03 World
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China has criticised a British warship’s passage through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate move to “cause trouble”.
The Royal Navy said its patrol vessel HMS Spey was conducting a routine navigation through the contested waterway on Wednesday as part of a long-planned deployment in compliance with international law.
In response, the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the exercise was “public hyping”, adding that its forces followed and monitored the ship.
“The British side’s remarks distort legal principles and mislead the public; its actions deliberately cause trouble and disrupt things, undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” it said in a statement on Friday.
“Troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times and will resolutely counter all threats and provocations.”
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China dispatched 74 military aircraft towards the Taiwan Strait between late Thursday and early Friday, with 61 of them crossing its median line, the Taiwanese defence ministry has said.The incursion, which represents one of the largest in recent months, began a day after the UK sailed a navy ship across the strait, in a move welcomed by Taipei but condemned by Beijing.
The Chinese planes were sent in two separate waves, with six naval vessels also accompanying the manoeuvres, according to Taiwan.
Beijing regards the democratically governed island as part of its own territory and has stepped up such deployments to demonstrate its readiness to encircle and potentially invade Taiwan.
Analysts say the moves are also aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s population and exhausting its military resources and morale.
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By targeting senior Iranian government and military officials, eliminating top nuclear scientists, and crippling critical components of the regime’s nuclear weapons infrastructure, Israel has forced the mullahs into a position they likely never imagined possible before the strikes. Through superior intelligence gathering and a meticulously executed military strategy, Israel has dealt a catastrophic blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Yet, much like a newt can regrow its tail after losing it to a predator, Iran’s regime may still attempt to rebuild its clandestine nuclear program — especially if its Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant remains intact.
Built deep beneath a mountain, the Fordow facility is impervious to all but the most powerful American-made bunker-busting bombs. While some believe Israel may have the capability to destroy the complex, most assessments conclude the task remains beyond its reach and that only the U.S. can finish the job.
As PJ Media’s Stephen Green recently explained, “There is literally only one bomber and one bomb to make the big badda-boom that could destroy Iran’s last remaining nuclear enrichment plant from the air.”
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On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) stated that Iran has enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon and this is closer than they ever were before.
Co-host Sara Sidner asked, “Netanyahu, for more than a decade now, has said Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. This time, he said Iran was fast approaching that goal. Trump is siding with that assessment. But U.S. intelligence sources told CNN this week that their assessment is that Iran was at least three years away from being able to make and deliver a nuclear weapon. You are on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. What do you know? Where do you stand when you see these two conflicting assessments?”
Krishnamoothi answered, “Well, I don’t want to get into classified information, but what I know is that the Iranians are a lot closer now than they have ever been, and they have enough enriched uranium to basically build a weapon should they choose to do so.”
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Washington — President Trump has been briefed on both the risks and the benefits of bombing Fordo, Iran’s most secure nuclear site, and his mindset is that disabling it is necessary because of the risk of weapons being produced in a relatively short period of time, multiple sources told CBS News.
“He believes there’s not much choice,” one source said. “Finishing the job means destroying Fordo.”
The president approved attack plans on Iran on Tuesday night, but has not made a final decision on whether to strike the country and formally join Israel’s air campaign, a senior intelligence source and a Defense Department official told CBS News on Wednesday. Mr. Trump held off on deciding to strike in case Tehran agrees to abandon its nuclear program, the sources said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president will make a decision on whether to order a strike within the next two weeks.
“Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Mr. Trump said in a statement read by Leavitt at the White House press briefing.
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- Trump caution on Iran strike linked to doubts over ‘bunker buster’ bomb, officials say The Guardian
- Bombing Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear plant might not be effective, one expert says ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
- The United States may destroy the Fordow enrichment plant. It won’t make the Iranian nuclear threat go away Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Israel strikes unfinished Arak heavy water reactor in Iran BBC
- What to know about the MOP and the B-2, the bunker-buster bomb and plane that could be used to strike Iran CBS News
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IRAN’S supreme leader has scurried away to an underground bunker in a Tehran suburb amid threats to his life, according to reports.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is believed to be cowering away in the secret lair as Israeli missile attacks rain down nearby.
Two informed sources inside the country told Iran International the country’s ageing dictator is holed up in the bunker in Lavizan, a neighbourhood in Tehran.
It is among the areas in Iran to have been rocked by explosions over the past few days.
Khamenei’s family are also with him, the sources added, including his son Mojtaba – who is seen as a potential heir to the supreme leader.
The Ayatollah also reportedly sought refuge in this bunker during Iranian strikes in April 2024 and October 2024.
It comes as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to escalate – and Donald Trump weighs up whether to get directly involved.
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The MAGA Movement Promised No More Wars—Now It’s on the Brink of One
Donald Trump didn’t just win the 2024 election—he crushed it with a promise to rebuild America without stumbling into another foreign disaster. “No more stupid wars” became doctrine. His base connected with this pledge, proud that he hadn’t launched any new wars.But now, deep into 2025, that legacy is under pressure. In June, Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities—and Trump responded by warning Iran’s leaders to surrender “unconditionally,” advising Tehran’s civilians to evacuate, and boasting that the U.S. had “total control of the skies.”The MAGA movement—defined by its distrust of foreign entanglements—is experiencing an identity crisis. The coalition that brought Trump back to power is now split, torn between instincts that fueled his rise.
Israel says Khamenei ‘can no longer be allowed to exist’ after Iran strikes hospital– www.france24.com
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An Iranian missile strike hit south Israel’s Soroka Hospital on Thursday in what Israeli officials described as a deliberate attack on the country’s infrastructure. Defence Minister Israel Katz that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist”.
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On the heels of a Gallup survey noting that 54 percent of American men identify as pro-life (as opposed to 32 percent of women), a new Ipsos poll from the United Kingdom reveals a similar gender divide.
According to the new poll published on June 16, 71 percent of Britons believe that abortion should be legal “in most or all cases,” but between young men aged 16-34, this number plunges to 46 percent. The Ipsos survey was conducted between May 16 and 19 and surveyed 1,062 British people between ages 16 and 75.
According to Ipsos, 34 percent of Britons think that abortion should be legal in all cases, and 38 percent in most cases. Thirteen percent of Britons believe abortion should be illegal in most cases, and four percent believe it should be illegal in all cases. Ipsos noted that this “level of support has remained relatively consistent since 2022.”
Again, the surprise from the new Ipsos survey is the pro-life shift among young men. While 76 percent of men between the ages of 35 and 54 think abortion should be legal in most or all cases and 82 percent of men between the ages of 55 and 75, “less than half (46 percent) of men aged 16-34 believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.”
The Ipsos survey also revealed that there is no public push to change the law to decriminalize abortion up until birth, as MPs are likely to do this week. Forty-seven percent of Britons “believe the current 24-week time limit for most abortions in England and Wales is ‘about right,’ while almost a quarter—24 percent–think it is “too late.” Only four percent believe it is too early. Over half of those surveyed, 55 percent, think that the party who committed the abortion should receive a penalty.
“While the majority of Britons support legal abortion, with seven in ten in favour, our polling reveals a significant fault line: less than half of young men aged 16-34 agree,” noted Kate Duxbury of Ipsos. “This divergence, coupled with the fact that around half of Britons think the current 24-week limit is ‘about right’, highlights the complexities facing policymakers as they consider decriminalisation. It’s clear that public opinion is far from monolithic, demanding a nuanced approach to this sensitive issue.”
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At least 28 powerful U.S. Air Force tankers—including KC-135R Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus jets—were seen crossing the Atlantic en masse Sunday night, according to Daily Mail citing open-source aircraft tracking platforms.
The fleet’s mysterious deployment comes as tensions between Israel and the terrorist regime in Iran spiral dangerously toward all-out war.
The massive airborne refueling convoy appears to have launched from multiple air bases across the continental United States, heading toward Europe.
According to military aviation outlet The War Zone (TWZ), this kind of large-scale tanker deployment is “very peculiar” and not tied to any routine exercises.
28 now. pic.twitter.com/STV6EWCt0q
— Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) June 16, 2025
More from TWZ:
Open-source enthusiasts took to social media after all the tankers began popping up on flight tracking software.
At its peak, it appeared that at least 28 tankers were all heading east. While there is a multinational exercise in Norway that is about to kick off, that wouldn’t require anything like this level of relocation of refueling assets.
There is no other apparent exercise or commitment that would necessitate such an operation.
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When it comes to higher education and AI, this is going to be one of the biggest challenges of the future.
The Guardian reports:
Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI
Thousands of university students in the UK have been caught misusing ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools in recent years, while traditional forms of plagiarism show a marked decline, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
A survey of academic integrity violations found almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating using AI tools in 2023-24, equivalent to 5.1 for every 1,000 students. That was up from 1.6 cases per 1,000 in 2022-23.
Figures up to May suggest that number will increase again this year to about 7.5 proven cases per 1,000 students – but recorded cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to experts.
The data highlights a rapidly evolving challenge for universities: trying to adapt assessment methods to the advent of technologies such as ChatGPT and other AI-powered writing tools.
In 2019-20, before the widespread availability of generative AI, plagiarism accounted for nearly two-thirds of all academic misconduct. During the pandemic, plagiarism intensified as many assessments moved online. But as AI tools have become more sophisticated and accessible, the nature of cheating has changed.
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According to Robert Spencer, writing at Frontpage magazine, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has opened a new theme park, “Heaven Time,” which is — bizarrely and ironically — designed to give visitors an up-close and personal experience of the torments of hell. They even have an exhibit of that name.
He writes that the oddly named Heaven Time theme park is located at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps base in the northern Iranian city of Fouman.
Iran International, a Persian-language satellite television channel, recently reported that the exhibit is meant to “offer a visceral experience of the afterlife—particularly the torments of hell.”
Doesn’t that sound fun, kids?! I wonder how many rials it costs to get in?
Upon further reflection, the theme park seems redundant. I mean, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the IRGC have made certain Iranians are already living in hell. They don’t need to go to a theme park to see what it looks like.
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BANFF, Canada — President Donald Trump opened the 2025 Group of Seven leaders’ summit by complaining it was a “mistake” for the multilateral organization to remove Russia from its ranks.
“The G7 used to be the G8. [Former President]Barack Obama and a person named [former Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in, and I would say that was a mistake because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
Russia was removed from the G7 in 2014 in response to its annexation of Crimea.
“What’s that? Nine years ago, eight years ago, it switched over,” Trump said. “They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn’t in politics then, I was very loud about it. It was a mistake in that you spend so much time talking about Russia, but he’s no longer at the table, so it makes life more complicated.”
Trump made the remarks during his first appearance at this year’s G7 summit, which Canada hosted in Kananaskis. He was beside Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney.
Carney welcom
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In August 2023, The New York Times published a rare informative and honest journalism. The New York Times wrote exposed the so-called anti-war group Code Pink as a Communist China shill or front group.
Kristinn Taylor reported at the time.
Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, 68, has deep roots in the Democratic Party, having served as the campaign manager for the 1992 presidential campaign of former California Governor Jerry Brown. In the 2008 presidential campaign, Evans served as a host for Obama fundraisers in Hollywood with her then husband Max Palevsky (who passed away in 2010 at age 85) and as a campaign bundler.
Evans married Singham, 69, in 2017.
Fellow Code Pink co-founder Susan ‘Medea’ Benjamin protested against President Trump at his arraignment in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, reported TGP’s Jordan Conradson.
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The last time I wrote about Greenland, the nation had elected independent-minded leaders to the top spots in its political system.
This was then followed by Vice President Vance’s trip with his wife to the Pituffik Space Base on the Arctic island to support the trips.
During an address during the visit, Vance unleashed some hard-hitting statements directed at our ally Denmark. Essentially, Vance took a diplomatic sledgehammer to Denmark’s treatment of Greenland, suggesting that Copenhagen has treated the island more like a neglected outpost than a strategic priority.
Vance did not sugar-coat his opinion of the obliviousness Denmark has had to the threats Russia and China pose in this region.
Given the recent spate of international conflicts (India vs Pakistan, Israel pummeling Iran), Greenland seems to have dropped out of the news. However, it has not been completely forgotten about by President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration is considering financing a $120 million rare earths mining project in the Arctic island nation through a loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to Critical Metals Corp, in what would be the administration’s first overseas investment in a mining venture. The project, known as the Tanbreez rare earths mine, is aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China, which currently dominates the global rare earths market.
Critical Metals Corp (CRML.O) has received a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a loan worth up to $120 million to fund the company’s Tanbreez rare earths mine in Greenland, in what would be the Trump administration’s first overseas investment in a mining project.
The loan, if approved, would boost U.S. access to minerals increasingly at the center of global economic trade and help offset the country’s reliance on market leader China….
…In a letter dated June 12 and reviewed by Reuters, New York-based Critical Metals has met initial requirements to apply for the $120 million EXIM loan and, if approved, would have a 15-year repayment term, longer than the company likely would have with private financing.
The project would have to be “well-capitalized with sufficient equity from strategic investors” to receive the loan, the letter said.
Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at G7 summit– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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President Donald Trump will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 summit at 11 a.m. ET.
The G7 summit will be Carney’s first international gathering since being elected as prime minister in March.
Trump and Carney’s meeting comes amid a trade war between the United States and Canada. World leaders are also expected to discuss the recent exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel.
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Excerpt:“They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” the president added.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has interest in de-escalating its current conflict with Israel and called on Tehran to begin discussions immediately, warning that it needs to happen “before it’s too late.”
Speaking to reporters at the start of a G7 meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, Trump confirmed he had received indications that Iranian officials are seeking to ease tensions.
“Yes… They’d like to talk,” Trump said when asked if he had heard that Iran was looking to reduce hostilities. “But they should have done that before. I had 60 days, and they had 60 days. On the 61st day, I said, we don’t have a deal.”
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President Donald Trump reportedly in the last few days vetoed a proposal from Israel to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We communicated to the Israelis that President Trump is opposed to that,” an unnamed U.S. official told Axios. “The Iranians haven’t killed an American and discussion of killing political leaders should not be on the table.”
The president reportedly wanted to prevent further escalation of the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and continue talks with Iran about a nuclear deal.
Some Jewish influencers were unhappy about this report:
Dear Donald Trump,
You don’t get to decide when or how Khamenei goes.
— ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) June 15, 2025
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President Donald Trump said Sunday Iran and Israel should come to the negotiating table even as the two nations continued to carry out missile strikes against one another, and both nations report casualties.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the two countries “will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make, in that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and stop!”
The U.S. helped to negotiate a deal between Pakistan and India in May after conflict erupted between the two nations after India blamed Pakistan for a terrorist attack in April that killed a group of mostly Indian tourists.
“President Trump has been clear since the inauguration that he prefers a diplomatic solution to war in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue,” Victoria Coates, vice president of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal.
Trump gave Iran “every opportunity to come to the negotiating table and has been clear about American red lines,” Coates said. “Israel has allowed his timeline to play out and only acted when the President’s own 60-day deadline expired. President Trump continues to keep the opportunity to engage diplomatically open if the Iranians have the sense to take it.”
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Excerpt:In an interview with ABC News’ Rachel Scott on Sunday, Trump said the United States is not involved in Israel‘s military strikes against Iran, but “it’s possible we could get involved,” after reports surfaced that the Jewish state had urged the U.S. to join the effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, with some experts suggesting that toppling the Islamist regime is also doable.
Trump told ABC he had a lengthy discussion with Putin on Saturday to discuss the conflict, also telling the outlet he would be “open” to Putin’s idea to serve as a mediator between Iran and Israel:
I would be open to it. [Putin] is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.
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Not since Churchill has a leader defended a country at war with the brilliance, courage, and resoluteness shown by PM Netanyahu. Despite unrelenting attacks from a hostile Biden Administration, the Democrat Party, the EU, the UK, the UN, the mainstream media, the global Left, et al, PM Netanyahu has stood firm in his determination to defeat Iran and secure the future of the State of Israel. Today, PM Netanyahu is the co-leader (with President Trump) of the free world.
Take a look at how Prime Minister Netanyahu is welcomed in Bat Yam in Central Israel.
They are cheering and saying: “Bibi King of Israel”
Netanyahu is extremely popular among Israelis right now, I believe that left and right appreciate the leadership he is showing right now. pic.twitter.com/eCaQXEQJo1
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) June 15, 2025
Watch the full exclusive interview as Israeli PM @netanyahu responds to @BretBaier following the terror regime of Iran’s missile blitz. pic.twitter.com/Dk0VIDqgxH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 15, 2025
Gallery: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directing the preemptive strike against Iran.
Photos: Avi Ohayon, GPO pic.twitter.com/5vxIhKwvr2
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 14, 2025
WATCH: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Address Before a Joint Meeting of the US Congresshttps://t.co/C1X0gzgnqG
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 25, 2024
WATCH: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech at the UN General Assembly.https://t.co/daI92h8gtK
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 27, 2024
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is considering significantly expanding its travel restrictions by potentially banning citizens of 36 additional countries from entering the United States, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.
Earlier this month, the Republican president signed a proclamation that banned the entry of citizens from 12 countries, saying the move was needed to protect the United States against “foreign terrorists” and other national security threats.
The directive was part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students from U.S. universities and deport others.
In an internal diplomatic cable signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department outlined a dozen concerns about the countries in question and sought corrective action.
“The Department has identified 36 countries of concern that might be recommended for full or partial suspension of entry if they do not meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days,” the cable sent out over the weekend said.
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Over 230 people are reported dead across Israel and Iran since Israel launched its first strikes on Friday, leading to an ongoing exchange of attacks with no end in sight.On Sunday night, emergency responders were still struggling to contain fires started by strikes on the northern port city of Haifa.
In Haifa, an oil refinery was damaged, the firm operating it said. Israel’s main international airport and airspace was closed for a third day.
Iran raised its death toll on Sunday to 224 people. Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians.
Claiming to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran, Israel said its attacks Sunday hit Iran’s Defence Ministry, missile launch sites and factories producing air defence components. Iran also acknowledged Israel had killed more of its top generals, including the Revolutionary Guard intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi.
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As the war between Israel and Iran intensifies, civilians in Tehran were caught on video fleeing the city this weekend to escape the carnage.
Hat Tip Banafsheh Zand.
Reportedly hundreds of thousands fleeing Tehran.They know…
فرار در ابعاد میلیونی از تهرانhttps://t.co/C9hpdZ3YtF via @YouTube— Banafsheh Zand بنفشه پورزند (@BanZand) June 15, 2025
Israel continued to strike Tehran on Sunday.
עוד מתקיפות חיל האויר בטהרן pic.twitter.com/1TdzlC4B0R
— (((IsraelMatzav))) (@IsraelMatzav) June 16, 2025