Welcome to the World Briefing Podcast.

This isn’t simply a new name. It’s a new approach.

At a time when many people tell me they’ve stopped watching the news because it feels overwhelming, exhausting, or disconnected from their daily lives, we’re creating something different: a global podcast shaped by the people who listen to it.

We’ll still tackle the big stories. We’ll still connect the geopolitical dots. But we’ll also search for the stories, ideas, trends, and voices that help make sense of a rapidly changing world.

Most importantly, we’ll do it together.

Today, we’re opening the doors to everyone and making this launch episode available to all readers and listeners. Consider it the first step in building a podcast that reflects the interests, questions, and curiosity of the World Briefing community.

And for our paid subscribers: don’t worry. Next Saturday, World Briefing Plus returns with its regular exclusive video edition, available only to subscribers.

For now, I’d love to hear from you: What should we cover? What stories are being missed? What would make a global affairs podcast indispensable in your weekly routine?

And here’s a question I’ve been thinking about: have we reached a point where people need less doomscrolling and more stories that inform, inspire, and surprise?

Let me know what you think.

The future of the World Briefing Podcast starts here…..

The US Justice Department will not challenge the proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the biggest regulatory obstacle to a deal that would place two major movie studios, the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services, and two major news networks - CNN and CBS News - under the control of tech scion David Ellison, the New York Times reports. In an unusually detailed statement, the DOJ said its investigation concluded the deal was “not likely to harm competition or American consumers” - language that could help shield the merger from challenges by state attorneys general, several of whom have pledged their own scrutiny. Britain’s antitrust regulator separately announced it would launch its own investigation. The clearance has drawn criticism given President Trump’s close ties to Ellison and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Paramount also settled a Trump lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview for $16 million just weeks before Ellison completed his $8 billion acquisition of the company last year. The deal carries a ticking financial clock: Paramount faces quarterly penalty payments to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders if the merger doesn’t close by September 30.

Bari Weiss Poised to Take Editorial Helm of CNN - Reports

If the merger clears, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is expected to gain editorial oversight of CNN as well, according to Axios - a remarkable expansion of influence less than a year into her tenure. Paramount executives are said to be in preliminary discussions with several candidates to handle the business side of the combined operation alongside Weiss, including CNN CEO Mark Thompson, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde, former NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim, Daily Beast CEO Ben Sherwood, and former CBS News president David Rhodes. The search signals that Weiss - whose background is in print and digital journalism rather than television management - would hold editorial authority across two of America's most prominent news brands.

Adding another layer of complexity: CBS News is the BBC's principal American broadcast partner, meaning any editorial shift there reverberates directly into British public broadcasting. Ellison is said to be firmly behind her: "She has the full confidence of David Ellison, who believes Bari has done a fantastic job," one source told Axios.

And for topping, a meta twist: CNN's own Brian Stelter, who has been covering the merger, told Business Insider he sees "a lot of great opportunities" in a combined CNN-CBS - while acknowledging he may himself be employed by the merged company later this year. "Nobody knows how it's going to work," he said, noting reasons to be skeptical of reports about a business-side partner for Weiss. Rarely does a journalist covering a deal have quite this much skin in the game.

A deal with the US to end fighting in Iran is close and includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Foreign Minister has said. Seyed Abbas Araghchi told state TV the deal also includes the lifting of a US blockade of Iran, but that talks on Iran’s nuclear programme would begin later. US officials have confirmed some of the details of the agreement, saying economic benefits for Iran would depend on Tehran meeting its obligations. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had cancelled “scheduled attacks” against Iran, because negotiators had “just made a great settlement” - a deal that was likely be to signed imminently. On Friday, Iranian media published some details from the alleged 14-point deal which Trump said had “nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to” and “bears no relation to the truth”. A few hours later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country helped mediate the deal, said the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran had been agreed and awaited finalising. Iran’s Araghchi was quoted in state media saying there are “supporters and opponents” of the latest terms of the deal among Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council. However, he added that a collective decision had not been reached. “For now, we must wait. If approved, the agreement will be signed remotely,” he said. In a detailed briefing with journalists on Friday afternoon, US officials said the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in return for the US lifting its blockade on Iranian shipping - BBC

A new Amnesty International report challenges Phnom Penh’s claims of success in dismantling online fraud compounds, finding evidence of state intervention at only 24 of 86 identified scam sites — roughly a quarter — as of April. According to Nikkei Asia, authorities appeared to act mainly in response to international pressure or high-profile incidents, Amnesty said, despite government assertions that more than 250 operations have been targeted since mid-2024. The 150-page report raises sharp questions about the treatment of trafficking victims. Of 73 former workers interviewed, none had been officially recognized as trafficking victims by Cambodian authorities — even though most described conditions meeting international legal criteria. Nearly all of the 133 survivors interviewed over three years would qualify, Amnesty found, with many lured by promises of legitimate work before being confined to guarded compounds and forced to run online scams under threat of violence. Researchers also documented accounts suggesting possible collusion between compound operators and local officials, with some survivors reporting that managers fled before police raids arrived. A mass exodus of workers between December 2025 and April 2026 has created a fresh crisis, with some escapees detained in conditions described as worse than basic prisons. “The crackdown is happening, and it’s real,” said Amnesty’s co-regional director for East and Southeast Asia, Montse Ferrer — “but strong messaging alone is not enough if the root causes and enabling structures remain in place.”

After facing a week of online criticism for appearing in a promotional video for 51 Park, a 51-storey luxury residential development in Herzliya, Israel, actor Gwyneth Paltrow is keeping quiet on social media and has yet to address the backlash publicly. The 53‑year‑old Oscar winner appears in the commercial released Sunday by developer Aviv by Melisron. In the spot, Paltrow narrates a morning routine and praises the appeal of park‑side buildings. When a driver asks if she means New York, she replies, “Herzliya, Israel.” The clip, posted by the developer on YouTube and Instagram, quickly gained wider attention after reposts drew sharp public reaction. An Instagram post slamming Paltrow’s participation in the ad by satirist account Saint Hoax attracted hundreds of thousands of likes and prompted a wave of criticism on social platforms. Commenters on the post cited the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the humanitarian toll there as the reason Paltrow’s participation was inappropriate. Paltrow did not post the ad on her social accounts. However, many commenters posted Palestinian flags and “Free Palestine” messages on her most recent Instagram posts. Several public figures amplified the backlash. Alana Hadid, activist and sister of models Bella and Gigi Hadid — who has frequently voiced pro‑Palestine views online — reshared criticism on her Instagram Stories and called the campaign “tone deaf” and “complicit.” Actor Geraldine Viswanathan (Bad Education, Thunderbolts) commented “Oh my god.” - CBC

The journals…..

🔥World Briefing Hot Take

Shocking? It should be. Russia's hybrid war has already reached the UK - Novichok on British streets, a Ukraine aid warehouse torched, Russian vessels mapping submarine cables in UK waters, military-grade lasers reportedly aimed at RAF pilots' eyes. And while all that was happening, a Russian tech developer whose kamikaze drone simulator is used to train Putin’s forces - including schoolchildren under a 2024 federal militarisation law - was strolling through Disneyland Paris in Minnie Mouse ears and posing in front of Trump Tower in New York, apparently free to travel across Europe and the US without restriction. Grey warfare doesn’t get more brazen than that. And yet Britain, which has spent four years positioning itself as Ukraine's closest European ally, can't find the money to back that up. Under the government's own numbers, defence spending would crawl from 2.6% to just 2.68% of GDP by 2030 - in a year when Starmer himself warned of a possible Russian attack on NATO soil by the end of the decade. Ammunition stocks are already dangerously low after years of Ukrainian donations. Army and Navy drone and hybrid warfare programmes are now in funding limbo. And Britain heads to Ankara for the NATO summit without a credible national defence plan - a potential breach of Article 3 of the NATO founding treaty, which requires member states to be capable of defending themselves. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves - reportedly backed by cabinet allies - blocked departmental cuts that could have freed up defence funds, as "welfare before warfare" voices in Labour cheered. Seven ministers gone in a month. The general who co-authored the strategic defence review called this a failure of political will. As Robert Fox writes in the iPaper: we may not want war, but it has an unpleasant habit of choosing us.

News Briefs
Keir Starmer’s premiership has been pushed to the brink of collapse after the shock resignation of John Healey as defence secretary undermined his security credentials and risked shredding his remaining political authority. In a blistering resignation letter, Healey accused Starmer and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, of putting the country’s security at risk, saying the long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) fell well short of what was required. “You have been unable and the Treasury has been unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” he wrote. “I would not be able to accept a Dip settlement that does not give our forces the resources they need. I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your defence secretary.” Dan Jarvis, the security minister, was named as Healey’s successor on Thursday evening. The armed forces minister, Al Carns, and Healey’s two parliamentary aides also resigned on Thursday. In his resignation letter, Carns said: “We need a new way of governing and we need it now.” The upheaval has left Starmer struggling to shore up his reputation as a safe pair of hands at a time of growing international threats. It comes days before Starmer is due to meet G7 allies in France and weeks before a Nato summit in Ankara that will be attended by Donald Trump, leaving the prime minister facing the embarrassing prospect of explaining why his own defence secretary felt he was not doing enough to keep his country safe. Many Labour MPs, including cabinet ministers, already feel that Starmer is on borrowed time with the potential return of Andy Burnham after the Makerfield by-election next week. “This just makes the end more certain,” one minister told the Guardian. Healey’s decision appeared to have taken No 10 by surprise despite a protracted row over defence spending, during which he had called on ministers to consider “creative funding” mechanisms like those adopted by other European countries, based on more borrowing. Starmer insisted the Dip would be funded properly and told Healey it had already required significant reallocations from other Whitehall budgets. “Strong public finances are part of what keeps us safe – irresponsible borrowing only puts that at risk,” he said in his response to Healey. In his letter, Healey revealed that the government was planning to raise defence spending by just 0.08 of a percentage point of GDP between next year and 2030 – from 2.6% to 2.68% – and argued that it must hit 3% in 2030 to meet the challenge.

• In a revealing investigation, the iPaper reports that to onlookers at Disneyland Paris, he was just another grumpy father in Minnie Mouse ears. In reality, Aleksei Kolotilov is a St. Petersburg-based tech developer whose hyper-realistic kamikaze drone simulator is being used to train Russian military cadets - and schoolchildren. While major oligarchs and defence firms have been sanctioned and grounded, Kolotilov has travelled freely through Italy, France, Belgium and the US since 2022, documenting family holidays on social media to his 60,000 YouTube followers - even posing in front of Trump Tower in New York. His simulator has since been rolled out in Russian government sessions teaching children to fly killer drones, part of a 2024 federal law militarising national education. The UK Ministry of Defence warned last year that drone training is now running in over 500 Russian schools and 30 colleges. Intelligence analysts estimate up to 70 per cent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine are linked to drones. Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge called it unacceptable that individuals whose work directly supports Russia's invasion remain free to travel across Europe and the US.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday evening with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, launching a sprawling tournament of 48 teams that will last nearly six weeks. The tournament is projected to generate a record-breaking $13 billion (€11 billion) in total revenue. The hosts took an early lead in the ninth minute with Julián Quiñones, after he was set up by Érik Lira who pounced on a mistake by the South African defence. The stadium erupted in celebration, with Mexico subsequently maintaining pressure on their opponents for the rest of the first half before extending their lead in the second through a header by veteran striker Raúl Jiménez. The official opening ceremony lit up the Estadio Azteca stadium before the kickoff with Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy delighting the crowd with a performance of “Dai Dai,” the official song of the tournament. The start of the action on the pitch will likely come as a welcome relief to football’s world governing body FIFA, which has faced stinging criticism over the eye-watering costs of tickets. In addition, Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top referee, Iranian team officials and fans refused entry to the United States. South Africa coach Hugo Broos warned his players to block out a wall of sound during the opening match in the Estadio Azteca, a historic venue that hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals. “They will have 85,000 Mexicans shouting and singing. But we have to focus on our game. And if we can do that...then we can have a good game,” the Belgian said. Mexico have not won any of their seven appearances in an opening game. “We have to break the statistic,” coach Javier Aguirre said. “It will be another source of motivation.” - Euronews

The head of the EU’s diplomatic service has given a staunch defense of her institution as it fights off suggestions that it be shut down. In an email seen by POLITICO, Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, wrote to the 5,000-strong staff of the European External Action Service, insisting that it “added value” to the bloc. She was responding to a French government discussion paper that floated radical options for the EEAS that included bringing it completely under the control of the European Commission. “I would … stress how much added value we have provided to Europe as a team, especially at a moment of full-scale war raging in Europe,” Kallas said in her email. The French document, which POLITICO has confirmed the contents of, follows long-running criticism from national capitals and EU officials who complain that EU diplomacy is too slow-moving, institutionally dysfunctional and victim of an escalating turf war between the EEAS and the Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen. The paper was an internal document not approved by the French foreign minister or his aides and does not reflect an official French position, said an EU diplomat. It was first reported by the Financial Times and Reuters. It points to three options for reforming the EEAS, including bringing it entirely under the authority of the Commission, shifting its key functions to the Council of the EU ― which works on behalf of the 27 member governments — and bolstering the role of the Kallas’ job. In a speech earlier this year, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that the EU needed a stronger diplomatic service. The problems at the EEAS were the subject of “daily discussions” among ambassadors and should be taken as a “warning” to Kallas about how she runs the institution, an EU diplomat with knowledge of discussions said after being granted anonymity to discuss confidential matters - Politico

Help Us Keep Connecting The Dots

For more than three decades, I’ve reported from conflict zones, humanitarian crises, and geopolitical flashpoints - and World Briefing is how I continue that mission independently. No editors second-guessing the story. No algorithms deciding what matters. Just rigorous, on-the-ground analysis delivered straight to your inbox.

If you find this reporting valuable, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription - or support World Briefing at your own level via PayPal or via Zelle (mbociu@gmail.com).

At a time when foreign coverage is shrinking and misinformation is filling the void, your support helps keep independent global journalism alive and in the field.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of this community.

Russia’s oil production has declined for a sixth consecutive month, with escalating Ukrainian drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure contributing to the downturn by disrupting storage and transportation facilities needed to sustain output. Russian crude and condensate production fell to 9.009 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, down from a recent peak of 9.38 million bpd in November, according to data published by OPEC. Output has fallen by roughly 370,000 bpd since then. The decline leaves Russia producing about 690,000 bpd below its OPEC+ quota, according to Bloomberg calculations based on OPEC data. Ukraine sharply intensified attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in May, with at least 31 strikes recorded against refineries, export terminals and pipelines, Bloomberg reported. That was the highest monthly total since the start of the war. Most of the attacks last month targeted fuel production facilities, causing Russian refinery throughput to fall to its lowest level since 2009. Processing volumes declined further in June, dropping to their lowest level in two decades during the first days of the month, according to consultancy Energy Aspects. The collapse in refining has helped free up additional volumes of crude oil for export, particularly after Russia restored operations at Baltic and Black Sea ports that had been damaged during heavy Ukrainian attacks earlier this year. Seaborne crude exports averaged 3.64 million bpd in the four weeks to May 31, up from 3.17 million bpd in the four weeks to April 17, when Ukrainian strikes on ports and export infrastructure were particularly intense. Higher export volumes are expected to support revenues for oil companies and trading intermediaries involved in Russian crude sales. However, analysts note that the federal budget relies primarily on the mineral extraction tax levied on oil production rather than on export revenues themselves. As a result, a sustained decline in output could weigh on government revenues even if exports remain resilient. Oil and gas income remains one of the Kremlin’s most important sources of funding, accounting for roughly a quarter to a third of federal budget revenues in recent years - Moscow Times

• It has now been 1,569 days since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, meaning the war has now outlasted World War I, long considered the epitome of a grinding conflict. Polls suggest that about half of Ukrainians believe that the two sides will still be fighting in 2027. The war has gone on for so long that the technology and strategy used to fight it has changed. At the beginning, tanks, trenches and large-scale troop assaults were common. Now, drones have forced soldiers to hide in foxholes and attack individually or in pairs - NYT

• Russia will restrict imports of most food, seeds, flowers, wood and fertilizer from Armenia starting on Friday, less than a week after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party secured a parliamentary majority in elections seen as a test of Yerevan’s pivot toward the West. The federal agricultural safety agency Rosselkhoznadzor said the sweeping ban was issued in response to the “systematic detection” of pests in products imported from Armenia since May. It claimed that, in June alone, three separate cases of khapra beetle infestations were discovered in dried food shipments. “The ban will remain in effect until a specific framework is developed to ensure the safety and traceability of shipped goods,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday, adding to an already long list of Armenian goods recently banned for import to Russia, including produce, flowers, mineral water and alcoholic products. Freshly banned goods include fresh and dried fruits, fresh and chilled vegetables, grains, cereals, grain-derived products, coffee and cocoa beans. The embargo also covers live plants, fresh cut flowers, planting seeds and plants used for pharmaceuticals and perfumery.

  In addition, the restrictions cover soil, peat, organic fertilizers, timber, lumber, wooden packaging, as well as insects, live pathogenic bacteria and viruses intended for research purposes - MT

Queen Elizabeth II and Jackie Kennedy did not get along when they first met. During the former first lady’s initial visit to Buckingham Palace in 1961, she was disappointed by several things, the most notable being that Queen Elizabeth’s hair was not voluminous enough. “Too flat,” Kennedy remarked in private about the royal’s hairstyle, according to royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith. Kennedy was also “slightly disappointed that the palace wasn’t grander,” Caroline Hallemann, author of the new book The Kennedys and the Windsors, told People. However, Kennedy’s unfortunate first impression did not last. The two powerful women met the following year for lunch at Buckingham Palace, where they talked “at length about horses,” Hallemann said, explaining that it was then they found common ground. “That is where they were able to really connect. That was a true passion for both of these women.” Queen Elizabeth, a famous figure since birth, also advised Kennedy on how to handle public scrutiny. “When the first lady described her struggles in the spotlight on their recent state visit to Canada, and the pressures of being in the spotlight 24 hours a day, the queen looked rather conspiratorial and said, ‘One gets crafty after a while and learns how to save oneself,’” Hallemann said - The Daily Beast

The journals….

When FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to the U.S., Mexico, and Canada eight years ago, the pitch was right there in the name: the “United Bid,” a celebration of three economies and three societies stitched together. The tournament opens Thursday with a match between Mexico and South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

In the end, the tournament has become as a monument to the opposite - a continent whose trade pact is on life support, whose borders have hardened, and whose marquee sporting event is testing just how much division one tournament can absorb.

Start with the fans, who were supposed to be the point. The New York Times’ Tariq Panja - covering his fifth World Cup - told CBC’s As It Happens that ticket prices are running three to ten times higher than the last tournament, with seats fluctuating between $500 and $1,300. The predictable result: thousands of unsold tickets and a genuine risk of “swaths” of empty seats at what FIFA branded the biggest World Cup ever. Even Trump reportedly conceded he wouldn’t pay these prices.

Then there’s the question of who’s allowed in. Iraq’s star striker held for seven hours at the border. A Somali FIFA referee denied entry. South Africa’s squad delayed by visa chaos. Iran’s team training in Tijuana because its players can only enter the U.S. one day before each match. A World Cup premised on the free movement of fans is being staged in a country that is, as Panja put it, more closed to the world than it has ever been - while FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has spent the past year cultivating Trump and even handing him an invented “peace prize,” has converted his Oval Office access into precisely nothing for fans or players.

And the hosts? New Angus Reid Institute data shows the wariness isn’t a Vancouver quirk - it’s both Canadian host cities. Seven in ten residents of Greater Toronto (70%) and Metro Vancouver (72%) say the public cost of hosting isn’t worth it, and in both cities more people describe themselves as disinterested in the matches than excited their hometown is staging them - this in only the third World Cup ever to feature a Canadian team. The numbers explain the mood. Toronto’s 2018 hosting plan pegged costs at $30–45 million; it now projects $380 million. Vancouver’s early $240 million estimate has climbed to $624 million., if not more. The Parliamentary Budget Officer puts the combined public bill above $1 billion - before overruns, which taxpayers are contractually on the hook for while FIFA keeps the bulk of the revenue from a tournament it expects will generate at least $11 billion. And residents only know these terms because journalists sued: the host-city agreements stayed hidden until freedom-of-information requests and lawsuits forced their release. Majorities in both cities say they don’t trust their provincial or municipal governments to be straight about the final bill. It’s hard to blame them.

World Briefing Hot Take

This was never just a soccer story. The 2026 World Cup is the North American project in miniature - conceived in an era when integration was the assumption, delivered in an era when everything from a trade pact to a bridge to a match ticket is treated as leverage. And FIFA? The sports body didn't fail to anticipate the political risk - it simply offloaded it, the way it offloads everything. The contracts guarantee FIFA the revenue and the taxpayers the overruns; the borders, the visa chaos, the priced-out fans are someone else's problem. Gianni Infantino spent his political capital manufacturing a "peace prize" for the man whose policies are hollowing out his own tournament, and got nothing for fans or players in return. An organization that answers to no electorate, pays no taxes on the windfall, and hid its host-city terms until journalists sued is not a victim of this moment - it's a beneficiary of it. The tournament may yet produce its moments of grace; sport usually does. But when the USMCA renegotiation lands July 1, mid-tournament, the spectacle in the stadiums will run alongside the quiet dismantling of the very partnership that made the bid possible. The "United Bid" deserved a more honest name. We've given it one.

News Briefs
New York Times global soccer correspondent Tariq Panja warned that a combination of staggering ticket prices and strict travel restrictions are actively draining the magic from the tournament. On CBC’s As It Happens, Panja, who is covering his fifth World Cup and attending his seventh, highlighted that ticket prices for the current tournament are three to ten times more expensive than the last one, with some prices fluctuating from $1300 down to $500. “It is staggering how much these tickets cost,” Panja noted, adding, “I’ve not seen prices at these levels for anything I’ve covered quite frankly”. Because of this barrier to entry, there are currently thousands of unsold seats, and Panja warns of the very real risk of “swaths of empty stadiums” unless organizers manage to pull something “from the fire at the last moment”. Despite this being billed as the “biggest World Cup ever,” the promise of a global gathering is clashing with an environment of travel bans and visa restrictions. Panja pointed out that the United States is currently “more closed to the world than it ever has been,” citing concerning incidents such as an Iraqi fan being questioned for hours and the struggles of a Somali refugee. “These are images I have not seen before,” he remarked, raising questions about whether players themselves will even feel comfortable and welcomed. According to Panja, FIFA absolutely should have anticipated these logistical and diplomatic nightmares, having had since 2018 to prepare. He observed that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has developed a “curiously close relationship” with President Trump - joking that Infantino almost seems to have a “season ticket to the Oval Office”- yet this relationship has failed to produce any positive impact on the ongoing visa and accessibility issues. Ultimately, Panja lamented that the World Cup is a fun game meant to be “full of joy” every four years, but due to these mounting controversies, “the build up though has been fairly joyless”.

As the World Cup gets set to kick off Thursday, residents in both of Canada’s host cities are expressing significant skepticism. Almost three-quarters of Vancouver residents - alongside 70 per cent of residents in Greater Toronto (GTA) - say the public costs of the tournament may not be worth it. According to a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute, 72 per cent of Vancouverites and 70 per cent of Torontonians surveyed said they don’t think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to the World Cup. Increased security measures, cancelled festivals, street closures, and a lack of transparency from all levels of government are major concerns across the board. Specifically, 69 per cent in Metro Vancouver and 68 per cent in the GTA say the event creates too much disruption for locals, and 76 per cent in both cities find the cancellation of local summer festivals to accommodate FIFA blackout dates to be unacceptable. A staggering 83 per cent of respondents said they thought government being on the hook for any cost overruns was unacceptable. Furthermore, 79 per cent of respondents said they believe FIFA will receive most of the revenue from ticket sales, sponsorship fees, and broadcast rights, leaving governments footing most of the bill. According to the host city agreements, FIFA controls almost 100 per cent of the revenue and expects to raise at least $11 billion from the 2026 World Cup, while taxpayers are contractually on the hook for overruns. Meanwhile, taxpayers in both cities are watching their local estimates soar: Vancouver’s early $240-million estimate has climbed to $624 million, and Toronto’s initial 2018 projection of $30–45 million has ballooned to $380 million. Consequently, a majority of residents in both cities say they do not trust their provincial or municipal governments to be transparent about the final bill, with distrust of the provincial government running especially high in the GTA. Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl says that many people have seen the stories of sluggish hotel bookings and ticket sales. Combined with the reputation FIFA has for corruption, they have concluded that Vancouver and Toronto are not going to see the promised benefits. This wariness is reflected in local enthusiasm; only 46 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents and an even lower 38 per cent of GTA residents say they are actually interested in following the games. “This is a tournament that wasn’t subject to a plebiscite or a referendum as to whether the people of Metro Vancouver or the City of Vancouver wanted this tournament,” said Kurl. “It’s not as though there won’t be interest or fans showing up in fan zones. There will be diehard folks, there will be enthusiastic folks who want to go and be part of this, but in terms of the costs and the payoffs, we have been hearing about how this has not necessarily been the net boon for the Vancouver hotel industry that was predicted.” She also said that, unlike the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the World Cup doesn’t provide for the same level of engagement because the tickets are more unaffordable, there is only one venue, and many of the seats are being snapped up by wealthy fans from abroad.

The US and Iran have exchanged strikes across the Middle East for a second consecutive day, further straining an already shaky ceasefire agreed between the two countries in April. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had completed a wave of “self-defense strikes” targeting military, surveillance and radar sites in southern Iran. The attack came hours after President Donald Trump vowed US forces would hit Iran “hard”, and that Tehran had taken “too long to make a deal” to permanently end the war. In response, Iran launched a round of strikes targeting US military assets in countries across the region. US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait came under Iranian fire for a second day in a row, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired ballistic missiles at a US command centre in Jordan, according to Iranian state media. Bahrain’s interior ministry said its air raid sirens were activated overnight, as Kuwait’s Army posted on X that its anti-air defence systems intercepted “hostile aerial targets”. Kuwait said it had temporarily closed its airspace due to the Iranian attacks. In the latest flare-up, the IRGC also said it had hit two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, although there was no immediate confirmation of the strike - BBC

Help Us Keep Connecting The Dots

For more than three decades, I’ve reported from conflict zones, humanitarian crises, and geopolitical flashpoints - and World Briefing is how I continue that mission independently. No editors second-guessing the story. No algorithms deciding what matters. Just rigorous, on-the-ground analysis delivered straight to your inbox.

If you find this reporting valuable, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription - or support World Briefing at your own level via PayPal or via Zelle (mbociu@gmail.com).

At a time when foreign coverage is shrinking and misinformation is filling the void, your support helps keep independent global journalism alive and in the field.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of this community.

Trump Demands Tolls From a Bridge He Didn’t Pay For and Canada’s Opening Date Wobbles

Donald Trump wants a cut of the toll revenue from a $6.4 billion bridge the United States paid nothing to build - and within 24 hours of Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing a Friday opening, that date is already wobbling. “There’s no big drama,” Carney insisted to reporters on Parliament Hill, a day after committing to a Friday opening for the long-delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit. “If it takes a little longer, it’ll take a little longer.” The White House saw it differently, telling CBC News the timeline “hasn’t been finalized” and that the president’s position “has not changed” - a position, recall, built on Trump’s February eruption that the bridge wouldn’t open “until the United States is fully compensated,” along with bogus claims of “virtually no U.S. content.” The reality: Canada footed the entire $6.4 billion bill, the bridge was built by workers from both countries with steel from both countries, and Canada is set to collect the tolls precisely to recoup costs Washington never shared. The more telling drama played out at Queen’s Park, where Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro - in town to sign an MOU with Premier Doug Ford — condemned the “reckless and disrespectful rhetoric coming from our president” and declared he “respects Canadian sovereignty. Period.” A sitting U.S. governor publicly breaking with the White House on Canadian soil is the kind of governor-level diplomacy that increasingly bypasses Washington altogether. Ford, for his part, said he expects “some sort of ribbon-cutting” Friday on the Canadian side - though he conceded he doesn’t have “100 per cent of the details.” Neither, it seems, does anyone else.

President Trump on Wednesday threw nascent trade talks with Mexico and Canada into disarray, saying he wasn’t sure he would renew the pact that has shaped the North American economy over the past three decades. Asked about the ongoing process to renew the free-trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada, Mr. Trump sounded off on Wednesday: “I don’t know that I’m going to renew it.” He went on to repeat claims that the United States had no need for Canada or Mexico, the country’s two top trading partners. The three-nation agreement underpins $2 trillion in annual trade and has, over the years, knitted several economic sectors across the borders together. But Mr. Trump has been casting the pact, and that close integration, as a burden for the American economy since his re-election.

The journals….

The United States and Iran exchanged attacks early Wednesday in the Middle East after the downing on Monday of a U.S. helicopter gunship near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command later said that Air Force and Navy jets had struck Iranian air defenses, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. The scale of damage was not immediately clear. Iran’s state television said that explosions and air defense sirens were heard in several cities along Iran’s Persian Gulf coast, including the city of Sirik and the island of Qeshm. Iran then said that it had launched drone strikes against the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, where the government reported that warning sirens had been activated. Iran also said it had launched 21 attacks on U.S. bases in the region, including in Jordan, but U.S. Central Command said that was not the case. A U.S. official said Iran launched multiple missiles and drones at U.S. bases around the Middle East, and nearly all were intercepted, according to initial American assessments. There have been no reports of American casualties, and no reports as yet of damage to U.S. bases in the region from the Iranian attacks, the official said. In a statement, Central Command called the U.S. strikes “self-defense” operations carried out on President Trump’s order, saying that they were “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” Central Command said the airstrikes were launched at 5 p.m. Eastern time, or 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday in the Middle East. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump had blamed Iran for shooting down the aircraft. “The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he said on social media. After the U.S. strikes began, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a social media post that his country’s armed forces would “leave no attack or threat unanswered.” Mr. Trump did not offer any more details on the downing of the U.S. Army Apache helicopter. Iran did not take responsibility for the attack, and its state broadcaster, IRIB, quoted an unnamed military official who said the country had conducted no military operation over the strait in the prior 24 hours. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said the United States and Iran were nearing an agreement to end the war, resolve the fate of Iran’s nuclear weapons program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for oil and gas shipments - NYT

• Israel has carried out strikes across southern Lebanon, despite a warning from Iran not to continue attacks in the country. The Lebanese health ministry said eight people were killed in Tyre, where the Israeli military issued a new order for residents to leave the southern city, including its Christian quarter for the first time. Israel and Iran paused hostilities on Monday, after an Israeli strike on Beirut targeting the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah triggered their first exchange of fire since a truce in April. Iran warned that it could hit Israel again if it did not stop attacks in Lebanon. But Israel vowed to continue its campaign against Hezbollah.

An unidentified man, reported to be a senior general, was killed on Tuesday morning when his car exploded in a satellite town of Moscow. The incident occurred at around 5:30 a.m. in Balashikha, just outside the Russian capital. The identity of the victim has not been made public, but channels on the Telegram app reported that the fatality was a 62-year-old lieutenant general. Russia’s internal security service, the FSB, previously said security had been tightened around high-ranking military officers. Investigators said an “explosive device was detonated while a BMW X3 car was driving near a residential apartment building.” Security camera footage circulated online showed the vehicle bursting into flames from the rear. Social media users reported that several bystanders rushed to the burning car to assist the driver, but Russia’s top investigative body, the Investigative Committee, said the victim died of multiple injuries at the scene. The incident occurred close to where Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was assassinated in a car bomb attack in April last year. Moskalik, the deputy chief of the main operations directorate of Russia’s armed forces, was killed instantly when a device was remotely detonated as he approached his vehicle. The latest deadly explosion comes amid a string of high-profile assassinations in Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s intelligence services have claimed responsibility for some of the killings, which have included senior military officials, politicians, pro-war and pro-Putin propagandists, and Ukrainian defectors - TVP World

• Russia’s State Duma has passed legislation requiring all mobile devices used in the country to be registered in a state database, part of the Kremlin’s second anti-cyberfraud package (“Antifraud 2.0”). Under the new rules, telecom operators and government-designated bodies must log the unique 15-digit IMEI number of every device imported into Russia. Crucially, devices will be tied to specific SIM cards at the point of registration — meaning a SIM cannot be issued for a phone already assigned to another number, and blacklisted or stolen devices will be rendered inoperable on Russian networks. Officials say the measure targets fraud, phone theft, and electronics smuggling. The Ministry of Digital Development added a notably different rationale: the registry will also help identify SIM cards used in drones — potentially reducing the need for blanket internet shutdowns. The legislation was submitted by the Russian government in December 2025 and cleared its final reading Tuesday.

A World Briefing audit of Airbnb listings across Greater Vancouver — including the downtown core — finds that the vast majority of short-term rental hosts have slashed their nightly rates, in many cases cutting asking prices nearly in half. For this weekend’s kick off group stage match between Australia vs. Türkiye, properties that were listed at around C$1,500 a night are now going for roughly C$700 — a stark reversal from the windfall hosts were promised when FIFA came calling. They The discounting reflects what is becoming an embarrassing demand story for the host city. The BC Hotel Association confirms that June hotel occupancy across the Lower Mainland is running nine per cent behind the same period last year — and in Downtown Vancouver, the gap widens to 15 per cent. FIFA, the BCHA concedes bluntly, has not generated the broad hotel demand many expected. With less than 10 days to kickoff, average daily hotel rates in Vancouver are falling by roughly 15 per cent daily, according to Expedia data. The early matches — arguably the least glamorous fixtures on the schedule — appear to be drawing the weakest interest, and locals on the ground confirm what the data suggests: almost nobody in British Columbia seems to actually hold a ticket. The city’s reputation is not helping. Vancouver’s homelessness and public disorder crisis has become impossible to paper over. A 2025 count put the city’s homeless population at 2,715, many concentrated in the Downtown Eastside — just steps from BC Place — and accusations are flying that the city is “sweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA.” A sweeping new FIFA bylaw gives the city expanded powers over advertising, vending, noise, graffiti removal and public space management through July 20. For hosts who sank renovation money into premium Airbnb upgrades banking on extortionate World Cup fees, the math is turning ugly — fast.

• A World Cup referee from Somalia has been denied entry to the U.S., forcing him out of the global sporting event just days before the first match. Omar Artan had landed in Miami on a flight from Istanbul over the weekend when he was turned away, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday. CBP did not say why the referee was barred from entry, though Somalia is among about 40 countries designated for additional scrutiny or subject to travel bans under President Donald Trump. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” CBP said.The decision to bar his entry comes amid widespread concern that Trump administration policies will hamper World Cup preparation as the U.S. prepares to host matches in 11 cities. FIFA confirmed it had been informed about the U.S. decision to bar Artan from entry and said his “status will not be changed at present.” This is the first known case of a World Cup referee being barred from entry by U.S. immigration authorities, though several players and coaching staff, as well as numerous fans, have had trouble entering the country- Politico

China is looking to spend nearly $300 billion over the next five years to build more data centers across the country, as Beijing strives to gain ground on the US in the AI race. The government wants to construct a network of “computing hubs,” Bloomberg reported. “The primary beneficiary of the plan is the economy as a whole,” an analyst wrote, given Beijing’s push to integrate AI across sectors to boost productivity. The country’s buildout, though, serves as a cautionary tale for the US, where public backlash to expanding AI infrastructure is growing, a China tech expert argued in Project Syndicate: There is a “growing mismatch between supply and demand” in China, with some data centers under-utilized and hundreds of projects reportedly canceled - Semafor

World Briefing Explainer: The World’s ‘Top 3 Best’ and ‘Top 3 Worst’ Airports

For the first time in 20 years, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a new sunscreen ingredient — bemotrizinol, or BEMT — that experts say is a safer option than many chemical ingredients currently in use in the United States. “Bemotrizinol has been used safely in Europe for decades, and FDA’s action will increase competition and consumer confidence in sunscreen products,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said in a statement announcing the change. Adding BEMT is welcome news to many because there are few choices on US store shelves that are both safe and effective, according to an annual report by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit health and environmental advocacy organization. Sunscreens on US store shelves today excel at blocking the radiation that causes visible sunburns, called ultraviolet B rays. However, critics say they routinely fail to shield against deep-penetrating ultraviolet A, or UVA rays, which drive premature aging, suppress the immune system and are the primary contributor to skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Peer-reviewed research by EWG has found US sunscreens deliver on average just 24% of the UVA protection implied by their sun protection factor, or SPF, labels - CNN

Prince Harry seeks to mend his fractured relationship with his brother and return to the royals, according to the former editor-in-chief of People and Us Weekly. Appearing on The Royalist podcast on Tuesday, Dan Wakeford, the cultural commentator and founder of the Celebrity Intelligence newsletter, argued that Prince Harry is regretful of his fraught relationship with his brother, Prince William, and wants to come back to royal life. Host Tom Sykes asked the pop culture expert about a June 4 story from his newsletter, which discusses Harry’s estrangement from William and alleges that the Duke of Sussex doesn’t even have his brother’s phone number anymore. “There is a sense of loss with his family that is profound, and he misses the infrastructure, misses the ability to do the work,” Wakeford, 51, told Sykes about Harry’s relinquishing of his royal duties and separation from the family. “And he misses his home. He misses his friends. He misses that safety and that security…. And the devastating part of this is the quote where the sources have said that he secretly hoped William would struggle so he would pick up the phone and call him back and ask him for help,” he continued. “Because, remember, William and Harry were supposed to do this together with the Fab Foursome... splitting this work and this pressure.” Prince Harry, along with his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their royal duties in 2020, moving to California to be financially independent from Buckingham Palace - The Daily Beast

The journals….

Xi Visits Pyongyang - But Who’s Really In Charge Of Kim?

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang Monday for a two-day state visit - his first trip to North Korea since 2019 and notably his first overseas visit of 2026. Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol-ju received Xi at Kim Il-sung Square, where he was welcomed by a large military band.

The Pyongyang trip comes amid a remarkable run of summitry for Xi. In recent weeks, he hosted U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, then Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after - a sequencing that was almost certainly deliberate. Beijing is projecting itself as the world’s indispensable interlocutor: the one capital that every major power still needs to visit, even as Washington gets ground down by domestic dysfunction, the Iran war, and a growing list of foreign files it cannot close. As traditional U.S. allies quietly seek distance from Washington, Xi is filling the vacuum - not with ideology, but with availability.

Xi called for deepening “strategic coordination and cooperation,” saying the two sides should inject “powerful momentum” into their ties, with China ready to expand cooperation in economics, trade, agriculture, health, and science and technology. Conspicuously absent from Xi’s four-point framework for relations: any mention of denuclearization - a demand that has become diplomatic theatre at this point.

Notably, Defense Minister Dong Jun is part of Xi’s delegation - a departure from the 2019 visit - suggesting the military dimension of this relationship is being elevated, not just managed.

The conventional read is that Xi is visiting to claw back influence over a Kim who has grown increasingly cozy with Putin, supplying troops and weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine. As one analyst put it, “North Korea has more leverage vis-à-vis China compared to June 2019.”

But that framing may be too tidy. Xi has no interest in seeing Putin lose in Ukraine. With Ukraine regaining battlefield initiative, there may be quiet urgency in Beijing to ensure Russian forces remain adequately supplied - and if Pyongyang is helping achieve that, Xi is hardly losing sleep over it. The concern isn’t that Kim is helping Russia; it’s that Kim is doing so without Chinese coordination, acquiring leverage with Moscow that Beijing doesn’t control. (In April, Ukrainian intelligence suggested there were over 14,000 North Korean troops in Russia, and that more than 2,250 had been killed. Meanwhile, South Korea said that as of February there were about 11,000 DPRK troops in Russia’s Kursk region on the Ukrainian border, 10,000 of whom were combat soldiers and the remainder engineers).

For North Korea, this visit is another chapter in its longstanding balancing act — extracting military and economic benefits from both Russia and China while avoiding excessive reliance on either. Kim plays this game well. Xi knows it. The pageantry in Pyongyang is as much about optics as influence.

• French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host a video call between the Group of Seven countries and China to address global trade imbalances, according to four officials from three G7 countries familiar with preparations for the meeting. Two of the four officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic planning, said the call would take place Thursday ahead of next week’s G7 leaders’ summit in the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains. The call is a notable step for a group of Western democracies that has in recent years taken an increasingly confrontational stance toward China. But France, which has made tackling economic imbalances a key aim of its G7 presidency this year, has taken a more conciliatory approach when it comes to dealing with China. French officials argue that underinvestment in the European Union and overconsumption in the U.S. as well as Chinese overproduction contributed to the current situation - Politico

Iran and Israel say they have halted attacks on each other, after the two countries exchanged fire for the first time since April’s truce. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country was holding fire “at the moment”. But he stressed that the struggle against Iran and Hezbollah was “not finished”. It came hours after Iran’s armed forces said it had stopped operations following the delivery of a “painful response” to Israel. It promised “more severe and crushing measures” if Israel carried out more strikes, including in Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Tehran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for a strike on Beirut. Israel responded in the early hours of Monday morning by targeting what it said were military sites in the Islamic Republic. In a call with the BBC, US President Donald Trump denied that Netanyahu had defied his wishes by launching strikes. The White House confirmed that Trump had called Netanyahu to discuss the crisis. An Israeli official said Israel had halted its strikes at his request - BBC

Armenia’s ruling pro-Europe party has won parliamentary elections, confirming the country’s pivot towards Europe and away from its traditional ally, Russia. Final results in the small South Caucasus country showed the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party securing a slim majority, while the Strong Armenia alliance, led by the Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, won 25% of the seats in parliament. Armenia’s ruling pro-Europe party has won parliamentary elections, confirming the country’s pivot towards Europe and away from its traditional ally, Russia. Final results in the small South Caucasus country showed the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party securing a slim majority, while the Strong Armenia alliance, led by the Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, won 25% of the seats in parliament. The prime minister, known for his populist and at times divisive rhetoric, has sought closer ties with Europe, suggesting that Armenia’s future lies in deeper integration with the west and expressing hope that the country could one day join the EU. Yet difficulties remain for Pashinyan, who failed to secure the supermajority needed to call a referendum on amending the constitution, including removing references that Azerbaijan says imply territorial claims to Nagorno-Karabakh – a crucial condition for signing a final peace agreement. - The Guardian

• As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues in its fifth year, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European partners for talks on support for Kyiv. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were present at the meeting. Together the three European leaders helm an informal security alliance known as ​the E3, which is one of Ukraine’s main sources of international support. In a joint statement, they extended their support to a proposal for a direct dialogue between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin — with US and European participation — to try to secure a ‌ceasefire. “Leaders commended President Zelenskyy’s call for an ​end to the war, negotiated by diplomatic means, as set out in his letter to the president,” the statement said, referring to an open letter Zelensky wrote to Putin last week, proposing a face-to-face meeting between the two. The letter was snubbed by the Russian leader, who said the offer did not come across as sincere. Putin said he saw “no point” in meeting Zelensky until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Meanwhile, Zelensky - who joined the European leaders in Downing Street - said he told the UK's Starmer ​that Kyiv needed ‌additional missiles for ‌air defence ‌systems - DW

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Ticket touts are likely to be the first losers in this year’s World Cup, with almost 180,000 tickets still available on official resale platforms just days before the tournament kicks off. The median official ticket price on the official portal for resellers has sunk by 20 percent over the past month. After taking account of a 26 percent resale fee on the platform, the Financial Times has calculated that most sales may come at a loss. FIFA’s resale portals lists 176,000 tickets for the opening group phase of the competition. The FT’s estimates of prices and availability, based on data on the FIFA portal, also show a large gap in enthusiasm between teams. About 16,000 tickets are unsold for games involving Iran, with the cheapest standard seat on the market priced at $138. Even the U.S., the main host of the tournament, is struggling to shift tickets, with 4,400 tickets still available on the resale portal for its opening match against Paraguay. Despite steep discounts, the median tickets still costs more than $800. The cheapest remaining tickets for this game directly from FIFA cost $1,200. In addition to resales, FIFA is listing 15,000 tickets for group-stage games. Empty seats would be an embarrassment for FIFA, global football’s governing body, which opted to price tickets far higher than in previous World Cups. The five-week tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada starts Thursday. The high initial ticket costs and the use of variable pricing have drawn a fierce backlash from fan groups and local politicians. The attorneys-general office of both New York and New Jersey have laucnhed probes into what they called “impossibly high” ticket prices. Prices for the final start at $4,185, rising to $8,680 for “premium” seats. FIFA has previously lauded the strong demand for tickets and said in January it had received requests 500-million booking requests. It said it expected to raise more than $3-billion from ticket and hospitality sales, over three times higher than the previous event in Qatar in 2022 - Financial Times.

• With a record 6.5 million fans expected to descend on North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a new cost analysis lays bare just how unevenly the financial burden falls across host cities. Ticket-Compare.com ranked all 16 venues by total cost for a family of four - factoring in tickets, transport, hotels, food and drinks - and the results are stark. Miami tops the list at $5,664 all-in, consuming an estimated 3.8 months of average discretionary spending for a single match. At the other end, Monterrey, Mexico ($2,174) and San Francisco ($2,259) offer the most budget-friendly options, each requiring roughly 1.5 months of savings. The U.S. dominates the priciest tier, with New York/New Jersey ($4,341) and Boston ($3,394) rounding out the top five most expensive cities alongside Mexican hosts Mexico City ($4,048) and Guadalajara ($3,913). Canadian hosts Toronto ($3,183) and Vancouver ($2,881) land in the mid-range. The methodology drew on ticket data from Ticket-Compare’s own platform, Google Hotels, FIFA partner JustPark, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and global cost-of-living database Numbeo.

  For the tens of millions of fans eyeing a once-in-a-generation tournament on home turf, the message is clear: choose your city wisely.

President Donald Trump was booed at Madison Square Garden as he attended his hometown New York Knicks‘ NBA Finals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Trump will watch the game from a private box, alongside Kai Trump, the eldest daughter of his son, Donald Trump Jr. The boos came as Avery Wilson performed “The Star Spangled Banner.” It was the Knicks’ first home game in the team’s first Finals appearance since 1999. The president’s attendance, at the invitation of Knicks owner and longtime friend James Dolan, required airport-like security at the New York City arena and caused the NYPD to shut down 10-square blocks around the Garden, long dubbed the “Mecca of Basketball,” in Midtown Manhattan. The home crowd, many of whom paid thousands of dollars to attend, gave a cold welcome to the president, who has not attended a Knicks game in years. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, was also in attendance but in a different part of the stadium. He told the press earlier on Monday that he had bought a standing room-only ticket for about $1,000. Trump's large motorcade rolled up to the Garden at 7:28 p.m., with intense security locking down most of midtown for his arrival. His route to the game took him down the FDR and he was greeted by signs that included, "Nobody wants you here," and "Trump Must Go." People/USA Today

The journals….

Just as Vancouver, one of two host cities in Canada, prepares to welcome the world for its first match next weekend, the city’s tourism leaders are issuing a desperate plea. In a recent news conference, Destination Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin sounded the alarm over plummeting public confidence and severe street disorder in the downtown core. Rather than projecting excitement for the impending global spotlight, Chwin was forced to share unedited, scathing reviews from recent visitors who described feelings of extreme vulnerability and “utter disappointment”.

Tourists Repelled by Open Drug Use The complaints shared by tourism officials paint a grim picture of the realities on Vancouver’s streets. Visitors reported navigating “street upon street of homeless people who were clearly under the influence,” witnessing drugs being openly cooked and consumed, and being aggressively yelled at by individuals suffering from severe mental health issues. For some tourists, the disorder has entirely destroyed the city’s reputation, with one visitor stating the experience “has put me off to going to any other city in Canada”. The situation has deteriorated so drastically that, for the first time in nearly 30 years, Destination Vancouver had to bring in the Vancouver Police Department to train its volunteers on how to field safety questions from frightened tourists.

Clueless Officials and Band-Aid Solutions Despite these glaring issues in high-traffic areas, local and provincial officials appear completely out of touch. The B.C. government recently unveiled its “Look West” strategy, which aims to double visitor spending to $48 billion by 2036. Yet, these ambitious economic goals seem entirely disconnected from the reality on the ground. The government claims to be investing in police enforcement, adding shelter beds, and addressing mental health, but the results are virtually invisible. Much like the superficial approach seen in Victoria - where officials have resorted to simply putting up fences to hide the infiltration of drug addiction and homelessness in tourist zones - the responses in Vancouver feel like nothing more than band-aid solutions masking a deep-rooted crisis. With the world’s eyes turning to Vancouver next weekend, the city’s reputation is hanging by a thread.

🔴 LIVE ON CBC | The letter that changed nothing

Zelensky wrote to Putin - calling for a ceasefire, face-to-face talks, even mocking his age. Putin’s answer? Drone strikes. One hit a storage facility near Chernobyl.

We’re back to war of attrition. But something has shifted: Ukraine is now striking deep inside Russia - including Saint Petersburg, during Russia’s Davos. Elites can no longer pretend the war isn’t real.

Plus: Armenia votes today — a thriving democracy in a very dangerous neighbourhood, trying to tilt West while staying alive.

Full analysis with CBC’s Natasha Fatah. 🎙️

World Briefing Explainer: The Sovereignty of the Street: South Africa’s Fragmented Response to Undocumented Migration

By Enzokuhle Jojo

South Africa is currently witnessing a volatile collision between populist street-level mandates and the constitutional guardrails of the state. This dual authority crisis, where the government’s official deportation protocols are increasingly shadowed by a rising tide of public-led vigilantism, represents a fundamental challenge to the rule of law. As non-state actors attempt to seize the mantle of national policy, the internal friction has grown into a geopolitical liability, threatening South Africa’s standing within the African Union and its reputation as a stable continental leader.

The state is visibly struggling to contain mob-led movements that have transformed local frustrations into a paramilitary-style enforcement of borders, The Daily Maverick reported. It further emphasizes that while civil society maintains that “violence is not activism,” the persistent mobilization of these groups suggests the state’s monopoly on force is being tested.

This friction marks a shift from mere policy disagreement to a tactical struggle for control of the country’s urban centers. The current unrest is anchored in the “30 June” phenomenon - a public-enforced deadline for undocumented migrants to vacate the country that operates entirely outside traditional judicial processes. This self-styled mandate represents a dangerous precedent in which non-state actors are, in the words of a presidency statement reported by SAnews, “assuming functions that only state officials are permitted to perform.”

This movement is heavily linked to the “March and March” campaign led by former broadcaster Ngizwe Mchunu, according to independent TV news channel eNCA. Reports detail Mchunu’s intent to “liberate the country” by migrating protest actions from the Durban CBD into the strategic heart of Gauteng, specifically targeting Pretoria and Johannesburg. This public deadline stands in stark contradiction to the official executive position.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, writing in a weekly newsletter cited by the South African government’s news agency, SAnews, denounced these demonstrations as the work of “opportunists who are exploiting legitimate grievances” under a false guise of activism. The presidency’s warning underscores that the assumption of policing powers by civilians is an act of lawlessness that threatens national security.

However, this domestic disconnect has already spilled across borders, igniting a regional diplomatic firestorm. The strategic fallout of this internal instability has reached a breaking point in Pan-African relations, transforming a domestic migration issue into a regional crisis that threatens the very principles of African integration.

The Government of Ghana has delivered the most forceful response to date. As reported by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the administration, under the direction of President John Dramani Mahama, orchestrated a high-level repatriation exercise to rescue its citizens. GNA noted that the first batch of 300 Ghanaian nationals was received at the Accra International Airport by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. In a significant investigative detail corroborated by GNA, Minister Ablakwa revealed that 26 Ghanaians previously detained for visa violations were released following intense diplomatic negotiations and included in the evacuation.

Beyond the physical exodus, GNA reports that Ghana has formally petitioned the African Union to place South African xenophobic attacks on the agenda for the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting on June 24 in Egypt. This is compounded by a formal travel advisory from the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which warns citizens to “avoid non-essential travel to South Africa” due to widespread looting and the systematic destruction of property belonging to African nationals.

To prevent a total regional decoupling and reclaim authority from the streets, the South African state has pivoted toward a performative and intensified enforcement regime known as “Operation New Broom.” This strategic shift, led by the Department of Home Affairs under the Government of National Unity (GNU), aims to signal that migration management is no longer a siloed administrative project but a core security priority.

According to data released by the Department of Home Affairs and analyzed by Business Day, the state has conducted 109,344 deportations over the past two financial years, representing a 46% surge in activity.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said in a published statement that he credited the use of biometric verification tools for this efficiency and issued a blunt warning: illegal immigrants should “self-deport now” or face a permanent ban. This crackdown has penetrated the domestic labor market with investigative precision.

Business Day reports that 8,180 employers have been charged for hiring undocumented workers over the past five years, with enforcement particularly focused on the mining, agriculture, and education and training sectors. While the Eastern Cape recorded the highest number of non-compliant businesses, the broader enforcement successes are overshadowed by the accelerating decay of South Africa’s economic hubs.

Unregulated protests and urban decay are now creating conditions of profound risk for both foreign nationals and local industry alike, pushing South Africa’s major economic hubs toward a breaking point. The Daily Maverick reports a pervasive “gatvol” sentiment among business leaders, who warn that the decline of Johannesburg is no longer a municipal issue but a national emergency.

In a prominent op-ed published in the Daily Maverick, business leaders Adrian Gore and Martin Kingston argued that “If Joburg fails, SA pays,” linking the city’s deterioration directly to the erosion of national revenue and competitive standing. They called for urgent, structured private-sector intervention to rebuild the city.

This macro-economic anxiety is echoed at the local level in KwaZulu-Natal. As documented by eNCA, eThekwini councillor Sharmaine Sewshanker stated that the closure of shops and unlawful disruptions are “severely damaging to the local economy,” placing existing jobs at risk in a city already battered by high unemployment.

In response, the presidency has called for a “whole of society approach” to migration, as reported by SAnews, signaling that the regulation of movement must be balanced with the preservation of economic vitality.

South Africa now faces the fundamental challenge of reclaiming sovereign authority from vigilante groups while simultaneously addressing the legitimate socio-economic pressures of undocumented migration. Reasserting the rule of law requires the state to prove that its formal apparatus is a more effective guarantor of security than the lawlessness of public-led mobs.

According to SAnews, Mr. Ramaphosa has remained firm in his assertion that while South Africa will exercise its sovereign right to regulate migration and secure its borders, it must categorically reject “xenophobia, ethnic mobilisation, or intolerance.” The path forward for the Government of National Unity rests on its ability to deliver the “reforms focused on greater efficiency” promised by the Department of Home Affairs. Ultimately, the state must resolve the friction between official policy and the “30 June” mandate; failure to do so will continue to erode South Africa’s international reputation and threaten the fragile stability of its internal economy.

(In an address Sunday night, Mr. Ramaphosa put forward a number of measures to curb illegal immigration - a phased relocation of refugee reception centres to border posts, setting up dedicated courts to fast track the deportation of undocumented migrants, and discontinuing the green ID book - which he said “enables identity theft by undocumented immigrants and criminal syndicates,” Business Day reported).

What is unfolding in South Africa is not simply a migration crisis. It is a referendum on the legitimacy of the post-apartheid state itself. When ordinary citizens feel compelled to enforce borders because they no longer trust the institutions designed to do so, it signals a collapse far deeper than any policy failure. The Government of National Unity cannot legislate its way out of this moment. It must govern. That means confronting the unemployment, service delivery failures, and institutional decay that have made scapegoating foreign nationals so politically potent in the first place. A state that outsources its authority to the streets, even passively by failing to reclaim it, has already conceded something it may not easily recover. South Africa has built its democratic identity on a Constitution that protects the dignity of all people within its borders. To allow mob rule to override that founding promise, regardless of the economic pressures driving it, would be a far greater threat to the nation’s future than any number of undocumented migrants. The state does not have the luxury of delay. Every day the ‘30 June’ mandate goes unchallenged is another day the street wins.

From The National Post, June 7, 2026: Michael Bociurkiw urges Canada to help rebuild Ukraine’s shattered independent media. Martial law forced channels into a single 24/7 “United News” telethon - patriotic, repetitive and increasingly unwatched. Advertising is banned, funding is strained, and many journalists have been killed, drafted or fled. “I feel we’re not far from Ukrainian media (becoming a media in exile) joining the Afghans, Persians and others who have fled their countries,” he warns.

The journals….

This week on World Briefing Plus, I’m reporting from Canada’s Pacific coast and connecting dots that stretch from the streets of Calgary to the battlefields of Ukraine and the ballot boxes of Armenia.

We begin with a few words about Taxi Talks, my ongoing effort to understand global events through conversations with ride-share and taxi drivers around the world. A recent discussions with an Uber and Grab drivers from Manila to Muscat to Calgary offered a stark reminder of how distant conflicts can hit ordinary people hardest. Rising fuel costs and broader inflationary pressures linked to the war with Iran are making life increasingly difficult for gig workers already operating on razor-thin margins.

From there, we turn to Ukraine and Russia, where Ukrainian strikes have once again disrupted St. Petersburg during Russia’s flagship economic forum, delivering a fresh embarrassment to Vladimir Putin. The attacks come just after Putin rejected Volodymyr Zelensky’s latest appeal for direct talks and a ceasefire. I explain why these developments may increase, rather than decrease, the danger of escalation, and why I remain concerned that a cornered Kremlin could respond with overwhelming force.

I also examine Sunday’s crucial elections in Armenia, a country I recently visited. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is seeking another mandate while facing intense pressure from Moscow, which is determined not to lose another former Soviet republic drifting toward Europe. The vote is shaping up as a referendum not only on Armenia’s geopolitical direction but also on whether voters believe Pashinyan has conceded too much to Azerbaijan and Turkey. As I saw firsthand, Armenia remains a thriving democracy in a very difficult neighbourhood.

Finally, I look ahead to the week to come as the World Cup kicks off across North America. I’ll be reporting from Vancouver, where soaring costs, budget overruns, and sky-high ticket prices have left many residents feeling excluded from an event they are helping fund. The promise of lasting economic benefits is being heavily promoted by politicians, but many taxpayers appear unconvinced.

As always, thank you to our paid subscribers. Your support helps make this reporting and commentary mission possible. If you find value in World Briefing Plus, please consider upgrading your subscription and encouraging others to join our growing community. Or you can support World Briefing at your own level via PayPal.

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On May 11, the same day Moscow unleashed more than 100 drones at Ukrainian targets, Vladimir Putin’s special representative for international cultural cooperation was taking a bow at a Tokyo concert hall. Mikhail Shvydkoy - a former Putin culture minister - had come to open the annual Festival of Russian Culture in Japan. According to the independent Moscow Times, he stayed to lobby for resumed Russia-Japan ministerial talks, bilateral energy cooperation, and direct flights. His meeting partner was a man with quite the rap sheet: a Japanese parliamentarian who once served prison time for accepting bribes and is known for his Kremlin sympathies.

Japan has sanctioned Putin personally and pumped $15.7 billion into Ukrainian aid. Yet Tokyo has rolled out the red carpet for a Kremlin-organized cultural festival that the rest of the democratic world has largely refused to host. Even Italy, which allowed Russia to participate in this year’s Venice Biennale, had the event forced on it against the government’s wishes - the EU responded by cutting €2 million in funding, and the Russian pavilion was shuttered to the public after a brief preview amid protests.

Tokyo’s convenient justification - that its quarrel is with the war, not Russian culture - sounds principled but crumbles on inspection. This is not a gathering of independent artists. The festival is organized by Russia’s Ministry of Culture, chaired by Shvydkoy, and functions as what one analyst calls artwashing: the Kremlin would rather Japanese audiences associate Russia with the Mariinsky than with Mariupol. Before leaving Tokyo, Shvydkoy was already planning the 2027 edition - potentially featuring conductor Valery Gergiev, as close to Putin as any figure in Russian musical life, the Moscow Times reported.

The Kremlin would rather Japanese audiences associate Russia with the Mariinsky than with Mariupol

Japan has actually moved in the opposite direction - making it easier for Russians to visit, including by opening two new visa centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg in February 2026, the Moscow Times reports.

But hosting a state-directed propaganda festival - and allowing its organizer to use the trip as a diplomatic back channel - is something else entirely. Ninety-three percent of Japanese respondents said they feel no affinity for Russia, according to a September 2025 cabinet survey.

Little wonder why: Russian authorities have refused to permit Japanese former residents to visit ancestral graves on the disputed Southern Kuril Islands. These individuals were forcibly deported after the islands, which Japan claims as its Northern Territories, were occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II. An annual scheme used to permit the former residents to make short, visa-free visits during the summer months. However, the Kremlin ended it to punish Tokyo for its support of Ukraine and has remained deaf to Japanese entreaties to resume the visits on humanitarian grounds. With the average age of former residents now over 90, few seem likely ever to set foot on their homeland again.

The Festival of Russian Culture exists not for Japanese audiences. It exists for Moscow.

The Hot Take: Tokyo is sophisticated enough to know the difference between a Russian tourist and a Putin envoy. It's time to stop pretending a culture ministry official chairing a Kremlin-funded festival is anything other than what it is.

The Cornered Bear: Why Putin Won't Take Zelensky's Deal - BBC Interview

Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly challenged Vladimir Putin to meet face-to-face, end the war, and agree to a ceasefire. Live on BBC World Television, I explained why Putin is unlikely to bite - and why a cornered Kremlin, hemmed in by a failing economy, drone strikes on its oil infrastructure, electoral setbacks abroad, and a tiring Trump, is the more dangerous scenario. When a rat is backed into a corner, it bites back.

Taxi Talks is back! 🚕

In this exclusive World Briefing video explainer, we traveled far and wide to bring you one-on-one conversations straight from the passenger seat. This episode uncovers the stark financial realities squeezing ride-hailing drivers on opposite sides of the globe.

Watch as we compare the jarring economics of an Uber Calgary airport run - where a driver loses a staggering 50% of their fare to a combination of platform cuts and airport authority fees - with the grueling conditions in the Philippines, where Grab drivers are forced into dangerous 18-hour shifts just to survive 20-25% commissions and sky-high fuel prices.

Check out the video below to see the hidden geopolitical and economic pressures hitting the gig economy, and find out why adding a tip on your phone is more important than ever.

The journals….

My full analysis 👇

News Briefs
On the heels of a flurry of Ukrainian drone strikes deep in Russia and recent shifts in Ukraine’s favor on the battlefield, President Volodymyr Zelensky published on Thursday an open letter to President Vladimir V. Putin. The letter, posted on the Ukrainian president’s website, offered to resume peace talks — but taunted the Russian leader over wartime setbacks, inflation and Russia’s dependence on China. It also made note of Mr. Putin’s advancing age. Mr. Zelensky has at various points in the war recorded video statements addressing Mr. Putin or the Russian people, including on the first day of Moscow’s invasion in 2022. This letter was among the most scathing direct addresses to Mr. Putin so far. Mr. Zelensky noted that Mr. Putin has by now spent about half of his 26 years in power as Russia’s paramount leader fighting Ukraine. The timeline counts the Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014 and the full-scale invasion launched in 2022. He offered a cease-fire if Mr. Putin wanted one. Mr. Zelensky said he would meet for direct talks outside the Trump administration’s negotiating process. Those talks, led by Steve Witkoff, a real estate investor, and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, ground to a halt after the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began in February. Mr. Zelensky suggested including European nations and holding a leaders’ meeting in Switzerland, Turkey or an Arab state. He has offered direct meetings with Mr. Putin before, without result. Though addressed to Mr. Putin, the open letter seemed intended as well for Mr. Trump’s attention. And it was not clear whether Mr. Zelensky’s appeal was meant to jump-start talks or to denigrate a potential negotiating counterpart. Woven into the offer for peace talks were needling remarks about a strongman leader unable to defend his own capital, Moscow, or a second city, St. Petersburg, from a nation Mr. Putin invaded four and a half years ago with the goal of a quick win. “After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll,” Mr. Zelensky wrote to Mr. Putin, who is 73, turning the knife. Mr. Zelensky, who is 25 years younger, has pointed to the Russian leader’s age to cast doubt on the stability of Russia’s one-man-rule political system. The letter also touched on reports of rising discontent in Russia over gasoline shortages from attacks on refineries, as well as inflation and war fatigue. The letter was posted a day after a drone strike on an oil depot outside St. Petersburg and a day before Mr. Putin is scheduled to deliver a speech to an economic conference at a venue outside that city on Friday. The attack sent a huge cloud of black smoke wafting over the highway leading from the city to the conference site. The letter appeared to be at least in part a publicity move, trumpeting the long-range drone strike on St. Petersburg, which had both an economic and a psychological impact on Russia. Even before that attack, Mr. Putin scaled down a Victory Day parade in Moscow last month amid worries of other Ukrainian strikes. “Now we can all see that Russians are finally becoming less comfortable with this reality,” Mr. Zelensky wrote. In his appeal for direct talks to end the war, Mr. Zelensky asked for a process apart from that led by the Trump administration. Running for election, Mr. Trump promised to end the war in a day, only to have talks stretch out now more than a year. Mr. Zelensky wrote that the United States had failed to deliver on what he said was an apparent agreement between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin. “We have heard that you were promised in Alaska the resolution of certain issues concerning Ukraine and Europe,” Mr. Zelensky wrote, referring to a summit last summer in Anchorage. Russia has said that Mr. Trump agreed that Ukraine would cede land for peace. Ukraine has not done so. “You can see for yourself that Ukrainian and European issues are not decided in Anchorage,” Mr. Zelensky wrote - NYT

• In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation and a rebuke to the administration’s approach toward Ukraine, the US House of Representatives approved a sweeping Ukraine aid and Russia sanctions package, with 18 Republicans joining Democrats to pass legislation that Republican leadership had sought to keep off the floor. The Ukraine Support Act passed 226-195 after supporters overcame months of resistance through a discharge petition -- one of the most difficult procedural mechanisms available in Congress. The vote marks the first comprehensive Ukraine-support legislation to pass the House during the 119th Congress and underscores growing unease among some Republicans over the administration’s handling of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The measure passed late on June 4 authorizes more than $1 billion in assistance for Ukraine, up to $8 billion in military financing loans, support for reconstruction efforts, aid to Baltic allies, and a new package of sanctions targeting Russia's financial, energy, mining, and government sectors. While the bill's prospects remain uncertain in the Republican-controlled Senate, where leaders have largely deferred to President Donald Trump's position on Russia sanctions, supporters described the vote as a significant political and symbolic victory. The vote came only a day after another group of House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a separate resolution limiting US military involvement against Iran without congressional authorization -- another indication of growing willingness among some lawmakers to challenge both party leadership and the White House on foreign policy matters. The next step for supporters is to move the legislation through the Senate. To become law, the Ukraine Support Act must be introduced, receive a vote, pass the upper chamber, and then be sent to the president's desk - RFE/RL

• Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina will not attend this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum because she is on sick leave, a spokesperson for the regulator told the news outlet RBC on Thursday.

  Nabiullina was originally scheduled to speak at two panels on cyber fraud and economic growth at Russia’s flagship business and investment event on Thursday. Her name was suddenly removed from the list of participants ahead of the sessions. State Duma lawmaker Andrei Makarov, who moderated one of those panels, said the Central Bank chief was unable to attend for “objective reasons.”

  A source close to one of Russia’s state corporations told the business newspaper Vedomosti that Nabiullina actually skipped the forum to attend the funeral of her adviser Alexei Mozhin, who died at age 69 on Wednesday, SPIEF’s opening day.

  The Central Bank did not elaborate to RBC whether Nabiullina fell ill herself or was going to Mozhin’s funeral. At the economic panel Nabiullina was set to join, top Russian financial officials claimed the country has achieved absolute financial sovereignty and must permanently abandon any expectations of Western sanctions being lifted. Nabiullina’s third and final term as Russia’s top financial regulator ends on June 24, 2027. President Vladimir Putin is legally required to submit a nominee for her successor to parliament no later than March 2027 - Moscow Times

The men’s soccer World Cup kicks off next week at 16 stadiums across North America, just as summer weather arrives in many of the host cities. Millions of fans, players and workers could be exposed to potentially harmful heat, an NPR analysis finds. More than one-third of World Cup matches are at high risk for dangerously hot, humid conditions, NPR found, and dozens more matches come with moderate heat risk. NPR looked at two decades of temperature data for each host city, as well as the time each World Cup match is scheduled to start, and checked those temperatures against heat hazard guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American College of Sports Medicine. The high-risk events identified in NPR’s analysis include multiple high-profile matches, such as the game that determines which team takes home third place in the World Cup, and the World Cup final. “Players can overheat, and match officials as well,” says Donal Mullan, a climate scientist at Queen’s University Belfast, who co-authored a study last year about heat risk at the 2026 World Cup. “They can also overheat and collapse,” Mullan warns. “This has happened to people.” Out of the 104 games, 67 of them are being held at locations and times that come with potential danger for heat illnesses, with 39 of those at high risk, according to their historical wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta rank near the top in temperature for their games, with averages as high as 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Attendees and workers in those stadiums will have air conditioning. Stadiums in other parts of the U.S. don’t have the same infrastructure, with games in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Kansas City, Mo., averaging as high as 79 F with no roofs covering their stadiums. Miami’s stadium is the hottest venue without air conditioning. The historical average temperature this time of year is around 80 F. That threatens multiple matches with dangerously hot weather, including the match that determines which team wins third place in the tournament - NPR

• After initially saying that spectators would be able to bring factory-sealed water bottles to matches, FIFA updated its official stadium code of conduct this week to prohibit fans from bringing in bottles. When the weather is especially hot, “venues will activate additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses and expanded water distribution,” the FIFA spokesperson wrote to NPR.

• UK fans will now be banned from taking reusable water bottles into World Cup stadiums after an injury time U-turn by Fifa. The move, coming just a week before the tournament kicks off on June 11, has been criticised by England fans who hit out at the governing body’s ‘latest money-grab’. Fifa said it is designed to ‘prevent risk and injury to players and attendees’, despite experts warning that temperatures at 14 of the 16 grounds hosting matches could exceed dangerous levels. Fans hoping to cool down with a bottle of water while the players take their three-minute hydration break in each half will now have to hand over nearly £5 for the privilege. The code of conduct for ticket holders had previously permitted an empty, transparent, reusable bottle of up to one litre capacity to be brought in. But as first reported by The Athletic, an update to ticket holders on June 2 confirmed reusable bottles will no longer be permitted. Reacting to the new policy, the Free Lions England fans’ group posted on X: ‘What next? Sun cream banned and fans forced to buy it in stadiums? - Metro (UK)

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists in Israel staged a violent riot outside the home of a top judge on Wednesday night in protest against the country’s military draft, shocking many Israelis and adding to a fraught atmosphere ahead of national elections. The police said on Thursday that 65 of the protesters were detained for questioning. The rioters damaged property at the home of Supreme Court justice, Noam Sohlberg, in Alon Shvut, a West Bank settlement, police said, though no injuries were reported. It was unclear why that particular judge’s house was targeted, but it was the Supreme Court that had issued a ruling two years ago, formally ending the decades-long military draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, known in Hebrew as Haredim. Despite the court ruling, most Haredi men still do not show up for service. The exemption is one of the most contentious issues dividing Israelis after nearly three years of war in the region. It is also expected to be a major issue during elections set to take place this fall. The exemption had been granted specifically to Haredi men who say they are engaged in full time Torah study. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the violence on Wednesday night. His office said in a statement that he had spoken with Justice Sohlberg and made it clear that he expects law enforcement authorities to take a hard line against the rioters. Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government relies on the support of ultra-Orthodox political parties. It has been unable to muster enough support to pass a proposed military draft bill that would encourage the enlistment of some Haredi men, but that critics say would effectively exempt the majority of them. The Israeli military now says it is short of thousands of soldiers. Reservists have been called up repeatedly, often for hundreds of days of service at a time, fueling widespread resentment against the Haredim, who many Israelis say are dodging the draft and not sharing the national burden - NYT

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to Pyongyang for a two-day state visit set for Monday 8 June and Tuesday, 9 June, both countries announced Friday, in what will be his first visit in nearly seven years. The trip comes just weeks after Xi separately hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. The trip’s announcement also comes a day after North Korea unveiled a new facility to produce the ingredients for nuclear bombs, a move experts say suggests North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is eager to cement his country’s status as a nuclear weapons state ahead of Xi’s visit. During a visit to the plant, Kim announced plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” - Euronews

US oil reserves are at their lowest level since 2004 as the energy impacts of the Iran war pile up, but countries are finding ways to adapt. The energy shock from the largest supply disruption in history feels “remarkably mild,” Semafor’s climate and energy editor argued. A decline in China’s oil imports has “shielded the rest of the oil market,” one strategist noted, while a new study showed impacts to the US are less pronounced than the 1970s energy crisis, owing to a rise in domestic oil production. “The world is learning to live without the Gulf’s seaborne exports,” a former US Treasury official wrote: The conflict has forced Asia and Europe to accelerate their transition to renewable energy - Semafor

The journals…..

World Briefing Hot Take

It was supposed to be Russia’s annual showcase of economic resilience - a signal to the world that despite three years of war and Western sanctions, Moscow remains open for business. Instead, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opened Wednesday morning under a thick plume of black smoke, after Ukrainian drones struck a nearby oil terminal and naval hub. The symbolism was hard to miss, even for the 20,000 guests from 130 countries who had gathered for what the Kremlin bills as the “Russian Davos.”

But the smoke over St. Petersburg - a city dear to Vladimir Putin, who once served as its deputy mayor, as I pointed out on BBC World Television today - was just one chapter in a punishing 24-hour news cycle for the Kremlin.

In Washington, a small but significant band of Republican lawmakers broke ranks to advance both an Iran war powers resolution and legislation that could unlock fresh U.S. military aid for Ukraine - a rare bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s hands-off posture. And in Brussels, the EU moved to sanction four Chinese companies accused of fueling Russia’s war machine, doubling down on its strategy of going after Moscow’s enablers even as Beijing warned of consequences.

The centerpiece of the U.S. Ukraine Support Act is a sweeping sanctions package aimed squarely at Russia’s oil and gas sector - the Kremlin’s primary wartime revenue engine. The bill would tighten restrictions on financial institutions doing business with sanctioned Russian entities, crack down on sanctions evasion, and - critically - target the Chinese firms, Central Asian banks, and other third-party actors that have helped Moscow keep the money flowing despite existing Western restrictions. It would also eliminate a sanctions waiver Trump quietly approved earlier this year. On the aid side, the legislation would authorize roughly $1.8 billion in direct spending and more than $8 billion in loans for Ukraine’s war effort.

The bill still faces a difficult path. Senate divisions over the sanctions package and near-certain White House opposition - Trump has repeatedly signaled he doesn’t want Congress tying his hands in negotiations with Moscow - could yet kill it. But the 218-to-204 vote to advance it, secured through a rare procedural maneuver called a discharge petition that bypassed Republican leadership entirely, sends an unmistakable message: bipartisan patience with the Kremlin is wearing thin, and so is deference to Trump on Ukraine.

And it raises an uncomfortable question closer to home: if Washington and Brussels are tightening the screws, where is Canada? As I have noted repeatedly on international television, Canada remains the only G7 nation not to have expelled a single Russian diplomat - a staggering omission for a country that prides itself on standing with Ukraine. With the U.S. and EU raising the pressure bar this week, Ottawa’s inaction looks less like restraint and more like negligence. Expelling diplomats is the lowest of low-hanging fruit in the sanctions toolkit. The only question is what Canada is waiting for.

Bottom Line: Moscow walked into its own showcase event this week and found smoke in the sky, defectors in Washington, and its Chinese lifeline under fresh scrutiny in Brussels. For a Kremlin that has bet heavily on Western disunity, that’s a bad day at the office.

News briefs
The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) opened on Wednesday under a cloud of black smoke after Ukrainian drones struck a nearby oil terminal and naval hub earlier in the morning. Some 20,000 guests from 130 countries are expected to attend SPIEF, a flagship business and investment event known as the “Russian Davos,” which runs through Saturday at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Center. This year’s theme, “Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future,” leans heavily on Russia’s relations with the Global South and expanding technologies like artificial intelligence. As with previous years since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Western companies and business leaders will be largely absent from SPIEF. President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual keynote speech during the plenary session on Friday. He will be joined by the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, as well as Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. The Saudi delegation is featured as the “guest of honor.” Around 200 officials and corporate executives are representing the kingdom at SPIEF. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will speak at a panel on the environment on Friday. While Russia’s war against Ukraine is not mentioned in the SPIEF 2026 program, attendees needed only to look up at the sky above St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, filled with black smoke from Ukrainian drone strikes, to be reminded that the conflict continues to rage. “The Petersburg forum is opening with a nice plume of black smoke in the background after Ukrainian strikes,” wrote Serhii Sternenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister. An employee at one of Russia’s largest banks described the atmosphere at this year’s SPIEF as “the most stifling” he had experienced in six years of attending the event. “Participants and colleagues spent the whole morning discussing the smoke from the fire that blanketed the sky right above the exhibition center,” he told The Moscow Times, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Some people are joking, but mostly everyone is pretty gloomy because St. Petersburg has never been hit this hard before.” The employee said SPIEF organizers were trying to downplay the impact of the attacks, and that his company’s management had instructed staff to avoid words or phrases that might remind visitors of drone strikes. “Words like ‘explosive forum’ or ‘bomb,’ which in slang means ‘cool’ and ‘awesome,’ are off limits,” he said. “More generally, we’re supposed to project optimism, [because] the forum is the vanity fair of Russian economy. But pretending that everything is great gets harder and harder every year. Nothing is great at all!” Ukraine said its drones struck a warship at the Kronstadt base of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet, as well as an oil terminal not far from where SPIEF is being held - Moscow Times

• Several Republican lawmakers joined House Democrats on Wednesday afternoon to pass a resolution to force the Trump administration to end its war against Iran and to advance legislation to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Four Republicans crossed party lines to support the Iran war powers resolution, including Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Tom Barrett (Mich.) and Warren Davidson (Ohio). Additionally, six GOP lawmakers voted to push through legislation that could authorize more U.S. aid to Ukraine. This clears the way for a vote on the Ukraine Support Act, authored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill was forced to the floor by an obscure procedural gambit, known as a discharge petition, which requires 218 signatures to compel votes on legislation opposed by the Republican leaders who control the chamber. Last month, Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California Republican-turned-Independent, provided the 218th endorsement, forcing a vote later this week on an issue that has divided the House Republican conference. Republican Reps. Michael McCaul (Texas), Don Bacon (Neb.), Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Max Miller (Ohio) and Joe Wilson (S.C.) all voted in favor of this discharge petition. Bacon called the vote the House’s “Churchill or Chamberlain moment when it comes to helping a democracy and standing up to an invading thug,” in a social media post on Tuesday, in a reference to the two British political leaders Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain pursued a peacekeeping approach with Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler, while Churchill was an outspoken opponent to this regime. “Tonight we chose Churchill,” Bacon wrote in the post. “We are not done yet, though. We have two more votes before this fully passes the House. Moral clarity and freedom must win.” - The Hill

• The EU is pushing to sanction four Chinese companies it accuses of supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to documents seen by POLITICO. The four firms, likely to be included in the latest package of sanctions due to be approved at a gathering of EU foreign ministers next week, assist Russia’s shadow fleet, providing chemicals for Russia’s military and delivering components Moscow uses to build attack drones, officials said. The move is likely to feed into rising tensions between Brussels and Beijing as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seeks the backing of EU capitals for a major crackdown on subsidized Chinese imports. Last week, China said it would take “resolute countermeasures and effective steps to safeguard its own interests” if the EU imposed additional trade restrictions. The EU has targeted Chinese firms in previous rounds of sanctions, but the latest proposals show the bloc doubling down on its strategy of going after Russia’s enablers despite China warning of “consequences” over measures included in the EU’s 20th round of Russia sanctions. In addition to the four Chinese firms, the document proposes sanctions against five firms located in the United Arab Emirates, three in Turkey and one in Azerbaijan, all of which are described as facilitating Russian shipping and energy sales. It also proposes sanctioning subsidiaries of Russian company Lukoil, as well as dozens of individuals and firms described as supporting Moscow’s war machine. The list is part of a “rolling” sanctions approach whereby entities are added or removed based on how Russia is changing its tactics to avoid sanctions.

Putin’s Attacks On Ukraine Are Payback For Fuel Shortages | Michael Bociurkiw

VIDEO: “This is the first time in Russian history that Putin has banned the export of jet fuel.” Putin’s strikes on Ukraine are “pay back” after the Ukrainians have reduced Russia’s refining capacity by a third, says senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center Michael Bociurkiw. He was speaking to Neil Breakwell on Times Radio.

Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport Wednesday, killing one person, wounding dozens and briefly closing the airfield — the latest in back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the U.S. that test a fragile ceasefire. The strike reinforced the risks to residents and travelers in Gulf countries that had considered themselves relative havens before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Iran denied causing the damage. Talks have dragged on for weeks as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the war, now in its fourth month. They are increasingly strained by Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. A regional official said Iran wanted a separate ceasefire in Lebanon enforced before returning to talks. President Donald Trump said negotiations continue to extend the Iran ceasefire, even as the U.S. launched strikes against military sites on an Iranian island - AP

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Recent reports highlight a surge in militarized playgrounds appearing throughout Russia as the war in Ukraine continues to influence domestic life. These recreational areas feature factory-made equipment modeled after tanks, rocket launchers, and fighter jets, often adorned with patriotic slogans. While war-themed play structures existed sparingly in the past, their municipal funding and widespread installation have increased significantly following the full-scale invasion. Experts suggest these designs are less about child development and more about local officials demonstrating political loyalty to the central government. Consequently, the previous public debate regarding the appropriateness of such themes has largely vanished due to a crackdown on anti-war dissent. Ultimately, these spaces serve as a visual tool for integrating military imagery into the everyday environments of Russian children.

Some politicians and business leaders are claiming that China is driving the American backlash to data centers. A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday called for legal action against US nonprofits that he alleged are backed by China to sow opposition to the AI buildout. Canadian millionaire Kevin O’Leary recently claimed “nefarious accounts” linked to Beijing were behind the pushback to a data center project he’s backing. But the idea that foreign influence is seeding a populist campaign against AI facilities is far-fetched, experts told Semafor last month, noting that Chinese media is instead likely exploiting existing US divisions over the tech. The accusations reflect China’s growing role in US tech discourse, as the superpowers’ AI race heats up - Semafor

Germany failed for the first on Wednesday time to secure a seat on the UN Security Council, with Portugal and Austria receiving more votes for the two Western European spots starting in 2027. The UN Security Council has 15 members: five permanent - the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom - and 10 elected for staggered two-year terms, with seats allocated for different world regions. In secret ballots cast by the General Assembly for the European seats, Portugal and Austria received 134 and 131 votes respectively. Germany, which has already served six terms, received 104. A member of the G7, Germany is Europe's largest economy and seen as the continent's political and security anchor. Zimbabwe, the sole candidate for an African seat, was elected with 182 votes, while Trinidad and Tobago, also facing no competition, secured the Latin American and Caribbean group seat with 181 votes. A second round was under way on Wednesday to decide between the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan for the seat allocated to Asia. The five elected countries will replace Pakistan, Somalia, Greece, Denmark, and Panama starting 1 January 2027. They will join the five other members elected for the 2026–2027 term: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Latvia, Colombia and Bahrain - Euronews

President Trump on Wednesday attacked CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, accusing her of having “hatred in her eyes,” while he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office. The president was answering a question about the recently defunct “anti-weaponization” fund, which he called “a beautiful thing.” He then attacked CNN, calling the network “crooked as hell” and “a very corrupt organization” before he turned his attention to Collins. “But with a corrupt reporter standing right there, never smiles,” he said. “You never see a young, beautiful woman who never smiles. I never see a smile on her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes.” Trump claimed she has “hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we cut our taxes, because we do things that everybody wanted, and then we win our election in a massive landslide.” He again attacked CNN minutes later after the topic returned to the “anti-weaponization” fund and accused the outlet and The New York Times of abusing “our people so badly.” Collins tried to cut in but Trump tersely told her to “be quiet.” “You used to be a conservative,” he continued. “She was a conservative from Alabama. Can you believe it? The president turned his attention back to CNN and said that “it has new ownership, so maybe it’ll straighten it out. I doubt it. But it’s so hard to straighten garbage out.” He was likely referring to Paramount, led by Trump ally David Ellison, acquiring Warner Bros., CNN’s parent company. “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill - The Hill

The journals…..

US President Donald Trump sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense phone call on Monday, according to three people familiar with the exchange cited by the news website Axios. The call came as Israel expanded its military operations in Lebanon and amid concerns that the escalation could derail ongoing US talks with Iran. A US official told Axios that Trump told Netanyahu, “You’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” Another source quoted Trump as saying: “What the f*** are you doing?” and added that the US president was “pissed”. The White House has not publicly commented on the reported exchange. US officials said Trump acknowledged that Hezbollah had launched attacks on Israel and that Israel had the right to defend itself. However, they said he believed Netanyahu’s recent actions were disproportionate, citing the scale of civilian casualties and strikes on buildings to target individual commanders - RFE/RL

The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down. The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested with back-and-forth attacks, though officials from both countries are still trying to negotiate an end to the war. It’s not clear how close they are to a deal — and there is always the risk that an attack could derail those talks. Fighting has also been escalating between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire, and that has increasingly threatened the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire. Meantime, Iran maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up the price of fuel around the world, with far-reaching consequences. A cargo ship came under attack off Iraq Monday afternoon, the British military said - AP

Seven months after Donald Trump unveiled his Gaza peace plan and four months after convening a high-profile Board of Peace to oversee reconstruction, the initiative appears stuck in neutral. According to reporting by The Washington Post, little of the promised funding has materialized, reconstruction projects have yet to begin, and the international stabilization force intended to oversee Gaza’s transition exists largely on paper. The plan’s central assumption - that Hamas would eventually agree to disarm in exchange for political participation and a phased Israeli withdrawal - has proven elusive. Hamas remains armed and in control of Gaza’s population, while Israel has expanded its military footprint to roughly 60 percent of the territory and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signalled he may seek to retain even more. The numbers are sobering. Board officials say members have pledged $17 billion toward reconstruction, but little has been collected and virtually none spent. Meanwhile, more than a million Palestinians remain displaced, most major infrastructure lies in ruins, and the UN says food insecurity remains severe despite improvements in humanitarian access. Perhaps the most damning assessment came from Nickolay Mladenov, the Board’s chief representative, who recently told the UN Security Council: “There is no recovery.” Despite diplomatic blueprints, donor conferences and ambitious visions of a rebuilt Gaza, the political and security foundations required to make reconstruction possible remain absent. For now, the Board of Peace risks becoming another Middle East initiative long on promises and short on implementation.

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Russian seaborne crude oil exports have climbed to their highest levels since the start of the war in Ukraine as repeated Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries have reduced domestic processing capacity and left more crude available for shipment abroad, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing tanker-tracking data. Average crude exports since the beginning of 2026 have reached 3.46 million barrels per day (bpd), about 120,000 bpd higher than in 2025 and above the previous post-invasion annual high of 3.36 million bpd recorded in 2023, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. Seaborne exports averaged 3.64 million bpd in the four weeks to May 31, Bloomberg reported, citing tanker movement data. Ukraine intensified attacks on Russian refineries in May, striking facilities across the country as part of a campaign aimed at reducing fuel supplies available to the Russian military and weakening a key source of state revenue. The strikes helped push Russian refinery throughput to its lowest level since 2009, according to industry data cited by Bloomberg. Moscow has expanded restrictions on fuel exports in response, banning overseas sales of jet fuel in addition to earlier limits on gasoline exports. At the same time, export terminals on the Baltic and Black Seas that had previously faced disruption from Ukrainian attacks have largely resumed normal operations. Combined with lower refinery utilization, that has increased the amount of crude available for foreign buyers, Bloomberg said. Higher global oil prices, driven in part by the fallout from the Iran war, have also boosted the value of Russia’s crude exports. The four-week average value of crude shipments stood at about $2.24 billion per week in the period ending May 31, down slightly from $2.38 billion in the previous four-week period because of lower oil prices. Analysts say the rise in crude exports does not necessarily translate directly into higher state revenues. Sergei Vakulenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, told Bloomberg that Ukrainian attacks appear to have disabled most of the spare refining capacity that Russia traditionally maintained. If further capacity is lost, the risk of a fuel shortage would increase significantly, he said - Moscow Times

• Russia launched one of the largest aerial attacks of the full-scale war overnight on June 2, targeting various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, with missiles and drones. Across the country, at least 24 people, including two children, have been killed and 173 others injured, officials said. In all, 70 missiles and 750 drones were launched. Many of the victims were first responders who were injured from a Russian “double tap” strike.

Chinese tech giant Tencent is reportedly getting closer to launching an AI agent for WeChat, its “everything app” widely used across China for messaging, social media, and payments. A public launch could happen as soon as this month, the Financial Times reported, ramping up competition among Chinese tech players racing to roll out AI features for customers. AI-powered commerce, in which an agent can shop and make payments on a user’s behalf, could represent the next big bet for online platforms — though it’s unclear how much customers will trust AI with their finances. Governance and hallucinations also remain challenges: A recent survey of large companies across 10 countries found three-quarters have already rolled back or shut down a customer-facing AI agent - Semafor

CBS News fired Scott Pelley on Tuesday, jettisoning one of the network’s best-known journalists in a clash over the future of “60 Minutes,” the country’s top-rated news program. Mr. Pelley, 68, a “60 Minutes” correspondent and a former anchor of “CBS Evening News,” joined the network in 1989. At a staff meeting on Monday, he accused the network’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, of “murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” citing the ouster last week of the program’s leadership team and two on-air correspondents. “We have parted ways with Scott Pelley,” Nick Bilton, the tech journalist who was hired last week as the new “60 Minutes” executive producer, wrote in a memo to the show’s staff on Tuesday night. CBS News declined to comment. In a formal letter to Mr. Pelley, which was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Bilton wrote that the correspondent had been “terminated for cause effective immediately.” Mr. Pelley, in a telephone interview on Tuesday evening shortly after he was fired, said he had devoted decades of his life to “60 Minutes,” which he said he still cared about deeply. “I have been in combat in Afghanistan,” Mr. Pelley said. “I have been in combat in Iraq. I have been in the war zone in Ukraine multiple times, risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast.” The firing of Mr. Pelley is among the most consequential moves of Ms. Weiss’s rocky tenure at CBS. And it is almost certain to spike tensions that have coursed through the network for months. It also raises the stakes of Ms. Weiss’s surprising decision to replace the entire leadership team at “60 Minutes,” CBS News’s most successful franchise, and hire Mr. Bilton, who has no experience in broadcast TV, to oversee the show. The program’s viewership was up 9 percent this past season from a year prior, and the show is routinely among the nation’s highest-rated weekly broadcasts, according to Nielsen. Those viewers are accustomed to familiar faces like Mr. Pelley, who has contributed to the program since 2004. The “60 Minutes” staff prides itself on autonomy, and it is not clear how the show’s production team may react to the firing of Mr. Pelley. - New York Times

The World Meteorological Organization said this El Niño is likely to strengthen over the rest of 2026, driving more extreme weather around much of the globe. Several forecasts from national weather agencies suggest it could end up as one of the strongest ever recorded - a possible so-called “super” El Niño. Predicting the exact timing and strength of El Niño can be challenging, and scientists have been watching conditions in a tell-tale region of the central Pacific for clues. El Niño forms when a switch in wind patterns allows warmer waters to spread across the tropical Pacific Ocean. And while an El Niño event had been anticipated, many scientists believe this one could be unusually powerful. “We're very confident that there's a big event coming,” said Prof Adam Scaife, head of monthly to decadal prediction at the UK Met Office. “It may even be a record event.” Part of the reason why scientists expect a strong El Niño lies deep below the ocean surface. Data from satellites, buoys and ocean floats indicate a huge wave of unusually warm water - more than 6C above average in places - creeping eastwards across the Pacific, hundreds of metres deep - BBC

A Swiss soccer star was forced to stay home from the World Cup following an 11-hour decision from U.S. authorities to review his clearance to travel. Breel Embolo’s travel authorization was placed under review just hours before the team was scheduled to leave for the U.S. for the World Cup. “Unfortunately, Breel Embolo is currently unable to travel to the United States with the team,” the Swiss Football Association said. The 6-foot-2 forward, 29, was convicted in 2023 for making threats to another player years earlier when he was 21. He requested an appeal in September 2025, but was rejected. Embolo has traveled to the U.S. since this conviction, even scoring a goal against the U.S. men’s national team in a victorious 4-0 match in Tennessee. The Swiss team, however, was optimistic that he will be able to make it in time for the World Cup. “One seat empty, but not for long😉 See you soon, @breelembolo97 ✈️.” The review raises legal concerns for other players with criminal records and teams of countries in conflict with the U.S. The Iranian team is also struggling with visa approval for its players and staff members, and has moved its practice facility to Mexico - The Daily Beast

The journals…..

World Briefing Hot Take | June 2, 2026

As Russian missiles and drones rained down on Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv overnight - killing at least nine people, injuring at least 58 people in Kyiv alone, collapsing apartment buildings, trapping civilians under rubble - Vladimir Putin was also quietly admitting something his state media will never say out loud: Ukraine is hitting him where it hurts.

(As of 0530 BST, there were still incoming missiles and drones, according to some Ukrainian Telegram channels).

On Monday, the Russian government announced a ban on jet fuel exports through November 30 - the first of its kind in Russian history. The official explanation was bureaucratic boilerplate about “ensuring stability in the domestic fuel market.” The reality is more revealing. Ukrainian drone strikes have hammered Russian oil refineries for months, halting or scaling back facilities accounting for roughly a quarter of Russia’s total refining capacity and more than 30 percent of its gasoline output. Bloomberg reported this week that Russian refinery processing volumes have fallen to 4.69 million barrels per day - the lowest level since 2009. Moscow isn’t banning jet fuel exports because supplies are stable. It’s doing so because they aren’t.

The economic squeeze is being tightened from multiple directions. On Sunday, French naval forces intercepted and seized the Tagor, a Russian oil tanker sailing under a false flag more than 400 nautical miles off France’s Atlantic coast - the fourth such Russian vessel seized by France this year alone. The ship, which had departed from Murmansk, is suspected of belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet: the aging, largely uninsured tankers Moscow uses to move oil around Western sanctions. “It is unacceptable that ships circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war Russia has been waging against Ukraine for over four years,” French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X. The Kremlin, predictably, called it piracy.

The diplomacy: Beijing in the room

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to end the war are quietly pulling China into the frame. Multiple sources cited by the South China Morning Post confirm that at last month’s Beijing summit, U.S. President Donald Trump personally pressed President Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s leverage over Moscow to bring Putin back to the negotiating table. Trump has said little publicly - a White House fact sheet on the summit didn’t even mention Ukraine - and Beijing’s readout was characteristically vague. But the ask was made. Whether Xi acts on it is another matter. China has been careful not to directly arm Russia while benefiting enormously from discounted Russian energy and a West distracted by the war.

The NATO problem: a whimper, not a warning

And then there is the question of what the West is actually willing to do. After a Russian drone struck Romanian territory - a NATO member state - the response from Brussels and allied capitals was, to put it charitably, muted. Romania’s own leadership reportedly resisted invoking even Article 4 consultations, with suggestions that Russia simply needed to be “more precise” in targeting Ukraine. That sentence deserves to be read twice.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that Russia had “crossed a line.” She also announced that Brussels is working on a 21st sanctions package. The 21st. If two decades of packages had the intended effect on Russian behavior, we would not be watching apartment buildings collapse in Kyiv tonight.

There is a square in Moscow, as I have noted before, that appears capable of accommodating an infinite number of red lines.

The deeper pattern: normalization by design

Which brings us to perhaps the most troubling dimension of last night’s assault. Russia has now launched mass aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities with such regularity that the global news cycle has developed a familiar rhythm: the overnight barrage, the casualty count, the Zelensky address, the Western statement of condemnation, the silence from Moscow. Wash. Repeat.

This is not incidental. The normalization of mass civilian bombardment is itself a Russian strategic objective - to exhaust Western attention, desensitize global audiences, and grind Ukrainian morale through repetition. Last night’s strike, which followed explicit public threats from Lavrov to Rubio, a Russian Foreign Ministry warning to evacuate Kyiv, and three consecutive nights of presidential warnings from Zelensky, was not a surprise. It was a demonstration: that Russia can announce a massacre in advance and face no meaningful consequence.

Zelensky’s urgent letter to Trump warning of critical shortages in Ukraine’s anti-ballistic missile defenses is the other side of this picture. Ukraine is not losing because its people lack will. It is absorbing these strikes with an air defense umbrella that is visibly, dangerously depleted.

The jet fuel ban, the shadow fleet seizure, the refinery data - these tell the story of an economy under genuine strain. But an economy under strain can still launch ballistic missiles at apartment buildings. And as long as the West responds to strikes on NATO territory with recommendations for Russian accuracy improvements, Putin has every reason to keep doing exactly this.

News Briefs
Russia launched one of its most intense overnight bombardments of 2026 in the early hours of Tuesday, striking Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and surrounding regions with a combined barrage of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and Shahed-type drones. As of this writing, at least nine people are confirmed dead and around 100 injured (58 in Kyiv alone according to the mayor) - figures authorities say are expected to rise, with rescue teams still working through rubble. As of 0530 BST, there were still incoming missiles and drones, according to some Ukrainian Telegram channels.

Kyiv takes direct hits across multiple districts

The capital was struck across at least six districts beginning around 1:30 a.m. local time, with waves of explosions reported through 4 a.m. A nine-story residential building in the Podilskyi district suffered a partial structural collapse after what officials described as a deliberate double-tap strike - a tactic designed to kill first responders. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed at least four people were killed and 51 injured in the capital, including two children, with 35 requiring hospitalization. A 24-story and a 15-story apartment block in the Solomianskyi district were also struck. Fires broke out at gas stations, a medical clinic, a commercial building, and a construction site, while debris fell near a kindergarten in the Obolonskyi district. Power outages were reported across multiple districts. People are feared trapped under rubble.

Dnipro and Kharkiv also struck

At least five people were killed and 25 injured in Dnipro, where multiple residential buildings - including low-rise structures - were partially destroyed. At least 23 of the wounded required hospitalization, among them a 13-year-old girl. In Kharkiv, drone and missile strikes hit multiple city districts, injuring at least 10 people and damaging residential and administrative buildings.

The context: Zelensky warned this was coming

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had issued explicit warnings for days. In his nightly addresses on May 29, 30, and again on June 1, he told Ukrainians that Russian strike preparations were confirmed by intelligence - and that he had “no belief that anyone in Moscow will come to their senses.” The attack comes just days after Russia’s May 24 assault, one of the largest strikes on Kyiv in a year, which targeted the Cabinet of Ministers, the Foreign Ministry, the Kyiv Opera Theater, and the Chornobyl Museum - killing four and wounding nearly 100 across Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had publicly told U.S. Secretary of State Rubio on May 25 that Russia planned to strike Ukrainian “decision-making centres” and urged Washington to evacuate its Kyiv embassy. No foreign missions left. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a broader warning to foreign nationals to depart the city.

Zelensky has separately sent an urgent letter to President Trump warning of critical shortages in Ukraine’s anti-ballistic missile defense - a gap now on visible and deadly display.

Poland scrambles aircraft

Poland’s Air Force confirmed it scrambled Polish and allied aircraft overnight to protect Polish airspace amid the assault - a sign of the attack’s scale and western trajectory.

Developing — casualty figures expected to climb

Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kyiv Oblast. This brief will be updated as figures are confirmed.

Sources: Kyiv Independent, BBC World Service

US President Donald Trump personally urged President Xi Jinping to help end the Ukraine war, seeking to leverage Beijing’s influence over Moscow to resolve a conflict now in its fifth year, multiple sources said. According to people familiar with the discussions at last month’s summit in Beijing, Trump told Xi that Russia-Ukraine negotiations were stalled and pressed him to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the table to negotiate with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. The call reflected Washington’s clear need to involve Beijing in its efforts to end the war - a conflict that Trump made a centrepiece of his foreign policy agenda upon returning to the White House last year. The summit took place at a time of rare battlefield progress for Ukraine. Trump has said little publicly about his discussions on the conflict with Xi, confirming only that the issue was raised and that “it’s one that we would like to see settled.” A fact sheet on the summit released by the White House did not mention the Russia-Ukraine war. The Chinese read-out stated only that the two presidents traded views on the topic among other major global issues.

The Russian government on Monday announced a ban on jet fuel exports until the end of November, as Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries throughout the country have led to slumps in domestic production and gasoline shortages in some places. In a statement, the government said the measure was introduced to “ensure stability in the domestic fuel market.” Supplies to countries that maintain active intergovernmental agreements with Russia will be exempt from the restriction. The embargo, which expires on Nov. 30, marks Russia’s first-ever ban on jet fuel exports, according to the RBC news outlet. Russian Transportation Minister Andrei Nikitin later told reporters that there was no shortage of jet fuel in the country and that the ban was introduced “based on the interests of our airlines.” Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure over the past several months in a bid to deprive the Kremlin of energy windfalls amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Strikes on refineries have halted or scaled back production at facilities that account for around one-quarter of the country’s total refining capacity and more than 30% of its gasoline output, according to Reuters. Bloomberg reported that processing volumes at Russian refineries have plummeted to 4.69 million barrels per day — the lowest level since 2009 - Moscow Times

• French authorities on Monday confirmed the country’s Navy intercepted and seized a Russian oil tanker sailing under a false flag. The Tagor, which departed from the Russian port of Murmansk, was boarded more than 400 nautical miles off France’s Atlantic coast on Sunday. French officials suspect the ship was flying a false flag and is part of the so-called shadow fleet of mostly aging oil tankers used to circumvent sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “It is unacceptable that ships circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for over four years,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X. The operation was undertaken with the support of the United Kingdom, which recently expanded its military powers to detain Russian ships evading sanctions. Moscow’s envoy in Paris told Russian state media the Tagor’s captain is a Russian citizen. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday condemned the seizure, describing it as “illegal” and bordering on “international piracy.” The latest incident marks France’s fourth seizure of a Russian ship this year. European capitals have clamped down on the Kremlin’s circumvention of Western sanctions, and a French court sentenced a ship captain in March for operating a Russian ship. The tanker is now being escorted to a port by French ships, France’s prefect for the Atlantic said in a statement - Politico

The EU and European Parliament on Monday agreed a controversial law aimed at speeding up the return of migrants with no legal right to stay in Europe, marking the bloc's toughest migration policy shift in decades. Policymakers say the so-called Return Regulation is key to accelerating returns and is the cornerstone of the EU’s crackdown on irregular migration. It also reflects a broader political shift in Europe, with conservatives — sometimes backed by the far right — pushing for a tougher approach to migration. According to official figures, only 29% of migrants with no legal right to remain in Europe leave the EU. “This is a really very important step in making sure that we have control over what is happening in the EU, over who comes but also who has to leave the EU,” Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner told reporters at the end of the talks. At the heart of the law is a provision allowing EU countries to set up deportation centres outside the bloc, known as return hubs, if they conclude an agreement with a non-EU country. “The next step is working more on migration diplomacy, together with third countries,” Brunner said, avoiding mentioning any possible third country to place return hubs. The hubs can be either places of transit or locations where a person is expected to stay, marking a significant departure from current rules. Most migrants can only be returned to their country of origin or to a country with which they have a proven connection. Under the new system, that requirement would be removed. Only unaccompanied minors would be exempt from being deported to a return hub, while families with children will be eligible. Some EU countries are already working to identify potential partner countries for future return centres. Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Greece teamed up last March to implement the controversial project, while Italy is already running a similar scheme in Albania, with two centres accommodating fewer than a hundred migrants in total - Euronews

Norway is reconsidering joining the EU, the country’s foreign minister said, citing a shift from a “benign world” to a “crazy world.” Norwegians voted in 1972 and 1994 to remain outside the bloc. However, the country joined the single market, meaning it is subject to EU trade agreements but has no say in negotiations. Tariff wars with Washington and NATO’s growing divisions are making membership attractive, Espen Barth Eide told the Financial Times. The EU would be keen to admit Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, and is looking to add new members: Iceland is holding a referendum in August, and nine other states are candidates, including Ukraine. The bloc is less open to a British return, however - Semafor

Lebanon says Hezbollah has accepted a US plan for it to halt attacks on Israel and for Israel not to attack the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Lebanese embassy in the US said it had “received confirmation of Hezbollah’s acceptance of the US proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement, but warned strikes on Beirut would go ahead “if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians”. The statements came after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to both Netanyahu and Hezbollah representatives and “they agreed that all shooting will stop”, after Iran warned that Israeli military actions in Lebanon were a threat to the current US-Iran ceasefire. In a statement late on Monday, the Lebanese embassy said that “under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from attacks against Israel”. It added that the ceasefire was “to be extended to encompass all Lebanese territory”. However Netanyahu said: “At the same time, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to operate in southern Lebanon as planned.” After Trump said both sides had agreed to stop fighting some clashes continued - BBC

Jill Biden provided an update about her husband, former President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis. The former first lady, 74, told Today show co-host Craig Melvin on Monday that “Joe will live with cancer till the rest of his life.” “You know, he’s doing OK,” she told Melvin of her 83-year-old husband. “Craig, you’ve been through this with your brother; you know how tough it is. And I think if he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, that’s one thing, because that can be cured. But the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that makes it a whole different story.” The Bidens first announced that Joe had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in May 2025. The 46th president had initially decided to run for a second term before withdrawing from the race in July 2024 amid concerns that he was not healthy enough to serve another term. His vice president, Kamala Harris, won the Democratic nomination but lost to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Asked why she didn’t urge her husband to drop out of the race sooner, Biden told Melvin that “it had to be his decision.” - The Daily Beast

The journals…..

Trump’s Diplomatic Fatigue - And Russia’s

Sixteen months into a presidency that promised to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, Donald Trump now rarely mentions the conflict. His Secretary of State has effectively waved the white flag on near-term progress. “Hopefully the opportunity will present itself at some point that we can play that role again,” Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday - language that, from the top American diplomat, reads less like a pause than a withdrawal.

According to the New York Times, Moscow has quietly signalled it is tired of periodic visits from special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Russians want something the Trump administration has conspicuously failed to build: a stable diplomatic architecture - working groups, regular meetings, and an American ambassador to Russia, a post vacant for nearly a year.

The diagnosis from veterans of the process is pointed. Thomas Graham, a former senior American diplomat who managed strategic dialogue with the Kremlin under George W. Bush, argues the moment is actually ripe. “The mood has changed in Moscow. The battlefield is different: the Ukrainians have frozen the front line. The economic problems in Russia are building, and some political discontent is bubbling up. Conversations inside the Kremlin are on ‘How do we present this as a victory?’” But, Graham adds, “you have to have a negotiating process” - and that is still missing. What Moscow wants, he says, is something “more than a couple of envoys talking to Putin.”

The Times frames the administration’s broader failure in blunt terms: a senior Trump aide’s operating theory holds that destroying nuclear sites from the air is what America does best; managing political outcomes in Russia, Ukraine or Iran is what it does worst. Richard Fontaine of the Center for a New American Security offered the institutional verdict: “It is the sustained management and follow-through that often makes all the difference, not the grand and dramatic announcement.”

Ukraine, for its part, is no longer waiting. Long-range drones and domestically produced missiles are striking deep into Russian territory - energy infrastructure, weapons factories, targets near Moscow. British intelligence chief Anne Keast-Butler assessed last week that nearly half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in a war Putin expected to last weeks.

Explainer: Ukrainian President’s Inner Circle Implicated in $8.9M Luxury Real Estate Scandal

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies are currently investigating a massive $8.9 million (460 million Hryvnia) money-laundering scheme connected to the construction of a luxury residential compound meant for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest allies.

The illicit funds allegedly originated from kickbacks involving the state nuclear monopoly, Energoatom. Investigators have charged several top associates, including former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, businessman Timur Mindich, and ex-presidential office head Andriy Yermak. The “Dynasty” cottage complex, located in an elite enclave outside of Kyiv, features multiple 1,000-square-meter mansions and a shared luxury residence equipped with a spa and pool.

While Ukrainian law prohibits a sitting president from being investigated, leaked audio tapes suggest that one of the mansions was being built for a “Vova” - a diminutive of Volodymyr. Investigative journalists assert that Zelensky was fully aware of the scheme, noting that he reportedly referred to his implicated inner circle as “family” and attempted to hastily pass legislation to dismantle the independent anti-corruption agencies investigating them.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has officially seized the luxury properties. Despite public outcry and mass protests over his attempts to protect his allies, President Zelensky has remained silent on the allegations.

The Israeli military has captured the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “decisive shift” in its offensive against Hezbollah. It comes as ground troops move ever deeper into Lebanese territory beyond their original demarcation line of the Litani river. Meanwhile the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) increased the zone in southern Lebanon that it has warned residents to evacuate from. Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of carrying out “collective punishment”. Perched over the Litani valley, Beaufort Castle has been key to controlling the region around it since the Crusaders built it some 900 years ago. The Israeli army captured it 44 years ago in what’s known in Israel as the First Lebanon War. In a statement on Sunday following its capture, Netanyahu said it was “a decisive stage and decisive shift in our policy”. “We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts - in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon,” he said. Netanyahu added that his aim was to “deepen and expand our grip on the places that were under Hezbollah’s control”. For the Lebanese, it's the latest historic landmark to be seized in recent days, while the city of Nabatieh further north appears to increasingly be a target for the IDF - BBC

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that it recalled its ambassador to Armenia for “consultations,” a day after President Vladimir Putin warned the South Caucasus country against aligning with the European Union. “The Russian ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, S. Kopyrkin, has been recalled to Moscow for consultations about steps taken by the Armenian leadership on a rapprochement with the European Union, thus undermining cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union,” the ministry said in an official statement, referring to the Moscow-led regional customs union. At a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday, Putin invoked what he called the “Ukrainian scenario” to warn Armenia against pursuing closer ties with the EU. The Russian leader called on Armenia to hold a referendum on its economic future “as soon as possible,” emphasizing that Armenia must choose between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union, declaring it “impossible to reconcile the two.” Friction between traditional allies Russia and Armenia has grown since Azerbaijan regained control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Armenia accused Russia and its peacekeeping forces of failing to deter Baku’s military offensive and, in 2024, froze its participation in a Moscow-led regional security bloc. Putin previously warned Armenia that closer European integration carries the same risks faced by Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022 - Moscow Times

The US reportedly revoked the visa of a Chinese state media journalist after Beijing expelled a New York Times reporter, in a diplomatic tit-for-tat. China ordered Vivian Wang to leave the country over a Times event last year — which Wang had no involvement in — that featured an interview with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. The move reflected Beijing’s media crackdown, which has intensified in recent years; China has used its visa policy to keep out journalists whose work it doesn’t like. The US’ reciprocal decision threatens to inflame tensions between the superpowers. Other Western media outlets, meanwhile, are growing more uneasy about what possible interviews with Lai could mean for their presence in China, The Associated Press reported - Semafor

The journals…..

This week on World Briefing Plus, I’m connecting dots that too many in Brussels and Washington would rather leave unconnected.

We start with the Russian drone that tore into an apartment block in Galați, Romania this week, injuring two people while Moscow’s forces hammered a nearby Ukrainian port. Romania, Poland, Moldova - we’ve lost count of how many times this has happened. And the best NATO and the EU could muster was, again, words. Ursula von der Leyen said Russia’s war of aggression “has crossed yet another line.” But there’s a square in Moscow called Red Square, and you can fit an infinite number of red lines inside it. Putin keeps probing for soft tissue on NATO and EU territory - and he keeps finding it. I lay out why sanctions package number twenty-one won’t bite when Russia has Iran, North Korea and China helping it route around them, and why I think Poland or the Baltics could be next if this isn’t met with consequences that actually hurt.

Then I bring it closer to home: the 2026 World Cup, and the bill that just landed in my backyard. B.C.’s gross cost to host has spiked to as much as $729 million - almost triple their 2022 estimate. The Parliamentary Budget Officer just revealed that across Canada, taxpayers are on the hook for a staggering $82 million per game.

BC politicians (who, quite frankly, probably wish I wasn’t in the province at the moment) are playing a shell game with the math - pointing to hotel taxes and a last minute $100 million federal security bailout to claim their ‘net’ costs are lower - while promising roughly $1 billion in GDP and a million extra visitors over five years. But those of us who covered the Vancouver Olympics and the South Africa World Cup know how short-lived those windfalls really are. Economists warn that World Cups ‘supplant, rather than supplement’ regular tourism, and historically, these mega-events run 172% over budget.

We are dropping hundreds of millions of dollars in a province struggling with hospital beds, seniors’ care, an affordability crisis, homelessness, and addiction. And the homelessness and drug crisis I dig into isn’t just a Vancouver problem or an Alberta problem - it’s sitting on Ottawa’s own doorstep.”

The full breakdown — and where I think all of this is heading — is on the other side of the paywall.

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A Russian drone crashing into an apartment building in Romania should have set off alarm bells across NATO. Instead, it barely registered beyond expressions of concern and a diplomatic protest.

That should worry Europeans far more than the drone itself.

For years, Vladimir Putin has been probing for weaknesses along NATO’s eastern flank. Not necessarily with tanks and infantry, but through cyberattacks, sabotage, election interference, disinformation campaigns, undersea cable incidents, GPS jamming, airspace violations, and repeated drone incursions. Each incident is a test. Each response is carefully measured in Moscow.

And the lesson Putin keeps learning is that the alliance’s threshold for action remains remarkably high.

Romania says Russian drones have entered its airspace dozens of times since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. This latest incident crossed another line: for the first time, a drone struck a residential building and injured civilians on NATO territory. Yet there is still uncertainty over whether Article 4 consultations will even be invoked.

The Kremlin’s strategy has never depended on a single dramatic escalation. It depends on normalizing behaviour that would once have been considered unacceptable. One drone becomes two. A border violation becomes routine. Expressions of concern become background noise.

Deterrence works only when an adversary believes there will be consequences. Concern is not a consequence. It is not a deterrent. Increasingly, it risks becoming an invitation.

The timing could hardly be better from Moscow’s perspective. The United States remains deeply distracted by domestic politics and competing global crises. President Trump has repeatedly signalled a willingness to accommodate Russia, including through discussions about sanctions relief and renewed engagement. Across Europe, political attention is fragmented, defence spending remains uneven, and economic ties to Russia continue through various back doors.

Meanwhile, Russia’s hybrid warfare campaign continues to spread across the continent, reaching far beyond Ukraine’s borders. The question is no longer whether NATO territory is being tested. It is how many tests the alliance is prepared to absorb before concluding that the pattern itself is the threat.

Some will argue that a single drone strike is not worth risking escalation with a nuclear power. Fair enough. But history suggests that confronting aggression early is usually less costly than confronting it later.

I was reminded of this recently in Johannesburg, where the British owner of a guesthouse told me she would not consider returning to the UK with her two sons. Her concern? That Europe could eventually find itself drawn into a broader confrontation with Russia. Whether that scenario ever materializes is beside the point. The point is that people far from the battlefield are already making life decisions based on where they believe this conflict could be heading.

It is far cheaper to strengthen deterrence today than to explain tomorrow why more European countries are building bomb shelters, expanding civil defence programs, or debating the return of military conscription.

The most dangerous message NATO can send is that repeated violations will be met with little more than statements of concern.

Because if that is the message being received in Moscow, the next probe is already being planned.

News Briefs
Romania has ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in the city of Constanta after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the eastern part of the country and wounded two people, coming amid a broader uptick of both Russian and Ukrainian drones straying into the airspace of NATO members as the two countries continue attacks on each other. Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced the closure of the consulate on Friday afternoon and declared the Russian consul in the Black Sea port city persona non grata. Romania’s foreign ministry also summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest over the incident. The country’s military said that a Geran-2, the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone, crashed into the roof of an apartment building in the city of Galati, located right across the border from southern Ukraine and Moldova. “During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the defense ministry said in a statement. “One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” the statement added. Two people were wounded and hospitalized, the military added. Emergency services later put out the blaze. Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was too soon to say that the drone that crashed was Russian, and called for Moscow to be shown evidence. “No one can say the origin of this or that aircraft until an examination of that aircraft is conducted,” Putin told a press conference in Kazakhstan. “If they provide us with any objective data... in that case, will we assess what happened.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry vowed a response to the closure of its consulate in Constanta - Moscow Times

• Sources at NATO told AFP it remained unclear whether Romania planned to invoke Article 4 of the military alliance’s treaty, a rarely used mechanism that initiates consultations with other members and can potentially lead to some form of joint decision or action on behalf of NATO. Article 4 was last invoked in September 2025 after Russian drones entered Polish airspace during an overnight attack on Ukraine. While drone incursions have been detected in Romania dozens of times since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the latest incident marks the first time a stray drone has hit a residential building. Romania’s military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets immediately after the aerial targets were detected in the country’s airspace.

• Tokyo on Friday announced it would deploy four members of the Japanese military to Germany to train with NATO’s Ukraine mission. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said the soldiers from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces would be tasked with analyzing the new fighting tactics employed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Japan’s current government has pushed for rearmament amid heightened tensions with Russia and China. “The deployment marks a further deepening of cooperation between Japan and NATO,” Koizumi said. The Japanese personnel will be stationed at NATO’s Ukraine mission in Wiesbaden, Germany. The mission coordinates military aid for Ukraine, helps train Ukrainian soldiers and repairs equipment for the Ukrainian military. The latest deployment comes as Japan intensifies its military rearmament, including lifting restrictions for arms exports in April. On Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry warned Japan against stationing U.S. Typhoon missile systems on its territory, saying it would “create a direct threat along our far-eastern borders.” The Japanese defense ministry said in a statement that it would “continue to advance security and defense cooperation between Japan and NATO.” - Politico

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have issued an ultimatum to Armenia, threatening to suspend its membership in the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) amid tensions over Armenia’s push to join the European Union. A joint declaration published on the Kremlin website claims that Armenian preparations for EU membership would endanger the “economic security” of the remaining member states. It demands that Armenia agree to hold a referendum “as soon as possible” on its plans, with the option being to either join the EU or stay in the EAEU. The move, agreed on at the EAEU summit in Astana, effectively transformed an event intended to showcase regional integration into an economic and political showdown. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian skipped the meeting, sending a lower-level delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian. While widely interpreted by diplomats in Astana as a political boycott, Pashinian stated his absence was due to domestic campaign commitments ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections. Grigorian reportedly stated that Yerevan intends to maintain a constructive engagement with the EAEU but emphasized that future work must be rooted in the principles of “mutual respect, equal partnership,” and national sovereignty - RFE/RL

Not a Hypothetical": BC's $729-Million Act of Faith

“Every jurisdiction that’s hosted a World Cup has seen the economic benefits.” That was BC Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon today, defending a price tag now swollen to $729 million for seven matches. Clean, confident, quotable - and false.

Brazil 2014 was the most expensive World Cup ever staged; four million tourists generated revenue worth about 2.5% of its $14-billion cost, and its billion-dollar Brasília stadium now runs as a bus depot. South Africa 2010 (which I covered extensively as part of HUM News): same promises, stadiums it couldn’t fill afterward. The economists who study this have about as firm a consensus as the field allows - the lasting boom rarely shows up once you compare hosts to cities that stayed home. “Every jurisdiction” isn’t a track record. It’s a talking point.

And the boom may be thinning before the first whistle. Four days before the ministers promised a million visitors and a billion in GDP, the BC Hotel Association conceded the opposite: June hotel occupancy across Vancouver’s Lower Mainland is running nine per cent below last year, and fifteen per cent below downtown. “FIFA has not generated the broad hotel demand many expected,” they admitted - this after a mayor who called the event the equivalent of “30 to 40 Super Bowls.” The industry now blames soft demand on earlier warnings of a room shortage scaring visitors off. A simpler explanation sits in plain view: rooms listed at $1,700 and $2,300 a night, and the same association telling reporters in March it expected no meaningful drop in rates.

That’s the backdrop against which Kahlon offered his guarantee: “That’s not a hypothetical. Whether it’s $900 million, or whether it’s $1.1 billion, we are going to see that.” That is the definition of a hypothetical - and one his own hoteliers are quietly undercutting. Reporters (who deserve a few pints for the perseverance) spent the press conference trying to turn rhetoric into something concrete: which dollars, from which visitors, net of what they’d have spent anyway. They left empty-handed. Asked whether booking federal tax money as “revenue” was misleading, Tourism Minister Anne Kang answered that Canadians everywhere are chipping in. True. Not an answer. The numbers themselves landed late Friday, the day after the legislature rose for summer - the timing of something you’d rather wasn’t examined.

It was a rosy projection delivered on the exact same day Statistics Canada announced the country has officially slipped into a technical recession.

To be fair to Vancouver: the stadium already exists, so this won’t be Brazil or South Africa. But “we won’t build a billion-dollar bus depot” is a long way from “five years of prosperity” - and only one of those was on sale today. The games will be a great party. Believe the brochure on that. It’s the years after, when the brochure goes quiet - and the hotel rooms, it turns out, never filled - that bear watching.

Carney’s “MAGA” Play: PM’s New York Speech Sparks Debate Over Cross-Border Trade Strategy

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is making waves following a highly calculated address to the Economic Club of New York, where he co-opted Donald Trump’s famous political rhetoric to pitch a deeply integrated North American economy.

In his speech, Carney argued that to “Make America Great Again,” the U.S. needs to embrace “Make Canada Strong” (MCS). The strategic use of this language served as an instant media hook that grabbed headlines on both sides of the border. Political commentators note that the rhetorical shift was a deliberate attempt by the Prime Minister to break Canada out of its traditional “supplicant” role - where it is seen as simply begging the U.S. to save trade agreements - and instead position the country as an indispensable partner.

The “Fortress America” Pitch
Beyond the catchy slogans, Carney’s substance focused heavily on a “Fortress America” concept that champions North American supply chain resilience. He emphasized the critical need to keep cross-border supply chains intact, particularly in the automotive sector, so that North America can remain competitive against global rivals like China.

To highlight the practical limits of American self-reliance, Carney used a stark example regarding the aluminum trade: he pointed out that replacing the aluminum the United States currently imports from Canada would require the energy equivalent of “10 Hoover Dams”.

Reactions and Behind-the-Scenes Diplomacy
While some Canadians might instinctively prefer a more hostile or combative tone toward the Trump administration, political analysts argue that Carney’s approach is highly pragmatic. By using language that resonates with the American public and the Trump administration, Carney is ensuring that U.S. decision-makers actually pay attention to the economic realities of the bilateral relationship. The strategy appears to be landing well with some American officials, as the combative U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, reportedly praised the speech.

This forward-looking, bridge-building exercise sets the stage for upcoming formal trade negotiations. Furthermore, despite public perceptions of a frosty relationship between the two nations, former Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly indicated that Carney and Trump actually speak frequently, suggesting a much more functional behind-the-scenes dynamic than many assume.

Vietnamese farmers are exhuming the graves of their ancestors in order to clear land for a sprawling Trump Organization complex set to include five-star hotels, upscale villas and a golf course, according to a new report. The $1.5 billion project — seen as key to relations between Hanoi and Washington — broke ground last year in Hung Yen province, but has since sparked backlash from local residents, some of whom have refused to comply with government demands, citing both sentimental and financial concerns. “The grave of my great-grandparents has been there since 1967, before the establishment of this country,” Hoang Anh Xa, who has five relatives buried in a cemetery set to be dismantled, told The Financial Times. “So why should I move them?” “It’s a spiritual thing,” Tran Minh Hai, a local farmer, added. “People don’t want to disturb the graves.” The project is expected to span roughly four square miles and impact more than 4,000 households. Vietnam’s communist-controlled government has signed off on compensation and resettlement plans, but some residents have pushed back. Due to local resistance, the luxury development — initially expected to be up and running by 2027 — has faced delays, sources told the Financial Times. During a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2025, Eric Trump called the venture “the envy of all of Asia and the entire world.” The nation’s then-Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh described the development project, which includes local partners, as “significant to strengthening Vietnam-US relations and fostering foreign investor confidence, especially those from the US.” The ceremony came after Hanoi fast-tracked the standard approval process, skipping typical environmental reviews and truncating a public comment period, The New York Times previously reported. Some see the Vietnamese government’s actions as an effort to appease the Trump administration, which last year threatened to impose a 46 percent tariff on its goods, the Financial Times reports.

Last year, I was in Ho Chi Minh City, where the skyline may soon include a Trump Tower - and where the politics behind that are anything but straightforward. Vietnam is fighting to avoid 46 percent US tariffs on its exports. It just fast-tracked approval for a $1.5 billion Trump golf resort outside Hanoi, with a billion-dollar skyscraper here potentially next. Vietnamese officials call it investment. Critics call it a quid pro quo. The full report is above - and if you want more frontline journalism like this, a World Briefing Plus subscription is what makes it possible

A Bad Day for Trump’s America 250 Vanity Projects

Donald Trump is facing simultaneous setbacks in his efforts to personally brand the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, as both a major sponsored concert and a high-profile venue rebranding suffered public defeats this week, BBC reported.

The first blow came when a mass exodus of musical acts abandoned the “Freedom 250” festival, a 16-day event planned on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial. The festival’s organizing nonprofit was launched by the Trump administration last year, with Trump himself appointing its CEO, Keith Krach. Headliners including Young MC, Morris Day, the Commodores, Martina McBride, and Poison frontman Bret Michaels all dropped out, with many stating they had been misled about the political and divisive nature of the event. While acts like Vanilla Ice and C+C Music Factory are still slated to perform, the withdrawal of major artists casts a significant shadow over the administration’s celebratory plans.

In a separate but equally stinging defeat, a US federal judge ordered the immediate removal of the president’s name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the venue cannot be renamed without congressional approval, reverting its title back to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center. The ruling also blocked Trump’s plans to temporarily close the center for extensive renovations starting July 4, 2026, which he had explicitly framed as honoring the country’s 250th anniversary.

Trump had previously appointed himself as a trustee and chairman of the center, added his name to the facade, and subsequently faced a backlash of falling ticket sales and artist cancellations, BBC reported. Following the judge’s order, Trump lashed out on Truth Social, threatening to abandon the institution entirely and calling his involvement a “hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND’” unless he is given total control.

Despite these twin setbacks to his anniversary vanity projects, the White House continues to push forward with other unconventional America 250 initiatives. These include hosting a UFC fight on the South Lawn, a Grand Prix race in the capital, and releasing limited-edition commemorative passports featuring Trump’s own portrait.

The journals…..

Canadian taxpayers are expected to spend more than $1 billion helping host the 2026 FIFA World Cup - a tournament that could become the most profitable in FIFA’s history. While soccer’s governing body pockets revenues from broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and merchandise, local governments are left paying for security, transportation, fan zones and infrastructure. In other words: private profits, public costs. Supporters argue the tournament will generate tourism, international exposure and long-term economic activity. However, economists have repeatedly questioned whether mega-sporting events deliver the lasting returns promised by organizers.

The upcoming men’s World Cup is shaping up to be an unprecedented financial windfall for FIFA. As veteran soccer writer Leander Schaerlaeckens recently highlighted on PBS NewsHour, the organization selected North America fully understanding it would be where they could “make the most money”. According to Schaerlaeckens, FIFA has done “everything it can to just suck up every bit of cash that it possibly could”.

Breaking from the long-standing tradition of allowing domestic soccer federations to run the event, FIFA has centralized its operations to capture every possible revenue stream. They even set up a new headquarters in Miami - renting space in Trump Tower for what Schaerlaeckens described as “political reasons,” despite reports that nobody is actually working there. Through this tight control, the international governing body is retaining all income from broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticket sales, and even local concessions and parking.

Meanwhile, the 16 local host cities across North America are being left to foot the bill for the most expensive, hard-to-monetize logistical challenges, such as security, fan fests, and transportation. Consequently, Canadian taxpayers are poised to end up holding the bag for matches that bring questionable local economic benefits. According to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), hosting the tournament will cost governments across Canada an estimated $1.066 billion.

The Local Burden and the Forgotten Olympic “Hangover”
With Canada hosting 13 of the 104 games, this puts the cost at approximately $82 million per game. While the federal government will cover $473 million - largely focused on infrastructure and security operations - the rest must be covered by other levels of government. Taxpayers in Toronto will face a total cost of $380 million for their six games, while Vancouver taxpayers are estimated to shoulder about $578 million for their seven matches.

For those of us who witnessed firsthand the massive disruptions, budget overruns, and security costs of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics while covering the event for HUM News, this presents a staggering sense of déjà vu. Back then, Vancouver taxpayers were left to deal with a severe fiscal hangover and costly “white elephant” infrastructure. Yet, rather than approaching this new sports mega-event with caution, the British Columbia government is actively dodging accountability and refusing to disclose the final costs just weeks before the tournament begins.

B.C. Tourism Minister Anne Kang has dismissed the PBO’s $578 million estimate as “inaccurate,” yet repeatedly declined to provide an updated figure, stating the province is still collecting data. B.C. Conservative interim leader Trevor Halford bluntly suggested the government is intentionally “waiting till we’re out of session to produce that number”.

A “Blank Cheque” for Luxuries
This lack of transparency has sparked fierce backlash. Carson Binda of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation argued that the provincial government has essentially “handed FIFA a blank cheque signed by the taxpayers”. He criticized the government for spending millions - such as funding new VIP lounges at B.C. Place - on “outrageous luxuries for Swiss soccer executives that most British Columbians will never get to experience,” while everyday citizens struggle with the cost of living. Even Vancouver City Councillor Pete Fry expressed frustration that the city itself still lacks a “clear reckoning” of what local taxpayers are actually on the hook for.

Questionable Economic Returns
While organizers have promised an economic boost, the reality on the ground is painting a different picture. Destination Vancouver reports that hotel room bookings for June are actually down 20 percent compared to the same time last year.

Because local markets are desperately trying to find alternative ways to pay for massive infrastructure and security expenses without passing the entire cost directly onto taxpayers, attendees are also facing exorbitant secondary expenses, such as $150 train tickets. This financial burden on fans is compounded by “extraordinary” game ticket prices set directly by FIFA. The organization has justified the steep costs by arguing that they are essentially bringing “104 Super Bowls” to the continent, and are pricing the event accordingly.

As Canadians struggle with housing costs, food inflation and strained public services, governments are being asked to justify every dollar they spend. Yet when it comes to the World Cup, many still cannot say exactly what the final bill will be. FIFA already knows what it stands to gain. Canadian taxpayers are still waiting to learn what they will owe.

News Briefs
U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that President Donald Trump still needs to sign off on the emerging pact. Another U.S. official said the broad outlines of a tentative deal have been reached but stressed that until the president signs off on it, there is no deal. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private diplomacy, said there are still questions about whether Trump will ultimately accept the agreement. Over the past two days, Washington and Tehran leveled their latest mutual accusations of ceasefire violation after Kuwait reported coming under attack from Iran, and U.S. forces carried out new “defensive strikes” against the Islamic Republic, according to a U.S. official. Earlier Wednesday, Trump asserted that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted that November’s U.S. midterm elections won’t make him rush into a deal to end the war - AP

Russia will suspend imports of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs from Armenia, the country’s agricultural safety watchdog said Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in trade restrictions as Yerevan pursues closer ties with the European Union. “Rosselkhoznadzor is introducing temporary restrictions starting May 30, 2026, on the import of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, fresh herbs and strawberries originating in or shipped from Armenia,” the agency said in a statement. While Rosselkhoznadzor cited safety concerns — claiming it documented 181 cases of contaminated Armenian produce so far this year — the move is likely political in nature, as Russian authorities recently suspended the import of flowers and sale of some Armenian alcoholic products in Russian stores. At the same time, Russia this week threatened to rip up a 2013 bilateral agreement guaranteeing Armenia duty-free natural gas and oil if it continues to pursue closer relations with the European Union, including membership in the bloc. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shrugged off the energy threats. He argued that EU membership would eventually bring in far more money than Armenia would lose from an increase in Russian natural gas prices. Friction between the traditional allies has grown since Azerbaijan regained control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Armenia accused Russia and its peacekeeping forces of failing to deter Baku’s military offensive. While Armenia still hosts a Russian military base, Yerevan has pushed to join the EU and rapidly expanded its domestic defense industry, booking $460 million in military orders over the last three years, according to Pashinyan. President Vladimir Putin has warned Armenia that closer European integration carries the same risks faced by Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Putin is expected to address Armenia’s EU bid during the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union summit in Kazakhstan on Friday. The diplomatic spat comes just ahead of parliamentary elections in Armenia next month, where Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party faces a challenge from an array of pro-Russian opposition groups - Moscow Times

• Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have signed a military agreement, in a move that signals deepening cooperation between the sides, experts said.

  The deal was signed on May 27 by Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and the Taliban’s defense minister, Mohammad Yaqub, on the sidelines of a security forum outside of Moscow, Russian media reported. Neither side has released the text of the military cooperation agreement or offered details about its scope, making it difficult to gauge whether the deal represents a substantive shift in military cooperation or a symbolic political gesture, experts said. Experts said Russia’s ability and willingness to deepen defense cooperation with the Taliban is constrained by Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the crippling impact of Western sanctions on the Kremlin’s coffers. “Russia is too economically stretched to provide free military aid to the Taliban government,” said Hameed Hakimi, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “Meanwhile, the Taliban government does not have deep coffers to purchase such a quantity of military equipment, which would make it a consequential military trading partner in Moscow’s eyes” - RFE/RL

A drone wounded two people after it struck an apartment building in Romania and exploded, the same time Russia launched an attack on a nearby Ukrainian city, Romania’s defense ministry said Friday. “During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defense ministry said. The drone hit the roof of a building of Galați, near the border with Ukraine, according to CNN affiliate Antena 3. Galati sits on the border of Ukraine in Romania’s far southeast. Just across the border lies Izmail, ⁠home to the largest Ukrainian port on ‌the Danube ​River, and a frequent target of Russian attacks. Around the same time as the drone crashed into the apartment in Galati, Ukrainian authorities said the Izmail port area had come under Russian drone attack. Romania is both a member of NATO and the European Union. NATO members have found themselves increasingly responding to Russian drones and missiles that have either entered their airspace or come down in their territory, ramping up tensions with Moscow. Russian drones have breached Romania’s airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube river, Romania’s defence ministry said on Friday, according to Reuters - CNN

WORLD BRIEFING | HUMANITARIAN POWER PLAY

The race to replace departing World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain is exposing a growing fault line inside the United Nations system: should countries that are retreating from multilateralism still dominate the leadership of global aid agencies?

For more than three decades, the top post at the WFP - the world’s largest humanitarian organization - has effectively been reserved for an American nominee, reflecting Washington’s traditional role as the agency’s largest donor. The same informal arrangement has long applied to UNICEF, a body which I served for many years. But that postwar power structure is now under increasing scrutiny after the Trump administration’s deep cuts to foreign aid and what critics describe as the political “arson attack” on USAID.

The Trump administration has nominated Luke Lindberg, a relatively little-known U.S. agriculture official with strong “America First” credentials, to replace McCain. Lindberg has been deeply involved in shifting U.S. food aid programs away from USAID and toward a more transactional “trade, not aid” framework championed by Trump allies. His nomination is already facing quiet resistance from European governments, which argue that countries slashing support for the U.N. system should no longer monopolize its most influential humanitarian posts.

“There needs to be an alignment between your political support, your financial commitment and the role you want to play in the U.N. system,” one European diplomat told Devex.

The irony, however, is difficult to miss. European powers themselves continue to dominate several major U.N. agencies, including UNESCO and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR - reflecting a decades-old culture of geopolitical horse-trading that has often mattered more than merit or representation from the Global South.

The stakes extend far beyond bureaucratic infighting in New York and Rome. By the end of this year, WFP is expected to face a funding shortfall of roughly 40 percent compared to previous levels, forcing cuts or suspensions to dozens of emergency operations worldwide - from Sudan to Gaza to Afghanistan.

For millions already on the edge of famine, the battle over who runs the humanitarian system may soon matter as much as the aid itself.

The journals….

The US and Iran appeared still willing to reach a peace deal despite American strikes and Tehran’s threats of reprisals — but the global economic fallout from the conflict deepened. Bangladesh pressed the IMF for new financial support, while the African Development Bank forecast slowing growth across the continent this year as a result of higher fuel prices, supply chain struggles, and worsening global financial conditions. Asian countries, meanwhile, are grappling with plummeting currencies that have depleted central banks’ foreign exchange reserves and threatened to accelerate already-high inflation. And in Latin America, two Atlantic Council experts projected slower growth and accelerating price rises. Things could yet worsen: “Downside risks to the outlook remain significant,” the AfDB warned.

• The Philippines ranks among the hardest-hit countries in the world from the spillover effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. Analysts from the global research firm said during a Tuesday webinar that the Philippines’ heavy dependence on oil imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz has made it one of the most adversely affected economies in both the Asia-Pacific region and globally. In light of the crisis, BMI slashed its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the year to 3.9 percent, a downgrade of around 1.3 percentage points. This marked BMI’s largest downward revision for any economy outside the Middle East region. The firm also raised its 2026 headline inflation forecast for the Philippines to 6.1 percent, up by 3 percentage points and the second-largest upward revision among its global forecasts related to the energy shock, trailing only Egypt. The Philippines became one of the first countries in the world to declare a State of National Energy Emergency amid the crisis - Daily Tribune

• The ready‑made garment industry, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s export earnings, has been hit severely due to the war in Iran. Bangladesh’s factories import much of their raw materials from China. The shipments are routed via the Red Sea and the Middle East, so recent shipping disruptions have pushed up import costs. Sayeed Ahmed Chowdhury, director of the fabrics manufacturer Square Denim, told the Bangladesh newspaper The Financial Express that he expected work orders to decline by about 20 to 25 percent in the next season. After the outbreak of the war, several airlines cancelled flights in March. As a result, shipments of garments destined for Zara owner Inditex and other major clothing retailers were stuck at airports in Bangladesh and India - Al Jazeera

• Even before the full economic impact of the US-Iran conflict is felt, signs of growing hardship are emerging inside the United States itself. A new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found food insecurity at its highest level in six years - surpassing even the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten percent of American families reported skipping meals because they could not afford food, while nearly 16 percent relied on food donations, NPR reported. Food banks across several states report unprecedented demand, with some families lining up overnight for assistance. Analysts warn that rising fuel prices linked to Middle East tensions could further squeeze household budgets, especially among lower-income Americans already struggling with inflation and high living costs.

Israeli forces intensified strikes in Lebanon and killed the military chief of Hamas in Gaza, moves analysts said were driven by fears a potential US-Iran deal may curtail Israel’s ability to hit its enemies. The attacks in Lebanon killed at least 31 people; Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah, and the country’s leader has vowed to “deal them a crushing blow.” A Washington-Tehran agreement could, however, require Israel and Hezbollah to step back. “In light of that possibility, both sides are trying to improve their positions before the fighting ends,” Haaretz’s military analyst noted. But alongside continued tensions in Iran, the offensive has meant that “multiple silent humanitarian crises are deepening across the region,” the International Federation of Red Cross warned.

Republicans in U.S. Brace for Midterm Impact as Trump Approval Hits Record Low

Recent polling cited by The Economist indicates that Donald Trump’s net approval has fallen to -24, the lowest mark since 2009. Driven by intense economic frustration and the conflict in Iran, the data suggests a difficult path for the Republican Party in the upcoming midterms. Approval for his handling of inflation stands at a staggering low of -43, with 63% of Americans believing the economy is worsening. While the “Trump endorsement” continues to dominate GOP primaries—evidenced by Ken Paxton’s recent victory in Texas—analysts warn that candidate fealty to the former president may prove a liability in general elections. Current models give Democrats a 90% chance of taking the House, while the Senate remains a toss-up. Dissatisfaction is even spreading to historically solid Republican blocs, including senior voters.

Russia has threatened to suspend or terminate a natural gas supply agreement with Armenia if authorities in Yerevan continue to pursue closer ties with the European Union. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Russia is prepared to unilaterally cancel a 2013 bilateral agreement that guarantees Armenia duty-free deliveries of natural gas, petroleum products and rough diamonds. Her warning comes after Armenia’s infrastructure ministry denied having received an official letter from Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev threatening to rip up the agreement. Zakharova insisted the Russian Embassy in Yerevan delivered the letter earlier on Wednesday. She mockingly suggested that Armenia’s infrastructure minister check with officials at his own foreign ministry to get filled in. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later on Wednesday rejected the ultimatum. “It’s illogical to frighten Armenia with high prices,” Pashinyan told the Kremlin-funded news outlet Sputnik. He said EU membership would bring Armenia “so much more money that things won’t actually seem expensive.” Pashinyan also highlighted Armenia’s growing independence from Russia’s defense industry, adding: “Today, we have our own military-industrial complex, and we sell weapons to developed countries.” The diplomatic spat comes just ahead of parliamentary elections in Armenia next month, where Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party faces a challenge from an array of pro-Russian opposition groups - Moscow Times

• Nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since it began in 2022, a top British intelligence official has said, as the conflicts grinds to a near stalemate. The figure, announced in a speech on May 27 by the director of the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) tracks with other estimates made in recent months by other Western governments, as well as independent media organizations. Anne Keast-Butler echoed other British government warnings that Russia was “relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains, and public trust” in Britain and across Europe. GCHQ is Britain’s top signals intelligence unit, the equivalent to the US National Security Agency. Keast-Butler said GCHQ was focusing on protecting underwater cables and pipelines connecting Britain, and countering “sabotage and assassination attempts." - RFE/RL

Italy’s Foreign Policy Shift: Rising Tensions with the US and Israel

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is navigating a complex shift in foreign policy, characterized by growing friction with historical allies the United States and Israel. This pivot has ignited fierce domestic debate, highlighted by a recent clash between Lega Senator Claudio Borghi and Democratic Party (PD) Deputy Arturo Scotto.

The Trump Dynamic and “Waiter” Accusations Meloni has recently fallen out of favor with Donald Trump after defending Pope Leo XIV from his attacks and ignoring his appeal for military intervention against Iran. Trump publicly criticized her, stating he was “shocked” and mistaken to think she had courage. PD Deputy Arturo Scotto argued this is the result of Meloni’s past subservience, stating that when you “behave like a waiter... the boss ends up treating you like a waiter”. Lega Senator Claudio Borghi rejected this framing, maintaining that the U.S. remains Italy’s most vital strategic and commercial ally. However, Borghi expressed regret that Italy missed an opportunity to bypass the EU and strike favorable bilateral trade deals directly with Trump.

Clashes Over Israel and the Gaza Flotilla Diplomatic ties with Israel are highly strained following Italy’s call for European sanctions against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the summoning of the Israeli ambassador. The debate is heavily polarized around the Global Sumud Flotilla. Scotto, who participated in the flotilla, defended the mission as a necessary response to the international community’s inaction and “double standards,” advocating for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. Borghi dismissed the flotilla as a “radical chic” stunt- successful for marketing but ineffective for delivering real aid. He also strongly warned against economic sanctions on Israel; because Italy runs a trade surplus with the nation, he argued such measures would act as a “boomerang,” ultimately sanctioning Italian businesses.

Euroscepticism vs. EU Integration The underlying ideological divide focuses on Italy’s role in Europe. Borghi remains fiercely critical of the European Union, labeling it one of history’s “most clamorous failures” and suggesting Italy should eventually consider leaving. He specifically targeted the EU Stability Pact, calling its strict economic rules “madness” that harms Italian competitiveness. Conversely, Scotto believes Italy’s destiny lies within Europe, but he argued the EU must pivot away from rigid financial rules and military rearmament. Instead, he envisions an EU focused on defending welfare, healthcare, and building a unified foreign policy.

A Rare Consensus on Ukraine Despite their deep divisions, Borghi and Scotto found surprising common ground regarding the war in Ukraine. Both politicians firmly oppose the dispatch of further military aid, arguing that the continued escalation of arms sales only prolongs the conflict. They stressed an urgent need to prioritize diplomacy, agreeing that a prominent European figure with immense authority—such as former Prime Minister Mario Draghi—could potentially serve as an effective peace envoy to negotiate with Russia.

CBS News declined to renew its contract with the “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, six months after her segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the airabruptly by the news division’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss. Ms. Alfonsi’s deal expired on Saturday. She said in a phone interview that her agent’s inquiries with CBS News over the past several weeks had been met with silence. “It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,” Ms. Alfonsi said. “I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.” Ms. Alfonsi remains employed at CBS, but with no contract in place, she said she had no expectation of returning to “60 Minutes.” “I’m not resigning,” she said. “If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me.”

The journals…..

Washington’s decision to delay a key arms package for Taiwan is drawing scepticism from defence analysts, who say the stated justification - the ongoing US war against Iran - simply doesn’t add up.

The acting US Navy secretary, Hung Cao, told a congressional hearing last week that a $14bn arms deal awaiting presidential sign-off had been put on hold to preserve munitions for Operation Epic Fury, America’s military campaign against Tehran. But experts say that explanation collapses under scrutiny: the weapons in question wouldn’t be delivered to Taiwan for three to six years regardless of when the contract is approved.

“If he sends those congressional notifications by the end of June, you’re talking about another six to 12 months before the contract is signed, and then the clock starts on delivery — we’re really into the 2030s,” said Rupert Hammond-Chambers of the US-Taiwan Business Council. The Iran war justification, he added, “makes no sense.”

Unnamed US officials have also pushed back on Cao’s framing, telling Reuters the military has sufficient stockpiles and that the Taiwan pause is “unrelated to the war with Iran.”

The episode is deepening unease in Taipei about Washington’s reliability as a security guarantor. President Trump, fresh from a summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing, has suggested he could use arms sales to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” in future dealings with China - a potential breach of longstanding US policy. Xi told Trump that Taiwan was “the most important issue in China-US relations.”

China, which claims Taiwan as its own despite never having governed it, has significantly ramped up military pressure on the island in recent months. Taiwan’s government says its communication channels with Washington remain open, but legislators in Taipei are watching the arms delay closely - particularly given a series of Trump-Xi meetings scheduled through the end of the year, including at APEC in China in November.

Hammond-Chambers warned that if approval drags into the autumn summit season, it puts Taiwan “in a terrible position.”

• A Chinese coast guard vessel spent 33 hours in restricted waters near Taiwan’s Pratas Islands in the South China Sea before withdrawing following an intense standoff with Taiwanese authorities. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 was intercepted approximately 27 nautical miles west of the Pratas on Saturday. The two sides exchanged sharp radio broadcasts over competing sovereignty claims before the Chinese vessel departed at 5pm yesterday. The Pratas — a lightly defended atoll more than 400km from Taiwan proper — are considered strategically vulnerable. Security experts have long flagged the islands as a potential target, given their proximity to Hong Kong and distance from Taiwanese military reinforcement. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration noted that China’s explicit assertion of “sovereignty and jurisdiction” over the Dongsha Islands, and the unusual length of the vessel’s stay, represented a significant escalation in tone. Separately, a Chinese research vessel was driven from nearby waters for the second time this month. The incident comes as Beijing’s maritime presence around Taiwan continues to intensify. Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu reported 100 Chinese ships operating in the First Island Chain on Saturday alone. Taiwanese coast guard officials say Chinese oceanographic research vessels have expanded their operational range over the past three years, now reaching as far as Guam and Hawaii.

  Source: Taipei Times

NetBlocks, the global Internet monitoring organization, says live network data shows partial Internet access has been restored in Iran after 88 days of near-total blackout. NetBlocks wrote on X that the outage, at more than 2,093 hours, is “the longest nationwide Internet outage in modern history.” The organization also said it remains unclear whether the restoration will hold. Earlier in the day, officials from Masud Pezeshkian’s government announced the start of a process toward full Internet reconnection within the next 24 hours. But the Administrative Court of Justice announced hours later that it had issued a suspension order against the government committee that had issued the decree to restore internet access. Shortly after the NetBlocks post, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref wrote on X, “Following the directive of the President and in line with the government’s promise, the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken.” Iranian media has reported that users are once again able to access the “international Internet” on their mobile phones, including services such as ChatGPT. Iran maintains a two-tier Internet system: a domestic network limited to government-approved websites and services, and the international (global) Internet, which is frequently heavily filtered or completely shut down. NetBlocks also reported that Internet access has now reached 86 percent, when compared to ordinary traffic volumes. “Filternet remains in place but can be worked around. WhatsApp now restricted, requiring circumvention. Some users still offline,” NetBlocks wrote on X. Iran’s state-run news agency ISNA reported that users of fixed broadband services are now connected to the global Internet without restrictions and “have been provided with the opportunity to fully use international websites and services.” - RFE/RL

• Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed 31 people on Tuesday (May 26), the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel said it was intensifying attacks despite a truce in its war with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group meanwhile said it faced Israeli troops entering the southern town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, as the Israeli military said it was expanding its ground operations. In a statement, the health ministry said 31 people, including at least four children and three women, were killed in attacks and 40 wounded. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said one of the strikes hit the vicinity of a public hospital, causing "significant damage to the hospital's departments". The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for at least 50 southern and eastern towns and villages on Tuesday, including Nabatieh city. An Israeli military official told AFP that troops had begun operating beyond the Israel-announced "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon, which runs around 10km deep inside Lebanese territory.

Russia has told foreign diplomats and citizens to evacuate Kyiv, warning of systematic strikes on “decision-making centres” - just days after one of its biggest missile and drone barrages on the Ukrainian capital since 2022. In this live BBC World Television interview, I explain why I believe foreigners should not leave Kyiv, why Russia is almost certainly bluffing - but why that’s not the full story. Because whatever Moscow’s immediate intentions, it has already crossed serious red lines, and that has deeply troubling implications for the road ahead.

A recent study by Forum AI reveals that major AI chatbots struggle significantly with news accuracy, particularly when it comes to elections. The report highlights a staggering 90% failure rate on election-related questions across four major platforms when evaluating factual accuracy, bias, and source quality. In fact, about a third of the chatbot answers to election questions contained factual errors, and the bots were found to routinely cite Russian and Chinese state media as authoritative sources. The study, which utilized a methodology called “News Bench Wide,” also exposed severe political biases across the models. Claude and Gemini provided left-leaning answers to election questions 100% of the time, and ChatGPT did so 95% of the time. Grok was the sole right-leaning chatbot, delivering right-leaning responses 85% of the time. Because of these skews, users asking about candidates or voting issues are rarely receiving a balanced perspective. Forum AI CEO Campbell Brown attributes these shortcomings to AI companies prioritizing model capabilities like coding and math over news accuracy. Brown warns that AI companies are currently “grading their own homework” and stresses the need for independent evaluations to hold these models accountable. As consumers and enterprise clients increasingly rely on these tools and demand reliable information, developers will need to lean into building more trustworthy, balanced products.

• The people who understand AI most intimately - the ones who write its code, train its models and watch its capabilities expand in real time - are increasingly alarmed by what they are building and for whom. Some, like the Google employees, are concerned they are contributing to dangerous military developments. Others worry that AI poses a threat to jobs - their own, as well as in industries as far-reaching as the arts, media, law and banking. Still others are frightened by the privacy implications of the new technology. “By organising, they are insisting that the people closest to AI’s development should have a voice in its direction,” Kate Andrias, a professor at Columbia Law School, where she directs the Columbia Labor Lab and the Center for Constitutional Governance, wrote in a commentary for The New York Times. “They can see risks before regulators, lawmakers or the public can. Listening to them is not just a matter of workplace fairness. It is essential to our society’s ability to govern the direction of AI.”

• Nvidia is now spending up to $150 billion a year on its supply chain partners in Taiwan and plans to increase its headcount in the “epicenter of the AI revolution” to 4,000 employees, CEO Jensen Huang said. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips, packaging come from. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created. The number of partners we work with here in Taiwan, incredible,” Huang said at a company meeting in Taipei on Wednesday- Nikkei Asia

Bee Gees’ frontman Barry Gibb was forced to confirm he was still alive after an internet rumor of his death went viral. Family sources close to Gibb, 79, told TMZ that the disco legend was alive and well at his home near Miami after a “R.I.P. Barry Gibb” Facebook page garnered nearly a million likes on Sunday. Those who clicked on the page were greeted by a false report claiming that the falsetto singer had died earlier that day. Gibb is the latest victim of a bizarre internet trend that uses fake death rumors and “RIP” pages to generate social media attention and likes. Celebrities like Tom Hanks, Justin Bieber, Michael J. Fox, Morgan Freeman, and Jon Bon Jovi have also fallen victim to the fake death claims in recent years. The Daily Beast reached out to a rep for Gibb for comment. The musician founded the iconic Bee Gees group alongside his brothers, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The trio is well known for dancefloor hits like “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever,” and “How Deep Is Your Love.” Barry is the only surviving member of the band after Maurice’s death in 2003 and Robin’s death in 2012. - The Daily Beast

Have a listen to Barry Gibb’s moving hit, The Long Goodbye, here

The journals…..

World Briefing Plus | Journalism Under Threat & Ukraine’s Darkening Horizon

A new UN finding confirms transnational repression of journalists is rising — driven by digital surveillance and technology. I break down what that means for press freedom globally. Then: the war in Ukraine. Recent strikes on Kyiv, red lines crossed by Russia, and a major blow to Kyiv’s war effort - allied nations have blocked a landmark commitment to dedicate 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine, a deal that would have tripled annual aid from $45bn to $143bn. And the UK has now loosened sanctions on Russian refined oil - a troubling signal at a deeply vulnerable moment for Ukraine.

The head of the World Health Organization has raised the alarm over the speed of the current Ebola outbreak in central Africa, which has so far claimed at least 220 lives. “We are urgently scaling up operations, ‌but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” Director-General Tedros ⁠Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, telling an online meeting of the African Union that health workers are “playing catch-up” as the number of suspected cases tops 900. Tedros will tomorrow travel to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in whose Ituri province the current outbreak is centred. The DRC has had more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks over the decades. Health experts say international aid cuts last year by the US and other rich nations are devastating for eastern Congo because of the region’s unique problems. The response has been hampered by fear, anger and frustration among locals, including attacks on treatment centres, as well as distrust of authorities in a region long plagued by armed violence. Aid groups fighting the current Ebola outbreak also say they don’t have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits, and body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of victims, which can be highly contagious. Ugandan health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first local infections: a driver and a health worker exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11. Two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala have since tested positive, the Ministry of Health said on Monday. The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the current outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment. The outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

• A health alert has been issued in Italy's northern Lombardy region after two suspected cases of Ebola were detected in the province of Como. The cases concern a woman from Lurate Caccivio and a man from Bulgarograsso who returned from Uganda in the past 24 hours with other members of their families after spending around three months there as humanitarian aid workers.

  Both have developed symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus, including high fever, nausea, vomiting and intestinal problems. They were quickly transferred to Milan’s Sacco Hospital, a specialist facility for the management of high-risk infectious diseases, where tests required under national and international protocols are under way - Euronews

• Angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients at the heart of the latest outbreak of the disease in eastern Congo on Sunday evening, forcing the medical staff to scramble to evacuate the patients as gunfire rang out in the area.

  It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the attack on the Mongbwalu General Hospital but Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told The Associated Press the attackers demanded that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them. There was gunfire and the medics were trying to evacuate the patients and the staff, Lokudu said over the phone. The attack — the third in a week’s time on healthcare facilities where medical workers struggle with lack of resources to treat suspected Ebola cases — underlined the challenges of the outbreak

The United States military said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran on May 25, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats allegedly attempting to lay mines near key shipping routes. In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were aimed at protecting American troops from what it described as threats posed by Iranian forces during a tense ceasefire period. According to the statement, US forces struck “missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines” in southern Iran. The strikes appeared to focus on areas near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways for global oil shipments prior to the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Explosions were earlier reported by Iranian news agencies in and around the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency later said the situation was “completely under control” and urged residents not to worry. The military action comes despite ongoing diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending months of confrontation. US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that negotiators were discussing the “final details” of a possible agreement, while Iranian officials said the two sides had reached a preliminary framework on several issues but that no deal was imminent. Both sides signaled major differences remain. Trump reiterated on May 25 that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile should either be handed over to the United States or “destroyed in place”. Iran, however, pushed back against reports suggesting it had agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. A senior Iranian diplomat reportedly dismissed such claims as “pure fabrication”, while the Iranian foreign ministry said that although some conclusions had been reached in negotiations, “that does not mean we’re close” to a final deal. The US and Iran have maintained a fragile ceasefire since April 8, though sporadic incidents have continued in the Gulf region - RFE/RL

Russia Hits Kyiv’s Heart — And NATO Allies Still Hesitate | CNN Analysis

Russia unleashed one of its most devastating attacks on Kyiv in recent months — firing more than 90 missiles and hundreds of drones in a strike that exposed growing cracks in Ukraine’s air defenses. Speaking live on CNN’s Isa Soares Tonight, I explained why this latest barrage may represent a dangerous new phase in the war. For the first time, key symbols of Ukraine’s statehood and national identity were hit or damaged: the Cabinet of Ministers area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs vicinity, Maidan Square, and even exhibits at the Chornobyl Museum.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a fresh warning of imminent strikes against Kyiv as part of an ongoing retaliation campaign for a deadly Ukrainian attack against the occupied Luhansk region late last week. Slamming what it described as the “Zelensky junta and its Western sponsors” for violating international law, the ministry said the May 22 attack on the Starobilsk Vocational School and its dormitory has pushed the war “past a breaking point.” “Under these circumstances, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are commencing a sequence of systemic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities in Kyiv,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Strikes will also be launched against decision-making centers and command posts.” The ministry explicitly warned foreign nationals, including the personnel of diplomatic missions and offices of international organizations, to leave the Ukrainian capital immediately. The warning comes after Russia launched a devastating weekend attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region using a combination of drones and missiles, including the ballistic missile Oreshnik - Moscow Times

Pope Leo XIV on Monday set out a sweeping vision for corporate executives, politicians and individuals who will shape and be shaped by the future of artificial intelligence, warning leaders to safeguard humanity from A.I.’s most disruptive effects. Leo’s declaration came in the form of a papal encyclical, an open letter to “all people of good will” that ran to roughly 42,300 words in its English version. It outlined his desire to protect human dignity and agency in an age in which technology threatens to replace humans in many professional and social roles. While emphasizing that “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he wrote that “the pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs.”

Among other things, Leo called for:

• government regulation of the private companies that are driving the development of A.I.

• protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened

• education to help students think critically about the technology

• action to protect children from violent, hypersexualized or fake information online that is often generated by A.I.

• safeguards to ensure that humans, not artificial intelligence, remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons.

Above all he emphasized the importance of retaining a fundamental social role for all human beings. “A society that guarantees employment to only a small fraction of the population, despite having a high level of technical development, risks exposing many to forced inactivity,” he wrote - NYT

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada on Monday drew on his experience with Brexit to warn that a referendum the province of Alberta is planning for October on a possible separation from Canada could turn out to be a “dangerous bluff.” Mr. Carney was governor of the Bank of England during the vote by Britain to leave the European Union in 2016. He now leads a country that could see its Western oil-rich province break away after Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta announced last week she would push for a referendum on separation. The vote, scheduled for Oct. 19, will ask Albertans to decide if they want to remain in Canada or if they want to hold a separate, binding referendum to secede. “I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, vote for this, it’ll be soft, and then we’ll negotiate,” Mr. Carney told the news media in Ottawa on Monday. He was referring to the suggestion by some voters and politicians, who did not necessarily want Britain to leave the European Union but wanted to have a referendum on it, that the Brexit vote would help extract concessions from the European Union while staying in the bloc. “They’re still, 10 years later, trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for,” Mr. Carney added. Separatism in Alberta has long had the support of a small minority of voters, but the movement has grown in recent years. A poll by the Angus Reid Institute that was released on Monday found that 35 percent of Albertans would vote to pursue secession from Canada, meaning they would answer “yes” to the question to be posed in October. Polls in recent months have generally put support for secession at 25 percent to 30 percent. - NYT

Ten people were injured after a flight bound for Hong Kong was hit by severe turbulence. Four passengers and six crew members were injured on the Cathay Pacific flight from Brisbane to Hong Kong. Eight people were taken to the hospital for treatment. Passengers described a sudden, violent drop without warning shortly after breakfast service began on Flight CX156. One traveler compared the experience to “falling through a drop tower” in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Businessman Nicholas Stevenson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the aircraft “just dropped” and he feared it was “going down.” He said the turbulence struck twice within seconds, throwing passengers who were not belted into the air. “There were phones flying, coffees smashed into the roof,” he said, adding that “people were screaming.” Stevenson said the pilot suggested the turbulence was likely caused by a fast-developing storm cell that was not clearly visible on radar, but the exact cause is still unknown. According to unverified social media posts, another Cathay flight was hit by severe clear air turbulence this week, as it crossed the northern Philippines bound for Hong Kong.

The journals….