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Israel’s position in American politics has shifted, dramatically and permanently. This is clear not only in opinion polls of US voters, but in the rhetoric of political campaigns, which are more focused than ever on foreign policy - yet go out of their way to avoid any mention of Israel.

US policy continues to lag far behind public opinion, which now clearly wants an end to support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its invasion of Lebanon, and its outsized influence on US policymaking.

But as each election cycle passes, more politicians are going to be elected who fastidiously avoid taking pro-Israel money, and who commit to a change in foreign policy. 

Presidential races are no exception; Democratic hopefuls have either distanced themselves from Aipac, the country’s most powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, or tried desperately - often embarrassingly - to avoid the topic.https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-has-become-toxic-brand-us-so-its-advocates-are-shifting-tactics

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A hot mic at the G7 summit has captured French President Emmanuel Macron revealing he had a "difficult" meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday evening.

The brief exchange, recorded as Macron greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the summit, suggests that relations between the U.S. and France remain tense after the two countries have clashed over tariffs, the war in Iran, and Trump's threat to annex Greenland.

"Yesterday we had a difficult discussion with President Trump," Macron told Zelensky.

Macron then urged Zelensky to remain at the gathering longer, but the Ukrainian president replied that he was expected in Brussels.

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The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling and found the UK government’s ban on the direct action group Palestine Action to be lawful.

In February, the High Court found that then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group was "unlawful" and "discriminatory", following a challenge brought by the group's co-founder Huda Ammori.

It ruled that the ban constituted a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights as it entailed "a very significant" interference with rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It further held that the ban was not consistent with the home secretary's own policy.

The government immediately stated its intention to appeal the ruling, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying she was “disappointed” with the outcome, adding that the ban "followed a rigorous and evidence-based decision-making process".

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Abdullah Ibrahim, the South African jazz pianist deemed his country's equivalent to Mozart by Nelson Mandela, died Monday in his adopted home of Germany after a short illness. He was 91 years old.

"Abdullah passed away peacefully with South Africa and its people in his heart," his partner, Marina Umari, said in a statement. "His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself."

In an extraordinarily accomplished career that spanned eight decades, Ibrahim helped bring bebop stylings to South Africa, and he bonded with Duke Ellington, who produced one of his early, influential recordings. In his later years, he became an idol and an inspiration to new generations of jazz pianists.

Abdullah Ibrahim was born Adolph Johannes Brand in 1934. His mother was a pianist at their church, and he began taking piano lessons at the age of 7. By the time he was 15, he was playing professionally — billed as Dollar Brand — and in the late '50s formed a group, the Jazz Epistles, that featured trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In January 1960, the group recorded Jazz Epistle Verse One, the first jazz album by an all-Black South African jazz ensemble.

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A drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region in the early hours of Tuesday, Russian regional authorities said, as Ukraine continues its ‘oil sanctions’ campaign against Moscow’s fuel and logistics infrastructure. 

According to the operational headquarters of Russia’s Krasnodar region, falling drone debris caused a fire at an oil depot in the village of Poltavskaya, in the Krasnoarmeysky district.

“Due to the fall of UAV debris, a fire broke out at an oil depot in the village of Poltavskaya, Krasnoarmeysky district,” the headquarters said.

Russian officials routinely describe such incidents as fires caused by “falling drone debris,” a formulation that avoids acknowledging that the facility itself may have been directly hit.

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On 3 June, for the first time, Germany failed to secure a rotating seat on the UN Security Council, falling 23 votes short. The announcement was made by Annalena Baerbock, Germany's former foreign minister and current president of the UN General Assembly.

The vote was a verdict on Germany's standing in the world, and even Berlin knows why.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul acknowledged that the country had lost votes over its support for Israel's war on Gaza, or as he put it, "Germany's special responsibility for Israel".

He was quick to add that Germany would continue to fulfil that responsibility, despite the international embarrassment.

At a moment when rogue states such as the United States and Israel are waging wars and pursuing coercive campaigns against countries of their choosing - from Iran and Yemen to Lebanon, Palestine and Venezuela - the rest of the world is looking for international partners who can help weather the storm, not fuel it.

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