The Proposed Settlement Requires a Substantial Divestiture Package That Will Preserve Competition for Critical Flight Control Components
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that it will require Safran, S.A. and Safran USA Inc. (Safran) to divest its North American actuation business and related assets to resolve antitrust concerns arising from its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s actuation and flight control business from RTX Corporation (RTX) (formerly Raytheon Technologies). The divestiture resolves concerns that the transaction would recombine assets that were divested as part of the Division’s settlement of United Technologies Corporation’s (UTC) acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018. UTC merged with Raytheon Company in 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.
The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Division’s competitive concerns.
“Today’s settlement is a structural solution to an acquisition that would have harmed competition for important aircraft components that are critical to passenger safety. The proposed divestiture to Woodward, an established provider in the aerospace industry, ensures that American customers will continue to benefit from competition, and the incentives of Woodward, the merging parties, and their customer base are aligned with the remedy’s success,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This settlement is another example of our commitment to transparency and relief that secures robust and enforceable commitments from the merging parties that account for industry dynamics. The Antitrust Division will apply heightened scrutiny to transactions that propose to recombine assets divested in response to the Division’s prior enforcement actions, taking appropriate consideration for changes in competitive conditions.”
As detailed in the complaint, Safran and RTX are two of the leading suppliers in the market for trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs) for large aircraft. A THSA helps an aircraft maintain the proper altitude during flight and is critical to the safety and performance of the aircraft. Safran and RTX compete head-to-head to develop and sell this critical component. Without the proposed divestiture, Safran’s acquisition of RTX’s actuation and flight control business would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation to the detriment of customers and American consumers. The proposed divestiture of Safran’s North American actuation business includes the assets Safran had acquired under the Division’s 2018 settlement with UTC and Rockwell Collins. Safran has since operated these assets as a viable competitor in the market for THSAs.
The proposed settlement requires Safran to divest its North American actuation business, including THSAs and secondary flight control actuators, and its Canada-based electronic control unit, to Woodward Inc., an American company with significant experience in the aerospace industry, including serving large aircraft manufacturers. The divestiture assets also include the tangible and intangible assets necessary to produce and sell THSAs, secondary flight control actuators, and electronic control units. Woodward is expected to hire certain key Safran employees that today support the divested business lines.
The Antitrust Division, the European Commission, and the Competition and Markets Authority cooperated closely throughout the course of their respective investigations.
Safran is a French multinational company with its headquarters in Paris, France. Safran produces a wide range of products for the aviation, space, and defense sectors. In 2024, Safran had revenues of approximately €27 billion.
RTX is an American multinational company, incorporated in Delaware and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. RTX is a major provider of aerospace and defense products and systems. In 2024, RTX had revenues of approximately $80 billion.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Soyoung Choe, Acting Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530 or via email at ATR.DIA.Information@usdoj.gov. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.
In Europe, the fastest-warming continent, the intensification of extreme weather events and changes in precipitation patterns have led to widespread and catastrophic flooding. Last year, storms and flooding affected an estimated 413,000 people, resulting in the loss of at least 335 lives. Material damage is estimated to amount to at least €18 billion, according to the 2024 European State of the Climate report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization.
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The flooding in October that hit southeastern Spain and the Valencia province in particular took the heaviest toll. Intense and prolonged rainfall and river flooding led to 232 fatalities, and infrastructure damage and economic losses totalled around €16.5 billion. More than seven months later, the local economy has rebounded, thanks in part to public aid packages worth 0.5% of the country’s GDP. However, in early May, the same part of Spain found itself exposed again to the disruptive consequences of climate change when extreme weather hit.
The costs of flooding
The direct costs from the damage to public infrastructure and private assets are only part of the economic losses originating from flooding. The indirect costs might not be immediately visible, but they are certainly not less significant. Business interruptions reduce firms’ revenue and cash flows, straining liquidity and, in the worst cases, threatening their survival. In addition, the increasing likelihood of future flooding may be priced into the valuation of assets and real estate in areas exposed to these types of climate risks. Firms impacted by climate-related hazards might find it difficult to pay back loans or bonds, or to raise finance as physical assets that can be pledged as collateral for bank credit lose value. Ultimately, this can affect the stability of the financial system.
For these reasons, climate change is not just a long-term environmental issue, but a threat to our economy and financial systems now. Economists at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) have been conducting research to better understand how the links between the business sector and the financial system amplify its impact.
A JRC study of flood events between 2007 and 2018 finds that flooding significantly worsened the performance of European firms. Manufacturers exposed to flooding experienced reductions in sales, number of employees and the value of their assets. These impacts occurred in the year following the flooding and tended to be persistent, with no clear signs of recovery seven years after the disaster. Some firms even went out of business. The study also finds that companies in flood-prone areas were better able to weather the shock than businesses exposed to less frequent flooding. This is consistent with the fact that adaptation and protection measures reduce the impacts of flooding.
Threats to smaller firms
Water damage is particularly disruptive for companies that are highly indebted. A second JRC study zooms in on the mechanisms whereby financing choices, and reliance on bank loans in particular, amplify the impact of climate change. This study focuses on loans extended to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Italy, Spain and Belgium between 2008 and 2019. It was motivated by the idea that smaller firms, which are more financially fragile than larger ones, might also be more vulnerable to the localised impact of climate-related hazards, not least because of their limited capacity to geographically diversify their operations and access market-based finance. The study shows that flood episodes under analysis strained SMEs’ ability to meet their debt obligations. Flooded firms were more likely to incur delays in servicing their loans and eventually fail to repay them, even two years after the disaster.
In turn, this entails losses for the banks that finance these firms. In general, if banks anticipate the impact of flooding on business operations, they could be expected to divert lending toward safer borrowers or charge a higher interest rate on credit extended to at-risk firms. Indeed, the study finds evidence that prospective flood risk is priced into new loans. In the period under analysis, the “flood risk premium” was especially high for loans to smaller firms and for those granted by local, specialised banks, both of which tend to have geographically concentrated activities that are more exposed to disaster impacts. Loans to borrowers exposed to high flood risk were 12 percent more expensive, all things being equal.
Thus, flooding causes worse financial conditions for businesses and exposes the banking sector to losses on their loan portfolios. The numbers can be staggering: days after the October 2024 flooding, the Spanish Central Bank said that banks’ exposure in the affected areas would total €20 billion, with €13 billion in household loans and €7 billion in business loans (60% to SMEs), impacting 23,000 companies and 472,000 individuals.
With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe, the direct and indirect costs of climate change are projected to increase, unevenly affecting households, firms and territories across Europe. Increasing investments in adaptation, eg in flood defence, and closing the climate insurance protection gap – the uninsured portion of economic losses caused by natural hazards – are crucial to increase the resilience of our economies and financial systems and preserve the wellbeing of our societies. The complex structure of investment incentives calls for a multilayered approach, with a mix of private and public funding and risk-sharing mechanisms.
Serena Fatica ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
The foods and scents we associate with our childhoods can provide a meaningful source of comfort and connection.zeljkosantrac/E+ via Getty Images
Walking around my neighborhood in the evening, I am hit by the smells of summer: fresh-cut grass, hamburgers grilling and a hint of swimming pool chlorine. These are also the smells of summers from my adolescence, and they remind me of Friday evenings at the community pool with my friends and our families gathered around picnic tables between swims. The memories always brings a smile to my face.
As a social psychologist, I shouldn’t feel surprised to experience this warm glow. My researchfocuses on nostalgia – a sentimental longing for treasured moments in our personal pasts – and how nostalgia is linked to our well-being and feelings of connection with others.
Triggered by sensory stimuli such as music, scents and foods, nostalgia has the power to mentally transport us back in time. This might be to important occasions, to moments of triumph and – importantly – moments revolving around close family and friends and other important people in our lives.
As it turns out, this experience is good for us.
How the concept of nostalgia evolved
For centuries, nostalgia was considered unhealthy.
In the 1600s, a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer studied mercenaries in the Italian and French lowlands who longed desperately for their mountain homelands. Witnessing their weeping and despondency, he coined the term nostalgia and attributed it to a brain disease. Other thinkers of the time echoed this view, which persisted through the 18th and 19th centuries.
However, early thinkers made an error: They assumed that nostalgia was causing unpleasant symptoms. It may have been the reverse. Unpleasant experiences, such as lonelinessand grief, can arouse nostalgia, which can then help people cope more effectively with these hardships.
While nostalgia is a universal experience, it is also deeply personal. The moments for which we are each nostalgic and the stimuli that might trigger our nostalgic memories can vary from one person to the next depending on the experiences that each of us have. But people within the same culture may find similar stimuli to be nostalgic for them. In a 2013 study, for instance, my team found that American participants rated pumpkin pie spice as the most nostalgia-evoking scent out of a variety of options.
Many nostalgia-inducing scents vary from person to person, but pumpkin pie spice may be one of the most evocative scents in the U.S. Redjina Ph/Moment via Getty Images
The nostalgic power of scents and foods
In 1922, the French novelist Marcel Proust wrote about the strength of scents and foods to elicit nostalgia. He vividly described how the experience of smelling and eating a tea-soaked cake mentally transported him back to childhood experiences with his aunt in her home and village. This sort of experience is now often referred to as the Proust effect.
Science has confirmed what Proust described. Our olfactory system, the sensory system responsible for our sense of smell, is closely linked to brain structures associated with emotions and autobiographical memory. Smells combine with tastes to create our perception of flavor.
Foods also tend to be central to social gatherings, making them easily associated with these memories. For instance, a summer barbecue might feel incomplete to some without slices of juicy watermelon. And homemade pumpkin pie may be an essential dessert at many Thanksgiving tables. The watermelon or pie may then serve as what are known in social psychology as social surrogates, foods that serve as stand-ins for valued relationships due to their inclusion at past occasions with loved ones.
My research team and I wanted to know how people benefited from feeling nostalgic when they encountered the scents and foods of their pasts. We began in 2011 by exposing study participants to 33 scents and chose 12 of them for our study. Participants rated some scents, such as pumpkin pie spice and baby powder, as highly evocative of nostalgia, while rating others – such as money and cappuccino –as less evocative.
Those who experienced more nostalgia when smelling the scents experienced greater positive emotions, greater self-esteem, greater feelings of connection to their past selves, greater optimism, greater feelings of social connectedness and a greater sense that life is meaningful.
We came to similar conclusions when we studied nostalgia for foods. Foods seemed to be more strongly linked to nostalgia than either scents or music when comparing the amount of nostalgia our participants experienced for foods to what previous research participants experienced for scents and songs. More recently, we found that nostalgic foods are comforting and that people find nostalgic foods comforting because those nostalgic foods remind them of important or meaningful moments with their loved ones.
For some, a summer barbecue wouldn’t be complete without the smell and taste of juicy watermelon. GMVozd/E+ via Getty Images
Balancing benefits and trade-offs
Although nostalgia can be associated with foods that should be eaten only in moderation – such as burgers and cookies – there are other ways to channel our nostalgia through foods.
We can have nostalgia with healthy foods. For instance, orange slices remind me of halftime at childhood soccer matches. And many people, including our research participants, feel intense nostalgia around watermelon. Other researchers have found that tofu is a nostalgic food for Chinese participants.
But when nostalgia does involve consumption of unhealthy foods, there are still other ways to experience it without the health trade-offs. We found that participants experienced the benefits of food-evoked nostalgia just from imagining and writing about the foods – no consumption necessary. Other researchers have found that drawing comforting foods can enhance well-being. Even consuming less healthy foods more mindfully helps people enjoy their food while reducing their caloric consumption.
Once seen as detrimental to our health, nostalgia provides us with an opportunity to reap numerous rewards. With nostalgic foods, we might be able to nourish both our bodies and our psychological health.
Chelsea Reid does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
On a cool February morning in 1904, a spark ignited a fire in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Within hours, a raging inferno swept eastward across the harbor district, consuming everything in its path. By evening, the local firefighters were overwhelmed, and the city sent telegrams to the fire chiefs of major Northeastern cities pleading for help in battling the blaze.
Washington, Philadelphia and New York, along with other cities, responded quickly with dozens of engine companies. Yet when they arrived at the scene, many responders could not hook up to Baltimore’s hydrants since each city had its own threading standards to connect fire hoses.
The fire resulted in damages of over US$3.5 billion in today’s dollars. It created a call for a national standard of threads for hoses and fire hydrant outlets. These standards now improve emergency responses across the country – and the same concept of standardization allows for consistency and replicability in scientific research.
In science, the ideal way to evaluate data is related to the concept driving the calls for uniform fire hose equipment. When scientists compare their results to those obtained in other laboratories, or with previously published data, the comparisons are most meaningful if all datasets were made with standardized practices and reference materials.
Museum scientistslike usprovide compelling insights into the natural world, prehistory and historical culture heritage. Like that of many other scientists, our work, and the measurements we take day to day, depends upon standard references.
Here we offer two fascinating stories from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute that highlight how scientific measurement standards allow for exciting new discoveries:
You are what you drink
In 2007, the New Mexico Bureau of Reclamation exhumed the remains of dozens of Civil War-era soldiers from the ruins of Fort Craig. They had been left behind when the fort was abandoned in 1885.
Anthropologists from the Smithsonian and the Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico identified the remains as belonging to a diverse range of people – including a few dozen African American Buffalo Soldiers, a group that made up a relatively small percentage of the U.S. military at that time.
Historical records tell researchers that most of the military units at Fort Craig mobilized out of Kentucky and Virginia, but official records don’t always tell the full story. The group of project scientists, which included one of us, Christine France, needed a way to confirm the origin of these individuals and restore some identity to these forgotten soldiers.
The researchers decided to use stable isotope analysis on the bones. This technique counts the number of atoms of a particular element in the sample that have one or more extra neutrons – this is the “heavy” isotope – and compares it with the number of atoms that have a normal number of neutrons – this is the “light” isotope.
Drinking water in southern latitudes has more naturally occurring heavy oxygen atoms compared with northern latitudes. If a soldier’s bones had a relatively high ratio of the heavy to the light oxygen atoms, that soldier likely spent more time drinking water from the South.
Researchers have measured oxygen isotopes in other archaeological remains and in water all over North America, giving us a water “isotope map.” But matching the bone isotope values to the water map is like comparing apples to oranges, and every lab has subtle variations in its instruments. The scientists needed to normalize and calibrate the isotope ratios they had measured to a reference standard.
In this case, the standard was the average oxygen isotope value of ocean water, a convention that stable isotope researchers agreed upon as a consistent and readily available value. The researchers now had a uniform way to say how many more – or fewer – heavy oxygen isotopes the bones contained compared to the ocean water standard.
Other archaeology labs and the North American water isotope map use that same standard comparison, allowing them to directly compare all the bone isotope values to one another, and to the North American water isotope map.
Ultimately, the method helped the team identify several soldiers who came from quite far away to join the company, including individuals who likely grew up in the mid-Atlantic, New England and Southeast.
The exact circumstances that brought these soldiers together is lost to history. But the researchers’ ability to assign them geographic provenance with the help of reference standards gave them further insight into this pivotal time in U.S. history.
Volcanic glass mirrors
Humans have always been fascinated by looking at themselves in the mirror. In Mesoamerica – modern-day central and southern Mexico together with northern Central America – archaeologists have found convex round objects so finely polished that they have been termed mirrors.
But instead of using them for vanity, shamans from ancient times likely used them as a tool to access portals to other dimensions.
The oldest Preclassic mirrors (2000 BCE to 250 CE) were fashioned from polished iron ores, but later Postclassic period mirrors (900 CE to 1450 CE) were made from obsidian, a typically black silica-rich volcanic glass.
The collections at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian contain six large, rectangular obsidian mirrors, purchased in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their labels state they come from the “Valley of Mexico.”
Obsidian tablets, a view of both their front and back sides, found in the National Museum of the American Indian collections. NMAI, Martinez et al (2022)
Archeologists rarely find rectangular obsidian mirrors like these at pre-Columbian dig sites. So, local artisans skilled in stone polishing likely made these unusually shaped objects upon request by Spanish invaders around the time of European contact. But which Mesoamerican culture did they come from?
Scientists from the Museum Conservation Institute, including two of us, Thomas Lam and Edward Vicenzi, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, worked with staff at the National Museum of the American Indian on an effort to pinpoint which volcano created the obsidian in the mirrors.
The location of the obsidian source would indicate whether the Aztecs who controlled eastern central Mexico, or the Purépecha who controlled an area west of the Aztecs, produced the objects, as both had ample sources of obsidian in their territories.
To conduct such a study, the researchers required two types of reference materials: obsidian that had erupted from known volcanic locations, and a reference obsidian that scientists already knew the composition of to confirm the quality of the analysis.
The first reference obsidians, from known locations, told the researchers about the differences in geochemistry of the volcanoes in central Mexico. That information allowed them to match the mirror analyses to the known volcanic location analyses and their map coordinates. The second reference obsidian served as a quality control specimen for the analysis.
Museum Conservation Institute scientists used a nondestructive technique called X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze ratios of elements in the obsidians. The process works by “exciting” atoms in the obsidian, and a spectrum of X-ray energies is given off as the atoms “relax.”
Scientists analyzed the obsidian shards to see which elements were present in them in which ratios, and where in Mexico obsidian contained similar elements at similar ratios. Sharps et al. (2021)
The results showed that all the specimens came from a region controlled by the Purépecha, not the Aztecs. The museum curators updated their records describing the mirrors to include this new information about their origin.
Creating standards
Standardized measurement procedures and reference materials play a central role in museum science. Organizations dedicated to rigorous measurement science, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal government agency, help create some of these standards and research new measurement procedures.
Without their leadership, it would be far more difficult for researchers like us to produce high-quality data and discern the relationships between specimens in the natural and cultural heritage sciences. With quality measurement standards in our toolbox, we are finding new insights into human history and the natural world.
Edward Vicenzi is a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Material Measurement Laboratory.
Christine France and Thomas Lam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
MONTRÉAL, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Boralex inc. (“Boralex” or the “Company”) (TSX: BLX) announces its Strategic Plan and Financial Objectives for 2030.
2030 Strategy Highlights
Acceleration of organic growth, leveraging our high-quality pipeline of projects and growth path
Maintain disciplined financial management with precise expected returns indicators, a solid balance sheet, flexible and agile financing and the introduction of a cash flows per share growth objective.
Three simplified pillars: growth, efficiency and long-term differentiation.
Two markets in strong leadership position: Canada, with strong growth potential in Quebec and Ontario, and France, with significant potential to optimize revenues and cash flows from operating assets.
Two expanding markets: certain U.S. states, including solar in New York State, and the United Kingdom through the development of a long-term growth platform.
Increase in the weighted average remaining contract duration1 from 11 years in 2024 to 14 years by 2030.
Keeping up the pace of growth: double the Company’s installed capacity2 every five years within a diverse, inclusive, and responsible work environment aimed at a net-zero trajectory by 2050.
“We are very proud to present the results of our 2030 strategic planning exercise. In a context where climate risk remains one of the main business risks globally, our strategy aims to combine sustainable growth with performance through the production of renewable and affordable energy,” said Patrick Decostre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boralex. “By executing this plan, we are unlocking the full potential of our business model, which will allow us to seize the most promising opportunities in the four markets where we are already active and where demand for renewable energy is growing rapidly,” he added.
“This growth, supported by a development projects pipeline and growth path of 8 GW, will be carried out in a disciplined manner and will continue to focus on securing long-term power purchase agreements with an increasingly diversified customer base. Moreover, the increase in the weighted average remaining duration of our contracts from 11 to 14 years will enable us to implement highly competitive financing structures and reinvest these long-term secured funds into an increasing number of profitable projects in the coming years,” Mr. Decostre continued.
Boralex’s 2030 Strategy is rooted in a long-term value creation perspective, as it will enable targeted investments in projects that will materialize not only over the next five years, but also in following years, replicating the approach adopted in the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan. The 2030 Strategy builds on the significant efforts made over the past five years to create a high-quality development portfolio, enabling us to set fully organic growth targets over which we have greater control. As a result, this approach carries a lower level of risk compared to the previous plan, which relied on an important expected portion coming from mergers and acquisitions.
Financial Objectives and Main Business Indicators 2025–20303
100% Organic financial objectives
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)4 of operating income between 12% to 14%, consolidated EBITDA(A)4 between 7% to 9% and combined EBITDA(A)4 between 8% to 10%.
CAGR of cash flows related to operating activities per share4 and of discretionary cash flows per share4 between 8% to 10%.
Main business indicators
Total planned investments4 of $6.8 billion plus $1.2 billion for projects scheduled to be commissioned after 2030.
Minimum levered internal rate of return (IRR)4 on investments threshold between 10% and 12% adjusted for specific risks by region and technology as well as changes in cost of capital.
Payout ratio4 of 20% to 40% of discretionary cash flows.
“Boralex will continue to grow by applying the same financial discipline that has driven its success in recent years. We will become even more agile by further diversifying our sources of financing. This will include a proactive approach to capital recycling for our most mature assets or those with high value-creation potential, as well as evaluating partnerships for larger-scale projects,” said Bruno Guilmette, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Boralex.
“Our 100% organic financial objectives reflect the high potential of our development pipeline and growth path, which has nearly tripled over the past five years. We are also introducing a new target in this plan: the growth of discretionary cash flows per share—a metric aligned with investor expectations and with the variable compensation of our employees. We are therefore highly confident that these objectives, combined with our discipline, will enable Boralex to maximize value creation for its shareholders and all stakeholders,” Mr. Guilmette added.
Investor Day 2025
Boralex presented its 2030 Strategy and objectives to a group of investors, financial analysts, and bankers gathered in Toronto. The presentation was also broadcast live for business partners who were unable to attend in person. On this occasion, the executive team and regional leaders outlined the key elements and financial targets of the 2030 Strategy, the various growth opportunities and outlooks by region and technology, as well as the company’s approach to risk management and sustainability. A replay of the event and all presentation materials are available on Boralex’s website in the Investors section.
About Boralex
At Boralex, we have been providing affordable renewable energy accessible to everyone for over 30 years. As a leader in the Canadian market and France’s largest independent producer of onshore wind power, we also have facilities in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Over the past five years, our installed capacity has increased by more than 50% to 3.2 GW. We are developing a portfolio of projects in development and construction of 8 GW in wind, solar and storage projects, guided by our values and our corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach. Through profitable and sustainable growth, Boralex is actively participating in the fight against global warming. Thanks to our fearlessness, discipline, expertise and diversity, we continue to be an industry leader. Boralex’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLX.
In order to assess the performance of its assets and reporting segments, Boralex uses various performance measures. Management believes that these measures are widely accepted financial indicators used by investors to assess the operational performance of a company and its ability to generate cash through operations. The non-IFRS and other financial measures also provide investors with insight into the Corporation’s decision making as the Corporation uses these non-IFRS financial measures to make financial, strategic and operating decisions. It is important to note that the non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered as substitutes for IFRS measures. They are primarily derived from the audited consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS; accordingly, they may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-IFRS financial measures are not audited and have important limitations as analytical tools. Investors are therefore cautioned not to consider them in isolation or place undue reliance on ratios or percentages calculated using these non-IFRS financial measures.
Non-GAAP financial measures
Specific financial measure
Use
Composition
Most directly comparable IFRS measure
Financial data – Combined (all disclosed financial data)
To assess the performance and the ability of a company to generate cash from its operations and investments in joint ventures and associates.
Results from the combination of the financial information of Boralex Inc. under IFRS and the share of the financial information of the Interests.
Interests in joint ventures and associates, Share in earnings (losses) of joint ventures and associates and Distributions received from joint ventures and associates are then replaced with Boralex’s respective share in the financial statements of the Interests (revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, etc.).
Respective financial data –Consolidated
Discretionary cash flows
To assess the cash generated from operations and the amount available for future development or to be paid as dividends to common shareholders while preserving the long-term value of the business.
Net cash flows related to operating activities before “change in non-cash items related to operating activities,” less:
(i) distributions paid to non-controlling shareholders; (ii) additions to property, plant and equipment (maintenance of operations); (iii) repayments on non-current debt (projects) and repayments to tax equity investors; (iv) principal payments related to lease liabilities; (v) adjustments for non-operational items; plus (vi) development costs (from the statement of earnings).
Net cash flows related to operating activities
Non-GAAP financial measures – Non-GAAP ratios
Specific financial measure
Use
Composition
Discretionary cash flows per share
To assess the amount per share available for future development or to be paid as dividends to common shareholders while preserving the long-term value of the business as well as to assess operating results.
Financial objective 2030
The discretionary cash flows amount divided by the weighted average number of basic outstanding shares.
Payout ratio
To assess ability to sustain current dividends as well as ability to fund its future development.
Main business indicator 2030
The amount of dividends paid to shareholders divided by the discretionary cash flows amount.
Other financial measures – Total of segment measures
Specific financial measure
Most directly comparable IFRS measure
EBITDA(A)
Operating income
Other financial measures – Total of segment measures
Specific financial measure
Most directly comparable IFRS measure
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
The CAGR is a growth rate indicating the annual variation as if the growth had been constant throughout the period for a period of more than one fiscal year.
Net Cash flows related to operating activities per share Financial objective 2030
The amount of cash flows from operating activities is divided by the weighted average number of basic outstanding shares.
Total planned investments
Main business indicator 2030
Total planned investments represent the sums that will need to be invested to complete the projects up to commissioning.
Internal rate of return (IRR)
Main business indicator 2030
The IRR is a profitability indicator that measures the average annual return of an investment, taking into account levered cash flows.
Assumptions regarding forward-looking information
Assumptions and risk factors regarding the forward-looking information in our 2030 strategic targets are presented below.
Assumptions regarding forward-looking information
Forward-looking information
Key assumptions
Most relevant risk factors
2030 Installed capacity
Results solely from the contribution of organic projects, excluding the impact of potential merger and acquisition transactions.
Lag in commissioning time if obtaining the required permits is more complicated and takes longer than expected and if the Corporation encounters issues related to the availability of materials.
Weighted average residual duration of contracts 2030
Growth of installed capacity according to the strategic plan and obtaining targeted contracts for new projects that will be commissioned.
Delay in the commissioning of organic projects and contractual conditions different from those initially planned.
Projects under construction
Investments, EBITDA(A) and forecasted discretionary cash flows to meet the target IRR of 10% to 12% set by management for projects under construction.
Possible variation in construction costs related to the complexity of work, the supply of materials and equipment and availability of labour necessary for the construction of projects.
2030 Operating Result and EBITDA(A) 2030
Prices of energy sales or feed-in premium contracts, proportion of production sold at market prices, annual anticipated production, cost structures to support growth.
Competition in requests for proposals, lag in commissioning time for organic projects and completion of merger and acquisition transactions, price curve volatility and weather conditions impacting the total volume of power generated by the Corporation.
Cash flow per share 2030
Largely related to the expected EBITDA(A), and to project financing ranging from 70% to 80% of the total planned investment and the number of shares outstanding.
Possible fluctuations related to deviations in the expected EBITDA(A) target and market conditions for financing and issuing new equity instruments
Disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained in this release, including those related to results and performance for future periods, installed capacity targets, EBITDA(A) and discretionary cash flows, the Corporation’s strategic plan, business model and growth strategy, organic growth and growth through mergers and acquisitions, obtaining an investment grade credit rating, payment of a quarterly dividend, the Corporation’s financial targets, the projects commissioning dates, the portfolio of renewable energy projects, the Corporation’s Growth Path, the bids for new storage and solar projects and its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives are forward-looking statements based on current forecasts, as defined by securities legislation. Positive or negative verbs such as “will,” “would,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “intend,” “assess,” “estimate” or “believe,” or expressions such as “toward,” “about,” “approximately,” “to be of the opinion,” “potential” or similar words or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology, are used to identify such statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on major assumptions, including those about the Corporation’s return on its projects, as projected by management with respect to wind and other factors, opportunities that may be available in the various sectors targeted for growth or diversification, assumptions made about EBITDA(A) margins, assumptions made about the sector realities and general economic conditions, competition, exchange rates as well as the availability of funding and partners. While the Corporation considers these factors and assumptions to be reasonable, based on the information currently available to the Corporation, they may prove to be inaccurate.
Boralex wishes to clarify that, by their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and that its results, or the measures it adopts, could be significantly different from those indicated or underlying those statements, or could affect the degree to which a given forward-looking statement is achieved. The main factors that may result in any significant discrepancy between the Corporation’s actual results and the forward-looking financial information or expectations expressed in forward-looking statements include the general impact of economic conditions, fluctuations in various currencies, fluctuations in energy prices, the risk of not renewing PPAs or being unable to sign new corporate PPA, the risk of not being able to capture the US or Canadian investment tax credit, counterparty risk, the Corporation’s financing capacity, cybersecurity risks, competition, changes in general market conditions, industry regulations and amendments thereto, particularly the legislation, regulations and emergency measures that could be implemented for time to time to address high energy prices in Europe, litigation and other regulatory issues related to projects in operation or under development, as well as certain other factors considered in the sections dealing with risk factors and uncertainties appearing in Boralex’s MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Unless otherwise specified by the Corporation, forward-looking statements do not take into account the effect that transactions, non-recurring items or other exceptional items announced or occurring after such statements have been made may have on the Corporation’s activities. There is no guarantee that the results, performance or accomplishments, as expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, will materialize. Readers are therefore urged not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements.
Unless required by applicable securities legislation, Boralex’s management assumes no obligation to update or revise forward- looking statements in light of new information, future events or other changes.
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Source: Boralex inc.
1 The weighted average remaining duration also includes non-activated contracts for newly commissioned sites. 2 Installed capacity reflects 100% of Boralex’s subsidiaries in which Boralex is the controlling shareholder. It also reflects Boralex’s share in entities over which it does not have control, and which are accounted for using the equity method. 3 For more information on the key assumptions and risk factors related to the targets of the 2030 strategic plan, refer to the section Non-IFRS financial measures and other financial measures of this press release. 4 The compound annual growth rate, cash flows from operating activities per share, total planned investments, and internal rate of return are additional financial measures. The Combined is a non-GAAP financial measure and does not have a standardized definition under IFRS. Therefore, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Discretionary cash flows per share and the payout ratio are non-GAAP ratios and do not have a standardized definition under IFRS. EBITDA(A) is a total of sector measures. In 2024, net cash flows from operating activities amounted to $411 million, after adjusting to exclude the change in accounts payable related to the inframarginal rent contribution, representing an amount of $196 million. This adjustment primarily reflects a payment made during the third quarter of the fiscal year. The inframarginal rent contribution is no longer applicable in 2025. For more details, refer to the section Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Financial Measures in this press release.
contingent of the Indian Army departed on Monday to participate in the eighth edition of the Indo-French joint military exercise, Shakti, set to be held from June 18 to July 1, at Camp Larzac, La Cavalerie, in southern France.
The Indian team comprises 90 personnel, with the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles leading the representation, supported by troops from various arms and services. The French Army contingent, also numbering 90 personnel, will include soldiers from the 13th Foreign Legion Half-Brigade (13th DBLE), a renowned unit of the French Foreign Legion.
Exercise Shakti, a biennial engagement between the Indian and French armies, is designed to deepen interoperability and operational cooperation, with this edition focusing on joint operations in a sub-conventional environment in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Training will take place in semi-urban terrain, reflecting the complexities of modern conflict scenarios.
The joint exercise is expected to enhance coordination between the two armies through shared tactical drills and exchanges on Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs). Troops will also train on contemporary military technologies and equipment while undertaking physically demanding activities aimed at building endurance and cohesion.
Beyond operational objectives, the exercise is expected to strengthen military-to-military ties, promote mutual understanding, and foster camaraderie between the personnel of the two nations.
Exercise Shakti-VIII is emblematic of the growing strategic partnership between India and France. Defence cooperation remains a key pillar of bilateral relations, with both countries regularly engaging in military exchanges, joint exercises, and high-level visits.
Channel Islands businesses and industry groups looking to build links in Brittany are being reminded that they have free access to two meeting rooms in St Malo.
The Bureau des Iles Anglo-Normandes, which represents the governments of Guernsey and Jersey in France, has secured two meeting spaces for any organisation in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, looking to develop economic, cultural or educational links with French stakeholders.
Stéphane Perrin-Sarzier, Vice-President of the Brittany region, in charge of international development, said: “We are delighted to offer government officials and businesses from Jersey and Guernsey the opportunity to use the Brittany Region’s premises at the port of Saint-Malo to develop ties with Brittany. This provision fully embodies our commitment to strengthening economic, cultural, and institutional cooperation between our territories.”
The ‘Hotdesk St Malo’ offers a choice of two meeting rooms in the centre of St Malo, which can accommodate up to 12 or 30 people.
The Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons on 16 June 2025, updating on the Israel-Iran conflict.
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will remind the House that the Foreign Office has been responding to 2 crises this past week.
My Honourable Friend, Minister Falconer, will update on the Government’s extensive efforts to assist those who lost loved ones in Thursday’s devastating Air India plane crash.
Just 9 days ago, I was in Delhi, strengthening our friendship. Our nations are mourning together. My thoughts are with all those suffering such terrible loss.
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will now turn to the Middle East. Early last Friday morning, Israel launched extensive strikes across Iran. Targets including military sites, including the Iranian enrichment facility at Natanz, and key commanders and nuclear scientists.
The last 72 hours has seen Iranian ballistic missile and drone strikes across Israel, killing at least 21 Israelis and injuring hundreds more. And Israeli strikes have continued, including on targets in Tehran, with the Iranian authorities reporting scores of civilian casualties.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said his operations will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat”. Supreme Leader Khameini has said Israel “must expect severe punishment”.
Madam Deputy Speaker, in such crisis our first priority is of course the welfare of British nationals. On Friday, we swiftly stood up a crisis team in London and the region, and yesterday I announced that we now advise against all travel to Israel as well as our long-standing travel of not travelling to Iran.
Madam Deputy Speaker, today I can update the House that we are asking all British nationals in Israel to register their presence with the FCDO, so that we can share important information on the situation and leaving the country.
And I can announce today that we are further updating our Travel Advice to signpost border crossing points, and sending Rapid Deployment Teams to Egypt and Jordan to bolster our consular presence near the border with Israel, which has already been supporting British nationals on the ground.
Israel and Iran have closed their airspace until further notice, and our ability therefore to provide support in Iran is extremely limited. British nationals in the region should closely monitor our Travel Advice for further updates.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the situation remains fast-moving. We expect more strikes in the days to come. This is a moment of grave danger for the region.
I want to be clear, the United Kingdom was not involved in the strikes against Iran. This is a military action conducted by Israel.
It should come as no surprise that Israel considers the Iranian nuclear programme an existential threat. Khameini said in 2018 that Israel was a “cancerous tumour” that should be “removed and eradicated”.
We have always supported Israeli security – that’s why Britain has sought to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon through extensive diplomacy. We agree with President Trump when he says negotiations are necessary and must lead to a deal.
That has long been the view, Mr Speaker, of the so-called ‘E3’ – Britain, France and Germany – with whom we have worked so closely on this issue. The view of all of the G7 who have backed the efforts of President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff. And for more than 2 decades, the cross-party view in this House.
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Lord Hague of Richmond led diplomatic efforts on the issue. Baroness May of Maidenhead and the former Right Honourable Member for Uxbridge did too, and this Government has continued to pursue negotiations, joining France and Germany in 5 rounds of talks with Iran this year alone.
Ours is a hard-headed realist assessment of how best to tackle this grave threat. Fundamentally, no military action can put and end to Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Madam Deputy Speaker, just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors passed a non-compliance resolution against Iran, the first such IAEA finding in 14 years.
The Director-General’s Comprehensive Report details Iran’s failure to declare nuclear materials. Iran remains the only state without nuclear weapons accumulating uranium at such dangerously high levels. Its total enriched stockpile is now 40 times the limit in the JCPoA, and their nuclear programme is part of a wider pattern of destabilising activity.
The Government has taken firm action in response. When they transferred ballistic missiles for use in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, we imposed extensive sanctions including against Iran Air, and cancelled our bilateral air services agreement.
In the face of unacceptable IRGC threats here in the UK – with some 20 foiled plots since 2022 – the CPS has for the first time charged Iranian nationals under the National Security Act, and we have placed the Iranian state, including the IRGC, on the enhanced tier of the new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
Madam Deputy Speaker, a widening war would have grave and unpredictable consequences, including for our partners in Jordan and the Gulf. The horrors of Gaza worsening, tensions in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq rising, the Houthi threat continuing.
That’s why the Government’s firm view, as it was last October in the ballistic missile attack on Israel, is that further escalation in the Middle East is not in Britain’s interests, nor the interests of Israel, Iran or the region.
There are hundreds of thousands of British nationals living in the region. And with Iran a major oil producer, and one fifth of total world oil consumption flowing through the Straits of Hormuz, escalating conflict poses real risks for the global economy.
As missiles rain down, Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens. But our priority now is de-escalation.
Our message to both Israel and Iran is clear. Step back. Show restraint. Don’t get pulled ever deeper into a catastrophic conflict, whose consequences nobody can control.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the Prime Minister chaired COBR on the situation last Friday and spoke to PM Netanyahu, President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He is now at the G7 Summit in Canada, discussing with our closest allies how to ease tensions.
And the Government has deployed additional assets to the region, including jets for contingency support to UK forces and potentially our regional allies concerned about the escalating conflict.
In the last 72 hours, my Honourable Friend the Minister for the Middle East and I have been flat out trying to carve out space for diplomacy. I have spoken to both Israeli Foreign Minister Sa’ar and Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi, underlining Britain’s focus on de-escalation.
I have also met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal. I’ve had calls with US Secretary Rubio, EU High Representative Kallas and my counterparts from France and Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. These conversations are part of a collective drive to prevent a spiralling conflict.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this new crisis has arisen as the appalling situation in Gaza continues. This weekend, hospitals in Gaza reported over 50 people were killed and more than 500 injured while trying to access food.
This Government will not take our eye off the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We will not stop calling for aid restrictions to be lifted and an immediate ceasefire. We will not forget about the hostages.
This morning, I met Yocheved Lifschitz and her family, whose courage and dignity in the face of Hamas’ barbarism was a reminder of the plight of those still cruelly held in Gaza. We will not stop striving to free the hostages and end that war.
Madam Deputy Speaker, our vision remains unchanged. An end to Iran’s nuclear programme and destabilising regional activity. Israel, secure in its borders and at peace with its neighbours. A sovereign Palestinian state, as part of the two-state solution.
Diplomacy is indispensable to each of these goals. Britain will keep pressing all sides to choose a diplomatic path out of this crisis.
Eurosystem Collateral Management System marks significant step in harmonisation of collateral management in euro area
New set-up replaces 20 collateral management systems previously operated by national central banks
The Eurosystem successfully launched its new, unified Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) on 16 June 2025 after the migration to the new set-up was completed over the weekend of 13-15 June. The ECMS thus becomes the fourth TARGET Service in operation, advancing the Eurosystem’s vision for a unified, efficient and innovative European financial framework.
The ECMS manages assets used as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Together with the other TARGET Services, the ECMS will ensure that cash, securities and collateral can flow freely across Europe.
The software and the environment for the new system were delivered by the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banco de España, the Banque de France and the Banca d’Italia – the four national central banks that act as service providers for TARGET Services (T2, TARGET2-Securities and TIPS). The successful launch of the ECMS reflects the joint efforts and commitment of all euro area central banks in supporting their market participants (counterparties, central securities depositories and triparty agents) throughout this project. Thanks to close cooperation and extensive activities such as testing and migration rehearsals, all parties have ensured that participants can fully leverage the benefits of the new platform from day one.
With the ECMS going live, the Eurosystem now offers a single system that harmonises the management of collateral for Eurosystem credit operations. The ECMS replaces the individual national collateral management systems previously operated by the 20 euro area national central banks. Furthermore, the ECMS will facilitate the smooth flow of cash, securities and collateral within the euro area by enhancing the liquidity management features of the TARGET Services.
For media enquiries, please contact Alessandro Speciale, tel.: +49 172 1670791.
A contingent of the Indian Army departed on Monday to participate in the eighth edition of the Indo-French joint military exercise, Shakti, set to be held from June 18 to July 1, at Camp Larzac, La Cavalerie, in southern France.
The Indian team comprises 90 personnel, with the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles leading the representation, supported by troops from various arms and services. The French Army contingent, also numbering 90 personnel, will include soldiers from the 13th Foreign Legion Half-Brigade (13th DBLE), a renowned unit of the French Foreign Legion.
Exercise Shakti, a biennial engagement between the Indian and French armies, is designed to deepen interoperability and operational cooperation, with this edition focusing on joint operations in a sub-conventional environment in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Training will take place in semi-urban terrain, reflecting the complexities of modern conflict scenarios.
The joint exercise is expected to enhance coordination between the two armies through shared tactical drills and exchanges on Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs). Troops will also train on contemporary military technologies and equipment while undertaking physically demanding activities aimed at building endurance and cohesion.
Beyond operational objectives, the exercise is expected to strengthen military-to-military ties, promote mutual understanding, and foster camaraderie between the personnel of the two nations.
Exercise Shakti-VIII is emblematic of the growing strategic partnership between India and France. Defence cooperation remains a key pillar of bilateral relations, with both countries regularly engaging in military exchanges, joint exercises, and high-level visits.
Eurosystem Collateral Management System marks significant step in harmonisation of collateral management in euro area
New set-up replaces 20 collateral management systems previously operated by national central banks
The Eurosystem successfully launched its new, unified Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) on 16 June 2025 after the migration to the new set-up was completed over the weekend of 13-15 June. The ECMS thus becomes the fourth TARGET Service in operation, advancing the Eurosystem’s vision for a unified, efficient and innovative European financial framework.
The ECMS manages assets used as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Together with the other TARGET Services, the ECMS will ensure that cash, securities and collateral can flow freely across Europe.
The software and the environment for the new system were delivered by the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banco de España, the Banque de France and the Banca d’Italia – the four national central banks that act as service providers for TARGET Services (T2, TARGET2-Securities and TIPS). The successful launch of the ECMS reflects the joint efforts and commitment of all euro area central banks in supporting their market participants (counterparties, central securities depositories and triparty agents) throughout this project. Thanks to close cooperation and extensive activities such as testing and migration rehearsals, all parties have ensured that participants can fully leverage the benefits of the new platform from day one.
With the ECMS going live, the Eurosystem now offers a single system that harmonises the management of collateral for Eurosystem credit operations. The ECMS replaces the individual national collateral management systems previously operated by the 20 euro area national central banks. Furthermore, the ECMS will facilitate the smooth flow of cash, securities and collateral within the euro area by enhancing the liquidity management features of the TARGET Services.
For media enquiries, please contact Alessandro Speciale, tel.: +49 172 1670791.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with the Islamic Republic as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth straight day.
He made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, according to comments posted by a CBS News reporter on social media platform X.
Trump predicted that Israel would not be easing its attacks on Iran. “You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” the CBS journalist quoted Trump as saying on Air Force One.
He said “I may”, on the prospect of sending U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with Iran.
Trump is looking for a “complete give up” by Iran, according to a pool report by Politico.
Washington has said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran, even as the military confrontation unfolds.
World leaders meeting at the Group of Seven summit called for a de-escalation of the worst-ever conflict between the regional foes, saying Iran was a source of instability and must never have a nuclear weapon while affirming Israel’s right to defend itself.
Trump, who left the summit early due to the Middle East situation, said his departure had “nothing to do with” working on a deal between Israel and Iran after French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. had initiated a ceasefire proposal.
“Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late on Monday.
Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack that has killed nearly the entire top echelon of Iran’s military commanders and its leading nuclear scientists. It says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days.
Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to U.S. demands that it accept strict curbs on its nuclear programme.
“Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump said on Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that a “more powerful” new wave of missiles was recently launched towards Israel, the state news agency reported. A senior Iranian army commander said a new wave of drones would hit Israel.
Three people were killed and four injured in Iran’s central city of Kashan in an Israeli attack, Iran’s Nournews reported on Tuesday.
EXPLOSIONS, AIR DEFENCE FIRE
Iranian media also reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran early on Tuesday, with smoke rising in the city’s east after an explosion of suspected Israeli projectiles. Air defences were activated also in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations 320 km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported.
Doctors and nurses have been recalled from leave to carry out their duties, Iranian media reported.
Khorramabad city MP Reza Sepahvand told the Iranian labour news agency that most incidents happening in Iran are due to “infiltrators” rather than direct action from Israel, adding that 21 people were killed in the western province of Lorestan.
World oil markets are on high alert for any developments in the conflict that could hit global supply.
A shipping incident near the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates early on Tuesday morning was not security related but a result of ships colliding. The UAE coast guard said it had evacuated 24 people from oil tanker ADALYNN following a collision between two ships in the Gulf of Oman, near Hormuz. About a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the waterway.
Naval sources have told Reuters that electronic interference with commercial ship navigation systems has surged in recent days around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf, which is having an impact on vessels sailing through the region.
Israel’s military said on Tuesday that it killed Iran’s wartime chief of staff. Israel also said it carried out extensive strikes on Iranian military targets including weapons storage sites and missile launchers.
Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said nearly 3,000 Israelis had been evacuated due to damage from Iranian strikes.
Sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, according to two Iranian and three regional sources.
CHINESE URGED TO LEAVE ISRAEL
“If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. “Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.”
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
With security concerns growing and Israeli airspace closed because of the war, the Chinese embassy in Israel urged its citizens to leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible.
The conflict escalated on Monday with Israel attacking Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the BBC that the Natanz plant sustained extensive damage, likely destroying 15,000 centrifuges, while Iran’s Fordow plant remained largely intact.
The cloud-based e-invoicing platform xSuite eDNA now supports both the receipt and transmission of e-invoices directly from SAP
Ahrensburg/Germany, June 17, 2025 – In many countries around the world—including Germany, Poland, and France in Europe—electronic invoicing will become mandatory within the next one to five years. To support SAP users in this transition, xSuite Group is now offering an extension to its xSuite eDNA (electronic Document Network Adapter) product. This extension enables the creation and dispatch of outbound invoices from SAP SD in XML formats compliant with EN 16931. The cloud-based e-invoicing platform supports a wide range of e-invoicing formats and serves as a central hub between SAP and the global world of electronic invoicing. It is compatible with both SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC.
Since June 2024, xSuite eDNA has supported the receipt of various e-invoicing formats via the Peppol network, transferring invoice data directly into the customer’s SAP system to enable fast and efficient processing of inbound e-invoices.
Now, xSuite eDNA also enables the creation and delivery of e-invoices from SAP. To achieve this, an xSuite add-on (transport) is installed in the SAP SD module. This add-on leverages SAP’s message control functionality. As soon as an invoice is created in SAP, the relevant data is captured via message control and sent to the cloud-based xSuite eDNA platform. The platform performs various validation steps in accordance with EN 16931—such as checking data integrity, mandatory fields, data types, and business rules. Format conversion and all subsequent processing take place entirely in the cloud. Any updates or enhancements (e.g., new e-invoice formats or versions) are implemented centrally in the cloud and are immediately available to all customers. This significantly reduces maintenance efforts on the customer side and ensures high flexibility.
xSuite eDNA offers two transmission options: via email in formats such as BIS Billing, ZUGFeRD, and XRechnung (with more formats planned), and via the Peppol network. The portfolio of supported countries and portals is being continuously expanded with a strategic focus. Currently available networks and formats include:
Peppol (various countries and formats)
SdI – Sistema di Interscambio / Fattura PA (Italy)
ANAF – Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală / RO e-Factura (Romania)
NAV – Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal (Hungary)
Others available upon request
Sven Holtmann, Product Manager at xSuite, presents the new solution for sending e-invoices from SAP SD in a release webinar:
Release Webinar Date: August 14, 2025 Time: 3 PM – 4 PM Link: https://bit.ly/xSuite-eDNA-Outbound Participation is free of charge for both customers and interested parties.
About xSuite Group
xSuite is a software manufacturer of applications for document-based processes and provides standardized, digital solutions worldwide that enable simple, secure, and fast work. We focus mainly on the automation of important work processes in conjunction with end-to-end document management. Our core competence lies in accounts payable (AP) automation in SAP (including e-invoicing), for leading companies worldwide, as well as for public clients. This is supplemented by applications for purchasing and order processes as well as archiving – all delivered from a single source, including both software components and services. xSuite solutions operate in the cloud or in hybrid scenarios. We take pride in the high-quality solutions we offer, as evidenced by the regular certifications we receive for our SAP solutions and deployment environments.” With over 300,000 users benefitting from our solutions, xSuite processes more than 80 million documents per year in over 60 countries.
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Ahrensburg, Germany, xSuite has around 300 staff across nine locations worldwide – in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Our company has an established information security management system that is certified in accordance with ISO 27001:2022.
Contact: Barbara Wirtz xSuite Group GmbH Marketing & PR Tel. +49 (0)4102/88 38 36 barbara.wirtz@xsuite.com www.xsuite.com
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Kazakhstan’s Participation in OCTOPUS 2025 Strengthens OSCE-Supported International Efforts to Combat Cybercrime
The delegation of Kazakhstan at the OCTOPUS 2025 held from June 4 to 6, 2025 in Strasbourg (OSCE) Photo details
From June 4 to 6 2025, a delegation from Kazakhstan participated in the international conference “OCTOPUS 2025 – Conference on Countering Cybercrime”, hosted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The participation of the delegation was facilitated by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana within the framework of the extra-budgetary project “Supporting the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Development of Effective Policies to Counter Cybercrimes (Phase I)”, implemented by the Office in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior of Kazakhstan, and under the co-ordination of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan.
The conference convened cybercrime and law enforcement experts from over 100 countries, serving as a premier global forum for addressing evolving cyber threats, fostering international collaboration, and sharing innovative approaches and policy practices. The delegation from Kazakhstan comprised representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Financial Monitoring Agency, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, as well as OSCE project staff, who actively contributed to plenary discussions, thematic workshops, and bilateral consultations.
Kazakhstan’s participation advanced the objectives of the OSCE-supported project by enabling national stakeholders to tap into global expertise, establish institutional partnerships, and explore innovative strategies for combating cybercrime. The knowledge and experience gained at the conference will contribute to the formulation of effective national policies and enhance the capacity of Kazakhstan’s law enforcement authorities to respond to complex cyber threats – particularly in areas such as cryptocurrency-related crime, AI-driven cybercriminal activities, and international legal co-operation on electronic evidence.
Key topics of the conference included the malicious use of artificial intelligence, cyber threats to democratic institutions, and emerging financial fraud schemes such as “pig-butchering” scams. Participants also examined the role of the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime in facilitating cross-border investigations and improving the admissibility of electronic evidence.
Kazakhstan’s active engagement in OCTOPUS 2025 underscores its growing commitment to contributing to global efforts against cybercrime. It also reflects the tangible progress of the OSCE-supported project in promoting international collaboration, strengthening national capacities, and reinforcing Kazakhstan’s integration into the global cybercrime response community.
Donald Trump said late on Monday his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit has “nothing to do with” working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, refuting comments by French President Emmanuel Macron who said the U.S. president made a ceasefire proposal.
Macron “mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he left the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington.
“Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that,” Trump added in the post.
Macron said earlier on Monday Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. “There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7.
Trump left the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation.
The air war between Iran and U.S. ally Israel – which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes – has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel’s military assault on Gaza in October 2023.
Since the Israeli strikes on Friday, the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed.
Israel, the U.S. and other Western nations have long sought to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear weapons development.
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons.
Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.
The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG’s geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence of national interests.
The “deepening relationship” is less about a single personality and more about a calculated alignment of economic, security, and diplomatic priorities with PNG, taking full advantage of its position as the biggest, most strategically placed island player in the Pacific.
An examination of the key outcomes reveals a partnership of mutual benefit, reflecting both PNG’s strategic diversification and France’s own long-term ambitions as a Pacific power.
A primary driver is the shared economic rationale. From Port Moresby’s perspective, the partnership offers a clear path to economic diversification and resilience.
But many in PNG have been watching with keen interest and asking: how badly does PNG want this?
While Prime Minister James Marape offered France a Special Economic Zone in Port Moresby (SEZ) for French businesses, he also named the lookout at Port Moresby’s Variarata National Park after President Emmanuel Macron drawing the ire of many in the country.
The proposal to establish a SEZ specifically for French industries is a notable attempt to attract capital from beyond PNG’s traditional partners.
Strategically coupled This is strategically coupled with securing the future of the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project.
Macron’s personal undertaking to work with TotalEnergies to keep the project on schedule provides crucial stability for one of PNG’s most significant economic ventures.
For France, these arrangements secure a major energy investment for its national corporate champion and establish a stronger economic foothold in a strategically vital region between Asia and the Pacific.
In the area of security, the relationship addresses tangible needs for both nations.
PNG is faced with the immense challenge of monitoring a 2.4 million sq km Exclusive Economic Zone, making it vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The finalisation of a Shiprider Agreement with France provides a practical force-multiplier, leveraging French naval assets to enhance PNG’s maritime surveillance capabilities. This move, along with planned defence talks on air and maritime cooperation, allows PNG to diversify its security architecture.
For France, a resident power with Pacific territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia, participating in regional security operations reinforces its role and commitment to stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Elevating diplomatic influence The partnership is also a vehicle for elevating diplomatic influence.
Port Moresby has noted the significance of engaging with a partner that holds permanent membership on the UN Security Council and seats at the G7 and G20.
This alignment provides PNG with a powerful channel to global decision-making forums. The reciprocal move to establish a PNG embassy in Paris further cements the relationship on a mature footing.
The diplomatic synergy is perhaps best illustrated by France’s full endorsement of PNG’s bid to host a future UN Ocean Conference. This support provides PNG with a major opportunity to lead on the world stage, while allowing France to demonstrate its credentials as a key partner to the Pacific Islands.
This deepening PNG-France partnership does not exist in a vacuum.
The West’s view of China’s rapid emergence as a dominant economic and military force in the region has reshaped the strategic landscape, prompting traditional powers to re-engage with renewed urgency.
increased diplomatic footprint The United States has responded by significantly increasing its diplomatic and security footprint, a move marked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Port Moresby to sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement.
Similarly, Australia, PNG’s traditional security partner, is working to reinforce its long-standing influence through initiatives like the multi-million-dollar deal to establish a PNG team in its National Rugby League (NRL), a soft-power exercise reportedly linked to security outcomes.
This competitive environment has, in turn, created greater agency for Pacific nations, allowing them to diversify their partnerships beyond old allies and providing a fertile ground for European powers like France to assert their own strategic interests.
A strong foundation for the relationship is a shared public stance on environmental stewardship. The agreement on the need for rigorous scientific studies before any deep-sea mining occurs aligns PNG’s national policy with a position of environmental caution.
This common ground extends to broader climate action, where France’s commitment to conservation in the Pacific resonates with PNG’s status as a frontline nation vulnerable to climate change.
This alignment on values provides a durable and politically important basis for cooperation, allowing both nations to jointly advocate for climate justice and ocean protection.
For the Papua New Guinea economy, this deepening partnership with France is critically important as it provides high-level stability for the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project and creates a direct pathway for new investment through a proposed SEZ for French businesses.
Vital economic resource Furthermore, by moving to finalise a Shiprider Agreement to combat illegal fishing, the government is actively protecting a vital economic resource.
For Marape’s credibility in local politics, these outcomes are tangible successes he can present to the nation as he battles a massive credibility dip in recent years.
Securing a personal undertaking from the leader of a G7 nation, gaining support for PNG to host a future UN Ocean Conference, and enhancing national security demonstrates effective leadership on the world stage.
This allows him to build a narrative of a competent statesman who, through “warm, personal relationships”, can deliver on promises of economic opportunity and national security while strengthening his political standing at home.
The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG’s geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence of national interests.
The “deepening relationship” is less about a single personality and more about a calculated alignment of economic, security, and diplomatic priorities with PNG, taking full advantage of its position as the biggest, most strategically placed island player in the Pacific.
An examination of the key outcomes reveals a partnership of mutual benefit, reflecting both PNG’s strategic diversification and France’s own long-term ambitions as a Pacific power.
A primary driver is the shared economic rationale. From Port Moresby’s perspective, the partnership offers a clear path to economic diversification and resilience.
But many in PNG have been watching with keen interest and asking: how badly does PNG want this?
While Prime Minister James Marape offered France a Special Economic Zone in Port Moresby (SEZ) for French businesses, he also named the lookout at Port Moresby’s Variarata National Park after President Emmanuel Macron drawing the ire of many in the country.
The proposal to establish a SEZ specifically for French industries is a notable attempt to attract capital from beyond PNG’s traditional partners.
Strategically coupled This is strategically coupled with securing the future of the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project.
Macron’s personal undertaking to work with TotalEnergies to keep the project on schedule provides crucial stability for one of PNG’s most significant economic ventures.
For France, these arrangements secure a major energy investment for its national corporate champion and establish a stronger economic foothold in a strategically vital region between Asia and the Pacific.
In the area of security, the relationship addresses tangible needs for both nations.
PNG is faced with the immense challenge of monitoring a 2.4 million sq km Exclusive Economic Zone, making it vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The finalisation of a Shiprider Agreement with France provides a practical force-multiplier, leveraging French naval assets to enhance PNG’s maritime surveillance capabilities. This move, along with planned defence talks on air and maritime cooperation, allows PNG to diversify its security architecture.
For France, a resident power with Pacific territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia, participating in regional security operations reinforces its role and commitment to stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Elevating diplomatic influence The partnership is also a vehicle for elevating diplomatic influence.
Port Moresby has noted the significance of engaging with a partner that holds permanent membership on the UN Security Council and seats at the G7 and G20.
This alignment provides PNG with a powerful channel to global decision-making forums. The reciprocal move to establish a PNG embassy in Paris further cements the relationship on a mature footing.
The diplomatic synergy is perhaps best illustrated by France’s full endorsement of PNG’s bid to host a future UN Ocean Conference. This support provides PNG with a major opportunity to lead on the world stage, while allowing France to demonstrate its credentials as a key partner to the Pacific Islands.
This deepening PNG-France partnership does not exist in a vacuum.
The West’s view of China’s rapid emergence as a dominant economic and military force in the region has reshaped the strategic landscape, prompting traditional powers to re-engage with renewed urgency.
increased diplomatic footprint The United States has responded by significantly increasing its diplomatic and security footprint, a move marked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Port Moresby to sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement.
Similarly, Australia, PNG’s traditional security partner, is working to reinforce its long-standing influence through initiatives like the multi-million-dollar deal to establish a PNG team in its National Rugby League (NRL), a soft-power exercise reportedly linked to security outcomes.
This competitive environment has, in turn, created greater agency for Pacific nations, allowing them to diversify their partnerships beyond old allies and providing a fertile ground for European powers like France to assert their own strategic interests.
A strong foundation for the relationship is a shared public stance on environmental stewardship. The agreement on the need for rigorous scientific studies before any deep-sea mining occurs aligns PNG’s national policy with a position of environmental caution.
This common ground extends to broader climate action, where France’s commitment to conservation in the Pacific resonates with PNG’s status as a frontline nation vulnerable to climate change.
This alignment on values provides a durable and politically important basis for cooperation, allowing both nations to jointly advocate for climate justice and ocean protection.
For the Papua New Guinea economy, this deepening partnership with France is critically important as it provides high-level stability for the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project and creates a direct pathway for new investment through a proposed SEZ for French businesses.
Vital economic resource Furthermore, by moving to finalise a Shiprider Agreement to combat illegal fishing, the government is actively protecting a vital economic resource.
For Marape’s credibility in local politics, these outcomes are tangible successes he can present to the nation as he battles a massive credibility dip in recent years.
Securing a personal undertaking from the leader of a G7 nation, gaining support for PNG to host a future UN Ocean Conference, and enhancing national security demonstrates effective leadership on the world stage.
This allows him to build a narrative of a competent statesman who, through “warm, personal relationships”, can deliver on promises of economic opportunity and national security while strengthening his political standing at home.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
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Benin wants to grow its exports, especially by small businesses working in food and technology. The African country believes this is the best way to lift its economy from the ranks of least developed countries.
A key milestone in that effort is the creation of a new Pôle Export, a platform that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to enter international markets.
Pôle Export is the centrepiece of a project at the Interantional Trade Centre (ITC), which is working with both the government and with small businesses to boost the country’s exports.
The government has created new Directorate for Export Promotion, known by its French acronym DPE. It sits within the Import and Export Promotion Agency (APIEx), but it’s more than an organizational change. It’s a new way of thinking about exports, with a targeted approach that focuses on agribusiness and digital trade.
Since February, the Pôle Export is has its own director to coordinate its activities. A team of government trade exports has been assigned to support him, along with eight Beninese consultants recruited by ITC to build up their skills.
Three advisors are focussed on priority export areas, including agribusinesses and textiles and clothing. Three others have already worked with 21 small business on their branding and e-commerce operations. Two more will provide DPE staff with training in market analysis tools.
The ITC work is under a project called Support to operationalize the APIEx Pôle Export, known simply as ProPex. The Embassy of the Netherlands funds the project, which began in February 2025. A steering committee meeting on 6 May marked ProPex’s official launch.
The Export Promotion Directorate is the backbone of Benin’s ambitions to expand into international markets, offering targeted export support services tailored to priority sectors,’ said ITC country manager Ludmila Azo. ‘Through the PROPEX project, we aim to strengthen this institutional lever by providing it with the skills, tools and systems necessary to provide strategic and high-impact support to SMEs ready to export.’
Upgrading digital services
The APIEx website is being upgraded to include trade information tools, as well as a small business marketplace and sector-specific content.
ProPex stands out because of how it centres participatory governance. Three thematic working groups structure their services within the National Export Strategy, which was also crafted with ITC support.
Regular briefings between ITC, APIEx and other partners ensure close monitoring of progress. By focussing on sustainability and capitalization, ProPex is laying the foundation for a robust export ecosystem in Benin.
The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region.
The air war between Iran and Israel – which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes – has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel‘s military assault on Gaza in October 2023.
“We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,” G7 leaders said in the statement.
“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror,” the statement added and said the G7 was “clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
President Donald Trump planned to leave the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation.
The United States has so far maintained that it is not involved in the Israeli attacks on Iran although Trump said on Friday the U.S. was aware of Israel‘s strikes in advance and called them “excellent.” Washington has warned Tehran not to attack U.S. interests or personnel in the region.
“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the G7 statement said, adding the nations were also ready to coordinate on safeguarding stability in energy markets.
An Israeli strike hit Iran‘s state broadcaster on Monday while Trump said in a social media post that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.”
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the Israel–Iran war in phone calls with his British, French and European Union counterparts on Monday.
Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.
The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region.
The air war between Iran and Israel – which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes – has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel‘s military assault on Gaza in October 2023.
“We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,” G7 leaders said in the statement.
“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror,” the statement added and said the G7 was “clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
President Donald Trump planned to leave the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation.
The United States has so far maintained that it is not involved in the Israeli attacks on Iran although Trump said on Friday the U.S. was aware of Israel‘s strikes in advance and called them “excellent.” Washington has warned Tehran not to attack U.S. interests or personnel in the region.
“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the G7 statement said, adding the nations were also ready to coordinate on safeguarding stability in energy markets.
An Israeli strike hit Iran‘s state broadcaster on Monday while Trump said in a social media post that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.”
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the Israel–Iran war in phone calls with his British, French and European Union counterparts on Monday.
Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China SCIO | June 17, 2025
Photo taken on June 12, 2025 shows the view of Yucun village of Anji county, eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Anji county has made great efforts to promote the green development in rural areas. [Photo by Cui Can/China SCIO]
In the lush hills of Anji county, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, summer comes with the dense, whispering green of bamboo forests. Here, a single stalk of bamboo, humble and fast-growing, can find its way into upscale European restaurants as sleek dinnerware, or appear as a minimalist bamboo lamp on the shelves of MUJI and IKEA stores worldwide.
With about 720 square kilometers of bamboo groves, Anji has embraced bamboo as both a cultural symbol and an economic resource. Today, it is emerging as a pioneer in developing bamboo industry to drive green development.
“Bamboo is not only tough and durable, but also renewable,” said Liu Yu, chief expert of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. “Compared to wood, which can take over a decade to mature, bamboo is harvest-ready in just four to six years and can regrow without replanting.”
Liu also noted that responsible harvesting benefits the ecosystem. “If left uncut, bamboo becomes prone to disease and pests. Its aggressive root system can also outcompete other plant life, reducing biodiversity.”
A worker processes bamboo at a company in Anji county of Huzhou city, Zhejiang province, June 13, 2025. [Photo by Cui Can/China SCIO]
To harness bamboo’s environmental potential, China in 2022 launched a “Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic” initiative in collaboration with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization. A year later, the National Development and Reform Commission and several other government departments introduced a three-year action plan to accelerate initiative. Anji was named one of the program’s first demonstration bases.
Currently, more than 1,000 enterprises in Anji are involved in the bamboo industry, over 40 of which are large-scale operations. Around 70% of their products are exported to markets like the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea, said Zhou Jihui, who oversees the “Bamboo for Plastic” project at Anji Development and Reform Bureau.
Photo taken on June 13, 2025 shows the bamboo packaging, lighting, and tableware produced by a company in Anji county of Huzhou city, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Cui Can/China SCIO]
Zhejiang Fenghui Bamboo and Wooden Products Co. Ltd., founded in 1990, is one of Anji’s largest bamboo manufacturers and exporters. When General Manager Liang Fenghui took over the business from his father in 2014, the company focused on low-value raw products like bamboo poles and fences. “The profit margins were slim, and environmental standards were rising. Many companies shut down, and some bamboo forests were abandoned,” he recalled. “We had to transform.”
The company began to invest in developing a more diversified product line, ranging from bamboo kitchenware and dining items to garden products. It now offers a portfolio of over 1,000 bamboo products.
And as Anji aligns itself with China’s broader green development strategy, local bamboo manufacturers like Fenghui are making sustainability a priority. “Our production process is now cleaner, and we’ve developed machinery that improves material utilization by at least 20%,” Liang said.
Today, Bamboo tableware accounts for 60% of the company’s revenue. It exports bamboo packaging, lighting, and tableware to clients across Japan, France, Spain, and the U.S. In 2024, the company’s export value reached 150 million yuan (about US$21 million), with Japan and France each accounting for 20% of sales, and the U.S. around 10%.
According to Zhou of Anji Development and Reform Bureau, the county’s bamboo sector has improved incomes for more than 51,000 local farming households. In 2024 alone, bamboo-related income increased each household’s earnings by an average of 6,500 yuan. “And 167 village collectives each saw their revenues grow by more than 1 million yuan,” she said.
Photo taken on June 13, 2025 shows bamboo tableware at a company in Anji county of Huzhou city, Zhejiang Province. [Photo by Cui Can/China SCIO]
As Anji accelerates its “Bamboo for Plastic” initiative, the county has been exploring more ways to bring bamboo into everyday life. In hospitality, bamboo toothbrushes, combs, and takeaway cutlery are replacing plastics. In local markets, plastic bags have been gradually phased out in favor of biodegradable ones made from bamboo powder. “They decompose within three months and are stronger than plastics,” Zhou noted.
And whereas plastic products are generally cheaper than bamboo products of the same kind, Zhou said price isn’t always the key concern. “Consumers, especially in hospitality, often care more about the product’s look and whether it matches their brand image than about the cost. That gives us more room to innovate.”
To meet this rising demand, Liang is investing in design and branding. “We’re incorporating traditional Chinese cultural elements into packaging and product design to appeal to younger consumers. And with cross-border e-commerce platforms, we’re reaching more global audiences.”
In 2024, the total output value of Anji’s bamboo industry reached 19.2 billion yuan, up 7% over the previous year, according to Zhou. “That was nearly 2.6 billion yuan more than in 2022. The growth momentum is very strong.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
PM meeting with President Macron of France: 16 June 2025
The Prime Minister met French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 Summit this afternoon.
The Prime Minister met French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 Summit this afternoon.
Discussing the Middle East, they both agreed on the need to find a route to peace through diplomacy and dialogue. They agreed that this should be a key focus for G7 partners in the next two days.
They looked ahead to the upcoming UK-France Summit in July and agreed that their teams should pursue high-ambition outcomes that deliver for the British and French people.
Migration should be a key focus given the deteriorating situation in the Channel, they confirmed – adding that they should continue to work closely with other partners to find innovative ways to drive forward progress.
They also agreed that the summit presents an opportune moment to further enhance our existing defence and security co-operation.
Both leaders looked ahead to discussing Ukraine at the G7 tomorrow and underscored their enduring support for securing a just and lasting peace and keeping up the pressure on Putin.
The European Commission is set to propose on Tuesday a ban on EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027, using legal measures to ensure the plan cannot be blocked by EU members Hungary and Slovakia.
The proposals will set out how the European Union plans to fix into law its vow to end decades-old energy relations with Europe’s former top gas supplier Russia, made after Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
An internal Commission summary of the upcoming proposal, seen by Reuters, said it would fix into law a ban on imports of Russian pipeline gas and LNG from January 1, 2026, with longer deadlines for certain contracts.
Short-term Russian gas deals signed before June 17, 2025 would have a one-year transition period, to June 17, 2026, it said.
Imports under existing long-term Russian contracts would then be banned from January 1, 2028 – effectively ending the EU’s use of Russian gas by this date, the summary said.
Companies including TotalEnergies TTEF.PA and Spain’s Naturgy NTGY.MC have Russian LNG contracts extending into the 2030s.
EU LNG terminals would also be gradually banned from providing services to Russian customers, and companies importing Russian gas would have to disclose information on their contracts to EU and national authorities, Reuters previously reported.
The plans could still change before they are published.
EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Monday the measures were designed to be legally strong enough for companies to invoke the contractual clause of “force majeure” – an unforeseeable event – to break their Russian gas contracts.
“Since this will be a prohibition, a ban, the companies will not get into legal problems. This is force majeure, as it [would be] if it had been a sanction,” Jorgensen told reporters.
NO VETO
Slovakia and Hungary, which have sought to maintain close political ties to Russia, still import Russian gas via pipeline and say switching to alternatives would increase energy prices. They have vowed to block sanctions on Russian energy, which require unanimous approval from all EU countries, and have opposed the ban.
To get around this, the Commission’s proposals will use an EU legal basis that can be passed with support from a reinforced majority of countries and a majority of the European Parliament, EU officials said.
While most other EU countries have signalled support for the ban, officials said some importing countries have raised concerns about the risk to companies of financial penalties or arbitration for breaking contracts.
Around 19% of Europe’s gas still comes from Russia, via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG shipments – down from roughly 45% before 2022. Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain are among those that import Russian LNG.
“We fully support this plan in principle, with the aim of ensuring that we find the right solutions to provide maximum security for businesses,” French industry minister Marc Ferracci told reporters on Monday.
Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau will depart this evening for France, where he will visit Toulouse, Bordeaux, Cognac and Paris to promote Hong Kong’s favourable business environment and its advantages as a wine and liquor trading hub.
During the trip, the commerce chief will meet representatives of the French business sector and attend business roundtables to exchange views with local wine and liquor producers.
He will also attend the China Forum 2025, organised by Business France, to promote Hong Kong’s unique role as a gateway to the Mainland market.
Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong on the morning of June 26. During his absence, Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan will be Acting Secretary.
In an era of the atomisation of viewing practices through streaming, increasingly short, self-produced videos for TikTok and YouTube, and the reduction of all audiovisual material to “content” for various “platforms”, there is something refreshing about a bunch of strangers assembling in a dark room to collectively watch a giant screen with massive sound.
In other words, going to the movies.
And there’s no better place to see films limited in mainstream release than at film festivals. The standard of the films screening at this year’s Sydney Film Festival was exceptional, and it is difficult to select a top five out of the 40 or so I managed to see. But here goes!
Sirât
Produced by Pedro Almodovar, writer-director Oliver Laxe’s Sirât, which recently won the Jury Prize at Cannes, follows middle-aged Luis (Sergi López) as he travels with his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) and their dog Pipa looking for his estranged daughter in the desert rave scene. They team up with a group of ravers and set off across Southern Morocco towards the next party.
Early on, there are some hints that things are awry on a broader scale – the military break up the opening doof, and we hear, at one point, World War III has broken out.
And as the film unfolds, things take a turn for the worse, with a litany of tragedies – increasingly absurd – afflicting the members of the group. The vaguely futuristic world of the opening crystallises into something much more terrifying than the kind of shrill cinematic post-apocalypticism we’ve become used to through films like Fury Road.
What begins as a kind of paean to raving – replete with bass-thumping speakers (cranked in theatres to eardrum pounding loudness), a “cool” crew of trippers, and an emphasis on the free lives of the ravers (played by real-life party-goers) – rapidly descends into a wild existential nightmare. And the idea that life is a kind of free consumerist party for westerners is viciously dismembered in the second half: we are all refugees in this era.
Sirât is a masterpiece. Its stunning 16mm film images (courtesy of cinematographer Mauro Herve) are complemented by exceptional sound design by Laia Casanova, a majesty of image and sound demanding to be experienced in a cinema.
Somebody
Written and directed by Lee Jung-chan and Kim Yeo-jung, the South Korean film Somebody is a puzzling, intense psycho drama about precociously evil child So-hyun (Gi So-yoo) and the pressures this places on her single mother Yeong-eun (Kwak Sun-young).
An unsettling horror thriller, the film also plays like a study of the evil child archetype. It works through the genre’s cliches, unpicking them while eschewing the usual evil-kid scares in favour of looking at the complex interplay between and ambiguity around the image of child as brat/evil and mother as caring/enabler.
In the first half, the point of view oscillates between an image of the child as evil and the child as scared. In the second half, the evil child has grown up, and we follow her towards the film’s brutal (and unexpected) ending.
And this is where Somebody excels. It taps into the fear of parents that their children are alien parasites – who is this stranger now living off me? – but also the difficulties for children in feeling isolated and scared.
Somebody is a deeply sad and troubling film, buoyed by excellent performances from adults and children alike. In real life, the idea that a kid would be born evil is preposterous, but it’s a movieland cliché that works. Somebody addresses this idea with a genuinely impressive vision.
Harvest
Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest is a melancholic, elegiac film set in a rural community in Scotland in the Middle Ages. When the economic harmony of the village is disrupted by the advent of a new noble, three wandering strangers are mercilessly scapegoated, despite the efforts of villager Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones, in a beautifully understated performance) to protect them.
Despite the turmoil it depicts, the film unfolds as gently as the familiar rhythms of the seasons.
Cinematographer Sean Price Williams’ 16mm images are uncannily beautiful, supported by an astonishing score and sound design from Nicolas Becker.
This fable about the ravages of modernity (recalling Vincent Ward’s The Navigator) – of the violence of calendar time as it overcomes the time of the harvest – is exceptional in every respect.
Not much happens. It’s a slow-moving, brooding film, and it would not be nearly as compelling seen on a small screen. But for those of us willing to make a trip to the movies, Harvest is immensely satisfying.
Redux Redux
Part of the eternally rousing Freak Me Out strand of the program from film critic Richard Kuipers, Kevin and Matthew McManus’ Redux Redux is the kind of high concept film that could easily depend too much on its ingenious conceit (a woman travels throughout the multiverse repeatedly avenging the murder of her daughter) and forget about the stuff that actually makes films work (coherent, striking visual design, immersive sound and compelling performances).
But Redux Redux gets everything right, maintaining its iron grip on the viewer from the opening title card to the closing credits. Michaela McManus – sister of the writer-directors – is brilliant as the grieving, vengeful mother, playing the part with a staid intensity that never tips into hysteria or melodrama.
There are some funny moments – the amusingly lowbrow design of the multiverse machine, for example. But the film never feels like it plays too hard for laughs. Paul Koch’s synth music and sound design are richly atmospheric without coming off as trite, and perfectly support the crisp, economical cinematography of Alan Gwizdowski.
The most impressive thing about the film is the effortlessness with which the story feels like it develops throughout – even though the plot, on the surface, involves the same thing being repeated ad nauseam.
Unlike, for example, in the case of the multiverse-themed Everything Everywhere All at Once, Redux Redux never comes across as self-indulgent, clever for its own sake. It never feels like anything other than a compulsively watchable – and immensely pleasurable – revenge thriller.
Alpha
Writer-director Jan-Willem van Ewijk’s Alpha begins as a lightly comedic intergenerational social satire.
Thirty-something Rein (Reinout Scholten van Aschat), a Dutch snowboarder in the Swiss alps, clashes with his movie-star father, Gijs (Gijs Scholten van Aschar), when Gijs visits him. Gijs flirts with Rein’s girlfriend, asks inappropriate questions about race, and parties with his son’s friends, all the time escalating the stakes, becoming increasingly overbearing and competitive.
It’s funny and familiar fare, treading similar terrain to a Ruben Östland film, and it’s well-done. Pairing a real life father and son is a casting act of genius, adding both pathos and authenticity to their competition.
Similar to Sirât, Alpha takes a sudden turn at the mid-way point. Father and son are trapped in an avalanche. It becomes a race against time as son tries to rescue father in a gruelling battle for survival.
Its brutal second half completely detonates the entire scaffold of our pleasure from the first half. Testament to the craft of van Ewijk (and the talent of the stars), this radical change in tone never feels incoherent or contrived.
By the end of Alpha, the petty dick-swinging of father and son from the first half – and the energetic (and well-shot) skiing footage – becomes nothing before the austere, cold majesty of the mountains looming over and entrapping them.
Alpha is a masterclass in audience manipulation. A truly devastating experience for the viewer.
Other notable films – and one dud!
There were too many excellent films to note them all. Some include master auteur Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3, a film – typical of Petzold – of people haunted by ghosts of lives lost and faded desires, an understated film which – again, customary for Petzold’s work – has an enigmatic air one can’t quite put one’s finger on.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent was another standout: a fun, rollicking romp for cinephiles about political machinations in Brazil in the 1970s.
Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, a biopic of American songwriter Lorenz Hart, had a charmingly goofy affect, as did Vie Privée, a breezy French thriller starring Jodie Foster as a psychoanalyst caught up in a mystery.
Olmo, which could easily have made the top five, is a charming coming of age odyssey about a Mexican-American 14-year-old going to a party with his crush. The Love That Remains is a stunningly shot, surreal comedy about the trials and tribulations of an Icelandic family.
As per usual, some exceptional documentaries screened. Joh: The Last King of Queensland made by Kriv Stenders (better known for narrative works like Red Dog), is a formally compelling study of the reign of Australia’s longest serving premier.
The Raftsmen is an uplifting crowd-pleaser about the expedition from Ecuador to Australia that captivated the public’s attention in 1973. The film is built around an exceptional archive of contemporaneous 16mm footage shot by the rafters.
Lowland Kids, produced by Darren Aronofsky, is a carefully observed documentary about a community in Louisiana forced to relocate because of climate change. This tender film counterpoints the grim reality of global warming with the individual disappointments of the characters’ personal lives.
The only truly execrable film I saw was Michel Franco’s Dreams, a hokey, profoundly dumb film masquerading as something cutting edge (wow – there’s sex, and the camera doesn’t move much), cashing in on topical problems in the United States. Worst of all – and despite ballet sequences, which are always good to watch – it’s a very ugly film.
Given the mediocre quality of much contemporary Hollywood cinema, one dud out of 40 isn’t too bad!
Ari Mattes 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Calgary, Canada on Tuesday (local time) to participate in the G7 Summit, where he will meet with global leaders and share India’s views on key international challenges.
As part of his ongoing three-nation tour — which began in Cyprus and will conclude in Croatia — PM Modi said that he would highlight the concerns of the Global South during the Summit. In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, “Landed in Calgary, Canada, to take part in the G7 Summit. Will be meeting various leaders at the Summit and sharing my thoughts on important global issues. Will also be emphasising the priorities of the Global South.”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that PM Modi will participate in G7 discussions on the future of energy security. These discussions will focus on diversification, technological innovation, infrastructure, and investment, aimed at ensuring access and affordability in a changing global landscape.
“At the invitation of PM @MarkJCarney, PM @narendramodi arrives in Alberta, Canada for the G7 Summit,” Jaiswal wrote on X. “PM will be participating in @G7 discussions on energy security… and will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines.”
PM Modi’s arrival in Canada comes at a time of diplomatic recalibration between the two nations, following a period of strained relations.
Other invitees to the G7 meeting are Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea, and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The G7 Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and the European Union. This year’s edition marks PM Modi’s sixth straight attendance at the Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Calgary, Canada on Tuesday (local time) to participate in the G7 Summit, where he will meet with global leaders and share India’s views on key international challenges.
As part of his ongoing three-nation tour — which began in Cyprus and will conclude in Croatia — PM Modi said that he would highlight the concerns of the Global South during the Summit. In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, “Landed in Calgary, Canada, to take part in the G7 Summit. Will be meeting various leaders at the Summit and sharing my thoughts on important global issues. Will also be emphasising the priorities of the Global South.”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that PM Modi will participate in G7 discussions on the future of energy security. These discussions will focus on diversification, technological innovation, infrastructure, and investment, aimed at ensuring access and affordability in a changing global landscape.
“At the invitation of PM @MarkJCarney, PM @narendramodi arrives in Alberta, Canada for the G7 Summit,” Jaiswal wrote on X. “PM will be participating in @G7 discussions on energy security… and will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines.”
PM Modi’s arrival in Canada comes at a time of diplomatic recalibration between the two nations, following a period of strained relations.
Other invitees to the G7 meeting are Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea, and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The G7 Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and the European Union. This year’s edition marks PM Modi’s sixth straight attendance at the Summit.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
SCED to visit France During the trip, Mr Yau will meet with the French business sector and attend business roundtables to exchange views with local wine and liquor producers. He will also attend the China Forum 2025 organised by Business France to promote Hong Kong’s unique role as a gateway to the Mainland market.
Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong on June 26 morning. The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development during Mr Yau’s absence. Issued at HKT 12:29
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Calgary, Canada on Tuesday (local time) to participate in the G7 Summit, where he will meet with global leaders and share India’s views on key international challenges.
As part of his ongoing three-nation tour — which began in Cyprus and will conclude in Croatia — PM Modi said that he would highlight the concerns of the Global South during the Summit. In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, “Landed in Calgary, Canada, to take part in the G7 Summit. Will be meeting various leaders at the Summit and sharing my thoughts on important global issues. Will also be emphasising the priorities of the Global South.”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that PM Modi will participate in G7 discussions on the future of energy security. These discussions will focus on diversification, technological innovation, infrastructure, and investment, aimed at ensuring access and affordability in a changing global landscape.
“At the invitation of PM @MarkJCarney, PM @narendramodi arrives in Alberta, Canada for the G7 Summit,” Jaiswal wrote on X. “PM will be participating in @G7 discussions on energy security… and will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines.”
PM Modi’s arrival in Canada comes at a time of diplomatic recalibration between the two nations, following a period of strained relations.
Other invitees to the G7 meeting are Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea, and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The G7 Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and the European Union. This year’s edition marks PM Modi’s sixth straight attendance at the Summit.
Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran, citing what he said was the country’s rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development.
Trump was due to leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada later on Monday, a day early, due to the Middle East situation, the White House said. Fox News reported he would convene his National Security Council.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump’s early departure from the G7 was positive, given the immediate objective was to get Israel and Iran to agree to a ceasefire that the U.S. had proposed.
“There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions. And I think this is a very good thing,” Macron told reporters. “So now we need to see what the stakeholders will do.”
Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran early on Tuesday. Air defences were activated also in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations 320 km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported.
A White House aide said it was not true that the U.S. was attacking Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News that Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran, while adding the U.S. would defend its assets in the region.
In Israel, air raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv after midnight and an explosion was heard as Iranian missiles targeted the country again.
Iranian officials reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, in five days, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said nearly 3,000 Israelis had been evacuated due to damage from Iranian strikes.
Sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, according to two Iranian and three regional sources.
“If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. “Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.”
Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that Israel was committed to eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, adding, “If this can be achieved in another way—fine. But we gave it a 60-day chance.”
Speaking to Reuters on Friday, the first day of Israel’s assault, Trump said he had given the Iranians 60 days to come to an agreement to halt uranium enrichment and that the time had expired with no deal. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
Oil prices rallied more than 2% early in Asia on Tuesday after Trump’s evacuation warning, reversing losses on Monday amid reports that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities.
CHINESE URGED TO LEAVE ISRAEL
With security concerns growing and Israeli airspace closed because of the war, the Chinese embassy in Israel urged its citizens to leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible.
The Iran-Israel air war – the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies – escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran’s state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the BBC that the Natanz plant sustained extensive damage, likely destroying 15,000 centrifuges, while Iran’s Fordow plant remained largely intact.
Talks between the United States and Iran, hosted by Oman, had been scheduled for June 15 but were scrapped, with Tehran saying it could not negotiate while under attack.
Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack that has killed nearly the entire top echelon of Iran’s military commanders and its leading nuclear scientists. It says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days.
Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to U.S. demands that it accept strict curbs on its nuclear programme.
“As I’ve been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday.
A U.S. official said Trump would not sign a draft statement from G7 leaders calling for a de-escalation of the conflict. The draft statement says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
