Syria would do a “better job” fighting the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group than Israel, without “killing everyone else,” US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday, in a rare public criticism of Israel.

West Jerusalem sent its troops into southern Lebanon to battle Hezbollah in the wake of the US-Israeli attack on Iran. Despite a supposed ceasefire, and with Tehran making an end to the war in Lebanon one of its key demands in negotiations with the US, the Israeli onslaught in the country continues and has even gained momentum in recent weeks.

Trump lamented West Jerusalem’s approach to the conflict, including its routine aerial attacks on densely populated areas, suggesting that neighboring Syria could do a “better job” against the group.

I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah. Because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it.

Trump proceeded to shower praise on the former leader of the Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, calling him a “very capable” leader who “protected everything that I’ve asked for.”

Hezbollah backed Syria’s former president, Bashar al-Assad, during the decade-long civil war, fighting the assorted jihadist groups that now comprise the core of the country’s military and security forces. During the conflict, Israel repeatedly bombed Syria, attacking almost exclusively pro-Assad forces and citing the Iranian presence as justification.

After the Assad government fell in December 2024, West Jerusalem subjected the country to an extensive bombing campaign targeting assets left behind by the collapsed military in an effort to prevent the victorious jihadists from seizing its entire inventory. Its forces also occupied part of the country, including the strategic high-altitude summit of Mount Hermon.

Jeffrey Epstein attempted suicide at least three times before his death in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, according to the New York Times. Investigators reportedly found multiple nooses in his cell after his death, a report detailing the convicted sex offender’s final days in federal custody has revealed.

Days before his first reported suicide attempt, Epstein asked his cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione how to make a noose after a judge denied his bail request, the outlet reported. The investigation, published on Tuesday, drew on court documents, previously released Epstein files and more than 50 new interviews with inmates, jail staff and others.

Tartaglione, a former New York police officer serving four life sentences for a quadruple murder, told the outlet the question came roughly two weeks into Epstein’s detention at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Epstein’s cellmate claims he reported both incidents to correctional officers, but they laughed off his warnings. His account was corroborated by another inmate, Peter Bright, who told the NYT that Tartaglione had described the earlier suicide attempts to him shortly after Epstein’s death.

On July 22, less than three weeks before Epstein’s death, Tartaglione reportedly found him motionless on the floor of their cell with an orange fabric noose around his neck.

The report comes amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s death and his ties to some of the world’s most influential figures. Millions of pages of records have been released since US President Donald Trump signed legislation last year requiring the Justice Department to disclose files related to Epstein investigations, reigniting interest in the financier’s connections to figures such as Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Bill Gates.

The West routinely takes liberties with international law and applies double standards when dealing with countries representing the global majority, Russian ambassador-at-large Ilya Rogachev has said at a BRICS seminar on criminal law cooperation in Moscow.

Addressing the event on Tuesday, Rogachev argued that the West follows one set of legal norms in relations among its own states and another when dealing with countries outside its sphere.

“There is still international law, there is still law that so-called civilized nations living in a ‘blooming garden’ apply among themselves. And there are rules that are put in place on an ad-hoc basis when regulating relations between the inhabitants of the ‘blooming garden’ and the inhabitants of the ‘wild jungle’,” he said.

Rogachev questioned the legitimacy of such practices, asking: “Where are these rules set in writing? And who developed them?” He argued that the West frequently invokes unwritten standards and selectively interprets international law to advance its political objectives.

“The rest of the world… is not exactly a garden,” Borrell told students at the College of Europe in Bruges.

Following an outcry over apparent racist and colonial undertones, he had to walk back his remarks.

Another keynote speaker at the BRICS seminar in Moscow, former Russian Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin, who currently chairs the country’s Association of Lawyers, concurred that actions by Western countries over the past few decades have “dealt a serious blow” to the very concept of international law.

He cited among the most glaring examples the NATO-led 1999 war against Yugoslavia, when the US and its European allies launched their military campaign in the absence of a UN Security Council resolution.

“Not to mention Syria, Iraq, and what is currently going on in Lebanon. I’m not even talking about the annihilation of 70,000 civilians in Gaza by the regime of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Stepashin added.

He noted that no international organization, including the International Criminal Court, had spoken out against those responsible in the West.

The FBI foiled a plot to attack a UFC event attended by US President Donald Trump over the weekend, agency director Kash Patel confirmed on Tuesday.

The title fight, staged on the White House grounds as part of the America 250 celebrations and Trump’s 80th birthday festivities, sparked controversy over the use of a national landmark for a sporting spectacle and prompted a failed legal bid to halt the event. It also reportedly became the target of a large-scale terrorist plot.

According to multiple US media reports citing FBI officials, the agency uncovered the alleged plot last week and arrested at least five suspects. The group is accused of planning to use explosive-laden drones to attack the event, trigger mass panic, and then target fleeing spectators with sniper fire. Investigators say the suspects also intended to storm the White House gates and breach the compound.

“Thanks to the rapid action of the FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody, and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Patel wrote on X.

The FBI director revealed that the agency had identified 23 people involved in discussing “pre-operational activity” in chats on the messaging app Signal. Patel did not elaborate on how many suspects ended up in custody or provide any further details, promising to brief the public on the investigation later on.

The high-profile combat sports event was attended by more than 4,000 people, including some 1,200 active-duty military personnel. Up to 85,000 more people attended a ticketed watch party at the Ellipse park just to the south of the White House, where giant screens were erected to broadcast the fights.

France’s domestic spy agency will swap software from US defense tech giant Palantir for a French-made alternative, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said. Palantir, however, has said that the change won’t happen for years.

In a video statement released on Tuesday, Lecornu said that the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) had hired French firm ChapsVision to “replace the American giant Palantir.”

Lecornu did not say when the switchover would take place. The DGSI has used Palantir software since 2016, and renewed its contract with the Silicon Valley defense firm last year. The current contract is set to expire in 2028, and Palantir insists that it will remain “fully in force” until then.

In a statement, Palantir said that its cooperation with the DGSI “continues under the existing contractual commitments and in full compliance with the highest standards of security, data protection, regulatory compliance and transparency.”

“Our enemy has a face,” he told a crowd on Saturday. “And he has a name. His name is Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Zhang Yiming,” he said, referring to the CEOs of SpaceX, OpenAI and ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.

Nigel Farage’s recent Substack post lays bare the reality of Britain’s “two-tier” system, where native white Britons face systemic disadvantages in policing, housing, employment, and justice while ethnic minorities receive preferential treatment under the guise of “equality.”

This is not an aberration or a policy glitch. It is the predictable outcome of attempting to impose liberal democracy on a multiracial society. Different ethnic groups possess distinct collective interests rooted in both biology and culture. Where those interests diverge, genuine democracy, meaning rule by the people for the common good, becomes impossible. Only one outcome prevails: the slow disenfranchisement of the historical white majority.

Human beings are not blank slates. Evolution and genetic similarity theory demonstrate that people favor their own ethnic group. This is not “racism”; it is kin selection, an adaptive strategy honed over millennia. Studies of in-group preference, crime statistics, voting patterns, and nepotistic networks across the globe confirm it: most non-white groups operate tribally as a matter of course. Middle Eastern clans, African kinship networks, South Asian extended families, East Asian ethnic solidarity, and Latin American mestizo patronage systems all prioritize “our people” first. This is normal human behavior.

Whites are the glaring exception. Through Christianity’s universalism, Enlightenment individualism, and post-World War II indoctrination via education, media, and elite institutions, Europeans have been brainwashed into viewing themselves solely as atomized individuals. “Race doesn’t matter,” “we’re all the same,” and “diversity is our strength” are articles of faith, not empirical observations. Whites extended this universalism outward – abolishing slavery, spreading human rights, and building institutions based on merit and fair play – only to then have it weaponized against them. Other groups never adopted it; they simply exploited white openness. The result is asymmetric competition: cohesive ethnic blocs practice nepotism, bloc voting, and resource extraction, while whites compete as isolated individuals, handicapped by their own self-imposed scruples.

The West invented the highest expressions of universalism: rule of law applied equally, individual rights, and merit-based advancement. These are noble achievements responsible for unparalleled prosperity and innovation. Yet in a world of group differences, they function as unilateral disarmament. Non-whites import their tribal strategies into open societies while whites cling to universal rules that prevent collective self-defense. Elites, often insulated by wealth, celebrate this as ‘moral progress.’ The autochthonous population pays the price: suppressed wages, strained welfare systems, skyrocketing crime in ‘diverse’ areas, cultural displacement, and two-tier justice.

Even under a purely meritocratic system, outcomes would not remain neutral. Ethnic genetic interests drive networking, lobbying, and subtle favoritism. Groups with higher average ethnocentrism outcompete those who suppress it. Data on group disparities in IQ, impulsivity, and social trust (from psychometric research and international comparisons) compound this. When whites become a minority – as projected in Britain, the US, and much of Europe within decades – the system turns overtly anti-white. South Africa and Zimbabwe offer clear warnings: once whites are reduced to a powerless minority under majority rule, the result is land expropriation, targeted violence, and the systematic dismantling of institutions built by the founding stock. Appeals to “democracy” ring hollow when the new leaders rewrite the rules.

By the height of the Empire, the city of Rome itself had undergone profound demographic transformation. Estimates suggest that native ethnic Romans comprised only a minority of the population, around 20% or less, due to massive influxes of slaves, freedmen, and immigrants from the provinces, with significant numbers from the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa. This transformation can easily be compared to the mass immigration and differential birth rates that are reshaping Western cities today.

There was no harmonious multiculturalism in the Roman Empire but the prelude to dissolution. Universal citizenship culminated in Emperor Caracalla’s edict of 212 AD, granting rights to nearly all free inhabitants, further blurring the distinction between conqueror and conquered. While Rome achieved temporary stability through military might and cultural imposition, the underlying tribal realities persisted. Provincial groups retained their interests; loyalty fragmented along ethnic lines as the Empire weakened. Barbarian migrations, internal decay, economic strain, and loss of cohesion among the original Roman people accelerated collapse. The once-mighty Republic of hardy farmer-warriors had become a polyglot empire ruled by emperors from distant provinces, its capital a shadow of its former self.

The lesson is clear: universalist abstractions cannot override ethnic genetic interests and kinship preferences indefinitely. Rome’s experiment in expansive citizenship and demographic openness sowed the seeds of its own irreversible alteration and eventual fall in the West. Today’s West, preaching the same gospel of abstract humanity while importing tribal majorities, repeats the error on a faster timeline.

The only viable long-term alternative is to abandon the illusion of a single, civic nation-state with a multi-ethnic population. Instead, we should move towards ethnopluralism: the recognition and institutional accommodation of distinct peoples within larger frameworks. This could take the form of an ethnopluralist empire or confederation: autonomous homelands or regions for major ethnic/cultural groups, each governing itself according to its own norms, with voluntary association and separation where desired. Power could be devolved to the organic units of kinship, rather than top-down imposition of a deracinated “equality.” Historical empires managed this better than modern liberal states, allowing peoples to coexist without forced integration or domination.

Whites must rediscover their own ethnic consciousness, not out of supremacy but survival and reciprocity. Rejecting universalist suicide does not require hating others; it requires realism. Other groups pursue their interests unapologetically. Only when whites do the same can stable, high-trust arrangements emerge. Farage’s critique of a two-tier Britain is a starting point. The deeper truth is that without halting demographic replacement and rethinking governance along lines of peoplehood, democracy itself becomes a fiction masking tribal conquest.

This is the hard reality many conservative thinkers have warned about for decades. Pretending otherwise accelerates decline.

The Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1% on Tuesday, lifting borrowing costs to their highest level since 1995 as it sought to contain inflation from soaring energy prices driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran.   

The central bank said it would continue raising rates if inflation remains elevated, citing the impact of higher oil prices on consumer costs.  

Although the US and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to end hostilities following weeks of negotiations, BoJ officials remain wary of lingering price pressures. Japan relies heavily on imported oil, and crude prices surged during the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. A weak yen has further increased the cost of imports.

BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said the agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz had reduced risks to Japan’s economy, but warned that uncertainty remained over how quickly global supply chains would normalize.  

“We don’t know what will happen next,” Uchida told reporters on Tuesday.  

Price increases were becoming more widespread across the economy, he said, raising the risk that underlying inflation could accelerate beyond the central bank’s 2% target.  

The rate hike comes as Japan embarks on its largest military buildup since World War II. Tokyo’s fiscal 2026 defense budget climbed to a record 9.04 trillion yen ($58 billion), equivalent to about 1.9% of GDP, as the government seeks to raise military spending to 2% of output, in line with the benchmark used by NATO members and partners.   

This has added to concerns about fiscal pressures at a time when policymakers are also grappling with higher borrowing costs and persistent inflation.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that under-16s will be banned from social media, and adults will have to verify their identity to use major platforms. Critics say it’s an opportunity for Starmer to fulfil his long-term goal of introducing digital ID by the back door.

This is the point. Same will happen in all countries that will make social media age restrictions. “Won’t someone think of the children” is usually not about the children https://t.co/PKN8mDcliv

— tobi lutke (@tobi) June 15, 2026

Starmer announced the ban on Monday, declaring that he is “simply not prepared to be a bystander when the safety and happiness of our children are at stake.” According to information released by his office, children under 16 will be banned from “user to user” apps like X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and will also be forbidden from livestreaming and messaging strangers on gaming apps.

So-called “romantic companion” AI chatbots will be banned, and 16- and 17-year-olds will face nightly social media curfews. The ban will come into force next year.

Is the proposed UK social media ban popular?

On the surface, the ban is an easy win for Starmer. Nine out of ten parents told the Guardian that they would support such a ban, while 76% of all Britons – parents or not – back the measure, according to a YouGov poll. With Starmer facing a leadership challenge from within his own party, and with his approval rating languishing at a miserable 16%, the timing of the ban was convenient for the prime minister.

Things get messier, however, when it comes to the ban’s enforcement.

Will adults have to prove their age to use social media?

Details of the ban’s enforcement mechanisms remain vague, but over-16s will need to prove their identity in order to use apps restricted for children. Starmer’s office said that age verification will “use the same model for a social media ban as Australia,” and the PM said that it will build on “our experience with the Online Safety Act.”

In Australia, where a social media ban has been in place since December, users are required to prove that they are over 16 by allowing their faces to be scanned, or submitting government-issued ID, with platforms in charge of conducting these checks. The UK’s Online Safety Act already requires users to prove their age in order to access pornographic websites, with facial scanning, open banking information, credit card checks, photo ID, and digital ID all considered acceptable forms of proof by the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom.

Is the ban an excuse to push digital ID?

Starmer tried and failed to introduce mandatory digital ID last year, claiming that it would allow the government to better keep track of illegal migrants. The plan was fiercely opposed by all opposition parties, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage saying it would “make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and penalize the rest of us.”

I said NO to Digital ID then, and I am saying NO to Digital ID now! pic.twitter.com/q9qzVPeARx

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 13, 2026

Dozens of Starmer’s fellow Labour Party MPs condemned the scheme, a public petition against digital ID gained more than 1.5 million signatures, and Starmer backed down in January. As of now, digital ID remains optional in the UK.

According to Ofcom figures, 89% of adult internet users in the UK use at least one social media platform. By making these users prove their identity before accessing social media, Starmer’s ban is essentially forcing a form of digital ID onto a population that roundly rejected it last year. At least that’s how some tech executives see the ban: X owner Elon Musk described the law as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” claiming that “the real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone.”

The verification “is the point,” Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke wrote on X. “’Won’t someone think of the children’ is usually not about the children.”

This is the point. Same will happen in all countries that will make social media age restrictions. “Won’t someone think of the children” is usually not about the children https://t.co/PKN8mDcliv

— tobi lutke (@tobi) June 15, 2026

Who could the UK social media ban affect? 

The law could affect all smartphone users – not just those who use social media. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has argued that verification should be carried out by Apple and Google when smartphone users set up iOS or Android devices, rather than by individual social media platforms. While this would allow Meta to avoid the legal responsibility of carrying out these checks itself, it would also tie every iOS or Android account to a real person, and every British smartphone user to their device.

How could Starmer’s social media ban be abused?

Linking every social media account to an identifiable person would effectively spell the end of online anonymity in the UK, and tying every smartphone to a person would give the government unprecedented power to track the movements of criminals, political dissidents, and ordinary citizens alike.

“Thousands in the UK are already arrested for political posts every year,” Telegram CEO Pavel Durov wrote on X. “Is this really about protecting children – or identifying more people to arrest?”

All social media users in the UK will have to “prove” they’re over 16 — with an ID, face scan or bank card.

Thousands in the UK are already arrested for political posts every year.

Is this really about protecting children — or identifying more people to arrest?

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 15, 2026

The UK arrests around 30 people every day, or 12,000 per year, for offensive online posts or messages, according to data obtained by The Times last April. While this figure already dwarfs similar counts from China, Germany, and Russia combined, not all British police departments contacted by the newspaper agreed to disclose their data, meaning that the true figure is likely significantly higher. Meanwhile, only 11% of violent and sexual offense cases in England and Wales end with a suspect being caught or charged, per 2024 figures.

Hundreds of people were arrested in 2024 for making social media posts in support of anti-immigration riots, with one man jailed for three years for retweeting an anti-immigration post. Musk, who branded Starmer “two-tier Keir” after he released more than 1,000 serious criminals early to clear prison space for speech offenders, declared the UK “a police state” after Starmer announced the social media ban.

Has Keir Starmer built a police state?

Last week, Ofcom ordered social media companies to put a “crisis protocol” in place to stop the spread of content “inciting racial or religious hatred, making threats, or inciting violence” during a “crisis event.” The EU has already used a similar mechanism – the so-called ‘Rapid Response System’ – to censor legitimate political speech deemed “misinformation” during elections, and Ofcom said that its order is a direct response to the “misinformation” that fueled the 2024 anti-immigration riots.

As a result, videos of migrant crime – such as the recent attempted beheading in Belfast – or other incidents likely to cause unrest – including the arrest and death of Henry Nowak over bogus ‘racism’ claims last year – may never see the light of day, and the British government may avoid the kind of difficult questions that have triggered violent riots and tanked Starmer’s popularity.

Whether this scenario is an inevitable consequence of the ban, or Starmer’s goal all along, the end result is the same. “We will become one of the first democracies in the world to require IDs to access the internet,” Big Brother Watch Director Silkie Carlo said on Monday. “We have seen the growth of surveillance in this country…and we are sleepwalking towards a total surveillance state.”

Iranian players and coaching staff have accused World Cup organizers of forcing them to compete under unfair conditions, as US visa problems and travel restrictions continue to disrupt the team’s campaign.

The 2026 World Cup is being co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, with most matches taking place in the US. The Iranian team, however, has had to base itself in Tijuana, Mexico after abandoning plans for a training camp in Arizona amid visa and security concerns.

Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday, but the result was overshadowed by complaints over travel, immigration delays and recovery time. Winger Mehdi Torabi’s US visa also reportedly expired after the match because he was only issued a single-entry document for the tournament.

Team сaptain Mehdi Taremi said the Iranian team had wanted to arrive in Los Angeles two days before the game and remain overnight afterward to recover, but was not allowed to do so.

Instead, he said, the squad had to spend five hours travelling from Tijuana, undergo lengthy immigration checks, train while fatigued, play the match, and leave immediately afterward.

“Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us,” Taremi said.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei also called Iran “the most oppressed” team at the tournament.

The remarks follow earlier complaints from Tehran that World Cup organizers had withdrawn Iran’s official ticket allocation days before the tournament, leaving the federation unable to provide seats to fans who had already made travel plans. A number of Iranian support staff and media representatives have also been denied US visas.

The disputes come as Washington and Tehran are preparing to formalize a peace roadmap after months of conflict, which had already cast uncertainty over Iran’s participation in the tournament. Earlier this year, Iranian officials raised the possibility of skipping the World Cup.

Iran are scheduled to face Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 before playing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran’s World Cup visa issues add to a growing list of controversies linked to US entry rules. A Somali referee selected for the tournament was also denied entry despite reportedly holding valid paperwork, while players, staff, and supporters from several countries have faced lengthy checks, visa delays or outright refusals.

FIFA has also faced broader anger over the tournament itself, including soaring ticket prices, costly stadium concessions, and mandatory hydration breaks that critics say look more like advertising windows than player-safety measures.

The Israeli government has reportedly outlined a plan to issue state funding to members of the extremist settler group Hilltop Youth, allocating some 5.5 million shekels ($1.9 million) for monthly stipends for its members.

Founded in the late 1990s, the group has been operating in the West Bank and maintaining a network of illegal outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories. Over the years, the Hilltop Youth has been involved in numerous violent incidents against Palestinians, including arson and murder, with almost complete impunity. The group, which is believed to have fewer than 1,000 active members, was recognized as an extremist entity and sanctioned by the EU and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control back in 2024.

The Israeli government is now seeking to provide stipends to the members of the group to cover food, clothes, and other basic necessities, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported on Monday, citing a document issued by far-right Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock. The ministry has identified more than 650 youths living in hilltop outposts across the West Bank who are eligible for the program.

The funds are a part of a broader program worth some 120 million shekels ($41.3 million), which is supposed to address the violence against Palestinians perpetrated by settlers, the daily noted. The program combines educational means with social work, including fielding mediators between the Hilltop Youth and local authorities, as well as encouraging military conscription.

The movement, which takes its roots in religious Zionism, is largely composed of Israeli settlers aged between 16 and 26. The group’s members opt to leave their homes, abandoning their education or work, to live in hilltop outposts overlooking Palestinian communities while harassing locals. The settler violence has been on the rise in the West Bank since the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023, which triggered a major conflict in Gaza.

The Group of Seven countries no longer run the world, member Canada has said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the presence of countries such as India at the gathering of the world’s most advanced economies and democracies highlights the G7’s acknowledgement of the need for a wider global perspective.

“It’s a recognition that the G7, if it ever did run the world, no longer runs the world or pretends to,” the Canadian leader said at an interaction at Trinity College Dublin, ahead of the G7 conclave in Evian, France.   

The grouping comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US, in addition to the European Union, which participates in the meetings as a ‘non-enumerated’ member.

Carney pointed out that tackling major global challenges requires wider international cooperation and perspectives beyond the group’s traditional members.

The G7 summit is taking place shortly after Iran and the US struck a peace deal ending months-long hostilities that have paralyzed shipping in the Gulf of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical waterways. The deal is to be formally signed this coming Friday. 

The summit, which is already underway, also includes as partner countries Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and the Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates – apart from India, which holds the BRICS presidency this year.

Carney said these countries provide a “broader perspective and a broader element of the solution” to discussions on key global challenges.

🌍🇮🇳 G7 No Longer Runs The World, India's Presence Proves It: Canada PM Carney pic.twitter.com/5YkL26l78F

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 16, 2026

This underscores the key role of emerging and middle powers in addressing global issues, he said, adding the expanded gathering could formulate the contours of a new world order.

US President Donald Trump, who is attending the G7 meeting, is expected to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid strained relations over trade tariffs and the killing of Indian sailors by US forces enforcing the Iran blockade. 

Carney’s comments come on the heels of Modi and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico backing comprehensive reforms of multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council.

The structure of the UN was decided in the aftermath of World War II, but is increasingly seen as out of step with the modern world, where countries such as India have increased their economic and military clout. Russia and China have also been left out of the G7.

At the World Economic Summit in Davos in January, Carney urged “middle powers to work together in response to growing geopolitical tensions.”

A Russian vessel fired warning shots near a British yacht sailing on a dangerous trajectory in the English Channel, the Russian Defense Ministry has said, adding that the shots were fired when all other options had been exhausted.

The Admiral Grigorovich was sailing in international waters between the Isle of Wight and Normandy shortly before midday on Tuesday when its crew spotted the civilian yacht, the ‘Bright Future’ sailing “on a dangerous course that would bring it into close proximity with the warship,” the ministry said.

The Russian crew tried and failed to reach the yacht by radio, before firing signal flares and sounding a siren, neither of which succeeded in changing its course. When the yacht came within 150 meters, the commander of the Admiral Grigorovich decided to fire warning shots across its bow with small arms.

“Following this, the British-flagged yacht immediately altered course and moved away from the Russian warship,” the ministry said, adding that the Russian crew “acted in strict compliance with international navigation rules and took all necessary measures to prevent an incident.”

The Admiral Grigorovich – a 3,600-ton warship equipped to carry Kalibr cruise missiles – was being followed by a Royal Navy patrol ship – the HMS Mersey – at the time of the incident, the BBC reported. It is unclear how close the HMS Mersey was to the Admiral Grigorovich at the time.

The incident took place two days after British commandos boarded and seized a Cameroon-flagged tanker supposedly carrying sanctioned Russian oil. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the tanker as belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a euphemism for tankers that carry Russian oil without coverage from Western insurers. The vessel, the ‘Smyrtos’, was boarded in the English Channel.

India has successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM), boosting the country’s deep- and precision-strike capabilities.

The LRLACM can change altitudes and speeds in flight, much like the US Navy’s Tomahawk missile, leading some commentators to call it India’s Tomahawk.

India’s Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) conducted the test from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, according to an official statement.

Data from tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur showed that all test objectives were met.

Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) was successfully flight tested from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on 15th June 2026.https://t.co/wVYJauGjNQ pic.twitter.com/nutCCfzWEd

— DRDO (@DRDO_India) June 15, 2026

The cruise missile reportedly has a speed of up to 0.8 Mach and is capable of hitting targets in excess of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). It can evade radar by flying low and is capable of carrying a 500-kg warhead, reports suggest.

The missile is expected to add to the strike capabilities of the Indian Navy and Air Force as New Delhi builds out its missile arsenal. A few other tests were also conducted by the DRDO last week, including interceptor missiles for India’s ballistic missile defense shield.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau, makes the BrahMos cruise missiles in land, air, and sea variants.

The LRLACM’s successful test comes after the reported failure of the similar long-range Nirbhay missile project.

The cruise missile was developed entirely with indigenous technologies. All its sub-systems were developed by DRDO-backed laboratories and domestic industry partners. The Aeronautical Development Establishment in the southern city of Bengaluru functioned as the Nodal Laboratory of the project.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose pro-EU Civil Contract party won a decisive victory in the June 7 parliamentary election, has branded opposition parties that entered parliament as illegal and vowed to strip them of political standing. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Armenia’s geopolitical future, with Pashinyan’s party pushing for closer ties with the EU.  

The official results announced on Sunday showed Civil Contract won 49.74% of the vote, enough to form a government on its own. The opposition Strong Armenia bloc, founded by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, came second with 23.27%, while former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance won 9.92%.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Pashinyan, who has faced mass protests in recent years, said the opposition represented in the newly elected parliament had been formed through “absolutely illegal actions” and that Armenia had “legitimate right to deprive these circles of the opportunity for further political activity.”  

He said the authorities had documented instances of what he described as foreign interference aimed at protecting a “criminal-oligarchic regime” in Armenia.  

Pashinyan’s remarks came as opposition parties continued to contest the election outcome. Hundreds of protesters rallied outside CEC, demanding the annulment of the results and alleging widespread fraud, while opposition groups said they would challenge the vote before the Constitutional Court.  

The opposition came under a crackdown before, during, and after the election. Pashinyan has accused opposition groups of vote-buying during the campaign, allegations they dismiss as fabricated.   

He has also signaled plans to target leading opposition figures financially. He previously said his party’s agenda included confiscating assets belonging to Karapetyan, Kocharyan, and Tsarukyan, arguing they had used their wealth to influence elections.

Opposition leaders say the crackdown is politically motivated. Hayk Mamijanyan, leader of the parliamentary I Have Honor bloc, told Izvestia on Monday that Pashinyan had been given a “carte blanche” by the West for repression against opposition politicians and dissenters. He accused the prime minister of “selling” anti-Russian policies and statements to Western backers in exchange for political support.

US-based tech mogul Elon Musk has said he is taking legal action against German state broadcaster ZDF over claims that he incited anti-migrant violence in Northern Ireland.

Anti-immigration unrest erupted in Belfast last week after a Sudanese asylum seeker allegedly carried out a stabbing attack that left a local resident blind in his left eye. After the video of the incident went viral, rioters attacked homes, torched vehicles, and clashed with police in the city.

In a post on his X platform on Monday, Musk wrote that “legal action is being taken against ZDF for their outrageous lies.”

“During the lawsuit against them, we will find out exactly which cretin wrote this terrible lie,” he added in a subsequent post.

The world’s first trillionaire and a vocal critic of migration policies in multiple Western countries, including the UK, took issue with the ZDF Heute live broadcast last Friday devoted to the events in Northern Ireland. In it, the presenter claimed that a “racist mob then hunts down migrants. A British far-right extremist [Tommy Robinson] and tech billionaire Elon Musk called for it.”

ZDF has since admitted that the anchor’s wording was “imprecise and therefore misleading.”

“Tommy Robinson called for protests after the knife attack in Belfast. The post was shared by Elon Musk,” the media outlet clarified.

Nevertheless, Musk’s lawyer, Joachim Steinhofel sent a cease-and-desist letter to the German broadcaster on Tuesday, describing the statement in question as a “defamatory and slanderous allegation,” according to Die Welt.

Shortly before the unrest broke out in Belfast, Musk posted a message on X, saying that “only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!”

He also shared a post from Robinson listing dozens of protest locations across the UK.

This quickly drew the ire of the ruling Labour Party, with its chair Anna Turley accusing Musk of exploiting the stabbing attack and stoking tensions in Northern Ireland.

The incident involving the 30-year-old Sudanese man came shortly after another similar high-profile case triggered anti-immigration protests across the UK. Earlier this month, a police body-cam video was released depicting the last minutes of 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak, who was fatally stabbed by a Sikh man last December.

The assailant, Vickrum Singh Digwa, who has since been sentenced to life in prison, falsely claimed to arriving police officers that he had been the victim of a racist attack. The officials believed him and handcuffed dying Nowak, ignoring his repeated statements that he had been stabbed.

Musk posted profusely about the case as well, suggesting that the British police were biased against white people.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in turn, slammed the Tesla and SpaceX CEO for “interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division.”

Musk previously took swipes at Starmer personally, accusing him of failing to prosecute grooming gangs largely made up of South Asian men who sexually abused girls. The UK prime minister previously served as chief public prosecutor from 2008 to 2013.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has published a lengthy personal manifesto on his Substack this week.

Farage is not noted for making detailed policy pronouncements, and his long-winded writeup provides an interesting insight into Reform’s policy agenda – revealing, as it does, both its intellectual and political shortcomings.

Farage’s manifesto is titled “Britain is a two-tier state – against white people” and it was clearly triggered by the recent Henry Nowak and Stephen Ogilvie cases, in which white British citizens were brutally attacked (and in Nowak’s case, killed) by a Sikh and a Sudanese respectively, neither of whom were illegal immigrants. Farage sets out in detail the circumstances surrounding the Nowak case, and his strident criticisms of the police are entirely valid.

Farage’s central contention is that white people in Britain are treated much less fairly than other ethnic groups, and that the mainstream political parties – he calls them “the establishment parties” – are unwilling to acknowledge the fact that “anti-White racism is embedded into the heart of the state” – because they created this state of affairs and are ideologically committed to maintaining it.

Farage sees the “ideology of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)” and the Equality Act, passed by Labour in 2010 and subsequently strengthened by the Conservatives, as being the main culprits here, and argues that “every section of the state… has been ideologically compromised” by these “toxic ideologies.” According to Farage, this has created a less harmonious and less fair Britain.

Notwithstanding this bleak state of affairs, Farage nevertheless maintains that “there is reason for hope” because Reform “has the will and the ability to ensure that no young White person ever has to grow up feeling ashamed of who they are again.”

How precisely does Reform propose to bring about this miraculous social transformation?

Farage sets out a number of specific policy proposals that Reform proposes to implement if the party wins government, including the following:

• abolish the Equality Act and prohibit national and local government bodies from implementing DEI policies;
• prevent foreign nationals from having access to welfare benefits;
• ensure that students receive a “balanced and patriotic education” and compel every school to “fly the Union flag” and prominently display a picture of the King;
• restore pride to Britain’s armed forces.

The flimsiness of these policies is obvious, and even if they were implemented, they would do little or nothing to alleviate the serious and longstanding problems that bedevil contemporary Britain – including a declining economy, the cost-of-living crisis, a ballooning public debt, and rising crime rates.

Liberal commentators have long been critical of the Equality Act and illiberal ideologies like DEI – and Farage is correct to condemn them and point out how destructive they are of social cohesion. But, even here, Farage underestimates how difficult it will be to abolish them. Britain is still bound by the EU Human Rights Act and a raft of other EU laws, and the UK Supreme Court will fight tooth and nail to retain the status quo.

Farage also underestimates how near impossible it is in a Western democracy to take away privileges from specific groups that they have enjoyed for decades – and any attempt to do so on the scale proposed by Farage would provoke unprecedented protests and civil unrest.

How Farage intends to restore the pride of Britain’s armed forces in circumstances where the country cannot afford to properly fund its military or meet its escalating NATO commitments is not clear.

In fact, the shortcomings of Farage’s policy proposals are readily apparent – and they derive from the crude biologism at the heart of his intellectual worldview.

Farage is essentially a nostalgic conservative whose analysis of society is based upon crude biological categories – in his case ill-defined ethnic groups.  The fundamental distinction he draws between “White Brits” and all other ethnic groups is, for example, simply absurd. Many non-British ethnic groups are in fact just as white as Farage’s Brits. And if Farage is really complaining about cultural differences – as he sometimes insists – why mention skin color at all?

Farage wants to explain all the ills that he sees as afflicting modern Britain as having been caused by ethnic groups that do not fall within the “White Brits” category. For example, he makes the extraordinary statement that “Britain was not an unequal society in 2009” – apparently inequality only appeared after the passage of the Equality Act in 2010 and with subsequent mass immigration.

This, of course, is simply a species of magical thinking based upon crude ethnic prejudice. Farage, for example, correctly makes much of knife crime – but do “White Brits” never commit knife crimes, or indeed, any crimes at all?

In fact, Farage shares his crude biologism with the woke elites that he so vociferously criticizes and condemns – paradoxically they too utilize the same vague biological categories that he does, although for precisely the opposite purpose.

Whereas the woke elites wish to destroy the old liberal Britain (which they, like Farage, define as white) and confer privileges on elites from ethnic communities, Farage wants to restore that lost white Britain, abolish ethnic privileges and redistribute them to “White Brits.”

Neither side of this debate is explicitly ‘racist’ in the genuine sense of that term – although both parties regularly level this charge at the other.

Farage’s crude biologism has another strange consequence – it leads him to cast his “White Brits” in the role of victims of racial prejudice, in precisely the same way that his woke elite opponents cast ethnic groups when they first developed the illiberal and divisive ideologies that Farage now condemns.

It is unlikely that Reform’s political prospects will be damaged by Farage’s flawed manifesto. Most Reform supporters will eagerly lap up Farage’s crude biological analysis, placing their faith in his utopian promise to restore a Britain where “White Brits” felt innately superior to their ethnic neighbors, were proud of their army and navy, and ruled an empire upon which the sun never set.

The main problem for Farage and Reform at present is that the party’s poll figures have stalled at around 30% nationally for the past few months – a figure insufficient to win enough seats for the party to form government. Also troubling is the recent emergence of the Restore Party on Reform’s right flank.

In fact, Farage’s manifesto may well have been published in order to lure the more extreme Restore voters back into the Reform fold.

Things will become clearer after Friday’s Makerfield by-election – a seat that, if Andy Burnham were not the candidate, Reform would be expected to win easily. The situation in Makerfield is further complicated by the fact that the Reform candidate lacks charisma as well as political judgment, and in the latest polls Restore is polling around 8% – to Burnham’s 45% and Reform’s 40%.

Nigel Farage will no doubt be hoping for a win in Makerfield – which would, unlike his manifesto – give Reform a much-needed boost in the polls.

Somaliland has officially opened an embassy in Israel, the territory’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. Israel remains the only state to recognize the self-declared breakaway region of Somalia as a sovereign country. 

The move comes after Somaliland Ambassador Mohamed Hagi visited Israel in May and revealed plans for the diplomatic mission to be based in Jerusalem. He also said Israel would open its own embassy in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital. 

“The opening of Somaliland’s first-ever embassy in Jerusalem — a historic and long-awaited moment the people of Somaliland have waited more than 35 years to witness,” the Somaliland’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X. 

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Moshe Sa’ar attended the inauguration ceremony. Abdullahi arrived in Israel on Sunday and was received by President Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem. It was the first state visit by a Somaliland leader to Israel. 

Abdullahi added that Somaliland and Israel had signed a Strategic Joint Declaration of Cooperation “marking a historic milestone in relations between our two nations.”  

Somalia condemned Somaliland’s decision to open an embassy in Israel in May, calling it illegal and a violation of the country’s sovereignty. The African Union also opposed Israel’s appointment of an envoy to Somaliland, reaffirming support for Somalia’s territorial integrity. 

Somalia’s current political landscape emerged after the collapse of the central government in 1991, when several regions established their own administrations. Somaliland declared independence the same year and has since operated with its own governing institutions, although remaining without international recognition. 

Sweden’s parliament has passed one of the country’s most definitive migration laws in years, approving the so-called “snitch law” by a razor-thin margin. The legislation came through as the EU nation, which used to be one of the most welcoming for refugees, adopted a stricter policy after the unprecedented 2015 migration crisis.

The parliament approved the legislation formally titled Strengthened Return Operations on Monday, by 174 votes to 172.

It was based on a government proposal to oblige employees of six public agencies – the Tax Agency, Employment Service, Social Insurance Agency, Pensions Agency, Enforcement Authority, and Prison and Probation Service – to proactively inform police if they have reason to believe a person lacks the right to reside in Sweden.

Authorities will also be permitted to seize and search a suspect’s mobile phone if it may contain identity information, and to expand the use of fingerprints and photographs.

The legislation was supported by the right-wing Sweden Democrats, the center-right Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals. The Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Green Party, and the Center Party voted against.

Critics, however, have warned that the law could erode public trust in the government and discourage vulnerable social groups from coming into contact with authorities.

“If the bill passes, we risk a whistleblower society with reduced trust in Swedish authorities. It would be extremely harmful to Swedish democracy,” John Stauffer, chief legal officer at Civil Rights Defenders, warned.

The initial version of the bill was even more sweeping, mandating schools, healthcare providers, and social services to report on suspected aliens, but it was amended after fierce pushback. The medical community was concerned, pointing out that the legislation violates doctor-patient ethics.

There are concerns that the law could still push undocumented people away from seeking medical aid, as information registered by healthcare workers is often shared with the Tax Agency or Social Insurance Agency and can still be used to track them.

Sweden’s migration policy has undergone a major shift since the 2015 refugee crisis, moving from a generous asylum system to a much more restrictive approach. In 2015 alone, Sweden, a country with around 10 million inhabitants, received around 163,000 asylum seekers – the highest per capita figure in Europe – though in recent years the numbers drastically decreased.

The reversal in migration policies culminated in the so-called 2022 Tido Agreement, when the mainstream ruling parties abandoned their traditional reluctance to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats, as the authorities prioritized expanded detention, accelerated returns, and deterrence measures.

India has temporarily blocked the popular messaging app Telegram in an effort to prevent its use to defraud candidates taking a nationwide entrance examination.

The app will be barred until June 22, the Indian Education Ministry’s National Testing Agency (NTA) said. The Indian government also asked the platform to disable its message-editing feature in the country until June 30.

The agency was forced to cancel the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, last month following widespread outrage over reported leaks of questions for the test.

For thousands of young people in a country that views an engineering or physician job as proof of having arrived in life, the undergraduate entrance exam for admission to medical colleges nationwide is a gateway to social respect and relative wealth.

A retest is scheduled on June 21.

The NTA said the curbs would prevent “cheating rackets” from using Telegram to spread false claims about question paper leaks about the retest.

It alleged that the app’s message-editing feature enabled channel admins to edit older posts and replace attachments with question papers of a recently concluded exam, while retaining the original timestamp.

Such altered posts then circulated widely, creating the impression that the question papers were leaked ahead of the exam.

Indian authorities characterized the curbs as a “last resort” as earlier attempts to remove fraudulent content from the platform – which was founded by Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov – had not worked.

The application was still working for many in the South Asian country at 12 noon local time on Tuesday.

The ban “punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India – not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” Durov posted on X. “And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps.”

The anger over the paper leaks raised a political firestorm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, leading to the rise of a GenZ-backed mock political party called the Cockroach Janata Party.

The party, with little on-ground presence or structure, has kept the issue alive with sporadic protests, demanding that the education minister take responsibility for the fiasco and resign.

India is Telegram’s biggest market by downloads, although Meta’s WhatsApp remains the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion.

Such sweeping blocking action is rare in India. In 2020, New Delhi banned dozens of Chinese apps, including PubG and TikTok, following a brief clash between troops at their common Himalayan border.

A Nigerian court has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister a major opposition party and four others ahead of the West African nation’s 2027 general election.

Abuja Federal High Court Justice Peter Lifu issued the ruling on Monday, in a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators. The court said the affected parties – the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, and Zenith Labour Party – failed to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration, including electoral performance thresholds.

The judge ordered INEC to stop recognizing them, accepting their candidates, or allowing them to take part in future elections.

The ruling could affect former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who won the ADC presidential ticket in May, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking reelection on the Accord Party platform in the state’s August 15 governorship election.

In a statement on Monday, the ADC said it will challenge the ruling, accusing Justice Lifu of being a “threat to democracy” for allegedly disregarding a Court of Appeal order, which directed a stay of proceedings in the case.

The ADC said that, contrary to the plaintiffs’ allegations, the INEC told the court in a counter-affidavit filed in May that the party “had not violated any registration requirements, had not failed any constitutional electoral-performance threshold, and that no legally recognized basis existed for its de-registration.”

The court decision comes ahead of a tense election cycle in Africa’s most populous country, where national elections have repeatedly been marred by violence, legal disputes, and allegations of irregularities, including the 2023 election.

In April, Nigeria’s broadcast regulator tightened rules for radio and TV stations ahead of the 2027 election, warning presenters against airing personal opinions, bullying guests, and broadcasting divisive political material.

The news, which pushed oil prices down by 4%, appeared at first glance like a triumph of diplomacy. The US and Iran have agreed to end the latest phase of their confrontation and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump, never one to miss a dramatic flourish, immediately declared on Truth Social: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

But anyone looking beyond the market reaction can see that the barrels of black gold still have to pass through a minefield.

Yes, this is the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a conflict that killed thousands and shook global energy markets. Yes, the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran for months, is expected to reopen on Friday. But this agreement is not a final peace deal. 

The central problem remains Iran’s nuclear program. Its future has been deferred for a 60-day period of “further negotiations.” While Tehran has already accumulated more than 400kg of uranium close to weapons-grade, Trump, having abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under Barack Obama, is now being forced back to the table under worse conditions.

That creates an obvious political trap because Republican hawks have already warned that any nuclear agreement will have to be put before Congress. Trump therefore risks either being accused of weakness or seeing the whole arrangement collapse before November’s mid-term elections.

Iran, meanwhile, has made a complete ceasefire in Lebanon one of its core demands, and that turns Lebanon into a powder keg capable of exploding regardless of any grand bargain between Washington and Tehran.

Markets may also have moved too fast. ITC Markets analyst Sean Callow was right to warn that the lack of detail, especially on freedom of navigation, is worrying. Investors rushed to sell oil, but what happens if tankers again encounter Iranian patrol boats next week? A sudden price fall can be as destabilizing as a surge.

Still, the deal has a foundation because Trump needs lower gas prices before the mid-terms. Iran needs sanctions relief and the unfreezing of $25 billion in assets. Western European states, led by Brussels, London, Berlin, Paris and Rome, are already promising sanctions relief in exchange for “verifiable steps” on the nuclear file.

The real question is whether this fragile structure can last 60 days because in the Middle East silence in the Strait could turn out to be just the calm before a new storm.

This article was first published by Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.

Countries seeking to join the EU could face major limits on their ability to dissent against Brussels’ decisions after accession, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has warned.

The EU is looking to speed up the admission of new states amid concerns that growing economic problems and global political shifts could reduce the bloc to irrelevance. However, the push has been complicated by fears that enlargement could harm the interests of existing members and alter the balance of power inside an organization already known for sluggish bureaucracy and political infighting.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a foreign policy meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, Kos said the EU will negotiate “a new generation of accession treaties” designed to ensure that newly admitted members remain “onboard” with the bloc’s priorities for up to 15 years after ratification. She did not disclose the precise mechanisms under discussion.

Some Brussels-connected media outlets interpreted the comments as support for proposals backed by countries including France and Germany to introduce temporary limits on voting rights in areas such as the joint budget, security, and foreign policy. “The safeguards will bite hard” for states that break ranks, Kos told Politico, adding that Montenegro could become the first candidate to face the proposed arrangement.

Why does the EU want new members?

After the EU’s wave of gobbling up former Eastern bloc countries, the enlargement process slowed down in the 2010s to prevent integrational indigestion.

Brussels now says the situation has changed. Confronting Russia, EU officials say, has made faster expansion a “moral, political and geostrategic imperative,” as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated in her 2024 political guidelines.

What is holding expansion back?

Although EU leaders have claimed ad nauseam that the Ukraine conflict has made the bloc more united than ever, the open-ended financial burden of the conflict, combined with the lack of a clear military endgame, has strengthened the EU’s centrifugal tendencies.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was long depicted in the press as a bete noir for using Hungary’s veto power to seek exemptions from the sanctions on Russia.

Orban made criticism of the EU’s Ukraine policy a major part of his broader argument that von der Leyen and EU bureaucrats adopted a dictatorial attitude. Similar reasoning has been used by leaders in other Eastern European member states when resisting Brussels’ decisions on open-door migration, pro-LGBT policies, and unrestricted access for Ukrainian agricultural goods to the common market, to name a few.

Are there suitable candidates?

The enlargement “imperative” sits uneasily with the EU’s stated commitment to strictly merit-based accession, under which candidates that fail to meet the required standards should not be admitted for political reasons.

Reports of successful Ukrainian reforms have stood in contrast with corruption scandals in Kiev involving members of Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle. Ukrainian lawmakers have repeatedly avoided voting on difficult legislative changes demanded by Brussels, reportedly with the quiet approval of the government. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s heavily militarized society, in which some nationalist figures openly call for a fascist dictatorship, is not predisposed for democratic governance.

Avoiding public criticism of Kiev is one thing; admitting a country with so much political baggage is another. Peter Magyar, Hungary’s new prime minister, recently said Ukraine’s accession path will likely be as long as Montenegro’s, which formally began in 2012. Budapest may have a new leader, but Hungary’s national interests remain unchanged.

What about candidates not at war?

Moldova was granted candidate status in 2023 alongside Ukraine and Georgia as part of Brussels’ challenge to Moscow.

The EU has since helped the government in Chisinau remain in power, using online media censorship tools and financial grants to influence voters while overlooking the crackdown on opposition forces, which President Maia Sandu has defended as necessary to prevent Russian interference.

What is the proposed solution?

European states have increasingly promoted the idea of multi-tier membership, with different levels of obligations and privileges. This model could lock candidate countries into political alignment with Brussels while avoiding some of the complications caused by full accession.

As Kos put it, the EU has “many, many options” for “gradual integration,” while insisting that there will be “no half membership or quarter membership” for candidate states.

The family of a Brazilian woman who died after waiting several days for an intensive-care bed has blamed a new AI-powered state system for downgrading the severity of her condition and delaying her transfer.

Rebeca Cardoso Tenente Molina, a 32-year-old psychologist from Minas Gerais, sought treatment earlier this month for what was believed to be gallstones. Her condition quickly deteriorated, and doctors soon concluded she needed urgent transfer to an intensive-care unit.

However, the new state-run Core-MG bed-regulation platform reportedly failed to treat her case as critical enough, despite Molina’s relatives going to court to try to force a faster transfer.

A bed was found only about five days later, around 300 km away. Molina was flown there by private plane but died hours later. Her death certificate lists septic shock as the cause of death, but doctors are still trying to determine what triggered her rapid deterioration.

“Doctors lost the autonomy to decide if a patient is very seriously ill,” Molina’s twin sister and lawyer, Samela Cardoso Tenente Furtado, told the media.

She said the AI system gave Molina a severity score of 6.8, despite her family’s belief that she should have been treated as a 10. “A patient at 8, a patient at 6.9 would jump ahead of her,” Furtado said, adding that the AI-powered platform would not accept a higher level despite worsening test results.

The Core-MG system was introduced last month, with state officials stating it would make bed allocation faster and more transparent while helping classify patients by severity.

The Minas Gerais Health Department has denied that the system harmed Molina, saying she was registered immediately and that transfers depend on bed availability and clinical needs. It also said regulation remains overseen by doctors and that Core-MG did not change clinical criteria or the method for finding beds.

The rollout has nevertheless drawn criticism and legal challenges from local authorities, who argue it has disrupted patient transfers.

Molina’s case comes amid broader concerns about AI integration in healthcare. In the US, insurers have recently faced lawsuits over alleged algorithmic claim denials, while nurses in New York have warned about hospitals rushing to deploy AI tools without sufficient input or oversight from healthcare workers.

African media should tell Russia’s story directly instead of relying on narratives filtered through outside perspectives, CEO of Nigeria’s Afia TV, Emeka Mba has said. 

Speaking to RT, former director general of the National Broadcasting Commission said his decision to send reporting crews to Russia stemmed from dissatisfaction with what he described as “one-sided storytelling” about both Russia and Africa. 

He argued that Africans should have the freedom to explore and portray other societies firsthand, noting that audiences in Nigeria had been surprised by what they saw in reports from Moscow and other Russian cities. 

“I wanted us [Africans] to have the freedom to explore ourselves, not just through other filters, but sending a crew here [to Russia] ... It’s important that stories like that, and it comes from us, not from other people,” he said.

The media executive stressed that African audiences have long consumed content produced by foreign broadcasters and that cooperation with Russian media should be viewed in that context.  

Addressing criticism over Afia TV’s cooperation with Russian media, Mba said the broadcaster is independently owned and reserves the right to engage with different partners. He maintained that viewers benefit from access to alternative perspectives and from seeing parts of Russia that are rarely shown to Nigerian audiences.

“There’s no law that says you cannot cooperate with Russia,” Mba noted.

Looking ahead, Mba called for deeper media cooperation between Nigeria and Russia. He said more Nigerian journalists, content creators, and storytellers should be given opportunities to visit different regions of Russia and share their experiences with audiences back home.  

“We need each other, definitely,” he said.

India has sought rare earth samples from a Siberian deposit owned by Russian company Rosneft, Reuters has reported.

New Delhi is pursuing a strategy to secure supplies and cut dependence on critical minerals from China, which is the world’s largest producer of rare earths.

India’s IREL, formerly known as Indian Rare Earths Limited – which spearheads the South Asian nation’s outreach to secure rare earth supplies – aims to study the mineral composition of the deposit in Tomtor, Siberia, before ⁠considering deeper engagement, the report said.

Rosneft acquired the deposit last year.

Rare earth magnets are key components in energy transformation, going into everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy production.

India sits on the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves of nearly 7.23 million metric tons, but does not produce rare earth magnets domestically. Its consumption is expected to double by 2030.

Last year, Reuters reported that IREL is in talks with Japanese and South Korean companies to manufacture rare earth magnets commercially.

Globally, nations are frantically pursuing rare earth minerals amid trade tensions between the US and China. Beijing has restricted rare earth exports in response to US tariffs, sparking supply disruptions for the automotive and other high-tech industries.

India is also exploring rare earth mining pacts with Russia, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and several African countries.

Jordan Bardella, the leader of France’s largest opposition party, the National Rally (RN), has ruled out seeking an endorsement from US President Donald Trump for the 2027 presidential election, describing him as unpredictable and increasingly hard to read.

The 30-year-old Euroskeptic and anti-immigration politician is widely seen as the favorite to replace Marine Le Pen if she is barred from running. The longtime RN leader was convicted last year of misusing EU funds and banned from holding public office for five years. She denies wrongdoing, and a court is due to rule on her appeal in July.

In an interview with Politico released on Monday, Bardella described Trump’s behavior as “not only erratic but also extremely unsteady and constantly shifting.” Asked how he views the US president, Bardella described him as inconsistent, quipping: “There’s [his] Monday attitude, a Tuesday attitude, a Wednesday attitude.”

Bardella dismissed any suggestion that he might seek Trump’s backing, despite Trump’s history of supporting like-minded politicians abroad, including Poland’s Karol Nawrocki and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.

“The only support Marine Le Pen and I seek is that of the French people and French voters,” he said, adding that he has “no need for outside backing” and no intention of opening the door to “any form of foreign interference.”

The remarks mark a shift from Bardella’s earlier praise of Trump, whom he publicly admired for his energy and political success. According to the French politician, Trump’s second term has departed sharply from the first in no longer prioritizing domestic interests but rather being shaped by a vision of the US as “an empire with a dominant influence over the Western Hemisphere.”

That makes Trump “more dangerous” and creates uncertainty across Europe, which can no longer rely on Washington unreservedly. Bardella pointed to Trump’s tariff threats, which led to last year’s US-EU trade deal – an arrangement he described as “economic, financial and industrial vassalage.”

Relations between Washington and its European allies have been strained since Trump returned to office in 2025, with recurring disputes over trade, defense spending, digital regulation and Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly accused European NATO members of free-riding on US security guarantees while threatening new tariffs on the bloc. On Monday, he told the New York Post he would impose 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris scrapped its digital services tax targeting revenues generated by US tech giants.

Trump’s 2026 National Security Strategy, describing the EU as strategically unreliable, also widened the rift, as did his push to acquire Greenland from Denmark. The US-Israeli war on Iran added to the friction after Washington announced the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany and threatened further cuts in Spain and Italy following criticism of the conflict. Even some of Trump’s traditional allies in Europe, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, have increasingly distanced themselves from his foreign policy and territorial ambitions.

South African photojournalist Sam Nzima’s iconic black-and-white photograph of the lifeless body of Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhuba – with Pieterson’s distraught sister, Antoinette Sithole, running alongside – exposed the world to the sheer brutality of the apartheid regime.

Hector, just 12 years old, was among more than 10,000 schoolchildren participating in the Soweto Uprising on June 16, 1976. The march was a mass protest against a government mandate requiring key school subjects to be taught in Afrikaans – a language largely foreign to black students and deeply associated with the oppressive ruling class.

By the end of that violent day, official state reports indicated that 176 people had been killed in Soweto, 1,139 wounded, and 1,298 arrested. Meanwhile, in New York, the United Nations Committee on Apartheid estimated that the true death toll of black South Africans exceeded 1,000.

Eyewitness accounts placed the actual death toll in Soweto between 200 and 500, with Hector Pieterson among them. Although he was rushed to a nearby clinic, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The rise of apartheid

Apartheid was a highly organized system of legalized racial segregation and white supremacy. For nearly three centuries, indigenous Africans had been dispossessed and exploited by British and Dutch colonizers. In 1948, apartheid (meaning ‘apartness’ in Afrikaans) became official state policy when the National Party, voted into power by an all-white electorate, formalized discrimination into a rigid legal structure.

The regime utilized hundreds of laws to enforce strict segregation. The most devastating of these measures stripped black South Africans of their citizenship, tightly controlled their daily movements through notorious ‘pass laws’, and dictated where they were allowed to live.

For black South Africans, this meant being forced into inferior, neglected residential areas, barred from white-only restaurants, cinemas, and beaches, and restricted to segregated public transportation and low-wage labor.

‘Equality with whites is not for them’

Afrikaners are a Southern African ethnic group primarily descended from Dutch, German, and French Huguenot settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.

The transition from British colonial control to total Afrikaner hegemony occurred in two phases. First, the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 established a power-sharing agreement between British and Afrikaner elites. Second, the watershed 1948 election brought the nationalist National Party into sole power, institutionalizing apartheid. By this stage, various colonial-era laws had already marginalized the indigenous population, whose native languages included Zulu, Xhosa, and Setswana.

In 1953, the regime introduced the infamous Bantu Education Act, which transferred the control of black education from provincial authorities and missionary schools directly to the central Department of Native Affairs (DNA), headed by Dr. Hendrik F. Verwoerd. The provisions of this act, along with policies enacted by its sub-department, the Bantu Education Department, laid the groundwork for the uprising more than two decades later.

“Natives [black people] must be taught from an early age that equality with Europeans [whites] is not for them.”

During the apartheid era, the term ‘Bantu’ was officially used by the white-minority government to refer to black Africans. Over time, it became synonymous with the state’s most oppressive policies – most notably the Bantu Education Act and the forced creation of the ‘Bantustans’ (impoverished, ethnically segregated homelands).

Although the 1953 act technically made classrooms accessible to more children in Soweto than the previous missionary system had, the state-run ‘Bantu’ schools suffered from a catastrophic shortage of teachers, facilities, and basic resources. Nationally, student-to-teacher ratios rose from 46:1 in 1955 to a staggering 58:1 by 1967. Simultaneously, the government spent several times more on the education of a single white child than it did on a black child.

The Afrikaans Medium Decree

In 1974, the Bantu Education Department issued the Afrikaans Medium Decree. This policy mandated that half of all school subjects, including mathematics and social studies, be taught in Afrikaans – a language largely foreign to black students and widely despised as the tongue of the oppressor.

The government’s plan was to enforce a strict 50-50 split between English and Afrikaans in the classroom. Opponents of the decree tried to mobilize educators to resist, particularly because many teachers did not understand Afrikaans themselves, let alone possess the training to teach in it. Though teachers harbored deep concerns, as civil servants they had no choice but to comply under threat of dismissal.

By 1976, this systemic provision of inferior education had created a groundswell of outrage among youth. Classrooms rapidly transformed into the ultimate battleground of anti-apartheid resistance.

June 16: The darkest of days

As the language dispute intensified throughout early 1976, school boycotts began to ripple across Soweto. By early June, the Soweto Urban Bantu Council had warned the state that unless authorities quickly addressed the language decree, the mounting tension would erupt into violence. The warnings went unheeded.

On June 13, student leaders gathered secretly to plan a mass demonstration. They deliberately chose to exclude their parents from the planning, fearing that older generations, weary of state brutality, would attempt to talk them out of the protest.

Three days later, on the morning of June 16, more than 10,000 students – mobilized by the South African Students Movement’s Action Committee and energized by the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) – marched peacefully through the streets of Soweto. Their destination was a rally at Orlando Stadium, where they planned to draft a formal memorandum of grievances to deliver to the Department of Education.

Instead, they were met by the full, militarized force of the apartheid state.

The police first lobbed tear gas and fired warning shots into the air. When the students stood their ground, holding simple hand-painted placards reading “AWAY WITH AFRIKAANS,” “AFRIKAANS MUST BE ABOLISHED,” and “WE ARE BEING CERTIFIED BUT NOT EDUCATED,” officers opened fire directly into the crowd. Unarmed, the children grabbed garbage can lids and stones to shield themselves.

Hector Pieterson was among the very first to fall.

Despite the use of live ammunition, the young demonstrators refused to disperse. In response, the authorities unleashed indiscriminate violence, killing hundreds of children over the hours that followed.

As darkness fell, the police lost control of the Soweto streets. Outraged communities retaliated, burning down government administration offices and engaging in running battles with the police. In response, the state deployed heavily armed paramilitary units and army troops to enforce a brutal lockdown.

The uprising lasted for three days in Soweto before spreading like wildfire across South Africa, igniting one of the most widespread and significant rebellions against white-minority rule in the nation’s history.

The state’s response to the uprising was systematic and ruthless. Over the course of the protests and their immediate aftermath, thousands of people were arrested. According to historical records and testimonies presented to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), more than 1,000 people were detained in the opening weeks alone. Many were held in tiny, windowless isolation cells, forced into agonizing stress positions for days on end, and subjected to severe torture.

In the two years following the initial march, the apartheid machinery prosecuted more than 42,000 people. At least 9,000 of those put on trial were children under the age of 18.

The living legacy of Soweto

For Antoinette Sithole, the enduring legacy of Soweto is the proof that a politically conscious youth can fundamentally alter the course of history. Sithole, who was 17 at the time, still shares her brother’s story with the local and international visitors who come to the Hector Pieterson Museum in Orlando West, Soweto, where she works as a guide.

She recalls that on the day of the fateful protest, her 12-year-old brother was never meant to participate. “He was too young to understand what was going on,” she explains.

When the chaos began, she tried desperately to reassure him that they would be safe. Sithole knew that a confrontation with the apartheid police was highly likely, but she resolved to stay brave for her younger brother.

The state’s lethal crackdown forced thousands of young people to flee South Africa into exile. Among them was Mbuyisa Makhuba, the 19-year-old who carried the dying Hector Pieterson in Sam Nzima’s defining photograph. Hounded by the security police, Makhuba fled the country, eventually disappearing in Nigeria in 1979. To this day, his whereabouts and ultimate fate remain unknown.

While liberation organizations like the African National Congress (ANC) were not involved in organizing the June 16 march, they soon experienced a massive influx of thousands of young exiled recruits. These students had realized that the apartheid regime would only intensify its violence, and they chose to join the armed struggle.

A turning point for freedom

The Soweto Uprising was the definitive turning point in the anti-apartheid movement. It shattered the illusion of state control, galvanizing international outrage and triggering a wave of global sanctions that isolated the Pretoria regime. The courage of the Soweto schoolchildren set off a chain reaction of domestic resistance and international pressure that ultimately led to the dismantling of apartheid and the birth of a democratic South Africa in 1994.

Fifty years after those children marched into live ammunition, the streets of Soweto stand as a testament to a generation that refused to be certified for subjugation.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has fired 18 staff members after an internal investigation found allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation involving Sudanese refugees in Chad, AP reported on Saturday, citing a confidential internal memo.

The medical charity said the dismissed workers have been barred from future employment. The report by the non-profit organization found 59 allegations involving local and foreign staff in camps along Chad’s border with Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Some cases reportedly involved underage girls; others included allegations that staff exchanged food, water, milk, and jobs for sex. It described the findings as evidence of “sexual abuse and exploitation” and said repeated exploitation in some cases suggested possible organized sex trafficking.

MSF told AP that the findings amounted to “a candid internal analysis” of failures in its safeguards. The group said it has strengthened recruitment checks, complaint systems, and reporting channels since the probe. It added that some allegations could not be verified because victims and alleged perpetrators could not be traced.

The investigation followed earlier AP reporting in 2024, when Sudanese women in displacement camps in Chad accused aid workers and local security personnel of offering money, jobs, and easier access to assistance in exchange for sex.

The allegations come as Sudan faces what the UN calls the world’s largest displacement and protection crisis. Chad has become one of the main destinations for people fleeing the conflict, with more than a million Sudanese refugees crossing into the neighboring country since the fighting began, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

On Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said “the horrific conflict” in Sudan has “expanded and escalated,” with a “sharp increase” in drone warfare, as well as rape and sexual violence. He said his office has documented the killing of more than 1,000 civilians by drone strikes from January to May alone.

Estonia will restrict emails sent to government institutions from addresses using Russia’s .ru domain, Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta has announced, claiming that the measure is necessary due to an “elevated cyber risk.”

Since restoring independence in 1991, Tallinn has introduced a range of policies that undermine the rights of ethnic Russians, who comprise roughly 20% of the Baltic country’s population of 1.36 million. Significant financial and travel restrictions were also imposed on Russian citizens after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Pakosta said on Sunday that all messages from the Russian domain will be routed through additional checks, although she did not specify what the screening would involve.

The measure, described as a “quarantine,” will be applied on top of the Estonian government’s existing cybersecurity procedures and will slow response times, the minister said. She urged local authorities to adopt a similar approach.

Major cyberattacks typically involve exploiting weaknesses in computer systems or using social engineering to trick users into launching malicious software. Neither method depends on emails being sent from a particular national domain.

The Estonian authorities have framed the presence of ethnic Russians in the country as a legacy of Soviet occupation. Tallinn has also honored nationalist fighters who sided with Nazi Germany during World War II while curbing commemorations of the Soviet role in defeating Adolf Hitler. Moscow has accused Estonia of promoting the rehabilitation of Nazi ideology.

The .ru domain was introduced in 1994, and ranks among the world’s ten largest country-code domains by number of registered websites. A Cyrillic version, .рф, was launched in 2010, while the .su domain has remained in use since 1990 despite the dissolution of the USSR. Pakosta did not announce any restrictions targeting emails from the latter two domains.

Moscow has condemned a Dutch military test involving a mock prisoner-of-war camp for Russian soldiers, warning European “hotheads” that the facilities would be of no use if a real conflict broke out.

Dutch media reported last week that the Netherlands Army was test-running a new POW camp design at the Marnehuizen training facility in Groningen, preparing to hold up to 2,000 Russian captives in the event of a large-scale conflict.

The facility reportedly features barracks housing groups of roughly 20 detainees, and seeks to replace traditional watchtowers with guards by camera-equipped poles, with monitoring also being carried out by drones.

Russian diplomats also recalled the Soviet Union’s role in World War II, noting that “Russia has a historical experience of liberating camps in Europe and rescuing their prisoners from the atrocities of Nazi henchmen.” It is “regrettable” that similar ideas “still arise in the 21st century,” it added.

“The ‘hotheads’ should understand: if Europe unleashes a war against Russia, prisoner-of-war camps will certainly be of no use there.”

The test follows hysteria triggered last year when numerous reported drone sightings over the Netherlands and Belgium disrupted civilian air traffic in the region. While some EU officials pointed to suspected Russian involvement, they subsequently failed to provide any evidence, with analysts later suggesting that sightings may not have involved drones at all. Russia has denied any involvement.

After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, numerous Western officials speculated that Russia could attack NATO within several years – a claim that President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as “not only pure insanity but also a deliberate provocation.”

The UK will supply enriched uranium to Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company, Energoatom, under a £210 million ($280 million) deal aimed at supporting Ukraine’s power grid, the British government has announced.

The arrangement, backed by UK Export Finance, will enable British-based Urenco to supply enriched uranium to Energoatom for the next two years, London said on Monday. The deal was agreed to by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at Downing Street last week.

According to the British government, the agreement is intended to “power Ukraine’s nuclear plants” and strengthen the country’s energy security.

The deal also comes amid repeated warnings from Moscow over nuclear safety in Ukraine. Russia has accused Kiev of conducting attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.

Earlier this month, a Ukrainian drone struck the machine hall of the plant’s sixth power unit. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the damage while stopping short of assigning blame.

Earlier this year, Zelensky said he would accept nuclear weapons from Britain or France “with pleasure,” while insisting that an offer has not been made. Moscow has accused London and Paris of considering ways to provide Ukraine with components or technologies that would allow it to develop a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb, which France and the UK deny.

A Hague-based arbitration tribunal has rejected Ukrainian maritime claims against Russia, including attempts to challenge Moscow’s sovereignty over Crimea and surrounding waters.

Ukraine launched the case in 2016 before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Kiev argued that Crimea remained Ukrainian territory and claimed that the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait should be treated as international waters subject to UNCLOS rules. Crimea joined Russia following a 2014 referendum held after the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev.

In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the tribunal’s final ruling, adopted unanimously by a panel of five arbitrators, as a “convincing victory” for Moscow. It said the tribunal rejected Ukraine’s demands for compensation and reparations related to natural resources around Crimea.

According to the ministry, the tribunal also dismissed Kiev’s attempt to classify the Kerch Strait as an international waterway open to vessels of all states, including warships. Moscow said the ruling formally recognized the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov as Russia’s historic domestic waters.

The tribunal likewise rejected claims that Russia violated international law by asserting sovereignty over the Sea of Azov following the accession of the Donbass republics and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye.

The ruling also dismissed Ukraine’s demand that the Crimean Bridge be dismantled. Kiev had argued that the crossing, built between 2016 and 2018 to link Crimea with mainland Russia, was illegal and hindered navigation through the Kerch Strait. Moscow called the claim “absurd,” while the tribunal found Ukraine’s arguments unsubstantiated, according to the ministry.

The bridge has repeatedly been targeted by Kiev using naval drones, explosives and Western-supplied long-range missiles, causing damage and civilian casualties.

The ruling represents a significant “defeat” for Ukraine and its Western backers in the decade-long “legal war” against Russia, according to the ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was deceived into withdrawing troops from near Kiev in 2022 by forces claiming to represent Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.

Speaking in an interview with Al Arabiya, Lukashenko said the conflict could have ended quickly in the early stages, when Russian forces were near the Ukrainian capital.

“At the time, not only I, but everyone in the world understood that the war would end quickly with a Russian victory. This was primarily because the Russians were in Kiev,” the Belarusian leader said, according to BelTA.

Lukashenko claimed, however, that “certain politicians and forces” asked Putin to stop, pull the troops back from Kiev, and conclude a peace agreement.

“Before that withdrawal, everyone understood that Ukraine’s days were numbered.”

“Once again, probably, these forces deceived him. It was the Vatican. And surprisingly, the Jewish lobby, the Israelis,” Lukashenko said. “They said on behalf of Zelensky: That’s it, we are moving toward peace, we agree. And others as well.”

It was not immediately clear what exactly Lukashenko meant by the “Jewish lobby.” In the early days of the conflict, then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett acted as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, meeting Putin in Moscow and holding phone calls with Zelensky. Media reports at the time claimed that Bennett urged Zelensky to accept Moscow’s terms.

Russia has argued that Ukraine walked away from the agreement under Western pressure. Then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly urged Kiev not to sign a deal and “continue fighting.”

Kiev has disputed Moscow’s account of the failed talks, even though former chief negotiator David Arakhamia has acknowledged Johnson’s role. Ukraine has since formally applied to join NATO and abandoned discussions of neutrality.

The Russian military has destroyed a warehouse at the Dovzhenko Film Studios in Kiev, with the national filmmaker and local media accidentally confirming that it housed a drone manufacturing plant.

The Russian Defense Ministry named the warehouse on Monday as one of the targets of a large-scale overnight strike on the Ukrainian capital. The building housed a “workshop for the production and tuning of long- and medium-range UAVs,” the Defense Ministry stated.

Ukrainian officials were quick to deny the military nature of the warehouse, with the studio claiming it was used to store unique props and costumes dating back to the Soviet era.

“The missile destroyed the entire building and ignited a fire. It wasn’t debris, but a direct hit. Judging by the scale of the destruction, you can see there was practically nothing left to save,” the studio’s director general, Andrey Donchik, told Ukrainian media.

Footage from the scene shared by the studio and Ukrainian media outlet NV.ua, however, told a different story, showing a distinctive stack of aircraft wings among the rubble. The wings appear to be consistent with those of Ukrainian FP-1/2 drones used for long-range strikes against Russia.

The discovery quickly went viral on social media, with the studio and the news outlet scrambling to delete the incriminating materials without providing further statements on the matter.

When these manufacturing sites are destroyed, Kiev routinely accuses Russia of targeting civilian sites. Russia maintains that it only targets military and dual-use installations in response to Ukraine’s indiscriminate “terrorist attacks.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has taken to Substack to accuse the British government of infecting the UK with “deep anti-white racism.” He also published damning racism and crime statistics in an essay, much of which would have been previously unspeakable.

Farage announced his migration to the platform on Saturday, saying that the move to Substack would allow him to speak directly to the British public without “the mainstream media constantly distort[ing] what I say.” One day later, Farage used this new platform to unleash a 7,000-word tirade against the British state, which, he argued, has become “a two tier state against white people.”

What did Farage say?

The mainstream media constantly distorts what I say. You can no longer rely on them to report the truth.

That’s why I’ve decided to speak to you directly and launch my essays to Britain. ✍️

Read my first post out tomorrow at 8am. Click below or in my bio to subscribe. pic.twitter.com/Pyj0JduVi1

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 13, 2026

Farage took aim at decades of British policy that he says have unfairly benefited minorities and discriminated against white Britons. He highlighted Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies in healthcare, education, policing, and the military that he insists have been implemented to disadvantage white patients, students, and applicants, and promised to repeal the 2010 Equality Act which, in his words, ensures that “anti-Whiteness is institutionalised into every aspect of public life.”

In healthcare, the NHS prioritizes “ethnic minority communities” and “vulnerable migrants” for accelerated diagnosis and treatment, despite white Britons having the highest mortality rate of all the UK’s ethnic groups. In education, the poorest white Britons have the lowest outcomes of any demographic, yet are lectured about their “white privilege” and their “responsibility” to reduce racism, and sidelined when applying for university in favor of black students with lower exam scores, Farage said. In policing, he claimed, agencies across the country have adopted “race action plans” and done away with stop-and-frisk policies that seemingly target black men – even though at 13% of London’s population, this demographic is responsible for 61% of knife murder in the British capital.

How Henry Nowak changed the conversation

None of these arguments are new, and the right has leveled accusations of ‘two-tier’ policing at Starmer’s government since the 2024 Southport riots – when Starmer cleared prisons to make way for hundreds of people arrested for social media posts supporting the rioters. However, Henry Nowak’s death made these accusations impossible to ignore. 

The Nowak case triggered violent protests in his native Southampton, and condemnation from the US government, with Vice President J.D. Vance blaming his death on Britain’s “politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants.” Three weeks later, an attempted beheading in Belfast by a Sudanese migrant reinforced Vance’s claim.

“Make no mistake: if there is no urgent action taken to remove discriminatory and dangerous anti-White policies, we will see another Belfast,” Farage wrote. “Thanks to the mass migration policies of Conservative and Labour governments, White Brits will become a minority in this country before the end of the century. Without a voice to speak up for them, the future will be manifestly unjust.”

Is Farage warning of “rivers of blood”?

Farage’s warning – that anti-white violence will increase as the white share of the population decreases – has been made before. In his 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, Conservative MP Enoch Powell predicted that mass immigration would force natives out of jobs and housing, that white Britons would be “made strangers in their own country,” and that as he looked to the future, he, “like the Roman,” seemed “to see ‘the River Tiber foaming with much blood.’”

Whereas Powell warned of bloodshed in the future, Farage has argued that it is happening right now. Whites are being displaced in London, Farage claimed, providing statistics from where the district of Barking, which has been transformed from a 91% white community in 1991, to less than 31% today, and Westminster, which has gone from 73% white to 28% in the same time frame. In Westminster, 43% of social housing is occupied by people born outside the UK and Ireland. 

Black men and mental health in the UK

Combined with DEI policies at every level of the British state, this displacement has “lethal” consequences, Farage warned. In the healthcare system, black men are 3.5 times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act than their white counterparts, yet are more than ten times more likely to screen positive for psychotic disorders. With healthcare staff under pressure to reduce the former disparity, dangerous mental patients are being released. Among them is Valdo Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed three people to death and rammed a van into a crowd in Nottingham in 2023.

Meanwhile, Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) hires two times the number of foreign-trained and ethnic minority doctors, despite these doctors being “significantly more likely to be hauled in front of fitness to practise hearings.” 

A long-time proponent of the kind of “color-blind meritocracy” advocated by American Republicans, Farage previously stopped short of portraying immigration as an existential threat to “white” Britain. Questioned by reporters in 2014, he would only admit that “the basic principle” of Powell’s argument was correct. However, his rhetoric on “anti-white racism” has hardened in recent months, and his Substack essay explicitly promises a brighter future for whites.

“We’re long past empty platitudes about change: only Reform has the will and the ability to ensure that no young White person ever has to grow up feeling ashamed of who they are again,” he wrote.

Is Farage riding a political wave and will he survive?

This new hardline stance seems partly opportunistic. Farage’s Reform UK capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction with Starmer’s migration policies to pick up more than 1,400 seats in local elections in England last month, as Starmer’s Labour Party lost the same amount. While these results seemed to vindicate Farage’s claim that Reform, and not the Conservative Party, is “now the main opposition party to this government,” the Belfast stabbing shone an unwelcome light on Reform’s immigration policies.

In the days after the attempted beheading, it emerged that the Sudanese attacker had his asylum application to the UK fast-tracked by a Conservative government in which Suella Braverman was home secretary and Robert Jenrick was minister for immigration. Braverman and Jenrick are now members of Reform, and although both have claimed that they split with the Tories on immigration, Farage has faced a new challenge on the right from Restore Britain’s Rupert Lowe, who has argued that Reform represents “change, but only the kind the establishment will allow.” 

If a Somalian family is living in British social housing, claiming benefits, refusing to work, not even able to speak English?

A Restore Britain Government will deport that family.

No apologies, no compromises, no payments.

Deported.

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) June 15, 2026

Whereas Farage has proposed kicking migrants out of social housing, Lowe has promised mass deportations. Farage has promised to hold black and white criminals equally accountable; Lowe has advocated for the reintroduction of the death penalty for migrant murderers. Against this kind of challenge, Farage’s essay can be seen as an attempt to reassert Reform as the voice of the British right. 

Amid public outrage over the stabbing of Nowak and the brutal attack in Belfast, and with Starmer’s approval rating sitting at a miserable 16% in the latest Ipsos poll, Farage is likely betting that Reform can replicate its local wins in next year’s general election. As it stands, his message is resonating: according to a polling aggregate compiled by Politico, Reform is the UK’s most popular party, polling at 26%, with Labour and the Conservatives both trailing at 18%.

After more than three and a half months of fighting and intense back-and-forth negotiations, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran, under Pakistani mediation, have reached a final agreement to end hostilities between them.

The deal is expected to be signed in Geneva on June 19.

According to reports, the memorandum of understanding stipulates that upon signing, both sides will declare an immediate, complete, and permanent end to all hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon. The blockade on Iran would be lifted, Washington would commit not to interfere in Iran’s domestic affairs, refrain from increasing troop levels in the region, and release half of Iran’s frozen assets, an amount totaling approximately $12 billion.

Israel has not taken the news lightly. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that the emerging agreement achieves “none of Israel’s goals.”

“The regime survives, the missile program remains intact, and Iran retains the ability to rebuild its nuclear program. This is a complete failure by Netanyahu, and in the process he is turning Israel into a client state that takes orders on matters of its own national security.”

Another opposition figure, Yair Golan, was equally blunt, describing the policy as a failure.

”Trump is signing an agreement that funnels billions of dollars to the Ayatollahs’ regime, leaves the nuclear infrastructure intact, preserves the ballistic threat as it is, and throws a lifeline to the murderous regime in Tehran.”

But the frustration is not limited to politicians.

Frustrated and disappointed 

Conversations with ordinary Israelis paint a picture of disappointment, anxiety, and a growing sense that a historic opportunity may have been squandered.

Mor Cohen, a 37-year-old resident of Tel Aviv, believes the agreement has missed a chance “to finish the job.”

“This deal essentially guarantees another war in the future because everything that mattered to Israel was left unaddressed, and the issues that concern us most remain unresolved.”

Her concerns are not without basis. According to estimates, before the war Iran possessed roughly 3,000 missiles, including long-range systems capable of traveling up to 2,000 kilometers. Although the conflict reportedly cut that arsenal in half, the remaining 1,500 missiles still represent a serious threat to Israel.

Nor have Israel’s nuclear concerns been fully addressed. While Washington repeatedly insisted that Iran would “never have nuclear weapons,” it offered no concrete guarantees to Israel. Nor did American officials directly address the issue of Iran’s regional proxies, namely Hezbollah in the north and the Houthis in the south, both of which continue to challenge Israel through sporadic rocket and drone attacks.

“The general feeling on the street is that Trump has sold us out,”

said Maor Attias, a 56-year-old resident of Haifa. “Americans simply don’t understand the Middle East. Iran fed them a narrative, and they bought it, either because they genuinely believed it or because they were tired of dealing with the conflict. Midterm elections are coming up, and politicians need the support of their voters. In this equation, Israel sits at the bottom of the priority list.”

Mor shares that assessment, arguing that American foreign policy is ultimately driven by interests rather than alliances.

For many Israelis, such fears are reinforced by past examples.

In 2021, thousands of Afghans who worked alongside US forces, as interpreters, guides, and government partners, were left behind during America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Many later faced retaliation from the Taliban, prompting criticism from veterans, lawmakers, and policy analysts.

Two years earlier, in 2019, Trump ordered US troops to pull back from parts of northern Syria, paving the way for Turkish military operations against Kurdish forces that had served as Washington’s primary ground partner in the fight against ISIS.

Not easy prey

That sense of abandonment came at a heavy cost for both the Kurds and the Afghans. Yet Mor and Maor believe Israel, unlike those allies, would not be easy prey.

”We are well-equipped, highly trained and determined to survive,” Maor said. “With or without American support, we will remain resilient and do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves.”

Mor agrees.

“The reality is that Israel may ultimately have to finish the job on its own, whether in Lebanon or Iran. Our security must remain the top priority, regardless of whether Trump approves.”

Those sentiments come as, earlier today, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a written statement signaling that western Jerusalem is prepared to respond forcefully if Iran intervenes in any future confrontation involving Hezbollah.

“We will not compromise on Israel’s supreme security interests or the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones,” the statement said. “If Iran attacks Israel because of events in Lebanon, we will strike it with full force and clearly demonstrate the disparity in power between us,” it concluded.

Whether Israel would have the freedom to act independently, however, remains an open question.

Israel is the largest recipient of American military assistance, and any serious rift with Washington could carry significant consequences. During the Gaza war, President Joe Biden temporarily paused shipments of certain heavy munitions, including 2,000-pound bombs, over concerns regarding civilian casualties in densely populated areas.

Trump could choose a similar course if Israel acts against Washington’s wishes.

For some Israelis, the prospect of avoiding another large-scale conflict outweighs the concerns surrounding the deal.

Simply unsustainable 

Lilach Kalderon, a 40-year-old mother of three, says that the war with Iran has taken a severe emotional toll on ordinary families.

”The war with Iran was deeply traumatic, especially for families like mine. My husband serves in the reserves, and worrying about his safety kept me awake night after night. When we heard about the agreement, our family felt genuine relief because it means lives may be spared and soldiers will not be forced to spend fifty or more consecutive days serving across multiple fronts.”

She paused before adding:

”For a small country of ten million people, that kind of burden is simply unsustainable.”

Some experts are equally unconvinced that Israel could sustain a prolonged military campaign even if it chose to act independently.

Amir Oren, one of Israel’s veteran military and security analysts, argues that the country’s ability to wage a long war against either Iran or Hezbollah is constrained by both strategic and political realities.

“In the case of Iran, obviously regime change is not achievable, as assassinations did not have the desired effect and no revolution ensued. Destroying nuclear targets proved to have some effect but not for long. Ditto, ballistic missile infrastructure.

At the same time, Israel will be struck, its interception arsenal would dwindle and American support is no longer assured.

Therefore, short of an emergency surgical operation against an existential peril, such as a nuclear-tipped missile ready to be launched, a campaign would not be sustainable, with domestic support quickly denied the government, if headed by the untrustworthy Netanyahu.”

“The IDF, if deployed properly and on alert, having learned the terrible lessons of October 7, will always be able to defend Israel proper, but as for offensive operations, attrition wars or casualty-ridden campaigns – there is little to suggest that they would be sustainable.”

As diplomats prepare to gather in Geneva, the agreement may have succeeded in stopping a war. Whether it has secured a lasting peace, or merely postponed the next conflict, remains a question that hangs heavily over Israel.

One thing is certain: while the guns may be falling silent, the battle over what this deal means for Israel’s future has only just begun.

The UK’s move to ban social media for under-16s is a ruse to implement digital surveillance of all internet users, X owner Elon Musk has declared, accusing the British government of building a “police state.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the ban on Monday, promising that the measure would protect “the safety and happiness of our children.”

Children under 16 will be barred from “user-to-user” platforms such as X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, according to a statement from Starmer’s office. They will also be prohibited from livestreaming, messaging strangers through gaming apps, and using AI “romantic companion” chatbots. Meanwhile, 16- and 17-year-olds will be subject to nightly online curfews.

Messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal will be exempt from the ban, the statement added. The ban is expected to come into force next year.

Shortly after Starmer’s announcement, Musk warned that “this censorship law is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” In a post on X, the billionaire claimed that its “real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone.” In another post, Musk declared that “the UK is a police state.”

This censorship law is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone. https://t.co/aZKpGDdPmX

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 15, 2026

In order to ban under-16s, the government must ensure that adults can verify their age before using social media platforms. Starmer’s office did not say how this would be implemented, instead stating that the government is exploring “different options for effective forms of age assurance.”

The ban has been heavily criticized by digital rights activists. “Over 16s in the UK will have to hand over identity documents or biometric data to unregulated age verification companies,” the Open Rights Group warned, adding that “the government has completely failed to acknowledge the harms that could come from that.”

“We will become one of the first democracies in the world to require IDs to access the internet,” Big Brother Watch Director Silkie Carlo told Talk TV on Monday. “We are sleepwalking towards a total surveillance state.”

Starmer has lobbied for the introduction of a mandatory digital ID system since last year, but was forced to drop the plan amid public backlash this January. His government, however, has plowed ahead with other digital surveillance and censorship measures, including the rollout of facial recognition cameras by multiple police departments at demonstrations, a request to tech companies to require adults to submit ID to use mobile phones, and legislation that will enable the government to remove content from social media “during times of crisis.”

A US Air Force strategic nuclear-capable B-52 Stratofortress bomber has crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the base has said.

The crash occurred on Monday shortly before noon, with the aircraft going down shortly after takeoff. The bomber was carrying eight people on a routine test mission, according to a news release from the 412th Test Wing’s Office of Public Affairs.

“Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” the release said.

“Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing. More information will be provided as it becomes available,” the base said in an earlier statement.

The airfield has been put on lockdown following the incident and all inbound aircraft have been diverted, the base said in a follow-up statement. “All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations.”

The plane caught fire upon impact. Footage circulating online shows a large plume of smoke rising into the sky. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash and ensuing blaze.

BREAKING: A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base, triggering an emergency response.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene as thick black smoke billowed from the wreckage scattered across the desert airfield.

More details, including… pic.twitter.com/JRx3R4ElJW

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 15, 2026

Introduced in 1955 as a carrier of free-fall nuclear bombs, and having undergone numerous upgrades over the decades, the B-52 remains one of the longest-serving aircraft in the US fleet. The US military is believed to have more than 70 upgraded B-52H planes in service, including nearly 60 in active-duty units. The planes have been used in a number of conflicts, including the recent US-Israeli attack on Iran.

Earlier on Monday, a Russian Tu-22M3 supersonic nuclear-capable aircraft crashed in Irkutsk Region in southeast Siberia during a training flight. The bomber crashed in an open area with no material damage or casualties inflicted on the ground, while its crew managed to eject safely, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

The US and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to end the hostilities in the Middle East, following weeks of direct and indirect negotiations mediated by Pakistan.

A formal ceremony to sign the Iran-US Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will take place in Geneva on Friday. According to Washington, the deal was signed digitally over the weekend. The text of the agreement has not yet been released to the public, while Tehran and Washington have been making contradicting statements on the contents.

According to media reports, the MoU includes 14 points, including a permanent end to the hostilities across all fronts, including in Lebanon, sanctions relief, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a US commitment not to interfere in Iran’s affairs, and other clauses.

The agreement appears to extend the shaky ceasefire for another 60 days to facilitate further negotiations. Both sides “declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” according to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Tehran has long insisted that any agreement must include an end to the hostilities in Lebanon, where Israel has been waging a campaign against Hezbollah.

Israel, which is not a party to the agreement, said its forces are not withdrawing from the country. Its military activities have repeatedly put the negotiations between the US and Tehran on the brink, prompting renewed exchanges in long-range strikes, including a major flare-up last weekend. US President Donald Trump, who has reportedly clashed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on several occasions over West Jerusalem’s actions, said he wanted to “see if we can straighten out the Lebanon thing,” suggesting that ending the hostilities there “should not be tough.” 

The Strait of Hormuz has remained disrupted for weeks due to the hostilities, which heavily impacted global energy supply and maritime commodity freight.

Trump has announced the major waterway would be reopened “permanently toll free,” stating he has ordered the end of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Multiple Iranian media reports, however, have suggested that the toll-free transit pertains only to the 60-day negotiation period and that Tehran intends to impose fees on transiting vessels later on. Iran has introduced a new system to regulate the strait amid the conflict, charging vessels transiting through it, and has repeatedly said there is no returning to the situation in the waterway that existed before the war.

Iran’s nuclear program

Both the US and Iran have made assurances that Tehran will never be able to procure nuclear weapons. While the US and Israel have repeatedly claimed that Iran is seeking to do so, Tehran has long maintained its nuclear program only serves peaceful civilian purposes.

Media reports indicate that the MoU pushes the issue down the road, with a final settlement on nuclear issues envisaged within 60 days. According to Trump, the final agreement with Iran will guarantee that the country is restricted to enriching uranium to levels that “could never be used by the military.”

Financial issues

Sanctions relief and financial issues have emerged as the most contradictory parts of the upcoming deal. According to Iranian media reports, the US has agreed to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian assets, with half of the sum set to be handed back to the country before a final agreement is reached. Washington also reportedly promised to suspend sanctions on Iranian oil, petrochemical products, and related exports, as well as presenting a reconstruction plan worth at least $300 billion for Iran.

US Vice President J.D. Vance, however, has denied that the deal envisions any unfreezing of Iranian assets. He also said Tehran can have access to the reconstruction fund “so long as they honor their end of the obligation.” The fund is set to be bankrolled by the “Gulf coast coalition,” Vance told CBS News without naming any nations involved.

Israel’s stance

Top Israeli officials have met the announced deal with belligerent statements, with Defense Minister Israel Katz providing the first official reaction to it. On Monday, he said Israel will not withdraw from the vast swathe of territory seized in southern Lebanon during the campaign. Later in the day, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that Israel is not bound by the agreement.

“We are not party to this agreement. It does not safeguard our security,” he said. “We must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from a single inch of territory that our soldiers have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure.”

International reaction

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope that the deal will actually come to fruition.

“We hope that the encouraging statements that were made this morning in Washington, Tehran, and Pakistan as a country mediating the negotiations will materialize,” he said on Monday.

A similar message was communicated by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which said Beijing hopes “all parties to stick to the path of peace and solve issues through dialogue.”

Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping for their mediating roles in settling the conflict.

Efforts by Ukraine and its Western backers to pin the blame for the fire at an iconic Kiev monastery on Moscow is “another fabrication” aimed at diverting attention from the “real crimes” of Vladimir Zelensky, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. 

A fire broke out at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery complex on Sunday night, reportedly damaging the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, which was reconstructed from scratch in the 1990s. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the site had been struck by a defective missile fired from a US-made Patriot air defense system, suggesting Kiev may have received expired Western-supplied munitions. The ministry stressed that Russian forces do not target civilian infrastructure. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, blamed Moscow for the incident. 

Responding to the accusations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that the French president had remained silent about Ukrainian “terrorist attacks on Russian civilians,” yet “immediately” falsely blamed Moscow for the Lavra fire. 

“The West together with the Kiev regime have cooked up yet another falsification – a real fake,” she wrote on Telegram on Monday, adding “This is, of course, easier than admitting their own complicity in the killing of civilians.”  

Zakharova said there had been “not even a hint of condolences” from Paris for the victims of a Ukrainian drone attack on a college dormitory that killed 21 people – most of them teenage girls – in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22. 

Founded around 1050, Kiev Pechersk Lavra has in recent years been the epicenter of religious and political turmoil, with church property seized and monks evicted. The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the UOC since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Zelensky has justified the clampdown by alleging that the church retained ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, even though it declared full independence in May 2022. 

Zakharova also accused Western officials of ignoring what she called a “real, not invented” attack, which happened last week on a museum in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. An iconic 19th-century panorama depicting the siege of the city was almost completely destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike, she said. 

“Not a single word” by the West about any of these “real crimes of Zelensky,” she said.

Germany is proving that it misses its Nazi past by continuing to expand military cooperation with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Lavrov pointed to recent remarks by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who said German troops would cooperate more closely with the Ukrainian military on gleaning lessons from the battlefield.

“In other words, with the new Nazis,” Lavrov said, suggesting that “Germany has longed for the Nazi Emblems and Nazi behavior currently displayed by the Ukrainian army and the so-called nationalist battalions.”

He added that Germany is now “throwing off the veil” that had been concealing its “Nazi roots and its Nazi instincts, which, as it turns out, had never gone away.”

Lavrov also took aim at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, saying she is not called “Fuhrer” for nothing. He accused the EU leadership of presenting Kiev’s war effort as a defense of “European values” while ignoring Ukraine’s persecution of Russian speakers.

“Ukraine is fighting and dying for European values,” Lavrov said, paraphrasing von der Leyen’s past statements. “Put two and two together, and it turns out that European values include the complete deprivation of rights for Russians and Russian-speaking people,” including in education, media and culture.

Lavrov’s comments come as Germany has deepened its military role in the conflict while promising to turn the Bundeswehr into Europe’s strongest conventional army. Berlin has also been one of Kiev’s biggest weapons suppliers and has pledged to expand training ties with the Ukrainian military.

German officials have also repeatedly said the country must be “war-ready” for a possible conflict with Russia by 2029. Berlin has moved to expand military service, boost arms procurement, and increase defense spending.

Moscow has consistently stressed that it has no intention of attacking NATO or the EU unless attacked first. Lavrov has previously accused Germany and the wider EU of sliding into what he has called a “Fourth Reich,” arguing that European leaders are using the Ukraine conflict to revive militarism and pursue the strategic defeat of Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day trip to Pyongyang earlier this month was his first foreign visit of the year, his third trip to North Korea overall, and his first since June 2019. More importantly, it took place at a moment when the global geopolitical landscape is undergoing profound changes.

Official statements framed the summit as part of the effort to strengthen what both sides describe as a relationship of the highest strategic importance. Yet beyond the formal language, the visit highlighted the growing convergence of Chinese and North Korean interests, demonstrated the durability of their partnership, and reflected an evolving regional environment in which old assumptions are increasingly being reconsidered.

Ditching the old preconditions

One of the most notable aspects of the meeting was not what was discussed publicly, but what apparently was not. For years, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula occupied a central place in regional diplomacy. Yet recent developments suggest that the issue no longer dominates the agenda as it once did.

Chinese statements in recent years have noticeably reduced their emphasis on denuclearization, and references to the subject have become increasingly infrequent in official exchanges with Pyongyang. The summit continued that trend. Instead, both sides focused on broader strategic and political questions.

Reports indicated that Beijing and Pyongyang reached what was described as a satisfactory common understanding regarding the international political situation. This language is significant because it is not automatically included in summit readouts. Its appearance suggests a meaningful degree of agreement on major global developments and shared concerns about the evolving security environment.

In summary, the summit was focused on coordinating Chinese and North Korean responses to a changing world – not on changing North Korea’s behavior. This reflects a reality increasingly acknowledged across the region: Near-term denuclearization is no longer viewed as a realistic objective.

Economic reconnection

If security issues formed the backdrop to the summit, practical cooperation provided its main substance.

The discussions focused on expanding economic ties and restoring exchanges that were disrupted in recent years. Areas highlighted included trade, agriculture, construction, science and technology, healthcare, education, infrastructure development, border management, transportation, and people-to-people contact.

This reconnection is already underway. Cross-border rail services have resumed, and Chinese airlines have restarted regular weekly flights to North Korea. These may appear to be modest measures, but they represent important steps toward rebuilding normal channels of communication and commerce.

Trade between the two countries has historically represented the overwhelming majority of North Korea’s external commerce. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral trade volumes reached several billion dollars annually, making China by far North Korea’s most important economic partner.

For Beijing, economic engagement offers a means of reinforcing long-term influence. By deepening practical cooperation, China can help ensure that North Korea remains closely connected to its economic orbit even as Pyongyang simultaneously develops ties with other partners, particularly Russia.

If linked effectively to emerging Arctic shipping routes and the Northern Sea Route, these border regions could gain increasing strategic relevance over the coming decades. These ambitions remain long-term and face considerable challenges, but the renewed emphasis on connectivity suggests that economic geography is once again becoming a major factor in regional planning.

Kim Jong-un’s diplomatic moment

The summit also represented a significant success for Kim Jong-un personally.

Over the past several years, North Korea has expanded its diplomatic profile through closer engagement with Russia while simultaneously preserving and revitalizing relations with China and reaching out to the US. That balancing act has elevated Pyongyang’s international standing in ways that would have seemed unlikely only a decade ago.

Coming after Kim’s prominent appearances at major international commemorations in Beijing, where he was positioned alongside both Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the summit underscored North Korea’s growing role within a broader network of strategic partnerships.

Perhaps most importantly from Pyongyang’s perspective, the visit focused on issues that promise tangible benefits for economic development and public welfare rather than on sanctions or nuclear negotiations. This allowed North Korea to project an image of a country engaged in normal state-to-state diplomacy rather than one defined exclusively by security disputes.

Pyongyang seeks recognition as an active participant in regional affairs, rather than a security challenge to be contained.

To that end, North Korea has been showing increasing flexibility in its foreign policy. While maintaining alliance-based ties with both China and Russia, it also seeks to demonstrate that it retains independent decision-making authority. The image being cultivated is one of a state capable of navigating relationships among major powers rather than serving as a subordinate actor to any of them.

Beijing seeks to simultaneously manage its relationships with Washington, Moscow, and Pyongyang while safeguarding its own interests across Northeast Asia.

Strengthening ties with North Korea serves several objectives. It helps maintain stability along China’s northeastern border, preserves influence over developments on the Korean Peninsula, and reinforces Beijing’s role as a central diplomatic actor in regional affairs.

Chinese analysts have also increasingly emphasized North Korea as an important partner against what they view as ‘Japan’s new militarism’. Likewise, Beijing and Pyongyang share reservations regarding South Korean plans to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines with US assistance.

At the same time, Beijing has long encouraged North Korea to study aspects of China’s own development experience. The basic idea is to maintain political continuity while expanding market activity, attracting investment, increasing trade, and pursuing gradual economic modernization. While North Korea will undoubtedly follow its own path, economic cooperation with China provides opportunities to incorporate selected elements of this model.

A partnership adapting to new realities

The Xi-Kim summit was not a dramatic breakthrough, nor was it intended to be. It was part of the long-term process of steady consolidation of a relationship that both sides view as strategically indispensable.

The visit demonstrated growing political coordination, expanding economic engagement, and a shared desire to adapt to an international environment very different from only a few years ago. It also suggested that regional diplomacy is entering a new phase in which practical cooperation, infrastructure connectivity, and geopolitical balancing may matter more than longstanding debates that have produced few tangible results.

In a region shaped by strategic competition, the steady strengthening of China-North Korea relations is a development that neither supporters nor critics can afford to ignore.

India has repeated its demand for reforms in the United Nations, saying that global institutions should reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.

On his first visit to Slovakia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Slovakian counterpart affirmed their commitment to multilateralism.

Modi and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also backed – in a joint statement – comprehensive reforms of multilateral institutions, “including the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to make them more representative, inclusive, effective, and reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities.”

The United Nations’ structure was decided in the aftermath of the Second World War, but is increasingly seen as out of step with the modern world where countries like India have grown their economic and military clout.

❗️ ‘India Has to Be Part of Reformed UNSC’ – 🇸🇰 PM Fico https://t.co/urWfSdzybg pic.twitter.com/Bl42PjDK9a

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 15, 2026

The call comes ahead of the G7 meet in Evian, France, where the Indian Prime Minister is expected to hold talks with world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Indo-US trade talks could figure in the meeting on the sidelines of G7, but whether Modi will raise his concerns on the US attacks on Indian merchant navy ships in the Middle East recently is something that is keenly watched in the country.

Formal discussions on the final touches to a trade deal between India and the US are expected only during US Trade Representative ‌Jamieson Greer’s visit India on June ⁠23-24.

The Modi-Trump meeting assumes significance as it comes at a time when the tech rivalry between the US and China and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are reshaping New Delhi’s foreign policy choices. India warned against double standards in how global security issues are treated at last month’s International Security Forum in Moscow.

The Indian prime minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings and discussions with G7 countries, partner countries, and international organizations, including South Korea, Kenya, Brazil, and Egypt, and officials of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and OECD.

Modi’s bilateral engagements in Paris include addressing the VivaTech Summit, Europe’s premier technology and startup conference. President Macron visited Mumbai and Delhi in February this year for the AI Impact Summit.

On Sunday, Macron hailed India as “a major driver of global innovation” at the Bharat Innovates 2026 conclave in Nice.

FIFA is reportedly looking into a US World Cup official who appeared to make an ‘OK’ hand gesture before Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao, reviving one of the internet’s more absurd culture-war panics.

Australian referee Shaun Evans, who was working as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) supervisor for Sunday’s match, appeared on the official broadcast before kick-off as the video review team was shown, looking into the camera and making an upside-down OK sign.

The anti-discrimination group Fare, a long-time FIFA partner, called for Evans to be removed from the tournament, saying the gesture “clearly resembles” a symbol used as a white-power sign in far-right circles.

“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. The group described the gesture as “neo-Nazi” and said Evans should have no further role at the World Cup.

🚨 FIFA are investigating assistant VAR Shaun Evans after a hand gesture he made before Germany vs Curaçao was interpreted by some as having links to far-right extremist groups.

How times are changing... years ago, if you saw someone making that sign, it usually meant you were… pic.twitter.com/N8hVzGHMYD

— Football Away Days Club (@AwayDaysClub_) June 15, 2026

FIFA has said it is investigating the incident and is seeking an explanation from Evans.

The supposed racist meaning was popularized in 2017 by 4chan users, who launched a trolling campaign to convince left-wing journalists and activists that the ordinary hand gesture was secretly a white-power symbol.

Much of the media and rights groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League, took the bait, adding the OK sign to their lists of ‘hateful’ symbols alongside the swastika and Ku Klux Klan robes.

While FIFA has not yet announced any action against Evans, doing so would likely draw further backlash from fans who are already outraged with the organization over the high ticket prices, expensive stadium concessions, and widespread transportation issues. The issues with the latest World Cup have also fed into wider grievances with FIFA’s history of corruption, politicized host selections, and increasing commercialization of the game.

Last night, verified reports emerged of a forthcoming agreement between the US and Iran. This development, though long-awaited, has surprised not only the Middle East but the entire world. The deal extends far beyond the bilateral US-Iran relationship, as it addresses the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon’s security, Israel’s position, energy, the role of regional mediators, and the entire security architecture in the Middle East. 

The main goal of the deal, which is set to be concluded on June 19, is not so much to resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear program for good, as to quell the most dangerous flashpoints of the crisis. Judging by the stated parameters of the deal, Washington is opting for de-escalation through mutual concessions: Tehran would receive economic relief, the unfreezing of some of its assets, and the restoration of maritime trade routes in exchange for formally limiting its nuclear ambitions and refraining from direct threats to regional stability.

The decision to lift the naval blockade and restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is particularly significant. The markets instantly reacted to the news. As soon as US President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to sign the agreement with Iran, the price of Brent crude oil fell to $84 per barrel (for the first time since March 10). This reflects not only cautious optimism among investors but also an expectation that the threat of a major energy shock related to tensions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz has at least temporarily receded. 

However, if the deal is signed in its current form, we will witness not so much a triumph of American diplomacy as a glaring political paradox. Speaking on behalf of the White House, US Vice President JD Vance is already trying to frame the deal as a victory for the US, but the actual balance of concessions suggests that Tehran is the main beneficiary of these agreements.

This is precisely why any talk about 'Washington’s victory' appears ambiguous. Formally, Trump may present the agreement as the result of pressure and proof of his foreign policy effectiveness. However, in essence, the situation is quite different. If the deal goes through, Iran will emerge from the crisis not as a capitulating party, but as a nation that has achieved several important goals: the unfreezing of its assets, the lifting of the blockade, the limitation of US military presence at its borders, and a temporary moratorium on new sanctions. 

The historical context makes the situation particularly ironic. In 2018, Trump withdrew from the Iran ‘nuclear deal’, which was significantly more advantageous for Washington in terms of control over Iran’s nuclear program, and stated that he would sign a deal more favorable to US interests. Eight years later, the Trump administration has been forced to return to negotiations with Tehran, but on less favorable terms. It turns out that Trump first sabotaged the previous deal, then escalated the situation to the level of a military conflict, and is now trying to present the conclusion of this conflict as his personal diplomatic triumph.

If we look at the balance of concessions, the main winner so far is Iran. Tehran will get sanctions relief, space for economic maneuver, and the international recognition of the new rules of the game. For the Trump administration, the agreement with Iran is a major foreign policy asset. The White House can present it as proof of the effectiveness of coercive pressure, when military deterrence is combined with a subsequent diplomatic deal. This is why JD Vance called the agreement a major victory for Washington and linked it to the possibility of a long-term transformation of the Middle East. This may be an attempt to transition the region from chronic military turbulence to controlled predictability. Moreover, Washington can use the deal as a tactical stabilization tool and a way to reduce risks to energy markets. For Iran, it represents an opportunity to emerge from the crisis with its political face intact and with real economic benefits. 

At the same time, we should note the weakness of this agreement, which lies in its framework nature. It creates a political pause but does not resolve fundamental contradictions. Iran’s nuclear program remains a central issue: according to the stated terms, Tehran must renounce the development, acquisition, or attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, but further parameters for verification, inspections, uranium enrichment, and the fate of the nuclear infrastructure still require a separate agreement. Therefore, the deal freezes the crisis rather than definitively resolves it. 

The deal comes as an unpleasant shock for Israel, which reacted to it quite painfully. For the Israeli political establishment, the agreement appears to signify America’s strategic retreat from its policy of exerting maximum pressure on Iran. Criticism from the opposition, which is rapidly gaining popularity among the population, demonstrates that Israel fears that Iran will retain its missile program, the current political regime, and a significant portion of its regional tools of influence. Israel’s main fear is that the easing of economic sanctions will strengthen Tehran’s ability to support its allies in the region, primarily Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Additionally, the Iran-US deal also extends to Lebanon, which is unacceptable for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has already informed Trump that Israeli troops will not withdraw from Lebanon and that Israel does not consider itself bound by the Lebanon provision in the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding.

However, it’s too early to speak of this as the dawn of a ‘new era’. The Middle East has repeatedly demonstrated that ceasefires and memoranda can quickly collapse under pressure from domestic adversaries, the actions of allies, or incidents on the periphery of the conflict. Israeli strikes on Lebanon, domestic political discontent in Iran, resistance from American ‘hawks’, and the question of trust in the monitoring mechanisms could seriously complicate the implementation of the deal. Therefore, the US-Iran agreement should be viewed as a major diplomatic breakthrough, but not a final settlement. Its primary function is to halt the dangerous escalation, restore predictability to energy markets, and create a negotiating window on the nuclear issue. If the implementation mechanism works, the deal could truly usher in a new regional configuration, where the security of maritime communications and economic rationality gradually supplant the logic of military confrontation. Although, if the parties use the pause solely to regroup, the Middle East will revert to the familiar crisis model in which any agreement serves only as a temporary respite before the next round of tensions.

Russian medical specialists are working alongside Ugandan health workers to strengthen disease surveillance, treatment capacity, and outbreak response efforts as the East African nation battles the ongoing threat of Ebola, RT correspondent Hasifu Ssekiwunga has reported. 

According to Uganda’s Health Ministry, many suspected cases have been linked to people crossing into the country from neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), including through unofficial border routes.   

The threat is particularly acute in districts bordering the DR Congo, where authorities have reinforced surveillance and disease-control measures. In response, Uganda has tightened monitoring at border checkpoints and worked with Congolese authorities to establish emergency health facilities. 

Ssekiwunga has reported that preventive measures have been intensified across affected areas. Mandatory handwashing, temperature screening, face-mask use, and public awareness campaigns have been rolled out as health workers seek to identify and isolate potential cases.  

In 2024, Russia transferred a mobile anti-epidemic laboratory to Uganda, enabling rapid diagnostics of dangerous infectious diseases. The facility was already used in 2025 to help contain a previous Ebola outbreak. 

The DR Congo declared an Ebola outbreak on May 15, marking the country’s 17th recorded outbreak since the virus was first identified there in 1976. The Bundibugyo strain detected in the DR Congo has also raised concerns among regional health authorities due to the risk of cross-border transmission. 

According to the latest Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) update released on June 10, Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed Ebola cases linked to the current outbreak. Two deaths have been reported among confirmed cases, while four patients have recovered.  

Hundreds of protesters have rallied outside Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), demanding the annulment of parliamentary election results amid a crackdown on the opposition and claims of widespread fraud.

On Sunday, the CEC announced the final results of the election, with the ruling pro-EU Civil Contract party receiving 49.74% of the vote. The Strong Armenia bloc – founded by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan – came in second with 23.27%, while Armenia Alliance secured 9.92%.

Prosperous Armenia received only 3.98%, narrowly missing the 4% parliamentary threshold. All three opposition parties are Euroskeptic and advocate closer ties with Russia, which remains Armenia’s key trade partner and dominant energy supplier.

Whether Prosperous Armenia entered the parliament or not was critical for Civil Contract with regard to whether it received a constitutional majority, allowing it to pass laws and appoint senior officials without consulting the opposition.

As the CEC was processing the results and addressing numerous recount demands, activists from Strong Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, and several other parties gathered outside the building. According to videos from the scene, the protests unfolded peacefully, with heavy police presence on site.

RT’s Roman Kosarev, reporting from the scene, noted that many protesters believe that they had been “cheated or even robbed,” and that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan “pulled out all the stops to usurp power.”

Representatives of the opposition parties boycotted the CEC session, accusing its head, Vahagn Hovakimyan, of essentially working for Civil Contract and undermining democracy. Footage from the scene also showed members of Civil Contract exiting the CEC, with protesters chanting “Shame!”

While the CEC recounted votes for 637 polling stations out of more than 2,000, it declined to do so for three specific stations, arguing that the move would not impact the overall results, triggering accusations that the refusal was “illegal.”

Meanwhile, the opposition came under a crackdown before, during, and after the election. On June 6 – the day before the election – six candidates from Strong Armenia were arrested on charges of vote-buying and money laundering, with dozens more activists arrested during the election. Following the vote, Armenian authorities brought criminal charges against more than 100 people, most of which were related to purported electoral corruption.

In addition, the office of former President Robert Kocharyan, the head of Armenia Alliance, said on Sunday that he was banned from leaving the country, with officials providing no explanation.

At the same time, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan lashed out at his opponents, saying that the government’s next key political task would be “in the literal sense, depriving” opposition prime ministerial candidates of their property.

South Africa says it needs more than 1,000 buses to repatriate 7,000 Malawian nationals stranded in Durban, as Pretoria moves to tighten immigration enforcement following protests against undocumented migrants.

The repatriation effort follows escalating protests demanding illegal immigrants leave the country by June 30. The recent spate of unrest, driven by civic groups like March and March and others, has propelled the government into action.

At a Sunday media briefing in Pretoria, chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration (IMC) Mmamoloko Kubayi said the repatriation process for the estimated 7,000 Malawians in Sherwood Park must be expedited, highlighting that their numbers have surged recently. ”We are committed to ensuring the safe return of our citizens. Our transport requirements have drastically increased, and more than 1,000 buses are essential to facilitate this effort efficiently,” Kubayi stated.

This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent address, in which he announced a sweeping package of measures aimed at tightening immigration enforcement, securing South Africa’s borders, and cracking down on employers who hire undocumented migrants.

Regarding the Malawian citizens at Sherwood, Kubayi revealed that the Malawian government has commissioned eight buses that will start moving their citizens today. To expedite the repatriation process, the South African government will support the effort with 10 additional buses for the deportation of some Malawian nationals.

During her address, Kubayi also unveiled alarming statistics surrounding illegal immigration, with law enforcement agencies having made over 40,000 arrests since the beginning of the year. This includes an impressive tally of 7,400 arrests in the past month alone, all in relation to violations of the Immigration Act.

”There is a belief that the government is wilfully ignoring illegal immigration; however, this is far from the truth,” Kubayi asserted.

“Our operational efforts have not only been ongoing but also intensifying across various regions. For example, in recent weeks alone, 143 arrests have been made for not only illegal entry but also for inciting violence during the protests.”

In a visit to Atteridgeville, where approximately 457 individuals were found sleeping on the streets, the IMC chairperson reiterated the government’s commitment to address these pressing issues head-on. She indicated that while the complexities of the immigration situation are evident, the government is reportedly ramping up its initiatives to restore order and safety in communities affected by the influx.

”In addition, the rollout of face recognition technology to our ports of entry is currently under way. I think it is a matter of weeks before we are able to scale that up. Finally, I wish to briefly touch on the digital ID. This is a new channel of identification verification, which will offer security for citizens and decentralise control over your ID information,” he stated.

First published by IOL

The son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been sentenced to four years in prison for rape. The verdict comes as the country’s monarchy has been caught up in an ongoing scandal over the princess’ links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, was found guilty on Monday by the Oslo District Court of two counts of rape, domestic violence, and several other offenses. He was acquitted of two other rape charges.

Hoiby is Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before she married Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, in 2001. According to Norwegian media, Hoiby’s father, Morten Borg, also has a criminal past and was convicted on drug-related offenses in the 1990s and was reportedly in prison around the time of Marius’ birth.

Although Hoiby holds no royal title and performs no official duties, he grew up inside the royal household alongside his half-siblings, and this proximity to the royal family has brought international attention to the case.

The trial has exposed allegations of drug abuse, violent relationships, and sexual misconduct, contradicting the polished image of one of Europe’s more low-key monarchies.

Prosecutors said Hoiby sexually assaulted women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024. One of the rapes for which he was convicted reportedly took place in the basement of Skaugum, the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

The court also convicted him of abusing his former girlfriend, assaulting another partner, drug offenses, and traffic violations. He denied the rape charges while admitting to cocaine use and assault.

Crown Prince Haakon has tried to distance the royal house from the case, saying Hoiby is not a member of the royal family and is accountable like any other Norwegian citizen.

According to the Epstein files, the crown princess exchanged hundreds of emails with the sex offender between 2011 and 2014 and had even stayed at his Florida home for four days. The exchanges took place years after Epstein had admitted to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The correspondence, personal and at times flirtatious, showed that their relationship lasted much longer than the palace had publicly claimed. Mette-Marit has since apologized for what she has called poor judgment, saying she should have investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly.

Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to cap the population as concerns over economic damage trumped immigration fears in what some called the country’s Brexit moment. 

The proposal, put to a referendum on Sunday, aimed to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million by 2050. According to government figures, 55% of those taking part rejected the initiative, with 45% voting in favor.  

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), a longtime critic of mass immigration and close ties with the EU, launched the referendum. If passed, the government would have guaranteed that permanent residency – now about 9.1 million – stays below the threshold. Approaching the limit would have forced Bern to scrap its free-movement pact with the EU. Although not a member of the EU, Switzerland has maintained a free-movement agreement with the bloc since 2002.   

“Switzerland is a small country — it doesn’t stretch,” SVP lawmaker Yvan Pahud argued before the vote. “We don’t want to take in all of Europe or all the world’s troubles.”  

According to Avenir Suisse data, foreigners now account for more about 27% of Switzerland’s population, which surpassed 9 million two years ago, driven by immigration that outpaced declining birth rates.   

The development comes as the EU moves forward with its biggest migration overhaul in years, introducing mandatory border screening, accelerated asylum procedures, expanded biometric registration, and faster returns of rejected asylum seekers. A recent study shows the bloc’s migrant population reached a record 64.2 million in 2025, including 46.7 million people born outside the EU.

Ebola cases in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have climbed to 782, with 181 deaths recorded, the Health Ministry has said, as the country battles a fast-spreading outbreak in a conflict-torn region.

The ministry reported 72 new confirmed cases and 29 additional deaths on Sunday in its latest update on the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, bringing the case fatality rate from 21% to 23.1%. It said 40 people have recovered since the outbreak was declared on May 15. According to the World Health Organization, there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus, although work is underway to test potential candidates.

Confirmed cases have now been reported in 31 health zones across three eastern provinces, including two newly affected zones as of June 13. The total includes 20 health zones in Ituri, ten in North Kivu, and one in South Kivu.

The authorities said the high number of detected cases also reflects more active community surveillance, adding that public vigilance is “more necessary than ever.”

The WHO has said the response is taking place in a challenging environment marked by insecurity, a humanitarian crisis, and high population and trade movements.

Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu have been affected for years by attacks by armed groups and fighting that has triggered mass displacement of people from their homes. The UN humanitarian office said nearly 1 million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri alone, making contact tracing harder as people flee attacks or move frequently through remote areas.

DR Congo has recorded repeated Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976. The latest is the Central African nation’s 17th outbreak.

More than 2,200 people died in the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo, which mainly affected North Kivu and Ituri and became the second-deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, according to figures published by the WHO.

An Indian sailor has died on board a vessel stranded near the Strait of Hormuz. US forces had earlier searched the ship and diverted its course, suspecting it of attempting to sail to an Iranian port.

Nishanth Uirthanathan, second officer of the MT Celestial, died on June 11 after falling seriously ill. There was no response to repeated distress calls from the ship for a medical evacuation of the 35-year-old, the crew said in a video that went viral on social media on Sunday.

Media reports citing ship records alleged that the crew of MT Celestial Sea had repeatedly called the US Navy on VHF Channel 16 but received no response.

The Forward Seamen’s Union of India posted on X that the crew had to keep the body on board the ship for two days and used cold water bottles in the absence of refrigeration systems. 

On Sunday, the body was finally disembarked at Duqm Port in Oman. The Indian Embassy in Oman said it is coordinating with local authorities to send Uirthanathan’s remains to India and is in touch with his family.

"That was very horrible that the master tried to reach out all the authority including the port authority as well as the US naval forces. We have heard his statement that he tried to reach out to the Indian embassy as well.
Due to the shortage of the medical care on board, he tried to approach to all the appropriate authority by releasing SOS. But unfortunately, nothing has been received from the other side," Yadav said.

At the same time, in an unrealted incident, the US Naval Forces Central Command announced on Sunday that it assisted in the rescue of the crew of another stranded vessel, MV Virat 1, in the Northern Arabian Sea on Sunday. Eleven of the crew were later transported to the M V Jabal Ali. Three mariners, whose life raft capsized, were airlifted to Jabal Ali.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the blockade of Iranian ports would be lifted immediately, after a peace agreement with Tehran was finalized.  Hundreds of ships had been stranded in the Persian Gulf area after Iran closed the area and the US blockaded Iranian ports in retaliation.

Uirthanathan's death comes amid the killings of three Indian crew members aboard a chemical tanker in a US missile strike last week. Two other tankers were also struck by US forces for allegedly trying to run the blockade of Iran.

India has more than 3,00,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets. Of them, over 18,000 are employed in West Asia. India conveyed its concerns about the attacks on commercial ships to US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks, who was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi twice last week.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France this week.

Riot police in Geneva clashed with protesters on Sunday ahead of a Group of Seven summit in neighboring France. The violence disrupted a No-G7 demonstration which drew thousands.

Geneva lies around 30 km from Evian-les-Bains, a French resort town on the shores of Lake Geneva where the 2026 G7 summit is scheduled to take place Monday to Wednesday. The Swiss authorities closed 25 of the 35 border crossings with France from Thursday afternoon, citing security concerns.

Around 60 organizations representing a range of causes, including feminist groups, trade unions, and supporters of Palestinian and Kurdish statehood, took part in the Geneva march. Organizers said around 20,000 people attended; police estimated the crowd at 7,000 at the start of the demonstration.

Police used water cannons and tear gas against rioters, who hurled projectiles at the officers.

🔴Genève : la police utilise un canon à eau !#Genève #Suisse #NOG7 #manif14juin #G7 #manifestation pic.twitter.com/c5AtiN1HE4

— Bismuth Back (@Bismuthback) June 14, 2026

Footage from the scene also shows the windows of a bank being smashed during the unrest.

A Tesla car was burned out after catching fire amid the turmoil, although it was not clear whether the vehicle was deliberately targeted.

Manifestation anti #G7 à Genève Suisse. Des heurts en cours de nombreuses vitrines brisées une voiture (Tesla) en feu. pic.twitter.com/lxUITKcr2a

— Line Press (@LinePress_Off) June 14, 2026

American entrepreneur Elon Musk, the co-owner and CEO of Tesla, became the world’s first trillionaire last week after his other company, SpaceX, raised $75 billion in an IPO.

Apart from the clashes, the five-kilometer march along the shores of Lake Geneva, which passed near the United Nations quarter, was described by the media as loud and colorful but largely contained. Demonstrators chanted slogans against fascism, imperialism, and capitalism. One banner depicted US President Donald Trump as a dinosaur devouring the Earth.

🔴Genève#Genève #Suisse #NOG7 #manif14juin #G7 #manifestation pic.twitter.com/47OxDx6yuj

— Bismuth Back (@Bismuthback) June 14, 2026

The G7 was formed in 1973 as a club of the world’s largest economies, but its influence has declined as non-Western powers, especially China, gain greater weight in the global economy. Critics argue that the format is outdated and far less relevant than the more inclusive G20.

A retired Nigerian major general has died in captivity after being abducted by unknown assailants, the country’s Defense Headquarters announced on Saturday. 

Major General Rabe Abubakar died while being held by his kidnappers despite efforts by security forces to secure his release. The Defense Headquarters said it had refrained from commenting publicly on the abduction while rescue operations were underway.

Abubakar was a well-known figure within Nigeria’s armed forces, having served as director of defense information and spokesperson for several military formations throughout his career. The military credited him with making significant contributions to counterinsurgency operations and the professional development of the armed forces. 

On Sunday, a Defense Headquarters delegation led by Major General IM Abdullahi visited the late officer’s family in Katsina State, where a national flag was presented in recognition of his more than three decades of military service. 

His death comes amid a wave of kidnappings across Nigeria, where armed groups continue to target civilians, officials, and security personnel. The West African state has long struggled with criminal gangs and extremist groups, which frequently hold people for ransom. The most active militant group in the region is Boko Haram. 

Earlier this month, the Nigerian army said it had rescued 360 hostages, including women and children, from a Boko Haram enclave in the state of Borno following what it described as “weeks of painstaking intelligence preparation.” According to the military, the captives had been held in harsh conditions after being abducted from several communities in the region. 

Somaliland’s president has made his first visit to Israel, months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government controversially recognized the breakaway territory as an independent state.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi was welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of what officials described as the first state visit by a Somaliland leader to Israel.

Herzog said it was a “great honor” to receive Abdullahi on a visit that “symbolizes the great potential of the new partnership” between the “two countries,” adding that the two sides must now move “from declarations to action.”

Somaliland’s presidency said Abdullahi was received with full state honors and that the two leaders held talks on economic and investment partnerships, innovation, technology, agriculture, and regional security. The Somaliland leader also visited the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he planted a tree.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Abdullahi thanked West Jerusalem for receiving him and said the people of Somaliland spent decades seeking international recognition.

Israel recognized Somaliland as a sovereign state in December, drawing condemnation from Somalia and several African governments. Netanyahu’s office said at the time that the two sides had signed a joint declaration and that the move was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”

#01.
The President of the Republic of Somaliland visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he ceremonially planted a tree. pic.twitter.com/nfGtvoABAd

— MFA Somaliland (@somalilandmfa) June 14, 2026

Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, has rejected Israel’s recognition as illegal and a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also condemned Somaliland’s plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem, saying any unilateral action by the breakaway region has no legal effect. Israel remains the only state to recognize Somaliland.

The African Union has also rejected the move, warning that it risks setting a “dangerous precedent” and could undermine peace and stability across the continent.

His trip to Israel follows the opening of a new Somaliland representative office in Taipei last Friday, despite objections from Somalia and China. Somaliland’s representative in Taiwan, Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal, said Beijing and Mogadishu failed to pressure Hargeisa into cutting ties with the island, which he described as a “very important ally.” 

“We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It’s our prerogative,” he said, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping for their roles in bringing about a peace settlement with Iran. Moscow has repeatedly offered its mediation services and urged all sides to de-escalate.

Trump made the remarks on Sunday in an interview with the New York Times, hours after he announced that Washington and Tehran have reached a Pakistani- and Qatari-mediated deal to end the conflict.

According to several media reports, a 14-point memorandum of understanding includes provisions on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, easing of US sanctions, and unfreezing of Iranian assets, with a formal signing ceremony to take place in Geneva on Friday. Iran is also expected to reaffirm its pledge to abstain from nuclear weapons, with final nuclear talks to conclude within 60 days.

Since the start of hostilities in late February, Putin and Trump have spoken by phone at least three times – in March, in late April when Trump said Putin had offered to help end the war, and again on Sunday, when the two discussed the near-finalized memorandum, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

Moscow also put forward a nuclear compromise, offering to transport and store Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile on Russian soil. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the proposal had been discussed, but said Tehran was not yet ready to put it on the agenda while thanking “Russian friends for their offer and for their intention to help resolve this problem.”

Amid a hike in oil prices caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Putin earlier this month pushed back against what he called “speculation” that Russia had emerged as a sole financial winner from the conflict. “The oil rally is taking place, but it is temporary and short-term. Meanwhile, we would like to build relationships with our partners on a long-term basis… In this case, we are interested in the end of the conflict, and as soon as possible,” he said.

Russian forces have carried out long-range attacks on military-industrial facilities in three major Ukrainian cities, as well as airfields and conscription offices, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Monday morning.

The strikes involved drones and missiles fired from air-, land-, and sea-based platforms, the ministry said, adding that all designated targets were hit.

In a more detailed follow-up statement, the Russian military said a total of 16 industrial targets were hit, including a plant producing drone warheads and boosters for Ukraine’s flagship Flamingo cruise missiles.

The statement also mentioned a strike on a postal terminal in Kiev, stressing that it was used for military logistics, delivering parts for drones, and electronic warfare systems.

Similarly, Moscow said a cinema studio in Kiev was struck because Ukrainian forces used the facility to program kamikaze drones for attacks on Russia.

Ukrainian sources earlier reported attacks in Kiev, Kharkov, and Dnepr, the cities named in the Russian statement. The Ukrainian military said it had detected 70 incoming missiles and more than 600 drones. Officials also reported a partial power outage in Kiev and disruptions to rail services.

During the barrage, Ukrainian media published footage showing a fire at one of the cathedrals of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. Reports claimed the blaze was linked to the Russian operation.

A close-up footage of the burning Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv that caught fire during Russian strikes tonight.

The history of this building dates back to the 11th century. https://t.co/DR9mKYKfQO pic.twitter.com/gZ283STqVV

— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) June 14, 2026

The Russian ministry reiterated that it does not target sites with no military value and has blamed the damage on the monastery on a US-made Patriot interceptor missile. The statement suggested that the projectile may have malfunctioned due to old age.

Kiev has repeatedly complained of a shortage of Western-supplied air defense systems and of the need to conserve expensive anti-missile munitions, including Patriots.

The Russian strikes come amid an escalation in long-range attacks by both sides. Kiev is reportedly seeking another $20 billion from Western backers to expand drone operations against Russia.

Last week, a Ukrainian strike caused major damage to a museum in Sevastopol dedicated to the defense of the Crimean Peninsula during the 19th-century war with Türkiye, Britain, and France.

The reported Russian attacks on Ukrainian conscription centers came hours after a large protest in Kiev, said to have been sparked by forced mobilization. The rare mass demonstration was broken up by riot police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to local media.

Three people were killed and three others injured, including a one-year-old child, after Ukrainian drones struck residential areas in Tula Region, Russia, Governor Dmitry Milyaev has said.

The attack damaged several private homes and commercial facilities in the settlements of Yamny, Maslovo, Mikhalkovo, and Inshinsky outside Tula, a city around 193 km (120 miles) south of Moscow.

“Unfortunately, according to preliminary information, three people were killed. Three others, including a one-year-old child, were injured. The victims are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” Milyaev wrote on Max on Monday.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Monday morning that four UAVs heading toward the Russian capital were shot down, with emergency specialists dispatched to debris fall sites.

One person was killed and eight injured when a drone struck an apartment building in Oryol Region, and an elderly woman was hospitalized after UAV debris hit a house in Smolensk Region.

In Kursk Region, two women and a man were injured in separate strikes, and four people, including a child, were reported wounded in Belgorod Region. A local resident was also killed in the Crimean city of Saki, according to the regional authorities.

In Yaroslavl Region, the authorities said debris fell on industrial facilities, sparking a fire but causing no casualties. Local media reported a ‘fuel-oil rain’ after the attack.

The strike is the latest in a series of long-range Ukrainian drone raids reaching deep into Russian territory. Russian officials have accused Kiev of targeting residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, arguing that these attacks offer limited military value and are primarily aimed at intimidating the population.

Moscow has warned that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure will be met with “systematic and consistent strikes” against dual-use targets across Ukraine, including power facilities, military sites, command centers, and drone production plants. Russia maintains that it does not deliberately target purely civilian locations.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has given Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “a few more days” to renounce the honoring of nationalist militias that massacred Poles during World War II, officials said.

The diplomatic feud between the neighboring countries erupted last month when Zelensky renamed an elite commando unit after “the heroes of the UPA,” referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).

The OUN sought to create an ethnically homogeneous Ukrainian state, and in its documents, labeled Poles, Russians, Jews, and other minorities as enemies. The group collaborated with Nazi Germany during the initial stage of its invasion of the Soviet Union. The UPA, created in October 1942 following a split with the Germans, killed up to 100,000 Polish civilians in what is now western Ukraine. Poland recognizes the massacres as genocide.

Nawrocki backed an initiative by Polish MP Grzegorz Placzek to revoke Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state distinction, which was awarded to the Ukrainian leader by then-President Andrzej Duda in 2023.

“The ball is in Ukraine’s court. If there is no positive response, the procedure will conclude with a decision by the president,” Marcin Przydacz, the head of the presidential International Policy Office, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Speaking to TV Republika on Friday, presidential spokesman Rafal Leskiewicz said Nawrocki expects Zelensky to reverse the “shameful act.”

“We will wait a few more days. Let’s not give in to pressure,” he added.

Poland is one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters in the conflict with Russia. The country serves as a hub for the training of Ukrainian troops and the delivery of weapons to Kiev.

The UPA and other World War II-era nationalist groups are officially celebrated as freedom fighters in Ukraine. Streets and buildings are named after them, while a torchlit procession is held in Kiev every January 1 to mark the birthday of Stepan Bandera, one of the OUN leaders.

Russia has long protested against the glorification of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine and has listed ‘denazification’ as one of its goals in the conflict.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has blessed the foundation stone for a future church dedicated to St. John of Kronstadt. One of the most beloved and influential Orthodox priests, St. John of Kronstadt was known for his tireless pastoral and charitable work in the late 19th century.

The church will be located at the St. John Convent, a women’s monastery in the center of St. Petersburg that St. John of Kronstadt founded in the early 20th century, several years before his death. The saint was also buried there in accordance with his wishes.

The monastery was closed in 1923 by the Soviet authorities and was restored and reopened in 1989. It has had no churches dedicated to its founder, which officially canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990 as two of its churches were consecrated after the Bulgarian 10th century hermit, Saint John of Rila and the twelve Apostles, respectively.

The construction of the new church is expected to be completed in 2028.

St. John of Kronstadt served as a parish priest at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kronstadt, a naval port near St. Petersburg, for more than 50 years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually attaining the rank of archpriest and becoming a member of the Most Holy Synod, the Russian Orthodox Church’s governing body at the time.

He became widely known for offering both spiritual guidance and practical assistance to hospitals and shelters, as well as to workers and prisoners. He founded numerous charitable institutions, including schools and orphanages, which provided food, medical assistance and care to those in need. The faithful also believed he was able to heal people with his prayers.

St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said that St. John of Kronstadt is also regarded as a patron saint of the city. The new church in his honor is a “major step” in strengthening Russia’s spiritual values and St. Petersburg’s historical memory, he added.

US President Donald Trump has said that a memorandum of understanding with Iran is “all signed,” with the official ceremony expected on Friday.

Vice President J.D. Vance, meanwhile, who previously told ABC News that the peace roadmap had been signed “digitally” over the weekend, will be attending the event, according to Trump.

Reuters, citing unnamed US officials, reported on Monday that the roadmap had been signed on Iran’s behalf by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

The US president also expressed confidence that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon after the memorandum is officially inked.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned that Lebanon’s territorial integrity is an “inseparable part” of the memorandum. His remark followed Israeli airstrikes on the Middle Eastern country.

The talks were repeatedly stalled and delayed, with both sides accusing each other of making unacceptable demands and citing a lack of trust.

Most recently, Iran threatened to suspend the negotiations over Israel’s continuing strikes in Lebanon. In an effort to prevent the talks from collapsing, Trump reportedly demanded that Israel halt the attacks during several heated phone calls with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Here are the latest developments:

• Iran will reportedly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, halt uranium enrichment, and renounce nuclear weapons in exchange for the release of $25 billion in frozen assets, sanctions relief, an end to the US naval blockade, and a $300 billion reconstruction package.

• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said the IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon despite the reported terms of the agreement, warning that it will respond “with full force” if Iran attacks over its operations against Hezbollah.

• The EU has welcomed the reported deal, with foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying it could create “much-needed space.”

• Oil prices fell sharply on the news, with US WTI crude dropping 4.7% to $80.83 a barrel and Brent crude falling around 4% to $83.77, the lowest levels since March 4, shortly after the US-Israeli operation against Iran began.

This live feed has now ended.

US President Donald Trump has announced that the peace deal with Iran is “now complete,” signaling the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the negotiations, said both sides “have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

Sharif added that the agreement would be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland.

The US and Iran previously stated that a memorandum of understanding was largely finalized. According to Tehran, the document would focus on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran’s nuclear program would be addressed in separate negotiations within 60 days of its signing.

Trump had several heated phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks, during which he demanded that Israel stop its airstrikes in Lebanon. Iran previously threatened to suspend the talks unless the Israeli operation came to an end.

Police used tear gas against dozens of protesters opposing forced mobilization in Kiev on Sunday night, according to local Telegram channels.

The standoff began when an angry crowd gathered to defend a man who was being grabbed off the street by draft officers, the news outlet Strana reported.

Bystanders reportedly clashed with the officers, chanting “Shame!”

Draft officers often ambush military-age men on the streets, at workplaces, and outside their homes, using physical force against those who resist or attempt to flee. The campaign has been dubbed ‘busification’ because recruits are often shoved into minibuses and driven to enlistment offices.

American singer Oliver Tree was among the six people killed when two helicopters collided over southwest Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, Globo1 and CNN Brasil have reported, citing local police.

Firefighters were called to the scene of a collision involving two aircraft at around 9 am. Acting Rio de Janeiro State Governor Claudio Castro confirmed that all six people aboard were killed.

Tree and Argentine YouTuber Gaspi were among the victims. They shared one of the helicopters with a music producer and a music video director, along with the pilot, Globo1 reported, citing the police.

The second helicopter reportedly carried only its pilot.

Security footage circulating on social media appears to catch a brief moment when one of the helicopters plummets out of the sky, spinning out of control.

Acidente com 2 helicópteros e 6 mortos na zona sudoeste do Rio. Abaixo, a imagem da queda de uma delas. Uma tristeza, que nos faz questionar a qtas anda a segurança no ar. Há menos de um mês, um outro helicóptero caiu em BH e ceifou 3 vidas. pic.twitter.com/kcKm8YweYF

— Afonso Guedes (@guedes_afonso) June 14, 2026

On videos purporting to show the incident’s aftermath, an enormous black plume of smoke can be seen rising from burning cars at the crash site.

🚨✈️ Movimentação intensa de equipes de resgate na Barra da Tijuca após a queda de dois helicópteros sobre uma garagem de veículos da BYD, na manhã deste domingo.

Imagens registradas mostram as equipes de emergência chegando ao local logo após o acidente. As circunstâncias da… pic.twitter.com/6oPGV5kq5p

— PEGAVISAORJNEWS (@pegavisaorjnews) June 14, 2026

Tree, a 32-year-old California-born singer-songwriter, was in Rio de Janeiro as part of his world tour after performing in Sao Paolo the previous week

Tree had more than 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Slovakia will demand compensation from the EU for weapons it donated to Ukraine, Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced. The previous government lied about the aid deal, he said in a video address published on Facebook on Sunday.

Fico halted all state-sponsored military aid and weapons transfers to Kiev after coming to power in 2023. He has argued that the government of his predecessor, Eduard Heger, left Slovakia “completely naked” by donating fighter jets and air-defense systems to Ukraine.

In the year following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Heger’s cabinet approved deliveries of dozens of Soviet-era tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The donated equipment also included Soviet MiG-29 jets and S-300 missile systems. Bratislava handed over equipment worth around €700 million ($809.8 million) to Kiev between 2022 and 2023, according to the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Under the deal struck by Heger’s government, the donated equipment was to be replaced by Western-made hardware, delivered by Germany in particular. The Slovak Defense Ministry argued at the time that the agreement was insufficient as Berlin pledged to replace only around half of the equipment sent to Ukraine.

He has also repeatedly argued that the bloc’s policies and refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue with Moscow were hurting the EU itself, forcing member states to cope with high energy prices after Russian oil and gas imports were blocked under sanctions.

On Sunday, he described his recent talks with European Council President Antonio Costa as “frustrating,” adding that the EU is determined to “wage a war” against Russia “to the last Ukrainian soldier and to the last euro” despite the bloc’s “declining competitiveness” and “extremely high energy prices.”

Russia has said it has “never refused dialogue,” accusing Ukraine’s Western backers of pursuing a “destructive policy” aimed at pushing Kiev to keep fighting and undermining any peace efforts.

The US and Israel’s “good cop, bad cop” strategy for diplomacy while allowing continued Israeli attacks is outdated, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday, shortly after a deadly strike on Lebanon.

At least three people were killed in the Israeli attack on southern Beirut earlier in the day, just ahead of an anticipated US-Iran agreement, which Tehran has long insisted should include an end to hostilities in Lebanon. The proposed agreement has reportedly been viewed by many Israeli officials as a capitulation to Iran.

“The Zionists’ invasion of Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so,” Ghalibaf said on X.

By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions. The game of good cop and bad cop is outdated. If you do not have the will and ability to fulfill your obligations, it is not possible to talk about moving forward. 

According to Lebanese state news agency NNA, the Israeli strike killed at least three people and injured 15 others. The IDF claimed to have been targeting a Hezbollah command center.

“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down,” he wrote.

Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as a violation of both Lebanese sovereignty and the April 8 “ceasefire understanding” between Tehran and Washington. It argued that the US bears “direct responsibility” for Israel’s actions and warned that the strike could have serious consequences for regional peace and security.

Just a day earlier, Trump announced that the US and Iran would ink a deal on Sunday that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and decide the fate of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

Earlier in June, Iran and Israel exchanged tit-for-tat strikes for the first time since the ceasefire was reached. The escalation followed an Israeli strike on southern Beirut.

Drug addiction is emerging as a growing problem among Ukrainian troops as the conflict with Russia enters the fifth year, according to doctors and specialized organizations cited by Deutsche Welle. The report also cites the experience of a former Ukrainian Marine Corps officer who said he became addicted to drugs.

Experts reportedly attribute the problem to combat injuries and psychological exhaustion, with many servicemen spending months on the front line without adequate rest or prospects for demobilization.

While narcotics are officially banned in the military, heavy losses, the lack of rotation, and acute manpower shortages forcing wounded troops back to the front before fully recovering are reportedly fueling the problem.

According to the report published last week, more than half of Ukrainian soldiers serving on the front line have experience with the use of drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both.

“No army in modern history has fought for four years without rotation,” psychotherapist Igor Alferov told Deutsche Welle. He added that when commanders refuse to grant leave, and “there is no one else to do the fighting,” the troops increasingly feel a sense of injustice.

A former Ukrainian serviceman and patient at a rehabilitation clinic told DW that drug addiction cost him his military career. “I had more than 200 men under my command and took part in a number of successful operations,” he said, adding that his condition deteriorated after being discharged from the hospital and that he eventually “lost control of everything.”

Earlier this year, a local resident rescued from Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which was liberated by Russian forces in late 2025, told TASS that most Ukrainian troops stationed in the city used drugs delivered by drones in the form of candies wrapped in camouflage packaging. He claimed that intoxicated soldiers often clashed with civilians, with some incidents ending in gunfire.

The Guardian reported that many Ukrainian servicemen developed drug addiction, the scale of which is hard to assess due to limited official data, linking it in part to post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety from prolonged combat exposure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wished his US counterpart, Donald Trump, a happy 80th birthday during a phone call, presidential aide Yury Ushakov has told journalists. Trump was “touched” by the greeting, and the two leaders spoke for about an hour in a “friendly and open” manner, the official added.

Trump was particularly appreciative of the gesture, Ushakov said, noting that Putin was the first foreign leader to call and give his best wishes on Sunday.

Putin also thanked Trump for his Russia Day greeting earlier this week, adding that the American president’s message conveyed a “feeling of respect for the Russian people.”

The two presidents discussed a wide range of pressing international issues, including the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, as well as the Ukraine conflict, Ushakov said.

Trump said that he expected the results of the talks with Tehran to be made public later on Sunday and thanked Moscow for its engagement in the negotiating process and assistance in finding “constructive solutions” to the conflict between the US and Iran, Ushakov pointed out.

Trump called for a speedy cessation of hostilities in the Ukraine conflict and said that he was ready to “influence” Kiev and its European backers, including during the upcoming G7 summit later this month, the Kremlin aide said.

Putin responded by saying that continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian infrastructure impede efforts to reach a settlement. He maintained that attacks targeting civilians would not change the Ukrainian military’s dire situation on the front line. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and his European backers only suggest options that would “prolong the conflict and extend the hostilities,” he explained.

Putin and Trump also agreed that the US president’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are currently involved in talks with Iran, would visit Moscow “in the near future,” according to Ushakov.

The last phone call between the two presidents took place in late April, when they also discussed the Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Middle East. In May, Ushakov told journalists that Putin and Trump could meet in person on the sidelines of the APEC summit in China this November.

Trump also hinted at a possible trip to Russia earlier this year, telling journalists he would “do whatever is necessary” to help settle the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin said at the time that Putin was ready to host the American president.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar that Washington will enforce its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, despite New Delhi’s protest over a deadly US strike on a commercial vessel earlier this week.

According to a US State Department readout of the phone conversation between the two officials on Saturday, Rubio “stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that violations of the US blockade “will not be tolerated.”

US forces struck three commercial vessels with Indian crew members in the Strait of Hormuz area this week, according to Indian media reports. One strike, on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello, left three Indian seafarers dead. Washington claimed that the vessel had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and failed to comply with instructions from US forces.

“Use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping… [is] unacceptable,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Such actions undermine the safety and security of international maritime commerce, it added.

Even so, Saturday’s readout made no mention of the deaths.

“Deeply shocking to read this official US statement, which contains absolutely no expression of regret or condolence for the loss of innocent Indian lives. How can a ‘friend’ and strategic partner be so deeply insensitive?” Shashi Tharoor, an opposition lawmaker from the Indian National Congress, wrote on X on Saturday.

“No regret, No remorse, no empathy, no sympathy. Abrupt, abrasive confrontational. Hardly the language you use with a country you call a ‘friend’,” another senior Congress leader, Manish Tewari, wrote on X.

Israeli officials feel sidelined by the emerging US-Iran peace deal and are furious with what they believe amounts to a “catastrophe” that fails the objectives set prior to the war, according to a report by the Israeli outlet Ynet.

According to the reported terms, the agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz without a toll regime, lift the American naval blockade on Iranian ports, ease sanctions on Tehran, and defer nuclear talks to later. While US President Donald Trump said the agreement would be signed on Sunday, Iranian officials said it would happen later.

Tehran has also insisted that the deal end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have occupied a significant chunk of territory. At the same time, whereas US officials seek an agreement that underlines “broad regional peace” – including in Lebanon – they insist that Israel reserves its right to self-defense.

“Trump screwed us,” one Israeli official told Ynet. A second official called the deal “very bad.” “From our perspective, it is a catastrophe, because it does not meet any of the principles we spoke about when the war began,” he said.

Publicly, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his appreciation” for President Trump’s commitment that the deal would “include the removal of enriched material” from Iran while stressing that his country is not a party to the agreement.

Behind the scenes, however, a different picture emerges, with Trump yelling at Netanyahu in early June and calling him “f**king crazy” over Israelʼs strikes in Lebanon, according to Axios. The outlet also claimed that Trump threatened to withdraw support for Israel if it restarts the war with Iran. Publicly, Trump also stressed that Netanyahu has no other choice but to accept a US-Iran deal.

The reported tensions between the two leaders come as Trump has received flak for what his critics describe as a successful Israeli ploy to draw the US into war with Iran. The military campaign drew the ire of some of Trump’s staunchest supporters, including conservative journalist Tucker Carlson, who called it the “single biggest mistake” of Trump’s presidency.

US President Donald Trump has not scheduled an official bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky at the upcoming G7 summit in France, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing senior US administration officials.

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has held several formal and informal meetings with Zelensky in an effort to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelensky has reportedly sought to use the encounters to finalize pre-negotiated agreements on Ukraine’s post-conflict economic recovery and “security guarantees.” However, repeated contacts between the two leaders have so far failed to produce an agreement.

Trump will hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of France, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, and India during the summit, which will be held from Monday through Wednesday in the town of Evian-les-Bains, officials familiar with the plans told the news agency.

One official said the Ukrainian leader would take part in a working session with G7 leaders. Earlier this week, Western media, citing US administration sources, reported that Trump and Zelensky “may meet on the sidelines” of the summit.

As part of his stated effort to end the Ukraine conflict, the US president met with the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office in February 2025. The televised talks descended into a heated clash after Zelensky criticized Trump’s neutral approach to settling the conflict. He was accused of showing insufficient respect and gratitude to Washington as Kiev’s top benefactor, as well as resisting peace and “gambling with World War III.”

Zelensky has repeatedly called for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he has ruled out traveling to Moscow and rejected the idea of withdrawing Ukrainian troops from the Donbass region, which Putin has said would be sufficient for Russia to declare a ceasefire.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this month, Putin said Russia remains committed to a peaceful settlement based on compromises reached with Trump in Alaska last year. He said the main obstacle is persuading Kiev to accept the terms, particularly withdrawing from Donbass, not joining NATO, and carrying out demilitarization and denazification.

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has accused UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of using the seizure of a supposed Russian-linked vessel to distract from domestic problems.

In a post on X on Sunday, Starmer announced that UK forces intercepted a tanker involved in ‘shadow fleet’ operations, which allegedly help Russia bypass Western sanctions on oil exports.

The Smyrtos was reportedly transiting the English Channel before it was boarded by UK marines. The UK Defense Ministry said it will be held and monitored off the south coast while its operations are investigated.

Starmer boasted that he personally directed the interception, calling it a “successful operation” that delivered “yet another blow to Russia.” He later posted footage purportedly showing armed marines boarding the vessel.

Despite Putin’s best efforts to evade sanctions, we will not let him get away with it. pic.twitter.com/IIW3Cv2ENQ

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 14, 2026

Dmitriev suggested that the operation was not about security or enforcing sanctions, but to manufacture a confrontation and distract the public from immigration problems and crime.

“Desperate Starmer, instead of intercepting HIS immigrants who rape, mutilate and behead British people, attempts to DISTRACT the UK with an escalation,” he wrote on X.

Desperate Starmer, instead of intercepting HIS immigrants who rape, mutilate and behead British people, attempts to DISTRACT the UK with an escalation. https://t.co/3xjHIrXA39

— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) June 14, 2026

The UK faces tensions over immigration following a number of attacks and high-profile murder and rape cases involving migrants in recent years. This week, a 17-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck in northwest England by a 30-year-old man of Pakistani heritage. The most persistent issue remains migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, with successive governments repeatedly promising and failing to reduce the arrivals.

The UK has been among the loudest advocates of tougher action against ships carrying Russian oil, while previously avoiding direct involvement. In March, however, London claimed that a legal review cleared UK troops to board the vessels. The Russian Embassy in London called it a “deeply hostile step,” accusing the UK of preparing “acts of piracy.”

Russia has long considered Britain a key force behind the Ukraine conflict, accusing it of directly assisting Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory with UK-supplied weapons. Moscow has also accused Western governments of demonizing Russia to justify increased defense spending and to distract the public’s attention from domestic problems.

Thousands of anti-migration protesters marched in Rome on Saturday in support of a citizens’ initiative calling for stricter migration controls.

The demonstration was organized by the Remigration and Reconquest Committee, which promotes a popular bill offering financial incentives for foreigners to leave Italy and encouraging descendants of Italians living abroad to return to the country.

A petition by the committee has collected more than 130,000 signatures, well above the 50,000 required for a citizens’ initiative to be formally submitted to parliament.

Roma today: "Let's take back our neighborhoods! Everyone out!" The EU that has flooded our cities with parasites and criminals will soon implode. https://t.co/h9wucL43sT pic.twitter.com/5NmJ9JByP6

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) June 13, 2026

Italian patriots gathered en masse in Rome to demand mass deportations. Many pro Mussolini chants. pic.twitter.com/nVUsDOXIHv

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) June 13, 2026

Italy has been one of the main destinations for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, with hundreds of thousands arriving by sea since the 2015 migration crisis. Italy received more than 150,000 sea arrivals in 2023 and about 66,000 in both 2024 and 2025, according to Interior Ministry figures.

A rival pro-migrant demonstration was also held in Rome, drawing left-wing groups, trade unions, and activists who accused the anti-migration campaign of targeting foreigners and undermining rights protections. Police were deployed to keep the opposing rallies apart.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faces competing pressures on migration policy. Her government has moved to curb irregular arrivals while simultaneously expanding legal migration.

Italy has the oldest population in the EU and one of the bloc’s lowest birth and fertility rates, making foreign labor increasingly important to the economy.

The Rome rallies came after the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact entered into force on Friday. The bloc’s biggest migration overhaul in years introduces mandatory border screening, accelerated asylum procedures for some applicants, expanded biometric registration, and measures intended to speed up the return of rejected asylum seekers.

James Boyard, the chief of staff of the Haitian Defense Ministry, has been kidnapped along with his family amid escalating gang violence, media reports claimed on Saturday.

Boyard, a respected security expert and author, serves as chief of staff to Haiti’s newly appointed defense minister, Mario Andresol, and as inspector general of the national police.

Local media reported that unidentified armed men snatched Boyard on Thursday in Bourdon, one of the few areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, still considered relatively safe, though most of the city is controlled by gangs. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the kidnapping to AP.

Police sources told the New York Times that Boyard was abducted along with his wife and six-year-old daughter, a US citizen, and that a ransom was demanded. While it remains unclear who carried out the kidnapping, investigators reportedly suspect Christ-Roi Chery, known as Chrisla, the leader of the Ti Bwa gang, a major armed group. A spokesman for the Haitian police declined to comment on the case.

Groups controlling major highways, ports, and entire communities have prevented the authorities from holding elections while carrying out kidnappings, killings, and attacks on state institutions. Officials say elections scheduled for later this summer are unlikely to take place due to the continuing violence.

A Kenyan-led, UN-backed mission known as the Multinational Security Support (MSS), deployed to Haiti in 2024 to help curb the violence, was able to secure the presidential palace and reopen several key roads, but struggled to make further gains.

According to UN figures released earlier this month, nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced by violence in Haiti since 2022, and more than 16,000 have been killed. Local rights groups put the death toll closer to 20,000.

Kidnappings remain widespread in Haiti. At least 647 people, including women and children, were abducted last year, according to the UN, with ransom demands often higher for foreigners and dual nationals. While recent high-profile cases have targeted journalists and foreign missionaries, Boyard is the highest-ranking official kidnapped in the country in years.

US President Donald Trump’s looming Iran peace deal looks like a “surrender document” and fails to deliver anything America did not have before the war, Democratic congressman Seth Moulton has said.

The comments come after Trump announced on Saturday that a peace framework would be signed the next day and would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In an apparent reference to Iran’s enriched uranium, he said, “at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust” and destroy it.

Media reports also claimed that the deal includes sanctions relief and the dismantling of the US blockade of Iran, while the strait will be operated without a toll regime. Iranian officials said, however, that the signing “will not be tomorrow,” and that talks on the nuclear program are expected to start later.

“I mean, $100 billion of taxpayer money already put into this war, 14 Americans dead, and we get a deal that just reopens the strait that was already open before he started the war? How is that a win?” Moulton said.

While he acknowledged that ending the war is the best option for the US, in terms of accomplishing goals, it has been “just lose, lose, lose across the board for Trump and the United States of America.”

Media reports suggest that despite the devastating US-Israeli strikes, Iran’s military remains a potent fighting force, and Tehran could obtain a nuclear weapon within months, though it denies that it seeks to do so.

California Senator Adam Schiff, a critic of the war, also expressed reservations about the deal, saying the talks could end with a “face-saving announcement to agree at a later date by the president. That would be a terrible strategic loss for the country.”

The US State Department has announced a global crackdown on what it describes as illegal “birth tourism” schemes.

The effort involves revoking hundreds of visas and dismantling networks in Africa and Europe that allegedly helped foreign nationals travel to the US to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children.

“No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring US citizenship for a child by giving birth in the US,” the State Department wrote on X on Wednesday, announcing the crackdown.

While it is not illegal for foreigners to give birth in the US, the authorities say the crackdown targets visa fraud, including applicants who misrepresent their travel purpose or use organized networks to enter under false pretenses.

“Illicit ‘birth tourism’ networks charge tens of thousands of dollars and coach individuals to commit visa fraud by lying to our consular officers,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on X on Saturday.

During President Donald Trump’s first term, the State Department introduced rules aimed at curbing birth tourism. The measures allow consular officers to deny visitor visas if they determine an applicant’s primary purpose is to obtain US citizenship for a child through birth in the country, while requiring those seeking medical treatment to document their treatment plans and ability to pay. The rules remain in force today.

Investigations have identified Chinese and Russian nationals as a major source of birth-tourism clients.

The renewed enforcement effort comes as the Trump administration pursues stricter visa screening and broader measures to combat immigration-related fraud and strengthen border security.

Ukraine must respect the rights of its ethnic Hungarian minority if it wants to join the EU, Hungary’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar, has said.

An estimated 80,000 Hungarians live in Ukraine, mostly in the western Zakarpattia Region. Their status has long been a point of contention between the neighboring countries, especially during the premiership of Magyar’s predecessor, Viktor Orban, who repeatedly blocked Kiev’s efforts to move closer to the EU.

On Friday, the two countries signed what Magyar described as a historic agreement on the education, linguistic, cultural, and political rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine. He said Kiev committed to incorporating the deal into its EU Minority Action Plan. In return, Budapest lifted its veto on Ukraine’s EU accession process.

In a video message posted on social media, Magyar said Ukraine’s integration into the bloc will be “a long and complex process,” comparing it to Montenegro’s accession path, which began in 2012.

“Until Ukraine fulfills its obligations regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, it will not be able to move forward with the accession process.”

Under Orban, Hungary refused to send weapons to Kiev and protested the forced mobilization of ethnic Hungarians, some of whom hold Hungarian passports, into the Ukrainian military to fight Russia.

“Our people cannot be used as cannon fodder,” Orban said in February.

Ukrainian conscription officers have been accused of ambushing military-age men on the streets, at workplaces, and outside their homes, and of using force against those who resist or attempt to flee. Families of conscripts have also accused draft officials of ignoring chronic health conditions and other grounds for exemption.

Several ethnic Hungarian recruits died before reaching the front line, prompting outrage in Budapest. In January, Zsolt Reban, 46, died at a training center. According to Hungarian officials, he was drafted despite previously being declared unfit for military service due to a lifelong heart condition.

Last year, Jozsef Sebestyen, 45, died after allegedly being beaten at a military training center, according to his family. The Ukrainian authorities denied any wrongdoing, claiming that he died of a pulmonary embolism.

The peace agreement being finalized between the US and Iran is bad for Israel, Yair Lapid, the leader of the Israeli opposition and former prime minister, said on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump announced that a deal will be signed on Sunday, while Iran said a memorandum of understanding will be signed in the coming days.

“The emerging agreement achieves none of Israel’s war objectives. The regime survives, its missile program remains intact, and Iran can rebuild its nuclear program,” Lapid wrote on X. He argued that the deal represents “a complete failure” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on February 28, prompting retaliatory strikes across the Middle East and leading Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz to nearly all shipping, triggering a surge in global energy prices. The exchange of strikes largely ceased after a truce was reached in April.

Although the exact details of the agreement have not been made public, Trump said Iran will pledge to not seek nuclear weapons, and the US will dilute and destroy the Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

The US and Israel previously demanded that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program and surrender its entire stockpile of enriched uranium. Netanyahu also repeatedly called on Iranians to topple their government.

“As long as I am prime minister of Israel, Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons. There is complete agreement between President Trump and me on this issue,” Netanyahu said on Friday.

According to Axios and CNN, however, the news that a deal is close to being reached caught Netanyahu by surprise. Trump said Israel will have no choice but to accept the agreement and acknowledged that he pressured Netanyahu to halt Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon during several heated phone calls.

Both Democrats and dissident Republicans have accused Trump of going to war with Iran on Israel’s behalf. Trump has rejected the claim, insisting that he was acting in the interests of the US.

The use of AI in the US strike on a girls’ elementary school in Iran that killed nearly 160 people, mostly children, did not violate Anthropic’s ‘red lines,’ CEO Dario Amodei has said.

US forces struck the school in Minab with a Tomahawk missile on the first day of the war on Iran in February. The institution was reportedly targeted based on outdated data used by Palantir’s analysis and surveillance software, which incorporates Anthropic’s Claude AI.

In an interview with Bloomberg published on Wednesday, Amodei was asked whether his firm’s AI had played a role in the deadly attack.

“We don’t know exactly how these models were used… and what you’re talking about is a use case that doesn’t even violate our red lines,” he said.

While AI assists the military, “a human made that final call,” he added, stressing that Anthropic opposes entirely autonomous weapons and decision-making systems.

Last month, the Pentagon announced that it had inked deals with top US AI companies, including Google, Amazon Web Services, SpaceX, OpenAI, NVIDIA and Microsoft. Just weeks earlier, Palantir CEO Alex Karp proclaimed a “new era” of AI-enabled US military supremacy.

According to Google whistleblower and Palantir insider Zach Vorhies, AI giants’ defense of surveillance and the use of AI in warfare is a “catch-22.”

“The way that they’re framing this in that if they don’t have good information, they’re just going to have collateral damage,” Vorhies said, warning that US AI giants are pushing to be increasingly deregulated in pursuit of a military advantage.

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub has said the US and Canada denied him visas to attend the FIFA World Cup, as unexpected entry restrictions have affected accredited delegates from across Africa and the Middle East.

The tournament, which began on Thursday, is being jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US. Although the Palestinian team did not qualify for the competition, FIFA typically invites the heads of football associations from member nations to the event, which it presents as a celebration of global unity.

Rajoub, who attended the opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, told AFP on Saturday that he would return to the Palestinian territories after Tunisia’s match against Sweden on June 14.

The Palestinian football chief claimed the decision stemmed from his criticism of Israel, saying, “the Israelis had exerted pressure” on officials. “Certain circles do not want us to criticize Israel.”

Rajoub has been among the leading advocates of FIFA sanctions against Israel, accusing it of violating football statutes through settlement clubs in the West Bank and by restricting the movement of Palestinian players.

The news comes days after Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was set to become the first Somali to referee a FIFA World Cup match, was denied entry to the US despite reportedly having the necessary paperwork.

An Iraqi photographer traveling with his national team was also refused entry, while 15 Iranian officials and support staff were reportedly denied visas, forcing the delegation to remain in Mexico. Supporters from Senegal and Ivory Coast have also reported difficulties entering the host countries.

Last year, the US imposed travel restrictions on citizens of several countries, including Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iran. The measures also affected some Palestinian passport holders, including individuals who worked for the Palestinian Authority.

Anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters scuffled with police during rival demonstrations in Glasgow, Scotland, amid tensions fueled by a stabbing attack allegedly involving a Sudanese asylum seeker.

On Saturday, the NGO Stand Up to Racism held a rally in downtown Glasgow, with organizers calling on supporters to “reclaim the streets from the far right.” Participants carried Scottish and Palestinian flags and chanted, “Refugees are welcome here,” according to The Herald.

Around 70 counterprotesters arrived at the event, many dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.

THE STREET ARE OURS: THOUSANDS OF ANTIRACISTS RECLAIM THE STREETS IN GLASGOW AND HUMILIATE FAR RIGHT THUGS

Glasgow reclaimed the streets from the far right today! pic.twitter.com/X942Y0ex8s

— Stand Up to Racism - Scotland (@SUTRScotland) June 13, 2026

As police sought to keep the rival groups apart, some anti-immigration demonstrators pushed against barriers and shoved officers. Some of their opponents also pushed police while attempting to break through the separation line.

NEW🚨: Chaos on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland!

Police clash with young patriots protesting against mass migration.

Meanwhile, pro-migrant and woke groups are also holding demonstrations in Glasgow today. pic.twitter.com/W7smAavlu1

— The Reformed Media (@ReformedMedia_) June 13, 2026

#Scotland — Neo-nazis carrying Israeli flags are trying to attack anti-racist demonstrators in Glasgow.

Yes, you heard that right: neo-nazis are now carrying Israeli flags. pic.twitter.com/wSd3e44PeU

— Antifa_Ultras (@ultras_antifaa) June 13, 2026

Police Scotland said one man was arrested for threatening an officer, while another officer was struck by an egg thrown during the unrest.

“A number of reported hate crimes will now be investigated,” a police spokesperson said.

Another high-profile incident occurred on Friday in Brierfield, England, where a man stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the middle of a street, causing non-life-threatening injuries. Police described the suspect as a British man of Pakistani descent.

The recent attacks have reignited debates about migration and what right-wing politicians and activists describe as two-tier policing. They argue that the incidents highlight the government’s inability to adequately address crimes committed by foreigners and other offenders.

Prominent anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson said he was detained for several hours at Heathrow Airport on Saturday under anti-terrorism legislation and had his phone seized by police.

According to Sky News, Robinson is scheduled to take part in a debate at the Oxford Union next week on whether the West is “right to be suspicious of Islam.”

A peace deal between the US and Iran will be signed on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Tehran earlier denied that an agreement can be reached by Sunday, though it did not rule out a deal “in the coming days.”

The two nations have been engaged in talks mediated by Pakistan for more than two months following a truce reached in early April. The negotiations came after the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran in late February.

Iran responded with strikes against Gulf states that host US bases and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles around a quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG trade.

“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump wrote on Saturday.

He added that the agreement will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons “either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement.” Tehran has denied that it seeks nuclear weapons, insisting that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that an agreement is “likely expected in the next 24 hours.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said earlier on Saturday that it “will not happen tomorrow.”

Baghaei previously said the memorandum will give the two sides 60 days to negotiate the future of Iran’s nuclear program, and that the agreement will include an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon.

He also accused Israel of seeking to derail the deal. “We are not dealing with parties that are fully committed to their obligations. They take advantage of every opportunity to break their promises.”

Exactly one year ago, on June 13, 2025, the world entered a new reality.

A new chapter was opened in the history of the Middle East, in the history of Iran, and in the long-running confrontation between Iran and Israel. What had spent decades unfolding as a covert, hybrid, and indirect struggle suddenly took the form of a direct military confrontation.

Until that moment, the conflict between Iran and Israel had followed a different pattern. It was largely a shadow war – a contest fought through intelligence operations, cyberattacks, strikes on strategic assets and allied forces, proxy networks, diplomatic pressure, sanctions, mutual threats, and occasional missile exchanges. For years, both sides had avoided crossing the threshold into full-scale open warfare, preferring limited operations, regional partners, and carefully calibrated actions.

That balance was shattered on June 13, 2025. Israel effectively moved the conflict into a new phase. From that point forward, this was no longer another episode in a cycle of regional tensions. It became a direct attack on Iran as a state. That is why the June 2025 war marked a historic turning point: for the first time, a confrontation that had largely existed in a covert and limited form evolved into an open military conflict between two of the Middle East’s most influential powers.

The Iran-Israel rivalry did not emerge overnight. Its roots stretch back decades, shaped by political, ideological, and strategic antagonism.

For Israel, Iran had long been viewed as its most significant regional adversary – one capable of altering the balance of power across the Middle East. For Iran, meanwhile, Israel was not merely an opponent but part of a broader system of pressure linked to the United States, Western sanctions, and efforts to constrain Tehran’s strategic autonomy.

At the center of this rivalry stood Iran’s nuclear program.

For years, it served as a focal point for suspicion, threats, and diplomatic crises. Israel and Western governments argued that Iran could eventually move toward developing nuclear weapons. Tehran consistently maintained that its program was peaceful and intended for energy production, scientific research, and technological development. Between these competing narratives emerged a permanent zone of political pressure, where every report, inspection, and public statement became not only a technical matter but also a political weapon.

When Israel experienced the trauma of October 6–7, 2023, and responsibility was placed on Hamas, it became clear that the region was entering a new phase of instability.

Some Israeli politicians and analysts described Hamas as an Iranian proxy. Yet such a characterization oversimplifies – and fundamentally misrepresents – the nature of the Palestinian movement. Hamas has never been a direct instrument of Tehran. It possesses its own political logic, social base, objectives, and historical trajectory. While Iran and Hamas maintained contacts, support networks, and elements of military-political cooperation, that did not make Hamas a fully controlled Iranian entity.

Nevertheless, after October 2023, one reality became increasingly difficult to ignore: a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel was becoming not merely possible, but increasingly likely.

The question was no longer whether such a war would occur. The real questions were when it would begin, what form it would take, and how far each side would be willing to go.

Israel increasingly viewed Iran as the primary source of regional instability, while Tehran saw developments across the region as part of a broader campaign aimed at weakening both Iran and its allies. In this sense, the events of October 2023 became not only a turning point for Israel and Palestine but also a critical milestone on the path toward an open Iran-Israel confrontation.

Israel sought to demonstrate that it was no longer willing to wait for diplomatic processes to run their course. Iran, for its part, viewed the mounting pressure as an attempt to force capitulation and dismantle its strategic capabilities. The region found itself on the edge of an event that many had long considered possible but few were willing to acknowledge as inevitable.

The IAEA factor: Reports, distrust, and the political justification for war

One of the most significant elements of the prewar environment was the role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The agency’s reports and public statements became embedded within the broader framework of pressure on Iran. Officially, the discussion centered on nuclear safeguards, transparency requirements, and inspector access. In practice, however, these documents became part of a wider political campaign that helped shape the environment in which Israel later acted.

A troubling narrative emerged first: Iran was allegedly concealing aspects of its nuclear activities, failing to provide adequate explanations, and undermining transparency requirements. This narrative intensified diplomatic pressure and helped portray Tehran as the party responsible for driving the crisis.

After the war began, however, the conversation changed.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi later acknowledged that the agency possessed no evidence that Iran was systematically pursuing a nuclear weapon. For Tehran and its supporters, this became a central argument. If no direct evidence existed, why had this issue become one of the principal justifications for military action?

This raises a broader political question: was the IAEA report a neutral technical assessment, or was it ultimately used to legitimize a course of action that had already been decided upon?

Supporters of Iran viewed the episode as an example of how international institutions can become part of a larger political process – not necessarily through direct participation in any conspiracy, but because cautious language, ambiguity, and incomplete conclusions can be leveraged by powerful actors to advance their own agendas.

The war unfolds: From initial strike to open confrontation

The June war moved quickly.

Israel launched its campaign with strikes against facilities associated with Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. The objective was clear: deliver a rapid, painful, and symbolically powerful blow that would expose Iran’s vulnerabilities and shake confidence within its leadership.

But expectations of paralysis proved misplaced.

Iran did not disappear from the political landscape. It did not abandon resistance. Nor did it accept the logic of defeat imposed upon it.

Tehran’s response demonstrated that the country was prepared not only to absorb pressure but also to answer it. That is why June 2025 became more than a military episode – it became a test.

The war tested more than missiles, air-defense systems, intelligence capabilities, and alliances. It tested state resilience, social cohesion, and Iran’s ability to function under direct attack.

The conflict also revealed how outdated many assumptions about the region had become.

Israel demonstrated its willingness to embrace a direct military option. The United States, even while presenting itself as a mediator, remained part of the broader architecture of pressure directed at Iran. And Iran showed that it could no longer be viewed merely as an object of sanctions, threats, and diplomatic ultimatums. It proved capable of making strategic decisions, absorbing blows, and altering its adversaries’ calculations.

The ceasefire announced with the involvement of Donald Trump appeared, on the surface, to be an effort to put the conflict behind all parties. In reality, however, it resolved none of the underlying issues.

It is also worth remembering that only hours before the war began, Trump publicly announced a new round of US-Iran talks scheduled to take place in Oman on June 15. Only later did it become apparent that he had already been informed of the impending strikes and had, in effect, given Israel a green light – at least according to his own public statements. It remains equally possible that the outbreak of war caught him by surprise and that his subsequent support for Israel was an attempt to preserve political credibility after the fact.

A reconnaissance in force: Why June 2025 was not the end

The central lesson of the June war is that it was not an end point – it was a reconnaissance in force.

For Iran’s adversaries, the conflict was an opportunity to test how deeply the Iranian system could be struck and how far a strategy of pressure could be pushed. The expectation was that Iran would emerge weakened, disoriented, and forced to retreat under a new set of rules.

The outcome proved more complicated.

Iran undoubtedly suffered significant political, military, and infrastructural costs. Yet it was neither destroyed nor broken, nor did it lose its ability to respond.

If anything, the very fact of a direct attack reinforced a growing perception within Iranian society that the issue was no longer a dispute over specific facilities or agreements. Instead, it was increasingly viewed as a struggle over Iran’s right to exist as an independent center of power.

For that reason, June 2025 can be understood as a rehearsal for a larger conflict.

Reports emerged at the time suggesting that Israel had even considered targeting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, allegedly refraining only at Trump’s request. Whether true or not, such reports underscored the scale of thinking already underway.

Subsequent escalation – including the renewed tensions that emerged after February 28 of this year – became part of the same chain of events. First came the strike, then a pause, then renewed pressure. Together, these developments formed a coherent strategy aimed not merely at constraining Iran but at placing it in a position where it would be forced to continually justify itself, retreat, and defend its right to security.

Yet it was precisely at this point that the strategy encountered its limits.

Iran demonstrated that it was prepared to go further – not because it seeks war for its own sake, but because its leadership views retreat as an invitation to even greater pressure. From Tehran’s perspective, concessions made under attack do not produce peace; they simply convince opponents that coercion works.

A new chapter for Iran and the region

The June war changed many things.

It redefined the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in Middle Eastern politics. It demonstrated that the era of covert confrontation between Iran and Israel had come to an end. It forced regional governments to reassess risk calculations and compelled major powers to recognize that traditional deterrence mechanisms no longer function as they once did.

For Iranians, the war became a national test.

It underscored that the country had entered an era in which pressure would no longer be limited to sanctions and diplomacy but could take the form of direct military action. At the same time, it reinforced Iran’s image as a state unwilling to surrender or disappear from regional politics.

For Israel, June 2025 represented a watershed moment as well.

It demonstrated a willingness to act preemptively, but it also exposed a new level of risk. Direct military action against Iran did not eliminate the threat. Instead, it pushed the confrontation onto a more dangerous trajectory.

For the wider world, the conflict served as a warning.

The international system proved unprepared for a crisis of this magnitude. Some actors called for de-escalation. Others sought to use the crisis as leverage. Still others watched from the sidelines, uncertain where the line between a localized war and a regional catastrophe truly lay.

That is why June 13, 2025, cannot be viewed as just another date in the history of the Middle East.

It was the day the old logic of the conflict came to an end, while a new one had yet to acquire clear rules. The world still does not know how this new era will unfold. Iran, however, has already made one thing clear: it has no intention of living according to a script written by others.

The June war was a reconnaissance in force. It exposed vulnerabilities, tested limits, and revealed intentions. But it did not bring the story to a close.

On the contrary, it marked the beginning of a new chapter – harsher, more dangerous, and more unpredictable than the one before.

The central question is no longer whether that war is over.

The real question is what the next one will look like.

Newly released evidence from US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard suggests that Russia could have been the ultimate target of a US-funded network of biological laboratories around the world, including in Ukraine, Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst and CEO of BERG Associates, has told RT.

Gabbard published a trove of declassified documents on Friday revealing that Washington had funded 120 biological facilities in over 30 nations. A third of them were located in a single country: Ukraine. According to the documents, laboratories that collaborated with the US Army and other agencies worked with “especially dangerous pathogens,” including anthrax, avian flu, Ebola, plague, and tuberculosis.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of aiding the US in its biological weapons program.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, who led an investigation into the laboratories, was assassinated in 2024, allegedly by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). A year earlier, he stated that the US had “conducted dual-use research, including the creation of biological weapons components, in close proximity to Russian borders.”

According to Johnson, all the US-funded laboratories were established “at the initiative” of Washington. The research conducted in those laboratories “has no role in the defense of a country,” he believes. “It is [for] offensive [purposes].”

Watch the full interview here:

A US federal judge has rejected a last-minute attempt to block President Donald Trump from hosting a UFC event at the White House this weekend.

Trump announced plans in 2025 for a UFC title event at the White House as part of the America 250 celebrations and his 80th birthday, which falls on Sunday, calling it “a birthday party the likes of which you have never seen.” Ahead of the event, the South Lawn has been transformed into a mini-coliseum, featuring an octagon surrounded by thousands of seats and dominated by a 28-meter-tall, 600-ton steel structure dubbed ‘The Claw’.

The plans, however, sparked public debate, with critics accusing the administration of commercializing national landmarks for private gain. Political activist Susan Douglas and Vietnam War veteran Paul Romano, represented by the anti-corruption nonprofit Public Integrity Project, filed a lawsuit last week seeking to stop the show.

An inside look at the UFC Claw set up at the White House.

Ready to rock for Sunday: pic.twitter.com/kmyDLoRf4Q

— Daniel Baldwin (@baldwin_daniel_) June 11, 2026

The plaintiffs claimed that officials were improperly relying on a federal rule exempting events tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary from certain permitting requirements. They also argued that the event is being run by private entities rather than the government and could financially benefit Trump, who holds stock in UFC parent company TKO Holdings.

US District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled on Friday that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge the event. While he did not address whether the UFC show itself is lawful, the judge noted that halting it at the last minute would have significant consequences, citing nearly a year of planning and the $60 million spent by the UFC and affiliated organizations on preparations.

In filings defending the event, Justice Department lawyers rejected claims that officials had bypassed federal permitting requirements and argued that temporary structures on the South Lawn were common for special events.

“Temporary structures are ubiquitous on the White House grounds, erected for nearly every special event, yet nobody has ever before suggested that Congress somehow needs to pass legislation for every concert tent or Easter egg roll kiosk,” they wrote, as cited by the media.

The White House welcomed the ruling, with spokesman Davis Ingle telling the New York Times that the court “rightly rejected an untimely and frivolous effort to halt the historic UFC event.”

You can’t argue with a man observing the obvious: We are living in unusually perilous times. In the Middle East, for instance, the Israeli-American infernal duo have been on a rampage of war, state terror, all-purpose devastation, and genocide that, as a bonus, has also brought the world economy to the verge of cardiac arrest by clogging one of its vital fossil fuel arteries. Indeed, that particular risk is so obvious that even Germany’s less than brilliant Friedrich Merz has long spotted it.

In the Far East, Taiwan is currently ruled by a government so hell-bent on antagonizing their fellow Chinese on the mainland that Taipei’s political reflexes seem almost as perverse as those of Berlin. In the West, you have the German elite which can’t find enough billions to fork over to Ukraine when Kiev and friends blow up Germany’s vital pipelines and lethally cripple its already ailing economy. In the East, there is Taipei, getting really, really angry when the Philippines and Japan start negotiating away Taiwan’s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. Angry, that is, at Beijing.

And in the EU, that “garden” of “values” that really is a swampy jungle of eternal confusion and corruption, the catastrophe that in its foreign policy is now obvious enough for several European bigwigs to gang up on the abysmally, ragingly incompetent Kaja Kallas. Her tenure as de facto EU foreign minister has been so breathtakingly blundering that her employers aren’t merely itching to kick her out but thinking about, in essence, abolishing her job.

Being so horrible at something that you won’t just get fired yourself but take it down with you – perhaps only the Baltic Girl Boss Wonder could pull that one off. But then, maybe it’s really all just another power grab by EU’s German queen (of the absolute kind) and US viceroy (of the submissive kind) Ursula von der Leyen. Either way, frightful insanity abides.

Granted, from a hapless NATO-EU European perspective, Russia may look a little unsettling: after all, once you have waged years of proxy war, sanctions, and propaganda war against it, who knows what the mood is really like in Moscow? As a good NATO-EU apparatchik, you certainly would not, because you have displayed the foresight of a gnat by proudly not talking – or listening – to the Russians. So, when you feel a little insecure, that might really be your bad conscience calling (in a merely professional, not moral sense, which you are likely to lack).

But, generally speaking, the worse the stupidities and mistakes you have produced but keep repressing, the higher the price. Old Sigmund Freud called it “affective debility.” In essence, it means that lying to yourself makes you dim. And once you are BS'ing yourself for years as if there’s no tomorrow, you’ll turn positively imbecilic.

That’s the only way to explain a fresh wave of transparently hysterical scare mongering about Russia in the West, in particular, this time, in Britain. Thus, on the occasion of the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), centrist mainstream flagship The Independent came out with a fascinating piece of fiction masquerading as analysis. Under the clickbait title “‘Puffy-looking’ Putin is acting weirder than ever – and that should chill us to the bone,” readers were treated to a highly imaginative horror tale about, in essence, a terrible loose cannon in the Kremlin pondering staged incidents and nuclear terrorism and ready to blow up the world or at least Europe or perhaps just Britain because Russia is losing the war. Also, he looks “puffy”!

All of this backed up (not really) by yet another statement from a high British military officer that things are dire as never before in (his) living memory. He and his comrades in arms – plus a few tweedy spy gents and dames – produce these Cassandra screams at least twice a month; it seems to be a standing order.

Generally speaking, The West has a rich tradition of declaring Russia vanquished, its president, Vladimir Putin, at death’s door or on the verge of being regime-changed away, and, of course, Ukraine (and, really, the West) on the cusp of winning the war. And, at the same time, of predicting that Russia will attack all of Europe, likely tomorrow. Notwithstanding occasional and intriguing anomalies, when a NATO commander (from Trump’s US, of course) lets slip a fragment of truth, such as that actually Moscow is not looking for conflict.

In short, we are speaking about the severe and very sad but also funny mental condition already well known as Russophrenia: The afflicted live with an imaginary Schroedinger’s Russia occupying their suffering minds, a Russia that is always simultaneously half-dead and yet so alive and kicking, it’s about to roll into their living room on a tank.

In that sense, the silly Independent piece is merely an almost comically perfect specimen of an absurd genre: Its whole argument boils down to “Russia is finished and that’s why it’s coming for all of us as never before.” Yet there is something special about this particular emanation of Russophrenia: it’s so easy to debunk you must wonder if its author has any relationship to or respect for empirical reality left.

Don’t believe it? See for yourself. The address and panel Q&A featuring Putin at the SPIEF are easily available online because that’s what the Office of the Russian Presidency habitually does: Publish full video records of major events in which Putin takes part, with good English dubbing too (I know because I know both Russian and English).

More importantly, you will also hear Putin give a speech that is, if anything, determinedly factual, even a touch dry, crammed with statistics and clearly carefully worked-out, balanced language. Whether you love or hate, like or dislike the man, the cornered loose cannon The Independent pretends to have spotted is pure, shameless fiction.

Likewise, Putin’s Q&A response to a disingenuous public letter by Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky was certainly not friendly (that, indeed, would be disturbingly inadequate) and, in part, deservedly caustic. But it was also calm and serious, pointing out the Kiev regime’s primitive behind-the-scenes maneuvering (never mentioned in the West, of course) and its blatant dishonesty, as well as their deadening effect on any prospects of genuinely worthwhile negotiations.

What we should really be afraid of in the West with respect to Russia is that our own so-called elites, in politics, the media, and the world of academia and expertise suffer from an apparently incurable epidemic of Russophrenia. They are cynical propagandists constantly trying to brainwash us, which is bad enough. But what is even worse is that all too many among them seem to be unable to stop believing their own nonsense, even when it’s obviously absurd. That is the only possible explanation for a major mainstream newspaper not only printing a fantasy but one so easily to see through. The West has waged information war for so long and so fiercely it has managed to defeat itself.

A 17-year-old girl has been stabbed in the neck in northwest England, just days after a brutal knife attack in Belfast sparked national outrage and anti-immigration riots.

A 30-year-old British-born man of Pakistani heritage was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident in the town of Brierfield, Lancashire Police said on Saturday. The victim is also of Pakistani heritage, according to the BBC.

Police said officers were called after receiving reports that a teenager had been stabbed on Friday afternoon.

Video footage circulating on social media purports to show the attacker walking up behind the unsuspecting girl, who had was wearing a hood, and stabbing her twice in the neck.

Lancashire Police have confirmed that a 30 year old British born man of Pakistani heritage has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 17 year old girl was stabbed in the neck in Brierfield.

Thankfully, the victim’s injuries are not believed to be life… pic.twitter.com/IInxRbvlvt

— Claire Adams (@claire_adams694) June 13, 2026

Oliver Ryan, the MP representing Brierfield, called on people not to “exploit” the incident for clickbait.

“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the young victim of yesterday’s horrific stabbing,” he said in a statement on X on Saturday.

The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions across Britain and Northern Ireland.

The attack sparked several nights of anti-immigration riots across Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland, with multiple residential buildings, shops, and vehicles set ablaze.

The violence came amid long-running tensions over immigration and asylum policy in the UK, following multiple high-profile murder and rape cases involving migrants in recent years.

A cat became an unlikely star in Türkiye after wandering onto the stage during a performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and upstaging one of classical theater’s most tragic scenes.

The surprise entrance occurred during a performance by the Imperial Russian Ballet in the western city of Izmir on Friday when the cat strolled out as Romeo lay dying in the climactic final act.

According to prima ballerina Larisa Korsakova, who played Juliet, the cat settled beside Romeo’s head and started nibbling on his hair, triggering laughter in the audience and briefly turning Shakespeare’s tragedy into comedy.

İzmir'de sahnelenen Romeo ve Juliet oyununda sahneye kedi girdi. pic.twitter.com/f23eh5THqB

— Güncel Haber (@Guncelhaber360) June 13, 2026

Despite the interruption, the dancers remained in character and finished the performance, Korsakova told RIA Novosti.

“A professional actor knows how to control their emotions. I didn’t leave the character of Juliet; I had to live out this life and bring my character’s story to its conclusion,” she said.

Ülkede başıboşluk öyle bir noktaya geldi ki artık tiyatro oyunlarına bile figüran olarak kedi çıkıyor. pic.twitter.com/cN4a8A4efA

— Pamuk Prenses (@seda_su7) June 13, 2026

Videos of the incident quickly went viral online, racking up more than 8 million views combined in less than 24 hours.

In the comments, viewers joked that the cat “decided to resurrect Romeo” and offer an alternative ending.

“The cat was trying to prove that Romeo was only pretending to be dead,” one user wrote.

Orange cat interrupts "Romeo and Juliet" theatre performance..🐈💃🕺😅 pic.twitter.com/XM1K40WOEN

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) June 12, 2026

“Get up, change my litter box. What are you doing lying around here for?” another said.

“The first and probably last time the audience has ever cracked up during this scene,” another person commented.

In recent years, cats have crashed classical concerts, theater performances, and fashion shows. One famously wandered through the string section and onto the conductor’s podium at the Istanbul Music Festival during a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in 2023. A stray cat stole the spotlight at the Esmod International Fashion Show in Istanbul in 2018 by walking the runway. In 2015, three cats bypassed security and appeared on the main stage at the G20 summit in Antalya just before world leaders were due to speak.

The major nuclear danger facing the Middle East originates not from Iran but from Israel, Professor Theodore Postol, a former Science and Policy Adviser on Strategic Nuclear Issues to the Chief of Naval Operations, has told RT. The expert warned that the leadership in West Jerusalem had placed the Jewish state on an increasingly perilous course.

Israel is widely believed to possess an undeclared nuclear arsenal, although authorities in West Jerusalem have consistently refused to either confirm or deny the allegations. The issue of Iran’s nuclear program has served as the justification for launching strikes against Iran earlier this year.

“Do not think Iran is the big nuclear threat, is the big nuclear instability in the Middle East, Israel is,” the prominent MIT physicist said during an interview with Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi, which aired on Friday.

Citing reports, the former strategic adviser to Pentagon said that Israeli military leaders have told PM Benjamin Netanyahu that they “cannot do any more,” adding that the country is suffering heavy troop losses.

Postol said he found Trump’s apparent fear of nuclear weapons somewhat reassuring, describing it as a positive trait. The expert said that Trump is “extremely horrified and afraid of nuclear weapons, which is good,” adding that he believes the head of state would be warned that any decision to use such capabilities would “open a box that none of us want to see opened.”

See the full interview below

Studying archaeology, alongside Greek and Roman Civilization, for my bachelor’s degree has given me a pessimistic outlook on the world. At least that’s what my dad told me in June 2001 on a drive from Istanbul to Dublin. Yet he’s to blame for my studying the science after bringing me to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in the cinema. The romantic career turned quickly into something different, when learning about ‘panem et circenses’ [bread and circuses] and standing knee deep in medieval human waste in the middle of an Irish bog.

As much as I enjoyed the classical world and knowing that the best finds usually emerged from cess pits, when I began covering sports the transition into the cess pit that is mixed martial arts (MMA), and especially the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was a transition too far. For those offended by my words, then combat sports are not for you.

For 20 years I boxed up to international level, winning many medals, titles, and sharing the ring with legends like Wayne McCullough (Olympic silver medallist and pro world champ), Jake Matlala, Istvan Kovacs, and Naseem Hamed (all pro world champs). Punching someone in the head while they’re on the ground, or writhing about in tight shorts on the back of another person while trying to choke them, is not my cup of tea. I respect MMA fighters and coaches, but not their sport. Then again, seeing men beat up women for Olympic medals and ‘influencers’ beating up pension-age ex-boxers has stolen my fate in modern boxing too.

So, when I heard that there would be a UFC ‘event’ held at the White House, the Washington version, my archaeological senses took over and I immediately went back to the collapse of the Roman Empire. UFC Freedom 250 is the most appropriate event to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, because it is another step down the path to self-immolation of the US Empire.

As we close in on the bread and circuses in Washington D.C., a reminder of the signs that Rome’s time as a global power was ending.

- Debasing the currency: Reducing the amount of silver in coinage while increasing the amount of coins until they became worthless and debt levels soared.

- Self-serving government: From governing for the people and republic, senators and civil servants increasingly went into politics to enrich themselves, their friends, their backers, and their families.

- Outsourcing military: Instead of producing and providing for their armies, they put it all out to tender, without corruption checks. Not to mention hiring mercenaries.

- Infrastructure failure: Roads, bridges, ports, aqueducts etc were all neglected, with a focus on building follies and vanity projects.

- Populace disengages with civil life: Disillusioned, feeling unrepresented and ignored, the people turn away from trusted institutions. Not from apathy, but by choice. Increasing civil disobedience.

- Divide to rule: The empire splits to manage it better, resulting in equal but different halves of the same entity. Externally, the entire structure looked weak to predators.

- Borders lose meaning: Security and stability are overlooked with occasional attempts by rulers to enforce rules of passage into and through the empire. But when it was generally accepted, it was too late, borders simply became lines on a map.

- It went bang, with a whimper: In 476 AD, Romulus Augustus was deposed and Odoacer simply informed Constantinople that the West no longer needed an emperor.

And there you have an annotated recap of how the Roman Empire fell. Can we see parallels with the US? Dollar debased, soaring debt levels, civil disobedience, belated attempts to secure the border, bridges collapsing and railways in disrepair? Big pharma reaping rewards from ‘zombifying’ citizens? The ‘circuses’ are coming hot and fast with a FIFA World Cup and Summer and Winter Olympic Games to come within the next decade. Yet, staging a UFC event on the White House lawn, not even Juvenal, who first used the term bread and circuses in 100 AD, could have expected that.

Think WWE wrestling with less class and more blood. Which is funny as it’s owned by the WME Group, which also owns the WWE. The WME Group is headed by Ari Emmanuel, brother of Democrat insider and former White House Chief of Staff and US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel. The UFC is a closed shop, a ‘promotion’ or company with a limited stable of fighters under contract who take on opponents in an octagon-shaped cage. Entertaining the mob is vital and the more blood spilled, the louder they bay!

The CEO of the promotion, Dana White, is a long-time friend of the US president and played no small part in helping Trump win in 2024. For White, money talks and politics are only important when they make him richer. However, Dana sees through geopolitical bluster and contracts Russian fighters, knowing that his audience simply want to see action.

Seven fights, thus far, have been confirmed for UFC Freedom 250 and while no Russian fighters are due to perform, there is a chance that lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan might be called up. While musical groups and artists have been forced to shy away from Trump-related ‘250’ celebrations, they are rolling out the talented country singer Zac Brown to sing the national anthem. Not since 2001 has the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ been sung live at a UFC event.

The event will be broadcast on Paramount+, which is part of Paramount Skydance, the company run by David Ellison. Ellison, son of Oracle billionaire, and friend of Benjamin Netanyahu, Larry, also heads up CBS and CBS News. David is a nepo baby supreme. Despite Daddy’s largesse in funding movies for him to act in, he flopped on screen before Larry’s cash set up Skydance Media. This company would go on to produce and finance superb big screen hits like ‘World War Z’ and ‘Mission Impossible – Fallout’. The Ellisons are heavily supportive of Trump, Israel, and making….money. If there were a better media partner for this event than the Ellisons, and metaphor for the end of empire, then I’d love hear it.

Hard to say, since I’ve not watched any UFC for a decade and before that a single full fight in 2007. I was back in Ireland on a working holiday from Croatia, ironing a shirt and watching Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic get knocked out. From what a good friend and colleague, who covers ‘fight sports’ for an Irish national newspaper told me “You’ve an unbeaten Georgian-Spaniard [Ilia Topuria] fighting a likeable Trump-supporting American [Justin Gaethje] topping the card, with the latter poised to ‘win’.”

When I asked why he emphasized ‘win’, my friend laughed and said “No comment.” He went on to talk about the Irish-American Sean O’Malley who is also on the show and the “controversial but entertaining Trump-loving Josh Hokit.” Hokit, unbeaten thus far in his UFC ‘career’, has been outspoken on trans issues and accused US basketball star Brittney Griner of being a man. ‘The Incredible Hok’, as he is nicknamed, previously said the same about former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Griner comment came this January, the first UFC event to be broadcast by Paramount+, at ringside following a fight and drew “laughter and cheers” from the crowd, with his interviewer Joe Rogan joining in the mirth.

The more outrageous, shocking, insulting, debased, and violent UFC Freedom 250 will be, the higher the ratings for David Ellison, the better the reaction for President Trump, and the quicker the empire will collapse.

The sun sets on every empire. My years of study and work in archaeology and history proved that to me. The Ottomans, Austro-Hungarians, British, and many more in the modern era thought they knew how to beat the odds. But they all went the way of the Greeks, Incas, Romans, Macedonians, Aztecs, and Persians. Though none did it live on air, from the back garden of the presidential palace.

A Russia-NATO conflict could kick off “in the relatively near future,” a report by Sweden’s Defense Committee claims. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed speculation that it could attack the US-led military bloc as “nonsense.”

The security paper, released on Friday and endorsed by the Swedish government and all parliamentary parties, brands Russia a “long-term threat” and claims that Moscow could seek to “test NATO’s cohesion and the credibility of Article 5” if it sees “favorable” political conditions. The report does not spell out what those conditions would be.

The document also claims that Moscow could engage in hostilities “even if the military balance of power does not meet traditional requirements for an attack.”

Sweden’s support for Ukraine remains a “central” pillar of its security policy, the document says. Stockholm joined NATO in 2024 after the Ukraine conflict escalated and has been one of Kiev’s most active backers. Last month, it announced plans to donate up to 16 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets and sell Ukraine 20 more.

Like many other European NATO members, Sweden has been on a militarization spree in recent years. In 2026, the government increased the defense budget to 175 billion SEK (approximately $18.4 billion), up 18% from the previous year, pushing the expenditure to 2.8% of GDP.

Sweden has also, for more than a decade, been militarizing the island of Gotland – widely referred to as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” in the middle of the Baltic Sea – under the pretext of an alleged “Russia threat.” The island is located less than 300km from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed speculation by Western countries that it could attack NATO as “not just nonsense, but also provocation and disinformation,” suggesting that EU countries are seeking to portray Moscow as a “model external enemy” to distract attention from internal crises.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said that available intelligence suggests that “Russia is not looking for a conflict.”

A German court has ruled that Google can be held directly liable for incorrect answers generated by its AI Overview feature, potentially setting a precedent for how AI-generated content is treated under the law. Google said on Friday that it planned to appeal.

Traditionally, platforms such as Google, Facebook, and X argue they merely host or display third-party content rather than publish it, limiting their liability. They have also maintained that warnings about potential inaccuracies should shield them from responsibility for errors in AI-generated outputs.

However, this spring, judges at the Munich Regional Court were asked to rule on two lawsuits filed against the internet giant by local publishers. The companies, whose identities have not been disclosed, alleged that Google’s AI Overview feature – an AI-generated summary introduced last year that appears above traditional search results – falsely linked them to scams, subscription traps, and illegal business practices. According to the lawsuits, the AI mixed information from unrelated companies and created misleading associations that did not appear in the underlying sources.

According to a ruling published by The Decoder this week, the 26th Civil Chamber of the Munich Regional Court, which specializes in press and defamation law, issued a preliminary injunction on May 28 holding Google liable for claims generated by its AI Overviews in the cases. The judges said that, unlike a traditional search engine that displays links to third-party content, Google’s AI produces “independent, new, and substantive statements,” making the content attributable to the company itself.

The judges also dismissed Google’s claim that users understand that AI can be inaccurate and can verify information themselves, describing AI Overviews as “a self-contained statement with independently comprehensible content.”

The court ruled that as Google alone controls the algorithms behind AI Overviews, the company “must be held accountable” for false and defamatory outputs. It ordered Google to stop spreading the claims and bear 80% of the legal costs, with the plaintiffs each responsible for 10%.

Google said it disagreed with the ruling.

“We invest deeply in the quality of AI Overviews to ensure that the overwhelming majority of responses provide accurate information, and they are designed to reflect the information that exists on the web,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to the media.

On Friday, the company told Reuters it planned to appeal, arguing that the case involved “specific and narrow errors” rather than the fundamental operation of AI Overviews.

Legal experts say the decision could have implications beyond Google. If upheld, it could set a precedent by treating AI-generated summaries as publisher-like content, which would make technology companies directly liable for any harms caused by AI, analysts warn.

The EU has repeatedly targeted US tech giants such as Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft with lawsuits and regulatory actions it says are aimed at curbing monopolistic practices and enforcing privacy rules. CNBC reported in April that Meta, Google, and Apple have faced roughly $7 billion in EU fines for antitrust and privacy violations since the start of 2024.

US military forces have downed Iranian drones that were allegedly targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in the early hours of Saturday. The claim comes as Tehran and Washington are seeking to finalize a deal aimed at ending months of tensions and hostilities.

The parties have been engaged in negotiations over a potential peace deal for the past two months, in an effort to end the conflict that began on February 28 with the joint US-Israeli bombing of Iran and the assassination of senior officials, including the country’s longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

“Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. “US forces have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded.”

The US military added that the corridor remains open for transit.

The waterway, which normally carries around a quarter of the global seaborne oil and LNG trade, has largely remained closed throughout the conflict, although Tehran has allowed ships not aligned with the US or its allies safe passage. US President Donald Trump, however, has claimed that the US military has helped escort over 200 ships through the strait.

On Saturday, Reuters cited a Western source as saying that a deal could be signed by US Vice President J.D. Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in Geneva as soon as on Sunday.

The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, according to sources on all sides of the talks, as cited by the news agency. Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program – cited by Trump as the justification for the war – would follow.

For the first time, the chances of the US and Iran reaching an agreement are greater than 50%, despite Iran’s lingering distrust of Washington, Tehran-based Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi told RT.

The comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday: “the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer.” In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that the framework awaits finalization, while urging the media not to speculate about the contents.

The memorandum is the working name for a proposed US-Iran framework agreement that emerged from negotiations mediated by Pakistan following talks in Islamabad in April. It reportedly includes provisions to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and eventually start detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump also said he called off planned strikes on Iran after two consecutive days of bombardment, which marked the most serious escalation since a truce was announced in April.

Marandi said the prospects for an agreement are now better than ever, but added that he “wouldn’t bet on it” because the US has repeatedly proven itself untrustworthy.

Watch the full interview below.

North Korea has condemned Washington’s approval of advanced air-to-air missile sales to South Korea as “war exports,” warning the move would deepen tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In a statement carried by KCNA, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official accused Washington and Seoul of “systematically tightening their military collusion and nexus to drive tensions in the Korean peninsula and its vicinity to an extreme,” despite growing international concern over regional instability.

“US arms exports are war exports, and importing American weapons means accumulating tension and confrontation,” the official said, condemning what Pyongyang described as US and South Korean efforts to expand military capabilities at the expense of regional stability.

The statement followed US State Department approval of a nearly $300 million package including 70 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles and related equipment. Washington pitched the sale as advancing US foreign policy and security objectives, though the deal remains subject to congressional review.

“In light of the provocative efforts of the US and its allies to build up their armed forces, the DPRK’s clear position is to eliminate new threats by continuously improving and strengthening its self-defense deterrent,” the official declared, warning Pyongyang will “intensify” efforts to maintain regional military parity and preserve stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The US maintains nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea, extends a nuclear umbrella over its ally, and regularly conducts joint military exercises with Seoul. Washington and Seoul describe these measures as necessary for security and deterrence.

Pyongyang views the US military presence, joint drills, and regional deployments as hostile acts and has long argued that US-South Korean military cooperation amounts to preparation for war. North Korea routinely tests and unveils new weapons, portraying its military buildup as a response to pressure from Washington and its regional allies. It describes its nuclear and missile programs as essential deterrents against foreign interference, insisting they are purely defensive and intended to safeguard sovereignty and preserve peace through strength.

The Pentagon released the third batch of declassified files on unidentified flying objects on Friday. The disclosure adds 72 reports, witness accounts, photos, and videos to an ongoing transparency effort launched under a presidential order earlier this year.

The latest release is part of what officials called a “historic transparency effort” aimed at making public government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), the military’s preferred term for UFOs.

Among the newly released materials are reports describing a “potato-shaped” object observed by military personnel, recurring sightings of glowing orbs, and a CIA account of a rotating disc-like object reportedly seen above Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe in 2008.

The disclosure initiative began in May with the release of around 160 previously classified documents, photographs, and videos from agencies including the Pentagon, FBI, NASA, and the State Department. The second batch followed on May 22, containing additional footage and witness testimony.

In February, US President Donald Trump directed the Department of War to disclose “any and all information” related to UAPs. The order came amid renewed public interest in the subject, which included comments by former President Barack Obama on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Obama later said on Instagram that he did not see any evidence during his presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with Earth. Trump subsequently accused Obama of disclosing classified information and said he “made a big mistake.”

Despite the growing volume of released material, Pentagon officials maintain that the files contain no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial life, alien technology, or a government cover-up.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his pro-EU ruling party Civil Contract claimed a decisive victory in the parliamentary elections on June 7 – but the aftermath has been marred by claims of fraud, with a number of parties demanding a recount.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Civil Contract party captured 49.74% of the vote. The Strong Armenia bloc – founded by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan – came in second with 23.27%. Former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance came in third with 9.92%, while Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia party received only 3.98%, narrowly missing the 4% parliamentary threshold.

Whether Prosperous Armenia entered the parliament or not was critical for Pashinyan’s party with regard to whether it received a constitutional majority, allowing it to pass laws and appoint senior officials without consulting the opposition.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Armenia’s future geopolitical path. All three opposition parties are Euroskeptic and advocate closer ties with Russia, which remains a key trade partner and dominant energy supplier, providing natural gas at heavily discounted prices. Pashinyan’s party has pushed for closer ties with the EU while seeking to take advantage of the economic benefits of Armenia’s close ties with Russia.

Here is what is going on in Armenia after the election.

What irregularities have been reported?

The Central Election Commission (CEC) annulled the results at three polling stations – station 10/51 in Yerevan’s Nubarashen district, and station 35/65 in Agarak, in the southern Syunik region – after reports of large numbers of military personnel arriving at both sites after the polls officially closed at 8:00 PM and continuing to vote for hours. According to local media reports, around 480 service members were allowed to vote in violation of the regulations.

However, it refused to hold recounts at three other stations, citing the dangers of “tactical voting” – triggering accusations from the opposition that the decision was illegal and meant to prevent Prosperous Armenia from entering parliament and maintaining Civil Contract’s constitutional majority.

Has Armenia’s opposition accepted the election results?

Strong Armenia has demanded the annulment of the results, alleging that Civil Contract improperly amassed around 100,000 votes using administrative resources, including directing public-sector employees and military personnel to vote for the ruling party.

Meanwhile, before the announcement of the final results, Prosperous Armenia insisted that the CEC’s decision to annul the results in several polling stations cost it 213 votes, which it said would have pushed it over the top.

Was there a crackdown on Armenian opposition figures?

The crackdown on the opposition began well before election day, with Samvel Karapetyan under arrest since last year on charges of inciting a coup d’etat, which he denies. On June 6 – the day before the election – six candidates from Strong Armenia were arrested on charges of vote-buying and money laundering.

In the days after the election, the authorities said they had brought criminal charges against 242 people. Armenia’s anticorruption committee said 115 charges were related to graft-related cases, with the bulk accounting for the members of the Strong Armenia bloc.

In addition, Kocharyan’s office said on Sunday that the former president was banned from leaving the country, with officials providing no explanation.

Is the opposition protesting?

Prosperous Armenia has been the most vocal regarding protests. Prominent member Suren Surenyanc warned that if “Pashinyan does not stop… the lawlessness, all government buildings and streets of Yerevan will be flooded with tens of thousands of people.”

On Sunday, as the CEC was certifying the votes, hundreds of protesters rallied outside the building, demanding the annulment of the results. The protest was peaceful, with a heavy police presence on site.

What does Russia say about Armenia’s elections?

Russia has raised concerns over transparency. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is “taking note of reports regarding numerous violations,” and has held off on congratulating Pashinyan before the final results are announced.

What does the West say?

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) described the election as “a well-run process,” but acknowledged that the campaign was “highly confrontational, with divisive rhetoric” and marked by “allegations of vote-buying and other electoral violations that led to numerous criminal proceedings against opposition candidates and activists.”

Without waiting for the final results and recount, European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated Pashinyan and declared that Armenians voted for “peace, stability and stronger cooperation.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Armenia can count on the EU.

Several days before the election, Brussels pledged more than €50 million in emergency financial assistance to Armenia, which it said was meant to ease trade for Armenian agricultural products hit by recent Russian sanctions – a move that Moscow said was not political but linked to safety concerns sparked by seasonal harvest inspections.

Libyan social media has been simmering for weeks over the presence of irregular migrants, particularly those arriving from sub-Saharan Africa, with accusations directed at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international agencies operating in the country. What began as online outrage has now spilled into the streets of Tripoli, where tensions over migration have once again become a focal point of political anger in the capital already strained by division and economic pressure.

Libya hosts one of the largest migrant populations in North Africa. According to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM), the country hosted more than 700,000 migrants in 2024, rising to approximately 936,000 by February 2026. This represents an increase of roughly 33% over the period – about 13% of the total population.

The majority of migrants are believed to be in an irregular situation and are concentrated in major urban centers such as Tripoli, Misrata, and Sebha. In the capital itself, aid agencies and local authorities describe large, fluid migrant communities that reflect Libya’s continuing role as a key transit hub toward Europe.

The move came after days of escalating rhetoric, including threats and online campaigns directed at the UN refugee agency and its representative in Libya, Carmen Sacco (UNHCR Libya spokesperson), following what activists described as misrepresented statements attributed to her regarding migrants and Libyan citizens. Video footage circulating on Libyan social media shows Libyan police attempting to calm the angry crowd and prevent it from breaking into the premises as the truck unloads sand at the entrance. The demonstrations followed a broader wave of calls for the closure of international organizations accused of facilitating the continued presence of migrants in Libya.

For many Libyans, migration has become the most visible symptom of a state that has never fully recovered from the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

This public anger is understandable. Libya remains deeply divided between rival authorities in the east and west, its southern and coastal borders remain beyond effective state control, and outdated migration frameworks are inconsistently applied. No single government exercises full sovereignty over the country’s territory.

Yet, instead of addressing these structural weaknesses, public debate is increasingly dominated by accusations against international agencies. The entities are portrayed by influential domestic voices, including Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani, as actively playing a role in entrenching the presence of transit populations and turning the country into a permanent dumping ground for Europe’s unwanted migrants.

While Western media and the protesting crowds themselves frame this around irregular migration and the UNHCR, the true undercurrent of this public anger runs far deeper. The street mobilization in Tripoli is a proxy for a society completely exhausted by what has become of their daily lives.

The anger directed at international agencies is actually a localized explosion of a broader fury: Libyans are watching their national wealth absorbed into an elite system of patronage and parallel spending, while they are left to their own devices in a country where institutional rot is so rampant that Transparency International’s index places Libya among the six most corrupt nations on earth.

At its core, the entire migration debate leads straight back to the original sin of the 2011 NATO intervention. Fifteen years ago, Western powers were lightning-fast to drop bombs and dismantle a functioning, sovereign state under the banner of false promises – guaranteeing “freedom, democracy, and prosperity.” Instead, the West walked away, leaving behind a permanent security vacuum and a legacy of institutional rot.

Today, the tragic irony is that while billions of dollars in oil revenues disappear into thin air every single year through unaccountable rival factions, virtually nothing has been achieved for the Libyan people. The “humanitarian intervention” of 2011 engineered a lawless geographic buffer zone where the local population inherits the fallout of Europe’s border crises while being robbed of their own country’s wealth.

This brings us to the core structural deception of Western policy toward Libya. The European Union and the UK frequently issue statements lamenting Libya’s lack of a unified government, its human rights record, its lawless borders, and, most importantly, its deplorable treatment of irregular migrants.

Yet, the same countries find no contradiction in treating this fragmentation not as a crisis to be solved, but as a vital policy tool. Under international law, for example, states are bound by the principle of non-refoulement, meaning they cannot legally return asylum seekers to a country where they face systemic abuse or conflict. Yet Libya’s UN-recognized government, a swarm of associated militias, and its rival authority in the eastern region are being enabled by the EU to do exactly that.

This transactional arrangement, long maintained in the country’s west, is now being aggressively extended to the eastern-based parallel administration. Despite formally withholding diplomatic recognition from Khalifa Haftar’s government, Brussels is currently financing a new €3 million ($3.46 million) Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Benghazi.

By treating both rival authorities as outsourced border guards, the EU conveniently bypasses its own legal obligations, repatriating vulnerable populations to a territory perilous even for its own citizens.

Indeed, this policy of externalization has officially transitioned from hypocritical rhetoric to binding legislative reality. Following a definitive agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the revised Returns Regulation on June 1, 2026, EU interior ministers concluded their June 4 meeting by charting a course to rapidly operationalize a framework for extraterritorial “return hubs” – third-country jurisdictions within which Libya is functionally included due to its status as migration route.

The newly adopted rules escalate coercive measures, permitting member states to deport unsuccessful asylum seekers to holding facilities outside Europe’s borders – even if those individuals possess absolutely no geographic, cultural, or personal connection to the host nation.

To be clear, no one is claiming that the European Union possesses a premeditated blueprint to transform Libya into a permanent containment zone for transit populations – despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Libyans believe exactly that. However, the cumulative effect of these cynical containment policies achieves that precise result. By trapping hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants within the country, Western mechanisms project an impression that Europe is deliberately engineering a severe demographic crisis, forcing a settlement that dismantles the remains of Libya’s social cohesion.

Whether this outcome is an intentional strategy or the collateral damage of European self-interest, it has served as the catalyst behind the waves of anti-migrant anger fracturing the streets of Tripoli.

By financing localized militias and executing transactional arrangements across political divides, European governments have effectively transformed Libya into an offshore containment camp – a legal black hole designed to absorb the human fallout of their own border crises while shielding themselves from international accountability.

The US has said it killed a notorious gang leader in a strike on his compound in Venezuela.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation targeting Tren de Aragua leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Nino Guerrero, was carried out earlier this week in full coordination with the Venezuelan authorities.

Hegseth said the operation “underscores the shared US and Venezuelan commitment to take the fight to narco-terrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere.”

“Guerrero was a wanted fugitive charged by the US Department of Justice with ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States,” US Southern Command chief General Francis Donovan said.

US President Donald Trump hailed the operation as part of his effort to combat violent crime in the US.

“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Guerrero was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2018 on charges including murder, drug trafficking, identity theft, and possession of military-grade weapons, but escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 2023.

Earlier this year, the US carried out a commando raid in Caracas, abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were indicted by a Manhattan court on drug and firearms charges. Both pleaded not guilty, and the Venezuelan government condemned the operation as an act of aggression.

Since September 2025, US strikes on alleged cartel boats in the Caribbean have killed more than 200 people. Venezuelan and Colombian officials called the operations illegal, saying some of the victims were innocent fishermen.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz will not return to its pre-war status.

Araghchi made the remarks as the US and Iran finalize a deal to end the conflict, which began on February 28 with joint US-Israeli bombardments of Iranian territory and the assassination of senior officials, including the country’s longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

The waterway, which normally handles around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG trade, has largely remained closed throughout the war, although President Donald Trump said the US military has helped guide more than 200 ships through the strait.

“The Strait of Hormuz lies under the sovereignty of Iran and Oman. The administration of the waterway will not return to its pre-war arrangement. Iran and Oman will soon issue a joint statement outlining a new framework for the administration of the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi said on Friday, according to Iranian media.

Araghchi said that, under the memorandum of understanding awaiting final approval, the US would, “for the first time in 47 years,” commit to respecting Iran’s sovereignty and non-interference in its domestic affairs. The agreement would also declare an end to the conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, he said.

He added that the memorandum would give the two sides 60 days to negotiate the fate of Iran’s nuclear program once it is signed.

Iran declared the strait closed to all ships in response to US strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Trump later said he called off the attack in an effort to advance peace talks, expressing confidence that an agreement could be signed as early as this weekend.