The nominal US - Iran ceasefire declared in April continued to collapse this week, with both sides exchanging missile and drone strikes on June 6 as Pakistan's interior minister flew to Tehran in a last-ditch mediation effort. Simultaneously, Israel and Lebanon agreed a conditional ceasefire in Washington on June 3 - but Hezbollah, which was not party to the talks, rejected it the same day and strikes continued.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy, Macron and Merz at Downing Street on June 7, as Russia rejected direct peace talks and continued striking Ukrainian territory. The meeting comes as the US-set June peace deadline expires without a framework agreement, and Zelenskyy grows openly concerned that Washington's attention has shifted to Iran.

On June 1, Philippine President Marcos and Vietnamese President Tô Lâm upgraded bilateral ties to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, signing defense cooperation agreements and declaring peace and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea "non-negotiable." The alignment coinciding with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations comes days after China drove away a Dutch naval vessel near the Paracel Islands, and signals a consolidating claimant bloc anchored in UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

On May 31, French Navy commandos seized the sanctioned Russian-linked tanker Tagor in international waters 400 nautical miles west of Brittany, with UK support. The Russian captain was arrested on June 2 and faces criminal prosecution. Russia called the operation "illegal" and "bordering on piracy" a deliberate counter-legal framing aimed at non-Western states that rely heavily on freedom of navigation protections. It is France's third shadow fleet interdiction in months, and the first to move from seizure to criminal prosecution.

In May, WHO declared the DRC Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern involving the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine exists. As of June 5, confirmed cases stand at 381 with 64 deaths, now crossing into Uganda. The outbreak is unfolding in the same communities where US PEPFAR funding cuts have dismantled HIV treatment infrastructure since January 2025 the US is simultaneously the world's largest Ebola donor and the government responsible for the most significant withdrawal from African health security in a generation.