Israel and Iran’s air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks.
Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks.
Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.
“Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it’s up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites.
Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran’s foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday.
“Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one,” said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met Lammy on Thursday and held separate calls with his counterparts from Australia, France and Italy to discuss the conflict.
The U.S. State Department said that Rubio and the foreign ministers agreed that “Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Lammy said the same on X while adding that the situation in the Middle East “remained perilous” and a “window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
The role of the United States remained uncertain. Lammy also met Trump’s special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, on Thursday in Washington, and said they had discussed a possible deal.
Witkoff has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say.
The White House said Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday morning. The president has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict.
Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a “bunker buster” bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used “two weeks” as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide.
With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising.
But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack.
“How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets,” said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement following a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granting the federal government’s motion for a stay pending appeal in Newsom v. Trump. The court granted the federal government’s motion, staying the district court’s temporary restraining order during the federal government’s appeal. The temporary restraining order blocked the Trump Administration’s use of the federalized California National Guard to patrol our communities and engage in other law enforcement activity by returning control of the California National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom.
“While it is disappointing that our temporary restraining order has been stayed pending the federal government’s appeal, this case is far from over,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Trump Administration far overreached its authority with its unprecedented and unlawful federalization of the California National Guard and deployment of military troops into our communities. As senior military leaders serving in administrations from JFK to Obama have affirmed, the use of the military on U.S. soil should be ‘rare, serious, and legally clear.’ That is not the case in Los Angeles where our state and local law enforcement officers responded effectively to isolated episodes of violence at otherwise peaceful protests and the President deliberately sought to create the very chaos and crises he claimed to be addressing. While the court did not provide immediate relief for Angelenos today, we remain confident in our arguments and will continue the fight.”
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NEW YORK, June 19 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order allowing TikTok to continue operating in the country for another 90 days until Sept. 17, 2025, giving his administration more time to discuss a possible sale of the app.
This is the third time the White House has extended the TikTok ban. He previously signed similar orders on January 20 and April 4, 2025.
Since joining the 2024 presidential race, Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok, which is popular with American youth. In January, the politician said he had “warm feelings” for the app.
As local media note, a ban on TikTok in the US is becoming less and less likely in the foreseeable future: the president’s decrees to extend the app’s operation have never been challenged in court.
During his first term, Trump signed an executive order that effectively sought to ban TikTok in the United States unless its owner, Chinese company ByteDance, sold its business in the country to an American counterparty. The order was challenged in court and never went into effect.
In April 2024, then-US President Joseph Biden signed a law giving ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok. The rationale was national security. Failure to comply would require app store operators like Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their platforms by January 19, 2025.
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, about a third of Americans support a TikTok ban, about a third oppose it, and the same number were undecided. In March 2023, half of respondents supported a ban on the app.
TikTok currently has an audience of about 170 million users in the US. –0–
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
June 19, 2025
RFK Jr. cut hundreds of millions of dollars for bird flu, HIV vaccine development
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pressing him on his recent reckless decisions to slash funding for critical vaccine development. In May, the Trump Administration announced that it would cut off millions of dollars that the federal government had committed to the development of the critical bird flu vaccine, and HHS abruptly ended an over-$250 million program to develop an AIDS vaccine.
“This is a grievous mistake that threatens to leave the country unprepared for what experts fear might be the next pandemic – and there appears to be no rationale for this decision other than your ill-informed and dangerous war on vaccines,” wrote the Senators.
In January, HHS championed the development of new vaccines to make sure “Americans have the tools they need to stay safe.” Now, the RFK Jr.-led HHS is ripping those tools away — tools which would save lives and save billions in health care costs over time.
An HHS spokesperson indicated that the decision to cut funding for the bird flu vaccine was made following a “rigorous review.” Another senior HHS official claimed that the decision to slash funding for the HIV vaccine was made after a “review by N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) leadership.” HHS has made neither review available to the American public.
“You have failed to justify either of these moves to (ruin) vaccine research,” continued the Senators. “This is just the latest example that calls into question your commitment to ‘radical transparency.’”
“The public has little reason to trust your judgment or your review of the science surrounding vaccines or any aspect of public health,” concluded the Senators.
The Administration also recently released its “Make America Healthy Again” report, containing numerous references and citations that were fully fabricated. RFK Jr. himself has long peddled anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and spread harmful misinformation.
The lawmakers requested copies of the “rigorous review” that resulted in the termination of funding for the bird flu vaccine and the “review by N.I.H. leadership” that prompted the termination of funding for AIDS vaccine research. The lawmakers also requested a detailed description of the process by which HHS decided to end these contracts, including whether it was based on a recommendation by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) officials.
-30-
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
June 19, 2025
[PEORIA, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Peoria-area health care advocates, Medicaid recipients and their families to call out the Trump Administration and Republican’s dangerous, relentless attempts to slash Medicaid with their Big, Beautiful Betrayal. Duckworth spoke in support and defense of the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid including pregnant women, children with disabilities as well as people in nursing homes—and demanded that Republicans put their constituents’ lives ahead of Trump’s ego by working with Democrats to protect the critical basic needs program. Photos from the press conference are available on Senator Duckworth’s website.
“Republicans told us in Project 2025 that they’d come for Medicaid—and this is one of the rare times the GOP is actually keeping its word,” Duckworth said. “Make no mistake: there’s no way to pay for Trump’s $4 trillion tax break for billionaires without putting it on the backs of Americans who are already struggling to pay the bills. As Republicansthreatened health care for 16 million Americans—including 3.4 million Illinoisans—to appease Trump and his billionaire buddies, I’ll keep working with Illinois health care advocates to protect and defend Medicaid.”
“In Illinois, Medicaid covers over half of all births—and in many rural areas, that number is even higher. For thousands of pregnant people, Medicaid is the difference between accessing prenatal care or going without it. The proposed cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize maternal health and endanger the lives of mothers and babies across our state,” said Chi Chi Okwu, Executive Director, EverThrive Illinois.
“Children and families—especially those with complex medical needs or in rural communities—already face so many barriers to care. The proposed changes to the Medicaid program would only widen the care gap for children,” said Michele Beekman, MD, FAAP, Secretary, Executive Committee of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“In Illinois, Medicaid is not just a program; it is a lifeline that embodies our commitment to compassion and justice, ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens, including those with disabilities, our children, and working families, have access to the healthcare and support they need to thrive. It is our duty to protect this essential safety net for the sake of our collective humanity,” said Samantha Alloway, Executive Director, The Arc of Illinois.
“Hospital leaders are doing everything they can to preserve access to care, protect jobs, and remain anchors in their communities. But make no mistake—Medicaid cuts erode that foundation. We need policies that invest in rural health, not undermine it,” said Tracy Warner, Executive Director, Illinois Critical Hospital Network.
Last month, Duckworth joined Caring Across Generations’ 24-hour Capitol Hill vigil to call out Donald Trump and Elon Musk for their heartless, relentless attempts to slash Medicaid funding.
. Pillen Celebrates Ruling Protecting Nebraska Nursing Homes From Biden-era Rule
LINCOLN, NE — Today, Governor Jim Pillen celebrated a federal court ruling that blocked a Biden-era rule that would have put critical nursing homes in rural Nebraska out of business.
In November 2023, Gov. Pillen joined fellow Republican Governors in submitting a letter to the Biden administration objecting to the impact of proposed federal staffing requirements on long term care facilities. The burdensome and arbitrary new rules would have been nearly impossible for many nursing homes to meet and could have forced their closure.
“This decision is an important and significant win for Nebraska seniors,” said Gov. Pillen. “The overturned rule was issued without regard for the needs of rural America and would have hurt our seniors. With this court ruling, our rural nursing homes can rest easy that they will not be subjected to baseless and arbitrary staffing requirements that would have certainly impacted the quality of care and their ability to remain open. I am grateful to Attorney General Hilgers and his team for their work representing the State of Nebraska in this case.”
A link to the Attorney General’s news release regarding this ruling is available here:
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 20, 2025.
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
West Australian miners flexed their muscle to block a federal EPA last year. Will it be different this time? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diane Dowdell, PhD Candidate in Sustainable Mining, The University of Queensland CUHRIG/Getty This week, Environment Minister Murray Watt met with groups representing business, the environment, renewable energy and First Nations communities in a bid to restart Labor’s stalled environmental reforms. There was one group in the room
Eugene Doyle: How centrifugal forces have been unleashed in Iran COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle The surprise US-Israeli attack on Iran is literally and figuratively designed to unleash centrifugal forces in the Islamic Republic. Two nuclear powers are currently involved in the bombing of the nuclear facilities of a third state. One of them, the US has — for the moment — limited itself to handling
Technology to enforce teen social media ban is ‘effective’, trial says. But this is at odds with other evidence Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University MAYA LAB/Shutterstock Technologies to enforce the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s are “private, robust and effective”. That’s according to the preliminary findings of a federal government-commissioned trial that
A new special tribunal will investigate Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Will it be effective? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, Lecturer in Criminal Law and International Law, Curtin University Earlier this year, the European Union, the Council of Europe, Ukraine and an international coalition of states agreed to establish a new special tribunal. The tribunal will eventually be tasked with holding Russia accountable for the
6 things Australia must do if it’s serious about tackling school bullying Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Miller, Lecturer in Education (Classroom Management), Southern Cross University Wander Women/ Getty Images Bullying is arguably one of the most serious issues facing Australia’s schools. About one in four students between Year 4 and Year 9 report being bullied regularly. This can have serious and lasting
Keith Rankin Analysis – America’s imperial ‘gifts’: ‘Crusader Democracy’ and ‘Christian Nationalism’ Analysis by Keith Rankin. The United States has always fancied itself as the founder of modern democracy (aka ‘Democracy’). And, although that country has been self-absorbed for most of its history, it has always sensed that Democracy was its greatest export. ‘America’ became involved in Africa and the ‘Middle East’ very early in its history.
Many elite athletes live below the poverty line. Tax-deductible donations won’t solve the problem Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Australia’s Jaclyn Narracott competes in the women’s skeleton at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images As the end of the 2024-25 financial year nears, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), in partnership with the
Bribe or community benefit? Sweeteners smoothing the way for renewables projects need to be done right Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University Louise Beaumont/Getty When a renewable energy developer announces a new project, there’s one big question mark – how will nearby communities react? Community pushback has scuttled many renewables projects. Sometimes, communities are angry landowners hosting
Despite decades of cost cutting, governments spend more than ever. How can we make sense of this? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lovering, Lecturer in International Relations, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images Recent controversies over New Zealand’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch program have revolved around the apparent shortcomings of the food and its delivery. Stories of inedible meals, scalding packaging and
Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of the GST between the states? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saul Eslake, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Tasmania When the Western Australian state government handed down its state budget on Thursday, it showed a balance sheet solidly in the black with a A$2.5 billion surplus. But, as it has for seven years, the state has received an outsized
Jaws at 50: the first summer blockbuster is still a film that bites – even when the shark didn’t work Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Jeffery, Sessional Academic, Discipline of Film Studies, University of Sydney Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images When I was eight years old, on a Saturday night before surf lifesaving training, my dad put on the film Jaws and it changed my life forever. Unlike the
New cases of meningococcal disease have been detected. What are the symptoms? And who can get vaccinated? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist; Clinical Researcher, University of Sydney Two Tasmanian women have been hospitalised with invasive meningococcal disease, bringing the number of cases nationally so far this year to 48. Health authorities are urging people to watch for symptoms and to check if
A war on diplomacy itself – Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran ANALYSIS: By Joe Hendren Had Israel not launched its unprovoked attack on Iran on Friday night, in direct violation of the UN Charter, Iran would now be taking part in the sixth round of negotiations concerning the future of its nuclear programme, meeting with representatives from the United States in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Why New Zealand has paused funding to the Cook Islands over China deal BACKGROUNDER: By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor/presenter;Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific; and Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist New Zealand has paused $18.2 million in development assistance funding to the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with China earlier this year. This move is causing consternation in the realm country, with one local
Egyptian crackdown on Gaza blockade busters but Kiwi activists vow to ‘defeat genocide’ SPECIAL REPORT: By Saige England in Ōtautahi and Ava Mulla in Cairo Hope for freedom for Palestinians remains high among a group of trauma-struck New Zealanders in Cairo. In spite of extensive planning, the Global March To Gaza (GMTG) delegation of about 4000 international aid volunteers was thwarted in its mission to walk from Cairo
The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher White, Historian, The University of Queensland The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one. As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate,
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 20, 2025.
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
Mark Brown: Cook Islands ‘not consulted’ on NZ-China agreements By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has suggested a double standard, saying he was “not privy to or consulted on” agreements New Zealand may enter into with China. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has paused $18.2 million in development assistance to the Cook Islands due to a lack
West Australian miners flexed their muscle to block a federal EPA last year. Will it be different this time? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diane Dowdell, PhD Candidate in Sustainable Mining, The University of Queensland CUHRIG/Getty This week, Environment Minister Murray Watt met with groups representing business, the environment, renewable energy and First Nations communities in a bid to restart Labor’s stalled environmental reforms. There was one group in the room
Eugene Doyle: How centrifugal forces have been unleashed in Iran COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle The surprise US-Israeli attack on Iran is literally and figuratively designed to unleash centrifugal forces in the Islamic Republic. Two nuclear powers are currently involved in the bombing of the nuclear facilities of a third state. One of them, the US has — for the moment — limited itself to handling
Technology to enforce teen social media ban is ‘effective’, trial says. But this is at odds with other evidence Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University MAYA LAB/Shutterstock Technologies to enforce the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s are “private, robust and effective”. That’s according to the preliminary findings of a federal government-commissioned trial that
A new special tribunal will investigate Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Will it be effective? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, Lecturer in Criminal Law and International Law, Curtin University Earlier this year, the European Union, the Council of Europe, Ukraine and an international coalition of states agreed to establish a new special tribunal. The tribunal will eventually be tasked with holding Russia accountable for the
6 things Australia must do if it’s serious about tackling school bullying Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Miller, Lecturer in Education (Classroom Management), Southern Cross University Wander Women/ Getty Images Bullying is arguably one of the most serious issues facing Australia’s schools. About one in four students between Year 4 and Year 9 report being bullied regularly. This can have serious and lasting
Keith Rankin Analysis – America’s imperial ‘gifts’: ‘Crusader Democracy’ and ‘Christian Nationalism’ Analysis by Keith Rankin. The United States has always fancied itself as the founder of modern democracy (aka ‘Democracy’). And, although that country has been self-absorbed for most of its history, it has always sensed that Democracy was its greatest export. ‘America’ became involved in Africa and the ‘Middle East’ very early in its history.
Many elite athletes live below the poverty line. Tax-deductible donations won’t solve the problem Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Australia’s Jaclyn Narracott competes in the women’s skeleton at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images As the end of the 2024-25 financial year nears, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), in partnership with the
Bribe or community benefit? Sweeteners smoothing the way for renewables projects need to be done right Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University Louise Beaumont/Getty When a renewable energy developer announces a new project, there’s one big question mark – how will nearby communities react? Community pushback has scuttled many renewables projects. Sometimes, communities are angry landowners hosting
Despite decades of cost cutting, governments spend more than ever. How can we make sense of this? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lovering, Lecturer in International Relations, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images Recent controversies over New Zealand’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch program have revolved around the apparent shortcomings of the food and its delivery. Stories of inedible meals, scalding packaging and
Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of the GST between the states? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saul Eslake, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Tasmania When the Western Australian state government handed down its state budget on Thursday, it showed a balance sheet solidly in the black with a A$2.5 billion surplus. But, as it has for seven years, the state has received an outsized
Jaws at 50: the first summer blockbuster is still a film that bites – even when the shark didn’t work Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Jeffery, Sessional Academic, Discipline of Film Studies, University of Sydney Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images When I was eight years old, on a Saturday night before surf lifesaving training, my dad put on the film Jaws and it changed my life forever. Unlike the
New cases of meningococcal disease have been detected. What are the symptoms? And who can get vaccinated? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist; Clinical Researcher, University of Sydney Two Tasmanian women have been hospitalised with invasive meningococcal disease, bringing the number of cases nationally so far this year to 48. Health authorities are urging people to watch for symptoms and to check if
A war on diplomacy itself – Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran ANALYSIS: By Joe Hendren Had Israel not launched its unprovoked attack on Iran on Friday night, in direct violation of the UN Charter, Iran would now be taking part in the sixth round of negotiations concerning the future of its nuclear programme, meeting with representatives from the United States in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Why New Zealand has paused funding to the Cook Islands over China deal BACKGROUNDER: By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor/presenter;Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific; and Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist New Zealand has paused $18.2 million in development assistance funding to the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with China earlier this year. This move is causing consternation in the realm country, with one local
Egyptian crackdown on Gaza blockade busters but Kiwi activists vow to ‘defeat genocide’ SPECIAL REPORT: By Saige England in Ōtautahi and Ava Mulla in Cairo Hope for freedom for Palestinians remains high among a group of trauma-struck New Zealanders in Cairo. In spite of extensive planning, the Global March To Gaza (GMTG) delegation of about 4000 international aid volunteers was thwarted in its mission to walk from Cairo
The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher White, Historian, The University of Queensland The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one. As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate,
Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Note: The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports. SEL6
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 446 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 910 PM CDT Thu Jun 19 2025
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of Western into Central Minnesota Southeast North Dakota Northern into Northeast South Dakota
* Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 910 PM until 400 AM CDT.
* Primary threats include… Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5 inches in diameter possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
SUMMARY…Isolated severe thunderstorms this evening will pose a risk for large to very large hail and severe gusts. Thunderstorms are forecast to increase in coverage late this evening into the overnight. The risks for hail and wind will likely continue as the expected thunderstorm activity gradually shifts from west to east across the Watch area.
The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 100 statute miles north and south of a line from 55 miles southwest of Jamestown ND to 65 miles east southeast of Alexandria MN. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce tornadoes.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 443…WW 444…WW 445…
AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 30025.
…Smith
Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas. SAW6 WW 446 SEVERE TSTM MN ND SD 200210Z – 200900Z AXIS..100 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE.. 55SW JMS/JAMESTOWN ND/ – 65ESE AXN/ALEXANDRIA MN/ ..AVIATION COORDS.. 85NM N/S /54ESE BIS – 51S BRD/ HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS. MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 30025.
LAT…LON 47819950 46959416 44069416 44929950
THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS FOR WOU6.
Watch 446 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.
Note: Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes
Probability of 2 or more tornadoes
Low (10%)
Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes
Low ( 65 knots
Low (20%)
Hail
Probability of 10 or more severe hail events
Mod (40%)
Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches
Mod (40%)
Combined Severe Hail/Wind
Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events
High (70%)
For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
This photo taken on May 24, 2025 shows a view of the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]
China opposes politicizing education cooperation, and hopes the United States will act on President Trump’s remarks about welcoming Chinese students to study in America, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to a related query at a daily news briefing, adding that China is following the developments.
China-U.S. education cooperation benefits both sides, Guo said.
“We hope the United States will act on President Trump’s remarks about welcoming Chinese students to study in America and effectively protect the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the United States,” he said.
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 14, 2025) U.S. Navy Lt. Corey Day, right, an entomologist assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command, and Lt. j.g. Derek Chipmon, left, a public health planner with the Pacific Partnership 25 (PP-25) team, are given an apiary tour by a local beekeeper in Suva, Fiji, during PP-25, June 14, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 16, 2025) Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, left, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025, greets Mr. Samuela Togenavanua, local tribe leader of Suva, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Waiqanake District School in Suva, Fiji, June 16, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 16, 2025) Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, left, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025 (PP-25), presents a commemorative gift to Mr. Samuela Togenavanua, local tribe leader of Suva, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Waiqanake District School as part of PP-25 in Suva, Fiji, June 16, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 16, 2025) Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, left, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025 (PP-25), presents a commemorative gift to Mr. Samuela Togenavanua, local tribe leader of Suva, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Waiqanake District School as part of PP-25 in Suva, Fiji, June 16, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
Technologies to enforce the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s are “private, robust and effective”. That’s according to the preliminary findings of a federal government-commissioned trial that has nearly finished testing them.
The findings, released today, may give the government greater confidence to forge ahead with the ban, despite a suite of expert criticism. They might also alleviate some of the concerns of the Australian population about privacy and security implications of the ban, which is due to begin in December.
For example, a report based on a survey of nearly 4,000 people and released by the government earlier this week found nine out of ten people support the idea of a ban. But it also found a large number of people were “very concerned” about how the ban would be implemented. Nearly 80% of respondents had privacy and security concerns, while roughly half had concerns about age assurance accuracy and government oversight.
The trial’s preliminary findings paint a rosy picture of the potential for available technologies to check people’s ages. However, they contain very little detail about specific technologies, and appear to be at odds with what we know about age-assurance technology from other sources.
From facial recognition to hand movement recognition
The social media ban for under 16s was legislated in December 2024. A last-minute amendment to the law requires technology companies to provide “alternative age assurance methods” for account holders to confirm their age, rather than relying only on government-issued ID.
The trial is being led by the Age Check Certification Scheme – a company based in the United Kingdom that specialises in testing and certifying identity verification systems. It includes 53 vendors that offer a range of age assurance technologies to guess people’s ages, using techniques such as facial recognition and hand-movement recognition.
According to the preliminary findings of the trial, “age assurance can be done in Australia”.
The trial’s project director, Tony Allen, said “there are no significant technological barriers” to assuring people’s ages online. He added the solutions are “technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services and can support the safety and rights of children online”.
However, these claims are hard to square with other evidence.
High error rates
Yesterday the ABC reported the trial found face-scanning technologies “repeatedly misidentified” children as young as 15 as being in their 20s and 30s. These tools could only guess children’s ages “within an 18-month range in 85 percent of cases”. This means a 14-year-old child might gain access to a social media account, while a 17-year-old might be blocked.
This is in line with results of global trials of face-scanning technologies conducted for more than a decade.
The tests also show that error rates are higher for young women compared to young men. Error rates are also higher for people with darker skin tones.
These studies show that even the best age-estimation software currently available – Yoti – has an average error of 1.0 years. Other software options mistake someone’s age by 3.1 years on average.
This means, at best, a 16-year-old might be estimated to be 15 or 17 years old; at worst, they could be seen to be 13 or 19 years of age. These error rates mean a significant number of children under 16 could access social media accounts despite a ban being in place, while some over 16 could be blocked.
Yoti also explains businesses needing to check exact ages (such as 18) can set higher age thresholds (such as 25), so fewer people under 18 get through the age check.
This approach would be similar to that taken in Australia’s retail liquor sector, where sales staff verify ID for anyone who appears to be under the age of 25. However, many young people lack the government-issued ID required for an additional age check.
It’s also worth remembering that in August 2023, the Australian government acknowledged that the age assurance technology market was “immature” and could not yet meet key requirements, such as working reliably without circumvention and balancing privacy and security.
Outstanding questions
We don’t yet know exactly what methods platforms will use to verify account holders’ ages. While face-scanning technologies are often discussed, they could use other methods to confirm age. The government trial also tested voice and hand movements to guess young people’s ages. But those methods also have accuracy issues.
And it’s not yet clear what recourse people will have if their age is misidentified. Will parents be able to complain if children under 16 gain access to accounts, despite restrictions? Will older Australians who are incorrectly blocked be able to appeal? And if so, to whom?
There are other outstanding questions. What’s stopping someone who’s under 16 from getting someone who is over 16 to set up an account on their behalf? To mitigate this risk, the government might require all social media users to verify their age at regular intervals.
It’s also unclear what level of age estimation error the government may be willing to accept in implementing a social media ban. The legislation says technology companies must demonstrate they have taken “reasonable steps” to prevent under 16s from holding social media accounts. What is considered “reasonable” is yet to be clearly defined.
Australians will have to wait until later this year for the full results of the government’s trial to be released, and to know how technology companies will respond. With less than six months until the ban comes into effect, social media users still don’t have all the answers they need.
Lisa M. Given receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the international Association for Information Science and Technology.
Attorney General Bonta and Newsom Administration have supported Newport Beach in lawsuits attacking City’s general plan
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez today issued a statement after a trial court sided with Newport Beach and determined that the City’s actions to implement its housing element without voter approval are valid, despite a charter provision seeming to require a vote. Last month, Attorney General Bonta and the Newsom Administration filed a joint amicus brief in support of the City of Newport Beach’s efforts to comply with state housing laws after opponents sued the City for taking steps to implement its housing plan, including rezoning, as required under the state’s Housing Element Law.
“As California continues to deal with a housing crisis of epic proportions, Newport Beach has said yes to more homes and is endeavoring to build its fair share of housing under California law,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today, I celebrate a court decision that clears the way for Newport Beach to continue its work. Cities statewide are obligated to plan for their fair share of housing; my office will continue to hold accountable those who refuse and stick up for localities who are trying to do the right thing.”
“Every community must do their part to build housing and address homelessness. We will continue to support Newport Beach’s efforts to follow the law and create more housing opportunities for its residents,” saidGovernor Gavin Newsom.
“HCD is committed to holding jurisdictions accountable to state housing law, and we are proud to stand behind those communities—like Newport Beach—that are putting in the work to see sufficient housing built for all income levels,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Californians need the ability to be full participants in the life of their community—living, learning, and working in a place they can call home. We are grateful for our strong partnership with the Attorney General to make that a reality.”
BACKGROUND
The housing element is a crucial planning tool to accommodate housing for all Californians across all household income levels, and to redress historical redlining and disinvestment. Under state law, every city and county in California must periodically update its housing element to meet its share of the regional and statewide housing needs. State law also requires certain housing element programs to be completed by specific deadlines, including any zoning code amendments necessary to accommodate the city or county’s share of the regional housing need for each income level.
To effectuate its housing element programs, Newport Beach amended its land use element and zoning code to allow residential development in more areas of the City using new overlay zoning districts in six focus areas. Opponents sued the City arguing that, regardless of state Housing Element Law, these changes must be approved by voters before they are effective because of a provision in the City’s charter. The Court disagreed and adopted Attorney General Bonta and the Newsom Administration’s position that the City properly interpreted its own charter provision, and that voter approval measures cannot be construed in a way that obstructs mandatory obligations under state Housing Element Law.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University
Segment on Trump’s threats against Iran’s leader. (BBC News)
The American military could certainly make an impact in any air campaign against Iran. The problem from a military standpoint, however, is that the U.S., based on its forces’ deployment, will almost certainly seek to keep its involvement limited to its air force to avoid another Iraq-like quagmire.
While doing so could almost certainly disrupt Iran’s nuclear program, it will likely fall short of Israel’s goal of regime change.
In fact, it could reinforce the Iranian government and draw the U.S. into a costly ground war.
The initial stated reason for Israel’s bombing campaign — Iran’s nuclear capabilities — appears specious at best.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued several times in the past, without evidence, that Iran is close to achieving a nuclear weapon. U.S. intelligence, however, have assessed that Iran is three years away from deploying a nuclear weapon.
Regardless of the veracity of the claims, Israel initiated the offensive and now requires American support.
Israel’s need for U.S. assistance rests on two circumstances:
While Israel succeeded in eliminating key figures from the Iranian military in its initial strikes, Iran’s response appears to have exceeded Israel’s expectations with their Arrow missile interceptors nearing depletion.
Israel’s air strikes can only achieve so much in disrupting Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Most analysts note that Israel’s bombings are only likely to delay the Iranian nuclear program by a few months. This is due to the fact that Israeli missiles are incapable of penetrating the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which estimates place close to 300 feet underground.
The United States, however, possesses munitions that could damage, or even destroy, the Fordow facility. Most notably, the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (more commonly known as a bunker buster) has a penetration capability of 200 feet.
Multiple strikes by said munition would render Fordow inoperable, if not outright destroyed.
Romanticizing air power
The efficacy of air power has been vastly overrated in the popular media and various air forces of the world. Air power is great at disrupting an opponent, but has significant limitations in influencing the outcome of a war.
Specifically, air power is likely to prove an inadequate tool for one of the supposed Israeli and American objectives in the war: regime change. For air power to be effective at bringing about regime change, it needs to demoralize the Iranian people to the point that they’re willing to oppose their own government.
Early air enthusiasts believed that a population’s demoralization would be an inevitable consequence of aerial bombardment. Italian general Giulio Douhet, a prominent air power theorist, argued that air power was so mighty that it could destroy cities and demoralize an opponent into surrendering.
Douhet was correct on the first point. He was wrong on the second.
Recent history provides evidence. While considerableink has been spilled to demonstrate the efficacy of air power during the Second World War, close examination of the facts demonstrate that it had a minimal impact. In fact, Allied bombing of German cities in several instances created the opposite effect.
More recent bombing campaigns replicated this failure. The U.S. bombing of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War did not significantly damage North Vietnamese morale or war effort. NATO’s bombing of Serbia in 1999, likewise, rallied support for the unpopular Slobodan Milosevic due to its perceived injustice — and continues to evoke strong emotions to this day.
Iran’s political regime may be unpopular with many Iranians, but Israeli and potentially American bombing may shore up support for the Iranian government.
Nationalism is a potent force, particularly when people are under attack. Israel’s bombing of Iran will rally segments of the population to the government that would otherwise oppose it.
Few positive options
The limitations of air power to fuel significant political change in Iran should give Trump pause about intervening in the conflict.
Some American support, such as providing weapons, is a given due to the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel. But any realization of American and Israeli aspirations of a non-nuclear Iran and a new government will likely require ground forces.
Recent American experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq show such a ground forces operation won’t lead to the swift victory that Trump desires, but could potentially stretch on for decades.
James Horncastle 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.
Samsung Electronics today announced a partnership with Electronic Arts (EA) and Xbox to bring the action of EA SPORTS FCTM 25 to Samsung Gaming Hub. Samsung TV and monitor owners can now play EA SPORTS FC 25 through the Xbox app with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)1 on supported devices.2 All players need to get started is a compatible controller and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes EA Play.
As a special promotion, new Xbox Game Pass subscribers can receive a two-month Ultimate Game Pass subscription.3 The offer is available to both existing Samsung TV owners and those who buy a new, qualifying TV. To redeem, users can simply download the Samsung Promotions app on their Samsung TV, click the Xbox promotion banner or scan the QR code with their mobile device, and then follow the steps on the screen to activate their offer.
“We are delighted to bring EA SPORTS FC 25 to Samsung TVs and monitors through cloud gaming on Samsung Gaming Hub,” said Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “As the world’s leading TV manufacturer, one of our goals is to immerse soccer fans around the world in the exciting game of soccer, whether they are playing the game or watching a match live on a Samsung TV.”
EA SPORTS FC 25 gives players more ways to win for the club, by teaming up with friends across their favorite modes with 5v5 Rush and managing their clubs to victory as FC IQ delivers more tactical control than ever before. Fans will also continue to experience unparalleled authenticity with the most true-to-life experience of football’s biggest competitions, clubs and stars. FC 25 features over 19,000 athletes across more than 700 teams, 120 stadiums and 30 leagues from around the world.
Samsung Gaming Hub, first introduced in 2022, has redefined home entertainment by giving players access to thousands of games directly on Samsung TVs and monitors. This includes the 2025 TV series, spanning Samsung Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, OLED, QLED, The Frame and The Frame Pro, which are powered by Samsung Vision AI for AI enhanced picture and sound, along with new personalized features that bring people closer to the shows, movies and games they love.
In a first for the TV industry, Samsung has partnered with Microsoft to integrate Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) into its smart TVs and monitors, and now supports a wide range of streamed games from partners including NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Amazon Luna.
For more information on Samsung Gaming Hub, please visit www.samsung.com.
1 In 27 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Korea), the game is available via Samsung Gaming Hub.
Supported features and games may vary by country and model. An internet connection, additional gaming service subscription and compatible controller are required. Samsung Account required for network-based smart services, including streaming apps and other smart features.
2 Available on select 2022 or later Samsung Smart TVs and Monitors.
3 Claim Game Pass Ultimate trial by August 12,2025. Redeem at https://www.xbox.com/redeem by August 19, 2025. Valid for new Xbox Game Pass members only. Available in all regions with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) supporting the Xbox app on Samsung, excluding Korea and Argentina.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
The United States has always fancied itself as the founder of modern democracy (aka ‘Democracy’). And, although that country has been self-absorbed for most of its history, it has always sensed that Democracy was its greatest export.
‘America’ became involved in Africa and the ‘Middle East’ very early in its history. There was the American–Algerian War (1785–1795); and the Barbary Wars (1801-1805,1815), featuring the heroic re-seizure and scuttling by fire of the USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor in 1804. Then there was the reverse colonisation (aka ‘liberation’, ‘democratization’) of a small corner of Africa from 1822, leading to Liberia’s independence in 1862.
In the 1846, there was the small matter of the United States’ invasion of Mexico, resulting in the 1848 annexation of half of Mexico’s territory. ‘America’ brought Democracy to California, through annexation. And, in 1898, the United States appropriated Spain’s remaining worldwide empire, including the Philippines. And some other territories, including Hawaii. Upon his inauguration as the 47th President, Donald Trump explicitly invoked the memory of President William McKinley, America’s most notorious annexor of foreign territory.
And in 1889: “Three American warships then entered the Apia harbor and prepared to engage the three German warships found there. Before any shots were fired, a typhoon wrecked both the American and German ships.” After ten years of military/political stalemate – known as the Second Samoan Civil War – the Samoan ‘assets’ were split between the United States, the German Second Reich, and the United Kingdom. (The UK traded its share with Germany. Britain gave up all claims to Samoa and in return accepted the termination of German rights in Tonga, certain areas in the Solomon Islands, and Zanzibar.)
America’s imperial ‘burden’ in the last 125 years
Rudyard Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden was written in 1899; “a poem about the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) that exhorts the United States to assume colonial control of the Filipino people and their country”.
America’s empire today is partly formal, though mostly informal, with various grades of informality. Indeed, the recent acknowledgement by the European Union that it has free-ridden on the United States for its defence indicates that the United States has had a significant degree of imperial control over Europe; hegemony manifesting as control over foreign policy.
The name ‘America’ itself is an imperial grab. America is the name for two continents, yet even the Canadians call the United States ‘America’, and its citizens ‘Americans’. American exceptionalism represents the weaponisation of democracy. Democracy is packaged as ‘Democracy’, a secular faith like ‘Communism’ or ‘Economic Liberalism’; a faith which must be proselytised, spread across the world as some kind of holy or secular crusade.
The remaining territories on the ‘autocratic’ ‘Dark Side’ – ie territories not subject to United States’ ‘protection’ – are mainly in continental Asia: especially West Asia (much of which is imperialistically called the ‘Middle East’, which extends to North Africa), North Asia, and East Asia. Though there is also very much a contest for South Asia; a contest, which if successful for the White Man’s force, will bring secular Hindi along with secular Judaism fully into the imperial fold of secular Christianity. (We note that the labels Hindu and Jew have long been name-tags which confuse and conflate religion with ethnicity. So it may soon be with Christianity; with top-tier Christians behaving very much as top-tier Jews behave today, as supremacist gift-givers and bomb-throwers.)
We should note that Catholic Christianity is now uneasy about this crusader culture, having been the main perpetrator of such culture nearly a millennium ago. And Orthodox Christianity is even more uneasy. In its North Asian (ie Russian) form, Orthodox Christianity – like Islam, and Chinese atheist capitalism – is a target of the present Christian Soldiers, not a collaborator. (The decline of the Christian East came with the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Ostensibly a western invasion force going to re-recover the ‘Holy Land’, instead that Crusade turned on Orthodox Christian Constantinople. The result was a weak Latin empire in the east; easy prey for the Ottoman forces which in 1453 created a Muslim empire in West Asia and Southeast Europe; an empire that lasted until 1918.)
The modern American-led crusading mentality represents a schism of Protestant Evangelism (which dates back in particular to the Calvinist side of the sixteenth century Reformation) and Secular Liberalism. Protestant Evangelism (increasingly known today as Christian Nationalism) is the imperial currency of today’s Republican Party, whereas Secular Liberalism is the imperial currency of today’s Democratic Party (although secular Neoliberalism is presently teaming up with the Evangelists). What both have in common is a will to impose themselves upon the rest of the world. And to produce and export lots of big guns, military hardware; making money, and making American jobs.
There are some strange bedfellows. As these two American socio-cultural Gods – Republican and Democrat; protagonist and antagonist, and vice versa – have battled out their Americanisms on a world stage, we have seen a significant posse of very rich devout Economic Liberals taking the side of the Christian Nationalists. So do a number of working-class and other disempowered former ballot-box ‘Leftists’, who wish to cast an anti-establishment vote but don’t know which way to turn. This dabbling with new right-radicalism (not unlike leftist dabbling in New Zealand in 1984 with the recently late Bob Jones’ New Zealand Party) follows the slow but comprehensive gutting of the Left-project that was so buoyant in the 1960s and 1970s.
The name Christian Nationalism is a misnomer; a better name is Christian Extranationalism. Rather than being an internationalist movement – internationalism is a liberal concept – this is a movement to perpetuate and extend the global domination of American culture, through imperial merchant capitalism. The United States was born out of British merchant capitalism (and New York out of Dutch merchant capitalism); its values and institutions reflect those of eighteenth-century western Europe. Just as the British exacted tribute from their American colonies; imperial America seeks to extract tribute through the ‘negotiation’ of asymmetric ‘deals’. Are we today witnessing an American Napoleon?
Money, Lies and God: by Katherine Stewart (2025)
Katherine Stewart this year has written about the new eclectic rightwing coalition in the United States that is coalescing under the name of Christian Nationalism. Though I’ve only read the introduction so far, the book has a real strength, in particular in identifying five components of this new new-right coalition: funders, thinkers, sergeants, infantry, power-players.
Of particular interest to me is the “out-sourced” relationship between the funders and the thinkers. While Stewart emphasises the ‘thinkers’ in the well-funded (and mostly conservative) ‘Think Tanks’, the real issue is that of ‘selective truth’, in the Darwinian sense of ‘selection’. Our ‘intellectual’ careerists compete to publish ‘truths’, and the truths which prevail will be the truths purchased by the ‘funders’, given that the funders have most of the funds.
This kind of relationship with truth is somewhat like a ‘court-of-law’, where commonly two ‘truths’ are subject to a contest in which one will be declared ‘the winner’. Not uncommonly, both rival ‘truths’ are at least partially false, and there may be other (possibly truer) truths that are not even ‘on the table’. Evidence represents a part of the court process, but by no means the whole of that process. The truth-relationship between the funders and thinkers is a corrupt form of the ‘law court’ model; the more corrupt the more wealth the conservative funders control. Academic careers – indeed scientists’ careers – are built on perpetuating narratives acceptable to their patrons.
While Money, Lies and God represents a prescient and useful analysis, ultimately it is part of the problem. It represents one side of the great American divide calling out the other side. The process of belligerent finger-pointing – between, in American language, ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ – is the bigger problem. Why bother talking about the world when you can talk about half of America instead? Indeed, too many American intellectuals talk and write about the United States as if America is the World; a kind of mental imperialism. (Another critique of American ‘Christian Nationalism’ can be found in a recent Upfront episode on Al Jazeera: The growing influence of Christian Nationalism and Christian Zionism in the United States.)
The problem of American imperialism belongs to both sides of the Divide; indeed, it is the Secular Liberalism of what has been exposed as the tone-deaf establishment – the Blinkens, Bidens and Nods – who represented the moral hypocrisy of America’s imperial democratic gift. (The sheer stupidity of the Biden re-election campaign is documented in Original Sin, 2025, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson.) That is, the belief that America created modern Democracy, and that those parts of the world – especially the ‘western’ world – have special rights accruing to them because they have been awarded the ‘tick of Democracy’. These countries – and only these countries – have the “right to defend themselves”, the right to make war (as ‘defence through attack’), and the “right to possess nuclear weapons”.
Contemporary American imperialism is mainly a ‘West on East’ phenomenon; Asia is the target. Ukraine and Anatolia (Türkiye) are border territories between Europe and Asia. Palestine, perhaps too, given its location on the Mediterranean Sea; though the Mediterranean littoral, from Istanbul to Morocco, is better understood as West Asia, not Europe. Iran is unambiguously a part of Asia. What we are seeing at present is nothing less than a Euro-American invasion of Asia. Imperialism. Nuclear imperialism; geopolitical imperialism; cultural imperialism. The gift that keeps on taking.
Note on the boundary between Europe and Asia
We should note that the core geopolitical boundary between Europe and Asia was set by Charlemagne in around the year 800; representing the border between the predominancies of Catholic Christianity and Orthodox Christianity (harking back to the Western and Eastern Roman Empires). There are other important historic geopolitical boundaries in Eurasia, of course, such as the eastern and southern borders of Orthodox Christianity; and the eastern and northern borders of Islam-dominated territories. Indeed there is perpetual tension on the Pakistan-India border.
The principal medieval-era departure from that Charlemagne-set geopolitical boundary was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which peaked in territory in the fifteenth century. The first significant modern-era fudge of that geopolitical boundary was the West’s acquisition of Greece over the long 19th century (essentially 1820s to 1920s). The Great World War started in 1914 very much as an East-West border conflict in the Balkans of southeast Europe. After a week or two of fudging, the anglosphere took the Eastern side; siding with Russia over Austria and Germany.
Post World War Two, the next main geopolitical border fudges were the ‘settlements’ which placed a number of mainly Catholic East European countries into Russia’s orb; and which placed Türkiye (then Turkey) into NATO. The current twenty first century fudge is one of European expansion, placing a number of predominantly Orthodox territories – most notably Ukraine – firmly into the European political realm.
This longstanding geopolitical boundary contrasts with the widely-accepted geographic boundary; the latter – based more on physical geography and ethnicity than on faith-culture – passes along the Ural and Caucasus mountain chains, and through the lower Volga River, the Black Sea and the Bosporus/Dardanelle channels. Geopolitically, Russia, Belarus and Türkiye should be understood today to be Asian countries; indeed, the lower Dnieper River and line of the military trenches in Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk constitute the current geopolitical boundary between West and East; between Europe and Asia. And the lines within Eretz Israel – separating Israel from Palestine – also represent geopolitical borders; and American geopolitical encroachment on Asia.
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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to keep TikTok running in the United States for another 90 days, allowing his administration more time to negotiate a deal under the “sell-or-ban” law.
Thus, TikTok can continue functioning for its 170 million users in the United States.
This is the third time for Trump to extend the TikTok ban deadline. By Thursday’s executive order, the deadline will be further extended to September 17, 2025. Before then, Trump has extended the deadline twice each by 75 days on January 20 and April 4, 2025, respectively.
Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok, an app popular among American youth owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., since he joined presidential race in 2024. He said in January that he has a “warm spot for TikTok.”
As the extensions continue, it becomes less likely that TikTok will be banned in the United States any time soon, as the executive orders to keep TikTok alive have received some scrutiny but never faced a legal challenge in court, local media said.
In his first term, Trump signed an executive order effectively seeking to ban the app in the country unless ByteDance sold its U.S operations to an American company. The order did not go into effect amid legal challenges.
In April 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok, citing national security concerns. Under the law, failure to comply would require app store operators like Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their platforms starting Jan. 19, 2025.
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, about one-third of Americans support a TikTok ban, down from 50 percent in March 2023; roughly one-third oppose a ban; and a similar percentage are not sure.
TikTok, originally known as Douyin in China, was launched in September 2016. It launched its international version, TikTok, later that year, but it wasn’t until August 2018 that TikTok merged with the lip-syncing app Musical.ly and became widely available in the United States.
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released a new episode of ‘Unmuted with Marsha’ blasting the Democrats’ efforts to obstruct the lawful operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that keep Americans safe by removing criminal illegal aliens from our communities.
Senator Blackburn spoke with Former Acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey about the alarming increase in threats against ICE agents, how her REMOVE Act would expedite deportations of criminal illegal aliens, and how her Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would protect law enforcement officers from being targeted by criminal gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
Click hereto watch this episode of ‘Unmuted with Marsha.’
“People do not want Tren de Aragua, MS-13, violent gangs in their neighborhoods and communities. They not only want them out; they want them out fast. They just don’t want them there. But I have found it so interesting that these mayors – whether it is Nashville, L.A., Boston, Chicago – that they are fighting against ICE, and in Nashville, we even do the doxxing of our Homeland Security investigators and our ICE agents. The law is you cannot be here illegally. There is a proper way to come – a legal way – and you cannot commit crimes when you are here in our country. That is a violation of the law,” said Senator Blackburn.
Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists killed in Israel’s June 13, 2025, attack are displayed on a sign as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern TehranAtta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
At least 14 nuclear scientists are believed to be among those killed in Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, launched on June 13, 2025, ostensibly to destroy or degrade Iran’s nuclear program and military capabilities.
Collectively, these experts in physics and engineering were potential successors to Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, widely regarded as the architect of the Iranian nuclear program, who was assassinated in a November 2020 attack many blame on Israel.
As two politicalscientists writing a book about state targeting of scientists as a counterproliferation tool, we understand well that nuclear scientists have been targeted since the nuclear age began. We have gathered data on nearly 100 instances of what we call “scientist targeting” from 1944 through 2025.
The most recent assassination campaign against Iranian scientists is different from many of the earlier episodes in a few key ways. Israel’s recent attack targeted multiple nuclear experts and took place simultaneously with military force to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, air defenses and energy infrastructure. Also, unlike previous covert operations, Israel immediately claimed responsibility for the assassinations.
But our research indicates that targeting scientists may not be effective for counterproliferation. While removing individual expertise may delay nuclear acquisition, targeting alone is unlikely to destroy a program outright and could even increase a country’s desire for nuclear weapons. Further, targeting scientists may trigger blowback given concerns regarding legality and morality.
A policy with a long history
Targeting nuclear scientists began during World War II when Allied and Soviet forces raced to capture Nazi scientists, degrade Adolf Hitler’s ability to build a nuclear bomb and use their expertise to advance the U.S. and Soviet nuclear programs.
In our data set, we classified “targeting” as cases in which scientists were captured, threatened, injured or killed as nations tried to prevent adversaries from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Over time, at least four countries have targeted scientists working on nine national nuclear programs.
The United States and Israel have allegedly carried out the most attacks on nuclear scientists. But the United Kingdom and Soviet Union have also been behind such attacks.
Meanwhile, scientists working for the Egyptian, Iranian and Iraqi nuclear programs have been the most frequent targets since 1950. Since 2007 and prior to the current Israeli operation, 10 scientists involved in the Iranian nuclear program were killed in attacks. Other countries’ nationals have also been targeted: In 1980, Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, allegedly bombed Italian engineer Mario Fiorelli’s home and his firm, SNIA Techint, as a warning to Europeans involved in the Iraqi nuclear project.
Given this history, the fact that Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear program is not itself surprising. Indeed, it has been a strategic goal of successive Israeli prime ministers to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and experts had been warning of the increased likelihood of an Israeli military operation since mid-2024, due to regional dynamics and Iranian nuclear development.
The wrecked cars in which four of Iran’s nuclear scientists were assassinated in recent years are displayed on the grounds of a museum in Tehran in 2014. Scott Peterson/Getty Images
By then, the balance of power in the Middle East had changed dramatically. Israel systematically degraded the leadership and infrastructure of Iranian proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. It later destroyed Iranian air defenses around Tehran and near key nuclear installations. The subsequent fall of Syria’s Assad regime cost Tehran another long-standing ally. Together, these developments have significantly weakened Iran, leaving it vulnerable to external attack and stripped of its once-feared proxy network, which had been expected to retaliate on its behalf in the event of hostilities.
With its proxy “axis of resistance” defanged and conventional military capacity degraded, Iranian leadership may have thought that expanding its enrichment capability was its best bet going forward.
And in the months leading up to Israel’s recent attack, Iran expanded its nuclear production capacity, moving beyond 60% uranium enrichment, a technical step just short of weapons-grade material. During Donald Trump’s first term, the president withdrew the U.S. from a multilateral nonproliferation agreement aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. After being reelected, Trump appeared to change tack by pursuing new diplomacy with Iran, but those talks have so far failed to deliver an agreement – and may be put on hold for the foreseeable future amid the war.
Most recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors declared Iran in non-compliance with its nuclear-nonproliferation obligations. In response, Iran announced it was further expanding its enrichment capacity by adding advanced centrifuge technology and a third enrichment site.
Even if the international community anticipated the broader attack on Iran, characteristics of the targeting itself are surprising. Historically, states have covertly targeted individual scientists. But the recent multiple-scientist attack occurred openly, with Israel taking responsibility, publicly indicating the attacks’ purpose. Further, while it is not new for a country to use multiple counter-proliferation tools against an adversary over time, that Israel is using both preventive military force against infrastructure and targeting scientists at once is atypical.
Additionally, such attacks against scientists are historically lower tech and low cost, with death or injury stemming from gunmen, car bombs or accidents. In fact, Abbasi – who was killed in the most recent attacks – survived a 2010 car bombing in Tehran. There are outliers, however, including the Fakhrizadeh assassination, which featured a remotely operated machine gun smuggled into Iranian territory.
Israel’s logic in going after scientists
Why target nuclear scientists?
In foreign policy, there are numerous tools available if one state aims to prevent another state from acquiring nuclear weapons. Alongside targeting scientists, there are sanctions, diplomacy, cyberattacks and military force.
Targeting scientists may remove critical scientific expertise and impose costs that increase the difficulty of building nuclear weapons. Proponents argue that targeting these experts may undermine a state’s efforts, deter it from continuing nuclear developments and signal to others the perils of supporting nuclear proliferation.
Countries that target scientists therefore believe that doing so is an effective way to degrade an adversary’s nuclear program. Indeed, the Israel Defense Forces described the most recent attacks as “a significant blow to the regime’s ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction.”
Despite Israel’s focus on scientists as sources of critical knowledge, there may be thousands more working inside Iran, calling into question the efficacy of targeting them. Further, there are legal, ethical and moral concerns over targeting scientists.
Moreover, it is a risky option that may fail to disrupt an enemy nuclear program while sparking public outrage and calls for retaliation. This is especially the case if scientists, often regarded as civilians, are elevated as martyrs.
Targeting campaigns may, as a result, reinforce domestic support for a government, which could then redouble efforts toward nuclear development.
Regardless of whether targeting scientists is an effective counter-proliferation tool, it has been around since the start of the nuclear age – and will likely persist as part of the foreign policy toolkit for states aiming to prevent proliferation. In the case of the current Israeli conflict with Iran and its targeting of nuclear scientists, we expect the tactic to continue for the duration of the war and beyond.
Rachel Whitlark is a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
Jenna Jordan 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.
Headline: Governor Stein, Secretary Lilley Attend Paris Air Show and Strengthen North Carolina’s Future in Flight
Governor Stein, Secretary Lilley Attend Paris Air Show and Strengthen North Carolina’s Future in Flight lsaito
Raleigh, NC
On the heels of the largest jobs commitment in North Carolina’s history, Governor Josh Stein, North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina traveled to Paris to advocate for North Carolina with business leaders at the 55th edition of the Paris Air Show.
“North Carolina is first in flight, and we are the future of flight,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Our state is the epicenter for aerospace innovation. Strengthening our relationship with international companies and expanding opportunity between North Carolina and France will allow our state to continue to soar to new horizons. We had a productive economic development trip telling the world why North Carolina is the best place to do business.”
“North Carolina’s network of businesses and strong economic infrastructure draw companies from across the world to invest in our state,” said Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “The Paris Air Show has opened potential avenues for new companies to plant their roots in North Carolina and for existing companies to expand their operations as we continue to develop our state’s world-class aerospace ecosystem.”
The Paris Air Show is the world’s largest aerospace event that brings together companies and industry leaders from across the globe. The show boasts 2,500 exhibitors from 48 countries and 300,000 unique visitors.
North Carolina is home to approximately 400 aerospace companies that generate $88 billion in activity every year, including Airbus, a French company that employs more than 500 workers at its Kinston manufacturing facility. Last week, Governor Stein announced that JetZero will construct its new manufacturing hub at the Piedmont Triad International (PTI) Airport, bringing more than $4.7 billion and 14,000 jobs – the largest jobs commitment in state history.
JetZero represents one of several aerospace companies setting up shop at PTI, including Boom and HondaJet. North Carolina’s strong workforce continues to attract aerospace companies to the state and is growing with industry demand. Guilford Technical Community College has recently announced its own $35 million, 70,000-square-foot aviation training facility to train the next generation of aerospace employees with a groundbreaking set for this summer.
Over the last 10 years, 113 French companies announced projects in North Carolina, resulting in $439 million in investments and 1,200 new jobs in the state. More than 100 French companies operate in the state and employ 20,000 North Carolinians.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Know Your Immigration Rights
If you or a loved one encounter immigration enforcement officials, it is essential that you know your rights and have prepared your household for all possible outcomes.
Ask for a warrant: The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects you from unreasonable search and seizure. You do not have to open your door until you see a valid warrant to enter your home or search your belongings.
Your right to remain silent: The Fifth Amendment protects your right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. You are not required to share any personal information such as your place of birth, immigration status or criminal history.
Always consult an attorney: You have a right to speak with an attorney. You do not have to sign anything or hand officials any documents without speaking to an attorney. Try to identify and consult one in advance.
The New York City Office of Civil Justice and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) support a variety of free immigration legal services through local nonprofit legal organizations. To access these resources, dial 311 and say “Action NYC,” call the MOIA Immigration Legal Support Hotline at 800-354-0365 Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or visit MOIA’s website.
Learn more here: KNOW YOUR IMMIGRATION RIGHTS – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement on a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Transportation’s imposition of unlawful immigration enforcement conditions on unrelated grant funding. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that imposing this new set of conditions across a range of grant programs is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds the Trump Administration’s legal authority, and violates the Spending Clause.
“President Trump is threatening to withhold critical transportation funds unless states agree to carry out his inhumane and illogical immigration agenda for him. He is treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip,” said Attorney General Bonta. “It’s immoral – and more importantly, illegal. I’m glad to see the District Court agrees, blocking the President’s latest attempt to circumvent the Constitution and coerce state and local governments into doing his bidding while we continue to make our case in court.”
BACKGROUND
Last month, Attorney General Bonta led a coalition of 20 states, alongside the attorneys general of Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland, in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s effort to unlawfully impose immigration enforcement requirements on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grants. California receives billions in grant funding from DOT each year to support and maintain the roads, highways, railways, airways, and bridges that connect our communities and carry our residents to their workplaces and their homes. This includes funding to maintain and build highways. It also includes funding for transit systems in urban and rural communities across the state — including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, trolleys, and ferries. Neither the purpose of these grants, nor their grant criteria, are in any way connected to immigration enforcement.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Diversified Royalty Corp. (TSX: DIV and DIV.DB) (the “Corporation” or “DIV”) is pleased to announce that at its annual general meeting of shareholders held on June 19, 2025 (the “Meeting”), all directors nominated as listed in DIV’s information circular dated May 8, 2025 were elected for the ensuing year. As a ballot was not required, the number of votes disclosed in the below table reflects only the proxies received by management of DIV in advance of the Meeting:
Director
Votes For
Votes Withheld
Number
Percentage
Number
Percentage
Paula Rogers
35,302,456
91.94%
3,095,368
8.06%
Roger Chouinard
33,033,674
86.03%
5,364,151
13.97%
Johnny Ciampi
35,286,125
91.90%
3,111,700
8.10%
Garry Herdler
35,281,252
91.88%
3,116,573
8.12%
Sherry McNeil
38,198,336
99.48%
199,488
0.52%
Sean Morrison
35,310,525
91.96%
3,087,300
8.04%
Kevin Smith
35,295,529
91.92%
3,102,296
8.08%
DIV has also filed a report of voting results of all resolutions voted on at the Meeting on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.
About Diversified Royalty Corp.
DIV is a multi-royalty corporation, engaged in the business of acquiring top-line royalties from well-managed multi-location businesses and franchisors in North America. DIV’s objective is to acquire predictable, growing royalty streams from a diverse group of multi-location businesses and franchisors.
DIV currently owns the Mr. Lube + Tires, AIR MILES®, Sutton, Mr. Mikes, Nurse Next Door, Oxford Learning Centres, Stratus Building Solutions, BarBurrito and Cheba Hut trademarks. Mr. Lube + Tires is the leading quick lube service business in Canada, with locations across Canada. AIR MILES® is Canada’s largest coalition loyalty program. Sutton is among the leading residential real estate brokerage franchisor businesses in Canada. Mr. Mikes operates casual steakhouse restaurants primarily in western Canadian communities. Nurse Next Door is a home care provider with locations across Canada and the United States as well as in Australia. Oxford Learning Centres is one of Canada’s leading franchisee supplemental education services. Stratus Building Solutions is a leading commercial cleaning service franchise company providing comprehensive building cleaning, and office cleaning services primarily in the United States. BarBurrito is the largest quick service Mexican restaurant food chain in Canada. Cheba Hut is a fast casual toasted sub sandwich franchise with locations across 19 U.S. states.
DIV’s objective is to increase cash flow per share by making accretive royalty purchases and through the growth of purchased royalties. DIV intends to continue to pay a predictable and stable monthly dividend to shareholders and increase the dividend over time, in each case as cash flow per share allows.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “will”, ”project”, “should”, “believe”, “confident”, “plan” and “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specifically, forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements made in relation to: DIV’s objective to continue to pay predictable and stable monthly dividends to shareholders; and DIV’s corporate objectives. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events, performance, or achievements of DIV to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking information. DIV believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In particular there can be no assurance that: DIV will be able to make monthly dividend payments to the holders of its common shares; or DIV will achieve any of its corporate objectives. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking information included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance, and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. More information about the risks and uncertainties affecting DIV’s business and the businesses of its royalty partners can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of its Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2025 and in its most recent Management’s Discussion and Analysis, copies of each of which are available under DIV’s profile on SEDAR+ atwww.sedarplus.com.
In formulating the forward-looking information contained herein, management has assumed that, among other things, DIV will generate sufficient cash flows from its royalties to service its debt and pay dividends to shareholders; the businesses of DIV’s respective royalty partners will not suffer any material adverse effect; and the business and economic conditions affecting DIV and its royalty partners will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including without limitation with respect to general industry conditions, general levels of economic activity and regulations. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect.
All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, DIV. The forward-looking information included in this news release is presented as of the date of this news release and DIV assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Additional Information
Additional information relating to the Corporation and other public filings, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Contact: Sean Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer Diversified Royalty Corp. (236) 521-8470
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
Miranda Devine: FBI emails revealed to The Post expose Biden DOJ’s obsession with piling on Trump charges June 18, 2025 New York Post
Internal FBI emails reveal that rogue agents and prosecutors in the Biden DOJ were looking for ways to pile on new criminal charges against Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — this time over his involvement with the J6 prisoner choir, based on a single partisan news article.
The 2023 emails obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and revealed exclusively to The Post are an example of the nitpicking malice of anti-Trump lawfare that tainted special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, during Joe Biden’s presidency.
“Can we do some work to nail down Trump’s role in this,” writes prosecutor JP Cooney to DOJ colleagues on March 8, 2023, in an email with the subject line “J6 Prisoner Choir/DJT” and an attached Forbes.com article titled “Trump Collaborates On Song With Jan. 6 Defendants.”
Cooney was a deputy special counsel who worked on both the Robert Mueller and Smith get-Trump special counsel investigations.
‘Agent Zero’
“According to this Forbes article, Trump recorded the Pledge of Allegiance at MAL [Mar a Lago] and Kash Patel [now FBI director] and Ed Henry [a former Fox News host] were also involved,” Cooney wrote in the email chain.
“The profits are routed to an LLC run by Henry, and proceeds are intended for families of incarcerated J6 defendants — but there is apparently a vetting process that excludes families of defendants who assaulted police officers.
“I asked Ahmed [likely prosecutor Ahmed Baset, who was fired earlier this month] to preserve this last night. I’ll talk to Maria/Erin and Julia about doing some follow up here to nail down Trump’s role.”
Cooney also instructed colleagues to look at starting “some process on Ed Henry’s LLC,” presumably a legal process such as a subpoena, search warrant or other court-authorized actions to gather evidence.
His email was forwarded to eight agents and DOJ staff, including notorious anti-Trump FBI Special Agent Walter Giardina, who responded two days later to say he was investigating the claims in the Forbes article about Trump and the J6 prisoner choir: “Esther and I are working on this today. We’re going to put together our findings at 2 and get something to you shortly after that.”
Giardina was “Agent Zero” in a lot of overzealous FBI actions involving Trump and his allies, including the investigation of Trump White House adviser Dr. Peter Navarro on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to appear before the House committee investigating the J6 riot.
It was Giardina’s FBI team that arrested Navarro as he was about to board a plane at Reagan National Airport in 2022, put him in leg irons and threw him in jail instead of simply issuing a summons for him to come to court, as the federal judge overseeing the case later said while criticizing the heavy-handedness.
Giardina was also significantly involved in Operation Crossfire Hurricane (the debunked Russia collusion investigation against Trump), Mueller’s investigation and cases involving Trump allies Dan Scavino and Roger Stone, as well as the Hillary Clinton emails case.
According to Grassley, Giardina was an “initial recipient of the Steele Dossier” and falsely claimed that the bogus Clinton campaign smear sheet against Trump was corroborated as “true.”
Giardina also “electronically wiped the laptop he was assigned while working for Special Counsel Mueller outside of established protocol for record preservation, raising the possibility that he destroyed government records.”
Whistleblown away
Whistleblowers have told Grassley that Giardina “openly stated his desire to investigate Trump, even if it meant false predication,” because of his hostility to the past and future president.
Grassley believes this email chain is another “clear example” of how the federal law enforcement apparatus was weaponized to try to “get Trump” at all costs.
“Instead of focusing on DOJ and FBI’s core law enforcement responsibilities,” Grassley told The Post, “partisan prosecutors and agents were surfing the web to find any shred of information they could use to spin another baseless case against Trump. Their actions are a disservice to Americans, who pay their salaries and depend on DOJ and FBI to keep them safe…”
When I was eight years old, on a Saturday night before surf lifesaving training, my dad put on the film Jaws and it changed my life forever.
Unlike the generations of filmgoers who were afraid of sharks and going into the water during its initial release in 1975, I fell in love with the water and sharks.
Steven Spielberg’s film was the first summer blockbuster, received Academy Awards for sound, editing and music, and became the first film to earn US$100 million at the United States box office.
It was only the third film for the 28-year-old Steven Spielberg, and his second theatrical release (his first film, Duel, was made for TV), and success arrived only after much trouble.
Jaws was only the second feature film for Spielberg, pictured here on set. Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Image
A marketed behemoth
Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) has recently moved from New York City to Amity Island with his wife, Ellen (Lorriane Gary), and their two children. As the small town prepares for its crucial 4th of July celebrations, a series of shark attacks threatens the festivities – and the town’s summer economy.
Mayor Larry Vaughan (Murray Hamilton) insists on keeping the beaches open for “summer dollars”. When the shark strikes again, local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) is hired to hunt it down. Brody and visiting marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) insist on joining the expedition to save the island.
The film was advertised as a suspense and horror monster movie. In what director Spielberg described as a marketing “blitzkrieg” campaign, Jaws, was released in the summer – peak swimming season.
Universal Pictures made sure every household knew about the film. There were multiple TV spots, a cover on Time Magazine, talk show appearances from cast and crew, and a wave of merchandise. It was the most money the company had ever spent on a film’s pre-release marketing.
The first American film released in more than 400 theatres at once, Jaws found its audience with overwhelmingly positive reviews and word of mouth – because Jaws was also extremely well made.
Wrangling the shark
Peter Benchley was hired to adapt his novel, but another screenwriter, Carl Gottlieb, was brought in to redraft Benchley’s more serious narrative and provide comic relief.
Jaws was initially planned for 55 days of shooting, but ballooned to 159 days and $8 million over budget. The main reason: the shark.
Apart from one scene using real underwater shark footage from Australians Ron and Valerie Taylor, the shark was mechanical. There were three sharks made for the film, all nicknamed “Bruce” after Spielberg’s lawyer.
Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts depicted the fictional Amity Island, and much of the second half was shot in water.
Much of the second half of the film was shot on the water. Photo by Universal Studios/Courtesy of Getty Images
The mechanical shark sank … a lot. No wonder Spielberg named the temperamental and unreliable shark after his lawyer.
With the lack of a functioning shark, Spielberg made the artistic decision – echoing Alfred Hitchcock – to suggest the shark’s presence rather than show it outright in the film’s first half.
Spielberg even quotes Hitchcock’s Vertigo shot (a dolly zoom) in the scene when Brody realises a shark attack is unfolding under his watch.
Even without appearing onscreen, the shark has an overwhelming presence and effect on the audience, thanks to John Williams’ music: most of the film’s cues are associated with the shark.
Tension onscreen
One of my favourite moments in the film is in the aftermath of an attack on the young Alex Kintner (and poor dog Pippet!). Brody is slapped in the face by the mother of the slain Alex – but this is followed by a cute and wholesome encounter between Chief Brody and his son Sean.
As a father, Brody’s failure to prevent the attack on Alex reflects his loss of authority to capitalism. The water is the island’s summer revenue, and the hungry shark swims in it.
The film could have seen an early shark attack and immediately launched a shark hunt. However, the shark doesn’t appear much at all for a monster movie due to its malfunctioning. This worked in the film’s favour.
Instead, the film relied on good writing and strong performances to heighten the tension and build anticipation for the rare moments the shark has onscreen.
A lot of the film’s success comes from the dynamic and well-written trio of Brody, Hooper and Quint. In the final act set at sea with just the three leads on a boat surrounded by the shark, they needed to deliver – and they did, arguably stealing the movie from the shark.
Possibly the most famous scene in the entire film comes when the shark is fully revealed for the first time. Startled by its size, Brody backs into the cabin and delivers an improvised line: “you’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
Dreyfuss and Shaw famously didn’t get along in real life. You can see that tension play out onscreen. It arguably enhances their performances.
Still, one of the most iconic moments comes when Dreyfuss’s Hooper is left speechless by Quint’s USS Indianapolis monologue, describing being in the water with sharks after the warship was torpedoed.
The monologue was scripted, but Shaw improvised much of it.
A cinema classic
Jaws is now a cinema classic.
It launched Spielberg’s illustrious career, scared an entire generation from going into the water, and also inspired a new generation of marine activists – such as myself – who love sharks and the ocean.
I hope you’ll join me in revisiting Amity Island one more time to watch this timeless film that, apart from its mechanical shark, completely works.
Will Jeffery 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.
When I was eight years old, on a Saturday night before surf lifesaving training, my dad put on the film Jaws and it changed my life forever.
Unlike the generations of filmgoers who were afraid of sharks and going into the water during its initial release in 1975, I fell in love with the water and sharks.
Steven Spielberg’s film was the first summer blockbuster, received Academy Awards for sound, editing and music, and became the first film to earn US$100 million at the United States box office.
It was only the third film for the 28-year-old Steven Spielberg, and his second theatrical release (his first film, Duel, was made for TV), and success arrived only after much trouble.
Jaws was only the second feature film for Spielberg, pictured here on set. Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Image
A marketed behemoth
Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) has recently moved from New York City to Amity Island with his wife, Ellen (Lorriane Gary), and their two children. As the small town prepares for its crucial 4th of July celebrations, a series of shark attacks threatens the festivities – and the town’s summer economy.
Mayor Larry Vaughan (Murray Hamilton) insists on keeping the beaches open for “summer dollars”. When the shark strikes again, local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) is hired to hunt it down. Brody and visiting marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) insist on joining the expedition to save the island.
The film was advertised as a suspense and horror monster movie. In what director Spielberg described as a marketing “blitzkrieg” campaign, Jaws, was released in the summer – peak swimming season.
Universal Pictures made sure every household knew about the film. There were multiple TV spots, a cover on Time Magazine, talk show appearances from cast and crew, and a wave of merchandise. It was the most money the company had ever spent on a film’s pre-release marketing.
The first American film released in more than 400 theatres at once, Jaws found its audience with overwhelmingly positive reviews and word of mouth – because Jaws was also extremely well made.
Wrangling the shark
Peter Benchley was hired to adapt his novel, but another screenwriter, Carl Gottlieb, was brought in to redraft Benchley’s more serious narrative and provide comic relief.
Jaws was initially planned for 55 days of shooting, but ballooned to 159 days and $8 million over budget. The main reason: the shark.
Apart from one scene using real underwater shark footage from Australians Ron and Valerie Taylor, the shark was mechanical. There were three sharks made for the film, all nicknamed “Bruce” after Spielberg’s lawyer.
Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts depicted the fictional Amity Island, and much of the second half was shot in water.
Much of the second half of the film was shot on the water. Photo by Universal Studios/Courtesy of Getty Images
The mechanical shark sank … a lot. No wonder Spielberg named the temperamental and unreliable shark after his lawyer.
With the lack of a functioning shark, Spielberg made the artistic decision – echoing Alfred Hitchcock – to suggest the shark’s presence rather than show it outright in the film’s first half.
Spielberg even quotes Hitchcock’s Vertigo shot (a dolly zoom) in the scene when Brody realises a shark attack is unfolding under his watch.
Even without appearing onscreen, the shark has an overwhelming presence and effect on the audience, thanks to John Williams’ music: most of the film’s cues are associated with the shark.
Tension onscreen
One of my favourite moments in the film is in the aftermath of an attack on the young Alex Kintner (and poor dog Pippet!). Brody is slapped in the face by the mother of the slain Alex – but this is followed by a cute and wholesome encounter between Chief Brody and his son Sean.
As a father, Brody’s failure to prevent the attack on Alex reflects his loss of authority to capitalism. The water is the island’s summer revenue, and the hungry shark swims in it.
The film could have seen an early shark attack and immediately launched a shark hunt. However, the shark doesn’t appear much at all for a monster movie due to its malfunctioning. This worked in the film’s favour.
Instead, the film relied on good writing and strong performances to heighten the tension and build anticipation for the rare moments the shark has onscreen.
A lot of the film’s success comes from the dynamic and well-written trio of Brody, Hooper and Quint. In the final act set at sea with just the three leads on a boat surrounded by the shark, they needed to deliver – and they did, arguably stealing the movie from the shark.
Possibly the most famous scene in the entire film comes when the shark is fully revealed for the first time. Startled by its size, Brody backs into the cabin and delivers an improvised line: “you’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
Dreyfuss and Shaw famously didn’t get along in real life. You can see that tension play out onscreen. It arguably enhances their performances.
Still, one of the most iconic moments comes when Dreyfuss’s Hooper is left speechless by Quint’s USS Indianapolis monologue, describing being in the water with sharks after the warship was torpedoed.
The monologue was scripted, but Shaw improvised much of it.
A cinema classic
Jaws is now a cinema classic.
It launched Spielberg’s illustrious career, scared an entire generation from going into the water, and also inspired a new generation of marine activists – such as myself – who love sharks and the ocean.
I hope you’ll join me in revisiting Amity Island one more time to watch this timeless film that, apart from its mechanical shark, completely works.
Will Jeffery 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.
When the Western Australian state government handed down its state budget on Thursday, it showed a balance sheet solidly in the black with a A$2.5 billion surplus. But, as it has for seven years, the state has received an outsized boost to its coffers from the federal government.
In 2018, the Morrison government – with the full support of the then Labor opposition – handed WA a special deal for the distribution of income from the goods and service tax (GST).
Under the deal, WA gets a much greater share of the centrally collected GST revenue than it would have been entitled to under the methods previously used by the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
So what can be done to ensure a return to a fairer distribution of the GST revenue?
How the GST carve-up is supposed to work
The 2018 deal upended a principle known as “horizontal fiscal equalisation”. This principle seeks to ensure each state and territory has the fiscal capacity to provide its residents with a broadly similar range and quality of public services, while levying a similar level of state taxes. This applies to states with different populations and needs.
That principle is the main reason why the quality of health care, schooling and policing in your community depends much less on which state you happen to live in, compared with other countries with a federal system. Just think of the United States.
But that principle was jettisoned in the pursuit, by both major parties, of seats from WA in the House of Representatives, which in effect determined the outcome of the 2016, 2019 and 2022 elections.
WA gets a much greater share of GST revenue than under methods once used by the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
Holding onto the mineral wealth
During the mining boom starting in 2000, WA became rich. While it previously received extra grants from other states, it was now having to share income from mining royalties with other states.
But the 2018 amendment changed how the GST revenue is distributed. Instead of equalising all states to have the fiscal strength of the strongest state (such as WA during the boom), funds were now equalised to the stronger of New South Wales or Victoria. States are also guaranteed a minimum per capita share of revenue.
The only state that benefits from these changes is Australia’s richest state: WA. Since 2018-19 it has received A$24.2 billion more than it would have done had the 2018 changes not been made.
Combined with the $58.3 billion it has collected in mineral royalties over the past seven years, that has enabled WA to rack up cash surpluses totalling more than $18 billion. Every other state and territory recorded cash deficits over that time.
Over the next four years, WA will receive $26.3 billion more from the carve-up of GST revenues than it would otherwise have done.
No one worse off?
To cajole the other states and territories into accepting this “deal”, the Morrison government agreed to “top up” the revenue from the GST to ensure none would be any worse off than if the long-standing system had remained in place.
It estimated this “No Worse Off guarantee” (or NoWO as it is now called) would cost the federal budget $8 billion over the nine years to 2026-27, when NoWO would expire.
To avoid expected pushback from the other states, the Albanese government agreed in 2023 to extend NoWO by another three years. It is now expected it will have cost the federal budget almost $60 billion by its scheduled expiry in 2029-30.
This is the biggest blow-out in the cost of any single policy decision, with the exception of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This $52 billion blowout from the GST carve-up represents a massive drain on the federal budget, at a time when it is forecast to be in deficit for the next ten years, to appease the greed of Australia’s richest, and luckiest, state.
A government that truly believed in equity, and was committed to prudent and responsible budget outcomes, would scrap this appalling piece of public policy. And an Opposition that was sincere in its claims to stand for fiscal responsibility would support any move by the government to do so.
The system is not working as intended
The 2018 legislation requires the Productivity Commission to report, by the end of 2026, on whether the new system is working “efficiently, effectively and as intended”. Since it clearly wasn’t intended for the changes to cost anywhere near as much as they have done, the answer to that question must surely be a resounding “no”.
But rather than giving it such a narrow remit, the Treasurer could, and should, task the Productivity Commission with devising a way of achieving the long-standing objective of “horizontal fiscal equalisation” in a simpler, more transparent and more predictable way.
This should be possible by reference to fewer than a dozen readily available economic, demographic and social indicators. These could replace the “black box” processes currently used by the Commonwealth Grants Commission to allocate GST. WA has been able to exploit this lack of transparency in pursuit of its claims on an unjustified share of GST revenue.
Steven Kennedy, in his new role as head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, is reportedly open to considering controversial tax changes, including the GST carve-up. Hopefully he will be making this suggestion to the Prime Minister.
An inquiry by the Productivity Commission along these lines would enable the government to step away from the 2018 changes in the 2027-28 budget. That would, in turn, represent a substantial contribution towards the task of budget repair. And it would reinstate a principle that has helped make Australia a fairer, and better, country than it would otherwise have been.
Saul Eslake 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.
