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Alarm after Elias Irizarry is hired to position in office that manages highly classified military operationsThe Pentagon has appointed a rioter convicted for his role in 6 January, 2021 insurrection to a sensitive national security role dealing with counterterrorism, overriding insiders’ concerns about his past record.Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the storming of the US Capitol, has been appointed to a position in the US Department of Defense’s special operations and low intensity conflict office which manages highly classified military operations, causing alarm among Pentagon officials. Continue reading...

• Indian stock markets plummeted on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling over 400 points and the Nifty dropping below 23,250. • The downturn was driven by escalating US-Iran tensions and persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), causing declines of over 1% in the Auto, Realty, and Consumer Durables sectors. • Despite the broader crash, Nifty IT gained nearly 2%, while 1,650 stocks on the NSE declined compared to 887 that advanced.

• The BSE Sensex rose over 300 points and the Nifty50 crossed 23,450 on Tuesday, recovering from an initial opening in the red. • Global markets showed volatility, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific index slipping 0.5%, South Korean equities falling 2%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping 0.7%. • Market instability is attributed to conflicting signals regarding Middle East negotiations between Iran and the United States, specifically contradictory statements from President Donald Trump.

• Community Financial System said it completed its acquisition of ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust, a deal it valued at about $39 million and announced through a Business Wire release carried by Morningstar. • The transaction expands Community Financial’s trust and wealth-management footprint, with the acquired business focused on federal banking and trust services. • The deal adds scale to a regional U.S. bank at a time when lenders are still using M&A to deepen fee income and broaden their customer base.

• Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. positioned the Philippines as a "point of convergence" for regional stability during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31. • Teodoro explicitly criticized China for its continued refusal to recognize the 2016 Arbitral Award regarding maritime disputes in the South China Sea. • The Secretary raised alarms over alleged espionage and foreign influence activities targeting the Philippines and other nations within the Indo-Pacific.

• The Singapore Open 2026, a BWF World Tour Super 750 event, will feature a total prize pool of $1,000,000 (approximately Rs 95.7 crore). • Key competitors include world champions Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in women's doubles, as well as top-seeded mixed doubles pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. • India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have withdrawn from the tournament, leaving Ashwini Bhat K. and Shikha Gautam as the nation's primary representatives.

Exclusive: Papers to be published on Monday cast doubt on assurances provided by senior Whitehall officialsA trove of government documents about Peter Mandelson contains no record of any measures taken to mitigate serious security concerns over his appointment as Washington ambassador, the Guardian has learned.Multiple sources who have seen or been briefed on the files, which will be published on Monday, say there is no detail about any steps put in place to deal with flags raised about his associations with senior figures in foreign states. Continue reading...