World roundup: June 4 2026

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You’re reading the web version of Foreign Exchanges. If you’d like to get it delivered straight to your inbox, sign up today:Subscribe nowTODAY IN HISTORYJune 4, 1615: The army of the Tokugawa Shogunate captures Osaka, ending a siege that had begun the previous month. This was the second Tokugawa siege of Osaka in less than a year—the initial siege, which lasted from November 1614 to January 1615, had ended with a peace agreement that quickly collapsed. With its capture of Osaka, the Tokugawa clan was able to force the disbanding of the Toyotomi clan, the last serious obstacle to full Tokugawa control over Japan.Japanese artist Utagawa Yoshitora’s 1868 The Fall of Osaka Castle (Wikimedia Commons)June 4, 1989: Chinese soldiers charged with enforcing a declaration of martial law enter Beijing’s Tiananmen Square overnight, beginning a violent dispersal of protesters that left many people dead. The square had been the site of large student-led protests since mid-April, motivated by a wide array of issues but chiefly concerned with economic challenges, demands for political reform, and calls for a government anti-corruption campaign. The military action and ensuing bloodshed broke up the demonstrations. Official figures put the June 3-4 death toll at 241, 218 of them civilians, while various unofficial claims have put it at 300-1000 and above.MIDDLE EASTLEBANONAl Jazeera reports on the terms of Wednesday’s Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and explains why it’s unlikely to hold:According to the Trump administration, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire contingent on a …