Trump:

The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing: U.S. 999 Billion Dollars, United Kingdom, 90.5 Billion Dollars, France, 66.5 Billion Dollars, Italy, 48.8 Billion Dollars, Poland, 44.3 Billion Dollars.

Others, including Germany, are MUCH LOWER. (2014-2025) Ridiculous!

Armenia's PM Pashinyan:

If we succeed in becoming an EU member, that will be a very great achievement.

If, for some reason, the European Union decides it will no longer enlarge — then we will still come out having gained enormously, because we will be a country that fully conforms to EU standards.

And this is not being done for the European Union — this is being done for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

BREAKING: Explosion hits café near Damascus, Syria courthouse; casualties reported.

Russian bomb depot footage shows massive stockpiles of OFAB-250-270s in Soviet-era wooden crates.

Flammable wooden crates are a high-value target for Ukrainian long-range strikes or drones.

India's Modi with Japan's Takaichi:

In the field of defense, today we have agreed on India and Japan's first co-development project.

This naval radio antenna UNICORN project will open a new chapter in our defense technology partnership.

We will now jointly develop defense technologies that will strengthen regional peace, maritime security, and the rules-based order.

Portugal has declared a state of alert starting Friday due to extreme heat and the heightened wildfire risk.

The measures include restricting access to certain forest areas, banning controlled burns and agricultural waste burning, and prohibiting the use of machinery in forests unless it is needed for firefighting.

The restrictions will remain in place while the alert is active.

Damascus explosion: 4 dead, 11 wounded on Al-Nasr Street.

World's No. 1 Energy Producer in Trouble

Russia has turned to India for seaborne gasoline imports and secured 50,000 metric tons from Kazakhstan as constant drone strikes paralyzed a third of Russian refining capacity.

READ MORE

Italy Quietly Distances Itself From Palantir, Halts Expansion of Government Contracts

▪️A biometric anti-terror proposal for police rejected
▪️Minor open-source Defense contract remains active
▪️EU skepticism grows over data sovereignty

READ MORE

Turkish Conglomerate IC Holding Eyes 20 Small Modular Reactors in US Pact

Turkish infrastructure group IC Holding will deploy up to 20 small modular reactors wtih U.S.-developed ARC Clean Technology across Türkiye and adjacent regions.

READ MORE

Zelensky:

If our partners had delivered, on time, what they had promised, we could have saved homes and lives today.

This is a major problem.

Zelensky:

Because of Ukraine's successes in Crimea, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Putin to explain the situation to Russian society.

Zelensky says Ukraine will retaliate for Russia's massive attack on Kyiv.

Andy Burnham is expected to end the NHS's £330m contract with US tech firm Palantir if he becomes prime minister later this month.

Burnham did not award Palantir any contracts during his nine years as Greater Manchester mayor and is reviewing the Government's AI strategy.

Labour MPs and unions have long opposed Palantir over its work with the Israeli military and US immigration authorities.

The first break clause in the NHS contract falls due next March, meaning a decision would need to be made by December if the Government intends to terminate the deal.

Source: The Telegraph

Baykar Chairman and CTO Selçuk Bayraktar compares AI-powered combat drones to the computer that defeated Garry Kasparov, arguing that the comparison between human pilots and autonomous aircraft is becoming obsolete.

“There is no human in this aircraft. It can do everything a manned aircraft does — and more,” he says, emphasizing that autonomous systems are cheaper and eliminate the years of training and human risk associated with fighter pilots:

“The human is truly the most expensive element.”

The U.S. and Oman are trying to persuade Iran to stop demanding tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz by offering access to billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.

Iran has rejected the offer, insisting it controls the strait and warning it will act against ships using unauthorized routes.

Iran wants to collect tolls that could generate up to $40 billion annually, but the U.S. and Gulf states oppose the idea.

Oman has proposed a voluntary international fund to pay for maritime services instead, but Iran has so far refused because it wouldn't receive direct fees.

Source: WSJ

Stephen Miller to national guard troops in Washington D.C:

All of civilization can be finally divided into two groups of people: builders and destroyers.

The people who serve, who sacrifice, who give, who care for others, who protect others — and those who only destroy, who litter, who rob, who graffiti, who deface, who degrade.

Civilization only exists because of people like you.