“The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Monday in support of a challenge to a new Washington State law mandating clergy to report child abuse, describing the rule as ‘anti-Catholic’ and a violation of the Constitution. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Catholic, signed Senate Bill 5375 into law early last month. The new law, which goes into effect July 27, adds clergy members — including priests, ministers, rabbi and imam, among others — to the list of people required to report child abuse or neglect to the state or law enforcement under threat of being charged with a gross misdemeanor offense. The law has received pushback from local Catholics, who have characterized it as forcing them to break the sacred seal of confession in order to avoid prison.” (06/23/25)
“A laser navigating tool doomed a Japanese company’s lunar lander earlier this month, causing it to crash into the moon. Officials for ispace announced the news from Tokyo on Tuesday. The crash landing was the second for ispace in two years. This time, the company’s lander named Resilience was aiming for the moon’s far north in Mare Frigoris, or Sea of Cold. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter relayed pictures of the crash site last week where Resilience and its mini rover ended up as wreckage. Company officials blamed the accident on the lander’s laser range finder, saying it was slow to kick in and properly measure the spacecraft’s distance to the lunar surface. Resilience was descending at a rapid rate of 138 feet (42 meters) per second when contact was lost, and crashed five seconds later, they said.” (06/23/25)
“Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said. Responding to an Associated Press inquiry, the military said it was reviewing reports of casualties from Israeli fire after a group of people approached troops in an area adjunct to the east-west Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza. … The Awda hospital said another 146 Palestinians were wounded. Among them were 62 in critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it said.” (06/24/25)
“[3:31 am UK time] We’ve just heard from the Israeli military, which says it has identified missiles launched from Iran. … [04:01am UK time] Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has just issued a statement, saying he has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to ‘respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire with intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran.’ … [04:24am UK time] Iranian state media has responded to Israel’s accusations, saying Iran denies reports that it fired a missile at Israel after the ceasefire began.” (06/24/25)
“Bitcoin reclaimed the $106,000 level on Monday after briefly dipping below $98,500 on Sunday — the first time in 45 days. Market anxiety eased after US President Donald Trump announced a ‘total ceasefire’ between Israel and Iran. Traders are now weighing whether Bitcoin can push toward $110,000 or if downside risks still linger. Despite the volatility, Bitcoin’s derivatives market remained steady. The price move triggered $193 million in liquidations of bullish leveraged Bitcoin positions, equivalent to 0.3% of total futures open interest. The current $68 billion in leveraged positions is virtually unchanged from Saturday.” (06/23/25)
“A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to restart swift removals of migrants to countries other than their homelands, lifting for now a court order requiring they get a chance to challenge the deportations. The high court majority did not detail its reasoning in the brief order. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by the other two liberal [sic] justices, issued a scathing dissent.” (06/23/25)
“Romanian lawmakers voted Monday decisively in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by a center-right prime minister, as the European Union and NATO member nation seeks to end one of its worst political crises in its post-communist history. Parliament approved the new administration in a 301-9 vote in Romania’s 464-seat legislature, days after Romania’s new President Nicusor Dan nominated Ilie Bolojan of the center-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, to lead a new government. Some lawmakers from nationalist opposition parties were absent from the voting.” (06/24/25)
“Japan’s ruling party has suffered its worst result in local assembly elections in Tokyo, as residents of the capital used the vote to protest against soaring food prices and low wage growth. The results of Sunday’s poll underscored the challenge Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba could face next month in elections for the upper house of Japan’s national parliament. The Liberal Democratic party, which governs at the national level in a fragile coalition, won just 22 seats in Tokyo’s 127-member metropolitan assembly. That marked a record low for the party, which entered the contest with 30 seats, and included three seats won by candidates who were previously affiliated with the party but not officially endorsed by it.” (06/23/25)
“Kenyan prosecutors said on Monday they approved murder charges against six people, including three police officers, for their role in killing a political blogger whose death in police custody sparked large protests. Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement that the six suspects would be arraigned on Tuesday. One of the police officers was the commander at the station where Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger and teacher, was held in Nairobi. … Ojwang died earlier this month following his arrest as part of an investigation triggered by a complaint by the deputy national police chief, Eliud Lagat. Lagat had filed a formal complaint about allegedly false and malicious information published about him on social media, according to the state-funded police watchdog.” (06/23/25)
“Former Czech Prime Minister and election frontrunner Andrej Babiš is in legal jeopardy once again after Prague’s High Court on Monday overturned an earlier ruling clearing him of wrongdoing in a €2 million EU subsidy fraud. The case now returns to the same Prague district court that in February 2024 acquitted Babiš and his former advisor and current Patriots for Europe MEP Jana Nagyová of fiddling ownership documents so the former leader’s agriculture holding qualified for the subsidy. The High Court said the lower court had not evaluated the evidence properly. The reversal comes only months before Czech parliamentary elections with Babiš, leader of the opposition right-wing populist ANO party, the frontrunner on 31 percent support.” (06/23/25)
