June 25, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1876, George Armstrong Custer made his last stand with the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
QotD: “No country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways,” Secretary Rubio said at a meeting of Gulf leaders in Bahrain.
VENEZUELA/MOTHER NATURE – 2 powerful quakes hit Venezuela, killing at least 164 and injuring nearly 1,000.
Rescue teams raced Thursday to the areas hardest hit by a pair of powerful earthquakes that rocked northern Venezuela, killing at least 164 people, injuring nearly 1,000 and trapping many beneath collapsed buildings.
Wednesday evening’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Damage was particularly bad in the coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of Caracas, the capital.
The country’s main airport was damaged and closed, while buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas.
Television broadcasts Thursday showed rescue workers using power tools to work their way into piles of rubble where buildings once stood. Panicked residents of the capital were sent pouring into the streets, and after the quakes many people walked among the debris searching for the missing among collapsed buildings and toppled electric poles.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who gave the latest death toll early Thursday, said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira. Officials were trying to make the most of the daylight hours to speed up efforts to rescue people believed to remain trapped under the rubble, she said.
ISRAEL/LEBANON/MIL – Israel, Lebanon deny US claim that Israel has withdrawn from part of southern Lebanon.
The "pilot zone" proposal has been part of the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington mediated by the U.S., which resumed even as they appeared to be eclipsed by Iran's move to make Lebanon central to its own talks with Washington.
A U.S. State Department official said that "Israel has already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone". The so-called buffer zone is a vast area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.
The official described the move as "a significant demonstration of good faith toward Lebanon's legitimate government."
"The (Lebanese Armed Forces) should now move in and verifiably clear out terrorist weapons and infrastructure. This model will be repeated across South Lebanon, enabling the safe return of displaced families, reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty," the official added.
A senior Israeli defence official denied there had been any kind of pullback or withdrawal by Israeli forces, and said Israel would not be withdrawing from its buffer zone.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters that any "redeployment" of the military would only come after southern Lebanon was demilitarized and Hezbollah was disarmed.
A senior Lebanese military official said developments on the ground in recent days "show the opposite of a pullback".
US/GULF – Rubio wraps up Gulf tour as allies share concerns over Iran peace accord.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Gulf allies on Thursday that any deal with Iran would take their interests into account, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip aimed at winning over regional partners with deep reservations about the preliminary accord.
Speaking at a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Bahrain — home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet — Rubio said Washington was seeking an enduring peace with long-time foe Iran that would not come at the expense of the security of allies in the oil-rich region, many of whom see the deal as too soft after coming under Iranian attack during the conflict.
If Iran threatens or blocks ships in the Strait of Hormuz, "then we're going to have a problem," Rubio said, having earlier told ministers that "no country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways" and that fees for shipping would never be part of any deal.
Rubio said he did not discuss a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran that is part of the peace proposal. Gulf states fear Iran would use that money to revive its military capacity.
MORE/ENERGY –- Oil back to pre-war levels as Hormuz traffic rebounds, US tries to reassure Gulf allies.
Oil prices fell to pre-war levels on Thursday as the United States said flows through the Strait of Hormuz were nearing normal and its top diplomat wrapped up a Gulf tour aimed at winning support for a preliminary Iran deal.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said shipments through the strait were approaching levels seen before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with at least 20 million barrels exiting the strait in the previous 24 hours.
During the conflict, Iran took effective control of the vital chokepoint, disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets and the wider economy.
Despite the recovery in traffic, Iran signalled it would continue to assert control. Its Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned vessels to stick to routes through the strait designated by Tehran, rejecting newly announced shipping routes not coordinated with Iran as unacceptable and dangerous.
The warning came after Oman announced temporary shipping lanes through the strait in coordination with the United Nations' shipping agency.
Data from the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization showed that 57 ships carrying about 1,100 seafarers have transited the strait since June 23 under the evacuation plan.
SPAIN/POL – Spain’s lower house calls on PM Sanchez to resign in non-binding vote.
The motion was approved by 177-171 votes and one abstention in the 350-seat chamber.
A separate article urged Sanchez to submit to a motion of confidence if he does not call a snap election.
Justice Minister Felix Bolaños dismissed the vote as purely symbolic, with "zero political effect".
Only Sanchez has the power to decide whether there is a motion of confidence.
On Wednesday Sanchez again told parliament he planned to stay on as premier, denying widespread corruption.
The opposition can submit a motion of no confidence, but it has so far abstained from doing so as it lacks the required votes to pass it.
INDIA/CLIMATE – India braces for drought as El Nino looms.
https://www.dw.com/en/india-braces-for-drought-as-el-nino-looms/a-77704414
This year, a very strong El Nino is forecast, which has historically been associated with weaker monsoon rains in India.
A prolonged rainfall deficit during the "kharif," as the summer monsoon crop season is called, could force farmers to rely more heavily on irrigation, raising cultivation costs and increasing pressure on already-stressed groundwater reserves.
"We can manage a short dry spell," Singh told DW.
"The real worry is if the rains remain below normal through the season," he added.
With India facing the prospect of a weaker-than-normal monsoon and potential disruptions to the summer-sown crop season, India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has drawn up contingency plans for regions most vulnerable to rainfall deficits.
It has identified 111 districts with irrigation coverage of 25% or less as high-priority areas requiring intervention should monsoon conditions deteriorate.
"We are facing potential conditions for a weak monsoon due to El Nino, an impact that is already becoming visible, as the monsoon is currently significantly delayed," said Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a recent meeting.
"Overall, rainfall has been 43% below normal so far. Weather forecasts indicate that conditions are likely to remain weak" during July, he added.
EUROPE/HEAT WAVE – ‘Ditch your routine’ warning as Europe’s deadly heatwave takes its toll.
Authorities in France and Britain warned people to ditch their routines on Thursday as large parts of Western Europe remained in the grip of a deadly heatwave that has claimed dozens of lives, disrupted power supplies, and shut schools and cultural landmarks.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu activated the highest level of health services mobilisation in the face of the heatwave, meaning non-urgent operations could be cancelled to focus on caring for those affected by the hot weather.
Paris endured another sweltering day after temperatures in the French capital hit a June record of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Parts of southern England and Wales faced another day of record-breaking temperatures after a new June high of 36.1 C was provisionally set in the southern English county of Hampshire on Wednesday. Britain's Met Office extended a red heat alert covering a large area into Friday, the first time such warnings have been issued for three days in a row.
“Significant disruption to daily life is likely and the public should take every effort to adapt their daily routines to cope with these levels of heat, which up to now have been extremely rare for the UK," said Andy Page, a chief meteorologist at the Met Office.
US/TURKEY – A Turkish arms sale leads to a face-off between Trump and Congress.
The Trump administration is expected to override a decision by a Democratic lawmaker who is blocking a proposed $750 million sale of jet engines to Turkey over concerns about the country’s ties to Russia.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) had placed a hold on the sale to Turkey—a NATO ally that is hosting an alliance summit next month—because the country continues to hold a Russian S-400 air-defense system that it bought roughly a decade ago, along with other concerns about Turkey’s role in the region.
It is longstanding practice for the executive branch to secure the approval of key lawmakers to go ahead with such sales, though the administration told Congress it plans to press ahead despite the hold.
The face-off illustrates how Turkey’s purchase of the air-defense system continues to cloud its relations with the U.S. despite its bases and role as a mediator in talks to end the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Some worry that the Russian system could gather important information on U.S. technology if used side by side, an issue that has also stymied Turkey’s attempts to buy advanced American F-35 fighters.
CHINA/TAIWAN STRAIT/MIL – China’s newest aircraft carrier sails through the Taiwan Strait.
China’s newest and most powerful of its three aircraft carriers sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the Taiwanese defense ministry said, a day after Taiwan began a five-day military exercise on responding to a Chinese attack.
The Fujian carrier first sailed through the narrow body of water separating China and Taiwan in a trial run last September. It later transited the strait for the first time as a fully commissioned military vessel in December.
China claims the self-governed island as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control. China regularly sends navy vessels and war planes towards Taiwan in military exercises that have become more frequent in recent years to where they now occur almost daily.
Taiwan on Monday kicked off its own five-day exercise to support its response in case of a possible Chinese military invasion.
The U.S. Navy sends warships through the strait periodically, as do some of its allies, in a warning to Beijing against any attempt to use force to establish its claim to the island.
UKR/RUS/MIL – Zelensky says Russia is shifting air defenses to Moscow and other key sites after drone strikes.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-crimea-trump-25dc47db4d1a3b2908b8f060434aa765
Russia is moving a significant part of its air defenses to protect a handful of prime targets, including Moscow, as Ukraine’s long-range drones hammered sites deep inside the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
In new overnight strikes, Zelenskyy said Thursday that Kyiv’s forces hit two more Russian oil refineries in Ufa, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the front line, and an oil depot in the Krasnodar region, 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Ukraine.
In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up its aerial campaign against Russian military installations and energy facilities. Its success has caused fuel shortages and disrupted army supply lines, stalling Moscow’s full-scale invasion after more than four years of fighting.
Zelenskyy said in his daily address late Wednesday that Russia is moving more air defenses to the capital as well as to Valdai, a town some 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Moscow and the site of a residence for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said they are also protecting the Kerch Bridge, a vital supply route connecting the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.
“In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers” for air defense missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia.”