📹 Lightning splits ancient sequoia in France

A century-old sequoia in Deux-Sèvres, France, was destroyed by lightning. Local media report that debris damaged a nearby hotel. The 30-meter tree was nearly split in half.

Video from social media

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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia has called on its citizens to immediately leave Lebanon amid security risks associated with possible war between Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah and Israel, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon said.

"The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Lebanese Republic is following with concern the current events in southern Lebanon, once again calls on all Saudi citizens to comply with the decision to ban travel to Lebanon and calls on citizens there to immediately leave Lebanese territory," the embassy said

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🇮🇱 ICC decision on arrest warrants for Israeli officials delayed by UK

The International Criminal Court’s decision on whether arrest warrants will be issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallany will be delayed for weeks after the UK requested a review.

The UK wants the court to look at whether it has jurisdiction over Israeli citizens. Israel has been arguing that the request by the Palestinian Authority to the ICC to investigate potential crimes against humanity by Israel violated the Oslo Accords, which stipulates that the Palestinian Authority has no criminal jurisdiction over Israeli citizens.

The UK was able to file the request for a review because it has “friend of the court” status. Israel could not issue the order itself because it is not a member of the court. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said, “it is believed that the UK’s move was made at Israel’s request.” The paper speculates that other countries are being recruited.

The UK submitted the request on July 10, the court gave the country until July 12 to file any comments. Any potential warrants will not be issued until after that date, if at all.

The court could still issue arrest warrants for the three Hamas leaders also named in ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants because they are Palestinian.

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Crunch time: Understanding France’s snap parliamentary elections

Voters will cast their ballots on June 30 in the first of two possible rounds of the early French polls to elect 577 members of the country’s parliament - the National Assembly.

Who is taking part and what to expect?

🔸 Three major political blocs are competing, including Marine Le Pen’s hard right National Rally (NR), President Emmanuel Macron’s center-right alliance Ensemble, and the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP).

🔸 NR calls for a "more balanced" and "independent" French foreign policy, supporting France leaving NATO's integrated command and reform of the EU, with zero tolerance for breaches of law and order.

🔸 The NFP was formed with an intent to "build an alternative to Emmanuel Macron and fight the racist project of the extreme right" in the upcoming elections.

🔸 Ensemble includes Macron’s Renaissance party, in particular, upholding stances in favor of the EU.

🔸 NR leads the polls ahead of the elections with 36% of the vote, followed by the NFP with 28.5%, which is trailed by Ensemble with 21%, according to the latest surveys. The polls suggest the upcoming elections will almost certainly confirm this trend.

🔸 To win an absolute majority in the National Assembly, a party or bloc needs to obtain at least 289 seats out of the 577.

🔸 In the first round, the voter turnout needs to be at least 25%, and a candidate ought to win an absolute majority of votes cast. In a multiparty system like France’s, these two conditions mean a second round of voting will most likely occur in many constituencies on July 7.

🔸 Le Pen recently made it clear that she will not seek Macron’s resignation if her party triumphs in the snap elections. “I’m respectful of institutions. I do not call for institutional chaos. There will simply be cohabitation,” she pointed out. Macron, for his part, confirmed he would not step down if his party suffers in the elections, adding that he “does not intend to campaign more than [he did] in 2017 and 2022.”

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US, Russia will inevitably have communication, trade again someday - US investor

The United States and Russia will undoubtedly have communication and trade again in the future, as both are huge countries with consequential economies, renowned US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik.

When asked whether he thinks that relations between Russia and the United States will improve one day, Rogers stated, "Of course, they will someday."

"I can remember when Americans wouldn't even talk to Russians. And the Russians wouldn't talk to Americans. That will change again," he said. "Russia is a huge country, America is too. Of course, there will be communication and trade again someday. There always has been and there always will be after the war."

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🚗🔗 In London, people have started tying cars to trees with chains out of fear of theft

Car theft remains a widespread problem in the UK, with thousands of vehicles reported stolen each year, according to recent statistics released by the Metropolitan Police. In 2023, over 25,000 vehicles were reported stolen across London alone.

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US First Lady is reportedly most influential in steering Joe Biden

Joe Biden's decision on whether to drop out of the presidential race or not depends on his wife, NBC reported, citing "five people familiar with the matter."

First Lady will be most influential in steering Joe, the sources reportedly said.

“If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.”

Biden will be meeting with his family at Camp David later in the day to discuss the future of his campaign, the report added.

Earlier, Axios reported that Biden won’t drop out of the 2024 presidential race unless his closest circle decides so. This inner circle reportedly includes Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, his younger sister Valerie, adviser Ted Kaufman and a small group of White House advisers.

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Bye, Sentinel? 'Good reasons' to shelve US missile program

There are "pretty good chances" that the Pentagon will cancel the Sentinel nuclear missile program after its review, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik, commenting on the recent firing of a top official overseeing the program.

The project, which is "way over budget and way behind schedule," "is supposed to deliver 400 ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] at a cost to the taxpayer of $325 million each, and employs people mostly in Utah," Kwiatkowski recalled.

The program may be on the chopping block for at least three reasons, she said.

🔶 "Utah's senators and handful of congressmen are not in a powerful position to save the program."

🔶 "The widespread national publicity about cost overruns and the recent firing of the program manager further reduces the political firepower" of the project.

🔶 "As the services realize that budget constraints are coming to the DoD, they are looking for public sacrifices to fund more popular and politically profitable programs.

"In this sense, the future of the LGM-35 Sentinel ICBM, also known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, does not look promising, according to Kwiatkowski.

Land or ground-based missiles in the nuclear triad, which includes ICBMs, bombers, and submarines, "are largely deployed and funded based on the idea that they will never be used, or if they are used, no government would survive those launches intact," she noted. These missiles "are expensive to build, test, and maintain, they lack pizzazz, and they tend to stay in the budget background. I suspect that Northrup Grumman hopes to shift some of the Sentinel budget to the more glamorous and globally marketable B2 fighter-bomber replacement program, and I expect they have already greased the congressional skids to do so," she concluded.

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The West loses $257 billion due to trade restrictions with Russia

Importers from unfriendly countries received less Russian goods in the amount of $256.5 billion, while Russia managed to sell these goods to other states and made a profit of almost $31 billion, Sputnik calculated using open data.

Russia saw export growth compared to the pre-sanctions period, with companies earning an additional $31 billion from trade with friendly countries, data from the Federal Customs Service show. Western importers were mostly undersupplied with Russian minerals ($107 billion), jewelry ($38 billion) and metals ($21 billion).

Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is happy to trade with friendly nations in the wake of Western economic sanctions, warning that these restrictive measures will backfire by fueling inflation and triggering a cost-of-living crisis.

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🔶Parliamentary elections kick off in France: here’s what you need to know Who is steering Joe Biden?

🔶Who is steering Joe Biden?

🔶Democrats are said to be struggling to find a replacement for Biden in wake of his debates with Trump

🔶Is US Sentinel nuclear missile program doomed?

🔶Why has Stanford removed Ukraine’s Azov Battalion from its list of extremist organizations?

🔶How much has the West lost due to its trade sanctions against Russia?

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❗️China’s Xi will visit Kazakhstan on July 2-4 to take part in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s heads of state council, Kazakhstan’s presidential press service said.

The SCO Summit will be held in Kazakhstan’s Astana on July 3-4, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also participating.

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Patients with Down syndrome participate in traditional Iranian sport of "Varzesh-e Zurkhaneh"

"Varzesh-e Zurkhaneh" is one of the oldest forms of martial arts, dating back several thousand years. The place where the competitions are held is called Zurkhaneh, which means "house of strength", and the people who practice this sport are known as "champions".

The rules of varzesh-e zurkhaneh were registered by Iran in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in November 2010.

This sport has a strong rehabilitative effect on people with Down syndrome, promoting their physical and mental development.

This video was shared on social media.

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced that Xi Jinping will visit Kazakhstan and Tajikistan on July 2-6 to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's heads of state council and have meetings with Kazakh President Kasym Tokayev and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon.

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Watch Russia’s Su-30SM fighters on combat duty in the special op zone

The pilots usually patrol the areas, cover the actions of aircraft and helicopters when they deliver airstrikes on military targets and equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces.

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Kanye West is reportedly in Moscow

Rapper Kanye West has arrived in the Russian capital, producer Yana Rudkovskaya said.

"He is staying in the very heart of the capital! Fingers crossed for the show at Luzhniki! My bet: if it happens, it will be 80,000 sold out in three days," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

Earlier, reports were circulating in the media that Kanye West was planning to perform at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

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