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Syria rules out intervening in Lebanon after Trump again suggests it fight Hezbollah

Syria rules out intervening in Lebanon after Trump again suggests it fight Hezbollah

The Times of Israel reports: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday ruled out intervening militarily in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, after US President Donald Trump again suggested Damascus could get involved and expressed frustration with Israel’s fight against the Iran-backed terror group. Trump’s comments to Fox News on Sunday came as the conflict in Lebanon has threatened to derail US-Iranian negotiations underway in Switzerland. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on the Israeli military’s need to maintain…

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Russian-occupied Crimea completely suspends gas sales to civilians as Ukrainian drone strikes squeeze peninsula

Russian-occupied Crimea completely suspends gas sales to civilians as Ukrainian drone strikes squeeze peninsula

The Kyiv Independent reports: Gas stations in Russian-occupied Crimea have been instructed as of June 21 to completely suspend sales of fuel to civilians, as Ukraine steps up medium-range drone strikes on energy infrastructure across the peninsula. “Fuel will only be dispensed to state services that ensure the vital activities and security of the Republic of Crimea,” Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed governor of occupied Crimea, said in a video address on the morning of June 21. The ban is effective…

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How a German-U.S. corporate giant became the world’s largest foreign financier of Israel’s wars

How a German-U.S. corporate giant became the world’s largest foreign financier of Israel’s wars

Middle East Eye reports: At the height of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, one company became the single largest foreign financier of the Israeli state – holding more in Israeli government bonds than the US, the UK, France and every other country put together. That company is Allianz, the German insurance and financial services giant, alongside its California-based bond management subsidiary PIMCO, the world’s largest active bond manager. Data shared with Middle East Eye by Profundo, an Amsterdam-based sustainability research…

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Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

By Justin Elliott and Joshua Kaplan This story was originally published by ProPublica A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company. An entity linked to the Qatari royal family also took a stake. The new details come from a private investor list obtained by ProPublica that sheds light on a particularly delicate issue for Elon Musk’s rocket company: which people in countries like…

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Israel’s national security minister spurns call for truce: ‘All of Lebanon must burn.’ Iran closes Strait of Hormuz

Israel’s national security minister spurns call for truce: ‘All of Lebanon must burn.’ Iran closes Strait of Hormuz

The Hill reports: A far-right member of Israel’s governing coalition on Friday said that “all of Lebanon must burn,” as fighting broke out between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah despite a ceasefire imposed by the U.S. and Iran. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister and head of the far-right Jewish Power party, posted on the social platform X that Israel must respond with overwhelming force to the death of Israeli soldiers killed in fighting overnight. President Trump has publicly…

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Ehud Olmert: Israel is engaged in ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in the West Bank

Ehud Olmert: Israel is engaged in ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in the West Bank

Israel’s former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, writes: The fight against Jewish terrorism in the West Bank must advance to the next stage and be waged with greater determination. The daily terrorism that is managed, directed, encouraged and supported by the Israeli government can no longer be tolerated. What is happening across the West Bank today is not the work of “70 kids … from broken homes,” as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once tried to claim, disingenuously. Nor are these the…

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Israel’s former defence minister compares settler ideology to Nazism

Israel’s former defence minister compares settler ideology to Nazism

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s former defence minister has compared settler ideology to Nazism, and accused authorities of failing to investigate Israelis responsible for killing Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. In a wide-ranging interview with the Israeli news site Ynet on Sunday, Moshe Ya’alon said that factions within the religious Zionist movement, which is closely aligned with Israeli settlers, hold a “Jewish supremacy ideology”. “What is Jewish supremacy? Eighty years after the Holocaust, it’s Mein Kampf in reverse….

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DOJ officials refuse to follow judge’s demand to swear on oath that anti-weaponization fund is dead

DOJ officials refuse to follow judge’s demand to swear on oath that anti-weaponization fund is dead

The Hill reports: The Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday snubbed a federal judge’s demand to swear that a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead, arguing the request raises “serious separation of powers concerns.” Judge Leonie Brinkema indefinitely blocked the fund last Friday and issued a seven-day deadline for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward to declare under penalty of perjury that it would not move forward “to avoid any further…

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Economic anxiety of Americans is rising up the income ladder

Economic anxiety of Americans is rising up the income ladder

The Wall Street Journal reports: America’s economic anxiety is rising up the income ladder. A new Wall Street Journal poll finds that even those who consider themselves among the wealthiest classes in America carry high levels of concern about their current finances, the years ahead and the prospects for their children. More than 40% of Americans who call themselves upper class or upper-middle class say they haven’t saved enough money to retire comfortably. Only about 40% say their financial security…

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UK develops low-cost long-range missiles without U.S. parts or navigation for Ukraine

UK develops low-cost long-range missiles without U.S. parts or navigation for Ukraine

Kyiv Post reports: The UK is developing a new, low-cost, long-range weapon system for deployment in Ukraine that will function without US components or data, Bloomberg reported. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the initiative, known as “Project Brakestop,” was launched in late 2024 and is operating on an accelerated timeline to provide support for Kyiv. Defense companies MBDA, MGI Engineering, and Rotron Aerospace are currently developing three competing weapon systems. Testing is scheduled to take place in the…

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How your brain creates ‘aha’ moments and why they stick

How your brain creates ‘aha’ moments and why they stick

Nora Bradford writes: Here are three words: pine, crab, sauce. There’s a fourth word that combines with each of the others to create another common word. What is it? When the answer finally comes to you, it’ll likely feel instantaneous. You might even say “Aha!” This kind of sudden realization is known as insight, and a research team recently uncovered how the brain produces it, which suggests why insightful ideas tend to stick in our memory. Maxi Becker, a cognitive…

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Trump has underestimated the power of patriotic sentiment in countries besides the U.S.

Trump has underestimated the power of patriotic sentiment in countries besides the U.S.

Alexander Burns writes: When Donald Trump won a new term in the White House, Danielle Smith joined the parade of foreign leaders visiting Mar-a-Lago to honor the president-elect. The populist premier of Alberta, Smith enjoyed lively relationships across the American right, even hosting Tucker Carlson in Western Canada in 2024. Yet when I asked Smith last fall, at a policy summit in Toronto, how she’d feel about Trump potentially intervening in Alberta’s fragile politics, her MAGA stripes vanished. “I don’t…

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The era of free and open global commerce, underwritten by American power, has ended

The era of free and open global commerce, underwritten by American power, has ended

Edward Fishman writes: The United States and Iran have a deal: For 60 days, Tehran will allow ships to sail through the Strait of Hormuz without charging tolls; in return, Washington will lift its naval blockade, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and help Iran get access to its frozen assets. Negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program are also set to begin. Even if the deal holds, Iran is poised to emerge from the war battered militarily and economically…

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U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say

U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say

The Washington Post reports: U.S. intelligence agencies have warned the Trump administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to take steps that will undermine President Donald Trump’s effort to reach a lasting peace deal with Iran, as the Israeli premier faces intense political pressure to continue waging his country’s war in Lebanon, current and former U.S. officials said. Israel appears intent on maintaining military operations against Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, an aim that would flout a core…

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