June 22, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1815, Napoleon abdicated as French emperor for the second time.
QotD: “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people,” Vice President Vance said on his talks with Iran in Switzerland.
UK/POL/SEVEN LEADERS IN TEN YEARS – Starmer says he will resign.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he was quitting, paving the way for what is expected to be an orderly transfer of power to frontrunner Andy Burnham, who could become Britain's seventh leader in 10 years as early as next month.
In an emotional speech, Starmer said he had listened to his governing Labour Party and realised that he was no longer the man who should lead it into a national election due in 2029.
After making his announcement on the steps of his Downing Street office and London residence, Starmer's move to stand down could have triggered a divisive leadership contest, but several Labour lawmakers said they now expected more of a coronation.
Burnham, a 56-year-old career politician, quickly won the support of another potential leadership rival, former health minister Wes Streeting, with one Labour lawmaker saying it was more likely the former mayor would now be installed as leader.
He entered parliament to cheers from Labour lawmakers, and the odd heckle from the opposition, including one person who shouted out: "He's not the Messiah." He then pledged allegiance to King Charles to take his place as a lawmaker, a necessary step to be able to become the new leader of Labour and Britain.
EUROPE/MOTHER NATURE – Heat wave grips Europe, triggering alerts and disruptions.
https://www.dw.com/en/severe-heat-wave-sweeps-europe-triggering-alerts-and-disruptions/a-77648446
Europe was gripped by severe weather on Sunday as a prolonged heat wave set in across the region during the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice.
Celebrated annually on June 21, the solstice also marks the start of Europe’s three hottest months.
According to meteorologists, the heat wave is being driven by a mass of hot air moving north from the Sahara, fueled by a strong high-pressure system known as the "African anticyclone."
The high-pressure system has created a so-called "heat dome," which traps hot air over Western and Central Europe, allowing temperatures to climb day after day.
It is the second heat wave to hit Europe this year, after an earlier period of unusually high temperatures last month.
Heat waves in Europe are deadly events, with over 200,000 people across the continent dying from heat-related causes over the last four years, according to the World Health Organization's Europe office.
QATAR/ENERGY – Thirteen dead, dozens injured, after blast during restart at giant Qatar LNG site.
Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured after an explosion at Qatar's massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural (LNG) gas complex which occurred as workers were restarting operations halted after an Iranian attack in March.
Authorities said a 'technical accident' occurred at the Barzan local gas supply facility on Sunday evening.
Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base, has come under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war, which trapped around 20% of global LNG supply in the Gulf before some shipments began to resume recently.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Qatar's Energy Ministry Saad al-Kaabi said 13 people had died and 66 were injured. Those killed in the blast were all from India and Pakistan, he said.
"This was an accident and not a sabotage or hostile in nature...Plant production was intentionally completely stopped since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements, it was first restarted again only two days ago," he said.
US/IRAN/MIL – Vance says talks with Iranian officials set ‘good foudnation’ for a deal to end the war.
Vice President JD Vance on Monday said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” as they seek a permanent end to the war that the U.S. and Israel began in late February.
“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters after initial talks with Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”
Iran noted “major progress” to end the fighting in Lebanon and called that the first real test of the negotiations.
The mediation effort in Switzerland, which started Sunday and stretched into early Monday, had rocky moments. But the talks also led to some agreements, mediators said, as technical talks continue this week.
In other developments, the U.S. Treasury issued a 60-day license waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of the interim agreement to end the war. The license authorizes the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil. It will last through Aug. 21.
ISRAEL/GAZA/MIL – Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 6, including 2 children and an Al Jazeera cameraman.
Israeli strikes in Gaza on Saturday killed at least six people, including two children and a cameraman with broadcaster Al Jazeera, according to Palestinian health officials.
Despite an October ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, the enclave has seen near-daily Israeli attacks that have killed over 1,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The first strike on Saturday hit an apartment in Gaza City around 2 a.m., according to the ministry. At the site, an Associated Press reporter saw rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.
The bodies of two sisters, 4-year-old Zina and 14-year-old Lana, were sent to Shifa Hospital’s morgue, where they lay in white hospital bags, surrounded by family members.
“I was sitting at home. The rocket fell on us without a warning,” said their cousin, Mohammad Safadi, whose forehead was wounded. He said his wife was also hurt.
“This ceasefire the occupation and the negotiation team speak of … is this really a ceasefire? We are civilians. I never held a weapon,” Safadi said.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.
UKR/RUS/MIL – Thousands are fleeing Ukraine’s Donbas strongholds as Russia pushes closer.
While Kyiv’s fortunes have brightened in other ways in the war, Moscow’s forces are raining bombs and drones on “fortress belt” cities like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The sense of foreboding in Donetsk is a sobering development for Ukraine at a moment when it has otherwise received a boost from a campaign of longer-range strikes and the stalling of Russian forces along most of the front.
Russia still has superior numbers and firepower. And after years of grinding warfare in the region, its forces have been concentrating on the “fortress belt” cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka, part of the roughly 20 percent of Donetsk that Ukraine still controls.
Russian troops have fought their way into Kostiantynivka. Druzhkivka is a wasteland. That leaves Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as Ukraine’s last real strongholds in Donetsk.
The two cities are not in imminent danger of falling. But Moscow’s forces have advanced close enough to batter them with growing numbers of glide bombs and exploding drones. Thousands of civilians have fled as life has become more untenable.
Russia’s deployment of the 3,000-pound bomb in Sloviansk prompted worries that it would increasingly turn to even more brutal tactics.
SPAIN/CORRUPTION – Spain’s ex-transport minister sentenced to 24 years for corruption.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's former transport minister, Jose Luis Abalos, was sentenced on Monday to 24 years in prison for a slew of offences involving corruption, the first verdict in a series of court cases linked to the ruling Socialist Party.
The unusually long sentence reflected the accumulation of felonies committed, including kickbacks from facemask purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the damage to public trust caused by a minister of Abalos' rank breaching the rules, according to the Supreme Court's verdict.
"A society that perceives that those in positions of power act guided by private interests, or interests unrelated to public service... experiences a loss of institutional legitimacy, which compromises the stability of the system itself," the verdict read.
Nevertheless, the effective time Abalos will serve is capped under Spanish law at around 16-1/2 years, the court said.
The sentence comes as more than a dozen people close to the prime minister are being investigated or tried for corruption, including his wife and brother and an influential former Socialist premier.
COLOMBIA/PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Colombian right-wing candidate De La Espriella wins tight presidential race.
Colombian right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella has clinched a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential election, according to an initial ballot count, as voters bet on his Donald Trump-endorsed promise of a crackdown on crime and a stronger economy.
De La Espriella had 49.66% of the vote while his rival, Senator Ivan Cepeda, trailed by some 250,000 votes at 48.70%, according to the national registrar's tally of just under 100% of ballots in the runoff election.
Cepeda, 63, had pledged to maintain the policies of President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel and the country's first leftist president, including state pension payments for the poor, union-backed labor reforms, a moratorium on new oil projects, and continued peace talks with armed groups.
De La Espriella has blamed Petro for the country's economic and security troubles, including an expansion of armed groups, and vowed to end talks with rebels and criminal groups while boosting the oil and gas sector, lowering taxes and reducing the size of the state by up to 40%. He has said, however, that he will preserve Petro's 23% increase in the minimum wage, along with other popular social measures.
"I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who chose the other candidate," De La Espriella told a crowd of supporters gathered in the coastal city of Barranquilla, promising to respect all citizens' rights.
CHINA/US/SANCTIONS – China sanctions US tech giants weeks after Pentagon blacklisted Chinese firms.
China on Monday announced sanctions on 10 American military-related companies in response to a recent US move that bars some leading Chinese tech companies from defence contracts.
The Commerce Ministry said that Chinese companies would be blocked from exporting “dual-use” items to the 10 companies, which include military drone makers and some involved in rare earth mining. Dual use refers to goods that can have military as well as non-military applications.
The ministry said the export ban was both to safeguard China’s national security and in response to what it called the US government’s “wrongful expansion of its so-called List of Chinese Military Companies".
Separately, the finance ministry said that government entities would be prohibited from buying products from 46 American companies including multiple units of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics. A brief statement did not give any reason for the prohibition.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon added several tech companies including Alibaba and Baidu to its list of firms that it says have links to the Chinese military. Baidu said the suggestion that it is a military company is “totally baseless".
BANGLADESH/SEC – Bangladesh deploys army ahead of anniversary of ousted PM Hasina’s party.
Bangladesh ordered on Monday the deployment of troops in Dhaka and five other districts until June 30 as authorities stepped up security ahead of the founding anniversary of the Awami League, the political party of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The move comes just a week after the military was withdrawn from nationwide duties on June 15, ending nearly two years of operations following a student-led uprising that forced Hasina from power in August 2024.
Officials said security had been tightened amid concerns that supporters of the former ruling party could attempt to organise gatherings or demonstrations to mark the anniversary despite a ban on its activities.
The restrictions, first imposed by a previous interim administration, remain in place under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government, which took office following elections in February.
"They are attempting to incite unrest through processions and rallies in different districts. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to remain on high alert to prevent any disorder," Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters.
Comments (1)
I am always interested in your thoughts about the world! But could you also explain why you keep mis-pronouncing “nuclear ?” I can’t think who might be served by that, including you.