Background: The once-close relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has fractured over the Iran war, with Italy refusing U.S. military access and Meloni criticizing U.S. actions. Today: A new public feud erupted after the G7 summit in France, when Trump claimed on social media that Meloni begged for a photo with him to boost her domestic ratings. Meloni denied the claim on Instagram, calling Trump's attacks 'senseless' and stating that being his friend has not helped her popularity. She also defended Italy's refusal to allow U.S. military aircraft to use Italian bases during the Iran conflict, asserting Italian sovereignty. Italian media sided with Meloni, with one newspaper insulting Trump on its front page. The exchange reflects deepening strain in U.S.-Italy relations.

Background: Hours after the US and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war, Israeli drone strikes killed three people in southern Lebanon's Kfar Tebnit and Zebdine areas, and Hezbollah claimed to have repelled an Israeli offensive. In Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, residents cautiously return after the Iran-US deal announcement, but fighting between Israel and Hezbollah persists. The city, heavily damaged by Israeli drone strikes, remains without water, electricity, or network. The situation tests the fragile agreement.

Former US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried warns that a unilateral withdrawal of US forces from Europe would be dangerously short-sighted given Russia's hybrid campaign of sabotage, assassinations, and drone incursions. He argues Washington should 'land the win' on European defense spending increases rather than threaten withdrawal, and that Ukraine can be a net contributor to European security. Fried cautions that any perceived weakening of US commitment to NATO's Article 5 could invite dangerous miscalculations by Moscow, particularly along NATO's eastern flank.

Background: Former President Obama cited the 2015 JCPOA as a successful diplomatic model. Today, former President Donald Trump publicly defended a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran while attacking the Obama administration's handling of the nuclear deal, amid ongoing criticism of the agreement.

AI firm Micro AGI, through its Shift initiative, is offering free cleaning and cooking services in New York City apartments. In exchange, the company records every inch of the home using cameras worn by staff to gather dexterity data for training future autonomous robots. Privacy experts from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center warn of significant risks, including data misuse, surveillance, and potential job displacement for cleaners. The company plans to sell anonymized datasets to robotics firms. Shift founder Bercan Kilic defends the program as transparent and transactional, noting similar data-gathering operations for mechanics in Turkey.