[ NEW ] Japan’s Takaichi is on a mission to expand her anti-China network and boost Tokyo’s global role as the G7 summit wraps up.

At the summit, Takaichi proposed a stockpile partnership program to bolster critical mineral supply chains and reduce China’s dominance in the sector.

Takaichi expressed her determination “to bring about the necessary transformation” to tackle emerging challenges as Japan’s “Iron Lady”, comparing herself to former right-wing British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

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[ JUST IN ] Ukraine has launched its biggest drone assault on Moscow in two years, according to Russian media.

Russian air defenses shot down at least 194 drones bound for the capital overnight into Thursday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated.

Among Ukraine’s targets was the Moscow Oil Refinery in the southeastern district of Kapotnya.

Meanwhile, Russia retaliated by firing seven missiles and 239 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

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[ NEW ] Gunfire and explosions heard at Niamey airport in Niger.

Unknown assailants opened fire at the entrance of the International Airport this morning, with residents reporting sustained exchanges lasting more than an hour, including heavy weapons.

Security forces cordoned off the perimeter. Niger's military authorities have issued no official statement.

The same facility was struck in late January, in an assault later claimed by the Islamic State that targeted the airport and its adjacent military base for several hours.

Niger has repeatedly accused France, whose forces it expelled after the July 2023 coup, of direct collusion with the armed groups now operating across the Sahel.

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[ NEW ] The BRICS bank has approved a $1 billion loan to rehabilitate South Africa. The New Development Bank approved the funds to rehabilitate water, sanitation and electricity infrastructure in eight cities serving nearly 22 million people.

The loan covers Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tshwane, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Buffalo City, Mangaung and Nelson Mandela Bay — roughly 40% of the country's population and its main economic centers.

The New Development Bank was founded in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as an alternative to the Bretton Woods financial institutions.

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[ NEW ] Trump calls Japan's Prime Minster Takaichi his "biggest fan."

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[ NEW ] The US is drawing up a power-sharing plan for Libya. Massad Boulos, father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, the US president's daughter, is leading the effort.

The plan would put Saddam Haftar at the head of a new executive council. His father, Khalifa Haftar, is the warlord who controls eastern Libya. Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the UN-recognized prime minister in Tripoli since 2021, would keep his post.

Libya holds Africa's largest proven oil reserves. ConocoPhillips and Chevron have both signed oil agreements with the country this year. Boulos has said he wants Libyan output to reach five million barrels a day by the end of the decade.

UN bodies and human rights groups have documented torture, illegal detention and human trafficking under Haftar's rule in eastern Libya. Armed groups tied to his forces have taken over state institutions. The deal would give those same groups a formal share of national power.

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New footage from today shows US and Filipino forces practising amphibious raids to seize contested terrain in the South China Sea.

Over the past five years, US-Philippine military maneuvers have surged.

Official sources confirm that operations have scaled from roughly 300 annual drills in 2020 to surpassing 500 scheduled deployments in 2026.

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[ BREAKING ] UK PM Keir Starmer Announces Resignation.

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Colombia has been gripped by unrest following the disputed election victory of Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right millionaire candidate aligned with Washington.

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[ BREAKING ] Israeli PM Netanyahu:

"I greatly appreciate the support we have received from our American friends. But today I say: we need our own independent weapons-production system. We must manufacture our own armaments."

As the crack in US-Israeli relations becomes increasingly evident following the US-Iran deal, Israeli PM Netanyahu has declared his intention to detach Israeli affairs from US economic and military support.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has provided more than $300 billion in total economic and military assistance to Tel Aviv since 1948.

The current 2019-2028 Memorandum of Understanding, signed during the Obama administration, commits the US to $38 billion over ten years, including $33 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $5 billion for missile defense systems.

Following October 7, the US Congress approved additional funding packages that included $3.5 billion in FMF and a broader $10.6 billion support package.

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[ NEW ] Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi held a call with Hamas, conveying that Tehran continues pressing the US in negotiations to halt ceasefire violations in Gaza.

Hamas confirmed the call took place between political bureau member Bassem Naim and Araghchi on 23 June, centred on the latest US-Iran negotiations and the Palestinian cause, with particular focus on the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

Naim extended Hamas's congratulations to Tehran's leadership over the newly reached memorandum of understanding, praising Iran's resilience against US-Israeli aggression and stressing the importance of continued Iranian backing for the Palestinian people.

According to Tasnim, Araghchi thanked the movement for its solidarity and reaffirmed Iran's continued commitment to the Palestinian cause. He confirmed that Iranian negotiating delegations have raised, and will continue to raise, the issue of Israel's ongoing ceasefire violations in Gaza with mediators and US counterparts amid the ongoing talks.

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[ WATCH ] A Kenyan streamer is arrested live on air during protests in Nairobi.

The demonstrations mark two years since the deadly 2024 uprising that left more than 60 people dead.

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🚨 Tel Aviv is alarmed by a Gulf-Iran reconciliation.

❗️A summit aimed at mending ties between Iran, Gulf countries, and other regional neighbours is expected to be held in Saudi Arabia, according to AFP. The meeting will take place independently from Iran-US talks and will aim to improve regional relations in the aftermath of the war.

📌 Key Considerations:

⚪️ Before the US-Israeli war on Iran:

• The presence of US military bases across the Gulf was regarded as "a guarantee of protection," able to deter rivals from contemplating any act of aggression.

• Tel Aviv was viewed as a strategic partner, with normalization once again placed at the center of the table by the Trump administration as a pillar of "Middle East peace."

⚪️ After the US-Israeli war on Iran:

• Gulf states have been reduced to collateral damage by the US. Despite their alliance with Washington, they received no timely warning of the war, nor was any effort made to shield them from Iran's retaliatory strikes.

• Gulf countries are now focused on charting a new framework for regional stability — one that accounts for all neighbors, Iran included.

❗️Iran's Vision for Regional Gulf Cooperation:

• Former FM Kamal Kharazi formulated a proposal known as "The Strong Region" — an economic and political bloc conceived as an alternative to US and Israeli interference in the region.

• Iran has always sought solid channels of dialogue and diplomacy with Gulf countries, based on respect and cooperation. FM Araghchi said the war has helped fortify these channels — and forge new ones with unexpected countries.

🗣 "The war struck a blow against any [Arab-Israeli] normalization path. The Israeli path toward the Gulf is no longer as smooth as before. If the gamble on the Americans has failed, then the gamble on Israel is ultimately a failed one too."

Fatima Alsmadi, Senior Researcher in Iranian Studies

👉 A Gulf-Iran alliance could prove to be a political, economic, and military partnership capable of counterbalancing Israeli and US dominance and plans in the region.

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