White House: Situation in Sudan ‘not conducive’ for large-scale military evacuation

Associated Press
3 men set for pleas, sentencings in prison killing of Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger
Three men accused in the 2018 prison killing of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger are due in court Monday for a plea hearing and sentencing. The combined hearing for Fotios “Freddy” Geas, Paul J. DeCologero and Sean McKinnon is to be held in federal court in northern West Virginia. Plea deals for the three were disclosed May 13, nearly six years after the 89-year-old Bulger was beaten to death in his cell hours after being transferred to a troubled West Virginia prison.
Associated Press
Watchdog: Nuclear-armed nations are deepening reliance on nuclear weapons
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday. “We have not seen nuclear weapons playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War,” said Wilfred Wan, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's weapons of mass destruction program. Earlier this month, Russia and its ally Belarus launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
Associated Press
AI experimentation is high risk, high reward for low-profile political campaigns
Adrian Perkins was running for reelection as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was surprised by a harsh campaign hit piece. The satirical TV commercial, paid for by a rival political action committee, used artificial intelligence to depict Perkins as a high school student who had been called into the principal’s office. Instead of giving a tongue-lashing for cheating on a test or getting in a fight, the principal blasted Perkins for failing to keep communities safe and create jobs.
Reuters
US as many as 15 years behind China on nuclear power, report says
The U.S. is as many as 15 years behind China on developing high-tech nuclear power as Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge, a report said on Monday. China has 27 nuclear reactors under construction with average construction timelines of about seven years, far faster than other countries, said the study by Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute. "China’s rapid deployment of ever-more modern nuclear power plants over time produces significant scale economies and learning-by-doing effects, and this suggests that Chinese enterprises will gain an advantage at incremental innovation in this sector going forward," the report said.
AFP
Nuclear arms spending soars as global tensions swell: studies
Nuclear-armed countries hiked spending on atomic weapons arsenals by a third in the past five years as they modernised their stockpiles amid growing geopolitical tensions, two reports showed on Monday.The world's nine nuclear-armed states jointly spent $91 billion on their arsenals last year, according to a new report from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
Reuters
Europe must catch up in green tech race, Spain's climate minister says
The next European Commission must do more to help European industry catch up in the green tech race with China and the U.S., said Spain's climate and energy minister Teresa Ribera, a front-runner to be the EU's next head of green policies. EU country leaders meet on Monday in Brussels to discuss the top jobs in the next European Commission, in which each of the 27 EU countries will have a member. Ribera, who Spain's government has put forward to seek a senior climate-related Commission post, rebuffed some politicians' calls for the EU to slow its green transition, but said greater effort would be needed to address its fallout for citizens and industries.
CNN
Singapore races to clean oil spill as luxury beach resort coated in slick
An oil spill affecting Singapore has spread beyond a luxury beach resort to a marine reserve and other parts of the island as the authorities intensify cleanup efforts.
AFP
Hundreds gather in Kyiv for war-shrouded Pride march
Under the pouring rain and overshadowed by war, Diana Ivanova joined the few hundred who gathered in Kyiv on Sunday for the Ukrainian capital's first Pride march since the Russian invasion, guarded by a heavy police presence.The timing and location of the Pride march had not been publicly announced until Sunday morning for security reasons.
AFP
Parents of Israeli soldiers in anxious wait as Gaza war drags on
David, a 61-year-old Israeli, has been on edge ever since his soldier son was deployed to Gaza, where the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack shows little sign of abating.At first, she said she had hopes the war would free the hostages taken by Gaza militants on October 7.
AFP
Philippine, Chinese ships collide near hotspot reef: Beijing
A Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, the Chinese Coast Guard said.The Chinese coast guard said in a statement Monday that a Philippine resupply ship in the area had "ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side".
Associated Press
China says a Chinese vessel and Philippine supply ship collided in the disputed South China Sea
A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that’s part of territory claimed by several nations.
Politico
Hillary Clinton greeted with ovation at Tony Awards
She introduced a musical number from "Suffs" during the live telecast.
AFP
Asian stocks struggle after tepid Wall St lead, euro dips further
Asian markets mostly fell Monday following last week's losses, with traders trying to assess the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates, while the euro was weighed by political uncertainty as France prepares for a snap parliamentary election.The euro faced further pressure from the dollar owing to concerns about the upcoming polls in France, which President Emmanuel Macron called after his party lost out to the far right National Rally (RN) in EU-wide elections last weekend.
Reuters
Taiwan is not seeking war with China, defence minister says
Taiwan is not seeking war with Beijing, and its policy is to build up a defensive, multi-level deterrence capability to make it harder for China to capture the island, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday. Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has faced a stepped-up military and political pressure campaign from Beijing to accept sovereignty claims that the government in Taipei rejects. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that China views the annexation and "elimination" of Taiwan as its great national cause, telling Taiwanese military cadets not to give in to the defeatism of "the first battle is the last battle", a theory that Taiwan could collapse as soon as China launched an attack.
AFP
Once fruitful, Libyan village suffers climate crisis
In the Libyan village of Kabaw in the Nafusa Mountains, M'hamed Maakaf waters an ailing fig tree as climate change pushes villagers to forsake lands and livestock.Driven out by increasing water stress, local villagers and their livestock have been gradually moving out of the Nafusa Mountains and surrounding plains.
Associated Press
Muslims in Asia celebrate Eid al-Adha with sacrifice festival and traditional feast
Muslims in Asia on Monday celebrated Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, with food and prayers for people in Gaza suffering from the Israel-Hamas war. One of the biggest Islamic holidays, the occasion commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor. It’s a joyous occasion for which food is a hallmark where devout Muslims buy and slaughter animals and share two-thirds of the meat with the poor and it’s a revered observance that coincides with the final rites of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
NBC News
2 killed in shooting at Juneteenth celebration amid weekend of gun violence that left dozens wounded
At least two bystanders were fatally shot at a Juneteenth celebration in Texas on Saturday night — one of multiple incidents of gun violence around the country that marred Father’s Day weekend.
CNN
Maryland Gov. Moore to pardon more than 175,000 marijuana convictions, Washington Post reports
Maryland’s governor is expected to issue a “pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions,” Monday morning, The Washington Post reported Sunday evening.
AFP
'Meaty rice'? South Korean professor aims to change global protein
In a small laboratory in Seoul, a team of South Korean scientists are injecting cultured beef cells into individual grains of rice, in a process they hope could revolutionise how the world eats.His process can be currently time-consuming: a regular rice grain is coated with fish gelatin to help with adherence, then individually injected with beef cells before being cultured in a petri dish for up to 11 days.
CNN
What this holiday of sacrifice teaches us about mindfulness
While holidays are often marked by parties, shared meals, gift-giving and special outfits, experts say there’s health benefits to remembering the meaning behind the celebration.

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