into negotiations,” the statement read. While Israel is not a direct signatory to the preliminary ceasefire document, the statement added, Netanyahu expressed gratitude for Trump’s commitment that any final long-term agreement will include strict provisions: the removal of all existing Iranian enriched nuclear material, the dismantling of Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure, caps on Iranian ballistic missile production, and a full end to Iran’s financial and military support for regional armed proxies that Israel has labeled terrorist organizations.

    Not all Iranian outlets echoed the optimistic tone, however. Tasnim News Agency, a media outlet closely aligned with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), pushed back against Trump’s announcement, pointing to his history of unfulfilled deal claims. “Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded as his previous messages,” the outlet noted in its coverage.

    Trump doubled down on his prediction regardless, repeating his claim that the final agreement will guarantee “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon” — though he offered no specific details on the enforcement mechanisms that would make that guarantee binding. He also highlighted one key immediate outcome of the deal: the full reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s global oil supplies pass daily. “The whole Middle East is happy, and long beyond the Middle East,” Trump added.

    Thursday’s dramatic shift in tone capped a day of whiplash changes in US policy toward Iran. Early in the day, Trump threatened to seize Iran’s key Kharg Island oil export terminal, only to walk back the threat hours later, claiming the American public “don’t have the stomach” for a large-scale land invasion of Iran.

    Iranian leaders issued sharp, direct warnings in response to Trump’s initial threat of escalation. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief nuclear negotiator, warned that “Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.” General Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Iranian military’s central headquarters, echoed that warning, adding that any US attack “will receive a harsher response than before, and the flames of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and far-reaching.”

    Shortly after the warnings, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to formally walk back his threat of offensive strikes. “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have…cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran,” Trump wrote. He added that “all parties involved” in the talks — including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and other regional stakeholders — had already agreed to the final terms of the tentative ceasefire.

    The optimistic breakthrough comes after days of escalating cross-border fire between the US and Iran, even after a fragile temporary ceasefire agreed to in April. Iran has responded to US strikes on maritime vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Iranian land forces by targeting US regional Arab allies, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. On Thursday, Kuwaiti officials confirmed that an Iranian strike on its territory earlier that day caused multiple injuries and damaged airport radar systems, forcing a temporary closure of Kuwait’s airspace. The New York Times also reported Wednesday that US forces had bombed civilian water storage facilities in southern Iran — attacks that are widely classified as potential war crimes under established international law.

    Despite the public escalation, behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts have been moving at a rapid pace to de-escalate tensions this week. According to Reuters, Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to finalize the text of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement. Bloomberg also reported that the United Arab Emirates dispatched senior diplomats to hold direct talks with top Iranian officials this week to lower tensions. A Gulf diplomat told Middle East Eye that regional governments believe the talks were held in Tehran, citing open-source flight tracking data on X that showed an Emirati government aircraft, regularly used to carry senior officials, landing in the Iranian capital earlier this week. Middle East Eye also reported this week that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to the Gulf region in the coming days, with stops planned in Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait — a trip that would almost certainly be canceled if hostilities were set to resume.

    If the ceasefire is signed, the tentative agreement is structured as a temporary 60-day truce, designed to give both sides time to negotiate a broader, long-term deal addressing two core sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been the site of competing blockades imposed by both Iran and the US in recent weeks. According to Axios, a outlet with close ties to the Trump administration that has previously incorrectly predicted an imminent deal multiple times, the final text still requires formal approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The negotiated text narrows longstanding differences on two key issues: a mechanism to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets held in foreign banks and clear parameters for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global commercial shipping.

  • Yangon’s furtive party scene belies junta claims of normality

    Yangon’s furtive party scene belies junta claims of normality

    Five years after Myanmar’s military seized power in a 2021 coup, the ruling junta has pushed a carefully crafted narrative that the country has returned to stable, normal governance: it points to recently held elections, a newly installed civilian government, and the December lifting of Yangon’s restrictive 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. curfew as proof the nation is moving past its post-coup unrest. But the shadowy, high-adrenaline underground party scene thriving in the country’s largest city tells a far different story – one of widespread fear, unaddressed trauma, and a desperate search for escape amid a still-raging civil war.

    Inside a sprawling, warehouse-turned-nightclub in Yangon, bass-heavy music blares at 150 decibels – as loud as a jet engine during takeoff – while cutting laser lights slice through clouds of cigarette and vape smoke. When the final set ends around dawn, many partygoers don’t rush to head home. Instead, they doze off on leather sofas scattered around the venue, a habit formed after years of avoiding late-night travel through streets controlled by military checkpoints and armed factions. “That became a habit, they’re used to it,” explained a 29-year-old veteran of Yangon’s underground elite party scene, who, like all other interviewees for this report, requested full anonymity out of fear of reprisal from military authorities.

    For many of Myanmar’s young people, the desire to cut loose from daily stress collides with a persistent dread of moving through the streets after dark. Widespread arbitrary detention, forced conscription campaigns by both the military and opposing armed groups, and ongoing violence have left nearly half of all young people reporting they feel “unsafe” or “very unsafe” walking alone after sundown, according to a 2025 United Nations report – that’s more than double the rate recorded before the 2021 coup. By late evening, most public streets in Yangon are nearly empty, deserted save for stray dogs and occasional military patrols.

    Local performer Sae Sar, who performs under a stage name to protect his identity, said this tension between the urge to connect and the fear of danger defines Yangon’s modern nightlife. “I know my fans are tired all day,” the 24-year-old artist said. “If they keep all their feelings inside, it can cause many problems.”

    On weekends, the first stop for many night owls is Yangon’s iconic Chinatown, where neon signs line 19th Street and open-air beer bars spill out onto the sidewalk. This strip is the only major late-night public gathering spot in the city; as midnight approaches, every surrounding street has long emptied out. One local street vendor selling individual sachets of hangover cure says that six months after the curfew was lifted, the number of people out for the night has stayed roughly the same. “People just want to be happy, even though they are worried,” she explained. “They’re still going home early.” Lyrics from busking performers drift out onto the street, capturing the collective mood: “Life is short as a drying drop of water. Don’t be sad. Things will get better. Try just to be happy.”

    Once 19th Street winds down around midnight, the party moves underground to the Sanchaung neighborhood. Once a center of anti-coup protests after 2021, the area has emerged as a hub for underground nightlife after security forces crushed the public pro-democracy movement. Many of the young activists who led those early protests have since joined anti-military resistance factions fighting in the country’s ongoing civil war, which has killed more than 70,000 people, displaced 3.7 million more, and pushed half of Myanmar’s population into poverty. Even when strict full-night curfews were in place in the years immediately after the coup, young people still gathered secretly to party, one local DJ told AFP. He argued that military authorities often turned a blind eye to these gatherings, reasoning that young people focused on partying “won’t focus on the resistance.”

    Today, regular nightlife carries a distinctly different energy than it did before the coup, according to everyone interviewed for this report. The trade in illicit party narcotics has exploded in recent years: ketamine, ecstasy, and homemade “happy water” cocktails that mix unpredictable combinations of stimulants and sedatives are now widely available at underground events. “These days people judge whether a DJ is good or bad based entirely on how well the music complements their drug high,” the 31-year-old DJ said. “It is supply and demand.”

    The search for escape from daily stress and trauma only ends at dawn, when bleary-eyed partygoers stumble out into the early morning light to head home, carrying the collective weight of the coup’s ongoing impact with them – a lingering post-coup hangover that no night of partying can fully wash away.

  • ‘No-one knows it’s on’ – NBA Finals feed US World Cup apathy

    ‘No-one knows it’s on’ – NBA Finals feed US World Cup apathy

    As the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup prepares for its first matches on US soil, the global tournament faces a major uphill battle to capture mainstream public attention across the country — overshadowed by a historic NBA Finals run that has gripped major American cities and facing long-standing cultural gaps where other domestic sports reign supreme.

    Across the United States, the immediate conversation is dominated not by international football, but by the New York Knicks’ stunning, record-breaking comeback against the San Antonio Spurs that has left the franchise one win away from its first NBA championship since 1973. Wild street celebrations erupted across Manhattan after the game, with fans climbing onto cars to cheer the historic victory, while even in beachside Santa Monica, bar crowds roared for the basketball result rather than any World Cup build-up. For many New Yorkers, the NBA Finals have completely crowded out any space for World Cup excitement. “To be honest I haven’t really kept up with anything about the World Cup. I don’t care about anything other than the Knicks,” one Knicks fan told BBC Sport, echoing a widespread sentiment that even local organizers acknowledge.

    This is only the second time the United States has hosted the men’s World Cup, 32 years after the 1994 tournament that reshaped American soccer culture, spurring growing popularity and paving the way for the creation of Major League Soccer. Three decades on, traces of the 2026 tournament are visible in major host cities: subway trains wrapped in US national team colors in New York, a giant Lionel Messi billboard in Times Square, street banners promoting the tournament outside Los Angeles International Airport, and a massive Messi mural in downtown LA. International fans have begun arriving, with supporters of Morocco, Brazil, Scotland and other nations spotted wearing team gear across host hubs.

    Yet for casual sports fans and even many locals, the tournament has flown entirely under the radar. A Los Angeles taxi driver recently expressed complete surprise when told the World Cup was days away, asking “There’s a World Cup happening? Who’s playing?” Even visiting Scotland fans, who have traveled to Boston for their nation’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years, reported that most Americans they’ve interacted with have no idea the tournament is underway. “I had a Scotland top. She didn’t even know the World Cup is on,” one fan told reporters.

    A recent national poll underscores this apathy: half of all surveyed Americans say they do not care about the tournament. Soccer has grown in popularity over the past 30 years, particularly among younger generations, but it still has not displaced the hold that basketball, American football and baseball have on mainstream US sports culture.

    Compounding the challenge of low awareness is the issue of prohibitively high ticket prices, which have priced out many families and casual fans even among committed soccer supporters. Ahead of the US men’s national team’s opening match against Paraguay on Saturday, unsold tickets remained available, with the cheapest entry point sitting at $1,120 — a cost many households refuse to absorb. “We have two girls in club soccer so we are very much fans,” said Chris, a Los Angeles local, who explained he and his family would be watching the tournament from home rather than attending in person. “If it was more affordable for families we would definitely go and check it out,” added another local father Brennan, echoing that sentiment.

    Host city organizers are optimistic, however, that excitement will build as the tournament progresses. “I think we have had a slow build that is leading to a frothy frenzy,” said Larry Freedman, co-chairman of the Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee. “It has been such a long time coming and with so many other sports and activities in LA people have been thinking about what they will do tomorrow, not two or three years out. But now we are on the eve of it kicking off people are getting very, very excited. We have a very diverse community here and people from all over the world who will have teams participating in this tournament.”

    Among younger Americans who never experienced the 1994 tournament, there are signs of growing enthusiasm. Many younger fans have organized watch parties, and are leaning into national pride to draw less interested friends into following Team USA. “I think it has surpassed baseball in popularity here, but I don’t think it will get as big as American football or basketball. People will get into it,” said one young LA fan. Even casual first-time viewers expressed excitement at getting to experience the global tournament on home soil: “I’ve never actually watched the World Cup but I will watch it this year. I think it will be exciting because it is here in LA now and LA is where it is at. It will be something different,” said Isaiah, a visitor from Sacramento County.

    Organizers have also experimented with new outreach tactics to attract casual audiences, including featuring US international Malik Tillman on the cover of a major fashion magazine in an unconventional spread designed to boost exposure beyond traditional soccer circles. “Ultimately it’s about exposure. I’m always up for expressing ourselves in different ways,” said US center-back Mark McKenzie of the campaign.

    Interest has ticked upward as the US opener approaches: 30,000 fans registered interest for just 5,000 available spots at a recent open US training session. How far the US team advances in the tournament will also play a key role in growing support: a deep run could mirror the 1994 tournament’s lasting impact, accelerating soccer’s growth in the US for decades to come.

  • Shakira and protests as World Cup kicks off in Mexico

    Shakira and protests as World Cup kicks off in Mexico

    As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off its opening match Thursday in Mexico City, the day unfolded as a study of stark contrasts: a raucous, celebratory opening ceremony inside the iconic Estadio Azteca was overshadowed by violent clashes between protesters and security forces, and dangerous overcrowding at the city’s central official fan zone.

    A venue steeped in World Cup history, Estadio Azteca – recently renovated to modernize its century-old infrastructure – earned its place as the tournament’s curtain-raiser host, having hosted the sport’s biggest final in both 1970 and 1986. Thursday’s opening matchup between co-host nation Mexico and South Africa was preceded by a star-studded performance that had the 80,000-person crowd on their feet.

    Colombian pop icon Shakira, a longstanding fixture of World Cup opening ceremonies stretching back decades, shared the stage with Nigerian afrobeats superstar Burna Boy to deliver the tournament’s official anthem “Dai Dai”. Dancers swirled around a towering inflatable replica of the World Cup trophy while bursts of fireworks lit up the sky above the pitch, building energy to a fever pitch ahead of kickoff. For fans inside the stadium, the atmosphere delivered exactly the festive experience they had traveled for.

    “It’s already a party in Mexico,” 40-year-old supporter Ingrid Orozco told Agence France-Presse. Nineteen-year-old Gustavo Ramirez echoed the excitement, saying simply: “It’s amazing.” That celebration only grew after the final whistle, as Mexico secured a dominant 2-0 victory over South Africa, which finished the match down to nine players after two red cards.

    But just miles from the stadium’s celebrations, chaos erupted across the capital. At the Zocalo plaza official fan zone, thousands of fans converged to watch the match on a giant screen, only to face dangerous crushes at entry points. Metal barriers, installed days earlier to block protesting teacher groups from accessing the area, created bottlenecks that turned entry into a disorganized scramble.

    “Stop pushing and shoving, there are children here, you’re like animals!” one city official yelled through a megaphone while attempting to manage the crowd. Some frustrated fans threw water bottles and shouted insults at police, even as they chanted in support of the Mexican national team. After an hour of waiting to enter, many fans gave up entirely. “It took us an hour to get in, it was chaos, and getting out was even worse,” 49-year-old Victor Gomez told AFP, who left the venue with his partner before kickoff. “Inside, you can’t even walk, and you can’t see anything; we could only get access to the very last little screen over here.” Local officials quickly announced the fan zone had reached full capacity on social media and urged arriving fans to seek out alternate viewing locations. Originally scheduled to attend the Zocalo fan zone, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum instead watched the match at a local sports center amid ongoing unrest.

    The protests that prompted the security barriers began days earlier, when a group of teachers demanding higher wage increases organized demonstrations near high-profile World Cup locations. On Thursday, they were joined by relatives of missing Mexican citizens and student activist groups, who gathered outside Estadio Azteca ahead of the match. As kickoff approached, a subset of protesters pushed through perimeter barriers, leading to physical clashes with uniformed officers. Small groups of young demonstrators smashed car windows with baseball bats, prompting police to deploy tear gas and mounted units to disperse the crowd, which scattered across surrounding neighborhoods.

  • From white knuckles to open barbs, Trump and Macron bring a rocky history to the G7 summit

    From white knuckles to open barbs, Trump and Macron bring a rocky history to the G7 summit

    The complicated, ever-shifting dynamic between U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron will take center stage next week at the G7 summit in the French alpine resort of Evian-les-Bains, as years of growing tensions over key global policy issues threaten to overshadow the gathering of the world’s major advanced economies. What began with a legendary, knuckle-white first handshake nearly a decade ago has devolved into open disagreement, marking a stark reversal of the warm, much-hyped “bromance” that defined the pair’s early interactions.