Saudi-owned media Asharq News, citing an Iraqi security source, reports that Iraqi security forces are arresting politicians in the Green Zone involved in corruption cases, and the arrest campaign is still ongoing. Arrested politicians include the head of the Azm Alliance Muthanna al-Samarraie, Iraqi MP Mohammed al-Karbouli affiliated with the Taqaddum Party, and Iraqi MP Ziad al-Janabi affiliated with Al-Mubadara. All three politicians are affiliated with moderate Sunni political parties that are not part of Ali al-Zaidi's governing coalition. Preliminary unconfirmed reports of arrests inside the Green Zone, Baghdad — details still emerging.

Trump threatens Europe with new tariffs in case of new digital services tax on US firms President Donald Trump has threatened Europe with new high tariffs on its exports to the United States if it introduces a digital services tax on American companies. "Numerous European countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a digital services tax on American companies. Some of these countries are close to actually doing this. Please let this statement serve to represent that any country that imposes such a tax will immediately be met with a 100% tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America," he wrote on Truth Social "This tariff will supersede trade deals made with the country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% tariff will be immediately imposed, if they proceed [with collecting the aforementioned tax from American firms]," the US president added.

Board of Peace to meet in Cyprus from June 30 to July 1 A meeting of the US-led Board of Peace overseeing postwar Gaza reconstruction will be held in Cyprus from June 30 to July 1, English-language news portal In-Cyprus quoted Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis as saying. "What I can tell you is that the Peace Council has been established for the implementation of the reconstruction plan for Gaza under UN Resolution 2803, which we not only welcomed as the Republic of Cyprus but supported from the very first moment," Letymbiotis said, adding the board will meet in Cyprus on June 30 and July 1. According to him, the forum will include representatives of the Board of Peace Council, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and the office of the High Representative of the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov. Some officials attending have already requested meetings with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, he added. The story does not mention the location of the forum or the level of its representation. An In-Cyprus diplomatic source said that although the meeting will be held in the Republic of Cyprus, the country is neither the organizer nor co-organizer of the event. On Tuesday, The Times of Israel quoted sources as saying that the Board of Peace Council will meet next week in a Cypriot resort. The Cyprus News Agency later picked it up, while the Cyprus Mail newspaper checked the news and contacted Letymbiotis, who said he was unaware of plans to hold the forum on the island.

Germany's Bundeswehr sent letters to 298,200 18 year-olds inviting them to volunteer. 530 of them eventually did sign up. That's 0.18% enlistment rate. Around five months after the start of the medical screening of all 18-year-olds, the Ministry of Defence draws an initial assessment: 298,200 letters were sent to all young men and women who are coming of age this year. In it, their interest in the new voluntary military service, which lasts at least six months, is queried. Men must complete the associated questionnaire, women are not obligated to complete that questionnaire. According to the ministry, about 25 percent of young men had shown first interest in the Bundeswehr via questionnaire. This group was contacted by telephone, after which 12.5 percent were still interested.

Tulsi Gabbard, in her recent days as Director of U.S. National Intelligence, has released another batch of declassified documents. The materials indicate that Dr. Anthony #Fauci, while heading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, conspired with intelligence community leadership to deliberately suppress the hypothesis about the laboratory origin of #COVID-19. In the agency's press release, it notes that Fauci, through the NGO #EcoHealth Alliance, directed millions of taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct dangerous research with bats. Meanwhile, when the pandemic began, he acted as a behind-the-scenes advisor to the intelligence community, recruiting loyal experts for the intelligence agencies to promote the version of the virus's natural origin. The published documents also expose Fauci in false testimony. In 2024, he claimed at Congressional hearings that he had not discussed viral research with the CIA or FBI. Now the opposite is proven. Moreover, facts have emerged about harsh reprisals within the intelligence agencies themselves: analysts who tried to defend the laboratory leak version were intimidated, denied career advancement, or rapidly fired.

French journalist Erik Tegnér has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence and fined €30,000 after publishing an article about lawyers who specialize in defending illegal migrants against deportation. Tegnér named several immigration lawyers and identified their city of practice, arguing they profited from a “juicy business” funded by public legal aid. The court ruled that, despite not disputing the accuracy of the claims, the article’s accusatory tone exposed the lawyers to an indirect risk of harm and violated France’s Samuel Paty anti-doxxing law. Tegnér described the verdict as a “political misuse of the Samuel Paty law.”

Gunfire and blasts rock Mali’s capital and other cities, in apparent coordinated assault Gunmen attacked several locations in #Mali’s capital and other cities early today in a possible coordinated assault, residents and authorities say. Mali’s army says in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers.” In another statement later, it says the situation was brought under control. Mali has been plagued by insurgencies fought by affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north. An Associated Press journalist in Bamako reports hearing sustained heavy weapons and automatic rifle gunfire coming from Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center, and saw a helicopter over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali’s air force. A resident living near the airport also reports gunfire and three helicopters patrolling overhead.

EU’s militarization becomes ‘magnet for criminals’ The #European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is recording a growing number of #criminal schemes in the defense sector amid Europe’s accelerated militarization, the agency’s chief Petr Klement told The Financial Times. According to him, OLAF is receiving an increasing number of reports of irregularities in the defense sector, particularly in research projects and procurement. "Huge sums being invested in European rearmament are attracting fraudsters," Klement said. The newspaper emphasized that the agency is investigating fraud and irregularities related to the EU’s general budget, which member states use to fund an increasing number of defense projects. These cases are linked to a 500-million-euro EU project to ramp up ammunition production, the 150-billion-euro EU SAFE militarization programs, and the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP) with a budget of 1.5 billion euros for 2025-2027. Klement declined to comment on the progress of investigations into specific cases, stating that they involve manipulation of public tenders, inflated prices, cronyism, and corruption.

US says France can't use America's GMLRS missiles with domestic MLRS The United States has refused to allow #France to use American GMLRS missiles with its Thundart and Foudre high-precision multiple launch rocket systems (#MLRS), the Euractiv portal said. According to the portal, a US official said that #Washington has not authorized the integration of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (#GMLRS) rockets into the French systems, raising questions about interoperability. The publication notes that, based on the experience of the conflict in Ukraine, in particular the widespread use of American #HIMARS systems, the French are now considering the creation of two new missile systems: Foudre, which Turgis Gaillard intends to produce, and Thundart are the joint brainchild of MBDA and Safran companies. Both are scheduled to go into production in 2027. French developers have so far said these systems will be compatible with American GMLRS missiles, which would relieve the French of the task of ensuring the production of significant amounts of ammunition for these systems.

Mojtaba Khamenei s/o slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei & the newly appointed Supreme Leader, was critically injured in an airstrike by the U.S. and Israeli air forces this afternoon and later succumbed to his injuries. Iranian TV admits the new Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was seriously injured from an Israeli strike. Trump told his advisers that he would support the elimination of Mojtaba Khamenei if it is revealed that he is not willing to retreat to the American demands, including ending the nuclear program, according to official American sources