Brazil survive scare, Oz and Scotland win Vinicius Jr. helped Brazil hold Morocco to a 1-1 draw while Australia stunned Turkiye 2-0 and Scotland, on their return to the event, beat Haiti 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup on Saturday. Today's matches (IST) COIMBATORE l monday l june 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Brazil’s Vinicius Junior (7) celebrates a goal against Morocco on Saturday | AP Group H: Spain vs Cabo Verde (9:30 PM); Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay (3:30 AM*). Group G: Belgium vs Egypt (12:30 AM*); Iran vs NZ (6:30 AM*) (*Tuesday) CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Don’t blow it, Don to all Raps Israel for Beirut strike, says West Asia peace deal is ‘very close’ agencies @ Dubai Rebel TMC MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Rebel TMC MPs ‘merge’ with regional party P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi CLAIMING the support of 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha MPs of the Trinamool Congress, the party’s rebel lawmakers on Sunday evening met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate bloc, and said they had merged with a regional outfit, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). Earlier, TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote to the Speaker, urging that no recognition, status, or facilities be granted to any group claiming to be a separate faction of the party . US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged no further attacks by anyone after Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, potentially complicating efforts to finalize a deal to end the US-Iran war. Smoke rose over the Dahiyeh in Lebanese capital Beirut, where at least three people were killed and 16 others wounded. Iran threatened a military response. Trump reacted on social media: “We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon” and “Let’s not blow it!” The deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel’s gover nment, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down now... Let’s not blow it! — Donald Trump, US President Iran warns of attacks on Israel after Lebanon hit Brig General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s military command, warned that Israel’s strike would not go unanswered. “Without a doubt, these crimes won’t go unanswered,” Asadi told a news portal on Sunday Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Trump, who had said the deal could be signed Sunday has pressed Israeli , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him. Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Is- rael. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles. There was no comment from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a lead negotiator for Tehran, warned the US on X after Israel’s strikes that “if you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of cont i nu i n g t h e p at h i s n o t possible.” India-France ties get AI, tech push J ayanth jac o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday elevated the momentum in India-France ties with a strong push for innovation-led growth, positioning India and France as key partners in emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, defence manufacturing, space exploration, and resilient supply chains. Earlier in the day, addressing innovators, investors and entrepreneurs at Bharat Innovates, Modi projected India as a rising innovation powerhouse and called for technology that serves humanity rather than markets alone. “An India that is emerging not merely as a consumer of solutions, but as a contributor of solutions. Here, some are working to transform rural life through AI, while others are using satellite technology to support farmers. Some young innovators are shaping the future E x p r e s s Re a d PM Narendra Modi greets French President Emmanuel Macron | PTI Push to double trade India and France also announced creation of a high-level mechanism for realising the goal of doubling bilateral trade in the next five years. The two sides also decided to expand the use of UPI at Paris and Nice airports through smart cities, advanced manufacturing, and new materials. At the same time, several start-ups are developing new technologies in the fields of defence and security,” Modi said. He urged startups to build human-centric technologies. Egg prices in TN may go up in coming days Namakkal: Citing mounting losses and rising costs, the TN Poultry Farmers Association has stated that egg prices may increase, with farmers deciding that minimum procurement price should be `7 per egg | P2 Shanmugam turns on EPS, calls for meeting Villupuram: Weeks after the two AIADMK factions appeared to have made up, ex-minister and rival faction leader C Ve Shanmugam on Sunday takes on party chief EPS with a slew of allegations | P2