"We have received divers and sundry reports both by your own subjects and others, who have visited some parts of Your Majesty's empire ... This has encouraged us to find a shorter route by sea from us to your country than the usual course that involves encompassing the greatest part of the world."

The passage above is a modern-English rendering of an excerpt from a letter written in 1602 by Queen Elizabeth of England to the Wanli Emperor of China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), who reigned from 1572 to 1620. The letter was entrusted to George Waymouth, whom the queen had appointed as the principal pilot "for his knowledge and experience in navigation".

Chinese trade was key aspect of maritime struggles
By Zhao Xu

UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday branded the US strikes on Iran as a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge — and a direct threat to international peace and security."

"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world," Guterres said in a statement.

"At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace," he said.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202506/22/WS68576f48a310a04af22c7ad9.html

US President Donald Trump has warned Tehran to “make peace” or face further attacks, just hours after the United States carried out “massive precision strikes” on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.

The attack came over a week after Israel initiated the conflict by launching airstrikes against Iran and swarms of small explosive drones that had reportedly been pre-positioned inside the Islamic Republic months earlier, according to the Washington think tank CSIS.

The video presents a critical analysis of the U.S. and Israel’s handling of the escalating conflict with Iran, drawing attention to questionable justifications for military involvement and the broader implications of such actions.

Key points include:

Civilian Nuclear Program Pretext: The idea that Iran doesn’t need nuclear energy because it has oil is dismissed as simplistic. The speaker criticizes the logic that one country (like the U.S.) can unilaterally decide whether another is allowed a civilian nuclear program, and if not, justify attacking it.

U.S. Greenlighting Israeli Action: It's argued that the U.S., under Trump, clearly greenlit Israel’s attack on Iran, with Trump's public statements and timelines aligning too closely with the start of the war to be coincidence.

Trump confirms US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites

President Donald Trump said the US had carried out attacks against three nuclear sites in Iran, including the site in Fordo.

Trump posted on his Truth Social account that a "a full payload of bombs was dropped" on the site, that is known to be located several dozen meters underground, making it more difficult to attack.

According the post, all planes that took part in the strikes left Iranian airspace.

"Congratulations to our great American warriors," Trump said, adding that it is now "time for peace."

The strikes' effects are still not known.

Amalie Emmy Noether[a] (23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German mathematician who made many important contributions to abstract algebra.

George Galloway CHECKS Piers Morgan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0FtfjxwDIA

SEE ALSO: https://yourdemocracy.net/drupal/node/11276

SEE ALSO: https://www.yourdemocracy.net/drupal/node/8849

SEE ALSO: https://yourdemocracy.net/drupal/node/9503

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

There are few differences between the lies told to ignite the war with Iraq and the lies told to ignite a war with Iran. The assessments of our intelligence agencies and international bodies are, as they were during the calls to invade Iraq, airily dismissed for hallucinations.

Chris Hedges: War Deja Vu

Introducing our new columnist Fred Zhang, who brings you his take on the way the Australian media reports and/or mis- and under- reports on China.

Last week, we saw yet another masterclass in how News Corp reduces complex geopolitical realities into blunt instruments of fear.

Fred Zhang

First, The Australian’s Greg Brown pressed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club to declare China a national security threat – offering voters a binary where there should be nuance.

This is a report on what is most likely to happen in Iran, as early as this weekend, according to Israeli insiders and American officials I’ve relied upon for decades. It will entail heavy American bombing. I have vetted this report with a longtime US official in Washington, who told me that all will be “under control” if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “departs.”

WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IS COMING IN IRAN
The initial battle plan for a new war

BY SEYMOUR HERSH

Self-proclaimed ‘crown prince of Iran’ Reza Pahlavi has called for a “nationwide uprising,” but is a political zero with absolutely no shot at winning over ordinary Iranians, says prominent Tehran-based political analyst and commentator Mohammad Khatibi.

“While he appears to enjoy some support from Israel, it remains unclear how seriously Tel Aviv regards him as a credible alternative. Reza lacks widespread popularity both within Iran and among segments of the diaspora opposition,” Khatibi told Sputnik.

“His reluctance to condemn Israeli aggression against Iran has alienated portions of his support base. Many Iranians perceive him as being subordinate to Netanyahu, and his public comments before the recent conflict drew further criticism — he is often seen as weak,” the observer explained.

The last three and more years have seen the bloodiest war on European soil for the better part of 80 years.

With it has come rhetoric of disturbing belligerence and a military spending spree that has engulfed the whole of Europe.

Ostensibly, the conflict is between Russia and Ukraine. In reality, it has lasted as long as it has, and brought into play such a vast arsenal of destructive firepower, because the stakes are much higher and perhaps less visible than the bilateral dispute.

Joseph Camilleri

I am very pleased to be able to speak at today’s May Day and bring the revolutionary greetings of the Socialist Equality Party in Germany.

This May Day is of the utmost importance and urgency. We oppose the rapid development of war and poisonous nationalism with the perspective of the international unity of the working class and the world socialist revolution. This is at the heart of our campaign for the presidential elections in the US and also here in Germany in our campaign for the European elections.

The return of fascism and war in Germany and the fight for socialism
   BY Christoph Vandreier

President Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Thursday that he will make a decision on whether or not to directly enter the Israel-Iran war by launching airstrikes within two weeks.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read the statement at a press briefing. “Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place in the near future, I will make my decision of whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” she said.