Arrests for illegal work have surged this past year as police focus on “unscrupulous” employers who exploit undocumented migrants, the government says.
Immigration officers arrested more than 6,400 people in the past year in raids at businesses across the UK, data released by the Home Office shows. It said the figure is 51% higher than the previous year.
It did not provide numbers as to how many arrests led to charges, convictions or deportations.
It said immigration enforcement officials had “intensified” their work to “tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people”.
Officers had visited more than 9,000 businesses – among them restaurants, nail bars and construction sites – to check paperwork and working conditions.
Such businesses had often subjected migrants to “squalid conditions and illegal working hours” as well as below-minimum wages.
The Home Office said there were a range of industries exploiting migrant workers.
In one case in Surrey, officers arrested nine people at a caravan park who had been working as delivery drivers.
At one one major operation in March, officers arrested 36 people at a building site in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Some had breached visa conditions while others didn’t have working rights.
Immigration Enforcement director Eddy Montgomery said there were many cases where people travelling to the UK were “sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK.
“In reality, they often end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay and inhumane working hours,” he said.
Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, said the government would “continue to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt illegal workers who undermine our border security”.
The government said it had also returned nearly 30,000 people over the past year who did not have the right to be in the UK.
It has said it is cracking down on illegal migration, setting out its plans in a White Paper to tighten work visas and those overstaying. It scrapped a special visa for care workers introduced during the pandemic, noting that this had been a pathway exploited by some.
There was mixed reaction to the plans, with some business sectors decrying the restrictions on work visas, while some Conservative opponents said the reforms didn’t go far enough to stop illegal migration.
The most recent data shows that approximately 44,000 people have entered the UK illegally in the year to March 2025, more than 80% through small boat journeys.
These are the key events on day 1,199 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here’s where things stand on Saturday, June 7:
Fighting
At least six people were killed in Russian missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and across the country on Friday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said three of the victims were emergency responders who were killed in a missile and drone attack on Kyiv, while a further 80 people nationwide were injured in the attacks.
Two people were killed in Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv, and at least one more person was killed in the northwestern city of Lutsk.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had used 407 drones, one of the largest numbers recorded in a single attack, as well as 45 cruise and ballistic missiles in the attack.
The Ukrainian military said it had launched a preemptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia had “responded” to Kyiv’s audacious drone attack that destroyed Russian heavy bombers at airfields in Siberia last weekend by attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces had carried out the strikes, which targeted military and military-related targets in response to what it called Ukrainian “terrorist acts” against Russia.
Western military aviation experts told the Reuters news agency that Russia will take years to replace the nuclear-capable bomber planes that were hit in Ukrainian drone strikes on airfields in Siberia.
Russia’s National Guard said it killed a man as he tried to prepare a drone attack on a military site in Russia’s Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow.
Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 82 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region, Russia’s Defence Ministry said early on Saturday.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said six drones headed for the capital city had been destroyed or downed.
In total, Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences had downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions. Three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black Sea.
A locomotive train was derailed in Russia’s Belgorod region after the track was blown up, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Regional security
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said some US legislators do not understand the scale of Russia’s military rearmament campaign: “They clearly have no idea what is happening there right now,” he said after a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Merz said he had been reassured by President Trump’s “resounding no” to a question on whether the US had plans to withdraw from NATO.
Politics and diplomacy
The Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by Trump, who likened the war in Ukraine to a bitter dispute between toddlers in a park.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was possible Trump believed his own comments, but for Russia, the war on Ukraine was “existential”.
“For us, it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country,” Peskov told reporters.
Russia has asked the UN nuclear watchdog to mediate between Moscow and Washington to resolve the question of what to do with US nuclear fuel stored at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is under Russian control.
Russian nuclear energy chief Alexei Likhachev said that Russia was willing either to use the fuel, supplied by US company Westinghouse, or to remove it entirely and return it to the United States.
Sanctions
President Trump said that he had not decided whether to deploy sanctions against Russia that are being considered by the US Senate.
Economy
The Russian central bank has cut its key interest rate by a full percentage point, a surprise move by the bank, which it justified by pointing to declining inflation pressure and a more robust rouble. It was the first easing since September 2022 by the bank, which has faced pressure from business leaders and top government officials to begin cutting rates.
Teams will try to resolve tariffs war amid spats over China’s curbs on rare minerals and US revocation of student visas.
United States President Donald Trump has announced a new round of trade talks with China in an apparent bid to dial down a bitter battle over tariffs between the world’s two biggest economies.
The president said on social media that the meeting would take place in London on Monday, his announcement coming one day after a rare leader-to-leader phone call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping appeared to calm rising tensions.
“The meeting should go very well,” said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team.
The talks will mark the second round of negotiations between the two countries since Trump launched his trade war this year, targeting China with levies of up to 145 percent. Beijing struck back with countermeasures of 125 percent.
Following talks in Geneva last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the triple-digit tariffs, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China’s to 10 percent.
But the temporary halt is expected to expire in early August and Trump last week accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides.
US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of rare earth minerals, which the country had limited after the tariff war broke out, triggering alarm among US companies.
Other US concerns include alleged fentanyl trafficking, the status of democratically governed Taiwan, and China’s state-dominated, export-driven economic model.
On Wednesday, Trump said on Truth Social that Xi was “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH”.
However, he reported a “positive conclusion”, following his long-awaited phone call with Xi on Thursday, which likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks – though a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Xi asked Trump to “remove the negative measures” that the US has taken against China, alluding to his administration’s decision to revoke the visas of Chinese students studying in the US.
Dawson, meanwhile, admits he does not try to do anything “flash”.
While Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley have their high release points and Rehan Ahmed his googly, Dawson is a throwback – the old-school magician who can still deceive you with two hands and a pack of cards, without the need for saws, fire and flashing lights.
In Chester-le-Street, he outfoxed West Indies with that understated routine of tricks.
After conceding only four runs from the first over, Dawson struck in his second.
With extra loop, he dropped 10mph from his previous delivery and found the sharpest turn in the match. Johnson Charles charged towards him to be left stranded and stumped.
From there, after two opening overs that cost only seven, Dawson rested and West Indies rebuilt.
Dawson returned, the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford on strike, and the spinner delivered for Brook as the left-hander hit to long-on.
If credit for that one would be generous, Dawson’s next scalp – two balls later – came with another drop in pace and, crucially, a wider line.
From outside off stump Roston Chase gave Ben Duckett another catch in the deep to make England huge favourites once again.
As boundaries flowed at the other end – younger men Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and Matthew Potts among those punished – Dawson was not hit to the rope until his fourth over.
The dangerous Rovman Powell struck him for four twice but a ball later Dawson changed again.
Quicker and flatter he went, Powell was bowled and Dawson had his best T20 international figures.
His 4-20 was also the best by a left-arm spinner for England in the format. Key could hardly have asked for more.
The backdrop to England’s win is the T20 World Cup that looms next year. They have only 12 matches in this format before travelling to India and Sri Lanka, where spin is expected to be crucial.
“That’s not even come into my thoughts,” said Dawson, when asked if he had one eye on making that World Cup squad.
“I’m just happy to be back involved in this, take one game at a time and enjoy every time I play.”
Dawson was an unused squad member when England won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
Six years on, he may finally be the one they need.
Jannik Sinner downs Novac Djokovic to reach maiden French Open final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) to set up a French Open final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic is the men’s record 24-time Grand Slam champion but could not counter Sinner’s relentless accuracy and pounding forehands on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Friday evening.
Sinner became only the second Italian man to reach the final at Roland-Garros after Adriano Panatta, the 1976 champion.
Sinner is aiming for his fourth major title, Alcaraz his fifth.
Djokovic fought back in the third set but wilted in the tiebreaker, somehow missing an easy smash at the net to trail 3-0 and then lost on the second match point he faced when his forehand hit the net.
“These are rare and special moments,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy.”
He extended his winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments to 20 matches after winning the US Open and the Australian Open.
Djokovic was bidding for a record-extending 38th Grand Slam final, and eighth in Paris, where he was won three times. But he spent much of the semifinal camped behind the baseline, sliding at full stretch and grunting loudly while Sinner sent him scurrying left and right like a windscreen wiper.
A cross-court two-handed backhand winner from Sinner in the ninth game of the third set was executed with such pure timing that it drew applause even from Djokovic.
Sinner gave him almost no chances, but there was a glimmer of light in the 10th game, when Djokovic had four chances to break Sinner’s serve.
The crowd broke out into prolonged chants of “Nole! Nole!” as Djokovic forced two break points at 15-40.
Sinner saved both. Tensions were rising.
The crowd started self-policing when a couple of rowdy fans shouted out as Sinner prepared to serve, telling the offenders to “Chut!” (French for shush).
Djokovic’s forehand landed wide on his third break-point chance, making it deuce. The chair umpire, Damien Dumusois, came down to check the mark. Djokovic disagreed and walked over, saying, “It’s on the line.”
Then Sinner came to the net and had a brief discussion with Djokovic, who lost the point but won the next with an overhead smash for a fourth set point, saved again by Sinner.
Peruvian police showcased 5.5 tonnes of seized drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, following an anti-narcotics operation across multiple regions. Authorities say the haul from recent raids is part of a larger 13-tonne seizure, primarily bound for Europe and North America. Fifteen suspects were arrested.
Watch: How Trump and Musk’s break-up played out in real time
Even though observers have long speculated that Donald Trump and Elon Musk would eventually fall out, few predicted the speed and ferocity with which their social media feud erupted.
Since Musk pledged his full-throated support for the president following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania less than a year ago, the political and business interests of the two men have become increasingly intertwined.
In several key areas – including political funding, government contracts and their personal relationships – the two men have come to rely on each other, meaning ending the alliance is likely to be messy.
That complicates the fallout from their rift and ensures that, wherever the row goes from here, they will continue to be linked – and have the potential to hurt each other in multiple ways.
Campaign funding
Over the course of the last year, Musk’s donations to Trump and other Republicans have been enormous – totalling $290m (£214m) according to the campaign finance tracking site Open Secrets.
Musk claimed on Thursday that the president won the election because of him, and complained about “ingratitude”.
There’s an obvious counterexample. Earlier this year Musk shovelled $20m into a key judicial race in Wisconsin, however, his chosen Republican candidate lost by 10 percentage points in a state Trump won last November.
Still, Musk’s donations are a huge chunk of money that Republicans will miss as they try to hold their congressional advantage in the midterm elections in November 2026.
It may have been a problem they were facing in any case. Musk has previously said he would contribute a “lot less” to campaigns in the future.
But could the bust-up with the White House prompt Musk not just to withdraw but throw his money behind opposition to Trump?
He hinted as such on Thursday when he posted a poll on X with the question: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?”
Government contracts and investigations
Musk’s companies including SpaceX, its subsidiary Starlink and Tesla do a huge amount of business with the US government.
Trump realises this gives him leverage over the world’s richest man.
He posted on Truth Social on Thursday: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
Musk threatened to retaliate by decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon, which ferries astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. But he later backed down from that threat.
In practice, cancelling or withdrawing from government contracts would be a complicated and lengthy legal process, and for now and some time to come, the US government is likely to continue to do a significant amount of business with Musk’s companies.
No other company other than SpaceX can make Dragon and Falcon 9 rockets, and Nasa has committed to a number of space station and moon missions using SpaceX craft.
Despite those commercial partnerships, Musk and his companies also face investigations from a number of government agencies – more than 30, according to a February report by the New York Times – and regulatory issues such as approval for Tesla’s proposed driverless taxis.
People inside government and Silicon Valley
When Musk was given the task of setting up the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) as one of Trump’s key drivers of change inside the US federal government, he was given broad scope to choose his own staff.
According to leaked lists of Doge employees, many of them previously worked for Musk’s companies. And even though Musk left Doge a week ago, many of the staff remain in their government jobs.
Some Doge employees also have deep ties to the Trump camp. Katie Miller – who worked in Trump’s first administration and is married to the current White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller – was Doge’s spokesperson.
However, CNN reported that Mrs Miller also left the government last week and is now working “full time” for Musk.
There are others in the Trump administration whose loyalties may be tested by the feud. David Sacks, who Trump named as his top advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, is close to Musk, having worked with the tycoon decades ago at PayPal.
On X, many Silicon Valley executives along with Maga-world influencers were picking sides and parsing each of the back-and-forth messages posted by the president and the world’s richest man.
Polling firm YouGov carried out a snap survey on Thursday asking people who they would side with. The results indicated 70% of Republican respondents said Trump, compared to less than 1 in 10 who chose Musk.
Ange Postecoglou spoke of his intense pride at his two-year stint as Tottenham Hotspur manager after it ended with him being sacked by the Premier League club.
The 59-year-old Australian took the club to their first trophy for 17 years last month when Tottenham beat Manchester United to win the Europa League.
But the club axed him on Friday after their worst top-flight campaign since 1976-77, finishing one place above the Premier League’s relegation zone after losing 22 games.
“When I reflect on my time as Manager of Tottenham Hotspur my overriding emotion is one of pride,” he said in a statement released shortly after his dismissal was confirmed.
“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime. Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.
“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream. There were many challenges to overcome and plenty of noise that comes with trying to accomplish what many said was not possible.”
Postecoglou spoke in the build-up to the Europa League final about changing the way the club is perceived, and he said his accomplishments should ensure that Tottenham will not have to wait so long for their next trophy.
“We have laid foundations that mean this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success,” he said. “I have enormous faith in this group of players and know there is much more potential and growth in them.”
While Tottenham fans were split over Postecoglou’s future, he had a message for the supporters.
“I sincerely want to thank those who are the lifeblood of the club, the supporters,” he said. “I know there were some difficult times but I always felt that they wanted me to succeed and that gave me all the motivation I needed to push on.
“And finally, I want to thank those who were with me every day for the last two years. A fantastic group of young men who are now legends of this football club and the brilliant coaches who never once doubted we could do something special. We are forever connected.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou with his players before the trophy lift after winning the Europa League Final [Andrew Couldridge/File Photo/Reuters]
The 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for a horrendous Premier League season, which saw Tottenham finish 17th.
“The Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season.”
Postecoglou leaves two years to the day after his appointment and 16 days after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao for the club’s first silverware since 2008, a win that also put them in next season’s Champions League.
The former Celtic manager has had to face questions over his future for several months, yet delivered on his claim early last season that he always wins a trophy in his second season in a job.
He also took Tottenham to the League Cup semifinal, but their league campaign was their worst since the last time the club suffered relegation from the top flight, in 1976-77.
Several of the club’s first team have voiced their support for Postecoglou since beating United, but chairman Daniel Levy is now searching for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.
“At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the club said. “Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.”
Several managers have been linked to the Tottenham job, including Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
Postecoglou will walk away with his pride intact and a handsome bonus, but his recent comment to fans at the Europa League victory parade that the third season of a TV series is always better than the second now looks hollow.
It all started so well for Postecoglou. He began the 2023-24 campaign by guiding Tottenham to their best start to a top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team.
That form soon dipped, and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign, the momentum had long since gone.
This season, Tottenham earned only 38 points and lost 22 top-flight matches. They managed five points from their last 12 league games, and the only win they earned during that run was against a Southampton side who narrowly avoided becoming statistically the worst team ever in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has pointed to a long injury list, which denied him the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Son Heung-min for significant periods.
But while it has clearly been one of long-serving chairman Levy’s toughest calls, he has concluded that Postecoglou is not the man to lead the club forward.
“We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision,” the club statement said.
“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”
The mandate that the DoT challenged was a key part of former US President Joe Biden’s plan to address climate change.
The United States Department of Transportation (DoT) has declared that former President Joe Biden’s administration exceeded its authority by assuming a high uptake of electric vehicles in calculating fuel economy rules.
With that declaration on Friday, the DoT paved the way for looser fuel standards and published the “Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program” (CAFE) rule. A future separate rule from the administration of President Donald Trump will revise the fuel economy requirements.
“We are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States. The previous administration illegally used CAFE standards as an electric vehicle mandate,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
The department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in writing its rule last year under Biden, had “assumed significant numbers of EVs would continue to be produced regardless of the standards set by the agency, in turn increasing the level of standards that could be considered maximum feasible,” it said Friday.
A shift away from Biden policies
In January, Duffy signed an order directing NHTSA to rescind fuel economy standards issued under Biden for the 2022-2031 model years that had aimed to drastically reduce fuel use for cars and trucks.
In a release last year, the DoT, then led by Pete Buttigieg, put in place a required fuel economy to increase by 2 percent for cars made between 2027 and 2031.
“These new fuel economy standards will save our nation billions of dollars, help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and make our air cleaner for everyone. Americans will enjoy the benefits of this rule for decades to come,” then NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said at the time.
In June 2024, the NHTSA said it would hike CAFE requirements to about 50.4 miles per gallon (4.67 litres per 100km) by 2031 from 39.1mpg currently for light-duty vehicles.
The agency last year said the rule for passenger cars and trucks would reduce gasoline consumption by 64 billion gallons and cut emissions by 659 million metric tons, cutting fuel costs with net benefits estimated at $35.2bn.
Late on Thursday, Senate Republicans proposed eliminating fines for failures to meet CAFE rules as part of a wide-ranging tax bill, the latest move aimed at making it easier for automakers to build gas-powered vehicles.
Last year, Chrysler-parent Stellantis paid $190.7m in civil penalties for failing to meet US fuel economy requirements for 2019 and 2020 after paying nearly $400m for penalties from 2016 through 2019. GM previously paid $128.2m in penalties for 2016 and 2017.
Stellantis said it supported the Senate Republican proposal “to provide relief while DoT develops its proposal to reset the CAFE standards … The standards are out of sync with the current market reality, and immediate relief is necessary to preserve affordability and freedom of choice.”
Employers in the United States have slowed hiring even though they added a solid 139,000 jobs in May.
While that was higher than the forecast of 133,000 jobs, it was lower than the 147,000 hires in April, Labor Department data released on Friday showed. It also sharply revised downward the data for March and April by 95,000 jobs.
The US Labor Department said the biggest gains were in the healthcare industry which added 62,000 jobs; followed by the leisure and hospitality sector which added 48,000, 30,000 of which were in food services.
The social services sector followed suit, adding about 16,000 jobs. The federal government contracted 22,000 jobs.
Industries including manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing showed little change as tariff anticipation spending slowed.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent. Wages ticked up slightly. The average wage grew by 15 cents or 0.4 percent.
“The job market is steadily but surely throttling back. Monthly job gains are moderating, and most telling, the gains are being consistently revised lower, and not by a little bit. Indeed, after revision, monthly job gains appear to be closing in on 100,000,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Al Jazeera.
“It [the jobs report] does signal the job market and economy are increasingly fragile as the fallout from the global trade war intensifies.”
Private payrolls also tumbled this month, according to payroll firm ADP in a report on Wednesday, which showed the US economy added only 37,000 jobs, the lowest in two years. Unlike the Labor Department report which lags by a few weeks, this report is more immediate.
“After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a release.
What was particularly notable about the ADP report was the set of industries with net job losses. The manufacturing sector recorded a net loss of 3,000. Natural resources and the mining industry lost 5,000. Those losses in the goods-producing sectors were offset by a job gain of 6,000 in construction.
The only substantive gains were in the leisure and hospitality sector, a notoriously low-paying sector, which added 38,000, according to ADP. Financial services followed in the gains, adding 18,000 jobs. However, those gains were offset by losses, including in education and health, which cut 13,000 jobs. The trade and transportation and utilities sector cut 4,000 jobs.
Last month, the ADP report showed 62,000 jobs were added, in stark contrast to the Labor Department’s 147,000, because it is considered a more immediate measure.
Job openings and labour turnover
On Tuesday, the job openings and labour turnover survey or JOLTS report, which captures data at a significant lag to the Labor Department and ADP, showed there were 7.4 million open jobs in April, up roughly 191,000 from the month before.
But just because jobs are open does not mean they are being filled, according to Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
“I think that reflects some cautiousness on the part of both employers and workers,” Gould told Al Jazeera.
While job openings in sectors like trade, transportation and utilities increased, hiring actually decreased.
This comes as major employers have implemented hiring slowdowns and freezes across sectors.
American Airlines reportedly put in place a hiring freeze for flight attendants in April amid uncertainty in the travel market. The financial services company T Rowe Price slowed down its hiring. And amid a slowdown in research grants, universities have put in place hiring freezes, most recently Johns Hopkins University, which currently has 600 National Institutes of Health-funded medical research projects under way.
Hiring for small businesses declined in May by 4.4 percent compared with this time last year, according to Homebase, a payroll service provider for more than 150,000 small businesses accounting for roughly 3.8 million workers.
To forecast what to expect in the jobs market moving forward, EPI’s Gould suggests a close watch on key indicators including housing starts and factory orders, which indicate that manufacturers and construction companies will need to cut jobs if trends continue.
“Some of the government data [like the jobs and JOLTS report] takes a lot longer to sort of see trouble to catch that turning point and you might see it in the other measures a little bit faster, but there’s also a lot of volatility in them,” Gould said.
In April, residential home construction declined by 0.9 percent, the third straight month of declines, suggesting a pullback that indicates both builders and consumers are wary about building new homes and making improvements. At the same time, orders for goods made in US factories fell by 3.7 percent in April, according to the Census Bureau.
“Is Liz Truss still in the party?” asks Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch has insisted she is “going to get better” as Conservative leader, saying she is not “shy about self-criticism”.
It comes after shadow chancellor Mel Stride defended his boss earlier this week following criticism of her performances at Prime Minister’s Questions, saying she would improve.
Badenoch told the BBC: “You don’t want people to be the very best they’re going to be on day one.”
The interview followed a speech by Badenoch where she launched a commission to examine whether the UK should withdraw from a series of international agreements in order to tackle illegal migration and allow foreign criminals to be deported more easily.
Since last summer’s general election, when the Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in the party’s parliamentary history, support for the party has slumped further and they have been overtaken by Reform UK in the polls.
The Tories also suffered a disastrous set of local election results last month, losing hundreds of council seats to Nigel Farage’s party.
Meanwhile, there has been criticism of Badenoch’s performance against Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions and her decision to take time to work out policy positions on key issues.
Asked about Stride’s comment that she would get better, Badenoch told the BBC: “The people who have done this job before have all told me that the first day is not what the last day is going to be like.
“That every week is different, every week you’re learning.
“And that’s what you want, you want people who are going to get better.”
Badenoch, who became Tory leader in November, admitted her party had “made some mistakes” and had “hit rock bottom” at the last general election.
She said she was changing the party but “it’s not going to happen overnight” – and she insisted she would definitely lead it into the next general election in four years time.
Earlier this week, Stride distanced the party from former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget, saying in a speech that it had damaged their economic credibility.
The £45bn package of tax cuts funded by borrowing sparked turmoil on financial markets and led to Truss resigning after just 45 days in office.
Asked why she did not make a decisive break with Truss by throwing her out of the party, a smiling Badenoch said she did not know whether the former PM was still a member.
“Is she still in the party?” she asked, insisting that she was not interested in “any particular individual” but about how to get the country “back on track”.
A spokesman for Truss, who lost her seat in last year’s general election, confirmed she was still a Conservative Party member.
In a speech earlier, Badenoch sought to flesh out her party’s approach to tackling illegal immigration.
She launched a commission, which will be led by Tory peer and former justice minister Lord Wolfson, to look at the potential consequences of leaving international treaties including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and whether this could help the government take back control of the asylum system.
The ECHR, which was established in 1950, sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries and is a central part of UK human rights law.
However, Badenoch said it had become a “sword used to attack democratic decisions” and to halt attempts to deport illegal migrants and foreign criminals.
The Tory leader said she now believed the UK “will likely need to leave” the ECHR “because I am yet to see a clear and coherent way to fix this within our current legal structures”.
But she said she would not commit to this without “a clear plan” and “a full understanding of all the consequences”.
The commission is due to report back at the Conservative Party’s annual conference in the autumn.
If the commission concludes it is not necessary to leave the ECHR to achieve her aims, including controlling immigration and removing foreign criminals from the UK, Badenoch suggested she would abide by this.
“If there is a way to fix that without leaving the ECHR…. then that’s great because my objection is not about the ECHR so much as it is the problems we’re trying to solve,” she said.
Whether to leave the ECHR has been a divisive issue for the Conservative Party.
During last year’s leadership contest Badenoch argued leaving the treaty would not be a “silver bullet” for tackling immigration, while her rival Robert Jenrick, now shadow justice secretary, said the party would “die” unless it left.
However, since becoming Tory leader, Badenoch has hardened her stance.
Last month, the government said it would bring forward legislation to make clear Parliament needs to be able to control the UK’s borders and to clarify how aspects of the ECHR should apply in immigration cases.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch’s review is nothing more than a desperate attempt to appease Robert Jenrick and Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.
“If she’s so certain in her approach, why didn’t the Conservatives make these changes when they had the chance in government, rather than simply booting them into the long grass.”
EU affirms its unwavering support for the ICC, denouncing US sanctions as a threat to judicial independence and justice.
The European Union “deeply regrets” the United States sanctions placed on four judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday announced sanctions on four judges whom the US accuses of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and its allies.
Responding to the announcement on Friday, von der Leyen said the Hague-based court had the “full support” of the EU.
“The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account & gives victims a voice,” von der Leyen said on X on Friday. “It must be free to act without pressure.”
United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said he was “profoundly disturbed” by the US decision.
“Attacks against judges for performance of their judicial functions, at national or international levels, run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law – values for which the US has long stood,” Turk said.
“Such attacks are deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice,” he added, calling for the sanctions to be withdrawn.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 EU member states, also called the court “a cornerstone of international justice” and said its independence and integrity must be protected.
The Commission fully supports the @IntlCrimCourt & its officials.
The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account & gives victims a voice.
It must be free to act without pressure.
We will always stand for global justice & the respect of international law.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 6, 2025
The US State Department said the sanctions were issued after the court made decisions to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a separate decision in 2020 to open an investigation into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.
The four sanctioned judges include Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia.
EU member Slovenia said it “rejects pressure on judicial institutions” and urged the EU to use its blocking statute.
“Due to the inclusion of a citizen of an EU member state on the sanctions list, Slovenia will propose the immediate activation of the blocking act,” Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X.
The mechanism lets the EU ban European companies from complying with US sanctions that Brussels deems unlawful. The power has been used in the past to prevent Washington from banning European trade with Cuba and Iran.
Slovenia regrets the announced sanctions by the US🇺🇸 government against 4 judges of the @IntlCrimCourt , including a judge from #Slovenia. SI🇸🇮 rejects pressure on judicial institutions and influence on judicial operations, and courts must act in the interests of law and justice.… pic.twitter.com/xhwBj8XeMz
The US sanctions mean the judges are added to a list of specially designated sanctioned individuals. Any US assets they have will be blocked and they are put on an automated screening service used not only by US banks but by many banks worldwide, making it very difficult for sanctioned people to hold or open bank accounts or transfer money.
This is not the first time the US has issued restrictions against an ICC official since Trump returned to office for a second term on January 20.
Shortly after taking office, Trump issued a broad executive order threatening anyone who participates in ICC investigations with sanctions. Critics warned that such sweeping language could pervert the course of justice, for example, by dissuading witnesses from coming forward with evidence.
But Trump argued that the 2024 arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant necessitated such measures.
He also claimed that the US and Israel were “thriving democracies” that “strictly adhere to the laws of war” and that the ICC’s investigations threatened military members with “harassment, abuse and possible arrest”.
The tech billionaire and owner of Tesla and Starlink, Elon Musk, has accused United States President Donald Trump of being one of the names in the still-sealed Epstein files, and claims that this is the real reason key documents are still being withheld from the public.
In January 2024, many of the so-called “Epstein files” compiled by US federal investigators were released to the public. However, some remained sealed.
Trump’s presidency began with a strong boost from Musk, who donated large sums to Trump’s presidential campaign and was appointed to lead a newly formed federal agency aimed at streamlining government operations, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But that relationship fractured after Musk resigned from the role in May 2025, following mounting public backlash over fiscal policies and a sharp decline in Tesla’s stock.
Since then, Musk has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Trump, calling his “One Big Beautiful Bill” a “disgusting abomination” for increasing the national debt and eliminating electric vehicle subsidies, and, now, accusing him of links to Epstein.
Here’s what we know about the Epstein files and Musk’s accusations.
What are the Epstein files?
The “Epstein files” are a collection of documents compiled by US federal authorities during investigations into the activities of Jeffrey Epstein, the now-deceased financier and convicted sex offender.
These files include flight logs, contact lists, court records and other materials documenting his activities and associations with high-profile individuals.
The first major release of the documents took place in January 2024, when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of records from a 2015 defamation lawsuit against Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
In February 2025, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) followed up with an official declassification of additional documents, many of which had already leaked, featuring redacted flight logs and contact books.
However, many documents remain sealed or heavily redacted, prompting public calls for full disclosure.
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that the FBI is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, with further releases pending necessary redactions to protect victims and ongoing investigations.
What has Musk said about the Epstein files?
On Thursday, Musk publicly accused President Donald Trump of being named in the unreleased Epstein files.
In a post on his social media platform X, Musk wrote: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.” He did not provide any evidence to support this claim.
Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
Trump has not directly addressed Musk’s claim regarding the Epstein files.
However, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday, Trump said he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s criticism of the fiscal bill and suggested that Musk’s opposition was down to the elimination of electric vehicle subsidies.
“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
Trump also threatened to terminate federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, stating that this would save the US government billions of dollars.
What do we know about Trump’s relationship with Epstein?
Trump and Epstein were acquaintances in the 1980s and 1990s, often seen at social occasions together in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Their appearances together were documented in news coverage and social pages at the time, while US media reported the two became close during the 1990s when Epstein bought a mansion near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach.
A 1992 video published by NBC News shows Trump and Epstein socialising and watching dancers at a party hosted at Mar-a-Lago.
In a 2002 profile of Epstein by New York Magazine, Trump was quoted describing Epstein as a “terrific guy” who enjoyed the company of beautiful women “on the younger side”.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump said.
Flight logs released during court proceedings against Maxwell show that Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet at least seven times between 1993 and 1997, occasionally with family members.
Epstein’s “Black Book” – a contact directory obtained in 2015 by Gawker, a now-defunct US blog that covered celebrities and media – was later submitted as court evidence and listed multiple phone numbers and addresses for Trump, including his office, home and Mar-a-Lago.
What happens now?
Once allies, Musk’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated significantly since his criticism of Trump’s fiscal policy and subsequent allegations about the Epstein files.
Trump’s threats to cut federal contracts with Musk’s companies led to a 14 percent drop in Tesla’s stock value. Musk has since called for Trump’s impeachment and replacement with US Vice President JD Vance.
This public spat has also drawn attention from political figures, with some Democrats demanding the release of the full Epstein files and questioning whether they are being withheld due to potential implications for Trump.
NatWest has apologised after customers were left unable to use its mobile banking app in the UK, preventing some from accessing their bank accounts.
More than 3,000 people have reported problems on outage-checking site Downdetector since the issues first emerged at 0910 GMT.
The firm said on its service status website that its online banking service was still working normally – though this has been disputed by some customers. Card payments are unaffected.
“We are aware that customers are experiencing difficulties accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning,” a NatWest spokesperson told the BBC.
“We’re really sorry about this and working to fix it as quickly as possible.”
BBC/NatWest
People saw this message when trying to use online banking on Friday
Customers have taken to social media to complain about the impact the IT failure is having on them.
One person said they had to “put back my shopping because of it”, while another said they were “waiting to go shopping” but couldn’t transfer money to do so.
NatWest has advised customers on social media that it has “no timeframe” for a fix, but said its team is “working hard” to resolve it.
Customers are being advised to access their accounts in other ways if they can – such as through online banking.
However, some people have reported problems with NatWest’s online service too, with one sharing an error message which they said was displayed when they tried to make a payment.
Others have expressed frustration with the bank’s response, with one saying it was “disgraceful” there was no timeframe, while another called it “very poor service“.
“What I don’t get is the bank closes loads of branches ‘to save money’ and forcing people to rely on the app and online banking… but clearly hasn’t invested in a system that works properly,” one angry customer said.
A recurring problem
This is the latest in a long line of banking outages.
According to a report in March, nine major banks and building societies have had around 803 hours – the equivalent of 33 days – of tech outages since 2023.
Inconvenient for customers, outages come at a cost to the banks, too.
The Commons Treasury Committee found Barclays could face compensation payments of £12.5m over outages since 2023.
Over the same period, Natwest has paid £348,000, HSBC has paid £232,697, and Lloyds has paid £160,000.
Thailand’s military said it had gathered ‘worrisome’ indications that Cambodia has stepped up its military readiness.
Thailand’s military has said it is ready to launch a “high-level operation” to counter violations of its sovereignty, offering its strongest comments yet following the re-eruption of a long-running border dispute with Cambodia.
In a statement on Thursday night, the Thai military said its intelligence had gathered “worrisome” indications that Cambodia has stepped up its military readiness along their shared border.
“The army is now ready for a high-level military operation in case it is necessary to retaliate against the violation of sovereignty,” the statement said.
“Operations of units at the border have been conducted carefully, calmly and based on an understanding of the situation to prevent losses on all sides, but at the same time, are ready to defend the country’s sovereignty to the fullest extent if the situation is called for,” the statement added.
The top brass of Thailand’s armed forces are scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting on Friday afternoon, while the country’s army, navy and air force have also raised their combat readiness, according to the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS).
Colonel Chainarong Kasee, a commander of Thailand’s 12th infantry regiment of the Royal Guards, said his troops have been ordered to check that all equipment is in good working order, Thai PBS also reports.
On May 28, Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thai troops shot and killed one of its soldiers during a brief firefight in a disputed border region between Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province.
The ministry accused Thai soldiers of opening fire first on a Cambodian military post in the contested border zone. Thailand’s Minister of Defence Phumtham Wechayachai said Cambodian forces opened fire first.
The Southeast Asian neighbours have repeatedly clashed in Preah Vihear’s border region over the years, where a 900-year-old temple sits at the heart of a decades-long dispute that has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border.
Several deadly clashes took place in the area between 2008 – the year Cambodia registered the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and 2011, killing about 40 people, including five civilians.
A 2013 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld a 1962 judgement by the same body awarding part of the land around Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia and instructing Thailand to withdraw its personnel stationed in the area.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the son of long-ruling former leader Hun Sen, has said Cambodia will file disputes over four parts of the border to the ICJ for adjudication and asked for Thailand’s cooperation in the process.
Thailand, which has not recognised the ICJ’s jurisdiction since 1960, has instead called for bilateral talks.
“Thailand and Cambodia already have existing bilateral mechanisms to address these issues,” Thailand’s government said in a statement.
“Thailand reiterates its position as a neighbour committed to resolving issues peacefully and based on international law, treaties, and agreements … as well as satellite imagery and other verified evidence,” the statement added.
A meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission – which addresses border demarcation issues – is slated for June 14.
On May 30, the last day of Poland’s presidential campaign, Karol Nawrocki laid flowers at a monument that has long sparked controversy.
The 14-metre tall statue commemorating the Volhynian massacre depicts a crowned eagle, the symbol of Poland, with a cross shape cut out from its chest. In that cross, a child’s body is impaled on a trident, representing the Ukrainian coat of arms, the “tryzub”.
The statue was revealed in July 2024 in Domostawa, a village in southeastern Poland close to Ukraine’s border. It commemorates the ethnic cleansing of Poles by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Polish-Ukrainian borderland between 1943 to 1945. While statistics vary, it is assumed that between 40,000 and 100,000 people perished in the massacre.
But before Domostawa accepted the monument, several cities, including Rzeszow, Torun and Stalowa Wola, refused to host it due to the brutality of the sculptor’s vision and in order not to damage relations with Ukraine.
In Domostawa, Poland, a memorial to the victims of the 1940s massacre in Volhynia and eastern Galicia stirred controversy [File: Getty Images]
To Nawrocki, formerly the head of the Institute of National Remembrance, a state research institute, the scene felt like the place to end his presidential bid.
“The Volhynian Massacre was a cruel crime. The methods of murdering Poles were cruel. It was a neighbourly crime, because neighbours murdered neighbours. It was also a robbery, because Ukrainian nationalists often robbed their neighbours,” Nawrocki said.
“We have the right to talk about it. I have the right to talk about it as the president of the Institute of National Remembrance and I will have this right as the president of Poland after June 1.”
Dear President @ZelenskyyUa, thank you for your message. I am looking forward to countinue partnership of our countries, based on mutual respect and understanding. I believe it requires not only good dialogue but also solving overdue historical issues. Poland has been Ukraine’s…
During his ultimately successful campaign, President-elect Nawrocki, a nationalist, said that Poles should have priority in queues for doctor’s appointments and called to limit Ukrainians’ access to benefits. He also said he was against Ukraine joining NATO and the European Union, a stark contrast from Poland’s traditional position of support as Kyiv fights off Russian forces.
Warsaw’s support, Nawrocki believes, should depend on Ukraine making amends for the Volhynian massacre, which could include the exhumation of Polish victims.
Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, Poland, under the rule of the Law and Justice – or PiS – party, which supported Nawrocki, accepted more than a million Ukrainian refugees and backed Ukraine with weapons as Kyiv’s other European allies, such as Germany, hesitated.
Thousands of Poles hosted Ukrainians in their homes as Poland became the loudest pro-Ukrainian voice in the EU and NATO.
But while PiS has a long history of supporting Ukraine throughout its revolutions in 2004 and 2014, and following the Russian onslaught, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric is now taking hold.
‘Playing the anti-Ukrainian card’
In the first round of the presidential election, 51 percent of Poles voted for candidates who had touted positions at odds with Ukraine’s ambitions. Even the liberal candidate from the Civic Platform, Rafal Trzaskowski, suggested that Ukrainians who do not pay taxes should be deprived of child benefits.
According to research by the Mieroszewski Centre, in 2022, 83 percent of Ukrainians had a positive opinion of Poles, but by November 2024, this number fell to 41 percent.
In January 2025, 51 percent of Poles said that Ukrainian refugees receive too much support. Almost half of respondents said that difficult historical issues should be solved to improve Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Research published in February 2025 by CBOS found that just 30 percent of Poles had a positive attitude towards Ukrainians, down from 51 percent in 2023, while 38 percent had a negative attitude towards their Ukrainian neighbours, up from 17 percent in 2023.
“I think that Poland should continue its support for Ukraine, but I am disappointed with the position of the Ukrainian state. If not for Poland’s strong and decisive reaction at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which encouraged Europe’s support, Ukraine would not survive. And then in front of the United Nations General Assembly, Ukraine’s president compared Poland to Russia,” said Nawrocki voter Michal, a 33-year-old travel guide.
“Ukrainians never showed any remorse for the Volhynian massacre. And I find it unacceptable that figures like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, who are responsible for massacres of Poles during World War II, are considered Ukraine’s national heroes,” Michal added, referring to the Ukrainian nationalist leaders and Nazi collaborators.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers the decision of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to establish 11 July as a Day of Remembrance for the victims of the so-called “genocide committed by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/c5nu1hPaDl
Meanwhile, grudges against Ukrainian refugees have swelled.
“In February and March 2022, in a few weeks, Poland became a country that was no longer culturally uniform. For many Poles, who had no experience of diversity, the very fact that suddenly their neighbours spoke a different language became difficult to accept,” said Rafal Pankowski from the antiracism Never Again association.
Currently, more than 50 percent of Poles declare solidarity with Ukrainian refugees, down from 90 percent in 2022, he said, citing his organisation’s polling data.
“One of the reasons why support for Ukrainians has fallen is right-wing propaganda and conspiracy theories spread on social media. We have been monitoring the situation since the beginning of the war, and it has been clear that in the long run, playing the anti-Ukrainian card will bring the far right political benefits. And this is what happened in this campaign.”
Igor Krawetz, a Ukrainian commentator who has lived in Poland for almost 20 years, said that he is surprised at the speed of the shift. Two years ago, open hostility towards Ukrainians was viewed as inappropriate, even among the right, he said.
“Polish anti-Ukrainian xenophobia is no longer limited to spaces where Ukrainian migrants compete with Poles, such as low-skilled jobs. Now xenophobia is expressed by the middle class, too, who see that Ukrainians moved businesses to Warsaw, buy expensive apartments and are no longer poor people that need the Poles’ support,” he added.
The shift brings back memories for Krawetz.
Polish solidarity with Ukraine ended in disillusionment and mutual accusations in 2004, when Poles supported Ukraine’s Orange Revolution and in 2014, after the Euromaidan.
“Poles have got used to seeing Ukraine’s misfortunes as their own pain. For the past 20 years, during crises, there have been romantic waves of brotherly support that lasted for several months and were always followed by complaints: ‘I helped you in 2022 and you still haven’t won the war’ type of thing,” Krawetz said.
“I have survived the first and second wave of solidarity with Ukraine. I will survive the last one, too. It always comes back full circle.”
There was never a doubt in Tyrese Haliburton’s mind.
The Indiana Pacers star has done it too often – especially in the 2025 playoffs – to not have confidence in the closing seconds.
Haliburton hit a 20-foot pull-up jumper in the final second on Thursday as the Pacers completed a stunning comeback for a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
It was the 25-year-old’s fourth big-time shot in the closing seconds during this year’s playoffs.
The Pacers hadn’t led in Thursday’s finals opener until Halliburton drained his latest clutch hoop with 0.3 seconds remaining.
“Ultimate confidence in himself,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said of Haliburton. “Some players will say they have it, but there are other players that show it … He wants to be the one to hit that shot. He doesn’t shy away from that moment.”
In Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs, Haliburton cut through the lane to hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime, giving the Pacers a win and ending the series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In Game 2 of the second round, he hit a step-back 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to put Indiana up one and put the Cleveland Cavaliers into a 2-0 hole.
Then in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Haliburton hit another step-back shot that appeared to be the game-winner initially but was changed to a two that forced overtime against the New York Knicks. Indiana eventually won.
The Thursday shot merely continued the pattern.
Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the game-winning basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals [Morgan Givens/Getty Images via AFP]
Indiana trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, and though the Pacers cut the deficit to one in the closing seconds, the Thunder had the ball in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands with a chance to put the Pacers away.
However, Andrew Nembhard guarded the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) tenaciously, helping to force a missed fadeaway from Gilgeous-Alexander that opened the door for Haliburton’s heroics.
With 11 seconds left, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle trusted his team and didn’t take a timeout.
Haliburton worked his way down the court against Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace, driving just inside the 3-point arc before pulling up for a shot that briefly rattled around the rim before dropping through.
“I had a pretty good idea,” Haliburton said when asked whether he knew the shot was good.
Indiana won despite turning the ball over 25 times in Game 1.
“It’s not the recipe to win,” Haliburton said. “We can’t turn the ball over that much … (but) come May and June, it doesn’t matter how you get ’em, just get ’em.”
The best-of-seven series resumes with Game 2 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 scored a game-high 38 points in a losing effort [William Purnell/Getty Images via AFP]
Thunder to try level series in Game 2
“The series isn’t first to one, it’s first to four,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So we have four more games to get. They have three, and that’s just where we are.”
Game 1 was a gut punch for the Thunder, who led from the start and got 38 points from Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City managed just 11 points off the Pacers’ giveaways, including just nine off Indiana’s 20 first-half turnovers.
The Pacers trailed by 15 early in the fourth quarter before chipping away at the deficit. Nembhard and Myles Turner each scored eight points in the period.
Indiana cut the deficit to one with 48.6 seconds remaining on Pascal Siakam’s putback following a missed 3-point attempt by Nembhard.
Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and added 10 rebounds. Obi Toppin had 17 points off the bench, Turner scored 15 and Nembhard had 14. Haliburton finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
For Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams contributed 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting while Chet Holmgren was just 2 of 9 for six points.
The Thunder led 94-79 with 9:42 remaining, but Indiana wasn’t about to go away.
The Pacers ripped off a 15-4 run to stay within striking distance, and then they surged ahead late.
Oklahoma City hit just one field goal in the final four minutes, giving the Pacers the opening to come back.
“We played like we were trying to keep the lead instead of trying to extend it or be aggressive,” Williams said.
