“After years of infighting, the Franco-German project to build a joint next-generation fighter jet has collapsed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed last week that manufacturers Dassault and Airbus failed to resolve key disputes, officials in Berlin and Paris confirmed on Monday. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, launched in 2017, aimed to build a next-generation fighter to replace Eurofighters and Rafales by around 2040. The move to scrap one of Europe’s largest defense projects comes as Western military officials warn of a mounting threat from Russia and the United States intensifies pressure on Europe to take care of its own defense.” (06/09/26)
“U.S. small-business sentiment fell in May and the share of owners planning to raise prices over the next three months increased to the highest level in nearly four years, suggesting inflation could remain elevated for a while. The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index slipped 0.6 to 95.3 last month, falling further below its 52-year average of 98.0. The survey’s uncertainty index rose three points to 91. It is running well above its historical average of 68.” (06/09/26)
“Thousands of demonstrators blocked an avenue leading to Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on Tuesday, just days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off at the venue. As football fans flood into tournament co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Central American country is grappling with chaotic teacher protests in its capital. Tuesday’s protest, led by a breakaway group of the CNTE teachers union, follows a week of demonstrations that President Claudia Sheinbaum has called a ‘provocation.’ … The CNTE teachers union has been on strike since last week to demand a salary raise and the reversal of a pension law — which the government considers unfeasible.” (06/09/26)
“Shops and businesses shut down, and public transport halted across Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday after a call for a strike by a recently banned group, known for violent protests. The Joint Awami Action Committee ‘s call follows clashes on Sunday in the city of Rawalakot between the group’s supporters and security personnel that left seven dead. The violence erupted after the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment. The JAAC, formed in 2003, demands greater political rights for the people of Kashmir and the abolition of the refugee seats. Residents of the regional capital, Muzaffarabad, and other towns told The Associated Press markets were largely empty and bus terminals deserted on Tuesday.” (06/09/26)
“A Congolese military court has sentenced an army colonel to death for taking part in a conspiracy to murder two U.N. experts in central Congo nearly a decade ago, in a case that continues to raise questions about state involvement. At his first trial in 2022, Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni received a 10-year term for failing to assist persons in danger and disobeying orders. Military prosecutors appealed, arguing that he bore greater responsibility. The High Military Court in Kinshasa agreed, finding Mambweni guilty on Friday of the war crime of murder for actively orchestrating the killings, and sentencing him to death, according to a ruling reviewed by Reuters and the sister of one of the victims. Congo has not carried out an execution since 2003, meaning the sentence will in practice become life imprisonment.” (06/09/26)
“A former Taliban commander was sentenced to 42 years in prison on Tuesday for crimes including kidnapping a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Haji Najibullah’s sentencing capped a daylong proceeding in Manhattan federal court that featured a dramatic few moments when the reporter, David Rohde, faced Najibullah and described how Najibullah took part in the abduction of him and two other men in 2008 in Afghanistan but was now ‘refusing to take responsibility as I look at him today.’ … The men were held for more than seven months before making a dramatic escape from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s tribal areas. In April 2025, Najibullah pleaded guilty to providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to take hostages. The bearded Najibullah, 50, who wore a black skull cap in court Tuesday, admitted that he provided material support including weapons to the Taliban from 2007 to 2009, knowing it would be used to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.” (06/09/26)
“A Sudanese migrant has been arrested after a barbaric video shows someone seemingly trying to behead another man in the middle of a UK street in scenes likened to ‘something out of a horror movie’. The horrific footage shows the blood-soaked knifeman pinning down his victim in Northern Ireland late Monday in an attack a local politician also branded ‘barbaric’ and ‘medieval.’ The bloodied victim desperately kicked his legs before the knifeman repeatedly stabbed him in the head and neck, the video shared by Turning Point UK shows. ‘Get off him you f–king rat!’ one woman shouted as the deranged attacker showed off his weapon — as a man yelled, ‘He’s trying to cut his head off. He’s slicing his head off!'” (06/09/26)
“A federal judge ruled Monday that a $100,000 visa fee for U.S.companies seeking highly skilled workers from other countries is illegal. This voids the requirement set by President Donald Trump by a presidential proclamation in September. Judge Leo Sorokin said the policy violated the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act and that only Congress has the authority to change federal immigration policy to require the fee. The Trump administration says it will appeal the ruling.” (06/08/26)
“Senate Republicans have struggled to move the ball on President Donald Trump’s voter ID and citizenship verification bill, but a late-night vote in the upper chamber breathed some life into an issue once thought dead. During the Senate’s marathon ‘vote-a-rama’ to advance the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package, Republicans tried twice to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to the massive bill. They failed both times, with a cohort of Republicans joining Senate Democrats to stymie the effort, which was destined to fail either way given that the amendments from Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC] and Mike Lee [R-UT] had to break through the filibuster.” (06/09/26)
“Italian prosecutors put Israel’s fanatical National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under investigation over the treatment of activists who were part of a Gaza flotilla last month, a judicial source said on Monday. The source, who asked not to be named, confirmed earlier reports by Italian news agencies and said Ben-Gvir was being investigated on suspicion of torture and kidnapping of Italian citizens who were among the activists. If the probe determines charges are warranted, prosecutors could lodge a formal request for trial. … Israel and Ben-Gvir have faced mounting international criticism after the minister, in late May, released a video showing abducted Gaza activists kneeling with their hands bound after Israel kidnapped members of the aid flotilla in international waters.” (06/09/26)
