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As Hungary’s Magyar joins EU summit, sidelined Orban meets with far-right allies
European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels without Hungary's Viktor Orbán for the first time in 16 years
Poland arrests a suspect in daylight killing of a Russian artist critical of Putin
Polish authorities have arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a Russian activist critical of President Vladimir Putin
Putin and leaders of Southeast Asia agree to bolster ties at a summit in Russia
President Vladimir Putin is hailing Russia’s ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as he hosts a summit intended to strengthen economic and political ties with the bloc
Church of England apologizes for role in forced adoptions as recent as the mid-1970s
The Church of England has apologized for its role in forced adoptions as recent as the mid-1970s
An ancient oak tree said to have sheltered legendary Robin Hood has died
The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, linked to the legend of Robin Hood, is believed to have died
Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices
Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibitionThe Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions.In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones. Continue reading...
Trump souring on key ally might be Vance's ticket to 2028 and could reshape MAGA: analyst
President Donald Trump's shifting relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be a boon for Vice President JD Vance's 2028 presidential ambitions, an analyst reported on Wednesday.Jonathan V. Last, editor of The Bulwark, explained that a split between America and Israel could redefine the MAGA coalition. Although Vance is in a tough position with pro-war Republicans furious over the surrender and blaming the vice president — instead of Trump — he could also win over America First isolationists who have been skeptical of the relationship with Israel."Playing the part of Trump’s surrender monkey queers Vance with both wings of MAGA," Last wrote. But there could be more to it for the vice president, who was skeptical of the war to begin with."The best thing that could happen for Vance would be Trump souring on Israel," Last wrote."Israel will be one of the big cleavages in the post-Trump GOP," Last wrote. "The rising, young segment of the base is . . . skeptical of America’s relationship with Israel. But the establishment wing of MAGA remains pro-Israel. So long as Trump was wedded to Israel and Bibi Netanyahu, Vance was going to have to tread lightly. He’d have to signal enough of his Israel skepticism to keep the Tucker-wing of MAGA guessing while staying publicly aligned with Trump."If that changes, and Trump does turn on Israel, it could reveal a different future MAGA."Netanyahu has tried to undermine the deal. He is likely to fail because Trump needs to end the war, period. Which leaves Netanyahu with a choice," Last wrote.The Israeli prime minister could examine two potential options: pretend Trump's deal is a good one and try to convince the Israeli public it is, or condemn the deal and break away from Trump.Trump has criticized Netanyahu, calling him "crazy," and as the president's popularity has dropped in Israel, it could reveal that Israelis have soured on Trump — and Republicans might not have realized this as fast as Israelis have, Last explained."Vance has neither of those advantages and on top of that, he’s a bad politician," Last wrote. "He’s good at managing up, not pandering down. My guess is that Vance has taken stock of the situation and realized that he may be over a barrel now, but there is a path for him. If he leans into Iran, takes ownership of Trump’s surrender, then he can take advantage of any Trump-Israel schism and exit this war in a reasonably strong position with the Republican base."
Titan sub: design flaws and company groupthink central to catastrophe, report finds
Canadian officials find structural defects in material used for hull and say firm failed to fully test ‘novel’ designCanadian safety officials have issued a damning report on the catastrophic final voyage of the Titan submersible, finding that the US company behind the expedition was overcome by “groupthink” and “confirmation bias” and failed to understand the profound risks confronting their largely untested craft.The 6.7-metre (22ft) carbon fibre submersible dipped below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023 en route to the wreckage of the Titanic ocean liner. But nearly two hours after it departed with five passengers, communications went dark. The disappearance prompted a frantic international search, with Canada and the US marshalling all available resources. Continue reading...
'Ummm…': Trump's 'erratic' speech sparks concerns he's 'exceedingly unwell'
The internet fired off stunned reactions on Wednesday as President Donald Trump gave a meandering speech after the G7 Summit in France.Trump spoke about the Iran agreement from Évian-les-Bains and talked for more than 40 minutes on a stage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick standing behind him.Political and media experts commented on the president's demeanor and claims."This is one of the most erratic press conferences I think I've ever seen from Trump. He sounds like he's got a rotten cold," Mikey Smith, deputy political editor for The Mirror, wrote on X."Even with the bronze plaster on his face, the president looks exceedingly unwell," former CIA case officer and political commentator, wrote on X."Ummm………….," political commentary account Spiro’s Ghost wrote on X."A few missiles never hurt anybody," Ron Filipkowski, MeidasTouch editor and attorney, wrote on X."This is the dumbest speech in the history of speeches. My 7th grade speech for class secretary was better," Georgetown University professor Anthony M. Hopper wrote on X."Sounds like Trump's personal 'Strait of Hormuz' just opened," former Metro editor at the Chicago Tribune Mark Jacob wrote on Bluesky."Heads up to the moms whose SNAP benefits just got cut," editor Amanda Katz, former Washington Post writer, posted on Bluesky.This is one of the most erratic press conferences I think I've ever seen from Trump. He sounds like he's got a rotten cold. https://t.co/CWF2i1FlB6— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) June 17, 2026
Trump has nothing but praise for Modi at G7 after tensions over US military strike, trade
U.S. President Donald Trump described Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his loyal friend, despite tensions over trade and oil sanctions
Trump's 'rambling and incoherent' G7 press conference pushes MS NOW to cut away
Donald Trump’s much-anticipated press conference to address his Iran peace deal didn’t last long on MS NOW, with host Alicia Menendez cutting in as he discussed the war before taking questions, with the president sounding both hoarse and out of breath.Before taking questions, the president jumped from topic to topic about the attack on the Middle Eastern country as he was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.With the president taking deep breaths after every sentence which were amplified by his microphone, he was telling the assembled reporters about burying Iran's nuclear program, saying, “Those mountains collapsed right on top of everything. Nobody's going to get that for a long time unless we want to get it. We will get it. But we're the only ones that can. And they say China has the equipment to get it, and we have the equipment.”At that point the audio was cut and Menendez informed her audience, “A rambling, incoherent president of the United States attempting to take a victory lap over his page and a half Iran agreement. Let's bring in MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter David Rohde and former Undersecretary of State under President Barack Obama, Richard Stengel. So much to tease apart from what we have just heard from the president of the United States, let's start with a fact check on the way he described the JCPOA and how it compares to the agreement currently before him.”“Well, Alicia, as you know, we haven't actually seen that agreement. We do know, supposedly that it's one and a half pages long,” Stengel observed. “The JCPOA agreement, which was negotiated over two years with a number of other countries that he's visiting now, England, France, Russia, was hundreds of pages long, and it was specifically about nuclear enrichment and the nuclear threat.”“There are no kind of reflexive protections in the Trump agreement. And it's also just much broader. I mean, to get to the fact check, he talked about the $1.5 billion that was given to Iran after the signing of the JCPOA,” he elaborated. “That was Iran's money. That was interest on the money that was in the United States that Iran had deposited here. Again, it's been reported that this will be a $300 billion fund that Iran will be able to access, as well as a relaxation of the sanctions against Iran, which gives them billions and billions of dollars. So, as you say, it's incredibly inarticulate and 100% wrong over and over.” - YouTube youtu.be
MS NOW's Stephanie Ruhle taunts Trump for turning tail against Iran: 'TACO: war edition'
Donald Trump’s pride in getting an Iran deal done, despite accusations that it was a complete capitulation to Iran’s leadership, led MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle to haul out the “Trump Always Chickens Out” (TACO) taunt.During a discussion of the deal with former diplomat Richard Haas and MS NOW’s David Rohde, she asked the two experts what the US got out of the deal.According to both, the US was definitely on the losing end and the deal could easily fall apart.“There's concerns that [Israel Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu is going to try to blow up this deal because it's so bad for Israel in the long term,” Rohde explained before adding a curt, “It is.”“And I'll just keep it short,” he continued. “I agree with what [New York Times conservative] Bret Stephens said. He said President Trump launched a war of choice. The really big issue was ground troops, and if you really wanted to win this war, he would need to take Kharg Island or actually, I think, land some troops in Iran.” “I'm not saying we should invade Iran with our ground troops, but when you go to war, you must fight totally and completely and show personal courage and he [Trump] blinked,” he accused. “President Trump kept dropping bombs and it didn't work. And bombs aren't enough to win a war.”“TACO: the war edition,” host Ruhle joked as her guests laughed. - YouTube youtu.be



