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Russia has shut some of its last remaining railway border crossings with the EU, suspending all rail traffic with Finland, Estonia and Latvia without explanation.

This comes as US and European diplomats remained deadlocked over Bosnia's top international post, and as researchers said the Kremlin ran an 18-month drone surveillance campaign against European nuclear sites.

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1️⃣ 🇧🇦 US and Europe deadlocked over top Bosnia post: A meeting in Sarajevo to select a new high representative ended without compromise, with the only agreement being that incumbent Christian Schmidt leave immediately, as the US demanded, and his American deputy take over pending a decision due by July 14. Washington has campaigned for Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi, a push European officials suspect is tied to a $1bn pipeline contract awarded to a US company with connections to Trump.

2️⃣ 🇻🇦 Vatican excommunicates rebel Catholic group: The Vatican declared that priests and lay Catholics who formally adhere to the Society of St. Pius X are in schism and excommunicated after the group ordained four bishops in Switzerland without Pope Leo's approval. The decree went further than expected, warning that the ultra-traditionalist group now celebrates the sacraments illicitly, though members can return by signing a profession of faith and adherence to Church teaching.

3️⃣ 🇷🇺🇪🇺 Russia surveilled European nuclear sites with drones: An IISS analysis of 144 incidents since late 2024 concluded the Kremlin highly likely ran a coordinated 18-month drone surveillance campaign against nuclear sites in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, launched from shadow fleet vessels. None of the drones were captured or shot down, which researchers called a strategic failure of NATO air defences designed for conventional threats.

4️⃣ 🇩🇪🇺🇦 Germany accuses Ukrainian officer of Nord Stream war crime: Prosecutors charged former Ukrainian army officer Serhii K at a Hamburg court over the 2022 Nord Stream blasts, accusing him of taking part in a war crime and acting on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities. He allegedly led a team of divers that planted military-grade explosives near Bornholm, a charge he denies, while Kyiv said it lacked enough information to respond in detail.

5️⃣ 🇷🇺 Putin admits strikes are driving fuel shortages: Putin acknowledged for the first time that Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure are affecting domestic fuel supplies, calling the shortage "not critical" as rationing was in place in at least 56 regions including Moscow. Analysts say drone strikes have cut Russia's refining capacity by roughly a quarter, creating an estimated 15% supply shortfall, while Moscow plans to boost fuel imports and repair damaged refineries.

In 1990, after years of practicing medicine and reviewing Van Gogh’s case history via his hundreds of letters, Arenberg published a paper in JAMA diagnosing Van Gogh as suffering not from epilepsy, as the artist’s physician claimed a century earlier, but from Ménière’s disease, an inner-ear affliction that can cause vertigo, of which Van Gogh complained, and tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ears. Ménière’s, to Arenberg, could better explain Van Gogh’s decision to slice off his ear. After retiring, in 2017, Arenberg recommitted himself to studying Van Gogh and became convinced that art historians had made an even more alarming mistake: Van Gogh had not committed suicide. He’d been murdered.

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🇷🇺 Russia shuts EU railway crossings

Russia suspended all rail traffic with Finland, Estonia and Latvia from July 1, closing some of its last remaining railway border crossings with the European Union without explanation or any indication of when the restrictions might end.

The affected checkpoints include St. Petersburg's Finland Station, Vyborg and Svetogorsk, along with Pechory on the Estonian frontier and Pytalovo near Latvia, both of which had remained operational until now.

Many of the Finnish crossings had already seen little passenger traffic since direct rail links were suspended in 2022, and Finland closed its entire eastern border in December 2023 over what it described as Russian-orchestrated "instrumentalized migration."

The closures come as Russia builds out military infrastructure along its frontier with NATO, with a joint Swedish-Norwegian investigation finding plans to eventually station up to 115,000 troops near its borders with Finland, Norway and the Baltic states.

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1️⃣ 🇨🇳 China's ethnic unity law extends overseas reach: Beijing's Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress took effect, with Article 63 allowing legal action against organisations and individuals abroad deemed to undermine ethnic unity or create division. Amnesty International warned the provision could justify transnational repression, while Taiwan's president urged citizens to be cautious when travelling or living in China.

2️⃣ 🇹🇷 Turkey locks down Ankara ahead of NATO summit: Turkey is deploying tens of thousands of police, placing air defences on high alert and banning public gatherings ahead of the July 7-8 summit of all 32 NATO members, with more than 200 people detained in security sweeps. A court also blocked websites critical of NATO and several opposition-leaning journalists were denied accreditation, drawing criticism from media rights groups.

3️⃣ 🇮🇳🇯🇵 India and Japan deepen defense and economic ties: Modi and Takaichi announced agreements on defense, economic and maritime security at their New Delhi summit, including collaboration on naval radio antenna systems and a joint road map on economic security. The two also pledged closer cooperation on AI, semiconductors, shipbuilding and critical technologies, with China responding that the region needs "stability, not turmoil."

4️⃣ 🇦🇺🇻🇺 Australia and Vanuatu sign pact blocking foreign bases: The Nakamal Agreement signed in Canberra bars the establishment of foreign military bases or infrastructure on the Pacific island in exchange for increased Australian economic support, with Vanuatu consulting Australia on third-party investment in critical infrastructure. China expressed concern the deal may be targeted at it, saying Pacific cooperation should not be a tool for geopolitical rivalry.

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