Brazil blocked visas for two senior U.S. State Department officials, preventing a planned visit over concerns they intended to question the security of Brazil's electronic voting system ahead of the October presidential election.

Brazilian officials believed the trip could undermine public confidence in the country's elections, while the U.S. State Department denied that claim, saying the visit was meant to discuss election integrity, religious freedom, and free speech.

The U.S. officials also planned to meet with presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who has repeated disputed claims about election fraud.

Source: NYT

Andy Burnham says he'd challenge Trump if it was "right for Britain," insisting he would "defend your own national interest before anything else."

Romanian President Nicușor Dan:

A new drone was shot down this morning, at 10:13 a.m., by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, over Romania's territorial waters, in the Sulina–Chilia area.

According to the investigation conducted by the General Prosecutor's Office, the drone shot down on Friday morning is of the Shahed type, used by the Russian Federation in the war of aggression against Ukraine. Investigations into the drones shot down yesterday and today are ongoing.

Romania's diplomatic protest against the Russian Federation will be based on these investigations.

It is inadmissible and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romania's airspace, which is, at the same time, NATO airspace and European Union airspace. Such actions are unacceptable, and we treat them with the utmost seriousness, alongside our allies.

NEW: Iran's Army Spokesman said Tehran has suspended its retaliatory strikes after the US paused its own bombing campaign for a second straight night, ending roughly 13 consecutive nights of American attacks.

Iran warned any US resumption would widen the war geographically, noting the conflict has already spread to the Bab el-Mandeb.

Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington on Tuesday.

German industry is shedding around 15,000 jobs a month, BDI Chief Tanja Gönner told dpa, calling the state of the sector "critical."

She warned that Germany has lost its competitive edge under the combined pressure of US tariffs, Chinese market distortions, and heavy domestic costs.

Manufacturing employment is now at a 10-year low, with 174,000 industrial jobs lost in the past year and two-thirds of short-time work notifications coming from industry.

Reza Pahlavi met Iranian LGBTQ+ activists, artists, and organization reps in Paris.

US military commanders are deliberately letting some Iranian missiles and drones through their air defenses to conserve dwindling interceptor stocks.

With Iran having fired nearly 9,000 projectiles since the war began, commanders now only engage threats headed for US troops — accepting hits on runways, radars, and fuel depots to preserve Patriots, THAADs, and SM-series interceptors that take years to replace.

Source: NBC

Netanyahu:

Tomorrow I will travel to Washington to meet, at his invitation, with President Trump.

After that, I will participate in a ceremony honoring a great friend of Israel, Senator Lindsey Graham. I must say that he has been one of Israel's greatest friends since the establishment of the state, and it is only fitting that we pay him this honor.

I will meet with President Trump to discuss all the issues currently on the agenda, including the situation in Iran.

Netanyahu:

I spoke yesterday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and once again he reaffirmed to me the United States' intention to act forcefully against the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC endangers justice around the world, and it also threatens the right of democratic, sovereign states to exercise their sovereignty.

In effect, it seeks to subject their security to the decisions of a corrupt clique in The Hague.

IRGC spokesperson:

During the ceasefire, we increased our capabilities, accelerated missile production, and improved the accuracy of our missiles.

Unlike the United States, which was unable to capitalize on the situation.

Look at America's oil reserves. They couldn't compensate for their oil deficit, and the situation has worsened.

Reuters maps Ukraine's 30-km-wide "kill zone", a lethal strip along the 1,200-km front line where drones dominate the skies and any visible movement is likely to be spotted and struck.

Both armies have abandoned classic massed formations.

Soldiers now hide in tiny two-to-three-man foxholes for months at a time, moving on foot or motorbike in small groups, while FPV and fiber-optic drones hunt vehicles, infantry, and each other.

Casualties are enormous.

CSIS estimates roughly 2 million soldiers on both sides have been killed, wounded, or gone missing since early 2022, about 1.4 million of them Russian.

The vast majority of losses are now being caused by drones rather than artillery or small-arms fire.

Traditional tanks and long trenches are largely obsolete this close to the contact line, and drone pilots themselves are now top-priority targets on both sides.

Top Lloyd's of London marine war insurers have told brokers they'll stop selling war cover for Saudi-linked cargoes in the Red Sea after Houthi attacks on two Saudi tankers, and some are preparing to cancel existing policies.

The exclusion covers any ship with "Saudi touchpoints," including foreign-flagged vessels that previously called at Saudi ports.

Saudi Arabia is now being lumped in with the US, UK, and Israel as high-risk jurisdictions — a serious blow given Riyadh's growing reliance on Red Sea exports via Yanbu (up to 5 mn b/d) while the Strait of Hormuz stays largely closed.

Several Saudi cargoes are already U-turning around the Cape of Good Hope, others are switching off GPS to sneak through Bab al-Mandab, and the Houthis say the "naval blockade" targets only Saudi shipping.

Source: FT

Iran's First Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad warns that "the reckless act of the Ukrainian government will not go unanswered".

He declared any launch site used against Iran a legitimate target after Kyiv confirmed long-range drone strikes on vessels in the Caspian Sea.

Iran says a commercial ship was hit, killing one sailor and wounding another, and has summoned Ukraine's chargé d'affaires.

Laura Loomer:

I used to mock Zelensky for not wearing a suit.

And I know that Trump and Zelensky have joked about it themselves when he said, "Oh, I wore a suit for you this time." Right?

But I realize it's a lot more serious than just, you know, joking around.

And ultimately, I was consuming a lot of Russian media. And I realize now that I was probably influenced by a lot of Russian propaganda. Not probably—I actually was.

Laura Loomer:

I am not living in a war zone and I get scared sometimes just because of the threats that I get in America, right?

And, you know, I just get nervous sometimes, even just being in my own house, like, "Oh, what was that noise?" "Why did the alarm get triggered?"

And I can't imagine having to have that kind of fear amplified every day. Not just whether your country is going to be invaded by Russian troops, but whether you're going to go to sleep and you're going to wake up to your house on fire because a ballistic missile just came through your roof.

Laura Loomer:

I discovered that basically I'm part Ukrainian, I guess, right? And basically, right, I guess I am Ukrainian.

I guess I went from being anti-Ukraine to discovering in Ukraine that I am Ukrainian.

So, it's quite shocking.

Laura Loomer:

I don't think that all Russian people are evil. I think that there's probably a lot of very good Russian people in the world, and they're suffering too.

They're suffering under propaganda. They're being lied to by a government that oppresses them. They kill people for protesting for peace. They kill people that oppose Putin.

So my message to Russians who see this interview as well—because I'm sure it will be translated by Russia Today, and Margarita, who's always tweeting about me over at RT, will see it—I don't hate Russian people.

I want people to see the humanity. I want people to realize that they're killing their neighbors. They're killing people who are very similar to them.