US News

• President Joe Biden said he is considering a temporary gas tax holiday. The tax reduction would cut gas prices by 18.4 cents per gallon. [Link]
• Biden said rebate cards are also being considered. [Link]
• Miami police were offering $50 for handguns, $100 for shotguns and $150 for “high-powered” rifles such as AK-47s or AR-15s in a gun buyback drive. The city says it will transfer the weapons to Ukraine to aid the war effort. [Link]
• Space X is working with the Department of Defense on a rocket-launched troop movement system that can deploy forces anywhere in the work within hours. [Link]

Assange

• Australia’s new prime minister has rejected calls for him to publicly demand Washington drop its extradition request of WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange. [Link]

Ukraine

• Russia warned NATO member Lithuania on Monday that unless the transit of goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea was swiftly restored then Moscow would take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests. [Link]
• The governor of Moscow-controlled Crimea has said three people were injured and seven are missing after Ukraine fired on three oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea off the Russian-annexed peninsula. [Link]
• Russia wouldn’t guarantee that two US military veterans captured in Ukraine won’t face the death penalty. [Link]
• Biden says he is unlikely to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe. Biden is scheduled to travel to Germany on Saturday for a Group of Seven leaders’ summit and will from there head to Spain where is he attending a NATO meeting. [Link]
• The EU’s European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants the bloc to drop the requirement of having to gain the approval of all 27 of its members on foreign policy decisions. [Link]
• NATO hosts Turkey, Finland and Sweden for talks. Ankara is currently holding up Oslo and Stockholm’s NATO bids. Turkey claims the Nordic states support terror groups. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the meeting was “constructive.” [Link]

China

• The US began enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which requires companies that import goods from China’s Xinjiang region to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that no component was produced with slave labor. [Link]

Afghanistan 

• The US may let Tajikistan keep Afghan military aircraft donated by the US. The aircraft were flown to the Central Asian country by fleeing Afghan soldiers following the US withdrawal from Kabul. [Link]
• The Taliban released five British nationals from custody. [Link]

Middle East

• The leaders of Israel’s governing coalition have said they will submit a bill to dissolve parliament. They also said that if the bill is approved, Lapid will take over as prime minister of a caretaker government. Israel will hold elections in the fall. It will be the fifth election since 2018. [Link]
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “It is clear to everyone that this government, the biggest failure in the history of Israel, is at the end of its road.” He vowed to establish “a broad, strong, and stable national government…that would bring back national pride.” [Link]
• Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday that Israel has been working with regional countries on a US-backed anti-Iran military alliance that focuses on integrated air defense systems, dubbed the Middle East Air Defense Alliance. [Link]
• The Iran nuclear talks remain as stalled as ever, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry addressing the matter Monday, saying that they are ready for a deal, and that it is the US who keeps choosing to delay and prolong the process. [Link]
• ISIS has carried out another attack in northern Syria on Monday, attacking a bus carrying pro-government fighters on the road between Homs and Raqqa. It was the deadliest attack since March, with at least 15 killed and a number of others badly wounded. [Link]

Mali

• 132 civilians have been killed in attacks by suspected armed rebels in central Mali, the government said. [Link]