“New Caledonia’s non-independence coalition emerged as the largest bloc in the legislature after the French Pacific territory’s provincial elections, but fell short of an outright majority, leaving a small centrist Pacific party in the role of kingmaker, final results showed. The elections, held on June 28 after repeated delays, were the first provincial vote since 2019 and followed deadly unrest in 2024 over proposed changes to the local electoral roll, exposing the deep strains in France’s relationship with New Caledonia and its Indigenous Kanak population. The French Pacific territory, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia, has around 270,000 inhabitants, including roughly 41% Melanesian Kanaks and 24% of European origin, mostly French, and has long been split between pro-independence and pro-France camps.” (06/29/26)
“Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday issued a plea to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, describing the move as a schismatic act and a ‘sin of extreme gravity’. ‘I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!’ Leo wrote in a letter to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X. Leo issued the last-ditch appeal a day before the society plans to consecrate four new bishops at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. Under church law, the consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church, and incur automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration. Pagliarani responded by writing a formal letter to Leo asking him to take time before deciding any penalty.” (06/30/26)
“The FBI in Connecticut said it arrested four men accused of stealing tens of thousands at a time from ATMs at rest stops along I-95 from Darien to New Haven. … Law enforcement officials alleged they used hardware and malware to get the machines to churn out endless streams of cash. At a northbound rest stop in Fairfield, prosecutors said, the men made off with $136,000 in one haul.” (06/29/26)
“Thousands of people have marched in South Africa’s main cities to demand that all undocumented migrants leave the country. Police officers – backed by private security guards – have been deployed because of fears that protests could turn violent. Anti-migrant groups had set Tuesday as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. Many foreigners have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries. One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was ‘happy to be going back’ but ‘heartbroken’ to be leaving behind four young children. The Ministry of Police said the protests have largely been peaceful across the country, with isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting. In Johannesburg, the financial capital, shops in the city centre were closed, while police visibility is high on major streets.” (06/30/26)
“French senators on Monday passed a revised anti-fast-fashion bill targeting e-commerce platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, after years of debate over how to bring the measure in line with EU regulations. Easy to order and replace, fast fashion items contribute to pollution from the textile industry, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate passed the bill Monday after the lower house National Assembly did last week. It imposes a per-item fee for producing textile en masse that will increase over time, and a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands, including by social media influencers.” (06/29/26)
“A roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday killed at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said. Eight other children were also injured and were being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring center and another person have been arrested. Kamran said rescuers were continuing to search through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris. He said the tutoring center was housed in an aging building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor-quality construction. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the collapse of the roof of an evening school building in Lahore.” (06/30/26)
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him. Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a ‘hoax’ after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency. The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.” (06/29/26)
“An explosion at a residential building in Monaco has left three people injured, including Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, in an incident that the authorities say was almost certainly an attack targeting the tycoon. Mr Yermolaiev and his wife were fighting for their lives in critical condition after the explosion, according to reports, while a 13-year-old child was also badly injured. … Mr Yermolaiev is a major real estate developer in Dnipro. … He left Ukraine several years ago, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and became a citizen of Cyprus. In 2023, he was placed under Ukrainian sanctions by president Volodymyr Zelensky, who imposed a 10-year sanctions package over allegations tied to his alcohol business operations in Russia-occupied [sic] Crimea.” (06/30/26)
“US envoys are flying into Doha for high-level peace talks amid a renewed spate of strikes, despite claims from Tehran that no such talks have been arranged. Secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to represent the US, a White House official said. ‘IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA,’ Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said no talks between Iran and the US were scheduled in the coming days.” (06/30/26)
“The US Supreme Court just issued a ruling that limits geofence searches by law enforcement agencies, which could have major ramifications for privacy rights across the country. For the uninitiated, this is a relatively recent law enforcement technique in which police tap into the databases of tech companies to see who was near the scene of a crime. In the 6-3 ruling, the country’s top court said that ‘an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his cell-phone location information.’ Justice Elena Kagan said that geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches. Moving forward, law enforcement will have to obtain an actual search warrant to force a tech company into handing over geofence location data. Search warrants require probable cause, which geofence warrants do not.” (06/29/26)
