Rift

• ASEAN top diplomats are meeting in Manila on Tuesday to discuss critical global security issues, including renewed hostilities in the Middle East and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. • The talks will include representatives from major global powers, including the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union. • A primary focus is the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where tensions have spiked specifically between Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard forces.

• ASEAN diplomats are gathering in Manila for annual ministerial talks to address critical regional and global security threats. • The agenda focuses on renewed hostilities in the Middle East, the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, and escalating territorial disputes in the South China Sea. • Tensions are particularly high between Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard forces, involving other claimants like Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Fires are also blazing across the US and the Trump administration has repealed several climate protectionsUS Republicans are threatening to sanction Canada and Canadian government officials after smoke from devastating wildfires has drifted across huge swathes of the US, creating hazy conditions and dangerous air quality for tens of millions of Americans.Donald Trump on ⁠Friday blamed ⁠his country’s northern neighbor for ​the smoke spreading from ⁠wildfires and said he planned to call ​Mark Carney, the Canadian prime ‌minister, ‌ to ‌ask about Ottawa’s plans for dealing with the blazes. Continue reading...

With voters embracing leaders who brazenly monetise public office, experts say an ethical code is breaking downDonald Trump came to office in 2017 after decades of bankruptcies and business failures. Yes, he was rich, but his latest financial disclosure, published this week, suggests he will depart billions richer.In the first year of his second term, he made more than $2bn from Trump hotels, Trump golf courses, Trump cryptocurrency, Trump watches, Trump cologne, Trump Bibles and more. Continue reading...

• A team of six scientists and six crew members will soon launch an eight-month expedition from Kirkenes, Norway, to explore the remote Arctic Ocean. • The mission utilizes a floating laboratory that will drift in the ice to discover and document new species in one of Earth's least-studied regions. • This research is critical as the climate crisis and increasing pollution threaten to permanently alter the northern ocean's ecosystem.

• The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that children born in the United States are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment, regardless of their parents' legal or temporary status. • The ruling highlights deep ideological rifts among the justices, with some arguing that the court ignored historical evidence from Reconstruction-era debates. • This decision is critical as it reinforces the legal standard for birthright citizenship, a point of contention regarding the definition of a "relationship" to the country.

• Asian stock markets remained stagnant as investors balanced geopolitical tensions in the Middle East against expectations of potential interest rate hikes. • Market sentiment is currently caught between regional instability and the anticipation of central bank policy shifts regarding monetary tightening. • Despite the volatility, some analysts remain moderately constructive on the investment outlook for the second half of the year.