Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed Operation Sindoor as India’s bold and decisive response to terrorism, emphasizing that the mission is “not over, but just a pause.” Addressing officers and sailors aboard India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, off the Goa coast on Friday, Singh delivered a powerful message to Pakistan: any future misadventure will be met with the full force of the Indian Navy.
“Operation Sindoor is not just a military action, it is India’s frontal assault on terrorism,” said Singh. “If Pakistan indulges in any unethical or hostile acts, it will face the firepower and resolve of our Navy.”
The Defence Minister praised the Indian Navy’s silent yet impactful role during the operation. He said the powerful Carrier Battle Group played a crucial role in keeping the Pakistani Navy confined to its ports, ensuring it did not intervene during the coordinated Indian military response.
Sending a strong message to Islamabad, Singh stated, “The time is up for the dangerous game of terrorism that Pakistan has played since Independence. India will not hesitate to take every necessary step to eliminate terrorism.” He reiterated that India retains the right to act against terrorist threats both across the border and in the seas, and called for Pakistan to hand over terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar—both UN-designated and accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
On the subject of talks with Pakistan, Singh was clear: “Dialogue will only happen on terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should first hand over the terrorists to India so that justice can be delivered.”
Commending the Navy’s role in Operation Sindoor, Singh detailed the precision and readiness of India’s maritime forces. Within 96 hours of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Indian naval units conducted successful missile and torpedo firings along both the western and eastern seaboards. The Navy’s aggressive deployment and coordination with the Air Force during airstrikes on terror bases underscored the seamless integration among India’s armed forces.
He emphasized the power projection of the Carrier Battle Group as a symbol of India’s intent and capability. “The Indian Navy’s combat acumen and strategic might have broken the morale of the enemy,” he said, urging continued operational preparedness.
Rajnath Singh highlighted the transformation of the Indian Navy into a strategic force that extends beyond regional responsibilities. “Today, the Navy is not just the guardian of the Indian Ocean but a force that projects India’s growing global influence,” he said, noting the Navy’s growing focus on cyber, data dominance, and strategic deterrence.
Drawing a historical parallel, Singh recalled the pivotal role played by the original INS Vikrant during the 1961 Liberation of Goa. Now in its modern incarnation, the carrier once again leads India’s maritime resolve against terrorism.
Singh was accompanied by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh, and other senior officials. He also reviewed frontline warships that were part of the Carrier Battle Group during the operation.
Members of the Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee have today agreed a Regional Coastal Change Adaptation Plan which will enable coastal communities to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change over time.
Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: “The world’s climate is changing and already the sea level around Scotland is rising at an alarming rate. Highland coastlines are home to much of our region’s population as well as significant infrastructure such as harbours, ports, roads and railways. It’s crucial that we do everything we can to prepare and support communities who may be affected by increased coastal impacts as a result of climate change. There is a risk that flooding and erosion will impact our communities more frequently and this plan will help us to mitigate disruption to communities, infrastructure and assets along our coastlines.”
The Regional Coastal Change Adaptation Plan (Regional CCAP) provides an overview of the risks across the Highland Council area, identifying communities and assets that are most likely to be negatively impacted by climate change, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding.
Cllr Gowans continued: “The plan recognises the need to be flexible in how we respond to the impacts of climate change along our coastlines, in order to help Highland communities and the Highland Council manage current and future risks. Our coastal zone is known for its rich biodiversity, cultural and environmental heritage and it also plays an important role in the Highland economy through industry and tourism. By identifying the highest risk locations and enabling progress at local levels, we can develop an adaptive pathway approach to support our coastal communities, biodiversity, cultural heritage and environment to adapt to the impacts of coastal climate change over time.”
The plan provides a flexible framework to address long-term and short-term climate change risks and enables Highland Council and coastal communities to adapt and become more resilient to climate change impacts now and in the future. 29 high-risk locations have been identified for further investigation and potential development of Local Coastal Change Adaptation Plans.
Cllr Gowans added: “For the plan to be successful, it will be important for us to work with communities at risk and collaborate with asset owners and neighbouring local authorities to ensure we can steer future development away from risk whilst safeguarding coastal locations. The plan will be reviewed and updated going forward and made public on our website for shared learning opportunities.”
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
ULAN BATOR, May 30 (Xinhua) — A total of 100 forest-steppe fires were recorded in Mongolia from January to May 2025, the country’s General Administration of Emergency Situations said on Friday.
“The fire spread over an area of 632,352 hectares,” the official statement said. During the specified period, the amount of damage amounted to 5 billion Mongolian tugriks (more than 1.4 million US dollars).
Currently, five forest-steppe fires are raging in the Erey and Mandal sums of Mongolia’s Selenge province, in the Batshireet sum of Mongolia’s Khentii province, and in the Tsagaan-Uure sum of Mongolia’s Khuvsgol province. –0–
The Isle of Wight Council is reminding local businesses and consumers that, starting 1 June 2025, the sale and purchase of single-use vapes will be banned under new legislation.
This ban applies to all single-use vapes, whether they contain nicotine or not, and includes online sales and in-store purchases.
Local businesses are urged to cease the sale of these products immediately. Any business found selling single-use vapes after the ban takes effect must dispose of them safely or risk enforcement action.
To help ensure compliance, Trading Standards has contacted retailers directly to outline their responsibilities and provide guidance on the new rules.
To be compliant with the new law, businesses should:
not purchase any new stock of single use vapes;
sell all existing stock before 1 June;
only buy vapes that comply with the new Regulations (noting that they must also comply with existing vaping products regulations);
train staff on the specifics of the ban.
The new requirements will mean that vapes being sold from 1 June must be rechargeable, refillable with e-liquid and have a replaceable coil.
The law is part of the government’s plan to tackle waste and pollution caused by disposable vapes and combat the rise in youth vaping.
Many single use vapes contain plastic parts and lithium batteries. These are often thrown away incorrectly or littered. This can lead to fire risks for waste collection services, and pollution issues for wildlife and the environment.
How to recycle vapes safely:
Do not throw vapes in a regular bin. They contain batteries and electronics.
Use dedicated e-waste recycling bins, found at both Lynnbottom and Afton Marsh Household Recycling Centres (HRCs), large supermarkets or vape retailers.
At your HRC booking, notify the meet and greet staff that you wish to dispose of vapes. They will either direct you to the dedicated vape disposal bins or take them from you to recycle.
Return your used vape from the retailer you purchased it from. Retailers that sell vapes are required to accept vape returns for recycling under existing waste regulations.
DO NOT attempt to take apart the vape yourself for recycling.
The free local support includes nicotine patches, gum, lozenges or spray to help you quit. The friendly, non-judgmental advice can help you get started today.
For support to quit vaping contact Smokefree Island Website: Smokefree Isle of Wight | Free Stop Smoking Support Telephone: 01983 642369/0800 999 1396 Email: hello@smokefreeisland.org.uk
For further business advice, please contact trading.standards@iow.gov.uk
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
University youth have always played a key role in preserving historical memory and perpetuating the feat of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Students and staff of the Student City were no exception – they actively participated in university events dedicated to the anniversary of the Great Victory. In an effort to preserve the memory of the Student City’s contribution during the war, the united student council of the SPbPU dormitories initiated its own projects aimed at education and preserving the historical heritage.
Information stands telling about the role of students during the war were placed in all the dormitories and hotels of the Student City. These stands became not only a tribute to memory, but also an opportunity for new generations of students to touch the pages of the past. Particular attention was paid to memorial sites – ceremonial flower-laying ceremonies were held at the dormitories on Lesnaya Street, as well as at the “Blockade Well” on Nepokorennykh Avenue.
In addition, a series of videos was prepared for social networks, revealing the heroism of those who lived in dormitories during the war years. Thanks to living testimonies, archives and photographs, we can understand at what incredible cost in the conditions of war students continued to study and live.
The beginning of the war
From the recollections of Flight Research Institute student Zalman Reznikov-Levit: June 22, 1941. A clear, gentle, sunny day. The student campus “on Flyugov” was quiet. An examination session was underway. Everyone was sitting with their notes, preparing to take the next exam. The session was coming to an end. I was preparing “Electric Drive”, which was due tomorrow, Monday, June 23. The morning was clear and calm. Suddenly the radio announced that at 12 o’clock the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, Comrade V. M. Molotov, would speak on the radio. I felt anxious… For the next day, a table was set up in the student campus on the street opposite the canteen near building No. 5, where the registration of volunteers for the student division of the people’s militia began. The registration of those wishing to participate lasted for several days. There were a lot of people around the registration tables, a crush, noise.
Simultaneously with the announcement of the attack of Nazi Germany on our country, the People’s Commissar of Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov read the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the mobilization of persons born between 1905 and 1918 into the Red Army. As the director of the Student City Iraida Grigoryevna Otto recalled, military tables were organized in the premises of the factory-kitchen on a voluntary basis. The staff of the Student City delivered summonses to persons who had to appear at the recruiting stations. The administration also created self-defense groups in the Student City with the help of public organizations. They consisted mainly of women and children aged 12 to 17. The duties of the participants in these groups, in addition to regular duty, included sealing windows with paper tape, filling sandbags, and keeping watch in the attics.
Student City Buildings
Student canteen #6, located in the third dormitory, was transferred to the hospital. The hospital’s service personnel were housed in part of the second academic building. In the first days of the war, the V and VI buildings of the Student City were occupied by an evacuation hospital. As TVN worker P. Fomin recalls, it was there that he was treated for his wounds. 85% of the glass in the building had been replaced with plywood, the heating no longer worked, and there was no water. Due to the lack of fuel, the heat supply to the Student City buildings ceased, and the remaining students heated their rooms with temporary shelters. On December 31, 1941, due to improper use of a “potbelly stove”, the IV building caught fire. A third of the building burned down, and two fires that occurred in January completely destroyed the IV building of the Student City.
The commander of the 7th company was a career firefighter A. Kudryavtsev, and the political instructor was a polytechnic student Valentin Vernitsky. The platoon headquarters was located in the Red Corner of the first building of the Student City on Lesnoy, 65. From September 11, the entire regiment was transferred to barracks. As student Vera Sharova recalls, the female firefighters lived in two rooms on the fifth floor of the first building of the Student City, and the guys lived with the company leadership in the basement of a building on the corner of Lesnoy Prospekt and 1st Murinsky. Every day, the platoon fighters gathered at the command post, from where they went on patrol.
In addition, a tank regiment was located in the Student City. It stayed in the main building for only 12 days, after which it was transferred to the VII Corps of the Student City, located at 14 Pribytkovskaya Street. This street no longer exists. It is built up with houses, including the institute’s dormitories. Regular scheduled classes had effectively ceased by November 1941 due to the small number of groups. Lectures were often held in the apartments of teachers or in student dormitories.
Before the war, flowers and seedlings were grown on the territory of the Polytechnic. So by the summer of 1941, gardeners had everything ready for growing flowers. But the war messed up their plans. It was too late to start planting vegetables; they were planted in the spring. Gardening was transformed into a subsidiary farm of the institute, and its staff increased. Already from mid-July 1942, the institute’s employees were harvesting.
Victory Day
Two o’clock in the morning. The dormitory was quiet, almost everyone was asleep. But as soon as the radio announced the capitulation of Nazi Germany, all the students and teachers were on their feet. The corridors began to stir, people congratulated each other, kissed each other. Songs thundered throughout the corridor, – a quote from the newspaper “Polytechnic” from May 16, 1945.
After the announcement of Victory at 2:20 a.m. a rally was organized, after which dancing and singing began. The fun continued until six o’clock in the morning.
By the way, the restoration of the Polytechnic buildings began in the summer of 1944. Workshop No. 1 was tasked with repairing the metal roof of the first and second academic buildings, and then the Main Building and the dormitories on Lesnoy. Special teams were created, which were joined by students arriving from evacuation.
This page of the history of the Great Patriotic War is forever inscribed in the fate of the university and the Student City, becoming a symbol of the contribution to the education of a strong, courageous generation of defenders of the Motherland.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The Isle of Wight Council has taken a major step forward in protecting and shaping the Island’s long-term development by voting to accept the planning inspector’s required changes to the Island Planning Strategy (IPS).
The decision, made during an extraordinary meeting of Full Council on Wednesday night, clears the way for the IPS to progress toward formal adoption.
The IPS is a long-term strategic framework that guides how the Island will manage housing, infrastructure, job creation, and environmental priorities across the Island.
It strikes a careful balance between the need for new and affordable homes and the protection of the Island’s unique communities, environment and heritage.
One of the most significant changes required by the Planning Inspectorate was an increase in the Island’s annual housing target.
While the original draft proposed 453 new homes per year — based on local evidence — the government’s standard method would have required the Island to plan for 1,104 homes annually.
However, after reviewing the council’s detailed submission and supporting evidence, the planning inspectors concluded that a revised minimum target of 703 homes per year would be required to comply with national planning policies.
Council officers will now begin to identify how to deliver an additional, modest, 79 homes per year for the first five years of the plan.
They will also address other minor changes requested by the inspectors. These updates will be subject to public consultation, ensuring residents continue to have a voice in how the Island develops.
The IPS continues to include strengthened policies to protect the Island’s natural environment and biodiversity.
It promotes sustainable transport, supports renewable energy, and encourages development in areas with existing infrastructure, especially on brownfield land — helping to reduce pressure on greenfield sites and preserve the Island’s rural charm and nature.
The plan also addresses key local concerns such as flood risk, coastal erosion, and affordable housing, aiming to ensure that future growth is both responsible, resilient, appropriate, and sustainable.
Options considered
Councillors considered several options before reaching their decision.
The approved route, known as Option A, allows the council to move forward with the IPS while incorporating the inspector’s recommendations. This approach was seen as the most balanced, enabling the council to retain local control over planning decisions while meeting national policy requirements.
Alternative options included withdrawing the IPS entirely and starting from scratch, which would have triggered the higher housing target of 1,104 homes per year.
Another proposal to formally challenge the inspector’s recommendations was rejected, as it lacked a credible risk assessment and could have left the Island without a valid local plan — potentially opening the door to speculative and unregulated development.
A council spokesperson said: “This was not an easy decision, but it was the right one under the circumstances we face. By accepting the Inspector’s recommendations, we are securing a plan that gives us the best chance to protect our Island from speculative development, while still meeting the needs of our communities.
“Rejecting the plan, starting over or opposing the inspector’s requirements would have left us exposed to far greater housing targets and far less control. The worst of all outcomes for the Island.”
What happens next?
Next steps include preparing detailed proposals to meet the revised housing requirement and completing other evidence-based work.
These will be published for public consultation in the coming months, giving residents another opportunity to help shape the final version of the plan.
Scotland’s Climate Action Hubs to receive £6 million funding.
Community projects across Scotland aimed at improving lives through local climate action are set to benefit from a share of £6 million Scottish Government funding.
Scotland’s nationwide network for Climate Action Hubs encourage and support climate action unique to their own areas from flood mitigation, repair shops and local energy generation to food growing and tree planting.
There is now a Hub covering every area in Scotland fulfilling a previous Programme for Government commitment to ensure people are empowered to act on climate in their own neighbourhoods.
Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin confirmed the funding during a visit to Buckie Thistle Football Club which is being supported by Moray Climate Hub to reduce its impact on the environment and raise awareness of climate change in local schools.
Ms Martin said: “I am very pleased to hear first-hand how Moray Climate Hub has been helping communities in the area support climate action from working with their local football team to identify ways in which they can cut their emissions to setting up a biodiversity garden for adults with learning difficulties.
“Football clubs, like Buckie Thistle, play an influential role in their local community, and their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint will undoubtedly inspire others to do the same, and provide a template for climate action that other clubs can follow.
“Tackling climate change is our collective responsibility and will require collaborative action at all levels. We must also share in the economic and health benefits that protecting our planet for future generations will bring.
“Communities are uniquely placed to play a critical role in shaping and driving forward the transition to low carbon and climate resilient living and we want to empower people to take action in their neighbourhoods that’s right for them.
“That is why we are proud to continue to support our hugely successful framework of regional climate hubs, which provide a vehicle for communities to come together and engage in collective grassroots action.”
Moray Climate Hub Manager (Moray CAN) Louise Nicol said: “We’re delighted to receive continued funding , it means we can keep supporting communities across Moray to take meaningful climate action in ways that work for them. Working with Buckie Thistle has been great, and we are both learning so much from each other. Football is more than a game – it’s a community hub, and it’s a great way to open up conversations about the environment.”
Buckie Thistle Football Club General manager, Stephen Shand, said: “We’re very grateful for the support from Moray Climate Hub – it’s helped us get our heads around what we can do as a club to be more environmentally responsible. We’re just at the start of the journey, but it’s exciting to learn more and see where small changes can make a difference. The help we are getting to find funding has been a huge boost to the club.”
Background
A total of 24 hubs have been set up across Scotland – fulfilling a 2024 Programme for Government commitment.
The Scottish Government is providing up to £6 million of funding in 2025 – 2026 for its network of Climate Action Hubs alongside a support package for delivery. This is broken down as follows – with some funding still to be allocated:
France could harden its position on Israel if it continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, reiterating that Paris was committed to a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground,” Macron said at a joint press conference in Singapore with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
“And so, if there is no response that meets the humanitarian situation in the coming hours and days, obviously, we will have to toughen our collective position,” Macron said, adding that France may consider applying sanctions against Israeli settlers.
“But I still hope that the government of Israel will change its stance and that we will finally have a humanitarian response”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has hit back at growing international pressure over the war in Gaza, the deadliest fighting in decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Macron was in Singapore on a state visit and he will also deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum, which runs this year from May 30-June 1.
Deep differences between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.
Under growing international pressure, Israel partially ended an 11-week long aid blockade on Gaza 10 days ago. It has allowed a limited amount of relief to be delivered via two avenues – the United Nations or the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The French president said Paris is committed to working towards a political solution and reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state, diplomats and experts say, a move that could infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits.
French officials are weighing up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting between June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The war since then has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say, more than in any other of the countless rounds of fighting between the two sides.
Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui met financial officials in Ottawa on Wednesday and business representatives in Vancouver yesterday, as he continued a five-day visit to Canada.
Mr Hui met Canadian Deputy Minister of Finance Chris Forbes on Wednesday. They discussed the challenges posed by unilateralism and protectionism, and how Hong Kong and Canada might collaborate to achieve mutual benefits in areas such as the gold market and virtual assets.
Mr Hui told Mr Forbes that as global economic gravity continues to shift eastwards, Hong Kong has been exploring new growth areas and expanding international co-operation. He said this includes efforts by a working group to promote gold market development.
In a meeting with Canada’s Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge, Mr Hui spoke of Hong Kong’s perseverance in upholding a robust regulatory regime across different financial institutions and financial products.
Mr Routledge praised Hong Kong for its advanced development in the area of digital assets, stating that it sets an example for other regions.
Mr Hui then met Senator Woo Yuen-pau at Parliament Hill and brief hum on Hong Kong’s effort in maintaining its status as an international financial centre through various measures.
He mentioned the recent affirmations of Hong Kong’s credit ratings by Fitch, S&P and Moody’s, adding that these fully demonstrate Hong Kong’s resilience in maintaining stability amid increasing global economic and financial uncertainties.
During his short stay in Ottawa, Mr Hui also paid a courtesy call to China’s Ambassador to Canada Wang Di.
Mr Wang said Hong Kong has its own distinctive advantages which can enable it to be a bridgehead in driving closer ties between China and Canada in addition to fostering direct co-operation between Hong Kong and Canada.
In Vancouver yesterday, Mr Hui met Fraser Institute Board Chair Mark Scott and some other prominent business figures to update them on Hong Kong’s financial development.
Mr Hui welcomed the think-tank’s ranking of Hong Kong as the world’s freest economies in its Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report.
Later, he spoke at a business lunch hosted by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Vancouver Chapter), and participated in a fireside chat.
Mr Hui then met representatives of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and briefed them on development in areas such as wealth management and digital assets in Hong Kong.
The day concluded with a business networking reception and seminar organised by Invest Hong Kong (Canada).
Addressing the audience, Mr Hui highlighted the Government’s dedication to integrate Web3 innovations into the real economy by introducing a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers, and to foster the development of Web3 and digital assets.
He also mentioned Hong Kong’s determination to expand the financial value chain to sustain the world-class status of its financial markets. Two forward-looking moves are to build an international gold trading market and create a commodity trading ecosystem in Hong Kong, he said.
Mr Hui added that, with Canada enjoying a prominent position in the global gold market and the Toronto Stock Exchange being the world’s pre-eminent stock exchange for mining companies, co-operation between Hong Kong and Canada can establish an East-West financial corridor for the world.
U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.
The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels.
On Thursday, the White House said Israel had agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.
Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters it was reviewing the plan and would respond on Friday or Saturday.
The U.S. plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows.
The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages.
Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.
Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.
MOUNTING PRESSURE
Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries usually reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort.
Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to “sending out a new term sheet” about a ceasefire by the two sides in the conflict.
“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict,” Witkoff said at the time.
The 60-day ceasefire, according to the plan, may be extended if negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are not concluded within the set period.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Thursday the terms of the proposal echoed Israel’s position and did not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site in Gaza on Thursday.
Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group began its operation this week in Gaza, where the U.N. has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave.
The launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians rushed to distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.
The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in coming weeks.
Opening Remarks by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, at the CESEE High-Level Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia
May 30, 2025
Good morning and a very warm welcome to everyone!
I would like to begin by thanking Governor Vujčič for the kind invitation. Dear Boris: it is such a pleasure to return to Dubrovnik. Truly, a pearl of the Adriatic!
Since its first gathering here in 2017, this conference has become an important forum for policymakers to discuss the challenges confronting the region.
And, as usual, we have much to discuss: the successes, the unfinished business and, now, huge new challenges.
***
First, a few words on the successes.
Over the last three decades, reforms promoting economic openness and integration—first with the EU, then within the EU—have helped the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe achieve a remarkable convergence with the standards of living of their more advanced peers.
Since the mid-1990s, incomes have more than doubled and the gap relative to the advanced Europe has shrunk sharply.
Manufacturing became a catalyst for productivity growth as integration into European and global value chains helped CESEE economies reach beyond their domestic markets.
At the same time, openness to FDI accelerated capital accumulation and technology transfer.
EU accession played a huge role. Powered by the domestic structural reforms put in place on the path to EU accession countries that joined the EU accelerated their income convergence with the advanced Europe and outperformed comparable countries outside of the block.
Thus, it is fair to pause and say: well done.
***
Second, the unfinished business.
The journey is far from complete. Reforms slowed after EU accession. After the Global Financial Crisis, investment fell significantly and contributed to a productivity slump that has only worsened since Covid.
Various economic challenges were already calling out for revitalizing reforms. The demand for skilled workers is rising, but labor supply is tightening. High energy costs are hurting manufacturing competitiveness. New technologies in the auto sector—and AI—could alter export value chains.
So even before the latest global economic developments, there certainly was much more work to do.
***
And now, there are huge new challenges.
The sweeping disruptions to world trade that are underway are plain for all to see. World trade is being tested. And while most of the CESEE countries are less impacted directly, let us be very clear: the indirect impact is significant as these disruptions pose a major threat to the region’s main trading partners and to the overall economic model of openness that CESEE countries rely on.
Trade tensions and uncertainty complicate domestic and foreign investment plans. This is particularly painful for a region that needs access to modern production processes, jobs in high-productivity sectors, and export demand.
***
So here is my main message to you today: standing still, taking shelter, and hoping the storm will pass is not a plan. It would be much wiser to assume that many of the shifts we see are here to stay, and to act accordingly.
So, what should CESEE countries do in order to negotiate this stormy economic weather? How can they catch a tailwind from the “Adriatic Bora” and keep powering forward?
I would point to three critical priorities:
Steering a steady course in terms of macroeconomic policy—monetary and fiscal policies for stability;
Getting the ship into better working order so it can sail forward faster—that is, pursue structural policies for growth; and
Integrating more deeply into and within the single market of the EU—strength through regional cohesion.
Let me briefly discuss each of these, in turn.
Priority one: action to mitigate uncertainty. The best antidote to uncertainty is a stable macroeconomic environment.
Central banks must remain agile and focused on achieving their targets. Where inflation is still high and persistent, policymakers should tread cautiously. Clear communication is key. Independence lends credibility and must be protected.
Fiscal policy must focus on ensuring sustainability and policy space. Countries with low deficits and debts can use fiscal space to invest in essential areas such as energy security. But in countries where fiscal space is limited, governments need to either reallocate spending or boost fiscal revenues.
Priority two: take decisive action to boost growth potential. In a new study, we find that domestic reforms across the CESEE region could lift GDP levels by 7 percent over the medium term. The potential goes up to 9 percent for the Western Balkans.
Further productivity gains from better education, more efficient labor markets that allow talent to thrive, and cutting red tape are waiting to be tapped. In the Western Balkans and aspiring EU entrants, closing governance gaps with the EU frontier delivers the highest dividend. The case to act decisively is compelling.
Priority three—last but certainly not least: CESEE countries must ensure they retain the benefits of their economic integration with Europe and the global economy.
Integration has been a major source of knowledge transfer and capital deepening, particularly through FDI. As is the case across the EU as a whole, the CESEE region would benefit from further progress in completing the EU’s single market.
Our analysis shows that internal barriers add significant costs — for goods they are equal to 44 percent tariffs, and for services to a staggering 110 percent! Completing the single market can be a major factor in strengthening the performance of the EU economy and improving its attractiveness for investment.
In a forthcoming working paper on Europe’s reform priorities, we outline several concrete steps: a more integrated electricity market; more capital for startups; better labor mobility across borders; and simpler regulations. Together, these measures could raise EU GDP by about 3 percent over the next ten years.
In addition, we argue that the EU budget can lend more of a hand. Tying EU funds for public investment to progress on reform implementation would provide a double blessing: more central fiscal funding, and more effective use of it.
***
With that, let me conclude.
We at the IMF stand ready to support you, as we always have. Through our surveillance and technical assistance, we are committed to supporting the CESEE region unlock its growth potential. The steadily increasing demand we see for IMF capacity development, including in public investment management and central banking, testifies to our role as your partner in your quest for faster growth and stronger resilience.
The region is at a crossroads. Faced with structural headwinds and a much more volatile external environment, reinvigorating domestic reforms are now essential—to navigate the stormy seas and to unlock the region’s potential to sail faster.
The time to act is now. By moving decisively, you can transform the current challenges into opportunities and chart a brighter future for the region.
Water trapped behind a mass of glacial debris that this week buried a village and blocked a river in southern Switzerland has sparked warnings that further evacuations may be needed amid the risk of flooding in the Alpine valley.
A deluge of millions of cubic meters of ice, mud and rock crashed down a mountain on Wednesday, engulfing the village of Blatten, and the few houses that remained later flooded. Its 300 residents had been evacuated earlier in May after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble.
Flooding increased on Thursday as the mound of debris almost 2 km (1.2 miles) across clogged the path of the River Lonza, causing a lake to form amid the wreckage, raising fears that the morass could dislodge and trigger more evacuations.
Late on Thursday, local authorities urged residents in Gampel and Steg, villages several kilometres further along the Lonza Valley, to prepare for possible evacuation in case of emergency.
The army is standing by with water pumps, diggers and other heavy equipment to provide relief when conditions allow.
Rescue teams have been looking for a 64-year-old man missing since the landslide. Local authorities suspended the search on Thursday afternoon, saying the debris mounds were too unstable for now, and warning of further rockfalls.
Residents have struggled to absorb the scale of destruction caused by the deluge, an event that scientists suspect is a dramatic example of the impact of climate change in the Alps.
The Government today published a technical memorandum in the Gazette with the aim of further reducing the emission allowances of air pollutants for power plants from 2030 onwards, thereby improving the air quality in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.
Issued under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, the Tenth Technical Memorandum for Allocation of Emission Allowances in Respect of Specified Licences (the Tenth TM) reduces the annual emission allowances of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and respirable suspended particulates (RSPs) from the electricity sector from 2030 onwards at 2,302 tonnes, 8,350 tonnes and 317 tonnes respectively.
The Environment & Ecology Bureau said it represents further tightening by 19%, 25% and 14% respectively when compared with the emission allowances for the electricity sector for 2026 set under the Ninth TM.
The Tenth TM will be tabled at the Legislative Council on June 4 for commencement by the end of 2025.
In accordance with the ordinance, the new set of emission allowances will come into effect on January 1, 2030.
The bureau said it has taken into account various factors in setting the new emission allowances.
Such factors include local electricity demand, the gas-fired electricity generation of the two power companies, the emission performance of existing generating units, the estimated import of nuclear power and clean energy, and the projected electricity intake from renewable energy sources.
The Government has also been requiring the two power companies to adopt the best practicable means in their plants’ design and operational management to minimise emissions of air pollutants, the bureau added.
Hong Kong’s air quality has been improving continuously in recent years.
The ambient concentrations of SO2, nitrogen dioxide and RSPs recorded in 2024 had been reduced by 45% to 88% when compared with that in 2004.
The number of hours of reduced visibility observed had also been greatly reduced by 82% from its peak in 2004.
As emissions from the electricity sector accounted for 61%, 27% and 13% of the territory-wide emissions of SO2, NOx and RSPs respectively in 2022, the tightened emission allowances for power plants will help further improve the air quality in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.
The bureau said it will review the technical memorandum again not later than 2027 to ensure timely revision of the emission allowances.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil development projects worth ₹48,500 crore during his visit to Bikramganj in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Friday. His address at a large public rally will mark the launch and foundation laying of key infrastructure and welfare initiatives aimed at accelerating Bihar’s growth across sectors like transportation, energy, and connectivity.
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s arrival, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan are expected to reach the venue. The rally site, sprawling across 444 acres, has been extensively prepared with a large stage, massive canopy, and elaborate floral decorations, with flowers sourced from Kolkata and Patna. Local artisans worked through Thursday to complete the arrangements.
Security has been tightened with over 5,000 personnel deployed at the venue. The force includes 10 Superintendents of Police, 50 Deputy SPs, and over 1,000 inspectors and sub-inspectors. A total of 250 checkpoints have been established, and temporary police stations, ambulances, and fire engines are also stationed on-site. The District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police are personally overseeing the arrangements.
From the rally platform, PM Modi will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for several big-ticket projects. These include key road and railway upgrades such as the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi four-lane road, a four-lane elevated corridor in Gopalganj, and third railway lines between Sonnagar-Muhammadganj and Kajart Nawadih-Sonnagar. He will also inaugurate three 800 MW power units under Phase II of the Navinagar thermal plant and major national highways including the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata six-lane expressway.
Additional projects include the automatic block signalling system from Sasaram to Anugrah Narayan Road, a new Ganga bridge between Buxar and Bharauli on NH-92, and the extension of NH-119D from Ramnagar to Kachchi Dargah. PM Modi will also inaugurate the new five-platform railway terminal at Harding Park in Patna, as well as facilities like hostels and staff quarters in Jehanabad.
With thousands of supporters expected to attend, the rally is not only a platform for announcing development projects but also carries political significance. The visit is seen as a key moment for strengthening the BJP’s organisational base in the state ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Two days after the latest in a string of test-flight setbacks for his big new Mars spacecraft, Starship, Elon Musk said on Thursday he foresees the futuristic vehicle making its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of next year.
Musk presented a detailed Starship development timeline in a video posted online by his Los Angeles area-based rocket company, SpaceX, a day after saying he was departing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as head of a tumultuous campaign to slash government bureaucracy.
The billionaire entrepreneur had said earlier that he was planning to scale back his role in government to focus greater attention on his various businesses, including SpaceX and electric car and battery maker Tesla.
Musk acknowledged that his latest timeline for reaching Mars hinged on whether Starship can accomplish a number of challenging technical feats during its flight-test development, particularly a post-launch refueling maneuver in Earth orbit.
The end of 2026 would coincide with a slim window that occurs once every two years when Mars and Earth align around the sun for the closest trip between the two planets, which would take seven to nine months to transit by spacecraft.
Musk gave his company a 50-50 chance of meeting that deadline. If Starship were not ready by that time, SpaceX would wait another two years before trying again, Musk suggested in the video.
The first flight to Mars would carry a simulated crew consisting of one or more robots of the Tesla-built humanoid Optimus design, with the first human crews following in the second or third landings. Musk said he envisioned eventually launching 1,000 to 2,000 ships to Mars every two years to quickly establish a self-sustaining permanent human settlement.
NASA is currently aiming to return humans to the surface of the moon aboard Starship as early as 2027 – more than 50 years after its last manned lunar landings of the Apollo era – as a stepping stone toward ultimately launching astronauts to Mars sometime in the 2030s.
Musk, who has advocated for a more Mars-focused human spaceflight program, has previously said he was aiming to send an unmanned SpaceX vehicle to the red planet as early as 2018 and was targeting 2024 to launch a first crewed mission there.
The SpaceX founder was scheduled to deliver a livestream presentation billed as “The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary” from the company’s Starbase, Texas, launch site on Tuesday night, following a ninth test flight of Starship that evening.
But the webcast was canceled without notice after Starship spun out of control and disintegrated in a fireball about 30 minutes after launch and roughly halfway through its flight path without achieving some of its most important test goals.
Two preceding test flights in January and March failed in more spectacular fashion, with the spacecraft blowing to pieces on ascent moments after liftoff, raining debris over parts of the Caribbean and forcing scores of commercial jetliners to change course as a precaution.
Musk shrugged off the latest mishap on Tuesday with a brief post on X, saying it produced a lot of “good data to review” and promising a faster launch “cadence” for the next several test flights.
As Victorians head outdoors to enjoy the King’s Birthday long weekend, fire and land authorities are reminding campers and visitors to forests and parks to be safe around campfires.
Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman said with cooler temperatures settling in, it might feel like the fire risk has passed, but with parks and forests remaining dry, campfires can quickly escape and become devastating bushfires.
After a warmer and drier-than-average autumn and normal rainfall expected this winter, the fire risk is higher than usual – particularly in parts of western, southwestern and southeastern Victoria.
“Even at this time of year, just one unattended or poorly managed campfire can cause serious damage to the environment and put lives and property at risk,” Mr Hardman said.
“This season, we’ve responded to more than 370 incidents involving campfires. This included the Boroka Lookout Fire, where an illegal campfire turned into a bushfire in difficult terrain, on the edge of the cliff diverting resources responding to bushfires in the Grampians National Park.
“With a little extra care around your campfire this long weekend, we can keep forests and parks healthy and safe for everyone to enjoy.
“Never leave a campfire unattended and use water to fully extinguish it – if it’s cool to touch it’s safe to leave.
Chief Conservation Regulator Kate Gavens said: “Campfires are a cause of bushfires that are 100% preventable and our authorised officers will be visiting campsites throughout Victoria’s parks and forests to make sure everyone is following the rules so we can all have a safe and enjoyable long weekend.”
Parks Victoria Executive Director of Operations Kylie Trott said: “We want people to get out and enjoy Victoria’s great outdoors, but unsafe campfires can have devastating consequences. It only takes one camper ignoring the rules to endanger the community and our environment.”
CFA Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook AFSM said while conditions over the weekend will also be an opportune time for residents to burn-off, extreme care should be taken to ensure enough water and resources are on hand to extinguish burns properly.
“Escaped burn-offs, particularly in the current dry conditions, continue to cause significant concern and great risk to our communities across the state,” he said.
“It is really important landowners have someone monitoring their fire activity at all times. Although cooler days are arriving, now is not the time to be complacent.
“This weekend, take a moment to check the wind forecast, ensure you’ve left ample room in your fire break and please register your burn-off online to help reduce unnecessary callouts to emergency services.”
Before hitting the road, people should be familiar with local campfire regulations and safety measures to help protect the environment and local communities at https://www.vic.gov.au/campfires-stoves-and-bbqs.
People who breach campfire regulations on public land face a maximum penalty of $19,759 if the matter is prosecuted in court. The maximum penalty for lighting or maintaining a fire during a day of Total Fire Ban is $47,421.60 and/or 2 years in jail.
Report unattended campfires to 136 186 or call 000 to report a bushfire.
A U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week and the release of 125 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
The plan, which says it is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.
The plan stipulates that Hamas will release the last 30 hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place.
The White House said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas told media it was reviewing the plan and will respond on Friday or Saturday.
Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.
Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.
West Coast Police have executed 10 search warrants across the Westport and Greymouth area this week, in relation to organised crime in the wider region.
West Coast staff worked alongside colleagues from the Te Waipounamu Gang Distribution Unit (GDU) and the Tasman District Organised Crime Unit (TDOCU).
While undertaking the warrants Police located : – More than a kilo of cannabis – A vehicle sought in relation to a hit and run crash – A pistol – An illegal bar operating.
Two men appeared at Greymouth District Court on Wednesday the 28th May charged with Assaults police and Possession of cannabis for supply, to further appear on the 18th June.
Two more men will appear at Greymouth District Court on Wednesday the 4th June, facing charges of Unlawful possession of a firearm and Operating a bar without a licence.
Police have gained further information from the execution of these warrants and further arrests have not been ruled out.
West Coast Area Commander, Inspector Hamish Chapman says, “The activities this week demonstrate the commitment Police has to drive down and disrupt organised and gang related crime and the harm it has on our communities.”
Without billionaire Elon Musk in the Trump administration, his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency project is likely to sputter out, a former DOGE staffer said in his first interview since leaving the team.
Tesla CEO Musk announced on Wednesday evening that he was ending his time as a special government employee but vowed that DOGE would continue without him. Administration media representatives also said in statements to Reuters that DOGE would continue its work.
DOGE has overseen job cuts at nearly every federal agency as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to shake up the federal bureaucracy.
However, software engineer Sahil Lavingia, who spent almost two months working for the group of pro-Musk technologists, said he expects DOGE to quickly “fizzle out.”
“It’ll just die a whimper,” Lavingia, who was fired from DOGE earlier this month, told Reuters. “So much of the appeal and allure was Elon.” He said he expected DOGE staffers to “just stop showing up to work. It’s like kids joining a startup that will go out of business in four months.”
That would cap a remarkable undoing for DOGE, which Musk initially vowed would cut $2 trillion in federal spending. Instead, DOGE estimates its efforts have saved around $175 billion so far and the group’s tallies have been riddled with errors.
“DOGE is integral to the federal government’s operations, and its mission, as established by the President’s executive order, will continue under the direction of agency and department heads in the Trump administration,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.
Lavingia, the 32-year-old founder and CEO of creator platform Gumroad, said he was recruited by DOGE through a personal contact and joined the team in March.
While he said he was proud of certain achievements at the Department of Veterans Affairs, including modernizing the agency’s internal artificial-intelligence chatbot, he said he was often at a loss about what work he was expected to do.
“I got dropped into the VA with an HP laptop. What are we supposed to do? What is the road map?” Lavingia said he asked, to no avail. “I felt like I was being pranked.”
Veterans Affairs press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in a statement to Reuters: “VA looks forward to continuing to work with its DOGE liaisons to help the department improve its performance, customer service, and convenience to Veterans.”
Lavingia said Steve Davis, the president of Musk’s tunneling enterprise the Boring Company, ran day-to-day operations while Turkish-born venture capitalist Baris Akis helped with DOGE recruitment and DOGE logistics.
When instructions did come through, they were usually communicated through phone calls or small chats on the encrypted Signal messaging app that would typically auto-delete in one day, Lavingia said.
Lavingia said instructions included moving faster to increase mass layoffs at the VA, the federal government’s second-largest agency.
The only time he met Musk, Lavingia said, was at an all-hands meeting in March with what he estimated was between 40 and 60 fellow DOGE staffers.
Lavingia said he asked to open-source, or make freely available, some of his computer code, which Musk approved.
He then asked if they could livestream DOGE meetings to increase transparency.
“Elon said: ‘That’s a great idea. We’ll do it next week.’ He then caught himself and said: ‘Maybe we pre-record it because of security risks.’”
Lavingia said he never heard back.
In early May, after he spoke to media outlet Fast Company about working at DOGE, Lavingia said his computer access was revoked in what amounted to a firing. He said Musk and team leaders never explicitly told him he should not talk to journalists.
“My DOGE days were over,” Lavingia wrote in a blog about his experience.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
With a persistent drought gripping vast regions of the country, Chinese authorities are making multi-faceted efforts to mitigate its impact on agriculture as grain crops have entered a critical growth stage.
Since the start of 2025, China has generally experienced a warm and dry climate, characterized by higher temperatures and significantly reduced rainfall.
According to the national observatory, the average temperature nationwide reached 5.7 degrees Celsius by May 25 this year, 0.8 degrees Celsius above the seasonal norm, with provinces like Henan, Anhui and Hubei recording their highest temperatures for this period since 1961.
Meanwhile, the average precipitation fell to just 143.7 millimeters, 10.6 percent below the long-term average and marking the lowest level since 2012. In some areas, rainfall plunged by as much as 80 percent.
“Precipitation in the Yellow River basin, a key agricultural region, was down by nearly 30 percent. In the middle reaches, the deficit was 30 to 40 percent,” said Wang Weilu, an official with the Yellow River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources.
High temperatures and low rainfall have triggered rapid drought development from the northwest regions to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southwestern provinces including Sichuan, said Zhai Jianqing, a meteorological disaster specialist at the National Climate Center.
As of April 18, drought classified as moderate or worse had affected nearly 2.02 million square km, including 477,000 square km of extreme drought, official data showed.
The timing of the drought is concerning. China’s summer grains, including wheat, are in a crucial growth period. Last year, the summer grain harvest totaled nearly 150 million tonnes, accounting for over 21 percent of the country’s annual grain production.
Zhang Gaomin, head of a farmers’ cooperative in Jingyang County, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, said inadequate rainfall has visibly stunted wheat growth.
“Due to persistent water shortages, wheat plants are about 10 cm shorter than usual, impacting growth during this critical stage,” Zhang said. His cooperative manages 7,600 mu (507 hectares) of winter wheat.
In many grain-producing regions, the drought has strained irrigation systems, dried up fishponds, limited water for livestock, and heightened risks of pests, crop diseases and wildfires.
In response, China has taken multi-pronged efforts to address the challenges. The Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, has allocated disaster relief funds to support measures from irrigating to crop replanting.
Water conservancy authorities have improved national water allocation for agricultural purposes. Meteorological departments have intensified weather modification efforts, conducting over 500 cloud-seeding flights and nearly 17,000 ground-based operations since the start of the year.
At the local level, grassroots efforts are also making a difference. In Mashan County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, water pumps and generators were a common sight on farmland, delivering vital irrigation to parched crops. Local authorities have deployed 130 water pumps and over 30 gasoline generators, and have dispatched 11 anti-drought teams comprising more than 400 personnel to support villages.
“Firefighters have been delivering water to our village for three days, solving the water shortage for over 400 people,” said Huang Honghua, an official in a village of Wuxuan County, Guangxi.
Meteorologists predict rainfall across much of central and northern China in early to mid-June will ease drought conditions, while parts of southern China may still face drought risks.
Despite the lingering challenges, with timely intervention and increased rainfall expected, the drought is unlikely to have significant impact on the country’s overall grain output, according to experts.
China’s 2024 grain output hit a record high of 706.5 million tonnes, an increase of 1.6 percent from 2023, official data showed.
Delhi-NCR is set to witness more rain and stormy weather on Friday, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for the region, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds reaching speeds of 50-60 km/h.
According to the IMD forecast, partly cloudy skies will persist throughout the day, with light to moderate rainfall expected across various parts of the city. Maximum temperatures are likely to hover between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius, while the minimum may range from 26 to 28 degrees Celsius.
The alert was upgraded from yellow to orange following observations of intensified weather activity. On Thursday, parts of Delhi had already experienced light showers and gusty winds reaching up to 60 km/h.
Friday could see stronger winds of up to 70 km/h, the IMD said, increasing the likelihood of waterlogging, traffic disruptions, and minor damage to infrastructure.
The orange alert signifies potentially severe weather conditions that could disrupt normal life, prompting the public to remain cautious and take necessary precautions. The alert is issued when heavy rainfall is anticipated, typically exceeding 115.6 mm and up to 204.4 mm within 24 hours.
Delhi has already witnessed an unprecedented 186.4 mm of rainfall so far this May, making it the wettest May on record for the city. This irregular precipitation pattern is linked to the early advancement of the southwest monsoon, which reached Kerala on May 24, a week ahead of schedule, and Mumbai on May 26, significantly earlier than its usual onset date of June 11.
While the monsoon typically hits Delhi around June 27, the IMD has yet to specify when it will arrive in the capital this year. “We are closely monitoring the progress,” an IMD official said.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘moderate’ category on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 151 at 4 p.m., slightly worse than the 133 measured at the same time a day earlier.
Evening showers on Thursday brought temporary relief. However, the rainfall was not intense enough to significantly offset the prevailing humidity and heat. The IMD advises residents to stay indoors during stormy periods, avoid sheltering under trees, and secure loose outdoor items to prevent accidents or damage. (IANS)
Who, neither politician nor monarch, executed 100,000 civilians in a single night?
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Answer: Curtis LeMay, American Air Force General, in the wee hours of 10 March 1945. While authorised by his immediate superior, this firebombing of Tokyo was a decentralised military operation which received subsequent popular approval. It was called ‘Operation Meetinghouse’. While Japanese civilians were aware that they had become a collateral target to the encroaching American military machine, these victims had no prior idea of the murderous danger they faced that night.
Le May went on to execute at least another 120,000 Japanese civilians in the next five months and five days; from 10 March until 15 August. The method of execution was to burn people alive. LeMay’s inflammatory instrument was napalm. The politicians approved, but did not fully comprehend. They had been softened up by bureaucratic-speak, and they did not see burning people on their TV screens.
(In that August there was an additional couplet of mass executions; nuclear executions. This parallel military operation was not under the command of LeMay, but used the same airfields and the same B29 aircraft type. Contrary to impressions given that the atomic bomb was planned for Germany, pilot Paul Tibbets was chosen in 1944, and was doing test manoeuvres from Cuba at the end of that year. And there were five cities LeMay had been asked not to firebomb, and did not bomb, knowing that these were ‘reserved’ targets. An additional 120,000 people were summarily executed by the untested ‘Little Boy’ [Hiroshima] and the New Mexico tested ‘Fat Man’ [plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki], with thousands more suffering lingering executions. These bombings – rubber-stamped by President Truman – were arranged by technocrats and military bureaucrats. The American authorities were preparing to give a repeat larger dose when more ‘Fat Men’ would become available towards the end of 1945.)
In the middle centuries of the last millennium, one particularly appalling form of execution was to burn ‘heretics’ and ‘witches’ at the stake. These executions peaked in the sixteenth century. The most renowned perpetrator was Bloody Mary, Queen of England during the 1550s. Her tally, those burned while she was queen, was about 500 people. Unlike the citizens of Tokyo, most of Queen Mary’s victims had options, albeit unsatisfactory options, to escape their fates. We think of such executions-by-fire as the epitome of terror. (And we note that some Holocaust victims, in places such as Belarus, were burned in wooden buildings locked by their Nazi executioners.)
It is 200 kilometres from Auckland to Tauranga via SH2. (For an international example, try Dover to Cambridge.) Just imagine 20,000 stakes, faggots at the ready, 10 metres apart, all the way along the highway between those two cities. Now imagine a family being burned at each of those 20,000 stakes. That is, in essence, what General Curtis LeMay achieved in one spring night, in central Tokyo. (And, as we have noted, he was only warming up. His total civilian kill count was ‘limited’ because putative victims, now forewarned, were more able to take measures to save their lives though not their homes. He firebombed literally hundreds of Japanese cities.)
Did we remember this event in March this year, its 80th anniversary? No. This literal holocaust was barely remembered, even in Japan. Indeed, in the 1960s, political leaders in the new Japan presented him in 1964 with a prestigious accolade for his supposed sine qua non role in making the new Japan possible.
1945 was not Lemay’s first participation in megadeath; not his first rodeo. He earned his stripes in the European ‘bombing theatre’ in 1942 and 1943, where he took on board the ‘atrocities may be more effective’ approach of the British RAF. He also operated out of Bengal in 1944, during the Bengal famine which resulted from food being diverted away from millions of Bengali civilians to facilitate war objectives, in an earlier attempt to bomb Japan via India and China. In addition to starving Indians – a somewhat wretched people, in LeMay’s view – the American military was willing to sustain huge American losses, eg flying over the Himalayas, for minimal military success. A mitigating factor for LeMay, then, was that he was implementing other people’s plans. On 10 March 1945, Operation Meetinghouse was his scheme.
Why?
What was the purpose of this mass execution, this collective punishment of civilians who happened to live in a country that was losing a war?
Japanese civilians were neither fascists nor communists nor anti-semites nor anti-hamites nor anyone else ‘deserving’ of immolation. Their government was however guilty of good old-fashioned imperialism, and the usual atrocities that come with conquests of other people’s lands.
There were two officially-stated arguments used to justify these executions. One was that, as civilian victims of such suffering, they, demoralised, might somehow convince their political masters to end the war sooner. The second justification was that the civilian victims were either workers in factories producing military goods, or were involved in ‘cottage industries’ which contributed to the production of military goods; this really amounts to some kind of ‘revenge’ justification masked as ‘normal warfare’. And this second justification is uncannily like the ‘Hamas’ argument used at present by the Israeli government to justify executions of civilians in Gaza.
The American bombing culture in Europe had been more reserved than that of the British. The Americans, including LeMay, witnessed the British firebombing of German cities during 1942 to 1944 – especially in the west of Germany where Nazi support was the least – which had conspicuously failed to create conditions facilitating popular revolution in Germany. Dead people tended to be passive, and survivors tended to channel their despair towards the perpetrators of their anguish. Indeed, among victimised communities, murderous bombing campaigns generally reinforced propaganda perpetuated by the victims’ governments. Further, despite calling their tactic ‘morale bombing’, the British already knew that the morale narrative was false, having been able to closely evaluate the morale effects of comparatively small amounts of German bombing in 1940 upon British civilians.
Overall, it comes across that the main reason for the executions was some kind of ‘impunity’; they did it because they could. The more they failed to bring the war to an end, the more they persevered in doing the executions that hadn’t achieved their stated goals. Just one more city. And then another. And another.
The impunity argument was augmented by the ‘scientific’ rationalisations. Applied scientists developing ever more efficient methods of execution would never be satisfied unless they could see the success of their own apparatus ‘in the field’.
Sky-executions this century: Iraq from 2003, Afghanistan, and Gaza from 2023
In the last decade (or so) of the twentieth century, most people believed that humans – except perhaps a few terrorists (who indeed perpetrated a sky-execution in 2001) – could never repeat such atrocities upon civilians. Then we saw, in 2003, based on false claims about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ held by Saddam Hussein, executions similar to those of WW2 were perpetrated upon the civilians of Iraq. And a huge bunker bomb – the Mother of All Bombs “the most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever used” – was dropped on a village in eastern Afghanistan in 2017. (A comment to this recent Al Jazeera news clip says: “Americans tested their weapons on innocent civilians’ villages”. And see BBC: The Mother of All Bombs: How badly did it hurt IS in Afghanistan? 27 April 2017.)
These executions were seen to be a mix of ‘revenge’ and ‘impunity’, although once again cloaked as being part of a higher purpose; in this case the higher purpose being the export of western-style ‘Democracy’. We saw in Iraq that the main consequence of western sky-executions – the ‘shock and awe’ bombing campaign – was the formation of terror-group ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on for twenty years before the eventual humiliation of the United States in Afghanistan in 2021.
Since 2023 in Gaza we have seen a constant stream of airborne executions of civilians; mostly people who by fate were born into that occupied or encircled ghetto; a piece of real estate, densely populated by the descendants of refugees, coveted by the descendants of comparatively recent European colonisers making bizarre historical claims of entitlement.
The young people of this world were shocked to see that their political leaders were indifferent, and that many were actually prompting these executions; executions by explosion and fire. Admittedly the scale of what is happening in Gaza is much less than the scale of Curtis LeMay’s murderous firebombs. But otherwise it is much the same. Our elders, some of whom protested against the Vietnam War, by and large couldn’t care less.
This indifference is facilitated by the fact that the victims’ fates are simply too graphic to show on television. There is no lack of footage; it’s just too horrible. But now, there is footage that’s less horrible – though still very horrible – of emaciated starving children. I don’t think that those western elites who were indifferent to the live burnings are really any less indifferent to the starvations perpetrated, not by Jews, but by the state of Israel. But the elites are sensitive to the impact of detrimental optics on their ability to garner political support from non-elites.
G-Hats and B-hats
It must be hard for young people to explain why there is so much indifference among their elders, especially their elite elders, towards the sky-executions that appear on daily news feeds (though commonly at about 6:25pm – after two sets of advertisements – on the nightly six o’clock news).
My explanation is this. We put hats (ie labels) on various groups of people. Especially ‘Goody’ and ‘Baddy’ hats. Hats labelled G (for good or for God), and hats labelled B (for bad, or evil). Sometimes there is a D-hat; western liberal ‘Democracy’, the imperialism we most see today.
Following westerners’ contrition for The Holocaust, the first people in line to be awarded G hats were the Jewish citizens of the newly created state of Israel. We gave out many G and B hats to various other people of course. And, of course, just about every identity group issues themselves with G-hats, reserving B-hats for distinct others.
One of the problems with the human brain is that it reacts badly to contradiction. Neural pathways short-circuit when we see people with G-hats doing B (bad) – often very bad – things. Most observers will resolve the contradiction in favour of the hat rather than in favour of the observed action. So, if a G-hatted person or institution sky-executes some people, then we rationalise this dissonance by ignoring the action or by presuming that the victims must have been B (effectively converting a grotesque action into a good action). We expect our societal leaders to rise above these forms of neural conflict.
Through this kind of dissonance, we both excuse the bad actions of the Good, and fail to acknowledge the good actions of the Bad. (An example of the latter is that, in many contexts, colonisers and their descendants are given B-hats by the descendants of the colonised; and any genuine achievements which may have arisen from a colonised setting are devalued, deamplified, or disregarded.)
On the matter of cognitive dissonance, for which my hat explanation is an example, see Social Atrophy on the Rise,France24 26 May 20125, featuring Sarah Stein Lubrano, author of Don’t Talk about Politics (published this month). She says: “When people are given new information or new arguments about something about which they already hold beliefs – especially strong beliefs – they experience cognitive dissonance, they feel discomfort between the contradiction between new ideas and existing ideas and this often causes them to re-entrench, to double-down on their existing ideas.”
Conclusion
Some things are so horrible – including inflammatory executions – we cannot compute them. That’s no excuse to repeat them.
————-
On Curtis LeMay, my three main sources have been:
Richard Overy (2025), Rain of Ruin
Malcolm Gladwell (2021), The Bomber Mafia
James Scott (2022), Black Snow
*******
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 in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Xinhua) — Israel has accepted and signed a 60-day ceasefire proposal in Gaza, the White House said Thursday.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed at a press briefing that US Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff and US President Donald Trump “presented Hamas with a ceasefire proposal that Israel supported.”
“Israel signed this proposal before it was sent to Hamas. I can also confirm that these discussions are ongoing and we hope that a ceasefire will be reached in Gaza so that we can bring all the hostages home,” Leavitt said.
“I will not comment further as we are in the midst of events now,” she added.
An Israeli official and a U.S. source familiar with the situation confirmed that the proposed deal includes not only a 60-day cease-fire but also plans to free 10 living hostages and hand over the remains of 18 dead hostages, CBS News reported.
Hamas said on Thursday that its leadership had received a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza from S. Witkoff through intermediaries and was studying it.
“The Hamas leadership has received the new proposal from S. Witkoff from the mediators and is studying it responsibly so that it serves the interests of our people, eases the situation and ensures a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a brief statement. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
GAZA, May 30 (Xinhua) — A senior Hamas official said Thursday that the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remains under consideration even though it does not meet the basic demands of the movement and the Palestinian people.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s politburo, said in a statement that the movement had received Israel’s response to the US proposal put forward last week by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff.
According to B. Naim, the Israeli position has failed to meet key Palestinian demands, including a complete cessation of hostilities and the lifting of the long-standing blockade of Gaza.
He said the proposal would allow the “occupation” and humanitarian suffering to continue even during a temporary ceasefire.
“Nevertheless, the movement’s leadership evaluates the proposal with a sense of national responsibility, especially in light of the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian people,” B. Naim said. –0–
NAB today announced its support for a new Victorian Drought Response Taskforce.
NAB Group CEO Andrew Irvine said: “NAB is ready to play our role in helping farmers, their families and regional Victorian businesses and communities as they deal with the devastating impacts of the drought.
“Multi-generational farmers who have been on the same land for over a century are telling us it is one of the worst droughts on record. Some of them are making the heart-breaking decision to reduce their stock because they can’t afford to feed them or provide enough water. Businesses that service farms are hurting too.
“It’s also vital we consider the mental health impacts for the farmers, their families, and those businesses and communities that support them.”
NAB does a third of all lending to farmers and many NAB bankers live and farm in areas impacted by the drought. NAB’s Regional and Agribusiness Executive Khan Horne will represent NAB on the taskforce to provide the perspectives of customers.
Mr Irvine said NAB was here to help any customer who needed financial support.
“For any farmer or business, please call your bank. The sooner you call the sooner we can help,” he said.
Help may range from payment pauses, changes to your repayments and temporary relief from existing financial commitments. NAB can also provide access to mental health support for any customer who needs it.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 30, 2025.
French politicians in New Caledonia to stir the political melting pot By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk French national politicians have been in New Caledonia as the territory’s future remains undecided. Leaders from both right-wing Les Républicains (LR) and Rassemblement National (RN), — vice-president François-Xavier Bellamy and Marine Le Pen respectively — have been in the French Pacific territory this week. They expressed
Elon Musk promises more risky launches after sixth Starship failure Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology What goes up must come down, and earlier this week yet another of SpaceX’s Starships, the biggest and most powerful type of rocket ever built, came back down to Earth in spectacular fashion. In the
Tracking crime from the cradle: why some people keep breaking the law while most of us never do Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ayda Kuluk, PhD Candidate in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University Alena Lom/Shutterstock A major Australian study tracking more than 80,000 Queenslanders from birth to adulthood reveals stark differences between men and women in patterns of criminal behaviour. These patterns offer insights into effective crime prevention strategies.
Most of Australia’s conservation efforts ignore climate risks – here are 3 fixes Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yi Fei Chung, PhD Candidate in Environmental Policy, The University of Queensland Imagine replanting various native species only to have them die because the area is too hot or too dry. Or reconnecting woodland habitat only to lose large tracts to bushfire. Well, our new research suggests
Earth’s seasonal rhythms are changing, putting species and ecosystems at risk Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Hernández Carrasco, PhD Candidate in Ecology, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/Colin Stephenson Seasonality shapes much of life on Earth. Most species, including humans, have synchronised their own rhythms with those of Earth’s seasons. Plant growth cycles, the migration of billions of animals, and even aspects of human
Google is going ‘all in’ on AI. It’s part of a troubling trend in big tech Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University Google recently unveiled the next phase of its artificial intelligence (AI) journey: “AI mode”. This new feature will soon be released as a new option to users of Google’s search engine in the United States, with no
People with disability are dying from cancers we can actually prevent, our study shows Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yi Yang, Research Fellow, Social Epidemiology, Melbourne Disability Institute, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne Chona Kasinger/Disabled and Here, CC BY-SA People with disability are missing out on screening programs that could help detect cancer early, and after diagnosis, are less likely
Researchers created a chatbot to help teach a university law class – but the AI kept messing up Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Armin Alimardani, Senior Lecturer in Law and Emerging Technologies, University of Wollongong Mikhail Nilov/ Pexels , CC BY “AI tutors” have been hyped as a way to revolutionise education. The idea is generative artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT) could adapt to any teaching style set by
NSW is again cleaning up after major floods. Are we veering towards the collapse of insurability? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Booth, Associate Professor of Human Geography, University of Tasmania Once again, large parts of New South Wales have been devastated by floods. It’s estimated 10,000 homes and businesses may have been damaged or destroyed and the Insurance Council of Australia reports more than 6,000 insurance claims
Talk to Me was a rollercoaster, but the Philippou brothers’ Bring Her Back will trap you in a house of horrors Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Associate Professor in Media, RMIT University A24 They may have only made two feature films so far, but Danny and Michael Philippou are already being hailed as Australia’s premiere horror auteurs. Their 2023 debut Talk To Me sparked a bidding war between distributors upon its
Grattan on Friday: Trump, tariffs and the Middle East are looming challenges for Albanese Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia these days receives invitations to big-league international conferences. And so Anthony Albanese will be off soon to the G7 meeting in Alberta, Canada, on June 15-17. For the prime minister, what’s most important about this trip is not so
Radical legal step towards ending impunity for Israel over killing Gaza journalists Pacific Media Watch Journalists have been targeted, detained and tortured by the Israeli military in Gaza — and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has now taken a new approach towards bringing justice these crimes. The Paris-based global media freedom NGO has submitted multiple formal requests to the International Criminal Court (ICC) asking that Palestinian journalists who
New Australian data shows most of us have PFAS in our blood. How worried should we be? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University New Africa/Shutterstock The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has this week released new data which tells us about the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australians’ bodies. The data comes from concentrations measured in
Labor gains Senate seats in Victoria and Queensland, and surges to a national 55.6–44.4 two-party margin Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Buttons have been pressed to electronically distribute preferences for the Senate in Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia. Labor gained a seat from the Liberals in
Influencer Andrew Tate is charged with a raft of sex crimes. His followers will see him as the victim Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Roberts, Professor of Education and Social Justice, Monash University British prosecutors have this week charged social media influencer Andrew Tate with a string of serious sexual offences, including rape and human trafficking, alleged to have been committed in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2015. This
How the North West Shelf expansion risks further damage to Murujuga’s 50,000-year-old rock art Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Smith, Professor of Archaeology (World Rock Art), School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Yesterday, new environment minister Murray Watt approved an extension for the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The gas plant at Karratha, Western Australia, will run until 2070. This
UNESCO expresses ‘utmost concern’ at the state of the Great Barrier Reef Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon C. Day, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has again raised grave fears for the future of the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting the problems of water pollution, climate change and unsustainable fishing. The committee this week
Trump’s global trade plans are in disarray, after a US court ruling on ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Stone, Credit Union SA Chair of Economics, University of South Australia A US court has blocked the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs that US President Donald Trump imposed on imported goods from around 90 nations. This puts implementation of Trump’s current trade policy in disarray. The Court
30 years ago Australia confronted its Stolen Generation past – then the Howard government blew it Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Maree Payne, Senior Research Fellow, Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW Sydney May 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the national inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Conducted by the Human Rights and
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Canberra has lots of venues that offer weekly trivia.
This story lists over 15 Canberra venues that host trivia.
Looking for a fun and free way to catch up with mates? Trivia nights are the perfect answer.
Whether you’re a pop-culture junkie, history buff or you just want a laugh, trivia is a great way to spend time with family or friends and not break the bank.
There are many Canberra venues that offer free trivia. We’ve rounded up over 15 great spots to try across the city, from Monday to Thursday.
MONDAY
Hopscotch, Braddon
Enjoy two hours of fun-filled trivia every Monday and Wednesday at 7pm.
Monday’s trivia is hosted by Fame Trivia, and Wednesday’s by Quiz Meisters.
The Pedlar, Campbell
Compete for prizes at The Pedlar’s trivia, every Monday at 7pm.
PJs in the City, Canberra City
Grab your work mates and head from the office to the pub for some Monday night trivia.
There are prizes to win, great food to eat and lots of fun to be had.
TUESDAY
The Lighthouse Pub, Belconnen
Lighthouse offers general trivia every Tuesday night. Register at 7pm for 7:30pm start.
Both winners and those who come second last get a prize. There will also be drink giveaways during the game.
The Durham Castle Arms, Kingston
Flex your mental muscles at the Durham’s trivia, hosted every Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7:30pm.
Keep an eye out for a themed night. They recently hosted a ‘Simpsons’ trivia.
The Hellenic Club, Woden
Enjoy trivia every Tuesday at 7pm at the Woden club.
There’s food and beverage prizes, and the chance to play for a cash jackpot.
The Old Canberra Inn, Lyneham
Head down to one of Canberra’s oldest pubs for a bit of IQ Trivia.
Trivia is on every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30pm.
Verity Lane Market, Canberra City
Enjoy Fame Trivia every Tuesday night at Verity Lane, from 6pm-8pm.
Have a laugh, eat some great food and win some prizes!
WEDNESDAY
3rd Space, Hackett
Italian and Trivia? Yes please.
Every Wednesday from 7pm enjoy a two-hour quiz at 3rd Space featuring on-screen videos and interactive live games.
The Alby, Woden
Southsiders can enjoy trivia every Wednesday at 7pm at The Alby.
There will be prizes, giveaways and great food.
To All My Friends, Cook
This cosy pub at Cook shops offers trivia every Wednesday night at 7pm.
Tables book up fast so book a table for you and your mates in advance.
The Duxton, O’Connor
Enjoy trivia every Wednesday at The Duxton. Arrive at 6;30pm for a 7pm start.
Food and drinks are available to enjoy while you play.
Put your brain to the test at Hellenic Club in the city every Wednesday at 7pm.
There’s food and beverage prizes, and the chance to play for a cash jackpot.
THURSDAY
Casey Jones Pub, Gungahlin
Test your knowledge at Casey Jones’ trivia every Thursday night at 7pm.
There will be great prizes to win.
Gang Gang, Downer
Enjoy wonderful woodfired pizzas and trivia at Gang Gang, every Thursday night at 7pm.
This trivia covers everything from pop culture, politics, geography, musical clues, movie clues, and more!
Mooseheads, Canberra City
Larry from Fame Trivia hosts Mooseheads’ trivia every Thursday night.
Challenge your knowledge and win awesome prizes.
Although these dates and times were correct at the time of publishing, please ensure you always check with the venue for up-to-date information and timeframes.
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Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A senior Hamas official said Thursday that a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remains under review, even though it does not meet the core demands of the movement and the Palestinian people.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement that the movement had received the Israeli response to the U.S. proposal brokered last week by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
According to Naim, the Israeli position fails to address key Palestinian demands, including a complete cessation of hostilities and the lifting of the long-standing blockade on Gaza.
He said the proposal would allow for the continuation of “the occupation” and humanitarian suffering, even during any temporary truce.
“Nevertheless, the movement’s leadership is evaluating the proposal with a sense of national responsibility, particularly in light of the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian people,” Naim said.
Hamas stated earlier that it had received the updated ceasefire proposal through mediators and was assessing it in a way that reflects the interests of the Palestinian people and aims to achieve lasting peace and relief for Gaza residents.
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Salem, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison Friday for possessing and trafficking more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.
Rico Anthony Russell Rigutto, 46, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, on December 14, 2021, as part of a drug trafficking investigation, investigators arranged a controlled buy of counterfeit oxycodone pills from Rigutto. Investigators observed him arrive and depart the meeting location, after which they conducted a traffic stop on Rigutto.
Investigators searched Rigutto’s vehicle and seized approximately 3,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and a firearm with a machine gun conversion switch. Machine gun switches, sometimes referred to as “Glock switches,” are small attachments used to convert firearms from semi-automatic to fully-automatic.
Later the same day, investigators obtained and executed a search warrant on Rigutto’s residence. During the search, investigators located and seized 20,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, 28 pounds of methamphetamine, six pounds of heroin, approximately $100,000 in cash, and fifteen firearms, including an AR-15 rifle and another handgun with a conversion switch.
On January 19, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Rigutto with possessing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin with the intent to distribute and possessing a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On April 18, 2023, Rigutto pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. However, on March 5, 2024, Rigutto failed to appear for his sentencing and an arrest warrant was issued.
On August 2, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) located and arrested Rigutto for failing to appear. USMS also found a firearm during the arrest.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Salem Police Department. It was prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A 2-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 2pm and 6pm Pacific Time daily.
Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
05.29.25
As Wildfire Season Begins, Cantwell Demands Trump Administration Stop Putting Lives & Property at Risk & Immediately Lift National Weather Service Hiring Freeze
Senator warned Lutnick in Feb. that gutting NOAA & NWS would cripple weather forecasting, threaten public safety; Jackson, KY, NWS office lost overnight staffing & meteorologist-in-charge as severe storms moved across the region May 16, leaving 18 dead; Pendleton, OR, NWS office covering Central WA does not have enough meteorologists to cover overnight shifts
EDMONDS, WA – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, demanded that the Trump Administration immediately exempt the National Weather Service (NWS) from its current federal hiring freeze so that citizens and communities will not be left to fend for themselves without adequate warnings as both hurricane season and wildfire season rapidly approach.
“On February 19, 2025, I wrote to Secretary Lutnick to urge protection of NOAA’s workforce and exempt the NWS and other safety related jobs from the hiring freeze due to the crucial role they play in protecting lives, property, and our national economy,” wrote Sen. Cantwell in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell. “Now that we have seen the fallout from these ill-advised cuts, I once again demand the Administration immediately provide NOAA with a public safety exemption to the federal hiring freeze so the agency can take immediate steps to fill critical positions and prevent a further breakdown in life-saving forecasts and warnings.”
Multiple recent reports have documented the impacts of the hiring freeze. The Washington Post reports that “Some…forecasting teams are so critically understaffed that the agency is offering to pay moving expenses for any staff willing to transfer to those offices, according to notices recently sent to employees…” And the New York Times found that “The National Weather Service is preparing for the probability that fewer forecast updates will be fine-tuned by specialists, among other cutbacks, because of ‘severe shortages’ of meteorologists and other employees, according to an internal agency document.” These reports make clear that action must be taken immediately to avoid a catastrophic gap in capacity in the face of a future storm or wildfire.
“For at least half a century, NWS has provided weather forecasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but with the Administration’s cuts, at least eight weather forecasting offices no longer have enough meteorologists to cover overnight shifts,” the Senator wrote. “The Pendleton, Oregon office that covers central Washington will stop staffing overnight shifts, and we’ll lose the consistent local knowledge about weather hazards that impacts the accuracy of forecasts and warnings needed to inform transportation agencies, farmers, schools, firefighters, emergency responders, and other public officials that rely on accurate and timely forecasts and warnings.”
Months before the current crisis, Sen. Cantwell called for an exemption and accurately predicted exactly the situation we are in now.
The full text of Sen. Cantwell’s letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Lutnick and Mr. Ezell,
The Administration’s dismantling of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) workforce has crippled the National Weather Service (“NWS”). The firing of probationary employees, early retirements, and other Administration efforts have led to more than 560 departures from NWS, a 33% reduction from historic levels, leaving many locations critically understaffed and the agency scrambling to fill the gaps.
NOAA initiated an agency-wide effort on May 13, 2025, to relocate existing personnel to temporarily fill 155 positions in “critically understaffed” locations across NWS. This proposed solution may serve as a stopgap, but it is not a viable long-term strategy.
On February 19, 2025, I wrote to Secretary Lutnick to urge protection of NOAA’s workforce and exempt the NWS and other safety related jobs from the hiring freeze due to the crucial role they play in protecting lives, property, and our national economy. Now that we have seen the fallout from these ill-advised cuts, I once again demand the Administration immediately provide NOAA with a public safety exemption to the federal hiring freeze so the agency can take immediate steps to fill critical positions and prevent a further breakdown in life-saving forecasts and warnings.
For at least half a century, NWS has provided weather forecasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but with the Administration’s cuts, at least eight weather forecasting offices no longer have enough meteorologists to cover overnight shifts. The Pendleton, Oregon office that covers central Washington will stop staffing overnight shifts, and we’ll lose the consistent local knowledge about weather hazards that impacts the accuracy of forecasts and warnings needed to inform transportation agencies, farmers, schools, firefighters, emergency responders, and other public officials that rely on accurate and timely forecasts and warnings. Additionally, 30 of the 122 weather forecast offices are currently lacking their highest-ranking official, known as the meteorologist-in-charge, including at offices that cover major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Cleveland, Houston, and Tampa. The office in Jackson, Kentucky lost both overnight staffing and their meteorologist-in-charge and was left scrambling to find adequate staffing on May 16, 2025, as severe storms moved across the region, ultimately killing 18 people in Kentucky.
The staffing shortages are also impacting NWS’s ability to collect and disseminate the weather data that underpins NOAA’s own forecasts and warnings as well as serves as the foundation for the entire U.S. weather enterprise. There are over 90 vacancies among the specialized staff who maintain and repair the NWS’s Doppler radar and Automated Surface Observing Systems greatly increasing the chances of equipment outages. These systems are the cornerstone of NWS’s severe weather warning operations and provide pilots and air traffic controllers with the data they need to safely manage air traffic and minimize delays. Additionally, at least 10 weather forecast offices have suspended or limited their weather balloon launches, which for decades have occurred twice daily to gather data on a steady cadence. Carrying instruments called radiosondes, the balloons rise to 115,000 feet and gather vital atmospheric data that cannot easily be replicated by satellites or other instruments. Without this information forecasts become less accurate and less reliable.
June 1 marks the start of hurricane season, and many parts of the country are already contending with wildfires and violent storms. Every living former Director of the NWS, from both Republican and Democratic administrations, wrote and released an open letter to the American people warning about the impact of staffing and program cuts. The Directors “stand united against the loss of staff and resources at NWS and are deeply concerned about NOAA as a whole…[Their] worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life.”?
Granting a public safety exemption to the hiring freeze is essential to prevent further degradation of our nation’s weather readiness. Please provide the Committee with a response by June 1, 2025, explaining how you will resume hiring at the NWS to ensure consistent weather forecasting coverage.
