Hello everyone and welcome to Amunpur. Here's what's coming up.

Israel strikes Damascus in a serious escalation in Syria. Former British spy chief John Sores explains what's at stake and the wider global context.

Then, is the world in a trade war yet? Do foreign governments know

what concessions Trump wants from them? Amid confusion over tariffs and deadlines, former White

House Economic Advisor Jason Furman and Global Financial columnist Gillian Tet joined me. And later,

The way you win elections is by actually doing what you say

you're going to do, and that's exactly what we've done in the state of Maryland. A Democrat stands up

to Trump's challenges as his national profile grows. Michel Martin speaks with Maryland, Governor

West Moore.

Welcome to the program, everyone. Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christian Amunpur in London.

Fighting is intensifying again inside Syria after Israel launched a powerful series of airstrikes on the capital of Damascus. The IDF claims the strikes are part of a commitment to defend the Druze,

an Arab minority, which has been loyal to Israel. But Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,

says the U.S. is very concerned, and they are trying to de-escalate the situation. And as conflict

in the Middle East escalates, Russia launched massive air strikes on Ukraine, which come just days

after the White House announced new military aid, including Patriot missile systems, sent via NATO.

President Zelensky's home city was particularly hard hit again.

Yet, even as the White House works with Western allies to arm Ukraine,

it is disrupting trade relations with the EU, threatening to impose a 30% tariff on European

goods starting August 1st.

So to assess all of this, this complicated global landscape, let us bring in Sir John Soros,

who served as Britain's ambassador to the UN and as chief of MI6, the Foreign Intelligence

Service.

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