News

Iran intensified its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours’ energy infrastructure Thursday, setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and a Kuwaiti oil refinery ablaze as it hit back following an Israeli attack on its main natural gas field, a major escalation in the Mideast war that has sent global fuel prices soaring. In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Israel would not attack the South Pars gas field again, but warned in a social media post late Wednesday that if Iran continued striking Qatar’s energy infrastructure, the U.S. would retaliate and “massively blow up the entirety” of the field. On Thursday, a ship burned off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another was damaged off of Qatar, underscoring the ever-present danger facing vessels due to Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian national team are continuing to prepare for the World Cup finals and have no intention of pulling out ‌of the tournament even if they will not travel to the United States, soccer chief Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday. Iran were one of the first nations to qualify for the finals but their participation has been in doubt since the conflict between the Islamic Republic and the United States began in late February. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19 and is being staged in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel lashed out after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could do “whatever he wants” with the Caribbean island and that Washington could take “imminent action” against it. Díaz-Canel said on X that the Trump administration “publicly threatens” Cuba’s government almost daily with overthrowing it, and any act of aggression “will clash with an impregnable resistance.” The comments came after new threats by Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Cuba’s socialist economic model needs to “change dramatically.” The same day, another Latin American country denounced Díaz-Canel’s government and said it would close its embassy.
Federal programs aimed at addressing climate change are facing significant cuts as the government shifts to artificial intelligence (AI) and slashes thousands of jobs, according to recently released departmental plans. In its latest budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government said it would partly rely on AI to eliminate 40,000 public service jobs, bringing the federal workforce’s growth in line with that of the general population. Canada’s two largest public service unions warn Canadians could see a decline in the quality of federal government services as a result.
Heavy social media use has contributed to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries — including Canada — and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday. The annual report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, also found that Finland is the happiest country in the world for the ninth year in a row, with other Nordic countries such as Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway ranking among the top 10 countries. But it highlighted how life evaluations among under 25-year-olds in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have dropped significantly over the past decade, and suggested that long hours spent scrolling through social media is a key factor in that trend.

Sports

RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Brandon Ingram had 18 and the Toronto Raptors pounded the Chicago Bulls 139-109 
Alex Ovechkin scored his 922nd goal and Cole Hutson scored his first to lead the Washington Capitals past the Ottawa Senators 4-1
Rookie Matvei Gridin’s shootout goal gave Calgary Flames a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues
Kerri Einarson picked up a pair of wins on Wednesday at the women’s world curling championship to improve to 7-1 and move into a tie for first with Switzerland.