Post #291 30 June 2025

 Gentlefolk,

This post describes our main activities during the month of  June 2025.

The contents of this post are in the following sequence:

Photos of our activities during June 2025.

News items which caught my eye in June 2025. 

A brief summary by MSNBC of some key actions by President Trump during June 2025. 

Highlight of  June 2025

Our trip to Sri Lanka 10 - 24 June 2025. (formally called Ceylon). This was our first overseas trip for a year. We were concerned about Vera following her falls last September and November, but she managed pretty well. Overall impression: a nice country and nice people (many similarities with Indonesia).

Snapshot of Sri Lanka: Ancient culture. Area 66,000 sq km, Population 22 million. Religion: Sinhalese Buddhists 70%, Tamil Hindus 13%, Moor Moslems 9%, Christians 7%. Foreign Powers: Portuguese 1505 - 1656; Dutch 1656 - 1796; British 1796 - 1948 (it was known as Ceylon under the British). Granted independence in 1948, became a republic in 1972, new constitution and name in 1978: The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Rebellion by the Tamil Tigers took 26 years to defeat (1983 - 2009). A severe economic crisis 2019 - 2022 (on top of everything else, Covid killed tourism, one of the major industries). The country is starting to recover now.

  

Herewith photos of some of our activities in June 2025:

We started June by organising a "Pot Luck Dinner" at our place for residents of Foxtail Lane (our street). Fifiteen came (absent: Karla & Peter, and Linda. Jo popped in late): left to right: Tanya, Robyn, Therese, Margaret, Una, Sue, Peter, David, Margaret, Gary, Cec, Attila, Jill, and Vera. Cec & Marg brought soup, others brought main dishes and desserts; plenty of good food.
We played charades later. It was a fun night.

Marg playing charades.

David's turn.

Sue also had a go. 

The U3A "Travel Chats" group played travel trivia quiz. 30 questions, such as "Where is the biggest Buddhist temple (Borobudur, Indonesia); Where are the remains of Thomas the Apostle buried? (In Chennai, India); Where are the Butchard Gardens? (Victoria, Vancouver Island); In which State is Mount Rushmore? (South Dakota); California hosts 2 Presidential Libraries - whose? (Reagan and Nixon). Our table came equal first, and won the run-off!!

Tour of Sri Lanka, 10 - 24 June 2025

I took many photos during our trip to Sri Lanka - some are shown below.

A daily summary of our itinerary follows the photos (below).

We flew Singapore Air from Brisbane to Singapore, 7 hours transit and then on to Colombo. 

The flight from Brisbane to Singapore was full - in fact, all the four SIA flights were pretty full.

Singapore Air staff still wear the same style uniforms, as when Vera worked for them in Jakarta 60 years ago. At that time SIA stewardesses could not be older than 27 - from observation on these four flights, the age limit may now be 35 or 40? (Asian women's ages are hard to pick). The service is still first-class. Our only complaint was the cold cabin temperature on the return Sing - Bris flight.

Singapore Airport is rated as one of the best in the world, so spacious and well designed (we just hope Sydney's new airport will be as good). 

A construction site at Singpore Airport - it was past 7pm and the workers were still hard at it (probably would have knocked off at 4pm in OZ). No wonder they get things done quickly in Asia.

Our itinerary in Sri Lanka. We really only covered the South-West quarter of the country.  Sri Lanka covers 65,000 sq km (about the size of Tasmania), with a population of about 22 million. It was a well paced tour - we normally spent 2 days in each location. Several of the hotels were in remote locations. We only had a day-and-a-half in Colombo, which was a pity as it looked like an interesting city.
Local prices looked inexpensive, but the big hotels and restaurants had standard add-ons of 10% service plus 18% Govt taxes. Our system in Australia where advertised prices already include all add-ons is much clearer.

The first hotel we stayed in was on the beach at Negombo, about 45 km north of Colombo. We had a nice sea view from the restaurant. The beaches were pretty ordinary compared to Aussie beaches. Very few Sri Lankans actually swim in the sea.

Our group of 15 had an excellent bus for our tour. The driver was very good, and his assistant (pictured here) was always friendly and helpful.

We were able to spread out and each person had a seat to themselves.

Our local guide for the tour: 'Danny' (Dananjaya Iiyanange) explaining that the Sri Lankan flag has 3 parts: the lion holding a sword reflects the majoritiy Sinhalese Buddhist population (about 70%), the orange stripe reflects the Tamil Hindu community (about 15%) and the green spripe the Moslem community (about 9%). Danny has been guiding for about 20 years and was very knowledgeable about all aspects of Sri Lankan society and culture. He is maried, with an 18 year old son (who is studying at the local campus of Edith Cowan University).

First day on the ground: Tour of Negombo City. This district has a large minority of Catholics (from the Portugese era). First stop was the nice old St Mary's Catholic Church; then we visited a Buddhist temple, then fish drying on the coast. Relaxed in the afternoon, swam in pool and walked on beach.
This place reminds me of fishing villages in Indonesia: struggle to make a living. 

Interior of St Mary's Catholic Church, Negombo.

Fishing fleet. A constant struggle to survive.

Drying the catch at the beach.

Visiting the Buddhist Temple at Negombo.

Reclining Buddha statue. The Buddhist shrines/temples in Thailand are more impressive and the Thais seem more devout.

Four of the group (including us) decided not to climb the 1,200 steps up the Sigiriya Rock Fortress (in background) - just too difficult for us old folk. The others said it was hard-going, but worth doing once. We went back to our hotel (in a wilderness area) and had a swim in the pool.

Tour of Polonnaruwa. This kingdom was sacked by invaders from India (King fled and established a new capital at Kandy). 

Local school excursion.

Vera & Judy. It was a hot day and Judy helped Vera get around.

Reclining Buddha statue.

These two large Buddha statues survived the invasion/war by being covered & hidden by local villagers.

Buffet lunches at local (up-market) restaurants were delicious (around A$15). Breakfasts were always included at the hotels and usually offered a very good selection of western and asian food.

Our group at dinner, from left: Sarah, Matt, Brian, Doc, Annie, Robyn, Darren, Vera, me, Peter & Jan (the 4 girls from Melbourne Terri, Karen, Judy & Chris had eaten earlier).

Buddhist Temple.

We didn't see many monks, not like in Thailand where monks (and Buddhist shrines) are everywhere. 

"Michael" was our knowledgeable guide at the Ranweli Spice Garden. The tour concluded with a massage for everyone (paid, of course) and time in the large shop. Presumably (like in other countries), guides get kick-backs for taking tour groups to such private "factories & museums".

We visited the Tiesh Gem Museum in Kandy. These "factory visits" are really clever marketing exercises, but can also be informative and a nice distraction. 

That night in Kandy we went to a cultural show: music is mainly from drums, with female and male dances and acrobats - energetic! The finale was an impressive fire display, with performers eating fire and walking through fire.
We saw a similar, but better, cultural show at the Radisson Hotel in Galle.

In Kandy we stayed in The Grand Kandyan Hotel. Ornate, with a Middle Eastern feel. Actually, there was a big Muslim wedding in the Ballroom the night we stayed there - hundreds of guests, very flash.

A view of a part of Kandy from our hotel balcony. Kandy is the second largest city (after Colombo, which dominates Sri Lanka's political and commercial life).

We visited the Royal Botanical Garden in Kandy - many interesting plants and trees. 

You can see why this one was called "cannon ball tree".

Most toilets in Sri Lanka (and most of Asia) are squat toilets, but at the Botanical Gardens they provided pedestal toilets "for foreigners".  Our guide was always careful to take us to establishments with pedestal toilets.

Getting higher, into tea country. Reminded us of the Puncak hills outside Jakarta. The highest elevation in Sri Lanka is about 2,500 m above sea level.
In 1848 a Scottish botanist, Robert Fortune, smuggled tea plants out of China on behalf of the East India Company. Those plants started the tea plantations in India, and later in Ceylon.

We stayed at Hotel Heritance Tea Factory. A disused tea factory was converted into a modern hotel - must have been a huge project, an impressive result.  It was the only hotel we came across with a dress code - no shorts allowed in the dining room!
We had two nights here - it was interesting, but quite isolated (for example, the last 5 kms of road was too narrow for our bus and we had to change to small vans). One night there would have been enough.

Vera next to an original lift, still working. 

We visited the town of Nuwara Eliya. It was a popular summer Hill Station under the British, to get away from the coastal heat and humidity. It has a good golf course, a horse race track, and fine hotels and villas. It is obviously still popular today with rich Sri Lankans.

We "High Tea" at the Grand Hotel. It is a lovely old hotel, which started life as the summer retreat of Sir Edward Barnes, Govenor of Sri Lanka 1824 - 1831. In 1891 the property became The Grand Hotel. The region flourished when the railway arrived in 1903 and motorised transport made the area more accessible. Many famous people have stayed there. 

Richard Nixon stayed at the Grand Hotel in the 1950s.

Marshall Tito (Yugoslavia) was another guest.

Also Roger Moore. 

The fruit and vegetable market in Nuwara Eliya. Vera bought 4 brand-name slacks at the local clothing market, for A$90. Many international companies, such as North Face, produce clothing in Sri Lanka because of the cheap and abundant labour.

We stopped at the nice town of Ella to see the 9 Arches Bridge and a nearby waterfall. We took a tuk-tuk to the bridge, about 30 mins each way, a fun experience. Local buses and tuk-tuks are the main form of transport in Sri Lanka. We paid the driver about A$20 for the 90+ minute excursion - our guide Danny said we were "too generous" - locals would have paid half that amount.  

The 9 Arches Bridge was completed in 1919, an engineering triumph in very difficult terrain. We watched the 12.30pm train pass, and then returned to Ella for lunch. Ella had a nice atmosphere - reminded us a little of Ubud in Bali.

Many tourists use tuk-tuks to visit local sights - much cheaper than travel agency's cars and buses.

A waterfall near Ella.

Our next stop was Yala. We stayed at the Double Tree by Hilton outside the town. Nice rooms. The hotel boasted it has the biggest swimming pool in Sri Lanka - it was enormous!

Nice decor of the Double Tree by Hilton hotel, lots of bamboo.

We did a 3 hour safari in Yala National Park. 

Our transport for the safari.

We saw many birds and animals, but the highlight was seeing a leopard, which, we were told, is a rare experience. 

 

A huge elephant. 

The beach in Yala National Park were 26 Japanese tourists lost their lives in the 2004 tsunmai. They did the safari early morning, and were having breakfast on the beach when the tsunami hit. Our guide told us that, in total, about 35,000 Sri Lankans lost their lives in this event.

On the drive from Yala to Galle we stopped to see the "stilt fishermen". This was a traditional fishing method, but it is just for tourists today.

Darren got up on a stilt. The beaches along the south coast have limited sand. In fact, many beaches have been reinforced with large stone walls to minimise erosion, but of course that makes them less attractive. 

This test match was on in Galle and our guide got us entry for an hour or so (the match ended in a draw). Sri Lankans love cricket and know a lot about the top Aussie players. The two teams were staying at the same hotel as us (Raddison Blu).

The Galle Cricket Stadium is well known. The Australian cricket team won a test match here just two months ago. Shane Warne took his 500th test wicket at this ground. We were told that Shane was very active in raising funds for relief of the Sri Lankan victims of the 2004 tsunami.

We met the coach of the Bangladesh Cricket Team, West Indian cricketer Phil Simmons. He played for the West Indies from 1987-99.

The Radisson Blu Hotel had a nice pool/garden. We were told not to swin in the sea - dangerous rips.

We had some free time in Galle, so Brian and I went into town and back by local bus. The fare was 50 rupees (about 10 cents). The interior of this bus was decorated, with loud music blaring - good to see how the locals live.

These were the only advertising signs we saw for mobile phones. Strange - in Indonesia phone adverts  everywhere. We saw many adverts for networks (Hutch, Dialog, Mobitel) but very few for actual phones. Our guide said the most popular phone brand was Samsung, followed by Chinese brands such as OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, etc. 

Rashid was our self-appointed guide around the commercial area of Galle.

Rashid explained aspects of the local Buddhist temple (it featured a number of Hindu gods!).

Fresh produce was cheap and plentiful.

Different types of mango on offer. Rupees1,000 is about A$5.

Arpico is a supermarket chain - this was their Juen catalogue. A$5 = Rupees 1,000. You can see that the cost of living here is not expensive. Imported products attract high import duties and are expensive, but locally-made products are very reasonable. Education is free, and there is basic universal helthcare for everyone. While most people were obviously not rich, they looked healthy and reasonably well-dressed - we encountered very few beggars and saw very little extreme poverty.

We needed some toothpaste, so bought this tube of "Clogard" in a local shop. The graphics are very similar to Colgate's, aren't they? But the price is very different: this tube only cost A$0.40 (40 cents). It tasted OK too. 

ometime

Brian and I had a coffee in The Biker's Cafe.  The owner's huge motor bike was parked inside the cafe.

s

Occasionally we saw cows wandering the streets. Cows are not regarded as sacred by Buddhists, but seem to be tolerated.

We came across some girls playing netball.

Galle's fascinating "Old City" shows influences of Portuguese, Dutch and British times. Many of the old buildings are being renovated.
 

This Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1755.

Interior of the Dutch Reformed Church. It was in much better shape than the 1871 Anglican Church nearby.

The All Saints Anglican Church (1871) in the "Old City", was in need of some TLC.

Many of the buildings in the Old City, like this one, are being renovated - it will be an attractive area in the future.

Galle's Catholic cathedral (1875) looked in good shape.

This old building had been converted into the attractive VOC Cafe (VOC was the symbol of the Dutch East India Company). 

The architecture of Galle's main train station was disappointing. 

On the drive from Galle to Colombo we stopped at a Mask Museum (and shop, of course).

Also stopped at a turtle hatchery. They breed the babies, and then release them into the ocean. We were told that only one-in-a-thousand make it to maturity.

This turtle weighed 7 kgs.

The beach at the turtle hatchery. Apparently they always return to their "home" beach to lay eggs.  Many of the beaches we saw have had to be stabilised with large rocks to stop erosion.

Some local primary school students.

In Colombo we visited the Independence Memorial. 

Statue of former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike (1899 - assassinated in 1959). His widow Sirima  succeeded him, and was the world's first female political leader.
The 50 storey Shangri-La Hotel is behind the statue.

Some gorgeous colonial architecture in Colombo.

The main railway station in Colombo.

In Colombo we stayed one night at the Hilton Hotel. A group of about 30 boys from The King's School, Sydney where on a cricket tour of Sri Lanka.

The foyer of the Hilton Hotel - very nice, it was certainly the best hotel we stayed in.

We did a city tour of Colombo. Many interesting old buildings. First stop was this old Anglican church.

Interior of St Peter's Church.

The colonials lived well in Ceylon.

Busy China Street in the commercial heart of downtown Colombo.

Our guide took us The Cricket Club which is a haunt of expats in Colombo (the manager is an Australian lady from Melbourne who moved to Colombo with her husband 30 years ago). 

Cricket memorabilia.

Mainly local (Lion) draught beers on offer at The Cricket Club - about A$10 for a pint. 

The impressive Galle Face Hotel dates back to 1864. We had afternoon tea here.

Che Guevara stayed here.
 

Also Donald Bradman.

And author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in Sri Lanka as a young naval officer - this was his first car.

Going home, our stop-over at Singapore Airport was only 3 hours. Jen picked us up at Brisbane International Airport at 8.30pm on 24 June and we were at their place by 9pm. We drove back home to Nirimba/Caloundra the following day.

Some observations of Sri Lanka: many poor people (but we saw very few beggars or abject poverty); we experienced several power outages in our two weeks there; imported products are expensive and high-end establishments (hotels, restaurants, etc) attract a 10% service charge plus 18% govt tax, but the basic cost-of-living is low; re Australia: our cricket team is well known, the only other references to Australia were advertisements to study there and some universities have established campuses in Sri Lanka; the food was generally delicious (mainly curries) and only one of our group got an upset tummy, the buffets offered in major hotels were wonderful (I ate too much!); the beaches we saw were just average, and many had large rocks to combat sea erosion. Our guide said Sri Lankans were upset by the number of Russians who had managed to "settle" in the country and that they had taken over several tourist-related activities such as surf schools. 

Although hydro produces much of their electricity, we saw very little evidence of other renewable energy projects such as wind or solar farms - few solar panels on roofs, all motor bikes (of which there are millions), tuk-tuks and buses are still petrol, and very few electric cars.

Our guide warned us of scammers targetting visitors in tourist places - and yes, we did come across some very clever touts in Galle and Colombo. 

 

Our on-ground tour facilities were provided by a local travel company, Aitken Spence, which is part of a large group including hotels. Sometimes it appeared as if our itinerary was determined by the location of their hotels. For example, we stayed 2 nights at the interesting but isolated Hotel Heritance Tea Factory, when one night would have sufficed, also we only had a day-and-a-half in Colombo at the end, although that city appeared to have a lot to offer (yet we had a free day in much-smaller Galle, but the hotel there would have been much less expensive than in Colombo???). 

My personal highlights: the High Tea at the lovely old Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya; in Galle the Old City, and the cultural show at the Radisson Hotel; and the Turtle Hatchery on the way to Colombo.

Anyway, all in all we had an interesting and enjoyable visit to Sri Lanka.

Back to reality in Nirimba

Friends from Canberra, Tieke and Robin Brown, popped in for lunch. We hoped that they would stay for a few days, but that was not to be. Anyway, it was good to see them again.

Vera & Alex Trip-a-Deal “Luxury Sri Lanka”

10 – 25 June 2025

(Alex Olah tour client number 4904 429 908)

Date	Itinerary / City	Accommodation
Day 0 Mon 9 June	(Nirimba to Brisbane on Sunday afternoon 8 June) Monday free in Brisbane	Stay with Jen & Tom at The Gap. To Airport on Tuesday morning.
Day 1 Tues 10 June	Brisbane to Singapore SQ256  9.20am / 3.25pm  Singapore to Colombo SQ468 10.20pm / 11.35pm	Met at Colombo Airport by Trip-a-Deal rep   Hotel Sentitdo Heritance Negombo 175 Lewis Place, Negombo 11500
Day 2 Wed 11 June	AM: Free morning PM: Negombo City Tour	Hotel Sentitdo Heritance Negombo 175 Lewis Place, Negombo 11500
Day 3 Thurs 12 June	Negombo to Sigiriya to Kandalama (140km day) (we did not climb the rock at Sigiriya)	Hotel Heritance Kandalama Dambulla, Ph: +94 66 555 000
Day 4 Fri 13 June	Kandalama to Polonnaruwa AM: look around Polonnaruwa PM: two optional tours (Jeep safari or cooking)	Hotel Heritance Kandalama Dambulla, Ph: +94 66 555 000
Day 5 Sat 14 June	Kandalama to Kandy (100km) Visit spice garden at Matale City tour of Kandy Cultural show	The Grand Kandyan Hotel 89 / 10 Lady Gordern’s Drive, Kandy
Day 6 Sun 15 June	Kandy to Peradeniya to Nuwara Eliya (80km day) Visit Royal Botanical Garden	Hotel Heritance Tea Factory Kandapola 22220, Ph: +94 525 555 000
Day 7 Mon 16 June	AM: free PM: Nuwara Eliya City Tour High tea at the Grand Hotel	Hotel Heritance Tea Factory Kandapola 22220, Ph: +94 525 555 000
Day 8 Tues 17 June	Nuwara Eliya to Ella to Yala (190km day) Ella: Ravana Falls & 9 arch bridge	Double Tree by Hilton Weerawila Rajawarna Resort, Weerawila Watta, Wirawila 82632 Ph: +94 472 030 100
Day 9 Wed 18 June	AM Yala city tour & markets PM Yala: Wildlife Jeep Safari	Double Tree by Hilton Weerawila Rajawarna Resort, Weerawila Watta, Wirawila 82632 Ph: +94 472 030 100
Day 10 Thurs 9 June	Yala to Koggala (155km day) See beaches and stilt fishing Cricket match at Galle Cricket Oval Sri Lanka v Bangladesh	Hotel Radisson Blu Resort Galle 523C Colombo Main Road, Galle 80280
Day 11 Fri 20 June	AM: free  PM: Galle City tour Dinner in Old City.	Hotel Radisson Blu Resort Galle 523C Colombo Main Road, Galle 80280
Day 12 Sat 21 June	Free day	Hotel Radisson Blu Resort Galle 523C Colombo Main Road, Galle 80280
Day 13 Sun 22 June	Galle to Ambalangoda to Kosgoda to Colombo Mask factory and museum. Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery.	Colombo Hilton Hotel 2 Sir Chittampalam A Gardiner Mawatha Colombo 00200, Ph: +94 112 492 492
Day 14 Mon 23 June	AM: Free (Vera & I went to the local market opposite the Fort Railway Station).  PM: Colombo City Tour Independence Monument; St Peter's Church; The Cricket Club; The Galle Face Hotel. Transfer to Airport after dinner on the roof-top of the Kingsbury Hotel.
Day 15 Tues 24 June	Colombo to Singapore SQ469 00:50am / 7.20am   Singapore to Brisbane SQ245 9.55am / 7.30pm

 

News items which caught my eye in June 2025.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	Canada: 200 wildfires burning across Canada. Formula 1: Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) now leading the 2025 driver's championship. Poland: Right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocks elected President. Islam: holy day Eid al Adha was  celebrated in Muslim countries on 6 June. South Korea: new President elected, Lee Jae Myung. Vietnam: ended the “maximum 2 child” policy. European Central Bank: cut interest rates by 0.25% to 2%. Soccer: Tottenham Hotspurs sacked Australian manager Ange Postecoglou. Portugal beat Spain to win the “Nation’s League”. The Economist: in 2000 an estimated 1.6M baby girls were aborted (preference for boys), in 2025 will drop to abut 200,000. Sailing: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman became part owners of the Australian SailGP team. Tennis French Open: Carlos Alcarez (22) beat Jannick Sinner  (23) 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 in 5h29m to win the Men’s Singles. Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to win the Women’s Singles. Austria: former student of Graz school shot 10 dead, injured 12. UK: new director of MI6 is Blaise Metreweli, first female head. G7 meeting: Canada hosted; Trump left early. Economist’s EIU Livable Cities: Best: Copenhagen; Vienna; Zurich; Melbourne; Geneva; Sydney. Worst: Damascus; Tripoli; Dhaka; Karachi; Lagos; Harare; Port Moresby. QS World University rankings: MIT; IC London; Stanford; Oxford; Harvard; Cambridge; ETH Zurich; NU Singapore. Peking U was ranked 14th; Tsinghua U 17th; Melbourne U 19th ; UNSW 20th ; ANU 32nd. NATO meeting: Trump attended; most NATO members agreed to increase spending on defence (target 5% of GDP by 2035).
Israel – Hamas & Hezbollah & Iran	Many Palestinians killed and injured near food distribution station in Gaza, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (set up by Israel). At least 4,500 Gazans have died since Israel’s current offensive began on 18 March (85 yesterday 29 June). IDF bombed targets in Beirut suburbs. Norway, Canada, NZ, UK, and Australia sanctioned (banned from entry and assets frozen) two far-right Israeli Ministers for repeated incitements to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. 13 June Israel attacked 100 targets in Iran (military sites and also military leaders and nuclear scientists); Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Israel – most were shot down. Over the following week 610 Iranians died and 28 Israelis. 22 June US bombed Iranian nuclear installations. Trump then brokered a ceasefire truce between Israel and Iran.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	The Economist estimated Russian casualties in the conflict (killed and injured) close to one million. In daring “Operation Spider’s Web” Ukrainian drones attacked 4 military airfields across Russia and damaged dozens of planes (est value $7B). Also, underwater explosives damaged the main bridge to Crimea.
USA	After managing DOGE for 129 days, Trump held a farewell ceremony for Musk in the Oval Office. But a few days later, on 6 June, Musk publicly criticized Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, accusing the Bill of increasing USA’s deficit and negating DOGE’s efforts to cut Federal Govt spending. Their “Bromance” was dramatically over. Trump increased the import tariff on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. Trump deployed National Guard to help quell anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles – Gov Newsome said it was “over reaction”. Anti-Trump/ICE demonstrations in many cities. Trump announced a ban on visitors from 12 countries, and a partial ban on 7 others. Finally, Trump and Xi spoke on trade – agreed to high level talks the following week in London, at which a deal was agreed. 14 June (Trump’s 79th birthday) large military parade in Washington DC to mark 250th anniversary of the US Army. Many “no king” anti-Trump demonstrations across America. Egyptian asylum seeker Mohamed Jabry Soliman was charged with fire-bombing a Jewish gathering in Boulder Colorado. Bill Gates (Microsoft) said that he will give away 99% of his fortune to charities. Trump approved Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel for $15B, with the US Govt getting a “golden share”. 27 June the US Supreme Court by 6-3 restricted the ability of lower courts to delay President’s initiatives (such as changing birthright citizenship). Trump stopped trade negotiations with Canada to force Canada not to introduce a 3% tax on digital companies (such as Google and Facebook, etc). Wall Street (DJI. S&P, Nasdaq etc) hit record highs (despite Middle East conflicts, tariff wars, etc).
Australia	Senator Dorinda Cox left the Greens to join Labor. After another recount, the AEC declared independent Nicolette Boele the winner in Bradfield, but 26 votes. Aussie sprinter Lachlan Kennedy (21) ran 100m in 9.98secs. The ABC announced termination of its popular Q & A program, after 18 years. Will offer 44 redundancy packages. Qld won the second State of Origin Rugby League game 26-24 (although NSW scored 5 tries to 4). Series now one-all. Remuneration of top CEOs in 2024: Robert Thompson (News Corp) A$42M; Victor Herrero (Lovisa Holdings) A$40M; Shemara Wikramanayake (Macquarie Group) A$30M; Greg Goodman (Goodman Group) A$27M; Mick Farrell (ResMed) A$20M; Mike Henry (BHP) A$19M.

 

MSNBC Trump’s key actions in week to 4 June 2025

 Saw Trump-backed nationalist Karol Nawrocki win the Polish presidency, a contrast with recent elections in Canada and Australia.

Said a reporter’s question about the Wall Street joke “Trump Always Chickens Out” (TACO) on his proposed tariffs was “nasty.”

Had sweeping tariffs blocked by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade, though an appeals court later paused the block.

Called Leonard Leo, the influential former chair of the conservative Federalist Society, a “sleazebag” who “probably hates America.”

Said that people should not feel bad for Joe Biden for having prostate cancer and shared a social media post claiming he was replaced by a robotic clone.

MSNBC Trump’s key actions in week to 25 June 2025

 Authorized airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Dropped an f-bomb when responding to reporters about Iran and Israel accusing each other of violating a ceasefire.

Rescinded a rule that blocked logging and road construction on 58 million acres of national forest lands.

Called for a special prosecutor to investigate his baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Posted on social media during Juneteenth that there are “too many non-working holidays in America.”

......

That's it for this post.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra Australia

Monday 30 June 2025.

 

 

Post #290 31 May 2025

 Gentlefolk,

This post describes our main activities during the month of  May 2025.

The contents of this post are in the following sequence:

Photos of our activities during May 2025.

News items which caught my eye in May 2025. 

A summary by MSNBC of key actions by President Trump during May 2025 (frightening but fascinating!). 

International Trade contains graphs from 1 to 10 May 2025 (on 10 May Bloomberg converted to paid subscriptions ($299 pa) which I didn't join. To keep this segment going, I will try to obtain graphs from other Bloomberg sources in future.

Highlights of  May 2025

We had Mother's Day lunch with Jen & Tom and the boys in Brisbane.

The Australian Labor Party was returned with an increased majority at the general election held on 3 May 2025 (unexpected!).

Herewith photos of some of our activities in May 2025:

A general election was held on Saturday 3 May 2025. Vera & I voted early, as did about 8 million others around Australia (out of about 18M voters).This was the polling place at the Baringa Community Centre on election day morning - surprisingly quiet. 

We watched the election night TV coverage with friends Ruth and Tim Buick. 

At about 8.30pm election specialist Antony Greene predicted a Labor victory; by 10pm the result was clear and Anthony Albanese made a victory speech. Most polls and commentators thought it would be pretty close, but there was a 3% swing to Labor which gave them a big majority.
At the end of May, House of Representatives: ALP 94, Coalition 43, Greens 1, Others 11 (recount taking place in one seat). Senate: ALP 28, Coalition 27, Greens 11, Other 10.
Two Party leaders lost their seats: Peter Dutton (Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition), and Adam Bandt (leader of the Greens).

Winner are grinners - Albo and Labor back for another 3 years!

Our neighbour, Attila, inspecting the gutters. 

Some dirt and dust in the gutters, but not too bad.

"Musical Bingo" night in the Clubhouse. A fun night.

Foxtailers at Musical Bingo, from left: Linda, Vera, Robyn, Peter and Theresa.

Vera and I dressed up (a little) for Musical Bingo.

We had lunch with Laura at "her" restaurant (she is assistant manager) in Noosa Junction - yummy food.

Beautiful day on Noosa Beach.

Many nice beaches driving back along the coast from Noosa to Caloundra. This is the beach at Coolum. 

The LNP MP for Caloundra in the Qld Parliament, Kendall Morton, gave a talk at our Village. Interesting background: she brought up 4 boys, and had a company providing aged care services. Joined the LNP 10 years ago. Won this seat at the 2024 State election.
She said that "traffic" was the issue of most concern, particularly Caloundra Road.  The infrastructure has not kept up with growth - there are 30 new houses being occupied per week just in the AURA development - and there are often traffic delays.

 

Former Trade personnel get together twice a year in Brisbane, organised by Cheryl Stanilewicz and Sally Phillips. I attended the reunion lunch held on 21 May at Tattersalls Club on Queens St. I didn't know many of those who joined Austrade in the 1990s and later, but it was good to see a number of "Old Timers" going back to the Dept of Trade era, including Graham McHugh, Rob O'Donovan, Nick Smit, and David Knapton. 

The "Biggest Morning Tea" is held around Australia to raise funds for cancer research - our Village raised $7,000!!! 

Vera and Fran at the Biggest Morning Tea.

Freddie Mercury / Queen show at the Caloundra Events Centre. Fun night.

Mother's Day lunch in Brisbane with family; from left: Vera, me, Jen, Kurt, Sid, Nate, and Tom.

Two wonderful mothers, Vera & Jen.

Jen & Tom with the boys. Kurt (almost 20) is doing an electrical apprenticeship, Nate (18) has a rugby scholarship with Arkansas State University and will be leaving for the States in August, Sid (16) is in Year 11 at Marist College Ashgrove.

Proud grandparents with daughter Jen and grandsons.

We watched Sid play rugby for the Marist 5th school team - they beat Vilanova 74 - 0! Sid played 5/8 and did the kicking. He is a talented sportsman.

Two former students at Canberra Grammar, now with sons at Marist Ashgrove.

Friends Bron & Daz came for lunch (from Maleny).

Farewell to Greg Guilford and welcome to Carly Lebret, our new Community Manager.

First time I have seen dog food available from a vending machine.

Our Village has Trivia on Monday nights. On 26/5 our team ('The Boyz') was the winner. Left to right: Greg, Lindsay, Russell, me, Mick, Bill, and Barry.

Watching the first State of Origin Rugby League game on 28/5.  It's always a great spectacle.The NSW Blues 18 beat the Qld Maroons 6 (4 tries to one), a very good effort to win in Brisbane.
Most of the Village residents are Qld supporters - not happy!

The Blues captain Isaah Yeo being interviewed after the first SoO game. They play 3 games, so the 2025 series is still alive. Traditionally Qld has won more Origin series (24) than NSW (17),  and two series were drawn.

......

News items which caught my eye in May 2025.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	Vatican: 133 Cardinals elected American Robert Prevost (69) as the new Pope. He took the name Pope Leo 14th. Turkey: hundreds of demonstrators arrested in anti-govt protests in Istanbul. UK: David Attenborough (99) released a new film “Ocean”. Temperature in London on 1 May reached 29.3C, the hottest start to May since records started. The UK agreed to pay Mauritius $150M pa to continue to lease the Diego Garcia military base. Liverpool FC won the Premier League; during the victory parade a man drove his car into the crowd, many injured. UK / EU: agreement signed on closer economic and social relations, first after 2020 Brexit. F1: Australian Oscar Piastri (24) has won 4 F1 Grand Prix races so far in 2025: China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, USA (Miami). He came 3rd in Monaco in May (behind Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc). Brazil: an estimated 2M attended Lady Gaga’s free concert on Copacabana Beach. Snooker: Zhao Xin Tong (28) beat Mark Williams to win the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. India/Pakistan: Tit-for-tat attacks following the killing of 25 Indian tourists in Kashmir; ceasefire agreed 10 May to calm tensions. Yemen: the Houthis and USA agreed to stop attacks. The Philippines: tensions between President Bongbong Marco and VP Sara Duterte. France: Actor Gerard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault – given 12 month suspended sentence. High-speed railways: Currently China has 48K km, Europe 9K km, Japan 3K km. Two lines under construction in USA: Las Vegas to LA and SF to LA. Canada: King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Ottawa towards the end of May, where the King opened the new session of Parliament.
Israel – Hamas & Hezbollah	The IDF started a new offensive in Gaza, hundreds killed. Aid blockade continued, UN warned of mass starvation in Gaza. USA suggests Gaza aid should be run by private companies. Hamas freed US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander (21) after 19 months captivity. 19/5 Israel announced limited access of food aid into Gaza, after blockade of 11 weeks; widespread starvation, many countries criticized Israel for ongoing attacks in Gaza and food restricitons.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	The USA and Ukraine signed an agreement to jointly develop Ukraine’s natural resource (including rare earths) through the establishment of a “Reconstruction Investment Fund”. Ukrainian drones attacked targets in Moscow. European leaders met Zelensky in Kyiv and called on Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire. Ukraine/Russian Officials met in Turkey, but little progress. To Trump’s dismay, Russia continued aerial attacks missiles and drones, 80% shot down by Ukraine.
USA	President Trump continued to dominate the media. Whirlwind. Some key actions noted here, others as detailed by MSNBC follow below. US GDP shrank by an estimated 0.3% in the first 3 months of 2025; Trump blamed Biden. The USA and China agreed to reduce tariffs by 115% each, to 30% and 10% respectively, and hold those rates for 90 days. (Trump realized that his 145% tariff on Chinese imports was having a catastrophic impact on American supply lines). Trump hailed the new USA / UK trade ‘deal’, the first of many being negotiated following his imposition of high ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on 2 April (which he dubbed ‘Independence Day’). In reality, USA/UK trade is relatively small, and the US has a surplus anyway. The US ended zero import duties on shipments valued at less than $800; will affect companies such as Temu and Shein. Trump threatened a 100% tariff on movies not made in the USA. Trump called for free passage for American ships in Panama Canal and Suez Canal. Trump will impose a $50 per tonne levy on cargoes carried in Chinese ships which use US ports. Spot rates on shipping containers from China to USA at about $2,500 are more than 25% lower than last year. Trump moved Mike Waltz from National Security Advisor to US Ambassador to the UN. Marco Rubio acting NSA. DHS asked Pentagon to provide 20,000 soldiers from the National Guard to help deportation effort. The US Supreme Court upheld Trump’s ban on transgender in the military. Trump signed an Executive Order to force pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices. Trump continued to attack Harvard by barring them from enrolling foreign students (normally around 30% of total); Harvard immediately lodged a court appeal. Trump gave white South African farmers refugee status, claiming they suffer discrimination; first group of 59 arrived in USA. Later Trump “ambushed” the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa who had come to the White House to discuss trade. Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, many announcements: trade and investment deals; accepted present from Qatar of “flying palace” a luxury 747; lifted sanctions on Syria; ended strikes on Houthis; continued nuclear negotiations with Iran. Trump’s “big, beautiful tax bill” passed the HoR by one vote; referred on to the Senate. Many commentators said it would add trillions to US govt debt of around $37T. Yield on Treasury bonds passed 5%. Trump announced the military will build a “golden dome” defence system against missile attack; initial allocation $175B. Warren Buffet (94), Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway announced his retirement. The shares have increased an incredible 5.5M% from when he took over in 1964. The group has 390,000 employees. Mary Barra, CEO of GM, expects the proposed tariffs to add about $5B to operating costs. Elon Musk said that DOGE has made cuts totaling about $160B so far. He will now step back from DOGE, to focus more on Tesla and SpaceX. Trump farewelled him in the Oval Office on 31/5. McDonalds reported a drop of 3.6% in sales in last quarter. Moody’s joined Fitch and S&P in downgrading USA credit rating to Aa1, due to high debt levels and rising interest payments. Former President Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer. On 31 May, at a US Steel plant, Trump announced that the tariff rate on imports of steel will increase from 25% to 50% from 4 June.
Australia	The General Election was held on 3 May. An estimated 8M voted early (out of about 18M). HoR Results with 91% of votes counted: ALP 94, L/NP 43, Greens 1, Other 11, one seat still undecided. Two leaders, Peter Dutton (Liberals) and Adam Bandt (Greens) lost their seats. Senate: Labor 28, Coalition 27, Greens 11, One Nation 4, Other 6. Australia is one of 13 countries which have compulsory voting; there is a small fine if a person does not vote. But even so not everyone votes. The turnout rate for the 2025 election was 91% (ie 91% of those eligible to vote, actually voted); 5.5% of ballots papers were 'informal' - either blank or incorrectly completed.  The new PM & Ministry were sworn in by Governor General Sam Mostyn on 13 May. Former ministers Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic were replaced on factional grounds. Sussan Ley beat Angus Taylor 29-25 to become the first female leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party. Ted O’Brien is Deputy Leader. The National Party decided to leave the Coalition (the Liberal Party and the National Party have usually formed a conservative coalition), but changed its mind a week later. PM Albanese’s first overseas visit was to Indonesia; then on to the Vatican for Pope Leo’s first mass. Huge floods in NSW – more than 800 homes inundated, many livestock losses. Healthscope, Australia’s 2nd largest private hospital group (37), went into receivership. Canadian investment company Brookfield bought Healthscope in 2019 for A$5.7B. 50% of hospitals in Aust are private, of which 62% are for-profit.

 

 MSNBC Trump's key actions in week to 6 May 2025

Here are some highlights from the last seven days:

Proposed reopening and expanding the notorious Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay, which experts said would be extraordinarily expensive.

Repeatedly defended tariffs by arguing that little girls would be happy with fewer and more expensive dolls.

Posted AI-generated images of himself on social media dressed in white papal vestments and holding a red light saber (preferred by villains in “Star Wars”).

Said “I don’t know” when asked if the Constitution guarantees everyone due process and if he has a duty to “uphold the Constitution.”

Appeared to have fueled a backlash to Australian conservatives, which followed Canada in electing a Trump-skeptical prime minister.

 

MSNBC  Trump's key actions in the week to 14 May 2025

Trump shifted his focus to foreign policy over the last week.

Apart from weighing in on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the president also made news with his first state visit and a controversial potential deal.

Here are some highlights from the last seven days:

Left for a trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the first state visit of his second term.

Prepared to accept a superluxury Boeing 707-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, according to four sources familiar with the planning.

Signed an executive order to tie some drug prices the federal government buys to the price other developed countries pay.

Paused most tariffs and trade barriers against China for 90 days after saying that the two countries had made an agreement: the US and China both reduced tariff rates by 115% to 30% on imports from China, 10% on imports from the USA into China. Boeing sales to restart.

Said that the White House is “actively looking” at suspending the writ of habeas corpus, per an interview with Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

 

MSNBC Trump's key actions in the week to 20 May 2025

Trump made incremental progress on his agenda this week.

After returning from his first overseas trip of his second term, the president chipped away at his goal of remaking the federal government and cutting taxes.

Here are some highlights from the last seven days:

Signed a bill that aims to stop explicit images posted online without the subject’s consent, including deepfakes.

Reportedly disbanded an FBI squad that handles investigations into members of Congress and fraud by federal employees.

Spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone in an attempt to make progress toward a ceasefire.

Blamed Democrats for Moody’s downgrading the U.S. sovereign credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, even though Republicans control the government.

Called Bruce Springsteen a “dried out ‘prune’” and called for an investigation into him after the musician criticized him on tour.

 

MSNBC Trump's key actions in the week to 27 May 2025

Here are some highlights of the president’s actions over the last seven days:

Signed an executive order aimed at speeding up the construction of domestic nuclear power plants.

Presented misrepresented evidence of a “white genocide” in an unusually tense Oval Office meeting with the president of South Africa.

Sought to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students as part of an escalating feud with the college, but was blocked by a judge.

Hosted a dinner at a Trump-owned property in Virginia for the top investors in his meme coin cryptocurrency.

Gave a meandering commencement speech at West Point that included his advice to not marry “trophy wives.”

  ......

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade.  I subscribed to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines".  

Here are some of the interesting graphs in the Bloomberg newsletter during early May 2025; they are self-explanatory.

As of 10 May 2025 Bloomberg converted this newsletter to paid subscribers only (US$299 pa), so I stopped receiving it.  But I will try to get graphs from other Bloomberg newsletters - let's see.

In the meantime, herewith some graphs from May 2025.

......

With the official start of winter (June - August) around the corner, temperatures have been cooling down south: Tasmania, Victoria, ACT and parts of NSW. Canberra has been recording minimums around 0C for some time. Finally the cooler weather caught up with us in SE Queensland: on 28 May I wore jeans and a sweater for the first time in our 7 months here.

But it's all relative: minimums here might get down to 6 or 7C, but the days as still pleasant with maximums in the low-20sC.

We are looking forward to our tour of Sri Lanka (10 - 24 June). I'll report on our trip in my June blog, which might be posted a bit later than usual.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra, Qld Australia

Saturday 31 May 2025