Mines

US targets Iran’s Larak Island in first exchange of fire in more than a month, sparking reprisals against US forces in Jordan and UAEUS strikes Iranian launchers in strait of Hormuz, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacksWelcome to our live coverage as hostilities between the US and Iran flared again for the first time in a month, with American strikes on Iran prompting retaliation from Tehran.A supertanker caught ⁠fire and was brought to a complete ⁠halt after ⁠hitting two naval mines in ⁠the southern strait of Hormuz, Iran state ⁠TV reported on Monday, ​citing ‌a statement ‌from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Iran’s supreme leader called the US and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations. In a written message issued six months on from the start of the war, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also urged rulers of Muslim nations to “know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it”, the official Irna news agency reported.Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says it urgently evacuated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the US due to a threat against him. In a brief statement the Associated Press obtained on Sunday, the Shin Bet confirmed there had been a “significant threat” to Yair Netanyahu, without elaborating.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts this week, a US official has said.Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is due to take part in a summit starting on Monday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counter-influence to the west. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and China’s Xi Jinping, among other leaders, a Kremlin spokesperson said. Continue reading...

• Declassified documents and new evidence challenge official claims that the 2020 U.S. election was the "most secure" in history. • Intelligence reveals that government agencies were aware of significant security vulnerabilities, foreign data breaches, and risks of potential manipulation. • Specifically, U.S. intelligence determined by 2023 that China had obtained sensitive voter files for 220 million individuals, including names, addresses, and political party preferences.

• Senior advocate Kapil Sibal has challenged the merger exception within the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which currently allows legislators to switch parties without disqualification if a specific threshold of members merges. • The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the current interpretation of the anti-defection law allows for "engineered political realignments" that undermine legislative stability. • A ruling in favor of the challenge would significantly strengthen anti-defection laws by reducing the legal loopholes used by politicians to avoid disqualification during party shifts.

• The U.S. Supreme Court has issued new rulings that restrict legal safeguards for immigrants, signaling a major shift in the interpretation of immigration law. • These decisions undermine existing protections, potentially limiting the ability of non-citizens to challenge deportation orders or seek asylum. • This shift matters as it reduces judicial oversight and weakens the due process rights previously afforded to immigrant populations in the U.S. legal system.

• In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the 90-year-old precedent established in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). • The previous ruling had allowed Congress to pass laws that limited a president's authority to fire executive officials within independent agencies. • This decision is significant because it removes legal protections that previously insulated "deep state" actors from presidential termination.

Exclusive: European Commission planning to rewrite key law to allow water-intensive mines in regions suffering from droughtThe European Commission plans to rewrite the EU’s flagship water protection law to speed up the development of critical minerals mines, despite many being located in drying and water-stressed regions, analysis has found.Mining is a water-intensive industry, requiring large volumes of water for ore processing, dust suppression, waste management and mine dewatering. While modern projects recycle water, they still require significant amounts, and in water-stressed regions those demands can add to pressure on already stretched rivers, aquifers and water supplies. Continue reading...

Tanker owner trade body says centre of strait will remain closed for ‘some time’, with vessels risking running aground by taking Omani routeThe centre of the strait of Hormuz is blocked with about 80 mines that will need clearing for normal shipping to resume, the independent tanker owner trade body has said.Several vessels began to exit the Gulf through the key maritime chokepoint on Thursday, after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. Continue reading...