Ed Markey Wins Massachusetts Democratic Senate Primary, Defeating Younger Challenger
The oldest senator in Massachusetts history used a progressive message to beat Representative Seth Moulton, 47, defying calls for generational change.
Six Takeaways From the Massachusetts Primaries
Senator Ed Markey, 80, trounced a younger challenger who had made an argument for generational change. Two other longtime Democratic lawmakers hung on, too.
Israeli Raid in Gaza Kills 4, Palestinian Officials Say
Israel said it seized the head of Hamas’s internal security force in the deadly operation. Fighting has continued in the enclave despite a U.S.-backed truce.
Future of Makran
I wish to draw attention to the serious impact that rising tensions between the United States and Iran could have on the Makran region. Makran has long been peaceful, but any conflict between these two countries could disrupt the economy, daily life and the region’s future.
The region depends largely on fishing and border trade with Iran. If tensions escalate, the supply of Iranian fuel could stop, making transport far more expensive. Fishermen from Gwadar, Pasni and Jiwani may also be prevented from going to sea. Many people in Makran depend on cross-border trade with Iran, while communities across Balochistan rely on Iranian goods for their daily needs.
Makran also receives electricity from Iran, so any interruption would cause severe hardship. In the event of conflict, petrol and food prices could rise sharply, while schools on the Makran side could face closures for security reasons.
The people of Makran want peace and trade, not war. I appeal to the governments of the United States and Iran to choose diplomacy over confrontation. Our region should remain a bridge for commerce, not become a battlefield.
SHAYHAQ M. SHARAF,
Turbat.
Gap Year Myth
As a concerned student, I would like to highlight how society judges students who take a gap year. Such students are often considered failures, unsuccessful or careless. People ask whether they have failed, abandoned their studies or given up on their future. They may also assume that they are not serious about life or are simply wasting their time.
This attitude needs to change. Taking a gap year does not mean quitting education or losing focus on one’s goals. Students take gaps for many reasons: improving grades, learning new skills, managing financial difficulties, preparing for entry tests or dealing with personal challenges. Some also need time to explore their interests before deciding on a career path.
Unfortunately, society often views this negatively. Families, teachers, career counsellors and educational institutions should instead recognise gap years as a legitimate choice and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on students.
Every student deserves understanding and support. Rather than labelling them as failures, we should encourage them to use their time productively and move forward with confidence. I hope your newspaper will help create greater awareness and promote a more understanding attitude towards students taking gap years.
ALEENA SAFDAR,
Lahore.
Bond Sell-Off Threatens to Squeeze Borrowers Around the World
Government bond yields are hitting multi-decade highs, reflecting anxiety about debt levels, deficits and inflation. The effects will extend to mortgages, business loans and other types of credit.
Some Allies Are Pushing Back on Trump’s Economic Approach
At a summit meant to showcase President Trump’s economic policies as a model for the world, Europeans complained about tariffs and the war with Iran.
South Africa names Mosimane new coach before qualifiers
JOHANNESBURG – Pitso Mosimane has been appointed as the South African national team’s head coach for the third time following the departure of the Belgian Hugo Broos, the country’s soccer federation (SAFA) announced on Tuesday.
SAFA announced more than three weeks ago that Mosimane was their preferred candidate to take over from the retiring Broos, before unveiling him on Tuesday.
Mosimane, 62, had a seven-game spell as an interim coach ahead of the arrival of the Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira in 2007, and then took over immediately after the 2010 World Cup but was sacked after they failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
He has since gone on to success as a club coach, winning three African Champions League titles and numerous domestic titles with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Mosimane, a former national team midfielder, will have to hit the ground running with South Africa kicking off their 2027 Cup of Nations qualification campaign with a home fixture against Guinea later this month.
They will follow that up with a trip to neutral Egypt to face Eritrea and also have co-hosts Kenya in their qualification pool.
US launches new barrage of strikes on Iran around Strait of Hormuz
WASHINGTON: The US launched new air strikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday, quashing hopes that an exchange of fire last weekend might not lead to a wider renewal of hostilities.
Oil prices had already risen after that first exchange of direct attacks since July and after reports of two tankers being hit on Monday leaving the Strait, the global oil supply waterway that Iran has effectively closed to shipping. Brent crude futures, already up 2% on the day, jumped almost 2% more on the reports.
Tehran remained defiant, warning that it would prevent oil being exported from the Gulf, despite a threat by US President Donald Trump to hit Iran “hard” in response to the renewed Iranian strikes, and a warning from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Washington was about to impose new sanctions.
“Today at 12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT), US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran,” US Central Command posted on X. “The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.”
Iran’s state broadcaster said there had been reports of explosions on Iran’s Qeshm Island, on the northern side of the strait.
The state-linked news agency Nour News said there had been reports of explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas and in Chabahar, a port on the southern coast. The state news agency IRNA also reported the sound of explosions in Jask and Sirik.
US President Donald Trump posted on his social media channel that if Iran retaliated for the attack, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level”.
The Fars news agency cited an IRGC spokesperson as saying the US “will regret its new attacks”.
Scale of resumption of Iran hostilities unclear
The US Embassy in Qatar urged Americans currently in the Middle East to exercise “heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions”.
The six-month-old conflict had shifted into an economic standoff before the weekend strikes, in which US forces attacked Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday and Iran responded by launching missiles at two US air bases in Jordan.
Although he warned of a US response to the Iranian strikes, Trump also told reporters on Monday that they did not signal a return to full-scale war, and a senior Iranian source told Reuters they were a “limited and contained confrontation”.
Also read: Two tankers carrying Saudi oil attacked in Strait of Hormuz
But pledges by both sides to respond to further attacks have highlighted how quickly a conflict that has increasingly been fought through sanctions, blockades and economic pressure could spill back into military action.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said early on Tuesday at a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan that Tehran would reciprocate immediately if Washington honoured its commitments under a June Memorandum of Understanding that was intended to halt the conflict.
The MOU declared an end to fighting that has now killed thousands in Iran and Lebanon since US and Israeli strikes began on February 28. But it also deferred many of the most difficult issues and paved the way for a broader 60-day negotiation period — which passed without further agreement.
Iranian officials have shown no public sign since then of bowing to pressure.
“If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference in Tehran that Washington was “addicted to making excessive demands and has mistaken negotiations for dictating terms”.
New US economic sanctions loom
“As long as they act in this manner, they will certainly get no result other than what they have achieved so far,” he added, warning that Tehran would “use all our capabilities, whether on the battlefield or through our diplomatic apparatus”.
Before the latest attacks, Bessent had said Washington was likely to announce bank sanctions against Iran this week and next, stepping up an attempt to “economically asphyxiate” Iran’s leadership after six months of conflict.
At a G20 finance leaders’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, he said the US was also looking at targeting airline leasing companies and other entities that did business with the IRGC.
Also read: War weighs on Iran’s economy as US intensifies sanctions
“We have zero tolerance. We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime,” he said.
Iran’s leaders have defied decades of US sanctions, many of which have been aimed at curtailing Tehran’s oil revenues and acquisition of weapons components.
Bessent has also warned that countries doing business with Iran could face US sanctions.
The heightened tensions have renewed fears of oil supply disruptions from the world’s key crude-producing region.
“The tit-for-tat missile exchanges between the US and Iran bring validation to those who believe that even if not a ‘forever war’, this conflict will run and run,” said PVM analyst John Evans.
Highlighting such concerns, two supertankers carrying Saudi oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday, according to data from shipping intelligence and tracking firms Marisks and Kpler.
Tractors Clog Copenhagen as Farmers Protest Fertilizer Restrictions
To protect its waters from overexposure to nitrates, Denmark is proposing a crackdown on fertilizer use. Farmers aren’t happy.
