Trump cites early G7 departure to Middle East conflict
Washington DC correspondent Zach Montellaro spoke to Lisa Owen about Donald Trump's early departure from the G7 summit today, which he said was down to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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33 minutes ago
- Scoop
Decoding PNG Leader Marape's Discussions With President Macron
Analysis - The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG's geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence of national interests. The "deepening relationship" is less about a single personality and more about a calculated alignment of economic, security, and diplomatic priorities with PNG, taking full advantage of its position as the biggest, most strategically placed player in the Pacific. An examination of the key outcomes reveals a partnership of mutual benefit, reflecting both PNG's strategic diversification and France's own long-term ambitions as a Pacific power. A primary driver is the shared economic rationale. From Port Moresby's perspective, the partnership offers a clear path to economic diversification and resilience. But many in PNG have been watching with keen interest and asking: how bad does PNG want this? While Prime Minister James Marape offered France a Special Economic Zone in Port Moresby (SEZ) for French businesses, he also named the lookout at Port Moresby's Variarata National Park after President Emmanuel Macron drawing the ire of many in the country. The proposal to establish a SEZ specifically for French industries is a notable attempt to attract capital from beyond PNG's traditional partners. This is strategically coupled with securing the future of the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project. Macron's personal undertaking to work with TotalEnergies to keep the project on schedule provides crucial stability for one of PNG's most significant economic ventures. For France, these arrangements secure a major energy investment for its national corporate champion and establish a stronger economic foothold in a strategically vital region between Asia and the Pacific. In the area of security, the relationship addresses tangible needs for both nations. PNG is faced with the immense challenge of monitoring a 2.4 million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone, making it vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The finalisation of a Shiprider Agreement with France provides a practical force-multiplier, leveraging French naval assets to enhance PNG's maritime surveillance capabilities. This move, along with planned defence talks on air and maritime cooperation, allows PNG to diversify its security architecture. For France, a resident power with territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia, participating in regional security operations reinforces its role and commitment to stability in the Indo-Pacific. The partnership is also a vehicle for elevating diplomatic influence. Port Moresby has noted the significance of engaging with a partner that holds permanent membership on the UN Security Council and seats at the G7 and G20. This alignment provides PNG with a powerful channel to global decision-making forums. The reciprocal move to establish a PNG embassy in Paris further cements the relationship on a mature footing. The diplomatic synergy is perhaps best illustrated by France's full endorsement of PNG's bid to host a future United Nations Ocean Conference. This support provides PNG with a major opportunity to lead on the world stage, while allowing France to demonstrate its credentials as a key partner to the Pacific Islands. This deepening PNG-France partnership does not exist in a vacuum. It is unfolding within a broader context of heightened geopolitical competition across the Pacific. The West's view of China's rapid emergence as a dominant economic and military force in the region has reshaped the strategic landscape, prompting traditional powers to re-engage with renewed urgency. The United States has responded by significantly increasing its diplomatic and security footprint, a move marked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Port Moresby to sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement. Similarly, Australia, PNG's traditional security partner, is working to reinforce its long-standing influence through initiatives like the multi-million-dollar deal to establish a PNG team in its National Rugby League (NRL), a soft-power exercise reportedly linked to security outcomes. This competitive environment has, in turn, created greater agency for Pacific nations, allowing them to diversify their partnerships beyond old allies and providing a fertile ground for European powers like France to assert their own strategic interests. A strong foundation for the relationship is a shared public stance on environmental stewardship. The agreement on the need for rigourous scientific studies before any deep-sea mining occurs aligns PNG's national policy with a position of environmental caution. This common ground extends to broader climate action, where France's commitment to conservation in the Pacific resonates with PNG's status as a frontline nation vulnerable to climate change. This alignment on values provides a durable and politically important basis for cooperation, allowing both nations to jointly advocate for climate justice and ocean protection. For the Papua New Guinea economy, this deepening partnership with France is critically important as it provides high-level stability for the multi-billion-dollar Papua LNG project and creates a direct pathway for new investment through a proposed SEZ for French businesses. Furthermore, by moving to finalise a Shiprider Agreement to combat illegal fishing, the government is actively protecting a vital economic resource. For Marape's credibility in local politics, these outcomes are tangible successes he can present to the nation as he battles a massive credibility dip in recent years. Securing a personal undertaking from the leader of a G7 nation, gaining support for PNG to host a future UN Ocean Conference, and enhancing national security demonstrates effective leadership on the world stage. This allows him to build a narrative of a competent statesman who, through "warm, personal relationships", can deliver on promises of economic opportunity and national security whilst strengthening his political standing at home.
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
No King's Protest In Guam Demands Protection Of Democracy And Equal Rights
, RNZ Pacific Guam Correspondent Chanting under the midday sun and holding signs that read 'No Kings in America' and 'In Solidarity with Los Angeles,' more than a dozen residents and visitors gathered in northern Guam on Saturday to join a national day of protest opposing what organisers describe as authoritarian overreach by President Donald Trump's administration. The rally is part of a broader grassroots mobilisation across the United States, marking the first 'No Kings' protest held in a US territory. "We've seen hundreds of new events on the No Kings Day map since the weekend," said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups behind the "day of defiance" to the Guardian. "We've seen hundreds of thousands of people register for those events." A website for the protest cites Trump's defying of the courts, mass deportations, attacks on civil rights, and slashing of services as reasons for protest. Demonstrators in Guam, where American citizens lack federal voting rights, used the opportunity to call attention to both local concerns and nationwide threats to democratic institutions. "We're on the front lines trying to save our democracy," said Diane Thurber, an assistant professor at University of Maryland Global Campus, Guam. "And everything that happens in America, happens to Guam first." "If we don't stand up and speak out, who's going to stand up for us?" said Guam Public Auditor, BJ Cruz, adding that Guam is still fighting for many rights that citizens in the continental U.S. already have. "I learned that the Big Beautiful Bill - a big ugly Bill - did not include our request for RECA compensation. And we were downwind. So, we've got to stand up and tell everybody we're here." The demonstration also drew teachers, visitors, and local union leaders who expressed alarm over Project 2025, a sweeping blueprint championed by Trump allies and supporters to consolidate executive power and dismantle federal agencies. It was published by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank, ahead of Trump's 2024 election victory. Critics say the project threatens fundamental civil liberties, including the right to protest, birthright citizenship, and public education. Sophia Underwood, a US history teacher on island, said it's become increasingly difficult to teach students about constitutional principles while witnessing what she described as the erosion of democratic norms. "He's probably the most, I would say, anti-constitutional president we've had," she said. Underwood said a lot of her students rely on TRIO programs and Pell grants to pursue a college education. "And seeing that [President Trump] is defunding higher education, those are the things that really bind all of us with the people that are in the continental US." Guam residents are US citizens who cannot vote for president and lack full voting representation in Congress, despite having one of the highest US military enlistment rates per capita and are federal taxpayers. Demonstrators highlighted this contradiction as a central point of frustration. "We couldn't even vote for this joker, but yet here he is," said Tim Fedenko, a longtime Guam resident and local teachers' union president. He pointed out Guam's straw poll results from the last election, which voted for Kamala Harris as president. "Give us a voice, right? But they don't want to give the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa or Guam a vote. It's because they're scared of the brown vote." Others travelled from off-island to join the protest, including 74-year-old political activist Taynay Matsumoto, who is visiting Guam with family. A former delegate for District three in Georgia at the Democratic Convention, Matsumoto said her activism is motivated by concern for her grandchildren's future. "I'm worried that if my 16 [year-old] got pregnant, I don't want anybody to know, she should be able to have an abortion, that's her right," she said. "Use your power as a person. It's very powerful. And Trump wants you to think that you don't have it, that he as all of it. Those are lies." Despite Guam's geographic isolation, protesters emphasised the interconnectedness of national policy decisions and their local impacts like federal budget cuts to stalled compensation for Cold War-era nuclear fallout. "This administration is anti-everything that I'm for," Underwood said. "Even though we're far away, we still have the same fears. Being a teacher, I'm concerned about the Department of Education, right? And the arts being affected." Local grassroots group Prutehi Guåhan organised the demonstration, and said "Prutehi Guåhan joins the "No Kings" movement to resist fascism, ongoing war crimes in Palestine, and violence against immigrant communities and protesters in Los Angeles and elsewhere." "We're the first No Kings rally in the country," BJ Cruz said, adding, "And we're in solidarity with the rest of the country, and hopefully they'll stand up for us eventually."
1News
2 hours ago
- 1News
Trump family unveils next venture – a mobile phone company
If Trump watches or sneakers or bibles aren't your thing, the family business just added another product to show your support for the US president: mobile phones. The Trump company announced today a new business, Trump Mobile, that will offer cell service in a licensing deal and sell gold phones by the summer. It's the latest in a string of new ventures struck despite mounting ethical concerns that the US president is profiting off his position and could distort public policy for personal gain. Eric Trump, the president's son running The Trump Organisation in his absence, suggested the pitch is patriotism, emphasising that the phones will be built in the US and the phone service will maintain a call centre in the country as well. The announcement follows several real estate deals for towers and resorts in the Middle East, including a golf development in Qatar announced in April. A $1.5 billion (NZ$2.4 billion) partnership to build golf courses, hotels and real estate projects in Vietnam was approved last month, though the deal was in the works before Trump was elected. Trump has already used the main regulatory agency that will oversee Trump Mobile in personal disputes. ADVERTISEMENT The Federal Communications Commission has launched investigations of media outlets Trump dislikes and, in some cases, is personally suing. And the president himself last month criticized cell phone maker Apple, now a big business rival, because it planned to make most of its US iPhones in India, threatening to slap a 25% tariff on the devices. Eric Trump said that consumers deserve a phone that aligns with their values. 'Hard-working Americans deserve a wireless service that's affordable, reflects their values, and delivers reliable quality they can count on,' he said in a statement. The Trump phone deal comes as a mandatory financial disclosure report just filed with the government shows the president has moved fast in the last year to profit off his celebrity, taking in $3 million (NZ$4.9 million) in revenue from selling 'Save America' coffee table books, $2.8 million (NZ$4.6 million) from Trump watches and $2.5 million (NZ$4.1 million) from Trump branded sneakers and fragrances. The Trump Organisation today said the new, gold-coloured phone available for $499 (NZ$823) in August, called the T1 Phone, won't be designed or made by Trump Mobile, but by another company. The Trump Organisation did not respond to repeated requests for more details on that and comment. The Trump Organisation's T1 Phone. (Source: Trump Organisation ) ADVERTISEMENT IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said the monthly fee of just under $50 (NZ$82.52) is pricey, the appeal beyond the most ardent MAGA loyalists doubtful and the business difficult given that cell phones break down. 'It's not like selling hats and t-shirts. I'm not sure they have that all sorted of," said Jeronimo, adding 'I'm not sure they are bringing great value to the American people." Donald Trump ventured into the telecommunication industry once before, giving speeches and promoting a multi-level marketing company called ACN that was eventually sued for fraud and misleading customers. In the first term, Trump was blasted by conservative and liberal government ethics experts alike for opening his Washington hotel to lobbyists and diplomats and violating his company's pledge to avoid even the appearance of a conflict between his private profit and the public interest. The company is feeling more emboldened now in the second term. The mobile service is partnering with existing cellular carriers with access to a 5G network, raising questions of how they will be treated by federal regulators now that they have partnered with his company. The Trump Organisation said those companies are America's three biggest mobile network providers, an apparent reference to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, the latter with a trademarked name that is very similar to Trump's T1 Mobile. The name given to the monthly service offer, The 47 Plan, and the monthly $47.45 (NZ$78.31) monthly fee make reference to Trump's two terms, the 45th and the 47th. The service will include unlimited calls, texts and data and free roadside assistance and telehealth services. ADVERTISEMENT A mock-up of the planned phone on the company's website shows Trump's slogan 'Make America Great' on the front and an etched American flag on the back. By sticking to licensing, the Trump family is limiting its risk. Still, the new service faces big challenges if it hopes to sell beyond the president's loyal MAGA fans. The Trump company tried to tap into support among the middle class in the first term with two mid-priced hotel chains. Called American Idea and Scion, and unveiled like the phone service today under a giant US flag in the Trump Tower atrium, they flopped. Despite taking in millions of dollars each year in various licensing deals and a string of new ventures, the Trump brand has taken a series of hits to its brand over the years. During his first term, the Trump name was stripped off residential buildings and hotels in Toronto, Panama and Manhattan. The Trump International Hotel in Washington, since sold, lost money even though the family opened its doors to businesses and governments trying to shape US policy. The average condo in 11 Trump-branded residential towers around the country underperformed the broader market during and immediately after Trump's first term. More recently, the value of Trump condos in New York City fell in the past two years as similar properties rise in value, according to brokerage CityRealty. ADVERTISEMENT The Trump Organisation has had more success with some ventures launched in the first few months of his second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, a Florida company that operates the Truth Social media platform, filed plans with security regulators today to launch an exchange-traded fund tied to the prices of two popular cryptocurrencies. The ETF is part of the Trump family's rapidly growing crypto empire, which includes a new stablecoin and launching and promoting memecoins. The president's most recent financial disclosure report reveals he made more than $57 million (NZ$94 million) last year from World Liberty Financial, a crypto company he and his sons helped launch in September.
