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Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
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Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country's foreign minister said. 

The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring “The war in Gaza must stop.” 

The ban targets hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. 

The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements there. 

Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last month. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar delivered a formal reprimand to the ambassador of the Netherlands in response to the criticism. 

Saar said in a post on X that the Dutch government “chose to convert a long-standing friendship with Israel into open hostility towards it, precisely during its difficult time, probably out of political interests”. 

Later on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be suspended. 

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to “the lies of radical Islam” and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the future. 

Ben-Gvir said he will “continue to act” and said that in Europe “a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.” 

Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in Gaza. 

The government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” Veldkamp wrote. 

After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last. 

Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn’t reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its fighters of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. 

Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory. 

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World

North Korea's Kim Vows to Accelerate Military Buildup

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) speaking during the Second Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held from 20-22 June 2026 in Pyongyang, North Korea (issued 23 June 2026). EPA/KCNA
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) speaking during the Second Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held from 20-22 June 2026 in Pyongyang, North Korea (issued 23 June 2026). EPA/KCNA
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North Korea's Kim Vows to Accelerate Military Buildup

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) speaking during the Second Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held from 20-22 June 2026 in Pyongyang, North Korea (issued 23 June 2026). EPA/KCNA
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) speaking during the Second Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held from 20-22 June 2026 in Pyongyang, North Korea (issued 23 June 2026). EPA/KCNA

Kim Jong Un vowed to beef up North Korea's defense capabilities, citing military modernization efforts by South Korea and the United States pushing the region "to the brink of a nuclear war", state media reported Tuesday.

Pyongyang is under multiple sets of sanctions over its nuclear program, and the two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, AFP said.

"Comrade Kim Jong Un in his concluding speech reaffirmed the steadfast policy stand of our Party and state to beef up the national defense capabilities faster," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the leader as saying.

The speech was delivered as Kim presided over a three-day meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea that wrapped up on Monday, during which senior officials reviewed policy initiatives, KCNA said.

It quoted Kim as saying "the US and the ROK are pushing forward with the ROK's possession of a nuclear submarine while getting evermore undisguised in their moves towards the reinforcement and modernization of armed forces in the region", referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name.

According to KCNA, Kim said such moves were "pushing the situation in the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war".

In the face of such developments, it was the "steadfast stand" of the North to "further expand and strengthen the powerful and absolutely reliable deterrent for self-defense", Kim said.

- 'Line of no retreat' -

KCNA said the meeting "unanimously recognized that to steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces... is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation".

It added the North's development of a war deterrent "with nuclear technology as a basis" would proceed "at increasing speed".

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state since a 2019 summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi collapsed over the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief.

Kim's powerful sister, Yo Jong, said this month the North's nuclear policy was a "line of no retreat", reiterating the regime's position that it has no intention of giving up its nuclear arsenal.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said last week that US counterpart Donald Trump had told him it was time to "pay attention to the North Korea issue".

He told reporters he had told Trump at a meeting of the G7 in France that sanctions on the North were "ineffective."

"I also said that we can no longer deal with the North Korean nuclear issue in the same way we deal with other countries, and President Trump agreed," Lee added.

World

US Authorizes Iranian Oil Sales Amid Talks on Final Peace Deal

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Authorizes Iranian Oil Sales Amid Talks on Final Peace Deal

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)

The United States authorized Iranian oil sales on Monday, easing decades-old sanctions as it pushes toward a final peace deal with Tehran in return for commitments on nuclear inspections and free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The general license, announced by the Treasury Department, allows the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.

The license says Iranian oil can be imported into the US when necessary to complete ‌its sale, delivery ‌or offloading. The US has not meaningfully imported Iranian ‌oil ⁠since Washington imposed measures ⁠after the 1979 revolution.

"In line with the ongoing productive talks in Switzerland, Iran has committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz and to permit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into their country," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X.

"As part of the framework, Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil."

Under a memorandum of ⁠understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran, the US ‌agreed to issue waivers for the export ‌of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances ‌and transportation.

Payment of funds to Iran may be made in US dollar-denominated ‌funds, according to the license.

Cuba, North Korea and Crimea are among those excluded from the license.

Washington first sanctioned Iran in 1979 when revolutionary students seized the US embassy in Tehran, holding diplomats hostage. Numerous additional sanctions have been imposed since then over the ‌nuclear program and Iran's support for groups the US deems terrorist organizations.

Independent Chinese refiners have been the main buyers ⁠of sanctioned Iranian ⁠oil, taking advantage of deep discounts as others avoided such purchases. India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Türkiye were also major buyers of Iranian crude before US sanctions were reimposed in 2018.

Mediators said on Monday that Washington and Tehran made "encouraging progress" at the first round of talks aimed at reaching a final peace deal. The talks began under the terms of the memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.

Oil prices had risen sharply when Tehran started blockading the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a US blockade of Iranian ports, but after the interim deal, fell to their lowest since before the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

World

Taiwan Begins 5-Day Military Drill with Tanks Patrolling Streets

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
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Taiwan Begins 5-Day Military Drill with Tanks Patrolling Streets

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)

Taiwan kicked off a five-day set of military drills on Monday aimed at boosting the island's combat readiness in case of a Chinese military attack.

In the city of Taoyuan, home to the island's largest international airport, tanks drove down city streets and highways, videos and photos of the exercise showed, as armored vehicles from the Army’s 269th Infantry Brigade conducted combat readiness patrols morning.

The Immediate Combat Readiness Exercises are meant to test how rapidly military units can deploy, especially in the face of a possible sudden escalation of Chinese grey-zone warfare. Grey-zone tactics refer to a range of aggressive tactics that vary from navy ship patrols to drone flights, but fall short of direct combat.

The exercises, announced Sunday afternoon, are meant to be realistic, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement, with an emphasis on “real-time, live-fire and on-site."

These exercises are designed to simulate what would happen before enemy forces launched their ships, according to Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency. The series of exercises could also include impromptu ones in the future, including real-time responses to Chinese military drills.

China's People's Liberation Army sent 23 aircraft towards Taiwan from Sunday into Monday morning, according to Taiwan's defense ministry. That was accompanied by seven navy ships and five other Chinese government ships. China sends war planes, drones and navy ships towards the island on a daily basis.

Taiwan regularly conducts combat readiness drills as it seeks to bolster its defense capabilities amid ongoing military pressure from China, which claims the self-governed island as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. Earlier in June, Taiwan fired rockets in China's direction for the first time as part of a military exercise.