Israel and Iran launch strikes at each other as conflict escalates
Civilians were killed or wounded in Israel and Iran as the two countries launched fresh attacks against each other on Sunday (Jun 15). Both militaries have urged civilians on opposing sides to take precautions against further strikes.
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Straits Times
20 minutes ago
- Straits Times
India expects EU trade deal by year end as Cyprus pledges support
Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi talk during a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides hold a joint press conference after their meeting at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, June 16, 2025. Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERS Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides meets with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, June 16, 2025. Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERS India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides after their meeting at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, June 16, 2025. Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERS India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to the press after his meeting with Cyprus' president at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, June 16, 2025. Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERS NICOSIA - India expects to finalise a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, while Cyprus, which assumes the EU presidency in 2026, said better ties would be its priority. Modi, on an official visit to the east Mediterranean island, said there were unlimited possibilities in expanding economic ties with Cyprus in a visit aimed at pushing forward India's global trade agenda. "We are working on finalising a mutually beneficial India-EU trade agreement by the end of this year," Modi said in joint remarks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. India is pursuing a trade link by sea and rail known as the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, but the visit is being held in the shadow of an escalating crisis in the Middle East."We agree the India - Middle East Europe Corridor will pave the way for peace and prosperity in the region," Modi said. Cyprus, which has close relations with India through its shared membership of the Commonwealth, is offering facilities to be a first point of entry to Europe and a transhipment hub, Christodoulides said. "A strengthening of EU-India relations will be among the priorities of the Cypriot EU presidency," Christodoulides said. Cyprus assumes the rotating six-month presidency of the bloc in early 2026. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Seeking unity, G7 meets amid escalating Ukraine, Middle East conflicts
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz before the G7 Leaders' Summit, in the Rocky Mountains resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool A backdrop sign for the G7 Leaders Summit in the Rocky Mountains resort of Kananaskis is seen outside the media center in Banff, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren KANANASKIS, Alberta - Leaders from the Group of Seven nations begin annual talks on Monday amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that add to global economic uncertainty, as host Canada tries to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump. The G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., along with the European Union, are convening in the resort of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. But beyond the serene and picturesque mountain setting, they confront challenges. The first five months of Trump's second term upended foreign policy on Ukraine, raised anxiety over his closer ties to Russia and resulted in tariffs on U.S. allies. With an escalating Israel-Iran conflict, which is spiking global oil prices, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try and restore a semblance of unity between democratic powerhouses. "The most important goal will be for the world's seven largest industrial nations to reach agreement and take action," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said before attending his first G7. That will not be easy. After years of consensus, the traditional allies have scrambled to keep Trump engaged and maintain unity. Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt an all-encompassing comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of a 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the U.S. delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving. Instead, Ottawa has sought to get consensus for a chair's statement that summarizes the key discussions and six other pre-negotiated declarations on issues such as migration, artificial intelligence and forest fires. Talks on Monday will centre around the economy, advancing trade deals, and China. Efforts to reach an agreement to lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if Trump decided to opt out have been complicated by the surge in oil prices since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 12, two diplomatic sources said. The escalation between the two regional foes is on the agenda, with diplomatic sources saying they hope to achieve at least a joint statement to urge restraint and a return to diplomacy. "We are united. Nobody wants to see Iran get a nuclear weapon and everyone wants discussions and negotiations to restart," France's President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Greenland on Sunday before travelling to Canada. He added that given Israel's dependence on U.S. weapons and munitions, Washington had the capacity to restart negotiations. Trump said on Sunday many calls and meetings were taking place to broker peace. RUSSIAN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Highlighting the unease among some of Washington's allies, Trump spoke on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested the Russian leader could play a mediation role. Macron dismissed the idea, arguing that Moscow could not be a negotiator because it had started an illegal war against Ukraine. A European diplomat said Trump's suggestion showed that Russia, despite being kicked out of the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea, was very much on U.S. minds. "In the eyes of the U.S., there's no condemnation for Ukraine; no peace without Russia; and now even credit for its mediation role with Iran. For Europeans, this will be a really tough G7," the diplomat said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will attend the summit on Tuesday. European officials said they hoped to use the meeting, and next week's NATO summit, to convince Trump to toughen his stance on Putin. "The G7 should have the objective for us to converge again, for Ukraine to get a ceasefire to lead to a robust and lasting peace, and in my view it's a question of seeing whether President Trump is ready to put forward much tougher sanctions on Russia," Macron said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Ship signal jamming in Persian Gulf worsens as clashes widen
[SINGAPORE] Navigation signals from more than 900 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf went awry over the weekend, creating confusion in the shipping chokepoint as the fighting between Iran and Israel intensified. Starboard Maritime Intelligence and Bloomberg data showed vessels sailing impossibly straight lines in the region, zig-zagging across the water, or appearing onshore. The glitches – which have affected oil tankers, cargo ships, tugs and fishing boats among others since Jun 13 – increase reliance on radars, compasses and eyesight, boosting the likelihood of collisions. The Joint Maritime Information Center, an international naval task force monitoring the area, warned on Jun 15 that there are instances of 'extreme jamming' of signals from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. However, the JMIC said there were no indications of a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles more than a quarter of the world's oil trade. The UK Maritime Trade Operations echoed the concerns on Monday (Jun 16), adding that the interference was intensifying across the Gulf and affecting how ships are reporting their positions on automated systems. 'This is not a good place and not a good time to have navigation systems that can't show exactly where you are,' said Mark Douglas, a maritime domain analyst at Starboard. 'While a closing of the Strait seems unlikely, this kind of widespread jamming does cause uncertainty for anyone operating in the area.' On Sunday, the Front Tyne, a very-large crude carrier that's operated by Frontline, entered the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly afterwards, its signal showed it sailing north towards Bandar Abbas, zig-zagging south into the gulf, hovering onshore, and finally heading towards Saudi Arabia. The Elandra Willow, a medium-range tanker owned by Vitol Group, also displayed erratic movements – nearing Bandar Abbas on her way out of the Gulf. The Pegasus, a Suezmax operated by Pantheon Tankers Management, has been displaying locations on the Iranian mainland since Monday morning. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Frontline, Vitol and Pantheon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Strait of Hormuz is the gateway to the Persian Gulf, where major oil-producing nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Iran load up tankers with crude and send them out via Hormuz to their end buyers. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran last week, concerns that the Islamic Republic would block the chokepoint intensified. Several tanker owners have suspended sending their ships into the Persian Gulf, according to shipbrokers. Forward freight agreements for a Middle East-to-Asia benchmark journey in July, essentially bets on the future cost of moving oil on that route, gained about 12 per cent on Friday. Analysts have expressed reservations on whether Iran would shut down Hormuz, given its reliance on income from oil shipments, especially to China. Blocking exports from other producers could also provoke a reaction from the US and its allies. Disruptions are therefore a likelier option, said Anoop Singh, global head of shipping research at Oil Brokerage Hormuz is 'Iran's ultimate bargaining chip. And such chips remain in the bag unless a worst-case scenario presents itself,' he said in a note on Sunday. BLOOMBERG
