🇺🇸🇲🇽⚡️ — Houston-based petroleum trader Ikon Midstream is under investigation in Mexico over a fuel-smuggling network tied to the Mexican CJNG, according to Mexican security sources and documents reviewed by Reuters.

Investigators are examining shipments of diesel and naphtha imported from the United States and Canada that were mislabeled as lubricants to evade millions in Mexican fuel taxes. Smuggled fuel has become the second-largest cartel revenue source after narcotics.

The probe centers on shipments aboard the tankers Torm Agnes and Torm Louise, including cargoes linked to Mexican firms Intanza and Azteca Cone — companies authorities suspect are fronts connected to CJNG. Reuters reported neither company appeared to have a physical presence, public contact information, or required fuel import permits.

Mexican authorities also suspect Ikon Midstream worked with trucking company Mefra Fletes, which helped unload fuel in Ensenada and Guaymas and is also under investigation for cartel links.

Reuters reviewed documents showing Ikon repeatedly used U.S. customs codes for lubricants on exports that the company itself elsewhere described as diesel and naphtha. U.S. Customs officials said those codes were improper for fuel products and warned repeated errors could trigger enforcement action.

Ikon Midstream denied wrongdoing, calling the paperwork issues “clerical” mistakes with “no duty-avoidance motive,” and said it never knowingly supported CJNG. The company also sued Reuters for defamation over earlier reporting. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided Ikon’s Houston offices in April as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

The reports also linked fuel supplied by Exxon Mobil and Imperial Oil to some of the investigated shipments, though neither company has been accused of wrongdoing.

🇺🇦🇷🇺⚡️ — Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps, told Reuters he believes Russia’s military is becoming exhausted and incapable of major breakthroughs, predicting the next 6-9 months could become a decisive turning point in the war.

Biletsky said Ukraine has a critical six-to-nine-month window to regain battlefield momentum, improve its frontline positions, and strengthen its leverage in future peace talks, particularly around the contested Donetsk Oblast region.

He argued Russia’s costly assaults around the “Fortress Belt” cities, including fierce fighting near Kostiantynivka, are draining Russian manpower and degrading command quality. He said Russian personnel shortages now limit Moscow’s offensive capabilities compared to a year ago.

Biletsky also said Russia is “radically losing” in battlefield communications because of tighter restrictions on Starlink access, while describing the technological race as otherwise relatively balanced — with Ukraine leading in unmanned ground vehicles and heavy bomber drones, and Russia ahead in fiber-optic drones that are resistant to jamming.

He added that Ukraine could capitalize on recent successes through continued mid-range strikes and careful advances, saying it is “realistic” for Kyiv to negotiate from a position of strength rather than weakness.

🇺🇸⚡️ — A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found deep dissatisfaction with both major U.S. political parties, with many Americans describing Democrats and Republicans as corrupt, out of touch, ineffective, or overly focused on partisan battles.

Criticism of the Democratic Party centered on claims that it is too liberal or “woke,” especially on social issues and immigration, while many Democrats themselves complained the party is too weak and unwilling to confront President Trump aggressively enough.

Complaints about the Republican Party were heavily tied to Trump, with many respondents criticizing his dominance over the party, along with concerns about dishonesty, corruption, authoritarian behavior, hostility, racism, and a lack of concern for ordinary Americans.

Both parties face major image problems with no easy solution, as Democrats struggle between appearing too progressive and too passive, while Republicans literally mimic Trump’s personality, rhetoric, and leadership style.

🇺🇬🇨🇩⚡️ — NEW: Uganda has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to the Ebola outbreak.

➡️ The government says anyone returning from the DRC into Uganda will be required to undergo mandatory 21-day self-isolation measures.

🇦🇪🤝🇸🇩❌🇸🇩 — Human Rights Watch says that Colombian mercenaries were recruited by a UAE-based company, trained at military facilities in the United Arab Emirates, and sent through Emirati-linked transit routes to support the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s civil war.

Former Colombian soldiers were recruited through companies advertising drone pilot jobs in Africa and were trained at UAE military bases in Ghiyathi and Al Wathba before deployment to Darfur as infantrymen, artillery operators, drone pilots, and instructors.

The findings confirm what was already an "open secret": that the UAE is actively backing the RSF, which has carried out war crimes including mass killings, rape, sexual slavery, looting, and attacks on civilians during the war that began in April 2023. More than 150,000 people are believed to have died and over 12.9 million displaced.

Witnesses interviewed by HRW said they saw foreign fighters believed to be Colombians present during mass killings in El Fasher, though they were not directly seen carrying out executions. The HRW report also said munitions tied to the UAE military were recovered after Colombian mercenaries were captured in Sudan.

The UAE, as always, has denied the allegations, saying it does not allow its territory to be used for recruiting, training, financing, or transporting foreign fighters and stating any such activity would violate Emirati law.

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🇺🇸🇹🇭⚡️ — The U.S. and Thailand are in talks over a new long-term supply agreement for U.S. liquefied natural gas, as concerns grow over energy security following damage to Qatar’s LNG infrastructure and instability around the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran War, Reuters reports.

➡️ Discussions are focused on a binding long-term deal between Venture Global and Thailand’s state-controlled energy company PTT Public Company Limited.

➡️ The contracts under discussion would reportedly likely run for 15 years or more, though exact volumes and timelines were not disclosed.

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇮🇷⚡️ — President Trump posted a report from Israel's Jerusalem Post claiming sexual abuse in Iranian prisons is surging during the ceasefire.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — President Trump once again posts about Iran's Navy being "in the bottom of the ocean."

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧🇱🇧 — The Lebanese Army announced the death of Saleh Muhammad Souni, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday at eastern Lebanon's Qaraoun Dam.

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧 — Civil defense is driving around Tyre City urging residents to evacuate following the Israeli evacuation notice.

🇺🇸⚡️ — President Trump brags about "acing" three cognitive tests, mocking Biden and Obama who did none.

🇨🇦🇸🇪⚡️ — Canada announced plans to purchase Saab’s GlobalEye early warning aircraft instead of Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, as Ottawa moves to reduce reliance on U.S. defense suppliers and deepen ties with Europe’s defense industry.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the choice of Saab’s GlobalEye — based on the Bombardier Global 6500 jet — would strengthen Canadian strategic autonomy, support domestic jobs, and align Canada with partners.

Carney did not give details of the ​fleet size or the cost of a potential contract.

Saab also said it plans to invest in research and development work in Canada as part of the agreement.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — The White House has rejected the report from Iran's broadcaster IRIB that outlined a proposed MoU.

🇮🇱🇺🇸⚡️ — Israel has received its first Boeing KC-46 Pegasus “Gideon” aerial refueling aircraft from the U.S.

It landed at Nevatim Airbase, one of Israel's largest, earlier today with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir in attendance.

The KC-46 can carry significantly more fuel and refuel more aircraft than Israel’s older tanker fleet.

Israel is set to receive at least six KC-46 aircraft.

🇰🇷🇻🇳⚡️ — Samsung Electronics plans to invest $1.5 billion in a new semiconductor testing plant in Vietnam, according to a proposal document reviewed by Reuters.

➡️ Construction has already begun 60km north of Hanoi, with operations slated to start in November 2027 — marking Samsung’s first chip testing facility in Vietnam.

➡️ The plant will focus on legacy memory chips (DRAM and NAND), targeting shortages driven by major producers shifting capacity toward AI chip production.

➡️ Vietnamese authorities approved the investment in March, and Samsung intends to reinvest profits of up to $2.5 billion for a potential second factory.