Hi Global Recap readers,
I don't know how to say this... but I found myself nodding along to almost all of the unfiltered comments, regardless of which option people picked in yesterday's poll.
I swear I'm not trying to play both sides. I think, at the very least, it's because it felt like a lot of you could see where the other side was coming from.
That said, I don't think it's appropriate for me to repeat what some of you wrote... But I will say this: this was probably my favorite poll so far. Your comments were insightful, nuanced, and absolutely hilarious.
Thank you.
👀 This Week So Far
Quick Catch-Up
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran-US: The ceasefire stays "technically" alive while US forces hit Iranian sites near Hormuz; Iran fires at Kuwait and Bahrain.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia-Ukraine: Russia pounds Kyiv and Dnipro after warning of new attacks, then a Ukrainian drone strike sends smoke over the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal as President Putin opens his big economic forum.
🇮🇱🇺🇸 Israel-US: US President Trump reportedly rips into Israeli PM Netanyahu over planned Beirut strikes.
🇪🇺🇺🇦 EU-Ukraine: Ukraine gets its clearest EU opening in 2 years after Hungary signals it will lift its veto on the first accession-talks cluster.
🇨🇳 CHINA
Memory Crackdown
I suspect most people associate the Tiananmen Square massacre with the iconic image of the “Tank Man.” But this CNN footage exposes the broader story, showing both the days leading up to the crackdown and the brutal violence that followed.
Click for video
In Hong Kong, China barred relatives of Tiananmen victims from visiting graves on the 37th anniversary of the 1989 massacre, tightening control over one of the country’s most censored events.
What We Know:
Police told families in the Tiananmen Mothers group that they are not allowed to visit a Beijing cemetery, after more than 30 years of watched but tolerated annual visits.
Hong Kong police also moved to block commemoration near Hong Kong's Victoria Park, where mass candlelight vigils ended after the 2019 protest crackdown and the 2020 national security law.
US Secretary of State Rubio condemned China’s censorship, while China has still never released a full death toll.
📌 Context. The CCP has spent more than 3 decades trying to sweep Tiananmen under the rug. This worked so well, even my Chinese friends who now live in the US still won’t Google it. Whether that’s fear, conditioning, or simply not wanting to know, I can’t say. But it says a lot about the power of censorship.
🇷🇺🇺🇸 RUSSIA & US
Is Apple Fighting
Russian Surveillance?
Speaking of the power of censorship: Apple has suddenly removed Russia's state-backed Max messenger from the App Store, cutting push alerts for iPhone users in Russia.
This is a big deal because the Russian government requires the app to come preinstalled on new devices, leading many to suspect it’s being used for state surveillance.
What We Know:
Max launched in spring 2025 as Russia's domestic answer to WhatsApp and Telegram, then became mandatory preinstall on smartphones and computers sold in Russia.
Cloudflare briefly flagged Max domains as "spyware" in April, then removed the label.
Russian Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev claimed Apple gave no explanation and restricted access for more than 20m Russian iPhone users.
Could this be Apple fighting Russian state spyware?
🇰🇵 NORTH KOREA
Kim Shows The Fuel
Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of the “Democratic” People's Republic of Korea (or, as President Trump once called him, “Rocket Man.”)
With all the talk of enriched uranium in Iran, I think we are all forgetting the original "rocket man."
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un inspected a newly unveiled facility for producing nuclear bomb fuel, then said North Korea had set priorities for expanding its nuclear forces "at an exponential rate."
What We Know:
State media did not name the site. South Korea's military assessed it as a uranium-enrichment plant and said it was monitoring North Korean nuclear activity with the US.
Photos showed rows of centrifuge-like equipment. A blurred table graphic may have shown a warhead design.
Kim claimed weapons-grade nuclear-material capacity has more than doubled in 5 years.
On top of all this, Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly set to visit North Korea on June 8–9.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 RUSSIA & UKRAINE
Zelenskyy Writes Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for face-to-face war talks, proposing a neutral third-country meeting and a full ceasefire while negotiations run.
The Offer:
Zelenskyy suggested Switzerland, Turkey, or Arab states as possible hosts, ruling out Moscow and Kyiv.
He proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange and the return of Ukrainian civilians and children taken during the war.
US President Donald Trump said a meeting would be "great," but said both sides need compromises and did not explain what those are.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin is aware of the letter and repeated that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow.
Although the request appears genuine, it's also Zelenskyy's way of signaling to the world that Putin remains the main obstacle to any serious peace effort. Then again, I don't think he needed to prove that point, as it was already fairly obvious.
