Quad ministers condemn April attack in Indian Kashmir without naming Pakistan
The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of an Islamist militant attack that killed 26 in India-administered Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay, Reuters reported.
The April 22 attack sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry as India blamed it on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.
The U.S. State Department issued, opens new tab a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad.
"The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism," the ministers said in the statement, according to Reuters.
Trump escalates feud with Musk, threatens Tesla, SpaceX support
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk's companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words between the president and the world's richest man, one-time allies who have since fallen out, Reuters reported.
The feud reignited on Monday when Musk, who spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election, renewed his criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which would eliminate subsidies for electric vehicle purchases that have benefited Tesla, the leading U.S. EV maker. That bill passed the Senate by a narrow margin midday Tuesday.
"He's upset that he's losing his EV mandate and … he's very upset about things but he can lose a lot more than that," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
Though Musk has often said government subsidies should be eliminated, Tesla has historically benefited from billions of dollars in tax credits and other policy benefits because of its business in clean transportation and renewable energy. The Trump administration has control over many of those programs, some of which are targeted in the tax bill, including a $7,500 consumer tax credit that has made buying or leasing EVs more attractive for consumers, according to Reuters.
Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz, US sources say
The Iranian military loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf last month, a move that intensified concerns in Washington that Tehran was gearing up to blockade the Strait of Hormuz following Israel's strikes on sites across Iran, according to two U.S. officials, Reuters reported.
The previously unreported preparations, which were detected by U.S. intelligence, occurred some time after Israel launched its initial missile attack against Iran on June 13, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.
The loading of the mines - which have not been deployed in the strait - suggests that Tehran may have been serious about closing one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, a move that would have escalated an already-spiraling conflict and severely hobbled global commerce.
About one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz and a blockage would likely have spiked world energy prices, according to Reuters.
Indian lawmakers to review aviation safety weeks after Air India crash
A panel of Indian lawmakers will review safety in the country's civil aviation sector and has invited several industry and government officials to answer questions on July 9, with topics set to include Air India's recent plane crash, Reuters reported.
The upper house of India's parliament has asked airport operators, air traffic controllers and airlines including Air India and IndiGo to take part in a comprehensive review of passenger safety, according to a memo drafted for the meeting and seen by Reuters.
The gathering comes after the June 12 Air Indiadisaster that killed 260 people, including 241 on board, when a Boeing 787-8 jet crashed within a minute of take-off from India's Ahmedabad. Investigators are still probing what caused the world's worst aviation accident in a decade.
Though the memo did not mention the crash, R K Chaudhary, a lawmaker on the panel, told Reuters that it planned to discuss the matter internally and during the meeting, according to Reuters.
US Senate passes Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, setting up House battle
U.S. Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump's massive tax-cut and spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt, Reuters reported.
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval, though a handful of Republicans there have already voiced opposition to some of the Senate provisions.
Trump wants to sign it into law by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said he aimed to meet that deadline.
The measure would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts, give new tax breaks for income from tips and overtime pay and increase spending on the military and immigration enforcement. It also would cut about $930 billion of spending on the Medicaid health program and food aid for low-income Americans and repeal many of Democratic former President Joe Biden's green-energy incentives, according to Reuters.
Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles
Qantas is contacting customers after a cyber attack targeted their third-party customer service platform, BBC reported.
On 30 June, the Australian airline detected "unusual activity" on a platform used by its contact centre to store the data of six million people, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers.
Upon detection of the breach, Qantas took "immediate steps and contained the system", according to a statement.
The company is still investigating the full extent of the breach, but says it is expecting the proportion of data stolen to be "significant", according to BBC.
Spain and England record hottest June as heatwave grips Europe
Spain and England have recorded their hottest June ever, as scorching temperatures continue to grip Europe, BBC reported.
Spain's weather service Aemet said the "extremely hot" June - with an average temperature of 23.6C (74.5F) - "has pulverised records", surpassing the normal average for July and August.
In England, the Met Office said June's mean temperature of 16.9C set a new record for that month, while the UK as a whole saw its second warmest June since records began in 1884.
Mainland Portugal experienced a record daily temperature for June of 46.6C. The monthly average data is yet to be released, according to BBC.
US halts some weapons shipments to Ukraine, White House says
The US has halted some weapons shipments to Kyiv, the White House has said, as Russia's war against Ukraine has intensified, BBC reported.
The decision was taken "to put America's interests first" and followed a Department of Defense review of US "military support and assistance to other countries", White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on Tuesday.
The US has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, leading some in the Trump administration to voice concerns that US stockpiles are too low.
The Ukrainian government has not commented on the announcement. US officials did not immediately say which shipments were being halted, according to BBC.