The World Bank has approved the Mozambique Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Project, an initiative to strengthen the health system’s ability to deliver essential services consistently and equitably. The project targets underserved and climate-vulnerable areas by investing in human resources, infrastructure, and systems that ensure continuity of care during emergencies. This project is part of a regional program to strengthen health security across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Mozambique faces frequent floods, cyclones, disease outbreaks, and other emergencies that disrupt health services and put lives at risk. Many communities lack sufficient and trained health workers, access to essential medicines, and the tools to detect and respond quickly to crises. The project seeks to address these gaps by:
Strengthening the health workforce capacity, particularly in high-risk areas, by improving recruitment, training, and retention systems;
Improving pharmaceutical supply chains by supporting the regulatory agency in bringing more transparency and speed to procurement processes, lowering and standardizing prices of health commodities to ensure access to medicines, particularly during crises; and
Enhancing disease surveillance and laboratory capacity to improve early warning and response systems to quickly detect and respond to health emergencies like cholera outbreaks or heatwaves.
The project also supports the development of climate-adaptive infrastructure and emergency preparedness plans, recognizing the growing health risks posed by climate change.
“Mozambique is already experiencing the health impacts of shocks and emergencies,” noted Luc Lecuit, World Bank Acting Division Director in Mozambique. “The program supports the government’s efforts to strengthen core health service delivery by investing in preparedness and resilience, ensuring services remain operational during floods, storms, and epidemics.”
Financed through a $201 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA)*, the initiative will be implemented over five years, concluding in September 2030.
“By prioritizing practical investments in the foundational pillars of the health sector, the Government of Mozambique is driving greater efficiency across the system and strengthening its emergency response capacity to protect lives,” said João Pires, World Bank Senior Health Specialist and Task Team Leader. “These efforts are paving the way for bold reforms to ensure the health system remains resilient and responsive, even under pressure.”
In parallel, the World Bank, together with other development partners, is increasing its support to the Mozambique health sector through a $63.7 million top-up to the ongoing District and Community Health Services Revitalization Project. This additional financing—comprising $8.7 million from IDA, $5 million from the Global Financing Facility, and $50 million from a multi-donor trust fund supported by Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland—will expand the project’s impact across the most vulnerable 63 districts of Mozambique. The operation focuses on improving access to quality primary health care, particularly for women, children, and adolescents, and strengthening service delivery at the district and community levels.
Both projects align with the forthcoming Mozambique’s Health Sector Strategic Plan (PESS, 2025-2034) (PESS 2020–2024) and the National Adaptation Plan (2023), and complement regional efforts to strengthen health security across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.
Announcement on Open Market Operations No.122 [2025]
(Open Market Operations Office, June 27, 2025)
The People’s Bank of China conducted reverse repo operations in the amount of RMB525.9 billion through quantity bidding at a fixed interest rate on June 27, 2025.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Chinese and foreign companies signed deals worth approximately 40 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Energy Ministers Meeting, which was held in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Thursday.
The 25 projects, which will have a total installed capacity of 12 million kilowatts (kW), demonstrate the broad potential for energy cooperation in the region.
According to a report released during the meeting, SCO countries had a total renewable energy installed capacity of 2.31 billion kW as of the end of 2024, accounting for about half of the global total.
Cooperation between China and other SCO countries in the area of renewable energy development has gained strong momentum in recent years.
To date, China has worked with other SCO countries on renewable energy projects that have an approximate installed capacity of 96.3 million kW. Solar photovoltaic and wind power projects make up 80 percent of this capacity.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
SFO and DOJ affirm commitment to joint working to tackle crime
The Director of the Serious Fraud Office met with the Head of the Criminal Division at the US Department of Justice this week.
The Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) met with the Head of the Criminal Division at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) this week as part of strengthening their important partnership in tackling financial crime.
The meeting covered the DOJ’s latest white collar crime policies and the SFO and DoJ’s shared commitment to encouraging voluntary self-disclosure from companies as well as positive action to reduce the length of complex investigations to deliver swifter justice.
The meeting comes soon after the DOJ published its new white collar crime enforcement plan.
Director of Serious Fraud Office, Nick Ephgrave QPM, said:
I was delighted to meet with Matthew Galeotti, Head of Criminal Division at the US Department of Justice.
Fraud, bribery, and corruption have a deeply damaging impact on people’s lives and our respective economies. This week we re-affirmed our long-standing commitment to working together wherever possible to tackle this threat.
This meeting marks a significant milestone for us as we continue to strengthen our international approach to fighting financial crime with key partners. Together, we can more effectively pursue criminals and deliver justice.
Head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Matthew Galeotti, said:
This week, I met with Nick Ephgrave, Director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, and we discussed the strategies and tools available to combat fraud and restore the integrity of our markets and bring justice to victims.
The Criminal Division and SFO have been partners in this fight for many years, and I look forward to strengthening our cooperation and our shared commitment to root out insidious white-collar crime.
Derby City Council and the Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) are delighted to announce that the city’s popular ice rink will return this Christmas – and tickets are on sale now.
Following its huge popularity in 2024, which saw over 11,800 people enjoy the ice, the undercover Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink will once again be the centrepiece of festive fun in Derby Market Place. It will be open from November 29 right up until New Year’s Eve.
Whether you’re an ice-skating pro or just finding your feet, it’s the perfect way to embrace the Christmas spirit. Skaters of all ages and abilities are welcome to enjoy hour-long sessions, with skate hire included in the price. Plus, for those who need a little extra stability, free skate aids will be available.
Accompanying the ice rink will be the fantastic Nordic Bar, with its eye-catching tipis making a welcome return thanks to Sami Tipi and Mambo Bars. It’s the ideal spot to warm up and relax, with stunning festive foliage, disco balls, twinkling lights, and cosy firepits creating a magical atmosphere.
This year’s festivities also include the return of the Festive Derby Light Trail, and the newly reopened Derby Market Hall will be joining in the city-wide celebrations.
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said:
The Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink has become a beloved part of Christmas in Derby, and its return, along with the fantastic Nordic Bar, is highly anticipated! I’m really excited to see our stunning Market Hall be a part of this year’s celebrations too.
Festive Derby gets bigger and better every year and 2025 is no exception. We can’t wait to welcome everyone into the city centre to enjoy it.
Just like last year, the Nordic Bar will be serving up a tempting selection of drinks, including steaming speciality hot chocolates, mulled wine, and festive cocktails. You’ll also find more tasty treats from our on-site food vendors.
The tipis will once again host a fantastic programme of entertainment, featuring live music, children’s shows and more! The combined appeal of the ice rink and Nordic Bar proved more popular than ever in 2024, attracting almost 7,500 more visitors compared to the previous year.
Craig Bidder, founder of The Nordic Bar Co, said:
Derby’s incredible welcome always blows us away! We’re so excited to return, bringing our tipis to create another magical season. Prepare for even more festive sparkle under the tipis!
Brad Worley, Manager for the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter BIDs, said:
We’re thrilled to be sponsoring the Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink once again, in partnership with Derby City Council. The rink has become a real centrepiece of Festive Derby, bringing families into the heart of the Cathedral Quarter and supporting our fantastic local businesses.
We’re proud to play a part in creating a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere that celebrates the season and everything Derby has to offer.
The Nordic Bar will once again host a fantastic programme of entertainment
The Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink and Nordic Bar will open on Saturday 29 November, as Festive Derby is officially launched with our Christmas Lights Switch-On event, with our media partner Smooth Radio. Festive light installations will lead you through the city centre to the magical Cathedral Quarter, where there’ll be festive entertainment to enjoy on selected weekends.
Last year’s visitors were left feeling truly festive:
An incredible day for young and old celebrating in the heart of the city that yule love… What’s Good To Do
Whether you’re here for the dazzling lights, festive drinks, or simply to soak in the Christmas spirit, Festive Derby offers something for everyone… Derby Days Out
Tickets for the Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink are on sale now so if you want to secure the date for a festive group get-together, plan a work event or simply want something exciting to look forward to – you can book now. The rink is popular for group bookings and is also available for private hire, so if you’re planning an event, get in touch!
Standard tickets priced at £12 during peak sessions and £10 for off-peak sessions. Under 16s tickets are £10 during peak sessions and £8 during off-peak sessions.
There are family and group discounts available, starting at groups of 4+, with larger discounts available for bigger group bookings. There will also be special sessions for toddlers and their parents/carers. The rink is wheelchair accessible. Check the Derby LIVE website for opening times and booking information.
Of course, the festive season wouldn’t be complete without Derby’s annual panto spectacular at Derby Arena. This year we’re teaming up with Morgan Brind and the multi award-winning Little Wolf Entertainment again to present Dick Whittington from Friday 5 – Wednesday 31 December.
You can also see a brand-new festive tale from the Lost Boys, Merry Elwin The Adventurous Elf, at Chapel Street Arts Centre from Thursday 11 until Tuesday 23 December. This heartwarming show is perfect for families and festive enthusiasts alike, offering a delightful blend of humour, heart, and holiday cheer.
Tickets for all shows and attractions can be purchased on the Derby LIVE website, at the Sales and Information Centre,19 Chapel Street, Derby, DE1 3GU, or by calling 01332 255 800.
Greenpeace Aotearoa activists have confronted a bottom trawler on the Chatham Rise, rebranding it “ocean killer”, after bearing witness to it hauling in a net straining with marine life.
Launching from the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior, activists came alongside the New Zealand-flagged ship, Talley’s Amaltal Atlantis, on the Chatham Rise on Friday afternoon, and painted the message on its hull with non-toxic paint.
Speaking from onboard the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Juan Parada says:
“Appalled by the most recent evidence of destruction, people defending the oceans rebranded this Talley’s vessel today to expose the bottom trawling industry for what they are: ocean killers. When Talley’s bottom trawlers drag their heavy trawl nets across the seafloor and over seamounts, they bulldoze everything in their path, including killing precious marine life from coral to fur seals, dolphins and seabirds.”We’ve all seen the shocking footage of bottom trawling in David Attenborough’s film Ocean, and it’s happening right here, right now.”
“Faced with a fishing industry that profits from trashing the ocean, and a government that condones bottom trawling, we’re proud of the peaceful action taken today to call out this destruction and demand that bottom trawling stop.
“The Amaltal Atlantis trawls in the waters of Aotearoa, and has previously received permits to trawl in the High Seas of the South Pacific. Their trail of destruction is wide and long-lasting,” says Parada.
Talley’s vessels have a long history of carrying out bottom trawling destruction. In 2018, the Amaltal Apollo trawled in a protected area on the Lord Howe Rise, in the international waters of the Tasman Sea. The Amaltal Mariner was also convicted of trawling in a marine reserve off Kaikōura in 2019.
The company also has a documented history of health and safety issues, with multiple injuries and even a fatality reported to WorkSafe.
The at-sea action comes just weeks after it was revealed a New Zealand vesseldragged up six tonnes of coralin a single trawl on the Chatham Rise, known for being a hotspot for coral life.
In March, Greenpeace Aotearoa documented swathes of destroyed coral in areas of the Tasman Sea intensively trawled by New Zealand bottom trawlers. The Tasman Sea has been earmarked for one of the first high seas ocean sanctuaries, using the Global Ocean Treaty.
New Zealand is the only country still bottom trawling in the High Seas of the Tasman.
Parada says, “As the rest of the world moves towards more comprehensive ocean protection for international waters, New Zealand is standing in the way of progress by continuing to advocate for the bottom trawling industry.”It’s time Talley’s, the trawling industry, and the government listened to the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who want ocean health valued over industry profits.
“From depleted fish numbers to smashed coral, dead sharks and seabirds, the cost of bottom trawling is too high. To protect the ocean for the future and safeguard the ocean we all love, bottom trawling must stop.”
In response to the activist’s painting activity, Talley’s responded saying they would seek legal action which “may include the arrest of the Rainbow Warrior.”
António Costa took stock of the government’s action in the last eight years, where he was Prime Minister, during a press conference held in the official residence.<.>
António Costa also referred to the financial system’s greater stability. “The state-owned bank, which many felt should be privatised and that it would be impossible to capitalise, is today not only solvent, but also generated due revenue for the Portuguese economy and citizens”, the Prime Minister claimed.
The wildland fires crisis
The second crisis noted by the Prime Minister was that of wildland fires, the answer to which included restructuring the civil protection system and a budget reform, which offered prevention a clear priority over fighting. As a result, “if we were to add up the entire area burnt down in the six years between 2018 and 2023 [the result] is 60.7% of the area burnt down in 2017 alone”, he stressed.
The Covid-19 pandemic
The country’s response to this third crisis was “worthy of note”, claimed the Prime Minister. “We were the first country in the world to reach a vaccination coverage of 85%. And the efforts to support the economy and households allowed us to be one of the countries that best came out of the pandemic”, he added.
The inflationist crisis
The fourth crisis arose from the effects of the pandemic, which was still felt, and the war between Russia and Ukraine. This conflict “worsened a situation that came from the pandemic, with the breakdown in supply chains, which led us to the greatest inflationist crisis of the last 30 years”.
The rises in interest rates by the European Central Bank to respond to rising inflation “in a society such as hours where mortgages have a high significance and the variable rates are clearly dominant”, together with rising food costs, shot up household costs.
“From the start of 2022 to October 2022, inflation soared. We hit 10.1% inflation in October 2022 and since then we have been on a slow, yet sure, trajectory to lower inflation, until we hit 2.1% last February and the forecast is we will remain on that lowering trajectory”, said the Prime Minister.
SEVEN STRUCTURAL SHITS
Higher growth
The Prime Minister stated that between 2000 and 2015 the country alternated between recession and stagnation. “Only in one year of these 15 did we grow above the European average: in 2009. From 2016 onwards, the reality has been quite different “, he said. “In these eight years, the country grew ten times more than what it had grown in the previous 15”, he signalled, noting the 2.1% growth, including in the two pandemic years, “where product naturally fell drastically”.
More jobs and more income
The creation of jobs and improvement in employment conditions contributed to this economic growth. “Today, we have a record number of people working in Portugal: 5 million people. That is an additional 629 thousand jobs than in 2015. And in a context where it was possible to not just to have minimum wages grow 62%, but also average wages having grown 27.7%”, the Prime Minister indicated.
In addition to the rise in the minimum wage, the Prime Minister also noted rising pensions and improvement in net income.
Always in line with the Social Security Basis Law, in these eight years, average pensions rose 23.3%, “with all the rises set down in the law, as well as extraordinary rises to counter inflation”.
The improvement in net income came from the “successive drops in income tax IRS” and the “successive measures of non-monetary transfers that cut household expenses”, such as making school books free, reforming the costs of public transports, increasing the number of households that benefit from energy social rates and the “significant” cut in pubic university fees, that went from more than one thousand euros to 697 euros per annum.
A more qualified country
This was the shift the Prime Minister considered “perhaps brings the greatest consequences for the future”. António Costa mentioned the “highly significant” drop in early dropouts, where this year we are below the EU average for 2030, and the rise in the number of youths aged 30 to 34 years who completed higher educaiton in 2015, which can only rise, since “if we look at the youths who are 20 years old, 39% attended university in 2015, and today it’s 54%”.
A more competitive economy
“Every year, we beat records in attracting foreign direct investment. Every year, we beat corporate investment records and corporate investment went up 85% between 2015 and 2023”, the Prime Minister stated, advocating that “what offers a modern economy competitiveness is its capacity to have qualified jobs, being more innovative, and this is what enables that innovation”.
António Costa also added that the rise in exports, which in 2022 accounted for more than 50% of GDP, and the change in the nature of exports. “Exports of high and medium tech goods increased 71% over these last eight years, which means that complexifying, qualifying, and the added value of our economy have been clearly on the rise”.
Less inequality
“Today we have 600 thousand people less in poverty or social exclusion, and especially 226 thousand children less living in poverty or social exclusion”, said the Prime Minister.
Taking the lead in fighting climate change
The sixth shift had to do with the country’s position in taking the lead in fighting climate change. “We were the first country in the world, at the2016 Marrakesh COP to undertake the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Our Climate Law imposed on us a greater ambition of hitting that target in 2045 rather than 2050”.
Since 2017, Portugal has cut back its GHG emissions by 17% “due to the public transport policy and bringing targets such as closing down coal-fuelled power stations forward and increasing the capacity to generate energy using renewables”, the Prime Minister signalled.
Advances in the State reform
The last structural shift mentioned by the Prime Minister had to do with the advances in the State reform, namely concerning the decentralisation of powers, such as transferring the PSP’s traffic tasks to the Lisbon and Porto municipal police, making Carri or STCP (public transport) municipal, or the agreement with the National Portuguese Municipalities Association (ANMP) to transfer powers. Lastly, António Costa referred to the reform of the Regional Development Coordination Committees (CCDR), that are now more democratised and with greater autonomy.
António Costa took stock of the government’s action in the last eight years, where he was Prime Minister, during a press conference held in the official residence.<.>
António Costa also referred to the financial system’s greater stability. “The state-owned bank, which many felt should be privatised and that it would be impossible to capitalise, is today not only solvent, but also generated due revenue for the Portuguese economy and citizens”, the Prime Minister claimed.
The wildland fires crisis
The second crisis noted by the Prime Minister was that of wildland fires, the answer to which included restructuring the civil protection system and a budget reform, which offered prevention a clear priority over fighting. As a result, “if we were to add up the entire area burnt down in the six years between 2018 and 2023 [the result] is 60.7% of the area burnt down in 2017 alone”, he stressed.
The Covid-19 pandemic
The country’s response to this third crisis was “worthy of note”, claimed the Prime Minister. “We were the first country in the world to reach a vaccination coverage of 85%. And the efforts to support the economy and households allowed us to be one of the countries that best came out of the pandemic”, he added.
The inflationist crisis
The fourth crisis arose from the effects of the pandemic, which was still felt, and the war between Russia and Ukraine. This conflict “worsened a situation that came from the pandemic, with the breakdown in supply chains, which led us to the greatest inflationist crisis of the last 30 years”.
The rises in interest rates by the European Central Bank to respond to rising inflation “in a society such as hours where mortgages have a high significance and the variable rates are clearly dominant”, together with rising food costs, shot up household costs.
“From the start of 2022 to October 2022, inflation soared. We hit 10.1% inflation in October 2022 and since then we have been on a slow, yet sure, trajectory to lower inflation, until we hit 2.1% last February and the forecast is we will remain on that lowering trajectory”, said the Prime Minister.
SEVEN STRUCTURAL SHITS
Higher growth
The Prime Minister stated that between 2000 and 2015 the country alternated between recession and stagnation. “Only in one year of these 15 did we grow above the European average: in 2009. From 2016 onwards, the reality has been quite different “, he said. “In these eight years, the country grew ten times more than what it had grown in the previous 15”, he signalled, noting the 2.1% growth, including in the two pandemic years, “where product naturally fell drastically”.
More jobs and more income
The creation of jobs and improvement in employment conditions contributed to this economic growth. “Today, we have a record number of people working in Portugal: 5 million people. That is an additional 629 thousand jobs than in 2015. And in a context where it was possible to not just to have minimum wages grow 62%, but also average wages having grown 27.7%”, the Prime Minister indicated.
In addition to the rise in the minimum wage, the Prime Minister also noted rising pensions and improvement in net income.
Always in line with the Social Security Basis Law, in these eight years, average pensions rose 23.3%, “with all the rises set down in the law, as well as extraordinary rises to counter inflation”.
The improvement in net income came from the “successive drops in income tax IRS” and the “successive measures of non-monetary transfers that cut household expenses”, such as making school books free, reforming the costs of public transports, increasing the number of households that benefit from energy social rates and the “significant” cut in pubic university fees, that went from more than one thousand euros to 697 euros per annum.
A more qualified country
This was the shift the Prime Minister considered “perhaps brings the greatest consequences for the future”. António Costa mentioned the “highly significant” drop in early dropouts, where this year we are below the EU average for 2030, and the rise in the number of youths aged 30 to 34 years who completed higher educaiton in 2015, which can only rise, since “if we look at the youths who are 20 years old, 39% attended university in 2015, and today it’s 54%”.
A more competitive economy
“Every year, we beat records in attracting foreign direct investment. Every year, we beat corporate investment records and corporate investment went up 85% between 2015 and 2023”, the Prime Minister stated, advocating that “what offers a modern economy competitiveness is its capacity to have qualified jobs, being more innovative, and this is what enables that innovation”.
António Costa also added that the rise in exports, which in 2022 accounted for more than 50% of GDP, and the change in the nature of exports. “Exports of high and medium tech goods increased 71% over these last eight years, which means that complexifying, qualifying, and the added value of our economy have been clearly on the rise”.
Less inequality
“Today we have 600 thousand people less in poverty or social exclusion, and especially 226 thousand children less living in poverty or social exclusion”, said the Prime Minister.
Taking the lead in fighting climate change
The sixth shift had to do with the country’s position in taking the lead in fighting climate change. “We were the first country in the world, at the2016 Marrakesh COP to undertake the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Our Climate Law imposed on us a greater ambition of hitting that target in 2045 rather than 2050”.
Since 2017, Portugal has cut back its GHG emissions by 17% “due to the public transport policy and bringing targets such as closing down coal-fuelled power stations forward and increasing the capacity to generate energy using renewables”, the Prime Minister signalled.
Advances in the State reform
The last structural shift mentioned by the Prime Minister had to do with the advances in the State reform, namely concerning the decentralisation of powers, such as transferring the PSP’s traffic tasks to the Lisbon and Porto municipal police, making Carri or STCP (public transport) municipal, or the agreement with the National Portuguese Municipalities Association (ANMP) to transfer powers. Lastly, António Costa referred to the reform of the Regional Development Coordination Committees (CCDR), that are now more democratised and with greater autonomy.
London, UK, June 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amid growing demand for passive income in the digital asset space, UK-based company LET Mining has officially launched its next-generation cloud mining platform, aiming to make cryptocurrency earnings more accessible, transparent, and environmentally responsible. The company offers users a simplified entry into mining top digital assets like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum — all without the need to purchase or manage physical equipment.
LET Mining enters the market at a time when many investors are seeking lower-risk, infrastructure-free ways to participate in the cryptocurrency economy. With traditional mining becoming increasingly expensive and energy-intensive, cloud-based models offer a scalable, remote solution — particularly when paired with a user-friendly platform and clean energy infrastructure.
According to the company, LET Mining’s entire ecosystem is powered by renewable energy sources, including solar and wind. All contracts are hosted in optimized data centers with 24/7 monitoring and automated daily payout features. The platform is designed to serve both individual users and institutional clients, offering fixed-term contracts with defined daily return rates and transparent pricing.
“Our vision with LET Mining is to strip away the complexity and high cost of traditional mining,” said Lillian Austen, Advertising Manager at LET Mining. “We’ve built a platform that allows users to begin earning crypto in minutes, backed by green energy, real-time tracking, and around-the-clock support.”
LET Mining also offers flexible entry points for users at all levels — including a free starter plan for beginners, as well as advanced options for high-volume investors. Each contract is priced to include all operational costs (electricity, maintenance, hosting), so users don’t need to worry about hidden fees.
The company’s proprietary dashboard provides real-time visibility into earnings, contract performance, and referral rewards. Users are paid daily and can reinvest or withdraw funds at their convenience.
In addition to its core mining features, LET Mining offers a referral program that enables users to earn additional commissions by inviting others to the platform. The program is designed to reward both the referrer and the new user, encouraging growth and long-term engagement.
Getting started with LET Mining is a streamlined process. Users can register on the platform, verify their identity, select a mining plan, and fund their wallet using supported cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC, or USDT. Once the contract is activated, mining begins automatically, and users can view their earnings grow in real time.
LET Mining has emphasized that its long-term roadmap includes the integration of DeFi tools, NFT-linked mining contracts for added transparency, and further expansion into regulated jurisdictions.
As passive crypto income continues to gain traction worldwide, LET Mining presents a forward-thinking alternative that aligns with both financial opportunity and environmental responsibility.
About LET Mining LET Mining is a London-based cloud mining platform focused on simplifying and democratizing access to digital asset mining. Through hosted infrastructure powered by renewable energy and a fully managed user dashboard, the company offers secure and scalable mining contracts for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies — with no hardware or technical expertise required.
Media Contact Lillian Austen Advertising Manager, LET Mining info@letmining.com https://letmining.com
589th Plenary session, with the following guests: Roberta Metsola, President of the EP (tbc);János Bóka, Minister of EU Affairs of Hungary; Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Maxime Cerutti, Director of Social Affairs at Business Europe, Tea Jarc, Confederal Secretary of the EU Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Rareș Voicu, President of the EU Youth Forum and Nicoletta Merlo, EESC Member; with Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain (tbc), Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (tbc); Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: OSCE expands focus on virtual assets taxation in second workshop in Moldova
Building on insights from the first workshop held in May, the OSCE organized a follow-up event on the taxation of virtual assets on 26 and 27 June in Chisinau, Moldova.
The workshop brought together eighteen representatives from Moldova’s State Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance to enhance their understanding of the complex and evolving landscape of crypto taxation.
Over the course of the workshop, participants engaged in a mix of theoretical sessions and practical exercises aimed at deepening their technical knowledge and increasing their operational capacity. The workshop covered a range of topics, including blockchain-based taxation mechanisms, common tax avoidance strategies involving cryptocurrencies, and compliance with international standards.
This training comes at a critical time, as Moldovan authorities are actively working to enhance the anti-money laundering framework and develop clear regulatory guidance for the virtual asset sector.
The workshop series was organized as part of the OSCE’s extra-budgetary project, “Innovative Policy Solutions to Mitigate Money-Laundering Risks of Virtual Assets”, implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and funded by Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States.
VICTORIA, Seychelles, June 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is now the most liquid platform for altcoins within the 0.3–0.5% price interval, as per reports released by CoinGecko analyzing centralized exchange (CEX) liquidity across key digital assets. This finding comes from a comparative study of order book depth across major trading venues including Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken, and Coinbase.
The report, titled “2025 State of Crypto Liquidity on CEXes,” examined order book snapshots and deviation spreads for top-traded tokens such as BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and DOGE. It measured liquidity within various price intervals from the mid-market rate, providing a granular view of the actual executable volume for traders. While Binance retained the largest depth for Bitcoin, Bitget outperformed all other platforms in terms of liquidity provisioning for non-BTC assets in the mid-depth trading band.
The analysis highlighted that Bitget consistently maintained superior liquidity for altcoins—particularly within the 0.3% to 0.5% spread from market price—suggesting a favorable trading environment for investors seeking tighter spreads and reduced slippage outside of Bitcoin-heavy strategies. This result positions Bitget as the preferred platform for altcoin traders, as tighter spreads often signal healthier market participation and reduced execution costs.
“Altcoin liquidity is a measurement for market depth, and this ranking shows how far Bitget has come. Today, institutions drive 80% of our spot volume, futures activity from professional firms has doubled, and 80% of top quant funds trade on Bitget. Liquidity is infrastructure — and we’re building it where the market needs it most,” said Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget.
CoinGecko’s liquidity evaluation focused not just on headline volumes but on actual order book thickness and slippage tolerance at different price bands, making it a more accurate reflection of trading experience. Bitget’s strong presence in these middle bands shows its capacity to sustain meaningful trading depth beyond high-cap assets, which remains a challenge for many centralized platforms.
In an increasingly fragmented liquidity landscape, the report suggests that Bitget’s performance could be attributed to active market-making infrastructure, listing strategy, and strong retail and institutional participation in the altcoin segment. The findings are particularly relevant as trading costs and depth disparities remain a priority for professional traders and funds operating across multiple venues.
Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 120 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.
Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.
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Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
Ghana and Zambia’s official creditors are pressing them to default on loans to two African multilateral financial institutions: the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB).
These creditors, in effect, are demanding that the two countries prioritise repayments to themselves over payments to these two banks.
As academics who have worked on the challenges of financing sustainable development in Africa, we believe this action is short-sighted.
The action by Ghana and Zambia’s official creditors has two significant implications.
First, they are demanding that the two countries treat Afreximbank and the Trade and Development Bank as commercial creditors. This would undermine the banks’ credit ratings and increase their borrowing costs. It would also reduce their capacity to finance sustainable development in Africa.
Second, pressing Ghana and Zambia to default, rather than supporting pragmatic restructuring aligned with their strong growth prospects, exacerbates Ghana and Zambia’s financial vulnerability. Either they would have to use scarce resources to pay these debts or default on their obligations, in which case, the banks might well sue them.
Quotes from Ghana and Zambia’s ministries of finance suggest the decision to default is their own. However, they faced intense pressure from their official creditors to treat the two African multilateral financial institutions differently from all their other multilateral creditors.
Why does this differential treatment matter?
Preferred creditor status
Multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank and African Development Bank, have a preferred creditor status. This is in recognition of the special role they play. They are expected to provide relatively low-cost funding for public investment, economic stability and long-term sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries.
Their preferred creditor status ensures that, when countries experience debt distress, their development mandate is prioritised over the concerns of commercial creditors. Commercial creditors normally only fund commercially viable transactions. They charge high interest rates to compensate for the risk of default on these transactions.
Both Afreximbank and Trade and Development Bank were created to fill a gap in Africa’s access to critical development finance. They provide financing for projects and transactions that commercial institutions and other multilateral financial institutions cannot – or will not – provide, because of capital limits, regulations or perceptions of risk.
the decline in African exports has impacted adversely on the economies of African states and hindered their ability to achieve a self-reliant development.
It further recognises that stimulating economic development
can best be achieved through the creation of a trade financing international institution whose principal purpose is to provide and mobilise the requisite financial resources.
Historically, it has enjoyed preferred creditor status to support its role in meeting this purpose.
Why preferred creditor status is being challenged
The two countries’ official creditor committees, the rating agency Fitch and other commentators are challenging the preferred creditor status of the two African institutions. They argue that the two banks are different from multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank that only have states as shareholders. They suggest that the private shareholders in the two African banks should not benefit from preferred creditor status. Instead, they should receive the same status as commercial creditors.
This view ignores the reason that Afreximbank’s and the Trade and Development Bank’s member states authorised them to have private shareholders. It was a deliberate, pragmatic measure designed to fill a gap in Africa’s access to affordable development finance.
The idea was to create new multilateral institutions that could raise capital flexibly and quickly on terms that the individual African states could not match on their own. Several other regional development banks have this hybrid model, including CAF, a highly rated development bank in Latin America.
It is perverse that this creative and pragmatic approach to filling a gap in the global financial system is now being used against the two African banks.
The consequences
The cost of capital for the two African financial institutions will increase if they are treated like commercial creditors. This will reduce their capacity to lend and their financing will become more expensive. It will also deepen inequality in the global financial system. Lastly, it will increase the risk of future African sovereign debt defaults.
In other words, downgrading their status risks undermining the very stability that official creditors claim to safeguard. It will also create another obstacle to Africa’s efforts to access stable, predictable and affordable flows of development finance.
The eventual outcome of the official creditors’ action will ultimately depend on negotiations between Ghana and Zambia and their creditors. This will include the two African institutions. It will also be influenced by how these different groups of creditors behave in other African sovereign debt restructurings.
However, the international community can seek to influence the outcome by taking actions in appropriate international settings.
Global leaders are searching for ways to scale up and strengthen the capacity of regional and subregional development banks like Afreximbank and the Trade and Development Bank. This requires respecting their preferred creditor status and increasing their access to affordable capital.
This is precisely the opposite of what is unfolding.
There is still time for the creditor governments to change course by demonstrating their support for African multilateral financial institutions.
– Africa’s development banks are being undermined: the continent will pay the price – https://theconversation.com/africas-development-banks-are-being-undermined-the-continent-will-pay-the-price-259404
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
Ghana and Zambia’s official creditors are pressing them to default on loans to two African multilateral financial institutions: the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB).
These creditors, in effect, are demanding that the two countries prioritise repayments to themselves over payments to these two banks.
As academics who have worked on the challenges of financing sustainable development in Africa, we believe this action is short-sighted.
The action by Ghana and Zambia’s official creditors has two significant implications.
First, they are demanding that the two countries treat Afreximbank and the Trade and Development Bank as commercial creditors. This would undermine the banks’ credit ratings and increase their borrowing costs. It would also reduce their capacity to finance sustainable development in Africa.
Second, pressing Ghana and Zambia to default, rather than supporting pragmatic restructuring aligned with their strong growth prospects, exacerbates Ghana and Zambia’s financial vulnerability. Either they would have to use scarce resources to pay these debts or default on their obligations, in which case, the banks might well sue them.
Quotes from Ghana and Zambia’s ministries of finance suggest the decision to default is their own. However, they faced intense pressure from their official creditors to treat the two African multilateral financial institutions differently from all their other multilateral creditors.
Why does this differential treatment matter?
Preferred creditor status
Multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank and African Development Bank, have a preferred creditor status. This is in recognition of the special role they play. They are expected to provide relatively low-cost funding for public investment, economic stability and long-term sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries.
Their preferred creditor status ensures that, when countries experience debt distress, their development mandate is prioritised over the concerns of commercial creditors. Commercial creditors normally only fund commercially viable transactions. They charge high interest rates to compensate for the risk of default on these transactions.
Both Afreximbank and Trade and Development Bank were created to fill a gap in Africa’s access to critical development finance. They provide financing for projects and transactions that commercial institutions and other multilateral financial institutions cannot – or will not – provide, because of capital limits, regulations or perceptions of risk.
the decline in African exports has impacted adversely on the economies of African states and hindered their ability to achieve a self-reliant development.
It further recognises that stimulating economic development
can best be achieved through the creation of a trade financing international institution whose principal purpose is to provide and mobilise the requisite financial resources.
Historically, it has enjoyed preferred creditor status to support its role in meeting this purpose.
Why preferred creditor status is being challenged
The two countries’ official creditor committees, the rating agency Fitch and other commentators are challenging the preferred creditor status of the two African institutions. They argue that the two banks are different from multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank that only have states as shareholders. They suggest that the private shareholders in the two African banks should not benefit from preferred creditor status. Instead, they should receive the same status as commercial creditors.
This view ignores the reason that Afreximbank’s and the Trade and Development Bank’s member states authorised them to have private shareholders. It was a deliberate, pragmatic measure designed to fill a gap in Africa’s access to affordable development finance.
The idea was to create new multilateral institutions that could raise capital flexibly and quickly on terms that the individual African states could not match on their own. Several other regional development banks have this hybrid model, including CAF, a highly rated development bank in Latin America.
It is perverse that this creative and pragmatic approach to filling a gap in the global financial system is now being used against the two African banks.
The consequences
The cost of capital for the two African financial institutions will increase if they are treated like commercial creditors. This will reduce their capacity to lend and their financing will become more expensive. It will also deepen inequality in the global financial system. Lastly, it will increase the risk of future African sovereign debt defaults.
In other words, downgrading their status risks undermining the very stability that official creditors claim to safeguard. It will also create another obstacle to Africa’s efforts to access stable, predictable and affordable flows of development finance.
The eventual outcome of the official creditors’ action will ultimately depend on negotiations between Ghana and Zambia and their creditors. This will include the two African institutions. It will also be influenced by how these different groups of creditors behave in other African sovereign debt restructurings.
However, the international community can seek to influence the outcome by taking actions in appropriate international settings.
Global leaders are searching for ways to scale up and strengthen the capacity of regional and subregional development banks like Afreximbank and the Trade and Development Bank. This requires respecting their preferred creditor status and increasing their access to affordable capital.
This is precisely the opposite of what is unfolding.
There is still time for the creditor governments to change course by demonstrating their support for African multilateral financial institutions.
Danny Bradlow, in addition to his position at University of Pretoria, is Senior G20 Advisor to the South African Institute of International Affairs and co-chair of the T20 sask force on sustainable financing.
Lisa Sachs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations
At the invitation of the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, undertook an official visit to Morocco, from 24 to 26 June 2025.
The visit underscored the growing cooperation between ASEAN and Morocco since the formalisation of the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in 2023. It also reflected both sides’ shared commitment to further strengthening cooperation on promoting trade and investment, digital transformation, sustainable development, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.
While in Rabat, the Secretary-General held meetings with H.E. Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, H.E. Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade, H.E. Mohamed Saad Berrada, Minister of National Education, Pre-school Learning and Sports, H.E. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, H.E. Abdeltif Loudyi, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in Charge of the Administration of National Defense, and Mr. Redouane Arrach, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests. The discussions touched on the deepening of ASEAN-Morocco relations, trade and investment, regional and global developments, and the importance of ASEAN as a regional consensus builder and its stabilising role in the Indo-Pacific region. The Meetings also emphasised the importance of upholding and strengthening the ASEAN Centrality, rules-based international order and the importance of practical cooperation pursued through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
The Secretary-General also delivered a lecture at the Moroccan Institute of Training, Research and Diplomatic Studies in Rabat where he exchanged views with a range of stakeholders on peace, diplomacy, and regional security issues. In Casablanca, the Secretary-General met with Mr. Said Ibrahimi, CEO of Casablanca Finance City (CFC), and engaged with representatives of the Moroccan General Confederation of Enterprises (CGEM), led by General Vice-President of CGEM, Mr. Mehdi Tazi.
The visit of the Secretary-General of ASEAN to Morocco and his delegation demonstrated the scope and depth of ASEAN-Morocco relations and cooperation over the past years and reaffirmed both sides’ mutual commitment to further strengthening the partnership. ASEAN and Morocco look forward to advancing the implementation of the ASEAN-Morocco Practical Cooperation Areas (2024-2028) which will serve as a framework for tangible cooperation in the years ahead.
The post Joint Summary of the Visit by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, to the Kingdom of Morocco appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Financial case study: commercial woodland over 100 hectares
Find out how creating a commercial woodland over 100 hectares stacks up with income through grants, timber, and carbon credits
Understanding woodland financials
Woodland creation is a long-term commitment that can diversify your income. Planting the right tree in the right place, can provide new and reliable income streams and far-reaching benefits for your land, your local community and the environment.
Potential income from a new woodland is dependent on several factors. This includes species, how quickly trees grow, spacing, how long before harvesting occurs (rotation length), woodland size, and the location of your woodland – all of which can vary considerably resulting in several possible combinations and outcomes.
This case study shows how a real landowner created productive woodland. All figures are rounded to the nearest £100 and accurate as of September 2024.
Creating a commercial woodland that benefits nature recovery
A landowner in the north east of England had large area of semi-improved grass land. To meet their management and financial objectives, they created a large-scale productive woodland across approximately 100 hectares of this land. This woodland will also provide wider benefits to society.
The landowner applied for the Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) and the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) to help fund the project. Over time, the new woodland will:
increase biodiversity
sequester carbon
develop productive stands of broadleaf and conifer species
Additionally, the landowner could benefit from private finance through the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) and timber markets.
A treemap chart shows the income breakdown of EWCO and WCPG grants. Maintenance: £614,800. Standard costs: £426,800. Woodland infrastructure: £117,700. WCPG: £30,500. Additional contributions – nature recovery: £17,000.
Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG)
Designing new woodland requires bringing together your objectives with the site’s context, suitability; and environmental, economic, and social factors into a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant plan. This plan helps secure regulatory approval for converting land to woodland.
WCPG provides funding to help cover the cost of producing a UKFS compliant woodland creation design. This project received £30,500 in WCPG grant payments.
England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)
EWCO supports the establishment of new woodland by offering financial support for capital costs to plant and protect young trees, costs for maintaining those trees for up to 15 years after planting and installing infrastructure to manage your woodland.
The grant recognises the public and environmental benefits that woodlands bring through stackable payments called Additional Contributions. These encourage planting the right tree in the right place for the right reason.
This 100+ hectare woodland project will receive £1,206,300 (£11,800 per hectare) in EWCO grant payments over 15 years following initial capital work. This includes standard costs, maintenance payments, Additional Contributions and infrastructure payments.
Standard costs for capital work
This project received a payment of £426,800 for capital items needed to make the woodland happen – this covers the cost of buying trees and tree tubes, fencing, gates and other essentials, which offsets most of the establishment costs for this woodland. The highest expenses were deer fencing, purchasing and planting a total of 550,000 trees.
Maintenance payments
The landowner will receive maintenance payments of £400 per hectare for 15 years after planting, totalling £614,800. These payments help with the cost of tree replacement, weeding around the trees and the management of open space within the woodland.
Land managers should expect some tree losses in the early years of planting and plan for replacements. Appropriate maintenance and protection will help minimise these losses. For a project of this scale, up to 165,000 replacement trees might be needed in the first few years.
Additional contributions
EWCO provides extra stackable payments for woodland projects that provide wider benefits to people and the environment. Eligibility depends on the woodland’s design and location.
Woodland projects focused on timber production can deliver a range of public benefits. This new woodland qualified for an Additional Contribution for nature recovery benefits.
The landowner planted approximately 15 hectares of native woodland within the scheme. Converting semi-improved grassland to native woodland in these areas will improve biodiversity, which qualified for a one-off low nature recovery payment of £17,000.
Income from timber
The demand for wood products in the UK hugely outweighs domestic production. We import over 73% of our timber, which was valued at £9.0 billion in 2022, making the UK the second largest net importer of forest products in the world1. This strong market demand for timber creates income opportunities for woodland owners.
This new woodland could generate income from timber in two ways:
the sale of standing trees, usually via an agent, that is harvested by the buyer
the sale of timber harvested by the woodland owner and sold as accessible from the roadside
This case study focuses on sale of standing timber over a 50-year period. The woodland is expected to produce 115,400m3 of timber through:
regular thinning every 5-years (starting year 14)
a clear fell of 27 hectares of conifer woodland (in year 34)
Using an average standing price of £35/m3 for conifer timber, the present value from timber income is estimated to be £1,426,704 (£13,900 per hectare).
Price assumptions
We used £35/m³ based on the average timber price over the last 5 years. Timber prices have the possibility to be higher than assumed in this case study due to the following reasons:
conifer timber prices have increased 200% over the past 20 years
future UK timber demand is expected to remain strong
For simplicity, this case study doesn’t account for increasing maintenance costs over time.
Income from carbon
Carbon markets present an opportunity for landowners to generate more income from their land, by selling the additional carbon that new woodlands will sequester to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) is the quality assurance standard for UK-based woodland creation projects hoping to generate carbon credits. Woodland creation projects can sell two types of carbon units under the Code:
Pending Issuance Units (PIUs)
These represent estimated future carbon capture. They’re not guaranteed, so can’t be used to report against emissions, but instead allow companies to plan for future offsetting. PIUs convert into WCUs in vintages and at certain points in time, when this occurs the ‘promise’ of future carbon has been verified as converted into actual carbon storage in the woodland.
Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs)
WCUs are verified units that represent one tonne of carbon dioxide that has been sequestered from the atmosphere. Companies purchasing WCUs make statements about their carbon neutrality as soon as they own them. This often results in a higher price per unit than PIUs. These units are independently verified in vintages after planting.
Projects under the code must meet a set of requirements, including a financial additionality test. This test must show carbon finance is necessary to make the project viable, and woodland income (without carbon credits) doesn’t exceed current land use income.
In this case study, the financial additionality test was passed, woodland creation would generate less income than the existing land use without carbon finance. So, the opportunity to join the voluntary carbon market could be taken up. To find out more about woodland and carbon, read our woodland creation fact sheet.
For this case study it has been assumed that all carbon units will be sold upfront as PIUs however, landowners can choose when to sell these units possibly speculating on future carbon price rises.
The project was registered and validated under the code and the landowner will verify its progress every 10 years from year 5 onwards, selling all its PIUs up front in Year 5. While landowners can hold credits to potentially benefit from future price increases, this case study assumes all units will be sold upfront as PIUs.
Over the first 35 years, the new woodland is likely to deliver over 30,000 WCUs. Using the average price of successful bids at the Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction in 2024 of £25 and assuming upfront sale in year 5 the estimated income from the carbon market is £768,100 (£7,500 per hectare).
A bar chart shows estimated woodland carbon units (WCUs) for various years. Year 5 estimates 70 WCUs. Year 15: 16,610 WCUs. Year 25: 10,230 WCUs. Year 34: 3,020 WCUs. The total estimates 30,730 WCUs.
How does this compare to agricultural income?
As with any change, there will be some costs associated with the establishment of woodland. For this landowner, who previously used the land for various crops, the main cost is foregone agricultural income.
While it’s impossible to predict agricultural income with certainty over a 50-year period, this case study uses the 5-year average Farm Business Income from the annual Farm Business Survey (FBS) for England and Wales to estimate the income foregone.
An infographic showing the comparison of net income (including agricultural income foregone) and net income (excluding agricultural income foregone).
Description of Income
Income
Description of Costs
Costs
WPCG
£30,500
EWCO standard costs and maintenance payments
£884,500
Planting, establishment, and maintenance costs
£1,999,700
EWCO additional contributions
£16,500
Carbon income
£646,700
Woodland Carbon Code costs
£4,600
Net timber income
£1,426,700
Miscellaneous costs such as insurance
£84,100
Agricultural income forgone
523,000
Total income
£3,004,900
Total costs
£2,088,400
When will this income be seen?
While EWCO payments are made up front once planting is completed, followed by 15 years of maintenance, income from timber is realised at different time periods.
The table below displays the timeline of net income over a 50-year period. When looking at net income over time it can be determined that this productive forestry site is likely to break even between year 31 and 35 when the highest amount of timber income is received.
Period
Income
Costs
Net Income
0-10
£1,560,700
£1,985,000
-£424,300
10-20
£366,300
£35,600
£330,700
20-30
£378,300
£25,100
£353,200
30-40
£800,200
£372,100
£428,000
40-50
£13,000
£12,300
£700
Wider benefits of woodland creation
Well-managed woodlands can not only offer an additional income stream, but they can also help you cut costs, for example, you could choose to heat buildings with wood fuel harvested from your woodland. Trees offer much more than just commercial benefits and carbon capture: woodlands can support our health and well-being, improve air and water quality, boost biodiversity, protect crops and livestock, prevent nutrient loss and soil erosion, and alleviate flooding.
AI Airlock, CERSIs and a new global AI network for health regulators
Med Tech Regs blog, June 2025: A focus on Software and AI.
Marinos Ioannides, Head of Software and AI Medical Devices, at the London Healthcare Innovation Forum earlier this year.
Marinos Ioannides, Head of Software and AI Medical Devices:
If you’re anything like me, Summer in Britain is a season of transformation and hope. Gone are the frozen, damp morning dog walks in darkness. Coats and jackets are locked away, half-empty half-forgotten tubes of sun cream emerge from deep cupboards, radiators are joyfully turned off.
The same feeling suffuses the Software and AI team here at the MHRA. Our recent AI Airlock webinar and this week’s opening of our new call for applications boldly announces a new year of inspiration, exploration and progress in innovative regulation. Building on the successes of last year’s excellent pilot programme, we’re eager to unlock and expand insights with industry and see first hand how innovative products and teams can help identify regulatory challenges in the Software as Medical Devices space.
For clarity, the two programmes deliver subtly different changes “behind the scenes” here at MHRA. The direct engagement MHRA has with members of the AI Airlock allows the findings to inform our foundational thinking for the regulation of Software and AI Medical Devices. The information and detail delivered by RADIANT is downstream of this – augmenting what tools, educational material and guidance is provided to help innovators navigate the broader regulatory landscape.
Not to be outdone, CERSI-AI have also ramped up their productivity, coordinating key meetings between academics, clinicians and MHRA to unpick the nuances of AI regulation, now and in the future. With a clear path to sustainability and deliverables already being met, both CERSIs continue to improve and inform this rapidly developing space.
This is part of a broader perspective at MHRA – that innovation and patient safety are not in opposition. Rather, innovation, driven by competition, delivers better products which make patients safer. Demands for patient safety, through clear documentation and proportionate regulation that provides a level playing field and secure, protective framework, create a more transparent market ensuring innovative products excel.
In the spirit of Summer, our work alongside Health AI presents a real growth opportunity. This week we were proud to announce that we became the first country in the world to join Health AI’s new global network of health regulators focussed on the safe and effective use of AI in healthcare. As a founding pioneer nation, we will work with regulators around the world to share early warnings on safety, monitor how AI tools perform in practice, and shape international standards together – helping make AI in healthcare safer and more effective for patients around the world.
Our work in the Digital Mental Health space continues to bear fruit. As we progress and deliver key, actionable insights through our specific guidance, we continue our engagement with experts to direct and augment our publications. If you’re attending the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Conference in Newport this week, you’ll see MHRA representatives there, eager to hear how we can enhance our work to deliver useful insights in this essential HealthTech space.
Just as no good summer holiday is possible without a translation phrasebook, we will shortly be publishing our Good Machine Learning Practice (GMLP) guidance to ease translation between regulatory frameworks. By transparently outlining our logic, we hope that industry, users and other regulators will be reassured of our alignment with international principles in this emergent space and get insights into our thinking and processes. As we refine this piece of keystone guidance, we also continue to progress our CyberSecurity and AI development and deployment guidance and we look forward to publishing that soon.
Beyond software, the innovative devices team moves from success to success with a clear, tangible deliverable from our accelerated Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP). Revolutionary technologies like HistoSonics’ ultrasound device, which breaks up tumours without surgery or radiation, is the sort of thing once considered science fiction. Yet, thanks to the excellent work of IDAP partners and MHRA colleagues, patients now have access to a game changing treatment for liver cancer – an example of smart, agile regulation in action.
And, of course, no Summer would be complete without London Tech Week. It’s a genuine pleasure to see the wonders that innovators continue to create. The opportunity to exchange ideas, debate economics and regulations, and get hands-on experiences with new developments is a real privilege. Presenting our regulatory strategy alongside leaders like David Lawson from the Department of Health and Social Care and Richard Phillips from the Association of British HealthTech Industries at Australia House was an opportunity only surpassed by a chance to see the Lord Mayor of the City of London in the flesh – bedecked with full ceremonial chain and garb!
Whether you’re out in a park turning red while trying to get a year’s supply of Vitamin D, or gritting your teeth as your laptop overheats, don’t curse the season of the sun. The MHRA are here learning, innovating and applying international best practices to maximise patient safety today and tomorrow, whatever the weather!
MSME Day, observed on June 27, honours the vital role that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises play in driving innovation, employment, and inclusive economic growth. From local artisans to emerging tech startups, MSMEs are the backbone of resilient economies. This day highlights their achievements and challenges, while underscoring the critical need for policy support, financial inclusion, and digital transformation to help them thrive in an increasingly competitive world.
Designated by the United Nations in 2017, the day serves as a reminder of the importance of supporting and empowering small businesses as engines of resilience and development—particularly in a post-pandemic, digitally evolving world.
Globally, MSMEs account for 90% of all businesses, contribute 60–70% of employment, and generate half of the world’s GDP, according to UN estimates. In India, the sector holds even greater relevance—contributing nearly 30% to GDP, 45% of exports, and ranking second only to agriculture in employment generation.
This year, the Ministry of MSME is celebrating ‘Udyami Bharat – MSME Day.’ The theme for 2025 focuses on “Enhancing the role of MSMEs as drivers of Sustainable Growth and Innovation.”
Key government schemes
The Ministry reported that India is home to over 6.3 crore MSMEs, spanning manufacturing, trade, and services. Several flagship initiatives are underway to support the sector’s growth.
PM Vishwakarma, launched in September 2023 with an outlay of ₹13,000 crore, aims to enhance the skills and market access of traditional artisans and craftspeople. As of June 26, 2025, more than 2.71 crore applications had been submitted under the scheme, with nearly 30 lakh beneficiaries registered.
The Udyam Registration Portal, introduced in July 2020, provides free, paperless registration for MSMEs. To extend formal benefits to informal businesses, the Udyam Assist Platform was launched in January 2023.
Job creation and credit access
The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a credit-linked subsidy scheme, continues to promote self-employment by supporting the setup of micro-enterprises. Since its launch in 2008, it has aided more than 9.87 lakh units, generating over 80 lakh jobs with subsidies exceeding ₹26,000 crore. In FY 2024-25 alone, 58,028 new units were set up, creating employment for over 4.6 lakh people.
Support for traditional industries
The Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), which clusters artisans for competitiveness and sustainable income, has approved 513 clusters, of which 376 are functional. In 2023-24, 18 new clusters benefited nearly 12,000 artisans across 11 states.
The Khadi and Village Industries sector has also seen rapid expansion. Sales have grown from ₹33,135 crore in 2014-15 to ₹1.55 lakh crore in 2023-24. Production has tripled in the same period, reaching over ₹1.08 lakh crore last fiscal.
Boosting public procurement
To enhance market access, the Public Procurement Policy mandates that 25 per cent of procurement by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) be sourced from MSEs, including 4 per cent from SC/ST-owned and 3 per cent from women-owned businesses. In FY 2024-25 (as on December 5), CPSEs and departments procured goods worth ₹37,190 crore from 1.15 lakh MSEs—well above the target.
Global outreach and partnerships
The Ministry also focused on strengthening international partnerships. In 2024, India signed MoUs with Japan, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Egypt, and the US to support MSME development, training, and technology exchange. Key engagements included a Joint Working Group with Japan, collaboration with the US EXIM Bank, and a partnership with Taiwan’s ITRI.
New initiatives and digital campaigns
A series of 2024 campaigns and programmes targeted MSME digitisation and inclusion. The Special Campaign 4.0 in October cleared backlogs, freed up 43,342 sq ft of space, and generated ₹21.84 lakh through disposal of obsolete materials.
The MSME-TEAM Scheme, launched on June 27, 2024, has an outlay of ₹277 crore to support five lakh micro and small enterprises, half of them led by women, with digital onboarding, logistics, and packaging support.
The Yashasvini Campaign, also launched this June, aims to formalise and support women-led enterprises in partnership with NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Rural Development.
The MSME Hackathon 4.0, launched in September 2024, is providing funding of up to ₹15 lakh to 500 young innovators. Additionally, the new Centre for Rural Enterprise Acceleration through Technology (CREATE) was inaugurated in Leh to support enterprise in the Himalayan region.
MSMEs are transforming India’s growth by driving innovation, creating jobs, and empowering local communities—especially in rural and semi-urban areas. With policy support, digital tools, and new market access, they are key to sustainable, inclusive development.
MSME Day is not just a celebration; it’s a reflection of how small businesses are shaping a self-reliant and future-ready India.
ROAD TOWN, Virgin Islands, June 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BloFin, a leading cryptocurrency exchange known for its user-centric innovation, is pleased to announce the launch of coin-margined perpetual contracts for leading crypto assets including Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and Ethereum (ETHUSD), further expanding its suite of advanced derivatives offerings. Starting Jun 21st, BloFin users can trade perpetual contracts with crypto as collateral, unlocking a fully crypto-native trading experience.
Coin-margined perpetual contracts—also referred to as coin-based perpetual swaps—are a class of crypto derivatives that allow traders to speculate on price movements without an expiry date. Unlike USDT-margined contracts, which require stablecoins for margin and settlement, coin-margined contracts are collateralized and settled directly in the base cryptocurrency (e.g., BTC or ETH), giving users greater flexibility and alignment with long-term crypto holdings.
The newly introduced contracts provide users with a streamlined approach to leveraging digital assets, with the added benefit of profit settlement in crypto, preserving long-term exposure to market appreciation. This structure not only enables improved capital efficiency but also aligns with the upward momentum of the broader digital asset ecosystem.
With this launch, BloFin reinforces its position as a next-generation trading platform, offering a robust infrastructure for both retail and professional users. More coin-margined pairs will be introduced in the coming months.
BloFin is a top-tier cryptocurrency exchange that specializes in futures trading. The platform offers 480+ USDT-M perpetual pairs, Coin-Margined Perpetual Contracts, spot trading, copy trading, API access, unified account management, and advanced sub-account solutions. Committed to security and compliance, BloFin integrates Fireblocks and Chainalysis to ensure robust asset protection. By partnering with top affiliates, BloFin delivers scalable trading solutions, efficient fund management, and enhanced flexibility for professional traders. As the constant sponsor of TOKEN2049, BloFin continues to expand its global presence, reinforcing its position as the place “WHERE WHALES ARE MADE.” For more information, visit BloFin’s official website at https://www.blofin.com.
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Businessman Allan Zeman recently accepted reappointment as a member of the Chief Executive’s Council of Advisers for another two years. As a long-standing adviser to consecutive Hong Kong leaders, he says he was motivated to continue his membership by the council’s effectiveness to date as a high-level strategic advisory body.
He added that he has been deeply impressed by the governance approach taken by Chief Executive John Lee.
“A few times a year we meet to discuss what Hong Kong needs, (and) the problems that we see – maybe (developments like) I&T (innovation & technology), (and) now where everyone is talking about AI (artificial intelligence).
“Maybe Hong Kong is lacking in certain areas where we need to catch up. I think he (Mr Lee) is very open-minded and he realises the problems. If you suggest maybe some shortcuts to make things move quicker, he will act on it.“
Mr Zeman also lavished praise on the Kai Tak Sports Park project, stating that he believes the Government has done an excellent job in constructing what he considers to be one of the best stadiums in the world.
In addition, he highlighted that Hong Kong has enjoyed significant success in attracting family offices.
“There (are) approximately 400 to 500 more family offices that within the next four years will be coming to Hong Kong and signing up. That will make Hong Kong actually maybe with 3,100 or 3,200 family offices – we will be number one in the world for family offices.
“This shows the confidence that people have in Hong Kong. And of course, some of the agencies just came out showing Hong Kong was the third most competitive place in the world. We have moved up to slot number three, which again, is really, really a great achievement. I put this down to John Lee and his management and the style that he has done from the beginning.”
Since taking office, Mr Lee has led several delegations on trips overseas and to the Mainland. Mr Zeman said these visits will benefit Hong Kong and enhance its profile internationally.
“I think we are looking at new markets and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market which the Chief Executive has led a few delegations to visit. (Also) the Middle East, again, he has led delegations, and also going to Mainland China – Hangzhou and other places. And so really to tell a good Hong Kong story, we now have a really good story to tell.”
Indian stock markets are more likely to rise than fall in the third quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q3 FY26), global brokerage Morgan Stanley said in a note on Friday.
The firm remains bullish on Indian equities, expecting strong economic data, supportive measures from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and better-than-expected corporate earnings to drive market gains from July onwards.
According to Morgan Stanley, India is showing signs of steady improvement. Government spending is increasing, and the RBI appears to be shifting towards a more accommodative or ‘dovish’ policy stance. This, along with easing inflation, is creating a favourable environment for equities.
The brokerage also believes that lower interest rates will encourage banks to increase lending, thereby boosting credit growth. Furthermore, if global uncertainties ease, Indian companies may begin to invest more in new projects.
A key driver for the markets could be the upcoming corporate earnings season. Morgan Stanley expects many companies to exceed market expectations, supported by a lower base, improved operational efficiency, and steady consumer demand.
Looking ahead, the RBI may cut interest rates by 25 basis points in the fourth quarter, which could further improve market sentiment.
However, the brokerage cautioned that global factors continue to exert a significant influence on India’s markets. Rising geopolitical tensions, shifts in global trade policies, or a slowdown in developed economies could negatively impact domestic equities.
Although India is generally viewed as a stable market, a broad-based global sell-off would likely have a spillover effect on Indian stocks. For instance, a sharp fall in crude oil prices could signal deeper global economic concerns, which may weigh on investor confidence.
Despite these risks, Morgan Stanley believes that strong retail investor participation and sustained foreign institutional interest will provide a cushion against potential downside.
Indian equities also benefit from a ‘scarcity premium’ and ongoing structural reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) overhaul and infrastructure development, which continue to bolster investor confidence.
While current valuations are high relative to historical averages, the brokerage considers them justified in light of the strong earnings outlook.
In the long term, India’s stable policy environment and robust growth potential make it one of the most attractive investment destinations among emerging markets, Morgan Stanley said.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is showcasing its longstanding leadership in sustainable coffee development at the Specialty Coffee Association’s World of Coffee – Europe’s largest coffee trade show – hosted for the first time in Geneva from 26–28 June 2025.
For over two decades, ITC has worked closely with the International Coffee Organization and regional institutions to support coffee value chains and SMEs across Latin America, Africa and Asia. From its flagship publication, The Coffee Guide – now in its fourth edition and widely regarded as the industry reference – to its deep partnerships promoting circular economy and inclusive business models, ITC supports building resilience, competitiveness and sustainable value chains for SME development..
This year’s presence at the World of Coffee spotlights how ITC is investing in value addition, technical capacity building, regional trade, and youth and women-led entrepreneurship – with a focus on accompanying small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their efforts to benefit from trade while securing better market access and stronger returns.
ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said: ‘Coffee is more than a commodity – for the many small businesses we support in countries across the world, the ability to improve the quality of their beans, process at origin and meet sustainability requirements in the face of rising climate concerns means they’re able to adapt to changes to tap into new markets and compete at the global level.’
ICO Executive Director Vanusia Nogueira said: ‘No one can tackle the coffee sector’s challenges alone. We need expertise, funding, capable people and strong partnerships for collective action. The ICO and ITC have worked together for many years, and Pamela and I have deepened this collaboration – going beyond The Coffee Guide to drive calls to action across numerous coffee-producing countries. Together, we’ve supported efforts ranging from EUDR compliance and new field procedures to market access and boosting local consumption – each critical to increasing incomes where coffee is grown.’
Hon. Bwino Fred Kyakulaga, Uganda’s Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said: ‘Uganda reaffirms its ambitious commitment to transform its export trajectory—from $50 billion to $500 billion—through strategic value addition. Coffee will be one of the primary drivers for achieving this target, reinforcing not only our economic competitiveness but also our national transformation agenda. Additionally, the Government of Uganda has set aside $100 million to support investment in the gradual transition of the coffee sector from green bean export to both green bean and soluble coffee exports in a bid to generate more revenue and income for the farmers and the country as a whole.’
In a separate meeting with ITC Deputy Executive Director Dorothy Tembo and her team, Hon. Bwino explored the possibility of a partnership with ITC focusing on value addition through science and technology transfer for sustainably increased coffee processing production.
ITC at World of Coffee
Booth 1359 | Palexpo Geneva | 26–28 June
At Booth 1359, visitors can taste unique coffees from across the globe, connect directly with producers, and learn how ITC programmes are enabling sustainable and inclusive coffee growth from seed to sip.
ITC will also co-host national booths with coffee sector stakeholders from:
Booth 1359: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana
Booth 2469: Burundi
Booth 2365: Kenya
Booth 2531: Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Booth 2467: Papua New Guinea
Booth 2271: Rwanda
Booth 2377: United Republic of Tanzania
Booth 2371: Uganda
ITC Programmes represented
ITC Window I Trust Fund, related to the development of methodologies associated with accompanying SMEs in the green transition
European Union-East African Community Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) II, funded by the EU, will support over 40 coffee companies from East Africa to exhibit and engage with buyers.
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Business-Friendly, funded by the EU and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, empowers small businesses through value addition, circular economy and trade development.
Netherlands Trust Fund V, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, supports coffee producers in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Senegal to grow exports and secure livelihoods.
United Kingdom Trade Partnerships Programme (UKTP), funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, aims to increase trade from developing countries to the United Kingdom and the European Union by maximizing the benefits of respective Economic Partnership Agreements and the United Kingdom’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The Polytechnic University hosted the All-Russian scientific conference with international participation BALT TRIBO 2025. Tribologists gathered at the International Scientific and Educational Center BaltTribo-Polytechnic of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport of SPbPU to discuss current issues in the industry.
Young specialists and renowned scientists from leading universities, research institutes, the Russian Academy of Sciences and industrial organizations have gathered here today. Also participating in the conference are specialists developing tribological equipment and research methods: the companies FianumLab and Tribotest from Moscow, RealInProekt and Scientific from St. Petersburg. I wish everyone fruitful work, interesting discussions and vivid impressions, – Director of IMMiT Anatoly Popovich addressed the participants.
The conference brought together representatives from Russia, China, the USA, Belarus, Uzbekistan and other countries who are engaged in scientific and applied research in the field of tribology – the science of friction, wear and lubrication.
The program included oral, remote and correspondence presentations, as well as a master class on working on a fully automated modular multifunctional friction machine MFT-5000 manufactured by Rtec-Instruments (California).
The topics of the reports covered a wide range of issues: tribological materials science, physics of surfaces and contact interactions, technologies for modifying and applying coatings, research and development of lubricants, biotribology, chemmotology, nanotribology, tribodiagnostics, tribotesting, as well as the application of tribological knowledge in medicine, transport and mechanical engineering.
The co-chairs of the conference were the director of the Institute of Metallurgy and Metallurgy, Anatoly Popovich, and the head of the International Scientific and Educational Center BaltTribo-Polytechnic, Margarita Skotnikova.
Following the event, participants were given the opportunity to publish their materials in a collection indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) and assigned a DOI. The best works were recommended for publication in the journal Materials Physics and Mechanics and in the collection of works published by Springer.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Center for Innovative HR Services “Professions of the Future” offers more than three thousand paid internships for young Muscovites and job seekers without work experience. This year, the number of offers has increased by 50 percent compared to last year. This was reported by Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development.
“We continue to develop a system in which the capital acts as a link between business and young people. This work is carried out by our flagship personnel center “Professions of the Future”, whose partners are leading employers of Moscow. This year, we increased the number of paid internships for young Muscovites and applicants without experience by 50 percent – today, over three thousand positions in IT, industry and other key sectors are available to them. This is an excellent opportunity for residents to get acquainted with the specifics of the company’s activities, gain practical skills, immerse themselves in the corporate culture and earn their first money. At the same time, interns can not only get a guaranteed path to employment, but also count on a decent salary at the start. For example, in construction, engineers starting their careers can earn up to 140 thousand rubles,” said Anastasia Rakova.
Career mentors at the Professions of the Future center will help you find a suitable paid internship option. They will tell you how to write a resume and cover letter, and will also prepare you for an interview. In addition, the center hosts career festivals and meetings with employers. Leading companies and organizations offer Muscovites pre-graduation internship programs and current vacancies. With such a systematic approach, it becomes easier for beginning specialists to take the first step toward employment and a career.
The leaders in the number of internships are companies in the field of information technology and telecommunications, as well as wholesale and retail trade. IT companies are looking for programmers, developers, analysts, testers, and retail needs sales managers and customer service managers, sales consultants, as well as marketing managers and Internet marketers. The duration of internships varies from three to 12 months, the average salary reaches 90 thousand rubles.
There are also paid internships in the financial sector and manufacturing companies. Banks need auditor assistants and analysts, and companies need carpenter apprentices and CNC machine operators. The average salary is about 90 thousand rubles.
Young specialists are also expected in the construction, creative industry, catering, housing and utilities sectors. Companies need design engineers, project engineers, waiters, bartenders, baristas, cooks, bakers, confectioners, designers, speech therapists, educators, packers and order pickers. The average salary in the construction sector is 140 thousand rubles, in the creative industry and housing and utilities sector – 70 thousand rubles, in the catering sector – 90 thousand rubles.
The Moscow City Employment Service is the largest state personnel operator that helps residents of the capital find work. Its structure includes employment offices, many of which are located in the My Documents government service centers. The flagship centers are open at the following addresses: Kuusinen Street, Building 2, Building 1, and Shabolovka Street, Building 48. The specialized employment center My Career is located on Sergiya Radonezhskogo Street (Building 1, Building 1).
At the Professions of the Future center (38 Shchepkina Street, Building 1), you can master one of 75 in-demand professions in various sectors of the economy in a maximum of three and a half months. Career mentors will help you find a job after completing your training. The center’s partners include more than three thousand employers. In addition, a comprehensive career guidance program is being implemented here for ninth-grade students.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Geneva/Brussels, 27 June 2025– The Government of Belgium has officially confirmed a new flexible funding agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), providing an unearmarked contribution of €1 million per year from 2025 to 2028. The announcement, made during IOM’s 36th Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance, follows a high-level bilateral meeting earlier this month and reaffirms Belgium’s longstanding commitment to principled and effective migration governance.
“Belgium has been a steadfast and valued partner to IOM since our founding, consistently supporting our mission to protect people on the move and promote safe, orderly, and dignified migration,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “This renewed support reflects Belgium’s commitment to international solidarity and allows us to continue assisting migrants and communities facing the greatest challenges, from protracted displacement to human trafficking and climate-driven mobility.”
Belgium’s contributions have been pivotal to IOM’s field operations, from supporting early recovery in Ukraine, where IOM is helping communities rebuild livelihoods and infrastructure, to funding a regional project across six countries in West Africa that strengthens resilience to climate shocks, improves data governance, and promotes sustainable development.
In Belgium, IOM maintains close collaboration with partners at all levels of government, as well as with civil society, diaspora, and the private sector to support whole-of-society approaches to migration management.
Since 1984, IOM has supported Belgium with the voluntary return of more than 90,000 migrants, ensuring dignified return and sustainable reintegration in countries of origin, in collaboration with the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, Fedasil. Partnerships with the Belgian Immigration Office, Fedasil, regional governments, and the private sector have also forged new pathways for regular mobility for students, workers, and displaced populations.
Belgium also plays a leading role in diaspora engagement through its strong partnership with IOM. IOM’s Country Office in Belgium and Luxembourg, with over 20 years of experience in diaspora engagement, implements the Organization’s global strategy to enable, engage, and empower diaspora, ensuring their inclusion in all stages of project development and execution.
Key initiatives such as the O-REMIT project, supported by the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, are opening new pathways for migrants to send remittances more affordably and invest in their countries of origin, while the Conex programme strengthens the ability of diaspora leaders to assist and protect vulnerable members of their communities through targeted training and capacity building. At the core of this approach is the IOM Belgium Diaspora Advisory Board, which ensures that all initiatives remain firmly grounded in the needs and priorities of the communities IOM serves.
These efforts leverage the skills of diaspora communities, networks, and resources to strengthen migration governance and foster development in both origin and host countries. Guided by the priorities of migrants and diaspora communities, Belgium’s partnership with IOM continues to foster meaningful engagement and lasting impact.
New ideas continue to rise, as Samsung Solve for Tomorrow roadshows reach their final stretch. From the classrooms of Kolkata and the foothills of Jammu to the pine-covered landscapes of Shillong, each stop brought forward stories of determination, empathy and innovation.
The latest phase of the roadshow touched Army Public School in Kolkata, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Jammu, and North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong — each campus buzzing with youthful energy and a shared purpose: to solve real-world problems with real solutions.
Launched on April 29, 2025, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a national innovation programme that gives students across India the opportunity to build tech-based solutions using design thinking. The programme offers expert mentorship from Samsung leaders and IIT Delhi faculty, investor connects, prototyping support, and a chance to win INR 1 crore for the top four teams.
Spandan Mahapatra, a student of Army Public School in Kolkata, stood before his peers and shared his idea — an AI tool to detect early learning disabilities in schoolchildren. “Too many students are labelled as ‘slow learners’ when what they really need is early support. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow gave me the courage to act on this,” he said.
At SKUAST in Jammu, the conversation turned to the region’s unique challenges. Ayan Shahid Malik came forward with a concept for a mobile-based system to help marginal farmers monitor soil health. “We live in an agricultural belt where people still rely on traditional methods. I want to bring tech to them in a way that’s simple and practical,” said Ayan.
Meanwhile, at NEHU in Shillong, surrounded by rolling hills and monsoon skies, Bashan Kur Buhroy spoke of using drone-based delivery systems for emergency medicines in remote areas. “In the Northeast, there are places where ambulances can’t go. My idea is to use drones for urgent deliveries. With guidance from Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, I can turn this from a sketch into a solution,” said Bashan.
Each session was a reminder that innovation doesn’t need perfect labs or polished pitches — it needs a spark. And across these cities, that spark was everywhere: in recycled plastic bricks, in mental health support apps, in solar-powered farming solutions.
As the final call for entries approaches, the roadshow leaves behind more than application forms. It leaves behind belief — in ideas, in collaboration, and in the potential of young India.
Applications close on June 30, 2025.
If you have an idea, now is the time to act.
Let’s build a tomorrow that works for everyone — starting today.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget Wallet, the leading non-custodial Web3 wallet, is advancing its PayFi initiative by exploring the integration of QR code technology into decentralized payment systems. This ongoing research marks a significant step in demonstrating how self-custodial wallets can bridge the gap between traditional financial infrastructure and the decentralized world of Web3.
As blockchain adoption expands, integrating crypto payments into familiar systems remains a challenge. Bitget Wallet’s PayFi initiative is exploring how widely used QR code systems, known for their simplicity and mobile compatibility, can be adapted for decentralized use. The goal is to deliver a crypto payment experience that feels familiar while embracing the future of Web3.
“QR code payments are the most natural bridge between today’s habits and tomorrow’s financial systems,” said Jamie Elkaleh, CMO of Bitget Wallet.“Our work on PayFi is about more than just enabling transactions — it’s about designing a user-first experience that makes decentralized payments feel second nature.”
Adoption trends in Southeast Asia underscore the power of QR code infrastructure to drive financial inclusion. In Vietnam, QR payments surged 170% year-over-year in 2023, led by VietQR and major e-wallets like MoMo, ZaloPay, and Viettel Money. Meanwhile, the Philippines has seen rapid growth through its national QR Ph standard, now accepted by over 2.5 million merchants and supported by leading platforms GCash and Maya. These examples highlight the scalability and user familiarity of QR systems—making them an ideal foundation for bridging Web2 and Web3 payments.
Bitget Wallet’s PayFi initiative is focused on exploring how QR-based transactions can function securely within a self-custodial wallet environment. This includes analyzing regional QR payment standards, examining their interoperability with decentralized protocols, and assessing the infrastructure and compliance requirements needed for scalable integration. Still in its early research phase, the project is centered on developing internal proofs of concept and collaborating with external partners to refine the technology. Bitget Wallet is taking a deliberate approach—prioritizing deep understanding and responsible development over rapid deployment, to contribute meaningfully to the evolving Web3 and fintech ecosystems.
Bitget Wallet’s focus has always been on creating tools that empower users in a rapidly evolving financial landscape. With PayFi, the goal is to transform complex backend interactions into seamless user experiences—enabling everyday transactions like retail purchases, peer-to-peer payments, or service subscriptions to be completed directly from a self-custodial wallet.
The integration of QR code capabilities represents more than just a technical upgrade. It reflects a deeper shift toward building payment systems that are inclusive, interoperable, and rooted in user ownership. As Bitget Wallet continues this work, it remains focused on shaping meaningful standards and solutions that can serve both the Web3 community and broader financial ecosystems. In a future where decentralized and traditional systems coexist, Bitget Wallet’s PayFi initiative offers a glimpse into what that reality might look like—where paying with crypto can be as easy as scanning a code.
About Bitget Wallet Bitget Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet designed to make crypto simple and secure for everyone. With over 80 million users, it brings together a full suite of crypto services, including swaps, market insights, staking, rewards, DApp exploration, and payment solutions. Supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens, Bitget Wallet enables seamless multi-chain trading across hundreds of DEXs and cross-chain bridges. Backed by a $300+ million user protection fund, it ensures the highest level of security for users’ assets. Its vision is Crypto for Everyone — to make crypto simpler, safer, and part of everyday life for a billion people. For more information, visit: X | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | TikTok | Discord | Facebook For media inquiries, contact media.web3@bitget.com
Source: NSW Government puts trust in NAB to transform banking and payments
27 06 2025 – Media release
Marton Csokas and Lila McGuire of Goolagong. Image courtesy of ABC. The ABC, Screen Australia and VicScreen are thrilled to announce that production has commenced on Goolagong, a three-part event mini-series based on the inspiring true-life story of world champion tennis player Evonne Goolagong. In her breakthrough role portraying one of Australia’s most-loved female sporting heroes, is rising new star and proud Whadjuk and Ballardong Noongar woman Lila McGuire (The Twelve) alongside renowned fellow lead actors Marton Csokas (Asylum, Equalizer), Felix Mallard (Ginny and Georgia, Turtles All The Way Down) and Luke Carroll (Mystery Road: Origin and Scrublands season 2). Currently filming on the lands of the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung, Taungurung, and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nations, Goolagong is made by Werner Film Productions, part of BBC Studios, directed by Wayne Blair (Mystery Road, Total Control) and written by Steven McGregor (Mystery Road Origin, Sweet Country) and Megan Simpson Huberman (Dating The Enemy, On The Job). Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Roger Cawley are Associate Producers. The journey will take us from the tiny NSW regional town of Barellan, where an eager eight-year-old Aboriginal kid first peered through the cyclone wire fence of a tennis court to the centre courts of the world, where Evonne (McGuire) would reach the world number one ranking and endear herself to millions around the globe. Along the way, the obstacles will be immense. At age 12, Evonne will leave behind her family to be coached by the imperious Vic Edwards (Csokas). While the on-court success that follows unites a nation, a deeply disturbing dynamic is playing out behind the scenes that will threaten to tear everything apart. And, when she falls deeply in love with Roger Cawley (Mallard), Evonne will have to decide whether to follow her heart or follow her career. Or, whether she can do both. Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough and First Nations Department Development and Investment Manager Jorjia Gillis said, “Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, is one of Australia’s greatest sporting legends with a story destined for screen. This distinctive series from a powerhouse creative team cleverly balances a celebration of Goolagong’s sporting triumphs and a lifetime of adversity as a First Nations woman living, winning and loving in a patriarchal world. What shines through is a story of commitment, community and culture — a story that will resonate with audiences worldwide.” ABC Head of Scripted, Rachel Okine said, “We are thrilled to bring the inspiring story of Evonne Goolagong Cawley to ABC screens. This is the story of a true sporting trailblazer whose resilience, humility and grace created a legacy that continues to reverberate around the globe. With an exceptional creative team bringing this remarkable life to screen, Goolagong promises to be a landmark television event”. Werner Films Productions Producer, Joanna Werner said, “It’s so incredibly rewarding to see Goolagong move into production after nearly nine years in development. Having Evonne and Roger involved as Associate Producers has been invaluable, and we’re so proud to be telling such an important Australian story with their guidance. We’ve undertaken a nationwide casting process to assemble an exceptional ensemble, including exciting new talent and skilled tennis players. Lila McGuire brings something truly special to the role of Evonne — we’re excited for audiences to see her in this breakout role and to be moved by Evonne’s inspiring story. We’re deeply grateful to the ABC for championing this project and recognising its significance from the outset. And we’re thrilled that BBC Studios will now take this uniquely Australian story to audiences around the world”. “Working on the Goolagong series is one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Goolagong’s Co-Producer, Danielle MacLean. “Evonne’s success in the world of tennis broke barriers for our people and inspired a generation. Her story is one of perseverance, talent and the inner strength that helped her succeed against the odds. As a First Nations filmmaker, I feel deeply honoured to help bring it to life”. VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said, “We are honoured to support some of Australia’s most exciting First Peoples talent both in front of and behind the camera, including writer Steven McGregor, producer Danielle MacLean and director Wayne Blair, who will bring Evonne Goolagong’s inspiring story to the screen. This is a story that will resonate with all Australians and will deepen our connection to Evonne as both First Peoples woman and athlete, and her unique strength, resilience, and vulnerability as she navigates her life’s journey”. Goolagong will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2026. ABC Media Enquiries Rob Caulley | [email protected] Media enquiries Maddie Walsh | Publicist + 61 2 8113 5915 | [email protected] Jessica Parry | Senior Publicist (Mon, Tue, Thu) + 61 428 767 836 | [email protected] All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney + 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne + 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]
Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), has extended heartfelt congratulations to President Julius Maada Bio on his recent election as Chairman of ECOWAS Authority. In a congratulatory letter, Dr. Donkor emphasized that the election reflects the sub-region’s strong confidence in President Bio’s leadership. He also commended the President’s proven governance record and expressed optimism that his leadership will effectively tackle pressing regional issues such as economic growth, peace, and security throughout West Africa.
The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) stands as a premier financial institution dedicated to advancing economic progress across West Africa. Based in Lomé, Togo, EBID finances critical sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, energy, and small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The Bank is instrumental in promoting regional integration, strengthening the private sector, and reducing poverty within ECOWAS member countries.
During the 67th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, Dr. Donkor also engaged in a productive discussion with President Bio. He reaffirmed EBID’s commitment to supporting Sierra Leone’s developmental priorities and lauded President Bio’s leadership. Dr. Donkor pledged to explore potential areas of collaboration between EBID and Sierra Leone.
President Bio’s new role as ECOWAS Chairman highlights Sierra Leone’s expanding influence in regional affairs and represents a pivotal achievement for the nation. His tenure is expected to focus on fostering sustainable economic development, empowering communities, and revitalizing cultural heritage across West Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Sierra Leone.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, participated in the high-level discussion session titled “Where is the Belt and Road in 2025?” during her role as a co-chair of the World Economic Forum meetings, held from June 23-26, 2025, under the theme “Resilient Economic Policies to Keep Up with Global Change” in Tianjin, China.
The event saw high-level participation from policymakers, private sector leaders, and entrepreneurs from over 90 countries.
During her speech, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat pointed out that international partnerships are always built on shared and mutual interests, adding that the large number of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reflects its importance. She noted the celebration last year of the 10th anniversary of the initiative’s launch, where participating countries showcased projects being implemented under the Belt and Road Initiative, which supported sustainable infrastructure in areas such as transport, renewable energy, and ports.
H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that each of these projects reflects the national priorities of the countries, and for Egypt, the projects were consistent with the national agenda and strategic goals of the state.
Regarding the stimulating factors contributing to accelerating the implementation of these projects, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat outlined that the Belt and Road Initiative has been a real catalyst in many cases for advancing national strategies. She pointed to the emergence of a number of national and international initiatives that integrate with and support the Belt and Road Initiative in the recent period, noting that China launched the Global Development Initiative several years ago, and many projects implemented under that initiative run in parallel with and support Belt and Road projects.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat also mentioned the issue of financing, explaining that much of the funding directed to these projects came through development finance. She highlighted that, with regard to sustainable transport and renewable energy projects in Egypt, there is a significant mobilization of resources towards the private sector, including low-cost development finance that has contributed to advancing investments.
Regarding relations between Egypt and China, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat stated that the historic visit of the Chinese President to Egypt in 2014 was an important starting point in Egyptian-Chinese relations, followed by the signing of MoU on the Belt and Road Initiative. She noted that relations between the two countries are based on two main aspects: the first relates to investments, with Chinese companies investing in Egypt, and the second is development cooperation between the two governments.
Regarding development cooperation, H.E. Minister Al-Mashat indicated that it includes projects in multiple fields such as health, satellites, and capacity building, noting the role of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) in supporting Egypt’s development agenda, in addition to China signing a debt swap agreement several years ago. She added that Egyptian-Chinese relations are also based on investment and trade, pointing to a large number of Chinese companies within the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Egypt, where more than 150 companies operate, providing over 10,000 job opportunities, with diverse activities across multiple sectors.
H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat reiterated that the Belt and Road Initiative does not impose a specific plan on countries; it is not an initiative based on a centralized blueprint that obliges each country to a specific path or project. Instead, it is a flexible framework that adapts to the priorities of each individual country.
Regarding the issue of financing, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat referred to the “4th Financing for Development” conference to be held in Seville on June 30, a UN conference held every ten years focusing on ways to finance development in developing and emerging economies. She explained that one of the most prominent messages of this conference is that the world needs to reduce reliance on debt and increase the mobilization of resources from the private sector to finance development projects.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat added that each country has full ownership in designing its projects, in line with its national vision, to then include these projects within the broader framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Furthermore, the cost of implementing these projects represents a common challenge and has been a strongly debated issue on the global stage for years, requiring innovative solutions and multiple sources of financing. She noted that, concerning debt, there are many international initiatives aimed at addressing this issue, including “debt-for-development and investment swaps” mechanisms.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation – Egypt.