Podcasts about security council

President Donald Trump says two more weeks he is waiting to decide to whether to attack Iran over its nuclear weapons program is “a time to see whether or not people come to their senses"; United Nations Ambassadors from Iran and Israel trade accusations at a UN Security Council meeting as their countries continue their military campaigns against each other; head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warns the Security Council of the dangers of a military campaign targeting nuclear facilities; federal appeals court in California rules President Trump likely had the authority to deploy National Guard troops to deal with protests against immigration raids without Gov. Newsom's consent but the courts do have a role in reviewing the specific actions the troops will be doing; Federal Reserve board member thinks interest rates should be cut as early as next month; Supreme Court releases decisions, including one allowing a lawsuit from fuel producers against California vehicle emissions standards to continue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 23 -- VFP Fast for Gaza. I spoke with peacemaker Kathy Kelly and former member of the US AirForce Joy Metzler and asked them about their life choices that led them to join the "Fast for Gaza." Joy Metzler, 23, is a member of VFP and co-founder of Serivcemembers For Ceasefire – US military veterans calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza. Joy graduated from the USAF Academy in 2023 and was discharged as a conscientious objector citing “US aggression in the Middle East and the murderous ethnic cleansing in Palestine.” I asked Joy what she would say to the young US Marines recently deployed to the streets of Los Angeles in support of ICE. The night before our conversation -- Israel attacked Iran's military structures and leadership. While we sat on a metal bench outside the United Nations, the Security Council was preparing to hold an emergency meeting. This program begins with a statement by the United Kingdom Ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, calling for calm in the Middle East.Alan WinsonBCR Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking to network in the cybersecurity world? Fortunately, there's no shortage of industry associations to choose from. Today, we're putting the spotlight on the German Cyber Security Council e.V. The German Cyber Security Council e.V. shapes and promotes the security of business and society in the age of digitization, and positions Germany as an international pioneer. Their goal is to generate national and international cooperation with stakeholders. To learn more, visit https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybersecurity-associations and scroll down to the ‘German Cybersecurity Council.'

Ministers speak briefly with reporters on Parliament Hill as the federal cabinet holds its weekly meeting. Ministers Mélanie Joly (industry), François-Philippe Champagne (finance) and David McGuinty (public safety) face questions on the newly-tabled report by Auditor General Karen Hogan detailing the cost overruns for the American-made F-35 fighter jets. Joly, Champagne and McGuinty also comment on the government's recent announcement that it will meet its NATO defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP this fiscal year. Steven MacKinnon (government House leader) and Julie Dabrusin (environment and climate change) respond to questions on Bill C-5, the government's new legislation on bolstering trade between the provinces and territories and moving forward with major infrastructure projects of “national interest.”  Briefing by Julie Bishop, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, at the informal meeting of the General Assembly, 79th session. "I am deeply saddened to report to distinguished delegates, that the fighting across Myanmar continues and that the humanitarian crisis impacting its people is far worse than when I briefed the General Assembly last October. There has been no end to the violence, let alone any significant pause in the conflict between the warring parties, and the scale of the conflict has escalated over the four years since the military takeover in February 2021. There has been no end to the violence, even though thousands have been killed and thousands more injured; Even though civilians, women and children have been targeted in what should be safe spaces – schools, hospitals and places of worship. There has been no end to the violence, even though towns, villages, markets and other infrastructure have been bombed; Nor because of the immense humanitarian needs of over 20 million people, nor because the health system is collapsing, foreign direct investment is evaporating, and the economy is floundering. There has been no end to the violence, notwithstanding the calls of neighbouring countries and ASEAN, or the appeals of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Alarmingly, there has been no end to the violence even after the country was struck by a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake that devastated not only parts of Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and Sagaing, but was so powerful that it impacted Thailand, China and other neighbouring nations. What will it take to end the violence? What will it take to cease hostilities in Myanmar so that we can begin a journey to peace and reconciliation? For if there is no end to the violence, Myanmar is on a path to self-destruction".Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.

In April 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine was created to come up with a recommendation for the future of the region. This recommendation would then be voted on by the General Assembly before seeking endorsement by the Security Council. If such endorsement was granted, the Council would then have the power to impose its will, either through sanctions or direct force. That was the theory, anyway…   Notes Zionism: Real Enemy of the Jews: The False Messiah: 1, by Alan Hart: https://tinyurl.com/r4bxftu8 Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the U.S. was used to create Israel, by Alison Weir: https://tinyurl.com/3c7bb2aa The International Diplomacy of Israel's Founders, by John Quigley: https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781316540817_A26655069/preview-9781316540817_A26655069.pdf   Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/dsconsciousness Become a subscriber: https://payhip.com/b/Sq0ZB   Rain and Tears by Neutrin05 / neutrin05 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2PKvY28 Music promoted by Audio Library • Rain and Tears – Neutrin05 (No Copyright) matt2131@hotmail.com

Ann Wright on Freedom Flotilla

The General Assembly selected five new members of the Security Council and one new President of the General Assembly this week in not-so-hotly contested elections. These new Security Council members will take their seats in January, and former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will assume the PGA gavel at UNGA in September. So what can we expect from these new faces in the UN's two key bodies? Anjali and Mark break down the implications of a reshaped Security Council and the fact that a longtime German Green Party politician will helm the General Assembly as the UN enters its 80th year. But first: The Trump administration throws down the gauntlet in an effort to block Mongolia's attempt to celebrate the unique contributions of horses in today's world. Seriously, that happened. And it's actually a way bigger deal than you'd expect! Get the full episode here: https://www.globaldispatches.org/p/new-faces-at-the-unand-a-horse-fight

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.orgThe General Assembly selected five new members of the Security Council and one new President of the General Assembly this week in not-so-hotly contested elections. These new Security Council members will take their seats in January, and former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will assume the PGA gavel at UNGA in September. So what can we expect…

The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Edition No150 | 03-06-2025 - We'll come to the extraordinary strike on the Kerch Bridge in a minute, but there has also been significant development in the so-called peace process. Or rather the mask has slipped, and Russia's true purpose in engaging in the Istanbul process has been made abundantly clear by vodka-soaked political thug, Medvedev, Russia's former one-term president. Russia has a talent for undermining its own cause and position. Just as Ukraine's daring attacks may have led to it being blamed for ‘sabotaging' the so-called peace talks, Russia ruins what could have been an effective political propaganda campaign. Former President and Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitri Medvedev says the quiet part out loud, that Russia seeks victory, not compromise, in the talks with Ukraine. Medvedev, known for his incendiary and fascistic, genocidal outbursts on Twitter, said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory."The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime," Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said on Telegram. ----------Links: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medvedev-says-russia-seeks-victory-not-compromise-talks-with-ukraine-2025-06-03/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/3/7515358/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/03/ukraine-hits-bridge-linking-crimea-to-russia-with-underwater-explosiveshttps://kyivindependent.com/breaking-ukraines-sbu-strikes-crimean-bridge-in-underwater-attack/https://kyivindependent.com/operation-spiderweb-everything-we-know-about-ukraines-audacious-attack-on-russias-heavy-bombers/----------SUMMER FUNDRAISERSNAFO & Silicon Curtain community - Let's help help 5th SAB together https://www.help99.co/patches/nafo-silicon-curtain-communityWe are teaming up with NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade to provide 2nd Assault Battalion of 5th SAB with a pickup truck that they need for their missions. With your donation, you're not just sending a truck — you're standing with Ukraine.https://www.help99.co/patches/nafo-silicon-curtain-communityWhy NAFO Trucks Matter:Ukrainian soldiers know the immense value of our NAFO trucks and buses. These vehicles are carefully selected, produced between 2010 and 2017, ensuring reliability for harsh frontline terrain. Each truck is capable of driving at least 20,000 km (12,500 miles) without major technical issues, making them a lifeline for soldiers in combat zones.In total we are looking to raise an initial 19 500 EUR in order to buy 1 x NAFO truck 2.0 Who is getting the aid? 5 SAB, 2 Assault Battalion, UAV operators‍.https://www.help99.co/patches/nafo-silicon-curtain-community----------Car for Ukraine has once again joined forces with a group of influencers, creators, and news observers during this summer. Sunshine here serves as a metaphor, the trucks are a sunshine for our warriors to bring them to where they need to be and out from the place they don't.https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-2025This time, we focus on the 6th Detachment of HUR, 93rd Alcatraz, 3rd Assault Brigade, MLRS systems and more. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-2025- bring soldiers to the positions- protect them with armor- deploy troops with drones to the positions----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Professor Guy Sinclair explains how the UN has, over time, diverged from its original Charter, adapting in response to global shifts—sometimes enhancing its relevance, but at other times straining its legitimacy. Sinclair outlines four key factors driving institutional change: external shocks, internal dynamics, legal mechanisms, and shared narratives. As new technologies like AI and autonomous weapons reshape global threats, he anticipates further evolution in how international organizations operate. We also discuss the strain on the UN's development agenda—especially the Sustainable Development Goals—as geopolitical shocks and donor fatigue undercut progress. Sinclair addresses concerns about the UN's diminished authority in peace and security, citing the growing irrelevance of Security Council authorization. He warns that the increasing role of private and state donors may skew UN priorities, challenging its legitimacy. Finally, we explore whether collective security remains a viable goal and whether reform should be gradual or transformative. Through it all, Sinclair urges a critical but hopeful approach, recognizing the UN's enduring potential amid deep systemic challenges.Learn more on GlobalGovernanceForum.org

A version of this essay was published by the Deccan Herald at https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/op-sindoor-how-we-won-and-lost-3566189There are no clear wins in wars these days, especially when terrorizing populations, or nuclear blackmail, is the goal. Pakistan's war manual may well be The Quranic Concept of War (1979) by Brigadier S K Malik, with its pithy statement: “Terror struck into the hearts of the enemies is not only a means, it is the end itself… Terror is not a means of imposing a decision on the enemy; it is the decision we wish to impose on him.” Notably, this book has a forward from General Zia-ul-Haq, their then President.In War From the Ground Up (2012), Emile Simpson, a former British Army officer, argues that modern wars often lack binary outcomes due to their political and informational complexity. Thus you could both win and lose a war, and that's what Operation Sindoor's outcome is.On the plus side, India won a clear military victory. India leveraged its integrated air defense, long-range missiles, global positioning satellites and drone decoy technology to achieve aerial dominance. This enabled India to make pinpoint strikes, unchallenged, first on terrorist enclaves, and then on Pakistani military sites, including, it is said, nuclear storage silos.India surprised most observers, because it was not only through expensive imported fighter jets that it deprecated Pakistan's offensive capabilities, but also indigenous drones, loitering munitions and cruise missiles. India needs strategic autonomy, because foreign suppliers, and supply chains, are not dependable. They keep the kill switches, and can turn off the spigot.India may well have ushered in a step-change in modern warfare itself, an age where drones and missiles tilt the balance rather than fighter jets, although the latter continue to remain key. Maybe it is sufficient to have slightly less advanced jets like the Tejas and the upcoming AMCA rather than procuring top-end F-35s, Su-57s etc. But there is a caveat: fighter jet engines. India must get its Kaveri engine working, for self-reliance.India also established strategic red lines: terrorist attacks will henceforth invite disproportionate and military retaliation because there is a military-terrorist nexus, with Pakistani soldiers cosplaying as terrorists, exchanging uniforms for long shirts, loose pants and beards, as a way of sub-critical harassment with plausible deniability.Furthermore, Pakistan's nuclear threat has been defanged. India's ability to hit their nuclear command center and two of the entrances to their storage facility in the Kirana Hills, suggest that their nuclear assets, if any, are disabled. Besides, there are rumors that warheads are not in Pakistani hands, but American or Chinese. That stands to reason, because otherwise Pakistan would likely have proliferated them to Iran, Turkey and non-state actors such as Hamas.So what are the negatives? The biggest is that this skirmish has not put even a dent in Pakistan's use of terrorism as state policy. Indeed, the next encounter with terrorists has already taken place in Kishtwar on May 22nd, exactly one month after Pahalgam, with one Indian soldier killed. Terrorism and war with India continue to be the raison d'etre of the Pakistani state.India comprehensively lost the narrative war. Operation Sindoor is portrayed in the Western media on Pakistan's terms (including the usual bogey of ‘nuclear war'), and their claims of shooting down 5-6 Indian jets are accepted as the truth. Many Pakistanis are embedded in Western media outlets, and that is not accidental. As they say, you can wake up a sleeping person, but not someone who is pretending to be asleep.In that sense, the all-party delegation visiting various capitals is an exercise in futility, because the West is not interested in India becoming a peer-level competitor: the G2 with China is bad enough, who wants a G3 with India as well? Also, just as the EAM told Europe that their (Ukraine) problem is a European problem, the West sees India's problems as not theirs.Pakistan's ability to internationalize the issue is a failure for India's stance that Kashmir is a bilateral issue. Fortunately, nobody actually cares, including the UN or its Security Council.A major failure for India was that it could have, but did not, capture any territory, which would have been a devastating blow to Pakistan's amour propre, and would have made “Field Marshal” Munir a laughing stock. India errs on the side of caution, and a large-scale intrusion does have problems with hostile civilians and stretched supply lines.But surely the Haji Pir Pass could have been recaptured: it was needlessly given away in Tashkent in 1966. It is a major route of infiltration for terrorists, its commanding heights dominate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and it cuts the Uri-Poonch distance from 282km to 56km.Alas, a resounding military victory has been morphed into a stalemate.795 words, May 27, 2025AI-generated podcast from notebookLM.google.com: Now AI-generated podcast in Malayalam from the same: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

Elon Musk, Former head of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) joins the President Trump in the White House Oval Office on his final day as a government employee; President Trump accuses China of violating a trade agreement from a few weeks ago that led to the lowering of high tariffs on both sides while negotiations continued on a longer-term deal; Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to take away temporary legal protections from over half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela; former President Joe Biden talks to reporters about prostate cancer diagnosis after speaking at a Memorial Day service in Delaware. Today is also the 10th anniversary of the death of his son, Beau Biden; Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia tells the Security Council that any ceasefire with Ukraine must include the West pausing sending weapons to Ukraine; Bernard Kerik, former NYC Police Commissioner who rose to national prominence after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, has died. He served time in prison and wrote a book about it. We hear what he learned from that experience, at a 2015 CSPAN2 BookTV appearance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Iraq's progress since 2004 for, “strengthening institutions, resolving disputes through dialogue, providing humanitarian assistance and fostering sustainable development and human rights.” The Secretary-General spoke at the Summit of the League of Arab States today (17 May) in Baghdad, Iraq. “I am alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more,” Guterres said during his address. “And I emphasize that the United Nations will not participate in any so-called aid operation that does not adhere to international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” he added. He stressed the urgent need for support to UNRWA, saying, “I reiterate my appeal for the urgent and full support of UNRWA's work, including financial support. We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population – and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza.” Turning to Lebanon, Guterres called for full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701. “Sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected, and the Government of Lebanon must have control over all Lebanese territory,” he said. “I welcome the stated commitment by Lebanese officials to ensure a state monopoly over weapons.” In Sudan, the Secretary-General said a unified international effort was critical to stem worsening conditions. “Renewed and coordinated multilateral engagement is crucial to help stem appalling violence, famine, and mass displacement,” he stated. He thanked the Arab League and African Union for cooperating in a recent high-level meeting. Guterres concluded by commending Iraq's progress in the two decades since the restoration of sovereignty. “I want to recognise and commend the progress Iraq has made... strengthening institutions, resolving disputes through dialogue, providing humanitarian assistance and fostering sustainable development and human rights,” he said. “I sincerely hope that all pending issues will find a just solution by dialogue.” Comments to the media by Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, on the situation in the Country. Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference in Rome, Italy, where he is attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. While in Rome, the prime minister is also meeting with other international leaders. Responding to questions from journalists, Carney comments on the papal inauguration, his government's plan to table its first federal budget in the fall, his upcoming meeting with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, and his government's position on housing prices.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.

Global outcry at ICJ as Israel faces accusations of starving Palestinians At the International Court of Justice, South Africa accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon in Gaza, calling it a breach of international law. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and Spain echoed concerns, citing Israel's disregard for humanitarian obligations and UN rulings. Representatives warned of a collapsing aid system and worsening famine, urging global action and reaffirming support for Palestinian self-determination amid what was described as an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. Israel, in its genocidal war, has killed more than fifty-two thousand three hundred Palestinians since October 2023 and wounded hundreds of thousands of others. UN chief urges two-state solution in Israeli war on Palestine United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pushed countries to "take irreversible action towards implementing a two-state solution" between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of an international conference in June. "I encourage Member States to go beyond affirmations, and to think creatively about the concrete steps they will take to support a viable two-state solution before it is too late," Guterres told a Security Council meeting on Tuesday. France and Saudi Arabia will co-host the conference at the United Nations in June. Daesh-linked militants attack mourners in Nigerian village, killing 15 A wave of terror engulfed Kwaple village in Nigeria's Borno State when Daesh-linked militants stormed in on motorcycles, unleashing a hail of bullets on mourners and killing at least 15 people. "The ISWAP militants opened fire on the mourners and pursued them on motorcycles into the bush as they tried to flee," Ayuba Alamson, a community leader in Chibok, said. Local leaders are gripped with dread, warning that the true death toll may be far higher, with scores still missing in the chaos. Trump marks 100 days, promises defence investments US President Donald Trump kicked off a pair of events in Michigan, celebrating his first 100 days in office. Speaking to a packed rally in Macomb, Trump touted the country's economic growth, declaring, "Companies are coming back to Michigan." Highlighting a $1 trillion defence investment, he praised Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for securing the Selfridge Air National Guard Base. While his approval rating dropped to 42 percent, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll, Trump continues to promote his administration's successes, claiming the best start in US presidential history. BRICS unites in opposition to Trump's tariff policy BRICS foreign ministers, including those from China and Russia, criticised the growing "trade protectionism" during talks in Rio de Janeiro, a direct response to US President Dondald Trump's tariffs. Brazil's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, emphasised the group's ""strong rejection"" of such policies, without naming Trump. Amid escalating tariffs, China has imposed 125 percent duties on US goods, while the US has slapped 10 percent tariffs on numerous countries. The ministers agreed on a unified stance against trade conflicts just ahead of the leaders' summit in three months.

グテレス国連事務総長と握手する岩屋毅外相、２８日、米ニューヨーク【ニューヨーク時事】米ニューヨークを訪れている岩屋毅外相は２８日午後、グテレス国連事務総長と国連本部で会談した。 Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday reaffirmed the need for reforming the U.N. Security Council.

This episode is released to mark the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace 2025. We invited Marie Hürlimann, Co-Director, and Raphaëlle Leung, Head of Communications of Foraus, a Swiss participatory think tank for young thinkers who want to shape tomorrow's foreign policy, to talk about the latest Foraus publication that they co-edited with Maximillian Rau: GenSouth - New voices from the Global South for the multilateral system of the future. GenSouth is a programme designed to bring together academics and think tank researchers from the Global South, aged between 25 and 35, to engage in discussions about the multilateralism of the future and to develop actionable, ambitious recommendations. Marie and Raphaëlle talk with Francesco Pisano, Director of the UN Library & Archives in Geneva, about the GenSouth project. They reveal to us four visions of possible futures of multilateralism elaborated in the report. GenSouth sees a world built on collective responsibility where the international community does not stand by in the violation of IHL; a reimagined South-South cooperation prioritising resilience, sustainability, and sovereignty; a transformation of the global financial architecture to empower vulnerable communities' access to climate finance; and Security Council reform for the inclusion of global south and the future of peace. With thanks to the authors: Subia Ahmad, Maria Dominika Mediana Rossa Budhisatrio, Marième Cissé, Marília Closs, Paula Lottenberg, Muhammad Nidhal, Luanda Mpungose, Kwaji Ble Ngida, Olumide Onitekun, Luis Gabriel Herrera Perez, Beatriz Pfeifer, Pratyush Sharma, Parousia Tlhompho Shikwambane, Malena Viú. Read about GenSouth and access the report: https://foraus.ch/en/projects/gensouth-programme-2024/ Resources: Ask a Librarian! Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/7lh81yuAPxQ Content    Guests: Marie Hürlimann and Raphaëlle Leung, Foraus Host: Francesco Pisano, Director, UN Library & Archives Geneva Recorded and produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

The EU announces fines of nearly 800 million U.S. dollars against American tech giants Apple and Meta for violating digital competition laws. India announces measures to downgrade ties with Pakistan following an attack on tourists. China's ambassador to the UN calls for equality, justice and unity at a Security Council meeting.

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 115-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 18,990 on turnover of 3-billion N-T. The market fell by almost 300 points on Monday due to lake of investor interest in semiconductor heavyweights as U-S tariff polices continue to impact market sentiment. Large-cap semiconductor stocks led the broader market lower once again sending the electronics index down by 1.6-per cent by the close of the day's trading. Premier approves NT$88 billion U.S. tariff support package Premier Cho Jung-tai has approved the Cabinet's 88-billion N-T support package aimed at mitigating (減輕) the impact of higher U-S tariffs on Taiwan's economy. However, details on what the plan contains remain relatively vague. Cabinet Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin says the plan will offer Taiwan companies various forms of financial support and will serve as a sort of "umbrella on a rainy day." Departments responsible for administering the 20 measures contained in the package are slated to explain them in more detail in the coming days. Foreign minister to attend Eswatini king's birthday celebration Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung will lead a delegation to Eswatini King Mswati III's 57th birthday celebration as President Lai Ching-te's special envoy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Lin will be heading a delegation of government officials and a group of business representatives to Eswatini from today through Saturday. The delegation will attend festivities (慶祝活動) and the main celebration, which is scheduled on Friday. Lin will present a letter from Lai and cows as gifts to Eswatini's king and Queen According to the ministry, the foreign minister will also hold meetings with Eswatini's Prime Minister Russell Dlamini and the kingdom's foreign minister on bilateral ties and projects. Pope Francis World leaders are paying tribute to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88, as the Vatican declares (宣稱) nine days of mourning. AP correspondent Trisha Thomas reports. UN Sounds Warning on Haiti Gang Violence The top U.N. official in Haiti is sounding an alarm to the U.N. Security Council that escalating (不斷升級) gang violence is liable (很可能會發生的) to lead the Caribbean nation to “a point of no return.” Maria Isabel Salvador is warning that “Haiti could face total chaos” without increased funding and support for the operation of the Kenya-led multinational force helping Haiti's police to tackle the gangs' expanding violence. She spoke to the Security Council on Monday. The gangs have grown in power since the 2021 assassination of the president and are now estimated to control 85% of the capital and are moving into surrounding areas. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 2025年COMPUTEX以「AI Next」為主題，5月20日至23日於南港展覽館隆重登場！ 吸引1,400家國內外科技大廠、新創企業及加速器等夥伴共襄盛舉，同時舉辦多場精采活動，歡迎踴躍預登參觀！ 報名連結

The UN remembers Pope Francis as a ‘transcendent voice for peace'The UN envoy for Haiti calls on the Security Council to stay engaged as gangs continue sowing chaosAsian crime syndicates are expanding worldwide, a new UNODC report warns

The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

Ex hostage Sharabi tells his ordeal to U.N. Security Council. Regent Univ. hosts Israeli UN Amb. Danny Danon: Amb. Sam Brownback on the plight of religious minorities in Syria, and Michele Bachmann explains this "hinge-of-history" moment.

This article by Richard Gowan was published at worldpoliticsreview.com on March 19, 2025. It is now almost exactly two months since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House and set about weakening the United Nations. On his first day in office, Trump announced that the U.S. would quit the Paris Agreement on climate change as well as the World Health Organization. At the time, I argued that these were predictable maneuvers, as he had taken similar steps in his first term. Diplomats and international officials in New York were resigned to Trump taking early pot-shots at the U.N. but hoped that he would move on to other targets. Two months later, U.N. insiders admit that the new administration has done far more harm to the institution than they had expected. And they worry that it will do even greater damage before long. While the administration's cuts to foreign aid have hit U.N. agencies hard, U.N. officials had expected to face financial strains. But Washington has also blocked information-sharing by U.S. government entities with their U.N. counterparts on issues ranging from epidemics to indicators of famine. That has stopped the flow of data that U.N. agencies often relied on more than they would care to admit. In parallel, U.S. diplomats in New York and Geneva have instructions to purge multilateral documents of references to words the Trump administration dislikes, like "gender" and "diversity." These strictures have upset routine U.N. committee processes on issues ranging from children's wellbeing to peacekeeping, as U.S. negotiators have focused on these semantic points to the exclusion of all other topics. Their foreign counterparts quip that U.S. diplomats simply use the "Ctrl+F" keyboard shortcut to search draft texts for offending nouns and verbs to cut, in order to win credit with Washington. Foreign officials in New York had always expected the Trump administration to be transactional rather than principled in its multilateral diplomacy. But its obsession with rooting out supposedly leftist notions has convinced many that it is ultimately following a right-wing ideological template, making it significantly harder to bargain with. The U.S. has reinforced this view by circulating a questionnaire to U.N. agencies asking if they have had any association with communists or other anti-American forces. While senior figures in New York have tracked the White House's attacks, they have had few real openings to understand U.S. thinking. The Senate confirmation of Trump's nominee as ambassador to the U.N., Rep. Elise Stefanik, has been put on hold to allow Stefanik to remain in Congress, as the slim and unruly Republican majority makes her vote indispensable for upcoming budgetary negotiations. Beleaguered diplomats at the U.S. mission to the U.N. have tended to postpone big decisions until her eventual arrival, which is now expected in early April but could slip further into the future. Some major U.S. initiatives - such as the decision to side with Moscow rather than Kyiv in a series of General Assembly and Security Council votes in February marking the anniversary of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine - have seemed quite haphazardly put together. The bleakest observers suspect that the Trump administration not only does not care about the U.N. but actively wants to subvert it. Worried U.N. member states have been urging the organization's leaders to try to get ahead of this burgeoning crisis. In February and early March, major financial donors to the U.N. fretted that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres - who handled Trump quite successfully in his first term - was not taking the scale of the current U.S. threat seriously. Last week, Guterres announced a review of the U.N.'s mandates and structures to identify savings and efficiencies. He has, rather unconvincingly, tried to present this as an independent initiative rather than a stop-gap response to Trump. Looking ahead, denizens of the U.N. bubble broa...

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 26-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 22,245 on turnover of 4.1-billion N-T. The market closed up on Tuesday, as buying was sparked by a rally on Wall Street overnight on hopes that the U-S Federal Reserve will cut interest rates after the release of worse-than-expected retail (零售) sales data in February. MND send Quadrennial Defense Review to LY for review Defense Minister Wellington Koo is slated to meet with members of the Legislative National Defense Committee later today to answer quesitons about the Quadrennial Defense Report. The report was sent to the Legislative Yuan yesterday for review. This report focuses on the need to building strong defenses and a multilayered deterrence (威懾), while also elaborating on military cooperation with the United States. The report has to be submitted to the the Legislative Yuan within 10 months of the presidential inauguration. CDC seeing an end to flu epidemic The Centers for Disease Control says the ongoing influenza epidemic is expected to end in late March. According to the C-D-C, a total of around 108,000 outpatient and emergency visits due to flu-like illness were reported from March 9 through 15 .. .. and that figure indicate (顯示) a downward trend, but still an ongoing epidemic. The C-D-C says the most common respiratory pathogen in the community is the flu virus, with the majority being influenza type A. C-D-C Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui says that the flu epidemic remains at a "critical point" and "still requires continued monitoring." UN Guterres Shocked at Israel's Gaza Strikes The United Nations Secretary General has expressed shock at the overnight Israeli attacks on Gaza. Israel launched a series of air strikes on the enclave (飛地) on Monday night ending an almost two month ceasefire. Jody Jacobs reports from New York where the Security Council ismeeting on the matter. Mali Withdraws from FrenchSpeakingCountry Alliance Mali has withdrawn from a global alliance of French-speaking countries, days after two of its neighbors took the same step. In a letter seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Mali's foreign ministry accused its French counterpart of “selective application of sanctions” and “contempt for Mali's sovereignty.” On Monday, the alliance's spokeswoman said Burkina Faso and Niger had also decided to remove their countries from the organization, which had already suspended the membership of the three countries over military coups in recent years. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are now all ruled by military juntas that have severed diplomatic ties with France and expelled (驅逐) French troops while building security partnerships with Russia instead. The three will have six months to discuss the terms of their withdrawal from the alliance before it becomes final. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 福斯原廠認證中古車提供一站式購車安心保障 歐洲進口跨界休旅 The T-Cross 配備 Level 2 駕駛輔助系統 限時優惠 66.8 萬起再享一年原廠保固 試駕請洽璿豐汽車 03-3349555 https://sofm.pse.is/7b22t2 -- 金融市場波動加劇，想尋找資金避風港? 00864B中信美國公債0-1，鎖定存續期小於一年的美國公債， 利率風險較小，適合資金停泊，是你進可攻、退可守的投資良選！ https://user285523.pse.is/79hhms -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed on what it called information for Donald Trump at a late-night meeting in Moscow with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. In a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin's spokesperson added that a phone call between US President Trump and Putin was expected. A Russia analyst take us through the likelihood that the country's leader truly wants a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine. Also in the programme: Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte attends his first hearing at The Hague, accused of crimes against humanity; and following news of a tourist pulling a baby wombat away from its mother in Australia, a wildlife expert weighs in on the backlash.(Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, 7th March, 2025. Credit: Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS)

Christopher Lockyear, the Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières, briefed the UN's Security Council on the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war in Sudan. He speaks to Drivetime about that conflict and the latest Hamas release of hostages.

The Trump administration has turned the United Nations into a battleground in its war on gender equality. At the Commission on the Status of Women this week, the U.S. sought to block references to gender equality…in a conference dedicated to that very cause! Meanwhile, at the Security Council, the U.S. refused to join a statement condemning the Taliban's treatment of women, signaling a broader retreat from the “Women, Peace, and Security” agenda. In this episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and Mark Leon Goldberg break down how Trump's anti-DEI crusade is playing out at the UN and what it means for global diplomacy. Get a discounted subscription and unlock the full episode by following this link. 

Edition No110 | 11-03-2025 - Yesterday's episode has proved to be tremendously popular and provoked an intense debate in the comments section. So here goes, part 2 with a breakdown of the indicators that Trump's actions, rather than his words, are following an increasingly pro-Russian position. 1) Voting with Russia in both the UN General Assembly and Security Council. 2) Vetoing statement by the G7 that seek to condemn Russia and create consensus.3) Vetoing G7 proposal for a task force to combat Russian shadow oil fleet.4) Cutting off military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, including F16 data.5) Halting cyber operations against Russia, dismantling barriers to foreign interference. 6) Indicating that US joint military training operations in Europe would be suspended. 7) Undermining NATO by casting doubt on commitment to Article 5 / ‘delinquent' allies. 8) Perpetuating and amplifying Russian talking points in America's legislatures.Where is the US getting its framework for concessions it is suggesting to Ukraine? We need to look back at the Istanbul negotiations of 2022, which involved preliminary peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but where Russia's demands were too punitive for Ukraine to accept. The long-term implications of the Istanbul framework would have been Ukrainian isolation and long-term capitulation. Now these are the conditions that Biden rightly rejected, but which Trump has resurrected and is seek to pressure (by all means available) Ukraine to accept, despite the deeply problematic implications, and lack of realism behind them. ----------https://dzygaspaw.com/triad-silicon-curtain?notes=Jonathan%20Fink%20for%20TRIAD&project=Triad:%20Night%20Drones----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------LINKS:https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/03/putin-hitler-munich-parallel/681973/https://news.online.ua/en/the-us-is-ending-support-for-ukrainian-f-16s-but-there-is-a-way-out-891472/----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.orgThe Trump administration has turned the United Nations into a battleground in its war on gender equality. At the Commission on the Status of Women this week, the U.S. sought to block references to gender equality…in a conference dedicated to that very cause! Meanwhile, at the Security Council, the U.S. refused to join a statement condemning the Taliban'…

Edition No109 | 10-03-2025 - When it comes to Trump, the rhetoric and contradictory fire-hose of sound bites can be distracting and divisive. They also create the impression of impulsive and capricious chaos. Let's look at his actions instead, which show an alarming degree of consistency. His actions that can be discerned, follow an increasingly pro-Russian position. 1) Voting with Russia in both the UN General Assembly and Security Council 2) Vetoing statement by the G7 that seek to condemn Russia and create consensus3) Vetoing G7 proposal for a task force to combat Russian shadow oil fleet4) Cutting off military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, including F16 data5) Halting offensive cyber operations against Russia6) Dismantling American logistics base in Poland – military insurance for allies 7) Undermining NATO by casting doubt on commitment to Article 58) Perpetuating and amplifying Russian talking points in America's legislatures ----------https://dzygaspaw.com/triad-silicon-curtain?notes=Jonathan%20Fink%20for%20TRIAD&project=Triad:%20Night%20Drones----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------LINKS:https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/03/putin-hitler-munich-parallel/681973/https://news.online.ua/en/the-us-is-ending-support-for-ukrainian-f-16s-but-there-is-a-way-out-891472/----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged China and Russia to strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs. He made the remarks while meeting Secretary Sergei Shoigu of the Russian Federation Security Council.

The U.N. Security Council has adopted a neutral U.S. stance on the war in Ukraine. Plus, President Donald Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron.A judge blocks ICE enforcement actions at houses of worship.USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe discusses what might be at stake at the high court in a case surrounding 'reverse discrimination' claims.A judge blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from Education Department personnel information. Plus, the federal Office of Personnel Management notified workers they could ignore Elon Musk's latest DOGE directive.USA TODAY Youth Mental Health Reporting Fellow Rachel Hale talks about sexual exploitation and its impact on American teens.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's podcast: 1) The US looks for further limits on China semiconductor access The Trump administration is planning to expand efforts to limit China's technological advancements, including tougher semiconductor curbs and pressuring allies to escalate restrictions on China's chip industry. The administration has met with Japanese and Dutch counterparts to restrict maintenance of semiconductor gear in China and is discussing sanctions on specific Chinese companies and further restricting chip exports to China. 2) President Trump breaks with allies on blaming Russia for the war in Ukraine The US and Russia voted against a European-backed resolution in the UN General Assembly that calls out Moscow's "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine exactly three years ago. The US and Russia later aligned in the Security Council to approve a US resolution calling for a "swift end" to the conflict without assigning blame, a stark reversal from policy under President Joe Biden. 3) President Trump says tariffs on Canada and Mexico are on track President Trump said tariffs scheduled to hit Canada and Mexico next month were "on time" and "moving along very rapidly." A US official cautioned that the schedule could be less certain, and the fate of the special 25% levy on Canada and Mexico was still to be determined.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the country supports the central role of the UN when meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after chairing a Security Council high-level meeting.

Russian and US officials have met for initial peace talks on the war in Ukraine. The UN is accusing Isreal of violating a Security Council resolution, because it still has troops in Lebanon. The deadly winter storm impacting large parts of the US is now bringing snow and freezing temperatures to flood hit areas. Southwest Airlines has announced its first mass layoff in its history. Plus, an NFL star is facing fresh allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greece's two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council began at the outset of 2025. Since then, Greece has been at the heart of key discussions and initiatives - from playing a role in renewing the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus to the Security Council adopting its resolution on maritime security in the Red Sea. Lena Argiri, the DC correspondent for ERT - the Greek Public Broadcasting Company - and Kathimerini, joins Thanos Davelis as we break down Greece's priorities on the Security Council, and explain what this means for the country's global diplomatic standing.You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:Greece begins two-year term at UN Security CouncilUN Security Council adopts Red Sea resolution drafted by Greece, USCyprus and Chevron-led group agree on updated plan for offshore fieldCyprus and Egypt to sign natural gas commercialization agreementsGreek military eyes technological leap

Security Council demands an end to M23 rebel offensive in DR CongoWHO calls for action on clean airUN marks 80 years since the end of the Holocaust