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Description: US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, hosted his counterparts in Washington from Australia, India and Japan while announcing the launch of the Quad Rare Earth Minerals Initiative. According to official statement from the White House, the initiative would develop a comprehensive partnership between the four countries in expanding and diversifying the rare earth minerals supply chains and reinforce cooperation between the allies in the sector. The statement did not mention China directly as the largest manufacturer and developer of rare earth minerals in the world, however, the initiative is most certainly established in order to counter Chinese dominance in the sec
Description: The US Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that a review of the US arms stockpile prompted the halting of weapons supply to Ukraine as part of the Trump’s administration, America First policy. The information was ill received by Ukrainian officials as the US envoy to Ukraine was called after the announcement. Ukraine expressed concerns over their aerial defensive capabilities as well as munitions supply which are still largely dependent on consistent US support. President Zelenskyy has stated the halting of arms supplies would additionally embolden Russia which is planning a summer offensive as the largest battle currently unfolds in Donetsk. Russia’s Dmitry
Description: Haiti’s gang crisis continues to exacerbate, with gangs now controlling the entirety of the country’s capital Port au Prince, while gang – related confrontations were also reported to have escalated in the southern parts of the country. According to UN assessments, the gangs in Haiti have started to insert themselves in the form of local government, offering indigenous administrative and public services, with the violence still transpiring. Reports of large armed confrontations between the national police and the gangs have increased from almost every part of the country as the Kenyan voluntary mission fails to subvert the constant offensives staged by several a
Description: Germany and the UK are set to finalize their negotiations which started under former German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz’ leadership. The eighteen rounds of negotiations resulted in a comprehensive mutual assistance partnership focusing on several areas and accentuating defense ties alike NATO’s Article 5 stipulations. The agreement would also contain provisions in areas such as joint cooperation in tackling migration, transport, infrastructure and research and innovation. Germany and the UK would sign the partnership agreement on 17 Jul concluding extensive negotiations which have resulted in detailed provisions within the agreement, aiming to strengthen bilateral t
Description: EU’s Chief of Diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels as they discussed current rifts in trade relations, Chinese support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s rare earth minerals trade practices. President Trump’s tariff war has caused the bloc to reinstate trade relations with China and work towards tackling the introduction of Chinese companies on the EU market under the strict regulations imposed by the Union. Kallas stated that China needed to show healthy trading practices by reducing export taxes on rare earth elements to the EU as well as adapt their companies towards EU regulatory compliance. Foreign Minister
Description: After the Senate vote in favor of Trump’s enormous tax cut and spending bill, the House of Representatives vote has stalled casting a shadow on the bill’s success of being introduced as legislation. Last ditch overtures saw several members of the Republican party stressing the problematic tax cutting details of the bill which mostly affected the US healthcare system and other social programs such as the food stamp initiative. Billionaire Elon Musk reignited his spat with President Trump, heavily criticizing the bill, which incited further divisions between the Republican political camp. President Trump has also been heavily invested in the introduction of the bi
Description: Thailand’s Constitutional Court has adopted the initiative launched by the 36 Thai senators and suspended the Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, from duty, pending an ongoing ethics investigation. The Court ruled 7 to 2 in favor of suspending Shinawatra as the initiative was prompted by the leaked phone call between the Prime Minister and Cambodia’s influential Senate President Hun Sen where Shinawatra was recorded demeaning a Thai border commander and warmly addressing Hun Sen. Protests erupted over the weekend as the public sought from the Constitutional Court to permanently remove Shinawatra from office since the Prime Minister has effectively undermined
Description: The US Senate, following a long weekend of reading and debating has passed the tax cutting and spending bill proposed by President Donald Trump. The vote was hanging on a knife’s edge as Vice – President Vance tipped the scales towards the passage of the bill which would now be subjected to voting in the US House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson stated the House has already approved the bill in the preliminary voting cycle. Three members of the Republican Party have sided with the Democratic camp in voting against the bill and managed to push the Democratic party camp towards forcing some amendments into the language and text of the bill without an
Description: US President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted certain terms for a ceasefire with Hamas but only in principle. Following the joint military campaign in Iran, Israel and the US have reportedly shifted their focus towards resolving the war in Gaza and securing the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, has been conducting meetings with US Vice – President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East Special envoy, Steve Witkoff, which have allegedly resulted in concrete proposals for a cease
Description: Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russian ground forces have managed to fully occupy the region of Luhansk which marks the first complete territory occupation by Russian forces since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Putin managed to exploit the global focus on Iran to dominate the aerial battle with Ukraine and commence the amassment of troops in Sumy and Kursk regions where the next larger ground offensives are almost certain to happen, following recent advances in the city of Dnipropetrovsk. Peace negotiations under the US mediation have stalled as both countries only managed to agree on a mutual prisoner exchange which also experienced difficult