RUSSIA - Vladimir Putin is planning revenge for Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russia’s bomber fleet, Donald Trump has warned. The US president said he had a “good conversation” with his Russian counterpart, after an unexpected phone call, but that it was “not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace”. Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social network: “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.” His comments came after Putin finally broke his silence following Kyiv’s co-ordinated drone assaults to once again rule out a ceasefire in Ukraine. The Russian leader said that Kyiv would exploit the break in the fighting to rearm and remobilise and carry out further “terrorist attacks”.

VATICAN - Putin on Wednesday also held his first telephone call with Pope Leo, in which the pair “exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine”, according to the Kremlin. Keeping the contents of the call vague, the Kremlin claimed that Putin “reiterated his interest in achieving peace” but that the “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed first. The new pontiff has been vocal in his demands for an end to the fighting and for a “lasting peace”. In a resurfaced 2022 interview, he condemned Russia’s aggression, calling it a “true invasion, imperialism in nature”. His predecessor Pope Francis did not speak directly to Putin following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Their last known call was held in December 2021, but the pair had met three times before the war.

USA - Corporate America has fallen out of love with Pride month – and it’s because of Donald Trump. Businesses that used to smother their merchandise in rainbow flags for the month of June have dramatically scaled back this year, many wary of provoking an investigation by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Pride events across the US are facing budget shortfalls as corporate sponsors duck out. Robby Starbuck, the anti-woke activist known for his pressure campaigns, believes a “massive” shift has taken place at some of the world’s biggest companies in the past year. On his first days in office, Mr Trump issued a flurry of executive orders taking aim at diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in both the government and private sector.

USA - Elon Musk has trashed Donald Trump’s much-vaunted “big beautiful bill” as a “pork-filled disgusting abomination”. The tech billionaire, who left his role in the White House last week, savaged the president’s flagship spending bill as “outrageous” while criticising lawmakers for burdening Americans with “unsustainable debt”. He wrote on X: I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." Mr Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill has promised to deliver $4.5 trillion (£3.3 trillion) worth of tax cuts while significantly increasing America’s deficit. The Tesla founder has previously warned that America was going “bankrupt” as a result of its $36.2 trillion debt pile, echoing similar concerns made by economists.

USA - Google engineer says humans can cheat death – we just have to merge with AI. Imagine a world where age is just a number, and living for centuries is within reach. Silicon Valley's brightest minds are racing to make immortality a reality. Imagine living forever – staying young, sharp, and healthy for centuries. It sounds like science fiction, but according to leading experts and Silicon Valley elites, immortality may be closer than we think – and it could arrive within our lifetimes, reports Science.org.

UK - Experts warn that cemeteries may be pushed into the digital age as metropolitan areas are on the brink of maxing out burial spaces for the deceased. The Law Commission raised the alarm last year, highlighting that England and Wales' urban regions are swiftly depleting their burial grounds. Artificial intelligence will generate holograms, enabling future generations to engage with virtual versions of ourselves. Concurrently, our bodies would be buried with seeds in biodegradable pods which will aid the growth of shrubs and trees. The heat emitted will be collected in thermal towers to power electricity turbines. Dr Rahimi is confident his concepts would alter conventional perspectives on death – and he's certain younger generations will understand.

MIDDLE EAST - CNN persisted Tuesday in publishing fake news pushed by Hamas, claiming that “dozens” of Palestinians had been killed near an American-run aid site in Gaza, despite Israeli denials and a history of Hamas lies. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told journalists: “The IDF did not fire at civilians in, or near, humanitarian aid distribution zones.” The story came a day after US Ambassador Mike Huckabee demanded that CNN and other outlets retract false reporting of dozens of Palestinians being killed at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site Sunday.

TURKEY - That today’s peace negotiations in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine have flopped is hardly surprising. On the one hand, Russian Federation forces have conquered around 20 settlements in a single week, and their offensive on the Northern Sumy and Kharkov regions have the real potential of breaking down the undermanned and underequipped Ukrainian defenses. But on the other hand, Ukraine arrived for the talks boosted by the success of yesterday’s drone attack on Russian airfields – while the scope of the attack is being heavily exaggerated in the MSM, there’s no denying that this was a major PR victory for Kiev.

UKRAINE - In a world where deception is running rampant, it is so important to question the narratives that we are being fed. Ukraine’s “Pearl Harbor” attack on Russia was extremely impressive, and it appears that quite a bit of damage was done. But we are also extremely fortunate that this attack did not spark a nuclear war. If our nuclear bombers at Minot Air Force Base, Barksdale Air Force Base, and Whiteman Air Force Base were hit in a surprise attack, would we show similar restraint? We are literally closer to nuclear war right now than we have ever been in all of human history, and those that are mindlessly celebrating Ukraine’s recklessness don’t seem to have any idea. Striking Russia’s strategic nuclear assets is a really, really, really bad idea. Now Vladimir Putin will feel compelled to respond very forcefully, and the Ukrainians are very much counting on that.

UK - Monthly benefits to households with foreign nationals have surged to nearly £1 billion. The Telegraph has the details. Households with at least one claimant who is a foreign national received £941 million in March this year, up from £461 million in March 2022, representing nearly a sixth of the month’s Universal Credit payments. The figures are likely to reinforce calls for restrictions on benefits for migrants, which Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, urged Rachel Reeves to consider in a leaked memo seen by the Telegraph. Ms Reeves, the Chancellor, is already facing a growing backbench rebellion over her plans to cut welfare spending. Funding two months of benefits for households with foreign nationals cancels out the £1.4 billion the Government saved by axing winter fuel payments. Experts suggested the increase reflected a surge in the number of asylum seekers being granted refugee status and in net migration.

USA - The hidden dangers of plant-based milks and soy formula: Parents often choose plant-based milks or soy formula for infants, but research shows these alternatives may lack essential nutrients and disrupt hormonal development.

USA - The calculated extraction of faith from science is not merely an academic shift; it’s a symptom of America’s spiritual crisis. In recent decades, a subtle and sinister revolution has occurred in our scientific and educational institutions. It's not the kind of revolution that makes headlines or sets off protests in the streets. No, it was a quiet shift: an erosion, not an eruption. One classroom, one textbook, one policy at a time, faith was quietly displaced by a dogmatic secularism masquerading as neutrality. It’s time we return to a posture of humility — a recognition that science, at its best, is the study of God’s handiwork.

USA - Texas lawmakers voted on Friday to recognize gold and silver as legal tender while authorizing the Comptroller to create a program where the value of gold and silver can be transferred by electronic means. The Texas House of Representatives approved a number of Senate amendments to House Bill 1056, filed by Republican Texas Representative Mark Dorazio and Republican Texas Senator Bryan Hughes. “This is a major win for Texans,” said Representative Dorazio. “With the implementation of the transactional gold program laid out in House Bill 1056, millions of Texans will have access to sound money and a protection from the destruction of inflation.” Transactional gold legislation has been signed into law in Arkansas and Florida this year. Texas House Bill 1056 now heads to Governor Abbott’s desk, and with his signature, Texas will become the third state to authorize a transactional gold program. The Texas Bullion Depository was established by the 84th Legislature and began operating in 2018. It is administered by the Comptroller and currently holds approximately $380 million in precious metals.

EUROPE - Trump’s chaos is fuelling dreams of euro hegemony – but realising them is easier said than done. Despite the tough talk about slapping 50 percent tariffs on the EU, Donald Trump has given Brussels a golden opportunity. After years of disappointment, false hope and crises, the euro could at last wrest international dominance away from the dollar to become a – and possibly the – global reserve currency of choice. Or so Christine Lagarde hopes. The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) set out her master plan last week to at long last fulfil the dream of leading the financial world.

POLAND - Karol Nawrocki is set on scuppering Donald Tusk’s premiership until the 2027 parliamentary elections — as voters brace for two years of chaos. The novelty in Poland’s presidential election is not the closeness of the result, nor the profound divisions that lie behind it, nor the impending “cohabitation” between a premier and a head of state from rival blocs. It is that voters have signed up for two-and-a-half years of pandemonium with their eyes wide open. The victory for Karol Nawrocki, a historian backed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) opposition party, is a disaster for Donald Tusk, the centrist prime minister, and a headache for many of Poland’s allies. Unless Tusk and his allies can muster the 60 per cent of votes in parliament that are required to overcome the presidential veto — an all but impossible task on any remotely controversial area of policy — they will be unable to pass meaningful reforms. It is not inconceivable that Tusk may be forced into holding an early election.