A magnitude 7.2 and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the state of Yaracuy within 39 seconds of each other on June 24, causing catastrophic destruction in Caracas and La Guaira. At least 589 people were confirmed dead by June 26, with 68,900 listed as missing as rescue teams worked through collapsed buildings.
A memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 established a two-month window to negotiate a permanent end to the Iran conflict. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of the world's traded oil passes, was blocked during the fighting and its reopening is a central condition.
The 52nd G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains adopted nine declarations covering Ukraine, artificial intelligence governance, critical minerals, and a billion-dollar Ebola funding commitment, with Ukrainian President Zelensky attending in person.
The EU adopted four pieces of legislation on June 3 aimed at tripling European data centre capacity within seven years and reducing a dependence on foreign digital infrastructure that currently exceeds 80 per cent, directly targeting US cloud giants and Chinese hardware suppliers.
