newstfionline

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Canada Unites Against America (NYT) Even here in Quebec, among the sparsely populated lakes and thickly forested hills of the Laurentians, it is hard for an American not to feel the anger and incredulity President Trump has stoked with his tariffs, talk of a 51st state and offhand insults. Much of that may be lost on Americans buffeted by the ceaseless rush of crises and clashes generated by the president’s agenda. But up here, in what used to be the most friendly neighbor a country could possibly ask for, the rage is tangible. Advertisers compete with claims that their products are “proudly Canadian.” YouTube, news media and newsletters vigilantly follow the latest indignation. Polls track plummeting positive attitudes toward America and surging pride in Canada; the latest Pew poll found that 59 percent of Canadians now view the United States as the “greatest threat” to their country. Bourbon and California wines are nowhere to be found, and Canadians are canceling trips south in droves. T-shirts display the latest anti-American slogan, whether “Canada Is Not for Sale” or “Elbows Up”—a classic hockey gesture that means “stand up and fight back.” Fortunately, Americans visiting Canada still seem to be generally regarded as fellow sufferers, not enemies. Not yet.

Political Violence (NYT) Minnesotans awoke on a recent Saturday to reports that an assassin had spent the night ticking his way down a list of Democratic targets, wounding one state lawmaker and his wife and then, just as the police closed in, killing another, along with her husband and their dog. It was shocking. But it quickly seemed to become just another episode in a recent spate of political violence. Since last July, two people have tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump, an arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while the family slept, an assailant fatally shot a couple leaving the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington and a man was charged with attempting to kidnap the mayor of Memphis. The result is a troubling sense that political violence has become more brazen, and its motives more difficult to comprehend. The increase is not just public perception; experts agree that attacks on political figures have been increasing. The rise comes as vicious and dehumanizing language and images become common in American politics. Online culture is a potent vector, seeming to only amplify rather than calm or contextualize, while offering plenty of encouragement to would-be imitators. And guns have been deregulated in many states, becoming easier to acquire.

Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods (AP) It began with a stranger asking “Do you need help?” “Yes,” Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, “I desperately need some help.” A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas’ July 4 floods. Texans are leading flood recovery even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues. In many places, volunteer labor includes debris removal and remediation often done by hired contractors and out of reach for households lacking insurance. Many survivors said it was simply too expensive. “It’s impossible here in the floodplain,” Welch said. “Paying $10,000 a year for flood insurance doesn’t make sense.” “There’s thousands of volunteers out here, more than needed, honestly. It’s wild, and everyone is just lending a hand,” said Dave Isaacs, who came from San Antonio with his wife and daughter to help.

Facing a crackdown, Central American immigrants are sending more money home (Washington Post) In a tangle of strip-mall hair salons and pupuserias in suburban Maryland, the quiet has become palpable amid the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation efforts. Restaurants in this heavily Central American enclave of Wheaton are emptied out. Grocery stores have come to a standstill. People are working less, going out to eat less and buying less. But at the VM Services money transfer storefront, lines are out the door most weekends—albeit with cash leaving the area instead of boosting the local economy. In what may be an unexpected twist as fears of deportation grip the D.C. region, immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala are sending more money home, transferring their savings away from a country where their hopes for the future are dimming. “If you’re detained, you won’t be able to keep sending money, or access it. So your only option is to try to send everything you can now,” one man said.

In Brazil, ‘the Bolsonaro tax’ (Washington Post) In a wave of new tariff threats last week, Trump targeted Brazil with a hefty 50 percent import levy. He made no secret that his motivations were less economic than political, noting that he opposed the ongoing prosecution of former far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (a close Trump ally) on charges of plotting to retain power through military force following his 2022 electoral loss to Lula. The Brazilian leader is standing up to the U.S. president. “If he charges 50 from us, we will charge 50 from them,” Lula said. As my colleagues Terrence McCoy and Marina Dias reported, the optics of the moment may be welcome in Brasília, where Lula and left-leaning allies face a tough election in 2026. “Lula now has a clear foe and a potent line of attack against Bolsonaro, or whoever takes on his political mantle in next year’s presidential election—able to tar them as being aligned with a hostile foreign power,” my colleagues wrote. “Now you will have to decide whether you are on Trump’s side or Brazil’s side,” left-wing lawmaker Guilherme Boulos said in a speech. “That Trump tax now has a name … it is the Bolsonaro tax.”

American Allies Want to Redraw the World’s Trade Map, Minus the U.S. (NYT) Trade chaos is forcing America’s allies closer together, and further from the United States. And as that happens, the European Union is trying to position itself at the center of a new global trade map. The bloc learned this weekend that Washington would subject it to 30 percent tariffs starting Aug. 1. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the E.U. executive branch, responded with a pledge to keep negotiating. She also made it clear that, while the European Union would delay any retaliation until early August, it would continue to draw up plans to hit back with force. But that was not the entire strategy. Europe, like many of the United States’ trading partners, is also looking for more reliable friends. Just as President Trump threatens to put hefty tariffs on many countries, the European Union is working to relax trade barriers and deepen economic relations.

Ukraine says it killed Russian agents who assassinated senior intel officer (Washington Post) Ukraine’s intelligence service, in a rare public statement, said Sunday that it had killed two Russian agents responsible for the assassination of one of its senior officials. The senior Ukrainian official, Col. Ivan Voronych, was shot dead in a Kyiv parking lot in broad daylight on Thursday, the service, known as the SBU, said. It was one of the most brazen assassinations of a top-ranking Ukrainian officer on domestic soil by Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Trump says US will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, saying they are necessary to defend the country because Russian President Vladimir Putin “talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening.” Trump did not give a number of Patriots he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the United States would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union. The U.S. president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

Australia hosts largest-ever military exercise with 19 nations (AP) The largest-ever war-fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships. Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia. This year, more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, will take part over three weeks, Australia’s defense department said Sunday. The exercise will also take place in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbor.

Dozens killed in Syria in violent clashes in predominantly Druze city (AFP) At least 37 people have been killed in violent clashes between Bedouin tribes and local Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, a war monitor reported Monday. The Syrian government, which took over after the collapse of the Assad regime in December, has deployed security forces in a bid to restore order, as fears grow of renewed instability in the Druze-majority province.

Israeli strikes kill at least 32 in Gaza as Palestinian war deaths top 58,000 (AP) Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war, local health officials said. Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit last week. A sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops ' deployment during a ceasefire.

Cameroon’s 92-year-old president to seek eighth term (AFP) Cameroon’s President Paul Biya said late Sunday that he would be seeking an eighth term in October’s elections in a bid to extend his nearly 43 years in power. Several longstanding supporters of Biya, 92, have appeared to distance themselves from him in recent months, but the opposition remains deeply divided.

Pope Leo calls for a ‘revolution of love’ (Crux) Pope Leo XIV says the world needs a “revolution of love” and looked at the Parable of the Good Samaritan while celebrating Mass at the Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town outside of Rome. “If Christ shows us the face of a compassionate God, then to believe in him and to be his disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings. It means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, shoulders that bear the burden of those in need,” Leo said. “If we realize deep down that Christ, the Good Samaritan, loves us and cares for us, we too will be moved to love in the same way and to become compassionate as he is. Once we are healed and loved by Christ, we too can become witnesses of his love and compassion in our world,” the pope continued. “Brothers and sisters, today we need this ‘revolution of love.’       “Today, the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho is the road travelled by all those who descend into sin, suffering and poverty. It is the road travelled by all those weighed down by troubles or hurt by life. The road travelled by all who fall down, lose their bearings and hit rock bottom,” he said. “The road travelled by all those peoples that are stripped, robbed and pillaged, victims of tyrannical political systems, of an economy that forces them into poverty, and of wars that kill their dreams and their very lives,” Leo went on. “What do we do? Do we look and walk by, or do we open our hearts to others, like the Samaritan? Are we content at times merely to do our duty, or to regard as our neighbor only those who are part of our group, who think like us, who share our same nationality or religion? Jesus overturns this way of thinking by presenting us with a Samaritan, a foreigner or heretic, who acts as a neighbor to that wounded man. And he asks us to do the same,” he said.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.”—Rudiger Dornbusch

[newstfionline]

Monday, July 14, 2025

In Canada’s Northern Outposts, Rusting Relics Once Guarded Against Nuclear War (NYT) At the crossroads of Golf Street and Armed Forces Street, a large banana-shaped metal memorial on a pedestal gazes at the open sky in northern Canada. All but forgotten, its lower half blackened with time, it now stands forever still—or in repose, one might say. “It’s really crazy when you think about it, that this radar was the raison d’être of our whole town,” said Frédéric Maltais, who grew up in Chibougamau, a city in northern Quebec, on a military base that was shuttered at the end of the Cold War and became a golf course. “Imagine all the resources that went into managing one radar like that.” And it was hardly the only one. It was linked to scores of similar radars at more than 40 stations across Canada, collectively called the Pinetree Line, because it ran east to west along the country’s vast boreal forests. The Pinetree Line was also not alone. Two other strings of radars farther north cut across Canada and served as tripwires: the Mid-Canada and the Distant Early Warning, or DEW, Lines, whose outposts were based in Canada’s most isolated locations above the Arctic Circle and whose only local workers were Inuit. Now, as geopolitical rivalry in the Arctic heats up, the region faces a new era of militarization. President Trump has vowed to build a $175 billion “Golden Dome” defense shield to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles, including those that could fly over the Arctic from Russia, China or North Korea. Because a shield would require installing equipment in Canada’s Far North, he is pressing Canada to join the project by paying $61 billion—or nothing if it agrees to become the 51st state.

ICE Set to Vastly Expand Its Reach With New Funds (NYT) Thousands of new deportation agents deployed into American cities. A doubling of detention space to hold tens of thousands of immigrants before they are expelled. Miles of new border wall, along with surveillance towers equipped with artificial intelligence. That is the expansive plan that President Trump’s top immigration officials now intend to enact after months of struggling to overcome staffing shortages and logistical hurdles that have stymied his pledge to record the most deportations in American history. The annual budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement alone will spike from about $8 billion to roughly $28 billion, making it the highest funded law enforcement agency in the federal government. The new resources will fuel an intense initiative to recruit as many as 10,000 new agents. And the money comes as a windfall for private prison companies, who have already rushed to pitch the administration on new contracts to run detention facilities. “You’re going to see immigration enforcement on a level you’ve never seen it before,” Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s border czar, said in an interview.

Trade War? No Problem—If You Run a Trade School (Bloomberg) In the past 15 years, hundreds of factories with thousands of new jobs have popped up along the Interstate 35 corridor in central Texas. Among them is a $17 billion plant under construction by Samsung Austin Semiconductor in Williamson County, north of the state capital. Many of the workers who join that plant (and others in the state) will likely have gone through the labs and classrooms at Texas State Technical College, a vocational school with its flagship campus in Waco. There, and at TSTC’s 10 other locations, students train for careers running the array of systems that power modern factories and other industrial facilities, often learning on the same equipment they’ll find on the job. They can earn a certificate in as few as two semesters and an associate degree in four. Donald Goforth teaches basic hydraulics, pneumatics and other systems at TSTC. “Anything that rotates or moves has a shaft and has bearings,” he says, and “no matter how much AI you put on the piece of equipment, somebody still has to go out there and actually turn the screwdriver or turn the wrench to make the repairs.” When these students graduate, Goforth says, they’ll be able to find jobs in “any industry that builds anything.” Some students turn to TSTC when they realize the job market for the white collar jobs they’d planned on is simply oversaturated.

Texas leads nation in flood deaths due to geography, size and population (AP) Even before the Central Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, the state was by far the leader in U.S. flood deaths due partly to geography that can funnel rainwater into deadly deluges, according to a study spanning decades. From 1959 to 2019, 1,069 people died in Texas in flooding, which is nearly one-fifth of the total 5,724 flood fatalities in the Lower 48 states in that time, according to a 2021 study in the journal Water. That’s about 370 more than the next closest state, Louisiana. Flooding is the second leading weather cause of death in the country, after heat, both in 2024 and the last 30 years, averaging 145 deaths a year in the last decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Drones Are Key to Winning Wars Now. The U.S. Makes Hardly Any. (NYT) On a patch of dirt in the vast wilderness in Alaska, a long-range drone roared like a lawn mower as it shot into the sky. It scanned the ground for a target it had been programmed to recognize, and then dived, attempting to destroy it by crashing into it. But it missed, landing about 80 feet away. On another attempt, a drone nose-dived at launch. On a subsequent try, a drone crashed into a mountain. These drones weren’t flown by amateur hobbyists. They were launched by drone manufacturers paid by a special unit of the Department of Defense as part of an urgent effort to update U.S. capabilities. For four days last month, they tested prototypes of one-way drones by trying to crash them into programmed targets, while soldiers tried to stop the drones with special electronic equipment. The exercise aimed to help U.S. defense contractors and soldiers get better at drone warfare. But it illustrated some of the ways in which the U.S. military could be unprepared for such a conflict. The nation lags behind Russia and China in manufacturing drones, training soldiers to use them and defending against them, according to interviews with more than a dozen U.S. military officials and drone industry experts.

Russian drone, cruise missile and bomb attacks kill at least 6 in Ukraine (Bloomberg) Russia launched its latest massive drone and missile strike on Ukraine, targeting areas in the nation’s west that border European Union states. The attack—including on areas that have seen few if any strikes in the war to date—left at least six people dead and damaged residential houses and other civilian infrastructure. Kremlin forces fired almost 600 Russian drones and 26 cruise missiles across Ukraine, including at Chernivtsi, near the border with Romania and Moldova. It was the first strike on the historically-significant city of some 265,000 people since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

A Landscape of Death: What’s Left Where Ukraine Invaded Russia (NYT) Last year, Ukraine turned a corner of Russia into a battlefield. It is now a place of desolation and death. Russian forces are back in control of Kursk Province, where whole villages have been flattened by relentless fighting. Tens of thousands of people fled when the fighting began, but a few thousand were stranded. Some of them have finally been evacuated. Others did not survive. The regional governor has put the civilian death toll of those months at more than 300 people, with nearly 600 missing, totals that could not be independently verified. Many residents, in interviews there and in evacuation shelters, said they had helped to bury at least a dozen neighbors. Some said they had buried 40 or more. Many are waiting to see if their homes can be rebuilt. It may be years before some can live here again.

Modi Wants More Indians to Speak Hindi. Some States Are Shouting ‘No.’ (NYT) In India, the land of more than a thousand tongues, few things inflame passions more than language. Touching the hot button comes with political peril. Just ask the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. High-profile brawls have erupted recently over Mr. Modi’s push for the nationwide adoption of Hindi, the language of his power base in northern India and a symbol of his campaign to unify the country around the ideology of Hindu nationalism. Late last month, the government of Maharashtra, a state in western India governed by Mr. Modi’s party, was forced to retract a policy requiring that Hindi be taught in elementary schools. Opposition politicians, residents and others had called the policy an affront to Marathi, the region’s native language. In Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state with a history of rioting over efforts to make Hindi mandatory, the chief minister has raged for months against an education policy pushed by the Modi government, claiming that it is trying to force students to learn the language. Central government officials have been careful to emphasize publicly that India’s strength lies in its linguistic diversity. When they attack any of India’s languages, their target is English, calling it a legacy of colonialism that must be de-emphasized to build a new India. But even as they publicly celebrate the country’s polyglot nature, leaders of Mr. Modi’s political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have made the spread of Hindi a cornerstone of their overarching goal of remaking India into a Hindu-first nation.

Iran says it would resume nuclear talks with US if guaranteed no further attacks (AP) Iran’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the U.S. if there were assurances of no more attacks against it. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear program, but, “assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.” Referring to the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran’s nuclear and military sites, and the U.S. strike on June 22, Araghchi said that if the U.S. and others wish to resume talks with Iran, “first of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.”

59 Palestinians in Gaza are killed by Israeli airstrikes or shot dead while seeking aid (AP) At least 31 Palestinians were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians including four children, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said. The 31 Palestinians shot dead were on their way to a distribution site run by the Israeli-backed American organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near Rafah in southern Gaza, hospital officials and witnesses said. The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings, and that the overwhelming majority of the more than 100 people hurt had gunshot wounds.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“You have to be unreasonable to see the world that doesn’t yet exist.”—Will Guidara

[newstfionline]

Sunday, July 13, 2025

With Tariff Confusion, Rules of Global Commerce Give Way to Chaos (NYT) Six months into his new administration, President Trump’s assault on global trade has lost any semblance of organization or structure. He has changed deadlines suddenly. He has blown up negotiations at the 11th hour, often raising unexpected issues. He has tied his tariffs to complaints that have nothing to do with trade, like Brazil’s treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, or the flow of fentanyl from Canada. Talks with the United States were like “going through a labyrinth” and arriving “back to Square 1,” said Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian minister for economic affairs, who met with U.S. officials in Washington on Wednesday. The resulting uncertainty is preventing companies and countries from making plans as the rules of global commerce give way to a state of chaos. “We’re still far away from making real deals,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomics at the bank ING in Germany. He called the uncertainty “poison” for the global economy.

America’s troubled construction industry (Economist) The Empire State Building, finished in 1931, was erected in just 410 days. That same year construction began on the Hoover Dam. It was meant to take seven years, but was built in five. Such feats now seem hard to imagine. Last year half of America’s construction firms reported that commercial projects they were working on had been delayed or abandoned. In 2008 Californian voters approved a high-speed-rail line connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, to be finished by 2020. It will be at least a decade late. America’s inability to build is a problem for Donald Trump. Although he has again delayed levying “reciprocal” tariffs until August 1st, the president’s commitment to reviving American manufacturing through protectionism is as strong as ever. But can the country build the factories, warehouses and bridges needed to reindustrialize, and do so quickly enough?

FEMA struggles after staff cutbacks (NYT) After two days of flash floods, nearly two thirds of calls to FEMA’s disaster assistance line went unanswered — after hundreds of contractors for the agency were fired after their contracts expired. On July 5, as floodwaters were starting to recede, FEMA received 3,027 calls from disaster survivors and answered 3,018 … That evening, however, [DHS Sec. Kristi] Noem did not renew the contracts with the four companies … The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846 … And on Monday, July 7, the agency fielded 16,419 calls and answered 2,613.

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods (AP) Shock has turned into grief across Texas where at least 120 people died from flash floods and more were missing as the search for victims moved methodically along endless miles of rivers and rubble Thursday. More than 170 people have been reported missing, most in Kerr County, where nearly 100 victims have been recovered. The death toll remained at 120 Thursday, nearly a week since the floods first hit. The unrelenting power of the floods forced families to make unnerving escapes with little time to spare in the middle of the night. One woman recounted how she and others, including a toddler, first climbed into an attic and then onto a roof where they heard screams and watched vehicles float past. More than 2,000 local, state and federal workers were involved in the search for victims. Stifling heat and mounds of trees, hunks of lumber and trash made the task more difficult. Hundreds prayed, wept and held one another at a prayer service, among the first of many somber gatherings to come in the weeks ahead.

Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin August 1 (AP) President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he's levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting August 1. He announced the planned tariffs on two of the United States' biggest trade partners in letters posted to his social media account. They are part of an announcement blitz by Trump of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. In his letter to Mexico's leader, Trump acknowledged that the country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.” Trump in his letter to the European Union said that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.

Guatemalan villagers lynch 5 men accused of robbing homes after earthquakes (AP) Members of a rural community in Guatemala hard hit by this week’s earthquakes lynched five men they accused of robbing damaged homes, authorities said Friday. Guatemala’s Interior Ministry said that residents of Santa Maria de Jesus organized themselves to search for the men and then blocked authorities who tried to detain and take them away. The community still lacks electricity and potable water following the series of dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks Tuesday, which killed seven people across Guatemala.

Colombian authorities arrest alleged leader of Italian mafia in Latin America (AP) Colombian authorities said Friday they captured an alleged leader of the Italian ‘ndrangheta mafia in Latin America who is accused of overseeing cocaine shipments and managing illegal trafficking routes to Europe. Police identified the suspect as Giuseppe Palermo, also known as “Peppe,” an Italian who was wanted under an Interpol red notice, which called for his arrest in 196 countries. He was apprehended on the street in Colombia’s capital Bogota during a coordinated operation between Colombian, Italian and British authorities, as well as Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, according to an official report.

Drowning deaths in France spiked by 58% during heat wave, authorities say (Reuters) France's public health authority said on Friday that more than 100 people had died from drowning between June 1 and July 2 this year, an increase of 58% over the same period last year, blaming it on unusually warm weather at the end of June. Sante Publique, the French authority, said 429 total drownings had occurred in France between June 1 and July 2, an increase of 95% over that period last year. "These increases occurred in a context of high temperatures in the second half of June 2025, which led to an increase in people going to swimming areas to cool off," the agency said in a bulletin.

NATO countries plan to buy U.S. weapons to give to Ukraine (NYT) Officials in Europe and Washington held talks Friday to hammer out details of a novel plan to provide U.S. weapons to Ukraine. Under the plan, NATO allies would buy critical American weaponry from the Trump administration and give it to Ukraine. The approach, which was publicly endorsed this week by Trump, could be a financial windfall for the U.S. It would also shield the president, who has expressed skepticism about devoting U.S. military support to Ukraine, from accusations of direct involvement in the war.

Ukraine’s capital buzzes during the day but it’s a battleground at night (AP) By day, the Ukrainian capital hums with life—crowded metros, dog walkers and children on playgrounds. By night, Kyiv becomes a battleground as Russia unleashes relentless drone and missile attacks that chase much of the population underground for safety. The nighttime assaults have intensified in the fourth year of the full-scale invasion, with the number of drones sometimes exceeding 700. Swarms of 1,000 drones could soon become the norm, officials say. Many people in Kyiv describe the recent attacks as the most terrifying of the war, and even residents who previously ignored sirens have been driven into bomb shelters in the subway system. “During the day, you walk around, drink coffee, smile, meet friends, talk, have hobbies, chill,” said 25-year-old Karyna Holf. “But at night, you brace for death every time you hear the sound of a Shahed drone or a missile.”

Fuel to Air India Plane Was Cut Off Before Deadly Crash, Report Says (NYT) Seconds after takeoff and moments before an Air India flight crashed last month, the fuel was cut off to both engines of the plane, investigators said early on Saturday, in a preliminary assessment of information from the Boeing 787’s voice and data recorders. The narrowed focus on the fuel switches on Air India Flight 171 raised questions about the pilots’ actions and appeared to rule out mechanical failure or design flaws. The report said “there are no recommended actions” to the aircraft and engine manufacturers, Boeing and General Electric. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off” the fuel, said the report, by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so.” The London-bound plane went down on June 12, about 30 seconds after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. All but one of the 242 people aboard were killed.

Japan, after 101 tough days, learns a hard lesson about U.S. alliance (Washington Post) It was only five months ago that President Donald Trump heralded the “fantastic relationship” between the United States and Japan, as he sat alongside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the first Asian leader to visit him in his second stint in the White House. This week, Ishiba was again first in line—but not in a good way. He became the first foreign leader to receive a scathing letter from the U.S. president, threatening steep new tariffs if Tokyo didn’t meet Trump’s new deadline for a trade deal. The letter stunned some officials in Japan, a security ally for seven decades and a key partner in U.S. efforts to counter an increasingly assertive China. But the deadlocked trade negotiations have frustrated the American president—who recently called Japan “so spoiled.” Now, Tokyo is learning that being one of Washington’s best friends doesn’t carry much sway in Trump’s second term, analysts say.

Lebanon’s president reveals the country’s stance on relations with Israel (AP) Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday. Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government. Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the militant Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel. Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the borer with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon. The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion.

To get their own cash, people in Gaza must pay middlemen a 40% cut (AP) Cash is the lifeblood of the Gaza Strip’s shattered economy, and like all other necessities in this war-torn territory—food, fuel, medicine—it is in extremely short supply. With nearly every bank branch and ATM inoperable, people have become reliant on an unrestrained network of powerful cash brokers to get money for daily expenses—and commissions on those transactions have soared to about 40%. At a time of surging inflation, high unemployment and dwindling savings, the scarcity of cash has magnified the financial squeeze on families—some of whom have begun to sell their possessions to buy essential goods. The cash that is available has even lost some of its luster. Palestinians use the Israeli currency, the shekel, for most transactions. Yet with Israel no longer resupplying the territory with newly printed bank notes, merchants are increasingly reluctant to accept frayed bills.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit shall meet— Closer is He than breathing, and Nearer than hands and feet. —Tennyson

[newstfionline]

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Trump puts 35% tariff on Canada, eyes 15%-20% tariffs for others (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff assault on Canada on Thursday, saying the U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners. In a letter released on his social media platform, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated. The 35% tariff is an increase from the current 25% rate that Trump had assigned to Canada and is a blow to Carney, who was seeking to agree on a trade pact with Washington.

Liberians confused and angry after Trump’s praise for Boakai’s ‘beautiful English’ (AP) There was confusion and anger in Liberia on Thursday after President Donald Trump praised the English skills of President Joseph Boakai. “Such good English,” Trump said to Boakai, with visible surprise. “Such beautiful English.” English has been the West African nation’s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. “Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?” Liberia has had deep ties with the United States for centuries. The country was established with the aim of relocating freed slaves from the United States.

Mexico’s extortion problem is getting worse (AP) It started with a phone call to a men’s clothing store in the heart of Mexico City’s historic center. “I need you to put together 10,000 pesos ($500) for me weekly, or else we’ll have to do something,” the voice said. The owner hung up and didn’t answer the phone again for days. But when another call came the following week, in a surge of courage and indignation the owner told the caller he wouldn’t pay, that the money demanded would have been half the store’s daily income. “Well, prepare to face the consequences,” the voice said. Several years of escalating threats, visits from goons and armed robberies followed until the shop owner, who requested anonymity because he still fears retaliation, decided to close the store his grandfather had opened in 1936. Extortion is strangling businesses in Mexico. Much, but not all, of it is linked to Mexico powerful organized crime groups. While some larger companies eat it as the cost of doing business, many smaller ones are forced to close. The Mexican Employers’ Association, Coparmex, says extortion cost businesses some $1.3 billion in 2023, and the cost continues to rise.

El Salvador Is Reaping Rewards From Trump’s Deportation Agenda (NYT) For the U.S. government, sending deportees accused of being gang members to a prison in El Salvador fits with President Trump’s promise to aggressively deport undocumented migrants and to crack down on crime. For El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, the rewards appear to have included, among other things, a White House visit and stamp of approval, despite widespread concerns over Mr. Bukele’s crackdown on civil liberties. While the exact terms of the agreement have not been made public, leaders around the world may be watching, experts and immigration lawyers say, especially as the Trump administration searches for countries willing to take expelled migrants of other nationalities. “Other leaders and countries are trying to emulate the Bukele arrangement,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, a director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston-based group that has represented immigrants in lawsuits against the Trump administration. Countries are increasingly “raising their hand to volunteer their incarceration facilities and to facilitate the deportation of people,” he added. A White House spokeswoman has said the administration is “grateful for President Bukele’s partnership” and for the use of his maximum-security prison, adding, “There is no better place for these sick, illegal criminals.”

In Brazil, Trump faces a country—and a leader—ready for a fight (Washington Post) Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has used trade as a cudgel to exert concessions from smaller nations. But Brazil, his newest tariff target, is a much more formidable adversary, analysts said, and is less likely to bend to pressure from Washington. Latin America’s largest nation has a relatively closed economy, more insulated than many of its peers from fluctuations in global trade. China, not the United States, is now Brazil’s leading trade partner, limiting Washington’s economic leverage. And in Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who lost a finger working in a factory and rose to prominence battling the country’s military dictatorship, Trump has picked a fight with a leader who has long relished a political brawl. In interviews with The Washington Post, aides to Lula said the government believes it can withstand a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, which Trump announced Wednesday would go into effect on Aug. 1. The United States is seen here as an important trading partner—purchasing $40 billion worth of goods in 2024—but not a crucial one. Exports to the U.S., according to a recent Moody’s report, account for only 1.7 percent of Brazil’s economic output.

At Least 13 People Died by Suicide Amid U.K. Post Office Scandal, Report Says (NYT) At least 13 postal workers in Britain died by suicide amid a post office scandal in which about 1,000 postal workers were wrongfully prosecuted for theft and other crimes, according to a report released this week as part of an inquiry into the scandal. Wyn Williams, the retired high court judge who is leading the inquiry, wrote in the report, published on Tuesday, that by his estimation, more than 10,000 people were eligible for some kind of redress and that he expected that number to grow. The victims range from postal workers held liable for tens or hundreds of pounds in financial discrepancies to those who were wrongly tried, convicted, imprisoned and made to pay back tens of thousands of pounds. They were all blamed for apparent shortfalls at their postal branches across Britain that, it turned out, had actually been caused by a flawed information technology system. The scandal burst into the public eye last year after an ITV television series, “Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office,” dramatized the stories of the victims. Soon after, the British Parliament passed a law quashing the convictions.

European court finds Russia downed MH17, committed rights violations in Ukraine (Washington Post) Europe’s human rights court on Wednesday unanimously found Russia responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and for “widespread and flagrant abuses of human rights” in Ukraine from 2014 onward, including summary executions and the transfer of children to Russia. The European Court of Human Rights said Russia’s pattern of rights violations also included indiscriminate military attacks; torture, notably rape as a weapon of war; and the intimidation and persecution of journalists and religious groups.

Turkey detains hundreds of Erdogan opponents (Reuters) Turkish President Erdogan’s main political opponents have faced an unprecedented crackdown that has seen more than 500 detained in just nine months, according to a Reuters review of a sprawling investigation that has accelerated dramatically in recent days. Turkey’s president says the probe tackles what he calls a corrupt network that is like “an octopus whose arms stretch to other parts of Turkey and abroad.” The investigation, which began in Istanbul but has spread across the country, has targeted only municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, the CHP. The CHP denies the corruption allegations and calls them a naked attempt to eliminate a democratic alternative for Turks, a charge the government refutes. The crackdown tightens Erdogan’s two-decade grip on power at a time that Turkey’s influence in the Middle East and Europe has grown. For this reason, diplomats and analysts say, it has garnered only muted criticism from Western allies as a threat to democracy even as street protests erupted in the spring.

As the Bombing of Iran Took Center Stage, Israeli Forces Deployed Deeper Into the Occupied West Bank (Drop Site News) On June 18, as Iran sent a wave of ballistic missiles into Israel, the Israeli army stormed Al-Walaja, a village in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem. Moataz Al-Hajajleh, 21, had been spending the evening with friends in a neighbor’s garage, when Israeli soldiers raided his uncle’s home nearby. The soldiers broke down the door, ransacked the house, and demanded to be taken to his uncle’s son’s residence. On their way, they suddenly began beating his 50-year-old uncle, just in front of where Al-Hajajleh and his friends were hanging out. “When my son saw the soldiers beating his uncle, he stood up. He didn’t even approach them—just called out from the doorway, asking why they were attacking his elderly uncle,” Abu Rashed told Drop Site. “They immediately let go of my brother, as if he hadn’t been the real target. Then they grabbed my son, beat him, dragged him into the house, and continued the assault on the veranda.” Then an officer shot Al-Hajajleh three times. Khader Al-Auraj, head of the village council, who went to the scene, said, “Very quickly it became clear that it was a field execution, in the ugliest way.” After its strike on Iran on June 12, the West Bank, already experiencing record levels of settler violence and demolitions, was put under siege by the Israeli army. While a ceasefire still holds between Israel and Iran, the raids and arrests in the West Bank are only continuing with increasing violence. The military has deployed en masse across multiple cities, conducting violent overnight raids, home demolitions, mass evictions, and abductions.

Outrage builds over plan to force all Gazans to southern city (BBC) Earlier this week, Israel’s defence minister said he had instructed the military to prepare a plan to move all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp in the south of the territory. Israel Katz said the “humanitarian city” would be built on the ruins of the city of Rafah and would initially house about 600,000 Palestinians—and eventually the whole 2.1 million population. He said the goal was to bring people inside after security screenings to ensure they were not Hamas operatives, and that they would not be allowed to leave. Critics, both domestically and internationally, have condemned the proposal, with human rights groups, academics and lawyers calling it a blueprint for a “concentration camp”. It’s unclear to what extent it represents a concrete plan of the government or whether it’s a negotiating tactic to put more pressure on Hamas in the talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. However, the plan has not gained traction or support amongst other senior figures in Israel, and according to reports, the proposal even triggered a clash between the prime minister and the head of the IDF. And it’s not only the top military brass that is opposed to the idea. There is also consternation among rank and file too. “Any transfer of a civil population is a form of war crime, that’s a form of ethnic cleansing, which is also a form of genocide,” one IDF reservist told the BBC. The plan has also, unsurprisingly, dismayed Palestinians in Gaza.

Lighthouse of Alexandria Rises Again as Giant Blocks Resurface After 2,000 Years (Greek Reporter) After centuries beneath the waves, 22 massive stone blocks from the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria have been recovered from the seafloor, marking a major step in efforts to digitally reconstruct one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The blocks recovered included the lintels and uprights of a monumental doorway, each weighing between 70 and 80 tons. The blocks will be virtually repositioned to help create a digital reconstruction of the lighthouse of Alexandria. Standing over 100 meters tall, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was built under the rule of Greek general and successor of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy I. It served as a beacon for sailors navigating the city’s rocky coastline and symbolized Alexandria’s strategic and cultural importance in the Mediterranean. Widely considered the world’s first skyscraper, the lighthouse remained standing for more than 1,600 years before being damaged by earthquakes and eventually dismantled for building materials.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

I am only one, but I am one; I cannot do everything, But I can do something. What I can do I ought to do, And what I ought to do By God’s grace I will do. —Edward Everett Hale

[newstfionline]

Friday, July 11, 2025

Canadian troops arrested in alleged plot to seize part of Quebec (Washington Post) Four Canadian residents, including active members of the country’s military, were arrested in an alleged armed plot to take over land in the Quebec area, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday. The individuals—all in their 20s and 30s—are accused of stockpiling an extensive arsenal of more than a dozen explosives, 83 firearms and accessories, high-capacity magazines, and roughly 11,000 rounds of ammunition, which the authorities seized in January 2024. Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said the case “fits neatly within the threat landscape that is anti-government extremism” that experts are now seeing across the West. “You see individuals with links to the military, you see young men in their 20s and 30s, you see a large amount of explosive devices, firearms, military equipment,” he said. According to Lewis, the trend of small-cell, anti-government militia groups took off around 2010. Paramilitary groups such as the Oath Keepers were forming around that time, and the internet was starting to become rife with conspiracy theories.

Tensions Escalate in San Francisco Over Immigration Enforcement (NYT) Tensions over immigration enforcement in San Francisco escalated this week when federal agents clashed with activists who tried to block an arrest outside a courthouse, with the agents at one point driving away in a van with protesters hanging from the hood of the vehicle. The confrontation on Tuesday came as frustrations grow in the San Francisco Bay Area over federal agents’ aggressive efforts to detain immigrants after they attend required immigration proceedings. Since late May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have regularly been spotted around the San Francisco Immigration Court building downtown, including in its hallways and waiting rooms and outside its doors. Their presence has attracted a growing number of protesters who have tried to block the building’s entrances and shouted at and scuffled with officers. The new ICE approach is a significant break from past practice, when immigration officials largely steered clear of courthouse arrests out of concern that they would deter people from complying with legal orders.

Ruidoso Flash Floods (1440) At least three people have died after historic flash flooding in the mountain town of Ruidoso, southern New Mexico. Two and a half inches of rainfall triggered a runoff in the Rio Ruidoso river Tuesday, causing waters to rise roughly 20 feet—the highest spike since 1978. At one river gauge, waters rose 19 feet in less than an hour. Vehicles and at least one entire home were swept away. At least 85 people were rescued. Separately, the death toll from central Texas floods has risen to 120 people. Over 170 people are believed to be missing.

Heroics of Texas camp counselors cast spotlight on those who oversee millions of US kids each summer (AP) As floodwaters rose in Texas, camp counselors hoisted children onto rafters, carried them to dry ground and sang with them to keep them calm. Some died trying to keep their campers safe. These heroics have cast a spotlight on the people who fill these roles. Often teenagers, some just a year or two removed from being a camper themselves, counselors are a staple of the summer camp experience for the more than 25 million children whom the American Camp Association estimates attend camp annually. “Thank goodness for the brave counselors,” said Keli Rabon, a Houston mother whose 7- and 9-year-old sons were rescued from Camp La Junta. She said the counselors who saved them were “really just kids themselves.”

War, What Is It Good For (YouGov) A new survey found that skepticism of U.S. foreign military intervention has surpassed approval ratings. A whopping 36 percent of respondents indicated that foreign military interventions worsen situations more often than not, 28 percent thought they neither improved nor worsened and only 17 percent thought they improve situations. The survey also asked about Americans’ retrospective analysis of the decision to intervene in multiple wars of the past century. The only ones to come in above water were the two World Wars, the Korean War and the Gulf War. The best way to figure out if a military intervention was vastly more condemned by Americans than approved is to simply ask, “How involved was Henry Kissinger in this event,” as both Vietnam and the Cambodian campaign come in robustly low when it comes to net approval.

Death toll from dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks in Guatemala rises to 4 (AP) Authorities on Wednesday confirmed a fourth death in Guatemala a day after dozens of earthquakes shook the country, leaving crumbled walls and roads blocked by landslides. More than 150 earthquakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.7 have been reported since Tuesday afternoon. In the affected areas, families slept overnight in the streets outside their homes as aftershocks continued. Officials said the tremors were felt as far away as El Salvador.

President Threatens Brazil With Tariffs in Letter Assailing Prosecution of Bolsonaro (NYT) President Trump said he planned to impose tariffs of 50 percent on imports from Brazil, and accused the Brazilian authorities of unfairly charging his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, with attempting a coup—an extraordinary attempt to use trade to influence a criminal trial in a foreign nation. Brazil, the largest of the eight countries that Mr. Trump targeted for tariffs on Wednesday, said it would respond with levies of its own.

Putin, Undeterred by Trump’s Words, Escalates His War Against Ukraine (NYT) President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is brushing aside President Trump’s professed disappointment in him and is pushing ahead in Ukraine with renewed intensity, having already priced in the possibility of new U.S. pressure, analysts and people close to the Kremlin said. The Russian leader is convinced that Russia’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months, according to two people close to the Kremlin. Given Russia’s ongoing offensive, they say, Mr. Putin views it as out of the question to halt the fighting now without extensive concessions by Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s recalcitrance highlights a stark reversal from some expectations earlier this year, when Mr. Trump came into office and aggressively pursued a rapprochement with Moscow, having pledged on the campaign trail to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.

Why all Indians are rule-breakers (Economist) If you have ever relaxed with a cold Kingfisher beer at the end of a long, sweaty day in Mumbai, the party capital of India, you have almost certainly broken the law. Specifically, you violated section 40 of the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949, under which you must hold a permit to drink booze. A first offence is punishable by a fine of 10,000 rupees ($115) and up to six months in prison. Welcome to India, where everything is against the law. According to Vidhi, a legal think-tank in Delhi, India has 7,305 crimes at the national level, three-quarters of which attract imprisonment. India is hardly alone in overcriminalisation. But even America, not exactly known as soft on crime, had a more modest 5,199 federal crimes at last count in 2019. China imposes the death penalty for 46 crimes. In India the number is 301 (though rarely applied).

Radio Taiso: The 10-Minute, Century-Old Fitness Ritual That Keeps An Aging Japan In Shape (Die Zeit/Germany) “And now we move on to level two!” calls out a male voice. Then, over some cheerful piano notes: “We’re marching in place! Now, one by one, bring your knees up to your chest. Yes, just like that!” The voice doesn’t know whether everyone is doing the moves correctly. It’s coming from a portable speaker someone brought along. But chances are, most of the people here know exactly what they’re doing. They’ve been doing it every day for years. Just before 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday in May, about a hundred people gathered in a wide-open clearing in Rinshi-no-mori Park in western Tokyo. They’re spaced a few arm lengths apart. At 6:30 sharp, one of Japan’s most important daily rituals begins: the 10-minute exercise routine known as Radio Taiso. It’s broadcast every day on radio and TV by the public broadcaster NHK. So this park isn’t special. People do the same routine in other parks, in offices, in schools and even in their kitchens. Around 27 million people in Japan follow the Radio Taiso program at least twice a week. Studies show that older adults who do the 10-minute routine regularly are significantly more flexible, have greater endurance, and are physically stronger than those who don’t. Health experts see Radio Taiso as a major reason why the country is known not just for longevity, but for healthy aging too.

U.S. imposes sanctions on U.N. official investigating Israel over Gaza (Washington Post) The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, alleging that Albanese is targeting U.S. and Israeli nationals for prosecution in the International Criminal Court. Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer and independent U.N. investigator for human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, has repeatedly criticized Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. In a report published last month, Albanese called for the International Criminal Court to prosecute executives at American companies allegedly profiting from the war in Gaza. In March last year, Albanese said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel’s conduct in Gaza met the specific legal definition of genocide. Both Israel and the U.S. have repeatedly denied any allegations of war crimes. In her first public remarks since the sanctions were announced, Albanese said Wednesday on X: “Just to be sure, on this day more than ever: I stand firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done. I come from a country with a tradition of illustrious legal scholars, talented lawyers and courageous judges who have defended justice at great cost and often with their own life. I intend to honor that tradition.”

Israel insists on keeping troops in Gaza. That complicates truce talks with Hamas (AP) As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip—a condition that could derail the talks. An Israeli official said an outstanding issue in the negotiations was Israel’s desire to keep forces in the territory during a 60-day truce, including in the east-west axis that Israel calls the Morag corridor. Keeping a foothold in the Morag corridor is a key element in Israel’s plan to drive hundreds of thousands of Palestinians south toward a narrow swath of land along the border with Egypt, into what it has termed a “humanitarian city.” Critics fear the move is a precursor to the coerced relocation of much of Gaza’s population of some 2 million people, and part of the Israeli government’s plans to maintain lasting control over the territory. Hamas wants Israel to withdraw all of its troops as part of any permanent truce. It is adamantly opposed to any lasting Israeli presence inside Gaza.

Trump tariffs create national disaster for tiny Lesotho (Reuters) When Limpho Lefalatsa first learned she had lost her job at a Lesotho garment factory after 12 years due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to hit her tiny African homeland with a crippling tariff on its exports, she was in shock. “I thought I was going insane. It made no sense,” the 29-year-old said at her house in the capital Maseru. “When the truth started sinking in, I felt so helpless.” Lefalatsa’s monthly factory wage of around 3,000 rand ($168) had supported herself, sent her 12-year-old daughter to school and paid for the blood pressure medicine her elderly grandmother needs to survive. Now that income is gone, and she still does not understand why. She’s not alone. When Trump announced tariffs on imports for nearly all of the United States’ trading partners in April, the Southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho was singled out for the highest rate: 50%. Lesotho officials were baffled, not least since their country, which Trump disparaged as a nation “nobody has ever heard of”, was the poster child of a flagship U.S. programme aimed at helping poor African economies develop through trade.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.”—Doug Larson

[newstfionline]

Thursday, July 10, 2025

At Least 161 Still Missing in a Single Texas County, Governor Says (NYT) At least 173 people remained missing on the fifth day after devastating floods swept through the Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott said on Tuesday. Those unaccounted for include 161 in Kerr County, where the worst of the flooding occurred and where local officials said no one has been rescued since Friday. The number of missing cited by the governor—the first time an official had identified the scale of the recovery operation still ahead—suggested the death toll of 111 could more than double as rescue teams sift through debris in search of bodies. The death toll included at least 30 children, making the floods among the deadliest U.S. disasters for children in several decades.

Global unhappiness over US and its trade war (Washington Post) On Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of between 25 percent and 40 percent on imports from 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Bangladesh, unless they address his concerns over perceived bilateral trade imbalances. The renewed tariff threats went down like a lead balloon in capitals across the world, including among some of the U.S.’s closest allies. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the developments as “deeply regrettable.” His colleague, Itsunori Onodera, policy chief for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Trump’s decision “to notify a key ally with nothing more than a single letter is extremely disrespectful, and I feel a strong sense of indignation.” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the 30 percent tariff Trump sought to impose on his country as a “reciprocal” was “not an accurate representation of available trade data.” Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, bemoaned the “contradiction” as Trump’s latest edict seemed to undo the progress made amid trade talks just last week. The frustrations and concerns being aired by world leaders are borne out by public sentiment. A Pew poll published Tuesday found that a significant proportion of citizens of U.S. allies see Trump’s America in a gloomy light. Majorities in Canada and Mexico view their neighbor as the “greatest threat” facing their country. Further afield, more than a third of South Africans, 40 percent of Indonesians, 30 percent of all Turks, and almost a fifth of respondents in Japan also singled the United States out for the singular threat it posed.

Why Americans Can’t Buy the World’s Best Electric Car (NYT) You’ve probably heard of BYD. A middling player in the auto industry just a few years ago, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD surpassed Tesla last year to become the world’s top-selling E.V. brand and is expected to pull even with the world’s biggest carmakers, Toyota and Volkswagen, by 2030. Yet most Americans have never even seen a BYD and probably won’t anytime soon. BYD, which stands for “Build Your Dreams,” is essentially banned from American roads by tariffs, imposed to protect U.S. automakers, that double the price of imported Chinese plug-ins. The company’s Blade battery is among the safest and most cost-efficient in the world, so good that Toyota and Tesla have used it in some of their cars. Most worrying for its competitors, BYDs are affordable: Its least expensive models sell in China for under $10,000, a third of the price of the most affordable electric vehicles available in the U.S. market. This year BYD unveiled an autonomous driving system that may be as good as Tesla’s, if not better, and technology that BYD says can charge cars in just five minutes—as quickly as filling a gas tank. Its top-end models include the YangWang U8, a luxury S.U.V. that can rotate 360 degrees in place and operate in water like a boat over short distances.

Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and US officials (AP) The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence. The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor. It’s the latest instance of a high-level Trump administration figure targeted by an impersonator, with a similar incident revealed in May involving President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The misuse of AI to deceive people is likely to grow as the technology improves and becomes more widely available.

Swedish PM’s private address revealed by Strava data shared by bodyguards (Guardian) Secret service bodyguards have been accused of jeopardising the Swedish prime minister’s safety over several years by sharing details of their running and cycling routes on the fitness app Strava. Ulf Kristersson’s bodyguards appear to have inadvertently revealed his location, routes and movements—including details of hotels and his private addresses—by uploading their workouts to the app, making them publicly available. The sensitive information leaked on Strava was also found to involve other high-profile members of Swedish society, including the royal family, the leader of the Social Democrats and former prime minister Magdalena Andersson. In 2023 a former Russian submarine commander was killed reportedly with the help of his open Strava profile and last year it was revealed bodyguards to several world leaders were sharing confidential information on the app. In 2017, Strava was accused of giving away the location and staffing of military bases and spy outposts around the world by publishing a map that showed all of its users’ activity.

Wildfires Burn Across Europe After Blistering Heat Wave (NYT) Wildfires were raging in Spain and France on Tuesday, prompting the closure of an international airport, after a dayslong heat wave parched landscapes in the region and turned woodlands into tinderboxes. At least five people and five firefighters were injured in southern France, where a blaze near the city of Narbonne was burning for a second day, according to the local authorities. Over 150 miles away, just north of Marseille, a separate blaze started by a car fire and fueled by powerful, erratic winds tore through 1,700 acres of dry vegetation. The wildfire forced a nearby airport to halt all takeoffs and landings, disrupted local train and road traffic and cast thick clouds of acrid smoke over the city. The French weather agency also warned that there was a high risk of forest fires elsewhere in the country, given the windy conditions.

Russia attacks Ukraine with 700 drones after Trump vows to send more weapons (Reuters) Russia targeted Ukraine with a record 728 drones overnight, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to send more defensive weapons to Kyiv and aimed unusually direct criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian air defence units destroyed almost all the drones, including through electronic jamming systems, Ukraine’s air force said. Trump said on Tuesday he was considering supporting a bill in the Senate that would impose steep sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.

Indian workers go on a daylong nationwide strike against Modi’s economic reforms (AP) Hundreds of thousands of workers across India went on a nationwide strike on Wednesday in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to privatize state-run companies and other economic reforms, partially disrupting public services and manufacturing. A coalition of 10 major trade unions that represent laborers and several other groups that speak for farmers and rural workers called for the one-day industrial action, dubbing it Bharat Bandh,” Hindi for “Shut Down India.” The strikes pose fresh challenges for Modi’s efforts to attract foreign companies by easing labor laws to streamline business operations and boost productivity.

Many Chinese are drowning in debt (Economist) The rise of a property-owning, entrepreneurial middle class in China has transformed its cities this century. It has helped to drive consumption in the world’s second-largest economy. In May retail sales grew 6.4% year on year—the fastest pace since December 2023—helped by state subsidies aimed at reviving consumers’ enthusiasm. The government has even cautiously promoted borrowing in past years. But all this has created new risks. Along with car-jammed streets, glitzy restaurants and vast malls has come a massive, invisible change, no less far-reaching: soaring household debt. As a proportion of China’s GDP, household debt has risen from less than 11% in 2006 to more than 60% today, close to rich-country levels. Between 25m and 34m people may now be in default according to Gavekal Dragonomics, a research consultancy. If those who are merely in arrears are added, the total could be between 61m and 83m, or 5-7% of the total population aged 15 and older. In both categories, these numbers are twice as high as they were five years ago, the firm reckons. Amid high youth unemployment and a property slump, the situation will probably only worsen.

Syria’s returning refugees (The Week) In the six months since Bashar al-Assad was deposed as the country’s dictator, refugees have been returning in their thousands to Syria. Over the course of the nearly 15-year civil war, more than 13.5 million Syrians were displaced from their homes, with most finding refuge in neighbouring countries, including Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. A steadily climbing number are now making their way back to their homeland but the life that awaits them in Syria is still rife with difficulty because of the widespread destruction caused by the war. Though most Syrians say they intend to return, a UNHCR poll earlier this year suggested that housing, safety, lack of services and economic hardship were the key reasons many do not plan to return in the next 12 months. For some Syrian refugees, though, return is not on their wishlist. They may have spent the best part of 10 years living elsewhere and building new lives. And, for families with children who have been born and raised so far away from Syria, there is even less incentive to return, particularly given the ongoing instability and poor living conditions.

Israel outlines plans to pack Gaza’s population into a closed border zone (AP) Israel’s defense minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports. It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of some 2 million. Critics say that would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law because Israel’s offensive and blockade have made Gaza largely uninhabitable. Israeli officials say the aim is to separate the civilian population from Hamas. Palestinians would then be given the option of emigrating, they say. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he is narrowing in on a ceasefire and hopes to eventually end the war, has also voiced support for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza.

Search for survivors after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week (BBC) Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. The attack continued on Tuesday and search rescue operations commenced overnight. The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a "safe location".

Tiny gardens one of the secrets to Sweden’s well-being? (NYT) Stockholm has all the hustle and bustle of a lively Scandinavian city, but it also has thousands of individually owned public gardens, called koloniträdgårdar. Some are no bigger than a studio apartment; many come with tiny cottages, offering city dwellers a cozy natural escape. The gardens were established more than a century ago to improve the health of Stockholm’s residents. And research suggests they were onto something: The health benefits of gardening are well established, especially for older people, and can help combat symptoms of age-related mental and physical decline.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.”—Henry David Thoreau

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Shoe removal policy getting the boot? (Foreign Policy) The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is reportedly planning to allow travelers at some major U.S. airports to keep their shoes on while going through the general security line. The shoes-off policy, which was implemented in 2006 after a man tried to detonate an explosive in his shoe while aboard an aircraft flying from Paris to Miami, may be phased out as early as Sunday, according to an internal memo seen by ABC News.

Global conflicts are reshaping flight paths (The Week) Global conflicts are changing air travel. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, commercial flights have been forced to divert around Ukraine, while most Western airlines have been banned from using Russian airspace. Meanwhile, the onset of missile strikes between Israel and Iran caused dozens of flights to busy airports like Doha in the Middle East to be diverted or cancelled. Live aviation tracking maps also show “gaping holes” over Israel, Iraq and Iran, said CNN. Pilots are increasingly finding “themselves sharing the skies with barrages of drones and missiles” near conflict areas, and continually responding to the changing threats from events on the ground. Flights are being forced to “make extraordinary detours”, which cost airlines “thousands of pounds in fuel.” For instance, a formerly five-hour flight from Moscow to Doha now takes nearly seven-and-a-half hours as pilots are forced to make an “extraordinary dog-leg” around the west of Ukraine and bypass Iran by diverting over Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Canadians’ Job Security Gets Shakier as Trade War Harms Growth (Bloomberg) Canadians are becoming less optimistic about their job prospects as the economy struggles to find momentum. The percentage of Canadians who believe their jobs are “secure” or “somewhat secure” has fallen below 60% for the first time in more than a year, according to polling for Bloomberg News by Nanos Research. About 30% say they’re unsure, the biggest proportion since 2023. The Canadian labor market has softened, with four straight months of either minimal job growth or outright losses. The unemployment rate was 7% in May, the highest level since 2016 excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period. Employment in manufacturing and other trade-sensitive areas of the economy has been affected by US tariffs.

Mexico’s president calls march against mass tourism ‘xenophobic.’ Critics blame government failures (AP) A fierce protest in Mexico City railing against gentrification and mass tourism was fueled by government failures and active promotion to attract digital nomads, according to experts, who said tension had been mounting for years. The criticism comes after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum alleged that Friday’s protest was marked by xenophobia, reviving a debate over an influx of Americans in the city. Many Mexicans say they’ve been priced out of their neighborhoods—in part because of a move made by Sheinbaum in 2022, when she was the Mexico City mayor and signed an agreement with Airbnb and UNESCO to boost tourism and attract digital nomads despite concern over the impact short-term rentals could have.

As Renewed U.S. Tariffs Loom, Emerging Economies Turn to One Another (NYT) America’s trading partners are bracing for President Trump to impose new tariffs soon on everything from children’s toys to soybeans. Yet, instead of rushing to strike trade deals with the United States, the world’s largest developing economies have other plans. At a two-day gathering in Rio de Janeiro, members of the BRICS group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and other nations, vowed to deepen ties and mulled ways they could cut red tape to make it easier to trade with one another. Without naming the United States or Mr. Trump, the alliance criticized barriers to international trade and defended the right of its member countries, which represent more than 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, to retaliate against what officials portrayed as unfair tariffs. The effort to increase trade within the BRICS group highlights how Mr. Trump’s tariffs are redrawing global economic relations and pushing America’s trading partners to other markets.

Trump says U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine (Washington Post) President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine to aid in its war against Russia, days after the White House announced that the Pentagon had halted deliveries of some key weapons to the country. “We have to,” Trump said of the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, speaking to reporters at a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now.” Trump lamented Monday that Russia had continued its attacks on Ukraine. “I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” he told reporters.

Monsoon floods sweep away 18 people and the main bridge linking Nepal to China (AP) A mountain river flooded by monsoon rains swept away the main bridge connecting Nepal with China and 18 people were also swept away by the flooding Tuesday, Nepali authorities said. The destruction of the bridge has halted all trade from China to Nepal through this route. The longer alternative is for goods to be shipped from China to India and then brought overland to Nepal. Monsoon rains that begin in June and end in September often cause severe flooding in Nepal, disrupting infrastructure and endangering lives.

China, Myanmar fighting, and global rare-earth supplies (Reuters) The global supply of heavy rare earths hinges in part on the outcome of a months-long battle between a rebel army and the Chinese-backed military junta in the hills of northern Myanmar. The Kachin Independence Army since December has been battling the junta over the town of Bhamo, less than 100 km (62 miles) from the Chinese border, as part of the civil war that erupted after the military's 2021 coup. Nearly half the world's supply of heavy rare earths is extracted from mines in Kachin state, including those north of Bhamo, a strategically-vital garrison town. They are then shipped to China for processing into magnets that power electronic vehicles and wind turbines. China, which has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths, has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the militia stops trying to seize full control of Bhamo, according to three people familiar with the matter. A KIA official said Beijing also offered a carrot: greater cross-border trade with KIA-controlled territories if the militia abandoned efforts to seize Bhamo. Beijing is not seeking to resolve the wider civil war but it wants fighting to subside in order to advance its economic interests, said David Mathieson, an independent Myanmar-focused analyst.

China extends visa-free entry to more than 70 countries to draw tourists (AP) Foreign tourists are trickling back to China after the country loosened its visa policy to unprecedented levels. Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, a big jump from previous regulations. The government has been steadily expanding visa-free entry in a bid to boost tourism, the economy and its soft power. More than 20 million foreign visitors entered without a visa in 2024—almost one-third of the total and more than double from the previous year, according to the National Immigration Administration. While most tourist sites are still packed with far more domestic tourists than foreigners, travel companies and tour guides are now bracing for a bigger influx in anticipation of summer holiday goers coming to China.

Trump unveils 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Monday began telling trade partners—from powerhouse suppliers like Japan and South Korea to minor players—that sharply higher U.S. tariffs will start August 1, marking a new phase in the trade war he launched earlier this year. The 14 countries sent letters so far, which included smaller U.S. exporters like Serbia, Thailand and Tunisia, hinted at opportunities for additional negotiations while at the same time warning that any reprisal steps would be met with a like-for-like response. Trump said later Monday that the United States would also impose 25% tariffs on Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; 30% on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina; 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh; 36% on Cambodia and Thailand and 40% on Laos and Myanmar.

Japan is a case study in how not to cultivate an ally (Washington Post) For decades, the alliance with Japan has been the cornerstone of U.S. security policy in East Asia. There are more than 80 U.S. military facilities in the country. It hosts about 50,000 U.S. military personnel, at a cost to Japan of some $3 billion per year. Yet the United States is preparing to slap this vital ally with a “reciprocal tariff” of 24 percent, punishment for its $68 billion trade surplus with the United States, on top of levies America imposed in recent weeks of 25 percent on Japanese cars and 50 percent on Japanese steel. That, because it refuses to “make a deal.” Japan tried to make a deal. It sent negotiators to Washington more than half a dozen times. It offered concessions—to buy more U.S. gas and military hardware, for instance. But the deal on offer would still leave Japan facing a separate, 10 percent tariff Trump levied on everybody, as well as the crippling tariffs on steel and autos. These hurdles are massive compared with the average 1.6 percent tariff on Japanese goods that prevailed before Trump started upending long-standing trade relationships. What’s more, Japan has no guarantee that any deal with Trump’s America will be final. Japan is not likely to forget that it already struck a trade deal with Trump, in 2019.

Small Israeli peace movement focuses on plight of Palestinians (BBC) While many Israelis want an end to the war in Gaza, the focus of demands has largely been centred around the return of hostages taken captive by Hamas during its 7 October attack in 2023. However, there is also a small but visible peace movement emerging which is calling for an end to the conflict for the sake of the Palestinian people. Sapir Sluzker-Amran knows that she’s part of a tiny minority. But the lawyer and occasional writer is undeterred, convinced that what she’s doing is right—despite the flak that comes her way. “Many people think that I'm a traitor,” she tells me. “It's not just that they don't agree with me, they see what I’m doing as an act of resistance.” Apart from a few notable exceptions in newspapers and online publications, the number of people killed in Gaza or the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory barely makes the news. Television stations choose not to air them, and apart from the plight of the hostages, political or family debate rarely strays into the realm of what is happening in Gaza.

Nairobi is locked down as Kenyan police clash with protesters and 10 are killed (AP/Foreign Policy) Police in Kenya clashed with demonstrators Monday during the latest anti-government protests, killing 10 people and arresting more than 500, according to the state-funded human rights commission. Authorities blocked major roads leading into the capital, Nairobi, and most businesses closed amid the strictest measures yet to contain the unrest. Protesters lit bonfires and threw stones at police. Police fired and hurled tear gas canisters, injuring demonstrators. Kenyan youth and others for weeks have been protesting police brutality and poor governance while demanding President William Ruto’s resignation over alleged corruption and the high cost of living. “Even in Kenya—which has a good democratic tradition, political stability, and impressive economic growth—people we spoke to described how too many of the country’s resources are lost, stolen, or wasted by corrupt or incompetent government officials,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy wrote in Foreign Policy last year.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them. In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.”—Max Lucado

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, July 8, 2024

The Central Texas floods are likely among the deadliest of the past century. (NYT) The deluge in Central Texas has become one of the deadliest floods in the United States in the past 100 years. As of Sunday evening, over 100 people had died after the flooding began on the Fourth of July, with at least a dozen still missing, officials said. Flooding is among the most deadly kinds of weather hazards in the United States, second only to heat. Over the past 10 years, an average of 113 people in the United States have been killed each year by floods, accounting for roughly one in six weather-related deaths, according to the National Weather Service.

Nearly Half of America’s Murderers Get Away With It (NYT) Someone murdered Raymel Atkins in Louisville, Ky., in 2023. More than a year later, his mother and sister don’t know who did it; the police have not made an arrest in the case. The same is true for Tiffanie Floyd, killed in 2021. And Michael David, killed in 2017. And Cory Crowe, killed in 2014. In fact, the Louisville police do not arrest anyone in roughly half of murder cases. Louisville’s police department acknowledges serious problems; it says it is about 300 officers below full staffing. The department is trying to address those issues, said Jennifer Keeney, a spokeswoman. Louisville is representative of a national issue. In the United States, people often get away with murder. The clearance rate—the share of cases that result in an arrest or are otherwise solved—was 58 percent in 2023, the latest year for which F.B.I. data is available. And that figure is inflated because it includes murders from previous years that police solved in 2023. In other words, a murderer’s chance of getting caught within a year essentially comes down to a coin flip. For other crimes, clearance rates are even lower. Only 8 percent of car thefts result in an arrest.

BRICS condemns US tariff plans without naming Trump (AP) The BRICS bloc of developing nations on Sunday condemned the increase of tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming U.S. President Donald Trump. In an indirect swipe at the U.S., the group’s declaration raised “serious concerns” about the rise of tariffs which it said were “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules.” The BRICS added that those restrictions “threaten to reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.” Trump, in a post on his social media platform late Sunday, said any country that aligns itself with what he termed “the Anti-American policies of BRICS” would be levied an added 10% tariff.

Caught Between Tariffs and China, Mexico Adapts to an Unpredictable U.S. (NYT) The factory in northern Mexico was built to supply Americans. Just a few hours from Texas, about 80 percent of its air-conditioners and refrigeration units are sent to the United States. President Trump’s tariffs threatened to upend its whole business—at least until the company devised a plan. Before the tariffs took effect in March, only about 40 percent of its exports traded under the rules of a pact Mr. Trump signed in his first term. But when Mr. Trump agreed to suspend tariffs on any Mexican goods that fell under the agreement, the company’s leaders saw ways to adapt. They sought out Mexican suppliers for products bound for the United States. They analyzed which products already complied with the pact’s rules but had not yet been certified as such. And they reconsidered projects that involved bringing in imports from outside North America. “When you’re on a plane and there’s turbulence, you get really scared and you hold onto your seat,” said Xavier Casas, who oversees the factory for the company Danfoss, in the Mexican city of Apodaca. “But, you know, 99 percent of the time, the plane is going to land.”

Pamplona holds opening bull run during San Fermín festival (AP) Thousands of daredevils ran, skidded and tumbled out of the way of a stampeding group of bulls at the opening run of the San Fermín festival Monday. It was the first of nine morning runs or “encierros” during the famous celebrations held in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona. The bulls pounded along the twisting cobblestone streets after being led by six steers. Up to 4,000 runners take part in each bull run, which takes place over 846 meters (2,775 feet) and can last two to four minutes. The expert Spanish runners try to sprint just in front of the bull’s horns for a few death-defying seconds while egging the animal on with a rolled newspaper. While gorings are not rare, many more people are bruised and injured in falls and pileups with each other.

Greece imposes work breaks as a heat wave grips the country (AP) Authorities in Greece imposed mandatory work breaks on Monday in parts of the country where temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), with the heat wave forecast to last through Thursday. The labor ministry ordered the work stoppage, in effect from midday to 5:00 p.m. (0900–1400 GMT), for outdoor manual labor and food delivery services, primarily in central Greece and on several islands. Employers were also asked to offer remote work options.

Russia’s ‘anti-woke’ visa lures those fearing a moral decline in the West (Washington Post) In a brightly lit conference room of a Moscow police department, a smiling officer flanked by Russian flags and gilded double-headed eagles handed over small blue booklets to an American family of five—asylum certificates granting them the right to live and work in Russia after fleeing Texas because they felt their way of life was under threat. The Hare family, devout Christians who ran a farm in Texas, describe themselves as a family of “moral migrants” and have emerged as the face of a small but growing trend of Westerners relocating to Russia in search of the traditional, conservative values they feel are eroding in the liberal West. Their journey reflects the ideological narrative Putin has spent years crafting: Russia as the guardian of family-centered traditions amid a Western world spiraling into moral and social decay. Stories of foreigners moving to Russia in pursuit of these values get extensive coverage on Russian state media and are woven into the broader narrative Moscow now exports internationally. But behind the headlines, some newcomers face serious challenges—running into legal and financial issues, grappling with frozen bank accounts, or getting lost in the country and its layers of bureaucracy—though criticism remains muted.

Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty (Reuters) Facing challenges in securing new U.S. supplies of artillery and munitions, and not enough new recruits to hold the frontline positions, Kyiv announced its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines on June 29. Military analysts and a Ukrainian unit commander said that doing so could help slow the Russian advances Kyiv is struggling to contain over three years after Moscow's full-scale invasion. Russia is not party to the treaty, and military analysts, rights groups and Ukrainian soldiers say it has been using anti-personnel mines widely.

An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano sends ash 11 miles high (AP) Indonesia’s rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted Monday, sending a column of volcanic materials as high as 18 kilometers (11 miles) into the sky and depositing ash on villages. The volcano has been at the highest alert level since last month and no casualties were immediately reported. After an eruption early last year, about 6,500 people evacuated and the island’s Frans Seda Airport was closed. The airport has remained closed since then due to the continuing seismic activity. Monday’s eruption was one of Indonesia’s largest volcano eruptions since 2010 when Mount Merapi, the country’s most volatile volcano erupted on the densely populated island of Java. That eruption killed 353 people and forced over 350,000 people to evacuate affected areas.

Hezbollah leader refuses to disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon (AP) Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated Sunday the militant group’s refusal to lay down its weapons before Israel withdraws from all of southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes. He spoke in a video address, as thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark the Shiite holy day of Ashoura. Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued to occupy five strategic border points in southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities. Those strikes have killed some 250 people since November, in addition to more than 4,000 killed during the war, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Proposal outlines large-scale 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' for Palestinians in Gaza (Reuters) A controversial U.S.-backed aid group proposed building camps called “Humanitarian Transit Areas” inside—and possibly outside—Gaza to house the Palestinian population, according to a proposal reviewed by Reuters, outlining its vision of “replacing Hamas’ control over the population in Gaza.” The $2 billion plan, created sometime after February 11 for the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, was submitted to the Trump administration and recently discussed in the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter. The plan, reviewed by Reuters, describes the camps as “large-scale” and “voluntary” places where the Gazan population could “temporarily reside, deradicalize, re-integrate and prepare to relocate if they wish to do so.” It calls for using the sprawling facilities to “gain trust with the local population” and to facilitate U.S. President Donald Trump’s “vision for Gaza.” On February 4 Trump first publicly said that the U.S. should “take over” the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as “the Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling the population of 2.3 million Palestinians elsewhere. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, to told Reuters it “categorically” rejects the GHF, calling it “not a relief organization but rather an intelligence and security tool affiliated with the Israeli occupation, operating under a false humanitarian guise.”

Israel launches airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and Houthis launch missile at Israel (AP) Israel’s military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, with the rebels responding with missile fire targeting Israel. The attacks came after an attack Sunday targeting a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.

Gen Z Women Are Booking Convents Instead of Beach Houses This Summer (Vice) Move over, shared beach houses and spritzes. This summer, a growing number of Gen Z women are checking into Catholic convents and monasteries instead. In an unexpected pivot from rooftop parties and dating app exhaustion, young women are opting for peace and quiet. Literal quiet. The latest trend, dubbed “vow of silence summer,” has people voluntarily giving up speaking for days at a time, communicating only by writing or gestures while living alongside nuns. And demand is high. “I booked a vow of silence at a Catholic monastery late last year, and the booking process is really straightforward—you just email the nuns,” said TikToker @mc667868 in a video that’s now been viewed over 700,000 times. “When I went to book again for this summer, they were fully booked for the next three months.” Monasteries and convents are now seeing waitlists as young women line up for a kind of stillness that’s hard to come by elsewhere. No phones buzzing, no endless notifications, and definitely no small talk. Instead, many are spending their days tending gardens, attending prayer services, and catching up with themselves. It’s not hard to see why. According to a recent survey, nearly 250,000 Americans experience burnout before they hit 30. A vow of silence might seem extreme—but it’s a clear countermove to the overstimulation so many people are desperate to escape.

[newstfionline]

Thought of the Day

“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.”—Thomas Carlyle

[newstfionline]

Monday, July 7, 2025

Dissatisfaction with democracy remains widespread in many nations (Pew Research Center) Public dissatisfaction with democracy continues to outweigh satisfaction across 12 high-income countries that Pew Research Center has surveyed consistently since 2017. Across that set of countries—Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States—a median of 64% of adults say they are dissatisfied with the way their democracy is working, while a median of 35% are satisfied. This doesn’t necessarily mean people are turning away from democratic values. Our research has shown that people around the globe think representative democracy is a good system of government. At the same time, many are frustrated with political elites or feel their views are not truly represented in government.

As the World Warms, Extreme Rain Is Becoming Even More Extreme (NYT) Colossal bursts of rain like the ones that caused the deadly flooding in Texas are becoming more frequent and intense around the globe as the burning of fossil fuels heats the planet, scientists say. Warm air holds more moisture than cool air, and as temperatures rise, storms can produce bigger downpours. When met on the ground with outdated infrastructure or inadequate warning systems, the results can be catastrophic. These were the ingredients for tragedy in Texas. In parts of Texas that were flooded on Friday, the quantities of rain that poured down in a six-hour stretch were so great that they had less than a tenth of 1 percent chance of falling there in any given year, according to data analyzed by Russ Schumacher, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. The Guadalupe River rose from three feet to 34 feet in about 90 minutes. The volume of water exploded from 95 cubic feet per second to 166,000 cubic feet per second.

Death toll in Central Texas flash floods rises to 79 as sheriff says 10 campers remain missing (AP) Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp ripped apart by flash floods that washed homes off their foundations and killed at least 79 people in central Texas. Rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain continued their desperate search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from the camp. For the first time since the storms began pounding Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. In Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and other youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said in the afternoon. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours.

Mexico braced for Trump’s mass deportations. They haven’t happened. (Washington Post) When President Donald Trump pledged to launch the “largest deportation operation in American history,” this border city (Tijuana) swung into action. The local government declared a state of emergency. Federal authorities built a shelter for up to 2,600 deportees, complete with beds, showers and white-coated chefs. But five months after Trump took office, the shelter is nearly empty. So few deportees have arrived—an average of 38 a day—that one of the two floors has been mothballed. The situation is similar in other Mexican border communities. While the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration arrests have sparked protests in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, some of the migrants’ home countries have been surprised how few have been sent back. The empty shelters represent a little-noticed irony in Trump’s campaign against illegal immigration. He has largely shut down the northbound flow of migrants through Mexico. But those moves have dried up the pool of recently arrived, easy-to-deport migrants. For Trump to meet his goal of deporting 1 million migrants in his first year, he is turning to the more complex search for people who have lived in the United States without permission for years. But many of those immigrants are entitled to court hearings before being removed from the country. In addition to the logistical challenges of deporting them, the administration is facing a backlash from communities and industries in which migrants live and work.

Europe’s Dilemma: Build a Military Industry or Keep Relying on the U.S. (NYT) European countries have committed to spending nearly double on military investments over the next decade, with high hopes that it will benefit their defense industries. But it is not clear that all that money—perhaps as much as 14 trillion euros, or $16 trillion—will fuel a flurry of high-end innovation in Europe. That is because of what one might call the F-35 problem. Europe lacks quality alternatives to some of the most needed and desired defense equipment that American companies produce. Among them is the F-35, Lockheed Martin’s famed stealth fighter jet, whose advanced abilities are unmatched by European counterparts. Patriot missile-defense systems are also imported from America, as are rocket launchers, sophisticated drones, long-range artillery guided by satellite, integrated command and control systems, electronic and cyber warfare capabilities—along with most of the software required to run them. Should European nations build their own military industry? Does the war in Ukraine and the threat of a militarized Russia allow that much lead-time? Or should they continue to invest, at least in part, in America’s already available, cutting-edge technology?

Escalating German-Polish border dispute hampers Europe’s free movement (Washington Post) In the latest sign that Europe’s principle of free movement of people and goods is succumbing to domestic political pressures, Poland and Germany are locked in an escalating dispute over border policy, with Poland set to impose retaliatory controls Monday at crossings with its western neighbor. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the change this week, calling it a response to Germany’s unilateral decision earlier this year to tighten its own border checks and turn away asylum seekers. In 1995, Europe began eliminating border controls. But countries can reimpose border controls under certain circumstances, and several have done so in response to the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over an influx of migrants starting in 2015. Poland’s new border tightening, which will also apply to its boundary with Lithuania, comes amid a deepening rift over migration and asylum policy within the European Union as national leaders face political backlash over growing immigrant populations and tensions over integration and assimilation.

Ukraine’s political infighting gets nasty (Economist) The challenges are piling in. With no ceasefire in sight, Ukraine is hunkering down for protracted war. The news from the front lines is not good. Russian forces are on the verge of turning Sumy, a city with a pre-war population of 250,000, into a grey zone. A bloodbath continues in the Donbas as Russia presses forward. Record numbers of Russian drones and missiles rain down on Ukraine’s big cities, sometimes more than 500 in a single night. On the night of June 30th-July 1st, American military assistance, tapering off since Donald Trump became president, stopped abruptly, with all arms shipments put on hold and some planes even turned around in mid air. No one knows whether this pause is temporary (as last time, in March) or permanent. But Ukraine’s military drama is only one side of the story. Equally worrying is a backdrop of domestic political fracture, purges and infighting that could unravel the country from within in a fashion far more damaging than anything the Russians can achieve through violence. There is mounting concern about what many see as a drift towards authoritarianism, one example being the use of executive power to bar enemies and rivals from participating in public life. “The Russians are slow-roasting us over a low flame,” despairs one senior official, “while we are playing at idiotism with very serious consequences.”

Syria loses a lifeline as the United States and Europe slash global aid (Washington Post) The fall of Syria’s dictatorship last year brought the end of a long and bloody civil conflict—but no quick relief to millions of Syrians living in the war-shattered nation. The country’s health care network lay in ruins. Nongovernmental organizations filled some of the gap in health services, often with funding from the United States or Europe, but now that lifeline, too, is disappearing. The United States—Syria’s largest donor, having provided more than $18 billion in assistance during the country’s 14-year war—has frozen all its foreign aid programs. The Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development. The U.S. cuts, along with shrinking contributions from European governments, have been “catastrophic” for health care, particularly in northern Syria, where millions who were displaced by the conflict have settled, said Michèle Colombel of Mehad, a French nongovernmental organization that manages more than two dozen health centers there. Workers at Mehad have counted 20 cases of severe acute malnutrition over the past three months in the Azaz area, north of Aleppo. The group has run out of the nutritional baby food known as Plumpy’Nut, ordinarily supplied by Save the Children, which said in April that funding cuts had forced it to close 40 percent of its nutrition programs in Syria.

The Cost of Victory: Israel Overpowered Its Foes, but Deepened Its Isolation (NYT) It’s Israel’s Middle East now. After three-quarters of a century fighting hostile neighbors, the tiny Jewish country, about the size of New Jersey, has all but vanquished its enemies—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Houthis in Yemen and now even Iran itself, the one backing them all. The new reality in Israel, said Yaakov Amidror, a retired Israeli general and former top aide to Mr. Netanyahu, is that places once under constant threat from Lebanon, Syria or Gaza “will be more secure than Manhattan.” But at what cost? Mr. Netanyahu’s relentless and unapologetic military response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people and took 250 people hostage has cemented the view of Israel as a pariah, its leadership accused of genocide and war crimes, and disdained by some world leaders. In opinion polls globally, most people have a negative view of Israel. In Gaza, the war against Hamas has taken a devastating toll, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving more than a million homeless and hungry. Much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble. Poverty and hopelessness are rampant. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have also been killed and officials believe about 20 living hostages are still imprisoned in Hamas tunnels after 631 days.

Ethiopia completes the power-generating dam on the Nile that caused a dispute with Egypt (AP) Ethiopia’s prime minister said Thursday that a controversial power dam on the Nile is now complete, a major milestone for his country amid a dispute with Egypt over equitable sharing of the water. Egypt has long opposed the dam because of concerns it would deplete its share of Nile River waters. Egypt has referred to the dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as an existential threat because the Arab world’s most populous country relies almost entirely on the Nile to supply water for agriculture and its more than 100 million people. Negotiations between Ethiopia and Egypt over the years have not led to a pact, and questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a drought occurs. Ethiopia and Egypt have been trying to find an agreement for years over the $4 billion dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011. Tensions over the dam, the largest in Africa, once were so high that some observers feared the two countries might go to war over it.