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Norway's Crown Princess Placed on List for Lung Transplant

Norway's Crown Prince Haakon (R) and Crown Princess Mette-Marit (L) arrive at the National Hospital in Oslo, Norway, 04 June 2026, amid concerns over Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s health. EPA/JONAS BEEN HENRIKSEN
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon (R) and Crown Princess Mette-Marit (L) arrive at the National Hospital in Oslo, Norway, 04 June 2026, amid concerns over Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s health. EPA/JONAS BEEN HENRIKSEN
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Norway's Crown Princess Placed on List for Lung Transplant

Norway's Crown Prince Haakon (R) and Crown Princess Mette-Marit (L) arrive at the National Hospital in Oslo, Norway, 04 June 2026, amid concerns over Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s health. EPA/JONAS BEEN HENRIKSEN
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon (R) and Crown Princess Mette-Marit (L) arrive at the National Hospital in Oslo, Norway, 04 June 2026, amid concerns over Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s health. EPA/JONAS BEEN HENRIKSEN

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a further deterioration of her health, the royal household said in a ⁠statement on Friday.

The ⁠52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was ⁠diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and leads to a reduced oxygen uptake.

According to Reuters, Oslo University Hospital in December said the ⁠time ⁠was approaching when a transplant must be performed but that the crown princess had not yet been placed on Norway's list of possible recipients.

Prime ⁠Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has praised the crown princess for being open about her condition and has said this could help others suffering from similar problems.

The development of Mette-Marit's lung disease was serious, and she will undergo a transplant "as ‌soon as possible," Oslo University Hospital Professor Are Holm said in a statement provided by the ⁠palace.

The crown prince and princess are postponing the celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary, which was planned for August this year, the palace added.

Mette-Marit was 25, an unmarried single mother and a commoner when she met Haakon at a music festival in 1999, the beginning of an unlikely royal romance that started with a media furor and ended up winning over the bulk of the nation.
 

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World

WFP: Middle East Conflict Pushing Millions Into Hunger

Farmers harvest wheat in a field on a hillside in the Argo district of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Omer ABRAR / AFP)
Farmers harvest wheat in a field on a hillside in the Argo district of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Omer ABRAR / AFP)
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WFP: Middle East Conflict Pushing Millions Into Hunger

Farmers harvest wheat in a field on a hillside in the Argo district of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Omer ABRAR / AFP)
Farmers harvest wheat in a field on a hillside in the Argo district of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on June 4, 2026. (Photo by Omer ABRAR / AFP)

The Middle East conflict is pushing millions of people closer to hunger, as rising fuel and transport costs drive up food prices while funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance, the UN World Food Program said on Friday.

Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a regional conflict stretching across the Gulf and into Lebanon, disrupting key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, forcing vessels to reroute and sharply constraining global energy flows and supply chains.

In March, the WFP forecast as many as 45 million people could fall into ⁠acute food insecurity ⁠if oil prices remained around $100 per barrel through June.

That scenario is now unfolding, the agency said, according to Reuters, with benchmark crude prices staying above that level since early March.

Households in Afghanistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka are among the most seriously affected and face mounting pressure due to higher fuel costs, ⁠food price spikes, income losses and disrupted trade.

In Somalia, 6.5 million people - roughly a third of the population - are expected to face severe hunger in 2026, while Afghanistan could see 17.4 million people affected, the WFP said.

The situation is projected to worsen, with an additional 2.5 million Somalis and 2.3 million Afghans at risk of falling into food insecurity if disruptions persist.

Both countries are reliant on imported energy and food.

The Middle East crisis comes amid a deep funding shortfall for ⁠aid agencies.

⁠The WFP said it expected to serve 1.5 million fewer people globally in 2026, and an extra 9 million fewer if the situation persists for six months.

In Afghanistan, surging fuel prices have driven up aid transport costs as much as fivefold, and delivery times have shot up from 10 days up to as many as 75 days as trucks had to use alternative corridors, the WFP said.

In Somalia, soaring jet fuel prices are leading to higher operational costs for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service - the only means to safely access hard-to-reach areas, the WFP said.

World

Taiwan, China Coast Guards in Renewed Standoff at Top of South China Sea

A handout photo from Taiwan Military News Agency (MNA) taken on June 3, 2026 shows Taiwanese military conducting live-fire with Altius-600M UAVs on maritime targets. (Handout / Taiwan Military News Agency / AFP)
A handout photo from Taiwan Military News Agency (MNA) taken on June 3, 2026 shows Taiwanese military conducting live-fire with Altius-600M UAVs on maritime targets. (Handout / Taiwan Military News Agency / AFP)
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Taiwan, China Coast Guards in Renewed Standoff at Top of South China Sea

A handout photo from Taiwan Military News Agency (MNA) taken on June 3, 2026 shows Taiwanese military conducting live-fire with Altius-600M UAVs on maritime targets. (Handout / Taiwan Military News Agency / AFP)
A handout photo from Taiwan Military News Agency (MNA) taken on June 3, 2026 shows Taiwanese military conducting live-fire with Altius-600M UAVs on maritime targets. (Handout / Taiwan Military News Agency / AFP)

The Taiwanese and ‌Chinese Coast Guards were engaged in another tense standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea on Friday, Taiwan said, the second time in a fortnight that this has happened.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects. China has pressured Taiwan by increasing its military presence around the island over the past five years.

Lying roughly between ‌southern Taiwan ‌and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands ‌are ⁠seen by some ⁠security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance - more than 400 km (250 miles) - from Taiwan island.

Taiwan's Coast Guard said that on Friday morning, it spotted a Chinese coast guard ship which then "forced its way" into restricted waters around the Pratas ⁠after speeding up and making a sharp turn ‌while disregarding warnings ‌from the Taiwan ship.

The two ships are still in a "standoff" ‌and are engaged in "intense verbal exchanges," the ‌Coast Guard said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan's Coast Guard said the Chinese ship is trying to create the false impression that ‌China has jurisdiction over the waters around the Pratas.

"This not only undermines the ⁠status quo ⁠of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also makes China a troublemaker in cross-strait and regional affairs," it added in a statement. "Taiwan's maritime sovereignty must not be challenged."

The last time this happened was almost two weeks ago, when the Chinese ship ended up leaving.

The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, is only lightly defended by Taiwan and its Coast Guard has that responsibility rather than the military.

In January, Taiwan said a Chinese reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Pratas.

World

Russian Strikes Kill 7 in Ukraine

31 May 2026, Russia, Kherson: Blocks of flats in Bratyev Kovalenko Street in Genichesk are damaged in a drone attack. (dpa)
31 May 2026, Russia, Kherson: Blocks of flats in Bratyev Kovalenko Street in Genichesk are damaged in a drone attack. (dpa)
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Russian Strikes Kill 7 in Ukraine

31 May 2026, Russia, Kherson: Blocks of flats in Bratyev Kovalenko Street in Genichesk are damaged in a drone attack. (dpa)
31 May 2026, Russia, Kherson: Blocks of flats in Bratyev Kovalenko Street in Genichesk are damaged in a drone attack. (dpa)

Russia fired hundreds of drones at Ukraine between late Thursday and early Friday, killing seven people and destroying a factory that produces milk products for children, authorities said.

Images published by Ukraine's state emergency service showed the ruins of a building bearing the logo of Ukrainian dairy producer "Yagotynske for Kids", its facade partly destroyed and flames visible on one floor.

"The enemy attacked a peaceful civilian food industry enterprise," Kyiv region governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram.

"Unfortunately, the number of people killed as a result of the hostile attack... has increased to four people," AFP quoted him as saying in a later post.

Separate strikes on Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region killed two people, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said, while a drone strike in the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed one woman, according to the Ukrainian state emergency service.

Russia fired at least 216 drones at Ukraine between late Thursday and early Friday, as well as two missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Moscow and Kyiv have intensified drone strikes on each other in recent months as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year, remain stalled over the conflict in the Middle East.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a meeting with Vladimir Putin in an open letter to the Russian leader late Thursday, saying it was only the leaders who could resolve "key issues".

The Kremlin said it was aware of the letter but that Putin was yet to review it.

The Russian leader has previously ruled out meeting Zelensky before a final deal is agreed and has questioned his legitimacy.

Russia is demanding Ukraine fully withdraw from the eastern Donbas region as a precondition of any deal.

Ukraine wants a full ceasefire along the current front lines, pending negotiations on a territorial settlement.