Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate content
Elon Musk’s X platform has promised to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.
X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content.
Continue reading...US president offers no news of any breakthrough on Iran. Plus, how renters’ rights could be key issue in midterms
Good morning.
In his visit to China, Donald Trump, has seemed to revel in Chinese hospitality and flattery. Walking in the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, the US president was overheard saying that Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, was giving him roses for the White House Rose Garden, according to a pool report.
What has China said on Iran? On Friday, China’s foreign ministry again called for a ceasefire in Iran and said the strait of Hormuz should be opened “as soon as possible”. Ahead of the summit, there was speculation the US might appeal to China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to use its leverage to encourage the country to reopen the strait of Hormuz. But that was walked back by US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Thursday, who said, “We don’t need their help.”
What about talks over Taiwan? They weren’t mentioned much. Xi took a firm tone, declaring that “Taiwan independence” and peace in the Taiwan strait were “incompatible”. Trump took a muted approach as he sidestepped questions on Taiwan. A White House readout of the meeting published later also omitted mention of the country.
What do Russia’s renewed heavy attacks tell us? Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said on Thursday that Russia’s heavy bombardment of Kyiv showed Moscow was “banking on escalation rather than negotiation. Kyiv and its partners are ready for negotiations aimed at a just peace,” Merz said. “Russia, for its part, is continuing the war.”
Continue reading...Mirroring of each other’s attire may signal alignment – though the look wasn’t a huge departure for either leader
When Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met for a welcome ceremony in Tiananmen Square this week with the world’s gaze on them, they mirrored one another in strikingly similar suits.
Both were blue, single-breasted with flap pockets. Both had two buttons with only the top one done up. Both wore red ties.
Continue reading...Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura leads action after Republican speaker rescinds promise to bring bill to vote
Democratic state representatives in Minnesota staged an overnight sit-in in their house chamber on Thursday after the Republican speaker failed to put a gun violence prevention bill up for a vote.
Samantha Sencer-Mura, a Democratic representative from Minneapolis, first announced the plan on Wednesday from the floor of the state’s house of representatives, giving speaker Lisa Demuth, a candidate for governor, 24 hours to give the bill a vote before the sit-in would start.
Continue reading...State oil company fast-tracks previously undisclosed project, which is expected to double export capacity
The United Arab Emirates has announced it will complete a new oil pipeline bypassing the strait of Hormuz by next year to secure its future crude exports against the threat of disruption.
The current blockade of the vital waterway, through which 20% of oil and seaborne gas flowed before the Iran war, is approaching the 11-week mark, sending energy prices soaring around the world and throttling Gulf economies.
Continue reading...Uganda also reports outbreak and health officials say cases were caused by Bundibugyo strain of virus
An outbreak of Ebola has killed 65 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, health officials said.
There have been 246 suspected cases of the haemorrhagic fever reported so far in the conflict-hit Ituri province, which shares borders with Uganda and South Sudan.
Continue reading...Exclusive: DHS made social media posts out of a protester’s arrest at gunpoint. Christian Cerna speaks out about the lengthy prosecution that derailed his life
Christian Cerna, 28, was driving with his partner and their two young children through Los Angeles, when two vehicles rammed his car and a group of men jumped out and trained their guns on them.
It was 11 June 2025, and as Cerna exited his vehicle with his hands raised, he realized the masked men weren’t street criminals as he initially feared. They were Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
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