Riley on news · June 24th

Last Thursday, on a little-known Canadian podcast, one of the loudest voices in American right-wing media said something that would have been unthinkable not long ago. Tucker Carlson announced he was leaving the Republican Party. “I’m out,” he said. “And if I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out.” But this is no profile in courage. Carlson is not a hero or a truth-teller. He campaigned for Trump in 2024, after the insurrection, the indictments, and the verdict finding Trump liable for sexual abuse.

At 2:50 this afternoon, the announcer’s voice echoed through the factory floor: “The 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.” Seconds later, two Secret Service agents rushed out towards the stage before an unusually energetic Trump emerged beneath a massive American flag.

China released a new white paper laying out its vision for global governance reform last Wednesday, introducing China’s principles, proposals and actions in global governance. The paper, titled More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals and Actions, was issued by the State Council Information Office, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi appearing at the launch press conference. Later that day, Henry Huiyao Wang, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, discussed the white paper with Otelli Edwards from CNA, addressing its timing, China’s call for

The negotiations between the United States and Iran remain fragile with both contradicting the other on what may or may not have been agreed. James discusses the negotiations’ prospects on TRT World. Transcript [Anchor] Get some analysis now from James M. Dorsey, joining us from Singapore, where he’s an adjunct senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Always good to speak to you, James. So we’ve been focussing a lot on the contradictions coming from the United States and the Iranians. They’ve been framed positively the deal, or the agreement rather, as a whole.

Hello! Cognitive warmup. Norway intends to ban the use of generative AI tools by elementary school children, with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere warning (correctly, if I might add) that AI lets children skip crucial steps in their education and that schools should focus on teaching them how to read, write and do mathematics. These guidelines will be implemented with the new school year that starts sometime in August. Two parts to this.

There was disappointment after the game against DR Congo. For all his time in the limelight and all the goals he’s scored, Cristiano Ronaldo was toothless against the World Cup debutants. It prompted questions, at least from the outside, about his spot in the starting XI as Portugal did not begin their campaign in North America on a positive note. And yet, there he was, leading the team out against Uzbekistan in Houston. He had a score to settle, and a few records to break in the process. With a swing of the right foot to slam a half-volley home in the sixth minute, Ronaldo became the first pl

New Zealand-born Leah Forsyth-Steel and Victoria Spicer founded Monument London in 2020, a collectible design gallery shaped by a rigorous approach to sourcing, styling, and curation. Drawing on Forsyth-Steel’s background in museum curation and brand management and Spicer’s training in set design at Elam School of Fine Arts, the pair have cultivated a distinctive point of view rooted in the radical design movements of 1970s Italy and 1980s Germany. At Monument, rare furniture and objects are approached not as functional pieces but as artworks in their own right - each selected for its material

The German assault on the Soviet Union progressed quickly, with the Panzers thrusting deep into enemy territory and the Luftwaffe decimating the Soviet air force both on the ground and in the air. But the shock of the assault and the realisation by many Soviet units that they had been overtaken by the enemy did not lead to an immediate collapse in Russian morale or that of their commanders. On the contrary, all the accounts from German soldiers in individual memoirs or in collections recall a fierce resistance by individuals and small groups of soldiers: Beyond the forest we were waiting for r

So much talk about Ariana Grande. Has anyone noticed the other women though? Because they’re not OK. But first……..let’s Insta-Babble - my first in a while. As is evident. One thing that made me feel even more unwell when I was lying in bed was scrolling Insta. I don’t know if you realised this but while we were sleeping, malnutrition and mutilation became the new beauty standard for women. But hang on, don’t say anything because ‘you’re not helping by talking about it why won’t you just support women bad feminist, bad woman etc etc” I hear this a lot.

Amidst the latest surge in Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russia, the Kiev Independent outlet released an interesting ‘bombshell’ claiming a “senior Ukrainian official” revealed to them that Trump had privately given Zelensky the greenlight to act “more boldly” against Russia, which we’re meant to presume has been responsible for the latest round of escalations. Ukraine now believes it has secured White House backing for a campaign aimed at forcing Russia into meaningful negotiations, the Kyiv Independent has learned. U.S.