All Eyes on the Middle East

MIDDLE EAST

Al-Aqsa tense on first day of Ramadan — Israeli police blocked hundreds of Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for the first Ramadan prayers on Sunday night, despite promises from Prime Minister Netanyahu that there would be no restrictions. (Haaretz, NYT)

EUROPE

Poland sets the pace — The Polish president Andrzej Duda proposed during a visit to the US that NATO members increase their defense spending to 3% of GDP, up from the current target of 2%. Poland itself plans to spend around 4% of its GDP on defense this year due to concerns about security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Duda and the Polish PM will meet with officials in Washington DC to discuss NATO's 25th anniversary and its response to Russia, which Duda said must be "clear and bold". (Reuters)

Far-right breakout in Portugal — The populist far-right party Chega had a breakthrough in this weekend's snap elections, becoming the third largest party with 18 percent of the vote. A center-right coalition led by Democratic Alliance leader Luis Montenegro won the most votes at 29.5 percent but fell short of a majority. The incumbent socialists won 28.7 percent. The mainstream parties have vowed not to let Chega into the governing coalition, but it seems unlikely that any legislation will pass without Chega's help. (CNN, Politico)

Orban: Trump is a "man of peace" — After meeting with Donald Trump on Friday, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said that if Trump is elected, he will stop all U.S. funding to Ukraine and the war will end. (Politico)

ASIA

India flexes its nuclear muscle — Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India had successfully tested its first domestically developed missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology, allowing it to fit several nuclear payloads on one warhead. (Reuters)

Modi signs a major trade deal with Europeans — India has signed a free trade agreement with four European countries - Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - after over 15 years of negotiations. The deal promises $100 billion in investment from these countries into India over the next 15 years, aiming to create 1 million new jobs. It will reduce tariffs and barriers for trade in goods and services between the countries. The agreement comes as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to highlight his economic record ahead of upcoming national elections. (FT, BBC)

AMERICAS

Countries start evacuating embassies in Haiti — The U.S., Germany, and EU have begun evacuating diplomatic staff from Haiti due to escalating gang violence in the capital Port-au-Prince. The evacuations were conducted by helicopter flights due to the airport being closed. (CNN)