Source: Council of the European Union
The President of the European Council, António Costa will be in France to attend the SOS Ocean! conference in Paris on 31 March, before going to Strasbourg for the plenary session of the European Parliament on 1 April. The President will then travel to Samarkand to represent the EU at the first ever EU-Central Asia summit on 4 April.
Source: United Nations secretary general
[Opening remarks below; full transcript to follow shortly]
Let me begin by addressing some breaking news – the terrible earthquake that hit parts of Southeast Asia today.
We send our condolences to the government and peoples of the region.
The United Nations system is mobilizing to help those in need.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press,
I want to focus today on the dramatic and dire situation that is unfolding in South Sudan.
All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world’s newest country – and one of the poorest.
A security emergency – with intensifying clashes; aerial bombing of civilians — including women and children; the presence of external forces; and an ever-growing regional dimension to the conflict.
Political upheaval – culminating most recently with the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar. The peace agreement is in shambles.
A humanitarian nightmare – with about three out of four South Sudanese needing assistance, half the population severely food insecure, and cholera breaking out.
A displacement crisis – with more than one million people crossing the border from Sudan since fighting began there.
An economic meltdown – with oil revenue plummeting and inflation skyrocketing 300%.
Finally, a funding crisis – with much of the already limited humanitarian and development aid drying up.
Meanwhile, ethnic and political targeting by security forces – coupled with the spread of misinformation on social media – is lighting the fuse for even worse.
Let’s not mince words: what we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people.
Our UN Mission in South Sudan is working around the clock to ease tensions – engaging all parties and boosting protection of civilians. But we face operational limitations.
For the sake of the long-suffering people of South Sudan, it is time for dialogue and de-escalation.
The Horn of Africa is already in turmoil and cannot afford another conflict. Nor can the people of South Sudan.
To the leaders of that country, I say:
End the politics of confrontation. Release detained military and civilian officials now. Fully restore the Government of National Unity.
And vigorously implement the promises you made through your commitments to the peace agreement – which is the only legal framework to peaceful, free and fair elections in December 2026.
I also urge the regional and international community, as guarantors of the peace agreement, to speak with one voice in support of the peace process and against any attempts to undermine it.
I just spoke with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission this morning.
We fully support the AU initiative to deploy the Panel of the Wise – as well as the efforts of the Special Envoy of President Ruto of Kenya.
We will be working in close cooperation with the AU and with IGAD.
The people of South Sudan are close to my heart.
On my very first visit as High Commissioner for Refugees, I was several days with South Sudanese refugees – and years later accompanied them across the border finally on their way home.
I will never forget the decency at their very core.
They had such enormous hopes and aspirations.
But unfortunately, not the leadership they deserve.
At this critical hour, the people of South Sudan need an infusion of support.
Diplomatic and political support for peace.
And financial support for lifesaving aid.
South Sudan may have fallen off the world’s radar, but we cannot let the situation fall over the abyss.
Now more than ever, the leaders of South Sudan must hear a clear, unified and resounding message:
Put down the weapons. Put all the people of South Sudan first.
Thank you.
Source: United Nations MIL OSI
The Second WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health co-hosted by the World Health Organization and Colombia, in the city of Cartagena, brought together over 700 participants from 100 countries – including heads of state, ministers, scientists, and civil society groups — to accelerate action to curb what’s increasingly described as a full-scale health emergency.
“It is time to move from commitments to bold actions,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“To achieve clean air, we need urgent actions on all fronts: financial investment in sustainable solutions, such as in clean energy and sustainable transport, technical enforcement of WHO global air quality guidelines, and social commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our most polluted regions.”
The shared goal? A 50 per cent reduction in the health impacts of air pollution by 2040.
Countries including Brazil, Spain, China, and the United Kingdom laid out national roadmaps, while the Clean Air Fund pledged an additional $90 million for climate and health programmes.
Cities which are part of the C40 network, including London, vowed to strengthen air quality monitoring and push for greater investment in clean air strategies.
According to WHO, air pollution is responsible for seven million premature deaths annually and is now the second leading global risk factor for disease, after hypertension.
“Today air pollution is the first risk factor for disease burden,” said Maria Neira, WHO’s Director of Environment, Climate Change and Health. “It’s the number one risk factor for getting sick.”
The burden is heaviest in countries with fast-growing cities and weak regulatory frameworks. But Neira pointed out that the economic costs and health toll are rising globally. “Those chronic diseases are costing us well – to our health system and to our hospitals,” she said.
Despite the grim statistics, WHO leaders say solutions are at hand. Neira cited China’s progress in cutting emissions while continuing to grow economically. “At one point they demonstrated that you can reduce air pollution while still maintaining economic growth,” she said. “This argument that in order to tackle the causes of climate change, air pollution and environmental health, you need to invest and you don’t obtain benefits immediately – that’s not correct.”
Indeed, air pollution is not just a public health issue but a key driver and symptom of the climate crisis. The burning of fossil fuels which feeds air pollution also releases greenhouse gases – adding to global warming.
“Climate change causes and air pollution causes overlap,” said Neira. “We have a lot to gain for health, for the economy, and for society, sustainable development, if we accelerate this transition.”
She emphasized that clean air solutions – including renewable energy, better urban design, and phasing out fossil fuels – also serve as climate mitigation strategies.
“This pollution, this particulate matter we are breathing every day…is coming from different sources, but fundamentally from the combustion of fossil fuels,” she said. “This can be avoided only by accelerating the transition to more renewables; cleaner sources of energy.”
© UNICEF/Aliraza Khatri
Hosts Colombia presented a slate of national initiatives, including cleaner fuels, zero-emission public transit, and a target to reduce carbon emissions 40 per cent by 2030.
“Air pollution claims more victims than violence itself. Poisoning our air costs lives in silence – this conference reinforces our determination to implement policies for both the environment and the health of our people,” said Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.
He stressed the importance of smarter regulation and bridging the inequality gap with indigenous peoples, local and rural communities.
In Europe, where air pollution still causes 300,000 premature deaths annually, lawmakers are moving toward stricter regulation. “Pollution is an invisible pandemic. It is a slow-motion pandemic,” underscored Javier López, Vice President of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee.
The European Union recently adopted a new Air Quality Directive, halving legal air pollution thresholds and aiming to reduce pollution-related deaths by 30 per cent by 2030. “We have decided to come up with the air quality directive, which is part of the European Green Package,” Mr. López said.
Officials from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) also took part in Cartagena, highlighting the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution as one of the most successful multilateral environmental agreements to date.
“The Air Convention…is a multilateral environmental agreement that was adopted in 1979 to address air pollution that crosses national borders,” said policy officer Carolin Sanz Noriega.
Since its adoption, the convention has expanded to 51 parties and achieved deep emissions cuts across the region. “Reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides by 40 to 80% from 1990 levels in the UNECE region, and for more than 30% for particulate matter,” Ms. Sanz Noriega said.
She emphasized that the agreement’s success lies in its binding commitments, robust science, and long-standing trust-building mechanisms. “Countries implement the convention because it really brings benefits. It brings health benefits, environmental benefits, crop benefits. It has co-benefits for climate.”
Through the Forum for International Cooperation on Air Pollution, UNECE is now working with countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to share scientific tools and regulatory approaches.
But a major challenge, especially in the Global South, remains technical capacity.
“We need to make sure that the countries are able to monitor air quality. That’s the first step,” Neira said. “In Africa, unfortunately, we are still missing a lot of monitoring capacity…You cannot manage what you cannot measure.”
The health sector provided one of the key takeaways of the conference. With millions of medical professionals and individuals already backing the WHO campaign, delegates emphasized that clean air must be recognized as central to disease prevention.
“We have 47 million signatures from health professionals, from patients, from advocates, from institutions, saying ‘I want to prescribe clean air’,” Neira said.
“I don’t want to treat the patients with diseases caused by exposure to toxic air. I want to make sure that my patients will not be exposed and therefore they will not develop those diseases.”
As the conference wrapped up, delegates left Cartagena emboldened with new partnerships, data, and policy options – but also a resounding moral imperative.
Source: The White House
Washington, D.C.
9:16 A.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. How we doing? (Applause.)
It’s — it’s great to be here. Thanks to — to everybody for having me today — in particular, Ben and Marc. And I just got to say hello to Ben and Katherine backstage. But I know — I know, apparently, Marc has the flu right now. So, Marc, wherever you are — I think I had the same flu, like, a few weeks ago. It sucks. But I’m sure — I’m sure you’ll get through it.
And it’s great to — to be with you all, and it’s great to talk about the importance of American dynamism and what our administration is going to do to support so many of the country’s most groundbreaking and compelling companies.
I know that you guys are working hard every single day. And I think it’s pretty good news — right? — that, as of a couple of months ago, you have an administration that’s working with you and facilitating your hard work instead of making it harder to innovate, which is, I think, what the last administration did — though, in defense of Joe Biden, he was asleep most of the time. I don’t think he totally realized what he was doing, but it certainly didn’t make it easier — his administration did not — for our innovators.
Now, as some of you may have seen — and I talked about this with Ben backstage — I spoke at a conference in Paris last month, where my message to a group of CEOs and foreign leaders was that we should embrace the future head-on. We shouldn’t be afraid of artificial intelligence and that, particularly for those of us lucky enough to be Americans, we shouldn’t be fearful of productive new technologies. In fact, we should seek to dominate them. And that’s certainly what this administration wants to accomplish.
I suspect that most of you in this room are of like mind, and if you’re not, I don’t know why the hell you’re at the American dynamism conference. (Laughter.) But I — I received some pushback from people who are worried about the disruptive effects of AI.
You know, one journalist suggested the speech highlighted the tension between the, quote, “techno-optimists” and the “populist right” of President Trump’s coalition.
And today, I’d like to speak to these tensions as a proud member of both tribes. And let me put it simply: While this is a well-intentioned concern, I think it’s based on a faulty premise. This idea that tech-forward people and the populists are somehow inevitably going to come to a loggerheads is wrong.
I think the reality is that, in any dynamic society, technology is going to advance, of course.
And speaking as a Catholic, I think back to Pope John Paul II’s opening lines of his encyclic- — e- — (coughs) — excuse me — encyclical “Laborem exercens.” Quote, “Through work, man must earn his daily bread and contribute to the continual advance of science and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral level of the society within which he lives,” end quote.
Now, I quote the Holy Father not only because I’m a fan of his but also because he rightly understood that in a healthy economy, technology should be something that enhances, rather than supplants, the value of labor.
And I think there’s too much fear that AI will simply replace jobs rather than augmenting so many of the things that we do.
Now, in the 1970s, if you go back a little ways, many feared that the automated teller machine — what we call the “ATM” — would replace bank tellers. In reality, the advent of the ATM made bank tellers more productive, and you have more people today working in customer service in the financial sector than you had when the ATM was created. Now, they’re doing slightly different jobs, of course, yes. They’re doing more interesting tasks also, and, importantly, they’re making more money than they were in the 1970s.
Now, when we innovate, we do sometimes cause labor market disruptions. That has — that happens. But the history of American innovation is that we tend to make people more productive, and then we increase their wages in the process. And I think all of us believe that’s a good thing.
Now, after all, who would claim that man was made less productive by the invention of the transistor or the metal lathe or the steam engine?
Real innovation makes us more productive, but it also, I think, dignifies our workers. It boosts our standard of living. It strengthens our workforce and the relative value of its labor.
And, as Americans, all of us should be particularly proud of our extraordinary heritage — I think it is American heritage — of inventing things and of our nation’s status to this day as the world’s foremost driver of research and development.
But all of this, the role that technology plays in a labor market, and whether we greet innovative breakthroughs with excitement or with trepidation depends on the purpose of our economic system in the first place. And I think this is where the populists have an important point.
It should be no surprise that when we send so much of our industrial base to other countries, we stop making interesting new things right here at home.
Look, for example, at shipbuilding. Now, if you go back to World War II, America constructed thousands of so-called Liberty ships to carry troops, cargo, and other things, building them at a pace of three ships every two days — three ships every two days.
Now we build about five commercial ships across an entire year in the United States of America. And as a result, the United States today accounts for 0.1 percent — one tenth of one percent — of global shipbuilding.
China, on the other hand, now makes more commercial ships than the rest of the world combined. In fact, one of Beijing’s state-owned firms built more commercial ships just last year than all of America has produced since the end of World War II.
So, while we remain the leader in technology and innovation, I think there are troubling signs on the horizon. And I raise all this to ask: Does this sound like a regime — I’m speaking of China — that will pass up on the opportunity to use AI, or any other technology, to advance their own interests and further undermine the interests of their rivals? I think the answer is obvious, and that’s why, America, we’ve got to be tech-forward.
Yes, there are concerns. Yes, there are risks. But we have to be leaning into the AI future with optimism and hope, because I think real technological innovation is going to make our country stronger.
So, deindus- — deindustrialization poses risks both to our national security and our workforce. It’s important because it affects both. And the net result is dispossession, for many in this country, of any part of the productive process. And when our factories disappear and the jobs in those factories go overseas, American workers are faced not only with financial insecurity, they’re also faced with a profound loss of personal and communal identity.
And so, to come full circle on this tension — alleged tension between the populists and the techno-optimists, I can understand a reaction of skepticism when we talk about the revolutionary potential of new invention and artificial intelligence and all the other incredible technologies that you guys are working, but I think that that tension is a little overstated.
And so, I’m going to come back to what’s sort of dividing some of the tech optimists and the populists on our side.
I think the populists, when they look at the future, and when they compare it to what’s happened in the past, I think a lot of them see alienation of workers from their jobs, from their communities, from their sense of solidarity. You see the alienation of people from their sense of purpose. And importantly, they see a leadership class that believes welfare can replace a job and an application on a phone can replace a sense of purpose.
Now, I remember a Silicon Valley dinner in particular, back when I was in — in my tech days, where my wife and I were sitting around talking to some of the leaders of — of the important technology firms of the United States. And this was probably in 2016 or 2017. And I was talking about my real worry that we were heading in a direction where America could no longer support middle-class families working on middle-class wages. And importantly, that even if you had enough economic dynamism to provide the wealth to ensure those people could, you know, afford to buy a house and afford their food and so forth, that even if you replace the financial element of their jobs, you would destroy something that was dignified and purposeful about work itself.
And I remember one of the tech CEOs who was there that — you know, CEO — you would know his name if I mentioned it. He was the CEO of a — of a multibillion-dollar company. He said, “Well, I’m actually not worried about the loss of purpose when people lose their jobs.” And I said, “Okay, well, what do you think is going to replace that sense of purpose?” And he said, “Digital, fully immersive gaming.” (Laughter.)
And then my — my wife texted me underneath the table and said, “We have to get the hell out of here. These people are effing crazy.” (Laughter.)
Now, I don’t think that, of course, that CEO’s views are representative of — of most people in this room, but when I think about the — the — a lot of the workers, based on what they’ve seen in the past, are very worried about the future, because, frankly, their leadership has failed to serve them.
And then I think about this from the perspective of a lot of the tech optimists. I think a lot of the tech optimists, they see overregulation. They see stifling innovation. I mean, you guys are builders. They are builders. And while they may sympathize with those who lost a job, they’re much more frustrated that the government won’t allow them to build the jobs of the future.
And they know that as hard as it is to build a business in digital media, it’s still harder to build one in robotics or life sciences or energy, in what we call the world of atoms. They see a government that makes their lives harder, and they mistrust anyone who looks to that government for aid.
And what I’d propose is that each group — our workers, the populace on the one hand, the tech optimists on the other — have been failed by this government — not just the government of the last administration but the government, in some ways, of the last 40 years, because there were two conceits that our leadership class had when it came to globalization.
The first is assuming that we can separate the making of things from the design of things. The idea of globalization was that rich countries would move further up the value chain, while the poor countries made the simpler things.
You would open an iPhone box, and it would say “designed in Cupertino, California.” Now, the implication, of course, is that it would be manufactured in Shenzhen or somewhere else. And, yeah, some people might lose their jobs in manufacturing, but they could learn to design or, to use a very popular phrase, learn to code.
But I think we got it wrong. It turns out that the geographies that do the manufacturing get awfully good at the designing of things. There are network effects, as you all well understand. The firms that design products work with firms that manufacture. They share intellectual property. They share best practices. And they even sometimes share critical employees.
Now, we assumed that other nations would always trail us in the value chain, but it turns out that as they got better at the low end of the value chain, they also started catching up on the higher end. We were squeezed from both ends. Now, that was the first conceit of globalization.
I think the second is that cheap labor is fundamentally a crutch, and it’s a crutch that inhibits innovation. I might even say that it’s a drug that too many American firms got addicted to. Now, if you can make a product more cheaply, it’s far too easy to do that rather than to innovate.
And whether we were offshoring factories to cheap labor economies or importing cheap labor through our immigration shyste- — system, cheap labor became the drug of Western economies.
And I’d say that if you look in nearly every country, from Canada to the UK, that imported large amounts of cheap labor, you’ve seen productivity stagnate. I don’t think that’s — that’s not a total happenstance. I think that the connection is very direct.
Now, one of the debates you hear on the minimum wage, for instance, is that increases in the minimum wage force firms to automate. So, a higher wage at McDonald’s means more kiosks. And whatever your views on the wisdom of the minimum wage — I’m not going to comment on that here — companies innovating in the absence of cheap labor is a good thing.
I think most of you are not worried about getting cheaper and cheaper labor. You’re worried about innovating, about building new things, about — the old formulation of technology is doing more with less. You guys are all trying to do more with less every single day.
And so, I — I’d ask my friends, both on the — the tech optimist side and on the populist side, not to see the failure of the logic of globalization as a failure of innovation. Indeed, I’d say that globalization’s hunger for cheap labor is — is a problem precisely because it’s been bad for innovation.
Both our working people — our populists — and our innovators gathered here today have the same enemy. And the solution, I believe, is American innovation, because, in the long run, it’s technology that increases the value of labor.
Innovations like the American system and the interchangeable parts revolution it sparked, or Ford’s moving assembly line that skyrocketed the productivity of our workers — that’s how American industry became the envy of the world.
And that’s what I really want to talk about today: why innovation is key to winning the worldwide manufacturing compe- — competition, to giving our workers a fair deal, and to reclaiming our heritage via America’s great industrial comeback. And I believe that’s what we’re on the cusp of, a great American industrial comeback.
Because innovation is what increases wages. It’s what protects our homelands, and I know we have a lot of defense technology companies here. It’s what saves troops’ lives on the battlefield.
And I know everyone here today largely agrees. It’s why we have some of the greatest inno- — inventors and thinkers in energy; precision machining; countless critical, high-value industries just in this room.
And I think the other thing that unites all of you is that you’re all builders. And I — and I use that word deliberately.
I was very moved by Marc’s manifesto from a few years ago about America. We are a nation of builders. We make things. We create things.
Each of you came to this summit not because you developed some flash-in-the-pan application, but because you’re building something very real. You’re raising new factories. You’re turning profits back into R & D. And you’re creating new, good-paying jobs for your fellow Americans.
And this is why I’m such huge fans of yours — of Ben’s and Marc’s and of the entire endeavor — and that we recognize now in our administration is the time to align our work interests with those of all of you. It’s time to align the interests of our technology firms with the interests of the United States of America writ large.
Now, all of you, in your own ways, have answered that call. After all, there’s nothing forcing anyone to be in the room today. Each one of you could have set up headquarters in Southeast Asia or China, I’m sure, and you would’ve done quite well for yourselves financially.
But you’re here, I hope, because you love your country. You love its people and the opportunities that it’s given you, and you recognize that building things, our capacity to create new innovations in the economy cannot be a race to the bottom.
Now, America is not going to win the future by ditching child labor laws or paying our workers less than Chinese or Vietnamese laborers. We don’t want that, and it’s not on the table.
We can only win by doing what we always did: protecting our workers and supporting our innovators, and doing both of those things at the same time.
And so, I want to talk a little specifics here. The Trump Administration’s great plan for staging the great American manufacturing comeback is simple. You’re making interesting new things here in America? Great. Then we’re going to cut your taxes. We’re going to slash regulations. We’re going to reduce the cost of energy so that you can build, build, build.
Our goal is to incentivize investment in our own borders — in our own businesses, our own workers, and our own innovation. We don’t want people seeking cheap labor. We want them investing and building right here in the United States of America.
And so, if you’ll allow it, I’d like to talk about a few ways that the Trump Administration is already pursuing a pro-innovation economy that allows our workers to thrive and our companies to outcompete their foreign peers — in short, an economy that is vibrantly America first, that serves Americans from all walks of life and of every kind.
Now, first, President Trump is starting with and is dead serious about rearranging our trade and tariff regime internationally.
We believe that tariffs are a necessary tool to protect our jobs and our industries from other countries, as well as the labor value of our workers in a globalized market. In fact, combined with the right technology, they allow us to bring jobs back to the United States of America and create the jobs of the fucur- — future.
Just look in the past few months at the auto industry as an important example. When you erect a tariff wall around a critical industry like auto manufacturing and you combine that with advanced robotics and lower energy costs and other tools that increase the productivity of U.S. labor, you give American workers a multiplying effect. Now that, in turn, allows firms to make things here at a price-competitive basis.
Our president gets that, which is why last month we posted 9,000 new auto jobs after many, many years of stagnation or even decline in the auto sector. It’s why, just weeks in, we already have new plant or production announcements from Honda, from Hyundai, and Stellantis worth billions of dollars and thousands of additional jobs on top of the ones that were already created.
Now, this takes work. It took, in the president’s first term, the president ripping up NAFTA and creating a new U.S. deal for American manufacturers in North America. But there’s important work, and we’re going to do it.
Now, second — second, all of this is why the president is approaching the issue of illegal immigration as aggressively as he has, because he knows that cheap labor cannot be used as a substitute for the productivity gains that come with economic innovation.
And so, we’ve cracked down on illegal immigration at the border, where the results speak for themselves. Last month, migrant crossings were down 94 percent to their lowest number all time, and that happened just in two months of serious border enforcement.
Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, last month, for the first time in over a year, the majority of job gains went to American citizens born on U.S. soil, and that’s important. For the first time in over a year, the majority of job creation actually went to American citizens.
Third, this administration is focused on reducing our input costs for our manufacturers and for everybody else. Achieving energy an- — abundance — and I know Doug Burgum was here earlier; will be here later — is top of mind. Because when we look at some of the most exciting applications of new technologies, we realize it’s going to take a lot of power to keep them running.
And we’re — we’re thrilled to have our friends from the United Arab Emirates, a number of the business leaders and government leaders, in town this week for meetings with our government. And one of the things they consistently hammer upon — it’s something that unfortunately too few of our European allies tend to get — is that if you want to lead in artificial intelligence, you have got to be leading in energy production.
So, we are going to set the pace there, and we are going to lead from the front.
Now, we are already seeing, the good news is, signs of progress, even just a couple of months in. Gas and diesel prices are dropping. The cost of a barrel of U.S. crude is way down. And last Wednesday, the administration took major steps to make energy even cheaper and liberate our companies from stifling environmental regulations.
Now, that is great, but, of course, there’s a lot more work we have to do over the next four years. Getting the tax bill right is especially critical for all of you and for all of your workers. We know how important it is to restore 100 percent bonus depreciation for capital investments, as well as full expensing for R & D. Again, we want people to invest in America, and we’re going to make sure the tax code reflects that.
In order to build on the success of the original tax law, meaning the tax law from the president’s first administration, our administration is working to broaden some provisions that are critical to the industrial base, like expanding full expensing to cover factory construction. For business owners, including manufacturers, making the 2017 tax cuts permanent will provide further co- — confidence and predictability to invest in new technology and equipment, hire more American workers, and grow all of your businesses.
And we have a lot more to do, but the country is already starting to see the payoff of this administration’s bold economic agenda. For producers and consumers alike, inflation is finally starting to come down. Core CPI last week dropped to its lowest number since April of 2021. And when it comes to the labor market, last month’s jobs report showed a massive reversal: 10,000 new manufacturing jobs created, where the previous year we had lost over 100,000 manufacturing jobs.
As you may have heard the president say, in less than two months since he’s took office, he’s already secured more than $1.7 trillion in new investments across the United States. That’s hundreds of thousands of new jobs in manufacturing, AI, other hard tech sectors, and more.
So, we think there’s a lot to be excited about. There’s a lot that we’re excited about, and we certainly hope that you guys are excited too.
But the fundamental premise, the fundamental goal of President Trump’s economic policy is, I think, to undo 40 years of failed economic policy in this country. For far too long, we got addicted to cheap labor — both overseas and by importing it into our own country — and we got lazy.
We overregulated our industries instead of supporting them. We overtaxed our innovators, instead of making easier for them to build their great companies, and we made it way too hard to build things and invest things in the United States of America.
That stopped two months ago, and it will continue to stop, and we’ll continue to fight for American workers and the American businesses that hire them and that support them.
So, I want to thank you all for two things. Number one, I want to thank you all for doing what you do. Again, you could have chosen the easy path. Every single person in this room — as the president would say, “You’re all very high IQ” — you’re some of the most talented people in the United States of America. You chose to build a business right here in the United States of America, and for that, I’m grateful.
But the second thing I want to say is that I think you’re not just building your own business. I think that you are part of a great American industrial renaissance. Whether it’s the war of the future, the jobs of the future, the economic prosperity of the future, we believe that we must build it right here in the United States of America.
So, thank you all for building. Thank you all for building in America. And thank you all for building the kind of society that I want to raise my children in.
God bless you all. Thanks for having me. (Applause.)
END 9:40 A.M. EDT
Source: United Nations 2
Amid reports of hundreds dead or missing following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake with its epicentre in central Myanmar, UN teams in the region are “responding fast”, said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher on Friday.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator tweeted that UN teams are being “supported by expertise across our global network” and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund would be mobilised as needed.
News reports quoting sources in the Burmese city of Mandalay, close to the epicentre of the quake, indicate that hundreds have died. In neighbouring Thailand more than 80 construction workers are missing, according to the Thai deputy prime minister, with a search and rescue operation underway.
The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Myanmar told UN News in a statement that reports indicate “significant damage” has occurred in Mandalay state, as well as Nay Pyi Taw, Bago, Magway, Sagaing, Shan “and possibly other areas”.
” Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this event…We are gathering information about the people impacted, infrastructure damage, and immediate humanitarian needs to guide a response and will share more updates as information becomes available.”
Speaking from Myanmar’s largest city of Yangon, Marie Manrique, Programme Coordinator for the Myanmar country team of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told journalists at the UN in Geneva that the quake had also been felt in China, Thailand, and India.
She said that beyond damage to buildings and infrastructure, there was concern over potential dam bursts. Electricity and communications have been cut off in parts of the country.
She said the Myanmar Red Cross Society had launched an emergency operation to help people in need and assess the situation.
Myanmar has been in the grip of an increasingly brutal civil war since a military coup more than four years ago. Around 20 million people – a third of the population are expected to need humanitarian assistance this year. Around 15 million are projected to face acute food insecurity during 2025.
Fighting between junta forces and opposition armed groups has displaced more than 3.5 million people within the country.
© UNICEF
People gather in front of collapsed buildings in the Mandalay region of central Myanmar, following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
Speaking for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Harris said relief efforts were underway in coordination with country offices in Myanmar and Thailand.
She said the agency had activated its logistics hub in Dubai to primarily provide trauma supplies and a health needs assessment is underway.
Babar Baloch, for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that the central and northwest parts of Myanmar had the highest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) due to the conflict.
Some 1.6 million IDPs out of the total 3.5 million live in these areas and the catastrophe will only exacerbate hardships, he told journalists.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Closing press conference of Boao Forum for Asia
Asia Pacific Report
Dozens of Filipinos and supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand came together in a Black Friday vigil and Rally for Justice in the heart of two cities tonight — Auckland and Christchurch.
They celebrated the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this month to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity over a wave of extrajudicial killings during his six-year presidency in a so-called “war on drugs”.
Estimates of the killings have ranged between 6250 (official police figure) and up to 30,000 (human rights groups) — including 32 in a single day — during his 2016-2022 term and critics have described the bloodbath as a war against the poor.
But speakers warned tonight this was only the first step to end the culture of impunity in the Philippines.
Current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of the late dictator, and his adminstration were also condemned by the protesters.
Introducing the rally with the theme “Convict Duterte! End Impunity!” in Freyberg Square in the heart of downtown Auckland, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s Eugene Velasco said: “We demand justice for the thousands killed in the bloody and fraudulent war on drugs under the US-Duterte regime.”
She said they sought to:
Flown to The Hague
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Duterte on March 11. He was immediately arrested on an aircraft at Manila International Airport and flown by charter aircraft to The Hague where he is now detained awaiting trial.
“We welcome this development because his arrest is the result of tireless resistance — not only from human rights defenders but, most importantly, from the families of those who fell victim to Duterte’s extrajudicial killings,” Velasco said.
“These families fought for justice despite the complete lack of support from the Marcos administration.”
Velasco said their their courage and resilience had pushed this case forward — “even in the face of relentless threats and violence from the police and military”.
“‘Shoot them dead!’—this was Duterte’s direct order to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). His death squads carried out these brutal killings with impunity,” Velasco said.
But Duterte was not the only one who must be held accountable, she added.
“We demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those who orchestrated and enabled the state-sponsored executions, led by figures like Senator Bato Dela Rosa and Lieutenant-Colonel Jovie Espenido, that led to over 30,000 deaths, the militarisation of 47,587 schools, churches, and public institutions — especially in rural areas — the abductions and killings of human rights defenders, and the continued existence of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC.”
Fake news, red-tagging
Velasco accused this agency of having “used the Filipino people’s taxes to fuel human rights abuses” through the spread of fake news and red-tagging against activists, peasants, trade unionists, and people’s lawyers.
“The fight does not end here,” she said.
“The Filipino people, together with all justice and peace-loving people of Aotearoa New Zealand, will not stop until justice is fully served — not just for the victims, but for all who continue to suffer under the Duterte-Marcos regime, which remains under the grip of US imperialist interests.
“As Filipinos overseas, we must unite in demanding justice, stand in solidarity with the victims of extrajudicial killings, and continue the struggle for accountability.”
Several speakers gave harrowing testimony about the fate of named victims as their photographs and histories were remembered.
Speakers from local political groups, including Green Party MP Francisco Hernandez, and retired prominent trade unionist and activist Robert Reid, also participated.
Reid referenced the ICC arrest issued last November against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza genocide, saying he hoped that he too would end up in The Hague.
Mock corpses surrounded by candles displayed signs — which had been a hallmark of the drug war killings — declaring “Jail Duterte”, “Justice for all victims of human rights” and “Convict Sara Duterte now!” Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte is currently Vice-President and is facing impeachment proceedings.
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The Yashil Makon Initiative is a nationwide program launched by the Government of Uzbekistan to transform environments across the country through sustainable development practices. This initiative seeks to expand and enhance green spaces, promote environmental stewardship, and improve the overall quality of life for citizens. It aligns with Uzbekistan’s broader commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its national strategy for environmental sustainability.
Uzbekistan’s Yashil Makon Initiative has been supported through a collaborative project by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The project objectives included tools and activities to support the effective and efficient implementation of the Initiative:
The final workshop, held on 24 March 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan at Central Asian University of Environmental and Climate Change Studies (Green University). The workshop concluded the project and shared its results. It also consolidated inputs from national and international experts and discussed implementation mechanisms, including technical guidance, financial models, and community-based approaches.
More information at: https://gov.uz/en/eco/news/view/42131
Photo credit: UNDP Uzbekistan
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Today, the Reserve Bank released data relating to India’s International Investment Position for end-December 2024[1]. Key Features of IIP in end-December 2024:
(Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2508 |
Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk spoke at the plenary session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States “New Impetus for the Development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership” held in Moscow.
From the transcript:
A. Overchuk: Good afternoon, dear colleagues!
Alexey Overchuk’s speech in the format of a video address at the plenary session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States “New Impetus for the Development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership”
Thank you very much for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. The initiative to create the GEP was put forward by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in his Address to the Federal Assembly back in 2015. Everything that has happened in the world over the past 10 years convinces us that there is no alternative to this path.
We are witnessing a change in the world order around us. This transformation is based on a set of factors that have caused new problems and contradictions to emerge and have exacerbated old conflicts. As a rule, the underlying cause of any conflicts that humanity has faced in its history is always access to resources, including food, energy, raw materials, labor, and markets.
Every time history brought productive forces to a new level of development, humanity had a need for new resources. As a rule, this led to conflicts related to redistribution.
The modern transformation affects issues of food and energy security, as well as new technologies, the implementation of which requires intensive use of critical raw materials and rare earth elements. Their supply is quite limited, and therefore control over them is critically important for the implementation of a new technological turn and maintaining or acquiring leadership positions in the world.
The solution to the objective problems of our time requires approaches based on the mutual desire to build mutually beneficial relations and cooperation between sovereign states in the interests of the common good, well-being and security of peoples.
In this context, the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to form the Greater Eurasian Partnership is particularly relevant. It is designed to prevent the segmentation of international contacts, their disintegration into disparate blocks and structures, which reduces the overall efficiency of economic activity. The BEP will create a reliable material basis for ensuring sustainable economic growth – a seamless transport and logistics system, a self-sufficient payment architecture, a multilateral platform for innovative cooperation, a wide network of economic corridors.
The Russian leadership calls for the formation of a contour of equal and indivisible security, mutually beneficial, equitable cooperation and prosperity on the Eurasian continent in the foreseeable future. A special role in the new Eurasian system of security and development is given to issues of the economy, social well-being, integration and mutually beneficial cooperation, solving such problems as overcoming poverty, inequality, climate, ecology, developing mechanisms to respond to the threats of a pandemic and crises in the global economy.
The Eurasian centers of the multipolar world are based on integration projects, which, as a rule, are formed around large sovereign economies or geographic regions. In the post-Soviet space, integration is of a multi-level nature, which reflects a respectful attitude towards the readiness of individual countries to deepen bilateral and multilateral ties, as well as to participate in the creation of supranational regulatory instruments and the assumption of corresponding obligations. Here we are talking about the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Other integration projects taking shape around major economies and geographic regions of Eurasia include China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Organization of Turkic States.
In turn, the sovereign states of Eurasia participate in such system-forming structures as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as in BRICS and APEC, which go beyond the geography of Eurasia. It is obvious that these associations have the potential to develop into international platforms where joint decisions will be developed that affect the interests of integration entities formed around the large economies and geographic centers of Eurasia, and interaction with the countries of the global South and the Pacific Ocean basin will be carried out.
The result of the consolidation of efforts of all participating states and integration entities will be the Greater Eurasian Partnership, which in its essence will be an integration of integrations, giving impetus to sustainable development, socio-economic progress, the development and application of new technologies, the improvement of transport and logistics connectivity, as well as the strengthening of cultural and other ties between the peoples of Eurasia.
The implementation of this vision will require the convergence of integration projects based on the harmonization of regulatory requirements for financial markets, the conduct of fair multilateral trade and investment, the development of industrial cooperation and the formation of sustainable international value chains, the strengthening of the common contractual framework in matters of food and energy security, environmental protection, as well as the coordination of technological, information and communication, infrastructure and cultural development in Eurasia.
The construction of the BEP must be carried out in compliance with the principles of international law, respect for interests, consideration of regional and cultural characteristics and levels of development of individual participants, as well as decision-making based on consensus. This is the spirit that we are able to maintain within the Union State, the EAEU and the CIS, so these associations can become an example for developing the mechanisms of the BEP.
The CIS experience and its active involvement in the “integration of integrations” project are necessary for the successful development of Greater Eurasia. After all, within the Commonwealth, a solid regulatory framework and effective tools for the development of historically established trade, economic and humanitarian ties have been created. These developments can be applied throughout the Eurasian continent.
It is important that the association is in excellent shape, as evidenced by economic indicators. According to the CIS Statistical Committee, the growth of industrial production for January-October 2024 was 4.2%, the volume of freight traffic – 7.4%, retail turnover – 7.7%. The Commonwealth’s GDP for three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 increased by 4.4%. Such successes were largely achieved thanks to the development of industrial cooperation, movement along the path of strengthening technological sovereignty based on science and innovation.
Our trade and economic relations within the Eurasian Economic Union are built in the logic of the values and ideas underlying the Greater Eurasia project. The EAEU’s commitment to unlocking its potential as one of the economic centers of the BEP is enshrined in the Declaration on the Further Development of Economic Processes within the EAEU until 2030 and for the Period up to 2045, “The Eurasian Economic Path”, adopted following the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg on December 25, 2023. In this strategic document, the heads of state of the EAEU declared their desire to achieve by 2045 the transformation of the EAEU into a self-sufficient, harmoniously developed and attractive macro-region for all countries of the world, possessing economic, technological and intellectual leadership and maintaining a high level of well-being of the population of the member states.
Work in this area has a positive effect on economic indicators. Thus, in 2024, the EAEU GDP increased by 4.2%. For the EU, for example, the similar indicator, according to preliminary estimates, was only 0.8%.
The experience of the EAEU can also be a good support for building a space of well-being and prosperity in Eurasia. In particular, the elimination of non-tariff barriers in the EAEU by switching to uniform mandatory requirements for EAEU goods (uniform SPS requirements, uniform technical regulations), as well as the elimination of customs control annually for the period 2015-2023, provided a sustainable increase in the growth rate of the EAEU GDP in the amount of 14.5 billion US dollars. Mutual trade of the EAEU due to these measures was on average 24% higher.
The EAEU has already achieved significant success in the international arena. The dialogue is being strengthened based on memorandums of cooperation. Important steps in terms of forming the BEP have already been made based on such agreements with the secretariats of the SCO and ASEAN.
Free trade agreements have been concluded with Vietnam, Serbia and Iran. The latter has recently also become an observer state in the EAEU. The coordination of FTA agreements with a number of other countries is in the final stage. According to our estimates, entering into new FTA agreements could expand the preferential sales market for the union from the current 480 million people to almost 880 million people.
Dialogue with China is actively developing, with which the EAEU has created a solid basis for interaction in the form of two existing non-preferential trade agreements that underlie the integration of economic processes within the union with the One Belt, One Road initiative.
The joint search for new solutions and synchronization of the development of integration projects, as well as infrastructure initiatives, work for the benefit of regional interconnectedness, increase the weight of our economies, and form the basis on which a new architecture of global economic relations in Eurasia and beyond can be built.
Thank you!
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: American Clean Power Association (ACP)
Headline: Battery Storage Industry Unveils National Blueprint for Safety
New Assessment Demonstrates Effectiveness of Safety Standards and Modern Battery Design
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 28, 2025 — Today, the American Clean Power Association (ACP) released a comprehensive framework to ensure the safety of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in every community across the United States, informed by a new assessment of previous fire incidents at BESS facilities.
The assessment, conducted by the Fire and Risk Alliance, analyzed historical data and scientific studies on fire incidents over the last decade in the U.S. The findings indicate no impact to public health or surrounding communities from the incidents studied. ACP’s Battery Storage Blueprint for Safety outlines key actions and policy recommendations for state and local jurisdictions to regulate battery storage, enforce the country’s most rigorous safety standards, and ensure coordination on safety and emergency response in all communities.
“The energy storage industry is committed to a proactive and tireless approach to safety and reliability. At its core, energy storage facilities are critical infrastructure designed to protect people from power outages,” said ACP VP of Energy Storage Noah Roberts. “Like substations, transformers, and transmission lines, energy storage systems deliver needed power in times when we need it most. Every community across the country should have confidence that the battery storage facilities keeping their lights on and utility bills affordable adhere to the most rigorous safety requirements. This is why we have released the battery storage industry’s comprehensive, actionable blueprint for safety.”
New Assessment Demonstrates Battery Storage Safety Measures Are EffectiveThe assessment’s key finding reveals that, in all reviewed cases of environmental sampling related to the BESS fire events, no previous incidents resulted in contaminant concentrations that would pose a public health concern or require further remediation.
As the investigation into the fire at the Moss Landing facility—increasingly viewed as an anomaly, and a system located in a 1950’s gas turbine hall—is ongoing, the assessment underscores the importance of modern designs and recently published standards: “Many documented BESS fires involved early-generation systems that predate modern safety standards. The implementation of robust national codes and advancements in ESS design have significantly improved fire safety and reduced risks.”
Battery Storage Industry Advances America’s Most Rigorous & Vetted Safety StandardA critical component of the Blueprint is understanding where the industry has been successful in efforts across the country to advocate for enforcement of the National Fire Protection Association’s standard for energy storage, NFPA 855. The set of standards includes exhaustive requirements and ensures facilities use certified batteries and equipment.
In Michigan and Indiana, the energy storage industry helped advance new laws requiring compliance with NFPA 855. In Maryland and New York, the energy storage industry supported new regulations that enforced the latest NFPA 855 requirements. In California, the industry offered a suite of policy recommendations to address unique safety questions arising from the Moss Landing incident, including enforcing key provisions of NFPA 855.
Framework to Guide State & Local Permitting Rules for Battery StorageThe battery energy storage industry believes that state and local regulations will play a vital role in ensuring that every community has access to this important technology. In addition to working with fire officials and state policymakers to advance safety standards, the industry has developed a framework to help local governments effectively regulate the construction of battery storage facilities. ACP’s Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems Model Ordinance was designed with NFPA 855 as the core principle and integrates the national safety standard’s requirements throughout permitting rules.
With the 2026 edition of NFPA 855 expected to be finalized and published in 2025, the energy storage industry is already incorporating key enhanced requirements and is ready to work with states and local governments to implement the latest version of the standard. This will include updating the Model Ordinance, to be re-released in 2025.
Ongoing Commitment to Safety & Reliability: A Comprehensive Three-Part StrategyPolicy makers will play an important role in helping to ensure batteries continue to be deployed responsibly and effectively. To that end, the energy storage industry has developed a three-part strategy that includes policy recommendations and safety requirements aimed at holistically addressing concerns generated from the Moss Landing fire.
The following policy proposal and strategy recommendations can help minimize both the likelihood of future incidents and potential impacts:
Ensuring Safety at All Future Energy Storage Facilities: Requiring all battery storage facilities to comply with the latest published version of NFPA 855. State and local governments should proactively adopt and enforce this safety standard.
Advancing Safety at Existing Battery Storage Sites: Reviewing facilities built prior to the first adoption of NFPA 855 in the Fall of 2019 and considering a hazard mitigation analysis (HMA). State and local governments can require an HMA and corrective action, including the use of fire barriers or engineered solutions to meet large-scale fire testing requirements. All facilities should maintain an emergency response plan submitted with the local fire and emergency response authority.
Strengthening Coordination with Fire Departments & Local Communities: The industry and state and local governments should regularly coordinate on safety planning, inform siting and permitting requirements, continuously improve safety practices, and regularly provide training to facility operators and the fire service.
The energy storage industry is committed to acting swiftly, in partnership with fire departments, safety experts, policymakers, and regulators to enact these recommendations.
Learn more about the energy storage industry’s efforts to advance this commitment at energystorage.org.
Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Friday, 28 March 2025
dalla Rivista Illustrata della Esposizione Missionaria Vaticana
by Fabio BerettaVatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Books, black and white photographs, artifacts from deserts and tropical rainforests. Letters with testimonies and accounts of excursions to impenetrable and inaccessible areas, along with bird and reptile eggs. The Vatican Missionary Exposition, held exactly one hundred years ago, offered a fascinating tour of the cultural diversity and universality of the Church’s mission. In 1925, on the occasion of the Jubilee, the Vatican Gardens hosted this great exhibition, which attracted pilgrims and visitors from all over the world. The exhibition not only reflected the richness of cultures and geographies, but also the universal scope of the mission of liberation and salvation entrusted by Christ to His Church.The initiative was promoted by Pius XI, who personally financed and supervised the realization of this unprecedented exhibition.Pope Ratti had been nurturing this idea for some time, and the project took shape in a record time of two years. The compass that guided Pius XI in the creation of the Vatican Missionary Exposition was his deep commitment to missionary work, shared with his predecessor Benedict XV. It was the latter who, in 1919, signed the Apostolic Letter Maximum illud, “on the work of missionaries throughout the world”. Historian André Rétif defined Achille Ratti as “the Pope of the missions” for the decisive impulse he gave to the evangelizing work of the Church of Rome.That period was marked by numerous initiatives and innovations that reflected the strength, audacity, and creativity of the missionary spirit. In 1926, Pius XI instituted World Mission Sunday, consolidating the Church’s universal commitment to evangelization. That same year, at the Janiculum, the transfer of the Pontifical Urbaniana Athenaeum, the precursor to today’s Pontifical Urbaniana University, intended for the training of seminarians from mission territories, was completed. A year later, in 1927, Fides Agency was founded, the Church’s first missionary agency.The Vatican Missionary Exposition, inaugurated in 1925, had a clear purpose: “To gather and exhibit in this City, the capital of the world, everything that can shed light on the nature and activity of the Catholic missions, on the places where they operate, in a word, everything related to them,” wrote Pius XI himself.To bring his project to fruition, Pius XI entrusted the organization of the Vatican Missionary Exposition to Dutch Cardinal Willem Marinus Van Rossum, then Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (today the Dicastery for Evangelization – Section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches). Following the Pope’s instructions, Van Rossum initially convened, in a consultative capacity, the Procurators and Representatives of the Missionary Institutes residing in Rome. However, the initiative took official status on April 24, 1923, when Pius XI sent him a letter granting him full authority to hold the event. In order to organize the Exposition, Van Rossum created a Steering Committee, which included Angelo Roncalli, who was elected Pope John XXIII in 1958. In addition, a thirty-six-member subcommittee was formed, composed of representatives from various missionary institutes.Pius XI’s decision to promote this event transcended the religious sphere. In a Europe still traumatized by the First World War, the Pope saw in the Exposition a message of hope and a testimony to the role of the Church in a world marked by secularization. Through the Expositions, the Church not only communicated its mission but also sought new forms of expression to bring its message to the contemporary world. The scale of the project was exceptional: enormous resources were allocated to ensure the success of the Vatican Missionary Exposition. Set up in the gardens adjacent to the Vatican Museums, the Exposition pavilions were divided into two large blocks along geographical lines: the Holy Land, America, parts of Asia, and Indochina in the Pine Garden Courtyard; China, Japan, Oceania, and Africa in the adjacent garden. In the Chiaramonti Museum gallery, stands were set up dedicated to the travels, exploits, and stories of all the Missionary Institutes participating in the Expo. In addition, a separate pavilion was dedicated to the theme of hygiene and medicine, highlighting the healthcare work of missionaries. The complex covered an area of approximately 10,000 square meters, with a total of thirty-eight pavilions.The inauguration took place on December 21, 1924, a few days before the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, and was presided over by the Pope, accompanied by diplomats and several members of the Roman Curia. It was decided to also publish the “Illustrated Magazine of the Vatican Missionary Exhibition”, biweekly: the first issue was published on December 15, 1924. It consisted of a 32-page booklet, richly illustrated and could be purchased for 160 Italian lire.The main objective of the exhibition was to document the missionary activities and highlight all the apostolic work supported by the Church in mission. In addition to books and artifacts, visitors were also shown maps of the most remote places in the world, along with information compiled by the missionaries on the mineralogy, flora, and fauna of the mission lands.In one of the pavilions, visitors could consult two complete collections of the magazine “Les Missions Catholiques” and a double collection of the “Annals of the Propagation of the Faith.” These publications, dedicated exclusively to missionary work, composed of 158 volumes, illustrated with more than 15,000 reproductions of sketches, drawings, and photographs sent by the missionaries themselves. The goal was to make known the stories linked to missionary work, the concrete fruits of evangelization, and the numerous testimonies of men and women transformed by their encounter with the Gospel. Furthermore, they sought to awaken solidarity and support, both material and spiritual, for the Church’s work in missionary lands. At the same time, these publications served to counter the manipulated representations of critics who attempted to discredit missionary work by labeling it “obscurantism.”A year after the Exposition, and at the request of Pius XI, some 40,000 works were selected from those on display and brought together in the first Missionary Ethnological Museum in history. One hundred years later, many of these works are on display today in the Vatican Museums, in the section entitled “Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum.” (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 28/3/2025)
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Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Archdiocese of Mandalay
Mandalay (Agenzia Fides) – “The tragedy is that there is little or no aid. We see so much solidarity among the people, but we note the complete absence of the state. The Sagaing area, epicenter of the earthquake, is one of the areas where clashes are most intense due to the ongoing civil war. In the general instability, there is no organized aid for the victims,” said a local Fides source from the Catholic community of Mandalay, near Sagaing, where the earthquake of March 28 caused the greatest damage. “In the areas not controlled by the army, the so-called ‘liberated areas,’ there are no functioning civil institutions, so everything is left to the goodwill of the population or the organization of ethnic minority communities and armies,” continued the Fides source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “In the areas controlled by the junta, some fire brigades are operating in the capital, Naypyidaw, and in Mandalay, where several multi-storey buildings have collapsed. Many other areas are completely abandoned. The state is completely uninterested in its citizens, their condition, and their well-being.”Two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 6.4 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar on March 28 at 12:50 p.m. local time, with the epicenter in the Mandalay area. Dozens of people were seriously injured, and scenes of panic ensued in the streets of Mandalay, with people running to open spaces to save their lives. The tremors were also felt in neighboring Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the adjacent Chinese region of Yunnan. Official figures on casualties and damage are not yet available. The ruling military junta has now declared a state of emergency in six regions, requested humanitarian assistance from the international community, and ordered the closure of airports in the capital, Naypyidaw, and Yangon. The colonial-era “Old Sagaing Bridge,” built 91 years ago by the British Empire over the Irrawaddy River, collapsed. Several Catholic churches in Mandalay were damaged: St. Michael’s Catholic Parish was the hardest hit, while 20 people were killed when a mosque collapsed in Mandalay. St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the city of Taunggyi, Shan State, was also damaged. Many churches in Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Taunggyi suspended liturgical celebrations and asked the faithful for gestures of solidarity with those now homeless.Earthquakes are relatively frequent in Myanmar, and in the past they have affected the Sagaing fault, which runs from north to south through the center of the country. In 2016, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan caused the walls of Buddhist temples to collapse. According to experts, rapid development in Myanmar’s cities, combined with outdated infrastructure and poor urban planning, has made the country’s most populous areas particularly vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes. Due not least to the four-year civil war, the country has a very poor health system, especially in rural areas. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 28/3/2025)
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Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The 6th International Arctic Forum “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” was held in Murmansk on March 26–27. The organizer was the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian Government.
“The International Arctic Forum “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” – 2025 was attended by about 1.3 thousand participants and media representatives from 21 countries, as well as about 230 representatives of Russian and foreign businesses from more than 110 companies. The business program included 20 events with the participation of more than 150 speakers. The forum turned out to be truly international and significant. At the plenary session, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin announced a number of fundamental decisions for the socio-economic development of the Arctic. The most important task of the IAF is to discuss current problems that the Government of Russia, federal ministries and regions must jointly solve for the successful operation of enterprises, improving the standard of living of people, supporting the territories as a whole,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister – Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev.
The IAF has become a platform for international dialogue on issues such as the development of the Northern Sea Route, increasing the investment and entrepreneurial potential of the Arctic zone, as well as environmental issues, humanitarian and cultural cooperation.
“Right now, the Arctic is becoming a territory of opportunities for the entire country. Given the revision of traditional technological chains, given participation in large-scale Arctic projects, huge prospects are opening up for enterprises across the country and creative, artistic people. The development of the Northern Sea Route as the main transport artery in the Arctic, the construction of new railway approaches to northern ports will also have a multiplier effect for the entire country. Within the framework of the upcoming major international forums, including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Arctic theme will be taken into account and allocated to a separate block of the business program of events,” said Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of Russia, Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for the Preparation and Holding of the International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”.
One of the central topics of the forum was the discussion of state policy in the Arctic, aimed at the comprehensive development of the Far North and the growth of the well-being of the region’s residents.
“The mechanisms of state support need to be improved for the accelerated development of the macro-region, the implementation of investment projects, and the improvement of the quality of life of people. Based on the results of the implementation of the first stage of the Arctic development strategy until 2035, proposals will be prepared to update this fundamental document,” said Minister for the Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov at a joint meeting of the State Council commissions on the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route.
The forum was held under the motto “Live in the North!” The event brought together representatives of federal and regional authorities, businesses and the expert community.
“Our strategic plan is “Live in the North!” This is the motto of today’s forum. For us, this is a plan in addition to national projects. Clear, worked out with people, designed, aimed at ensuring investment growth and, of course, increasing people’s incomes and their quality of life,” noted Murmansk Region Governor Andrei Chibis during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the MAF.
Business program
The business program of the forum included 20 sessions divided into four thematic blocks: “The Arctic and the NSR: how to win in the competitive struggle of world routes”, “The Arctic and the NSR: a pole for attracting investments”, “The Arctic and the NSR: development of key settlements”, “International cooperation and ecology”. More than 150 speakers took part in the discussions.
The forum included a joint meeting of the State Council commissions on the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, which united five State Council commissions – in the areas of “Northern Sea Route and the Arctic”, “International Cooperation and Export”, “Energy”, “Youth and Children”, and “Efficient Transport System”.
The session “The Arctic: Bridges of Cooperation between Peoples and States” summed up the results of the VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Universe of the Polar Bear: Effective Cooperation in the Arctic”.
Also, for the first time, the MAF hosted a special session dedicated to the role of women in the development of northern regions – the “Arctic Living Room”.
Plenary session
The key event of the forum was the plenary session with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Development of the Russian North, overcoming the challenges of harsh nature, the state’s entry into new promising frontiers – these tasks inspired many generations of our ancestors: sailors and Novgorod merchants of the Middle Ages, Arctic pioneers of the 16th and 17th centuries, industrialists of the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists, polar explorers, engineers, workers of the Soviet Union, teams of companies of modern Russia, which launched large Arctic projects in the early 2000s. And today, the northern vector of development is in the foreground, it is our sovereign, historical choice. And this means that the tasks that we set and solve in the Arctic, the projects that we implement here, must be of an appropriate, historical scale, with an expectation of decades, maybe even centuries. We will do everything to strengthen Russia’s global leadership in the Arctic, and, despite all the current difficulties and complexities, we will ensure the comprehensive development of this region and create a solid foundation for future generations,” the head of state noted.
Participants
The forum brought together about 1.3 thousand participants and media representatives from 21 countries, including Russia (Argentina, Great Britain, Venezuela, Vietnam, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, UAE, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA, Serbia, Singapore, Turkey, Finland, France, Switzerland, Japan).
The forum was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Adviser and Special Representative of the President for International Cooperation in Transport Igor Levitin, Presidential Aide Alexei Dyumin, Presidential Aide Nikolai Patrushev, and Presidential Adviser Anton Kobyakov.
The forum was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev and Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Siberian Federal District Anatoly Seryshev, Minister for the Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov and Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov.
The forum participants included seven heads of federal services and agencies and ten heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The Chairman of the Committee of Senior Arctic Officials, Norwegian diplomat Morten Höglund, addressed the forum participants with a video message. In addition, the forum site was visited by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea Lee Do-hoon.
The forum brought together about 230 representatives of Russian and foreign businesses from more than 110 companies.
Media
The forum was attended by 305 media representatives from Russia and nine foreign countries (Great Britain, Venezuela, Vietnam, Germany, Qatar, Serbia, Turkey, Finland, France).
Agreements
Nine agreements were signed at MAF-2025:
● PJSC Rosseti North-West, JSC Rosseti Scientific and Technical Center and the Novosibirsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering signed a strategic partnership agreement;
● JSC Far East and Arctic Development Corporation signed an agreement on information interaction with the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, as well as with JSC Arsenal on cooperation in the extraction and enrichment of rare metal ores in the Murmansk region within the framework of the Kulyok – Rare Earths project with a total investment volume of 10 billion rubles;
● The Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs and PJSC Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel signed an additional cooperation agreement;
● a cooperation agreement was signed between the Government of the Republic of Karelia and Vodohod LLC;
● the Ministry of Property Relations of the Murmansk Region and the public-law company Roskadastr signed an agreement on the implementation of the pilot project “Involvement of real estate objects in economic circulation in the Murmansk Region”;
● the government of the Murmansk region and the Avito company signed a cooperation agreement;
● the government of the Murmansk region, Sberbank of Russia PJSC and the V.A. Almazov National Medical Research Center signed a cooperation agreement;
● The Arkhangelsk Region Government and the United Volunteer Center of the Murmansk Region signed an agreement on cooperation in the development of volunteerism and strengthening cooperation in the regions of the Arctic zone, scaling up practices to support the wives of military personnel in the Northern Fleet.
Sports program
The sports program included eight events. The Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan and the Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrei Chibis took part in the ceremonial event dedicated to the 90th Festival of the North. The program of competitions, which will last until mid-April, included cross-country skiing, biathlon, speed skating and alpine skiing, bandy and others.
For the forum participants, Arctic team building, exercise in ties, ice floating, alpine skiing and snowboarding, snow fights, as well as an introduction to traditional sports of the peoples of the North were organized.
The forum included a presentation of the Arctic Mosaic sports, health and strength festival, which will be held annually in different regions of the Arctic zone. Under the auspices of the MAF, the IV All-Russian Arctic Games were held in Salekhard and Labytnangi, the program of which included nine sports.
The final and largest event of the MAF-2025 sports program will be the 51st Murmansk Ski Marathon. On March 29 and 30, 2.5 thousand athletes will take to the start line of the 25 km and 50 km races at the Dolina Uyuta sports complex. The marathon participants will be Olympic winners and medalists Nikita Kryukov, Alexey Petukhov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and Alexander Bessmertnykh.
Cultural program
The cultural program included the opening of the Taste of the Arctic gastrofestival, where a joint team of restaurateurs and chefs from the subjects of the Russian Arctic zone presented a menu of regional cuisine. The Sami Village and the Taste the North ice bar operated on the site. There was also an Arctic crafts fair.
The Murmansk Regional Museum of Local History offered the forum participants excursions that told about the uniqueness of the Murmansk Region. Thematic exhibitions were timed to coincide with the MAF. Among them was an exhibition of paintings dedicated to the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, from the collections of the Murmansk Regional Art Museum.
There was also a ceremony of donating works of art to the Murmansk Region and the opening of the exhibition “H2O. Art about water and more…”. Seven paintings and three sculptures were donated to the Murmansk Regional Art Museum from the Siyanie Contemporary Art Center and the collections of Vladimir Nekrasov and Andrey Malakhov.
In addition, forum participants were able to take a tour of the icebreaker Lenin, the world’s first vessel with a nuclear power plant, which provided navigation along the Northern Sea Route for about 30 years. The icebreaker has guided thousands of ships through the Arctic and traveled a total of 654,400 nautical miles. It has now become a calling card of the Murmansk Region and one of the most visited tourist sites in the Kola North.
The Murmansk Drama Theatre hosted an “Art Cocktail”, during which the audience saw the play “Prologue to the Murmansk Region” and a concert by the Pacific Fleet ensemble.
On March 30, a creative evening of People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Oleshko “Set the Mood” will take place.
Project “Soul of Russia. Arctic”
As part of the project, seven films were screened in partnership with Roskino, including the films North Pole and Village of Widows, which were dedicated to the Year of Defender of the Fatherland and the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Creative meetings “Inspired by the Arctic” were held, during which viewers met with the production designer of the Soyuzmultfilm studio, creator of the animated series “Umka” Anna Popova, director of the film “North Pole” Alexander Kott, scriptwriter and producer of the film “Widows’ Village” Olga Martisova.
During the children’s program “Arctic Film Vacations” they showed “The Best Episodes of Soyuzmultfilm Series” and “Warm Animation from Soyuzmultfilm”.
The business program included a session entitled “The Northern Creative Path: A Territory of Business Opportunities,” where the contribution of creative industries to the economic growth of the northern territories, the use of the wealth of national cultural traditions to create unique brands, and other issues were discussed.
Expert and analytical support
The Roscongress Foundation’s information and analytical system continued to develop the Summary service, which uses artificial intelligence to obtain brief analytical summaries of discussions with descriptions of key conclusions, problems, and solutions voiced during the discussions.
Based on the results of the forum, an analytical report “Results of the International Arctic Forum 2025” will be prepared, which will be available in electronic form in the information and analytical system of the Roscongress Foundation roscongress.org.
Expert and analytical support for the forum was provided by experts representing the country’s leading scientific and educational centers that conduct research on a wide range of topics on the Arctic agenda, including the Murmansk Arctic University, the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, the St. Petersburg State University of Economics, the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the G.P. Luzin Institute of Economic Problems of the Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Regional Economic Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, etc.
Partners
The co-organizer of the forum is the state corporation Rosatom, the strategic partner is PJSC Rosseti, the strategic scientific partner is the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, the communications partner is the media holding MAER, the business program partners are VTB Bank, PJSC Novatek, MMC Norilsk Nickel, PhosAgro, and the business partner is VEB.RF.
The information partners were the TV channel Rossiya 24, MIA Rossiya Segodnya, the TASS information agency, MIC Izvestia, the Vedomosti newspaper, the RT TV channel, the Business FM radio station, Sputnik, the Arguments and Facts newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Mir TV channel, the Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing house, Lenta.ru, Gazeta.Ru, Shkulev Media – Vokrug Sveta, the Federal Press information agency, the Expert magazine, the Regional Russia magazine, Vesti FM, the NEWS.ru portal, the GoArctic portal, the Arktik-TV TV channel, the Murmansk State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the TV21 TV channel, the Murmansk Herald, the Vecherniy Murmansk newspaper and the Severpost information agency.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
The Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the United States Navy, demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, conducted a multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, March 28, 2025.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alyssa Kreikemeier, Assistant Professor of History, University of Idaho
Long before the large-scale Earth Day protests on April 22, 1970 – often credited with spurring significant environmental protection legislation – Native Americans stewarded the environment. As sovereign nations, Native Americans have been able to protect land, water and air, including well beyond their own boundaries.
Their actions laid the groundwork for modern federal law and policy, including national legislation aimed at reducing pollution. Now the Trump administration is seeking to weaken some of those limits and eliminate programs aimed at improving the environments in which marginalized people live and work.
As an environmental historian, I study how Native Americans have shaped environmental management. Tribal nations are the longest stewards of the lands today known as the United States. My work indicates not only that tribal nations contributed to the origins and evolution of modern environmental management on tribal and nontribal lands, but also that they are well poised to continue environmental management and scientific research regardless of U.S. government actions.
Native peoples stewarded and studied their environments for millennia before European colonization. Today, Native nations continue to use science, technology and Indigenous knowledge to benefit their own people and the broader population.
Their stewardship continues despite repeated and ongoing efforts to dispossess Native peoples. In 1953, Congress reversed centuries of federally recognizing tribal authority, passing a law that terminated tribal nations’ legal and political status and federal obligations under treaties and legal precedents, including requirements to provide education and health care.
This termination policy subjected tribal nations and reservation lands to state jurisdiction and relocated at least 200,000 Native people from tribal lands to urban centers.
A groundswell of Native American resistance captured national attention, including protests and tactics such as “fish-ins,” which involved fishing at traditional grounds guaranteed by treaties but not honored by land use at the time. Their efforts led federal courts to affirm the very rights termination had sought to expunge.
Native nations regained federally recognized rights and political power at the same time as the national environmental awakening. In fact, tribal nations exercised environmental sovereignty in ways that restored federal recognition and influenced broader U.S. environmental law and policy.
In the 1960s, air pollution in America posed a serious health threat, with smog killing Americans on occasion and harming their long-term health. Under the 1970 Clean Air Act amendments, the federal government set national standards for air quality and penalties for polluters.
As early as 1974, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in southeastern Montana began monitoring its own air quality. Finding that its air was substantially cleaner than other areas of the country, the tribe used a new approach to push the Environmental Protection Agency to approve enhanced protections beyond the minimum federal standards. The Northern Cheyenne wanted to prevent polluting industries from moving into locations with cleaner air that could be polluted without exceeding the federal limits. That protection was codified in the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments, which established legal protections and a process for communities to claim greater pollution protections nationwide.
In 1978, the Northern Cheyenne used their higher standards to limit pollution sources on private land upwind of tribal lands, temporarily blocking the construction of two additional coal-fired power plants.
Within a decade, the Assiniboine and Sioux nations at Fort Peck and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes also claimed enhanced air protection and developed air quality monitoring programs even before most state governments did. Dozens of tribal nations have taken control of their air quality in the years since.
Native nations also exercise sovereignty over waterways. In the Pacific Northwest, people whose ancestors have lived in the area for at least 16,000 years have moved to protect themselves and their lands from the effects of massive hydropower projects.
The Columbia River Basin hydropower project, which began in the 1930s, now includes over 250 dams that together generate nearly half of the United States’ hydropower. Its dams and associated development stretch from the Canadian Rockies to Southern California, with effects crossing dozens of Native nations as well as international and state boundaries. The construction of the dams inundated multiple tribal nations’ lands and displaced thousands of Native people.
When four dams were built on the lower Snake River in Idaho in the 1960s, they inundated ancestral lands and fishing grounds of Columbia River Native Americans, including the Nez Perce Tribe. The dams decimated fish populations many tribes have long relied upon for both sustenance and cultural practices and destroyed ancient and culturally significant fishing sites, including Celilo Falls near The Dalles, Oregon, which had been fished for at least 10,000 years.
Nez Perce scientists and environmental managers, working alongside other Northwest tribes, have documented the near extinction of numerous species of salmon and steelhead fish, despite federal, state and tribal agencies investing billions of dollars in hatchery programs to boost fish populations. The Nez Perce Department of Fisheries Resources Management protects and restores aquatic ecosystems. In collaboration with nearby communities, the tribe also restores significant areas of habitat on nontribal lands. That includes decommissioning many miles of logging roads, removing mine tailings and sowing tens of thousands of native plants.
The Nez Perce and other tribes advocate for the removal of those four dams to restore salmon populations. They cite, among other evidence, a 2002 Army Corps of Engineers study that found removal was the most effective way to meet the Endangered Species Act’s requirements to restore decimated fish populations.
Native Americans and tribal nations see environmental sovereignty as essential to their past, present and future.
In 2015, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes became the first Native nation to take over a federal dam when they purchased the Selis Ksanka Qlispe dam, operating on the Flathead River in Montana. Managed by a tribal corporation, the dam produces enough hydropower to supply 100,000 homes, bringing millions of dollars to tribal coffers rather than enriching a corporation in Pennsylvania.
Over the decades, Native nations have partnered with federal agencies and used federal laws and funds to manage their environments. They have also built connections between tribes and nations across the continent.
For instance, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission coordinates and assists Columbia Basin tribes with environmental management and fishing rights. In northern New Mexico, the Indigenous women of Tewa Women United work against the legacy and ongoing effects of nuclear research affecting their homelands and communities from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Across the U.S., the Indian Land Tenure Foundation works with Native peoples to secure control of their homelands through land return and legal reforms, while Honor the Earth organizes Indigenous peoples in North America and globally to advance social change rooted in Indigenous sovereignty through treaty organizing and advocacy.
Tribal governments have been hit hard by the shifts in federal priorities, including Trump administration funding cuts that have slowed scientific research, such as environmental monitoring and management on tribal lands.
Tribal governance takes a long view based in Native peoples’ deep history with these lands. And their legal and political status as sovereign nations – backed by the U.S. Constitution, treaties, more than 120 Supreme Court rulings and the plain text of federal laws – puts Native nations in a strong position to continue their efforts, no matter which ways the federal winds blow.
I have conducted research for the National Park Service as an employee of the University of New Mexico’s School for Architecture and Planning. My research at the University of Idaho has been partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
– ref. As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans – https://theconversation.com/as-federal-environmental-priorities-shift-sovereign-native-american-nations-have-their-own-plans-251685
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island
In January 2025, while doing research at the Vatican archives, I heard Pope Francis’ Sunday prayers in St. Peter’s Square. The pope reflected on the ceasefire that had just gone into effect in Gaza, highlighting the role of mediators, the need for humanitarian aid, and his hope for a two-state solution.
“Let us pray always for tormented Ukraine, for Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and all the populations who are suffering because of war,” he concluded. “I wish you all a good Sunday, and please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch, and arrivederci!”
A few weeks later, Francis was admitted to the hospital, where he remained for more than a month, receiving treatment for double pneumonia.
In those weeks of uncertainty, I thought back to the pope’s words that Sunday afternoon. They encapsulate Francis’ image: a spiritual leader using his influence to try to bring peace. He is also a down-to-earth man who wishes you “buon appetito.”
Francis does not fear addressing contemporary politics, unlike many of his predecessors. And some popes have closed their eyes to not just current events but past ones: learning and history that threatened their vision of the church.
As a medievalist, I appreciate Francis’ contrasting approach: a religious leader who embraces history and scholarship, and encourages others to do the same – even as book bans and threats to academic freedom mount.
For 400 years, the Catholic Church famously maintained the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a long list of banned books. First conceived in the 1500s, it matured under Pope Paul IV. His 1559 index counted any books written by people the church deemed heretics – anyone not speaking dogma, in the widest sense.
Even before the index, church leaders permitted little flexibility of thought. In the decades leading up to it, however, the church doubled down in response to new challenges: the rapid spreading of the printing press and the Protestant Reformation.
The Catholic Counter-Reformation, which took shape at the Council of Trent from 1545-1563, reinforced dogmatism in its effort to rebuke reformers. The council decided that the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible, was enough to understand scripture, and there was little need to investigate its original Greek and Hebrew version.
Bishops and the Vatican began producing lists of titles that were forbidden to print and read. Between 1571-1917, the Sacred Congregation of the Index, a special unit of the Vatican, investigated writings and compiled the lists of banned readings approved by the pope. Catholics who read titles on the Index of Forbidden Books risked excommunication.
In 1966, Pope Paul VI abolished the index. The church could no longer punish people for reading books on the list but still advised against them, as historian Paolo Sachet highlights. The moral imperative not to read them remained.
Historian J.M de Bujanda has completed the most comprehensive list of books forbidden across the ages by the Catholic Church. Its authors include astronomer Johannes Kepler and Galileo, as well as philosophers across centuries, from Erasmus and René Descartes to feminist Simone de Beauvoir and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. Then there are the writers: Michel de Montaigne, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, David Hume, historian Edward Gibbon and Gustave Flaubert. In sum, the index is a who’s who of science, literature and history.
Compare that with a letter Francis published on Nov. 21, 2024, emphasizing the importance of studying church history – particularly for priests, to better understand the world they live in. For the pope, history research “helps to keep ‘the flame of collective conscience’ alive.”
The pope advocated for studying church history in a way that is unfiltered and authentic, flaws included. He emphasized primary sources and urged students to ask questions. Francis criticized the view that history is mere chronology – rote memorization that fails to analyze events.
In 2019, Francis changed the name of the Vatican Secret Archives to the Vatican Apostolic Archives. Though the archives themselves had already been open to scholars since 1881, “secret” connotes something “revealed and reserved for a few,” Francis wrote. Under Francis, the Vatican opened the archives on Pope Pius XII, allowing research on his papacy during World War II, his knowledge of the Holocaust and his general response toward Nazi Germany.
In addition to showing respect for history, the pope has emphasized his own love of reading. “Each new work we read will renew and expand our worldview,” he wrote in a letter to future priests, published July 17, 2024.
Today, he continued, “veneration” of screens, with their “toxic, superficial and violent fake news” has diverted us from literature. The pope shared his experience as a young Jesuit literature instructor in Santa Fe, then added a sentence that would have stupefied “index popes.”
“Naturally, I am not asking you to read the same things that I did,” he stated. “Everyone will find books that speak to their own lives and become authentic companions for their journey.”
Citing his compatriot, the novelist Jorge Luis Borges, Francis reminded Catholics that to read is to “listen to another person’s voice. … We must never forget how dangerous it is to stop listening to the voice of other people when they challenge us!”
When Francis dies or resigns, the Vatican will remain deeply divided between progressives and conservatives. So are modern democracies – and in many places, the modern trend leans toward nationalism, fascism and censorship.
But Francis will leave a phenomenal rebuttal. One of the pope’s greatest achievements, in my view, will have been his engagement with the humanities and humanity – with a deep understanding of the challenges it faces.
Joëlle Rollo-Koster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis’ appreciation for the power of history and books – https://theconversation.com/from-censorship-to-curiosity-pope-francis-appreciation-for-the-power-of-history-and-books-250734
Source: United States Department of Defense (video statements)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr., brief the media in Manila, Philippines, March 28, 2025.
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Your military is an all-volunteer force that serves to protect our security and way of life, but Service members are more than a fighting force. They are leaders, humanitarians and your fellow Americans. Get to know more about the men and women who serve, who they are, what they do, and why they do it.
For more on the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov
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Source: South Africa News Agency
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has confirmed that 23 South Africans – who were part of a group of 7 000 people from various countries – have been rescued from Myanmar.
“Our citizens returned to South Africa a few hours ago, assisted by DIRCO and the Border Management Authority. DIRCO facilitated the repatriation of the South African nationals and provided financial assistance,” the department said in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon.
Before leaving South Africa last year, these men and women were lured by an employment agency to Thailand under the pretences of lucrative jobs that were advertised on various social media platforms.
“These adverts promised the victims good salaries, free accommodation, comprehensive travel expenses, and other lucrative benefits. Once in Thailand, they were transported to Myanmar against their will.”
The victims were held captive for more than four months in a cybercrime compound in Myanmar, which borders Thailand.
“They were subjected to brutal treatment, including intimidation, physical torture, and forced labour. They were also compelled to engage in illicit activities, including online scams that targeted individuals worldwide.”
In addition, DIRCO said, they were under 24-hour armed security and a ransom of about R50 000 was demanded for their release.
“They were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were frequently beaten or tortured if they refused, and they survived on spoiled food and contaminated water without access to medical treatment.”
The department explained that the repatriation of the South African victims was part of the bilateral cooperation agreement to combat human trafficking and other forms of transnational organised crime signed by Thailand and South Africa in 2023.
“The government is grateful for the assistance provided by Thai authorities in facilitating the repatriation of the victims.”
Victim support
The Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) have since conducted an initial screening of the victims to verify their identity and family information.
Following the screening interviews, the DPCI will transport the victims to health facilities to undergo health screenings.
Temporary accommodation will be provided for those from outside Gauteng, enabling them to reunite with their families and relatives, while those who live in the province will be transported home by DPCI.
Investigation
According to the department, the DPCI will investigate the matter and follow up appointments will be scheduled at a later stage with the victims to gather comprehensive statements, as their emotional and physical wellbeing must be taken into consideration.
“The DPCI will continue to work with all the relevant government departments to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the victims, as well as the successful arrest and conviction of traffickers in South Africa.”
The department said the South African government strongly condemns any acts of trafficking and has introduced relevant legislation to deal harshly with this heinous crime.
The government has urged citizens to exercise extreme caution when considering employment opportunities abroad.
“If the promise of employment is too good to be true, you must exercise caution and be suspicious.”
All countries with embassies and liaison offices in South Africa are listed on the DIRCO website www.dirco.gov.za .
Travellers are also advised to register on the DIRCO Travel Smart app, a digital platform that provides support and information to South African citizens travelling or residing in foreign countries.
However, those who suspect that their loved one or someone else is a victim of human trafficking can report the matter to the SAPS Crime Stop hotline on 08000 10111, the nearest police station, the DSD, or a designated child protection organisation.
“Your safety and well-being are in your hands. Stay vigilant and protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim to these malicious schemes. Let us all work together to stop trafficking in persons,” the department said.
Use the following helplines to report suspected incidents of human trafficking:
• Childline – 116
• Film and Publication Board – 0800 148 148
• GBV Command Centre – 0800 428 428
• National Human Trafficking Hotline – 0800 222 777. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: World Health Organisation
Sarah Wambui Chege monitors a patient in active labour and listens to the baby’s activity at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, a government county referral hospital serving the residents of Nairobi’s populous Eastlands area. Photo credit: WHO/Khadija Farah
Globally each year 287,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. Most maternal deaths are caused by severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy (such as HIV/AIDS and malaria).
Most maternal deaths are preventable with access to high quality healthcare. Ending preventable maternal death must remain at the top of the global agenda.
WHO works with a range of partners and national health authorities across its six Regions to strengthen maternal health services for all pregnant women. Read below powerful stories about a wide range of WHO activities, with many women’s lives being saved, thanks to donors’ support.
In Mozambique, a protracted civil war had a devastating impact on public health services and infrastructure. In 2000, Mozambique had one of the world’s highest rates of maternal mortality, with roughly 1 in 160 women dying from pregnancy or childbirth complications.
The country has since made significant strides by making maternal health one of its top priorities. In 2023, Mozambique’s maternal mortality ratio was 223 deaths per 100 000 live births; a 53% drop in maternal mortality since 2000.
Several critical interventions have contributed to this. Between 2017 and 2021, 106 new health facilities opened across the country, increasing access to health services, and the number of human resources for health and health technicians increased by around 15%.
WHO supported the country to establish a maternal death surveillance and response system, provided technical and financial support to the Ministry of Health to update the training package on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care, and trained 40 national trainers across all 11 of Mozambique’s provinces. In 2021, WHO collaborated with health authorities to shape a comprehensive community health strategy.
Read the full story
A nurse is assisting a mother breastfeeding in a referral provincial hospital in Cambodia. WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
In early 2000’s, Cambodia faced alarming maternal, newborn and child health indicators. The maternal mortality ratio stood at 437 per 100 000 live births, while newborn and child mortality rate accounted for 37 and 124 per 1000 live births respectively.
Today, skilled birth attendance is near universal, with 98.7% of births attended by trained health professionals and 97.5% of women giving birth in a health facility. Between 2014 and 2021-2022, neonatal and under-five mortality rates declined by 54%, from 18 to 8 and from 35 to 16 per 1000 live births respectively. Cambodia achieved its SDG targets for reducing neonatal and under-five mortality eight years ahead of schedule.
The strong leadership of the Ministry of Health provided clear strategies for advancing maternal and newborn health. Two coordination platforms were established and convened regularly to align efforts within the Ministry and with health partners. With technical dsupport from WHO and funding from the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare, the Early Essential Newborn Care Coordination Committee plays a crucial role in harmonizing national and sub-national efforts, monitoring progress through regular reviews, mobilizing resources to scale up practices, and ensure consistency in care delivery.
Read more on Cambodia’s way forward
Mercedes Panamantamba, traditional birth attendant from Otavalo, Ecuador, receives training provided by PAHO on the use of biomedical tools to complement ancestral practices. Photo credit: PAHO/WHO
In rural and remote communities of Latin America, ancestral practices such as traditional midwifery have been passed down from generation to generation. In these areas, where geographical barriers and cultural differences can hinder access to healthcare centres, the practical and spiritual support of traditional birth attendants can make the difference between life and death.
The WHO Region for the Americas (Pan American Health Organization – PAHO), with support from the Government of Canada, has been working with over a thousand traditional birth attendants in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru since 2021 to provide them with knowledge of warning signs to help prevent maternal and neonatal deaths.
PAHO conducted training sessions and knowledge dialogues on topics such as family planning, prenatal care, identification of warning signs, and childbirth care. Meetings have yielded results that can benefit the entire region, such as the development of the tool for promoting culturally safe childbirth.
These activities are part of ‘Improved health of women and adolescent girls in situations of vulnerability’, a joint project between PAHO and Global Affairs Canada.
Read about the success of combining knowledge of ancestral and modern medicine.
Dorcas Simon, an informal trader in Kigoma region, Tanzania, who said it took the timely transportation of her newborn child and her to the hospital to save their lives. Photo credit: WHO/Clemence Eliah
In Kigoma region, Tanzania, maternal mortality was on the rise due to difficult access to health facilities and other factors. The region had limited capacity in terms of a referral system and diagnostic capacity.
“Looking at the year 2020, we had 119 maternal deaths. In 2021, they dropped to 75 but in 2022 there were 102 deaths.” Dr Jesca Leba, Regional Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, Kigoma Region, Tanzania.
The Government of Tanzania with support from WHO and partners set out to address this problem. With funding from the Norwegian Embassy, WHO procured ambulances for easy transportation of pregnant women. The ambulances have so far served over 2000 women from various districts across the region. Additionally, 15 ultrasound machines were provided for health facilities and 300 health workers were trained how to use them.
The Chief Medical Officer in Buhigwe District Health Centre appreciates the donor support with ultrasound equipment that expanded the centre’s capacity to provide services. Photo credit: WHO/Clemence Eliah
Today, the Kigoma region has since witnessed a sharp decline in maternal mortality from 119 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births in 2020 to just 26 in 2024.
See this photo story.
Ms Konaté followed the entire process of the birth plan. Her baby was born in good conditions at the urban health center in the Belleville district, in Bouaké. She is congratulated by the midwife who gives her the baby. Photo credit: WHO Côte d’Ivoire
In Cote d’Ivoire, in 2017, the maternal mortality rate was 614 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, (Demographic Health Survey 2012) far from the target of 140 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births expected by 2030. In 2021, WHO, with support from the Swedish Government and the French MUSKOKA fund, targeted the Gbeke region, which has one of the highest mortality rates in the country, through the “Gbeke Là-Haut Là” initiative.
The initiative included implementation of a childbirth preparation or delivery plan, starting with first prenatal consultations, an emergency trolley in the delivery room and capacity-building for midwives in the management of risk factors during pregnancy and childbirth.
By 2022, 46% of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics benefited from a childbirth preparation plan, compared to none previously. 181 midwives from 18 health facilities were trained in key life-saving clinical skills.
Between 2019 and 2022, the proportion of maternal deaths at Bouake University Hospital from the 3 urban health districts of Gbeke fell from 93% to 36%, a reduction of 57%. The proportion of maternal deaths due to post-partum haemorrhage fell by 27%, from 56% to 29%.
Read how birth plan helps reduce maternal deaths in Cote d’Ivoire
Close patient monitoring by nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia. As one of the SMART recommendations for mortality review. Photo credit: WHO/IndoXplore
WHO and European Union supported the Ministry of Health and partners to conduct crucial research on the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and newborn health and to better understand disruptions to essential health services, with the aim of building a stronger, more resilient health system.
Researchers analyzed the medical records of 4 945 pregnant women and their newborns and interviewed programme managers and health workers from eight selected hospitals in four provinces of Java Island.
WHO and the Ministry of Health will use the findings to inform the development of national guidelines aimed at strengthening the health system’s capacity to better respond to acute public health events and minimize disruptions to essential services, including for maternal and newborn health.
Read the full story on how WHO, Ministry of Health and partners analysed the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and newborn health
The maternity ward at the Eliazar Germain Hospital. Photo credit: PAHO/WHO
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and PAHO/WHO are jointly supporting 3 hospitals in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area to provide maternal health services. This is to support the emergency response of the Ministry of Health and Population and improve access to health care, made increasingly difficult by the current security situation.
Support includes the supply of essential medical equipment and products, and the installation of a reliable power supply system, ensuring constant availability of electricity. Support beyond maternity services responds to urgent needs in sexual and reproductive health. Kits for the management of abortion complications and kits for the management of sexual violence have been distributed for this purpose.
Since the partnership was set up, 62 physiological deliveries and 45 caesarean sections have been recorded in the 3 beneficiary hospitals. These activities were made possible with the financial support of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the Central Emergency Response Fund (UN CERF) and WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
Find out more about PAHO/WHO and UNFPA joint support to Haitian health authorities.
WHO Representative to Somalia Dr Reinhilde Van de Weerdt (left) met with H.E. Mr OKANIWA Ken, Ambassador of Japan to Somalia, to express appreciation for Japan’s support. Photo credit: WHO Somalia/M. Saydahmat
A 12-month project led by the WHO Country Office in Somalia over the course of 2023 reached over 3 million people affected by drought or flood. The Government of Japan supported the project with a grant of over US$ 700 000. Working with the Ministry of Health and Human Services, WHO aims to mitigate the health impacts of recurrent climate shocks, food insecurity and disease outbreaks, especially cholera, while strengthening health system resilience.
Thanks to Japan’s funding, WHO was able to deploy 369 community health workers and 121 mobile outreach teams in drought-affected areas. These provided essential health and immunization services to local population with a special focus on children and pregnant and lactating women. The project aims to provide help to about 900 000 flood- and drought-affected people in Somalia.
Read more about Japan and WHO’s new project on the WHO Somalia.
Meeting the health needs of Malians displaced by security crisis. Photo credit: WHO AFRO
In 2023, more than 72 500 people were displaced in Mali because of clashes between rival armed groups, inter-community conflicts and military operations by the Malian armed forces against non-state armed groups.
To help Mali maintain delivery of quality health services in areas impacted by insecurity, WHO, supported by UN CERF is providing medicines and other consumables to the Health Ministry, and helping to upskill health workers on the ground. WHO is also supporting mobile clinics to reach isolated populations in the centre of Menaka and the two districts worst impacted by the insecurity, Tidermane and Anderamboukane.
Thanks to the mobile clinics, Aissata, a displaced person in Ménaka city centre, was able to receive the care she needed. She was monitored throughout her pregnancy, which saved her life and that of her baby. “If it wasn’t for the free consultation that day, I don’t know what I would have done,” the young mother says.
Read more about WHO support for meeting the health needs of Malians displaced by security crisis.
Shakila, midwife, measuring height of the fundus on a pregnant woman at the mobile clinic organized by WHO at the Garm Abak of Waras district in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Photo credit: WHO/Rada Akbar
Strengthening midwives’ role in maternity and newborn care services would save millions of lives each year while significantly enhancing women’s overall experience of care, according to a new publication released by WHO and partners.
The publication, transitioning to midwifery models of care: A global position paper, outlines the benefits and key components of midwifery care models, where midwives serve, within broader teams, as the main healthcare provider for women and babies during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
Recent modelling shows that universal access to midwifery care could avert more than 60% of all maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths – amounting to 4.3 million lives saved annually by 2035.
The position paper on midwifery models of care was prepared by WHO together with a coalition of leading health professional associations, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and women’s group, including the Burnet Institute, Collectif interassociatif autour de la naissance, the Council of International Neonatal Nurses, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Pediatric Association, Jhpiego, the UNFPA, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with financial assistance from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Listen to WHO Director-General’s message on Linkedin thanking everyone who contributed for the development of the position paper.
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WHO’s work is made possible through all contributions of our Member States and partners. WHO thanks all donor countries, governments, organizations and individuals who are contributing to the Organization’s work, with special appreciation for those who provide fully flexible contributions to maintain a strong, independent WHO.
This feature reveals support of partners and donors from Burnet Institute (Collectif intersasociatif autour de la naissance), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, CERF, the Council of International Neonatal Nurses, the European Union, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Pediatric Association, Japan, Jhpiego, French MUSKOKA, Norway, Sweden, the UNFPA, and UNICEF.
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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The value of exports and imports of services during February 2025 is given in the following table.
Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2024-2025/2504 |
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Source: US Army (video statements)
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Source: Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank held a Conference for the large-sized Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) on March 28, 2025, in Chennai. Chairpersons of the Audit Committee of the Board (ACB), MD & CEOs and the Statutory Auditors of the NBFCs attended the Conference. The Conference was a part of the series of supervisory engagements that the Reserve Bank has been having with key stakeholders of its Regulated Entities. The theme of the Conference was ‘Shared Vision, Shared Responsibility: Strengthening the NBFCs’. The Conference was attended by over 200 participants.
Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank, Shri Swaminathan J, and Shri Charanjot Singh Nanda, President, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), addressed the participants. Executive Directors in-charge of the Regulatory, Supervisory and Enforcement functions of the Reserve Bank also participated in the Conference.
Deputy Governor Shri Swaminathan, in his address, acknowledged the important role that is being played by NBFCs in the financial ecosystem and the role of Chairpersons of the ACB and Statutory Auditors in ensuring the integrity of financial statements. He emphasised that risk-taking must be prudent and well planned, and never beyond the risk absorption capacity of the entity concerned. Deputy Governor exhorted the NBFCs to proactively adopt fairness in lending and recovery supported by a robust grievance redress mechanism. He also conveyed expectations from auditors on maintaining the audit rigour and adhering to the highest standards of objectivity, transparency and ethics.
The President, ICAI emphasised the contribution needed from the Chartered Accountancy profession and urged them to live up to the trust reposed on the profession. He touched upon various initiatives taken by the Institute in capacity building of Chartered Accountants, especially with respect to adoption of technology in auditing.
The Conference included detailed presentations on the concerns observed in NBFCs and the regulatory expectations and a technical session on usage of data analytics in auditing. A Panel Discussion was also held involving MD & CEOs of select NBFCs on the topic of ‘Emerging issues and challenges under Ind AS’.
The Conference concluded with an interactive session for the participants with senior officials of RBI.
(Puneet Pancholy)
Chief General Manager
Press Release: 2024-2025/2501
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 24, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹52.70 lakh (Rupees Fifty Two Lakh Seventy Thousand only) on Phoenix ARC Private Limited (the company) for non-compliance with directions on ‘Settlement of dues payable by the borrower’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 12 read with sub-section (1) of Section 30A of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002. The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the company advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the company’s reply to the notice, additional submissions made by it and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found that the following charge against the company was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty: The company settled dues of certain borrowers having aggregate outstanding principal amount of more than ₹1 crore without the prior approval of its Board of Directors, as required under the directions on ‘Settlement of dues payable by the borrower’. This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2502 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Preliminary data on India’s balance of payments (BoP) for the third quarter (Q3), i.e., October-December 2024-25, are presented in Statements I and II. Key Features of India’s BoP in Q3:2024-25
BoP During April-December 2024
(Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2498 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹15.00 lakh (Rupees Fifteen Lakh only) on The Citizens Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd., Jalandhar (the bank) for non-compliance with specific directions issued by RBI under ‘Supervisory Action Framework (SAF)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty: In non-adherence to directions issued under SAF, the bank had:
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2497 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Today, the Reserve Bank of India released the balance of payments (BoP) data for the third quarter (Q3), i.e., October-December of 2024-25 on its website (www.rbi.org.in). On the basis of these data, the sources of variation in foreign exchange reserves during April-December 2024 are detailed below in Table 1. On a balance of payments basis (i.e., excluding valuation effects), foreign exchange reserves decreased by US$ 13.8 billion during April-December 2024 as against an accretion of US$ 32.9 billion during April-December 2023. Foreign exchange reserves in nominal terms (i.e., including valuation effects) decreased by US$ 10.7 billion during April-December 2024 as against an increase of US$ 44.0 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year (Table 2). The valuation gain, primarily reflecting higher prices of gold, amounted to US$ 3.1 billion during April-December 2024 as compared with a valuation gain of US$ 11.1 billion during April-December 2023. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2499 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3.20 lakh (Rupees Three Lakh Twenty Thousand only) on Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Reserve Bank of lndia (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’ and ‘Non-Banking Financial Company – Housing Finance Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2021’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 52A of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by the National Housing Bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on the supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the company advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the company were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2500 |
Source: Amnesty International –
Responding to reports of widescale damage from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake reported in central and other parts of Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman said:
“This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar. More than three million people remain internally displaced from armed conflict that has raged since the 2021 military coup. Over a third of the population will need humanitarian assistance this year. At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite.
“In a country where the military has banned many media outlets and internet access is restricted, we may not have a clear picture of the extent of damage and loss for some time. That there appear to be more images and information coming out of Thailand than the epicentre in Myanmar is a startling reminder of the military’s crushing of press freedom since the 2021 coup.
“Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military. Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organizations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.
“All parties to the armed conflict should be prioritizing the needs of civilians whose lives have been upended in this disaster and ensuring that they have unfettered access to aid. Human rights must be at the centre of all relief efforts, and there must be no discrimination in aid provision. Amnesty International is calling particularly for the protection of those with specific needs, including children, older people, people with disabilities, and women and girls in vulnerable situations.”
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹25.00 lakh (Rupees Twenty Five Lakh only) on The Kangra Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Himachal Pradesh (the bank) for non-compliance with the conditions subject to which the banking license was issued to it by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with the conditions of banking license issued by RBI and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said licensing conditions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty: The bank had extended loans outside its area of operation in violation of conditions of the banking license. This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2024-2025/2496 |
