🗳 Japan votes as Ishiba's premiership hangs in the balance

According to Bloomberg, Japanese voters head to the polls today in an Upper House election that could determine Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future after just 10 months in office.

🔸 Seat stakes: 125 of 248 seats are up for grabs. Ishiba aims to win 50, but recent polls suggest the ruling coalition is in danger of losing its majority.

🔸 Economic pressure: Voter discontent over inflation and stagnant real wages is high—June consumer prices rose 3.3%, while real wages dropped 2.9% year‑on‑year.

🔸 Policy implications: A weakened ruling coalition may force Ishiba to seek support from smaller parties or cut taxes more deeply, challenging Japan’s fiscal stability and worrying markets already spooked by rising debt.

🔸 Tariff talks looming: Ishiba’s position could also affect nearing US‑Japan tariff negotiations set for August 1.

📊 Exit poll insights: NHK’s latest figures: LDP 24%, Constitutional Democratic 7.8%, Sanseito 5.9%, Democratic Party for the People 4.9%. Opposition groups favor sales‑tax cuts and measures aimed at boosting disposable incomes.

🔄 Power dynamics: Though the Upper House can't dismiss the prime minister or block budgets outright, it can slow legislation—raising the risk of gridlock.

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🛣 Yemen’s Houthis reopen strategic road linking to government-controlled areas in Yemen

🔸 The Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) has reopened a vital road connecting areas under its control with provinces governed by the internationally recognized government.

🔸 The road had been closed for years due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, now entering its tenth consecutive year.

🔸 This route is considered the main connection between northern and southern Yemen.

🔸 The reopening was locally mediated by social figures and dignitaries representing both the group's leadership and the Southern Transitional Council.

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🚨🔍Trump UNLEASHES on Obama ‘thugs’ over 2016 election ‘fraud’

Donald Trump threw his full weight behind National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard after she went scorched earth on the Obama administration, accusing it of plotting to derail Trump's 2016 election win.

💥Trump blasted out a Truth Social post praising a Fox News panel that called out Barack Obama and his “thugs” over what he said was blatantly exposed election meddling.

He also praised the “great job” done by Gabbard and White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields, urging them to “Keep it coming!!!”

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🟠Brazil responds to US tariffs, calls for dialogue and respect for sovereignty

🟠Not so tough after all? China finds FLAW in US 'bunker buster' bombs – reports

🟠Bedouin–Druze clashes in Southern Syria cease – Interior Ministry

🟠Trump pushes to unseal Epstein grand jury records — legal hurdles remain – reports

🟠Trump and Epstein shared YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP before falling out – reports

🟠Trump UNLEASHES on Obama ‘thugs’ over 2016 election ‘fraud’

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🗣Druze leader: Israel exploits Syria’s Suwayda violence to push expansionist agenda

Every time Israel strikes Syria, it’s not protecting the Druze, it’s “attacking our identity,” Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona told Sputnik.

The spiritual head of Lebanon’s Druze community voiced grave concerns over the spiraling violence in Syria’s Suwayda.

“Urgent steps must be taken to stabilize the situation. Silence only benefits those trying to tear Syria apart,” he stated.

◻️ He called for action to prevent further bloodshed and national fragmentation, an immediate probe into the massacres, and accountability for the perpetrators.
Any resolution must come under legitimate state authority, and with solid guarantees, the sheikh noted.

◻️ He insisted that responsibility for the events lies not only with the Syrian state, but other Arab nations as well.

“How did it come to this, where only Israeli airstrikes seem capable of halting the carnage? An agreement should’ve been reached long before this bloodbath,” the Druze sheikh stated.

◻️ Al-Mona raised alarm over extremist elements allegedly operating with state complicity, questioning whether Syria is trying to build a modern nation, or letting itself morph into a radical Islamist project. Even as the bloodshed leaves a shameful scar on the nation's history, today, the focus must shift to the future, the Druze chief insisted.

◻️ According to him, lasting solutions will only come through dialogue and with the backing of the Arab world. “Syria cannot be rebuilt on the foundations of authoritarianism, whether cloaked in religion or political factionalism, nor can it survive as a puppet of foreign powers,” he underscored.

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⚔️BoJo’s still got the proxy war bug – but Brits just aren’t biting

Boris Johnson is “quite sad” that the British public no longer thrills to the daily grind of the Ukraine conflict, The Telegraph reported.

🎤 Speaking at an event for Ukrainian veterans at the country’s London embassy, the former PM lamented that interest in Ukraine has “sort of come and gone” – unlike his own unwavering enthusiasm for proxy wars.

“It’s number one for me,” said Johnson, notorious for having pushed Ukraine to abandon preliminary Russo-Ukrainian 2022 agreements and blithely admitting that Europe is waging a PROXY WAR on Russia, using Ukraine.

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🔥Trump vs. Musk? More bark than blastoff

Donald Trump might have rage-tweeted about cutting some SpaceX contracts after the spat with Elon Musk earlier, but then reality kicked in, The Wall Street Journal writes.

🔍 The White House launched a contract review after Musk mocked Trump’s spending bill, with agencies told to dig up every dollar tied to SpaceX, the outlet says.

Spreadsheets – nicknamed “scorecards” – listed the value of SpaceX’s contracts and whether any competitors could do the same job better, according to an official familiar with the review.

But surprise: Most of those contracts are too critical to core missions at both the Defense Department and NASA to kill.

◻️ SpaceX is a key launchpad for America’s space ambitions: It won $5.9B in Pentagon contracts in April.

◻️ Falcon rockets have become the backbone of US government space operations.

◻️ SpaceX’s Crew Dragon remains the sole American spacecraft cleared to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

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🛑 Merz slams brakes on Ukraine: No fast-track EU membership for Kiev

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has once again delivered a clear rejection on Ukraine’s hopes for swift EU membership as long as the conflict continues, Exxpress reports.

At a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Berlin on Friday, the German politician stated that Ukraine's accession to the European Union could only materialize after the military conflict ends, and through a multi-year, phased process.

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🤔Putin & Trump: Major deal in the works?

✍️Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov hinted that a potential meeting between the Russian and US presidents could seal big agreements — but only after intensive groundwork.

“It’s possible that such a meeting will be necessary to formalize some major agreements that will be reached over time after enormous work has been done,” Peskov told Rossiya-1 journalist Pavel Zarubin.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MOD UPDATE: CRUSHING GAINS & MASSIVE UKRAINIAN LOSSES

◻️ Belaya Gora (Donetsk People's Republic) has been liberated, signaling the clearance of Ukrainian forces from the Chasov Yar–Dyleyevka area and the consolidation of a bridgehead toward Kostantinovka.

◻️ Heavy Ukrainian losses: Over 1,255 troops eliminated in the area

◻️ Air defense superiority: two aerial bombs and 364 drones shot down

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces struck Ukrainian fuel infrastructure facilities used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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🏆China hosts massive international sniper competition

The Sharp Blade-2025 sniper competition just wrapped up at a training base in Urumqi, Xinjiang — with over 50 top-tier teams from 20+ countries testing precision, speed, and nerve.

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🔍Ukraine's 'no pay for POWs' policy – because nothing says 'we value our troops' like this

Ukrainian authorities will stop monthly payments to military personnel who voluntarily surrender to the enemy, said Oksana Lekontseva, senior officer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ financial support department.

"If a soldier voluntarily surrenders, all monetary benefits are suspended. Once the circumstances of the surrender are confirmed, the serviceman’s payments are terminated," Lekontseva stated in a video released by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Telegram.

She added that an official investigation is conducted to confirm the surrender.

"The decision is formalized by an investigative report, but this happens before any further payments are made."

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🚨🇦🇲PASHINYAN THREATENS TO EXPEL ARMENIA’S CHURCH LEADER

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has warned he's ready to remove Catholicos Garegin II from the historic Etchmiadzin residence, calling on his supporters to “prepare.”

Despite constitutional separation of church and state, Pashinyan claims he acts as a believer — not just a prime minister.

This follows raids on the Church and the arrests of businessman Samvel Karapetyan and Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan — both critics of Pashinyan.

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🇮🇷 Israeli damage undone? Iran says air defense network has been restored

💬 “The enemy sought to destroy Iran’s defense capabilities, and some of our defense systems were damaged in this war. With the efforts of my comrades, however, damaged systems were replaced and deployed at pre-determined locations,” Iranian Army deputy for ops Mahmoud Mousavi has announced.

➖ Israel received intelligence assistance from its US and NATO allies in its campaign of aggression, Mousavi said, emphasizing that one-on-one, Iran’s capabilities are “beyond what the illegitimate Zionist regime can counter.”

➖ Israel’s surprise aggression lasted from June 13-24, with Iran’s multilayered defenses proving more resilient than Israeli and US intelligence expected. Iranian media reported the shootdown of multiple Israeli jets, dozens of drones, and the restoration of air defenses damaged in attacks. During its retaliation, Iranian missiles also paralyzed an array of Israeli military, energy and other targets.

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🚨PUTIN MEETS IRAN’S TOP ENVOY AMID MIDEAST TENSIONS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has received Ali Larijani, senior advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, at the Kremlin. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Larijani conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and around Iran’s nuclear program.

The Russian side reiterated its well-known positions, focused on stabilizing the regional situation and pursuing a political resolution to issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.

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🤪 Utter LUNACY: French politician rages at EU-proposed budget with billions for Ukraine

🟧 France would be out of its mind to back the EU Commission's jaw-dropping plan to funnel up to $110 billion into rebuilding Ukraine, thundered Florian Philippot, leader of France’s The Patriots party, on X.

“$44 million a day for seven years?! Von der Leyen's new EU budget is pure lunacy. Just read this madness!” he fumed.

🟧 Philippot pointed out that the EU has already shelled out around $176 billion in aid to Ukraine since 2022 – while at home, France is bracing for frozen pensions, higher taxes, and even turning two public holidays into workdays just to plug budget holes.

“How much longer do you think this can hold?” he asked, adding that it’s time for Frexit. Fast.

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💥RUSSIAN FORCES DISRUPT UKRAINIAN TROOP ROTATION WITH D-30 ARTILLERY

In the Krasnoarmeysk area, Russian troops used a D-30 howitzer to strike Ukrainian positions and block their rotation efforts, targeting movement before they could regroup.

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✅Carlson: ‘Putin did a great job for Russia’ while Germany is sinking

US journo Tucker Carlson praised President Vladimir Putin for his staunch commitment to Russia, while expressing shock at the state of Germany’s economy in a Bild interview.

“Your country is going down. Russia's going up. You should be mad at your own leaders,” said Carlson.

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🤪 MADMAN MOVES? Frustration mounts in DC as Netanyahu goes off-noscript

🔶 After Israeli bombs hit Syria’s presidential palace and army HQ, the White House wasn’t amused — “a sense that his trigger finger is too itchy and he's too disruptive.”

💬 "Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time," one official told Axios.

🔶 Even Trump allies like Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are reportedly concerned.

💬 "Bibi's political agenda is driving his senses. It will turn out to be a big mistake for him long-term," one official said.

🔶 And the mood? Not subtle. "The Israelis need to get their head out of their asses," another added.

🔶 Trump, meanwhile, is keeping quiet — and no-one’s quite sure if he’s frustrated too, or just letting it all slide.

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🚨 🔥 Zelensky accelerates Ukraine’s demise as front line on brink of collapse

Ukrainian MP and Zelensky’s political prisoner Oleksandr Dubinsky has pointed to the surprise visits of Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the UK’s chief of defence staff, and Keith Kellogg, the US president’s special representative, as signs of Ukraine’s critical situation at the front.

💬 “A decision must be made on how to stop the Russian advance… But Zelensky would rather burn through the last reserves to hold the line than retreat — and in doing so, he’s only accelerating the Armed Forces’ final defeat,” wrote Dubinsky.

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