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See this video on the acceleration of renewable energy from wind and solar in Europe with Spain and Germany taking the lead. Wind energy plays a dominant role in Spain. France lagging behind is planning to increase solar ten fold in a few years.

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James Q. Wilson points to the link between educational levels and inequality. He says the poor face too few skills and too few opportunities. The link with education is critical. He cites information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which show that between 1979 and 2010, hourly wages for those with a college degree went up 33% for men and 20% for women. For those without a high school diploma wages declined 31% for men and 9% for women. It appears that men have been more adversely affected than women. Minorities have done poorly especially Hispanics and Blacks. Social factors such as unwed mothers aggravate conditions for the bottom fifth in incomes. As the demographics of America shift to higher population of Hispanic immigrants, the situation worsens. High schools in Hispanic areas of New York city with high dropout rates, to take one example, can affect income inequality as more immigrants take jobs at the minimum wage level. The 2008 financial crisis has also taken a higher toll on minorities and people with modest incomes by reducing their savings and through the large number of home foreclosures....

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The bill to bring girls marriageable age to 21, in parity with the boys marriageable age of 21 that exists today, was introduced in the Indian parliament by Smriti Irani. This is seen as a crucial bill to amend the Prohibition of Child Marraige Act 2006. Child marraige was a sign of the weakness in Indian society and practices that were being reformed in the nineteenth century/ twentieth century beginning with Ram Mohan Roy's efforts in 1800. Roy was the first Indian to put forward ideas for modernization that were later put forward effectively by Swami Vivekananda, putting Indian religious thought back on its original foundations of the Upanishads including the Bhagavad Gita, free of the deterioration over the centuries since the Middle ages. And in doing so extend even the ideas of the French and Indian Revolutions to the idea of women's rights. The efforts of Gandhi and the framers of the Indian constitution, begun under Roy and then Vivekananda during the British period, have inspired renewed efforts under Mr. Modi to build a strong nation under a framework of these values- values of the French and American Revolutions and the values that support gender equality. In real life this means, as Mr. Modi has reminded the public, that young girls can now use these crucial years to continue their education and pursue their dreams for a better life in the same way as young boys can. It is as if Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers in America in 1776, would have said- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It is this pursuit of happiness, pursuit of one's own dreams to be a scientist, educator, civil servant, to be active in law or medicine, or science, the humanities, the same for boys or girls, that is now being put forward in the New India of the 21st century. In India this has happened not with the stroke of a pen through the tumult of a revolution but with deep roots through the efforts of Roy, Vivekananda, Gandhi and the framers of the Indian Constitution, and now with the tireless efforts of today's leaders. ...

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Based on this Washington Post sample of reader views on the presidential Debate, 4 of 5 readers in the sample are critical of the way the Post, NYT, WSJ are acting against the elected and popular transformative president of the US. What do Washington Post readers think of the way media magnates running Post, NYT, WSJ are trying to run the country in the face of a elected president who remains popular for the action he has taken on cost of living, climate change, manufacturing jobs, factories and supply chains, and is investing trillions of dollar in renewing America's manufacturing, Chips and science, and Infrastructure? Their campaigns are there for all to see against the president, even as the British election shows Keir Starmer of Labour saying "from 20 points behind to 20 points ahead," achieving a landslide even with only 2% increase in votes since 2019. Starmer too was written off just twelve months ago. The first letter is from Little Rock stating the Post, NYT, WSJ position. The second is from Linda Barnes of Ashland, New Hampshire, who faults the Post for not having the headline about "Disastrous debate performance by Trump who failed to answer most questions and lied relentlessly." Lauri Costello of Las Cruces, New Mexico, says every American would have benefitted from an in depth analysis of the debate rather than a focus on how each debater looked and spoke. Diana Hasuly of Ashburn, Virginia, says the debate was an opportunity to see two men's perspectives about the future of America, and the Post had done a great disservice to America, as have the NYT, WSJ and the Media in general, by not spelling what each man was offering America for the future. To take just three Climate change, manufacturing investment and jobs, infrastructure spending, Biden is getting so much done and has the plan for 2030, the former president has none, simply none and did not talk about this. Mark Parkhurst of Silver Spring, Maryland, says of the June 28 front page in the Post that the Post uses "falshoods" not "lies" when a lie needs to be called a lie from the former president. And says to be fair the Media needs to point out the actual achievements of president Biden not dwell on MAGA rhetoric. Is the Post or the Media in general overreaching, is it listening? What would Washington, Lincoln or FDR say?   ...

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Perino, the White House spokewoman says the automaker's plight won't be a blight on President Bush's legacy, such is the mood at the White House and among Republicans. But reading the comments of readers on this piece and next to it. people of all political views oppose helping the automakers so its a popular stand, and practically all think the management and boards has to go and the union contracts have to go so the depth of feeling about this issue is real. Most everyone sees the fault as Detroit auto companies own fault.

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This WSJ Editorial Board piece asks -Was it a near miss that the results of the 2022 presidential elections that elected Joe Biden were upheld, as the Jan. 6 Committee says? WSJ says the country was lucky to have vice president Mike Pence to uphold it, but is lucky enough, what about the chaotic nature of such an event? WSJ says even if vice president Mike Pence and attorney general William Barr not upheld the result, majorities in the Electoral College would have done so. If that failed the Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have not convened Congress for a count, and the Supreme Court would have voted 9-0 to uphold the result. "The country was lucky to have had these men in office," says the WSJ Editorial Board. But consider the chaotic nature of such an event, and the chaos for the world of such an event. Did Washington and Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR, depend on luck to tackle foreign wars, civil wars, depressions?

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One in every 12 women or 2 million will be a victim of some form of sexual violence in England and Wales every year a police chiefs  report says. One in 20 adults or 2.3 million will be perpetrators.The alarming scale of violence against women and girls is shown in the national analysis for England and Wales of the National Police Chiefs Council. Violence against women has grown 37% over 5 years. Two million women are affected, says NPCC, from stalking, harrassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. And people involved are getting younger. Police chiefs are demanding that tech companies take down extreme material and warning about the influencers who are "radicalizing" men online. The attitude and culture towards violence in general has deteriorated in the UK and the US, and the violence against women of this magnitude shows that a lot of work will be needed to change this attitude and culture. It truly is a National Emergency in the UK and in the US. ...

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What is the point of winning the World Cup says Steve Thompson, 2003 Rugby World Cup player for England, if you have to deal with the rubbish that comes after it. At 42 he can't remember his wife's name.  He has been diagnosed with dementia. It appears that all the knocks to the head taken in the game have affected his memory. This report in The Times looks at the reality and anguish of sports players who discover years later what happened during the time they played.

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Jasprit Bumrah will be the new captain for India's cricket team as it plays a final Test match against England led by Ben Stokes. Stokes led England to a 3-0 win in Test matches against New Zealand with Joe Root in top form.

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When taking handwritten notes with pen and paper people process the information more deeply because it is not possible to write everything down. Compared to taking notes on a computer studies show show people able to grasp concepts better when they have taken handwritten notes.  

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At the G-7 in Italy Biden says- "he (Putin) cannot wait us out." A ten year pact on defense is signed with Ukraine by the US. A $50 billion loan is made to Ukraine with interest from frozen Russian assets in the EU.

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Make a virtual visit to the Kumbh Mela on BBC World. Watch the energy of 1.2 billion Indians around the sacred rives and forests of India, in the land of Shiva, Buddha and of the Bhagavad Gita, ancient civilization and life of the Spirit of man.

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Wael Ghonim of Google, created the Facebook page for Khaled Said, the 28 year old Egyptian man who died after allegedly being beaten by police. The page was a rallying point for the Jan 25th protests in Egypt.

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Pulling back from the surge in both ICE agents patrolling Minneapolis streets and protestors going to the streets in a confrontation Border head Homan says this was not the right way of going about law enforcement. Homan said “I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here is perfect." Instead of street sweep patrols by Border Patrol agents Border head Homan says after meeting with Atty Gen. Ellison of Minnesota, ICE will get people charged with crimes from the jails. In earlier remarks by Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, she had mentioned that Minnesota state and local authorites were not cooperating and releasing people from the jails to the streets making ICE job more difficult. The Minnesota local authorites now agreed to cooperation with federal immigration authorites for better law enforcement. Minnesota is unique because the governor of the state and mayor are Democrats, and governor Walz was the VP candidate of Kamala Harris for Democrats, with a certain amount of belligerant opposition in that state to DJT and Homan. The lack of cooperation and the antipathy between the federal and local officials carried over, and more and more Border Patrol and immigration personnel were sent to the state reaching 3000. Compared to other Democrat states or cities- California and Tennessee, Washington DC, where initially there was criticism in the state of ICE Minnesota turned out to be different. The president was critical of the way Somali immigrants were settled in the state and the reported fraud for state benefits. The presence of ICE and Border Patrol under Bovino on Minneapolis streets led to more protests and confrontation. The DJT administration and Congress, other states are learning from this experience. ...

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Mann Ki Baat June 2026 Visions of Milkha Singh- India in the 100 Meters, 200 Meters, 500 Meters, Modi talks to Indian Athletes, Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur. Gurindervir Singh is from a family with father and grandfather in sports from the 1950's. He is India's fastest athlete in the 100 meters. Here he talks to Modi about his experiences competing in Indian athletics. He is part of the Indian Navy. One of the things he had to overcome is the sentiment that Indians could not compete with world class athletes like Roger Bannister in the sprint and fast running. He hope to dispel this sentiment. He is also a reminder of the achievements of Milkha Singh from his community in the Rome Olympics in 1960 where he came in 4th. Milkha Singh(known in India as the Flying Sikh) won the gold medal in 1958 and in 1962 at the Asian Games in the 200 meters and 400 meters races and the 4x400 Meters relay. He was part of the Indian Army. Kishane Thompson is one of the fastest sprinters under 10 seconds for 100 meters with most of the sprinters in top ten worldwide from the US or Jamaica. A whole new world is opening up in athletics in India with building of world class facilities, gyms, government support for athletes, and social recognition of the importance of athletics and sports. This extends to women's sports and the pesonal support to women's sports is well known throughout India from the prime minister. One of the aspects of running in Kenya, and Jamaica, is the hard scrabble conditions, which Indian athletes including Milkha Singh experienced, people from all parts of the country, without the necessary resources are also competing in sports in India in 2026. ...

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BBC pick of Champions League teams is for Real Madrid to win again now that Mbappe is joining the team. The player to watch is Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. 

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For the first time there is a peaceful transition to a new government in Liberia following the recent election. Mr Weah, a soccer player, won 61% of the vote.

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A case about sexism that had caused mental anguish to the Spanish soccer team, men's and women's, and was of concern to millions of soccer fans of the Spanish team around the world. It was about respect for women's soccer players for public display of kiss on Hermoso by and official Rubiales that was deemed unconsensual.

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The situation in China with recent rural migrants shown to be different from the migrants from rural areas in the earlier phase of development after the opening in 1990 under Deng. The overnight eviction of recent rural area migrants from Beijing, referred in official documents as "low-end population" leaves this segment of the population (about 90 million) facing uncertain future. The previous generation of rural migrants were seen as more stable as they could farm and had connections to the villages and rural areas. The new migrants lack connection to villages and have little experience working on farms. They were born since 1980, and are seen in party documents as a new generation of migrants. The earlier generation had seen the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution and memories of poverty, and were focused on basic needs.  The new generation of migrants is more dissatisfied, has more education but of lower quality, some were left behind in rural areas by parents who migrated to cities, and men in this group face a lack of women partners because of the one child system and decline in female births. Two thirds of these migrants are unmarried and the men lack the income to pay what is called a reverse dowry of having an apartment and a car to attract women for marraige. The governing party sees this new group of $90 million which has no access to subisidized education and health care under the resident "hukou" system as a source of instability in urban areas of China. ...

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Peter Baker quotes Obama as saying "I am like a Rorschach test," even if people find me disappointing ultimately, they might gain something.?" So what does this mean someone may ask. By setting up people's hopes in so many places, and especially among long disenfranchised black Americans, and in so many other groups and constituencies, and the possibilities of human beings limited in what they can do, how will all this turn out?

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Aaron Back cites U.S. Bureau of Labor of Statistics figures showing hourly manufacturing wages in 2011 for Japan at a level 89% higher than in South Korea. The decline in the value of the yen to 100 to the dollar is expected to improve the competitiveness of Japan's manufacturing companies in relation to competitors in S. Korea and Taiwan. The higher manufacturing costs in Japan offset some of that advantage. Much depends on Japanese companies recovering in the area of innovation, and improving competitiveness in other ways.