The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate today delivered its Report to Congress on the office’s objectives for fiscal year 2026.
As detailed in the report, the Investor Advocate’s priorities for fiscal year 2026 include:
Investor research and testing on existing and proposed disclosures to retail investors.
Informing SEC activities and policy priorities through data collected from nationally representative surveys.
Addressing and advocating for the priorities and concerns of retail investors affected by financial fraud, including through the Interagency Securities Council.
Private market investments in retirement accounts.
China-based variable interest entities listed on U.S. exchanges.
“As detailed in this report, our office continues to research and listen to all investors’ concerns and act as a constructive liaison between those investors and the Commission,” said Cristina Martin Firvida, the SEC’s Investor Advocate.
The Office of the Investor Advocate is an independent office that was established by Congress to: assist retail investors in resolving problems with the Commission and self-regulatory organizations (SROs); identify areas where investors would benefit from changes in SEC and SRO rules and regulations; identify investor problems with financial service providers and investment products; analyze the potential impact on investors of proposed regulations and rules of the SEC and SROs; and propose regulatory or legislative changes to the Commission and to Congress that might mitigate investor problems and promote investor interests.
A man has been convicted of the manslaughter of another man in Charlton, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service.
On Wednesday, 25 June 2025 a jury at Isleworth Crown Court convicted Radoslaw Brzezicki, 42 (28.06.1982), of Erwood Road, Charlton, of the manslaughter of Robert Dlugosz, 60, on Wednesday, 22 November, 2023.
The victim was attacked at his own home in Erwood Road, Charlton, following an argument. A woman was also physically assaulted, with Brzezicki convicted of causing actual bodily harm to her.
The first responding officer on the scene was one of the last people to speak to Robert while he was still alive. Using a translation app, he was able to obtain an account which proved crucial in this case.
Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend, from Specialist Crime South, and who led the investigation said: “Robert died in appalling circumstances, having been brutally assaulted by someone who claimed to be his friend.
“Due to the first-hand account Robert was able to give officers – while critically injured – justice has been done.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the surviving victim in this case. Her assistance to the police from day one was vital.
“She showed great courage and determination throughout what has no doubt been a very traumatic time.
“My thoughts and that of my officers, remain with all Robert’s friends and loved ones.”
On Wednesday, 22 November, 2023, a woman in her 40s called police, saying she had escaped from a house in Erwood Road, Charlton, after being assaulted there alongside her friend, Robert Dlugosz. Officers attended and went to Robert’s aid, who was still alive but severely injured.
Using a translation app, an officer was able to obtain a brief account from the victim, a Polish speaker. He said he had been beaten, and identified Radoslaw Brzezicki as the assailant.
Shortly after giving this account, he collapsed. Paramedics attended, and he was taken to hospital. Despite undergoing emergency surgery, Robert sadly died on Saturday, 25 November. A post-mortem examination found cause of death was due to a traumatic brain injury.
The account provided by Robert before he died was corroborated by the female victim at the scene. The woman managed to escape the property and told a neighbour about the attack.
Brzezicki was arrested shortly after Robert collapsed.
Headline: From potholes to personalization: What Abu Dhabi is teaching us about AI-powered smart cities
If you ask many city government leaders how to win the hearts of citizens, the answer might very well be “potholes,” or, more specifically, fixing them.
“Potholes not only tell you about the state of your infrastructure,” noted a Harvard researcher in 2019, “they also tell you about the nature of participation in your city.”1 A city that fixes a pothole promptly is not just responsive, its constituents feel empowered to engage with government.
In recent years, expectations have only risen on what governments need to deliver, leaving many cities struggling to deliver services in ways people prefer while also running a gauntlet of budgetary, regulatory, and societal challenges. On the one hand, citizens want to access great city services on par with how they do their banking or shopping—that is, secure, personalized experiences on smartphones and computing devices, rather than exclusively in-person. On the other hand, governments face unprecedented pressures in terms of funding, regulations, staffing, and cybercrime.
Achieve your mission with Microsoft for government
To bridge this gap, more and more city governments are looking to use the force-multiplying power of generative AI. Its ability to converse in natural language and reason over vast stores of data, then find answers, compose messages, and orchestrate actions is not only solving longstanding modernization challenges, it’s also opening incredible new frontiers in city services.
Helping city governments evaluate, explore, and successfully deploy high-impact solutions with AI is now the primary focus of our work at Microsoft for government. In cities around the world, we have seen dramatic acceleration in generative AI innovation, with new solutions that are helping cities to:
Deliver personalized services.
Empower the professionals who serve the public.
Derive better insights and greater value from data.
The future of the smart city is already here—in Abu Dhabi
The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, launched an ambitious drive around 15 years ago to make government services more accessible and service-oriented. In Abu Dhabi, the nation’s capital, those efforts took a giant leap with the advent of AI, accelerating innovation that led to the launch of a new AI-powered government services platform in October 2024.
Aptly called TAMM—which in Arabic translates to “consider it done!”—the platform began as a centralized portal several years ago and was revised to expand service offerings. With the application of new AI capabilities, it is now a one-stop digital hub, offering access to nearly 950 government services for citizens, residents, visitors, and investors.
Built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI service, TAMM uses advanced AI to deliver new classes of benefits. The platform offers real-world examples of how AI can transform smart cities by unifying services and inviting engagement in new and powerful ways.
Here are three noteworthy ways that TAMM improves city service delivery.
1. Serve people as they like, with personalized interactions
TAMM is designed to remove barriers between government services and the people who need them. In many cases, that means no longer forcing them to go to government buildings to get things done.
The new TAMM includes a generative AI assistant that provides every day service, offering personalized access to services such as license renewals, utility bill payments, permit applications, healthcare, and more. There’s even a new photo reporting app, where people can take a snapshot of a problem they come across (including, yes, a pothole) and the assistant helps to fill out a report and later sends updates on the progress of repairs.
TAMM also helps to untangle bureaucracy to simplify common yet complicated tasks. The process of registering a car, for instance, was dramatically simplified. What previously required days of visiting buildings and standing in lines can now be done quickly through the app—which also recommends the right type of insurance policy and synchronizes it with registration.
2. Deliver better results with a more energized and empowered workforce
Because TAMM handles so many more routine tasks than before (such as responding to basic questions on services issues or applications), city employees can focus more on high-value service delivery. With live services including video and audio options, agents can deliver high-touch assistance while still maintaining user privacy.
A good example of this is the case of a foreign worker who lived in Abu Dhabi for 10 years and was told by an immigration agent that she couldn’t leave the country due to visa issues. In tears, she opened the TAMM app on her phone and was connected to a helpline, where an agent quickly eased her anxieties. “I said I don’t know what to do, and the agent was literally amazing,” the woman said. “[The agent] said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s getting updated now’—and I was on my way.”
The approach to innovation behind TAMM also reflects an important trend: equipping public servants to work like product teams so that city services evolve like platforms. The TAMM organization operates in a unique “factory” in Abu Dhabi that operates like a startup—agile, data-driven, and obsessed with user satisfaction. The city’s employees don’t just execute services; they co-innovate with citizens and stakeholders to create them. Real-time dashboards, productivity-enhancing agents, and a culture of continuous iteration are driving success and proving that empowering the workforce is the foundation of smarter cities.
3. Keep cities moving with services that listen, learn, and protect
TAMM is designed to help people better navigate government services by understanding and responding to user needs almost instantly. It recognizes multiple languages and offers the option for spoken conversations, intelligently walking people through a broad range of complex processes. For example, for a family with a person who has a disability, TAMM can help navigate special services, significantly streamlining a qualification process that previously took weeks.
TAMM not only remembers previous conversations and knows the status of an issue or process, it is also deeply integrated across major government entities in the city. Service can be coordinated with in-person service centers or agencies who help housebound people in their homes.
The TAMM platform is powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI service and G42 Compass 2.0, a next-generation enterprise AI platform that provides sovereign cloud services. It also uses open-source models, including JAIS, a high-performing Arabic Large Language Model, and Azure OpenAI GPT-4.
The TAMM app now assists Abu Dhabi’s 2.5 million citizens to conduct than 10 million transactions a year. Helping to protect data and ensure privacy within these transactions is the world class cloud security provided by the Microsoft platform—reflecting our commitment to security above all in delivering AI services, as codified in our Secure Futures Initiative.
Keys for building a foundation of success with AI
The noteworthy innovation happening in Abu Dabhi is a great example of a city realizing the transformative potential offered by generative AI. Many others are following the trend, and the results are exciting.
As we look across the global landscape, we note a set of common factors that consistently underpin successful AI adoption. We would advise every city to consider the following:
A mission-first mindset drives smarter AI adoption. Cities that anchor AI initiatives in clearly defined public outcomes—such as reducing response times to citizen queries or improving access to social services—are better equipped to prioritize high-impact use cases and rigorously measure results. Aligning AI innovation with policy goals improves clarity and can also boost community trust.
AI literacy must span the entire workforce. Successful implementations include investments to build AI literacy across all levels of the public workforce—from IT and data science teams to case workers and city clerks. With effective training and a culture of learning and sharing, cities have more empowered workforces and enjoy better outcomes.
Strong data foundations are critical. Cities that proactively clean, integrate, and govern their data estates—including structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data—are better able to operationalize AI faster, more securely, and at scale. A modern data platform emphasizes robust privacy and access protections as prerequisites for AI success, helping civic leaders avoid common pitfalls such as model bias, incomplete datasets, or compliance gaps.
Learn more about AI technology for governments
To help your city government make the most of modern cloud and AI technology, contact your local Microsoft representative or certified technology partner. Together, we can help you explore options, identify use cases, and transform your ideas into meaningful solutions.
For in-depth guidance and resources on designing, deploying, and sustaining AI-powered solutions in city government, visit the Public Sector Center for Digital Skills.
For workforce development and training resources and guidance tailored to cities and other government organizations, visit Microsoft Learn for Government.
For more on how Microsoft is helping to empower governments with AI, read our blogs.
Microsoft for governments
Solutions that empower governments
Sources:
1 Harvard Griffin GSAS, “Pothole Politics”, January 2019.
Today’s Notting Hill Carnival, first held in its streets in 1966 when it was led by a Trinidadian steel band, is a glorious cultural blend. It’s a hotch-potch of traditions, music, dancing and food which commemorates the history of black British communities and integrates others.
But the future of Notting Hill Carnival is now in doubt amid concerns that the event doesn’t have the funding to ensure the safety of attendees.
One touted solution is to move the carnival to another location. Writing in the Guardian last year, retired black Met superintendent Leroy Logan recommended a more open space, such as Hyde Park. Policing would be far easier there, with walled boundaries removing escape routes for potential “trouble makers”.
But holding the carnival in Hyde Park could alter the way that the carnival is enjoyed in ways that would be fundamental to the community it comes from.
My research in creative performance with communities explores the joy that comes from participating in events and activities that celebrate our collective strengths and differences. I look at the important issues of lived experiences and cultural heritage in events like Carnival.
This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.
The Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) wrote of a “carnival sense of the world”. For Bakhtin, carnival was an unleashing of energies, in which hierarchies disappeared, and people were free to mix with each other.
For his critics, the liberating energy that Bakhtin describes can be too easily co-opted to dominant cultures, especially where carnival can be made to serve the market’s insatiable appetite. While the democratising dynamics of carnival are valuable, it is also important to consider the particular histories and places in which its traditions and practices have developed. Even joy is contingent on place and context.
The Notting Hill Carnival is currently free to over 1.5 million visitors. Controlling access would severely contract its size and almost certainly lead to commercial exploitation, reducing its renowned inclusivity.
What’s more, the right to be publicly seen and heard carries intense symbolic significance for the Caribbean community. This is profoundly important in the wake of the 2018 Windrush scandal, in which the government tried to remove many black citizens who had lawfully lived and worked in Britain for decades under the terms of the British Nationality act of 1948.
Many of this Windrush generation, a large number of whom lived in Notting Hill and north Kensington, made a huge contribution to the rebuilding of the British economy, having been invited to the country in the wake of the second world war. In their daily lives however, they suffered racism and harassment which undermined the right they had to make their homes as British citizens.
The history of the carnival
It is important to recognise that the sights and sounds of the Notting Hill Carnival are tied to the history of black people’s displacement and exploitation by white enslavers and colonialists. An exuberant street presence is a culturally distinctive statement of resistance and heritage.
Author Dan Hancox has written about the fact that enslaved people in the Caribbean were not permitted to take part in the European colonialists’ Mardis Gras balls.
In 18th century Trinidad, a ritual called Cannes Brulees (sugarcane burning), in which sticks were used to perform the rhythms of African drumming, reconnected these transplanted peoples with their places of origin, and sounded an act of resistance.
Liberation is still enacted today in the right to make music and dance through the streets. Interviewed by Hancox in 2023, CEO of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust, Matthew Philip, pointed to the significance of the newly emancipated black presence in Trinidad’s streets, from which they had been banned by their colonial masters, and their joyful mockery of the white governing class.
Any considerations of safety at the Notting Hill Carnival must also consider how – despite this exuberantly joyful community celebration of black diasporic culture – the event has been commonly portrayed as a flash-point of racial tensions.
Social geographer Peter Jackson has pointed to the racialised media representation of “black youth” after unrest in 1976, during which carnival goers clashed violently with a heavy police presence.
Steve McQueen’s 2020 drama Mangrove portrayed the tensions with the police in the 1970s. In a notable scene outside Trinidadian immigrant Frank Crichlow’s restaurant, the film captured the combination of resistance and joy expressed in West Indian music and dancing. Crichlow was part of the Mangrove Nine, the group of black activists who were tried in 1971 at the Old Bailey for inciting a riot, after repeated police raids on Crichlow’s restaurant.
The trailer for Mangrove.
The group’s acquittal was an important milestone in the history of the rights of black people to live and work without harassment in the London area they were trying to make their home under difficult conditions.
When West Indian migrants came to Notting Hill they were housed in slum conditions. They were charged extortionate rents, often in dilapidated properties once built for the wealthy. Having lived through this and built a thriving community, black residents have in recent decades been forced to move out following the area’s “regentrification”. The trend again points to the displacement of black and working class populations, this time at the housing market’s convenience.
To relocate the carnival from the streets of Notting Hill would risk continuing these histories of displacement of black communities, and ignore the huge symbolic significance of street celebration to black people in Britain and beyond.
Unquestionably, the government must act in the interest of public safety. As it considers the best ways to protect attendees, it will no doubt also assess the carnival’s considerable social and economic benefits
To guarantee these, officials must work with communities whose heritage and citizenship is bound up with the carnival. They need to balance issues of safety with those of access and heritage, and with the need to express a joy that emerges not entirely spontaneously, but from long and complex histories of displacement, relocation and resistance.
Maggie Inchley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The UK government has announced an expansion of free school meals in England. Starting from September 2026, all children in households receiving universal credit will qualify, removing the previous income cap of £7,400 per year.
This change is expected to benefit more than 500,000 children and lift around 100,000 out of poverty, providing a broader safety net for families.
While this is a positive development, there are unintended consequences, particularly for researchers like us and policymakers who rely on free school meal eligibility as a measure of child poverty.
Under the new rules, eligibility will no longer distinguish between the most disadvantaged children, those in low-income households, or those who receive disability-related benefits. That makes it harder to identify which children are most vulnerable and to target support effectively.
Free school meal eligibility has long been a reliable indicator of poverty for schools and researchers. Without it, it becomes difficult to evaluate the effects of policies aimed at helping the most disadvantaged children.
Wales has already introduced universal free school meals for all primary school children since 2023. Our team is currently researching the effects of free school meals in Wales. We are expecting to publish these findings later this year.
If there is no indicator of poverty, it is hard to evaluate which interventions or policies are working to help lift children out of it. This is particularly important when it comes to areas like nutrition.
For example, concerns about food quality, choices and portion sizes matter far more when a child is experiencing food insecurity at home. Without this information, it is difficult to assess the likelihood that a child will have access to a nutritious meal outside of school, and if free school meals help to alleviate hunger and improve nutrition for the most vulnerable.
The eligibility for free school meals was an indicator of a family living in poverty. This was available to people working in and studying education. It was possible to see how well interventions work to address educational needs, especially for those in low-income households.
The eligibility for universal credit is not available in school data, so it cannot be used to inform how well educational interventions are working to reduce inequality.
Without free school meal eligibility as a poverty marker, schools and researchers must rely on other sources. These are often less straightforward.
Finding other sources of information about poverty means that people working in education and child health need to work with data experts. This needs teams of people, more time, expertise, approvals and governance agreements to access and combine data to do research on education and child health. This makes the prospect far more complicated.
A local-area deprivation index can indicate if a child lives in a poorer neighbourhood but can’t confirm individual family poverty. Census data can be linked to educational records. But the census is only updated every ten years, which makes it less accurate for current needs.
Asking parents directly about income or hardship is possible, but risks stigma and can be resource intensive.
To improve health and education outcomes for children in poverty, free school meals remain vital. But as eligibility rules change, so must our data systems.
A new way of identifying poverty, one that can be integrated into school records, is needed. Without it, policymakers and researchers risk losing sight of who truly needs help and whether current efforts are working.
Michaela James receives funding from ADR Wales and UKRI.
Amy Locke receives funding from a Swansea University Studentship.
Sinead Brophy receives funding from UKRI, NIHR, European Union
London, September 1592. Robert Greene, a popular writer of romances, plays, and pamphlets – with an apparent predilection for pickled herring and Rhenish wine in prodigal excess – has died.
Three pamphlets are published soon afterwards, each purporting to be Greene’s autobiographical deathbed repentance. The first to appear, Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit, contains a letter addressed to “those gentlemen … that spend their wits in making plays”. They were most likely George Peele, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Nashe, three fellow playwrights who, like Greene, could boast a university education – and who are entreated to find “more profitable courses” for their wits.
Woodcut from 1598 depicting Robert Greene at his writing desk. Public Domain Review
After first rehashing (or parodying?) common Puritanical attitudes towards the theatres (idolatrous places where male actors dressed as women and audiences were not only distracted from their prayers but also frequently pickpocketed), our author then changes his focus.
He warns his fellow “university wits” against “an upstart crow beautified with our feathers that, with his tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you, and, being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country”.
This sentence appears to be the first reference to Shakespeare’s writing for the stage. That’s why it has assumed such importance and why the phrase “upstart crow” has become so well known.
It seems likely that the author of the letter was criticising Shakespeare. Perhaps they intended to denigrate him as a jack-of-all-trades player-turned-playwright who, as far as we know, never attended university and – worst of all – attempted to write above his station, when he should have stuck to acting. The thrust of the comment seems clear enough: but who actually wrote the insult?
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Readers at the time evidently had doubts about the authenticity of Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit and two prime suspects soon emerged. First, Henry Chettle, a printer and playwright who claimed to have acted as Greene’s literary executor. His role in the publishing trade may have given him the opportunity to intervene and slip in the attack.
The second was Thomas Nashe, a “university wit” like Greene. He was a poet, playwright and satirist who first rose to prominence as a polemical author employed, alongside Greene, to defend the bishops against a series of Puritanical tracts.
Both men, who seem to have been on friendly terms, were quick to deny any authorship of the Groatsworth. Nashe swore not “the least word or syllable … proceeded from my pen” and Chettle, while admitting he supplied the manuscript copy to the publisher, protested the work “was all Greene’s, not mine nor Master Nashe’s, as some unjustly have affirmed”.
Should we take these assertions at face value or, should we wonder whether they are duplicitous, instances of protesting too much, as Shakespeare would have it?
Our investigation
Some critics maintain the Groatsworth to be an authentic Greene piece. But a convincing case has been made that any Greene material was at least edited, if not forged outright, by Chettle. In her 2001 revisionist biography of Shakespeare, however, professor of literature Katherine Duncan-Jones, often an astute guide, argued that Nashe was “by far the stronger suspect, at least as far as the ‘upstart crow’ passage is concerned”.
Using a variety of computational methods to analyse digitised samples of writing by Chettle, Greene, and Nashe, we were able to confirm her suspicions with quantitative evidence. We performed three tests, each employing different methods to analyse different linguistic features, thereby providing independent confirmation of our findings.
We first used Delta, a standard distance metric in authorship attribution study, to compare Chettle, Greene and Nashe in their typical use of “function” words (which serve primarily or exclusively grammatical functions) with the Groatsworth. The results showed Nashe to be a stylistically closer match for the letter containing the “upstart crow” insult. Chettle was a closer match for most of the remaining segments of the pamphlet.
Our second test employed Support Vector Machines, a machine learning technique commonly used for classification problems. We trained it to classify writing as Chettle’s, Greene’s, or Nashe’s using a selection of “middling” words, mostly lexical or “content” words, which are neither ubiquitous nor exclusive to any of our authors. When we introduced the Groatsworth segments to the classifier, the letter containing “upstart Crow” was predicted to be Nashe’s.
Finally, we used Zeta, another machine learning technique, to find syntactical patterns comprising three-word sequences that distinguish Nashe’s writing from Chettle’s and Greene’s combined. Again, the “upstart crow” letter was a closer match for Nashe. We have made our data available to allow others to test and validate our findings.
Why should Nashe have insulted Shakespeare in this way? Recentscholarship has shown Nashe to have been part of a group of playwrights responsible for co-authoring I Henry VI, a play that Shakespeare subsequently revised.
Did Nashe resent the “upstart crow” for having the gall to revise his work, assuming, as has been suggested, that Shakespeare was employed to adapt 1 Henry VI to turn his existing two-part play about Henry VI into a trilogy?
Was this an attack on what he saw as Shakespeare’s undeserved literary reputation? An attack he believed could be launched in relative safety by adopting the persona of his recently deceased friend and collaborator, Greene?
Or, as Nashe was frequently wont to do, was this simply too good an opportunity to generate controversy to pass up?
If we take the first option then Nashe was an angry, jealous critic, eager to defend his reputation and excoriate those who trespassed on his patch. If we assume the second, then Nashe may have had no particular animus against Shakespeare, but was merely playing the literary marketplace, realising that controversy generates readers.
As Nashe praises Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part One in his long pamphlet, Pierce Pennilesse, His Supplication to the Devil, published the same year as Groatsworth, perhaps we should assume that the second option is more plausible. Particularly as his forays into a different genres and subject matter under different pseudonyms suggest that cultivating a consistent literary reputation worth defending was not Nashe’s priority.
These new findings force us to reevaluate long-held assumptions about Shakespeare’s early literary reputation. And to reexamine the perceived enmity between him and Greene, and reconsider both authors’ relationships with Nashe. Our method also serves as a timely demonstration of the ways that computational techniques, combined with newly available digitised texts, can help shed light on long-standing literary questions.
Brett Greatley-Hirsch has received funding for this research from the AHRC and the British Academy/Jisc.
Andrew Hadfield and Rachel White do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Mattel may seem like an unchanging, old-school brand. Most of us are familiar with it – be it through Barbie, Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Uno, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, MEGA or Polly Pocket.
But toys are changing. In a world where children grow up with algorithm-curated content and voice assistants, toy manufacturers are looking to AI for new opportunities.
Mattel has now partnered with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, to bring generative AI into some of its products. As OpenAI’s services are not designed for children under 13, in principle Mattel will focus on products for families and older children.
But this still raises urgent questions about what kind of relationships children will form with toys that can talk back, listen and even claim to “understand” them. Are we doing right by kids, and do we need to think twice before bringing these toys home?
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For as long as there have been toys, children have projected feelings and imagined lives onto them. A doll could be a confidante, a patient or a friend.
But over recent decades, toys have become more responsive. In 1960, Mattel released Chatty Cathy, which chirped “I love you” and “Let’s play school”. By the mid-1980s, Teddy Ruxpin had introduced animatronic storytelling. Then came Furby and Tamagotchi in the 1990s, creatures requiring care and attention, mimicking emotional needs.
The 2015 release of “Hello Barbie”, which used cloud-based AI to listen to and respond to children’s conversations, signalled another important, albeit short-lived, change. Barbie now remembered what children told her, sending data back to Mattel’s servers. Security researchers soon showed that the dolls could be hacked, exposing home networks and personal recordings.
Putting generative AI in the mix is a new development. Unlike earlier talking toys, such systems will engage in free-flowing conversation. They may simulate care, express emotion, remember preferences and give seemingly thoughtful advice. The result will be toy that don’t just entertain, but interact on a psychological level. Of course, they won’t really understand or care, but they may appear to.
Details from Mattel or Open AI are scarce. One would hope that safety features will be built in, including limitations on topics and pre-scripted responses for sensitive themes and when conversations go off course.
But even this won’t be foolproof. AI systems can be “jailbroken” or tricked into bypassing restrictions through roleplay or hypothetical scenarios. Risks can only be minimised, not eradicated.
What are the risks?
The risks are multiple. Let’s start with privacy. Children can’t be expected to understand how their data is processed. Parents often don’t either – and that includes me. Online consent systems nudge us all to click “accept all”, often without fully grasping what’s being shared.
Then there’s psychological intimacy. These toys are designed to mimic human empathy. If a child comes home sad and tells their doll about it, the AI might console them. The doll could then adapt future conversations accordingly. But it doesn’t actually care. It’s pretending to, and that illusion can be powerful.
Children often have close relationship with their toys. Ulza/Shutterstock
This creates potential for one-sided emotional bonds, with children forming attachments to systems that cannot reciprocate. As AI systems learn about a child’s moods, preferences and vulnerabilities, they may also build data profiles to follow children into adulthood.
These aren’t just toys, they’re psychological actors.
A UK national survey I conducted with colleagues in 2021 about possibilities of AI in toys that profile child emotion found that 80% of parents were concerned about who would have access to their child’s data. Other privacy questions that need answering are less obvious, but arguably more important.
When asked whether toy companies should be obliged to flag possible signs of abuse or distress to authorities, 54% of UK citizens agreed – suggesting the need for a social conversation with no easy answer. While vulnerable children should be protected, state surveillance into the family domain has little appeal.
Yet despite concerns, people also see benefits. Our 2021 survey found that many parents want their children to understand emerging technologies. This leads to a mixed response of curiosity and concern. Parents we surveyed also supported having clear consent notices, printed on packaging, as the most important safeguard.
My more recent 2025 research with Vian Bakir on online AI companions and children found stronger concerns. Some 75% of respondents were concerned about children becoming emotionally attached to AI. About 57% of people thought that it is inappropriate for children to confide in AI companions about their thoughts, feelings or personal issues (17% thought it is appropriate, and 27% were neutral).
Our respondents were also concerned about the impact on child development, seeing scope for harm.
In other research, we have argued that current AI companions are fundamentally flawed. We provide seven suggestions to redesign them, involving remedies for over-attachment and dependency, removal of metrics based on extending engagement though personal information disclosure and promotion of AI literacy among children and parents (which represents a huge marketing opportunity by positively leading social conversation).
What should be done?
It’s hard to know how successful the new venture will be. It might be that that Empathic Barbie goes the way of Hello Barbie, to toy history. If it does not, the key question for parents is this: whose interests is this toy really serving, your child’s or that of a business model?
Toy companies are moving ahead with empathic AI products, but the UK, like many countries, doesn’t yet have a specific AI law. The new Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 updates the UK’s data protection and privacy and electronic communications regulations, recognising need for strong protections for children. The EU’s AI Act also makes important provisions.
International governance efforts are vital. One example is IEEE P7014.1, a forthcoming global standard on the ethical design of AI systems that emulate empathy (I chair the working group producing the standard).
The organisation behind the standard, the IEEE, ultimately identifies potential harms and offers practical guidance on what responsible use looks like. So while laws should set limits, detailed standards can help define good practice.
The Conversation approached Mattel about the issues raised in this article and it declined to comment publicly.
Andrew McStay is funded by EPSRC Responsible AI UK (EP/Y009800/1) and is affiliated with IEEE.
As the government is exploring a new EU youth mobility scheme and working towards a renewed association with the Erasmus+ programme, a world of opportunity may be opening up once again for young people in the UK. Studying or working abroad is not just an enriching experience – it’s a powerful step towards building intercultural competence and a successful career in today’s globalised world.
The German-speaking countries are among Europe’s most influential cultural and political forces and have therefore been an attractive destination for young Brits. And learning German could be the gateway to a period of cultural immersion.
Learning a language has many professional, cultural and intellectual benefits. With almost 100 million first-language speakers across several countries, German is one of the most widely spoken languages in Europe. Germany is not just Europe’s largest economy but also the third largest economy in the world. Knowing German can give you a competitive edge with employers and even boost your salary prospects.
More than that, learning a language gives you unique insights into different cultures, societies and perspectives, as new research on learning German that I have carried out with colleagues shows. It helps you look beneath the surface and connect with people on a deeper level.
No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.
Understanding German also enriches your cultural experiences, as you will be able to enjoy German-language literature, philosophy, music, film and TV – all in their original form. Of course it will also be useful if you are planning to travel, study or work in a German-speaking country.
While there are all these benefits, German is sometimes thought of as a difficult language to learn. However, there are many reasons why it’s not actually as hard as some may think.
Shared roots with English
German and English both belong to the Germanic language family and have a shared history. This means that there are many “cognates” (words that are historically related and therefore similar). These are often easy to guess for English speakers, particularly once you are familiar with some of the patterns.
You can probably work out what the German words “Apfel” and “Pfeffer” mean (apple and pepper). In cognates, German pf and ff often correspond to a p sound in English. Some knowledge of the history of languages can help learners spot (and explain) these patterns and identify cognates more easily. This is one of the many reasons why my colleagues and I have been arguing that all language learners should be introduced to some basics of linguistics, the scientific study of language.
It gets easier
German grammar sometimes has the reputation to be particularly complicated. It can’t be denied that it can be challenging at times, and unfamiliar grammatical concepts in any language can take a while to get your head around.
The interesting thing about German grammar is that it is quite “frontloaded”. This means that learners will encounter many of those challenging new concepts – such as grammatical gender, cases and some specific word order rules – right at the beginning. You need to understand these basics to a certain extent to be able to produce even quite simple sentences.
It is worth persevering, though, as German grammar gets easier further down the line. German tenses, for example, are quite straightforward. Whereas in English we differentiate between “she read”, “she has read”, and “she was reading”. There is only one form to learn in German: “sie hat gelesen”.
Similarly, when it comes to pronunciation, there are some sounds in German that will be unfamiliar to English speakers to start with, such as the “umlaute” ä, ö and ü, and the ways in which ch and r are pronounced. It takes some practice to master these. However, the correspondence between spelling and pronunciation is much more predictable and consistent in German than it is in English.
Take, for example, the different ways to pronounce -ough in the words “through”, “thorough” and “tough”. Such examples can be really challenging for learners of English. You won’t find such tricky differences in German.
German has a word for it
German is famous for its long words. These often consist of two or more words joined together to create a new compound word. While compounds are fascinating in themselves, they also tend to be very descriptive, which can be helpful for language learners.
For example, if you know the words for “sick” (“krank”) and “house” (“Haus”), you basically know the word for “hospital” too (and you can definitely guess its meaning when you encounter it): “Krankenhaus”. And could you work out that “Spielzeug” (literally “play stuff”) means “toy”?
Learning a language is never without its difficulties, and German is no exception. However, my experience of teaching German at British universities has shown me that German is much more accessible to English speakers than some might think.
Many people enjoy the intellectual challenge of learning a new language and find it a highly rewarding experience, and it may be a gateway to some time spent in a German-speaking country. So give it a go, and don’t let the thought of learning German cause you any angst!
Sascha Stollhans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
What are the best investments humanity can make? As delegates prepare to gather for the Fourth World Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, Spain, Mariangela Parra-Lancourt explains that what’s good for the individual can advance society as a whole. Drawing on her expertise as Chief of the UN’s Strategic Engagement and Policy Integration Branch in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, she shows how this works.
In Tine and Oure Cassoni camps in eastern Chad, close to the border with Sudan, Médecins Sans Frontières is increasing our support for recently arrived Sudanese refugees. In these overcrowded camps, people face harsh conditions and limited access to food, shelter, water, and healthcare. The current humanitarian response is grossly insufficient, and greater support from additional organisations is urgently needed.
An estimated 80,000 people have crossed the border from North Darfur, Sudan, to eastern Chad, arriving in or passing through Wadi Fira and East Ennedi provinces, since the end of April.1 These newly arrived refugees, a majority of whom are women and children, fled El Fasher and its surrounding camps after intense attacks from the Rapid Support Forces. While they are safe from bombs in Tine and Oure Cassoni camps, which are separated by 130 kilometers, they are now enduring severe overcrowding and have only limited access to essential medical services.
For them, the road from El Fasher to Chad, which can take up to 10 days travelling, was plagued by violence and hardship. In both camps, our teams are hearing harrowing stories of violence suffered in North Darfur and on the journey to eastern Chad. Many people have been hurt or seen men and boys beaten, injured or killed, and women and girls raped. Some people reportedly died of thirst on the way.
Care after surgery
Mahanat, who is 11 years old, lost his left hand on 11 April, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a massive ground offensive on Zamzam camp, which housed 500,000 people, near El Fasher. According to the UN, hundreds of people were killed in April alone and the camp has been completely emptied.2 Mahanat escaped the deadly attacks and is now in Tine camp with his mother.
“Mahanat’s father was killed during the attack on Zamzam camp. His left hand got ripped off by a shrapnel bomb, some got stuck in his right eye,” says Mahanat’s mother. “He arrived at the MSF clinic in the Tine camp several weeks ago. Each time, doctors and nurses struggled to even access the wound as the child was traumatised and in immense pain. Over the days, with time, patience and trust, Mahanat accepted care.”
Our teams have been treating people’s physical wounds from gunshots, shrapnel bombs and landmines. We are helping patients with amputations through pain management and infection prevention and control measures, such as applying sterile bandages to keep wounds clean and dry. In Tine, we have recently added a mental health component to our work to better support patient recovery.
Meeting people’s growing needs
While we scaled up our activities in Tine camp in April, the overall situation remains largely unchanged due to people’s overwhelming needs. MSF continues to do our utmost but a coordinated and strengthened response from other humanitarian actors is essential to meet the urgent demands on the ground.
“Again, we ask donors, the UN and humanitarian organisations to start providing or scale-up support in terms of food, shelter, sanitation and medical care including mental health services. The current response is grossly insufficient,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF’s emergency coordinator for Sudan.
We are increasing the availability of essential healthcare services in Tine and Oure Cassoni camps.
Since April 2025 to the time of writing of the article, we have carried out over 7,700 consultations at the Tine health post. We are concerned about the global rate of malnutrition among children under five in the camp, which is as high as 18%, with 3% being severely malnourished. To assist in curbing the spread of measles in the camp, we have vaccinated 5,755 children.
Pregnant women and survivors of sexual violence can receive care at the health post, and our staff are able to refer critical patients to local hospitals. From April 2025 until now, 1,322 consultations on sexual and reproductive health have been carried out. During the last four weeks of activities, 16 survivors of sexual violence were seen at the health post. To support people’s overall health in the camp, we have built 40 emergency latrines. MSF is the only organisation in the camp providing people with water, which remains a huge problem for residents. Whilst we were providing the minimum requirement per person per day, the sudden increase of the number of people in the camp due to the halt of relocations means that the needs have now increased.
“Again, we ask donors, the UN and humanitarian organisations to start providing or scale-up support in terms of food, shelter, sanitation and medical care including mental health services. The current response is grossly insufficient.” Claire San Filippo, MSF’s emergency coordinator for Sudan
In Oure Cassoni camp, we carried out a rapid evaluation of the situation in order to understand people’s needs and prepare for an appropriate response. For the time being, we are supplying water through Water Trucking whilst exploring more sustainable interventions. While this camp was already home to 56,000 people, an additional 40,000 refugees have been accommodated there last April. These new arrivals have set up with what they have, but they are living in makeshift shelters and without latrines and other basic infrastructure. While a humanitarian response in underway for these newly arrived refugees, our teams are aware of the many unmet needs, and of the many more people expected to arrive from North Darfur.
“The number of people arriving at the Tine border point is not expected to decrease over the coming weeks,” says San Filippo. “The upcoming rainy season is likely to worsen the already poor living conditions, spread disease, exacerbate food insecurity and the lack of sanitation. We are deeply alarmed by the difficult conditions in the Tine and Oure Cassoni camps. Large-scale humanitarian action is urgently needed to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simão, concluded yesterday a four-day visit to Burkina Faso.
Following his visit to Niger, this trip was also part of UNOWAS ongoing commitment to support the people of Burkina Faso in their efforts to consolidate peace, security, and development.
In Ouagadougou, Mr. Simão held a series of meetings with the authorities. He was received in audience by the Prime Minister, Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo. He also held discussions with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabè Abroad, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré; the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly, Ousmane Bougouma; the Commander and Minister of Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity, Ms. Passowendé Pélagie Kabre Kabore; and the Minister of Sports, Youth and Employment, Anuuyirtole Roland Somda. He also met with representatives of civil society, the United Nations country team, and the diplomatic corps.
The discussions covered various topics related to the national and regional situation, particularly the security situation in the sub-region and the need to coordinate efforts to effectively combat terrorism, which is using more sophisticated weapons and children.
In this regard, the Special Representative welcomed the successful meeting held in Bamako on May 22 between the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and called for regional and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, which threatens all states in the region.
The Special Representative reiterated the United Nations’ commitment, in coordination with its partners, to continue supporting the people of Burkina Faso in their quest for peace and prosperity, including in the area of food self-sufficiency.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Association of Journalists in Health, Population and Development (AJSPD), organized a five‑day capacity‑building workshop in Thiès (June 16–20, 2025) to train Senegalese media professionals on food safety issues. The training aimed to deepen their understanding of the key challenges, legal frameworks, technical tools, and best practices related to food safety.
In her opening remarks, Mrs Bintia Stephen‑Tchicaya, FAO’s Acting Sub‑Regional Coordinator for West Africa, complimented AJSPD for its outstanding work in health and development journalism. “You are essential actors in building a culture of prevention and responsibility around food safety. Through your investigations, reports, and columns, you can shift mindsets, influence behaviors, and hold decision makers to account. We count on your renewed commitment to consistently include food safety in your reporting,” she said.
Food safety remains a major challenge across Africa. According to a 2015 WHO estimation, more than 91 million people in Africa fall ill annually from foodborne illnesses, resulting in around 137 000 deaths. These alarming figures highlight the urgent need to raise public awareness and influence policymakers, professionals, and consumers alike.
Professor Amadou Diop, Chair of the National Codex Committee in Senegal, reminded participants that the Codex Alimentarius – fully endorsed by Senegal – sets rigorous, science‑based international food safety standards. “These standards only have impact,” he said, “if they are understood, communicated, and applied – especially by media professionals. Journalists are not only messengers but educators, preventers, and mobilizers who can translate complex scientific data into accessible, actionable messages.”
The workshop featured theoretical lectures, panel discussions, case studies, and practical field work. Journalists visited Thiès’s main transport hub to assess street food safety issues firsthand. Captain Armand Seck of the Thiès hygiene brigade reported numerous violations: cramped stalls, poor ventilation, inadequate lighting, and makeshift food stands under tarpaulins.
Recognizing the lack of formal training among journalists on food safety, the program covered legal frameworks, international standards like Codex, microbiological, physical, and chemical hazards, surveillance systems, and safe handling practices for food preparation and sale.
Participants proposed several recommendations to improve communication, awareness, and advocacy: fostering stronger collaboration between media, health authorities, and partners; organizing regular specialized training; publicizing safe food-handling practices; educating policymakers including parliamentarians; and creating regional professional networks.
This workshop marks an important milestone in promoting quality information on food safety to benefit consumers in Senegal and across West Africa. It is part of the project “Strengthening capacity to respond to food safety emergencies and improving street food quality in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal,” funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with the goal of enhancing emergency response to food safety threats and improving street food hygiene standards in West Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.
Dekemhare Technical School today graduated 139 students, including 63 females, who completed two years of theoretical and practical training in auto mechanics, electricity, metal and woodwork, and construction.
Mr. Wuhab Mohammed-Ali, Director of the school, congratulated the students and urged them to further enhance their skills through practical experience in the workplace.
Mr. Tesfay Seium, Director General of Technical and Vocational Education at the Ministry of Education, emphasized the Government of Eritrea’s significant investment in education and called on the youth to take full advantage of these opportunities to improve their livelihoods and contribute to national development.
Mr. Yemane Abera, Administrator of Dekemhare Sub-zone, also congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to serve the country and people who provided them with educational opportunities.
Established in 1999, Dekemhare Technical School has so far graduated 3,433 students in diploma programs and 3,846 in certificate programs.
In a related development, the Indomaso Award was presented to 17 outstanding students in the Adi-Keih Sub-zone who scored 80 and above in the eighth-grade national examination. The awards were given during a graduation ceremony for 328 youths who completed vocational training programs ranging from one to four months.
The training covered areas including motor maintenance, plumbing, beauty salon services, and social science.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.
The Ministry of Health has organized a training of trainers program to introduce a vaccination initiative aimed at controlling Hepatitis B, a virus that causes liver inflammation and is transmitted vertically from mother to child. Representatives from regional health branches, vaccination program heads, and partners are participating in the training.
Mr. Tedros Yihdego, Head of the National Vaccination Program at the Ministry of Health, stated that the objective of the training is to enhance understanding of the vaccination program, which is set to begin on 1 August and will administer the vaccine within the first 24 hours of birth.
Dr. Nonso Ejiofor, WHO Representative in Eritrea, and Dr. Nande Putta, Chief of Child Survival and Development at UNICEF, noted that in Eritrea due to the equal implementation of the vaccination program in both urban and rural areas, the rates of infection and death have significantly declined. They expressed full support for the program.
Mr. Tedros also expressed confidence that the national program will be successfully implemented through the coordinated participation of all relevant institutions.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to G7 reiterating importance of peace and stability across Taiwan Strait
Date：2025-06-18
Data Source：Department of North American Affairs
June 18, 2025
The 2025 G7 leaders’ summit was held in Kananaskis, Canada, from June 15 to 17. The chair’s summary published following the summit emphasized G7 members’ ongoing and serious concerns about China’s destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung welcomes and highly appreciates these remarks.
The summary once again clearly underlined G7 members’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the international rule of law. In addition, G7 leaders expressed concern over China’s use of such comprehensive nonmarket policies and actions as market distortion and overcapacity.
Minister Lin sincerely appreciates that G7 members, following joint statements by G7 foreign ministers in March and April, once again conveyed support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which highlights the international consensus on this matter. Maintaining the cross-strait status quo is indispensable to global security and prosperity. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to work with global society to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to UK naval vessel transiting Taiwan Strait
Date：2025-06-19
Data Source：Department of European Affairs
June 19, 2025
On June 18, the UK Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Spey transited the Taiwan Strait. Through this concrete action, the United Kingdom further defended freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait and demonstrated its firm position that the strait constitutes international waters. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes and affirms the transit.
MOFA continues to encourage the United Kingdom and other like-minded countries to jointly safeguard cross-strait peace and stability, promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and maintain the rules-based international order.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to false claims regarding Taiwan in joint statement between Central Asian nations and China
Date：2025-06-19
Data Source：Department of West Asian and African Affairs
June 19, 2025
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan from June 16 to 18 at the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Following the summit, these nations and China jointly issued the Astana Declaration, which contains the spurious claim that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly refutes this statement and sternly protests against the Chinese communist regime for its repeated use of meetings with other nations’ leaders to publicly undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty as well as central Asian nations for uncritically accepting China’s statements that run contrary to the facts in downgrading Taiwan’s sovereignty.
MOFA reiterates that neither the Republic of China (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other, that the Chinese communist regime has never governed Taiwan, and that no nation has the right or power to deny Taiwan’s existence via so-called joint statements. MOFA calls on Kazakhstan and other central Asian nations not to support false statements and endorse China’s aggressive intentions to disrupt regional peace and stability.
Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to its people, and it is the people of Taiwan who will determine Taiwan’s future. Moreover, peace, stability, and prosperity must be jointly upheld by all nations of the world. Taiwan is a force for good in the international community and will continue to staunchly defend the values of freedom and democracy as it strengthens collaboration with democratic nations to halt authoritarian expansionism, defend cross-strait peace and security, and maintain a free and stable Indo-Pacific region.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, this week questioned witnesses about how a federal Right to Repair would boost competition and strengthen sustainability of rural agricultural economies in Vermont.
“One of the issues that keeps coming up in Vermont—I talk to farmers, and they want to repair their equipment, and they can’t. And if there’s anything a farmer can do, it’s fix things. It’s a way they save money and keep things going, and they can’t take the time it takes to have somebody else come in and fix it. And they’re not being allowed to do it. So, a number of us think there should be a Right to Repair—you buy the tractor, you should be able to repair it,” said Senator Welch. “If something goes wrong, why can’t you—when you are somebody who knows how to do things—fix it?”
In response to questioning, officials from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice agreed with Senator Welch on the need for a federal Right to Repair.
Mr. Mark Meador, Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), testified: “I think it’s incredibly important. And as you alluded to, the FTC has enforcement efforts in this exact area. I think it’s critical that when a consumer buys a product they can use their own labor—or that of anyone capable—to repair and maintain that product.”
In response to a question about right to repair, Mr. Roger Alford, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice, testified: “The answer to your question is yes—right to repair is a critical argument that is important in antitrust enforcement.”
Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below:
Read more excerpts from Senator Welch’s remarks:
Senator Welch: “Can you just describe how a federal Right to Repair would promote a more sustainable and competitive agricultural economy?”
Ms. Doha Mekki, Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, testified: “When I was the Principal Deputy and then Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division, it was our mantra in the front office: ‘Don’t mess with the farmers.’ We took the view that when big, rapacious companies abused farmers, that they needed to be prepared to meet the Justice Department on the other side…So, I think this is a wonderful idea because we know what happens when companies pivot from being sort of an industrial monopolist to a sort of big data monopolist and then are charging expensive subscriptions and service fees in order for you to just interact with the product that you thought you bought.”
Senator Welch: “Thank you. That’s very helpful, and I like your advice: ‘Don’t mess with the farmers.’”
•••
Senator Welch has led the fight to protect consumers from corporate rip-offs and combat mounting monopolies. In April, Senator Welch called out President Trump for firing Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission and discussed the importance of a fully functioning FTC to safeguard consumers from corporate greed.
At a Senate Judiciary hearing in November, Senator Welch grilled Visa and Mastercard executives about their duopoly over the credit card market and the interchange fees—or swipe fees—charged to businesses in the United States and highlighted the importance of passing his bipartisan, bicameral Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) to enhance choice and competition in the credit card market and help bring down costs for small businesses.
Last Congress, Senator Welch led a bipartisan letter to the Biden Administration raising concerns about FanDuel and DraftKings’ conduct and slammed online sports gambling companies for exploiting the addictive nature of gambling and undermining antitrust law. Senator Welch also introduced the Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act and Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, bills to prevent companies from using algorithms to set higher prices for consumers and crack down on companies that help landlords increase rents in already high-priced markets.
Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired the 48th edition of PRAGATI — the Centre’s multi-level, ICT-enabled platform aimed at ensuring proactive governance and timely implementation of key schemes and projects.
During the session, the Prime Minister reviewed critical infrastructure projects across the Mines, Railways, and Water Resources sectors. These projects were examined with a focus on timelines, coordination among agencies, and resolution of pending issues.
The PM stressed that delays in project execution result in escalating costs and deprive citizens of timely access to services and infrastructure. He urged officials across ministries and state governments to adopt a result-oriented approach, calling for stronger inter-agency coordination and time-bound delivery.
The PM reiterated the importance of equitable access to healthcare for marginalised and underserved populations, describing PM-ABHIM as a key opportunity for states to strengthen health infrastructure at the block, district, and state levels. “This is a golden opportunity to bridge the gaps in primary, tertiary, and specialised health services,” the PM said.
PM Modi also reviewed efforts made by ministries and states in promoting self-reliance in the defence sector. He praised initiatives that foster indigenous manufacturing and innovation, citing the recent Operation Sindoor — carried out using homegrown capabilities — as an example of the strides being made in the sector.
The Prime Minister urged states to tap into the growing ecosystem by supporting local innovation and contributing to the broader push for self-reliance in defence.
Launched in 2015, PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) is a platform through which the Prime Minister directly engages with top officials of central and state governments to review key projects and address bottlenecks in real time.
Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today released the updated legislative text for the Homeland Security portion of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees’ title of the reconciliation bill. This text meets the border security funding request from President Trump and his administration.
“As Budget Chairman, I will do my best to ensure that the President’s border security plan is fully funded because I believe it has been fully justified.
“The President promised to secure our border. His plan fulfills that promise. The Senate must do our part and pass this bill.”
During the ConvEx-3 (2025) exercise, one of the response measures includes aerial monitoring of the environment. (Photo: J. Jin)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in collaboration with over 75 countries and 10 international organizations, successfully concluded a 36-hour simulation that tested global readiness and response mechanisms to a severe nuclear emergency scenario at Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. The ConvEx-3 (2025) exercise began on 24 June and concluded today, 25 June, at about 17:45 CEST.
Such exercises are held every three to five years and are based on simulated events hosted by IAEA Member States.
The exercise simulated a significant release of radioactive material, prompting participating nations and organizations to engage in real-time decision-making, information exchange, public communication and coordination of protective actions, including medical response and cross-border logistics.
“The ConvEx-3 (2025) demonstrated the strength of international cooperation in nuclear emergency preparedness,” said Carlos Torres Vidal, Director of the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre. “By working together in realistic scenarios, we enhance our collective ability to protect people and the environment.”
Key innovations in this year’s exercise included:
Enhanced regional collaboration: Recognizing the transboundary impact of severe nuclear accidents, neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova coordinated protective measures to ensure harmonized responses across borders.
Integration of nuclear security scenarios: The simulation incorporated physical protection challenges and cyber security threats, reflecting evolving risks.
Advanced crisis communication testing: An expanded social media simulator was utilized to assess and improve public information strategies.
Deployment of international assistance missions: Expert teams from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Lithuania, Moldova, Sweden and the United States of America conducted joint operations, including aerial and land-based radiation monitoring, under the IAEA’s Response and Assistance Network (RANET).
The exercise emphasized the importance of timely information sharing, accurate assessment and prognosis, and effective public communication during nuclear emergencies.
In the coming weeks, the IAEA will compile feedback from all participants to identify best practices and areas for improvement, contributing to the continuous enhancement of global nuclear emergency preparedness. The final report will guide preparations for the upcoming International Conference on Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies (EPR 2025) to be held this December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Minister Solomon meets with leaders in innovation during Toronto Tech Week
June 25, 2025 – Toronto, Ontario
Today, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), attended Frontiers of AI, co-hosted by MaRS Discovery District (MaRS), Vector Institute (Vector) and the University of Toronto, to discuss the future of Canada’s AI economy.
Minister Solomon began the day at MaRS, a leading innovation hub supporting science and technology startups and scaleups, where he highlighted Canada’s leadership in AI development. He reiterated the Government of Canada’s commitment to working alongside innovators to drive growth, create jobs, and scale Canada’s AI industry at home and on the world stage.
Minister Solomon also met with a number of businesses, including FedDev Ontario-supported Ecopia AI (Ecopia), a Canadian technology company using AI to create high-precision mapping data for critical applications around the world.
Vector’s world-class research community is pushing the boundaries of AI science, from accelerating equitable access to liver transplants to improving cancer care, and through its secure health AI network, is enabling data-driven solutions to critical issues like staffing shortages, wait times, and patient outcomes. This afternoon, Minister Solomon announced an investment of $3.5 million for Vector to deliver HealthSpark – an initiative to fast-track AI innovation in Canadian health care and services. With this support, high-potential scaleups and startups will receive training, mentorship and access to key networks and AI engineering expertise, as they develop AI solutions to tackle some of our most pressing healthcare challenges.
The Government of Canada is making strategic investments to support AI adoption to foster real solutions, improve lives, reshape industries and reimagine what is possible.
The Government of Saskatchewan is reminding farmers and producers that they can salvage hay along provincial highways.
“The hay salvage and ditch mowing program provides several benefits for Saskatchewan residents,” Highways Minister David Marit said. “The program offers a cost-effective way to keep vegetation along our highway system in check while supplying free hay to farmers and producers.”
The program supports agricultural producers while enhancing road safety by improving visibility of signage, controlling brush and noxious weeds and ensuring safer intersections and curves by maintaining clear sightlines.
“Programs like this provide timely, practical support for Saskatchewan producers facing pressures from weather and input costs,” Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison said. “Access to quality hay is essential for livestock operations, and this initiative gives producers another opportunity to secure feed while making good use of roadside resources.”
Key program dates to remember:
Prior to and including July 8, landowners or lessees adjacent to a highway ditch have the first option to cut or bale hay.
After July 8 anyone may cut or bale hay without the permission of the nearby landowner or lessee, as long as these activities are not already underway.
All hay bales must be removed from ditches by August 8.
The Ministry of Highways will deliver the mowing program with the assistance of contractors and local rural municipalities. About 45,400 hectares will be mowed in 2025.
“This initiative provides valuable support to rural producers, especially during challenging times like drought or feed shortages,” SARM President Bill Huber said. “Allowing responsible hay salvaging helps reduce waste and supports the agricultural community’s resilience. SARM encourages producers to follow safety guidelines and work collaboratively with local authorities to make the most of this resource.”
For more information about hay salvage and ditch mowing, visit: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/programs-and-services/livestock-programs/ditch-mowing-and-hay-salvage.
Motorists are reminded to check the Highway Hotline for the latest road conditions at before travelling https://hotline.gov.sk.ca/map.
Since 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $13.8 billion in transportation infrastructure, improving over 21,800 kilometres of highways across the province.
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For more information, contact:
Dan Palmer Highways Regina Phone: 306-787-3179 Email: dan.palmer@gov.sk.ca
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative James E (Jim) Clyburn (6th District of South Carolina)
Text of Letter (PDF)
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) led a group of congressional Democrats in writing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick addressing the Trump Administration’s recently announced Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Restructuring Policy Notice. The BEAD program was established by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide high-quality, affordable, and sustainable broadband to connect the nearly 25 million Americans that continue to wait for high-speed internet access.
In their letter to Secretary Lutnick, the lawmakers urge the Department of Commerce to ensure that states receive the full funding and flexibility they retained prior to the issuance of the restructuring notice to fully meet those statutory objectives.
“Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States” the Members wrote. “We therefore urge you to implement the BEAD program in accordance with the best reading of the statute so we can make high-quality internet accessible and affordable for all Americans.”
The BEAD program, enacted into law in 2021 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides $42 billion to provide high-quality internet access to millions of Americans who remain unserved, to ensure affordability, and to facilitate adoption. The bipartisan process that crafted the program was informed by the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, comprehensive broadband legislation formulated by the House Democratic Rural Broadband Task Force in conjunction with the Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Democrats.
The letter was also signed by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) as well as Representatives Leger Fernández (D-NM-03), Bishop (D-GA-02), Bynum (D-OR-05), Carson (D-IN-07), Carter (D-LA-02), Cleaver (D-MO-05), Davis (D-IL-07), DelBene (D-WA-01), Evans (D-PA-03), Fields (D-LA-06), Figures (D-AL-02), Garcia (D-TX-29), Goodlander (D-NH-02), Hoyle (D-OR-04), Huffman (D-CA-02), Lofgren (D-CA-18), McGovern (D-MA-02), Menendez (D-NJ-08), Mrvan (D-IN-01), Neguse (D-CO-02), Pappas (D-NH-01), Scholten (D-MI-03), Sewell (D-AL-07), Soto (D-FL-09), Thompson (D-MS-02), Titus (D-NV-01), Tlaib (D-MI-12), Tokuda (D-HI-02), Williams (D-GA-05), and Wilson (D-FL-24).
The full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary Lutnick:
We write to express our opposition to the Department of Commerce’s recently announced BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program was established by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide high-quality, affordable, and sustainable broadband to connect the nearly 25 million Americans that continue to wait for high-speed internet access. We urge you to ensure that states receive the full funding and flexibility they retained prior to the issuance of the restructuring notice to fully meet these statutory objectives.
The broadband division of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law begins with this congressional finding: “Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States.” This fundamental reality is why the BEAD program was established to fulfill the subsequent finding that “the benefits of broadband should be broadly enjoyed by all.” To achieve this goal, the statute states that funding recipients must “ensure coverage of broadband service to all unserved locations” before using any funds for other purposes. The restructuring notice appears to violate this requirement by allowing applicants to exclude certain unserved locations. Such an allowance would defy bipartisan congressional intent, which was predicated on the understanding that public investment was needed to achieve universal service precisely because building the infrastructure to cover many rural areas was too costly to be profitable.
In addition to excluding unserved, predominantly rural locations, the restructuring notice would likely result in others receiving worse service. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires that “priority broadband projects” funded by the program be “designed to provide broadband service that meets speed, latency, reliability, consistency in quality of service, and related criteria as the Assistant Secretary shall determine; and [to] ensure that the network[s] built by the project[s] can easily scale speeds over time to meet the evolving connectivity needs of households and businesses, and support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies, and other advanced services.” Of currently available technologies, fiber-optic networks are faster and more reliable and can scale speeds much more easily. We made the decision to invest larger sums now in broadband infrastructure that would be resilient and capable of meeting Americans’ growing digital demands for decades.
The restructuring notice also undermines the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s provisions designed to ensure that broadband service is affordable and put to good use. The new rules remove specific requirements that ensured that participating providers would provide a low-cost internet option for low-income customers as required by the statute. Additionally, while the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law specifically allows funds to be spent on “broadband adoption, including programs to provide affordable internet-capable devices,” the notice rescinds approval of previously approved “non-deployment activities” and puts all funding for these activities on hold. For example, this provision of the notice puts on hold a South Carolina plan to use BEAD program funds for virtual primary health—equipping low-income households in rural health deserts with access to the full suite of virtual health services at no cost to the patients. If the broadband infrastructure being built by BEAD program funds isn’t put to good use, much of the investment will have been wasted.
As reflected in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s congressional findings, high-quality internet access is a requirement to fully participate in the world, and the BEAD program is our once-in-a century opportunity to finish closing the digital divide. We fear this opportunity would be squandered by the restructuring notice and its changes to coverage, quality, and affordability. We therefore urge you to implement the BEAD program in accordance with the best reading of the statute so we can make high-quality internet accessible and affordable for all Americans.
Home Newsroom AG Labrador Asks Supreme Court to Review Idaho’s Law Protecting Women’s Sports
BOISE — Attorney General Raúl Labrador filed a supplemental brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant immediate review of Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act rather than sending the case back to a lower court. The brief argues that vital constitutional questions about sex-based classifications and women’s athletic opportunities require the Court’s urgent attention. “While we’ve been fighting for fair and equal athletic competition, activists have been pushing an agenda that would ultimately sideline women and girls in their own sports,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Many athletic associations around the world have recognized the obvious truth that men and women are biologically different, and allowing men in women’s sports would create a dangerous, unfair environment for women to showcase their incredible talent. We’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold our law and ensure that women and girls get the opportunities they deserve.” The supplemental brief in Little v. Hecox was filed after the Court held the case pending its decision in United States v. Skrmetti. However, that recent decision did not resolve the fundamental constitutional questions at stake in Idaho’s case. The brief argues that critical circuit splits remain unresolved, including whether biological sex should be defined objectively or subjectively in equal protection cases, and whether transgender identity qualifies as a quasi-suspect classification. Idaho’s brief emphasizes that 27 states have now enacted laws protecting women’s sports, and both the NCAA and federal government have announced policies excluding biological males from female competitions. Despite this momentum, women and girls continue losing medals, podium spots, and athletic opportunities in jurisdictions where courts have blocked these protections. The brief warns that sending the case back to a lower court would only delay the inevitable resolution of these issues while continuing to harm female athletes. It notes that the Ninth Circuit’s current ruling places schools in an impossible position, requiring athletic divisions based on testosterone levels while risking federal funding loss for non-compliance with federal directives protecting women’s sports. Attorney General Labrador continues defending Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in federal court. The case represents a critical opportunity for the Supreme Court to resolve nationwide confusion and protect the integrity of women’s sports across America. Read the brief here.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –
During the ConvEx-3 (2025) exercise, one of the response measures includes aerial monitoring of the environment. (Photo: J. Jin)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in collaboration with over 75 countries and 10 international organizations, successfully concluded a 36-hour simulation that tested global readiness and response mechanisms to a severe nuclear emergency scenario at Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. The ConvEx-3 (2025) exercise began on 24 June and concluded today, 25 June, at about 17:45 CEST.
Such exercises are held every three to five years and are based on simulated events hosted by IAEA Member States.
The exercise simulated a significant release of radioactive material, prompting participating nations and organizations to engage in real-time decision-making, information exchange, public communication and coordination of protective actions, including medical response and cross-border logistics.
“The ConvEx-3 (2025) demonstrated the strength of international cooperation in nuclear emergency preparedness,” said Carlos Torres Vidal, Director of the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre. “By working together in realistic scenarios, we enhance our collective ability to protect people and the environment.”
Key innovations in this year’s exercise included:
Enhanced regional collaboration: Recognizing the transboundary impact of severe nuclear accidents, neighbouring countries Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova coordinated protective measures to ensure harmonized responses across borders.
Integration of nuclear security scenarios: The simulation incorporated physical protection challenges and cyber security threats, reflecting evolving risks.
Advanced crisis communication testing: An expanded social media simulator was utilized to assess and improve public information strategies.
Deployment of international assistance missions: Expert teams from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Lithuania, Moldova, Sweden and the United States of America conducted joint operations, including aerial and land-based radiation monitoring, under the IAEA’s Response and Assistance Network (RANET).
The exercise emphasized the importance of timely information sharing, accurate assessment and prognosis, and effective public communication during nuclear emergencies.
In the coming weeks, the IAEA will compile feedback from all participants to identify best practices and areas for improvement, contributing to the continuous enhancement of global nuclear emergency preparedness. The final report will guide preparations for the upcoming International Conference on Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies (EPR 2025) to be held this December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –
Contributors interested in submitting abstracts for the conference should choose from one of the following topics:
–Regulatory competence: the essential qualities regulators need to work effectively, with emphasis on regulatory culture and workforce development.
–Agility in regulation: strategies and approaches for regulators to enhance agility and effectively respond to and anticipate changes driven by innovation and new technologies.
–Strengthening connections: the role of regulators in strengthening connections within their ‘ecosystem’ to be part of an enabling environment and support the sustainable use of nuclear and radiation technologies.
“Contributions will be essential in driving discussions among nuclear and radiation safety and security regulators to review, identify and propose paths forward for the issues that are crucial in the regulatory field,” said Fuming Jiang, Director of the IAEA’s Office of Safety and Security Coordination, adding that “contributors will have the chance to engage directly with the global regulatory community.”
Abstracts up to 600 words, should be submitted electronically through the IAEA web-based submission system (IAEA-INDICO). Guidelines for abstracts submission are available on the conference website.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –
Contributors interested in submitting abstracts for the conference should choose from one of the following topics:
–Regulatory competence: the essential qualities regulators need to work effectively, with emphasis on regulatory culture and workforce development.
–Agility in regulation: strategies and approaches for regulators to enhance agility and effectively respond to and anticipate changes driven by innovation and new technologies.
–Strengthening connections: the role of regulators in strengthening connections within their ‘ecosystem’ to be part of an enabling environment and support the sustainable use of nuclear and radiation technologies.
“Contributions will be essential in driving discussions among nuclear and radiation safety and security regulators to review, identify and propose paths forward for the issues that are crucial in the regulatory field,” said Fuming Jiang, Director of the IAEA’s Office of Safety and Security Coordination, adding that “contributors will have the chance to engage directly with the global regulatory community.”
Abstracts up to 600 words, should be submitted electronically through the IAEA web-based submission system (IAEA-INDICO). Guidelines for abstracts submission are available on the conference website.
A recent market study by the Competition Bureau is calling for more airline competition in Canada’s airline industry to reduce fares, increase service quality and provide better services to remote communities.
The study reiterates that Canada’s domestic air travel market is largely dominated by just two carriers, Air Canada and WestJet. Together, they account for between 56 per cent to 78 per cent of all domestic passenger traffic. This concentration limits passenger choice, and many Canadians feel airfares are high and quality of service is low as a consequence.
Increased competition has lowered air fares elsewhere, like in Europe, for example, where low-fares airlines dominate the continental market. However, there have been negative outcomes for consumers.
While the bureau positions competition as the solution to the many issues plaguing the industry, it overlooks how an increase in competition can fall short, particularly when it comes to transparency, service quality, labour conditions and regional connectivity.
Cost transparency not likely to improve
One of the Competition Bureau’s key criticisms of Canada’s airline industry is the lack of cost transparency when booking flights. Hidden fees and complex fare structures make it difficult for travellers to effectively make comparisons among airlines.
Europe provides a cautionary example. Increased competition has not led to greater air fare transparency in Europe. Airlines like Ryanair, a low-fare airline and the continent’s largest airline by passengers carried, have been accused of hiding fees for passengers.
Service quality and workers
The bureau’s study also found that many Canadians are dissatisfied with the quality of service offered by domestic airlines. Yet increased competition is unlikely to raise service standards. As airlines compete to offer the lowest fares, they often look to reduce operating costs, typically at the expense of service quality.
The morality and safety implications of introducing wage and employment insecurity to workers within high reliability organizations aside, reducing the quality of employment terms and conditions for workers in such an important industry is short-sighted.
Claims of a pilot shortage are contested, and making employment in Canadian aviation less attractive for a highly skilled and crucial occupational group like pilots is a strategic faux pas that could have long-term consequences for the industry’s stability.
Canada’s unique geography means that many remote regions rely on airlines for goods and transport. Yet these areas are not effectively served by the commercial aviation industry. The bureau suggests greater competition could help, but that claim is questionable.
The reason existing airlines are not providing a greater number of flights between remote communities and larger airports is because these routes aren’t profitable. Rather than expanding service, a more competitive market could shrink route availability because airlines could abandon less profitable routes or refuse to compete on routes where a market leader emerges.
To its credit, the bureau offers several recommendations for northern and remote communities. But these communities are unlikely to benefit from competition alone. In fact, increased competition would likely mean airlines will focus on profitable routes and remove those that don’t yield high profits.
Where routes have been maintained — in Norway, for example — it’s as a consequence of public service obligations that guarantee essential routes are maintained through government support.
It’s because of public service obligations, not competition, that the Canadian government can serve remote communities. Without such safeguards, increased competition has the potential to do more harm than good.
Risks of relaxing foreign ownership
The bureau also recommended relaxing rules around foreign ownership within the Canadian airline industry so that a wholly foreign owned airline can compete domestically.
But not all airlines are equal. Some, like Qatar Airways, are backed by the government of their home state. Qatar Airways has purchased stakes in airlines in Asia Pacific and Africa.
Competition with airlines such as Qatar Airways is inherently unfair because of the huge financial support it receives. Allowing such state-backed carriers into the Canadian market could place domestic airlines at a significant competitive disadvantage. This could not only weaken Canadian airlines, but also be detrimental to the Canadian economy if domestic carriers are pushed out.
Competition may reduce fares, but it always comes at a cost. Canadians must be certain that lower fares are worth the cost.
Geraint Harvey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
June 24, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $141,874 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Authority for Decatur Airport. The federal funding will be used to reconstruct 21,817 square yards of the existing south T-Hangar Apron pavement.
“Illinois’s airports are critical economic engines for our state,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in announcing this federal funding to help modernize and improve infrastructure at Decatur Airport. I will continue working to make traveling safer and more reliable for all passengers while ensuring that our communities are receiving the much-needed federal resources they deserve.”
“By improving airport infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for increased connectivity and reliability while creating jobs,” said Durbin. “This federal funding for Decatur Airport will upgrade the airport’s infrastructure and promote economic growth. I will continue working with Senator Duckworth to ensure our state’s regional airports have the necessary federal resources.”
