Trump says Canada will pay $61bn for Golden Dome, or become 51st state

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claims that if Canada remains a distinct, but unequal, nation, it will have to pay $61 billion as part of his proposed Gold Dome missile defense system.

Trump claimed in a TruthSocial post that he “very much wants to be a part of our fabulous Golden Dome System” and that he would be able to access it for free if it joined the US.

Trump said, “They are considering the offer, and participating in the proposed defence system would cost Canada “ZERO DOLLARS” if they were to become our beloved 51st State.”

Trump’s appointment comes just hours after Canada’s parliament hosted King Charles III, the monarch’s lone royal prince, for a rare royal speech highlighting Canada’s sovereignty in “dangerous and uncertain” times and amid the president’s call for the nation to join the US.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on CBC that he hopes Canada will join ReArm Europe by July 1 in an effort to reduce its dependence on the US for weapons following the king’s speech.

Trump’s most recent comment was not immediately addressed by Canada, but Carney has already confirmed that his nation and the US have engaged in “high-level” discussions regarding the defense system.

Financing and a uncertain timeline

Trump has stated that the Golden Dome system will cost about $175 billion and be finished by the end of his current term in 2029, despite the objections of experts from the defense sector regarding the timeline and budget.

Trump hopes to pass the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which will be up for a vote in the Senate when it passes the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives last week, to secure an initial $25 billion in funding for the system.

The bill lowers funding for social programs like Medicaid and food assistance, which helped tens of millions of low-income Americans, while increasing spending on the military and border enforcement.

White House Press Secretary Karolina Leavitt observes a “Golden Dome for America” missile defense system from behind advertisements [Getty Images via AFP]

The Golden Dome is modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome, which also receives significant US funding, including $500,000 annually for its upkeep.

Given that Israel, one of the smaller states in the US, is only about the size of New Jersey, it is unclear how Trump plans to expand the Iron Dome to include the entire country.

The Iron Dome’s range of 1, 000 kilometers (roughly 620 miles) would likely be a result of long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles, which is also intended to target short-range missiles.

Israel's defence system

The “space arms race” will be led by Golden Dome.

Trump’s space program, which the US president first detailed in detail last week, has received criticism from China, North Korea, and Russia.

The plan “highly increases the risk of space becoming a battlefield, fuels an arms race, and undermines international security,” according to spokeswoman Mao Ning of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Mao Ning, “the United States places its own interests first and is obsessed with achieving its own unwavering security.” This is against the tenet that “no country’s security should come at the expense of others.”

The US is “hell-bent on the moves to militarise space,” according to the North Korean ministry of foreign affairs.

The creation of a global missile defense system is a violation of “strategic stability,” according to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Zakharova claimed that developing the Golden Dome would also lead to the development of “the means of pre-launch missile destruction and infrastructure that ensures their use,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.

No death penalty for son of Mexican drug boss ‘El Chapo’: US prosecutors

Federal prosecutors in the United States said they won’t seek the death penalty for the son of Mexican drug lord “El Chapo”&nbsp if he is found guilty of multiple drug trafficking counts when he goes on trial.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago issued a one-sentence notice on May 23 to say they would not seek the death penalty for Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the feared Sinaloa Cartel leader who is currently serving a life sentence in a US prison.

The notice did not provide any additional information or justification for the federal prosecutor’s decision.

After assuming control of their father’s drug cartel when “El Chapo” was extradited to the US in 2017, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, and three of his brothers, known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, were indicted in 2023 on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.

The attorney for Joaquin Guzman Lopez stated in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was pleased with the federal prosecutor’s decision because it was “the correct one.”

According to Lichtman, “Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him.”

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son, is scheduled to appear in court in Chicago, Illinois, in July 2024, according to Jeffrey Lichtman, the attorney for his client.

One of the five drug trafficking, conspiracy, and money laundering charges against Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who allegedly carried out the alleged operation on US soil, resulted in the maximum death sentence.

On a New Mexico airport, he was detained alongside alleged Sinaloa Cartel cofounder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in a dramatic arrest in July of 2024.

Zambada also entered a not-guilty plea. However, his attorney informed the Reuters news agency that if the prosecution decided to spare him the death penalty, he would agree to plead guilty.

Ovidio Guzman, another of the brothers, is scheduled to enter a plea deal with drug trafficking charges against him on July 9 in a court hearing in Chicago, according to court records.

War of words: Russia’s Medvedev rebukes Trump over Putin social media post

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, criticised by a senior Russian security official for refusing to participate in Ukraine ceasefire talks with Kyiv, raising the possibility of a new world war.

In a response to Trump, who had earlier posted a message to Putin on social media saying “really bad things would have already happened in Russia” without his intervention, Dmitry Medvedev said World War III was the only “REALLY BAD thing.”

Vladimir Putin is unaware that, if it weren’t for me, there would have been a lot of terrible things going on in Russia, and I mean REALLY bad things. Trump stated in a post on his platform Truth Social that he is “playing with fire.”

Regarding Trump’s comments about Putin “playing with fire” and “really bad things happening to Russia,” Medvedev responded on the platform X. WWIII is the only thing I am aware of that is genuinely bad.

Trump should be aware of this, I hope so!

Medvedev, who is a key ally of Putin and deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, is known for his sabre-rattling remarks. He was a key Russian ally between 2008 and 2012.

He has repeatedly warned that Moscow might use its nuclear arsenal throughout Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.

In a state-of-the-world address in March 2024, Putin also warned of the possibility of nuclear conflict and that Russia’s nuclear arsenal would be affected if it were to decide to send troops to Ukraine.

With the use of nuclear weapons and thus the destruction of civilization, Putin said at the time, “everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict.”

In addition to the US president’s repeated repeated threats to launch aerial attacks on Ukraine in response to Medvedev’s public rebuke of Trump, which comes after the US president claimed in a post on Sunday that Putin had “gone absolutely crazy” despite Washington’s unsuccessful attempts to broker a peace deal.

Vladimir Putin and I’ve always had a good relationship, but something happened to him, Trump wrote on Sunday.

Trump also stated to reporters that, given the ceasefire talks’ impasse, he was considering imposing new sanctions on Russia.

As a result of the word war on social media, Russian ally Russia’s conflict with its neighbor is at an all-time low. On Tuesday, Russian forces seized four villages in the northeastern Sumy region of Ukraine, causing yet another setback on the battlefield.

Although residents had been evicted for a while, Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov claimed that Russia had occupied the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka.

As the more than three-year conflict rages on, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it had also taken the nearby village of Bilovody, implying a further advance into Ukrainian territory.

Officials in Ukraine have been reporting for weeks that Russian troops are attempting to invade the Sumy region, whose main city is located less than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Russia’s border.

According to a spokesman for Ukraine’s border guard service, Russian forces have been widening the area where they have been carrying out assaults on the front line while attacking in small groups on motorcycles and using aerial drones.

UN, aid groups slam US-Israel-backed initiative after deadly rush in Gaza

After the Israeli military opened fire on crowds of people who rushed to an aid distribution point supported by Israel and the United States, at least three Palestinians were killed in Gaza.

Authorities in Gaza claim that 46 people were hurt and seven were missing as a result of the deadly incident in Rafah, which occurred on Tuesday.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the organization that spearheaded the initiative, refuted the report, while the Israeli military claimed that troops had opened fire on the area outside the distribution center and that control had been restored.

Israel and the US have defended the incident, which has drawn criticism from the UN and aid organizations.

A summary of the response follows:

Nations Unified

The images and videos from the aid stations set up by GHF, according to Antonio Guterres, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, are “heartbreaking, to say the least.”

According to Stephane Dujarric, “We and our partners have a detailed, principled, and operationally sound plan supported by member states to provide aid to a desperate population.”

We saw the plan that they published and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] presented to us, and it is not done with the parameters that we believe are in line with our principles, which we apply across the board, from Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar, to anywhere you want to talk about.

Palestine

The Israeli military’s actions in Rafah were condemned by the Gaza government media office.

The occupation forces, who were stationed in or around those areas, opened live fire on frightened civilians who were lured there on the slurriest of grounds in exchange for offering them aid, the statement read.

“What happened today in Rafah is a deliberate massacre and a full-fledged war crime committed against civilians who had been starved for more than 90 days because of the siege.”

The office continued, “This incident is undeniable proof that the Israeli occupation has completely failed to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe it has purposefully caused.”

Israel

Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, acknowledged the GHF site’s chaos but claimed it was minor.

He said, “We came up with a strategy to have American friends and control over the distribution of food to Palestinian families.” “Somehow there was a momentary loss of control.” We finally regained control of it, thanks.

He added that the Gaza Strip had no documented malnutrition, and that “you don’t see one, not one emaciated person] from the start of the war to the present.”

United States

The US State Department also downplayed the GHF site’s rush and defended criticism of the aid program as “complaints about style.”

Has opposed this [aid] dynamic,” Masso. They tried to stop the Gaza distribution centers’ supply of aid, but they were unsuccessful, according to Tammy Bruce, the State Department’s spokesperson.

It’s not surprising that there might be some issues with those kinds of things. The good news is that Hamas-based aid to the people of Gaza has been successful.

She continued, “The real story is that a lot of aid and food is getting into Gaza.” We’re dealing with 8, 000 boxes, which is a challenging environment with a positive impact.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

“The requirements are enormous,” he said. The GHF team retreated at one point in the late afternoon to allow a small number of Gazans to safely take aid and dissipate, according to a statement from the organization.

According to the group, operations have now resumed, with the distribution of approximately 8, 000 food boxes, which it claims will provide 5.5 million people for three and a half days, and adding up to approximately 462, 000 meals.

Refugees International

The US-Israel aid initiative is run by military, according to Hardin Lang, the organization’s vice president for policy and programs.

He told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC, “This is not the way you try to feed a population, much less a population that is on the verge of famine.”

A “very large and complex logistical operation” is what is needed to prevent famine, or stop it if it is already occurring. Additionally, it includes food. You must have access to acute malnourishment centers and medical facilities, which are not included in this plan.

He continued, “This is not designed to serve the needs of people.” Instead of attempting to meet the needs of a very depressed population, it seems to have been intended to relocate people to the south of Gaza.

Norwegian Refugee Council

The NRC’s spokesperson, Ahmed Bayram, urged Israel and the US to abandon their initiative and allow humanitarian organizations to continue.

He claimed that what we are seeing is in fact a summary of the tragedy in which Gaza’s residents are living.

SpaceX’s Starship test flight loses control 30 minutes after launch

BREAKING,

According to the Reuters news agency, SpaceX, the multibillionaire company that runs commercial space flight, SpaceX, lost control of its ninth test flight 30 minutes after the uncrewed rocket vehicle was launched into space from Texas.

After an onboard leak caused uncontrollable spinning in space, the Starship then re-enttered the atmosphere on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The test flight lost control after going beyond previous failures, according to Reuters.

SpaceX claimed that the Starship went into “rapid unscheduled disassembly” in a social media post.

According to the company, “Success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX tries to make life multiplanetary.”

Musk has spent billions of dollars on the creation of Starship. The billionaire, who was born in South Africa, claims that the initiative is a part of his business space flight company’s Mars colonization strategy.

A SpaceX Starship detonated shortly after takeoff on March 6 for the most recent test launch.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,189

On Wednesday, May 28, 2018, this is the current situation:

Fighting

    As the two nations continue to trade drone attacks, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported in a post on Telegram that the Russian air defenses destroyed or intercepted 112 Ukrainian drones over a three-hour period, the majority of which were over central or southern regions of the nation.

  • Six Ukrainian drones were repelled as they approached the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He claimed that recovery teams were examining the ground’s fragments.
  • 10 people were hurt when Russia deployed 60 drones nightly across various areas of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Air Force officials.
  • After three Russian airstrikes hit the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk late on Monday night, over 850 residents were left without power in the area.
  • More than 20 warships, boats, support vessels, 25 aircraft, and helicopters, according to a post from Russia’s military on Telegram, along with 3, 000 service members, have begun naval drills in the Baltic Sea.

Politics

  • Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claimed that he had “protected Russia from really bad things.” He stated in a post on TruthSocial: “Which Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that, if it weren’t for me, there would have been a lot of really bad things happening to Russia already, and I mean REALLY bad things.”
  • Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on X: “I only know of one REALLY bad thing: WWIII. I hope Trump comprehends this.”
  • Trump made his remarks after the Kremlin reported that the US president may be experiencing “emotional overload” as a result of Trump’s earlier assertions that Putin was “absolutely crazy” about the scale of Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.
  • After Trump “given some guidelines to Putin a week ago,” the US special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told Al Jazeera, the US is awaiting a response from Russia.
  • After Merz claimed that France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the US had lifted the range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of “pretentiousness.”

Energy

  • According to The New York Times, satellite images show that Russia is installing new electricity lines in the southeast of Ukraine, connecting the grid to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which the New York Times reported.
  • The Trans-Balkan pipeline from Greece to Ukraine will be supplied through a gas import mechanism, according to a post from Ukraine’s energy regulator on Facebook.
  • German Galushchenko, the energy minister of Ukraine, expressed hope that all participating nations would concur that the Trans-Balkan Route’s “common strategic goals” would be met as Ukraine continues to look for non-Russian gas supply routes.