US fires Hellfire missile at tanker heading towards Iran The US military fired a Hellfire missile at a tanker heading towards Iran on June 2 as part of a blockade being imposed by President Donald Trump, who is pressing Tehran to negotiate a peace agreement on his terms. The US military’s Central Command posted a video showing the missile strike the tanker and said it targeted the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie’s engine room, disabling it. “The ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions
from US forces multiple times over a 24-hour period,” Central Command said in a statement. “A US aircraft ultimately disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room, preventing the tanker from reaching Iran.” Indonesia’s Prabowo sacks head of free meal scheme Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on June 2 removed the head of the body responsible for his signature free school meals programme, which has been blighted by mass food poisonings and corruption claims. The much-hyped billion-dollar scheme was the flagship
policy of Prabowo’s 2024 election campaign. The government says it has provided meals to more than 61 million people by March, but tens of thousands of people have fallen ill since the programme was launched in January 2025. Airbus tests passenger plane that can fly for 22 hours Airbus said on June 2 its A350-1000ULR widebody aircraft capable of flying up to 22 hours non-stop has successfully completed a first test flight. “The aircraft, fitted with special flight test instrumentation, flew for three hours 43
minutes reaching an altitude of slightly above 41,000 feet (12,500m),” the European aircraft manufacturer said in a statement. The aircraft, marketed with the ULR designation that stands for ultra long-range, is one of 12 ordered by Australian airline Qantas to allow it to carry out non-stop flights between Sydney and London. Mathematicians say ‘don’t believe hype’ on AI Dozens of mathematicians signed a declaration June 2 calling for the discipline to resist beating the drum for artificial intelligence developers. The “Leiden Declaration”, backed by over
150 professors from across the world including Europe, Japan and the US, warned governments especially not to “believe the hype” about systems’ maths abilities. Their intervention follows claims of increasing capability from AI firms, including performance in elite international competitions and alleged solutions to thorny open questions in the field. Six hotels earn France’s prestigious ‘palace’ label Six hotels in France including a venue founded by an American couple joined one of the world’s most exclusive clubs on June 2 as they received the coveted
“palace” distinction. The label was created in France in 2010 to promote prestigious establishments on the international stage, where competition has become increasingly fierce. The six newcomers join 27 establishments whose “palace” status was recently renewed, bringing the total number of such hotels in France to 33, including 13 in Paris.
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