Rahm Emanuel on Israel:

Support for Israel is plummeting around the world.

You've lost Europe, your biggest economic partner and market.

Your scientists face exclusion from international conferences and research networks. Your artists and academics are shut out of exhibits and meetings.

In 2022, 55% of Americans held a favorable view of Israel. Today, it is 37%, and it is dropping. And among the youth of both America and Europe, it's even lower.

The only diplomatic gain you've made in the last three years is Somaliland.

You lost America, you lost Europe, and you picked up Somaliland. Such a deal.

Rahm Emanuel on Israel:

We should end, at long last, American taxpayer subsidy of Israel's defense budget.

Israel should be able to buy American arms under the same financial terms, the same restrictions, and the same requirements as every other trusted ally that abides by America's laws.

Rahm Emanuel on Israel:

For too long, American policy towards Israel operated under the assumption that the best thing Washington can do for Jerusalem is to blindly, to silently stand behind your government without conditions, without demands, without consequences, even when we disagreed.

That has been our mistake, and it's been no favor to you.

Unconditional support has produced a Prime Minister who has presumed that his strategic interests would incur no political costs if he ignored America's concerns about settlements and sparked a regional war.

Unconditional support has allowed you to deny food and medical relief to innocent Palestinians in Gaza, leaving the world to conclude that Israelis not only want to kill Palestinians, but they are completely indifferent to their death, to their destruction, and completely indifferent to their suffering.

Unconditional support has girded a political coalition in the Knesset that learned it can burn Palestinian farmland in the West Bank, terrorize Palestinian families without consequence.

Given all of this, we need fundamentally a new and different approach to this alliance.

Russia's Saratov oil refinery has stopped processing crude after a Ukrainian drone attack damaged its only primary refining unit.

The refinery, which accounts for about 2.2% of Russia's refining capacity, has not offered fuel on the St. Petersburg exchange since Wednesday.

Source: Reuters

Mohammad al-Waheidi, a senior aid worker with Egypt's main relief organisation in Gaza who organized popular World Cup screenings for displaced Palestinians, was killed in an Israeli air strike that also killed three others, including two children.

Israel said it targeted a "Hamas militant."

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

We're looking to double our non-U.S. exports. We're on track for that.

We're growing jobs at twice the rate of the United States.

Canadian PM Mark Carney on Saudi Arabia:

I just close and say a word of appreciation—or admiration, maybe—for the vibrant society that is being created in Saudi Arabia, the transformation that's underway.

I say that as someone who first came to the Kingdom in 1994, so I've seen some of the tangible shifts that have happened.

But I've also seen—and the world is seeing—this pillar of a vibrant society, where the Kingdom is becoming a nexus of global commerce, culture, and creativity.

Netanyahu:

The war is not yet over. Alongside the old challenges, new challenges are emerging. Old axes are collapsing, and new ones are forming.

We are paying close attention to these developments. We are prepared for every scenario, and we know one thing: we must always be stronger than our enemies.

Preserving Israel's air superiority is a cornerstone of our national security doctrine.

Netanyahu:

I have decided to add another 350 billion shekels to the defense budget over the coming decade. A large portion of that will go to the Air Force.

As part of this effort, we will also build a broad, Israeli-made munitions industry—our own weapons, which will reduce our dependence on procurement from abroad.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited officials from more than 60 countries to a meeting on what the Trump administration calls a resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism, with a focus on antifa.

The initiative has drawn skepticism from U.S. officials, European allies, and terrorism experts, who argue antifa is a decentralized movement rather than a foreign terrorist organization and does not represent a major international threat.

Source: WaPo

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed the most popular baby names in England and Wales for 2025.

Girls: Olivia remained the top name for the 10th consecutive year, followed by Lily and Amelia.

Boys: Muhammad was the most popular name for the third year running, ahead of Noah and Leo.

Top 10 Girls: Olivia, Lily, Amelia, Isla, Florence, Freya, Poppy, Elsie, Ivy, Isabella.

Top 10 Boys: Muhammad, Noah, Leo, Luca, Arthur, Oliver, George, Oscar, Theodore, Freddie.

Hungarian PM Péter Magyar shared a photo of the gift he received from Turkish President Erdogan.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Iran:

NATO, Article 5, says: if you are attacked, then we will all defend each other together.

The article does not say that if you yourself decide unilaterally to attack another country, all the other partners have to participate in that.

That is not the spirit of NATO. If that is expected, then that is actually not justified.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Iran:

The situation with Iran is extremely unpredictable. You go from hopeful statements to actions that are much less hopeful.

It's almost impossible to follow. Our interest is for this conflict to stop, because it seems to be going nowhere.

And for the global economy, it is a very, very heavy burden.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Iran:

I think it is justified to try to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Of course, whether the operation was well planned and well executed—that's another matter.

It doesn't seem to be going very smoothly.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on NATO:

The United States is the largest ally in the Alliance, that's clear, and it remains so.

For 80 years, we have depended on the United States for our security, and the United States remains our most important partner.

That doesn't change because one president is a bit critical of the organization.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever:

We have increased our defense spending by 60%—the largest increase among all NATO partners.

Of course, we started from a very low level, but we have now reached the 2% target.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever takes a jab at Trump and FIFA:

We are going to provide two packages of €70 billion in military support to Ukraine.

So it's a very strong red card for Putin. And as you know, you can't simply take a red card back.

UK's Andy Burnham:

The unbearable suffering in Gaza is a scar on our collective conscience.

It's completely unacceptable that innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed.

We've got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government.

UK's Andy Burnham:

I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my Party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that.

The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.

Yes, we have taken some important steps. These include recognising the Palestinian state, placing sanctions on Israeli ministers, and imposing waves of sanctions on violent settlers and the organisations that support them.

I also fully support the restrictions on arms licenses to make sure that no British bombs or bullets can be used by the IDF in Gaza or in the West Bank.

But let's be honest, we must do more.

UK's Andy Burnham:

Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, killing innocent Palestinians.

We're seeing a surge in settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the continued expansion of illegal settlements displacing Palestinian communities.

And Netanyahu's government is clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible.

That's why we need to do more, which includes looking at further sanctions both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.

I, like many people, feel passionately about Gaza and I will do everything I can to work with international partners to stop the suffering, to ensure the Israeli government adheres to international law, and to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive, because this is the only way to lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.