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Keir Starmer has resigned as UK Prime Minister and Labour leader, saying he had "heard the answer" of his party on whether he was best placed to lead it into the next general election.

This comes as a Trump-backed outsider has narrowly won Colombia's presidency, and Ukraine launched one of its largest drone strikes on Russian-occupied Crimea in months.

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Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇨🇳🇺🇸 China sanctions US defense firms in tech war retaliation: Beijing blocked exports of dual-use goods to 10 American military-linked companies in direct response to Washington adding Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu to its list of firms with alleged military ties. Separately, the Finance Ministry barred government entities from purchasing products from 46 US firms, including units of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and General Dynamics, though no reason was given for that measure.

2️⃣ 🇵🇱🇺🇦 Poland-Ukraine honours dispute deepens: Polish President Nawrocki stripped Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle after Kyiv named a military unit after the UPA, a WWII nationalist group responsible for massacres of Polish civilians. Several current and former Ukrainian officials have since renounced their own Polish awards in solidarity, with both sides' critics warning the rift serves Russian interests.

3️⃣ 🇬🇧 Starmer resigns as UK Prime Minister and Labour leader: Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation outside 10 Downing Street this morning, saying he had "heard the answer" of his party on whether he was best placed to lead it into the next general election and accepted it "with good grace." He will remain in post until a new leader is chosen, with nominations opening on 9 July and the process completed before parliament returns in September.

4️⃣ 🇪🇹 Abiy Ahmed secures another Ethiopian parliamentary majority: The Prosperity Party comfortably won June's elections, keeping Abiy Ahmed in power, though analysts warned of renewed conflict after Tigray's main political party moved to reassert regional control in violation of a 2022 peace deal. Voting was not held in Tigray itself, with the electoral board citing unfavourable conditions.

5️⃣ 🇨🇴 Trump-backed outsider wins Colombia presidency: Lawyer and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly defeated left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda with roughly 49.7% of the vote, signalling a sharp pivot away from outgoing President Petro's negotiation strategy toward a military crackdown on armed groups. Cepeda has declined to concede pending official verification, and clashes between police and protesters were reported in Cali.

Major Story

🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran agree roadmap toward final deal in Switzerland

The first round of high-level US-Iran talks in Switzerland concluded on Monday, with both sides agreeing on a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days, as part of a two-month negotiating period established under a preliminary agreement signed the previous week. 

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar confirmed that negotiators, led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, agreed to establish communication channels to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and set up a "deconfliction cell" to prevent further fighting in Lebanon.

The talks got off to a rocky start after Iran's delegation briefly walked out in response to threats from President Trump on social media, warning he would strike Iran "very hard" over its support for Hezbollah, prompting a sharp rebuke from Iran's chief negotiator. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks delivered progress on sanctions waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of a blockade, the release of some frozen assets, and the launch of a reconstruction plan for Iran. 

Technical working groups are set to continue negotiations throughout the week at the Swiss resort of Burgenstock, though the format and structure of future meetings remain unclear.

Other News

1️⃣ 🇺🇦🇧🇾 Zelenskyy gives Belarus one week to remove drone relay stations: The Ukrainian president warned Lukashenko to dismantle signal relay stations in two border regions used by Russian forces to navigate drone strikes on Ukraine, threatening that Kyiv would take action itself if the deadline passed without compliance. Lukashenko recently claimed Ukraine had nothing to fear from Belarus.

2️⃣ 🇮🇹🇺🇸 Meloni publicly breaks with Trump: The Italian Prime Minister rebuked the US president over what she called "constant, unprovoked attacks," telling him her popularity depends on defending Italian interests rather than their personal relationship. The row began after Trump claimed Meloni "begged" him for a photograph at the G7, prompting Italy's Foreign Minister to cancel a planned Washington visit.

3️⃣ 🇺🇦 Ukraine strikes Crimea in one of biggest attacks in months: A large-scale drone barrage on Russian-occupied Crimea killed at least four people, wounded 28, suspended civilian fuel sales, and left parts of the peninsula without power. Kyiv said it targeted military logistics, energy infrastructure, and air defence systems as part of a broader campaign Ukraine claims has knocked out roughly a third of Russian oil refining capacity.

4️⃣ 🇶🇦 Explosion at Qatar's main gas facility leaves dozens injured and 18 missing: A blast and fire tore through the Barzan gas facility at Ras Laffan on Sunday night, injuring at least 54 people, as workers attempted to restart operations halted since an Iranian missile strike hit the same site in March. The explosion risks further disruption to global energy markets, with the facility, which held a daily capacity of nearly 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas, only recently beginning the process of resuming exports.

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