☕ Epstein files in the spotlight

Good morning!

Superman has delivered super profits at the box office, grossing $122 million over its opening weekend. It’s the third movie to pass the $100m mark over an opening weekend, following ‘A Minecraft Movie’ and ‘Lilo & Stitch’. Turns out cinemas are still cape-able of pulling in audiences!

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Some headlines from this morning:

• King Charles will host President Trump for a three-day state visit at Windsor Castle in late September, the White House confirmed Sunday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally delivered the invitation during his Washington visit in January, marking Trump's first state visit since the countries agreed to maintain 10% tariffs on most UK exports. The visit will include a state banquet at Buckingham Palace but will not include a parliamentary address, unlike his controversial 2019 visit that sparked large London protests. Royal officials said the invitation demonstrates continued diplomatic ties despite recent trade tensions.

• President Trump has announced the U.S. will send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, reversing his earlier pause on weapons shipments after deteriorating relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Putin "talks nice but bombs everybody in the evening" and demanded European nations fund the air defense systems entirely. The President will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this week to arrange payment for the missiles, which can intercept Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. The decision coincides with a bipartisan Senate bill proposing stricter sanctions on Moscow.

• A French woman who testified at her husband’s trial for drugging and raping her, and allowing others to rape her, has been given the country’s highest civilian honour. Gisele Pelicot’s former husband Dominique was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum penalty, for repeatedly drugging her over a period of years. Dominique then invited men he had met online to rape Gisele, and also raped her himself. All 50 men accused of raping her were found guilty at trial in December. Gisele Pelicot has now been named a knight of France’s Legion of Honour. Speaking in December, French President Emmanuel Macron said Gisele Pelicot’s "dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world".

• England’s Chelsea have been crowned as the best football club in the world after beating France’s Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. Cole Palmer starred for Chelsea, scoring two goals and assisting João Pedro on the third. Chelsea coach Enzo Marseca said: “I have no words for the players. For me, we won the game in the first ten minutes. We set the tempo, we knew the way we wanted to play. Today we found a position for Cole where there was more space to attack. The effort from all the players has been fantastic.”

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Israel has blamed a strike that killed 10 people, including six children, on a “technical error”.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it was targeting a militant in the camp.

It follows an update from the United Nations (UN) that 800 Palestinians have been killed while trying to collect aid at distribution centers over the past seven weeks.

Meanwhile, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled, as new polling shows three-quarters of Israelis want a deal to release the remaining hostages.

Nuseirat camp

The IDF struck the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, targeting what it described as an “Islamic Jihad terrorist”. The strikes hit a water distribution site, killing at least 10 people, including six children, and injuring others, according to doctors at a nearby hospital.

According to the UN, the 0.68 square km camp was home to 88,000 Palestinians before October 2023.

In a statement, the IDF said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians” and was conducting a review of the incident.

Aid centers

UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said 800 Palestinians have been killed accessing aid since late May.

The deaths occurred at or near sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a non-government organisation with U.S. and Israeli support that is the primary aid distributor in Gaza.

Shamdasani said 615 people had been killed “in the vicinity of GHF sites,” while 183 were killed “on the routes of aid convoys,” the majority with gunshot wounds. “It presents a choice between being shot or being fed,” Shamdasani said.

IDF accounts

Last month, IDF soldiers told Israeli outlet Haaretz that they had been ordered to shoot civilians at aid sites.

The Israeli Government denied this claim, although the IDF said “lessons” had been learned.

Over the weekend, the IDF released a video to address what it called “misconceptions” over aid in Gaza, in which a spokesperson said troops were “nowhere close” to the aid sites.

IDF accounts

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Qatar have not progressed. Hamas wants a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire, and Israel has pressed for Gaza’s disarmament. Neither has agreed to the other’s conditions.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a four-day U.S. trip without reaching a ceasefire breakthrough with President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Netanyahu said Israel would agree to a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for releasing half of the remaining 50 hostages. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. 

Opinion polls

A new poll by Israeli outlet Channel 12 showed 74% of Israelis support a complete end to the war in Gaza in exchange for all remaining hostages to be released.

This included 60% of people who voted for Netanyahu’s party and its coalition partners at the last election.

Two far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to collapse the government if Israel agrees to any deal that would see Hamas remain in power in Gaza. 

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The Trump administration is facing growing criticism from its own supporters after the Justice Department concluded there is no Epstein client list and that the disgraced financier killed himself in jail. The reversal contradicts campaign promises to release files about Jeffrey Epstein's alleged high-profile clients and has sparked calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi's resignation. Here's what you need to know.

What happened?

A Justice Department memo released last week stated that no client list exists for Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls. The memo also confirmed Epstein died by suicide.

The findings directly contradict statements from Trump officials, including Bondi, who told reporters in March that the Epstein client list was "sitting on [her] desk."

Campaign promise

Trump campaigned on releasing what he called the "Epstein files" — documents that supporters believed would expose powerful people who used Epstein's services.

Epstein's connections to high-profile figures including Trump, former President Clinton, and Britain's Prince Andrew fueled conspiracy theories after his death. A 2019 poll found 34% of Americans believed Epstein was murdered to prevent him from testifying.

Backlash

Key Trump allies have expressed outrage over the reversal. At a conservative conference in Florida over the weekend, podcaster Brandon Tatum said: "I don't think they're telling us the truth about Epstein."

Influential Trump supporter Laura Loomer warned the administration would face political consequences, saying: "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Multiple reports indicate tensions between Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Paul Bongioro, who is reportedly considering resignation if Bondi isn't fired.

Trump’s response

Trump defended Bondi on Truth Social Sunday, saying she was doing a "Fantastic Job" amid the criticism.

When asked about Epstein last week, Trump urged Americans to move on. "Are you still talking about [Epstein], this guy, this creep?" he said.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who previously called for releasing Epstein files, now supports the official findings. "Conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been," Patel said.

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