“Protesters in Venice rallying against the impending nuptials of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez have claimed victory after their threats of disruption reportedly prompted a change of wedding venues. The group, No Space for Bezos, had called for a blockade on canals around the 14th-century Grande Scuola Misericordia in central Venice, which is thought to be where the couple wanted to hold a massive party on June 28, the day after exchanging vows. It claims the party will now move to the less picturesque venue of a ‘tese,’ or shipyard, in a renovated maritime area known as the Arsenale on the outer edge of Venice. This, it said, was victory over Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro’s condemnation of the protests. … Few details of the Bezos and Sanchez wedding have been publicly confirmed, with dates, venues and guest lists remaining closely guarded secrets.” (06/24/25)
“A court in Japan has sentenced a US marine to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Okinawa last year. Lance Cpl Jamel Clayton, 22, attacked the woman in her 20s, choking her from behind and attempting sexual intercourse, the court ruled. The case is one of a string involving US servicemen based in the Okinawa archipelago, where more than half of the 54,000 US soldiers serving in Japan are based. Previous crimes committed by American personnel have sparked anger and protests by locals in Okinawa, the largest of which took place 30 years ago, when tens of thousands took to the street following the rape of a 12-year-old girl.” (06/24/25)
“A German court on Tuesday lifted a ban imposed by the government last year on a far-right magazine, ruling that the case against it didn’t clear the high bar required to outlaw its publisher. Germany’s previous government banned Compact magazine and the company that publishes it, Compact-Magazin GmbH, in July. … The court said in a statement that Germany’s constitution guarantees freedom of the press and opinion ‘even for the enemies of freedom’ and that, on grounds of proportionality, a ban could only be justified if the publisher’s anti-constitutional activities were proven to be ‘formative’ for the group. It said a review of the evidence showed that the material in question didn’t reach that threshold.” (06/24/25)
“Japan’s army announced Tuesday that it conducted a missile test for the first time on Japanese territory. The test-firing of the Type-88 surface-to-ship short range missile was conducted Tuesday at the Shizunai Anti-Air Firing Range on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. The exercise by the Ground Self-Defense Force’s 1st Artillery Brigade was joined by about 300 soldiers who fired at an unmanned boat about 40 kilometers (24 miles) off the southern coast of Hokkaido, officials said. Officials were still examining the results of the test, they said.” (06/24/25)
“The Trump administration on Tuesday postponed classified briefings for Senate and House members as lawmakers look for more answers about President Donald Trump’s directed strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend and his announcement on Monday that the two countries had reached a ceasefire agreement. The Senate briefing has been rescheduled for Thursday so that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio can attend, according to multiple people with knowledge of the scheduling change who would only discuss it on the condition of anonymity. House Speaker Mike Johnson [R-LA] said on social media that the House briefing will now be held on Friday, ‘details to follow.'” (06/24/25)
“The House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to quash a lone progressive lawmaker’s bid to impeach President Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers agreed to table the measure in a 344–79 vote. A vote to table is a procedural mechanism allowing House members to vote against consideration of a bill without having to vote on the bill itself. The resolution was offered by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who was infamously ejected from Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress earlier this year for repeatedly interrupting the president. A majority of House Democrats joined Republican lawmakers to kill Green’s resolution, a sign of how politically caustic the effort appears to be.” (06/24/25)
“Nato leaders including President Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer are meeting to agree a big increase in defence [sic] spending, but nearly a third of the alliance’s members have not reached the existing spending target. The new target will be to spend 5% of the size of their economies, measured by GDP, on ‘core defence’ along with defence-related areas such as security. But the latest Nato estimates show nine members spent less than the existing target of 2% of GDP. Trump has been critical of the lowest spender, Spain which he called ‘notorious for its low spending.’ Rachel Ellehuus, director of the defence think tank Rusi sees evidence of a spending split within Nato, along geographical lines.” (06/24/25)
“The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Monday in support of a challenge to a new Washington State law mandating clergy to report child abuse, describing the rule as ‘anti-Catholic’ and a violation of the Constitution. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Catholic, signed Senate Bill 5375 into law early last month. The new law, which goes into effect July 27, adds clergy members — including priests, ministers, rabbi and imam, among others — to the list of people required to report child abuse or neglect to the state or law enforcement under threat of being charged with a gross misdemeanor offense. The law has received pushback from local Catholics, who have characterized it as forcing them to break the sacred seal of confession in order to avoid prison.” (06/23/25)
“A laser navigating tool doomed a Japanese company’s lunar lander earlier this month, causing it to crash into the moon. Officials for ispace announced the news from Tokyo on Tuesday. The crash landing was the second for ispace in two years. This time, the company’s lander named Resilience was aiming for the moon’s far north in Mare Frigoris, or Sea of Cold. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter relayed pictures of the crash site last week where Resilience and its mini rover ended up as wreckage. Company officials blamed the accident on the lander’s laser range finder, saying it was slow to kick in and properly measure the spacecraft’s distance to the lunar surface. Resilience was descending at a rapid rate of 138 feet (42 meters) per second when contact was lost, and crashed five seconds later, they said.” (06/23/25)
“Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said. Responding to an Associated Press inquiry, the military said it was reviewing reports of casualties from Israeli fire after a group of people approached troops in an area adjunct to the east-west Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza. … The Awda hospital said another 146 Palestinians were wounded. Among them were 62 in critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it said.” (06/24/25)
