Gaza
(UN News) As Gaza’s fragile ceasefire frays and humanitarian conditions deteriorate, a senior UN envoy warned the Security Council on Thursday that delays in implementing the Council-backed transition plan for the enclave will only increase suffering and undermine recovery. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said the situation across the Occupied Palestinian Territory was becoming “increasingly precarious”, with mounting violence in both Gaza and the West Bank. “In Gaza, delays in the implementation of resolution 2803, alongside daily violence and a continuing humanitarian crisis, have replaced the early momentum following the ceasefire,” he said. The resolution adopted last November endorsed the US peace plan to end the conflict, authorising the Board of Peace transitional authority and backing an International Stabilization Force, paving the way for Israeli withdrawal. – Gaza risks ‘permanent’ state of limbo if transition plan stalls, Security Council hears | UN News
Haiti
(UN News) As gangs continue to “terrorise” communities in Haiti, children are the ones paying the highest price, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict warned on Thursday. Children now constitute around half of the gang members who have taken de facto control of large swathes of the country, Vanessa Frazier told journalists at UN Headquarters, following her first fact-finding mission to the Caribbean island nation. Some 18,000 schools are reported destroyed, damaged or non-functional. “Today, children in Haiti are facing levels of violence that no child, anywhere, should ever endure,” she said. – Haitian children ‘paying the highest price’ amid surge in gang recruitment | UN News
NATO, US, Europe
(Victor Jack and Jacopo Barigazzi – Politico) Mark Rutte has a new plan to keep Donald Trump from turning his back on NATO: Promise new defense deals that benefit the U.S. Defense production will be a priority topic as NATO foreign ministers meet in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg on Friday. The NATO chief has in recent weeks spearheaded a campaign to dramatically scale up defense production and deals, as he scrambles to make the July Ankara summit of alliance leaders a success, three senior NATO diplomats said. That’s aimed at bridging a genuine European shortfall, they said, but also making an economic case that resonates with Trump. – Rutte’s new plan to keep Trump in NATO: Buy more from the US – POLITICO
Russia, Baltic, Balkans, Europe
(Politico) There’s an ominous backdrop to this year’s GLOBSEC forum in Prague as the war in Ukraine strays into the skies over NATO’s Eastern flank. The last few weeks have seen an increasing number of drone incursions in the Baltics — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — across EU airspace. And there are questions over America’s commitment to European security ahead of an important NATO summit in Ankara in July, following changes in American troop deployments, and whether the tide is really changing in the war in Ukraine. Recording at POLITICO’s Speakeasy at the GLOBSEC Forum, Anne McElvoy sits down with two Europeans with skin in the game — Janne Kuusela, Permanent Secretary at Finland’s Ministry of Defense and Ana Brnabić, Speaker of the National Assembly in Serbia and former Prime Minister. Both countries have a stake in the ongoing war in Ukraine and the changing face of the EU. – From the Baltic to the Balkans: Putin is testing European leaders – POLITICO
UK
(Sam Blewett – Politico) Chancellor Rachel Reeves must not be “torpedoed” if Keir Starmer is removed as Britain’s prime minister, her allies are warning — as they unleashed a barrage of criticism against a would-be successor as Britain’s top finance minister. Ed Miliband is now firmly in the sights of Chancellor Reeves’ supporters in parliament. The energy secretary is seen as positioning himself to lead the Treasury if Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham succeeds in his bid to replace the embattled Starmer in Downing Street. But allies of Reeves are coming out swinging, and the chancellor has in recent days put herself front-and-center of a drive to tackle the cost of living. – Reeves allies unleash on Miliband in battle for Britain’s Treasury – POLITICO
US and AI
(Sophia Cai, Cheyenne Haslett and Jacob Wendler – Politico) Thursday’s abrupt postponement of President Donald Trump’s much-awaited executive order on artificial intelligence came after former AI czar David Sacks voiced industry concerns about the measure to Trump, according to a senior White House official and two people familiar with the matter. Sacks’ 11th hour intervention — and his arguments that the order could prove too onerous for the rapidly evolving AI industry — came even though he had been briefed about the directive in recent days, one of the people told POLITICO. The people were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. – Trump yanked AI order after David Sacks raised industry concerns – POLITICO
(Sophia Cai, John Sakellariadis, Michael Stratford and Cheyenne Haslett – Politico) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has privately expressed alarm about the slow pace of progress on AI policy, even before the White House again delayed an executive order on the subject Thursday. The drafting of the executive order has exposed tensions between Bessent, who has taken on an outsize role in the policy’s creation, and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, according to a senior White House official, another senior U.S. official and two other people familiar with the dynamics. They, like some others in this report, were granted anonymity to speak freely about a closely held policy. – Scott Bessent has been raising the alarm on AI policy. But the delays keep coming. – POLITICO
US – Poland
(Rebecca Falconer, Dave Lawler – Axios) The U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, President Trump said Thursday. Trump’s surprise announcement came a week after the Pentagon abruptly canceled a planned deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland. The Trump administration had previously said 5,000 troops would be withdrawn from Germany and that further troop reductions in Europe were expected. Trump wrote on Truth Social that his decision was based on the election last year of Poland’s conservative President Karol Nawrocki, whom he endorsed. Poland has in recent months faced threats from Russia that included NATO and Polish forces having to shoot down Russian drones that had violated the EU country’s airspace. – Trump: US to send 5,000 more troops to Poland
COP 31
(Zia Weise – Politico) The Iran energy shock is poised to turn this year’s United Nations climate conference into a staging ground for a global electrification push. Turkey and Australia, the countries organizing the COP31 summit in Antalya in November, told a preparatory meeting in Copenhagen this week that accelerating efforts to power cars, heat buildings and produce goods with clean electricity rather than fossil fuels will be at the heart of their conference. “We consider electrification to be a priority,” said Murat Kurum, Turkey’s environment minister, who will serve as COP31 president. – A mantra emerges for this year’s climate COP: Electrify the world – POLITICO
Defense
(Tim Martin – Breaking Defense) The Netherlands has opened talks with the US government to acquire more AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) weapons for its fleet of F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, according to a national defense projects document. “The Ministry of Defense is procuring additional Deep Precision Strike munitions to replenish operational stocks,” the report said, released on Wednesday. “Discussions with the U.S. government regarding the procurement of these munitions have now begun.”. The program update noted that a Letter of Acceptance has also been signed, allowing “necessary software” to enable deployment of the Lockheed Martin-made missile. – Netherlands eyes more JASSM weapons for F-35, discloses ASW frigate delivery delay – Breaking Defense
Smart Cities
(UN News) From AI-powered transit systems to digital twins and flood-proof parks, cities are embracing technology at an unprecedented scale. But as innovation accelerates, experts warn that inclusion, trust and security will determine who truly benefits. At a sprawling urban expo in Baku, visitors paused before giant digital screens flickering with flood simulations, subway control systems and virtual replicas of entire neighbourhoods. Across the space, cities offered a vision of urban life reshaped by artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and real-time data – a glimpse of what many governments now call the “city of the future.”. Few cities illustrate the scale of smart-city ambition quite like Shanghai. At the China Pavilion at the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, officials showcased how the city is using big data and artificial intelligence to build what it calls a “Unified Management with One Network” platform – a vast system bringing together transportation, infrastructure, emergency response and public services. Shanghai has also sought to narrow the digital divide. Through its “One-stop Government Service” portal, residents can access more than 3,500 public services online. – Building the smart city: Promise, pitfalls and the people at its heart | UN News
