The European Union’s chief diplomat has called for all sides in the Middle East conflict to “step back” and return to negotiations after the U.S. struck key Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday.

Kaja Kallas posted on the X platform that an Iranian nuclear capability would represent a global security threat and urged all sides not to escalate.

“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” she wrote, adding that EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss the latest developments.

The U.S. entered a conflict on Saturday that has raged between Israel and Iran since June 13 when Tel Aviv launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets.

Since then, the two sides have exchanged air attacks resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Having said on Thursday he would decide within two weeks whether to enter the fray, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized a heavy assault on three Iranian nuclear development facilities on Saturday and warned of further action should Tehran retaliate.

Against the backdrop of escalating hostilities in the Middle East, Poland’s foreign ministry advised on Sunday against all travel to Israel.

Spokesman Paweł Wroński told a press conference the ministry is not a “travel agency” after Polish authorities repatriated around 200 people from Israel last week.

“It is not the case that we will always be able to help people.” he said.

The Netherlands has officially handed back 119 ancient sculptures stolen from the former Nigerian kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago during the colonial era.

Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said on Saturday that the artefacts were the “embodiments of the spirit and identity of the people from which they were taken from”.

The former politician explained that the situations in Ukraine and Israel cannot be compared because Kyiv did not threaten Russia’s existence.

“I don’t quite agree that Israel does not adhere to international law. When a country’s existence is threatened by Iran or Hamas, it’s not so easy to respond strictly according to international law. If some are allowed to declare they want to destroy the state of Israel, then Israel must have the ability to defend itself,” Merkel said.

At the same time, she emphasized that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violates international law.

German public opinion has shifted dramatically against Israel, with 57% now holding a negative view of the country following its military actions in Gaza, according to a new survey released Friday.

The poll by Allensbach research institute for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper marks a striking reversal from 2022, when only 23% expressed negative views of Israel.

The survey found growing concerns about Israel's military attacks, with 65% of Germans considering Israel's actions in Gaza “inappropriate.” Only 13% voiced support for the military campaign.

In a particularly notable finding, 73% of respondents indicated they saw “some truth” in the statement that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute “genocide,” while only 9% explicitly rejected this characterization.

In the wake of the tragic and violent Islamophobic murder of Aboubakar Cissé — who was stabbed 57 times in a mosque — Muslims were left to grieve for both his loss and the countless lives lost in Palestine.

The State had the opportunity to halt its relentless Islamophobic agenda. It did the exact opposite. The Minister of the Interior refused to visit the mosque where the murder took place, and on 21 May he divulged a report on the alleged infiltration of French society by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The publication exacerbated an already intense moral panic, depicting Muslims as conspirators on the verge of seizing power. Ten days after the publication, a second racist murder occurred: a man stabbed his Tunisian neighbour, Hicham Miraoui, to death and subsequently published a series of videos on social media in which he declared his racism.

The British government will move to ban the activist group Palestine Action and proscribe it as a terrorist organisation, after two activists broke into the UK's largest airbase on Friday on electric scooters and damaged two Royal Air Force (RAF) planes.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will submit a statement before parliament on Monday which if passed will make it illegal to be a member of the group, the BBC reported.

Footage shared by Palestine Action purported to show two protesters riding scooters towards the RAF planes on the runway at the Brize Norton airbase, where they used "repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the turbine engines" and "caused further damage using crowbars". The activists then evaded security and escaped the base.

The group announced on its website on Friday that the airbase was targeted because flights leave daily from there "for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East".

BRUSSELS — Israel’s actions in Gaza may have violated the terms of the country’s agreement with the EU, the bloc’s diplomatic corps found.

“On the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions … there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” the European External Action Service (EEAS) concluded, according to a leaked document seen by POLITICO.

Kallas told lawmakers in the European Parliament on Wednesday that “Israel has the right to self-defense, but what we see in practice from Israel goes beyond self-defense,” adding that Israel is “undermining decades of humanitarian principles” by blocking food and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza, along with sidestepping U.N. aid.

What Gaza exposed to the world should have been recognised from the start by Western leaders. But as long as Israel was standing against a defenceless population, the West remained ensconced within its narrative, complicit in Israel’s killing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. When starvation became a point of contention after the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was banned by Israel, the EU prioritised its humanitarian discourse and found a fragment of consensus upon which it could criticise Israel.

Once Israel decided to attack Iran, the EU swiftly found another niche for Israel’s security narrative, taking cues from Israel, of course.

Since Israel’s security narrative still holds sway, Palestinians remain on the bottom most rung of EU foreign policy. Instead of viewing Israel’s belligerence – sustaining the genocide in Gaza and attacking Iran based upon decades of Zionist incendiary rhetoric – as a reason to apply punitive measures, the EU takes a step back from acting against Israel’s interests, which are also its own

In a letter responding to Rutte’s proposals for next week’s Nato summit in the Hague, first reported by the Spanish newspaper El País, Sánchez declared his opposition for the proposed change arguing “it is not necessary to fulfil our commitments to the alliance.”

He explained that the figure “has nothing to do with the level of commitment to collective defence,” with Spain confidence it can do enough with lower spending.

He added that adopting the target would have adverse effects for the Spanish economy, as it would force the government to raise taxes, cut public services and slow down its plans on green transition. “We choose not to make those sacrifices,” he reportedly said.

The paper said that the new Nato target had been expected to be adopted unanimously, but Spain’s objection could now trigger further discussions on its adoption.

Scientists in Poland have called on the public to step up efforts to combat drought, revealing that around 45% of the country’s forests and agricultural land are under threat.

The appeal was made on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, with scientists warning that drought had now become an annual issue.

Currently, surface water resources per capita (the amount of renewable surface water available for each person in a specific location) stand at 1,600 cubic meters per year, approximately three times below the European average.

In an open letter published on their website, Poland’s national water authority, Polish Waters (Wody Polskie), wrote: “Despite Poland’s seemingly moderate climate, summer droughts have been observed since 2011.”

Financial losses stemming from drought were placed at 2.6 billion złotys in 2018 alone.

Now, Polish Waters have issued a rallying cry calling on the forestry commission, regional authorities, farmers and entrepreneurs to join forces to do their bit.

“The key is to retain water where it falls,” wrote Polish Waters. “Through water retention and wise water management, we can protect our fields, forests and cities from the effects of drought. Together we can restore balance to the landscape and take care of the future.”

Continuing, Polish Waters apportioned much of the blame on climate change, citing it as a major driver of drought.

“This process is further modulated by seasonal precipitation patterns, surface runoff, water storage, and interactions with vegetation.”

“Recent weather patterns, characterized by prolonged droughts interspersed with heavy rainfall, are further exacerbating the problem. While droughts leave land dehydrated for years, heavy rainfall washes away topsoil instead of replenishing it,” they added.

Farmers have been particularly impacted by Poland’s spate of droughts, with one report showing that 45% of the county’s forests and agricultural fields are at risk, with central Poland and Wielkopolska in west-central Poland the most vulnerable of all.

Traditionally, agricultural droughts have been viewed as a particular problem, with their effects including lower yields, poorer crop quality, higher susceptibility to diseases and pests, and higher end prices for the consumer.

To fight drought, Polish Waters has already completed 55 investments valued at 150 million złotys, among them the modernization of the Ruda reservoir near the northeastern town of Mława.

The authority has also embarked on an aggressive educational campaign aimed at promoting smaller scale retention measures, switching lawns out in favor of flowery meadows and encouraging the planting of drought-resistant plants.

“Let’s work together for the people, for nature and for future generations,” added Polish Waters.

Poland has been observing GPS disruptions over the Baltic Sea, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding they were “related to the actions of the Russian Federation, including sabotage actions.”

Polish media reported cases of GPS malfunction in the north of the country on Tuesday, including private drones flying away in unknown directions or losing connection.

“This may be Russia’s answer to the Baltops exercises,” Polish Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski told Reuters on Tuesday, referring to NATO’s annual exercise in the Baltic Sea, being held this month.

Jaworski said the disruptions had become more intense since the start of the NATO exercise.

On Monday, a flight from Alicante in Spain to the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz was redirected to Poznań in the west of Poland due to navigation problems, a Bydgoszcz airport spokesperson said, without identifying the airline.

“We are observing these disruptions. They are also observed over the Baltic Sea area by our allies in NATO countries - both in the Baltic states and the Nordic countries,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists when asked about such incidents at a press conference about new helicopters.

“These actions are related, according to our sources, to the actions of the Russian Federation, also to sabotage actions.”

He did not elaborate on the sources.

**Rising sabotage threats **

Countries located on the Baltic Sea have reported numerous incidents since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, including power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence in the region.

On Tuesday, Poland and the Baltic states signed a memorandum to boost the protection of critical energy infrastructure, with a special focus on shielding vulnerable underwater assets in the Baltic Sea, where a string of suspected sabotage attacks have been reported since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Last year, Estonia and Finland blamed Moscow for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region’s airspace.

Russia has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The two parties that make up the Third Way (Trzecia Droga), which is part of Poland’s ruling coalition, have confirmed that they are splitting and will stand separately at the next elections.

The decision was confirmed in statements issued last night and this morning by the leaders of the two parties that make up the alliance: Szymon Hołownia of the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050) and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz of the centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL).

The Third Way was formed two years ago, when PSL and Poland 2050 were in opposition. They retained their separate identities as parties but stood candidates on joint electoral lists at the October 2023 parliamentary elections, where they together won 14.4% of the vote.

That placed them third, behind the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS, 35.4%) and centrist Civic Coalition (KO, 30.7%) and ahead of The Left (Lewica, 8.6%).

After those elections, KO, the Third Way and The Left formed a new coalition government, led by KO leader Donald Tusk, that removed PiS from power after eight years in office. It has ruled the country ever since.

Kosiniak-Kamysz serves as deputy prime minister and defence minister in the government, while Hołownia is the speaker of Sejm, the more powerful lower house of parliament.

PSL and Poland 2050 formed separate caucuses in parliament, with each currently having 32 MPs in the 460-seat Sejm.

But they continued to stand jointly as the Third Way in subsequent elections. At the April 2024 local elections, the Third Way won 14.3% of the vote. However, at the European elections that took place two months later, its share fell to just 6.9%.

In this year’s presidential election, PSL agreed to support the candidacy of Hołownia, but he won a disappointing 5% of the vote in the first round, finishing fifth. That was significantly worse than his presidential run as an independent in 2020, when he finished third with 13.9%.

Since the most recent presidential elections, rumours have circulated that PSL and Poland 2050 might decide to separate.

The two parties have not always been natural allies, with PSL taking more conservative positions on issues such as abortion and same-sex partnerships and Poland 2050 placing stronger emphasis on climate policies than its partner.

On Tuesday evening, PSL’s leadership met to discuss the best path forward. Afterwards, before any official announcement had been made, Hołownia issued a statement saying that his party “accepts the decision of our coalition partner PSL to effectively end the Third Way project”.

He said that Poland 2050 was “determined to work constructively with our partners” going forward, but was also felt “sincere political joy at the prospect of running independently in the next elections”.

Subsequently, leading PSL figures, including party spokesman Miłosz Motyka, noted that no resolution had been formally adopted on ending the Third Way alliance. That prompted questions over whether what Hołownia had written was accurate.

However, on Wednesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed the split, telling broadcaster Radio Zet that the Third Way “is behind us, it has reached the end”.

The announcement was “supposed to be a bit different”, he added. “We had a discussion yesterday; Poland 2050 will have a discussion on 28 June. Then we were supposed to come out together and say that this stage is closed. [But] when there are 150 people in the room, it is difficult to keep everything absolutely sterile.”

After this month’s presidential election run-off was won by PiS-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki – who defeated KO deputy leader Rafał Trzaskowski – there were questions over whether and how the government would be able to rule with a hostile president and his power of veto.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński called for Tusk’s administration to step down and be replaced by an “apolitical technical government”. Figures from his party appealed to PSL, the most conservative element of the ruling coalition, to join them in bringing down the government.

However, at a vote of confidence in the government called by Tusk last week, he emerged triumphant, with all his coalition partners – PSL, Poland 2050 and The Left – joining KO in voting in favour.

The next elections scheduled in Poland are parliamentary ones that are due to take place in autumn 2027. If PSL and Poland 2050 stand as individual parties, they would have to win at least 5% of vote to enter parliament. If they stand as part of a coalition, the threshold is 8%.

The European Union has unveiled plans to legally bypass Hungary and Slovakia to ban Russian gas imports by 2027, using trade and energy laws that avoid national vetoes.

Slovakia and Hungary, which have sought to maintain close political ties with Russia, say switching to alternatives would increase energy prices. They have vowed to block sanctions on Russian energy, which require unanimous approval from all EU countries, and have opposed the ban.

The Commission based its proposed ban on EU trade and energy law to get around this, relying on support from most countries and a majority of the European Parliament.

First, imports would be banned from January 1, 2026, under any Russian pipeline gas and LNG contracts signed during the remainder of this year.

Imports under short-term Russian gas deals—those lasting less than one year—signed before June 17, 2025, would be banned from June 17 next year.

Finally, imports under existing long-term Russian contracts would be banned from January 1, 2028, effectively ending the EU's use of Russian gas by this date, the Commission said.

Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas via pipeline and have opposed the EU plans, would have until January 1, 2028, to end their imports, including those on short-term contracts.

“When the legislation is passed, all countries, of course, has to apply to it, and if they don't, then there will be legal consequences, like with any other legislation in the European Union,” Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing said.

Russia loses market

The EU would also gradually ban liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals from providing services to Russian customers, and companies importing Russian gas would have to disclose information on their contracts to EU and national authorities.

On Monday, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said that the measures were designed to be legally strong enough for companies to invoke the contractual clause of “force majeure”–an unforeseeable event–to break their Russian gas contracts.

About 19% of Europe’s gas still comes from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG shipments, down from roughly 45% before 2022.

Companies, including TotalEnergies and Spain’s Naturgy, have Russian LNG contracts extending into the 2030s.

To replace Russian supplies, the EU has signaled it will expand clean energy and could import more LNG from the U.S.

Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France import Russian LNG but have all said they fully support the ban, emphasizing that it must be sufficiently robust legally to avoid exposing companies to penalties or arbitration, EU diplomats told Reuters.

Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region.

U.S. drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities.

Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships.

The spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry has accused the European Union of acting as an “apologist” for Israel after the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas raised concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

In a post on X, Esmaeil Baghaei directly addressed Kallas, urging her to “please stop acting as the aggressor’s apologist”.

He also said: “How can you express concern over Iran’s peaceful program that is under the most robust IAEA inspections and ignore the fact that the Israeli regime has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons?!”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed respect for Israel's attack on Iran, calling it a service to Western allies.

"This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us," Merz said Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF.

LE BOURGET, France/JERUSALEM, June 16 (Reuters) - France has shut down the four main Israeli company stands at the Paris Airshow for apparently displaying offensive weapons, in a move condemned by Israel that highlights the growing tensions between the traditional allies.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday that the instruction came from French authorities after Israeli firms failed to comply with a direction from a French security agency to remove offensive or kinetic weapons from the stands.

Three smaller Israeli stands, which didn't have hardware on display, and an Israeli Ministry of Defence stand, remain open.

Dutch prosecutors have allegedly dismissed multiple criminal complaints involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters after surveillance footage from Amsterdam’s metro system—potentially key evidence—was discovered to have been deleted due to equipment replacement and short retention policies, according to NOS.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirmed it has dropped two separate investigations into violent incidents involving Maccabi supporters that took place around a match against Ajax in November last year. The incidents occurred in the metro system, where confrontations broke out between groups of supporters and counter-protesters. Footage that could have supported the allegations was reportedly not preserved, the OM said Sunday.

Transport company GVB acknowledged that the video recordings were lost because recording devices were replaced on November 12—five days after the unrest in the city. "Unfortunately, this necessary replacement, combined with a limited retention period, resulted in the footage no longer being available," a GVB spokesperson said. The company added that although the standard retention period is one week, recordings are sometimes saved for less time.