While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 2
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Cabinet meeting.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
Israel far-right ministers threaten to quit over Biden plan
Two far-right Israeli ministers threatened on June 1 to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau’s government if he goes ahead with a hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.
Mr Biden said on May 31 that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire including the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But Mr Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said they would quit his government if the deal went ahead.
Mr Ben Gvir said his party would “dissolve the government” if the deal went through and slammed the proposal as “a victory for terrorism and a security risk to the State of Israel”.
Exit polls predict PM Modi securing a third term
REUTERS
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to retain power for a third consecutive term, according to a clutch of exit polls released just hours after voting in India’s mammoth election drew to a close after 44 days.
Seven exit polls predict that the alliance led by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win anywhere between 342 and 401 seats in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, while the opposition “India” alliance will get between 109 and 201 seats. The halfway mark is 272 out of 543 elected seats.
The official results of the election – which ended amid sporadic violence in West Bengal – will be out on June 4, when votes would have been counted.
WHO extends anti-pandemic treaty talks
EPA-EFE
The World Health Organisation annual assembly on June 1 gave member countries another year to agree on a landmark accord to combat future pandemics.
Three years of efforts to reach a deal ended in failure in May. But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed what he called “historic” decisions taken to make a new bid for an accord.
The WHO agreed in 2021 as the Covid-19 pandemic eased to launch talks on an accord to counter any new global health crisis. Millions died from Covid-19 which brought health systems in many countries to their knees.
Real Madrid defy Dortmund to win 15th Champions League
REUTERS
Real Madrid withstood a Borussia Dortmund barrage to win the Champions League for the 15th time as Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior struck late in a 2-0 win at Wembley on June 1.
Right-back Carvajal headed in from Toni Kroos’ corner on 74 minutes, before Vinicius fired into the far corner to extend the Spanish giants’ record as the most successful club in Champions League history.
Madrid have now won their last nine European Cup finals and won the competition six times in the last 11 seasons.
Alex De Minaur tries to track down young superfan
After a week in which the French Open crowd grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons, Australian Alex De Minaur launched a social media hunt for a young superfan on June 1.
Following his 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff, 11th seed De Minaur hugged the boy and gave him a towel, before posting on Instagram that he would need him again when he faces Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.
“That young lad was there from the very first point till the last, with five hours of rain delay. He was this little kid that every single change of ends, every single point I won, he was screaming at my face,” De Minaur told reporters. “I’m looking at him and thinking... if I was a fan, I would probably be back home, because it was bloody cold out there. I don’t understand what this kid is doing, but he gave me life.”
