WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Sanctions on Israeli ministers, Ballymena unrest, and why Iran is banning dog walking

 
today's middle east story

UK sanctions far-right Israeli ministers

What happened
Five countries – including the UK – have imposed bans on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (pictured above, left and right) have been targeted for their "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the West Bank. The sanctions – including travel bans and asset freezes – are part of a coordinated move by the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway amid rising settler violence and tensions in the region.

Who said what
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the Israeli ministers had "incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights". Israel called the sanctions "outrageous".

Israel's defence of the pair is unsurprising considering that they are "critical to the political survival of Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu", said The Guardian. Their parties account for just 20 of his coalition's 67 seats in parliament, but "carry outsized influence because if they quit – which both repeatedly threaten to do – the government will fall".

What next?
The sanctions come after a "steady escalation of pressure by the UK and other allies", said the BBC. The joint action offers a "remarkable rebuke of Israel's leadership", said The New York Times. The UK government said it would continue pushing for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and a two-state solution. Israel’s cabinet is expected to meet next week to decide how to respond to the move.

 
 
today's northern ireland story

Police deploy water cannon against crowds in Ballymena

What happened
A second night of violent unrest has erupted in Ballymena, County Antrim, with crowds throwing petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry at police. Officers responded with plastic baton rounds, water cannon and riot dogs. The disorder, described by police as "racist thuggery", occurred again in the Clonavon Terrace area. Police are urging the public to stay away.

Who said what
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer described the events in Ballymena as "very concerning". The violence followed a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town by two 14-year-old boys. The boys had appeared in court on Monday where a Romanian interpreter read them the charges.

There has been a "spate of intimidation and attacks against people from abroad" in County Antrim in recent years, forcing some to flee, said The Guardian. The intervention by police officers in Ballymena saved lives and "prevented a pogrom", said Liam Kelly, chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland.

What next?
Police say further arrests are likely as investigations continue into the violence and arson attacks. Political leaders are facing growing pressure to de-escalate tensions and address concerns over community integration and public safety.

 
 
Today's employment story

Businesses slow recruitment as job vacancies fall

What happened
Job vacancies are tumbling in the UK, official figures suggest. The estimated number of available jobs fell by 63,000 and the number of people on payrolls fell by 55,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate also rose to 4.6% in the three months to April when the National Insurance hikes on businesses came into effect – the highest since July 2021.

Who said what
The labour market is "weakening", said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS. And the unemployment rate could rise further, said Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, as businesses "look to offset some of the rise in employment costs".

The data "piles more pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves", who is due to announce the Spending Review today, according to Sky News. But Employment Minister Alison McGovern said there were 500,000 more people in employment since Labour won the election last July.

What next?
The ONS "cautioned" that this early estimate could change when more data from HMRC becomes available, said the BBC.

 
 

It's not all bad

Britain will ratify the High Seas Treaty by the end of this year, enabling global protection for marine life in international waters. The treaty, expected to come into force next year, allows the creation of marine protected areas across the high seas – home to whales, turtles and sharks. Marine Minister Emma Hardy called it "a landmark in protecting marine life". The UK also reaffirmed its support for a global treaty to end plastic pollution.

 
 
under the radar

Why Iranian cities are banning dog walking

Local authorities in Iran have widened a rule prohibiting the walking of dogs, citing public health, social order and safety concerns.

At least 18 other cities have followed a police directive that banned dog walking in Tehran, the latest chapter in the nation's nuanced history with the animals.

"Owning" and "walking" dogs became a "contentious topic" following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said Agence France-Presse. In 2010, a senior cleric stated that "friendship with dogs" was a "blind imitation of the West". He said there were "lots of narrations" in Islam that said dogs were "unclean", reported NBC News.

In 2017, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that keeping the animals for "reasons other than herding, hunting and as guard dogs" was "reprehensible". Then, two years later, a police directive barred dog walking in Tehran.

But during the Covid pandemic, dogs and other pets "emerged as unlikely heroes" in Iran’s "uphill battle" against the outbreak, said Middle East Eye. Attitudes began shifting and keeping pets became a growing trend among middle-class families and older generations alike. People "no longer believe" in "old cultural, religious or doctrinal taboos" as "unalterable Lord's words", said psychologist Farnoush Khaledi. The "shift" towards "deconstructing old taboos" on dogs is part of a "transformation of the Iranian identity" from "the traditional to the new".

Quite how strictly the rules are being enforced is still to be seen. Even though Tehran police chief Hassan Rahimi promised severe penalties for dog walkers, the edict has been only "loosely enforced", added Middle East Eye, and dog owners have continued to take their pets with them wherever they wanted.

 
 
on this day

11 June 1982

Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" was released in cinemas. The body model of the eponymous hero went on the Sotheby's auction block in April, expected to fetch up to $1 million. But the work, by celebrated special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, failed to find a buyer. E.T., no home.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Rachel Reeves will announce a £39bn "affordable homes drive" says the Financial Times, and this is a "win" for the Deputy PM Angela Rayner, says The i Paper. It's a "watershed moment", the chancellor says in The Mirror. But she's been "rocked" by a "jobs slump" ahead of the Spending Review, the Daily Mail says, after figures showed that 250,000 jobs "have gone" since her Budget last year. 

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Grand theft autonomy

A couple whose Jaguar was stolen from outside their home took matters into their own hands by "stealing" it back after police said they were too stretched to investigate. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson discovered their car had been taken from near the home in Brook Green, west London despite it being fitted with a number of anti-theft features, including an AirTag locator. After being told to look for the vehicle themselves by under-resourced police, the couple tracked their car to where it had been taken just a few miles away. In a LinkedIn post, Forbes Pirie, a former solicitor, said it had been been "kind of fun" to "steal back" their car, but added: "What is the incentive for people not to do more of this?"

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Sorcha Bradley, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Gil Cohen-Magen / AFP / Getty Images; Charles McQuillan / Getty Images; Alvarez / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.