Iran crisis and its impact on oil, shipping, inflation and the global economy
People watch from a bridge as flames from an Israeli attack rise from Sharan Oil depot, following Israeli strikes on Iran on June 15. PHOTO: REUTERS
When Israel launched a coordinated strike on Iran's military leadership and nuclear facilities on June 13, many analysts and investors were quick to downplay the global economic repercussions. The consensus: The shock would be sharp, but short, and ultimately, transient.
In just a few days, the view has now swung to the other side.
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Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
1 ticket wins $12.3 million Toto jackpot draw
A queue at the Singapore Pools branch in Lucky Plaza on June 19. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY SINGAPORE - A single ticket has won the $12.3 million Toto jackpot on June 19 after the past three draws saw no winners. The winning numbers were 1, 10, 37, 40, 45, 47 . The additional number was 19 . The winning ticket was bought at the NTUC FairPrice at Yew Tee Point under the QuickPick System 7 Entry. It is not known if the ticket belonged to an individual or was shared among several people. Meanwhile, 13 tickets won the Category 2 prize, which had a share amount of $108,637 . Earlier, the Singapore Pools' website showed that the prize money for the Group 1 category had snowballed from almost $1.3 million on June 9 to $2.9 million on June 12. The last draw on June 16, which had a prize money of $5.6 million, had again yielded no winner. The Group 1 prize amount will snowball only up to the fourth draw. Thereafter, the amount will be shared among the winners in Group 2. The last Toto draw that had a prize sum of over $10 million was on April 28, with two winning tickets sharing $12.9 million. In 2024, a single ticket won $13.1 million. The record was set on May 9 that year. The latest draw results are available on the Singapore Pools website. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Iran's divided opposition senses its moment but activists remain wary of protests
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message following the Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. A man holds an image of Reza Pahlavi, as people protest against the Iranian regime, following the death of Mahsa Amini, outside Iran's consulate, in London, Britain, October 9, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo DUBAI -Iran's fragmented opposition groups think their moment may be close at hand, but activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. Exiled opponents of the Islamic Republic, themselves deeply divided, are urging street protests. In the borderlands, Kurdish and Baluchi separatist groups look poised to rise up, with Israeli strikes pummelling Iran's security apparatus. While the Islamic Republic looks weaker than at nearly any point since soon after the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. Whether such an uprising is likely - or imminent - is a matter of debate. The late shah's son, U.S.-based Raze Pahlavi, said in media interviews this week he wants to lead a political transition, proclaiming it the best chance to topple the Islamic Republic in four decades and saying "this is our moment in history". Triggering regime change is certainly one war goal for Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Iranians to say "we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom". Within a ruling system long adept at quashing public displays of dissent, there are signs it is readying for protests. Mohammad Amin, a member of the Basij militia that is often deployed against protesters, said his unit in Qom had been put on alert to root out Israeli spies and protect the Islamic Republic. However, while the strikes have targeted a security hierarchy that crushed previous bouts of protest, they have also caused great fear and disruption for ordinary people - and anger at both Iranian authorities and Israel, the activists said. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran. MASS PROTESTS Daemi's concerns were also voiced by Iran's most prominent activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, in a social media post. Responding to an Israeli demand for people to evacuate parts of Tehran, she posted: "Do not destroy my city." Two other activists Reuters spoke to in Iran, who were among the hundreds of thousands involved in mass protests two years ago after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, said they also had no plans to demonstrate yet. "After the strikes end we will raise our voices because this regime is responsible for the war," said one, a university student in Shiraz, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Another, who had lost her university place and been jailed for five months after the 2022 protests and who also requested anonymity, said she believed in regime change in Iran but that it was not time to take to the streets. She and her friends were not planning to stage or join rallies, she said, and dismissed calls from abroad for protests. "Israel and those so-called opposition leaders abroad only think about their own benefits," she said. Apart from Pahlavi's monarchists, the main opposition faction outside Iran is the People's Mujahideen Organisation, also known as the MEK or MKO. A revolutionary faction in the 1970s, it lost a power struggle after the shah was toppled. Many Iranians have not forgiven it for then siding with Iraq during the stalemated war of 1980-88 and rights groups have accused it of abuses at its camps and of cult-like behaviour, both of which it denies. The Mujahideen are the main force behind the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which like Pahlavi has cultivated close ties with some Western politicians. At a Paris forum this week, the council's leader Maryam Rajavi reiterated her opposition to any return of the monarchy, saying "neither the shah nor the mullahs". How far opposition groups outside Iran enjoy any support inside the country is uncertain. While there is fond nostalgia among some Iranians for the period before the revolution, it is an era that most are too young to remember. Within Iran, the successive rounds of national protests have also focused around differing issues. In 2009, demonstrators flooded the streets over what they saw as a stolen presidential election. In 2017, protests focused on falling living standards. And in 2022 women's rights were the trigger. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the election candidate protesters said had been cheated in 2009, has been under house arrest for years and is now 83. His policy was to reform the Islamic Republic rather than replace it - the goal of many protesters in later movements. For opponents of the Islamic Republic inside Iran, those unanswered questions of whether or when to stage protests, what agenda to pursue, or which leader to follow are only likely to grow more pressing as Israel's airstrikes continue. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Auckland City's Club World Cup participation is a privilege with a price
MIAMI - Adam Mitchell knows he is going to lose money this month. The Auckland City defender left his job selling houses in New Zealand to take part in the Club World Cup, where the eventual champions will pocket a staggering $125 million — while his semi-professional team plays on for pride and an appearance fee still under negotiation. "My business runs on a commission basis only," Mitchell told Reuters on Thursday after his side's humbling 10-0 defeat to European giants Bayern Munich at the expanded Club World Cup. "If I'm not back working, there's no income coming in. But a tournament like this, you have to be willing to make sacrifices and that's what a lot of us have done." The Club World Cup's new, lucrative format has attracted criticism for its schedule congestion at the end of a long European season. Mitchell and his teammates, many of whom work as teachers, delivery drivers, and tradesmen, are effectively paying out of their own pockets for the privilege of competing on this stage. It is not just Mitchell's earnings that are taking a hit. New Zealand's labour laws typically grant around four to five weeks of annual leave per year — most of which, for Auckland's players, was already used up during last year's Oceania qualifying tournament. "The players that went to the qualification for this tournament, well, we played in the Solomon Islands. That was three weeks," Mitchell explained. "Some people have run out of annual leave. People are kind of in negative days and taking unpaid leave. So, it's nice for people to know the sacrifices we make to be here." While the tournament offers prize money tiers based on performance, Auckland City, representing one of football's smallest confederations, will receive the lowest payout - a fraction of the $3.58 million meant for Oceania. Even that amount, Mitchell noted, is still subject to ongoing negotiations between the club and New Zealand Football. NO MERCY On the pitch, the gulf between part-time semi-professionals and global superstars was on brutal display. Bayern Munich, ranked among the world's elite, named a starting 11 packed with internationals, showing no mercy en route to a double-digit victory. 'Conceding 10 goals isn't a nice feeling,' Mitchell admitted. "But I think we have to realise the calibre of team and calibre of players we were up against. "The fact that they did put their strongest team out and they didn't take the pedal off the metal at all. They just kept going and going and going, which, it's not great for us, but in a way that's a sign of respect." The heavy defeat has not dampened spirits within the Auckland camp. With two more games to play in their group against Benfica and Boca Juniors, Mitchell said he and his teammates are determined to leave their mark. "If you watched the (Bayern) game, you could see we never give up regardless of the scoreline," he said. Back home, Mitchell juggles the demands of a commission-based real estate job with evening training sessions and coaching duties at the club. His typical day starts early, squeezing in gym sessions before work, and ends late at night after training. "It's not ideal for my wife," he joked. "I don't get to see her that often, but she really respects the fact that this is a sacrifice that we have to make and she also has to make. "(For her) just seeing myself and the whole team on the stage and obviously against the best players in the world, I think it's a really proud moment." Mitchell admits that while the financial hit stings, the exposure could pay off in other ways. "Maybe if someone was watching on TV and they realised I was in the industry, maybe they just want to have a chat and that's the way you can build some rapport," he said. To the critics who have questioned the inclusion of Auckland City in a competition of this scale, Mitchell remains unapologetic. "We don't bother too much about critics. We've earned the right to be here. People have to realise we are semi-professionals, but we do treat training and we treat our club like a professional club, with the resources we have," said Mitchell, whose side face Benfica on Friday. "We earned the right to be here and we're proud to be here, and we're going to give it all on the pitch." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
