TFI Daily News

Trump calls off latest threats to strike Iran, citing a breakthrough in talks to end the war (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran’s oil industry. Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a live phone call on state television that mediators were active and nothing had been finalized to end the conflict that began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran.

White House Again Shrugs Off High Prices Amid War With Iran (NYT) Prices jumped in May for the third straight month, leaving U.S. families and businesses to suffer the sting from the war with Iran. And for the third time, the White House largely shrugged off the news, insisting that the problem was temporary—and that President Trump’s agenda was working. “No, I love it, the numbers were great,” the president told reporters on Wednesday. “I love the inflation.” It was a familiar pattern, one that appeared to underscore the widening chasm between Mr. Trump and the majority of Americans who say they are frustrated with the direction of the economy.

$60M and 7 federal agencies required to stage Trump’s UFC fight at White House (AP) President Donald Trump’s planned UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working onsite daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations. The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction—seven mixed martial arts matches—on Sunday.

Mexico City installed a chandelier in its metro for the World Cup. Then came the crush of memes (AP) The sound of construction roared over the most memed metro station in Mexico City as workers hammered at marble floors under a chandelier and rows of lamps reminiscent of a scene from “Harry Potter” or “Titanic,” racing to finish ahead of the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony Thursday. Mexicans milling through the busy Hidalgo metro station pointed and laughed, occasionally snapping pictures of the face-lift that has become the subject of a cascade of internet memes. The cosmetic makeover that authorities have attempted to give the capital as visitors arrive from around the globe also has become a symbol of criticisms that the government is prioritizing its superficial appearance for World Cup fans over fixing critical structural issues that have long plagued the city. “People make fun of it because it’s a failed aesthetic, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said Silvia Escamilla, 28, who was hustling to work among a crowd of Mexican commuters. “All these renovations are like putting makeup on the city, because the infrastructure they could actually invest in just isn’t there.”

Pentagon’s Hegseth warns Cuba that arms procurement could invite confrontation (Reuters) On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth traveled to the U.S. naval base/prison/CIA black site on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. There, he warned Cuba’s government against procuring weapons which could be used against the U.S., even as the Trump administration has drummed up consent for a future invasion of the island nation. “It would be unwise of the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland,” Hegseth said. “They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want but ​they could not stand. No country on Earth can match the capabilities of the United States of America.” The state of Cuba’s economy has become increasingly dire over the past few months, as Trump has maintained the U.S.’s economic sanctions on the island nation while also blocking it from importing fuel. The White House has threatened to slap steep tariffs on countries that sell oil or gas to Cuba, leading to endless power outages as the Cuban government struggles to keep the lights on.

Peru’s presidential runoff shows a razor-thin gap between candidates (AP) The gap between Peru’s two presidential candidates narrowed to less than 20,000 votes Tuesday with 96% of ballots counted after Sunday’s runoff contest. The winner will be the South American country’s ninth president in 10 years. Official figures showed nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez with 50.055% of votes, while conservative politician Keiko Fujimori had 49.945%. The electoral body has counted more than 17.8 million votes.

Only 11% of Europeans view US as ally, survey shows (Reuters) Only 11% of Europeans across 15 countries view the United States as an ally, a historic low and down from 16% half a year ​ago and 22% in November 2024, according to a survey published ‌by the European Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday. The findings, released ahead of G7 and NATO summits, highlight Europe’s waning confidence in Washington as a reliable security partner. Majorities in ​all surveyed countries expressed doubts that the U.S. would come to their ​defence in the event of an attack. Majorities in every country polled ​except Bulgaria ⁠thought U.S.-European relations would improve when U.S. President Donald Trump left office.

Europe shakes off innovation gloom (CSM) The handful of U.S. firms that dominate global tech and artificial intelligence has almost universal name recognition. And it’s quite widely known that they rely on semiconductors manufactured in East Asia, mainly Taiwan. But it’s safe to say that very, very few people realize that the world’s only maker of the complex lithography machines—used by Asian firms to fabricate the chips that power American tech advances—is headquartered in ... Europe. (The Netherlands, to be precise.) Not knowing this little factoid is about more than industry trivia. It points to long-standing, and not entirely merited, views of the continent as an economic has-been, held back by red tape, capital constraints, and innovation inertia. In fact, the European Union is making quiet, consistent progress in undoing both limiting perceptions and policies. “Europe is no musty backwater,” The Economist stated in April. “It has the talent, resources and incentive to lead. It should start to think, and act, like it.”

The War in Ukraine Has Now Gone On Longer Than World War I (NYT) The war in Ukraine has often been compared to World War I for its brutal infantry assaults and heavy casualties. Yet the idea that it could, by any measure, surpass a conflict so long and bloody that French soldiers hoped it would be “the last of the last” once seemed unthinkable. That is just what happened on Thursday. The war in Ukraine—which reached 1,569 days, or more than four years and three months—has now outlasted World War I. When President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sent his troops into Ukraine in February 2022, he believed the country would fall within days. After Ukraine pushed the Russians back and the conflict settled into a war of attrition, even many of those fighting could not imagine it would last this long. But the war has raged on, and, with peace talks stalled, it shows no sign of ending soon. Polls suggest that about half of Ukrainians believe it will not end before next year, which would push it closer to another threshold: the duration of World War II, which lasted six years.

Washington Is Testing Singapore’s Patience (Foreign Policy) One of the United States’ most important strategic partners in Southeast Asia—Singapore—is beginning to lose faith in the Trump administration. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, coupled with the acute energy crisis caused by his war against Iran and U.S. government pressure to force Singapore into even closer alignment, have severely frustrated Singaporean leaders. As Singapore seeks a stable place in an increasingly disorderly international system, this could result in a more diversified Singaporean foreign policy, including a more prominent role for China. Alienating Singapore would be an unforced error—and perhaps a significant one. The city-state sits on a small island strategically located on the vital Strait of Malacca that connects the Indian and Pacific oceans, and it serves as a de facto security ally of the United States. Singapore hosts and maintains U.S. warships at its Changi Naval Base and participates in a range of other military agreements, making it a potentially critical node of support to U.S. military forces defending Taiwan or addressing any number of other future contingencies throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Philippine town seeks immediate airlift of food to ease hunger in quake-hit villages (AP) The mayor of a southern Philippine town that was devastated by a powerful earthquake pleaded Thursday for helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in several landslide-isolated villages. The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the Philippine archipelago in a half century, struck Monday off the southern province of Sarangani and has left at least 47 people dead and injured 688 with 31 still missing. More than 45,000 people remained displaced, about half in emergency shelters, after the quake damaged more than 12,600 houses in farming towns and cities. Many were still too traumatized to return home due to aftershocks, provincial officials said.

Amnesty accuses Israel’s government of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians from the West Bank (AP) Amnesty International accused Israel on Wednesday of carrying out a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank with the intention to annex the Palestinian territory. The accusation came in a new, 149-page report alleging that the forced displacement of West Bank Palestinians resulted from a concerted state policy, and not just the actions of violent settlers. While much of the displacement is driven by settlers who build outposts on Palestinian land, the report asserts that the process could not occur without the support of the government. U.N. data says that over 100 West Bank villages have been fully or partially emptied out between January 2023 and April 2026. At the same time, the United Nations has tracked more than 7,280 instances of individual Palestinian displacement because of demolition of homes and structures by Israeli forces, a figure that includes people who were displaced more than once.

US launches a second day of strikes on Iran and Iran fires back at the Gulf states and Jordan (AP) The United States launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, and Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The new U.S. assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck. The American attack appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Iran released little information on the extent of the damage. Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours because of the Thursday morning attack, but did not elaborate on any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired toward an area that is home to an air base hosting U.S. troops, though no one was hurt.

A Challenge in the U.S.-Iran Talks: Both Sides Demand Victory (NYT) For weeks, the parameters of a preliminary agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran have been clear to its negotiators. The hang-up? How to devise a deal so each side can claim a win. Washington and Tehran—both neither fully victorious nor completely defeated in the war—badly want a deal. But they also need something they can present as favorable to the hawks and hard-liners back home. Added to this fundamental dispute are the peculiarities of the two countries’ leaders. One of them is in hiding and slow to sign off on any proposal; the other is so unpredictable, his own envoys struggle to negotiate on his behalf. Unsuccessful efforts at devising this alchemy of wording have mired the two sides in a state of neither war nor peace. They have left the global economy in limbo, too, as both sides continue their blockades of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Social Security at Risk for Cuts by 2032, Unless Congress Acts (NYT) The financial forecast for Social Security worsened this year, according to the annual financial report released on Tuesday by the program’s trustees. If Congress does not develop a plan to shore up the program, it will need to cut benefits for millions of Americans in just a little more than six years. Social Security’s deteriorating finances have long been thought of as a future problem—for another president, or another Congress, to resolve. But now, it is creeping ever closer because funds will run out before the end of the next president’s term. The Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, which helps pay retiree and survivor benefits to more than 68 million beneficiaries, is now expected to run out of money at the end of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected last year. That means incoming revenue would be enough to pay only 78 percent of benefits, in other words, a reduction of 22 percent, according to the report.

Billionaires’ Billions Are Increasing Faster Than Ever (NYT) Fifteen years ago, the world’s billionaires collectively had $4.5 trillion. By 2024, their wealth had more than tripled to $14.2 trillion. Now, their combined wealth totals $20.1 trillion—an amount that is equivalent to nearly a fifth of the entire world’s total yearly output. The stunning figures—calculated by the French economist Gabriel Zucman, director of the International Tax Observatory, a research organization funded by the European Union—reveal more than a surprisingly rapid increase in the concentration of wealth at the tippy top. They also reflect a series of important global trends: the growing dominance of a few technology companies leading artificial intelligence development; the shrinking slice of the economic pie that goes to workers; and a deepening inequality that will be handed down to the next generation. These developments are particularly prominent in the United States, where roughly one-third of the world’s nearly 3,000 billionaires reside.

Two more Texas screwworm infections found in animals far apart, USDA says (ABC News) On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it had confirmed two more cases of the New World screwworm infecting animals in Texas. Those confirmations bring the total number of screwworm cases in the U.S. up to four, after the worm was found in two calves living miles apart late last week. According to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, though, the U.S. cattle industry is “not at risk” from the larva. “This is not a virus, it’s not a disease, it’s just a little pest, a larva that lands in a calf’s wound, for example, and it can be treated,” she said. Meanwhile, the USDA is racing to set up a new facility for breeding and releasing sterile flies into the wild, which will curb the pest’s population in the U.S. by preventing future generations from being born—unfortunately, that operation will only reach full capacity in November 2027. The fly was originally eradicated from the U.S. in 1960s and was kept at bay thanks to eradication efforts across Central and South America, but Elon Musk’s DOGE cut U.S. funding for a screwworm monitoring and containment program last year, even as the parasite’s population was inching closer to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Violent anti-immigration protests erupt in Belfast after brutal stabbing attack (Washington Post) Masked men set houses, vehicles and a city bus ablaze in Belfast on Tuesday night, torching neighborhoods across the city after a graphic video of an alleged knife attack by a Sudanese asylum seeker went viral, igniting the latest anti-immigration violence to convulse the United Kingdom. Ignoring pleas for calm from politicians and clergy, rioters rampaged through heavily immigrant neighborhoods in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in some cases going door-to-door and causing some families to flee under police protection. Men in balaclavas and hoods shouted “foreigners out,” witnesses said. One family with children had to be escorted from a burning house, according to the BBC, and a family of Ukrainian refugees fled through their back door as the front door burned. The riots spread from Belfast to towns across Northern Ireland and reached into Scotland and England by nightfall.

Vote looms in Switzerland after foes of migration put proposal to cap population at 10 million (AP) Swiss voters will take up an unprecedented proposal to limit Switzerland’s population, part of a longtime push by right-wing leaders to cap the number of foreigners who migrate to the rich and economically vibrant Alpine country. A national vote on whether to cap Switzerland’s population at 10 million in coming decades culminates with in-person balloting on Sunday. Recent polling suggested that it could be a close contest. Supporters of the initiative dislike an influx of expatriates from the neighboring European Union, and say Swiss infrastructure, housing, social programs, natural resources and way of life have been strained under demographic growth.

Ukraine’s Neighbors Seek Shelter as More and More Drones Fly Overhead (NYT) The red alert came from a crisis control room buried under the Lithuanian capital. It sent the president, prime minister, mayor, school children and hundreds of thousands of other residents racing to underground shelters for cover from a fast approaching drone. Military radar showed the drone coming in from the east, where Russia and its close ally Belarus have long loomed as a menace to NATO’s eastern flank. But, according to Lithuanian officials, the drone that triggered the take-cover order last month in the capital, Vilnius began its journey in Ukraine, as did dozens of others that in recent weeks have entered the airspace or waters of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Romania. All are members of NATO and strong supporters of the Ukrainian military’s battle against the Kremlin. Ukraine has been sending swarms of drones to hit Russian ports, oil terminals and other facilities on the Baltic Sea. But some veer off course en route and end up menacing countries that have been among Ukraine’s staunchest allies. Repeated recent episodes of drones changing direction highlight how the devices are scrambling clear lines between friend and foe, intent and result.

Aftershocks complicate Philippine recovery from quake that killed 45 and displaced thousands (AP) Dozens of rescuers in hard hats scrambled out of a partially collapsed grocery in a southern Philippine city Wednesday as it was rattled by an aftershock from a powerful earthquake that left at least 45 people dead and 17 others missing in the region. A safety officer blew his whistle and others screamed to warn about 30 firefighters and coast guard personnel to dash to safety as concrete debris crashed down from the leaning three-story building in General Santos city in a frantic scene witnessed by an AP video journalist. The earthquake has been followed by more than 2,100 aftershocks including a few that ranged up to 6.4 magnitude, which is strong enough to cause more casualties and damage. More than 25,000 people remain displaced, many of them staying in 45 government-run emergency shelters and still too traumatized to return home, officials said.

Sea of tents in heart of Beirut lays bare Lebanon’s crisis (Financial Times) In a central Beirut parking lot, between waterfront nightclubs and restaurants popular with parliamentarians, about 1,000 people who fled Israeli bombings sleep in identical blue tents, differentiated only by numbers spray-painted in white. The tent grid looks like a refugee camp, even if neither its inhabitants nor the Lebanese government will call it one. It has become a symbol of the uprooting of Lebanon’s people during Israel’s war with Hizbollah, and of the struggle to shelter them indefinitely. Nearly 1mn, about a fifth of Lebanon’s population, remain displaced more than a month and a half after the ceasefire that nominally halted the conflict. For Lebanon’s leaders and its people, the vast displacement has begun to look less like a temporary emergency than something more permanent. Lebanon’s impoverished state can ill afford a drawn-out crisis. Lebanese minister Haneen Sayed said that while the country received $700mn in aid, including from Gulf countries and the UN, during the 2024 war between Israel and Hizbollah, the total this time was less than $250mn. Shipments of donated supplies were also a quarter of what they were during the last war.

Israel is tightening its grip on east Jerusalem with evictions and demolitions (AP) Fakhri Abu Diab fought for decades to save his home. But when Israeli authorities arrived with bulldozers two years ago, he was powerless to stop them. He and his wife now live among shards of memory: a bicycle where his bedroom stood; the garden where he planted tomatoes as a boy; a portrait of his late mother painted on a wall, based on a photograph lost in the demolition. Their mobile home, set up amid the rubble, is also marked for removal. For decades, Israel has worked to expand the Jewish presence in annexed east Jerusalem—the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and home to major Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites. Settlers have exploited discriminatory policies and archaeological claims to evict Palestinians far from the region’s war zones. Activists say those efforts have gone into overdrive in recent years, as Israel is no longer constrained by U.S. pressure and attention has shifted to Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Over 260 homes and other structures were demolished in 2025, a 70% increase from three years earlier.

The Era of Me-First Energy (NYT) The monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reinforcing an expensive geopolitical lesson about how risky it can be to rely on imported energy. From South America to Southeast Asia, governments and private companies are being forced to look inward and take steps to harness what they can domestically, even when doing so raises upfront costs. Call it the era of me-first energy. Guyana, a fast-growing South American oil producer that ran short of fuel this spring, is discussing building its first refinery. Indonesia is accelerating plans to harness more power from the sun. Many other Asian countries have turned to coal in order to plug their energy gaps, at least for now. And in Europe, Belgium is trying to nationalize nuclear energy. Individuals are also taking matters into their own hands, buying electric vehicles to avoid rising fuel costs or installing rooftop solar panels to lower electricity bills. In the Philippines, imports of electric cars and solar equipment from China recently hit records. Countries and businesses can do only so much on their own. Still, each gallon of gasoline or kilowatt-hour of electricity available locally offers that much more of a buffer in the next war or shipping disruption.

Trump Wants to Call the Shots. But in Iran, He Keeps Hitting His Limits. (NYT) President Trump has defined his career in politics with displays of dominance and control. But in the Middle East, he faces a rolling crisis that keeps thwarting those impulses. On Sunday, Mr. Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling The Financial Times that the Israeli leader “won’t have any choice” but to accept a U.S.-negotiated deal with Iran. “I call all the shots,” he said. But early Monday, Mr. Trump was still trying to rein in Mr. Netanyahu, writing on social media just after 5:30 a.m.: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’” One hundred days after starting the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on Feb. 28, Mr. Trump is grappling with his own version of the sort of Middle East military quagmire that beset his predecessors—and that he promised to avoid. “Trump launched a war of choice overestimating America’s military capacity and underestimating Iran’s,” said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official who is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “That is a box that Trump cannot get out of right now.”

Trump says US 'must' respond after confirming Iran shot down Apache helicopter (WSJ/AP) President Trump on Tuesday accused Iran of shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and said the U.S. must respond to the attack. The downing of the helicopter late Monday set off a race to find two American crew members before Iranian forces could close in on them. They eventually were rescued by a drone boat in a first-of-its-kind operation at sea, the military said. The unmanned surface vessel, a Saronic Corsair, located the crew in the waters off the coast of Oman and brought them to shore. Then early Wednesday, the United States launched airstrikes against Iran after blaming Tehran for the crash of the helicopter, prompting new attacks from Iran and further widening the retaliatory strikes that threaten to derail talks to end the war. Iran launched attacks on sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting U.S. forces.

Fewer Americans say democracy is central to country’s identity, poll finds (AP) As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feeling of unease over the future of its representative government—particularly among young people. Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016. Agreement about other aspects of the country’s underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago.

US carriers spent $6.5B on fuel in April; global profit forecast is cut nearly in half (AP) U.S. airlines spent more than $6 billion on jet fuel in April, up 78% from a year earlier despite using slightly less fuel, government data released Monday showed. Meanwhile, the airline industry’s top global trade group warned that soaring energy costs could nearly halve profits in 2026. In an effort to contain costs, airlines around the world have raised airfares and fees, cut other perks and canceled flights or trimmed schedules.

Judge Throws Out Policy Imposing $100,000 Fees for Skilled Worker Visas (NYT) A Trump administration initiative to impose $100,000 fees on employers seeking visas for skilled foreign workers amounts to an unlawful tax on those companies and must be voided “in its entirety,” a federal judge ruled on Monday. The decision by Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts nullified one of a series of tactics the Trump administration has used to restrict legal immigration, even in fields in which foreign skilled labor helped address severe shortages.

Forecasters warn of flooding risk as 2 storms form off southern Mexico’s Pacific coast (AP) Tropical Storms Boris and Cristina formed off of southern Mexico’s Pacific coast on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center. According to the hurricane center, the center of Boris should reach the coast of Guerrero, Mexico, with little change in strength forecast until landfall. Tropical Storm Cristina formed about 100 miles west-southwest of the coast of Managua, Nicaragua. The government of Honduras has issued a tropical storm warning for Puerto Sandino to the Guatemala/El Salvador border.

Protesters, police clash in Bolivia after president signs law enabling a harsher crackdown (AP) Protesters in Bolivia demanding the resignation of conservative President Rodrigo Paz hurled firecrackers, stones and sticks at police who responded with tear gas on Monday, leading to dozens of arrests as road blockades continue to paralyze the Andean nation. The renewed clashes in the central city of Cochabamba erupted after President Paz signed a measure that could pave the way for a hardline government crackdown on the demonstrations that have roiled Bolivia over the past five weeks, disrupting transportation and causing shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies. Protesters have set up 90 blockades on key routes nationwide, effectively isolating major cities.

The European Union has a Taiwan problem (Bloomberg) The EU is worried about signs that Trump is looking to ingratiate himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a means of warming up US-China relations. In doing so, the thinking goes, he may be giving Beijing a greenlight for further incursions and provocations tied to the island democracy. Put that together with increasing Chinese aggressiveness in the region and you’ve potentially got a recipe for trouble. In a worst-case scenario of a US-China war over Taiwan, research from Bloomberg Economics shows the EU economy would suffer a hit equivalent to about $2 trillion over the first year. Germany’s economy alone would contract by about 14%, roughly twice as much as the US or China. Those conclusions underline one of the main lessons from Trump’s attack on Iran: the US may call the shots in global affairs, but Europe often pays the bigger price.

20,000 people displaced by the Philippine earthquake that killed at least 37 (AP) Rescuers searched ruined buildings in the southern Philippines on Tuesday to ensure no one was still trapped a day after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in a half-century killed at least 37 people and displaced more than 20,000. The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine island, injured nearly 500 people. Hundreds of aftershocks have continued to jolt the area.

Lebanon says Israel has bombed it nearly 3,500 times during ceasefire  (Reuters) Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air strikes on Lebanon ​and hundreds of controlled explosions since the U.S. announced a ceasefire ‌for the country on April 16, Lebanon's defence minister, Michel Menassa, said on Monday. During a cabinet meeting, Menassa ​said that from April 17 to June 7, Israel had carried out 3,491 air ​strikes, 407 controlled demolitions and six "razing" operations, or demolitions—which have left some entire villages in the southernmost strip of Lebanon entirely flattened. The statistics were later published on X by ​the office of Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Salam said the latest escalation between Iran and Israel had ‌caused additional ⁠waves of displacement, straining Lebanon's ability to host fleeing families.

Israelis push Netanyahu to keep fighting in Lebanon (Washington Post) Rani Ben Dov, one of the few farmers still left in this northern border town, was exhausted. He was tired of seeking shelter from incoming Hezbollah fire, but even now the last thing he wanted was for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull the plug on the military offensive in Lebanon, just a mile away. “We need to let the generals do what they need to do and eliminate Hezbollah,” Ben Dov said, as the sound of shelling punctured the hot summer air. “We can’t just leave.” The sentiment is pervasive. In war-weary border villages, on prime time talk shows, within the political opposition and among Netanyahu’s supporters, Israelis are pushing their prime minister to fight—and stay—in Lebanon. For weeks, Iran has demanded an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shiite militia it supports in Lebanon, as a condition of a comprehensive peace deal with President Donald Trump. Trump has voiced frustration about Netanyahu “constantly fighting” in Lebanon, but Israeli military and political analysts say Netanyahu almost certainly will keep forces in Lebanon for several more months, if not years.

UN inquiry finds Israeli forces shield settlers during attacks on Palestinians (Reuters) Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks that have killed, injured and ​displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli security forces provide protection to settlers, a U.N. inquiry said on Tuesday. The report by the Commission ‌of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israeli authorities have enabled settler attacks through financial and military support, in a climate of impunity fostered by judicial and law-enforcement bodies. It said attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land have surged since 2023, rising by 130%, including incidents involving groups of masked assailants. Israeli security forces have routinely accompanied settlers and acted as a shield for the violence, ​the report said.

Trump Says He Never Promised No New Wars (NYT) President Trump, who campaigned on a central promise to keep the United States out of overseas wars, denied in an interview aired on Sunday that he’d ever made the pledge. “I didn’t guarantee no war,” Mr. Trump said in a lengthy interview with Kristen Welker, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” taped during his trip to Wisconsin on Friday. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Speaking about the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, he continued: “So when you say I promised, I didn’t promise anything. I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months.” He did promise. As a candidate in 2024, Mr. Trump repeatedly pledged not to involve the United States in war, including on the night he won the election. “They said, ‘He will start a war,’” Mr. Trump said during his victory speech. “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”

US troops, families adjust to new normal of Iran war (Reuters) Fourteen weeks after President Donald Trump ordered an attack on Iran, the U.S. military is adjusting to an unusual state of conflict that is not full-scale war, but also far from peace. On ships and bases in the Middle East, U.S. troops—some recovering from injuries—operate amid exchanges of fire with Iran every few days as the Navy blockades Iran’s ports. At home, ‌the Pentagon is scrambling to bolster production of depleted munitions as families of service members cope with the stress of extended deployments. Counterattacks from Iran continue against U.S. allies in the region, such as Bahrain and Kuwait, ‌which Iran targeted in a ballistic missile attack on Friday. The threat ​requires U.S. troops to maintain an acute state of readiness. “To maintain this constant state of ‘Level 10’ alert vigilance, to be ready to go at the drop of a hat, is a very stressful and difficult operational mission,” said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Strongest earthquake in nearly 150 years hits off Cuba, shakes Mexico, Florida (Reuters) A historically strong earthquake struck off Cuba's northwest coast on Monday, shaking parts of Cuba, Mexico and ‌Florida that are typically not prone to quakes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured ‌the quake at a magnitude 6.1 at a shallow depth of 26 km (16 miles) and its epicenter 104 km ​west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, about two to four hours by car from the capital Havana. Authorities have not yet reported any major damage or casualties, but the quake spiked concern in Cuba, where decades of economic ​crisis have ​left buildings in severe disrepair.

Cuba’s iconic antique cars sit idle as US energy blockade deepens fuel crisis (AP) A worsening fuel crisis across Cuba is testing the island’s famed “almendrones,” the vintage American cars that serve as vital shared taxis and embody the island’s ingenuity and endurance. These days, many of the iconic gas-guzzling antique cars sit idle, casualties of fuel shortages that have gripped Cuba since January and that Cuban officials blame on a U.S. energy blockade. Outside his modest concrete-block home on a dirt road in Las Minas, a town of about 2,000 people on the outskirts of Havana, Diriel Valdez is restoring a 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe. The burgundy body is intact and the original engine still works. Finding fuel for it, however, is another matter. Cuba is experiencing one of its most severe energy crises in years. The population, already battered by decades of economic crises and shortages, is now navigating daily blackouts that can last up to 20 hours in some parts of the island.

Votes being counted in runoff election to choose Peru’s ninth leader in 10 years (AP) The winner of Peru’s presidential runoff election was not yet known hours after polls closed Sunday as electoral authorities slowly tallied votes cast for the ninth head of state in 10 years. Figures released by electoral authorities showed conservative politician Keiko Fujimori with a modest lead over nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez with 58% of ballots tallied in a contest overshadowed by people’s concerns about surging crime. The outcome, expected to be tight, may not be known for days. Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support.

As Ukraine fights off Russia’s invasion, some regions see a rise in premature births (AP) When Marharyta Nekhoroshyva first saw her newborn son, she was gripped by fear. Born after just 26 weeks of pregnancy, he weighed only 940 grams (2 pounds) and wore diapers no larger than the palm of an adult hand. “The doctors told me that if he survived the first three days, everything would be OK,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t believe in God, but I was praying.” Now 9 months old, Mark is energetic and lively, but he has chronic breathing problems and requires frequent hospital stays. Nekhoroshyva must navigate her son’s illness while living under the constant threat of attack in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, where hospitals board up their windows because blast waves from Russian strikes routinely shatter glass. She is doing it alone while her husband fights in the war. A rising number of babies are being born prematurely—before 37 weeks of pregnancy—in Ukraine, particularly in regions near the front lines, where some areas have seen rates nearly double since the conflict started with Russia’s invasion in 2022.

The World’s Most Surprising Economic Success Story Is … North Korea? (WSJ) North Korea is the world’s most unlikely growth story. Its economy is flourishing in ways not seen in years, aided by arms sales and troop deployments to Russia, supplies and financing from China, and the ability to flout international sanctions to import more energy, components and materials. The Kim regime slammed its borders shut during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has since reopened to only a select few outsiders, including Russian and Western travelers and diplomats. Those visitors describe a North Korea unrecognizable from the past, especially its capital, Pyongyang, where Kim and the country’s elite live.

7.8 quake and tsunami warnings in southern Philippines (AP) An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines Monday, killing at least 19 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in damaged buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby coasts. A few buildings collapsed and key infrastructure sustained quake damage in the city of General Santos, and tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

What Visual Evidence Tells Us About Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon (NYT) The Israeli military has deployed white phosphorus, an incendiary substance that can be extremely harmful, over populated areas in Lebanon in its battle against Hezbollah, according to experts, aid groups and visual evidence collected by The New York Times. Distinctive smoke trails from this type of munition were seen as recently as May 30 in Nabatieh, a city of roughly 40,000, in social media footage verified by The Times, which was filmed as Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle, a landmark in the area. Other verified footage showed that white phosphorus had also been used in the vicinity of the coastal city of Tyre. Once exposed to air, white phosphorus spontaneously ignites and is exceptionally difficult to extinguish. Often deployed by militaries to create fires and smoke screens during combat, white phosphorus is not illegal in itself, but deploying it deliberately against civilians or in an area populated by civilians violates the international laws of war.

An airstrike trapped a journalist. She died as rescuers waited for permission to save her. (Washington Post) A team of reporters reconstructed the final hours of Amal Khalil, a Lebanese journalist who was killed by the Israeli military on April 22. “The first strike hit a car driving in front of her, the second destroyed her car as she hid nearby, and the third collapsed the building where she had taken shelter with another journalist,” they write. While Khalil was still alive, the Israeli military did not give the green light for rescuers to reach her; by the time they got approval, she was dead. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called her death a murder, defined as a targeted killing “in direct reprisal for the journalist’s work.”

War Report (Politico) President Donald Trump today (Monday) tried to keep a lid on an outburst of Israel-Iran hostilities that threatened to derail the Middle East war’s fragile ceasefire. Early this morning, the president posted on Truth Social that both countries “must immediately stop,” and then hopefully declared that everyone wanted to move quickly toward a ceasefire and a more durable peace deal. Trump combined those messages with a direct call to Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he asked the Israeli PM to stand down from any further attacks on Iran. Ultimately, Israel and Iran announced that they’d suspend their barrages. But both countries threatened to resume intense attacks if the other’s aggression continued. The immediate trigger for the latest hostilities was Israel’s ongoing fight with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which prompted Iran to rain down ballistic missiles on Israel. Jerusalem and Tehran then launched waves of retaliatory strikes against each other.

After Months of War, Iranians Sink Into Disillusionment and Despair (NYT) When Israel and the United States attacked Iran in late February, some Iranian opponents of the Islamic Republic hoped that it would bring an end to decades of theocratic rule they saw as oppressive. Now, after devastating strikes and amid a teetering cease-fire, those hopes have been snuffed out. Feelings of disillusionment and despair have taken their place, driven by a reported death toll of 1,700 civilians, vast destruction and an economic implosion that has made daily life a struggle. A cease-fire has provided some relief from bombs, but an economic war has sent the prices of basic goods skyrocketing. The crippling of critical industries and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a key trading route for Iran’s most precious export, oil—have tipped the already troubled economy into free fall. “I’m angry. I feel alone,” Kimia, a 25-year-old designer, said in an interview from Tehran. “We don’t matter to the world at all; we’re only seen as tools for war and negotiation, while we are human beings.”

The Nigerian army frees 360 abducted people in northeastern Borno state (AP) The Nigerian army said Sunday it freed 360 people abducted by Boko Haram in southern Borno, in the northeastern part of the country. The operation, according to the army’s statement, was conducted in the Mandara mountains which form a part of the militant group’s stronghold. Nigeria faces a complex security crisis, especially in the north where a more than decade-long insurgency and the activities of armed groups that carry out kidnappings for ransom and illegal mining have heightened the country’s security challenges.

At least 12 people shot at an Ohio festival and a search for suspects is still ongoing, police say (AP) Gunfire erupted Saturday near a busy street festival in Ohio, wounding at least 12 people and sending some eventgoers scrambling for cover while others rushed to help the victims. The shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours. Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and they were “probably shooting at each other.” Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan added.

C.I.A. Officer Found With Gold Bars Said to Have Created Fake Spy Program (NYT) A C.I.A. employee who was found recently with $40 million of gold bars in his house had created a secret intelligence program to funnel millions of dollars from the federal government to himself, according to two U.S. officials. David Rush, the employee, created a fake “special access program,” a sensitive intelligence tool that has highly limited visibility even within the C.I.A., the officials said. Mr. Rush, a C.I.A. officer for 17 years, was arrested on May 19 after F.B.I. agents found 303 gold bars weighing about one kilogram each in Mr. Rush’s home, according to an affidavit. The agents also seized nearly three dozen luxury watches, many of them Rolexes.

Jamaica scrambles to restore power after rare islandwide blackout (AP) Jamaica’s national electricity provider said it was racing to restore service early Saturday, after an outage left the entire island without power overnight. The company president, Hugh Grant, said authorities were still investigating the causes of the blackout, but that it was likely related to lightning that struck near major substations and other grid infrastructure. Such sudden systemwide grid failures are rare in Jamaica, where major disruptions are usually linked to severe weather.

This Debt Collector Is the Devil (NYT) Dr. Diablo, Rodrigo Herrera, is arguably Venezuela’s best-known debt collector. His premise is simple: Individuals and companies hire him to collect debts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. As Dr. Diablo, he then uses public humiliation to pressure deadbeats into paying up. Many do after his “Anti-Debtor Mobile Squad” ambushes them, often at work. This entourage includes a pitchfork-wielding right-hand man clad as the devil; a female “diablita” in demon horns, skintight pants and a sequined red boa; and Mr. Herrera himself in dark sunglasses, a black suit and a flame-adorned necktie. Such circuslike street tactics reflect the imaginative ways Venezuelans find to resolve disputes in a country where rule of law has been gutted by corruption and one-party rule. When his retinue headed out one afternoon in May to mortify a debtor, they strutted through the streets of Caracas in full regalia. “It’s the devil!” passers-by yelled, whipping out phones to take pictures. “I’m a lawyer and I know how the system works,” said Ada Gallardo, 69, one observer. “No one trusts a judge. We need more people like Dr. Diablo to get things done.”

1 million turn out for pope’s Mass in Spain and iconic procession along flower-carpeted route (AP) Pope Leo XIV honored Spain’s centuries-old tradition of religious devotion on Sunday as a “school of faith” for today, as he presided over a Mass before a million people and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets. According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-kilometer (mile) procession route off Plaza Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers. Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith.

Ukraine Strikes St. Petersburg in Long-Range Drone Attack (NYT) Ukraine hit a Russian military base and other targets near St. Petersburg with a barrage of long-range drones early Saturday, just hours after President Vladimir V. Putin, addressing an important annual economic forum in the city, rejected a peace overture by his Ukrainian counterpart. The Russian authorities called the attack “unprecedented,” with Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko of the Leningrad region around the city announcing that more than 140 drones had been shot down. The attack ignited a fire at an unspecified military facility, causing “insignificant” damage and the evacuation of some residents, he said. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, writing on X, stressed the distance that the drones had flown, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), to strike a naval base at Kronstadt, on an island just west of St. Petersburg, as well as a naval arsenal.

Armenians go to the polls under Russian pressure aimed at preventing a drift toward West (AP) Armenians are voting Sunday in parliamentary elections as the incumbent government, under mounting Russian pressure, seeks to loosen ties with Moscow and deepen cooperation with the West. Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks, while high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine.

Pentagon Sees Growing Espionage Threat From Israel (NYT) Recent U.S. intelligence reports have raised concerns about Israeli spy agencies eavesdropping on American negotiators working on a peace deal with Iran, amid rising concern over a more general counterintelligence threat by Israel. Israel and the United States have long known, and tolerated, that each was spying on the other. But an intensified Israeli effort to learn about U.S. positions in talks with Iran has crossed a line, according to some American officials. The reports include concerns that Israel has stepped up its efforts to eavesdrop on senior American officials, including Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s top negotiator, Elbridge A. Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, and one of his main deputies, Michael P. DiMino IV. Another report, written by the Defense Intelligence Agency and other military intelligence offices and focused on earlier events going back several years, said that the counterintelligence threat level posed by Israel had been increased in recent weeks to the top level, from high to critical.

Palestinians suffer from lack of proper toilets across Gaza’s vast tent cities (AP) In their bare-bones tent in southern Gaza, Mostafa Shaaban built his family’s makeshift toilet behind a curtain in a corner. He dug a shallow pit in the sandy soil, poured a concrete slab around it, fixed a bottomless bucket over the hole, then topped it off with a battered, plastic toilet seat. It reeks with a foul odor and buzzes with flies and mosquitoes only a few feet from where they sleep and prepare meals. Every week, Shaaban has to dig the sewage sludge out of the pit. But at least it’s more private than the fetid communal latrines used by hundreds of other people in their sprawling tent camp. “The situation is revolting,” he said of having the toilet inside the tent, “but at least it has more dignity.” There is not a single proper toilet across the vast tent cities housing most of Gaza’s 1.7 million Palestinians left homeless by the war. Displaced families have largely been left on their own to dig their own latrines, some shared by extended families. The result is a hygienic nightmare as horrible smells drift among the tightly packed tents and pools of sewage collect from leaking cesspits or from people dumping the contents of their latrines.

Israel and Iran exchange strikes in most serious escalation since April ceasefire (AP) Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. Yemen’s Houthi rebels also fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, further escalating tension. The renewed threat comes as Saudi Arabia is relying on its East-West Pipeline to export oil out through the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran closed the airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main airfield, after an Israeli attack. Israel’s military updated its guidelines for civilians on Sunday evening, limiting large gatherings and canceling school across the country. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. The Israeli strikes came in apparent defiance of President Donald Trump, who told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further.

A new defence champion is rising from the Gulf (Economist) The petro-monarchies of the Gulf are celebrated big spenders—not least by the West’s defence industry. Their oil wealth pays for about a fifth of global arms imports, with a shopping list ranging from fighter jets to frigates. In a noisy, volatile neighbourhood, safety comes at a price. Now the rich rulers are nurturing their own defence industries, hoping to reduce their reliance on the West. It is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where momentum is strongest. In 2019 around 25 Emirati companies were merged to form the EDGE Group, a national defence champion.In November it formed a joint venture with Anduril, a fast-rising American defence-tech firm, to make drones for the UAE and its allies. Last year EDGE’s revenue topped $5bn, with “healthy” profit margins. Already it is among the world’s top three makers of precision-guided munitions. The UAE’s growing defence prowess has stood it in good stead in the war. Iran has struck at the Emirates far more often than at Saudi Arabia or Qatar. About 80% of Iran’s incoming Shahed drones were tackled by Emirati products, officials say. EDGE’s electronic-warfare systems kicked into action, spotting incoming missiles and drones, and setting off jamming and spoofing, working in concert with American anti-ballistic-missile systems.

Sorry, I’m Not Available. Talk to the A.I. Version of Me. (NYT) It started as a writing assistant. Jeremy Allaire, the C.E.O. of the stablecoin company Circle, trained an A.I. agent to think and write like him, feeding it his podcast interviews, his public writing and a corpus of internal communications. He called it the “Jeremy Allaire skill.” The bot helped him compose drafts. And Allaire was impressed by how well the artificial intelligence captured the way he thinks and writes. So impressed that he decided to let the bot talk to his more than 1,000 employees. Because while Allaire can’t meet with everyone, he realized that the A.I. version of him can. “It’s available to everyone in the company who wants to have a dialogue with me.” Across the business world, many leaders are experimenting with similar tools. Consultants and executive coaches who don’t have the bandwidth to address every inquiry are referring some clients to their A.I. doubles. Harvard Business School professors have incorporated A.I. versions of themselves into courses and office hours. And executives are using their A.I. avatars to address employees in other countries in their own languages.

The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices (AP) The American job market continues to show surprising strength. Employers added 172,000 jobs in May—roughly double what forecasters had expected—and the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday. With just five months to go before consequential midterm elections in the U.S., Americans have grown increasingly frustrated by rising costs, and it’s unclear if the strong job numbers this year will change their gloomy view of the economy. Inflation data last week showed that in addition to gasoline, prices for groceries, clothing and electricity are also on the rise, indicating that inflation may be growing more entrenched. Many young people are still finding it tough to catch a break on a job, and workers who have been laid off have struggled to find another. Nearly 28% of the unemployed in April had been jobless for more than six months, the largest share since December 2021.

In Trump’s second term, financial gain has become a defining feature (CSM) On matters of personal and family money, President Donald Trump appears to be playing by a different rulebook from other presidents—and even from his own first term in office. By his own admission, he feels little pressure to restrict family business dealings simply because of his role in government. A tide of actions reflects the trend: Investors have pumped vast sums into Trump family members’ business interests. Projects such as the White House ballroom are being funded by donors who have dealings with the government. Agencies have granted no-bid contracts to Trump-friendly firms. And in the 19 months since his election, the personal fortunes of the president and his family have soared. To President Trump’s detractors, it’s unprecedented self-enrichment and corruption, or at the very least a failure to follow norms upheld by past occupants of the Oval Office. To defenders, including his Cabinet, staff, and base supporters, the criticism is politically motivated, aimed at punishing a president who they say is transparent in his dealings and follows all applicable laws.

Texas Races to Contain Screwworm as a Second Case Is Confirmed (NYT) Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said on Friday that the state is working with the federal government to slow the spread of the New World screwworm days after the first case was detected in the United States in decades. Mr. Abbott said in a press briefing Friday that Texas, led by the U.S.D.A., is dispersing millions of sterile male New World screwworm flies that would prevent wild female flies from producing offspring and gradually drive the population toward eradication. He also signed a statewide disaster declaration to ensure that the affected areas received resources ahead of what he said is likely to be “an extraordinarily challenging summer to get through this.” The move comes two days after the U.S.D.A. confirmed the first case of screwworm since the 1960s. The news unnerved the cattle and beef industries in Texas, long considered the heart of the American beef industry. Texas leads the nation in beef production, with more than 4.1 million cattle, and accounts for about 15 percent of beef production in the United States, according to the Texas Agriculture Department.

Pope acknowledges stiff competition with Bad Bunny this weekend in Spain (AP) Pope Leo XIV acknowledged Saturday as he headed to Spain that he’s competing with another VIP in Madrid this weekend. Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny is performing two shows of his 10-concert Spanish tour in the Spanish capital. Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Leo acknowledged the Bad Bunny draw when he referred to anecdotal reports of a newfound spiritual awakening especially among young people in Spain. The American pope said he understood that young adults are sensing a lack of meaning in their lives and mused that his visit might help “awaken” something in them. “If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

Ukraine targets St. Petersburg again after Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s offer for direct talks (AP) Residents of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, were told not to leave their homes after a “large-scale” Ukrainian drone attack targeted the city Saturday morning, local officials said, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia. Regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones. Although no casualties were immediately reported, the renewed attack on St. Petersburg strikes a further embarrassing blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

EU inches toward ‘membership-lite’ plan for candidate countries (Politico) EU leaders are seeking consensus on a plan to offer candidate countries some of the economic and political benefits of membership while they navigate the years-long process of joining the bloc. The proposal, drawn up by France and Germany, was presented ahead of a meeting of presidents and prime ministers in Montenegro on Friday. Paris and Berlin suggested offering Western Balkan candidate countries observer status in the EU institutions and limited access to the Single Market as they complete the accession process. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have all applied to join the EU and have been waiting for years while the terms are discussed. The idea of giving these countries pre-accession benefits is seen as a way to ensure they don’t become disillusioned.

Kosovo to hold third election in 18 months as frustration grows over political impasse (AP) Kosovo will hold its third parliamentary election in 18 months this weekend as frustration grows over a continued political impasse in the small Balkan country that is aspiring to move closer to the European Union and NATO. While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled disappointment among Kosovo’s around 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.

Laboring Under Delhi’s Harsh Heat, Workers Must Choose Health or Wages (NYT) Sunil Rastogi, an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi, normally works 12-hour days to make ends meet and save for the heart surgery he needs. But in summer, as temperatures climb above 100 degrees, he faces a dilemma. Should he work fewer hours, bringing home less for his family and delaying his surgery, or press ahead and risk worsening his fragile health? For millions of workers like Mr. Rastogi—wage laborers, construction workers, street vendors, delivery drivers—the scorching summer in New Delhi often forces them into a bitter trade-off between health and income. They keep the machinery of this city running, and they are among the most susceptible to its harshest conditions. On the hottest days, the surface temperature of the ground can reach 140 degrees, according to the Center for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based think tank.

Mideast war updates (Politico/compiled) Violence flared again in the Middle East Friday night, as the U.S. said Iran had sent drones toward the Strait of Hormuz, per Reuters. The U.S. military said it had shot down those drones and hit Iranian sites in response. There was also incoming from Iran in Bahrain and Kuwait.       Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker that peace negotiations are dragging on because Iranian leaders are “going to have to do” things that injure their pride. “They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” he said. A top adviser to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei got more specific: Mohsen Rezaei told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Claudia Otto that talks have come to a standstill over whether the U.S. will agree to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian funds. (As WSJ’s Laurence Norman notes, doing so would be “politically hazardous” for Trump.)       Meanwhile, Pentagon concerns about Israel spying on the U.S. have led the government to move Israel’s classification to the highest counterintelligence threat level, NBC’s Gordon Lubold and colleagues scooped. The White House said the story is false, and Israel said it doesn’t spy on its ally.       An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon Saturday killed several members of the Lebanese military, including a brigadier general, the Lebanese army said, days after the two sides reached a new ceasefire deal.

Most people across 36 countries have negative views of Israel and little confidence in Netanyahu (Pew Research Center) Majorities in most of the three dozen countries we’ve surveyed this year express an unfavorable view of Israel and little or no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These findings come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 8-May 13, 2026. Most interviews took place after the United States and Israel launched a military campaign in Iran on Feb. 28. Across the 36 countries, a median of 67% of adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, while 25% have a favorable view. While public sentiment toward Israel was already fairly negative last year, unfavorable views have become more common in 13 of the 24 countries where we have trend data. Majorities in most countries we surveyed say they are not too or not at all confident in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs. This includes more than half of adults in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.K., and the West Bank and East Jerusalem who say they have no confidence at all.

Judge Says Government Must Restart Asylum and Immigration Processing (NYT) A slate of the Trump administration’s immigration policies were struck down on Friday by a federal judge, who rejected the government’s indefinite holds on asylum applications globally and on immigration applications from people from 39 countries who had been unable to obtain green cards and citizenship. In a searing 135-page opinion, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. wrote that actions to lock eligible asylum seekers out of the immigration system and deny others temporary work permits had made it functionally impossible for a broad swath of people to remain in the country. The resulting squeeze, he wrote, “placed the lives of countless individuals on hold—solely by virtue of their countries of birth.” The freeze resulted in many immigrants inside the United States waiting indefinitely for decisions on their applications, disrupting their ability to legally work and leaving them to question whether they could remain in the country. “Over six months later, many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures,” Judge McConnell wrote. Judge McConnell wrote that the burden of the changes fell hardest on people who had followed all the procedures demanded of them, rather than immigrants who entered the country illegally, whom the Trump administration routinely vilifies. “The court is reminded of a line often repeated in discussions around immigration policy: If people wish to immigrate to the United States, they ought to ‘follow the law’ and ‘do things the right way,’” he wrote. “This case serves as a perfect example of immigrants doing just that.”

Trump administration has separated dozens of children from their parents for a second time, AP finds (AP) Eleven-year-old Ederson Galicia Alva had just stepped off the plane and into the Miami airport’s dim hallways when federal agents pulled his mother aside for questioning. Again. Panic welled up. His excitement at soon being back at recess with his Florida classmates fell away. Would the government take her away again? This was not his first trauma. In 2018, when he was just 3 years old, Ederson was taken from his mother’s arms at the U.S.-Mexico border under the first Trump administration’s family separation policy and kept apart from her in a government facility for months. They were finally reunited after lawyers intervened. Then, in June of last year, he and his mother were separated a second time, despite legal protections meant to keep them and families like theirs together. He later joined his mother in Guatemala. After a destitute, torturous 11 months in the indigenous highlands, Ederson’s family was allowed to return to Florida last week, following a federal judge’s order that the government had acted illegally. Now, eight years after President Donald Trump’s forcible border separations came to an official halt following global outrage, an Associated Press investigation has found that the government has re-separated dozens of children from their families, despite a landmark legal settlement meant to reunify them. Some of their parents have been locked in immigration detention facilities for months, others deported back to their home countries after being taken from their families once again. In some cases, immigration officials conducting interior arrests deported people despite discovering they were legally off limits for removal, according to emails obtained by AP.

Protests and last-minute construction work disrupt Mexico City ahead of World Cup (Reuters) Eight days before Mexico City kicks off the World Cup, mass protests by teachers and retired judges, road closures and last-minute construction work caused chaos in the capital on Wednesday for millions of residents who face long delays ​and complex rerouting of their daily commutes. On June 11, Mexico City will host the inaugural World Cup match between ‌Mexico and South Africa at Azteca stadium in the capital. With Mexico in the global spotlight, teachers and other groups have staged marches and blocked major avenues. They have said their protests, which are unrelated to the tournament, could intensify unless President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government addresses their demands.

European companies flee Cuba as US sanctions go into effect (Politico) European companies from Spanish hotels to German shipping lines are ending their Cuban operations as Washington on Friday moved to intensify its decades-old embargo, expanding its focus from the regime in Havana to EU business ties to the island. Among the hardest hit are Spain’s Meliá and Iberostar hotel groups. For decades, the lush resorts they operated on Cuba’s most idyllic beaches were the crown jewels of their global portfolios. Faced with the risk of asset freezes and exclusion from the U.S. financial system, European companies active in sectors ranging from shipping and logistics to energy and agriculture are desperately offloading their interests on the island and rushing for the exits.

Catholics hope Pope Leo’s visit to Europe’s migration hot spots will ease political tensions (AP) Pope Leo XIV is delving into the hotly contested issue of migration by visiting two flashpoints—Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic next week, and Italy’s Lampedusa island in the Mediterranean in early July. These rocky, remote outposts of Europe have struggled with the arrival of tens of thousands of mostly African migrants through some of the world’s deadliest migration routes. Even as numbers decreased this year, especially in the Canaries, the issue continues to roil politics in these historically Catholic countries. Many Catholics and migrants hope the upcoming papal trips will refocus attention on solidarity and support—and away from divisive political debate that is splitting the right in addition to pitting it against the left. “Stuck in the middle are the migrants,” said the Most Rev. José Mazuelos, the bishop of Canarias, whose diocese includes several of the islands. “So the church says, ‘Let’s give them a face, because we’re talking about people, not numbers.’”

Zelensky Mixes Taunts and Peace Talks Offer in Letter to Putin (NYT) On the heels of a flurry of Ukrainian drone strikes deep in Russia and recent shifts in Ukraine’s favor on the battlefield, President Volodymyr Zelensky published on Thursday an open letter to President Vladimir V. Putin. The letter, posted on the Ukrainian president’s website, offered to resume peace talks—but taunted the Russian leader over wartime setbacks, inflation and Russia’s dependence on China. It also made note of Mr. Putin’s advancing age. Mr. Zelensky noted that Mr. Putin has by now spent about half of his 26 years in power as Russia’s paramount leader fighting Ukraine. The timeline counts the Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014 and the full-scale invasion launched in 2022. He offered a cease-fire if Mr. Putin wanted one. Mr. Zelensky said he would meet for direct talks outside the Trump administration’s negotiating process. He has offered direct meetings with Mr. Putin before, without result.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week in first visit since 2019 (AP) hinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week, both countries announced Friday, in what will be his first visit in nearly seven years. His trip will be the latest in a series of steps by China to reinforce its close ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to Russia in recent years, notably by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine. “As North Korea builds closer ties with Russia, China seeks to use Xi’s trip to reassert its influence over Pyongyang and safeguard its strategic interests in northeast Asia,” said William Yang, an analyst for the International Crisis Group.

Hezbollah rejects latest ceasefire agreement as Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon (AP) Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, and the militant group demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as more fighting there hampered efforts to end the Iran war. The Hezbollah announcement came as Israeli strikes killed at least four people, according to local authorities, and a U.N. peacekeeper was killed in the crossfire. An Israeli soldier was also killed in combat in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, in a written statement read on TV, called the negotiations “absurd, humiliating and insulting.” “What we are concerned about is an end to the aggression, ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal,” he said. “So long as our villages are not safe and are being bombed and destroyed and our people are killed,” he said, northern Israel “will not be safe.”

Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Riot Against Military Draft Outside Judge’s Home (NYT) Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists in Israel staged a violent riot outside the home of a top judge on Wednesday night in protest against the country’s military draft, shocking many Israelis and adding to a fraught atmosphere ahead of national elections. The police said on Thursday that 65 of the protesters were detained for questioning. The rioters damaged property at the home of Supreme Court justice, Noam Sohlberg, in Alon Shvut, a West Bank settlement, police said, though no injuries were reported. It was unclear why that particular judge’s house was targeted, but it was the Supreme Court that had issued a ruling two years ago, formally ending the decades-long military draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, known in Hebrew as Haredim. Despite the court ruling, most Haredi men still do not show up for service.

Why You Don’t Slash Humanitarian Aid (Nicholas Kristof/NYT) After Elon Musk “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” as he put it last year, he and President Trump scoffed that American humanitarian aid was, in effect, woke nonsense. Yet in reality American humanitarian aid not only saved one life every 10 seconds but was also safeguarding the world from epidemics. So now we face a rapidly increasing outbreak of Ebola, and the Trump administration is finding that some of the things that went into the wood chipper were the very tools needed to tackle the virus. One was the destruction of U.S.A.I.D. Jeremy Konyndyk, who oversaw the response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic for the agency, noted that it used to have a major presence in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Ebola outbreak appears to have begun. But most of the aid to Congo was cut, and Ebola spread widely by the time anyone realized that it was present.

A Dire Warning For Global Diets (Reuters/compiled) On Tuesday, the U.N.’s weather agency officially forecast that the planet is likely to experience a moderate or strong El Niño weather event this year, which will raise temperatures across the globe for a few months and increase the likelihood of extreme weather events in some places. “We need to prepare for a potentially strong El Nino ​event—which will exacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the ocean,” said the agency’s secretary-general. El Niño’s effects on crops combined with the conflict in the Middle East could pose a serious problem for food access across the planet. Experts predict that certain food commodities including rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and coffee could face more than 50% price increases due to the weather event. Combined with the Iran conflict generally pushing up prices (especially the costs of oil, transport, food, and fertilizer), we could quickly see massive food access issues across the planet, especially in poorer countries with less ability to absorb those higher prices. The U.N.’s World Food Programme estimates that 363 million people are at risk of acute hunger right now, with 45 million of those cases being a direct result of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.

Trump acknowledges calling Netanyahu ‘crazy’ and says Israel is complicating peace talks with Iran (AP) President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “crazy” in a phone call that involved expletives, saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both “wartime” leaders. “We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force One.” The president’s comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.

America has six years to fix its disappearing Social Security trust fund (Economist) America’s Social Security trust fund for the country’s elderly citizens is now more than old enough to be drawing a pension itself. When the program launched in 1940, its future must have seemed assured. Lots of money went in and little came out: for each retiree drawing benefits, there were more than 150 contributing workers adding to the fund, which invested in Treasury securities. Today, the ratio is fewer than three workers to each recipient. In 2017, the reserves held in the trust fund peaked at $2.8trn. Since then, the fund’s size has dropped by $400bn. Outflows are accelerating, and some time around the end of the next presidential term, in late 2032 or early in 2033, the fund will run dry. Washington has a little more than six years to find a remedy, which means senators elected in November may be serving their term when the fund runs out. If nothing is done, the immediate consequences will be dire for retirees. Payments will drop by around 23%, a figure that will slide further in the following decades. The changes required need not be drastic if they are made soon. But acting early to address well-known problems before they reach a crisis moment is not how Washington works.

Protesters have controlled Bolivia’s capital for a month (Economist) When Túpac Katari, an indigenous leader, laid siege to La Paz for more than 100 days in 1781, the city folk were reduced to eating cats and dogs. La Paz today is not there yet. But its people are becoming increasingly desperate. For a month protesters have blocked the roads into Bolivia’s seat of government. They are demanding that President Rodrigo Paz resign. The price of fresh food has doubled. Petrol stations have run dry. Businesses are closing. Hospitals are running out of oxygen. But the blockaders have refused even to sit down with the government. The calls for Mr Paz to impose order are growing. Mr Paz came to power seven months ago, ending 20 years of almost uninterrupted rule by the Movement to Socialism (MAS). Voters ejected that party because of economic mismanagement that led to biting inflation and fuel shortages. As The Economist was published there were more than 80 blockades across the country. They are manned by the general workers’ union, peasant federations and followers of Evo Morales, a former president and a founding member of the MAS. Blockades are a controversial political tradition in Bolivia. The blockaders inflict pain on everyone to make themselves heard. Exasperated citizens are starting to demand that Mr Paz use force.

Brazilian players from a Rio de Janeiro favela find hope and opportunities thanks to soccer (AP) When Brazilian João Victor Gonçalves began playing soccer in one of Rio de Janeiro ‘s poorest and most violent favelas, little did he know the game would one day allow him to travel abroad and play in an international competition. Last month, along with nine other young boys, he flew to Mexico to represent Brazil in the Street Child World Cup, a tournament with teams from 30 countries composed of boys from impoverished backgrounds, organized ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup. The Brazil team went undefeated and won the tournament, enhancing the thrill of the experience. Beyond being the gateway to climatic moments, the Street Child United Brazil project in the Penha complex of favelas allows participants to at least momentarily escape from everyday life marked by deprivation and violence, fostering a sense of safety, belonging and hope.

Still Greedy For Greenland (Reuters) It appears that Trump’s appetite for Greenland hasn’t been dulled. Yesterday, during a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. is in talks to use Greenland—a territory of Denmark—for “collective defense” initiatives. When asked about the fact that the island is part of Denmark, Rubio responded ominously, “For now.” The Secretary of State has indicated that he agrees with Trump’s assessment that simply basing U.S. forces in Greenland won’t be enough, and it would be better for the U.S. to own the island. While the White House’s push to acquire Greenland has been understandably met with anger from E.U. nations, discussions are apparently still being held via official diplomatic channels.

EU strikes migration deal for more deportations and detention centers abroad (NPR) The European Union has moved forward with a vast overhaul of its migration policy, aiming to ramp up deportations and ink controversial deals to build detention centers abroad, in what rights groups compare to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. “The Regulation is going to create a draconian detention and deportation machine,” said Silvia Carter, spokesperson for the Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. “Across the Atlantic, we see the violence and fear created by ICE’s brutal immigration enforcement. Europe should be learning from the harms of that model, not building its own version of it.” The provisional agreement will now head to the EU lawmakers and heads of state, where approval will likely be swift. EU member nations will soon be able to set up bilateral deals with countries outside the bloc to build deportation centers. At least five EU nations—Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Greece—are already in talks with third countries, mostly in Africa, to host “return hubs.”

Protests Grow in Albania Over Kushner-Linked Project (NYT) Protests have grown in recent days against plans by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, to develop luxury properties on an ecologically sensitive portion of the Albanian coast. The protests, in the capital and in coastal towns, have become a lightning rod for widespread discontent in Albania, long one of Europe’s poorest countries. For years, the plans—a $1.4 billion luxury hotel complex on an island off the coast and another development on a peninsula that is home to sensitive wetlands—have generated concerns about conservation and transparency. Protesters see the project as an emblem of what they fear could be democratic backsliding in Albania, which emerged from decades of Communist rule in 1991.

North Korea unveils a new plant to produce fuel for nuclear weapons (AP) North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant’s disclosure implies that Kim is eager to cement his country’s status as a nuclear power and has no intentions of placing his bomb program on a negotiating table.

Lebanese Americans open their wallets and hearts as war rages back home (AP) Every week, Mirvet Makki sets aside earnings from her catering business to help people in Lebanon displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants. Makki, 47, who cooks Lebanese dishes like couscous stews and traditional kibbeh balls in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights, immigrated to Michigan in 1990. But her heart never left her childhood village of Bint Jbeil, now one of the hardest-hit areas in southern Lebanon. Nearly every Lebanese American has felt the impact of the latest round of fighting, which has displaced more than 1 million people—roughly one in every six Lebanese—and killed more than 3,500 people. It’s Israel’s deepest invasion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century. The global diaspora remains deeply connected to their home country, in part through billions of dollars sent back each year. “When they see suffering in Lebanon, people’s immediate reaction ... is for the community to come together, raise funds, raise money, and try to help everybody as much as they can,” Akram Khater, director of Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University, said.

Iran Atomic Risk Seen Higher Than Before Trump Attacks Began (Bloomberg) The risk that Iran is covertly pursuing nuclear weapons is higher today than before the US and Israel launched surprise attacks on the Islamic Republic a year ago, according to western officials who cited new data circulated by a United Nations atomic watchdog. Before the June 2025 air assault that began a 12-day-war, that material was subject to weekly International Atomic Energy Agency inspection to ensure it wasn’t diverted for weapons. That is no longer the case. The White House has repeatedly insisted the 2025 attacks destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities. A US intelligence agency contradicted that assessment shortly after the bombing (its chief was later fired) and subsequent reporting also cast doubt on the claim. But eight months later, one of the reasons floated by Trump for starting the current war with Iran was to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program and take its stockpile of enriched uranium.

The House votes to end the Iran war, in a bipartisan rebuke to Trump (NYT) The House on Wednesday voted to direct President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the conflict with Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war, after four Republicans sided with Democrats in a striking sign of growing opposition to a military campaign now in its fourth month. Adoption of the resolution was a remarkable rebuke to Mr. Trump and his handling of the conflict, after he has repeatedly dismissed any effort by Congress to curb his power and as the G.O.P. has largely ceded its prerogatives to do so, deferring to him time and again. The vote was 215 to 208 to adopt the war powers resolution, sending it to the Senate. Even if it were to pass both chambers, the ability of lawmakers to force a president to withdraw troops remains a contested legal question, and Mr. Trump and his senior aides have dismissed any effort by Congress to limit his war powers as unconstitutional.

Housing official who targeted Trump’s enemies is named director of intelligence (NBC News) President Donald Trump on Tuesday named an ally with no background in intelligence to oversee the nation’s spy agencies. Bill Pulte is the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and in that position, he has helped the Trump administration compile information to fuel investigations into the president’s perceived political enemies. As acting director of national intelligence, Pulte will be the highest-ranking intelligence official, overseeing a vast network of 18 agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency. He will also be the president’s principal adviser on intelligence issues and will manage the daily intelligence briefing for the president. Trump announced the decision in a social media post, saying Pulte had “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.” (Fannie slipped as much as 5.7% and Freddie dropped as much as 5.1% on Tuesday. Both have tumbled more than 30% this year.)

From festering infections to untreated cancer, ICE detainees across the US describe medical neglect (AP) An Albanian man’s pain grew so unbearable, he said, he pulled out his own tooth as he languished for months in a New Mexico immigration detention center. A Honduran mother of two said she was hospitalized for a heart problem after she was denied blood pressure medications while held in Florida. A Venezuelan man said his leg grew purple and swollen from flesh-eating bacteria when staffers at a Vermont facility did not bring him to a scheduled doctor’s appointment. Hundreds of detainees across at least 33 states allege in federal lawsuits that immigration detention facilities are failing to provide adequate medical care, an investigation by KFF Health News and The Associated Press found. Detainees say they didn’t get medications on time—or at all—for conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and HIV. Requests for help went unanswered for weeks. Blood sugars rose. Infections festered. Cancers remained untreated. Detainees collapsed and had seizures. ICE custody is deadlier than it has been in two decades, researchers wrote in JAMA in April. The Department of Homeland Security reported 51 people had died in detention since the start of Trump’s second administration, with suicides spiking to an unprecedented number.

Texas is becoming America Inc’s centre of gravity (Economist) “Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee, I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene.” So croons Ella Langley in “Choosin’ Texas”, a song that has ranked near the top of America’s music charts throughout 2026. Some of those listens may be coming from policymakers elsewhere in the country. Much like Ms Langley, they are losing to Texas. Texas is steadily establishing itself as America Inc’s new centre of gravity. No state receives more business investment or is adding more people to its population. From 2020 to 2025 it created roughly a fifth of all net new jobs in the country. It is only a matter of time before Texas overtakes California as the largest economy in America. In the early 2020s Texas was luring in remote workers fleeing high taxes, exorbitant house prices and bad policies in America’s coastal metropolises, while benefiting from the Biden administration’s subsidies for green energy and chipmaking facilities. Now the state’s dominance in energy—not just oil and gas, but also renewable power—has made it a major beneficiary of the data-centre boom.

Fear shadows Peru’s runoff vote as extortion and killings surge nationwide (AP) In a desert area along northwestern Peru’s Pacific coast, Gladys Saavedra eyed with suspicion the strangers who arrive at the small market where she works alongside a group of women who, despite meager sales, must collectively give $300 a month to extortionists or risk paying an even higher price. The market in Trujillo was set on fire last June when the women refused to give in to threats. Days later, they marched, demanding protection from authorities. Nothing changed. But that didn’t surprise Saavedra, as police had failed her in August 2024, when her house was attacked with explosives in another extortion attempt. That level of violence by Peruvian gangs is the main concern for voters who will elect a new president in a runoff election Sunday. Many will leave their homes to vote fearful of becoming crime victims again during their trip to the polls. “You can’t even stick your head out for fear of being shot,” Saavedra, 49, said.

Ukrainian drones set fire to a St. Petersburg oil terminal ahead of Putin visit (AP) Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and set it ablaze, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, as the Russian city hosted an annual international economic forum promoted by President Vladimir Putin. The drones flew more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to hit the terminal, Zelenskyy said on social media. Clouds of black smoke rose over the city’s port after the attack. Russian authorities said only that the Ukrainian drone strike targeted the city’s infrastructure, without providing further details. The airport of St. Petersburg briefly suspended flights overnight because of the attack. Authorities also cut off mobile internet services. The strikes are an embarrassment for Putin, weeks after he had to prune back an annual Victory Day parade in Moscow due to fears of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Fire tears through hotel in India's capital in Delhi, killing at least 21 people  (CBS News) At least 21 people were killed by a fire that tore through a hotel in India's capital city on Wednesday morning, police said. The fire started around 8:50 a.m. local time (about 11 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday) in the ground floor restaurant of the Flourish Inn Stay hotel in southern Delhi's Malviya Nagar neighborhood. It quickly spread to upper floors, where many people were still asleep in their rooms. Videos showed some people jumping from the upper floors of the five-story building to escape the smoke and flames.

Heavy rain from tropical storm raises flood risks in the Tokyo region (AP) A tropical storm dumped heavy rain and raised flood risks around east-central Japan as it moved into the heavily populated Tokyo region Wednesday. Heavy rain already paralyzed street traffic in the city, hundreds of flights were cancelled and train services were suspended or delayed. More than 5,000 homes lost power, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which serves the capital region. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the highest-level flood warning in a number of areas in central and eastern Japan, urging people living along rivers and in vulnerable areas to move to higher ground for safety.

Israeli arms sales break record for 5th year in row, reaching $19.2 billion in 2025 (Times of Israel) Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2025, for the fifth consecutive year, up nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year, according to Defense Ministry figures released Tuesday. The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly $19.2 billion last year, up from $14.8 billion in 2024—the previous record high. Sales to the Asia-Pacific region alone nearly doubled, from around $3.4 billion in 2024 to $6.1 billion last year.

How Israel’s Strategy in Lebanon Was Thwarted (NYT) When Israel’s prime minister and defense minister warned on Monday that the air force would soon bomb the suburbs of Beirut, it wasn’t just a threat to intensify Israel’s simmering three-month-old war with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that dominates Lebanon. It was an admission that Israel’s strategy in that fight was falling short. And when Israel backed down from that threat a few hours later, the decision pointed up just how much it had been backed into a corner—stuck between domestic pressure to hit Hezbollah hard, and American pressure to constrain its attacks in Lebanon. The Israeli strategy was to seize territory in Lebanon as a protective buffer and push Hezbollah back beyond the range of the antitank missiles with which it had long plagued tens of thousands of civilians living in northern Israel. But Israel did not seem to be ready for Hezbollah’s widespread use of explosive “first-person-view” drones, which are controlled with fiber-optic cables that unspool for miles and are unsusceptible to electronic jamming. The drones haven’t killed Israeli troops at anywhere near the rate that Israel has killed Hezbollah militants and Lebanese civilians during its offensive. But they have been steadily hunting down Israeli soldiers and commanders, both in Lebanon and in Israel, with the often-lethal strikes documented in chilling videos that Hezbollah has been posting on social media. And so a matchup that had Israeli leaders sounding almost giddy back in March—sending their mighty tanks and infantry in to crush a weakened, vulnerable and somewhat rudderless Hezbollah—has devolved into something else. It is now a kind of deadlock in which Hezbollah suddenly looks more capable than it did when the war began and the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces can look startlingly helpless.

UAE denies role in Sudan genocide (The Week) Colombian mercenary troops trained on United Arab Emirates (UAE) bases participated in atrocities committed by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group during the ongoing Sudanese civil war, according to reports from the nonprofits Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Conflict Insights Group last month. Global Security Services Group, an “Abu Dhabi-based security company,” hired “hundreds of Colombian private military contractors” who allegedly aided the RSF’s assault on the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, where rebels “took over the city and committed widespread killings and rape,” said Human Rights Watch. The UAE has denied the reports. HRW’s report is the latest evidence that the United Arab Emirates is “financially and militarily aiding the Rapid Support Forces” that have been “widely accused of committing atrocities amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide,” said The Associated Press. The report alleges “hundreds” of Colombian mercenaries were “trained by Emirati nationals at a military base” more than a hundred miles outside the capital of Abu Dhabi. They were then given further training “at another facility in Abu Dhabi, before being deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF.” The UAE has “long denied supporting the RSF,” said the BBC. The Conflict Insights Group’s report is the “first research where we can prove UAE involvement with certainty,” said the group’s Director Justin Lynch to the outlet.