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US and Iran exchange fresh wave of strikes
The US and Iran traded strikes overnight on Thursday, in the most serious threat to a two-month ceasefire that the adversaries are struggling to agree a deal to extend. US forces completed strikes on Iranian air defence sites, communications systems and military surveillance capabilities, US Central Command said. Iran said it had launched strikes targeting air bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. Kuwaiti authorities briefly closed the country’s airspace early on Thursday, pointing to “Iranian aggressions”, before reopening it. The latest US military salvo comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that Tehran would have to “pay the price” for taking too long to negotiate a deal. The US president is seeking to pile pressure on the Islamic republic to sign a deal that would extend the April 8 ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and establish a framework for negotiations on the country’s nuclear programme. Following the overnight US strikes, Iran’s military command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday that the strait would be closed to all vessels “effective immediately”, and that “any vessels crossing the strait will be targeted”. Financial Times, June 11

EU countries weigh ‘tearing apart’ bloc’s diplomatic service
France and Germany are discussing proposals for a radical overhaul of the EU’s 15-year-old diplomatic service in an attempt to improve the bloc’s response to geopolitical crises. Paris, Berlin and other capitals are weighing options that include stripping powers from the bloc’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas and her €1bn-a-year External Action Service (EEAS) and returning them to the European Commission and member states, according to five senior officials briefed on the discussions. “It is clear that [the EEAS] doesn’t work the way it should in today’s world. It is dysfunctional,” said one of the officials. “The problem is structural and so the structure needs to be rebuilt.” In recent years, the EU has been roiled by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the whims of US President Donald Trump and the rising use of tariffs, economic coercion and energy supplies as foreign policy tools, with many questioning whether the EEAS is up to the task of coordinating effective responses. The proposal, which would reverse the aims of a 16-year-old decision to create the EEAS as an autonomous service, is one of several options detailed in a French government assessment shared with other member states. Financial Times, June 11

Poland prepares to stand its ground with massive new civil defence programme
As it races to become Nato’s frontline fortress against Russia, Poland has launched large-scale civilian courses teaching survival skills during times of crisis. The programme is intended to help bridge the gap between the military and society while psychologically preparing civilians for war … The wGotowości, or Readiness, programme was created to prepare Polish society for any number of situations ranging from cyberwar to a full-scale invasion. The initiative is “the largest program of universal, voluntary defence training in Polish history”, the country’s Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said when the program was launched in November last year. The programme stands out among similar initiatives to train European civilians for war because of its massive scale. France 24, June 11

Make stolen phones unusable, Met Police urges tech giants
The Metropolitan Police is calling on tech firms to make stolen phones harder to reuse and prevent criminals from profiting. The force revealed on Thursday that it had started sharing data with Apple to build a "global picture" of what happens to stolen handsets, including whether they are being reconnected to a network. "If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them," Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said. Sir Mark has asked the home secretary for legislation to make phone companies publish data on stolen devices, and to enforce measures rendering handsets effectively unusable. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, currently, illicit software enables phone snatchers to "factory reset" devices, which means they can be sold as if they are a new device on foreign markets. But now, he said, Apple believes it has "cracked" the engineering problem and data is starting to show that "the vast majority of phones" stolen in recent weeks in the capital were not factory reset. BBC news, June 11

Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with children
Ryanair is being investigated by a watchdog for charging parents to sit with their children. The airline’s “mandatory family seat” policy requires at least one parent to sit with their children aged two to 11 when they fly. For other passengers, reserving a seat is optional. The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating whether Ryanair’s approach means parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules. The Ryanair website says that reserving a mandatory family seat costs between €4.50 and €13.50 euros, equivalent to £4 to £12, and CMA evidence shows it is most commonly £8 per flight. The CMA said Ryanair was the only major airline flying out of Britain to impose this charge, despite its website referring to “free reserved seats for kids under 12”. Ryanair said that the CMA investigation was “bogus” and “a failed effort by the [Sir Keir] Starmer government to pretend it cares about consumers”. The Times, June 11

Millions of homes in London, Essex and Kent at risk of sinking as climate crisis worsens
Millions of homes are at risk from climate-related subsidence, according to an analysis by the British Geological Survey. As hotter, drier summers driven by global heating become more frequent, the ground under houses can shrink and drag down a property’s foundations. The most vulnerable areas include London, Essex, Kent and a tranche of land from Oxford up to the Wash on England’s east coast, according to scientists, who say mitigation measures will be needed. Anna Harrison, a scientist at the BGS, said: “By combining geotechnical information about volume change potential with data about projected rainfall and temperature scenarios for the coming century, we have been able to identify the areas of Great Britain most likely to become susceptible to shrink-swell subsidence. Most are in the London area and that’s also where you’re going to see bigger changes in rainfall and temperature. It’s a double whammy.” The Guardian, June 11

US and Iran exchange strikes after downing of American helicopter
The US and Iran exchanged fire early on Wednesday following the downing of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, in the biggest flare-up between the warring parties since they agreed to a fragile ceasefire two months ago. The tit-for-tat strikes marked the latest test of the truce and came hours after President Donald Trump vowed to respond to Iran’s downing of the Apache helicopter, which had been patrolling the contested waterway. US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it had “completed self-defence strikes” against Iran, hitting “air defence, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites”. “The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” it said. Centcom said two crew members had been rescued from the downed Apache and were in a stable condition. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said its naval forces responded by carrying out a drone attack against the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and firing missiles at a US air base in Jordan. It said the US strikes had hit several locations in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm islands, damaging telecommunications and water infrastructure. Financial Times, June 10

US Congress approves $70 billion bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown
The US Congress on Tuesday passed a $70 billion bill funding President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown through the rest of his term, ending months of bitter partisan fighting over the future of deportations and border enforcement. The measure - approved roughly along party lines in the House after clearing the Senate last week - now heads to Trump's desk and gives the Republican leader a major victory on one of his signature issues ahead of November's midterm elections. The bill provides about $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for Border Patrol and another $5 billion for unforeseen costs, effectively ensuring a steady flow of money for Trump's deportation agenda through fiscal 2029. Democrats, who opposed the bill, accused Republicans of handing the administration a blank check for aggressive enforcement tactics without new limits or oversight. France 24, June 10

Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests
European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked. The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”, the authors said. It also showed that, while many Europeans felt relations with Washington would improve once Donald Trump leaves office, they were increasingly ready in the meantime to protect themselves against US unreliability by bolstering Europe’s defence. The US president’s Middle East aggression, threats against Greenland, vows to withdraw troops from European bases and scepticism on the future of Nato had also prompted a growing European pragmatism, the report said. The Guardian, June 10

Boots mulls £7.5bn sale and could ditch planned IPO
The private equity owners of Boots are in talks over a £7.5 billion sale of the pharmacy chain, which would mean ditching plans for a £7 billion float in London. Sycamore Partners, which acquired Boots’s parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7 billion last year, recently entered discussions with the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family and separately with Sigma Healthcare, the Australian pharmacy group. It is understood a London listing is still the preferred option for Sycamore, but sources said that if a suitable price were put forward and a deal could be done “now instead of in a year’s time, then why would you not explore the option”. Talks with potential buyers including the Weston family, who own the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws and previously ran Selfridges in the UK, began before Easter, according to the Financial Times. They have since progressed and the Westons are vying with Sigma, which is listed in Australia and has a market capitalisation of about £18 billion, for control of Boots. The Times, June 9

Thames Water to pay £749mn under creditor takeover deal
Thames Water will be on the hook to pay £749mn, including advisory fees to bankers and lawyers, if a controversial deal that would hand senior creditors control of the utility is approved. The emergency deal, which has drawn fresh scrutiny from politicians in recent weeks, would cost the UK’s largest water company £160mn in fees to senior creditors, as well as £254mn in “other costs” dominated by advisory fees to lawyers and bankers, according to a summary of terms submitted to the sector regulator by creditors. Thames Water would also pay an estimated £285mn in accrued interest owed to creditors on the day a deal was completed, according to the terms seen by the FT, on top of almost £50mn in fees owed to other creditors. Lenders, including hedge fund Elliott Management and private capital group Apollo Global Management, are locked in negotiations with the water regulator, Ofwat, as they attempt to take ownership of the UK’s largest provider, preventing it from falling into a form of temporary nationalisation. Time is running out to reach an agreement with Thames Water set to run out of money in October. Ofwat must submit any deal to a three-month public consultation, and the deal will also have to be signed off by the High Court. Creditors first went to Ofwat for approval in June 2025. Financial Times, June 10

World's largest chipmaker does not rule out price rises as costs increase
The world's largest chipmaker has told the BBC that inflation is pushing up the cost of doing business, and did not rule out price rises. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company makes the most advanced chips designed by companies such as Nvidia, AMD and Apple, so any increase in pricing could ripple through to the cost of AI infrastructure, and potentially over time, the prices customers pay for their electronic devices. However, the firm's chief financial officer, Wendell Huang, said it would not introduce sudden "fourfold, fivefold" price rises. "We reflect our value," he said, pointing to its "technology leadership" and "manufacturing excellence". In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, Huang also denied that the AI boom was a bubble and that the firm's global expansion was due to geopolitical pressure. The global chip industry and TSMC sit at the centre of escalating US-China trade tensions, with Washington pressing leading chipmakers to expand production in the US to secure critical supply chains. Taiwan, the US ally and self-governed island that Beijing claims, produces the majority of the world's most advanced chips, the tiny processors that sit inside smartphones, laptops and AI data centres. BBC news, June 10