Iceland issues license for 128 fin whales to be hunted this year (apnews.com)
Deadly strike on Rafah a tragic mishap, Netanyahu says (www.bbc.com)
Rishi Sunak announces UK general election for Thursday 4 July (www.bbc.co.uk)
Republican bill aims to give Americans in Israeli military same benefits as US soldiers (www.middleeasteye.net)
Two Republican congressmen have introduced legislation that would provide the same employment and economic protections to Americans serving in the Israeli military as US citizens who get deployed to serve in the US military....
As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine (www.nytimes.com)
NATO allies are inching closer to sending troops into Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces, a move that would be another blurring of a previous red line and could draw the United States and Europe more directly into the war....
Russia finds vast oil and gas reserves in British Antarctic territory (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Reserves 10 times the North Sea’s output raise fears over drilling in protected region...
How financially literate are Europeans? Not very - but who knows most? (www.euronews.com)
EU citizens are not doing well when it comes to financial literacy. Nearly half lack an understanding of basic financial concepts, including inflation....
Russia, Iran turning Israel and Ukraine into ‘battlefield laboratories,’ experts say (thehill.com)
Russia and Iran are using Ukraine and Israel as “battlefield laboratories” to probe at Western military vulnerabilities, experts told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Wednesday....
Russia to grow faster than all advanced economies says IMF (www.bbc.com)
An influential global body has forecast Russia’s economy will grow faster than all of the world’s advanced economies, including the US, this year....
Study finds voters skeptical about fairness of elections. Many favor a strong, undemocratic leader (apnews.com)
Voters in 19 countries, including in three of the world’s largest democracies, are widely skeptical about whether their political elections are free and fair, and many favor a strong, undemocratic leader, according to a study released Thursday....
Wanted American man flees to Russia, signs military contract (www.themoscowtimes.com)
A former American city council member who is wanted in the United States on child pornography charges appears to have fled to Russia and joined the Russian military, according to footage shared by regional authorities in the northern Khanty-Mansi autonomous district....
The UK Is Using a New Definition of “Extremism” to Repress Palestine Solidarity (truthout.org)
Famine is now probably present in Gaza, US says (www.theguardian.com)
War a real threat and Europe not ready, warns Poland's Tusk (www.bbc.com)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has delivered a blunt warning that Europe has entered a “pre-war era” and if Ukraine is defeated by Russia, nobody in Europe will be able to feel safe....
Russia is returning to its Cold War posture with plans to increase troops along its NATO borders, Lithuania's PM warns (www.businessinsider.com)
Russia plans to increase its troops along its border with NATO, Lithuania’s prime minister said....
Argentina inflation slows for a second month as President Milei keeps pushing austerity measures (apnews.com)
Gaza medics tell BBC that Israeli troops beat and humiliated them after hospital raid (www.bbc.com)
Palestinian medical staff in Gaza have told the BBC they were blindfolded, detained, forced to strip and repeatedly beaten by Israeli troops after a raid at their hospital last month....
Houthi attack kills two sailors in group’s first fatal strike on shipping (www.aljazeera.com)
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday, which set the Greek-owned, Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze approximately 50 nautical miles (93km) off the coast of Yemen’s port of Aden....
More Than Half the World Faces High Risk of Measles Outbreaks Following 'Big Gaps' in Immunizations, WHO Says (people.com)
More than half the world will be at a “high or very high risk” of measles outbreaks by the end of 2024, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)....
‘I’m so scared, please come’: Hind Rajab, six, found dead in Gaza 12 days after cry for help (www.theguardian.com)
Netanyahu Orders Military to Make Plans to Evacuate Civilians in Rafah (www.nytimes.com)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has ordered the Israeli military to come up with a plan for civilians sheltering in the southern city of Rafah to evacuate, his office said on Friday, clearing the way for an expected offensive into the crowded city....
Time to 'think the unthinkable' and consider UK conscription, says Britain's former top NATO commander (news.sky.com)
An unlikely challenger to Putin brings a rare show of defiance, creating a dilemma for the Kremlin (apnews.com)
Boris Nadezhdin has become a dilemma for the Kremlin as he seeks to run in the March 17 presidential election. The question now is whether Russian authorities will allow him on the ballot....
Brexit Erased £140 Billion From UK Economy, London Mayor to Say (www.bloomberg.com)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday will blame Brexit for costing the UK economy £140 billion ($178 billion), calling on the government to “urgently” rebuild relations with the European Union to stem the decline....
Hong Kong is building public housing on a golf course in a snub to the old elite (www.straitstimes.com)
