TWO oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman were attacked yesterday, leaving one ablaze and adrift while sailors were evacuated, as the US navy rushed to assist the crews amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Trading spiked as much as 4% following the reported attack, highlighting how crucial the area remains to global energy supplies. A third of all oil traded by sea passes through the area. It is unclear who is responsible for the assault or how the ships were attacked, however the 23-strong crew managed to safely escape the fiery tanker.
Tensions have escalated in the Middle East as Iran appears poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord the Trump administration pulled out of last year.
MEANWHILE the Government in Afghanistan have freed 490 Taliban prisoners from jails across the country, as part of a gesture of good will to move the stalled peace process forward.
Feroz Bashari, from the Government’s media centre, said the freed Taliban insurgents were either ailing or with less than a year remaining on their prison sentence. However he didn’t say when the remaining inmates will be released.
The prisoners were part of a group of 887 inmates President Ashraf Ghani ordered to be free to mark the Eid-al-Fitr following the end of the holy month of Ramadan earlier in June.
ELSEWHERE in America Donald Trump said if a foreign power offered him insider information on his 2020 opponent, he would be open to accepting it and would have no obligation to call in the FBI.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said: “There’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called, from a country... we have information on your opponent. Oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”
Trump’s comments come just a month after he pledged not to use information stolen by foreign adversaries in his 2020 reelection campaign. A meeting between Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer offering negative information on Hillary Clinton was a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 election.
AND FINALLY, Ecuador’s highest court has authorised same-sex marriage in a landmark case which seeks to expand LGBT rights in the traditionally Catholic nation.
At a ruling of four to five, Ecuador joins other Latin American nations like Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Columbia, who have all legalised same-sex marriage through either judicial rulings or legislative action.
Same-sex unions have been legal in Ecuador for a decade, however civil partners enjoy fewer rights than married couples such as inheritance and estate laws.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here