BEIJING, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Experts and industry insiders attended a panel discussion on energy transition at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan province on Wednesday.
China Energy Engineering Corp Ltd is planning for a bigger role in global energy transition and infrastructure development through its latest efforts to expand green hydrogen and artificial intelligence, its chairman said.
CEEC is advancing integrated renewable energy, hydrogen, and storage solutions, and its latest green hydrogen projects are expected to play a key role in decarbonizing industrial sectors, Song Hailiang, Party secretary and chairman of CEEC, said at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference on Tuesday.
“A major milestone will be reached in September, when the world’s largest integrated green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol project in Songyuan, Jilin province, is set to begin operations,” Song said.
Green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol is a sustainable energy solution that combines the generation of green hydrogen with the synthesis of green ammonia and green methanol, and aims to create a cohesive system for producing essential chemicals and fuels with minimal environmental impact.
Song said: “As the scale of renewable energy continues to grow, building a secure, systematic, efficient and intelligent new energy system has become a global challenge.
“The company will bet big on renewable energy supply, consumption, infrastructure planning, technology, and policy mechanisms to address these issues.”
According to Song, CEEC has signed major investment agreements exceeding 110 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) domestically and $11.8 billion abroad, with major energy projects spanning China, Egypt, Morocco, and Central Asia.
The company’s domestic green hydrogen and ammonia aviation oil capacity has surpassed 1.35 million metric tons, while its green hydrogen and ammonia production capacity has reached 2.6 million tons overseas.
In addition, Song said that CEEC is also pushing for a deep integration of AI and energy systems. “To develop AI, the ultimate bottleneck is electricity,” he said.
In 2024, China’s data centers and 5G base stations are expected to consume 250 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, close to triple the annual output of the Three Gorges Dam.
“With data processing and computing power needs surging, the company sees renewable energy and storage solutions as critical for sustaining AI-driven industries,” he emphasized.
As part of its strategy, CEEC is developing digital-energy integrated infrastructure. Its east-data-west-computing project combines computing power, enabling better coordination between data centers and power grids.
Further, Song said that the company will accelerate its international operations, expanding renewable energy projects and infrastructure investments across markets involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The company, which operates in over 140 countries and regions, said that its overseas renewable energy contracts now account for nearly half of its total signed agreements.
Song said the company remains committed to high-quality energy cooperation under the BRI, bringing Chinese technology, equipment and expertise to global markets.
“Our goal is to move from simply ‘going global’ to deeply integrating into local markets,” he said, adding that CEEC will focus on long-term partnerships and sustainable infrastructure projects.
China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd.(ENERGY CHINA) Chu Xinyan xychu2489@ceec.net.cn http://en.ceec.net.cn/ 186 1109 6653 Beijing
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Prime Minster meets Coalition of the Willing in Paris following UK military planning meetings
The Prime Minister will co-host the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing alongside President Macron in Paris today (Thursday 27 March).
Prime Minister will underscore that all must back Ukraine to remain in the fight against Russia
Military planning to cover air, sea and land forces to support a lasting and durable peace and deter future Russian aggression
Prime Minister expected to say “Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine’s future. Now Putin needs to show he’s willing to play ball”
The Prime Minister will co-host the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing alongside President Macron in Paris today (Thursday 27 March).
At the meeting, he will present the outcomes of this week’s planning meetings in support of Ukraine, which took place at the UK military operational headquarters in Northwood over the last three days.
The intensive sessions, which convened over 200 military planners from countries across the globe, considered in detail the structure of any future force to ensure Ukraine can defend itself from future Russian aggression.
The Prime Minister will underline that all must come together to support Ukraine to remain in the fight and back US efforts to make real progress despite continued Russian obfuscation.
Planning so far has looked across the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics capabilities – and discussions have centred on how European nations can contribute their own capabilities to support any future force.
Discussions will continue around military planning of air, sea and land forces that would be required to support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
As the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated, a lasting peace in Ukraine can only be provided if we step up and give real and credible security assurances to deter Putin from coming back in future.
The Prime Minister will say that excellent progress has been made, and Europe is mobilising together in pursuit of peace, but now we must continue to keep up the momentum.
The Prime Minister will add that Putin has clearly shown his lack of commitment to the peace process, following ceasefire talks convened by the United States in Saudi Arabia this week.
Published readouts from both sides confirmed a naval ceasefire and prevention of use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea but Russia immediately backtracked and placed conditions on the agreements – despite good faith participation from Ukraine.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say:
Unlike President Zelenskyy, Putin has shown he’s not a serious player in these peace talks. Playing games with the agreed naval ceasefire in the Black Sea despite good faith participation from all sides – all while continuing to inflict devastating attacks on the Ukrainian people. His promises are hollow.
The US is playing a leading role by convening the ceasefire talks, President Zelenskyy has demonstrated his commitment repeatedly, and Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine’s future. Now Putin needs to show he’s willing to play ball.
Source: Australia’s climate in 2024: 2nd warmest and 8th wettest year on record
The Albanese Labor Government has passed legislation that will allow eligible Australians to apply for easier passage through US airports.
The United States’ Global Entry Program provides an avenue for eligible citizens of trusted partner countries to access expedited clearance processes on arrival in the US.
This is a mark of the closeness of the relationship and trust between Australia and the US and will be welcomed by Australian tourists, business leaders and corporate travellers who will be able to join faster entry lanes when they arrive in the US.
This program is voluntary, and only available for pre-approved, low-risk travellers who meet the strict eligibility criteria as set out by the US. Both Australia and the US will conduct background checks on Australian applicants.
The Global Entry Program membership also opens up eligibility to TSA Pre-Check program, making travel within the US a much simpler process.
A limited number of Australian citizens have been able to apply for Global Entry Program from January this year under phase one, which is now closed. The passage of this Bill will pave the way for the expansion of the program to all eligible Australians with phase two expected to commence in the second half of the year.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke MP
“The Albanese Government has done the work to ensure Australia’s entry into the United States’ Global Entry Program. It was first promised when Peter Dutton was Home Affairs Minister but was never delivered by the former government.
“This means shorter queues for Australian business travellers so they can spend their time working and building business links rather than waiting in line.”
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong
“Expansion of the Global Entry Program is a testament to the closeness and friendship between our people.
“I pay tribute to Ambassador Rudd who has been the driving force behind Australia’s entry into this program, six years after it was first announced by the former Government.
“This will make travel easier for eligible Australians and will continue to grow the strong commercial ties between Australia and the United States.”
To help Australian tourism operators tap into the rapidly growing Filipino and Thai visitor markets, the Albanese Government is launching two new training programs.
Delivered in partnership with the Australian Tourism Export Council, the Philippines Host and Thailand Host programs will equip Australian tourism businesses with the knowledge, cultural insights, and skills needed to deliver an unforgettable experience for inbound travellers.
Travel from these markets has rebounded post-pandemic, with visitors from the Philippines reaching 171,900, and visitors from Thailand reaching 95,100 in 2024.
But there is great potential to grow both markets further, with Tourism Research Australia forecasting that by 2029, annual visitors from the Philippines will increase by 42% and annual visitors from Thailand to increase by 47%.
Airlines are expanding routes to meet this increasing demand, with Qantas adding Brisbane-Manila flights (100,000+ seats annually), Cebu Pacific increasing Sydney and Melbourne services, and Jetstar boosting Australia-Thailand routes to 22 weekly flights, including new Brisbane and Perth connections.
The Host programs will be delivered by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), which also delivers the Tourism Training Hub, and the recently released Vietnam Host program.
Australian tourism operators can register for the Philippines and Thailand Host Programs via the ATEC Tourism Training Hub.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell:
“These new Programs will help deepen Australia’s engagement in Southeast Asia by preparing our tourism industry to attract and service visitors, and drive growth from the Philippines and Thailand.
“New aviation services are helping increase travel between Australia and the Philippines and Thailand, which presents a wealth of opportunities for Australian businesses.
“We want to ensure that our fantastic tourism operators are ready to take advantage of these opportunities, growing their businesses and creating jobs.”
Quotes attributable to Mr Peter Shelley, Managing Director, Australian Tourism Export Council:
“With the Philippines and Thailand emerging as key growth markets, now is the time for operators to invest in market readiness.
“These new Host programs equip businesses with the knowledge and cultural insights to create meaningful visitor experiences and capitalise on these expanding opportunities.
“Developed in collaboration with industry experts and Austrade, these Host programs provide tourism businesses with market-specific understanding that translates into the real-world.”
Quotes attributable to Australian tourism industry representative, Tina Chaisuwan-Baker, Sales Manager – South East Asia, SeaLink Marine & Tourism:
“Undertaking ATEC’s Vietnam Host online course gave me key insights into the cultural preferences and service expectations of Vietnamese tourists coming into Australia.
“This knowledge has been essential in enhancing my approach to selling and tailoring our products, ensuring we meet the unique needs of the Vietnamese market.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has welcomed 24 new career firefighters at their graduation ceremony at the National Training Centre (NTC) in Rotorua.
Throughout their 12-week recruit course, the new firefighters learnt skills such as fighting fires, extricating people trapped in cars, and managing hazardous substances, which they demonstrated to whānau and friends at today’s ceremony.
During the ceremony former aviation rescue firefighter for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Tracey Barclay, was presented with the top recruit award for displaying outstanding skills, leadership and mana throughout the course.
“Being the person who shows up on someone’s worst day is something I respect all fellow firefighters for,” says Tracey, who is 35 and will be based at Seaview Station.
“I would rather help someone else than help myself.”
“I’ve always been drawn to the team aspect of firefighting. You’re never going to be alone and the crew on that truck becomes your family,” she says.
As someone with a firefighting background, Tracey’s favourite part of the course was the live firefighting block.
“Learning how to tackle structure fires, search and rescue in darkness and combining all the skills we were taught over the course was definitely a highlight and a huge learning opportunity,” she says.
Another graduate with a background as an aviation rescue firefighter is 32-year-old Lewis Jackson. He was based at Queenstown Airport and will be joining Invercargill Station.
Lewis is no stranger to Fire and Emergency, as he was also a volunteer firefighter with the Frankton Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Lewis enjoyed the more physical elements of the course, such as the urban search and rescue block.
“I encourage people to really focus on their physical fitness in the lead up to the course. It can be demanding, so the more you prepare, the easier you’ll find it,” he says.
Also among the graduates is 26-year-old Matai Wetere, who will be based at Paraparaumu Station.
For the past six years, Matai has been reclaiming te reo Māori through his studies and mahi as a Māori policy advisor. Now Matai is after the fast-paced career firefighting offers.
“I thrive in challenging environments and enjoy the adrenaline that comes with high-stake situations,” Matai says.
“The breathing apparatus and urban search and rescue blocks of the course presented the most mental and physical challenges for me, but the satisfaction and sense of achievement I had after I’d completed them far outweighed the discomfort,” he says.
Congratulations to all the graduates and nau mai ki te whānau – welcome to the family.
Applications to be a career firefighter open on 10 April. For more information, go towww.fireandemergency.nz/join.
“My advice to people considering a career in firefighting is don’t give up. If you’ve applied, failed an aspect in the recruitment process and still want it – keep applying, you’ll get there,” Tracey Barclay says.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) wrote Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel requesting he confirm that the FBI will open an investigation into the Signal group chat that senior Trump administration officials used to discuss classified information, including information revealing that the United States was preparing to conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
“Department of Defense policies dictate that information concerning military plans, such as contained in the messages sent by the Secretary of Defense, is classified, and no reasonable process would allow for communication of this information over a commercial messaging application before U.S. pilots had completed and safely returned from their mission,” Sen. Warner wrote.
Director Patel, who was not part of the Signal chat, testified yesterday before Senate Intelligence Committee stating he could not provide information on this matter because he had only recently been made aware of it.
“Yesterday you testified that you could not provide information to the Committee concerning this matter because you had only recently been made aware of it,” Sen. Warner continued. “In other contexts, the FBI has acted promptly to open an investigation when information of a similar nature has been mishandled.”
Now, two days later, Sen. Warner is requesting that Director Patel clarify the actions the FBI will take to investigate this matter:
Will you commit to opening an investigation of this matter, if you have not already done so?
Will you collect the devices involved, whether government-issued or otherwise?
Will you scan those devices for malware or other indications of unauthorized access?
A copy of letter is available here and text is below.
Director Patel,
Between March 11th and 15th, the Secretary of Defense and other senior Trump Administration officials used a commercial messaging application to communicate information revealing that the United States was preparing to conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The messages were sent as U.S. pilots were preparing to fly U.S. military aircraft into enemy-controlled airspace defended by surface-to-air missiles in order to strike targets known to change their location. Messages sent by the Secretary of Defense not only revealed, in advance, that the U.S. was planning airstrikes in Yemen, but also disclosed details concerning the timing, sequencing, and weapons to be used. This information could have been used by the Houthis to shoot down U.S. aircraft, thereby endangering the lives of the U.S. pilots, as well as to relocate enemy targets or otherwise disrupt the mission.
Department of Defense policies dictate that information concerning military plans, such as contained in the messages sent by the Secretary of Defense, is classified, and no reasonable process would allow for communication of this information over a commercial messaging application before U.S. pilots had completed and safely returned from their mission.
Yesterday you testified that you could not provide information to the Committee concerning this matter because you had only recently been made aware of it.
In other contexts, the FBI has acted promptly to open an investigation when information of a similar nature has been mishandled. As you have now had two days to consider the details of this matter, can you confirm the following:
Will you commit to opening an investigation of this matter, if you have not already done so?
Will you collect the devices involved, whether government-issued or otherwise?
Will you scan those devices for malware or other indications of unauthorized access?
China will expand its national carbon trading market this year to include three additional major carbon-emitting industries as the country accelerates efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced on Wednesday. Launched in July 2021, China’s carbon trading market is already the world’s largest. It currently covers 2,200 coal-fired power generation companies that emit about 5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The expansion will add about 1,500 companies in the steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum sectors, ministry spokesman Pei Xiaofei said at a news conference. Carbon trading allows designated emitters to buy and sell allowances to emit greenhouse gases. In the coal-fired power generation sector, for example, emission limits are set for each unit of electricity produced. After meeting the benchmark, operators can sell surplus carbon allowances. Those exceeding their limits must buy additional allowances. Pei said the steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum industries collectively emit the equivalent of about 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, accounting for 20 percent of China’s total carbon dioxide emissions. With the expansion, China’s national carbon market will cover more than 60 percent of the country’s total carbon dioxide emissions. The ministry said it aims to further explore carbon trading as a cost-effective tool for reducing emissions in seven major industries: power generation, chemicals, construction materials, steel, nonferrous metals, paper manufacturing and civil aviation. China has made significant progress in using carbon trading to promote a green, low-carbon transition in the coal-fired power generation sector, the ministry said in a statement. Over the past four years, the carbon intensity of electricity generation, or carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity, has fallen by 8.78 percent, reducing emission control costs by an estimated 35 billion yuan ($4.8 billion). By the end of last year, more than 630 million tons of carbon emission allowances had been traded on China’s national carbon market, with a total transaction value of nearly 43 billion yuan. Pei said the ministry has completed extensive preparations for the expansion, including conducting greenhouse gas emission accounting and verification for steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum producers and other high-emission industries. It has also issued six technical specifications, upgraded the management platform for carbon trading and enhanced systems for allowances registration and transactions. The ministry has organized a series of training sessions to support the expansion, Pei said. “All the preparations for the expansion are complete,” he said. “These efforts have laid a solid foundation and provided a guarantee for the market’s growth.”
Australia’s defence spending is on the rise. The future defence budget has already been increased to 2.4% of GDP. There is pressure from the new Trump administration in the United States to raise this further to at least 3%.
However, it is unclear whether the money will be spent wisely. Our recent research found that current defence planning may leave the Australian Defence Force (ADF) poorly prepared for future conflicts.
To keep up, Australia must develop capabilities for contemporary “grey zone” operations (coercive statecraft activities that blur the line between peace and war, or fall short of war), as well as future 21st-century conflicts. Priority areas are cyber, information and space technologies.
Positive signs and missteps
In the past two years, we have seen a slew of announcements about the current and future capabilities of the ADF.
Defence experts have complained of “a lack of clear purpose and intent, a lack of direct connection between strategic objectives and industry policy, and a continuing project-by-project approach”.
The ADF acknowledges the need for advanced technological capabilities. However, in practice it is still too focused on platforms and hardware suited more for the conflicts of the past.
The current context and challenges
Several Defence reviews over the past 50 years have found that the ADF procurement and acquisition system lacks the agility and resources to adapt to changes in the strategic environment.
Defence spending as a share of GDP has been declining in Australia since the end of the Vietnam War. Notably, the ADF has focused on reducing costs, lowering errors in defence procurement, outsourcing to industry, and speeding up acquisition.
Despite the recent plans to increase defence budgets, critics argue the strategy is too little, too late. It delays the acquisition of most new capabilities to beyond five years from now.
On October 30 2024, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced a major acquisition of missiles, other guided weapons and explosive ordnance. Many of these acquisitions were simply plugging existing gaps, and would not be ready until at least 2029.
Many of the acquisitions (such as missiles, 155mm ammunition and submarines) did not quite align with the government’s Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy (DISTS) launched the previous month.
The hard task of planning ahead
Making plans for defence procurement is a difficult task. The strategic environment changes quickly, and technology can move even faster. As a result, planned acquisitions may be irrelevant by the time they arrive.
However, there are ways to get better at forecasting. These include horizon scanning, to spot potentially important developments early, and systemic design for a big-picture approach. These approaches can also be combined with AI-supported analysis tools including scientometrics (which analyses the amount of research in different areas and how it is all linked) and natural language processing.
In our first project, we conducted a comprehensive horizon scan of emerging technologies, focusing on cyber, internet of things (or networked smart devices), AI, and autonomous systems.
We used scientometric research methods, which provide a bird’s-eye view of research into disruptive and converging technologies.
This was supplemented by a survey asking industry professionals and experts to evaluate emerging technologies. In particular, we asked about their potential impact, likelihood of deployment or utilisation, extensiveness of use, and novelty of use in future conflicts.
The survey data was analysed using a qualitative, machine-driven, AI-based, data analysis tool. We used it for text mining, thematic and content analyses.
We found the likelihood of deployment and utilisation of cyber technologies in conflict is very high in the near term, reflecting the growing challenges in this area. Similarly, AI technologies were also singled out for their immediate potential and urgency.
We concluded that to maintain a competitive edge, the ADF must invest significantly in these priority areas, particularly cyber, network communications, AI and smart sensors.
Designing better systems
Our second project was a systemic design study evaluating Australia’s opportunities and barriers for achieving a technological advantage in light of regional military technological advancement.
The study highlighted ten specific technologies or trends as potential force multipliers for the ADF. We found three areas with immediate potential and urgency: cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, optimisation and other algorithmic technologies, followed by space technologies.
These findings were reinforced in further research supported by the Army Research Scheme. It found the ADF’s capabilities for operating effectively in the “grey zone” will be strongly facilitated by ensuring it is maintaining its technological edge in the integration of its cyber capabilities and information operations.
A widespread challenge
The ADF is not alone in these challenges. For example, successive UK governments have also identified persistent challenges in defence acquisition. These have included issues with budgetary planning due to limited competition, significant barriers to entry for new enterprises, and the constantly evolving geopolitical landscape.
The ADF should focus on fostering emerging technologies and enabling the development of disruptive military capabilities to deliver asymmetric advantage for the ADF. As Australia’s Chief Defence Scientist notes, this will help get emerging technologies into the hands of our war fighters faster.
The authors would like to acknowledge the following people from Edith Cowan University who contributed to the research: Helen Cripps, Jalleh Sharafizad, Stephanie Meek, Summer O’Brien, David Suter and Tony Marceddo.
Pi-Shen Seet received funding from the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grant Program and the Australian Army Research Scheme.
Anton Klarin receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grant Program and the Australian Army Research Scheme.
Janice Jones receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grant Program and the Australian Army Research Scheme
Mike Johnstone receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grant Program and the Australian Army Research Scheme.
Violetta Wilk receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grant Program and the Australian Army Research Scheme.
Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) raised concerns over the United States’ hypersonic missile defense capabilities at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. King, the ranking member of the subcommittee, urged General Anthony J. Cotton, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command for the Air Force, and General Stephen N. Whiting, Commander of U.S. Space Command for the Air Force, to support investments in U.S. hypersonic missile technologies to keep up with Russia, China, and North Korea.
“Two things, I just wanted to follow-up on the discussion of hypersonics. I believe we have missed two critical strategic technologies and are woefully behind, hypersonics and directed energy. These are things that we should have seen coming and now we are playing catch up. I just want to emphasize not only do we need a hypersonic weapon for deterrent possibilities, but we need hypersonic defense. Those aircraft carriers in the pacific are sitting ducks for hypersonic missiles coming at them 4,000 to 5,000 miles an hour, 100 feet above the surface of the ocean. So, hypersonic defense is something I think we need to invest in, as well as the development of a hypersonic offensive capacity in order, again, to provide a deterrent. General Cotton, would you agree?” asked Senator King.
“I do agree with that statement,” replied General Cotton.
“The other thing I wanted to mention, it has, sort of, become conventional wisdom here that we are going from one near peer adversary to two. I believe we are going from one near peer adversary to three and a half because of, as I think you touched upon this, the growing cooperation between China and Russia. And then you put in Iran, which has also become a contributor to Russia’s war machine, as well as North Korea, which is also contributing to Russia’s efforts in Ukraine. I think we need to think strategically, not two near peer adversaries, but the potential of two near peer adversaries who are working together. And that creates its own strategic challenges. General Cotton, what are your thoughts on that?” Senator King asked.
“Senator, you are absolutely right and that is what we are actually doing at STRATCOM today. When we look at, and you are right, I call them third-party influencers. And what I mean by that and to your point, I would add, one, I think is a little different nuance, that is the new relationship that we are seeing that is happening between Russia and the DPRK. So, we are talking about DPRK. We’re talking about Iran, we’re talking about China, as well as the Russian Federation,” General Cotton confirmed.
“I think we have to assume that, in a time of serious conflict, it would not be just with one or the other. It could well and probably would involve all four of those powers that you’ve mentioned,” argued Senator King.
“That is why I call them the third-party influencers because what they could do is they can be a distraction from the main effort that could be launched by any one of those that we had mentioned,” replied General Cotton.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as an authoritative voice on national security and foreign policy issues. Senator King has previously spoken up about the emerging threats of Russia and China’s development of “nightmare weapon” hypersonic missiles, which he has described as “strategic game-changers.” He previously urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to take advantage of private sector technologies or risk losing access to innovative defense technologies and encouraged the (DoD) to reevaluate its acquisition process of defense technologies. Additionally, Senator King has been a steady voice on the need to address the growing nuclear capacity of our adversaries.
The U.S. military conducted multiple airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday evening, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV and residents said.
According to the Houthi television, three airstrikes targeted the Jarban area in the Sanhan district, in the southern part of Sanaa, two airstrikes hit the al-Jumaymah area in the Bani Hushaysh district, northeast of Sanaa, as well as two other airstrikes hit the al-Daylami air base in the northern part of Sanaa.
All those targeted areas are well-known military sites.
Local residents said the airstrikes caused explosions.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Houthi group, which controls the capital Sanaa and several northern provinces, rarely discloses its losses.
The U.S. Central Command has not issued any comment yet.
It was the latest in a series of airstrikes conducted by the U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea against Houthi targets two weeks ago.
Earlier in the day, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement that his group had launched fresh rocket and drone attacks on “military targets” in central Israel and the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the northern Red Sea.
The military exchanges are part of an ongoing air campaign launched by U.S. forces in mid-March against Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen.
The Houthi group has vowed to continue targeting Israeli sites and ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and to respond to what they describe as “American aggression.”
STEVE MARTIN: It’s a bit of a rare thing these days where we spend this half hour of the program talking to politicians back to back, but we’re going to do that today. Catherine King is the federal member for Ballarat and also the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, and is with us this morning to talk about last night’s Federal Budget.
Catherine King, good morning. Welcome.
CATHERINE KING: Good morning. I’m not sure your listeners will thank you for too many politicians back to back there, but there you go.
STEVE MARTIN: It was my gentle reminder that we don’t do this often, but we have to do this today. It is circumstance.
CATHERINE KING: It is post-Budget day, yes.
STEVE MARTIN: Post-Budget day and leading into an election at some point. I won’t ask you again when that’s going to be. What I do want to know, Catherine King, is from this Budget, it doesn’t sound like there was anything new for your electorate or Western Victoria more generally, other than the overall things, such as the tax cuts that have taken a few by surprise. So is there any extra in there for Western Victoria that isn’t already on the table?
CATHERINE KING: Yeah. So what Budgets do is account for both decisions that we’ve already announced before the Budget and then any new initiatives. And obviously, last night the single biggest new initiative was the tax cuts. So every single Ballarat, Western Victorian taxpayer will receive an additional tax cut. And whilst they’re – and they are solely focused on how can we continue to help with cost of living pressure, trying to keep costs down, but also make sure people keep more of what they earn and that’s what they’re focused on building on the tax cuts of previous Budgets. Of course, what the Budget accounts for then is the significant investments that we’re making in Sunshine Station, for example. And I think that sort of – it’s gone – it hasn’t been spoken enough about, but in essence, what Sunshine Station does is detangle the regional rail and the other rail lines that are coming in there, builds almost the Southern Cross of the west, and then allows for airport rail to happen. It will see significant improvements for regional rail services that come through Sunshine and then head on to Southern Cross Station, which will still continue to happen. But it means we get our own –basically our own dedicated line through and our own dedicated platform. So that’s a good thing.
It accounts for the money, obviously for the Western Highway, the $1.1 billion. And of course, there is already a billion dollars that is already being invested from the border down to the Ballarat. And that money and those programs – projects continue. But what we’ve also noticed and known is that we’ve had this huge housing growth down around Caroline Springs, Melton and the highway is just not keeping up with demand. And if you’re driving, you know, during peak hour or trying to get home, that is a really congested part. And so we’re trying to resolve that. And then obviously the issue we’ve had in Ballarat around Brewery Tap Roads is starting to get the detailed design work really finalised for that project, and it’s kick started.
STEVE MARTIN: So most of that is city spend, but regional benefit for our purposes. There has been criticism that the federal government hasn’t committed enough to regional roads, for example, that most of the money has been going into metropolitan areas. And this Budget doesn’t address that in any way that hasn’t already been addressed as you’ve just outlined. So what do you say in response to that?
CATHERINE KING: Well, I’m really proud of our record on regional roads. As I just said, there’s already a billion dollars that is committed to the Western Highway. For example, in – you know, in our rural and regional areas, I was out on the weekend announcing $54 million for 32 regional and rural level road crossing treatments, $13 million for local government road projects across the entire state. One of the things that really shocked me when I first came to government was that the previous government had cut money for maintenance of our national highways, the vast majority of which are in our regions. We have fixed that. We’ve re-indexed – so, re-indexed the maintenance money, but also then backdated it. So all that missing gap, that hole of money that was there has been paid back to states. So that’s now allowing states to really improve their road maintenance on our regional highways as they go through the regions.
And of course I have doubled Roads to Recovery money. So instead of using a colour coded spreadsheet to say one council gets $40 million or $100 million to seal their roads, which is what the previous government did – there are councils that got substantial money just on their own – every single council in the country now gets- will now get double the amount of road money. And they are those local roads that, you know, farmers are getting their produce to market on, people are driving every day to get to work or to get to their families. And I am really proud of that commitment. And the vast majority of our councils are in our regions.
STEVE MARTIN: Some of the reaction to the Budget has been around the energy rebate, and questions as to why it hasn’t been means tested. Now, I know some politicians have raised this, but also listeners. I’ve been watching the SMS system this morning. That’s being raised about means testing for the energy rebate. While people welcome it, many people think it should be more targeted. So is it a misstep not to means-test it?
CATHERINE KING: We looked at this last time when we obviously provided the $350 million. The way in which we are delivering it is through the energy companies themselves. And so dropping that off your bills. The difficulty we had if you administer something based on income is that, you know, energy companies obviously don’t know their individual customers’ incomes. So that’s – and nor should they. So the most efficient way for us to deliver it is the way that we’ve done it. It actually costs quite a bit of money to do it the different way, and that’s really why it’s just more efficient to do it. We understand there may be people who say, I don’t deserve an energy relief. You know, I think that is a matter for people to think about. But really that’s the – it was the most efficient way to deliver it. That’s basically the reason we’ve done it that way. And it was the same with the 350 million. We had to deliver it that way because it’s basically cheaper for government to deliver it that way. It would have cost us money to do it any other way.
STEVE MARTIN: Catherine King, I know you have appointments you have to get to shortly, so I won’t go for too long. But just in relation to the HECS debt, one thing I would like to ask you, and this is in relation to regional universities, particularly Federation University, you’ve offered more HECS debt relief for people with a debt. Is there also an ability or a change to the way people will accumulate HECS debt? Because that seems to be a resistant force for young people to go to university, not wanting to acquire that debt in the first place. And as I say, I ask this in light of Fed University and the fortunes of other regional universities.
CATHERINE KING: Well, a couple of things. We’ve already passed legislation that looked at the way in which the sort of interest rate was applied to HECS debt, and that’s had a significant impact already, and this obviously new commitment around cutting the student debt by 20 per cent. In terms of the incentives, and I think one of the really big things you’ve got to remember, Federation University, we are very lucky is a dual sector university, and as a dual sector university, a large proportion of the students who are going there are TAFE students. So fee free TAFE has been an absolute game changer. I meet people right the way across our communities who are mature aged students who’ve gone back and are retraining in the building sector, childcare workers, aged care workers who are getting now qualifications that they couldn’t afford to. And I think if you ask Federation Uni, they will tell you that TAFE is going gangbusters.
Obviously through the universities accord, there is significant work being done around university funding and governance structures and we’ll continue that work if we’re privileged enough to form government at the next election.
STEVE MARTIN: Just finally on that wage cut, the tax breaks that were getting. ACOSS put out a press release saying: astounded, more dollars for everyone except those with the least. And there’s an SMS that says nothing in this Budget regarding homelessness. Has your side of politics ignored those who are facing the most challenges with the cost of living crisis?
CATHERINE KING: Not at all. And I think that what we’ve done, one, you know, if you remember, we’re the only government who actually – we increased the base rate, both of JobSeeker. We have had two increases to Commonwealth rent assistance, and we have the single largest investment in building new social and affordable homes through the Housing Australia Future Fund. There is a $33 billion program to actually get and help social community housing providers to actually build more homes. That has been the really big thing that we’ve got. We just do not have enough homes being built, particularly in that social sector, what we used to call public housing; getting that done, and we’ve delivered that. We’ve delivered increases to funding to the states for homelessness services as well through our partnership agreements. So there is always more to do, always more that you can do. And Budgets are about trying to do what we can to provide relief right the way across the community.
But the other thing I’d say, the really significant investment we’re making in making medicines cheaper is a really – again, about helping the most vulnerable in our community, people who are really highly dependent on our Medicare system through our urgent care clinics, making sure we’re improving bulk billing. They are really important services for vulnerable people.
STEVE MARTIN: Catherine King, thanks for your time.
CATHERINE KING: Really good to be with you, Steve.
STEVE MARTIN: Catherine King, member for Ballarat and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, just in the wake of the Budget that was handed down last night.
We continue to advise do not travel to South Sudan, including Juba, due to the dangerous security situation and the threat of violence and armed conflict. The security situation is volatile and could deteriorate rapidly with little or no notice. If you’re in South Sudan despite our advice, leave when it’s safe to do so using commercial means while they’re still available. If the security situation deteriorates further, routes into and out of South Sudan may be blocked. Juba airport may close or be inaccessible. Flights may be cancelled at short notice.
If there’s civil unrest or conflict, shelter indoors and stay off the streets. Our ability to provide consular services in South Sudan is extremely limited.
The year 2000 marked an inflection point for many Western countries, including Australia, in their outlook towards the world.
The focus began to shift away from the peacekeepinginterventions that had dominated the previous decade to one shaped by counter-terrorism operations and deployments to the Middle East.
The threat of terrorism hasn’t gone away. But Australia is much more preoccupied by threats of a different nature 25 years later, largely emanating from China. These include cyber attacks, economic coercion, political interference, and the harassment of Australian Defence Force (ADF) ships, aircraft and personnel.
Though our international outlook has changed a lot over the past quarter century, Australia’s alliance with the US has remained a constant throughout.
However, as our militaries have grown closer, the US-China competition has also intensified. Combined with the array of unpredictable and destabilising decisions coming from the second Trump administration, this closeness has caused some unease in Australia.
Evolving threats and challenges
In December 2000, the Howard government released its first Defence White Paper. This marked the beginning of a period of major change in Australia’s international outlook and presence.
It emphasised that “two interrelated trends seem likely to shape our strategic environment most strongly – globalisation and US strategic primacy”. It also noted that “military operations other than conventional war [were] becoming more common.”
The paper was prescient in respect to China’s rise, as well. It said:
The United States is central to the Asia-Pacific security system […] It will be in Asia that the United States is likely to face the toughest issues in shaping its future strategic role – especially in its relationship with China.
There is a small but still significant possibility of growing and sustained confrontation between the major powers in Asia, and even of outright conflict. Australia’s interests could be deeply engaged in such a conflict, especially if it involved the United States.
Yet, nine months after that document’s release, the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, followed by the Bali bombings of 2002, began to dramatically reshape the global security outlook.
A few days after the September 11 attack, Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first and only time, joinging US President George W. Bush’s “war on terror”. Australian forces then deployed to Afghanistan as part of the US-led invasion in October 2001.
By the time the 2003 Foreign Policy White Paper was released, it highlighted “terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional disorder and transnational crimes such as people smuggling” as the key features of Australia’s “more complex security environment”.
A month later, Australia joined the US-led “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein and locate and destroy stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction believed to be there. (It later emerged that evidence of the existence of these weapons was erroneous.)
Australia contributed 2,000 troops to the mission. Our soldiers remained actively engaged in training, reconstruction and rehabilitation work in Iraq until July 2009.
Both of these events tied Australia’s foreign policy interests to the US to a greater degree than any time since the Vietnam War.
Although the relationship with the US had been critical to Australian defence and foreign policy for decades, it had become less prominent in Australia’s strategic planning in the years following the end of the Cold War.
US support – and diplomatic pressure on Indonesia – had been vital in securing the post-referendum presence of Australian peacekeepers in East Timor in 1999. However, it was the “war on terror” that really re-centred the relationship as core to Australian foreign policy.
In fact, Australia was even referred to as the US’ “deputy sheriff” in the Asia-Pacific – a nickname used by Bush in 2003 that caused some unease at home and in the region.
This image has since gone on to have significant staying power, and it’s proved difficult for Australia to dislodge.
History repeating?
Though the accusations of war crimes levelled against Australian special forces in Afghanistan continue to reverberate, our foreign policy focus has shifted firmly back to our own region.
This change was driven in large part by the perceived threat posed by a rising China. While the need to focus more on China was acknowledged as early as the 2009 Defence White Paper, this emphasis became most pronounced under Scott Morrison’s leadership.
The 2024 National Defence Strategy portrayed Australia as facing “its most challenging strategic environment since the Second World War”.
It advocated for a significant change in the ADF’s strategic objectives and structure, noting the optimism of the 1990s had been “replaced by the uncertainty and tensions of entrenched and increasing strategic competition between the US and China”.
Today, the military ties between the US and Australia are arguably as close as they have ever been.
The ADF operates top-tier US platforms like the F-35 combat aircraft, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, M1 Abrams tanks, and AH-64 Apache helicopters. Defence Minister Richard Marles has gone so far as to say the ADF should not only interoperable with the US, but interchangeable.
If all goes to plan, Australia will also build and operate its own fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership in the coming decades.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump’s “America First” positioning has made the US’ closest allies nervous.
His early moves have put paid to the notion that globalisation is the goal all major states are pursuing. In fact, some argue that deglobalisation may be taking hold as the US aggressively enacts tariffs against its allies, pursues economic onshoring and withdraws from key international bodies.
These actions have led to many to question whether Australia has become too dependent on its major ally and if we need to emphasise a more self-reliant defence posture. However, this is much easier said than done.
Looking back, the year 2000 represented the beginning of a period of major change for Australian foreign policy. Such is the pace of change now, we may view 2025 in the same light in another quarter century.
Whether Australia’s alliance with the US will face long-term harm is yet to be seen. No matter how the bilateral relationship may change, the Indo-Pacific region will continue to be at the core of Australia’s foreign policy outlook, much as it was at the turn of the century.
This piece is part of a series on how Australia has changed since the year 2000. You can read other pieces in the series here.
David Andrews has not personally received funding from any relevant external bodies, but he has previously worked on projects funded by the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Home Affairs, and Defence. David is a member of the Australian Labor Party and Australian Institute of International Affairs, and previously worked for the Department of Defence.
Operation Shanela continues to make an impact across the country, with police having arrested 12 892 suspects recently.
“Through Operation Shanela, SAPS [South African Police Service] continues to take a bold and decisive approach to dealing with crime in the country. These crime fighting activities include tracking operations, roadblocks, high visibility patrols, stop and searches, as well as tracing of wanted suspects,” SAPS said in a statement this week.
The arrests were made in the period 17 – 23 March 2025.
The police said 123 suspects were arrested for attempted murder; 167 suspects were arrested for murder (with the majority of these suspects, 45, arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and followed by the Western Cape with 42). The police also arrested 1 753 wanted suspects and 203 drug dealers.
A further 1 507 suspects were arrested for being in possession of drugs. The majority of these suspects (689) were arrested in the Western Cape. Furthermore, 115 suspects were arrested for being in possession of illegal firearms.
Additionally, 10 suspects were arrested for human trafficking, while 432 drivers were arrested for drunken driving.
One hundred and nineteen firearms and 1 335 rounds of ammunition were confiscated. The police also recovered 76 hijacked and stolen vehicles.
Curbing smuggling
Members of the Limpopo Anti-Smuggling team conducted a successful operation along the N11 road in Mahwelereng, which resulted in the arrest of 20 Ethiopian foreign nationals, who were allegedly smuggled into the country.
Police also arrested suspected drug mules at OR Tambo International Airport. A Brazilian man and South African woman arrived on the same flight from São Paulo, Brazil, and were intercepted by police. Police seized cocaine valued at over R1 million. Their arrest has now brought the total number of similar arrests at the airport to five since January 2025.
“Police will continue with their operations by asserting the authority of the State to ensure the safety and security of all South Africans and visitors to the country,” said the SAPS. – SAnews.gov.za
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced New York State landmarks will be lit purple this evening for International Purple Day in honor of Epilepsy Awareness.
“Epilepsy is often a misunderstood and stigmatized condition that can affect people of all ages and backgrounds,” Governor Hochul said. “New York State is proud to participate in raising awareness by illuminating state landmarks on International Purple Day to support those living with epilepsy.”
Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system resulting in seizures that may have no apparent cause and that happen more than once. More than half the time, the cause of epilepsy is unknown. When the cause can be determined, it is most often due to head injury, infections or a tumor in the brain, a stroke, degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, substance use or hereditary factors.
State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Epilepsy is a serious condition that can have lifelong impacts, but the good news is it can often be treated by medication and sometimes surgery. By raising awareness during International Purple Day, we are ensuring more people will be able to achieve good seizure control and a better overall quality of life.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 215,000 people in New York are living with active epilepsy, a disorder of the central nervous system that results in seizures. Other studies suggest that about 9,000 individuals are diagnosed yearly in the State.
Question for written answer E-001014/2025 to the Council Rule 144 Geadis Geadi (ECR)
Since December 2024, there have been reports that the Turkish company Baykar, a drone manufacturer, has agreed to purchase the Italian company Piaggio Aerospace. The Turkish company itself made an announcement, stating that the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy has approved the sale. Daily Sabah even adds that ‘the closing of the transaction is expected in spring once a series of conditions have been met, including authorisation from the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers.’ Baykar, in its announcement, states that with this acquisition it is ready to expand its influence in the European aviation market. At the same time, Baykar also seems to be heading towards a cooperation agreement with the defence and aerospace company Leonardo, which is also Italian.
With regard to the above:
1.What is the Council’s view of the matter, given that this constitutes Türkiye’s entry into the European Defence Industry?
2.How does the Council comment on this at a time when voices within the European Union are calling on the European institutions to impose an embargo on the sale of European arms to Türkiye?
When it comes to setting up shop, any good business owner knows the key to success is location, location, location. Alberta offers thousands of acres of prime real estate in top locations, providing unmatched opportunities for prosperity for businesses and entrepreneurs.
In the face of a changing geopolitical landscape, Alberta’s government remains committed to maintaining a strong business environment that attracts investment, while supporting economic growth and prosperity for Albertans. Alberta’s government is investing in cutting-edge tools and technology to help businesses thrive and attract large-scale investments to the province.
Alberta’s Site Selector Tool is a free online service that helps connect businesses and investors to the best locations in Alberta. It combines real-time property listings with key data on infrastructure and socio-economic insights on communities, making it easy to choose where to expand or invest. With almost 7,000 available properties already featured on the tool, Alberta’s business community is empowered with access to free, easy-to-use data and a platform to pinpoint local opportunities.
“When it comes to innovative solutions for investment attraction, the Alberta Site Selector Tool is best in class and has the potential to help us attract high-quality jobs and billions of dollars in investment.”
With the launch of new features on the tool, Alberta’s government is helping investors take their research to the next level and make their data-driven business decisions even more seamless with enhanced access to information supporting a range of sectors including agriculture, energy, data centres, manufacturing and more.
“Time is money – and Alberta’s improved Site Selector Tool gives businesses the gift of both. By using technology to simplify investment decisions, we’re making Alberta the most attractive and straightforward place to do business in Canada.”
Investors can now activate new layers of data that capture a property’s proximity to infrastructure such as high-load corridors, mainline railways and international airports as well as high-capacity powerlines, substations, power generation, natural gas service areas and fibre internet. Investors can also access regional statistics on labour force availability, including labour force by occupation and industry, unemployment rates and graduate rates by degree program.
The tool also boasts new functionality that saves investors and regional economic developers time, including the ability to:
Drop a pin on a map to generate location-specific data.
Save a custom view of the site that captures preferred filters and data layers.
Share and add properties to a list of favourites that can be downloaded to a spreadsheet or PDF to view later.
This suite of enhancements was rolled out based on ongoing feedback from users, including municipalities and economic development organizations.
“As the investment attraction agency for the Edmonton Metro Region, Edmonton Global uses the site selector tool regularly to answer questions from prospective investors, partners and team members. This information, along with insights from other data tools, helps us guide investors to make well-informed decisions for their businesses.”
Since its launch in April 2024, the Alberta Site Selector Tool has been providing innovative ways for investors to find opportunities in Alberta while enabling economic development partners to promote their communities as a destination of choice to potential investors.
Alberta remains the best place in Canada to invest due to its low tax environment, red tape reduction efforts and business-friendly policies. The Alberta government’s policies are attracting record investment, creating thousands of jobs and further diversifying the economy. Through investments like the Site Selector Tool, Alberta is building on its reputation as a province with unlimited opportunity.
Related information
Alberta Regional Dashboard & Site Selector
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New tool making investing even easier in Alberta (April 2, 2024)
Nestled in a pod under an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft wing, flying above California, and traveling up to the speed of sound, NASA put a commercial sensor technology to the test. The flight tests demonstrated the sensor accuracy and navigation precision in challenging conditions, helping prepare the technology to land robots and astronauts on the Moon and Mars. The Psionic Space Navigation Doppler Lidar (PSNDL) system is rooted in NASA technology that Psionic, Inc. of Hampton, Virginia, licensed and further developed. They miniaturized the NASA technology, added further functionality, and incorporated component redundancies that make it more rugged for spaceflight. The PSNDL navigation system also includes cameras and an inertial measurement unit to make it a complete navigation system capable of accurately determining a vehicle’s position and velocity for precision landing and other spaceflight applications.
The aircraft departed from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and conducted a variety of flight paths over several days in February 2025. It flew a large figure-8 loop and conducted several highly dynamic maneuvers over Death Valley, California, to collect navigation data at various altitudes, velocities, and orientations relevant for lunar and Mars entry and descent. Refurbished for these tests, the NASA F/A-18 pod can support critical data collection for other technologies and users at a low cost. Doppler Lidar sensors provide a highly accurate measurement of speed by measuring the frequency shift between laser light emitted from the sensor reflected from the ground. Lidar are extremely useful in sunlight-challenged areas that may have long shadows and stark contrasts, such as the lunar South Pole. Pairing PSNDL with cameras adds the ability to visually compare pictures with surface reconnaissance maps of rocky terrain and navigate to landing at interesting locations on Mars. All the data is fed into a computer to make quick, real-time decisions to enable precise touchdowns at safe locations.
Since licensing NDL in 2016, Psionic has received funding and development support from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate through its Small Business Innovative Research program and Tipping Point initiative. The company has also tested PSNDL prototypes on suborbital vehicles via the Flight Opportunities program. In 2024, onboard a commercial lunar lander, NASA successfully demonstrated the predecessor NDL system developed by the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Español中文한국의TagalogTiếng Việt We need oxygen to survive. Sometimes the amount of oxygen in the blood falls too low for the body to function well. Asthma, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the flu, and heart disease are among the health conditions that can cause oxygen levels to drop. Being at higher altitudes, where the amount of oxygen in the air can be less than at sea level, can be another factor that can cause oxygen levels to drop. One way to monitor the level of oxygen in the blood is by using a device called a pulse oximeter, or pulse ox. A pulse oximeter can estimate the amount of oxygen in the blood without having to draw a blood sample. What is a pulse oximeter? A pulse oximeter is a device that is usually clipped on a fingertip and uses light beams to estimate a person’s blood oxygen level (oxygen saturation) and their pulse rate. Most pulse oximeters show two or three numbers. The most important number, oxygen saturation level, is usually abbreviated SpO2, and is presented as a percentage. The pulse rate (similar to heart rate) is typically abbreviated PR. Sometimes there is a third number for strength of the signal. Oxygen saturation values are between 95% and 100% for most healthy individuals but sometimes can be lower in people with lung and heart problems, for example. Oxygen saturation levels are also generally slightly lower for those living at higher altitudes. Using a pulse oximeter If you are using a pulse oximeter to monitor your oxygen levels at home, in addition to your pulse oximeter reading, keep track of your symptoms and how you feel. Contact a health care provider if you are concerned about the pulse oximeter reading, or your symptoms are serious or get worse. To get the best reading when using a pulse oximeter at home:
Follow your health care provider’s advice about when and how often to check your oxygen levels. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use. When placing the pulse oximeter on your finger, make sure your hand is warm, relaxed, and held below the level of the heart. Remove any fingernail polish on that finger. Sit still and do not move the part of your body where the pulse oximeter is located. Wait a few seconds until the reading stops changing and displays one steady number. Write down your oxygen level and the date and time of the reading so you can track any changes and report these to your health care provider.
Be familiar with signs or symptoms of low oxygen levels:
Bluish coloring in the face, lips, or nails. Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or a cough that gets worse. Restlessness and discomfort. Chest pain or tightness. Fast/racing pulse rate.
Be aware that some people with low oxygen levels may not show any or all these symptoms. Only a health care provider can diagnose a medical condition such as hypoxia (low oxygen levels). Pulse oximeter readings should be considered in context with other information, including signs and symptoms of low oxygen. As with any device, there is always a risk of an inaccurate reading. Be aware multiple factors can affect the accuracy of a pulse oximeter reading, such as poor circulation, skin pigmentation, skin thickness, skin temperature, current tobacco use, and use of fingernail polish. Categories of pulse oximeters and FDA clearance Certain pulse oximeters are intended for medical purposes and are primarily used in hospital settings or doctors’ offices. Pulse oximeters for medical purposes are typically used to monitor (i.e. trending or spot checking) oxygen saturation levels of patients to help in clinical decision-making. Currently, a small number of these pulse oximeters intended for medical purposes are available over the counter (OTC) following clearance by the FDA. There also are pulse oximeters that are sold as general wellness products or sporting/aviation products. These are not reviewed or evaluated by the agency before being available to the public. Such products are often sold directly to consumers in stores or online and are intended for estimating oxygen saturation often for purposes of general wellness (such as encouraging a general state of health or healthy lifestyle). The FDA recognizes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people purchased OTC pulse oximeters that are considered general wellness products. These products are not evaluated by the agency for use in clinical decision-making or determining whether to seek medical intervention. Current scientific evidence suggests there are some accuracy differences in pulse oximeter performance between individuals with lighter and darker skin pigmentation. The FDA previously informed patients and health care professionals that although pulse oximetry is useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, pulse oximeters have limitations and a risk of inaccuracy under certain circumstances, including use on patients with darker skin pigmentation, that should be considered. In addition to the safety communication, to address concerns around the accuracy of these devices, the FDA held advisory committee meetings, published a discussion paper for comment, and published a draft guidance in January 2025 that outlines proposed recommendations to help improve the accuracy and performance of pulse oximeters that are used for medical purposes across the range of skin pigmentations. Reporting Problems with a Device If you experienced a problem or injury that you think may be related to a pulse oximeter, you can voluntarily report it through the FDA’s MedWatch program.
Oregon National Guard Soldiers use CH-47F Chinook helicopters to conduct heavy lift operations in support of Project Convergence Capstone 5. The aircraft transported Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade and equipment from Army Futures Command during field training exercises. The Oregon crews operated alongside British Soldiers and North Carolina personnel to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles and ground components with infantry forces in simulated battlefield movements. Despite variable weather conditions, the CH-47 crews executed mission objectives and gained real-world training experience through live cargo operations.
(U.S. Army National Guard video by Aaron Perkins; edited by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brandy Fowler)
INSIDE THE U.S. COAST GUARD’S COCAINE SEIZURE AT SEA
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone has offloaded over 45,600 pounds of cocaine worth $517.5 million at Port Everglades following 14 high-stakes drug interdictions in international waters. These operations, spanning from the Eastern Pacific Ocean to the waters off Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica, resulted in the apprehension of 35 suspected smugglers—a major blow to transnational drug cartels, including Sinaloa and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación.
Highlights from the CGC Stone’s Deployment Interdicted four go-fast vessels in just 15 minutes—seizing 11,000 pounds of cocaine HITRON aircrews deployed airborne use-of-force tactics to stop non-compliant drug runners Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS drones) assisted in locating traffickers hundreds of miles offshore Seizures took place hundreds of miles off Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica
“The fight against drug trafficking starts far from U.S. shores,” said Cmdr. David Ratner, underscoring the Coast Guard’s relentless mission to stop narco-terrorism before it reaches America.
Featured Coast Guard Assets & Teams USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) & USCGC Mohawk (WMEC 913) Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Tactical Law Enforcement Team-Pacific (PAC-TACLET) Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATFS) Eleventh Coast Guard District
Subscribe for more real-life Coast Guard missions, maritime law enforcement, and drug interdiction operations! #CoastGuard #DrugBust #CocaineSeizure #USCG #MaritimeSecurity #HITRON #DrugInterdiction #NarcoTerrorism #BorderSecurity
American Rebel Beer Shatters Initial Account Acquisition Market Goals
Nashville, TN, March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AREB) (“American Rebel” or the “Company”), creator of American Rebel Beer (americanrebelbeer.com) and a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of branded safes, personal security and self-defense products and apparel (americanrebel.com), proudly reports a very successful launch event was held with its northeast Ohio distributor, Tramonte Distributing (tramontedistributing.com) at the MAPS Air Museum (mapsairmuseum.org) in North Canton, Ohio. Tramonte’s distribution territory covers a six-county region of northeast Ohio, including the city of Akron. This expansion marks a significant milestone as the company continues to grow its presence in the Midwest.
“We had an incredible time with the folks from Tramonte, their customers and all the veterans and fans that attended our northeast Ohio launch event at MAPS,” said American Rebel CEO Andy Ross. “We tied our launch event and performance in with a Hunting & Fishing Outdoors Show sponsored by the Rubber City Radio Group, a local radio station ownership cluster that includes WQMX, WONE, WAKR and WNWV. It was great to share an ice-cold Rebel Light with everyone that came out to the event and supported American Rebel. Tramonte is part of the Miller/Coors distribution network; and we want to thank them for all their efforts. In just a few weeks Tramonte has an 11% penetration rate into their market with American Rebel Light. We think that is amazing and we know we’re very fortunate to be working with some of the best distributors in the country.”
“The launch party of American Rebel Light at the MAPS Air Museum at the Akron Canton Airport was a huge success,” said Mike Tramonte, President, Tramonte Distributing. “The attendees loved the venue, the concert, the Hunting and Fishing Show, the time spent with Andy and Todd but most of all they really enjoyed sampling the American Rebel Light beer. The comments were overwhelmingly positive. Tramonte Distributing is proud to have American Rebel Light in its portfolio. You folks produce a great beer!”
The relationship with Tramonte Distributing puts American Rebel Beer in front of a wide audience in Ohio, bringing its Premium Light Lager to light beer drinkers looking for a beer that shares their core values. The Tramonte agreement completes a seamless distribution network, ensuring that American Rebel Beer is available in local bars, restaurants, and retail outlets.
“We are excited to partner with Tramonte Distributing to bring American Rebel Beer to Akron, OH, and the surrounding counties,” said Todd Porter, President of American Rebel Beverages. “This agreement represents our commitment to expanding our reach and sharing our passion for America’s Patriotic Beer with the amazing people of northeast Ohio.”
Tramonte Distributing Company was founded in 1940 in Akron by Giacomo Tramonte, and true to its roots, remains in the city of Akron where they are the only alcoholic beverage distributor. Tramonte family members remain active in the company and the company prides itself on being a solid corporate citizen, encouraging responsible consumption, sponsoring a Safe Ride program during key holiday periods and contributing to local and national charities.
To continue the launch effort, American Rebel Beer and Tramonte Distributing will host a series of events, including Rebel Light Kick-Off Parties featuring CEO Andy Ross and his band, beer tastings, and promotional giveaways. The festivities will continue through 2025, offering a perfect opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy America’s Patriotic, God-Fearing, Constitution-Loving, National Anthem-Singing, Stand Your Ground Beer.
Since its launch in September 2024, American Rebel Light Beer has rolled out in Tennessee, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and North Carolina and is adding new distributors and territories regularly. For more information about the launch events and the availability of American Rebel Beer, please visit americanrebelbeer.com or follow us on our social media platforms.
About American Rebel Light Beer
Produced in partnership with AlcSource, American Rebel Light Beer (americanrebelbeer.com) is a domestic premium light lager celebrated for its exceptional quality and patriotic values. It stands out as America’s Patriotic, God-Fearing, Constitution-Loving, National Anthem-Singing, Stand Your Ground Beer.
American Rebel Light is a Premium Domestic Light Lager Beer – All Natural, Crisp, Clean and Bold Taste with a Lighter Feel. With approximately 100 calories, 3.2 carbohydrates, and 4.3% alcoholic content per 12 oz serving, American Rebel Light Beer delivers a lighter option for those who love great beer but prefer a more balanced lifestyle. It’s all natural with no added supplements and importantly does not use corn, rice, or other sweeteners typically found in mass produced beers.
About Tramonte Distributing
Tramonte Distributing Company was founded in 1940 in Akron by Giacomo Tramonte, and true to its roots, remains in the city of Akron where they are the only alcoholic beverage distributor.
The business began with distribution rights for the Miller and Duquesne brands. Shortly thereafter they added Fort Pitt Beer, Cribari Wines and Weidemann Beer. Tramonte continued to acquire brands and in the late 1960’s acquired Molson brands through a highly unusual process. Jack S. Tramonte purchased the Molson inventory at a Summit County Sheriff’s sale and thus became a Molson Distributor.
In addition to its core business, Tramonte Distributing prides itself in being a solid corporate citizen. Joining its breweries, Tramonte is in the forefront of the effort to encourage responsible consumption, sponsoring a Safe Ride program during key holiday periods. Tramonte also offers certified TIPS training to retailers.
Tramonte family members currently active in the business include Michael A. Tramonte, President; Jack T. Tramonte, Vice President and Jack F. Tramonte, Secretary/Treasurer and Jack J. Tramonte. The fourth generation recently joined the business, Michael J. Tramonte, Rachael Tramonte and Anne Tramonte McKee. From its Akron headquarters, Tramonte’s 100 employees serve customers in Summit, Medina, Portage, Wayne, Ashland, And Stark counties. For more information go to tramontedistributing.com.
About MAPS Air Museum
MAPS Air Museum is an internationally known museum of aviation and serves as a center of aviation history for Northeast Ohio. The museum features exciting educational displays of its collection of acquired artifacts, interactive exhibits and historical archives in its own library. Whether you have an hour or a whole day, there’s something for you at MAPS. For more information go to mapsairmuseum.org.
About American Rebel Holdings, Inc.
American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AREB) has operated primarily as a designer, manufacturer and marketer of branded safes and personal security and self-defense products and has recently transitioned into the beverage industry through the introduction of American Rebel Beer. The Company also designs and produces branded apparel and accessories. To learn more, visit americanrebelbeer.com or americanrebel.com. For investor information, visit americanrebel.com/investor-relations.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. American Rebel Holdings, Inc., (NASDAQ: AREB; AREBW) (the “Company,” “American Rebel,” “we,” “our” or “us”) desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “forecasts” “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include benefits of a launch party, actual launch timing and availability of American Rebel Beer, success and availability of the promotional activities, our ability to effectively execute our business plan, and the Risk Factors contained within our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Vice Dean and Professor in Economics, University of East London
Not even six months on from Labour’s first budget, and the world is a much-changed place. Geopolitical tensions and uncertainties, already high last year, have risen further, and with them the cost of the UK’s debt, while economic growth has stalled. As such, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confronted an array of unpalatable choices – notably cutting disability benefits – to enable her to increase defence spending and stabilise the public finances. Here’s what our panel of experts made of the statement:
Falling inflation wasn’t enough to prevent further disability cuts
Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Vice Dean and Professor in Economics, University of East London
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has halved the UK’s 2025 growth forecast to 1%, down from the previously projected 2%. This sluggish growth, coupled with increased borrowing costs, has effectively eliminated the government’s £9.9 billion “fiscal headroom” – its financial buffer – resulting in a £4.1 billion shortfall by 2029-30.
There was some short-term relief in the latest inflation figures. These showed a slowdown in price rises in February (2.8% against 3% in January). The dip was caused by discounting of items like clothing. But given around half of businesses are considering price rises to combat tax hikes and the national living wage increase coming in April, this relief is likely to be short-lived. The OBR forecasts that inflation will climb back up to 3.2% this year.
The government had previously set out its controversial plans for £5 billion in welfare cuts. But the OBR rejected the claim that the reforms would save that much, estimating the savings at £3.4 billion, leaving Reeves with a £1.6 billion shortfall. As such, she has had to announce additional welfare reforms.
These include freezing the universal credit health element until 2030 and reducing it to £50 a week for new claimants. This is aimed at saving an additional £500 million by 2030 – and combined with other planned welfare reforms could affect more than 3 million people. But the standard allowance for universal credit will see an above-inflation increase from 2026-27 and the incomes of those with the most severe lifelong conditions will be protected.
Civil service administrative budgets are also to be reduced – by 15% by 2029-30. This, along with other efficiency and productivity improvements, will lead to annual savings of £3.5 billion. These cuts will focus on areas like human resources, policy advice, and office management, rather than frontline services.
Reeves resorted to tricks and ‘efficiency savings’
Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City St George’s, University of London
Reeves has announced a series of tweaks to her spending plans to address the economic situation which has meant that she is in danger of breaking her self-imposed fiscal rules. The chancellor was at pains to say that these rules are “non-negotiable”.
But these are unlikely to tackle the deeper problem – that in the short term she cannot rely on economic growth to square the circle of Labour’s three contradictory election pledges. These were more spending on public services, lower taxes and strict fiscal rules.
The UK, in fact, is particularly vulnerable to the disruption of global trade that is likely to result from US president Donald Trump’s tariff wars. And the productivity gains from her long-term infrastructure plans will take years – if not a decade – to translate into higher growth.
Like many chancellors, Reeves has resorted to various tricks – such as counting money moved to the defence budget to build tanks and aircraft as capital spending (and therefore exempt from the borrowing rules). And she has called for “efficiency savings” in the civil service and government departments that are unlikely to be realised.
But the biggest savings are coming from deeper than expected cuts in disability payments and other welfare payments, reducing the income of more than 3 million people. This is upsetting many Labour MPs. Her big sweetener – £2 billion for social housing next year – is actually less than that already allocated by the previous Conservative government.
Crucially, the further savings likely to be demanded in the spending review (announced on June 11) from unprotected departments including local government, justice and environment, will certainly look a lot like a return to austerity.
In the end – and possibly as soon as the autumn budget – the chancellor will have to accept that as well as spending cuts, she will have to consider tax increases and possibly even a revision of the fiscal rules.
Otherwise, she will remain at the mercy of the markets and the forecasters. Any long-term strategy will be strangled by the need to continually adjust policy to meet the fiscal “headroom” target she has set which leaves little room for manoeuvre. This requires an implausibly accurate prediction of the state of the economy in five years’ time by the OBR.
Commitment to financial stability is actually increasing uncertainty
Linda Yueh, Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford
The chancellor’s self-imposed fiscal rules are intended to provide stability – one of the foundations of economic growth. One of those rules, which Rachel Reeves has said she will not bend, is that government day-to-day spending must be balanced by tax receipts by the end of this parliament.
This is intended to provide transparency on fiscal policy. And Reeves clearly understands the importance of how international financial markets react to the UK’s level of spending – and its public debt (currently about 100% of GDP).
But the world is not a stable place. And with the OBR halving its 2025 GDP growth forecast from 2% to 1%, unplanned cuts to public spending followed.
Consistency in fiscal policy helps households and business to plan for the future. But during times of heightened uncertainty with global tariffs looming, GDP is likely to remain volatile. This makes not changing the government’s fiscal stance particularly challenging.
It is also challenging for chancellor personally, as she would prefer to have one “fiscal event” a year, rather than two. But the OBR is obliged to provide economic forecasts twice a year, and when it slashes expected growth, she is duty bound to respond.
Somewhat ironically then, the government’s stability rule is having the unintended consequence of adding policy uncertainty to an already uncertain overall economic environment – and more frequent changes to fiscal policy.
Modest defence spending boost will struggle to reverse years of decline
Jamie Gaskarth, Professor of Foreign Policy and International Relations, the Open University
In two months, the UK defence sector has been turned upside down – primarily by Donald Trump. His administration has made implied threats to invade a NATO ally (Denmark), challenged the sovereignty of another (Canada) and pulled support for Ukraine, openly siding with Russia in ceasefire negotiations. There is a real chance the US will draw down its security presence in Europe.
If European countries are to meet the full cost of their own security, this will have to mean a dramatic increase in defence budgets. So far, the UK has redistributed aid money to help fund an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP (from 2.3%) by 2027, with the ambition to raise it to 3% in the next parliament.
It has also offered an extra £2 billion to underwrite defence exports. But this is small beer.
As with many areas of public spending, dramatic cuts to the defence budget during the years of austerity (22% in real terms) have meant delays to procurement, crumbling estates and a chronic lack of investment.
This will take a substantial uplift to redress. Recent increases under the Conservatives were eaten up by capital costs and inflation.
And while ideas such as the £400 million ringfenced to support innovation in AI and new technology are welcome, these are tiny amounts in the grand scheme of things. The UK is not going to be a “defence industrial superpower” any time soon if budget announcements are this small, and increases so modest.
Promise to disabled people in tatters
William E. Donald, Associate Professor of Sustainable Careers and Human Resource Management, University of Southampton
In November, social security and disability minister Sir Stephen Timms spoke passionately at the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 awards, vowing to undo past injustices and declaring: “We now want to put that right.” As a disabled person, I cheered. That promise now lies in ruins.
Despite government claims there will be no return to austerity, sick and disabled people face a real-terms cut to their incomes and the criteria for claiming personal independence payment (Pip) will become stricter than ever. This isn’t just a policy to save £5 billion, it’s cruelty and a devastating attack on disabled people.
Pip isn’t means-tested and is paid regardless of whether you work. It exists because, according to disability charity Scope, disabled households need an additional £1,010 a month to achieve the same standard of living as others. Stripping this support away while NHS mental health waiting lists grow, energy and food prices rise, and the disability pay gap sits at 12.7% won’t push people into work. It will push them into crisis.
Last year, Labour promised to break barriers for disabled people. Instead, they are building new ones. These cuts come at the expense of society’s most vulnerable. The consequences will be catastrophic.
Social housing boost – but homes could be improved now
Nicky Shaw, Senior Lecturer in Operations Management, Leeds University Business School, and Simon Williams, Associate Faculty, Leeds University Business School
The chancellor’s £2 billion investment in new homes will certainly help to increase the availability of affordable social housing. Everyone agrees that access to decent, affordable homes is important, but the quality and maintenance of existing social houses remains critical. Replacing cladding, for example, is stubbornly challenging.
But beyond just building more social housing, our research has explored key measures of tenant satisfaction. The potential ways for digital tools such as AI to improve the efficiency of tasks like repairs and maintenance in future are numerous.
But social housing’s tenant demographic includes many people who are more vulnerable, some of whom prefer not to – or simply cannot – engage with digital services. This means that sustaining face-to-face contact with tenants is critical. Investing in tenants’ experience now could really deliver tangible benefits for some of Britain’s most vulnerable people.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Chancellor delivers security and national renewal for Northern Ireland in new era of global change
The UK Chancellor delivered the Spring Statement today (Wednesday 26 March 2025)
Chancellor vows to bring about “new era of security and national renewal” as she delivered a Spring Statement to kickstart economic growth, protect working people and keep Britain safe.
People across the UK to be on average £500 a year better off by the end of this parliament compared to under the previous government, putting more money in people’s pockets.
Growth at the heart of Plan for Change as £13 billion of additional capital spend allocated alongside £2.2 billion defence funding boost next year will get Britain building.
People across the UK will be on average £500 better off from 2029, relative to OBR’s autumn forecast, helping to deliver the Plan for Change as the Chancellor today (Wednesday 26 March) announced a Spring Statement to grasp the opportunities in a changing world.
The OBR also confirmed that the UK economy is expected to grow faster than expected from 2026 and will be larger by 2029 compared to its autumn forecast – up to 9.5% compared to 9.2%.
The Chancellor also set out how the government is protecting national security and maximising the growth potential of the UK defence sector by confirming a £2.2 billion increase in the UK-wide defence budget in 2025-26.
The Spring Statement delivers UK Government spending plans focused on its core objectives, bringing security and stability for working people across the UK.
It follows the Budget in the autumn where the Chancellor announced that the Northern Ireland Executive will be provided with an £18.2 billion settlement in 2025/26 – the largest in real terms in the history of devolution. This includes an additional £1.5 billion through the Barnett formula, with £1.2 billion for day-to-day spending and £270 million for capital investment.
The measures taken today top these Barnett consequentials up by a further £14 million in 2025/26. The Northern Ireland Executive are receiving over 24% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK, including the 2024 restoration financial package.
The Northern Ireland Executive’s block grant funding from 2026-27 onwards will be confirmed at Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury will meet with his counterparts from the devolved governments to discuss their priorities ahead of its conclusion.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said:
I welcome the fact that Northern Ireland will receive a £14 million boost in Barnett consequentials as a result of today’s announcements, building on the record £18.2 billion settlement which was confirmed by the UK Government last Autumn.
This also follows a £235 million package to transform public services in Northern Ireland, which will support the transformation of key public services which make a real impact on people’s lives, including health, education, planning and justice.
Importantly, today’s announcement reinforces the economic growth potential of the UK defence sector, and follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of a £1.6bn deal to provide air defence missiles for Ukraine, which will create 200 jobs in Northern Ireland and demonstrates the strength of the local defence industry.
From next week, working people across Northern Ireland and the UK will also benefit from an increase to the National Living Wage, putting more money into the pockets of hard-working people.
And the UK Government continues to provide support across Northern Ireland through City and Growth deal packages, having confirmed the Mid-South West and Causeway Coast and Glens City deal last year.
Taken together, these measures will foster growth in Northern Ireland, creating jobs, supporting public services, and boosting the quality of life for local people.”
Growth
Kickstarting economic growth is the number one mission of this government, putting more money in people’s pockets.
The UK Government has already made considerable progress on growth in Northern Ireland, including confirming the Mid-South West and Causeway Coast and Glens City deal. Earlier this month, the Prime Minister also announced a £1.6bn deal to provide air defence missiles for Ukraine, which will create 200 jobs in Northern Ireland. In February we launched Intertrade UK which will advise on how businesses can take advantage of the full opportunities of the UK internal market.
The actions of this government across the Autumn Budget and Spring Statement, if sustained, lead to a 0.6% rise in the level of real GDP by 2034-25.
The OBR concluded that the stability rule is met by £9.9 billion and the investment rule is met by £15.1 billion. Both rules are met two years early, meaning from 2027-28 the government is only borrowing for investment and net financial debt is falling.
The government is not satisfied with short-term growth figures, and is going further and faster today to improve this.
The Chancellor has announced a further £13 billion of capital investment over the Parliament to go further on growth, on top of the £100 billion uplift announced at Autumn Budget. This will deliver the projects needed to catalyse private investment, boost growth and drive forward the UK’s modern industrial strategy.
Taken together, this greater capital investment more than offsets the modest savings on day-to-day spending and means the total departmental spending will increase over the next five years, when compared with plans in the Autumn.
Defence
The world is changing before our eyes, reshaped by global instability, including Russian aggression in Ukraine. Europe is facing a once-in-a-generation moment for its collective security, with conflicts overseas undermining security and prosperity at home.
A month ago, the Prime Minister announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War as a result of the changing global picture, now reaching 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, and with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament subject to economic and fiscal conditions.
We are going further and faster to protect our national security and maximise the economic growth potential of the UK defence sector.
Increasing the defence budget by £2.2 billion in 2025-26, taking additional spending on defence to over £5 billion since the Autumn Budget.
This raises spending on defence to 2.36% next year and will be invested in fitting Royal Navy ships with Directed Energy Weapons five years earlier than planned, providing better homes for military families and modernising His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth.
Setting a minimum 10 percent ringfence for equipment spending on emerging technologies like drones and autonomous systems, dual-use technology, and AI-powered capabilities, so that British troops have the tools they need to fight and win in modern warfare.
Getting this new tech into the hands of our armed forces quicker by cutting away bureaucracy, with a new UK Defence Innovation unit within the Ministry of Defence spearheading efforts to identify promising technology and ensure these get to the frontline at speed, while also bolstering the UK tech sector and crowding in private investment.
Creating bespoke procurement processes for different types of military equipment, learning lessons from our rapid support for Ukraine to drive faster timescale targets for operationalising new tanks, aircraft and other essential tools for modern warfare.
This government is determined to transform the defence sector into an engine for growth by focusing this investment on where it boosts the productive capacity of the economy such as investment in innovation and novel technologies. As a result of the increase in defence spending to 2.5%, the government estimates this could lead to around 0.3% higher GDP in the long run, equivalent to around £11 billion of GDP in today’s money.
The government’s investment in defence will also support its number one mission to deliver economic growth. UK citizens will be protected from threats at home whilst creating a stable environment in which businesses can thrive, and supporting highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the whole of the UK.
Reform
The UK Government is determined to make the public sector more productive and to improve services for working people. But the changing world means we need to go further and faster to ensure we can deliver the public services that working people care most about.
The government has shown its commitment to taking the difficult decisions required to drive efficiencies and reform the state – reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies and duplication; and driving out wasteful government spend through cancelling thousands of government credit cards.
Getting more people into jobs is also central to the government’s growth mission. The broken welfare system is letting people down by asking them to prove what they can’t do, rather than focusing on what they could do with the right support – trapping people due to fear of trying work, lack of support and poor financial incentives.
The Chancellor has confirmed the creation of a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund to support the fundamental reform of public services, seize the opportunities of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and transform frontline delivery to release savings for taxpayers over the long-term.
The UK Government provided £235 million to transform public services in Northern Ireland as part of the £3.3 billion restoration package for the Executive. This month we agreed to allocate £129 million of that funding to projects across several priority public services including health, education, planning and justice. The funding will see £61 million go towards expanding the multi-disciplinary teams in GP clinics across Northern Ireland, and support five other projects across justice, special education and infrastructure which represent key priorities in the Executive’s Programme for Government.
Looking Forward
This Spring Statement builds on the Autumn Budget and the decisions taken since required to deliver stability to the British economy and kickstart economic growth.
The government will set out its plans for spending and key public sector reforms at the Spending Review which will conclude on 11 June 2025.
Notes to editors
Government calculations for the long-run impacts of higher defence spending are based on estimates from Antolin-Diaz and Surico (2025), forthcoming in the American Economic Review (AER), of the GDP impact of higher defence spending on GDP. Their estimates of the GDP multiplier stabilise after ten years at around 1.6, which is assumed to reflect an appropriate long-run multiplier for potential output, as any demand-side effects are likely to have dissipated at the ten-year horizon.
Defence spending as a share of GDP is set to rise from 2.3% to 2.5%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points. Applying an elasticity of 1.6 to this change implies a long-run increase in the level of potential output of approximately 0.3%. A long-run increase to the level of potential output of 0.3% is equivalent to around £11 billion of GDP in the long run, in today’s prices.
CHICAGO, March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aether Fuels (Aether), a sustainable fuels technology company, today reported exciting demonstration results for the electric Tri-Converter technology embedded in its proprietary Aether Aurora™ solution which aims to transform the economics of sustainable fuels and accelerate large-scale deployment. This electric Tri-Converter demonstration has a capacity that is more than 50 times larger than the previously demonstrated pilot plant. The results represent a breakthrough for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.
The electric Tri-Converter converts waste carbon feedstocks into the syngas that supplies the downstream Fischer-Tropsch (FT) unit in the Aether Aurora process. The purpose of the demo was to prove that the electric Tri-Converter can continuously produce syngas at an increasingly larger scale using a mix of real-world feedstocks, including biogenic CO2, renewable natural gas (RNG), and clean hydrogen. The program is part of Aether’s program to build and operate a fully integrated demonstration plant (the “Demo Plant”) producing more than one barrel per day of sustainable fuels. Aether plans to complete the construction of the Demo Plant later this year.
The demonstrator is a joint project between Aether and GTI Energy. Aether Aurora integrates technology elements first developed by GTI Energy in a gas-to-liquids program, which is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Aether has licensed the relevant technologies from GTI Energy and leverages the laboratory and demonstration spaces at its Chicago-area campus. Aether has subsequently taken over responsibility for future Aether Aurora development and commercialization, including expanding its R&D team.
The results of the demonstrator validate that the electric Tri-Converter is ready for integration into the Demo Plant. More critically, they demonstrate the solution’s capability to use a wide range of abundant feedstocks to create sustainable fuels—a breakthrough that can potentially shatter a key barrier to scaling production.
This milestone was celebrated yesterday at the Aether and GTI Energy demonstrator site where Aether investors and feedstock executives joined federal, state and local officials to view the technology, meet the team, tour Aether’s R&D center and GTI Energy lab spaces, and learn how the innovations will accelerate the transition to sustainable fuels. State Senator Laura Murphy (IL-28th) was on hand to deliver opening remarks.
The Syngas Generation Engine for Next-Gen Sustainable Fuels
Aether Aurora optimizes the well-established FT process to create drop-in liquid hydrocarbons leveraging its novel electric Tri-Converter and Upgrading technologies. As the solution’s “syngas generation engine”, the electric Tri-Converter improves and streamlines the process where feedstocks and the internally recycled downstream byproducts are converted into syngas. This is achieved via novel catalysts and a reactor that uses electricity instead of combustion to generate the reaction heat. Where typical syngas production requires multiple reactors to convert the same mix of inputs, Aether Aurora employs just one. The streamlined equipment configuration reduces CAPEX while the electrification innovations generate higher energy efficiency and yields than a conventional combustion reactor.
Aether’s demonstrator is supported by suppliers that include bp for RNG, Invenergy for clean hydrogen production, and Certarus Ltd for low carbon energy supply and logistics.
State Senator Murphy remarked: “The road to the future is paved in sustainable practices, and GTI Energy and Aether Fuels are at the forefront of this future. They are leading the way in developing energy solutions that will transform how we power industries, transportation and everyday life. Their innovation not only drives us forward, it drives economic growth that supports every hardworking Illinoisan.”
Aether CEO, Conor Madigan, said: “This is an exciting milestone for Aether and a tribute to our R&D experts and our partners at GTI Energy. The aviation and ocean shipping industries need affordable sustainable fuels at scale and the electric Tri-Converter technology is a transformative step forward. It drives critical process simplification and enables cost-efficient feedstock flexibility. When integrated into our Aether Aurora solution we’re making SAF production more scalable and cost effective.”
GTI Energy’s VP of Carbon Management and Conversion, Don Stevenson, said: “GTI Energy has a long history of pioneering advanced energy solutions, and we’re proud to see technologies incubated in our labs being integrated into solutions for scaling low-emission fuels. Through collaboration with DOE and companies like Aether Fuels, GTI Energy helps unlock the potential of waste carbon streams while creating economically viable fuels solutions for industries.”
Elie Fayad, Aether’s Senior Director of R&D, noted: “Today’s milestone represents nearly a decade of dedicated innovation and significant R&D investment by GTI Energy and Aether Fuels. The electric Tri-Converter is one of the breakthroughs in our Aether Aurora solution that drastically improves SAF economics and brings large-scale deployment within reach.”
Aether Aurora is trademarked by Aether Fuels.
About Aether Fuels
Aether Fuels is a climate technology company revolutionizing sustainable fuel production to help hard-to-abate industries like aviation and ocean shipping achieve their decarbonization goals. Our breakthrough Aether Aurora™ technology converts waste carbon into drop-in liquid fuels with near-ideal carbon conversion efficiency. The scalable solution addresses the core requirements of next-generation sustainable fuels by increasing production yields and reducing capital costs, while utilizing a diverse range of feedstocks. Founded in 2022 and backed by global investors and partners, we maintain principal offices in the U.S. and Singapore. To learn more, visit www.aetherfuels.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About GTI Energy
GTI Energy is a technology development and training organization. Our trusted team works to scale impactful solutions for energy systems by leveraging gases, liquids, infrastructure, and efficiency. We embrace systems thinking, innovation, and collaboration to develop, scale, and deploy the technologies needed for low-emission, low-cost, and resilient energy systems.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Vice Dean and Professor in Economics, University of East London
Not even six months on from Labour’s first budget, and the world is a much-changed place. Geopolitical tensions and uncertainties, already high last year, have risen further, and with them the cost of the UK’s debt, while economic growth has stalled. As such, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confronted an array of unpalatable choices – notably cutting disability benefits – to enable her to increase defence spending and stabilise the public finances. Here’s what our panel of experts made of the statement:
Falling inflation wasn’t enough to prevent further disability cuts
Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Vice Dean and Professor in Economics, University of East London
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has halved the UK’s 2025 growth forecast to 1%, down from the previously projected 2%. This sluggish growth, coupled with increased borrowing costs, has effectively eliminated the government’s £9.9 billion “fiscal headroom” – its financial buffer – resulting in a £4.1 billion shortfall by 2029-30.
There was some short-term relief in the latest inflation figures. These showed a slowdown in price rises in February (2.8% against 3% in January). The dip was caused by discounting of items like clothing. But given around half of businesses are considering price rises to combat tax hikes and the national living wage increase coming in April, this relief is likely to be short-lived. The OBR forecasts that inflation will climb back up to 3.2% this year.
The government had previously set out its controversial plans for £5 billion in welfare cuts. But the OBR rejected the claim that the reforms would save that much, estimating the savings at £3.4 billion, leaving Reeves with a £1.6 billion shortfall. As such, she has had to announce additional welfare reforms.
These include freezing the universal credit health element until 2030 and reducing it to £50 a week for new claimants. This is aimed at saving an additional £500 million by 2030 – and combined with other planned welfare reforms could affect more than 3 million people. But the standard allowance for universal credit will see an above-inflation increase from 2026-27 and the incomes of those with the most severe lifelong conditions will be protected.
Civil service administrative budgets are also to be reduced – by 15% by 2029-30. This, along with other efficiency and productivity improvements, will lead to annual savings of £3.5 billion. These cuts will focus on areas like human resources, policy advice, and office management, rather than frontline services.
Reeves resorted to tricks and ‘efficiency savings’
Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City St George’s, University of London
Reeves has announced a series of tweaks to her spending plans to address the economic situation which has meant that she is in danger of breaking her self-imposed fiscal rules. The chancellor was at pains to say that these rules are “non-negotiable”.
But these are unlikely to tackle the deeper problem – that in the short term she cannot rely on economic growth to square the circle of Labour’s three contradictory election pledges. These were more spending on public services, lower taxes and strict fiscal rules.
The UK, in fact, is particularly vulnerable to the disruption of global trade that is likely to result from US president Donald Trump’s tariff wars. And the productivity gains from her long-term infrastructure plans will take years – if not a decade – to translate into higher growth.
Like many chancellors, Reeves has resorted to various tricks – such as counting money moved to the defence budget to build tanks and aircraft as capital spending (and therefore exempt from the borrowing rules). And she has called for “efficiency savings” in the civil service and government departments that are unlikely to be realised.
But the biggest savings are coming from deeper than expected cuts in disability payments and other welfare payments, reducing the income of more than 3 million people. This is upsetting many Labour MPs. Her big sweetener – £2 billion for social housing next year – is actually less than that already allocated by the previous Conservative government.
Crucially, the further savings likely to be demanded in the spending review (announced on June 11) from unprotected departments including local government, justice and environment, will certainly look a lot like a return to austerity.
In the end – and possibly as soon as the autumn budget – the chancellor will have to accept that as well as spending cuts, she will have to consider tax increases and possibly even a revision of the fiscal rules.
Otherwise, she will remain at the mercy of the markets and the forecasters. Any long-term strategy will be strangled by the need to continually adjust policy to meet the fiscal “headroom” target she has set which leaves little room for manoeuvre. This requires an implausibly accurate prediction of the state of the economy in five years’ time by the OBR.
More reaction to follow shortly.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Childhood stunting from malnutrition is a global but preventable problem if adequate investment can be found, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday, amid chronic funding shortages that threaten essential feeding programmes.
Child wasting is the deadliest form of malnutrition and it’s often seen in places of conflict, economic instability and climate crisis, the UN agency told aid leaders gathered in Paris for the fourth Nutrition for Growth Summit.
Around 33 million children suffer from wasting in the 15 nations most affected. More than $1 billion is needed to support WFP‘s work to combat malnutrition, the agency said.
“We must prevent child malnutrition before it ever takes hold,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “If we fail to act, we are condemning millions of children to a lifetime of suffering. WFP has the knowledge and tools to stop malnutrition in its tracks – what we need is investment and political will.”
WFP underscored the need to target pregnant women for additional nutritional support because malnutrition often begins during pregnancy, causing half of all deaths among children under five.
Those who survive face impaired physical and brain development, weakened immune systems, stunted growth and limiting brain development.
Humanitarian success story
In 2024, WFP prevented wasting in nearly 14 million mothers and children by providing fortified foods, nutrition-rich supplements, cash or vouchers for meals and food baskets.
Despite these successes, the global funding crisis for humanitarian and development work threatens initiatives targeting malnutrition.
In Yemen, where up to a third of under-fives suffer from wasting, WFP’s only prevention programme implemented in the last 12 months will end in May – unless additional funding is forthcoming.
On the brink of famine
In Sudan, clashes in Zamzam camp, in the North Darfur region, have forced WFP to pauseits food assistance for displaced civilians.
Some two million Sundanese are currently experiencing famine – or are on the brink of famine.
Without urgent funding, WFP will be compelled to suspend nutrition assistance in April for another two million, including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
Funding cuts have also had a severe impact on vulnerable populations in hunger-struck Afghanistan, where three out of four families have to borrow money to be able to afford basic groceries.
Ensuring humanitarian access
In Jordan, WFP has already slashed monthly cash assistance by one third for the 119,000 Syrian refugees in the Zaatari and Azraq camps.
Last month in crisis-hit Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, WFP said it urgently needed $3.9 to prevent the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) from closing down in the next three months.
The only available aviation support serving the capital Port-au-Prince, the WFP-operated service is crucial in flying in aid workers and delivering supplies to hard-to-reach areas, guaranteeing uninterrupted access for humanitarians.
WFP said that investing in malnutrition prevention not only improves health but also makes economies stronger.
“Low and middle-income countries lose an average of 10 per cent of GDP due to malnutrition through increased healthcare costs and lowered human capital,” WFP said in a statement.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Press release
Chancellor delivers security and national renewal in a new era of global change
Chancellor vows to bring about “new era of security and national renewal” as she delivered a Spring Statement to kickstart economic growth, protect working people and keep Britain safe.
People to be on average £500 a year better off by the end of this parliament compared to under the previous government, putting more money in people’s pockets.
OBR forecast concludes government’s landmark planning reforms will result in a £6.8 billion boost to the economy and housebuilding at its highest level in over 40 years by 2029-30.
Growth at the heart of Plan for Change as £13 billion of additional capital spend allocated alongside £2.2 billion defence funding boost next year.
People will be on average £500 a year better off from 2029, relative to OBR’s autumn forecast, helping to deliver the Plan for Change as the Chancellor today (Wednesday 26 March) announced a Spring Statement to grasp the opportunities in a changing world.
The OBR has also today concluded that the government’s landmark planning reforms will result in UK housebuilding reaching its highest level in over 40 years, bringing the UK one step closer to its Plan for Change mission to build 1.5 million homes.
The economy will be 0.2% larger in 2029-30 because of the reforms – worth around £6.8 billion in today’s money – growing to 0.4% over the next ten years. This represents the biggest positive growth effect it has ever forecasted for a policy that comes at zero-cost to taxpayers. The reforms will secure over 170,000 new homes for hard working families and leave borrowing £3.4 billion lower in 2029-30.
The Chancellor also set out how the government is protecting national security and maximising the growth potential of the UK defence sector by confirming a £2.2 billion increase in the defence budget in 2025-26 while ensuring UK defence is on the cutting-edge of technology and innovation.
But growth is still not where it should be, so at this Spring Statement, this government has gone further and faster to kickstart growth by training up to 60,000 young people to get Britain building again; increasing capital investment by £13 billion over this parliament; and fixing public services by tearing out waste from its roots.
Growth
Kickstarting economic growth is the number one mission of this government, putting more money in people’s pockets. The government has already made considerable progress; supporting a third runway at Heathrow; revitalising the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor, launching the National Wealth Fund and making the right choices on public investment to drive growth across the UK.
The actions of this government across the Autumn Budget and Spring Statement, if sustained, lead to a 0.6% rise in the level of real GDP by 2034-35, signalling the government’s growth plan is working.
The OBR concluded that the stability rule is met by £9.9 billion and the investment rule is met by £15.1 billion. Both rules are met two years early, meaning from 2027-28 the government is only borrowing for investment and net financial debt is falling.
The government is not satisfied with short-term growth figures, and is going further and fast today to improve this.
To go further and faster to get Britain building, the Chancellor has today announced a further £13 billion of capital investment over the Parliament to go further on growth, on top of the £100 billion uplift announced at Autumn Budget. This will deliver the projects needed to catalyse private investment, boost growth and drive forward the UK’s modern industrial strategy – unlocking the potential of the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor which could add up to £78 billion to the UK economy by 2035.
Taken together, this greater capital investment more than offsets the modest savings on day to day spending and means the total departmental spending will increase over the next five years, when compared with plans in the Autumn.
Over this Parliament, the government is funding a £625 million package to boost skills in the construction sector, which is expected to provide up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers to support the government’s plans to deliver 1.5 million homes in England over the parliament and progress vital infrastructure projects,
As part of this, the government is providing further support to scale up existing construction skills pathway over this Parliament through £100 million for 35,000 additional training places in construction-focused Skills Bootcamps, supporting trainees, ‘returners’, and existing employees to succeed in the sector. Building on the £40 million investment in the new Growth and Skills Levy at Autumn Budget 2024, the government is also providing a further £40 million to support up to 10,000 more young people to access new construction Foundation Apprenticeships, which will provide a key entry route into a thriving industry.
The government is ensuring there are enough skilled construction workers in the system, with £100 million to deliver 10 Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction across every region in England, and £165 million to increase funding for training providers delivering construction courses for 16-19-year-olds and adults.
The government is committed to supporting employers to unlock further investment in training to deliver more skilled construction workers, and is providing £100 million, alongside a £32 million contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board to deliver up to 40,000 industry placements in construction each year.
Supported by the construction skills package, the government confirmed this week that there will be a £2 billion injection of new grant funding to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes. The new funding will only support developments on sites that will deliver in this Parliament, getting spades in the ground quickly to build homes in places such as Manchester and Liverpool.
Defence
The world is changing before our eyes, reshaped by global instability, including Russian aggression in Ukraine. Europe is facing a once-in-a-generation moment for its collective security, with conflicts overseas undermining security and prosperity at home.
A month ago, the PM announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War as a result of the changing global picture, now reaching 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, and with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament subject to economic and fiscal conditions.
We are going further and faster to protect our national security and maximise the economic growth potential of the UK defence sector.
Increasing the defence budget by £2.2 billion in 2025-26, taking additional spending on defence to over £5 billion since the Autumn Budget.
This raises spending on defence to 2.36% next year and will be invested in fitting Royal Navy ships with Directed Energy Weapons five years earlier than planned, providing better homes for military families and modernising His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth.
Setting a minimum 10 percent ringfence for equipment spending on emerging technologies like drones and autonomous systems, dual-use technology, and AI-powered capabilities, so that British troops have the tools they need to fight and win in modern warfare.
Getting this new tech into the hands of our armed forces quicker by cutting away bureaucracy, with a new UK Defence Innovation unit within the Ministry of Defence spearheading efforts to identify promising technology and ensure these get to the frontline at speed, while also bolstering the UK tech sector and crowding in private investment.
Creating bespoke procurement processes for different types of military equipment, learning lessons from our rapid support for Ukraine to drive faster timescale targets for operationalising new tanks, aircraft and other essential tools for modern warfare.
This government is determined to transform the defence sector into an engine for growth by focusing this investment on where it boosts the productive capacity of the economy such as investment in innovation and novel technologies. As a result of the increase in defence spending to 2.5%, the government estimates this could lead to around 0.3% higher GDP in the long run, equivalent to around £11 billion of GDP in today’s money.
The government’s investment in defence will also support its number one mission to deliver economic growth. UK citizens will be protected from threats at home whilst creating a stable environment in which businesses can thrive, and supporting highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the whole of the UK.
Reform
The government is determined to make the public sector more productive and to improve services for working people. But the changing world means we need to go further and faster to ensure we can deliver the public services that working people care most about.
The government has shown its commitment to taking the difficult decisions required to drive efficiencies and reform the state – including announcing that the world’s largest quango, NHS England, will be brought back into the Department for Health and Social Care, reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies and duplication; and driving out wasteful government spend through cancelling thousands of government credit cards.
Getting more people into jobs is also central to the government’s growth mission. This broken welfare system that is letting people down by asking them to prove what they can’t do, rather than focusing on what they could do with the right support – trapping people due to fear of trying work, lack of support and poor financial incentives.
The social security system will always protect those who can never work, that is why this government is proposing an additional premium that will safeguard their incomes. And will end reassessments for people with the most severe, life-long conditions to give them dignity and security.
Helping more people into work is a central aim of these reforms and which is why the government is tackling incentives to be inactive by abolishing the WCA, rebalancing Universal Credit, and investing more into employment support.
We will always support those with long term health conditions through the Personal Independence Payment, which will remain an important non-means tested benefit for disabled people and people with long term health conditions. But these reforms will make the system more targeted and sustainable to ensure the safety net is there for those who need it most.
The OBR have now set out their final assessment of costings and confirmed this welfare package will reduce welfare spending by £4.8 billion in 2029-30.
The government will modernise the Civil Service into a more productive and agile organisation that can effectively deliver the Plan for Change, underpinned by a digital revolution, while cancelling thousands of government procurement cards. Today, the Chancellor has gone further.
The Chancellor has confirmed the creation of a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund to support the fundamental reform of public services, seize the opportunities of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and transform frontline delivery to release savings for taxpayers over the long-term.
The Fund will invest in vital public services and accelerate the modernisation of the state by taking the next step to reform the children’s social care system through an additional £25 million for the fostering system. This will include funding the recruitment of a further 400 new fostering households, providing children with stability and addressing cost pressures on local government.
The fund will also support the managing offenders in the community, by providing £8 million for new technology so probation officers can focus on reducing reoffending, rather than filling out forms.
In addition, it will provide £42 million for three pioneering DSIT-led Frontier AI Exemplars. These Exemplars will test and deploy AI applications to make government operations more efficient and effective and improve outcomes for citizens by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
To create an agile and productive state we are also providing £150 million for government employee exit schemes. This will support a leaner and more efficient Civil Service, helping to reduce administration costs by 15% by the end of the decade.
The Chancellor also announced a package of measures to close the tax gap, raising £1 billion per year by 2029-30. The UK tax gap was estimated to be around £40 billion in 2022-23.
The Spring Statement earmarks around £80 million in new money for third party debt collectors to bring in £1.3 billion over the next five years – a return of around £16 for every pound spent for UK public services and investment projects. HMRC will also receive £4 million in new funding to pilot a new test and learn programme with the private sector to improve the tax collection agency’s approach to recouping older unpaid tax debt. Ministers will decide whether to proceed with a larger exercise later this year based on the results of this test.
An additional 600 staff will also be recruited into HMRC’s debt management teams. This means that for every £1 spent on these staff, over £13 of debt is expected to be recovered. The staff will work with the private sector to make collecting tax debt more efficient including through automating admin processes.
The Spring Statement also announces £100 million in new funding for HMRC to recruit a further 500 compliance officers from April 2025. This will raise £241 million in unpaid tax over the next five years.
Late payment penalties for VAT and Making Tax Digital for income tax Self Assessment will increase to incentivise taxpayers to pay on time. This will be from 2% to 3% at 15 days, 2% to 3% at 30 days, and 4% to 10% from day 31. This will take effect from April 2025.
As announced in the autumn, Making Tax Digital for income tax Self Assessment will be extended to sole traders and landlords with income over £20,000. The Spring Statement confirms that this additional group will join Making Tax Digital from April 2028. This will build on the existing plan which will see sole traders and landlords with income above £50,000 joining from April 2026, and those with income above £30,000 joining from April 2027. Around 4 million businesses have an income below the £20,000 threshold.
Looking Forward
This Spring Statement builds on the Autumn Budget and the decisions taken since required to deliver stability to the British economy and kickstart economic growth.
The government will set out its plans for spending and key public sector reforms at the Spending Review which will conclude on 11 June 2025.
This will not be a business-as-usual Spending Review. The government has fundamentally reformed the process to make it zero-based, collaborative, and data-led, in order to ensure a laser-like focus on the biggest opportunities to rewire the state and deliver the Plan for Change.
At the Spending Review, the Budget in the autumn and across the Parliament, the government will continue to prioritise growing the economy to deliver change.
Government calculations for the long-run impacts of higher defence spending are based on estimates from Antolin-Diaz and Surico (2025), forthcoming in the American Economic Review (AER), of the GDP impact of higher defence spending on GDP. Their estimates of the GDP multiplier stabilise after ten years at around 1.6, which is assumed to reflect an appropriate long-run multiplier for potential output, as any demand-side effects are likely to have dissipated at the ten-year horizon.
Defence spending as a share of GDP is set to rise from 2.3% to 2.5%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points. Applying an elasticity of 1.6 to this change implies a long-run increase in the level of potential output of approximately 0.3%. A long-run increase to the level of potential output of 0.3% is equivalent to around £11 billion of GDP in the long run, in today’s prices.
ESCONDIDO, Calif., March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS or the Company) (Nasdaq: OSS), a leader in rugged Enterprise Class compute for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and sensor processing at the edge, today announced a new $500,000 contract from a medical imaging OEM customer that is expected to contribute to revenue throughout 2025.
Under the terms of the contract, OSS will provide 4U, short-depth-server (SDS) running Enterprise Class NVIDIA GPUs to support a customer’s innovative, FDA cleared, medical imaging technology for Breast Scanning. After this initial order, OSS expects follow-on orders from this medical OEM for next-generation liquid-cooled 3U-SDS that may become standard on all the OEM’s Breast Scanning devices going forward.
“We are excited to establish a market position with this leading medical OEM customer as they increase production of their advanced breast imaging technology and improve outcomes for the more than 40 million women in the U.S. who get mammograms every year. This contract reflects the growing need across commercial markets for ruggedized, enterprise class compute capabilities. It also highlights our focus on pursuing high-growth, high-margin, and multi-year platform opportunities across both defense and commercial markets. We believe this contract has the potential to contribute over $25 million in cumulative sales over the next five years,” stated OSS President and CEO, Mike Knowles.
About One Stop Systems One Stop Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSS) is a leader in AI enabled solutions for the demanding ‘edge’. OSS designs and manufactures Enterprise Class compute and storage products that enable rugged AI, sensor fusion and autonomous capabilities without compromise. These hardware and software platforms bring the latest data center performance to harsh and challenging applications, whether they are on land, sea or in the air.
OSS products include ruggedized servers, compute accelerators, flash storage arrays, and storage acceleration software. These specialized compact products are used across multiple industries and applications, including autonomous trucking and farming, as well as aircraft, drones, ships and vehicles within the defense industry.
OSS solutions address the entire AI workflow, from high-speed data acquisition to deep learning, training and large-scale inference, and have delivered many industry firsts for industrial OEM and government customers.
As the fastest growing segment of the multi-billion-dollar edge computing market, AI enabled solutions require-and OSS delivers-the highest level of performance in the most challenging environments without compromise.
OSS products are available directly or through global distributors. For more information, go to www.onestopsystems.com. You can also follow OSS on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements One Stop Systems cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs and expectations. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by One Stop Systems or its partners that any of our plans or expectations will be achieved, including but not limited to the potential and/or the results of this commercial program contract, any actual revenue or cumulative sales derived from the contract, the future adoption of technologies or applications, and the expansion of the Company’s offerings and/or relationship with commercial customers. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risk and uncertainties inherent in our business, including risks described in our prior press releases and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Media Contacts: Robert Kalebaugh One Stop Systems, Inc. Tel (858) 518-6154 Email contact
Investor Relations: Andrew Berger Managing Director SM Berger & Company, Inc. Tel (216) 464-6400 Email contact
In 2017, Transport for London (TfL) estimated that £10-15bn would be needed to improve surface access – all the ways in which passengers, communities, staff and goods travel to and from the airport – to enable a third runway at Heathrow Airport.1
Tomorrow, the London Assembly Transport Committee will ask guests from TfL, Heathrow Airport, Network Rail and the Heathrow Area Transport Forum about the implications of the expansion of Heathrow on surface access at the airport and the impact on London’s wider public transport network.
The Committee will also ask guests from Heathrow about last week’s closure of the airport.
The guests are:
Sophie Chapman, Surface Access Director, Heathrow Airport
Tim Leach, Head of Surface Access Strategy and Sponsorship, Heathrow Airport
Christina Calderato, Director of Transport Strategy and Policy, Transport for London
Marcus Jones, Route Director, Western, Network Rail
Anthony Smith, Chair, Heathrow Area Transport Forum
The meeting will take place on Thursday 27 March from 10am, in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
