Brazil survive scare, Oz and Scotland win Vinicius Jr. helped Brazil hold Morocco to a 1-1 draw while Australia stunned Turkiye 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup on Saturday. On Sunday, Germany hammered debutant Curacao 7-1 in Houston Today's matches (IST) chennai l monday l june 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late CITY EDITION Brazil’s Vinicius Junior (7) celebrates a goal against Morocco on Saturday | AP | P11 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 Let’s not blow it: Trump Raps Israel for Beirut strike, says West Asia peace deal ‘hours away’ 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 him that no recognition, status, or facilities be granted to any group claiming to be a separate faction of the party . Full story on page 8 agencies @ Dubai 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 USIran 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!” Trump insisted that despite the attack on Lebanon, the deal was on track to be signed on Sunday The deal in its cur. rent form is a deep disappointment to Israel’s government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel 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 struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Trump 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 re- sponse to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles. There was no comment from the Iranianbacked 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 continuing the path is not possible.”  | P9 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. 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. The Bharat Innovates conclave, launched during Modi’s France visit, brought together startups, venture capital funds, researchers and innovators from India, France and other countries. The innovation push was reinforced during Modi’s bilateral meeting with Macron at Villa 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 Kerylos in Nice. Following extensive discussions covering defence, technology, space, trade, mobility and global affairs, the two sides announced 13 agreements and initiatives aimed at strengthening long-term cooperation. Shanmugam takes 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 turned on party chief EPS with a slew of allegations | P4 ‘Efforts on to return TN seafarer’s remains’ New Delhi: The Indian embassy in Muscat, Oman, confirmed the death of 35-year-old seafarer from TN, Nishanth Uirthanathan, and said that efforts were under way to repatriate his remains | P7