Monday, June 1, 2026
Israel's military has captured the medieval Beaufort castle in south Lebanon and Prime Minister Netanyahu has pledged to push further into the country, triggering a sharp international backlash. France has called an emergency UN Security Council meeting, with President Macron declaring that 'nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon.'
Far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, a vocal admirer of Donald Trump, won Colombia's first-round presidential vote and will face leftist senator Iván Cepeda in a runoff on June 21. Espriella's rise confounded pollsters, securing 43.7% of the vote — roughly 10.3 million ballots — against Cepeda's 40.9%.
Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to acquire homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $8.5 billion, marking the first major deal under new CEO Greg Abel. The purchase signals Berkshire's conviction that the battered US housing market will eventually recover, despite persistently high mortgage rates.
Former Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has warned the central bank is undergoing a 'stress test' as Donald Trump's efforts to remove sitting central bankers erode the institutional rule of law. The remarks underscore growing alarm among economists that political interference could compromise the Fed's ability to manage inflation independently.
The UK government's NHS modernisation bill, heading for its second reading Monday, would require GPs and hospitals in England to share patient records across providers for the first time. Ministers claim the reform could prevent 20,000 A&E visits annually and save £20 million a year, while the same bill would abolish NHS England as a separate body.
