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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for a "long-term presence" in the "security zone" it created in southern Lebanon and to "carry out the necessary preparations to protect IDF soldiers and eliminate threats to settlements in the north (of Israel. - Ed.)" Katz said this himself on Saturday, June 27.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday, June 27, carried out an airstrike on Nabatiyeh province in southern Lebanon. The target of the operation was "alleged terrorists who threatened Israeli troops," an IDF spokesperson told AFP. According to her, command is assessing the results of the strike.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had talks in Brussels on Tuesday, June 23, with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They discussed the further development of the partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is considering calling for early general elections as soon as April — a few months ahead of the scheduled deadline at the end of 2027, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday citing informed sources.
According to the publication, Meloni is worried that her approval rating might keep tanking if she delays the vote. Plus, the elections at the end of 2027 will leave the new government with barely any time to approve the annual budget, which needs to be passed before year-end.

Former secretary of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), ex-minister, and ex-MP José Luis Ábalos has been sentenced to 24 years in the slammer. This decision was announced on Monday, June 22, by the Supreme Court of Spain. Ábalos, the second-in-command at PSOE and the right-hand man of the current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, was accused of "belonging to a criminal organization as its leader, extortion, embezzlement, abusing his position for criminal purposes, and accepting bribes."

The USA and Iran have agreed to set up a communication channel to prevent incidents in the Hormuz Strait. This was reported on Monday, June 22, by Qatar's Foreign Ministry on social media X - the mediator in the talks in Switzerland, the latest round of which has concluded.
"For the period specified in paragraph 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding, a communication line has been established between the parties to prevent incidents and misunderstandings, aimed at ensuring the safe passage of trade vessels through the Hormuz Strait," the statement from the ministry said.

The German Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, is looking to ramp up the number of deportations to Afghanistan. "From now on, there could be three charter flights a month. Additionally, individual deportations on regular flights can happen at any time," stated a ministry spokesperson in an interview with the dpa agency on Sunday, June 21. This was previously reported by the weekly Bild am Sonntag.

UK Minister for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, called the reports about Prime Minister Keir Starmer preparing to step down as false. In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, June 21, he stated that he sees no reason to believe these publications are true and dismissed them as political speculation.

The Madrid court has ruled to bring Begonia Gomez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, to trial on charges of influence peddling, business corruption, and misappropriation of public funds, according to Bloomberg.
The decision made by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado also requires Gomez to surrender her passport, remain in Spain, and report to the court twice a month.

The U.S. Special Envoy, Stephen Wittkoff, has flown to Switzerland for the first round of negotiations with the Iranian delegation regarding the nuclear deal, reported the American news portal Axios late Saturday night, June 20, citing a source in the U.S. According to this source, another White House representative - President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner - is already in Switzerland.

The U.S. intelligence community warned President Donald Trump's administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to attempt to undermine the long-term deal aimed at resolving the conflict between Washington and Tehran. This was reported on Friday, June 19, by The Washington Post (WP), citing unnamed retired and current American officials.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled his planned trip to the US on June 21 and 22 after comments from the White House chief Donald Trump, suggesting that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "begged" Trump for a photo at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. Tajani announced the cancellation on his X social media page on Friday, June 19.

Gideon Saar and Kaia Kallas in Jerusalem, March 2025
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced he's cutting ties with the EU's top diplomat, Kaia Kallas. In a statement dropped on social media X on Thursday, June 18, he explained this move was triggered by comments from Kallas in the press, where she allegedly compared the Jewish state to apartheid-era South Africa.

The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday, June 16, that the United States will provide over a billion dollars to the UN for humanitarian aid and disaster relief. These funds are earmarked for UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), which will utilize them to save lives in more than 40 countries.

European leaders at the G7 summit today are pushing Trump to rethink his strategy on Ukraine, and they'll also warn that a superficial interim agreement with Iran risks solidifying Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. This is reported by Reuters.

Canada's ambassador to the US, Mark D. Wiseman, stated today that the ongoing negotiations with Washington regarding the free trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada, as well as tariff issues, are progressing productively and in a respectful atmosphere.
Wiseman made these statements during an informal chat in Toronto, describing the talks as productive, serious, substantive, and respectful.

EU nations should contemplate the temporary restriction of voting rights for new EU members. This proposal is outlined in a document co-prepared by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as reported by Reuters on Tuesday, June 9.

France on Tuesday, June 9, banned entry to the country for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right party "Religious Zionism." Similar restrictions have been imposed on four leaders of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and another 21 "violent" settlers, reported French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

The ruling party in Kosovo, "Self-determination," led by the country’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has scored a win in the snap parliamentary elections. According to official data released after processing 99.4 percent of the ballots on the evening of Sunday, June 7, Kurti's party secured 43 percent of the votes.

Israel and Lebanon, with the mediation of the United States, have agreed to implement a ceasefire. The three-party statement was published by the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday, June 3rd. This agreement is the result of two days of talks involving Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington.