June 10, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1190, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I drowned while trying to cross the Saleph River on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land.
QotD: "Iran is all talk and no action. They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” President Trump posted on social media.
US/INFLATION – Inflation heated up to 4.2% in May, as energy costs continue to bite.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/cpi-inflation-report-may-2026-60db25fe?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1
Consumer prices were up 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, accelerating from 3.8% the previous month.
That was the highest year-over-year print since April 2023 and a sign that high energy costs stemming from the conflict with Iran are continuing to push up price pressures.
Yet the month-over-month rate of increase cooled slightly compared with April, a sign that the sharp rise in energy prices may have peaked and be softening.
Economists said May’s reading, which was in line with expectations, is likely to be the high water mark in the recent run-up in inflation from this year’s energy-price shock. That’s assuming gasoline prices, which have ticked down in June, don’t accelerate again on renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices excluding food and energy categories—the so-called core measure economists watch in an effort to better capture inflation’s underlying trend—rose 2.9% on the year. That was in line with forecasts, and was slightly hotter than 2.8% the previous month.
US/IRAN/MIL – After exchange of strikes, Trump says Iran must ‘pay the price’ for delay on deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now "have to pay the price", while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic engagement with Washington after overnight tit-for-tat strikes.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in what it called retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz.
The exchange of fire, which came after Trump said Iran had downed a U.S. Apache helicopter near the strait, marks one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April.
"Iran is all talk and no action," Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday morning. "They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"
The U.S. military said it had targeted Iranian air defences, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites in what it described as a "proportional response" to the downing of the helicopter, whose two crew members were rescued by a drone boat.
Iran's Gulf neighbours and Jordan activated air defences to intercept incoming missiles and there were no immediate reports of damage to U.S. bases.
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN/MIL – Pakistan carries out new deadly strikes on Afghanistan.
https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-carries-out-new-deadly-strikes-on-afghanistan/a-77483466
Pakistan launched new airstrikes on Afghanistan, killing at least 13 people, Taliban authorities said on Wednesday.
The countries have been engaged in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people so far this year.
Pakistan's government later said at least 26 militants were killed in the attack.
The Pakistani military carried out airstrikes in three Afghan provinces, including Khost, Kunar and Paktika, Taliban's chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
Mujahid alleged that 11 children were among those killed in the strikes that he claimed "violated Afghanistan's airspace and bombed civilian homes."
The spokesperson said that 14 people were injured, all of whom were children and women.
Pakistan confirmed that it had carried out the strikes in Afghanistan but claimed that it had killed 26 militants.
"In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan .... precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens," Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a statement on X. He did not comment on civilian casualties.
The strikes on Wednesday come on the heels of a suspected Pakistani Taliban militant attack on a security checkpoint in the Hasan Khel area of northwestern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
US/CUBA – Hegseth travels to US base in Cuba as pressure on Havana mount.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/pentagons-hegseth-travels-guantanamo-bay-cuba-2026-06-10/
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew into the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday, in the latest high-profile trip to the communist-ruled island by a senior American official as President Donald Trump steps up pressure on Havana.
Hegseth's visit is taking place less than two weeks after the top U.S. commander for Latin America, General Francis Donovan, visited Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, and held discussions with a senior Cuban general at its perimeter.
It also follows a rare visit to Havana by CIA Director John Ratcliffe earlier in May.
Hegseth made no remarks as he landed at Guantanamo Bay, where he is expected to meet U.S. troops stationed there.
Trump has often cited political change in Cuba among the foreign policy goals of his second term.
Michael Bustamante, head of the Cuban studies program at the University of Miami, said the visit could send a message about U.S. resolve amid growing concerns in Cuba of a possible U.S. military attack on the island.
"Perhaps Hegseth's visit is intended to yet again reinforce the message that the cost of not coming to the table could be use of a military option, even as observers increasingly warn of such an operation's potential complications," he said.
GERMANY/FRANCE – Germany’s Merz says new Franco-German air defense project to be outlines by July.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that German and French defence ministers will jointly outline a reworked collaboration project between the two countries on air defence data networks by July.
"Our defence ministers will now work out how this can be implemented in the run-up to the next Franco-German intergovernmental meeting in Germany, which we will be holding in July," Merz said at the Berlin air show.
Germany and France have pledged to focus on data links between warplanes and related software known as a "combat cloud" after agreeing to scrap a landmark project to jointly develop an advanced fighter jet known as FCAS.
US/EUROPE – Only 1 in 10 Europeans see US as an ally – study.
https://www.dw.com/en/only-1-in-10-europeans-see-us-as-an-ally-study/a-77489708
Only 11% of Europeans consider the United States to be an ally, a historic low, according to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) released on Wednesday.
Six months ago, 16% of people across 15 countries in Europe said they viewed the US as an ally, while in November 2024, when Donald Trump won the US presidential election, the figure stood at 22%.
The ECFR poll shows Europeans "embrace self-reliance and are clear-eyed about Donald Trump," although they don't expect the relationship to collapse entirely under the weight of the current challenges.
A majority of respondents said they did not think the US would come to Europe's defense if it were attacked.
The survey was released ahead of Group of 7 (G7) and NATO summits in the coming weeks.
The survey's findings demonstrate that Europe's confidence in the Unite States — historically the continent's staunchest backer and partner in defense and security — has plummeted in recent years, particularly since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
A majority of respondents in each country surveyed — except for Bulgaria — said they believe transatlantic relations would improve once Trump leaves office.
UKR/RUS/MIL – Ukraine strikes Mariupol port, ‘significantly limiting’ its use.
Ukrainian forces struck several key facilities at the Russian-occupied port of Mariupol, Kyiv said on Wednesday, in an attack that has "significantly limited" its capacity as a critical logistics hub for Moscow's war effort.
The port was left without power after strikes on its energy and management infrastructure, according to Ukraine's drone forces, which said they had carried out the operation with the 1st Azov Corps and the SBU security service.
"The port was used by the enemy for military logistics, as well as the illegal export of Ukrainian grain, coal and metal to Russia," it said in a statement.
"The enemy's ability to use Mariupol as a logistics hub is significantly limited."
A video posted separately by the 1st Azov Corps shows drone footage of ships, electrical stations and other structures coming under attack.
Tuesday's strikes are part of a mounting Ukrainian campaign to target Russian military logistics far behind the front line, an effort that analysts say has hampered Moscow's battlefield advances.
US/CONGRESS – House passes $70 bn bill to fund immigration enforcement for 3 years, sending to Trump.
A bill to provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, bolstering the administration’s deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House.
Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats. Trump is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday.
The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It frontloads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.
Speaker Mike Johnson needed near-perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action. The legislation got sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security, including for Trump’s new ballroom, and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate his allies who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped.
ISRAEL/POL – Netanyahu will stand in Israel’s next national election, his party says.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek re-election in Israel's upcoming national vote, his Likud party announced Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump publicly questioned whether the 76-year-old would run.
Netanyahu, who is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has led his country through three years of war, and is currently on trial for corruption.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu will run in the next elections and, God Willing, he will win," the party said on Telegram.
The declaration came after Trump told ABC News he was uncertain about Netanyahu's intentions.
"I don't know, he's had an amazing career. Does he want to continue?," Trump said. "Because, you know he's a wartime prime minister."
Netanyahu had previously said he would stand for re-election in the vote, scheduled to be held by late October. He has served as prime minister for nearly two decades across multiple terms.
UK/UNREST – What to know about the violence in Northern Ireland.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/world/europe/belfast-attack-riots-what-happened.html
Northern Ireland was on edge after Belfast erupted in violence following a brutal stabbing attack in the city this week.
The case has ignited simmering anti-immigrant sentiment. Far-right figures have called for crowds to take to the streets and said that the United Kingdom should oust millions of foreign-born people.
Political leaders are calling for restraint. The suspected attacker, a 30-year-old Sudanese refugee, appeared in court on Wednesday facing charges of attempted murder.
The attacker stabbed another man around 10:30 p.m. on Monday at an apartment complex in northern Belfast, the police said. The police said officers arrived within minutes.
Graphic footage of the attack spread quickly on social media and prompted outrage from some commenters.
The clip shows a man mounted on the chest of another man, whose face and neck are covered in blood. The attacker moves his hands near the neck of the victim. A bystander can then be seen battering the attacker with a hurley, a long wooden stick used in the Irish sport of hurling.
There were sporadic bursts of violence around Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night. Rioters torched cars, and garbage cans engulfed in flames were used to create roadblocks. Protesters set a city bus on fire in eastern Belfast.