Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
PERAK, Malaysia — Deep in the Malaysian jungle, multinational forces from the Malaysian Army, U.S. Army, and Australian Army came together during Exercise Keris Strike 25 to exchange survival knowledge, fieldcraft skills, and cultural practices vital to operating in austere environments.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea — On July 17, 2025, the 51st Mission Support Group hosted a bilateral logistics and transportation training event with the Korean Service Corps Battalion at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. The training focused on establishing bed-down locations and executing cargo-handling operations to boost interoperability and contingency readiness.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea — On July 17, 2025, the 51st Mission Support Group hosted a bilateral logistics and transportation training event with the Korean Service Corps Battalion at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. The training focused on establishing bed-down locations and executing cargo-handling operations to boost interoperability and contingency readiness.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
DUMAGUETE, Philippines, July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is deepening its commitment to digital inclusion in the Philippines by expanding its PayFi Islands initiative to Negros Oriental. This next phase will bring Starlink-powered high-speed internet to Apo Elementary School and the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD), tackling long-standing connectivity challenges in education and the creative sector.
In many parts of Negros Oriental, including remote islands like Apo and urban centers such as Dumaguete, reliable internet access remains elusive. Outdated infrastructure, like microwave radio links, continues to limit bandwidth and reliability, cutting communities off from modern tools and opportunities. This digital divide has sent a ripple effect through key sectors, such as education and creative industries, hindering access to information, digital tools, and, in turn, economic opportunities.
Bitget Starlink being presented to Apo Elementary School
Bitget’s latest deployment brings high-speed Starlink internet to two key communities in Negros Oriental, each facing distinct yet equally urgent digital challenges. After years of limited resources and unreliable internet, Apo Elementary School, the only public school on Apo Island, will finally be connected through Starlink. This new access will unlock digital learning tools, teacher development programs, and broader educational networks, creating new opportunities for academic growth and long-term empowerment in a community that has long relied on fishing.
Bitget Starlink being presented to Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD)
Meanwhile, in Dumaguete, Bitget partnered with the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD), a vibrant creative hub preparing to launch a maker’s space for local artists and entrepreneurs. Previously held back by poor internet access, this space will now offer digital tools, fabrication technologies, and pathways to global collaboration, enabling the city’s creative sector to thrive in the digital economy.
“Access to the internet is access to opportunities,” said Vugar Usi Zade, COO of Bitget. “With PayFi Islands, we’re connecting people to education, to the digital economy, to more opportunities. These communities deserve to be part of the future, and we’re here to help make that happen.”
Scheduled for full deployment in July 2025, the project includes hardware installation, subscription support, and community training. The expansion in Negros Oriental is part of Bitget’s second phase in bridging the digital divide in Philippine Island communities. In May 2025, Bitget’s Starlink Program first introduced reliable connectivity to Siargao’s Espoir School of Life and Barangay Pitogo. As Bitget continues its rollout, these initiatives lay the foundation for Bitget’s broader educational and empowerment programs, Blockchain4Youth and Blockchain4Her. These programs will introduce blockchain literacy, financial education, and decentralized technology training to students and women-led cooperatives in the region, ensuring that the new digital infrastructure becomes a platform for sustainable development.
The Blockchain4Youth initiative highlights a powerful message that true crypto adoption begins with access. From the classrooms of Apo Island to the creative studios of Dumaguete, this expansion reflects Bitget’s long-term commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and building a future where no one is left offline.
About Bitget
Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 120 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a leading non-custodial crypto wallet supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens. It offers multi-chain trading, staking, payments, and direct access to 20,000+ DApps, with advanced swaps and market insights built into a single platform.
Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.
Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. In the world of motorsports, Bitget is the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange partner of MotoGP™, one of the world’s most thrilling championships.
For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com
Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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Source: ASEAN
At the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will undertake a visit to the People’s Republic of China and take part in the 2025 World AI Conference, from 23 to 26 July 2025.
During his stay in Beijing and Shanghai, SG Dr. Kao will have several key engagements, including a bilateral meeting with H.E. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, as well as meeting with other senior government officials and private sectors such as Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), among others.
SG Dr. Kao will also take the opportunity to meet with the ASEAN Committee in Beijing (ACB) and to speak at the Opening Ceremony of the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference as well as at the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. His participation reflects ASEAN’s continued commitment to advancing the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to delivering this year’s priorities, particularly in deepening digital collaboration in the fields of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN to pay a visit to the People’s Republic of China and to attend 2025 World AI Conference appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Source: ASEAN
At the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will undertake a visit to the People’s Republic of China and take part in the 2025 World AI Conference, from 23 to 26 July 2025.
During his stay in Beijing and Shanghai, SG Dr. Kao will have several key engagements, including a bilateral meeting with H.E. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, as well as meeting with other senior government officials and private sectors such as Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), among others.
SG Dr. Kao will also take the opportunity to meet with the ASEAN Committee in Beijing (ACB) and to speak at the Opening Ceremony of the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference as well as at the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. His participation reflects ASEAN’s continued commitment to advancing the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to delivering this year’s priorities, particularly in deepening digital collaboration in the fields of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN to pay a visit to the People’s Republic of China and to attend 2025 World AI Conference appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 22, 2025.
New study finds the gender earnings gap could be halved if we reined in the long hours often worked by men
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndall Strazdins, Professor, Australian National University asylun/Shutterstock There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back
New study finds the gender earnings gap could be halved if we reined in the long hours often worked by men
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndall Strazdins, Professor, Australian National University asylun/Shutterstock There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back
Sky TV to buy channel Three owner Discovery NZ for $1
By Anan Zaki, RNZ News business reporter Sky TV has agreed to fully acquire TV3 owner Discovery New Zealand for $1. Discovery NZ is a part of US media giant Warner Bros Discovery, and operates channel Three and online streaming platform ThreeNow. NZX-listed Sky said the deal would be completed on a cash-free, debt-free basis,
Suffering in Gaza reaches ‘new depths’ – Australia condemns ‘inhumane killing’ of Palestinians
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amra Lee, PhD candidate in Protection of Civilians, Australian National University Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from
As female independent MPs descend on parliament, they’re fulfilling the dreams of women across history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Chappell, Post Doctoral Research, University of New England Australia’s 48th parliament has a record 112 women members. Ten of those women are independents. As they take their seats in the chamber, they’ll be realising the aspirations of some of Australia’s first suffragists who, more than a
Are screenwriters paid for a product or a service? The definition matters for their workplace rights
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Goodwin, Lecturer in Arts Management and Human Resources, The University of Melbourne Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash The film and television sector in Australia employs over 26,000 workers and generated more than A$4.5 billion in income in 2021–22. TV dramas generate a large part of this revenue. Australian screen
NZ and allies condemn ‘inhumane’, ‘horrifying’ killings in Gaza and ‘drip feeding’ of aid
RNZ News New Zealand has joined 24 other countries in calling for an end to the war in Gaza, and criticising what they call the inhumane killing of Palestinians. The countries — including Britain, France, Canada and Australia plus the European Union — also condemed the Israeli government’s aid delivery model in Gaza as “dangerous”.
Everyone’s talking about the Perseid meteor shower – but don’t bother trying to see it in Australia or NZ
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland View of the 2023 Perseid meteor shower from the southernmost part of Sequoia National Forest, US. NASA/Preston Dyches In recent days, you may have seen articles claiming the “best meteor shower of the year” is about to start. Unfortunately,
Pumped up with poison: new research shows many anabolic steroids contain toxic metals
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Piatkowski, Lecturer in Psychology, Griffith University MilosStankovic/Getty Images Eighteen-year-old Mark scrolls Instagram late at night, watching videos of fitness influencers showing off muscle gains and lifting the equivalent of a baby elephant off the gym floor. Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve
How EVs and electric water heaters are turning cities into giant batteries
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bin Lu, Senior Research Fellow in Renewable Energy, Australian National University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and
The end of open-plan classrooms: how school design reflects changing ideas in education
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leon Benade, Professor in the School of Education of Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, WA, Edith Cowan University skynesher/Getty Imaged The end of open-plan classrooms in New Zealand, recently announced by Education Minister Erica Stanford, marks yet another swing of the pendulum in school design. Depending on
Could Rupert Murdoch bring down Donald Trump? A court case threatens more than just their relationship
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne If Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down. This is, after all, the media mogul whose US
PBS and NPR are generally unbiased, independent of government propaganda and provide key benefits to US democracy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University Congress’ cuts to public broadcasting will diminish the range and volume of the free press and the independent reporting it provides. MicroStockHub-iStock/Getty Images Plus Champions of the almost entirely party-line vote
Africa’s minerals are being bartered for security: why it’s a bad idea
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hanri Mostert, SARChI Chair for Mineral Law in Africa, University of Cape Town A US-brokered peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda binds the two African nations to a worrying arrangement: one where a country signs away its mineral resources to a superpower
A popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences, says recent study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers
Why has a bill to relax NZ foreign investment rules had so little scrutiny?
ANALYSIS: By Jane Kelsey, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau While public attention has been focused on the domestic fast-track consenting process for infrastructure and mining, Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour has been pushing through another fast-track process — this time for foreign investment in New Zealand. But it has had almost no public
PSNA calls on NZ to urgently condemn Israeli weaponisation of starvation
Asia Pacific Report The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has called on the New Zealand government to immediately condemn Israel’s weaponisation of starvation and demand an end to the siege of Gaza. It has also called for a permanent ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to the besieged enclave. “All political parties and elected officials must break
Labor to put disclaimer under Mark Latham’s caucus room picture
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The picture of Mark Latham on the caucus room gallery of Labor leaders will have an annotation under it saying he was expelled for life and his actions do not accord with Labor values. The first meeting of the new
Pacific leaders demand respectful involvement in memorial for unmarked graves
By Mary Afemata, of PMN News and RNZ Pacific Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be “meaningfully involved” in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices. More than 50 people
Newspoll and Resolve give Labor big leads as parliament resumes after the election
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With federal parliament to sit for the first time since the election on Tuesday, Newspoll gives Labor a 57–43 lead and Resolve a 56–44 lead. In Tasmania,
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement regarding the official score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that President Trump and Republicans’ megabill will add $3.4 trillion to the budget deficit through 2034, before accounting for added interest costs. Including additional interest, the bill will increase borrowing by $4.1 trillion:
“The official CBO score on President Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Bill,’ which comes weeks after the law’s passage because Republicans fast-tracked it, confirms what we’ve been saying all along: when push comes to shove, Republicans will always do whatever it takes to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. We wish they could bring that same determination to lowering the deficit and helping working- and middle-class families. Today’s news is further proof that the partisan megabill remains a bad deal for Americans—exploding the debt, forcing millions off their health insurance, slashing food assistance programs, and killing jobs. We will keep working to safeguard Virginians from the disastrous impacts this law will have for Virginia and the country.”
The Republican law, which Warner and Kaine strongly opposed, makes massive cuts to health care, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Virginians rely on in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy. While the bill was being considered in the Senate, Warner and Kaine introduced a series of amendments in an attempt to improve the legislation, but Republicans blocked them. Under the Republican bill, hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose health insurance because of cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and many rural hospitals will lose federal funding from Medicaid, putting them at risk of closure.
78,000 Virginians will lose access to some benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Virginia will be required to contribute an estimated $263 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded. The law jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Virginia by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law gives the top 0.1% a $250,000 tax cut and makes it harder for students to access student loans. The legislation also includes $85 million to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia to Houston, Texas; the full cost to move the space shuttle is estimated to be $300 million to $400 million.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement regarding the official score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that President Trump and Republicans’ megabill will add $3.4 trillion to the budget deficit through 2034, before accounting for added interest costs. Including additional interest, the bill will increase borrowing by $4.1 trillion:
“The official CBO score on President Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Bill,’ which comes weeks after the law’s passage because Republicans fast-tracked it, confirms what we’ve been saying all along: when push comes to shove, Republicans will always do whatever it takes to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. We wish they could bring that same determination to lowering the deficit and helping working- and middle-class families. Today’s news is further proof that the partisan megabill remains a bad deal for Americans—exploding the debt, forcing millions off their health insurance, slashing food assistance programs, and killing jobs. We will keep working to safeguard Virginians from the disastrous impacts this law will have for Virginia and the country.”
The Republican law, which Warner and Kaine strongly opposed, makes massive cuts to health care, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Virginians rely on in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy. While the bill was being considered in the Senate, Warner and Kaine introduced a series of amendments in an attempt to improve the legislation, but Republicans blocked them. Under the Republican bill, hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose health insurance because of cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and many rural hospitals will lose federal funding from Medicaid, putting them at risk of closure.
78,000 Virginians will lose access to some benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Virginia will be required to contribute an estimated $263 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded. The law jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Virginia by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law gives the top 0.1% a $250,000 tax cut and makes it harder for students to access student loans. The legislation also includes $85 million to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia to Houston, Texas; the full cost to move the space shuttle is estimated to be $300 million to $400 million.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement regarding the official score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that President Trump and Republicans’ megabill will add $3.4 trillion to the budget deficit through 2034, before accounting for added interest costs. Including additional interest, the bill will increase borrowing by $4.1 trillion:
“The official CBO score on President Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Bill,’ which comes weeks after the law’s passage because Republicans fast-tracked it, confirms what we’ve been saying all along: when push comes to shove, Republicans will always do whatever it takes to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy. We wish they could bring that same determination to lowering the deficit and helping working- and middle-class families. Today’s news is further proof that the partisan megabill remains a bad deal for Americans—exploding the debt, forcing millions off their health insurance, slashing food assistance programs, and killing jobs. We will keep working to safeguard Virginians from the disastrous impacts this law will have for Virginia and the country.”
The Republican law, which Warner and Kaine strongly opposed, makes massive cuts to health care, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Virginians rely on in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy. While the bill was being considered in the Senate, Warner and Kaine introduced a series of amendments in an attempt to improve the legislation, but Republicans blocked them. Under the Republican bill, hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose health insurance because of cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and many rural hospitals will lose federal funding from Medicaid, putting them at risk of closure.
78,000 Virginians will lose access to some benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Virginia will be required to contribute an estimated $263 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded. The law jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Virginia by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law gives the top 0.1% a $250,000 tax cut and makes it harder for students to access student loans. The legislation also includes $85 million to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia to Houston, Texas; the full cost to move the space shuttle is estimated to be $300 million to $400 million.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) — China has released guidelines to accelerate digital education this year. Based on three years of experience summarizing the national digital education strategy, Chinese authorities have put forward comprehensive work plans to further advance national digital education.
How far has digital education progressed in China now and how will it develop in the future?
A BREAKTHROUGH IN DIGITAL EDUCATION
In 2022, the state public service platform for intellectual education was opened, marking the official launch of the national digital education strategy.
After three years of development, this platform integrates 5 sub-platforms and has access to 32 provincial-level platforms. It has registered more than 163 million users and the number of visits and views on the platform has exceeded 60.8 billion times.
At the same time, the platform has launched more than 110 thousand educational resources for primary and secondary schools, more than 11 thousand high-quality online courses for vocational education and 31 thousand courses for higher education.
“Over the past three years, breakthroughs have been made in implementing the national digital education strategy and the world’s largest platform for public learning resources and services and a lifelong public learning platform have been established,” said Zhou Dawan, head of the Department of Science, Technology and Information Technology of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
At present, digital education in China is being comprehensively promoted with faster speed and efficiency. All schools at different levels in China are connected to the Internet, and more than 75% of schools have wireless network coverage. In addition, new infrastructure has been built in many places to build provincial-level intelligent education platforms.
“In the future, it is necessary to work hard to build a diversified system of platforms, catalog systems, resources, data and application systems, and improve the platform’s intelligence level to create a digital base with high intelligence and strong interaction,” said Yang Zongkai, head of the advisory committee of experts on digital education at the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
AI IN EDUCATION REFORM
Nowadays, the application of artificial intelligence is becoming a hot topic in the field of education. From cities to rural areas, many educational institutions have begun to study specific areas of application of artificial intelligence.
In March this year, China released the intelligent version of the national intelligent education platform 2.0 and launched an “artificial intelligence testing ground” to promote innovation in human-computer interaction.
Zhou Dawan noted that in the future, the “AI testing ground” will be improved, focusing on four main aspects – student learning, teacher teaching, educational management and scientific research, and the innovative forces of high-level universities and enterprises will be combined to develop promising practical AI tools.
It should be recalled that the guidelines on accelerating digital education state that it is necessary to promote the digital transformation of academic disciplines, teaching materials and teaching models, and to improve the digital literacy and skills of the entire population, especially teachers and students.
In addition, the document also proposes to establish an “AI education” security assurance system and explore the possibility of establishing an algorithm security assessment system to effectively avoid problems such as cyber attacks, information cocoons, algorithm hegemony and Internet addiction.
PROMOTING DIGITAL EDUCATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL BRAND
The above document points out that the internationalization of digital education should be actively promoted and international cooperation in the joint creation and utilization of resources, joint training of personnel, etc. should be deepened so as to form an international brand of Chinese digital education.
After more than 10 years of development, China ranks first in the world in the number and scale of application of massive open online courses (MOOCs), creating an international brand in higher education worldwide.
In January 2024, the international version of the government’s public service platform in the field of intelligent education was launched, which will provide all-weather support for the education of students around the world.
In addition, according to the data, the state intellectual education platform in the field of higher education has been visited by more than 106 million people, and its users cover 183 countries and regions of the world.
The document also said that it is necessary to deepen the application of the international version of the national public service platform in the field of intelligent education, so that digital education can benefit students all over the world and China’s digital education can become a benchmark for the world.
“Digital education is an inevitable trend of modern development,” Zhou Dawan said, adding that it is not only a technological revolution in education, but also a profound reform of the concept, model and management of education.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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Source: United Nations 2
The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday that more intense downpours and glacier outburst floods are becoming increasingly frequent, with deadly consequences for communities caught off guard.
“Flash floods are not new, but their frequency and intensity are increasing in many regions due to rapid urbanization, land-use change and a changing climate,” said Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO Director of Hydrology, Water and Cryosphere.
Each additional degree Celsius of warming enables the air to hold about 7 per cent more water vapour.
“This is increasing the risk of more extreme rainfall events. At the same time, glacier-related flood hazards are increasing due to enhanced ice melting in a warmer climate,” he added.
Floods and flash floods claim thousands of lives each year and cause billions of dollars in damage. In 2020, severe flooding across South Asia killed more than 6,500 people and caused $105 billion in economic losses.
Two years later, catastrophic floods in Pakistan left over 1,700 people dead, 33 million affected and losses exceeding $40 billion, reversing years of development gains.
This year, the onslaught has continued. In July alone, South Asia, East Asia and the United States have seen a string of deadly events, from monsoon rains to glacial lake bursts and sudden flash floods.
Each year, extreme weather and climate events take a massive toll on lives and economies worldwide.
In India and Pakistan, heavy monsoon rains have severed transport links, washed away homes and triggered landslides. Pakistan declared a state of emergency in its worst-hit areas, deploying military helicopters for rescue missions after forecasters warned of exceptional flood risk along the upper Jhelum River.
The Republic of Korea suffered record-breaking downpours between 16-20 July, with rainfall exceeding 115 mm per hour in some locations. At least 18 people were killed and more than 13,000 were evacuated.
In southern China, authorities issued flash flood and landslide alerts on 21 July, just a day after Typhoon Wipha battered Hong Kong, underscoring the compound risks of sequential storms.
Overnight 3 into 4 July, a sudden deluge turned Texas Hill Country into a disaster zone, killing more than 100 people and leaving dozens missing. In a few hours, 10-18 inches (25–46 cm) of rain swamped the Guadalupe River basin, sending the river surging 26 feet (8 metres) in just 45 minutes.
1-day precipitation totals from NASA’s IMERG multi-satellite precipitation product show heavy rainfall over central Texas on July 4, 2025.
Many of the victims were young girls at a summer camp, caught unaware as floodwaters tore through sleeping quarters around 4 AM. Although the US National Weather Service issued warnings ahead of time, local sirens were lacking and the final alerts came when most were asleep.
Not all floods this month were caused by rain.
In Nepal’s Rasuwa district, a sudden outburst from a supraglacial lake – formed on a glacier’s surface – swept away hydropower plants, a major bridge and trade routes on 7 July. At least 11 people were killed and more than a dozen are reported missing.
Scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a WMO partner, say glacial-origin floods in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region are occurring far more often than two decades ago, when one might strike every five to 10 years.
In May and June 2025 alone, three glacial outburst floods hit Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan, with two more in Nepal on 7 July. If warming continues, the risk of such floods could triple by the century’s end.
Aftermath of a flood that swept through a high-altitude village in Nepal.
The WMO is stepping up efforts to improve flood forecasting through its global initiative and real-time guidance platform, now used in over 70 countries.
The system integrates satellite data, radar and high-resolution weather models to flag threats hours in advance and is being expanded into a country-led, globally interoperable framework.
A 2022 World Bank study estimated that 1.81 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – are directly exposed to 1-in-100-year flood events, with 89 per cent living in low- and middle-income countries.
The UN’s Early Warnings for All initiative aims to ensure that everyone, everywhere, is protected by early warning systems by 2027.
Source: United Nations 2
In 2024, only 34 per cent of women and 45 per cent of men on the continent used the internet, compared to global averages of 65 and 70 per cent. Meanwhile, 98 per cent of Africans under the age of 18 do not complete school with even basic STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills, reflecting long-term underinvestment in education.
This slow progress in digital integration and STEM education is impeding Africa’s ability to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the report noted. The “digital divide” hits marginalised groups hardest, including women and rural communities.
“Africa is a vast and populous continent, rich in natural endowments and talents. Yet much of that potential remains underutilised,” said Philémon Yang, the President of the General Assembly in a message to the meeting.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, told delegates that Africa must “bet on youth.”
By 2050, there will be over 850 million young people in Africa.
“This is an incredible opportunity. Realising this potential means investing in STEM education now. It means building digital infrastructure that connects talent to
Opportunity,” Ms. Mohammed said.
But current systems do not sufficiently support young innovators – three-fourths of young Africans have insecure employment, lacking basic protections.
This lack of social protection is part of a wider labour rights gap, the report noted. In 2023, only 19 per cent of people in Africa had access to at least one form of social protection –such as social security or health insurance – compared to 53 per cent globally.
“Strong social protection is not just about safety nets. It is about creating the stability that allows societies to take risks, innovate and grow,” Ms. Mohammed said.
The report calls on governments and partners to adopt a people-cantered approach that promotes digital and technological innovation while also decent work, rights and intellectual property.
“Resilience cannot be achieved without governance that places people at the centre of policy design and implementation,” the report said.
Speakers also stressed that African expertise must guide solutions.
“We reaffirm our collective determination to ensure that Africa’s development is led by its own people, grounded in knowledge, innovation and social justice,” said Ahmadou Lamin Sameteh, Minister of Health of the Gambia, speaking for the African Group.
In his message, Mr. Yang said no single African country can achieve full digital integration alone; regional cooperation and multilateral support are essential.
“[Digital tools] can offer a way into the future… [but] no country can close these gaps alone…multilateral cooperation with the United Nations at its centre has secured eight decades of unprecedented human progress,” he said.
Ms. Mohammed emphasised the possibilities “when we get this right.”
“The choice is ours — we can continue business-as-usual and watch the 2030 Agenda slip away or we can support systemic transformation.”
Source: New Zealand Government
Almost a month ago, on 24 June 2025, we delivered our most recent Ministerial statement on the Middle East to this House.
At that time, the world was grappling with Israel and Iran bombing each another. New Zealanders were in harm’s way. The spectre of escalation and a wider regional war was very real. Back then, we called for de-escalation, dialogue and ceasefire. Thankfully, the United States was able to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran – and that wider regional war has, for the time being at least, been avoided.
A month later, though, we continue to be confronted by horrifying scenes playing out in Gaza.
We have the horror of innocent Israeli families, robbed of their loved ones in October 2023 by Hamas’ heinous and immoral hostage taking, still yearning and demanding for them to be freed.
And we have the horror of more and more innocent Palestinian civilians starving, being deprived of their basic needs, and being killed every day – because Israel’s military response to the events of October 7 2023 long ago ceased to be proportionate, reasonable or moral; and because Hamas continues to act with complete disregard for civilian life.
The international community is united in its revulsion to what is happening in Gaza. This horror must end. Too many lives have been lost. Too many people have been traumatised, polarised and embittered – ensuring that yet another generation of Israeli and Palestinian children are born into a situation of insufferable conflict and enmity.
That is why New Zealand has come together with Foreign Ministers from 27 other countries to state as clearly as we can that enough is enough. That this war must end now. That this suffering is intolerable.
In that joint statement, we condemned Hamas’ continued detention of Israeli hostages and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
And we condemned Israel’s policies which are leading to untold and unimaginable suffering and death among Palestinian civilians – and we called for it to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The international community is joined by an overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians in wanting an immediate ceasefire. That is understandable because only a negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing Israeli hostages home and of ending the immense suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
New Zealand has always accepted that it has limited influence over the course of this generations-long conflict. The Middle East is a long way away from New Zealand. But we can and must still do our part. And New Zealand’s position has, for decades, been consistent: we want dialogue, we want diplomacy, we want negotiation, and we want a two-state solution.
We call out all actions which undermine the conditions for a two-state solution. This New Zealand government has designated the entirety of Hamas, whose stated objectives include the complete destruction of Israel, as a terrorist organisation. We have also put in place travel bans against Israeli Ministers who have taken concrete steps to undermine the two-state solution by advocating illegal settlements and settler violence.
As today’s joint statement by 28 Foreign Ministers says: we strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Such steps seek to undermine the two-state solution, and they must stop.
The only way forward is an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Human suffering is indiscriminate. In this conflict it has been inflicted in vast quantities on Israelis and Palestinians; Jews, Muslims and Christians. Further bloodshed serves absolutely no purpose. It must stop.
New Zealand, with our partners, reaffirms our complete support for the efforts of the United States, Qatar and Egypt to achieve a ceasefire. We wish them well in this important task.
And, ultimately, what we must see is a political pathway towards peace for Israelis and Palestinians, living securely side by side. Only then can this long-running cycle of conflict be ended – in the hope that the next generation of Israeli and Palestinian children can know better, brighter days.
No matter how hopeless the situation seems, that must be the international community’s objective. And New Zealand will continue to do what it can to contribute to those efforts.
Thank you.
Source: New Zealand Government
Tēnā koutou katoa. Shalom. As-salamu alaykum.
I would like to acknowledge:
Your Excellency, The Right Honourable Dame Cindy Kiro
His Excellency Dr Richard Andrew
Faith and community leaders – Ibrar Sheikh, President of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand, and Phillip Green from the New Zealand Jewish Community Security Group Charitable Trust
Police Commissioner, Richard Chambers
Dr Melissa Derby, Race Relations Commissioner
Parliamentary colleagues
And other distinguished guests
It is a real honour to be here today as the Minister for Ethnic Communities for the signing of the Harmony and Peace Accord between Jewish and Muslim organisations.
This is a significant and brave stand taken by leaders of deep conviction, against division, hatred, and fear.
To the leaders here today, you have my deepest respect.
Your commitment to dialogue, to mutual respect, and to standing together in difficult times is something we can all learn from. Thank you for your leadership and for the example you have set.
At a time when global conflicts have placed immense strain on many communities worldwide, and where we are seeing growing Islamophobia and Antisemitism, you have chosen the right pathway for us as country – a path guided by responsibility, not reaction. In doing so, you have shown the very best of leadership.
As Minister, I have had the opportunity to work closely with Jewish and Muslim communities. I have seen firsthand efforts to confront hate that our communities are facing in day-to-day life here in New Zealand.
We acknowledge the pain and pressure felt by our communities, and we understand the deep emotions tied to what is happening in other parts of the world.
This is where our shared values as a country must be a shield to protect our communities, our children and those who are frightened by global conflict to ensure that those conflicts are not imported into New Zealand and do not become divisions of our own.
We are a country shaped by diversity. Whether your ancestors arrived centuries ago or just last year, New Zealand is home to people of every ethnicity, every background, and every faith. That is our strength. And we are guided by Kiwi values – manaakitanga, fairness, and giving everyone a fair go. We believe in respect, in dialogue, and in treating each other with dignity, regardless of difference.
But these values aren’t passive. They are upheld by action. Every New Zealander, whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or of no faith, has a responsibility to help keep our country peaceful and united. That means standing up against hate crime, against racism, and against violence – wherever it tries to take root.
We are fortunate to live in a democracy – one that protects freedom of speech and the right to protest. These are pillars of our society. But with those freedoms comes responsibility: to protest peacefully, to speak respectfully, and to never let those freedoms be twisted into a licence for hatred or intimidation.
Our diversity should never divide us. Whether you are a Jewish Kiwi, a Muslim Kiwi, or a Christian Kiwi, we are, first and foremost, Kiwis. And as Kiwis, we stand together. We will not import hate. We will not allow conflict from abroad to create fear or division at home. We will protect each other through respect, through tolerance, and through peace.
This Accord is a testament to what is possible when brave people choose unity over fear.
Let it be more than a document – let it be a beginning. A beginning of deeper conversations, stronger relationships, and a more resilient, inclusive New Zealand.
Let this moment remind us all that peace is not something we inherit, it is something we build, together.
By Anan Zaki, RNZ News business reporter
Sky TV has agreed to fully acquire TV3 owner Discovery New Zealand for $1.
Discovery NZ is a part of US media giant Warner Bros Discovery, and operates channel Three and online streaming platform ThreeNow.
NZX-listed Sky said the deal would be completed on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with completion expected on August 1.
Sky expected the deal to deliver revenue diversification and uplift of around $95 million a year.
Sky expected Discovery NZ’s operations to deliver sustainable underlying earnings growth of at least $10 million from the 2028 financial year.
Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said it was a compelling opportunity for the company, with net integration costs of about $6.5 million.
“This is a compelling opportunity for Sky that directly supports our ambition to be Aotearoa New Zealand’s most engaging and essential media company,” she said.
Confidential advance notice
Sky said it gave the Commerce Commission confidential advance notice of the transaction, and the commission did not intend to consider the acquisition further.
Warner Bros Discovery Australia and NZ managing director Michael Brooks said it was a “fantastic outcome” for both companies.
“The continued challenges faced by the New Zealand media industry are well documented, and over the past 12 months, the Discovery NZ team has worked to deliver a new, more sustainable business model following a significant restructure in 2024,” Brooks said.
“While this business is not commercially viable as a standalone asset in WBD’s New Zealand portfolio, we see the value Three and ThreeNow can bring to Sky’s existing offering of complementary assets.”
Sky said on completion, Discovery NZ’s balance sheet would be clear of some long-term obligations, including property leases and content commitments, and would include assets such as the ThreeNow platform.
Sky said irrespective of the transaction, the company was confident of achieving its 30 cents a share dividend target for 2026.
‘Massive change’ for NZ media – ThreeNews to continue
Founder of The Spinoff and media commentator Duncan Greive said the deal would give Sky more reach and was a “massive change” in New Zealand’s media landscape.
He noted Sky’s existing free-to-air presence via Sky Open (formerly Prime), but said acquiring Three gave it the second-most popular audience outlet on TV.
“Because of the inertia of how people use television, Three is just a much more accessible channel and one that’s been around longer,” Greive said.
“To have basically the second-most popular channel in the country as part of their stable just means they’ve got a lot more ad inventory, much bigger audiences.”
It also gave Sky another outlet for their content, and would allow it to compete further against TVNZ, both linear and online, Greive said.
He said there may be a question mark around the long-term future of Three’s news service, which was produced by Stuff.
No reference to ThreeNews
Sky made no reference to ThreeNews in its announcement. However, Stuff confirmed ThreeNews would continue for now.
“Stuff’s delivery of ThreeNews is part of the deal but there are also now lots of new opportunities ahead that we are excited to explore together,” Stuff owner Sinead Boucher said in a statement.
On the deal itself, Boucher said she was “delighted” to see Three back in New Zealand ownership under Sky.
“And who doesn’t love a $1 deal!” Boucher said, referring to her own $1 deal to buy Stuff from Australia’s Nine Entertainment in 2020.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndall Strazdins, Professor, Australian National University
There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back late or on weekends is encouraged and rewarded, explicitly and implicitly.
Those employees who do the extra hours, willingly and without complaint, are seen as hungry and ambitious. A view expressed in some workplaces is simply “that’s what everyone does”.
But what if we discovered that people – at least in heterosexual couple households – can only work long hours at their partner’s expense? Would it still be OK for workplaces to expect people to work longer than our standard full time week, and incentivise them for doing so?
Our study, published this month in the journal Social Indicators Research, found in Australian couple households where both partners had jobs, men earned on average $536 more than women every week. In Germany, the weekly gender earnings gap was €400.
About half of that income gap in both Australia and Germany was due to men working long hours and women effectively subsidising them to do this by cutting back their own work hours.
It’s tough to combine a job with running a household, but one person working extra hours makes this almost impossible. In households, a job with long work hours means someone else must pick up the rest. This includes caring for kids, running the house, walking the dog, cooking dinner and more.
One in three Australian employees care for children, and 13% of part-time and 11% of all full-time employees give care to someone else, often an ageing parent. This has knock-on effects which are impacting many people in our workforce. The extra hours don’t come out of nowhere, but they have been invisible in what we think of as fair.
In our study, we costed this knock-on in terms of earnings and work hours gaps in households, and what this could mean for equality of income.
We studied between 3,000 and 6,000 heterosexual couples from 2002 to 2019 in Australia and in Germany, estimating their weekly earnings and work hour gaps.
To understand the dynamics in the household, we used a two-stage instrumental variable Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition – a method that allowed us to model earnings gaps as a function of both partners’ paid and unpaid hours. This helped us estimate what the gender gap in hours and earnings would look like if time weren’t being “borrowed” or “subsidised” within the home.
The results were striking. We showed how one partner’s paid work hours can increase when the other partner does more unpaid (household) work. This ability for partners to “trade” hours was one of the most important drivers of the work hour (and earning) gap.
So we re-ran models and recalculated what hours a woman and a man would work if one partner wasn’t “subsidising” the other’s work hours. The model showed women would work more hours and men would work fewer when there was a more even split of home duties. The weekly work hour gap shrank to 5.1 hours in Australia (a 58% reduction) and 6.9 hours in Germany (a 47% reduction).
The impact on earnings was just as significant. The gender earnings gap would shrink by 43% in Australia and 25% in Germany.
The gender earnings and work hours gaps are well known, and these are not the only countries facing this problem. What hasn’t been shown before is how it works in households to drive gender inequality across the nation.
The rest of the earnings gap is largely due to differences in pay across male and female industries and jobs, and the persistent gender pay gap in hourly pay.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average gender gap in hourly pay is 11.1%. This gap reflects the fact, hour for hour, women are generally paid less. The average weekly earnings gap is much larger at 26.4%.
As things currently stand in Australia, women earn only three-quarters of what men do, a shortfall similar to that in (Germany).
One part of the earnings gap is the gap in the hourly pay rate, but the other is the gap in how many hours are worked. We show how this would shrink if men worked hours that were closer to Australia’s legislated 38-hour week, and workplaces encouraged them to do so.
If we stopped the time-shifting to partners that our culture of long working hours relies upon, we estimate that in a heterosexual couple, men’s hours would average closer to 41 a week, and women’s would increase to 36.
We could change the long and short hour compromise that so many households have to face. This change could make a huge difference to gender inequality, and women would no longer carry such a large economic cost from their partner’s work.
Maybe reining in excess hours should be the new focus for gender equality.
Lyndall Strazdins has received funding from the Australian Research Council to undertake research on this topic.
She has served as an expert witness on work hours and well-being for the State and Federal Court.
Liana Leach receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund. She is a member of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
Tinh Doan receives funding from the Australia ComCare and the Department of Health and Aged Care for other works that are not related to this article.
– ref. New study finds the gender earnings gap could be halved if we reined in the long hours often worked by men – https://theconversation.com/new-study-finds-the-gender-earnings-gap-could-be-halved-if-we-reined-in-the-long-hours-often-worked-by-men-260815
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Andrew Dodd, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
If Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down.
This is, after all, the media mogul whose US television network, Fox News, actively supported Donald Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election result and paid out a US$787 million (about A$1.2 billion) lawsuit for doing so.
It is also the network that supplied several members of Trump’s inner circle, including former Fox host, now controversial Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth.
But that is where we are after Trump filed a writ on July 18 after Murdoch’s financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, published an article about a hand-drawn card Trump is alleged to have sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The newspaper reported:
A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The Journal said it has seen the letter but did not republish it. The letter allegedly concluded:
Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
The card was apparently Trump’s contribution to a birthday album compiled for Epstein by the latter’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking in 2021.
Trump was furious. He told his Truth Social audience he had warned Murdoch the letter was fake. He wrote, “Mr Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but obviously did not have the power to do so,” referring to Murdoch handing leadership of News Corporation to his eldest son Lachlan in 2023.
Read more:
How Rupert Murdoch helped create a monster – the era of Trumpism – and then lost control of it
Trump is being pincered. On one side, The Wall Street Journal is a respected newspaper that speaks to literate, wealthy Americans who remain deeply sceptical about Trump’s radical initiative on tariffs, which it described in an editorial as “the dumbest trade war in history”.
On the other side is the conspiracy theory-thirsty MAGA base who have been told for years that there was a massive conspiracy around Epstein’s apparent suicide in 2019 that included the so-called deep state, Democrat elites and, no doubt, the Clintons.
Trump, who loves pro wrestling as well as adopting its garish theatrics, might characterise his lawsuit against Murdoch as a smackdown to rival Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant in the 1980s.
To adopt wrestling argot, though, it is a rare battle between two heels.
Murdoch and Trump’s relationship is longstanding but convoluted. The key to understanding it is that both men are ruthlessly transactional.
Exposure in Murdoch’s New York Post in the 1980s and ‘90s was crucial to building Trump’s reputation.
Not that Murdoch particularly likes Trump. Yes, Murdoch attended his second inauguration, albeit in a back row behind the newly favoured big tech media moguls. He was also seen sitting in the Oval Office a few days later looking quite at home.
But this was pure power-display politics, not the behaviour of a friend.
Remember Murdoch’s derision on hearing Trump was considering standing for office before the 2016 election, and his promotion of Ron De Santis in the primaries before Trump’s second term. Murdoch’s political hero has always been Ronald Reagan. Trump has laid waste to the Republican Party of Reagan.
Murdoch knows what the rest of sane America knows: Trump is downright weird, if not dangerous. This, of course, only makes Murdoch’s complicity in Trump’s rise to power, and Fox News’ continued boosterism of Trump, all the more appalling.
But, in keeping with Murdoch’s relationship to power throughout his career, what he helps make, he also helps destroy. Perhaps now it’s Trump’s turn to be unmade. As a former Murdoch lieutenant told The Financial Times over the weekend:
he’s testing out: Is Trump losing his base? And where do I need to be to stay in the heart of the base?
And here is Murdoch’s great advantage, and his looming threat.
The advantage comes with the scope of Murdoch’s media empire, which operates like a federation of different mastheads, each with their own market and aspirations. While Fox News panders to the MAGA base, and The New York Post juices its New York audience, The Wall Street Journal speaks, and listens, to business. Each audience has different needs, meaning they’re often presented with the same news in very different ways, or sometimes different news entirely.
Like a federation, though, News Corp uses its various operations to drive the type of change that affects all its markets.
It might work like this. The Wall Street Journal breaks a story that’s so shocking it begins to chip away at MAGA’s unquestioning loyalty of Trump. This process is, of course, willingly aided by the rest of the media. The resulting groundswell eventually allows Fox News and the Post to tentatively follow their audiences into questioning, and then perhaps criticising, Trump.
The threat is that before that groundswell builds, Murdoch is seriously vulnerable to criticism from a still dominant Trump, who can turn conspiracy-prone audiences away from Fox News with just a social media post. Trump has already been busy doing just that, saying he is looking forward to getting Murdoch onto the witness stand for his lawsuit.
If the Fox audience decides it’s the proprietor who’s behind this denigration of Trump, they may decide to boycott their own favoured media channel, even though Fox’s programming hasn’t yet started questioning Trump.
The Murdochs’ fear of audience backlash was a major factor in Fox’s promulgation of the Big Lie after Trump’s defeat in 2020. The fear their audience might defect to Newsmax or some other right-wing media outfit is just as real today.
We also need to consider that Trump might be right. What if the letter is a fake?
Murdoch has form when it comes to high-profile exposés that turn out to be fiction. Who can forget the Hitler Diaries in 1983, which we now know Murdoch knew were fake before he published.
Think also of the Pauline Hanson photos, allegedly of her posing in lingerie, all of which were quickly proved to be fake after they were published by Murdoch’s Australian tabloids in 2009.
There was also The Sun’s despicable and wilfully wrong campaign against Elton John in 1987 and the same paper’s continued denigration of the people of Liverpool following the Hillsborough stadium disaster in 1989.
But while Murdoch’s News Corp has a history of confection and fakery, the Wall Street Journal has a reputation for straight reportage, albeit through a conservative lens. Since Murdoch bought it in 2007, it has been engaged in its own internal battle for editorial standards.
What Trump won’t get from Murdoch is the same acquiescence he’s enjoyed from America’s ABC and CBS networks, which have both handed over tens of millions of dollars in defamation settlements following dubious claims by Trump about the nature of their coverage.
In December 2024, ABC’s owner Disney settled and agreed to pay US$15 million (A$23 million) to Trump’s presidential library. The president sued after a presenter said Trump was found guilty of raping E. Jean Carroll.
Trump had actually been found guilty by a jury in a civil trial of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and was ordered to pay her US$5 million (A$7.6 million).
CBS’ parent company, Paramount, did similarly after being sued by the president, agreeing in early July to settle and pay US$16 million (A$24.5 million) to Trump’s library. This was despite earlier saying the case was “completely without merit”.
From Trump’s viewpoint, two prominent media companies have been cowed. But his campaign against critical media doesn’t stop there.
Last week, congress passed a bill cancelling federal funding for the country’s two public-service media outlets, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Also last week, CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s stridently critical comedy show, although CBS claims this is just a cost-cutting exercise and not about appeasing a bully in the White House.
Presuming the reported birthday letter is real, Murdoch will not bend so easily. And that’s when it will be important to pay attention, because at some point Trump’s lawyers will advise him about the dangers of depositions and discovery: the legal processes that force parties to a dispute to reveal what they have and what they know.
If the Epstein files do implicate Trump, the legal fight won’t last long and the media campaign against him will only intensify.
Right now we have the spectre of Murdoch joining that other disaffected mogul, Elon Musk, in a moral crusade against Trump, the man they both helped make. The implications are head-spinning.
As global bullies, the three of them probably deserve each other. But we, the public, surely deserve better than any of them.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Could Rupert Murdoch bring down Donald Trump? A court case threatens more than just their relationship – https://theconversation.com/could-rupert-murdoch-bring-down-donald-trump-a-court-case-threatens-more-than-just-their-relationship-261532
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Roy Ebel, PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Biology, Museums Victoria Research Institute
Monitor lizards, also known in Australia as goannas, are some of the most iconic reptiles on the continent. Their lineage not only survived the mass extinction that ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs, but also gave rise to the largest living lizards on Earth.
Today, these formidable creatures pace through forests and scrublands, flicking their tongues as they go.
A new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society looks beneath their skin. For the first time, it reveals hidden bone structures that may hold the key to the evolutionary success of goannas in Australia.
The skin is an organ essential for survival. In some animals, it includes a layer of bone plates embedded among the skin tissue. Think of the armour-like plates in crocodiles or armadillos: these are osteoderms.
Their size ranges from microscopic to massive, with the back plates of the stegosaurus as the most impressive example.
We have only just started to understand these enigmatic structures. Osteoderms can be found in animal lineages that diverged up to 380 million years ago. This means these bone plates would have evolved independently, just like active flight did in birds, pterosaurs and bats.
But what is their purpose? While the advantage of flight is undisputed, the case is not as clear for osteoderms.
The most obvious potential would be for defence – protecting the animal from injuries. However, osteoderms may serve a far broader purpose.
In crocodiles, for example, they help with heat regulation, play a part in movement, and even supply calcium during egg-laying. It is the interplay of these poorly understood functions that has long made it difficult to pinpoint how and why osteoderms evolved.
To help resolve this enigma, we had to go back to the beginning.
Surprisingly, to date science has not even agreed on which species have osteoderms. Therefore, we assembled an international team of specialists to carry out the first large-scale study of osteoderms in lizards and snakes.
We studied specimens from scientific collections at institutions such as the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Natural History Museum in Berlin, and Museums Victoria.
However, we soon learnt that this came with challenges. Firstly, the presence of osteoderms can vary dramatically between individuals of the same species. Secondly, there is no guarantee that osteoderms are sufficiently preserved in all specimens.
Most importantly, they are buried deep within skin tissue and invisible to the naked eye. Traditionally, finding them meant destroying the specimen.
Instead, we turned to micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), an imaging technique similar to a medical CT scan, but with much higher resolution. This allowed us to study even the tiniest anatomical structures while keeping our specimens intact.
Using computer-generated 3D models, we then digitally explored the bodies of lizards and snakes from all parts of the world. Incorporating data from prior literature, we processed almost 2,000 such samples in our search for osteoderms.
To illustrate our results, we devised a technique called radiodensity heatmapping, which visually highlights the locations of bone structures in the body.
For the first time, we now have a comprehensive catalogue showing where to find osteoderms in a large and diverse group; this will inform future studies.
What we found was unexpected. It was thought only a small number of lizard families had osteoderms. However, we encountered them nearly twice as often as anticipated.
In fact, our results show nearly half of all lizards have osteoderms in one form or another.
Our most astonishing finding concerned goannas. Scientists have been studying monitor lizards for more than 200 years. They were long thought to lack osteoderms, except in rare cases such as the Komodo dragon.
So we were all the more surprised when we discovered previously undocumented osteoderms in 29 Australo-Papuan species, increasing their overall known prevalence five times.
This isn’t just an anatomical curiosity. Now that we know Australian goannas have osteoderms, it opens up an exciting new avenue for further studies. This is because goannas have an interesting biogeographic history: when they first arrived in Australia about 20 million years ago, they had to adapt to a new, harsh environment.
If osteoderms in goannas showed up around this time – possibly owing to new challenges from their environment – we’d gain crucial insights into the function and evolution of these enigmatic bone structures.
Not only may we just have found the key to an untold chapter in the goanna story, our findings may also improve our understanding of the forces of evolution that shaped Australia’s unique reptiles as we know them today.
Roy Ebel receives funding from the Australian Government’s Research Training Program.
– ref. New study peers beneath the skin of iconic lizards to find ‘chainmail’ bone plates – and lots of them – https://theconversation.com/new-study-peers-beneath-the-skin-of-iconic-lizards-to-find-chainmail-bone-plates-and-lots-of-them-260700
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Timothy Piatkowski, Lecturer in Psychology, Griffith University
Eighteen-year-old Mark scrolls Instagram late at night, watching videos of fitness influencers showing off muscle gains and lifting the equivalent of a baby elephant off the gym floor.
Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve steroids, soon Mark is online, ordering his first “steroid cycle”. No script, no warnings, just vials in the mail and the promise of “gains”.
A few weeks later, he’s posting progress shots and getting tagged as #MegaMark. He’s pleased. But what if I told you Mark was unknowingly injecting toxic chemicals?
In our new research we tested products sold in Australia’s underground steroid market and found many were mislabelled or missing the expected steroid entirely.
Even more concerning, several contained heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium. These substances are known to cause cancer, heart disease and organ failure.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs designed to mimic the effects of testosterone. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe them for specific health conditions (for example, hypogonadism, where the body isn’t making enough sex hormones). But they are more commonly taken by people looking to increase muscle size, improve athletic performance, or elevate feelings of wellbeing.
In Australia, it’s illegal to possess steroids without a prescription. This offence can attract large fines and prison terms (up to 25 years in Queensland).
Despite this, they’re widely available online and from your local “gym bro”. So it’s not surprising we’re seeing escalating use, particularly among young men and women.
People usually take steroids as pills and capsules or injectable oil- or water-based products. But while many people assume these products are safe if used correctly, they’re made outside regulated settings, with no official quality checks.
For this new study, we analysed 28 steroid products acquired from people all over Australia which they’d purchased either online or from peers in the gym. These included 16 injectable oils, ten varieties of oral tablets, and two “raw” powders.
An independent forensic lab tested the samples for active ingredients, contaminants and heavy metals. We then compared the results against what people thought they were taking.
More than half of the samples were mislabelled or contained the wrong drug. For example, one product labelled as testosterone enanthate (200mg/mL) contained 159mg/mL of trenbolone (a potent type of steroid) and no detectable testosterone. Oxandrolone (also known as “Anavar”, another type of steroid) tablets were sold claiming a strength of 10mg but actually contained 6.8mg, showing a disparity in purity.
Just four products matched their expected compound and purity within a 5% margin.
But the biggest concern was that all steroids we analysed were contaminated with some level of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and cadmium.
While all of the concentrations we detected were within daily exposure limits regarded as safe by health authorities, more frequent and heavier use of these drugs would quickly see people who use steroids exceed safe thresholds. And we know this happens.
If consumed above safe limits, research suggests lead can damage the brain and heart. Arsenic is a proven carcinogen, having been linked to the development of skin, liver and lung cancers.
People who use steroids often dose for weeks or months, and sometimes stack multiple drugs, so these metals would build up. This means long‑term steroid use could be quietly fuelling cognitive decline, organ failure, and even cancer.
Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium often contaminate anabolic steroid products because raw powders sourced from some manufacturers, particularly those in China, may be produced with poor quality control and impure starting materials. These metals can enter the supply chain during synthesis, handling, or from contaminated equipment and solvents, leading to their presence in the final products.
Steroid use isn’t going away, so we need to address the potential health harms from these contaminants.
While pill testing is now common at festivals for drugs such as ecstasy, testing anabolic steroids requires more complex chemical analysis that cannot be conducted on-site. Current steroid testing relies on advanced laboratory techniques, which limits availability mostly to specialised research programs such as those in Australia and Switzerland.
We need to invest properly in a national steroid surveillance and testing network, which will give us data‑driven insights to inform targeted interventions.
This should involve nationwide steroid testing programs integrated with needle‑and‑syringe programs and community health services which steroid-using communities are aware of and engage with.
We also need to see peer‑led support through trusted programs to educate people who use steroids around the risks. The programs should be based in real evidence, and developed by people with lived experience of steroid use, in partnership with researchers and clinicians.
Timothy Piatkowski receives funding from Queensland Mental Health Commission. He is affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action as the Vice President. He is affiliated with The Loop Australia as the research lead (Queensland).
– ref. Pumped up with poison: new research shows many anabolic steroids contain toxic metals – https://theconversation.com/pumped-up-with-poison-new-research-shows-many-anabolic-steroids-contain-toxic-metals-261470
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Amra Lee, PhD candidate in Protection of Civilians, Australian National University
Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The statement condemns Israel for what it calls “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking “their most basic need” of water and food, saying:
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity […] It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
Gazans, including malnourished mothers denied baby formula, face impossible choices as Israel intensifies its use of starvation as a weapon of war.
In Gaza, survival requires negotiating what the United Nations calls aid “death traps”.
According to the UN, 875 Gazans have been killed – many of them shot – while seeking food since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating in late May. Another 4,000 have been injured.
More than 170 humanitarian groups have called for the food hubs to be shut down.
Gaza has been described as the “hungriest place on Earth”, with aid trucks being held at the border and the United States destroying around 500 tonnes of emergency food because it was just out of date.
More than two million people are at critical risk of famine. The World Food Programme estimates 90,000 women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition.
Nineteen Palestinians have starved to death in recent days, according to local health authorities.
After the breakdown of the January ceasefire, Israel implemented a humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip. Following mounting international pressure, limited aid was permitted and the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
As anticipated, only a fraction of the aid has been distributed.
About 1,600 trucks entered Gaza between May 19 and July 14, well below the 630 trucks needed every day to feed the population.
Israeli ministers have publicly called for food and fuel reserves to be bombed to starve the Palestinian people – a clear war crime – to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Famine expert Alex De Waal says Israel’s starvation strategy constitutes a dangerous weakening of international law. It also disrupts norms aimed at preventing hunger being used as a weapon of war:
operations like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are a big crack in these principles [that is] not going to save Gaza from mass starvation.
Palestinian organisations were the first to raise the alarm over Israel’s plans to impose controls over aid distribution.
UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council in May, warning of the world’s collective failure to call out the scale of violations of international law as they were being committed:
Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Since then, clear and unequivocal warnings of the compounding risks of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing have intensified from the UN, member states and international law experts.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims it has handed out millions of meals since it began operating in the strip in May. But the UN has called the distribution model “inherently unsafe”.
Near-daily shootings have occurred since the militarised aid hubs began operating. Malnourished Palestinians risking death to feed their families are trekking long distances to reach the small number of distribution sites.
While the foundation denies people are being shot, the UN has called the aid delivery mechanism a “deliberate attempt to weaponise aid” that fails to comply with humanitarian principles and risks further war crimes.
Jewish Physicians for Human Rights has rejected the aid’s “humanitarian” characterisation, stating it “is what systematic harm to human beings looks like”.
Human rights and legal organisations are calling for all involved to be held accountable for complicity in war crimes that “exposes all those who enable or profit from it to real risk of prosecution”.
Today’s joint statement follows growing anger and frustration in Western countries over the lack of political pressure on Israel to end the suffering in Gaza.
Polling in May showed more than 80% of Australians opposed Israel’s denial of aid as unjustifiable and wanted to see Australia doing more to support civilians in Gaza.
Last week’s meeting of the Hague Group of nations shows more collective concrete action is being taken to exert pressure and uphold international law.
Th 12 member states agreed to a range of diplomatic, legal and economic measures, including a ban on ships transporting arms to Israel.
States will continue to face increased international and domestic pressure to take stronger action to influence Israel’s conduct as more Gazans are killed, injured and stripped of their dignity in an engineered famine.
This moment in Gaza is unprecedented in terms of our knowledge of the scale and gravity of violations being perpetrated and what failing to act means for Palestinians and our shared humanity.
Now is the time to exert diplomatic, legal and economic pressure on Israel to change course.
History tells us we need to act now – international law and our collective moral conscience requires it.
Amra Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Suffering in Gaza reaches ‘new depths’ – Australia condemns ‘inhumane killing’ of Palestinians – https://theconversation.com/suffering-in-gaza-reaches-new-depths-australia-condemns-inhumane-killing-of-palestinians-261547
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Chappell, Post Doctoral Research, University of New England
Australia’s 48th parliament has a record 112 women members. Ten of those women are independents.
As they take their seats in the chamber, they’ll be realising the aspirations of some of Australia’s first suffragists who, more than a century ago, staunchly supported independent representation, but failed to gain traction at the ballot box.
Our earliest female political aspirants, Catherine Spence in Adelaide, Rose Scott in Sydney and Vida Goldstein in Melbourne, eschewed party politics, believing significant social issues should transcend political boundaries.
Recent close contests in the electorates of Bradfield and the eponymous Goldstein echoed the challenges of female independent candidates across time.
Spence had been declined preselection for the nascent Labor Party in 1896. This was when women in South Australia, including Aboriginal women, became the first in Australia to have the right not only to vote, but also to stand for parliament.
Spence believed issues of social justice and electoral reform should override party allegiance.
The following year, Spence nominated for the federal convention to draft a Constitution for the new Australian parliament. Her strongest commitment was to proportional voting based on the Hare system of the single transferable vote, which was ultimately introduced to the Australian Senate in 1948. Spence believed this was the fairest electoral system to give voice to minority concerns.
She was the only woman to nominate. Although not elected, she won her place in history as Australia’s first female political candidate.
Acknowledging her defeat, Spence reflected:
I stood or fell on a question which both parties thought it expedient to ignore […] I look on my position in the poll as very satisfactory.
Similarly, Goldstein, the first woman to stand for Australia’s federal parliament in 1903, viewed her loss as “virtually a victory”. She explained to her supporters:
I stood as a protest against press domination and the creation of the vicious system of machine politics. I had the prejudice of ages to fight, and yet I secured more than half of the votes of the candidate heading the polls.
Scott was a political powerbroker of her day.
Although she did not stand for office, she brought together politicians across the divide with people of influence from the judiciary, publishing and the arts at her Friday evening salons.
Despite her privileged background and private income, Scott’s political leanings were towards socialism.
For more than 20 years she corresponded regularly with both Spence and Goldstein. Their extant letters reveal shared concerns for equal pay and education for women and child welfare.
Significant NSW legislation was reputedly drafted on Scott’s rosewood dining table. She remained staunchly opposed to party politics, scrawling her endorsement across a copy of The Inebriates Act 1900 “non-party and non-sectarian”.
Scott joined Goldstein on the hustings and furnished letters of support in Goldstein’s campaign pamphlets.
Spence, however, recalling the bitter lesson of her own candidature, wrote:
I am not at all sure that Vida Goldstein is wise in standing for the Senate. Women do not vote as women for women.
Like Spence, Goldstein was hampered by misinformation, with questions asked about her eligibility to stand for parliament. Both lacked the financial support available to their opponents backed by party organisations.
Goldstein was attacked in the conservative press for her views on home and marriage. Comments on her dress and appearance trivialised reporting of her political message. Labor newspapers proclaimed that support for Goldstein would split the vote and result in a defeat of Labor’s candidates.
Spence escaped similar attention because she was short, stout and in her seventies when she campaigned.
Goldstein nominated for the Senate again in 1910, campaigning for equal pay and federal reform of marriage and divorce laws.
Although she polled higher than in 1903, her campaign was hampered by lack of funds and negative press coverage.
Party politics had become more polarised. Many women were now actively joining the Labor Party or supporting the conservative Australian Women’s National League.
Between 1910 and her final tilt for the Senate in 1917, Goldstein stood twice for the seat of Kooyong, currently held for a second term by independent MP Monique Ryan.
Goldstein stood as a progressive independent for Kooyong in 1912. Labor did not field a candidate. She polled around half the votes of her male opponent. She stood again in 1915, remaining frank and uncompromising on her independent status:
as a non-party candidate I had difficulties to face that confronted no other candidate. The non-party candidate does not get the support of the party press. And the other special prejudice I have to fight is that of sex.
While their work towards women’s suffrage is acknowledged, the broader social and political contributions of our early feminists are often overlooked. When the right to vote still seemed unobtainable, they were lobbying for fairer divorce, child welfare, prevention of domestic violence and equal pay. Political representation seemed a step too far.
“None of these women could have imagined a Julia Gillard. It would have made their heads spin to think that a woman could be prime minister,” says historian Clare Wright.
An Australian parliament with majority of cabinet positions held by women, with women leading both the opposition in the House of Representatives and the government in the Senate, would leave them stunned, but triumphant.
Elizabeth Chappell previously received funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship 2021-2024
– ref. As female independent MPs descend on parliament, they’re fulfilling the dreams of women across history – https://theconversation.com/as-female-independent-mps-descend-on-parliament-theyre-fulfilling-the-dreams-of-women-across-history-252634
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amra Lee, PhD candidate in Protection of Civilians, Australian National University
Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The statement condemns Israel for what it calls “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking “their most basic need” of water and food, saying:
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity […] It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
Gazans, including malnourished mothers denied baby formula, face impossible choices as Israel intensifies its use of starvation as a weapon of war.
In Gaza, survival requires negotiating what the United Nations calls aid “death traps”.
According to the UN, 875 Gazans have been killed – many of them shot – while seeking food since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating in late May. Another 4,000 have been injured.
More than 170 humanitarian groups have called for the food hubs to be shut down.
Gaza has been described as the “hungriest place on Earth”, with aid trucks being held at the border and the United States destroying around 500 tonnes of emergency food because it was just out of date.
More than two million people are at critical risk of famine. The World Food Programme estimates 90,000 women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition.
Nineteen Palestinians have starved to death in recent days, according to local health authorities.
After the breakdown of the January ceasefire, Israel implemented a humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip. Following mounting international pressure, limited aid was permitted and the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
As anticipated, only a fraction of the aid has been distributed.
About 1,600 trucks entered Gaza between May 19 and July 14, well below the 630 trucks needed every day to feed the population.
Israeli ministers have publicly called for food and fuel reserves to be bombed to starve the Palestinian people – a clear war crime – to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Famine expert Alex De Waal says Israel’s starvation strategy constitutes a dangerous weakening of international law. It also disrupts norms aimed at preventing hunger being used as a weapon of war:
operations like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are a big crack in these principles [that is] not going to save Gaza from mass starvation.
Palestinian organisations were the first to raise the alarm over Israel’s plans to impose controls over aid distribution.
UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council in May, warning of the world’s collective failure to call out the scale of violations of international law as they were being committed:
Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Since then, clear and unequivocal warnings of the compounding risks of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing have intensified from the UN, member states and international law experts.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims it has handed out millions of meals since it began operating in the strip in May. But the UN has called the distribution model “inherently unsafe”.
Near-daily shootings have occurred since the militarised aid hubs began operating. Malnourished Palestinians risking death to feed their families are trekking long distances to reach the small number of distribution sites.
While the foundation denies people are being shot, the UN has called the aid delivery mechanism a “deliberate attempt to weaponise aid” that fails to comply with humanitarian principles and risks further war crimes.
Jewish Physicians for Human Rights has rejected the aid’s “humanitarian” characterisation, stating it “is what systematic harm to human beings looks like”.
Human rights and legal organisations are calling for all involved to be held accountable for complicity in war crimes that “exposes all those who enable or profit from it to real risk of prosecution”.
Today’s joint statement follows growing anger and frustration in Western countries over the lack of political pressure on Israel to end the suffering in Gaza.
Polling in May showed more than 80% of Australians opposed Israel’s denial of aid as unjustifiable and wanted to see Australia doing more to support civilians in Gaza.
Last week’s meeting of the Hague Group of nations shows more collective concrete action is being taken to exert pressure and uphold international law.
Th 12 member states agreed to a range of diplomatic, legal and economic measures, including a ban on ships transporting arms to Israel.
States will continue to face increased international and domestic pressure to take stronger action to influence Israel’s conduct as more Gazans are killed, injured and stripped of their dignity in an engineered famine.
This moment in Gaza is unprecedented in terms of our knowledge of the scale and gravity of violations being perpetrated and what failing to act means for Palestinians and our shared humanity.
Now is the time to exert diplomatic, legal and economic pressure on Israel to change course.
History tells us we need to act now – international law and our collective moral conscience requires it.
Amra Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Suffering in Gaza reaches ‘new depths’ – Australia condemns ‘inhumane killing’ of Palestinians – https://theconversation.com/suffering-in-gaza-reaches-new-depths-australia-condemns-inhumane-killing-of-palestinians-261547
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
The Army recently announced that 29 museums will be closed or consolidated, including the Lewis Army Museum at JBLM
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, demanding answers as to why the Lewis Army Museum at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) will be closed, and shared how important the museum is for celebrating the rich history of military service at JBLM. The Lewis Army Museum is the only certified U.S. Army Museum on the entire West Coast.
The Army recently announced that 29 museums will be closed or consolidated, in order to direct more resources toward “readiness and lethality,” the list includes the Lewis Army Museum at JBLM. The Army Museum Enterprise provided no explanation when it announced it will shrink from 41 museums at 29 locations, to 12 field museums and four training support facilities at 12 locations.
Senator Murray began her letter by detailing the storied history of the soldiers the museum honors, “JBLM is named after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition and was established in 1917 to train the 91st ‘Wild West’ Division before deploying to Germany in World War I. Since then, JBLM soldiers have continued to serve bravely in all military conflicts. JBLM is home to Audie Leon Murphy, who earned fame as the most highly decorated American Soldier of World War II , and General John Shalikashvili, who later became the 13th Chairman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JBLM is full of rich history that deserves to be celebrated, not brushed to the side.”
“Educating our communities on the Army’s history is key to instilling national pride amongst servicemembers and the general public,” Senator Murray continued. “In fact, Secretary Hegseth has been very vocal about preserving our military’s history for the sake of improving morale. In the dedication of his book, Modern Warriors, Hegseth said ‘the legacy of our warriors is worth of elevation – a reflection of what we should really value.’ By closing the Lewis Army Museum, you are doing the exact opposite by not honoring the incredible sacrifice and service the men and women who have been stationed at JBLM have provided. You have said that ‘telling that story [of the Army] will directly lead to a recruiting boom,’ and there seems to be no better way to continue to tell that story than to continue to keep these important museums open to the public.”
Senator Murray concluded her letter by pushing for answers and emphasizing that JBLM was never consulted or given the opportunity to provide input if this decision was made to cut costs, writing: “According to the U.S. Army Center of Military Housing, the decision was made as a cost-cutting measure so the Army can direct more resources toward ‘readiness and lethality’ and will save $114 million over 10 years. Yet this decision comes at a time when President Trump is requesting a historically high defense budget of $1.01 trillion for fiscal year 2026, a 13.4 percent increase compared to fiscal year 2025. If this decision was made for cost-saving measures, JBLM was never consulted or given the opportunity for input. Colonel Kent Park, the outgoing garrison commander, said he heard of the closure through the media, and the closure was never discussed with him.”
Full text of the letter is available HERE, and below:
The Honorable Daniel Driscoll
Secretary of the Army
1600 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-1600
July 21, 2025
Dear Secretary Driscoll:
I am writing to express my concern and disappointment regarding the Army’s decision to shut down and consolidate 29 of its 41 military museums across the country, including the Lewis Army Museum, which honors the soldiers of Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) in my home state of Washington. JBLM is named after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition and was established in 1917 to train the 91st “Wild West” Division before deploying to Germany in World War I.Since then, JBLM soldiers have continued to serve bravely in all military conflicts. JBLM is home to Audie Leon Murphy, who earned fame as the most highly decorated American Soldier of World War II, and General John Shalikashvili, who later became the 13th Chairman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JBLM is full of rich history that deserves to be celebrated, not brushed to the side.
In 1973, JBLM established the Lewis Army Museum to honor its soldiers and educate the public on the value of service. Located in the Red Shield Inn, the building was originally built during World War I by the Salvation Army to accommodate soldiers and their families and it was converted into a museum in 1973. Today, the Lewis Army Museum is the only certified U.S. Army Museum on the entire West Coast. It has an extensive display spanning from decorated artillery shells made in the trenches during World War I to pocket guides given to servicemembers before they deployed to Vietnam. It also showcases military vehicles, vintage uniforms, weapons, art, and other memorabilia donated by local veterans in the Puget Sound area.
Educating our communities on the Army’s history is key to instilling national pride amongst servicemembers and the general public. In fact, Secretary Hegseth has been very vocal about preserving our military’s history for the sake of improving morale. In the dedication of his book, Modern Warriors, Hegseth said “the legacy of our warriors is worth of elevation – a reflection of what we should really value.” By closing the Lewis Army Museum, you are doing the exact opposite by not honoring the incredible sacrifice and service the men and women who have been stationed at JBLM have provided. You have said that “telling that story [of the Army] will directly lead to a recruiting boom,” and there seems to be no better way to continue to tell that story than to continue to keep these important museums open to the public.
According to the U.S. Army Center of Military Housing, the decision was made as a cost-cutting measure so the Army can direct more resources toward “readiness and lethality” and will save $114 million over 10 years. Yet this decision comes at a time when President Trump is requesting a historically high defense budget of $1.01 trillion for fiscal year 2026, a 13.4 percent increase compared to fiscal year 2025. If this decision was made for cost-saving measures, JBLM was never consulted or given the opportunity for input. Colonel Kent Park, the outgoing garrison commander, said he heard of the closure through the media, and the closure was never discussed with him.
JBLM’s community is proud of its history and continued service to our nation and our servicemembers. Without an explanation given for this announcement, I request comprehensive answers to the following questions before August 11, 2025:
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and I look forward to your prompt and thorough response.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on voting against the 2026 Intelligence Authorization Act:
“The Intelligence Committee has an important obligation to ensure our intelligence agencies operate within the bounds of the law and respect the constitutional rights of Americans. At a time when the Trump Administration is defying the rule of law and undermining the very protections our Constitution guarantees, robust Congressional oversight is more important than ever.
“While the 2026 Intelligence Authorization Act includes some provisions aimed at accountability, it falls far short. Instead of strengthening independent oversight, it weakens the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, effectively endorsing this Administration’s arbitrary purges of career intelligence professionals. It also fails to address the current DNI’s documented missteps, including the blatant politicization of intelligence under her leadership. And I have deep concerns about matters raised — or ignored — in the classified annex.
“Our Intelligence Community should never be handed a blank check, especially under an Administration that has shown such disregard for democratic norms and the rule of law.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with Congressman Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), introduced a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians around the world.
“Our country was founded on religious liberty. We cannot sit on the sidelines as Christians around the world are being persecuted for declaring Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We must condemn these heinous crimes,” Senator Hawley said. “Year after year, the number of Christians murdered by extremists in Nigeria has numbered in the thousands. Millions more have been displaced. We cannot allow this to continue. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the persecution of Christians around the world by supporting this resolution.”
“Around the world, our brothers and sisters in Christ face rampant persecution for simply acknowledging the name of Jesus. That is unacceptable. In Nigeria alone, more than 50,000 Christians have been martyred and more than 5 million have been displaced simply for professing their faith. During a Divine Liturgy in Damascus last month, an islamic jihadist opened fire on worshippers and detonated an explosive device — killing at least 30 and wounding dozens more. These examples illustrate the violence and death Christians face on a daily basis,” said Congressman Moore. “Unfortunately, decades of U.S. foreign policy blunders have exacerbated this crisis, with ethno-religious cleansing accelerating in Iraq after our failure to stabilize the country following the 2003 invasion. We as lawmakers cannot continue to sit idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the persecution of Christians across the globe.”
The bill is endorsed by ADF International, Heritage Action for America, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, In Defense of Christians, Global Christian Relief, CatholicVote, Advancing American Freedom, Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), Family Policy Alliance, Christians Engaged, and Save the Persecuted Christians.
Read the full resolution here.
Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
The following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the ministerial segment of the high-level political forum on sustainable development, in New York today:
This year’s high-level political forum arrives at a time of profound challenge — but also real possibility. Despite enormous headwinds, we have seen just in the last two months what can be achieved when countries come together with conviction and focus.
We saw it in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement — a vital step toward a safer, more equitable global health architecture. We saw it in Nice at the third UN Ocean Conference, where Governments committed to expand marine protected areas and tackle plastic pollution and illegal fishing.
And we saw it in Sevilla at the fourth International Financing for Development Conference, where countries agreed on a new vision for global finance — one that expands fiscal space, lowers the cost of capital, and ensures developing countries have a stronger voice and participation in the organizations that shape their future.
These are not isolated wins. They are signs of momentum. Signs that multilateralism can deliver. Signs that transformation is not only necessary — it is possible. And that is the spirit we bring to this high-level political forum.
This forum is about renewing our common promise — to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. We also recognize the deep linkages between development and peace.
We meet against the backdrop of global conflicts that are pushing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) further out of reach. That’s why we must keep working for peace in the Middle East.
Over the weekend in Gaza, we saw yet more mass shootings and killings of people seeking UN aid for their families — an atrocious and inhumane act which I utterly condemn.
We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access as a first step to achieve the two-State solution. We need the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold. We need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions.
We need an end to the horror and bloodshed in Sudan. And the list goes on, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Somalia, from the Sahel to Myanmar.
At every step, we know sustainable peace requires sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals are not a dream. They are a plan. A plan to keep our promises — to the most vulnerable people, to each other, and to future generations. People win when we channel our energy into development.
Since 2015, millions more people have access to electricity, clean cooking, and the internet. Social protection now reaches over half the world’s population — up from just a quarter a decade ago. More girls are completing school. Child marriage is declining. Women’s representation is growing — from the boardrooms of business to the halls of political power.
But we must face a tough reality: Only 35 per cent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half are moving too slowly. And 18 per cent are going backwards.
Meanwhile, the global economy is slowing. Trade tensions are rising. Inequalities are growing. Aid budgets are being decimated while military spending soars. And mistrust, division and outright conflicts are placing the international problem-solving system under unprecedented strain. We cannot sugarcoat these facts. But we must not surrender to them either.
The SDGs are still within reach — if we act with urgency and ambition. This year’s forum focuses on five critical Goals: health, gender equality, decent work, life below water, and global partnerships. All are essential. All are interconnected. All can spur change across other goals.
On health, COVID-19 exposed and deepened inequalities — and today, far too many people still lack access to basic care. We know what works. We must boost investment in universal health coverage, rooted in strong primary care and prevention, reaching those furthest behind first.
On gender equality, gaps remain wide. Women and girls face systemic barriers — from violence and discrimination to unpaid care and limited political voice.
But we also see growing momentum: from grassroots movements to national reforms. Now is the time to turn that momentum into transformation — with rights-based policies, accountability, and real financing into programmes that support inclusion and equality for women and girls.
On decent work, the global economy is leaving billions behind. Over 2 billion people are in informal jobs Youth unemployment is stubbornly high. But we have tools to change this.
The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection is helping countries invest in expanded social protection initiatives, skills training, and the creation of sustainable livelihoods — including in growing industries like clean energy.
Tomorrow, I will deliver an address on the enormous opportunities of the renewables revolution. The upcoming World Summit on Social Development can help spur further progress.
On life below water, our ocean and the communities that count on it are paying the price of overfishing, pollution, and climate change. We must deliver on the commitments of the Nice Ocean Conference — to protect marine ecosystems and support the millions who depend on them. And, finally, on global partnerships — SDG 17 — we need to strengthen all the elements that can support progress.
This means investing in science, data, and local capacity. And harnessing digital innovation — including artificial intelligence — to accelerate progress, not deepen divides.
Throughout, we must recognize the need to reform the unfair global financial system, which no longer represents today’s world or the challenges faced by developing countries.
We must ensure a reform for developing countries to have a stronger voice and greater participation to help advance the Sustainable Development Goals on the ground.
The Sevilla Commitment that emerged from the Conference on Financing for Development includes important steps: Through new domestic and global commitments that can channel public and private finance to the areas of greatest need.
By increasing the capacity of Governments to substantially mobilize domestic resources, including through tax reform. And by establishing a more effective framework for debt relief and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to the benefit of developing countries.
In the coming year, we must keep building. We must strengthen and scale up partnerships that deliver — including with the private sector and civil society organizations and local authorities.
We must embed long-term thinking into every decision, as we committed in the Declaration on Future Generations. And we must continue to learn from each other.
Voluntary national reviews — the backbone of this forum — are more than reports. They are acts of accountability. They are journeys of self-discovery as countries develop and build. And they are templates for other countries to follow and learn from.
By the end of this high-level political forum, we will have surpassed 400 reviews — with over 150 countries presenting more than once. That is a powerful signal of commitment. A clear demonstration that solutions exist and can be replicated and expanded.
With five years left, it’s time to transform these sparks of transformation into a blaze of progress — for all countries. Let us act with determination, justice and direction. And let’s deliver on development — for people and for planet.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
NT Police have now charged a 21-year-old male in relation to a domestic violence incident that occurred in Angurugu over the weekend.
Yesterday, with support from the Community Justice Group, the alleged offender handed himself into police at Angurugu Police Station. He has since been charged with Recklessly endangering serious harm (aggravated), Aggravated assault and Armed with an offensive weapon. He will face Darwin Local Court on 23 July 2025.
The 18-year-old female remains at Royal Darwin Hospital receiving treatment.
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Planning is underway for recovery work on state highways in the top of the South Island.
The region’s highways have taken a battering from two recent bad weather events, with key routes in Nelson/Tasman and Marlborough affected.
Mark Owen, Regional Manager for the Lower North Island/Top of the South, says some areas have suffered significant damage and will need substantial repairs.
“On the Tākaka Hill, we have two slip sites and a slump site that will need remedial work. We expect single-lane stop/go traffic management to remain in place on the hill until the end of the year.”
There are also scour, slip, and washout repairs needed on State Highway 6 from Belgrove to Kohatu, and an underslip site at Coal Creek near Owen River that needs to be fixed.”
“We also have work to do in Nelson. Everyone is well aware of the recent closures of State Highway 6 Rocks Road and the slips on this road. We are working on a long-term solution that will see new retaining works done along the top of the cliff face,” Mr Owen says.
SH6 Rocks Road slip site.
And he says work is also required in Marlborough, particularly on State Highway 63 through the Wairau Valley.
“Here, the most pressing task is the washout at Andersons Bridge. Although there are also road repairs needed west of the Waihopai Bridge where the highway has suffered flood scouring.”
Mr Owen says it is essential people realise these are areas which are likely to have ongoing work for some time.
“We are still working through the details – getting geotechnical and site assessments completed and working on designs and solutions.”
“Once these are finalised, we will be able to share more details about how long specific sites will be affected, and how long people can expect to experience travel delays while repairs are completed. We will keep the community updated,” Mr. Owen says.
He warns disruptions and delays will be ongoing.
“Our contractors will work as hard as they can to complete projects as quickly as they can. But it is important people appreciate the top of the South has experienced three major rain events in quick succession.”
“The damage caused will take time to fix. We are talking months, not weeks,” Mr Owen says.
|
Location |
Damage |
|
SH60 Tākaka Hill |
Slump site at Drummond’s Corner, underslip site, and underslip/overslip site |
|
SH6 Rocks Road |
Slip site |
|
SH6 Kohatu |
River scour site |
|
SH6 Spooners Saddle |
Slip and fallen trees sites |
|
SH6 Norris Gully |
River/stream scour site |
|
SH6 Coal Creek |
Underslip site |
|
SH63 Wairau Valley |
Andersons Bridge washout, road scour west of Waihopai Bridge |
Mr Owen says there are areas, like the scour site on State Highway 6 at Kohatu, that will have temporary repairs in place ahead of permanent work later on.
“For the highway at Kohatu, a full road rebuild is planned for our upcoming state highway summer maintenance season. It means there will be a temporary road surface in place ahead of that happening.
“To be effective and durable, road rebuilds have to be done during warmer and drier weather. So, we can’t get this section of State Highway 6 fully rebuilt over winter and early spring,” Mr Owen says.
Drivers can expect road works at multiple locations on state highways across the top of the South Island over the coming months. These will create travel delays, and road users must allow extra time for their journeys.
NZTA/Waka Kotahi strongly encourages people to check road conditions before they travel.
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) will begin construction on a set of average speed safety cameras to improve safety on Kaitaia-Awaroa Road in Northland, from next Monday 28 July.
NZTA Auckland and Northland Director of Regional Relationships, Steve Mutton, says the safety cameras aim to significantly reduce the number of people traveling over the speed limit on this road and lessen the likelihood of a serious or fatal crash.
“The types of crashes that happen and are likely to happen on this stretch of road, the volume of traffic, and driver behaviour all tell us that there is a serious risk of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes on Kaitaia-Awaroa Road. We also know that risk can be significantly reduced if more people drive to the speed limit. By installing safety cameras here we can encourage just that.
“In May 2024 we ran a speed survey on this stretch of road that showed around 75 percent of drivers were speeding. It showed the average speed across the full length of road to be 89km/h across both 80km/h and 60km/h areas.
“We also know that between 2018 and 2023 two people were killed and another 13 were seriously injured in crashes on this stretch of road.”
There will be four cameras in total. The outer cameras will be installed near Sandhills Road in Ahipara at one end and the 80km/h speed limit sign at the Kaitaia end. The two cameras in the middle will be installed near the speed limit signs at approximately 655 Kaitaia-Awaroa Road, and the other near 854 Kaitaia-Awaroa Road.
When installed, the four cameras will work together, measuring the average speed drivers travel between them. Drivers will only be ticketed if their average travel speed between any two cameras is over the limit – they aren’t ‘pinged’ by a single camera or at a single point where they are over the speed limit.
We know that average speed safety cameras are more effective at reducing deaths and serious injuries than the traditional speed cameras we’ve had in New Zealand. Safety cameras will reduce speeding, ensuring that if crashes do happen, the people involved are far more likely to walk away unharmed” says Mr Mutton.
Initial construction works will include installing underground power supplies, completing foundation works and installing metal barriers that will protect maintenance workers and any vehicle that leaves the road in a crash.
Before the cameras begin operating ‘Average speed camera area’ signs will be installed, giving drivers a reminder to check their speed and slow down if needed.
NZTA is expecting to begin operating its first average speed safety cameras at Matakana Road, Warkworth, later this year, and will progressively bring other average speed safety cameras online in the following months.
