Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
New Lebanon-Israel talks to begin, in shadow of US-Iran deal Head of Yisrael Beitenu party Avigdor Lieberman: Israel isn’t a party to the Iran deal U.S. allows Iran to sell oil in dollars for first time in decades Vance says Iran agrees to nuclear inspections, as under Obama deal WSJ Editorial: Iran’s regime gets its first relief Ukraine may recalibrate its offer of ceasefire with Russia, envoy tells UN Bloomberg’s Marc Champion: Ukraine can’t afford a breakup with Poland North Korea’s Kim wants more nuclear forces after US-Iran war U.K. Prime Minister Starmer to resign as Labour Party seeks reboot In about-face, Trump administration drops opposition to Africa’s antigay laws How Latin America became more Trump-aligned than ever Trump signs orders calling for powerful quantum computer, targeting 2028In The News
Israel
Lebanon heads into a new round of talks with Israel on Tuesday in Washington, with Beirut determined to press ahead with direct negotiations even as they appear to be overshadowed by Iran’s decision to make Lebanon part of its negotiations with the United States. – Reuters
Israel’s prime minister, defence minister and military chief said the military would continue to act to “neutralise” threats against Israeli soldiers and citizens, demolish militant infrastructure and maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement issued after a security discussion. – Reuters
Residents of the Gaza Strip have been flocking from suffocating tents to the territory’s polluted Mediterranean shore to bathe and wash their clothes, as summer temperatures rise and fresh water remains hard to come by. – Reuters
Senior leaders of Hamas’ political bureau held a highly confidential meeting with a French delegation, according to a Monday report from Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF has expanded its operational control to approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip, and defense officials believe the area under Israeli control could grow further in the coming months. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) killed a Nukhba terrorist in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, who had taken part in holding Omer Shem Tov in Hamas captivity after October 7, 2023, the military announced on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to secure unprecedented influence over the composition of Likud’s next Knesset slate, ahead of elections expected by the end of October, according to a Monday report by the Kan public broadcaster. – Times of Israel
Editorial: That formula cannot become policy. A serious agreement with Iran must include intrusive inspections, immediate penalties for violations, restrictions on missile and drone capabilities, limits on proxy financing, and a clear understanding that Israel retains the right to defend itself. Anything less will leave Iran stronger than it should be and Israel more exposed than it can accept. The talks in Switzerland may have calmed markets and lowered the volume for a day. They have not answered the question that matters: Is Iran being forced to retreat or merely being paid to pause? For Israel, that distinction is measured in missiles, border towns, and lives. – Jerusalem Post
Avigdor Lieberman writes: I have no complaints against the Americans. Some Israelis expect U.S. decision makers to act according to Israeli interests. But U.S. decision makers must act according to U.S. interests, not Israeli ones. Responsibility for defending Israel’s vital interests rests with Israel alone. But I understand that some of these policies won’t sit easily with the U.S. administration. We must stress to our friends in the White House that Israel is by no means obligated to abide by the memorandum’s clauses and any ensuing agreement. This is an agreement between Washington and Tehran, not Jerusalem and Tehran. Israel must act according to its national interests for the sake of its people and the future of the state of Israel. Our national security isn’t a bargaining chip. – Wall Street Journal
Mohammed Ayoob writes: The future of the Abraham Accords may ultimately depend less on Arab willingness to normalize relations with Israel than on Israel’s willingness to convince its Arab partners that it seeks a stable Middle East rather than perpetual confrontation, which would result in a very high level of regional instability. Until that question is answered, the accords may survive in a formal sense, but the possibility of their expansion, especially to Saudi Arabia, will become increasingly remote. This will render it marginal if not irrelevant to the construction of a stable and secure regional order in the Middle East. – The National Interest
Iran
The U.S. cleared the way for Iran to sell oil in dollars, including to U.S. buyers, a reversal that came as Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors to return as early as this week. – Wall Street Journal
Vice President JD Vance said Iran agreed to allow international inspections of its nuclear program, which would restore a safeguard from President Barack Obama’s deal with Tehran that President Donald Trump threw out. – Washington Post
High-level peace talks between the United States and Iran have concluded, mediators said Monday, with the “immediate” launch of a new round of lower-level technical discussions this week in Switzerland. – Washington Post
After U.S. and Iranian negotiators concluded a first round of talks on Monday aimed at turning an initial agreement into a lasting peace deal within 60 days, Pakistani and Qatari mediators pointed to “encouraging progress.” But frictions over the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz could derail the negotiations. – New York Times
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that Tehran has agreed to have a communication line regarding ship passage in the strait of Hormuz to avoid conflict and incidents in the strategic waterway. – Reuters
The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump. – Associated Press
Iran’s president was traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday for talks with officials who have been mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East. – Associated Press
Iran is racing to court some of Asia’s largest oil buyers as a 60-day US sanctions waiver takes effect, a temporary lifeline that should allow Tehran to resume exports and begin clearing a backlog of cargoes on the water, even as peace talks continue. – Bloomberg
Editorial: If Israel won’t concede an Iranian right to export terror to a sovereign third country, will Iran close the Strait? Will it expel inspectors? Iran’s regime now has a way to set the U.S. and Israel against each other. “We don’t have to give the Iranians anything if they don’t make the commitments that we want long term on the nuclear program,” Mr. Vance has said while selling the MOU. Even a few days in, before Iran has made long-term nuclear commitments, that has proved false. When we warned of a bailout for the regime, this is what we had in mind. – Wall Street Journal
Matthew Lynn writes: Finally, and most significantly, the global economy will be far more stable. Over the last half-century, soaring oil prices accompanied five major recessions or stock market slumps (1973, 1979, 1990, 2008 and 2022, for anyone who is keeping track). It was like living next door to a family of psychopaths: You might get periods of calm, but chaos was always just around the corner. – Washington Post
David Fickling writes: Tehran’s leaders might be feeling confident from the way they’ve bested the US in this war, but the country still faces a looming triple threat of decline: demographic, from an ageing population; geological, as its oil deposits pump less with each year; and economic, as demand for oil turns permanently downward. There is no time to lose. Iran needs to join the renewable revolution it has ignored for too long. – Bloomberg
Michael Rubin writes: The interim deal will initially last only 60 days, although past practice suggests Washington and Tehran will likely extend it several times as negotiations are slow and Iran’s strategy is to run down the clock. In practice, this means that Washington and Tehran will still be operating under an interim agreement in the weeks and days before the 2026 midterms. – American Enterprise Institute
Russia and Ukraine
After almost two years in a Russian prison, Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr “Sasha” Kenev was exchanged in a prisoner swap. As he stepped off the bus onto home soil, his wife Khrystyna was there to meet him. What followed were weeks of rehab and therapy as he tried to readjust to life back home in Ukraine. – Wall Street Journal
Six people were wounded in Russian air strikes on Ukraine overnight on Tuesday, local authorities said, while Russia’s ongoing fuel crisis deepened into parts of Siberia. – Reuters
Ukraine may revise its offer to Russia of a ceasefire along the de facto frontline if the United Nations Security Council fails to pass a resolution urging a full and unconditional end to the hostilities, a top Ukrainian official said on Monday. – Reuters
Russian strategic Tu-160 missile-carrying bombers conducted a 16-hour flight including an air-to-air refueling test in the neutral zone over the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea, the defense ministry said on Telegram. – Reuters
Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian city of Voronezh on Monday killed five people and injured several dozen, regional governor Alexander Gusev said. Gusev said that an industrial site on the left bank of the Voronezh River sustained the heaviest damage. The attack sparked a fire that was later extinguished. – Reuters
Russian-held Crimea, a popular destination for Russians, has suspended tourist activities and children’s summer camps until September, its governor said on Monday, owing to a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian attacks on sea routes and supply roads. – Reuters
A Russian drone strike on the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine killed three members of the same family, including a 13-year-old boy, while a Ukrainian strike on a Russian industrial plant killed five people, officials said Monday. – Associated Press
Latvian intelligence is warning that Russia is preparing possible provocations against the Baltic states or Poland, including drones or any other hybrid attacks, in an effort to pressure NATO countries to stop supporting Ukraine. – Fox News
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense launched an access-controlled online platform last week that provides allied governments, defense companies and research institutions with technical intelligence drawn from captured Russian military hardware − a formalization of what Kyiv has long done informally with select partners. – Defense News
U.S. President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Group of Seven summit in France that he would consider letting Ukraine build its own Patriot interceptor missiles, the first time Washington has signaled openness to a request Kyiv has made since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. – Defense News
Marc Champion writes: It doesn’t matter that Zelenskiy is Jewish, or that Kyiv is about to hold its biggest ever Pride event, or that Ukraine is clearly not a fascist state. It also doesn’t matter that Polish nationalists did indeed plan to integrate Volhynia and Eastern Galicia into Poland after the war, or that Polish troops committed their own atrocities against Ukrainians amid the population swaps that followed. The slaughter of civilians can never be justified. Countries at war tend toward jingoism and the mythologizing or sanitizing of their national histories. This is a normal, if regrettable, response. Ukraine, however, cannot afford to indulge in gestures that will so obviously alienate an essential ally. Zelenskiy needs to do whatever it takes to defuse this dispute. – Bloomberg
Andrew Chakhoyan and Victor Rud writes: It’s the least we can do for having stripped Ukraine of its nuclear and much of its conventional arsenal decades ago. In 2013, before Russia first invaded Ukraine, Putin said the quiet part out loud in a New York Times op-ed, no less: “If you have the bomb, no one will touch you.” By chasing stability or another deal, America risks allowing the disappearance of a nation and establishing a grisly legacy. The better lesson comes from Ukraine, which is bringing the war back to the aggressor militarily, politically and psychologically. Controlling the narrative and never ceding the initiative was Putin’s superpower. But a king without clothes can command the stage only until someone points and laughs. – The Hill
Hezbollah
While the US and Iran largely refrained from attacking each other after they agreed to a ceasefire on April 7, Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade blows. Their fight has threatened to reignite the larger conflagration and complicated talks aimed at resolving it. – Bloomberg
IDF sources warn that Hezbollah appears to be using radio activity to locate and target senior field commanders in southern Lebanon, in a manner that raises red flags and will require a change in operational patterns. – Jerusalem Post
Michael Rubin writes: The group’s persistence after Israel’s 2000 withdrawal and its dispatch as mercenaries for Assad during the Syrian civil war should have disabused anyone of the notion that Hezbollah prioritized Lebanon first. Today, Lebanese officials describe Hezbollah as merely the local branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They may use Lebanese as fodder, but they are an occupying force on the outskirts of Beirut. – American Enterprise Institute
Syria
A United Nations official warned on Monday that efforts to repair divisions and stabilise southern Syria have stalled nearly a year after deadly sectarian violence in a Druze-majority province shook the country. – Reuters
Around 60% of women abducted during sectarian attacks last year in the western Hama countryside and Homs have not been returned, according to a report published last month by the Syrian Feminist Lobby. – Jerusalem Post
German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann has been released after spending months in Syrian detention and has returned to Berlin, her lawyer said Monday, ending a prolonged period during which her whereabouts were largely unknown following her disappearance in northeastern Syria. – Ynet
Lebanon
A ceasefire largely held in Lebanon on Monday as the country experienced the longest lull yet in three months of war between Hezbollah and Israel, even as fear of renewed hostilities kept displaced people from going home. – Reuters
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, criticized Israel’s actions in Lebanon and their impact on negotiations, while also applauding the United States’ role in the process, in an interview with Al Jazeera in Doha on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Lebanese academic Dr. Zena Mansour, a known critic of Hezbollah who has shared more moderate explanations of Israeli military action than is typical within Lebanon, was summoned for questioning by the General Security Directorate’s Information Affairs Office on Monday, she confirmed in an online statement. – Jerusalem Post
Gulf States
A blast tore through Qatar’s key natural gas facility, leaving 13 dead and injuring dozens, rattling one of the world’s most important gas exporters as it tries to restore shipments disrupted by the Iran war. – Wall Street Journal
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will head to the Middle East this week for meetings with Arab Gulf allies, a high-stakes diplomatic assignment for a prominent Iran hawk who largely kept a low profile as the Trump administration pursued its fragile ceasefire deal with Tehran. – Washington Post
Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was urgently evacuated from the United Arab Emirates following a warning that Iran sought to harm him there, Channel 12 reported late Sunday. – Times of Israel
Korean Peninsula
South Korea will accept all North Korean prisoners of war who fought for Russia and were captured by Ukraine if they choose to go to South Korea, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Kim Jong Un called for North Korea to boost its nuclear capabilities “with increasing speed” and said the “bloody situation” in the Middle East makes his nuclear push the “most correct and unique way” to defend the country, state media reported. – Bloomberg
Three solar panel makers urged U.S. officials to investigate cell imports from South Korea, saying firms including Hanwha’s Qcells were using them to evade tariffs on Chinese products, according to a petition seen by Reuters. – Reuters
A former South Korean justice minister was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday after a court found him guilty of helping ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol carry out his brief declaration of martial law in 2024. – Associated Press
China
The speck was at Scarborough Shoal, a much-contested reef in the South China Sea, a maritime thoroughfare for about a quarter of the world’s seaborne trade. Those early images raised concerns among the U.S. and its allies that China—which has controlled access to the shoal since 2012 and claims much of the surrounding area—could be setting the stage for a more permanent occupation. – Wall Street Journal
China took aim on Monday at a U.S. government program to reduce American reliance on Chinese imports for rare-earth magnets, a move that risks reigniting trade tensions with President Trump. – New York Times
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will visit Brussels on June 29 for a meeting with European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday. – Reuters
China on Monday announced sanctions on 10 American military-related companies in response to a recent U.S. move that bars some leading Chinese tech companies from defense contracts. – Associated Press
China’s newest air-to-air missile, the PL-16, could vie with an equivalent advance by the U.S. military and give the People’s Liberation Army an edge in any Asia-Pacific conflicts because of its increased travel distance and a second-wind feature, experts say. – Defense News
China’s Liaoning Carrier Strike Group returned Monday to its homeport of Qingdao, concluding a 40-day deployment to the South China Sea and Philippine Sea, the People’s Liberation Army Navy announced. – USNI News
South Asia
Taliban officials were issued visas to travel to Brussels, according to Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as they prepared for discussions with European Union officials about the deportation of Afghans from countries within the bloc. – New York Times
Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday on the sidelines of a BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting in New Delhi, India’s foreign ministry said. – Reuters
Bangladesh ordered on Monday the deployment of troops in Dhaka and five other districts until June 30 as authorities stepped up security ahead of the founding anniversary of the Awami League, the political party of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. – Reuters
The Indian government is in talks with the UAE to sell some of its flagship defence systems, including the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, four Indian sources said, as the Gulf nation steps up arms procurement following the war in the Middle East. – Reuters
Four cargo ships carrying urea, di-ammonium phosphate and sulphur crossed the Strait of Hormuz last week and were headed to ports in India, boosting the country’s fertilizer stocks, the Indian government said in a statement on Monday. – Reuters
Nepal’s former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was arrested late on Monday on charges of money laundering, police said, as the country’s Gen Z-backed government steps up a crackdown on alleged corruption under previous administrations. – Reuters
India said it plans to share its technology involving the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the country’s most reliable rocket, to help speed up development of the local space industry. – Bloomberg
Asia
New Zealand is fast-tracking gold projects and courting mining investors as soaring bullion prices revive a sector long in decline, testing the country’s “100% Pure” brand as the government looks for ways to lift a weak economy. – Reuters
The U.S. government has given four Ocean Aero Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicles to the Philippine military to boost Manila’s ability to monitor its waters and spot potential threats, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Taiwan kicked off a five-day set of military drills on Monday aimed at boosting the island’s combat readiness in case of a Chinese military attack. In the city of Taoyuan, home to the island’s largest international airport, tanks drove down city streets and highways, videos and photos of the exercise showed, as armored vehicles from the Army’s 269th Infantry Brigade conducted combat readiness patrols morning. – Associated Press
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected a call from far right party leader Senator Pauline Hanson for Australia to become a “monocultural” society, saying the idea was divisive and and based on “nonsense.” – Bloomberg
Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said she had talks over the phone with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a move that only gave the yen a short-lived boost as it hovers near the weakest level in four decades. – Bloomberg
Indonesia’s energy ministry directed miners to urgently boost domestic coal supplies just before the country was hit by rolling blackouts, the latest strain on President Prabowo Subianto’s administration following a week of protests. – Bloomberg
Europe
Nigel Farage has never held a position in the British government. As leader of the anti-immigration party Reform UK, he oversees just eight lawmakers in Parliament. Among voters, he has one of the lowest favorability ratings of any politician. Yet when his upstart party, in May local elections, handed the ruling Labour Party its worst drubbing in the postwar period, it turned Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s own party against him. – Wall Street Journal
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he will resign, succumbing to pressure from lawmakers within his own Labour Party, after crushing losses in nationwide local elections last month triggered a mutiny. – Washington Post
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Monday that his government would initiate the president’s removal from office with a constitutional amendment, and also launch a constitutional reform in the autumn. – Reuters
The Alternative for Germany, favoured to win the election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September, has pledged a “new patriotic cultural policy” aimed at restoring German self-confidence and has singled out Bauhaus as one of its targets. – Reuters
A technical fault in air traffic control, triggered by security measures for peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland, caused disruptions at Zurich airport on Sunday, aviation authorities said, adding the problem had been resolved. – Reuters
The UK will have secure power supplies this winter despite the disruption to energy markets from the Iran war, according to the National Energy System Operator. – Bloomberg
Romania’s prime minister nominee failed to win parliamentary approval for his proposed cabinet, prolonging a political deadlock that risks stalling key reforms for crucial European Union recovery funding. – Bloomberg
Security forces in the Turkish capital carried out sweeping raids on Tuesday ahead of next month’s NATO summit, and detained more than 200 people with suspected links to extremist groups, including the Islamic State group. – Associated Press
Editorial: Starmer was forced to back off relatively minor cuts he planned for welfare spending. Desperate to revive his base of support, he unveiled nanny-state measures that poll well but won’t improve the economy. The gimmicks included bans on anyone under 16 using social media and anyone born after 2008 from purchasing tobacco products for their entire lives. – Washington Post
Philip Stephens writes: A few months after the Brexit referendum, when the United States selected Mr. Trump as its president and read the rites over Pax Americana, America chose exceptionalism, too. As different as the circumstances and characters on either side of the Atlantic were, there was a shared story in these epochal statements of national independence. Both were populist revolts against ruling elites. Stop the world, voters declared, we want to get off. – New York Times
Maurizio Molinari writes: The war in Iran has confirmed the urgency of putting Draghi’s proposals into action. The energy crisis produced by the conflict has made it clear that the EU needs to unify its energy market. Integrating national energy markets into a single system would lower costs and reduce the continent’s chronic energy fragmentation. Draghi calls for joint purchasing of natural gas to give Europe more bargaining power; massive investment in cross-border electricity grids to allow free flows of energy across member states; and decoupling electricity and natural gas prices to ensure that the low cost of renewables and nuclear energy is passed on to consumers and industry. To finance all this, Draghi supports issuing common European debt in the form of eurobonds. The need for energy security could foster the political momentum needed to pursue reforms aimed at stimulating competitiveness and innovation. – Foreign Affairs
Roderich Kiesewetter writes: Time is of the essence. The German public has recognized the Russian threat and allocated funds for a turning point in security policy and now expects rapid capability development to match the geopolitical power shift, the current threat landscape, and America’s changing priorities. Germany can realign its security policy, but if policymakers keep ignoring or delaying military advice, they will forfeit this “turning point.” Previous documents failed for the same reasons: a flawed threat analysis or a policy that favored a tame peacekeeping force instead of an army built for action, deterrence, and leadership in Europe. – War on the Rocks
Africa
The Trump administration is quietly reversing U.S. policy toward antigay laws being passed across Africa. When Uganda enacted one of the world’s strictest antigay laws in 2023, the Biden administration imposed visa restrictions on its top officials and moved to cut off the country’s goods from U.S. markets. The Trump administration, in contrast, was silent last month when Ghana’s Parliament passed sweeping antigay legislation. – Wall Street Journal
The head of UNAIDS said on Monday she was saddened by U.S. plans to withdraw HIV/AIDS funding for South Africa and urged Washington to reconsider, warning the move could cost lives in the country with the largest number of people infected with the virus. – Reuters
Kenya’s High Court found Health Minister Aden Duale in contempt of court on Monday for disobeying orders to halt the construction of a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine facility at an air base in central Kenya, a court document showed. – Reuters
The Democratic Republic of Congo said late on Monday that confirmed Ebola cases in the country had reached 1,048, including 267 deaths. On Sunday, the number of confirmed cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time since the outbreak began. – Reuters
Senegal’s minister of industry and trade, Serigne Gueye Diop, speaking on state TV late on Sunday, signalled that the country could be willing to restructure its debts. – Reuters
Authorities in South Sudan on Monday set the date of Dec. 22 for the country’s first general election since independence in 2011. Elections have been repeatedly postponed amid recurring armed conflict. – Associated Press
Egyptian security forces detained hundreds of people, including foreigners, on the country’s border with Sudan, accusing them of illegal gold mining and smuggling, the military said Monday. – Associated Press
The Americas
The election of Abelardo de la Espriella as Colombia’s president marks another step in Latin America’s transformation into a region more deeply aligned with the political style and policy priorities of President Trump. From the Andes to Central America, new leaders are taking power with populist mandates centered on free-market economic policies and iron-fisted security strategies. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union is turning to Brazil as a strategic partner in its push to diversify its critical mineral supplies, offering a deal that it says will be beneficial to Brazil’s development goals, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela told Reuters on Saturday. – Reuters
Michael Shifter writes: Mr. De La Espriella might assume Colombia’s top office, but his political movement has limited representation in Congress which will force him to negotiate with many of the same parties he roundly denounced throughout his campaign. The outsider who promised to upend the system may soon discover that governing requires working within it. The real question is not whether Colombia has moved left or right. It is whether its democratic institutions are strong enough to channel yet another wave of anti-establishment politics without sacrificing the rule of law. – New York Times
Juan Pablo Spinetto writes: The ability of the region’s right-wing governments to build lasting public support while improving living standards will also determine whether their alignment with Washington endures. The White House’s pompous “Shield of the Americas” initiative — a US-led alliance with Western Hemisphere countries that seeks to fight drug cartels, organized crime and illegal immigration — is not enough to cement its partnerships in the region. Latin American voters will have the final say, and few electorates are as politically fickle. The right has made history at the ballot box. Unless it delivers safer streets, stronger economies and cleaner government, however, this rightward turn will prove little more than another oscillation of Latin America’s ideological pendulum. – Bloomberg
North America
A U.S. oil blockade has set off an increasingly agonizing energy crisis that has brought transportation largely to a standstill. Fewer cars and buses are on the streets, and, as a result, fewer students and teachers are in school. – New York Times
Canada’s annual inflation rate in May accelerated more than expected to 3.2%, a 29-month high, data showed on Monday, as the impact of higher crude oil prices due to the Iran conflict continued to filter through gasoline costs. – Reuters
A midday shooting in the Canadian city of Montreal left a police officer, a civilian and the armed assailant dead on Monday. The unidentified male suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, was shot and killed right away, the city’s police chief said. One other police officer was severely injured and was reportedly in stable condition. – BBC
United States
The Trump administration stepped up the law-enforcement presence Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the White House made new claims that vandalism was the chief cause of problems at the renovated site. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a push to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research and speed efforts to protect government systems from related cyber threats, bolstering U.S. efforts in its race with China for a technology that could upend science and cybersecurity. – Reuters
President Donald Trump once praised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a leader who had “really taken Europe by storm.” Meloni had flown to Mar-a-Lago in January 2025 for a brief visit before Trump returned to office, a trip Italian and European outlets treated as a sign that she could become one of Washington’s closest European interlocutors. That relationship now looks markedly more strained. – Military.com
Joslin Joseph writes: Accountability seems to be a trait that Trump doesn’t have. We have seen him blame former President Joe Biden, Obama, Democrats, Republicans, the “deep state,” and even his most ardent supporters for his failures. Ordaining Vance less than a week into a deal announcement as his scapegoat, while Vance is on a book tour to promote his future presidential run reeks of a lack of accountability from Trump and an admission that his dealmaking seems to help the other side more often than not. Getting things done is laudable, especially with the gridlock that has plagued Washington for a while. But competence, accountability and judgement are still needed to get things done right. If you don’t have those, you end up with sweetheart deals for Iran and a reflecting pool that looks like a swamp. – The Hill
Cybersecurity
Much of Sam Altman’s wealth is tied up in a vast network of tech companies that include everything from nuclear fusion to a startup trying to create a new city on the Mediterranean. A growing number of them have entered into business partnerships with OpenAI, creating a web of investments that are receiving scrutiny ahead of the company’s planned IPO. – Wall Street Journal
Cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology is poised to supercharge offensive hacking capabilities and urgent action is needed to face up to the threat, U.S., British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand officials said on Monday. – Reuters
Indonesia plans to embed artificial intelligence in some key government programmes including its $15 billion free meals plan, according to a presidential regulation draft seen by Reuters, part of a strategy that the government believes could lift its gross domestic product by 12% by 2030. – Reuters
Britain is considering forcing social media companies to prioritise what the government called trusted news sources as part of its broader push to tighten regulation of the sector. – Reuters
SpaceX has inked a multibillion-dollar agreement to provide computing resources to artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI, the latest in a string deals from Elon Musk’s firm as it vies to become an AI infrastructure provider. – Bloomberg
A federal court ruled Monday that the Trump administration’s national voter database violates federal privacy laws, interferes with Americans’ right to vote, and must be dismantled. – Cyberscoop
Campbell Brown writes: None of this requires an act of Congress. The open market has given rise to systems of independent evaluation. An electrical product carries a UL mark because Underwriters Laboratories, a private body, has tested it, and because retailers and insurers learned not to trust products that didn’t. Carmakers chase a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety because buyers now look for it. No law required either system. Regulation, when it came, mostly ratified what the market had already settled on. – Wall Street Journal
Brian Deese and Anna Pasnau write: The tech companies building AI infrastructure have the most to lose from this labor shortage — and the most to gain from solving it. They should eagerly step in to underwrite a national apprenticeship effort. Already, companies are making promising individual commitments, like Google’s commitment to training 100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices. But this moment calls for even greater ambition. If hyper-scalers don’t step up, government should ensure they pull their weight through fees on data center construction. The cost of building this workforce should fall on the businesses that benefit, not on taxpayers. – Washington Post
Defense
The U.S. military has conducted another strike Sunday against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean on Sunday, immediately killing two people and leaving six survivors amid an ongoing campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America. – Associated Press
The White House is set to host a meeting of defense contractors this week to push for more robust munitions production, with stockpiles under strain after nearly four months of war with Iran. President Donald Trump acknowledged the meeting, which a White House official earlier said would take place Wednesday. – Bloomberg
Four people have been taken to the hospital after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed on Monday in southeast Alaska, the service announced. The MH-60 Jayhawk was on a training flight originating at Coast Guard Air Station Sitka before going down near Harbor Mountain around 10:07 a.m. local time. – USNI News