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For any good decision, the timing of taking the right step towards it plays a key role and shows the wisdom of the wise man taking it. The President of the United States of America
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Jon Boorstin, Tribune News ServicePresident Donald Trump is proud of America, and he wants you to be proud too. He chides the head of the Smithsonian Institution for his 250th anniversary exhibits because they don’t
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Some story headlines seem so silly until you actually read the articles and they become rather sad stories. The incident may seem trivial but it shows how humans can make the wrong choices.The Vietnamese police
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The G7 nations are implementing a strategy to reduce dependence on Chinese critical minerals while aligning domestic stockpiles to address shortages. Additionally, a new supply chain platform will launch to enhance the role of the International Energy Agency. Western powers are racing to diversify supplies of metals vital to defence, technology and renewable energy and reduce dependence on China. Beijing rattled global markets last year when export curbs on permanent magnets disrupted industries, exposing their reliance on a single source. Without naming China, the leaders said they aim to reduce dependence on any one supplier outside the G7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60% by 2030, with an ultimate goal of 50% “as soon as possible”. “We are committed to working towards establishing harmonised, interoperable mechanisms .... This would start with two pilot critical minerals - lithium and nickel - and aim to avoid undermining competitiveness or imposing excessive cost burdens,” the leaders said in a joint statement. The mechanisms would later expand to five new minerals each year with a focus on rare earth elements. The 60% target will be challenging, analysts said, especially in terms of processed rare earths and magnets where China controls 90% of global output. “The G7 statement is an important signal of intent, but the pace of diversification will ultimately depend on whether policy support translates into investment across the midstream and downstream parts of the value chain,” said Neha Mukherjee, research manager at consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The G7 will also set up a platform to coordinate policy, data sharing and crisis response, working with the IEA to monitor markets and flag risks, as first reported by Reuters. The platform will draw on the agency for analysis and “early warnings of market distortions”, the group said. G7 countries and allies face the challenge of building full supply chains from mining to end-product, requiring billions of dollars of investment. The leaders said G7 development finance institutions and export credit agencies should work together, including with the private sector, to back projects and infrastructure. So far, countries have announced 195 projects since the start of 2026 with €64bn ($74bn) in investment. The statement added that countries would explore “price-gap subsidies, joint procurement instruments and trade-related instruments such as quotas and price floors”, including through “plurilateral trade agreements”. The US is expected to propose legally binding deals with Japan and the EU this month. The lack of commitment on elements such as price floors reflected what diplomatic sources told Reuters ahead of the meeting was scepticism by G7 allies about the Trump administration’s push to boost critical minerals production by regulating prices. The G7 committed to boost domestic stockpiling of critical minerals in both the industrial and public sectors. The US launched its $12bn critical minerals reserve, Project Vault, earlier this year and said in April the first funding tranche was due to close soon. The EU has shortlisted tungsten, rare earths and gallium for its first joint stockpile of critical minerals, sources told Reuters last month. The statement also pledged to boost recycling of critical materials, aiming to increase the joint G7 recycling capacity to account for a “significant share” of annual consumption by 2030.
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Children’s health constitutes the fundamental strongpoint for building resilient societies and securing a sustainable future. Accordingly, advanced nations accord special attention to this important matter through thought-out and synchronous measures that enable children to grow properly, augment learning, achieve upward mobility, and integrate successfully into society. These efforts are set in motion through coordinated strategies that square with the objectives of physical development, cognitive advancement, and disease prevention, supported by scrupulously implemented programs and sustained commitment. Against the backdrop of a world confronting an avalanche of challenges, ranging from climate volatility and digital pressures to mounting social strains, safeguarding children’s mental wellbeing and educational attainment has become an imperative rather than a mere window-dressing exercise. Such efforts are essential to foreclose any deterioration that could snowball into alarming proportions, while reinforcing healthy habits, balanced nutrition, and supportive family and school environments that enhance readiness for learning and reduce the long-term risk of chronic diseases. The world has witnessed remarkable progress over recent decades in reducing mortality among children under five years of age. Official figures released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) show that 37 children per 1,000 live births died in 2022, compared with 93 in 1990. These developments eloquently indicate the effectiveness of advances in diagnosis, monitoring, medical intervention, and preventive healthcare, alongside the growing capacity of health systems to address complications associated with modern childbirth. Despite mounting evidence regarding the impact of climate change on children’s health and development, much of the existing research has hitherto been focused on the effects of individual hazards in societies facing climate-related hardships or intractable conflicts. Such conditions frequently trigger displacement and migration under circumstances that may culminate in humanitarian catastrophes. Among the principal threats are extreme heat, drought, wildfires, floods, storms, air pollution, and ecosystem disruption. A Unicef report issued earlier this week concludes that a combination of endogenous factors and exogenous factors -- including water scarcity and contamination, food insecurity, pollution, infrastructure damage, service disruption, and displacement -- affects virtually every aspect of children’s health, from pregnancy through adolescence. The report notes that harsh climatic conditions and the absence of a supportive environment can contribute to premature births and lower birth weights, while rendering newborns and infants more vulnerable to mortality associated with air pollution and extreme heat. Malnutrition, which remains responsible for approximately half of all deaths among children under five worldwide, together with infectious and communicable diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and the Zika virus, continues to exact a staggering humanitarian toll. These conditions frequently emerge in polluted environments and unsanitary settings and may generate a lasting psychological and humanitarian malaise that extends well into adulthood. The antecedents of children’s vulnerability are rooted in the developmental stage of their organs and immune systems. As these systems continue to mature, children are less equipped to withstand climate-related stresses. They often lack immunity to certain diseases because vaccines may be unavailable, incomplete, or inaccessible. Moreover, the ongoing development of respiratory and cardiovascular systems leaves them particularly susceptible to climate-related hazards, exacerbating respiratory illnesses and undermining overall health outcomes. The risk of death among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is 80 times higher than in developed countries. Unicef’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, published in 2021, found that 1bn children were highly exposed to the consequences of the climate crisis, the report shared. Among them, 559mn children experienced severe heat exposure, a figure projected to exceed 2bn by 2050, underscoring the threat of an increasingly volatile climate future, it added. In 2022, approximately 953mn children worldwide were exposed to water stress, while 182mn people across 108 countries were affected by at least one climate-related disaster. The same year witnessed nearly 43.1mn cases of child displacement, meaning that close to 20,000 children were forced to leave their homes every day. Executive Director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, says that the Climate Risk Report eloquently indicates where these risks occur and the extent of their severity, and it can help governments and other decision-makers improve planning and investment in a more effective way in basic service systems. For his part, Executive Director of Unicef National Committee for Germany, Christian Schneider, said that children and young people are the least responsible for climate change, yet they are disproportionately the most affected. He urged the German government to take stronger climate action and provide more support to the most vulnerable countries. According to Unicef, climate risks often overlap and snowball into alarming proportions, compounding one another. Around 300mn children live in areas simultaneously exposed to drought, extreme heat, and heatwaves, while more than 115mn children face drought, extreme heat, and tropical storms together. The Sahel region in Africa is among the most affected areas, where more than 4mn children are exposed simultaneously to heatwaves, extreme heat, and sand and dust storms. In Asia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan are particularly affected by these factors. International reports indicate that the severity of harm is determined by factors of inequality and vulnerability to which children are exposed based on socio-economic status, gender, location, current health condition, the circumstances of the country concerned and its capacity, as well as vulnerabilities that had hitherto been associated with children throughout their lives. If these findings and causes are considered, then a question arises among researchers and experts regarding measures that can reduce these climate impacts and provide conditions for a more stable childhood, ensuring sustainable development and societies that come closer- even minimally-to internationally accepted standards, recognizing that what cannot be achieved in full should not be entirely abandoned. The first of these requirements is mitigating the burdens of climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, industrial smoke, and vehicle emissions so that global warming does not exceed the 1.5°C threshold. Wealthy, high-income countries must take thought-out and urgent mitigation measures to reduce emissions and provide support to low- and middle-income countries to assist their energy transition. In this context, the adoption of sustainable energy in sectors providing essential services for children comes into focus, along with the transition to green infrastructure and social awareness of its integration into daily life, and increasing the use of advanced mechanisms and modern technologies to accelerate efforts to augment the mitigation of climate impacts on children, including universal access to modern fuels and cooking technologies, in order to reduce emissions and child deaths caused by household air pollution. The extraction and excessive, unregulated use of natural resources, along with the widespread spread of infections due to pollution and waste, have exacerbated climate change, increased toxic pollution of water, air, and soil, led to ocean acidification, and destroyed biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain life in general. The Declaration of the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate and Health recognises that it is significant to protect communities and prepare healthcare systems to address the health impacts of climate factors such as extreme heat, air pollution, and changing disease patterns. The participating parties have also agreed on international adaptation goals, specifically aiming to build resilience against climate-related health impacts and reduce climate-related morbidity and mortality.
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Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, won a parliamentary seat on Friday, a vital step towards fulfilling his ambition to replace his party colleague Keir Starmer as Labour leader and Britain’s prime minister. The scale of the victory, with 54.8% of the vote, will bolster the view of some in the governing Labour Party that only he can lead Labour to defeat Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party in a future national election. That could spur the party to seek a coronation for Burnham, forcing Starmer to step aside in a coordinated move rather than embarking on a months-long leadership contest. About a quarter of Starmer’s lawmakers have urged the prime minister to resign since his Labour Party last month suffered the heaviest local election losses of any governing party in more than three decades, largely due to a surge in support for Farage’s anti-immigration party. Burnham has said he would contest any leadership race, and is the frontrunner to replace Starmer. But his supporters are debating how, and when, to challenge the prime minister. Former health minister Wes Streeting has said he also has the backing of enough lawmakers to enter any contest. Below are some of the ways that Burnham could topple Starmer: Burnham could be the beneficiary of an uncontested handover. Many Labour politicians have urged Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure rather than awaiting and then contesting a leadership election. Such a contest could damage the party if rivals engage in personal attacks. If Starmer chose not to stand, and Burnham secured enough backing from members of parliament to enter the race while his rivals failed to do so, Burnham would become prime minister. Lawmakers have suggested Streeting could also accept a senior role in a Burnham government, such as finance minister, in return for not triggering a leadership contest. Burnham will be sworn into parliament next week, giving him a chance to formally challenge Starmer, as only members of parliament can lead the government. Labour has strict rules governing the removal of a party leader. They require lawmakers to coalesce around specific candidates rather than just express “no confidence” in their current leader. Any challenger must secure the backing of 20% of the party’s lawmakers in the House of Commons, equating to 81 lawmakers, including the challenger, in the current lower house of parliament. If Burnham decides to move early, he will most likely need to declare a challenge before parliament goes into recess on July 16, when lawmakers return to the areas they represent to work and take summer holidays. Starmer has an automatic right to stand in any leadership contest, and has said he would do so. After candidates gather support from local party branches and trade unions, party members would then vote. Overall, that could take two to three months. Burnham could seek to delay any leadership bid until after the summer, to give him time to campaign for the Labour candidate to be the next Greater Manchester mayor, in an election expected around the end of July. It would also give Burnham a chance to build relationships and seek more support from Labour members of parliament, particularly those elected since he left in 2017. A Starmer ally, housing minister Steve Reed, said in the wake of the by-election that Labour should now focus on campaigning for the Greater Manchester mayoralty. A leadership contest could also be triggered by another politician, with Burnham then choosing to stand. Streeting, who resigned as health minister in May, has said Starmer should consider his position over the weekend. If the prime minister fails to set out the terms of his departure, Streeting says he is prepared to challenge him soon. If Starmer and Streeting stand against Burnham in a vote among Labour members, polls suggest Burnham would win.
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When Brexit abruptly ended British cheesemaker Michael Harte’s ambitious European export plans, four years passed before his young company Bridge Cheese found overseas customers for its cheddar and mozzarella products again - in faraway Hong Kong. Harte had banked on a ‘soft Brexit’ that kept frictionless trade after Britain’s shock June 23, 2016 decision to leave the European Union, he said. Instead, the world’s fifth-biggest economy left the common market completely, putting up barriers to the giant on its doorstep. From its base in Telford, central England— a town best known as the birthplace of the 18th-century Industrial Revolution that helped spread the idea of open economies around the globe — Bridge Cheese’s pivot to Asia is now bearing fruit. This year, it expects to sell more than double the volume of processed cheese to Hong Kong than the annual 100,000 tonnes it used to send to Europe. Harte hopes to start exports to Malaysia this year and is seeking approvals in Vietnam, Thailand and mainland China and other markets. But between shortly after the Brexit barriers went up and late 2025, Bridge Cheese had booked no overseas sales at all, relying instead on slowing domestic growth to keep the business going. Harte has no doubt his company’s growth would have been much stronger if Britain could still trade freely with its neighbours. Before Brexit, “you could make a pallet of cheese here on a Monday and have it with the customer in France or Ireland by Wednesday,” Harte said, recalling plans he had to expand rapidly into Spain and Italy. He abandoned sales to the continent six months after a post-Brexit trade deal was implemented in 2021 because of the new costs of doing business - including mandatory veterinary checks costing £500 per inspection - as well as reams of customs paperwork and border delays which increased lead times. “We just weren’t competitive,” said Harte. Now, it costs his firm the same for veterinary certification of a 40-foot container carrying 16,800 kg of cheese to Asia as it would do for just two pallets totalling 1,200 kg sent to the EU, Harte said. And the paperwork is less onerous. Like Bridge Cheese, which has an annual turnover of around £35mn ($47mn), thousands of British companies have been forced to find ways to compensate for the loss of free access to their main foreign market, with food producers among the hardest hit. Although the EU remains the UK’s biggest trading partner, a range of manufacturers have felt the impact, adding to the list of problems facing the economy which has been stuck in a slow-growth rut since the 2007-08 global financial crisis. “Make an economy less open and it will restrict growth, though over a longer time trade will adjust and rebuild,” Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said last October. So far, that rebuild has proven tentative. UK FOOD EXPORTS TO EU PLUMMETVolumes of UK food exports to the bloc were down by more than 23% between 2021 and 2025 compared with the five years prior to Brexit, according to the Food and Drink Federation. By 2024, around 20,000 small firms, among them food producers, had stopped exporting goods to the EU, reducing the total to around 100,000, according to a report by the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance. Britain’s post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as Australia and India will replace just a fraction of these lost exports. As well as the hit to trade, Brexit has created years of uncertainty for businesses, reducing investment. Britain’s overall economy will be 4% smaller 15 years after Brexit than if the country had stayed in the EU, with around half the damage done already, the government’s budget forecasters have estimated. Based on Britain’s 3tn pounds of gross domestic product in 2025, that would be equivalent to 120bn pounds lopped off the economy. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a US think tank, predicts even heavier damage, saying Brexit will reduce the size of the economy by between 6% and 8%, with investment — which is crucial for future economic growth — down by 18% compared with a no-Brexit scenario. Economists who supported Brexit -- who were in the minority at the time of the referendum -- challenge the estimates. They argue that the remarkable performance of the US economy in the NBER’s analysis -- which compares Britain with a basket of other countries including the US -- exaggerates the Brexit effect. The real culprits for the economic malaise, they say, are higher taxes, more regulation and sky-high power bills. They point out that Britain’s overall economic performance in recent years has been roughly in line with that of France and better than Germany’s, arguing that London should pursue further bilateral trade deals, especially those which help the country’s big services sector. The red tape, delays and administrative costs of Brexit have also impacted the cost of the food Britain imports, a contributor to inflation, which has been the highest in the Group of Seven for much of the past four years, fuelled in part by the drop in the value of sterling after the referendum. NORTHERN IRELAND EXPORTERS FARE BETTERWhen policymakers wonder about how the UK economy might have fared without Brexit, some look across the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom which shares a land mass with the Republic of Ireland, has been allowed to keep free access to its southern neighbour and the rest of the EU’s single market, thanks to arrangements designed to protect the peace deal that ended decades of armed conflict. That access is vital for businesses and entrepreneurs such as Mike Thomson, another cheese-maker near Belfast. He said it represented “the best Brexit outcome we could have hoped for” even if red tape for ingredients shipped over from England has added costs for his craft dairy, Mike’s Fancy Cheese. His biggest single client is located across the border, in Dublin. Northern Ireland’s Brexit carve-out helped it to outgrow the rest of the UK. In 2023 — the most recent year for which such data is available — the Northern Irish economy was 16.5% larger than in 2015, making it the best performing part of the UK. England’s economy grew by 11.6%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. In 2024, more than a quarter of Northern Ireland’s goods and service exports went to the Republic of Ireland, up from 14% in 2015. UK-EU RESETPrime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to ease the friction and an EU-UK summit has been set for July 22 to seal a deal to slash veterinary checks from mid-2027, although EU sources have said progress has been slow. Harte said Bridge Cheese would be keen to export to the EU again if conditions were right and Britain aligned with its rules on human, animal and plant life trade, giving EU buyers more confidence: “If it improves our competitiveness, brilliant.” But for many companies bruised by Brexit and other economic shocks in recent years, a sense of uncertainty and caution is unlikely to be lifted much by a UK-EU reset on food safety standards. Business investment in Britain has been weak since the turn of the millennium and as a share of GDP, it has been the lowest among the G7 economies since shortly before the Brexit vote. Economists point to a range of likely causes, including tax changes and poor management, but Brexit - and the political volatility it has spawned with six different prime ministers in Downing Street since 2016 - hangs heavily over many employers. Starmer himself is likely to face a challenge from within the governing Labour Party in the coming months. Thomson, the cheese-maker in Northern Ireland, said the uncertainty meant he would not be investing to expand sales to the EU, even with his largely hassle-free access. Reform UK, the party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, is riding high in opinion polls. At the same time, one of the possible contenders to replace Starmer from within the Labour Party, former health minister Wes Streeting, has called for Britain to rejoin the EU one day. “Brexit is not a thing that has happened and is done,” Thomson said. “It’s not something you can plan around because you just don’t know how it’s going to be resolved.”
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The rich industrialised group of advanced economies – G-7 – many of whom are in the euro zone, are faced with economic crunch of a rare kind. They find that the United States, the largest
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The US along with Canada and Mexico is hosting the 2026 World Cup although soccer/football had been neither widely played or not a great favourite in the US. However, soccer’s star is rising. A very
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This summer’s television line-up offers a little bit of everything, from fantasy epics to crime thrillers, and passing time with a good TV show is the best way to beat the heat. This week we
