Global Pulse

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  • In public letter, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct negotiations in a neutral country

    In public letter, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct negotiations in a neutral country

    In a historic, unprecedented public move that marks the first direct outreach from Kyiv to the Kremlin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a formal invitation Thursday for direct, in-person negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, framing the summit as a critical step to end a grinding conflict that has stretched into its third year. The public letter, addressed straight to Putin, is far more than a simple invitation for talks: it includes a sweeping rebuke of Putin’s 26-year tenure in power and lays out Ukraine’s assessment of Russia’s current strategic positioning on and off the battlefield.

    In the letter, Zelenskyy acknowledged the rapidly shifting priorities of global powers, noting that Kyiv cannot afford to idly wait for U.S. policy to refocus on the war amid Washington’s growing preoccupation with escalating tensions in Iran. “I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote plainly. The proposal quickly drew a response from U.S. President Donald Trump, who reacted positively to the prospect of direct talks. “It would be great” if the two leaders met, Trump told reporters. “They should get it done.” When pressed to share details of concessions he has reportedly pushed Russia to make to reach a settlement, Trump declined to elaborate but emphasized that both sides would need to meet halfway to reach a deal. “They’re going to both make compromises,” he said. “I suggested those compromises.”

    The outreach comes at a pivotal inflection point for the war, a moment when Kyiv has clawed back limited but meaningful battlefield leverage thanks to advances in its long-range strike capacity, which has disrupted Russian military advances and logistical lines across occupied and Russian territory. That small gain for Kyiv has been matched by a sharp escalation from Moscow, which has ramped up its devastating nationwide aerial campaign, capitalizing on Ukraine’s ongoing shortages of air defense systems and persistent vulnerability to Russian ballistic missile attacks.

    Zelenskyy proposed holding the summit in a neutral third-party country, ruling out venues in both Moscow and Kyiv, and named Switzerland, Turkey and various Arab states as suitable potential hosts. “It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

    Drawing on Ukrainian intelligence assessments, Zelenskyy warned that Russia is actively planning to extend the full-scale war into 2027 and 2028, and is increasingly shifting to a strategy of sustained ballistic missile strikes to make gains that its underperforming ground campaign has been unable to secure. He also accused Moscow of moving to draw neighboring Belarus deeper into open conflict and working to destabilize the security situation around Transnistria, the Russia-backed breakaway region of Moldova.

    The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia is now feeling the mounting human and economic cost of its invasion, pointing to a steady stream of Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, widespread domestic economic strain, growing fuel shortages, rising consumer prices, and the repeated rounds of military mobilization the Kremlin has been forced to implement to sustain its campaign. Zelenskyy claimed Russian forces suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded in the month of May alone, noting that Kyiv holds video evidence of these battlefield losses and that these steep casualty levels have remained consistent month after month. He added that while Ukraine has a far more favorable casualty ratio than Russia, Ukrainian forces and civilians continue to endure devastating, painful losses.

    To build trust ahead of any potential peace process, Zelenskyy put forward several immediate confidence-building steps: Ukraine is prepared to implement a full, nationwide ceasefire that would remain in place for the entire duration of negotiations, and he proposed an “all-for-all” prisoner exchange as an opening confidence-building measure. He also called for the immediate return of all Ukrainian civilians and children who have been forcibly deported to Russia since the invasion began. Closing his letter, Zelenskyy pushed back on the narrative that the international community has grown weary of supporting Ukraine: “The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” he wrote.

  • In open letter to Putin, Zelensky calls for meeting and ceasefire

    In open letter to Putin, Zelensky calls for meeting and ceasefire

    In an unprecedented public diplomatic move that marks one of the highest-profile direct outreach attempts from Kyiv to the Kremlin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally proposed a face-to-face negotiating meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside a temporary full ceasefire for the duration of talks in an open letter published Thursday. The appeal landed just hours after Putin acknowledged growing gaps in Russia’s air defense networks, amid a sharp uptick in long-range Ukrainian drone strikes penetrating deep into Russian territory, including attacks on targets in Saint Petersburg this week.

    Zelensky’s public letter laid out the core terms of his proposal clearly: an immediate, full ceasefire that would remain in place throughout the negotiations, and a set meeting date for direct talks between the two heads of state. “Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — you and me. I am proposing a meeting,” the letter read. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting. Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations.” The Ukrainian president also issued a stark warning: “If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence.”

    The timing of the appeal was significant: it came one day after Ukrainian drones carried out strikes in Saint Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, which was playing host to the high-profile Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a landmark annual event often called Russia’s equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos. This direct public address to Putin from Zelensky remains a rare occurrence, even after more than three years of open conflict. Zelensky has long held that only direct, face-to-face talks with the Russian leader can produce a viable territorial peace agreement, after months of US-facilitated indirect negotiations failed to bring the two warring parties any closer to a breakthrough deal.

    Russia has set hard preconditions for any formal peace talks, demanding that Ukraine withdraw all its military forces from the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, large swathes of which remain under Kyiv’s control more than three years into the invasion. Ahead of the publication of Zelensky’s letter, Putin spoke to international reporters in Saint Petersburg and repeated longstanding Russian questions over Zelensky’s constitutional legitimacy, arguing that the expiration of Zelensky’s original five-year presidential term in 2024 required further “analysis” of his status. Ukraine has held that the country’s martial law, which bans national elections during wartime, gives the current administration full legal standing, and Zelensky has previously offered to hold a public vote or referendum on any final peace settlement once a full ceasefire is implemented.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the letter publicly shortly after its release, noting that Putin had not yet been presented with the document, but claimed that “Zelensky can come at any time to Moscow” for talks. This proposal was already explicitly rejected by Zelensky in his original letter, ruling out any meeting on Russian territory. Putin has for months maintained that he will only meet Zelensky to sign off on a fully pre-negotiated deal, refusing to hold open-ended talks before an agreement is already finalized.

    The public exchange comes amid shifting battlefield dynamics that have worked in Ukraine’s favor in recent months. After accelerating its long-range retaliatory strikes against Russian military and energy infrastructure in response to relentless Russian nightly missile barrages across Ukraine, Kyiv has managed to recapture more territory than it lost to Russian forces for two consecutive months, according to an Agence France-Presse analysis of data from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Russia’s overall offensive advance across the front line has slowed sharply since late 2025, with Ukrainian forces pushing back in multiple sectors.

    During his forum address in Saint Petersburg, Putin struck a defiant tone amid shifting realities, hailing what he called his forces’ battlefield achievements and rejecting suggestions that the full-scale invasion has become a strategic failure for Russia. “We are advancing along the entire line of contact,” he told reporters, adding that “We are absolutely ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means.” At the same time, he conceded the urgent need to upgrade and reinforce Russia’s air defense networks in the wake of the Saint Petersburg drone strikes: “Russia has an air defence system. Yes, we must improve it. Yes, we must strengthen it. And we will do so.”

  • Polanski and Corbyn join calls for Britons who served in Israeli army to be tracked

    Polanski and Corbyn join calls for Britons who served in Israeli army to be tracked

    A heated debate has erupted across British politics after two senior party leaders added their voices to growing demands that the UK government track and monitor British citizens who have served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), following allegations of widespread war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

    Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were among the high-profile signatories of an open letter coordinated by investigative outlet Declassified UK, addressed to UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. The letter calls on authorities to systematically track the movements of British nationals who have served in the IDF, and implement mandatory secondary screening for these individuals at UK ports of entry when deemed necessary. It also pushes for full, rigorous war crimes investigations that adhere to both domestic UK legislation and international legal frameworks.

    Current data suggests that approximately 2,000 British-Israeli dual nationals have served in the IDF during Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, a conflict that a United Nations commission of inquiry formally ruled constituted genocide in 2024. Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed nearly 73,000 Palestinians, injured more than 170,000, and left thousands more unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed civilian infrastructure.

    In the text of the open letter, signatories — a cross-group coalition of politicians, legal professionals, human rights advocates, journalists, and other public figures — argue that monitoring the entry of IDF-serving dual British nationals into the UK and investigating potential ties to war crimes serves a clear public interest. The letter notes that many of these individuals have returned to the UK after fighting in Gaza and now reside in British communities, even holding positions in public institutions including hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and schools. It adds, “Nobody wants to live next to a potential war criminal – not least members of the Palestinian community in the UK who have family or friends who have been subjected to war crimes.”

    This latest push for action comes after London’s Metropolitan Police sparked outrage in April 2025 when it announced it would not open investigations into 10 British nationals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their service with the IDF in Gaza. The decision came more than a year after the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the UK-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) submitted a 240-page evidence dossier to the Metropolitan Police’s dedicated War Crimes Team. The dossier outlined detailed allegations that the 10 British nationals, a number of whom hold dual UK-Israeli citizenship, participated in targeted killings of civilian bystanders and humanitarian aid workers, carried out indiscriminate strikes on densely populated civilian areas, attacked hospitals and other protected civilian sites, and aided in the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians. In justifying its refusal to move forward with the case, the Met claimed there was no realistic prospect of securing a conviction and that a thorough, effective investigation could not be completed.

    Alongside Polanski and Corbyn, the open letter has secured support from multiple sitting UK parliamentarians, including independent lawmakers and high-profile Labour Party rebels John McDonnell and Diane Abbott.

    The move has drawn fierce condemnation from opponents on the opposite side of the political and ideological spectrum. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake criticized the initiative in an interview with The Telegraph, arguing that “At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise, Zack Polanski should not be stoking further division and hostility in our society.” The Board of Deputies of British Jews, a leading UK Jewish community organization that has publicly backed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, echoed that criticism, saying the letter represented “another attempt to demonise Israelis and promote an atmosphere of intimidation against British Jews.”

    In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for Polanski defended the call for action, noting that the IDF has faced credible, well-documented allegations of catastrophic war crimes in Gaza from leading global human rights bodies including the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. The spokesperson emphasized that “the UK Government should be taking robust action against any British citizen complicit in these crimes.”

    The renewed debate comes amid escalating Israeli military operations in Gaza. Data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health recorded 119 Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israeli forces in May 2025, marking the highest single-month death toll since November 2024. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that the IDF continues to expand its territorial control across Gaza, currently holding roughly 60 percent of the enclave with plans to push that figure to 70 percent in coming operations.

  • Israel seeks to recruit ultranationalists for police unit at Al-Aqsa Mosque

    Israel seeks to recruit ultranationalists for police unit at Al-Aqsa Mosque

    A newly revealed recruitment initiative by Israeli law enforcement has sent shockwaves through the region, with Israeli authorities actively courting ultranationalist activists and Jewish settlers to serve in police units stationed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz has reported.

    The call for new hires came directly from Daniel Lerach, deputy commander of the police detachment tasked with overseeing the sensitive religious site. In a public online appeal, Lerach explicitly sought what he termed “religious officers” to be deployed at Al-Aqsa. In messages circulated across social media platforms and private WhatsApp groups—many of which are tied to Israeli settler communities in the occupied West Bank—Lerach extended an open invitation: “Anyone who wants to take part in implementing sovereignty is welcome to contact me.”

    Haaretz’s reporting further confirms that rabbis affiliated with the Temple Mount movements, extremist organizations that stage frequent incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound and openly advocate for the destruction of the mosque to make way for a third Jewish temple, have urged their followers to answer the recruitment call. Arnon Segal, a high-profile leader of the Temple Mount movement, hailed the initiative as a pivotal milestone, framing it as growing official Israeli recognition of Jewish claims to the contested site. Segal acknowledged that some potential recruits had raised concerns about joining a police force that currently enforces the long-standing status quo ban on Jewish prayer at the compound, but noted that a large number of movement activists have still opted to enlist.

    This recruitment drive is the latest in a string of escalating actions that Palestinian officials characterize as a deliberate campaign to reduce Palestinian presence at Al-Aqsa while entrenching unilateral Israeli control over the site. The Jerusalem Governorate of the Palestinian Authority has condemned the move as a “dangerous development” that forms part of a broader project to erase the mosque’s centuries-old Islamic identity.

    In an official statement released Thursday, the governorate explained that the initiative aims to embed activists from extremist Temple Mount groups and adherents of the religious Zionist movement directly into the institutional structure Israel uses to enforce its control over the holy compound. The statement emphasized that the plan marks a new, more open phase of collaboration between official Israeli state bodies and radical Temple Mount organizations.

    “This issue extends beyond the recruitment campaign itself,” the statement read. “Israel is seeking to transfer effective authority over Al-Aqsa from the Islamic Waqf, which holds legal and historical custodianship of the site, to Israeli police and other state bodies.”

    The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound holds profound religious significance across multiple faiths: it is the third-holiest site in Islam, while for Jewish communities it is known as the Temple Mount, revered as the location of two ancient Jewish temples that once stood on the land. For decades, the site has operated under a fragile internationally recognized status quo arrangement, which preserves its identity as an Islamic place of worship and formalizes the custodianship role of the Jordan-backed Islamic Waqf. Under this agreement, only Muslim worshippers are permitted to pray at the site, while non-Muslim visitors may enter under terms set by the Waqf, which retains full authority over all administrative, maintenance, and religious matters related to the compound.

    Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, however, the Israeli government has steadily eroded this status quo, imposing growing restrictions on Palestinian and Muslim access to the site while steadily expanding Jewish presence and administrative control. Violations of the long-standing arrangement have accelerated dramatically since October 2023, with senior Israeli officials and sitting lawmakers openly calling for the imposition of full Israeli sovereignty over the entire Al-Aqsa compound.

  • John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified documents case, sources confirm

    John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified documents case, sources confirm

    In a major development in a high-stakes federal national security case, John Bolton — the former White House National Security Advisor under ex-President Donald Trump who later became one of Trump’s most high-profile critics — has finalized an agreement to plead guilty to one count of improper retention of classified defense information, according to two anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the unannounced deal.

    The case against Bolton dates back to October 2023, when federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland brought an 18-count indictment against him, alleging that he mishandled hundreds of sensitive documents, including dozens marked Top Secret, during and after his tenure in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019. Prosecutors argued at the time that Bolton’s lax handling of the classified material put American national security at tangible risk. Among the compromised documents were what the indictment described as “diary-like” personal notes Bolton kept during his time in the White House, which included sensitive national defense information classified at the highest levels. Bolton had entered an initial plea of not guilty following his indictment.

    Under the terms of the newly reached deal, Bolton will change his plea to guilty on a single count connected to those diary notes, pay a $2.25 million financial penalty, and avoid any recommendation for prison time from prosecutors. The formal plea is scheduled to be entered during a re-arraignment hearing set for June 26. One source close to the negotiations confirmed that the agreement formally recommends no custodial sentence, though the final sentencing decision will rest with the presiding judge at a future hearing. The charge Bolton is admitting to carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The deal still requires formal judicial approval to take effect.

    When contacted by the BBC, a spokesperson for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed the scheduled hearing date but declined to offer any additional comment on the plea agreement. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal.

    Bolton’s indictment last year came as part of a string of high-profile criminal prosecutions targeting prominent critics of Trump, a sequence that sparked widespread political scrutiny. Since leaving the Trump administration in 2019, Bolton has been an unflinching critic of the former president, publishing a tell-all book that sharply criticized Trump’s leadership and policies, and Trump himself has publicly stated that Bolton deserves jail time.

    However, legal analysts and former federal prosecutors interviewed by the BBC emphasize that Bolton’s case differs meaningfully from other prosecutions of Trump critics, due to the strength of the evidence compiled by investigators. Sources close to Bolton explain his decision to accept the plea deal as a deliberate choice to accept responsibility for his actions. “The ambassador has admitted to what he has done,” one source said. The source added that Bolton also recognized that proceeding to trial would require the release of additional classified information as part of his defense strategy, and he chose to accept the plea deal to prevent further harm to U.S. national security. “Unlike others, he’s stood up and said he takes responsibility,” the source added.

  • House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders

    House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders

    The U.S. House of Representatives is moving forward toward a final vote on landmark legislation that would deliver new military and reconstruction support to Ukraine while imposing harsh new sanctions on core sectors of the Russian economy, a push that comes in open defiance of top Republican leaders who argue the measure will derail ongoing negotiations aimed at securing a more robust, comprehensive aid package.

    Drafted and sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, the legislation would codify U.S. backing for Kyiv by allocating more than $1 billion in direct security and rebuilding assistance. It also sets aside an additional $8 billion in defense support for Ukraine through a loan-based funding structure.

    This upcoming vote marks the second high-profile break between rank-and-file House members and former President Donald Trump on foreign policy in just a single week. It comes exactly 24 hours after the House passed a historic war powers resolution that aims to end unauthorized U.S. military engagement against Iran, a move that directly contradicted the administration’s policy priorities.

    The bill reached the floor thanks to a rarely used but increasingly deployed legislative tactic known as a discharge petition, which allows a simple majority of 218 House members to bypass stalled committee processes and party leadership opposition to force a floor vote. During this congressional session, the discharge petition tool has already been successfully used to advance bills demanding the public release of sealed federal documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, as well as a measure to extend Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies to millions of Americans — though the subsidy extension ultimately failed to advance in the Senate.

    An initial procedural test vote held Wednesday evening saw supporters clear the key hurdle to advance the bill by a vote margin of 218 to 204. Breaking with their party’s leadership, six Republican lawmakers joined an independent and every sitting Democratic representative in backing the measure’s progression.

    Meeks emphasized the symbolic and practical importance of the House’s action, saying the vote is critical to reassuring the Ukrainian people that the United States will not abandon their fight against Russian invasion. “The people of Ukraine need to know that the United States of America is not going turn its back on them, that we will stand with them against Russia,” Meeks said. “We can’t let them down.”

    Supporters of the measure say its passage in the House is designed to send a clear bipartisan message and apply public pressure on the Senate to take up the legislation. Even so, they acknowledge the bill is unlikely to advance in the upper chamber without an explicit public endorsement from Trump. “It’s probably not going to get 60 votes in the Senate, but it’s going to hopefully force the Senate to address the issue,” said Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, one of the GOP lawmakers who signed the discharge petition and backed the procedural vote. “It’s going to send a great message to the soldiers of Ukraine.”

    Fitzpatrick added that the vote also sends a clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that U.S. lawmakers remain committed to Ukraine’s defense. “It sends a message that we do have a pulse here, that we do care about Ukraine and that we are going to utilize our authority to help them,” he said.

    As the war enters its fifth year following Russia’s full-scale invasion, congressional supporters of additional Ukraine aid have faced growing difficulties moving new funding packages through the legislative process. To date, the U.S. has allocated roughly $195 billion in total emergency support for the Ukraine conflict, according to the latest quarterly inspector general report for Operation Atlantic Resolve. Approximately one quarter of that total has gone toward replenishing U.S. military weapons stockpiles that were drawn down to supply Kyiv’s forces. The last major standalone Ukraine aid legislation was passed back in April 2024, with only small incremental allocations included in annual federal spending bills since that time.

    Top House Republican leaders have mounted a concerted push to convince their caucus to reject the legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana noted that ongoing good-faith negotiations between congressional leadership and the White House are already underway to craft a larger Ukraine aid package, calling those discussions inherently complicated. “I think they are going to yield positive results, but you set that back if you pass legislation that doesn’t go as far as the negotiations are going,” Scalise argued.

    More than four years into the full-scale invasion, the war remains deadlocked with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-range missile strikes on key infrastructure and military targets in recent days in an attempt to gain strategic leverage. U.S.-led peace negotiations have collapsed after failing to make progress on core core territorial and security demands, with Washington’s foreign policy focus shifting in recent weeks to rising tensions with Iran. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump, Russian President Putin has refused to agree to the terms.

    In the Senate, efforts to advance a separate Ukraine-related measure centered on imposing sweeping tariffs and secondary sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and other key export commodities that fund Moscow’s war effort have stalled, with the legislation remaining stuck in procedural limbo for weeks.

  • Exclusive: UK says Jordan Al-Aqsa custodianship ‘must be respected’

    Exclusive: UK says Jordan Al-Aqsa custodianship ‘must be respected’

    Tensions over the future of Jerusalem’s most sensitive religious sites have escalated this week after the United Kingdom issued its first formal public reaffirmation of Jordan’s longstanding custodianship role, following explosive reports of a covert US-Israeli plot to overhaul the decades-old status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

    Last week, independent outlet Middle East Eye (MEE) broke the story detailing alleged plans backed by former Trump administration advisor Jared Kushner—now unaffiliated with the current US administration—and current US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to strip the Jordanian monarchy of its historic custodianship rights, a position enshrined in decades of international agreements. Multiple anonymous officials from the US, Jordan, Palestine, as well as Western and Gulf Arab diplomatic sources confirmed the details of the proposal to MEE.

    Under the reported plan, the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf, which currently manages administrative and religious affairs at Al-Aqsa, would be stripped of its authority. A new Israeli-controlled body would rebrand the mosque compound as a “multi-faith centre”, granting Jews equal access to the sacred Muslim site and formally permitting organized large-group Jewish prayer— a change that breaches longstanding arrangements that have prevented religious friction at the site for decades. The plan would also give Israel significant control over the appointment of imams, senior mosque leadership, and final approval over the content of weekly Friday sermons.

    The revelations sparked rapid backlash from UK lawmakers, with independent MP Shockat Adam penning a formal letter dated May 29 to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper pressing the government for a clear response. In his letter, Adam noted that many of his constituents had reached out to express deep outrage and alarm over the reported plans, emphasizing that for Palestinians and Muslim communities globally, Al-Aqsa Mosque is far more than a place of worship: it is a core symbol of national and religious identity, collective dignity, and a bulwark against ongoing territorial dispossession in the region.

    Adam put four key questions to the Foreign Secretary: whether ministers had raised the reported plans directly with US and Israeli counterparts; whether the UK would continue to formally back Jordan’s custodianship role; what risk assessment had been conducted into the threat of further ethnic cleansing and regional instability stemming from changes to the holy sites’ status; and whether the government would issue a public statement opposing any efforts to weaken Jordan’s internationally recognized custodianship.

    After MEE submitted Adam’s letter to the UK Foreign Office for comment, a department spokesperson issued the government’s first official stance on the controversy since MEE’s initial report broke. “We value Jordan’s important role as custodian of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem. The historic status quo arrangements at Jerusalem’s Holy Sites must be respected,” the spokesperson confirmed.

    The reaffirmation aligns with longstanding official UK policy, which has long recognized Jordan’s custodianship over both Muslim and Christian holy sites across Jerusalem. It also comes amid a marked shift in the UK’s approach to the Israeli government, with British officials increasingly toughening criticism of ongoing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Just this week, MEE reported Wednesday that senior government sources confirm UK ministers are actively considering imposing a formal ban on imports of goods produced in those illegal settlements.

  • UN nuclear watchdog raises ‘proliferation’ fears over Iran sites

    UN nuclear watchdog raises ‘proliferation’ fears over Iran sites

    The head of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has issued an urgent call for Iran to grant international inspectors immediate access to its bomb-damaged nuclear facilities, amid growing global fears over nuclear proliferation risks. In a confidential IAEA report obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and released Thursday, the watchdog reaffirmed that its prolonged inability to access and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpiles constitutes a serious proliferation concern, urging Tehran to cooperate with inspectors in a constructive manner.

    Diplomatic insiders familiar with the report’s contents note that satellite imagery analysis has detected no visible activity at Iran’s key nuclear sites since the outbreak of the latest regional Middle East conflict. However, the IAEA has been completely locked out of most critical Iranian nuclear facilities since joint Israeli-U.S. military strikes targeting nuclear installations during a 12-day conflict in June 2025. Additional strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure during the war that began on February 28 have further complicated inspection efforts, and the agency has repeatedly requested unfettered access over the past months with no result.

    This development aligns with a recent CNN report from Sunday, which cited satellite data showing Iran has reopened 50 of the 69 tunnel entrances destroyed by U.S. and Israeli strikes at 18 underground missile facilities. Beyond that, the IAEA confirmed this week it was only able to carry out a limited inspection at the Bushehr nuclear power plant – the only Iranian nuclear site accessible to inspectors so far. Bushehr, which was originally built and operates with Russian support for civilian energy purposes, was also hit during the 2025 military strikes.

    In the official report, the IAEA acknowledged that repeated military attacks on Iranian nuclear infrastructure have created an unprecedented, complex situation for verification work. Even so, the agency emphasized that immediate access to carry out full verification activities across all Iranian sites remains critical. The findings of the confidential report will be the focus of discussion at the upcoming IAEA Board of Governors meeting scheduled for next week.

    Before the June 2025 U.S. strikes, IAEA analysts calculated that Iran held approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. This level is extremely close to the 90 percent enrichment required to build a functional nuclear weapon, and far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the now-defunct nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. Since the 2025 strikes, the exact location and status of this large enriched uranium stockpile has remained completely unknown to international inspectors.

    “The agency’s lack of access to verify the previously declared highly enriched uranium and low enriched uranium for nearly a year — which is long overdue according to standard safeguard practices — is a matter of proliferation concern,” the report stated. Grossi’s official call to Iran, included in the report, stressed “utmost urgency” for Tehran to engage constructively with the IAEA to enable full, effective implementation of international nuclear safeguard protocols across the country.

    Israel and the United States have long maintained that Iran harbors secret ambitions to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal. U.S. President Donald Trump has cited this alleged threat as the core justification for launching military strikes against Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. In any potential peace deal to end the ongoing conflict, Trump has insisted Iran must agree to two non-negotiable terms: permanent abandonment of any nuclear weapons program, and full destruction of its existing enriched uranium stockpile.

    For its part, the Iranian government in Tehran has repeatedly denied any intention to pursue military nuclear applications, maintaining that all of its nuclear research and development activities are strictly for peaceful civilian purposes, and that Iran retains an inherent right to develop nuclear energy under international non-proliferation treaties.

  • Former MI6 spy chief Alex Younger has died aged 62

    Former MI6 spy chief Alex Younger has died aged 62

    LONDON – Senior figures across Britain’s royal establishment and government have publicly honored Alex Younger, the former head of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency MI6, who passed away this week at 62 following a cancer diagnosis.

    Younger led the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6’s official alternate name, from 2014 to 2020, and made history as one of the first holders of the agency’s top position—known by its traditional code name “C”—to be identified publicly when he took office. The UK government confirmed he died on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.

    Nick Robinson, a prominent BBC broadcaster and personal friend of Younger, shared that after receiving his cancer diagnosis, the former spy chief jokingly named his tumor “Putin” after Russia’s president.

    In a statement released Thursday, Prince William, heir to the British throne, recalled his 2019 work placement with Britain’s intelligence and security community, designed to help the future monarch build understanding of their critical national functions. The prince praised Younger as a paragon of the core values that define MI6: “integrity, courage, and an unwavering commitment to protecting this country and its people.”

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed those tributes, noting that Younger would be long remembered by current and former ministers, intelligence colleagues, loved ones, and friends for his profound dedication to British public service and national defense.

    Blaise Metreweli, Younger’s successor as the current head of MI6, highlighted that her predecessor perfectly embodied the agency’s core values of integrity, courage, creativity, and respect. She emphasized that Younger left an enduring, unique legacy that strengthened not only British national security, but global stability as well.

    A graduate of Scotland’s University of St Andrews, Younger began his public service career as a commissioned officer in the British Army before joining MI6 in 1991. He spent three decades with the espionage agency, with early career postings including a role in the Western Balkans during the 1990s Balkan conflicts. In a 2018 speech delivered at his alma mater, he described that posting as a period of late nights spent working through fragmented information over little-known local spirits, piecing together the warring factions’ strategic goals. He added that he took deep pride in knowing his work, alongside that of countless other intelligence and diplomatic officials, helped lay the groundwork for the eventual arrest and trial of war criminals responsible for the deaths and mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

    Younger also served in Afghanistan in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and led MI6’s counterterrorism division, where he oversaw intelligence planning and security support for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

    In an interview with the BBC last year, Younger opened up about the dual nature of a career in secret intelligence. He admitted that working behind the scenes on operations hidden from public view brought a unique thrill, saying “it [was] a kick to be in this play that no one knows is even going on.” But he also acknowledged the profound isolation that comes with a covert career, noting the weight of keeping even basic details of your work hidden from friends and family.

    Younger also reflected on the cultural impact of Britain’s most famous fictional spy, James Bond, arguing the iconic character has been a mixed blessing for the real MI6. In a 2016 speech, he noted that Bond had built an unrivaled global brand for MI6—even joking that as C, the real-life equivalent of Bond’s superior M, he had no trouble convincing anyone to accept a lunch invitation, and that foreign intelligence counterparts often envied the instant global recognition of the MI6 name. Still, he added with characteristic dry wit, if Bond applied to join the agency today, his reckless, rule-breaking lifestyle would not meet modern recruitment standards.

  • Slovenia’s parliament approves right-leaning government as Jansa returns as PM for a fourth time

    Slovenia’s parliament approves right-leaning government as Jansa returns as PM for a fourth time

    LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — In a decisive parliamentary vote that reshapes the political trajectory of this small Alpine European Union member state, Slovenia’s national legislature formally approved a new right-wing coalition government led by veteran populist leader Janez Jansa on Thursday.

    The 90-seat national assembly cast 49 votes in favor of the new administration and 30 against, clearing the threshold for Jansa’s fourth term as prime minister. The approval wraps up months of political deadlock that followed the country’s March parliamentary election, which delivered no party an outright governing majority. Former liberal prime minister Robert Golob’s Freedom Movement secured the largest share of seats in the vote, but failed to build a cross-party coalition to take power.

    Appointed prime minister-designate last month, the 67-year-old Jansa, leader of the populist Slovenian Democratic Party, negotiated a governing agreement with multiple other right-leaning parliamentary groups. His coalition also holds the backing of the non-establishment Truth party, a political faction that originated as an anti-vaccination protest movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    A longstanding ideological ally of former Hungarian populist prime minister Viktor Orbán — who suffered a landslide election defeat in April — and an open admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Jansa brings a well-documented conservative policy platform to the new administration. Like Orbán, Jansa took a hardline anti-immigration stance during the 2015 European migration crisis, and his 2020-2022 previous term was marked by widespread accusations that he undermined independent democratic institutions and restricted press freedom. Those controversies sparked large public protests across Slovenia and triggered formal scrutiny from EU institutional bodies.

    In his first public remarks after the parliamentary vote, Jansa struck an inclusive tone, framing his new 15-member cabinet as a government “for all of Slovenia and for all generations.” He highlighted the accumulated governing experience across his ministerial team, laid out a policy agenda focused on cutting taxes and rolling back what he called an “incredibly overblown bureaucracy” that he says bloats Slovenia’s public sector compared to other EU economies. Jansa also extended an invitation to opposition parties to participate in cross-party cooperation on key national issues.

    Notable appointments to the new cabinet include former Slovenian ambassador to the U.S. Tone Kajzer as foreign minister, and Jansa’s personal former lawyer Franci Matoz as interior minister — a pick that has already drawn public criticism from political and civil society groups. On foreign policy, Jansa, a staunch supporter of Israel, has repeatedly condemned the previous Golob government’s 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state, and the new administration is widely expected to repair the currently strained bilateral ties between Ljubljana and Jerusalem.

    The March 22 election that paved the way for Jansa’s return to power was itself marred by allegations of foreign interference and corrupt campaign practices. Slovenia, a nation of roughly 2 million people, remains deeply politically divided between liberal and conservative blocs, a split that is expected to shape domestic debate through Jansa’s new term.