Today In Issues:
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Netanyahu says Israel plans to intensify attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon Israeli leader says he and Trump agree on blocking an Iranian nuclear weapon Iran talks bog down over nuclear program and sanctions relief Rubio says Iran deal could take days as US launches fresh strikes Iran's president orders reopening of international internet access, state media reports Iran's supreme leader is holed up in undisclosed location, U.S. intelligence says WSJ Editorial: Will Trump bail out Iran's regime? How the war in Iran helped Ukraine go from problem to solution Rubio rebukes Hezbollah chief over call for Lebanese to ‘take to the streets’ Eurasia Review’s Neville Teller: The bid to recapture Lebanon’s sovereignty Iran purchased military satellite equipment from China through UAE company Trump links Abraham Accords to any Iran dealIn The News
Israel
As President Trump sent conflicting messages about whether any progress had been made on a deal to end the war with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday signaled that his country’s fight with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would intensify. – New York Times
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, on Sunday delivered an unusually harsh indictment of what he described as “a terrible process of brutalization” creeping into Israeli society. – New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Sunday evening that he and President Trump remained united in their stance on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, in his first statement on an emerging peace deal. – New York Times
The French foreign ministry on Saturday imposed a ban on the Israeli security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, entering France over his “unacceptable actions” toward activists detained this week on a flotilla attempting to break an Israeli blockade of Gaza. – New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told confidants in private conversations that Israel has little ability to influence Donald Trump’s decision-making on Iran as the U.S. president negotiates a deal in the nearly three-month-old war, two sources said. – Reuters
The deal being discussed between the U.S. and Iran fails to achieve any of Israel’s goals for the war, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday, as he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to influence a better agreement. – Associated Press
Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief David Zini met with former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan while visiting the United Arab Emirates, KAN News reported on Tuesday morning. – Jerusalem Post
Far Right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir pushed for Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayhu to intensify fighting in Lebanon following Hezbollah drone attacks on Monday and amid developments over a potential US-Iran deal, which could influence Israel’s ability to strike the terror group. – Jerusalem Post
The Home Front Command has developed the capability to issue advanced warning for attacks launched from Lebanese territory, N12 News reported on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Amid ongoing updates on the progress of negotiations between the US and Iran, top IDF officers confirmed on Sunday that several branches of the military have reduced the number of reserve soldiers in the General Staff’s headquarters. – Jerusalem Post
Walla, on Sunday, received an exclusive look into the military intelligence operation that targeted and assassinated Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, earlier this month. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hearing in his corruption trial ended early once again Monday due to “diplomatic and security reasons,” the latest in a series of similar interruptions that have hampered proceedings. – Times of Israel
A soldier was killed Friday by a drone near the Lebanese border, the Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday. The slain soldier was named as Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, 23, a technology and maintenance soldier in the 401st Brigade, from Atlit in northern Israel. – Times of Israel
Iran
President Trump expanded the scope of his diplomatic ambition over the holiday weekend, seeking not only an end-of-war agreement with Iran but also a pact to normalize relations between Israel and the broader Middle East. – Wall Street Journal
Progress toward a deal to end the war with Iran slowed Monday as the two sides dug in over references to the country’s nuclear program and financial relief for Tehran, mediators said. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump said Saturday that a draft framework to shape future end-of-war talks with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is near “finalization.” – Wall Street Journal
It has become a multimillion-barrel mystery at the center of the U.S.-Iran war: How long does Tehran have before it runs out of room to store the oil it can no longer export? – Wall Street Journal
When the Strait of Hormuz finally reopens, shipping companies will need to know which oil tankers get to start moving first, and whom to ask for the go-ahead. Vessels will need guidance on routes. And there’s the question of the potential threat of mines in the strait. – New York Times
As President Trump and regional diplomats began to herald the possibility of a deal with Iran that could end the war, the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry responded with his version of a history lesson. – New York Times
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday negotiating a deal with Iran could “take a few days,” quashing hopes for an imminent end to the conflict a day after U.S. forces conducted what Washington called defensive strikes in southern Iran. – Reuters
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access, Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing an official after a near-90-day blackout in the wake of the war against U.S. and Israel. – Reuters
Iran executed a man over charges related to the anti-government protests that took place nationwide in January, state media reported on Monday. – Reuters
Iran’s top negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, has been reelected as the country’s parliamentary speaker, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday. – Reuters
A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran has not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile. The source said Iran’s nuclear issue was not part of the preliminary agreement with the United States. – Reuters
As negotiations over the war in Iran hang by a thread, a notorious Iranian commander sanctioned by the US and wanted by Interpol is helping to craft Tehran’s next moves. – CNN
The White House vowed “no dust, no dollars” for Iran on Sunday — asserting that unless the Islamic Republic gives up its enriched uranium, it will get no sanctions relief — as President Trump tapped the brakes on forecasting a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. – New York Post
U.S. intelligence shows that Iran’s supreme leader is effectively holed up in an undisclosed location with little access to the outside world and is only reached by a labyrinth of couriers, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. – CBS News
Iran on Sunday hanged a man convicted of espionage, the judiciary said, the first known execution for a spying offense committed during the most recent war with Israel and the United States. – Agence France-Presse
Vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz will need to pay fees for “navigational services,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday. Such payments for transiting the waterway were not tolls, he said at a press briefing. – Jerusalem Post
Iran is demanding the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar as a precondition for continuing the talks with the United States, Iran International reported on Sunday night, citing an informed source with direct knowledge of the negotiations. – Jerusalem Post
As food prices spiral and farms shut down across Iran, even establishment figures are openly questioning how a country capable of producing precision missiles cannot manufacture affordable cars or keep chicken within reach of ordinary families. – Iran International
Editorial: Mr. Trump on Sunday pushed back against critics of the deal, saying “I don’t make bad deals.” But it’s fair to wonder if he isn’t feeling the growing pressure at home of rising gasoline prices and bond yields as midterm elections get closer. That’s no doubt partly behind his desire to reopen the Strait even on Iran’s terms. We’d add that a bad deal would leave him worse off politically, even if gas prices fall. Even a half victory by Iran would hurt America’s standing—and Mr. Trump’s. Iran’s regime went into this war facing domestic political and economic crises. War has made these worse. Saving such a regime now with an economic bailout would be the real betrayal—of the U.S. interest even more than the Iranian people. – Wall Street Journal
Heyrsh Abdulrahman writes: For more than four decades, the Iranian regime has mastered the politics of delay. When pressure intensifies, Tehran returns to negotiations, signals flexibility, offers limited concessions, and seeks sanctions relief, economic breathing room, and, above all, time. That strategy has served the regime well. It has repeatedly allowed Tehran to reduce external pressure while preserving the core capabilities that concern the United States and its allies. Whether that pattern is repeating itself today depends entirely on the final terms of the agreement. If Iran is required to permanently surrender weapons-capable enriched uranium, dismantle the infrastructure necessary for a rapid return to nuclear weapons development, and accept meaningful verification measures, the agreement could represent a genuine strategic achievement. – Washington Examiner
Eli Lake writes: All of that said, it would be a mistake to say the war was entirely useless. As Cooper testified earlier this month, Iran’s own industrial base has been severely damaged. And this says nothing of the devastation wrought upon Iran’s nuclear program during Operation Midnight Hammer last summer and in the current war. A year ago, Iran was very close to enriching enough uranium for a viable nuclear warhead. Today, that capacity is rubble and ash. But that doesn’t get the president off the hook. If this is how the war ends, then the remnants of Iran’s regime can still fire drones and missiles at its neighbors and hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump began the war stating that his objective was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” The president deserves great credit for eliminating the threat of Iran’s nuclear program. In doing so, he has unleashed a wounded beast that still imminently threatens America and its allies. – The Free Press
Russia and Ukraine
Turns out, Ukraine has got cards. Just last fall, Russia was inexorably advancing on the battlefield, money was running out and President Trump was pressing a peace deal on terms that favored Moscow. – Wall Street Journal
Russia pounded Ukraine in one of its biggest overnight aerial assaults, launching 90 missiles and 600 attack drones, including an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. The barrage killed at least two people in Kyiv, which faced the worst of the attack. – Washington Post
Vadim, like many other Russians, has relatives in Ukraine. Four years ago, as Russian troops besieged the city in the Sumy region where his cousins lived, he checked in with them regularly to ask about their safety. – New York Times
For years, President Vladimir V. Putin has vowed to create a “new elite” in Russia made up of veterans of his war in Ukraine. He had many reasons to do so, analysts said. The former soldiers would be loyal to him and to his policies. – New York Times
Russia said on Monday that it intended to launch “systematic strikes” on targets in Kyiv linked to the Ukrainian military as well as decision-making centres, and urged foreigners to leave, a day after one of its heaviest bombardments of the city since the start of the war. – Reuters
Several magnetic mines had been detected on a tanker in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday. – Reuters
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Kyiv on Monday following weeks of mounting warnings from Ukrainian officials about Russian plans to draw Minsk more deeply into the war against Ukraine. – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a letter to EU leaders that a German proposal to grant Ukraine “associate” membership of the European Union was “unfair” because it would leave Kyiv without a voice inside the bloc. – Reuters
The Ukrainian military said on Saturday it had struck Russia’s Sheskharis oil terminal – one of the largest on the Black Sea – and the nearby Grushova oil depot. – Reuters
A Russian drone struck a funeral procession on Saturday on the outskirts of the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing one person and injuring nine, a senior local official said. – Reuters
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine should be reinvigorated, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday, adding that he expected new U.S. proposals on how that diplomacy will be conducted. – Reuters
Hundreds of Ukrainians marched through the capital Friday to demand that the government repeal a recent law that families of missing soldiers say could lead to their loved ones being prematurely declared dead. – Associated Press
President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing him to deploy the military to foreign countries to aid Russian citizens who’ve been detained or face prosecution. – Bloomberg
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called US State Secretary Marco Rubio to advise him to evacuate US citizens and diplomats from Kyiv, as the Kremlin plans to continue heavy strikes on the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry Monday. – Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin is running out of time to win his war against Ukraine, amid a stalemate on the battlefield and growing troubles at home, a European intelligence chief has told CNN. – CNN
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said Saturday that Ukraine should have a path to join NATO, arguing that Kyiv’s battle-tested armed forces and fast-growing defense industry would strengthen the alliance despite opposition from some member countries. – Politico
NATO has formally invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to its upcoming leaders’ summit in Ankara, alliance chief Mark Rutte said Friday. – Politico
Hezbollah
The leader of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, on Sunday welcomed a possible deal between Iran and the United States to end their war. But he rejected direct talks between Israel and Lebanon and called for the Lebanese people to take to the streets. – New York Times
The IDF struck more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure targets in several areas across Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley and Tyre, the military announced in a statement on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Israel has attempted to target Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem at least twice in recent weeks, Saudi outlet Al Hadath reported on Monday, citing an anonymous Israeli source. – Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah has the military capabilities and support to drag Lebanon into a civil war, Lt.-Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Her comments came a day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem directed the terror group’s follower base to “bring down the government.” – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party condemned on Monday a court ruling that ousted the leadership of the main opposition CHP last week, calling a police operation to evict the leaders from the party’s headquarters a “disgrace to democracy”. – Reuters
Turkish assets steadied on Monday, with stocks and the lira broadly stable and international bonds edging higher after last week’s sharp swings triggered by a court ruling targeting the main opposition leadership. – Reuters
Turkey has reversed a decision to revoke the operating licence of Istanbul Bilgi University, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Monday, following a request from the Higher Education Council (YOK). – Reuters
The Turkish intelligence agency MIT captured 10 suspected Islamic State militants in Syria and brought them back to Turkey, the Anadolu news agency on Saturday cited security sources as saying. – Reuters
Lebanon
A day after President Trump announced a potential deal with Iran, Lebanon found itself in a familiar position — waiting on outside powers to determine whether the latest war to devastate the country was drawing to an end. – New York Times
The latest war between Hezbollah and Israel has devastated parts of Lebanon, wiping out entire villages, destroying livelihoods and killing thousands. – New York Times
Neville Teller writes: However, Aoun has been unable to dissuade Hezbollah from continuing its armed attacks. The ceasefire has therefore not affected Israel’s response. On May 17, the media reported IDF strikes at nearly 100 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Israel also acts, when the opportunity arises, to eliminate known senior Hezbollah officials. For example, on May 6, in an airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, Ahmed Ali Balout, was targeted and killed. It may be inexpedient for Aoun to admit it, but the truth is that the more Israel weakens Hezbollah, the closer the president moves toward his objective of re-establishing Lebanon’s sovereignty over the terrorist organization. – Jerusalem Post
Gulf States
Pakistan and Qatar have dispatched envoys to Iran, officials and diplomats said on Friday, as mediators intensified efforts to prevent a monthlong cease-fire between Washington and Tehran from collapsing. – New York Times
A Bahraini court sentenced nine defendants to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out what it described as “hostile and terrorist acts” against Bahrain, the state news agency reported on Sunday. – Reuters
The UAE’s decision to leave OPEC was three years in the making and is based on its view the world is near the “autumn of the hydrocarbon age”, meaning the country needs to maximise oil revenues while it can, a senior adviser to the president said. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries before sending them to fight alongside a notorious paramilitary group in Sudan’s devastating war, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Autocratic monarchs once left an echo of their glory in the ruins of the megaprojects they commanded at the peak of their unchallenged power. Those monumental physical traces are to be found in the fertile plains, mountainsides and deserts of the Middle East. But one of their most prominent modern counterparts may only have a digital footprint to leave behind for some of his most ambitious concepts. – BBC
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman privately told evangelical leader and Trump ally Mike Evans that he was ready to recognize Israel “today,” but that his father, King Salman, remained the obstacle, Evans told The Jerusalem Post on Monday during a visit to Israel. – Jerusalem Post
Suzan Quitaz writes: We need to put political correctness aside and admit that the new wave of antisemitism taken grip on the Western world is an “imported one” – Radical Islam in the past decades alone, has killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians across the Middle East and Africa. Countries like UAE have been front runners uprooting this murderous ideology. While western leaders been given refuge and platforms to variety of terrorist organizations and their affiliated media machinery to spread their hatred and incite against the Jews and to us all who reject their ideology. The fight against antisemitism requires courage and not just words. It start with standing together in moments of difficulty and fear, not just in principle but in demanding actions. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has pardoned the Senegal supporters convicted of hooliganism during the Africa Cup of Nations soccer final, which his country hosted earlier this year, the royal palace said on Saturday. – Reuters
The foreign ministers of the Group of Eight Arab-Islamic states on Sunday strongly condemned the actions of far-right Israeli police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir towards participants in the Gaza-bound flotilla while they were in Israeli detention. – Reuters
Syria’s General Authority for Borders and Customs has signed an agreement with French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM to operate two dry ports within the free zones of Adra, in Damascus’ outskirts, and Aleppo, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords en masse to normalize relations with Israel as he tries to negotiate an agreement to end the war with Iran. – Reuters
Ten Gaza land convoy activists were detained by Libyan forces on Sunday, the Global Sumud Flotilla announced on Monday, after several hours without communication with a contingent that had attempted to cross a checkpoint into the eastern part of the country. – Jerusalem Post
Abe Hamadeh writes: Our alliances remain important. But America must recognize where momentum, growth, innovation, and strategic alignment are increasingly converging. The Middle East of 2026 is not the Middle East of 2006. The Gulf states are no longer passive actors dependent solely on Western protection. Israel is no longer regionally isolated. A new alignment is forming in real time. The United States should lead it. President Trump helped open the door with the Abraham Accords. Now America must walk through it fully. History will not remember the diplomats who managed decline. It will remember the leaders who built the future. The Abraham Alliance can become the defining strategic partnership of the 21st century. – Jerusalem Post
Aaron Y. Zelin writes: Together, they can construct a genuinely multilateral engagement framework that distributes both the incentives and the monitoring burdens of engaging the new Syria more broadly. Calibrated, conditional, and patient engagement with clear red lines around sectarian violence is the only realistic policy posture available. At the end of the day, however, Syria will be shaped primarily by Syrians. If Damascus makes other changes at the ministerial and governor level in the coming days and weeks, it may be worth reexamining how all this shuffling fits together. But the pattern so far is more continuity than change—the question is whether propagating the Idlib model at the national level will work in the long term. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
Last November, President Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, unveiled a landmark investment and security deal, pledging to open a new chapter in the seven-decade alliance between their nations. Six months on, that bonhomie has turned into gridlock. – New York Times
North Korea fired several missiles including at least one short-range ballistic missile toward waters off the country’s west coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said. – Reuters
South Korea’s central bank will keep its key policy rate unchanged at a review on Thursday, according to economists in a Reuters poll, and a majority of them now expect one or more rate hikes by end-December as the Iran war adds to inflationary pressures. – Reuters
Starbucks Korea has suffered a “very significant” drop in sales after a marketing campaign that evoked a brutal 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters triggered a public outcry, an official from the operator Shinsegae Group said on Tuesday. – Reuters
China
A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China killed at least 82 people, state media said in a revised death toll, making it the country’s deadliest such incident since 2009. – Wall Street Journal
After years of driving a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW, Li Maozai made a choice that surprised even himself: He bought a Chinese luxury car. Mr. Li, a partner at a law firm in the southern Chinese city of Nanchang, chose the Maextro S800, an 18-foot sedan built by Huawei and JAC Motors, for its sleek lines, elegant design and high-tech features that his German cars couldn’t match. – New York Times
China and Pakistan have reached a new broad consensus on deepening their strategic partnership, according to a joint statement issued by the countries at the end of Prime Minister Shehbaz Shari’s visit to Beijing. – Reuters
President Xi Jinping hailed China’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan on Monday as he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing, seeking to deepen their “all-weather” partnership. – Reuters
China sent three astronauts to its space station on Sunday, one of whom will stay for a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology in space as Beijing works towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030. – Reuters
A Chinese coast guard ship left waters near Taiwan’s strategically located Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea on Sunday following a tense standoff and verbal sparring between the coast guards, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said. – Reuters
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic deepened ties with China on Monday during a trip to Beijing as he faced pressure at home from anti-government protests in his Balkan country, including a major rally that prompted clashes over the weekend. – Associated Press
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company to buy Chinese satellite equipment linked to its drone program, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Boaz Golany writes: History offers precedents. More than three decades ago, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher accepted the transfer of Hong Kong to China under the “one country, two systems” formula. One cannot entirely dismiss the possibility that the US may eventually contemplate a similarly gradual framework regarding Taiwan. For now, such ideas remain speculative. But in an era of grand-power bargaining, the most consequential agreements are often the ones never mentioned in official communiqués. – Jerusalem Post
Christopher Nye writes: Washington would do well to stop here. Generic talk of “stability” in a US-China relationship is unobjectionable and worth nothing; both sides have used such language for decades. The line not to cross is the next one. American officials should refuse to repeat the phrase “constructive relationship of strategic stability” as a unit, refuse to anchor any policy document to a three-year horizon, and refuse to parse the four sub-definitions of stability that the Chinese readout provides. Better to let the two versions of what happened in Beijing remain visibly different documents. The space between them is the only thing standing between a phrase and a policy. – The National Interest
Rishi Iyengar writes: And while a potential Xi visit to Pyongyang would largely be geared towards strengthening the bilateral relationship and managing Russia, it’s also part of a broader continuum of China presenting itself as an indispensable global player. “Beijing has become the center of gravity for global diplomacy in the first half of 2026,” said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. “Beijing has presented itself as a predictable actor working to uphold the international order,” he added. “China is leaning into its preferred contrast with the United States to accumulate diplomatic capital on the world stage.” – Foreign Policy
South Asia
At a splashy celebration in the Indian capital featuring Bollywood dance numbers and special guest U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump called in with an effusive message. – Wall Street Journal
A fresh outbreak of ethnic conflict is rocking India’s remote eastern state of Manipur. Deadly ambushes, abductions and protest marches are cropping up in a land where such violence had already become routine. – New York Times
A decree published by the Taliban government in Afghanistan has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and human rights groups for implicitly recognizing child marriage and further eroding women’s rights – New York Times
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday, as the two sides discussed the Middle East, trade, visas, maritime security and energy supplies, while Washington cited progress on efforts to resolve the Iran conflict. – Reuters
Sri Lanka’s central bank stunned markets by raising its policy rate by an outsized 100 basis points on Tuesday, the biggest hike in four years, as policymakers scrambled to stem inflation and support a currency buckling under soaring energy prices. – Reuters
More than 30 people died in a suicide bombing of a train in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, officials said on Monday, in the latest attack claimed by separatist Balochistan militants. – Reuters
In a cluster of villages in Pakistan’s largely rural Chakwal district, more than 100 Shi’ite Muslims have returned from the United Arab Emirates without jobs, luggage or access to the savings they spent years building abroad. – Reuters
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Bangladesh with $5 billion in support over the next five years, the lender said on Monday, as the country faces mounting economic pressure from global conflicts and domestic financial challenges. – Reuters
Indian state-owned fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices for the third time this month, dealers said on Saturday, as the companies look to recoup losses caused by elevated crude oil prices amid the Iran war. – Reuters
At least 86 children have died from confirmed measles infections in Bangladesh this year, and another 426 with symptoms consistent with the disease, health officials said on Saturday, as the country battles one of its worst outbreaks in decades. – Reuters
When landlocked Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan started fighting late last year and their border crossings closed, Afghans turned to their western neighbor, Iran, for an alternate to Pakistan’s major shipping hub of Karachi. – Associated Press
The foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, also known as the Quad, are meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday on how to strengthen their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and common concerns about China’s growing influence in the region. – Associated Press
Asia
New Zealand is known for majestic landscapes, epic filmmaking and once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Now, the country is embarking on a more off-brand project: bolstering its tiny military, as China sends forces deeper into the Pacific. – Wall Street Journal
Cambodia’s strongman, Hun Sen, pardoned the country’s most prominent opposition politician, Kem Sokha, on Monday, in a move that might be intended to ease the kingdom’s strained relationship with the West and strengthen the legitimacy of his son’s government. – New York Times
Countries in Asia are reeling from a shortage of naphtha, a petroleum derivative used in a dizzying array of products, from household plastic wrap to industrial inks and medical devices. – New York Times
A group of seven Australian women and 12 children linked to the Islamic State militant group have made travel plans to return home, authorities said on Tuesday, in what would be the second such Australian group to leave a Syrian refugee camp this month. – Reuters
Myanmar’s military has launched renewed offensives into several border regions, including a frontier area with critical rare earth deposits and other vital trade routes, a month after a new administration took formal control of the war-torn country. – Reuters
Australian state police did not prepare a threat assessment for the event where the Bondi Beach mass shooting occurred and denied a request from the Jewish community to station officers there, an inquiry into the attack heard on Monday. – Reuters
Australian activists detained by Israel while on a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza have returned home, with organisers alleging abuse, sexual assault, and beatings, that left some detainees in hospital. – Reuters
New Zealand’s government has allocated NZ$1.58 billion ($924.62 million) in new defence funding in its 2026 budget, with a strong focus on maritime security, including drone systems and fleet renewal, Defence Minister Chris Penk said on Saturday. – Reuters
Hundreds of people rallied in central Taipei on Saturday in support of government plans to increase defence spending, after the opposition controlled parliament approved only two-thirds of the $40 billion President Lai Ching-te had requested. – Reuters
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan take years to process and are unrelated to the war with Iran, a source familiar with the matter said, after a senior U.S. official suggested there was a pause due to the need to have enough arms for the conflict. – Reuters
Japan’s Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Saturday there were no formal bilateral talks with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, though the two had a brief conversation before a dinner on Friday, without disclosing details. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump defended Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi when Chinese President Xi Jinping criticised her in the Sino-U.S. summit this month, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun daily said on Sunday, citing unidentified government sources. – Reuters
A group of 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group have booked flights to return from Syria and some could face charges, Australia’s government said on Tuesday. – Associated Press
The head of an inquiry into antisemitism in Australia on Tuesday said Jewish witnesses who appeared before it are facing online harassment and bigotry and issued a condemnation. – Associated Press
Cambodia ’s new conscription law, which establishes penalties of up to five years in prison for those who evade military service, has come into effect, the country’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said Monday. – Associated Press
Taiwan’s security chief said Saturday that China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in regional waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and Western Pacific. – Agence France-Presse
Editorial: The plan is to draw down staff gradually over three years through productivity enhancing technology, consolidating offices, simplifying operations and attrition. Whether that actually happens is up to the voters. The next general election is Nov. 7, and Kiwis know electing a Labour government will mean more bureaucrats. There are plenty of critics of the planned changes, but none of them have made a persuasive case in defense of the current bureaucracy. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that “public service is not a make-work function.” He’s right, and all citizens would be better off if public services were measured not by how many people they employ but by the quality of their service. – Washington Post
Daisuke Kawai writes: As China becomes more aggressive and coercive, Japan will keep expanding its defense apparatus. For the United States, this is an opportunity to be seized, and indeed something many American officials have long demanded. If the current U.S. administration keeps treating Japan like a client, Washington may discover that its closest Asian ally has learned to work around it with the help of the very partners the United States encouraged Tokyo to cultivate. But if Washington treats a stronger Japan as a true partner and keeps it firmly within its alliance system, American influence in Asia will be greater than ever. – Foreign Affairs
Lynn Kuok writes: Tehran has discovered the cheap, fast, and devastating leverage it has in the Strait of Hormuz. The warning for Asia is real: absent a sustained defense of transit rights and the freedom of the seas—and robust pushback against those who undermine them—similar dynamics could unfold across the Indo-Pacific. Given the sheer volume of global trade dependent on uninterrupted passage through regional chokepoints, the weaponization of Asia’s waterways would trigger catastrophic consequences. – Foreign Affairs
Reece Breaux writes: The United States has stationed in the Philippines missile systems that can strike targets in mainland China and cover the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan, improving the allies’ ability to disrupt China’s military. The allies have also developed trilateral engagement with Japan and a quadrilateral engagement with Japan and Australia, under the vehicle called the “Squad,” helping to regionalize alliance efforts. […] This US defense support has also given the Philippines confidence to align with Washington on Taiwan. In August 2025, Marcos declared that “…if there is a war over Taiwan…we will be pulled in whether we like it or not,” a major statement that could justify a change in Philippine policy. Such progress would align with Washington’s aim to integrate the Philippines into a coalition to counter China’s ability to annex Taiwan or dominate the region. – The National Interest
Europe
When President Trump said he would pull some U.S. troops out of Germany to punish the country for its leader’s criticism of the Iran war, Sevim Dağdelen thought: Finally! – Wall Street Journal
European officials have hoped for much of the past year that when it comes to NATO, they could buy President Trump’s favor and some stability. Now they are finding how unpredictable U.S. military decisions can be. – Wall Street Journal
German business sentiment rebounded marginally this month, though it remains near multiyear lows, as companies adapt to the energy shock prompted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. – Wall Street Journal
This redbrick northern market town isn’t exactly famed as a British political bellwether. For nearly a century, the working-class population here, sandwiched between suburbs of Liverpool and Manchester, loyally voted for the Labour Party and flew firmly under the national radar. – Wall Street Journal
Iceland is in Europe. But it is not in the European Union. For a long time, that was just fine for Iceland, which has fiercely protected its independence — and its control over its fishing industry. – New York Times
An 82-year-old man who was serving 17 life sentences for leading a far-left Greek militant group that killed 23 people, including a C.I.A. officer, has been released from prison, prompting angry objections from relatives of the group’s victims. – New York Times
On a cold October night in Walsall, England, last year, John Ashby followed a British Indian woman off a bus, broke into her house and then brutally raped and beat her. […] The assault was one of a rising number of racial and religious attacks in recent years in Britain, where police data shows that antisemitic, anti-Muslim and racially motivated offenses have all increased. That reflects a broader trend in Europe, where countries including Spain have experienced anti-migrant riots and a recent election in France became a flashpoint for racial tensions. – New York Times
As European leaders begin to consider the possibility of talks with President Vladimir V. Putin’s government over ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, they have begun to debate a big question: Should they pick an envoy to talk with Mr. Putin? – New York Times
Latvian opposition lawmaker Andris Kulbergs of the United List said on Monday he aimed to form a four-party majority government after the ruling coalition collapsed this month over national security concerns, though a final deal has yet to be struck. – Reuters
Cyprus’ far right made gains in Sunday’s parliamentary election while anti-corruption newcomers and social media influencers captured seats, results showed, which analysts said would reshape the island’s political landscape. – Reuters
Around two thousand protesters took to the streets of the Spanish city of Bilbao on Sunday to condemn the Basque police’s treatment of activists from a Gaza aid flotilla on their return from detention in Israel. – Reuters
Denmark’s King Frederik asked caretaker Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Saturday to make a fresh attempt to form a government after centre-right talks led by Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen broke down. – Reuters
Britain’s government proposed the creation of a single market for goods with the European Union in what would be an ambitious reset of its post-Brexit ties with the bloc, but Brussels has rejected the idea, British media reported. – Reuters
France has decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, adding that this reflected growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza. – Reuters
Belarus’ exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Kyiv on Monday as the Ukrainian capital cleaned up after Russia’s biggest missile attack of the year, and world leaders kept a close eye on how much support the Belarusian government is ready to provide for Moscow’s all-out invasion. – Associated Press
Slovenia’s parliament on Friday voted to bring back former nationalist premier Janez Jansa, electing him as prime minister once more in a move that could tilt the EU country away from Brussels. – Agence France-Presse
As drones from the war in Ukraine increasingly stray into the airspace of EU countries and Moscow’s war machine churns out mass aerial barrages, the Baltics are seeking Ukrainian know-how on bomb shelters. – Politico
A Royal Air Force plane carrying U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey had its signal jammed while flying near the Russian border on Thursday. Healey was returning from a trip to Estonia, where he visited UK armed forces taking part in a NATO military exercise near the border with Russia, when the signal was jammed. – Politico
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Lithuania on Tuesday following a string of drone incursions that have seen citizens told to find safety in basements and bomb shelters. – Politico
Stockholm is leaving the door open to a possible role for NATO in reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told POLITICO. – Politico
Until 2019, the German foreign office supported an aid organization with close ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood without knowing how the funds were actually being used. – Jerusalem Post
An alleged Hamas financier on trial in the Netherlands for funneling funds to the Palestinian terrorist organization told an undercover investigator that his job was to take down Israel, according to the NGO Ad Kan. – Jerusalem Post
The mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, has proposed granting honorary citizenship of the city to the civilians of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as to Palestinian journalists. – Jerusalem Post
Hungary has withdrawn its intention to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
The Netherlands has put forth a motion to ban the import of goods originating in allegedly “illegal” Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to a government press release on the matter on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: Undeterred, Labour Party politicians keep promising to tax the rich more. The latest is Wes Streeting, former health secretary vying to replace Mr. Starmer as party leader and Prime Minister. Mr. Streeting this week proposed a new “wealth tax” in the form of a higher tax rate on capital gains to match the rate on personal income. That’s as high as 45% for anyone earning over £125,140. He seems to think this would be a revenue raiser. The migration data show it isn’t. Don’t compare today’s tax revenue to some fanciful future when entrepreneurial young Britons and the wealthy take higher rates on the chin. Instead, compare today’s revenue to what the treasury will take in from people who leave: zero. Arthur Laffer tried to warn them. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced several measures on Thursday to relieve some financial pressure, including rolling back food tariffs on some household items. This is a much better way to deal with rising consumer prices. The government has disavowed mandatory price controls, but it can still try to coerce grocers behind the scenes. Even Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey issued a rare public rebuke of the idea, saying price caps were “not a sustainable thing.” The chief executive of high-end British grocer Marks and Spencer said, “I don’t think the government should be trying to run business. I think they should try to probably understand business better.” Perhaps if they did, the government wouldn’t be on the verge of collapse. – Washington Post
Kate Andrews writes: Starmer is now paying the price, and it appears a snap election in a postindustrial town in northwest England may determine his future. Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, has resigned to run for Parliament in Makerfield. If in that June 18 by-election he defeats the Reform candidate — a local plumber recently elected as a councilor — he is expected to challenge Starmer as the leader best positioned to stop Reform. A town called Makerfield, in other words, will make or break the prime minister. It sounds like something from a British pantomime, except pantomimes are meant to be funny and deliberately absurd. Outside Westminster, few are laughing. – Washington Post
Pawel Markiewicz writes: Putin sees signs of decreasing American military presence in Europe as Washington realizing, however sloppy it may be, his December 2021 demands of rolling back troops from Central and Eastern Europe. This creates the ideal setting for his plans to expand Russian influence by force. U.S. officials are repeating European warnings that the Kremlin is preparing to target the Baltic states once hostilities cease in Ukraine. A conventional conflict here will impose even greater long-term costs on America. Permanently stationing troops in Poland would be seen by Warsaw and its regional allies as a sign of a stronger, more enduring commitment from the U.S. to, as the Trump national security strategy stated, build up the nations of Central and Eastern Europe and mitigate the risk of a potential conflict between Russian and European states. – The Hill
Scott M. Feltman writes: Hamas is not a controversial political movement. It is a genocidal terrorist organization responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, hostage taking, rape, torture, and the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust. Israeli citizens living in disputed territories, regardless of one’s views on settlements, are not remotely equivalent to internationally designated terrorists. Yet that distinction appears to be eroding in parts of Europe. The deeper problem is not only the sanctions themselves. It is the precedent they create. The EU is effectively blacklisting individuals and organizations without criminal trials, judicial rulings, or transparent evidentiary standards. – Washington Examiner
Africa
The fast-spreading Ebola virus is overwhelming creaking hospitals and clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dimming hopes for quick containment of what is already the third-largest outbreak of the killer disease in history. – Wall Street Journal
African countries are finding it harder to export to the U.S. since President Trump returned to the White House with a long list of tariffs. But China sees their struggle as an opportunity. – Wall Street Journal
Christianity is flourishing in Africa. But what shape it will take for most believers is an open question. In the moments leading up to Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in the capital of Angola last month, the streets were buzzing with excitement as men and women sporting T-shirts emblazoned with his face prepared to welcome the man that Catholics regard as the Vicar of Christ, or the representative of Jesus on Earth. – Washington Post
The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the latest number of suspected deaths as 220. – Reuters
Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named a seasoned economist as prime minister on Monday, three days after dismissing the old government led by a firebrand populist who had spoken out against debt restructuring. – Reuters
Suspected bandits attacked a police station and a traditional ruler’s palace in Nigeria’s Kwara state early on Sunday, abducting at least 10 people and setting part of the palace on fire, police said on Monday. – Reuters
Uganda has detected two more confirmed cases of Ebola, its health ministry said on Monday, bringing the total number of cases reported in the country to seven. – Reuters
Senegal’s parliament speaker, El Malick Ndiaye, has announced his resignation, deepening political turmoil in the West African nation two days after the president dismissed the government. – Reuters
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu will seek a second and final four-year term in January after overwhelmingly defeating a little-known challenger in ruling party primaries, results showed on Sunday. – Reuters
Benin’s new president, Romuald Wadagni, vowed at his inauguration on Sunday to confront rising security threats and to ensure economic growth translated into concrete improvements in people’s lives. – Reuters
The Red Cross on Saturday paid tribute to three volunteers who are believed to have died after contracting Ebola while handling bodies and are among the first known victims of the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. – Reuters
Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programs, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters. – Reuters
Kenya’s public transport operators on Friday called off a nationwide strike that had been suspended for a week to allow talks over rising fuel prices. – Associated Press
Hilary Matfess writes: Ultimately, bringing an end to the multiple armed conflicts across the country will require that the Ethiopian government regain public trust by respecting democratic processes. A free, fair, and competitive election on June 1 would have been a good start, but it seems unlikely that the coming vote will meet those standards. Disgruntled groups need to see the value of peaceful political contestation, which means that groups the government has barred from participating in elections, most notably the TPLF, must be allowed to compete again. And for now, the Abiy administration can put the country on a more democratic and peaceful track by opening a genuine public debate about the structure of Ethiopia’s governance system. Continued uncertainty about the country’s political future will only deepen Ethiopians’ frustration—and fuel violent resistance. – Foreign Affairs
The Americas
More than 30 years ago, a Communist lawyer won a Senate seat while quietly advancing a strategy of combining guerrilla warfare with electoral politics to seize power. Manuel Cepeda’s plans ended when Colombian government agents assassinated him on the streets of this capital city. – Wall Street Journal
Before White House officials left the presidential palace one recent afternoon, interim President Delcy Rodríguez gave them blue goody bags tagged with her name. Inside was Venezuelan rum for the men and straw beach bags and chocolate for the women. – Wall Street Journal
In the hours after U.S. military forces spirited away Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed a call to Maduro’s second-in-command, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. – Washington Post
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz said on Monday he would cut his salary and those of his cabinet ministers in half amid a growing political crisis marked by protests and roadblocks demanding his resignation. – Reuters
Prisoners in Venezuela’s western Barinas prison staged a protest on the roof of the detention center on Sunday, piling flaming mattresses and calling for the removal of the prison’s director, who they said had overseen guards as they shot unarmed prisoners. – Reuters
Colombia’s presidential candidates wrapped up their campaigns on Sunday with rallies that drew massive crowds, ahead of a May 31 vote that analysts predict will result in weeks of heated and deeply polarizing debate ahead of a June 21 runoff. – Reuters
Right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella received a surge in voter support in the final week leading up to the first round of Colombia’s presidential election, nearly tying with leftist Ivan Cepeda, whom the latest poll predicts he would defeat in a runoff. – Reuters
The U.S. military conducted a drill over Caracas on Saturday, its first military exercise in Venezuela since U.S. troops attacked the capital and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3. – Reuters
Bolivia police and armed forces will open “humanitarian corridors” on Saturday in the country’s La Paz department in order for supplies to move past blockades, the government said on Friday. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads opposition Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the race for this year’s presidential election, gaining ground after reports linking the right-wing challenger to a disgraced banker, a poll released by pollster Datafolha showed on Friday. – Reuters
Gladys Marín only has to cross the street to reach a school where polling stations will open Sunday in her small town in Colombia. But she’s still not sure she’ll make the short walk, because fears for her safety could outweigh the chance to vote for the country’s next president. – Associated Press
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Sunday used his State of the Union address to tout his government’s U.S.-backed crime-fighting strategies as well as improvements of some economic indicators. – Associated Press
Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced Saturday that she plans to run for president again and intends to return to her home country before the end of 2026. – Associated Press
An Argentine who spent 448 days imprisoned in Venezuela called Friday for the international community to increase pressure on the government of interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez to release other prisoners. – Associated Press
Colombian security forces Friday flooded into the southwestern municipality of Silvia following a violent territorial dispute between two Indigenous groups the day before that left at least seven people dead and more than 100 injured. – Associated Press
North America
Cuba was at the center of a nuclear confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Its bearded guerrilla fighters inspired 1960s student movements from Paris to Mexico City. And its intelligence services infiltrated America’s government agencies. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. military aircraft, including both drones and crewed surveillance planes, have been conducting intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance flights around Cuba since February, as President Trump ramps up pressure on the Communist government. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump’s chief envoy in Ottawa accused Canadian authorities on Friday of imposing new trade barriers by sharply increasing how much the big, U.S.-based online streaming companies must contribute financially to Canadian television programming. – Wall Street Journal
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she intends to hold a vote in October to determine whether residents want the oil-rich province to remain in Canada or whether her government should begin the process of holding a binding referendum on separation from Canada. – Wall Street Journal
On a recent night, Yusimi Castellano crouched over her squat iron stove, arranging charcoal and gently placing the Styrofoam and the plastic she used as kindling over it. She used a cigarette lighter to start a small fire. – New York Times
Cuba on Monday published the names of thousands of prisoners covered by an amnesty announced last month as the island’s government holds tense negotiations with the United States on a range of disputes including political prisoners. – Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the treatment of activists detained by Israel had been “appalling” and described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic,” Carney’s office said in a statement. – Reuters
Thousands of Cubans gathered on Friday before the U.S. embassy in Havana to protest a U.S. decision to indict former president Raul Castro over the downing of two civilian airplanes 30 years ago. – Reuters
Mexico and the European Union signed a long-stalled free trade agreement on Friday as they seek to decrease dependence on the U.S. and partially insulate themselves from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. – Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran’s World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition. – Associated Press
The flagship of South Korea’s submarine fleet is docked in Canada’s Pacific-coast province of British Columbia where it’s serving as a floating floor model in the Asian nation’s pitch for Canada to buy 12 like it. – Associated Press
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to India has helped pave the way for a complete reset of Canada-India relations, India’s trade minister said Monday. The ties were strained under Carney’s predecessor in the wake of the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. – Associated Press
Editorial: Castro was Fidel’s brother and the regime’s iron fist. He was one of a small group who seized power in 1959 and turned Cuba into an outpost for America’s enemies. Cuba has one of the most repressive security apparatuses in the world. Castro built it. In 1961, the Soviets sent KGB operatives to set up Cuba’s fledgling spy service, the General Directorate of Intelligence, or DGI, now known as the DI. Raul Castro served as its point of contact and oversaw the creation of an intelligence agency that became infamous for its human rights abuses and its ability to penetrate foreign governments. – Washington Examiner
John Suarez writes: Last week’s indictment is further evidence that Cuban and Cuban-supported assaults on Americans aren’t forgotten. On Jan. 24, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X: “On this day in 1975, four people were killed and 50 others were injured during a terrorist attack at the Fraunces Tavern in New York City. The illegitimate Cuban regime continues to harbor William Morales, the architect of this savage crime. We honor the memory of those lost and recognize the enduring pain of everyone touched by this tragedy. The U.S. won’t relent in its pursuit of justice for the victims.” – Wall Street Journal
Louis Benavides writes: That uncertainty is sometimes worse than any concrete news. The mind, when deprived of information yet sensing danger, invents. That, of course, is what this government wants. Not only to punish dissent, but to enforce silence. Not only to intimidate, but to impose the habit of fear. Not only to imprison one person, but to warn everyone else. The time I find hardest of all is at night, when the house falls still, and there is nothing left to do and no one left to call. This was our time, when we talked without haste, when we discussed anything and everything: friends, a book, the world and how it ought to be. Now when that hour arrives, there are no words, no new things to consider. Only silence. – New York Times
Avi Benlolo writes: Israel surely cannot be the world’s focus. Look at Haiti, a desperately poor island nation that is in near-state collapse. Gangs control large areas. There is severe food insecurity, kidnappings and widespread displacement. Like Haiti, Myanmar is engulfed in civil conflict with militias and resistance groups battling the junta across large parts of the country. The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces an Ebola emergency that threatens to spread across the world. In other words, Israel is not the only game in town for criticism and ridicule. What Ben Gvir did this week was shameful and worthy of condemnation. But there are many politicians like him and far worse in numerous conflict zones around the world. So, will Carney be calling in their ambassadors for a dressing-down too? – National Post
United States
Tulsi Gabbard resigned Friday as director of national intelligence, capping a tumultuous tenure in which she was largely sidelined from President Trump’s national-security operations, including in Venezuela and Iran. – Wall Street Journal
China and Russia have in recent years expanded their intelligence operations in Cuba, investing in electronic-eavesdropping facilities used to spy on U.S. military sites in Florida and roughly tripling the number of intelligence personnel to staff them since 2023, according to officials familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments. – Wall Street Journal
When President Trump was deciding whether to move forward with a long-awaited executive order on the dangers posed by artificial intelligence, David Sacks turned to a familiar refrain. – Wall Street Journal
Senate Republicans cast doubt on the viability of a potential peace deal between the United States and Iran over the weekend as President Trump doubled down in support of his administration’s negotiations to end the nearly three-month-old war. – New York Times
President Donald Trump has struggled to lure businesses back into Venezuela after deposing its authoritarian leader in January. Cuba could be an even harder sell. – Politico
Senate Republicans — including the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee — called on President Trump to resume military strikes on Iran on Friday after he met with his senior national security team and Tehran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman slow-walked diplomacy. – New York Post
First Daughter Ivanka Trump was targeted for assassination by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) trained terrorist in a twisted plot to avenge the president taking out his mentor, The Post has learned. – New York Post
Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) is pressing the Trump administration to immediately sanction any country or entity helping Iran establish a “toll booth” in the Strait of Hormuz that could net the hardline regime as much as $2 million per vessel. – Free Beacon
Seth Mandel writes: I would go a step further and suggest that the behavior of groups like CPJ incentivize the establishment of other groups that exist solely to feed journalists bad information. CPJ’s fall from grace is a major story all its own. That it enables the creation of bad actors that never had any grace to lose is just part of that story. The same is true of the Times. This is not merely a story of one journalist behaving unconscionably. It’s a story of Western institutional collapse and the dreary remnants that rise from the rubble to perpetuate all the evil things its predecessors got away with. – Commentary Magazine
Cybersecurity
In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV put forth a defense of human dignity in the era of AI, delivering a far-ranging treatise on the morality of technology that included a dramatic plea for guardrails to ensure that artificial intelligence eases — rather than exacerbates — inequality and poverty. – Washington Post
The White House has approved a secret $9 billion request to acquire the cutting-edge computer chips that America’s spy agencies need to tap into the full capabilities of the latest artificial intelligence models, according to current and former U.S. officials. – New York Times
Nvidia (NVDA.O) CEO Jensen Huang said on Saturday that his forecast of a $200 billion market for CPUs includes China, signalling Nvidia still sees significant long-term demand in the market amid ongoing U.S.-China technology tensions. – Reuters
The European Union is planning to fine Alphabet’s Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday, citing commission sources. – Reuters
India will need a coordinated push across government, companies and academia on skilling and policy if it wants to become an AI powerhouse, an IBM executive said, as the technology threatens the country’s position as a global services hub. – Reuters
The co-founder of AI company Anthropic said on Monday that the development of artificial intelligence cannot be left solely to technology companies, urging greater oversight from religious leaders, governments and civil society. – Reuters
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) announced the successful completion of its largest cybercrime operation to date this week. Operation Ramz spanned across 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa and resulted in the mass arrest of 201 individuals. – Jerusalem Post
An intelligence operation believed to be run by the Iranian regime is attempting to use Telegram to recruit people in Britain to organize anti-Israel protests and publish anti-Zionist and antisemitic posters, The Times reported on Friday. – Jerusalem Post
An Iran-linked cyber espionage group targeted entities in the US, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates during a months-long campaign that coincided with the recent regional escalation, Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 said in a new report. – Jerusalem Post
The federal cybersecurity agency has created a new pathway for people outside of the U.S. government to report vulnerabilities to its catalog of bugs that have been exploited. – The Record
George Weigel writes: Like the point that human dignity is inalienable and inherent, not a benefice bestowed by the state or ascribed by socioeconomic status. And the point that, however confused our human condition, “creation bears the imprint of an original goodness” that we are to “bring to fulfillment.” And the point that “true progress always stems from a heart open to others, an intelligence willing to listen, and a will that seeks what unites rather than what separates.” In contrast to today’s cacophonous public “discourse,” Leo XIV speaks in Magnifica humanitas with an adult voice: a voice appealing to our highest aspirations rather than pandering to our worst prejudices or most virulent fears. That in itself is entirely welcome, and no small contribution. – Washington Post
Sam Liccardo writes: Companies that use AI — such as mutual fund managers, pharmaceutical manufacturers or banks — would remain subject to the same outcomes-focused regulations under the Securities and Exchange Commission, Food and Drug Administration or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, regardless of what tools they use. This approach does not eliminate AI risk. No law will. It acknowledges, though, that in the absence of a Delphic oracle, we need to learn much more about model testing and evaluation before we can regulate risk effectively. In the meantime, our best hope lies in clear rules that strongly incentivize the private sector to do what the government cannot: make AI safer. – Washington Post
Defense
A Congressional Research Service report released this month tallied 42 U.S. aircraft lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, the 40-day campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28. It is the most complete public accounting of a war the Pentagon has yet to assess on its own terms. – Defense News
The U.S. Marine Corps is testing new ways to combine low-cost drones with traditional aircraft, having recently paired a UH-1Y Venom helicopter with an attack drone in a recent Southern California exercise. – Defense News
The U.S. and Japan will hold two exercises in Japan in late June, Resolute Dragon 26 and the Japan segment of Valiant Shield 2026, according to releases by the Japanese military on Friday. – USNI News
Spectators in the stands at the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 in Speedway, IN, were treated to more than just fast cars at Sunday’s race. Under cloudy skies that threatened rain at any moment, a synchronized, high-flying formation of military jets and Apache helicopters left onlookers in awe. – Military.com
The Defense Department is requesting close to $30 billion in fiscal 2027 to purchase and enable next-generation AI supercomputers and modernize the military’s computing infrastructure to power them. – DefenseScoop
After years of considering how to leverage in-space refueling and servicing technologies, the Space Force is kicking off a number of near-term efforts to chart a path toward operationalizing the capability. – DefenseScoop
Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) writes: None of this will be easy. Federal modernization efforts have a long and sobering history of cost overruns and abandoned platforms. Any serious blockchain initiative at the VA or the Pentagon will require careful piloting, rigorous procurement standards, clear privacy protections for personal data, and a willingness on the part of Congress to fund the work and oversee it honestly. I am prepared to do that work, and I believe colleagues on both sides of the aisle are as well. What I am not prepared to do is tell another generation of American heroes to wait. – The Hill
Mark R. Whittington writes: Perhaps a way exists to combine the massive Starship with a nuclear engine capable of sending payloads to Mars in about half the time Starship would take by itself. Perhaps the solution could come in the form of a Starship docking with a nuclear rocket stage provided by NASA before proceeding. The engineering challenges are likely to be immense, considering the mass of a fully loaded Starship. But the possibility suggests that engineers at NASA and SpaceX should get to work, first to determine if the idea is feasible, then, if it is, to start designing and testing it. A nuclear-propelled Starship may be the key to opening up the solar system to human exploration and then settlement. – The Hill
Henry Phillips writes: Finally, the department should judge success by operational and workforce outcomes, not by compliance optics (the stated goal of Cyber Command 2.0). The right measures are not just how many people hold a qualification on paper, but whether the department is reducing washout, shortening time to effective contribution, improving placement quality, retaining top performers longer, and building depth within the specialties that matter most. The Department of Defense does not need to start from scratch on cyber workforce reform — it already has serious people, solid frameworks, and useful programs in motion. However, it must recognize that personnel screening, assignment, credentialing, job requirements definition, and performance prediction are all part of the same problem. They cannot be tackled separately. – War on the Rocks
Luke Coffey writes: Gibraltar covers only 2.7 square miles and has a population of about 35,000. Gibraltar might be small, but it plays an outsized role in geopolitics. “The Rock,” as it is commonly known, is strategically located at one of the most important maritime chokepoints in the world. Sitting at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, it guards the entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, and on a clear day, one can see into North Africa. As one of the United Kingdom’s 14 overseas territories, Gibraltar is self-governing in domestic affairs, while the United Kingdom remains responsible for its defense. – The National Interest