NORTH KOREA - The US, Japan and South Korea are forging a military alliance in Asia that bears strong similarities to NATO, the North Korean Foreign Ministry has said, blasting the actions of the three countries as a threat to regional stability. In a statement on Sunday cited by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang “strongly denounced” what it called “reckless and provocative military muscle-flexing” by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul, referring specifically to the Freedom Edge military drills. The exercise, which took place between June 27 and 29, was designed to “promote trilateral interoperability and protect freedom for peace and stability,” and featured a number of warships, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, according to the US Navy. ”This means that the US-Japan-ROK [South Korea] relations have taken on the full-fledged appearance of an Asian version [of] NATO,” the ministry stressed.

UKRAINE - Ukraine will be told it is currently too corrupt to join Nato, in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky. The alliance will request “additional steps” from Kyiv before membership talks progress, a senior official in the US State Department said. The position will be set out in writing in the Nato communique to be signed at the alliance’s annual summit on July 9. “We have to step back and applaud everything that Ukraine has done in the name of reforms over the last two-plus years,” the official told The Telegraph. Nato diplomats and officials have given Ukraine a list of reforms it will be expected to carry out before its membership ambitions can be realised, a US defence official said.

WALES - The Labour-led Welsh government has committed to introduce “globally pioneering” legislation that would in effect make lying in politics there illegal. The government’s counsel general, Mick Antoniw, said the legislation would be introduced before the next Welsh elections in two years’ time. He said: “The Welsh government will bring forward legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of members and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception through an independent judicial process.” Members of the Senedd described it as a historic moment that would combat the “existential threat” that lying in politics poses to democracy. Price said truth was at the heart of democracy, but there had been a collapse in trust in politicians. He said: “That is an existential threat. A democracy starts to break down if the electors can’t trust what the elected say."

USA - Joe Biden is facing a growing revolt from within his own party as donors hand him a stark ultimatum following his widely criticised debate performance last week. Speaking to MailOnline, major Democratic donor and former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson said: "For Biden's own good and the good of the country, he should step aside immediately." Tilson, who has donated more than $300,000 to the party in recent years, added: "The fact that it has now been three days and Biden has done nothing to reassure us confirms my worst fears," he added. Biden sparked concern from supporters as he struggled on the debate stage against Donald Trump on Thursday, in their first Presidential debate.

TAIWAN - China's navy forcefully boarded a Taiwanese fishing vessel, as tensions between the two countries threatened to boil over, according to Chinese media. The incident happened on Tuesday in waters just off the Kinmen islands in the Taiwan Strait, which are just 10km from the Chinese mainland. Taipei has created an exclusion zone in the waters around the islands, banning Chinese vessels from entry. Beijing does not officially recognise the exclusion zone, although up until recently it has tacitly accepted its existence. The waters around Kinmen are teeming with yellow croakers and other fish that are eagerly sought after by fishermen.

USA - On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will ban brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a food additive. The ban will take effect on August 2, 2024. BVO is a vegetable oil modified with bromine, a toxic gas. In the late 1960s, the FDA authorized using BVO in small amounts (not exceeding 15 parts per million) in citrus-flavored sodas to keep the flavoring from floating to the top. Manufacturers also use it in other products. “The agency concluded that the intended use of BVO in food is no longer considered safe after the results of studies conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Health (NIH) found the potential for adverse health effects in humans,” the FDA wrote in its statement.

UK - NatWest has angered British farmers by urging its customers to buy less red meat and to replace dairy products with plant-based alternatives. A 'carbon footprint tracker' on the bank's mobile app uses transaction data to advise customers on how to reduce their carbon footprint based on their spending habits. The app recommends 'veggie Mondays' and 'choosing (mostly) plant-based' diets to customers as a way to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It also suggests buying 'more second-hand clothes' and taking 'fewer flights' — and has thousands of users who can 'opt in' to receive a monthly carbon score. But the National Farmer's Union (NFU) has criticised NatWest for promoting 'oversimplified' messages that 'miss the nuance of the path to a sustainable food system'.

UK - A Labour candidate has broken ranks by claiming arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia will stop if the party takes power. Fabian Hamilton, who was a shadow foreign minister under Sir Keir Starmer until last year, made the comments during a hustings at the Baab-Ul-Ilm mosque in Leeds this week. It came as Sir Keir refused to commit to publishing legal advice relating to British arms sales to Israel – something Labour previously called on the Conservative government to do. Mr Hamilton, who is seeking re-election in Leeds North East, was asked during a panel event on Thursday “should we be selling arms to Israel?” by a questioner who accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s country of genocide. He replied: “On the issue of arms sales, if we win the election next week we will stop arms sales to Israel immediately."

FRANCE - French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies this morning launched a fresh week of intense campaigning hours after their party was humiliated last night in the first round of parliamentary elections by the far-right National Rally (RN). Rioting engulfed the streets of Paris last night as thousands of enraged left-leaning voters set light to rubbish, smashed up shop windows and launched fireworks after Marine Le Pen's RN steamed to victory with 33% of the first round vote.

USA - There is growing pressure on President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee in the upcoming presidential election. President Joe Biden was set up in a 'soft coup' to oust him, a top Democratic insider claimed. The 81-year-old President's performance in Thursday's debate has led to widespread criticism and calls for his withdrawal from the presidential race. A former aide to Hillary Clinton told The Mail on Sunday: "There has never been a debate this early before. Traditionally, debates are held after the Republican and Democratic conventions, which are in July and August. Most years, the first debate is early September ahead of the November election."

GAZA - Hamas says it is ready to 'deal positively' with any proposal which secures a permanent ceasefire with Israel. Hamas has said there has been no progress in talks with Israel over the war in Gaza but will "deal positively" with a proposal which includes a permanent ceasefire. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group remains ready to discuss a truce to end the conflict. In remarks made in Beirut on Saturday (June 29) reported by Al Jazeera, he said: "Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a serious swap deal."

USA - Not long ago, people could only dream of the foods we have today. Tasty, cheap, and ready to eat. They last forever, look great, and come in endless varieties. Ultra-processed foods are a dream come true. These new foods have achieved their incredible feats thanks to innovations in processing and a long list of additives that grant them superpowers denied to the foods eaten by previous generations. Some of these additives do important work, like keep food bacteria-free or let it stay safe from spoiling without need for refrigeration. But others are “experiential” and do things like make the food bright red or give it a more satisfying texture.

USA - Two US makers of baby bottles engaged in a “campaign of reckless deceit” about the dangers of microplastics released by their products, according to two separate lawsuits that have recently been filed. The lawsuits against Philips North America and Handi-Craft Co allege that the companies marketed baby bottles as safe, despite knowing that when their products were heated they would release large quantities of harmful microplastics into the contents of the bottles. “This disregard for the safety and well-being of society’s most vulnerable members has placed the health and welfare of millions of children in jeopardy as well as duped consumers out of millions of dollars,” the lawsuits claim. The plaintiffs allege that the companies have “callously brought to life every parent’s worst nightmare: unknowingly harming their children through a product they believed was safe.”

USA - Cardinal Raymond Burke condemned President Joe Biden’s reception of Holy Communion as a “sacrilege.” Burke shared, “There has to be a deepening of faith, and that’s what’s lost for instance, that we have people like President Biden, who claims to be a devout Catholic, and yet is in favor of aborting babies even in the birth canal. Or is in favor of this whole transgender agenda, which is a complete rebellion against God’s plan for us.” He continued, “And then that he approaches to receive Holy Communion – this is not possible because he denies Christ in these very blatant public ways, and he stubbornly does this. And at the same time, approaches to receive Christ in the Holy Communion. This is a sacrilege and for his own sake and for the sake of the whole Church that can’t be permitted.”

USA - One of the major points of contention Saladino has with Americans' ultra-processed diets are the oils contained in much of our food or the oil we use to cook otherwise healthy food with. “Think about the oils you’re cooking with,” Saladino tells Rubin. “There are multiple different types of cooking oils, and I think seed oils are probably the worst.” These oils include corn, canola, sunflower, safflower, and soybean oil, which “we were sometimes told were healthy when we were children, and are often still told are healthy by the American Heart Association.” Those oils do not occur naturally; rather, they are ultra processed themselves.