Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC
Headline: Jason McFarland’s Story
Jason McFarland –IADC President
Jason McFarland (left) and his mentor, Ken Fischer, are pictured in Dubai while on a trip together in 2008.
When I think about the importance of mentorship in our industry, one person is top of mind: Ken Fischer. Our professional relationship spanned decades, and he fundamentally shaped who I am today.
Over Thanksgiving in 2008, Ken and I traveled to the UAE on IADC business, then to Oman for the IADC Well Control Middle East Conference. I was IADC’s VP of Membership at the time; I’d been working with Ken since 1996, a year after I started with our Association in what’s known today as the IADC Bookstore.
We were staying at the Grand Hyatt Muscat Oman, and the hotel was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for its American guests. Ken and I got our plates and sat out on the patio, and that’s when a seemingly ordinary moment changed the trajectory of my career and my life.
After our meal, Ken pulled out a scrap piece of paper that had the cab driver’s phone number from the night before. He started drawing out a leadership assessment grid, listing key attributes like vision, leadership, management, and technical competency. Then, he began evaluating several individuals—including me—and grading them on each of these attributes.
The exercise Ken drew out and the conversation that followed were straightforward, because that was Ken’s way, but they changed my life. There were two things that made this moment transformative for me.
Most importantly, this was the first time anyone had pulled me aside and told me that they thought I had potential. He believed in me at a time when I didn’t yet believe in myself. He showed me that I have something to offer, even though it took me a while to fully believe what we discussed that day.
Jason is pictured with Faisal, a representative from an IADC member company that hosted Jason and Ken in Abu Dhabi during their visit to the Middle East in 2008.
Secondly, he provided a clear, honest roadmap for my personal and professional growth. We talked about my weaknesses and the areas I could improve in, which motivated me to take action.
At the time of our conversation, serving as IADC’s president was simply nowhere on my radar. But I kept that piece of paper with me, a constant reminder of Ken’s wisdom and encouragement. Years later, in 2015, I was honored to be given an opportunity to serve as IADC’s President—a journey, I believe, that truly began with that simple but powerful conversation in Oman.
A few years ago, I visited Ken at his ranch during his battle with cancer. I pulled out the same worn piece of paper from Oman. He was astonished I still had it, and I told him what a pivotal moment that had been for me. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to express to Ken how much he meant to me and what an impact he’d had on my personal and professional life before he passed away.
Mentors like Ken don’t just guide careers—they change lives. They see potential in young professionals and nurture it with care, wisdom, and genuine belief. In our industry, these connections can be a truly invaluable resource.
To everyone reading this: If you have a mentor who’s inspired you, tell them. Let them know how much you appreciate them and the impact they’ve had on you. And if you’re in a position to mentor others, don’t underestimate the profound impact you can have on someone with a simple, encouraging conversation.
Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC
Headline: Jason McFarland’s Story
Jason McFarland –IADC President
Jason McFarland (left) and his mentor, Ken Fischer, are pictured in Dubai while on a trip together in 2008.
When I think about the importance of mentorship in our industry, one person is top of mind: Ken Fischer. Our professional relationship spanned decades, and he fundamentally shaped who I am today.
Over Thanksgiving in 2008, Ken and I traveled to the UAE on IADC business, then to Oman for the IADC Well Control Middle East Conference. I was IADC’s VP of Membership at the time; I’d been working with Ken since 1996, a year after I started with our Association in what’s known today as the IADC Bookstore.
We were staying at the Grand Hyatt Muscat Oman, and the hotel was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for its American guests. Ken and I got our plates and sat out on the patio, and that’s when a seemingly ordinary moment changed the trajectory of my career and my life.
After our meal, Ken pulled out a scrap piece of paper that had the cab driver’s phone number from the night before. He started drawing out a leadership assessment grid, listing key attributes like vision, leadership, management, and technical competency. Then, he began evaluating several individuals—including me—and grading them on each of these attributes.
The exercise Ken drew out and the conversation that followed were straightforward, because that was Ken’s way, but they changed my life. There were two things that made this moment transformative for me.
Most importantly, this was the first time anyone had pulled me aside and told me that they thought I had potential. He believed in me at a time when I didn’t yet believe in myself. He showed me that I have something to offer, even though it took me a while to fully believe what we discussed that day.
Jason is pictured with Faisal, a representative from an IADC member company that hosted Jason and Ken in Abu Dhabi during their visit to the Middle East in 2008.
Secondly, he provided a clear, honest roadmap for my personal and professional growth. We talked about my weaknesses and the areas I could improve in, which motivated me to take action.
At the time of our conversation, serving as IADC’s president was simply nowhere on my radar. But I kept that piece of paper with me, a constant reminder of Ken’s wisdom and encouragement. Years later, in 2015, I was honored to be given an opportunity to serve as IADC’s President—a journey, I believe, that truly began with that simple but powerful conversation in Oman.
A few years ago, I visited Ken at his ranch during his battle with cancer. I pulled out the same worn piece of paper from Oman. He was astonished I still had it, and I told him what a pivotal moment that had been for me. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to express to Ken how much he meant to me and what an impact he’d had on my personal and professional life before he passed away.
Mentors like Ken don’t just guide careers—they change lives. They see potential in young professionals and nurture it with care, wisdom, and genuine belief. In our industry, these connections can be a truly invaluable resource.
To everyone reading this: If you have a mentor who’s inspired you, tell them. Let them know how much you appreciate them and the impact they’ve had on you. And if you’re in a position to mentor others, don’t underestimate the profound impact you can have on someone with a simple, encouraging conversation.
TUESDAY 22 JULY — The future of deep sea mining will be a focus for world leaders this week as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly kicked in Kingston, Jamaica overnight (11pm AEST). Delegates, including from the Pacific and Australia, will discuss deep sea mining for the first time since The Metals Company (TMC) submitted the first-ever application to commercially mine the international seabed.
During the Council meeting which ended overnight, governments responded to the application by launching an investigation into whether mining contractors, including TMC’s subsidiaries Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML), are complying with contractual obligations to act in accordance with the international legal framework. The Council has ended with a clear signal that this industry will not get international approval anytime soon.
Rae Bainteiti, Pacific Political Coordinator at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said from the ISA in Kingston:
“Despite industry pressure reaching fever pitch, governments have sent a clear signal that the deep sea mining industry will not get international approval any time soon.
“As more delegations arrive to attend the ISA Assembly meeting, they’ll be met by a rising tide of voices — from scientists, Pacific communities, businesses, and concerned citizens — all saying the same thing: deep sea mining is a dangerous gamble we cannot afford. For generations, Indigenous knowledge has taught us that the ocean is not just a resource—it is a sacred, living system central to Pacific identity and survival. We have always known that disturbing the seabed threatens the balance of life in ways science is only beginning to understand. The only responsible way forward at the ISA is a global moratorium.”
— ENDS —
Contacts: Greenpeace Australia Pacific: Kimberley Bernard on [email protected] or +61 407 581 404 Greenpeace International: Sol Gosetti on [email protected] or +34664029407 (WhatsApp)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has designated George R. Botic to serve as Acting Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, effective July 23, 2025. Current PCAOB Chair Erica Y. Williams has resigned from the Board, effective July 22, 2025.
“I thank Erica Williams for her dedicated service on the Board, and I look forward to working with George Botic as Acting Chair,” said SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
“I am honored to work with the SEC and the staff of the PCAOB as Acting Chair to ensure that we meet the mission established by Congress,” said Mr. Botic.
Mr. Botic is a Certified Public Accountant and became a PCAOB Board Member on October 25, 2023. Prior to joining the Board, he served as the Director of the PCAOB’s Division of Registration and Inspections, where he oversaw the registration and inspection of all domestic and foreign accounting firms that audit public companies whose securities trade in the U.S., as well as all broker-dealer audits. He previously served in various roles at the PCAOB, including as its Director of the Office of International Affairs, Special Advisor to former Chairperson James R. Doty, and Deputy Director of the Registration and Inspections Division. Earlier in his career, Mr. Botic was a Senior Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a graduate of Shepherd University and received a Master of Accountancy from Virginia Tech.
The PCAOB was established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and oversees the audits of the financial statements of public companies, brokers, and dealers through registration, standard setting, inspection, and disciplinary programs. Under the Act, the Commission selects members and the Chairperson of the Board.
A Santa Clara County man and former engineer at a Southern California company pleaded guilty today to stealing trade secret technologies developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches, track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, and to allow U.S. fighter planes to detect and evade heat-seeking missiles.
Chenguang Gong, 59, of San Jose, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of trade secrets. He remains free on $1.75 million bond.
According to his plea agreement, Gong – a dual citizen of the United States and China – transferred more than 3,600 files from a Los Angeles-area research and development company where he worked – identified in court documents as the victim company – to personal storage devices during his brief tenure with the company last year.
The files Gong transferred include blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as blueprints for sensors designed to enable U.S. military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking ability. Some of these files were later found on storage devices seized from Gong’s temporary residence in Thousand Oaks.
In January 2023, the victim company hired Gong as an application-specific integrated circuit design manager responsible for the design, development and verification of its infrared sensors. Beginning on approximately March 30, 2023, and continuing until his termination on April 26, 2023, Gong transferred thousands of files from his work laptop to three personal storage devices, including more than 1,800 files after he had accepted a job at one of the victim company’s main competitors.
Many of the files Gong transferred contained proprietary and trade secret information related to the development and design of a readout integrated circuit that allows space-based systems to detect missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles and a readout integrated circuit that allows aircraft to track incoming threats in low visibility environments.
Gong also transferred files containing trade secrets relating to the development of “next generation” sensors capable of detecting low observable targets while demonstrating increased survivability in space, as well as the blueprints for the mechanical assemblies used to house and cryogenically cool the victim company’s sensors. This information was among the victim company’s most important trade secrets that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Many of the files had been marked “[VICTIM COMPANY] PROPRIETARY,” “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” “PROPRIETARY INFORMATION,” and “EXPORT CONTROLLED.”
Law enforcement also discovered that, between approximately 2014 and 2022, while employed at several major technology companies in the United States, Gong submitted numerous applications to ‘Talent Programs’ administered by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC government has established these talent programs as a means to identify individuals who have expert skills, abilities, and knowledge of advanced sciences and technologies in order to access and utilize those skills and knowledge in transforming the PRC’s economy, including its military capabilities.
In 2014, while employed at a U.S. information technology company headquartered in Dallas, Gong sent a business proposal to a contact at a high-tech research institute in China focused on both military and civilian products. In his proposal, translated from Chinese, Gong described a plan to produce high-performance analog-to-digital converters like those produced by his employer. In another Talent Program application from September 2020, Gong proposed to develop “low light/night vision” image sensors for use in military night vision goggles and civilian applications. Gong’s proposal included a video presentation that contained the model number of a sensor developed by an international defense, aerospace, and security company where Gong worked from 2015 to 2019.
Gong travelled to China several times to seek Talent Program funding in order to develop sophisticated analog-to-digital converters. In his Talent Program applications, Gong underscored that the high-performance analog-to-digital converters he proposed to develop in China had military applications, explaining that they “directly determine the accuracy and range of radar systems” and that “[m]issile navigation systems also often use radar front-end systems.” In a 2019 email, translated from Chinese, Gong remarked that he “took a risk” by traveling to China to participate in the Talent Programs “because [he] worked for…an American military industry company” and thought he could “do something” to contribute to China’s “high-end military integrated circuits.”
According to his plea agreement, the intended economic loss from Gong’s criminal conduct exceeds $3.5 million.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing for Sept. 29, at which time Gong faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office through the Counterintelligence Task Force in partnership with the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this matter. The FBI’s San Francisco Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California also provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David C. Lachman and Nisha Chandran for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Brendan Geary of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
This post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series.
This year marks the 110th anniversary of the adoption of six laws on children’s rights in Norway, which became known as the “Castbergian Child Acts” (Castbergske barnelovene) and regulate the relationship between parent and child, in particular strengthening children’s rights over their unwed fathers. The laws are part of UNESCO ‘s Memory of the World.
The laws are
Why are they called the Castbergian Child Laws?
The name of the child laws is derived from Johan Castberg, the President of the Odelsting (the lower chamber of the then two chambers of Norwegian Parliament) who presented the bill in the Norwegian Parliament, and who has been called the father of the Castbergian laws. He has himself called Katti Anker Møller the mother of the child’s act for her advocacy for women’s and children’s rights.
In addition to the Norwegian child laws, Johan Castberg also lent his name to Norway’s northernmost oil field in the Barents Sea.
What are the Castbergian Laws?
As mentioned above, the laws are six laws or amendments to laws that specify rights of the child, in particular in relation to its parents. The laws are described in one combined bill, the Odelstings Proposition Nr. 5 1914 (Ot. Prp. nr 5 (1914)). The bill starts with the following sentence:
“The hygienic, social, and financial circumstances under which a person is born and raised during their first years of life determine their later development. [These circumstances] to a great extent determine whether the child will become a vigorous individual and a useful member of society.” (Ot. Prp. 5, 1914 at 1, all translations by author.)
It later continues by explaining the failures of the current laws related to children and paternity at the time.
“In one area, the society has not, however, yet reached the recognition of the child’s natural rights over the parent. Namely, this applies to children born outside of marriage. Our legislation is still built on the provocative and unnatural fiction, that such a child only has a mother, legally it does not have a father. This applies even when there is no doubt who the father is. The law deprives also in this instance the child of [its natural] child’s right over the father.” (Ot. Prp. 5, 1914 at 2.)
The bill then goes on to describe the inconsistency of the law, which gives the child all its right over the mother, both in terms of a right to support, name, and inheritance from the mother’s relatives, but none over the father, noting that
“[r]esponsibility, duty, burden are placed on her – so much heavier because the father in accordance with the law is not carrying his share. This discrepancy between the man and the woman’s responsibility is so much more unjust because the woman is the suffering party and in general the weaker party. The birth of a child disrupts her organism, creates a complete upheaval in her social, physical and economic life, and lessens for a shorter or longer period of time, her ability to work and demands her energies to care for the child. The discrepancy between man’s and woman’s responsibilities is much more conspicuous as it is due to legislation in which women have had no part, a legislation only given by men. This is not only an injustice to the mother and the child, but a demoralizing system, because it releases the man from his natural responsibility and therefore tempts him to carelessness in a relationship that should be the most serious and responsible in a person’s life; that of bringing another human being into the world.” (Id. at 2.)
The law was thus not intended just to protect the child, but to also solve what Castberg saw as an inherent unfairness between the sexes. Women had gained the right to vote in 1913, through an amendment to the constitution, and the first woman to be elected to parliament was elected in 1921.
What was the reason for the change in law?
While the term “illegitimate” child was removed from the law that specified how children born outside of marriage were to be treated before 1915, there were still large differences associated with being born to married or unwed parents under Norwegian law in 1915, ranging from different name rights, to the right to inheritance, and the right to receive monetary support from the father.
The main reason Castberg invoked for changing the laws was a publication (Socialstatistik, V, Om Børn, fødte udenfor Ægteskab), from the Norwegian Statics Bureau (Statistics Norway) that showed that the rate of infanticide was between twice and three times as prevalent among children born to unwed parents as among children born to wed parents. This, argued Castberg, was because the mother and child born out of wedlock were still stigmatized and that unmarried mothers had less resources to tend to their child than wed mothers. (Ot. Prp. 5, 1914 at 2.)
How was paternity established?
These laws set up certain procedures for paternity determination that carry over into our day. The Castbergian laws required that the mother inform the treating midwife who the father was at minimum three months before the child was born. (6 § Lov om barn hvis forældre ikke harindgaat egteskap med hverandre.) Persons familiar with the possible paternity were required to testify and falsely accusing a man of being the father of one’s child was subject to imprisonment for up to two years. (Id.) Children were no longer admitted to the National Population Registry with the designation “father unknown.”
Norwegian mothers continue to be required to inform their midwives who the father is or may be, and the state has an obligation to find out in cases where the mother does not know or refuses to tell. (1 § Barnelova.)
What if the father denied paternity?
The Castbergian laws also removed a previous legal provision by which the father could solemnly swear that he was not the father and thereby release himself of paternity. Under the Castbergian laws, the courts were now free to determine who was more trustworthy, the mother or the contesting father. (10 § Lov om barn hvis forældre ikke harindgaat egteskap med hverandre.) Today, a DNA-test can resolve the issue. (4 § Barnelova.)
What were other notable changes?
The perhaps most notable changes at the time were that children born in and outside of wedlock were given the same rights pertaining to inheritance from the father and father’s family (3 § Arveloven; Ot. Prp. nr. 5, 1914 at 76-78) and the child also had a right to carry his or her father’s surname or his or her mother’s. ( 1§ Lov om barn hvis forældre ikke har indgaat egteskap med hverandre.) The father also had a duty to pay support to the child, and support to the mother for breastfeeding the child the first nine months (opamningsbidrag). (Id. 18 §.) If he was not able, the municipality would pay the mother. The state (through the local bidragsfogd) now also had a duty to collect the payment from the father, including by garnishing wages. (Id. 23-25 §§.)
Where can I find rules on paternity today?
Paternity and rules on co-mothers (the role of a same-sex partner to the birthing mother) are regulated in the Children’s Act. (3-4 §§ Lov om barn og foreldre (barnelova)(LOV 1981-04-8-7).) A person wishing to register paternity or co-motherhood can do so at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV).
Additional Resources
The laws themselves are found in the Norwegian Gazette, Norsk Lovtidende, for the year 1915, which is part of the Law Library collection for Norway.
Library of Congress Collection Holdings authored by Johan Castberg
Additional Law Library of Congress Online resources on Norway
Additional Law Library of Congress Online resources on Child law
If you have a question regarding laws of Norway or on the topic of child law, you can also submit it using the Ask a Librarian form on our website.
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What you need to know:Governor Gavin Newsom calls on the President to send every soldier home now – this dangerous militarization must end.
Los Angeles, California – As pressure continues mounting for the President to end the unlawful deployment of soldiers in Los Angeles, with the remainingMarines in the area withdrawing, 2,000 federalized National Guard members still remain – away from their families, communities and civilian jobs as doctors, police, and teachers.
The women and men of the California National Guard deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in Trump and Stephen Miller’s performative political theater. There was never a need for the military to deploy against civilians in Los Angeles. The damage is done, however. We, again, call upon them to do the right thing and end the militarization once and for all.
Governor Gavin Newsom
End the militarization now
For over a month, about 4,000 National Guard members have been serving as political pawns for the President in Los Angeles, pulled away from their families, communities, and civilian jobs. While half are now demobilizing and the deployed Marines are being sent home, many remain without a clear mission, direction, or a timeline for returning to their communities. California urges Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theatrical deployment and send all remaining guardsmembers home immediately.
Community leaders, public officials, veterans and others agree – the federal government’s actions in California not only have a chilling effect on the state’s society and economy, but also continue to undermine the valuable contributions from members of the military while in and out of uniform.
Republican and Democratic former governors agree—Trump’s federalization violates the critical balance between state and federal government. Recently, abipartisan group of 25 former governorsfiled a brief in support ofNewsom v. Trump, urging the court to enforce state sovereignty and block the unprecedented federalization of the National Guard.
Police off the streets, teachers out of classrooms
Of the over 4,000 California National Guard members sent to Los Angeles under Trump’s order, the California National Guard estimates that their servicemembers have been pulled fromessential civilian dutiessuch as medical and first responders, service workers, building trades contractors, law enforcement personnel, corrections officers, civil service and government workers, technology specialists, educators and teachers, and agriculture workers.
Drugs arriving at the border, fewer soldiers to stop them
Typically, under the Governor’s command, nearly 450 servicemembers are deployed statewide, including at ports of entry, to combat transnational criminal organizations and seize illegal narcotics.CalGuard’s servicemembersdedicated to the state’s Counterdrug Task Force have been reassigned by President Trump to militarize Los Angeles. The consequences are dire – CalGuard’s efforts help ensure the public safety of communities statewide.
High-ranking U.S. military officials agree
Retiredfour-star admirals and generalsand former secretaries of the Army and Navy filed another amicus brief outlining the grave risks of Trump’s illegal takeover of the CalGuard.Several veterans and veteran rights’ groupscame together to decry Trump’s militarization of California.
Economic impact of cruel immigration policy
Governor Newsomrecently metwith local restaurant owners in the City of Bell and faith leaders in Downey to discuss the economic impact these indiscriminate immigration actions have had on their small business.
Trump’s actions have a ripple effect – the state’s economy is likely to contract later this year due to fallout from global tariffs and immigration raids in Los Angeles and other cities that have rattled key sectors, including construction, hospitality, and agriculture, according to a UCLA Anderson forecast. Massarrests, detentions and deportationsin California could slash $275 billion from the state’s economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue. The loss of immigrant workers, undocumented and those losing lawful status under the Trump administration, would delay projects (including rebuilding Los Angeles after the wildfires), reduce food supply, and drive up costs.Undocumentedimmigrants contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would rise to $10.3 billion if these taxpayers could apply to work lawfully.
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Alberta’s government is committed to ensuring Albertans receive the care they need when and where they need it. To strengthen rural health care, grants under two programs have been awarded. These grants support medical resident physicians training in rural and remote communities and help primary care clinics across rural Alberta grow their teams.
The initiatives include a $16-million pilot bursary program that supports 74 family medicine residents expected to begin practising in rural Alberta between now and July 2027. At the same time, the Rural Team Recruitment Grant will provide $6 million over two years to help clinics hire additional health professionals – such as nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists – expand care teams and improve access.
“This is a great example of how we’re delivering real improvements in primary health care. Our bursary program will help bring more family doctors to rural communities, and the team-based care grants mean Albertans will have better access to health professionals who can support their needs. Physicians are choosing to practise in Alberta in record numbers, especially family doctors, and we’re working to make sure they increase access for patients in rural Alberta as well as in the cities.”
The Rural Team Recruitment Grant helps clinics and community organizations increase their capacity by hiring non-physician health professionals. These multidisciplinary teams significantly improve access to primary care by ensuring a range of health services are available locally.
In the first round of funding, 29 clinics across the province will receive support. This includes clinics in Consort, Drumheller, Stettler, Crowsnest Pass, Cold Lake, Grande Cache, Peace River, Delburne, Drayton Valley, Barrhead and Bashaw. Approximately 52 new full-time health professionals are expected to be hired, with a second intake for the grant program opening soon.
“The Rural Team Recruitment Grant is a meaningful step forward for health care in rural Alberta. When clinics can hire more team members, people get access to the care they need faster and closer to home.”
The Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program is helping attract and retain doctors in Alberta’s rural and remote communities. It provides bursaries of $125,000 for rural placements and $200,000 for remote placements to residents who commit to working in eligible communities after completing their training.
Bursaries are available to medical students from any Canadian university who have matched to a family medicine residency program at the University of Alberta or the University of Calgary. Residents can apply at any point during their training. Applications are being accepted until early 2026 or until all funding is committed.
Resident physicians are more likely to stay and practise in the communities where they complete their residency, making this program a key step toward building sustainable, long-term access to primary care in rural and remote areas.
“This bursary is an investment in Alberta’s future. It gives resident physicians the support they need while helping rural and remote communities attract and keep family doctors.”
“This bursary is a significant step in strengthening retention in rural and remote family medicine practice. Resident physicians are the future of our physician workforce; fair and competitive retention initiatives will ensure all Albertans have access to the high-quality health care they deserve.”
Quick facts
These programs are key components of the Rural Health Action Plan and align with the Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Care System (MAPS) report.
Funding is through the Canada-Alberta agreement to improve health care, including in rural and remote areas.
Related information
Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS)
Primary health care grants
Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary
Rural Health Action Plan
Related news
Strengthening primary health care across Alberta (Nov. 5, 2024)
Leading primary care into the future (Oct. 15, 2024)
Improving health care in rural and remote Alberta (Oct. 3, 2024
Strengthening health care: Improving access for all (Oct. 18, 2023)
Ministerial directives have been issued to the districts of Oak Bay and West Vancouver to continue helping the communities improve local processes and build more homes people need.
This year, advisers were appointed in the districts of Oak Bay and West Vancouver to provide recommendations for what these councils can do to deliver more homes for people faster and improve affordability in their communities. Oak Bay and West Vancouver are two of the most unaffordable places in British Columbia.
The Province consulted with the districts, which had 30 days to provide feedback about the proposed ministerial directives.
Feedback from both districts helped inform the final directives, and they align with many current council initiatives.
The directives to the District of Oak Bay are it must:
amend its Development Application Procedures Bylaw to delegate minor development variance permits to municipal staff by Dec. 31, 2025; and
amend its Parking Facilities Bylaw for sites containing multiple units, to a minimum of one parking stall per unit where the bylaw currently requires a minimum of more than one parking stall per unit, by Dec. 31, 2025.
Additionally, Oak Bay must provide updates on work toward:
meeting the Dec. 31, 2025, deadline for updating its official community plan, with a focus on housing; and
amending its Building and Plumbing Bylaw in relation to blasting activities, in consultation with the development community.
The directives to the District of West Vancouver are it must:
amend its Official Community Plan Bylaw to increase density in the Park Royal-Taylor Way area by Dec. 31, 2025. The amendments must provide development regulations and an accompanying schedule that defines the area and provides for the minimum required densities;
amend its Official Community Plan Bylaw to provide for increased density in the single-family and duplex prescribed areas adjacent to Ambleside and Dundarave, by Dec. 31, 2025; and
adopt the proposed Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan by Dec. 31, 2025.
Additionally, West Vancouver must:
identify in future annual progress reporting the type of development applications and number of housing units considered and rejected under the Preliminary Development Proposal and Public Consultation Policy.
Housing targets have delivered 16,130 net-new homes built across the first 30 priority municipalities since the legislation was passed in 2023.
Through a historic $19-billion investment, the Province has delivered 93,250 homes in B.C. since 2017, including more than 7,200 units in Greater Victoria and nearly 400 units in West Vancouver.
Quick Facts:
West Vancouver delivered 58 of its 220 net-new units Year 1 housing target.
Oak Bay delivered 16 of its 56 net-new units Year 1 housing target.
Learn More:
To view the directive letter to Oak Bay, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/OakBay_Murdoch_Signed_Final.pdf
To view the directive letter to West Vancouver, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/WestVan_Sager_Signed.pdf
Provinces build economic resilience through interprovincial trade agreement.
Today, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the removal of trade barriers across the two jurisdictions.
“Saskatchewan is standing strong amidst the trade challenges we are currently facing,” Moe said. “Our province remains committed to deepening interprovincial collaboration and further enhancing trade, investment and labour mobility, so that we can continue to build a strong economy that delivers for the people of Saskatchewan. Today’s MOU between Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island is just one more way we are strengthening economic ties across the country.”
This MOU includes commitments to facilitate mutual recognition, and a framework for direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol sales between the two jurisdictions. It aims to boost interprovincial labour mobility and investment while strengthening public safety and maintaining the role of crown corporations.
“Saskatchewan and PEI understand that when provinces work together, the entire country benefits,” Lantz said. “This agreement is about building trust, creating opportunity and making it easier for people and businesses to thrive no matter where they are located.”
The total value of interprovincial trade between Saskatchewan and PEI was $44.25 million in 2021.
The Government of Saskatchewan continues to demonstrate leadership in reducing internal barriers, advocating for free and fair trade. Last week, Saskatchewan called on all provinces and territories to join the New West Partnership Trade Agreement. This agreement represents Canada’s largest barrier-free interprovincial market, with an economic region of over 11 million Canadians and a combined GDP exceeding $818 billion. Other recent progress includes the signing of an MOU with Ontario to remove trade barriers across the two jurisdictions.
The province continues to take part in the Committee on Internal Trade (CIT), which includes enhancing the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), reducing regulatory and administrative burdens to interprovincial trade and facilitating labour mobility.
On July 8, CIT announced significant progress, including:
Reducing party-specific exceptions under the CFTA by a further 30 per cent.
Concluding negotiations of the financial services chapter.
Advancing mutual recognition through a pilot project in the trucking sector and negotiating towards a mutual recognition agreement on the sale of goods.
Cross-Canada commitment to a 30-day service standard for processing labour mobility applications.
A DTC MOU, co-led by Saskatchewan, involving ten jurisdictions across Canada to support consumers being able to order their favourite Canadian wine, spirit, beer or other alcoholic beverage, directly from the producer, for personal consumption.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)
On July 19th, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, hosted the Committee’s Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN-02) in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. The lawmakers organized roundtable discussions with local farmers, agriculture groups, community associations, and government officials to discuss wildfire prevention, federal support for specialty crops, farm automation, and more. Download photoshere.
“I was honored to welcome Ranking Member Craig to the Central Coast for productive conversations with our local agricultural community and stakeholders focused on wildfire prevention,”said Rep. Carbajal.“The Central Coast is one of our nation’s agricultural powerhouses, but it’s not immune to the challenges posed by climate change and macroeconomic conditions. That’s why Ranking Member Craig and I held a series of roundtable discussions with local farmers, agriculture groups, community associations, and government officials. We talked about collaborative solutions for mitigating wildfires and other environmental threats, while exploring opportunities for the federal government to help ensure Central Coast agriculture remains globally competitive.”
“I thank Representative Carbajal for inviting me to California’s 24th Congressional District to meet with stakeholders from across the forest management and specialty crop sectors. It is always valuable to hear directly from specialty crop producers, and it was particularly eye-opening to learn from the experiences of wildfire experts on the ground – as firefighters battle three wildfires burning in northern Minnesota. I will lean on their insights as we continue searching for a path forward for the farmers left behind by the Republican budget. The conversations I had with folks today reflected an urgent need for congressional oversight of the USDA – whose mass layoffs have left communities vulnerable as we enter peak wildfire season – and investments in programs that support the specialty crop farmers who feed our families,”said Ranking Member Angie Craig.
Carbajal and Craig held their first roundtable at the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens, where they discussed wildfire prevention for the Los Padres National Forest and surrounding communities. The group explored proactive measures — such as fuels management, community education, interagency coordination, and infrastructure resilience — to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Policies and partnerships that safeguard lives, property, and landscapes along the Los Padres forest boundary and beyond are critical.
The roundtable’s participants included representatives from: the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara City Fire, Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council, Mission Canyon Association, Montecito Association, Cal Poly Wildfire, Los Padres Forest Watch, and Project for Resilient Communities.
The second roundtable was held at Reiter’s Peak-Flynn Ranch in Carpinteria, where the group discussed the unique nature of Central Coast agriculture, research in mechanization, the federal specialty crop block grant program, labor shortages, trade, and more.
The roundtable’s participants included representatives from: Reiter Affiliated Companies, Santa Barbara County Flower & Nursery Growers Association, California Avocado Commission, Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, Santa Barbara County Agricultural Advisory Committee, California Farm Bureau, Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, Ventura County Farm Bureau, and Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner.
As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050.
If everyone charges their car and heats water using electric systems at the same time, peak demand could rise sharply, forcing costly grid upgrades. But this would only happen if there’s no planning done.
The shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and electric water heating has a huge silver lining. As more Australians make the switch, they’re quietly expanding a vast network of distributed energy storage. In a fully electrified future, each person could have on average about 46 kilowatt hours worth of energy storage – both in EV batteries and hot water systems.
Scaled up, that’s a huge resource. If all cars and water heaters run on electricity, their combined flexible energy storage could reach over 1,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) across Australia. That’s far beyond the 350 GWh capacity of the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric project and all existing grid-scale batteries put together.
Authorities can use these devices to help operate the grid more efficiently and slash infrastructure costs. In fact, our new research shows that with the right coordination, cities can transform from energy consumers into flexible energy hubs able to store energy and release it as necessary. This would make it possible to avoid billions of dollars worth of grid upgrades.
Storage built in
Electrification replaces fossil fuel-burning technology with electric-only systems, powered by a grid getting steadily cleaner.
For households, electrification means switching a combustion engine car for an EV and replacing gas hot water with electric systems such as heat pumps. Both slash carbon emissions when run on grids with high levels of renewables.
EVs and electric hot water systems offer more than just mobility or heating. They also have built-in energy storage. EV batteries store huge amounts of electricity – usually several times the size of a house battery. Hot water systems store energy too, in the form of heat.
Both of these resources are very useful to power grid authorities, because they can help optimise how the grid operates.
Power grids are a constant balancing act, where supply and demand have to be carefully matched up. At times of intense demand, such as during a heatwave, demand can outstrip normal supply and send prices skyrocketing.
When EVs are charged and water heated during off-peak periods, the strain on the grid can be significantly lessened.
Workplace EV chargers are convenient for drivers – and very useful for the grid. jixiang liu/Shutterstock
Canberra is pointing the way
Since 2020, Canberra has been 100% powered by renewable electricity. The ACT Government is aiming for net zero by 2045.
In our modelling, we found this goal could get a lot closer if EVs and hot water systems are used cleverly. We found changing the time cars are charged and water heated would shift around 5 kWh of electricity per person per day. That’s about a third of each Canberra resident’s average daily electricity use.
Unmanaged charging and water heating would cause peak load to jump 34%. But if charging and heating was shifted to off-peak hours overnight, it could restrict the rise in peak load to just 16%.
Reducing the rise in peak load would make it possible to avoid billions of dollars in grid upgrades such as expanding substations and building more transmission lines.
Where flexibility matters most
We found Canberra’s new energy storage resources are concentrated in storage hotspots – densely populated areas with many electric hot water systems and where many EVs are parked during the day.
Importantly, these hotspots don’t stay put. During working hours, vehicle batteries tend to concentrate in high-density office areas where EVs are parked. Storage capacity rose up to 31% in some Canberra working districts during the working week.
It would make sense to make the most of these hotspots by installing smart chargers, which optimise the timing of EV charging and creating virtual power plants, which can coordinate the time when household devices and EVs draw power.
Both of these approaches offer a cost-effective way to aggregate small scale household devices into a large coordinated storage resource.
Aligning demand with solar peaks means using renewable energy which might otherwise go to waste during peak times.
This map shows Canberra’s storage hotspots averaged out. EV batteries are in blue and electric hot water storage in orange. Bin Lu, CC BY-NC-ND
Policy needs to catch up
Capturing the huge benefits from these new storage resources won’t happen automatically. It requires smart systems and supportive policies.
Technologies such as smart chargers and virtual power plants already exist. South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant shows what’s possible in practice.
But to date, most Australian households don’t have these kinds of smart systems. In many areas, electricity pricing is relatively inflexible and there’s limited coordination between flexible energy use and the needs of the grid.
To unlock the full potential of this huge new energy storage resource, governments and energy companies should:
encourage uptake of smart chargers and smart water heaters in buildings
expand dynamic pricing schemes which better reflect real-time supply and demand to help shift electricity use to off-peak periods
focus on rolling out workplace EV chargers in high-density areas to boost charging during solar peak periods
develop smart energy systems able to aggregate devices in individual households into a large grid-supporting fleet.
More demand – but more storage
As Australia increasingly goes electric, cities are becoming more than just energy consumers.
Rather, they’re becoming flexible energy hubs able to help balance supply and demand.
Used wisely, humble electric water heaters and EVs can do more than meet household needs — they can help power Australia’s clean energy future.
Bin Lu received research funding from the Icon Water & ActewAGL Endowment Fund.
Marnie Shaw has received funding from federal and state governments.
Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve steroids, soon Mark is online, ordering his first “steroid cycle”. No script, no warnings, just vials in the mail and the promise of “gains”.
A few weeks later, he’s posting progress shots and getting tagged as #MegaMark. He’s pleased. But what if I told you Mark was unknowingly injecting toxic chemicals?
In our new research we tested products sold in Australia’s underground steroid market and found many were mislabelled or missing the expected steroid entirely.
Even more concerning, several contained heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium. These substances are known to cause cancer, heart disease and organ failure.
What are anabolic steroids, and who is using them?
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs designed to mimic the effects of testosterone. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe them for specific health conditions (for example, hypogonadism, where the body isn’t making enough sex hormones). But they are more commonly taken by people looking to increase muscle size, improve athletic performance, or elevate feelings of wellbeing.
In Australia, it’s illegal to possess steroids without a prescription. This offence can attract large fines and prison terms (up to 25 years in Queensland).
Despite this, they’re widely available online and from your local “gym bro”. So it’s not surprising we’re seeing escalating use, particularly among young men and women.
People usually take steroids as pills and capsules or injectable oil- or water-based products. But while many people assume these products are safe if used correctly, they’re made outside regulated settings, with no official quality checks.
For this new study, we analysed 28 steroid products acquired from people all over Australia which they’d purchased either online or from peers in the gym. These included 16 injectable oils, ten varieties of oral tablets, and two “raw” powders.
An independent forensic lab tested the samples for active ingredients, contaminants and heavy metals. We then compared the results against what people thought they were taking.
More than half of the samples were mislabelled or contained the wrong drug. For example, one product labelled as testosterone enanthate (200mg/mL) contained 159mg/mL of trenbolone (a potent type of steroid) and no detectable testosterone. Oxandrolone (also known as “Anavar”, another type of steroid) tablets were sold claiming a strength of 10mg but actually contained 6.8mg, showing a disparity in purity.
Just four products matched their expected compound and purity within a 5% margin.
But the biggest concern was that all steroids we analysed were contaminated with some level of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and cadmium.
While all of the concentrations we detected were within daily exposure limits regarded as safe by health authorities, more frequent and heavier use of these drugs would quickly see people who use steroids exceed safe thresholds. And we know this happens.
If consumed above safe limits, research suggests lead can damage the brain and heart. Arsenic is a proven carcinogen, having been linked to the development of skin, liver and lung cancers.
People who use steroids often dose for weeks or months, and sometimes stack multiple drugs, so these metals would build up. This means long‑term steroid use could be quietly fuelling cognitive decline, organ failure, and even cancer.
What needs to happen next?
Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium often contaminate anabolic steroid products because raw powders sourced from some manufacturers, particularly those in China, may be produced with poor quality control and impure starting materials. These metals can enter the supply chain during synthesis, handling, or from contaminated equipment and solvents, leading to their presence in the final products.
Steroid use isn’t going away, so we need to address the potential health harms from these contaminants.
While pill testing is now common at festivals for drugs such as ecstasy, testing anabolic steroids requires more complex chemical analysis that cannot be conducted on-site. Current steroid testing relies on advanced laboratory techniques, which limits availability mostly to specialised research programs such as those in Australia and Switzerland.
We need to invest properly in a national steroid surveillance and testing network, which will give us data‑driven insights to inform targeted interventions.
We also need to see peer‑led support through trusted programs to educate people who use steroids around the risks. The programs should be based in real evidence, and developed by people with lived experience of steroid use, in partnership with researchers and clinicians.
Timothy Piatkowski receives funding from Queensland Mental Health Commission. He is affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action as the Vice President. He is affiliated with The Loop Australia as the research lead (Queensland).
Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve steroids, soon Mark is online, ordering his first “steroid cycle”. No script, no warnings, just vials in the mail and the promise of “gains”.
A few weeks later, he’s posting progress shots and getting tagged as #MegaMark. He’s pleased. But what if I told you Mark was unknowingly injecting toxic chemicals?
In our new research we tested products sold in Australia’s underground steroid market and found many were mislabelled or missing the expected steroid entirely.
Even more concerning, several contained heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium. These substances are known to cause cancer, heart disease and organ failure.
What are anabolic steroids, and who is using them?
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs designed to mimic the effects of testosterone. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe them for specific health conditions (for example, hypogonadism, where the body isn’t making enough sex hormones). But they are more commonly taken by people looking to increase muscle size, improve athletic performance, or elevate feelings of wellbeing.
In Australia, it’s illegal to possess steroids without a prescription. This offence can attract large fines and prison terms (up to 25 years in Queensland).
Despite this, they’re widely available online and from your local “gym bro”. So it’s not surprising we’re seeing escalating use, particularly among young men and women.
People usually take steroids as pills and capsules or injectable oil- or water-based products. But while many people assume these products are safe if used correctly, they’re made outside regulated settings, with no official quality checks.
For this new study, we analysed 28 steroid products acquired from people all over Australia which they’d purchased either online or from peers in the gym. These included 16 injectable oils, ten varieties of oral tablets, and two “raw” powders.
An independent forensic lab tested the samples for active ingredients, contaminants and heavy metals. We then compared the results against what people thought they were taking.
More than half of the samples were mislabelled or contained the wrong drug. For example, one product labelled as testosterone enanthate (200mg/mL) contained 159mg/mL of trenbolone (a potent type of steroid) and no detectable testosterone. Oxandrolone (also known as “Anavar”, another type of steroid) tablets were sold claiming a strength of 10mg but actually contained 6.8mg, showing a disparity in purity.
Just four products matched their expected compound and purity within a 5% margin.
But the biggest concern was that all steroids we analysed were contaminated with some level of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and cadmium.
While all of the concentrations we detected were within daily exposure limits regarded as safe by health authorities, more frequent and heavier use of these drugs would quickly see people who use steroids exceed safe thresholds. And we know this happens.
If consumed above safe limits, research suggests lead can damage the brain and heart. Arsenic is a proven carcinogen, having been linked to the development of skin, liver and lung cancers.
People who use steroids often dose for weeks or months, and sometimes stack multiple drugs, so these metals would build up. This means long‑term steroid use could be quietly fuelling cognitive decline, organ failure, and even cancer.
What needs to happen next?
Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium often contaminate anabolic steroid products because raw powders sourced from some manufacturers, particularly those in China, may be produced with poor quality control and impure starting materials. These metals can enter the supply chain during synthesis, handling, or from contaminated equipment and solvents, leading to their presence in the final products.
Steroid use isn’t going away, so we need to address the potential health harms from these contaminants.
While pill testing is now common at festivals for drugs such as ecstasy, testing anabolic steroids requires more complex chemical analysis that cannot be conducted on-site. Current steroid testing relies on advanced laboratory techniques, which limits availability mostly to specialised research programs such as those in Australia and Switzerland.
We need to invest properly in a national steroid surveillance and testing network, which will give us data‑driven insights to inform targeted interventions.
We also need to see peer‑led support through trusted programs to educate people who use steroids around the risks. The programs should be based in real evidence, and developed by people with lived experience of steroid use, in partnership with researchers and clinicians.
Timothy Piatkowski receives funding from Queensland Mental Health Commission. He is affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action as the Vice President. He is affiliated with The Loop Australia as the research lead (Queensland).
Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
MT. CLEMENS, MI – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) attended a ceremony to rededicate the Mt. Clemens Post Office as the “Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson Post Office.” In 2024, Peters led legislation signed into law dedicating the post office in Lt. Col. Jefferson’s name to recognize his service as a member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces with the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, and an educator with Detroit Public Schools.
“Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson served his country with distinction with the Tuskegee Airmen, and cemented himself in local history as a dedicated educator and letter carrier,” said Senator Peters. “I was proud to lead legislation dedicating the Mount Clemens post office in his name, helping to ensure his life and legacy are remembered for future generations.”
“We honor Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson by dedicating the Mt. Clemens Post Office building for his dedicated service to his country as one of the Tuskegee Airmen,” said Rick Moreton, USPS District Manager, Michigan One. “Dedicating the plaque, which will be placed in the post office lobby, we have an obligation in the Postal Service to preserve his memory for the community, his students, his family and those that were personally touched by Alexander Jefferson’s sacrifice.”
Below are photos of Senator Peters at today’s ceremony alongside members of Lt. Col. Jefferson’s family, representatives of the Detroit Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, and local elected officials.
Alexander Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1921. Jefferson completed combat training at Selfridge Field in Mount Clemens and pilot training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield. He served in the military during World War II. During his time with the Tuskegee Airmen, Jefferson was shot down in France and captured by Nazi ground troops. He was a prisoner of war in German-occupied Poland before he was freed by General George Patton’s U.S. Third Army. Jefferson returned to Michigan, where he became a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, earned a teaching certificate, and obtained a master’s degree in education from Wayne State University. He was discharged from active duty in 1947 and retired from the Reserves in 1969 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Jefferson taught elementary school science in Detroit, was appointed assistant principal, and retired in 1979 after 31 years of service to Detroit Public Schools. In 2016, Senator Peters helped honor Jefferson at a ceremony for France’s Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal. This award is the highest honor France bestows on people who have carried out actions of great value to their nation.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
BURKE, VT—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today met with flood-impacted Vermonters and community leaders in northern Vermont. Senator Welch also held a Listening Session in Hardwick last week.
“Hardwick and Burke know all too well—climate change is here, and we need to empower small towns with the tools and resources they need to recover. My new bill, the Disaster AID Act, will help cut through red tape and improve the disaster recovery process,” said Senator Welch. “The input I received from Vermont communities about their experience with FEMA shaped this bill, and am committed to making Washington work better for Vermont.”
View photos here and on Senator Welch’s website:
Senator Welch hosts a Listening Session in Hardwick on Monday, July 14
Senator Welch hosts a Listening Session in Burke on Monday, July 21
West Burke, as well as Sutton and Lyndon, were hit by more flash flooding in 2025 on the anniversary of the 2023 and 2024 floods. Senator Welch’s visits to Hardwick and Burke follow visits to flood-impacted communities across Vermont, including Killington, Ludlow, Weston, Barre, and Montpelier.
This month, Senator Welch introduced the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act. Senator Welch’s bill will cut red tape and empower state and local governments to access recovery assistance when it is needed. The bill will support hazard mitigation efforts, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide technical assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster response.
Last week, Senator Welch called for the resignation of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, citing Secretary Noem’s mishandling of FEMA and record of undermining FEMA’s work, as well as her handling of President Trump’s cruel and illegal mass deportation campaign.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner D-Va. and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. called for the Trump administration to share its plan to prevent cyberattacks on rural hospitals following the largest health care cuts in American history in the Republican budget bill.
“Trumpcare will harm the cybersecurity resiliency of rural and small hospitals just as this Administration has chosen to gut cybersecurity operations at HHS,” Wyden and Warner wrote. “As rural and small hospitals confront even lower operating margins due to Republican health care cuts, they will be less likely to prioritize spending on cybersecurity infrastructure. The lack of federal oversight and resources, coupled with historic cuts to Medicaid and the ACA, only serve to increase rural and small hospitals’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”
The letter, sent to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, calls on the Administration to share its plans to help small and rural hospitals meet federal cybersecurity standards, as well as its plan to use the so-called “rural health transformation program” to fund cybersecurity improvements – a fund that is dwarfed by more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under Trumpcare.
Hospitals, particularly smaller facilities and those in rural areas, are a prime target for cyber criminals. Hospitals are also very likely to pay a ransom in order to maintain the continuity of health care given the lack of nearby providers, especially emergency services and procedures, and their top priority is protecting the health and well-being of patients they serve.
Last year, Wyden and Warner introduced legislation to strengthen federal cybersecurity standards across the health care system. Independent analysis has confirmed that over 330 rural hospitals are at risk of deep financial hardship or even closure due to Trumpcare’s cuts to Medicaid, forcing facilities into impossible choices to stay open and continue serving their community.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner D-Va. and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. called for the Trump administration to share its plan to prevent cyberattacks on rural hospitals following the largest health care cuts in American history in the Republican budget bill.
“Trumpcare will harm the cybersecurity resiliency of rural and small hospitals just as this Administration has chosen to gut cybersecurity operations at HHS,” Wyden and Warner wrote. “As rural and small hospitals confront even lower operating margins due to Republican health care cuts, they will be less likely to prioritize spending on cybersecurity infrastructure. The lack of federal oversight and resources, coupled with historic cuts to Medicaid and the ACA, only serve to increase rural and small hospitals’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”
The letter, sent to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, calls on the Administration to share its plans to help small and rural hospitals meet federal cybersecurity standards, as well as its plan to use the so-called “rural health transformation program” to fund cybersecurity improvements – a fund that is dwarfed by more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under Trumpcare.
Hospitals, particularly smaller facilities and those in rural areas, are a prime target for cyber criminals. Hospitals are also very likely to pay a ransom in order to maintain the continuity of health care given the lack of nearby providers, especially emergency services and procedures, and their top priority is protecting the health and well-being of patients they serve.
Last year, Wyden and Warner introduced legislation to strengthen federal cybersecurity standards across the health care system. Independent analysis has confirmed that over 330 rural hospitals are at risk of deep financial hardship or even closure due to Trumpcare’s cuts to Medicaid, forcing facilities into impossible choices to stay open and continue serving their community.
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Democrats also launch new website to track Trump VA’s responsiveness to oversight letters from Congress
Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), called out Secretary Collins for his failure to be transparent and accountable to veterans, Congress, and American taxpayers around his cuts and recent policy changes at VA.
“Congress and this Administration should be working together to provide the best possible care, benefits and services for our nation’s veterans and their families, and your failure to be transparent about your actions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is wholly unacceptable,” the senators wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Collins. “As you are aware, Congress has a constitutionally-mandated obligation of oversight over executive agencies. However, VA under your leadership has been historically secretive and partisan, and overtly adversarial to any attempts at such oversight.”
The senators delivered a searing review of Collins’ leadership and lack of communication with Congress: “…[Y]our communications lack timeliness, facts, and adequacy…Since your confirmation, the Department has also reduced or cancelled regular briefings on numerous topics, including homelessness, caregiver support and community care. And you have refused to allow members of Congress and staff to conduct roundtables and town halls at VA facilities to hear directly from employees and veterans about their concerns – violating years of precedent.” In an unprecedented move in April, the Trump administration refused to allow VA Puget Sound to participate in a roundtable discussion Senator Murray held in Seattle on women veterans’ health care.
The senators also slammed Collins’ denial of basic Freedom of Information Act requests and insistence that media outlets change evidence-based reporting with no substantial proof to support those requests: “This vindictive secrecy is unprecedented, and demonstrates your consistent unwillingness to allow anyone to hold you accountable for your actions…This blatant obstruction of Congress, and lack of transparency and accountability to America’s veterans and taxpayers must not continue. ” The senators concluded their letter by demanding Collins commit to new timeliness and oversight parameters, including allowing members of Congress and staff to visit VA facilities and ensuring VA answer Congressional Requests for Information with 45 calendar days.
The text of the senators’ letter is available HERE.
In an effort to publicly track Trump VA’s responsiveness to Congress, Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee recently rolled out a new website page website to track responses to oversight letters Ranking Member Blumenthal has sent since the beginning of the Trump administration, January 18, 2025. This web page reveals the majority of oversight letters to VA either get no response or responses with minimal or inaccurate information.
This oversight website page can be foundHEREand will be updated regularly.
In a region still marked by insecurity, a joint initiative by MONUSCO and its partners offers a new perspective to one hundred beneficiaries in Fataki, in Djugu territory. Sixty vulnerable women and forty at-risk youth now have access to a vocational training center, inaugurated on June 15 through a Community Violence Reduction (CVR) project, in collaboration with the National Program for Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization (PDDRCS) and the local NGO Women in Action for Multisectoral Development (FADEM).
Equipped with three training rooms, a carpentry workshop, a bakery oven, an administrative office and sanitation facilities, the center offers practical training in carpentry, baking and tailoring. This advancement has been welcomed by local authorities, who see it as a concrete lever for reintegration and social cohesion.
An Initiative Born from Community Dialogue
This project builds on discussions initiated in 2021 between armed groups and communities, supported by MONUSCO and provincial authorities. These exchanges led to an agreement to cease violence and define local priorities, among which was the creation of economic opportunities for youth and women.
“This center is the fruit of collective commitment,” recalled MONUSCO Bunia office chief Josiah Obat, calling on communities to continue on the path of dialogue and living together. “All these different tribes are a wealth. In case of disagreement, dialogue. Here you have a framework to train, but also to get closer to each other,” he emphasized.
Training to Rebuild
Beyond learning a trade, this project gives beneficiaries the means to take care of themselves and regain an active place in society. Dorcas, for example, can now sell her pastries at the market. “I’m delighted with this project. It allowed me to learn baking. I now know how to make fritters and cakes that I sell at the market. I can take care of myself without waiting for help from my husband,” she confides.
Aline, trained in sewing, is preparing to make school uniforms: “Here in Fataki, there are few seamstresses. I learned to sew. With the school year approaching, I’m going to make uniforms for the village children. That will allow me to earn money and feed my family.“
Others, like Grâce, who became a trainer, are now passing on their skills to other women.
These testimonies reflect a dynamic of change that goes beyond the simple framework of training. They embody a desire to build lasting peace through local initiatives.
A Response to Territorial Challenges
With a budget of $98,000 funded by MONUSCO through its DDR-S section, this project responds to a dual objective: offering a concrete alternative to precarity and reducing the attractiveness of armed groups. It is based on a participatory approach, integrating communities at each stage of its implementation.
Local authorities encourage ownership of this initiative. For Djugu territory administrator Ruffin Mapela, “this project strengthens social cohesion between communities, while building on local resources and skills.”
In Fataki, the vocational training center illustrates the common commitment to sustainable solutions to violence. It is now up to the communities, with partner support, to make it a living space, a driver of transformation for the entire region.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mission de l’Organisation des Nations unies en République démocratique du Congo (MONUSCO).
July 21, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy, met with a U.S. Senate Congressional Delegation to discuss opportunities to strengthen the longstanding and unique trade and investment relationship between Canada and the United States.
During his discussion with Senators Ron Wyden (Oregon), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Minister LeBlanc underscored the importance of maintaining an open and stable trade environment between our deeply integrated economies to support mutual growth, prosperity and security. The minister conveyed his commitment to work with U.S. Congressional leaders to advance shared trade and investment goals.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)
Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Carol Miller (WV-01), and Jim Costa (CA-21), introduced the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act, bipartisan legislation that would help provide more lifesaving organs to Americans on the transplant list. The bill would modernize and streamline the organ donation process by improving communication between hospitals and organ procurement organizations (OPOs).
The bill requires hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid to send automated electronic notifications to their designated OPOs when a patient dies or meets criteria for imminent death. It also requires remote electronic access to a patient’s health records to be granted to the OPO at that time, ensuring faster and more informed decision-making in critical moments.
“Organ transplant lists grow every day and families are waiting longer for the call that can give their loved ones the gift of life,” said DelBene. “This bill would cut through unnecessary red tape that slows down the organ donation process. By streamlining and automating how hospitals notify Organ Procurement Organizations, we can save valuable time and more lives.”
“Organ donation saves lives, but too often, outdated processes, and unnecessary red tape stands in the way,” said Van Duyne. “By cutting bureaucratic delays and modernizing the referral process, this legislation will ensure that more donor organs reach the patients who desperately need them. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort that brings commonsense, life-saving reforms to a system that many families depend on.”
“Over 35 million Americans are living with Chronic Kidney Disease. In my home state of West Virginia, nearly 4,000 individuals are experiencing kidney failure and are reliant on frequent dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Kidney Caucus, I have introduced and supported legislation that addresses the needs of these individuals and helps them receive life-saving medical care. The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act will bring much needed reform to the organ donation process by simplifying the existing procedures and saving valuable time when viable organs become available. By removing bureaucratic red tape, we can save more lives and secure more organ transplants for patients in need,” said Miller.
“The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act is a vital step towards strengthening our nation’s organ transplant system by advancing communications between hospitals and Organ Procurement Organizations,” said Costa. “This legislation bypasses burdens to streamline efficient organ donor referrals through technology to reduce delays and assist timely coordination. It’s a practical and commonsense solution to ensure more lives are saved.”
“Without a doubt, the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act will save lives,” said Brad Adams, President & CEO of Southwest Transplant Alliance, the organ procurement organization that received the very first automated electronic donor referral. “Securely integrating systems between hospitals and organ procurement organizations through automated electronic donor referrals and remote access protocols will streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase patient safety. We are incredibly grateful for Reps. Van Duyne and the work she has done to remove burdens from the organ donation process.”
To ensure flexibility, the bill allows temporary exemptions for hospitals facing significant hardships, such as limited rural internet access, cybersecurity attacks, or natural disasters.
It also directs the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to issue best practices guidance and annual reports on exemptions granted. Finally, the legislation requires the Government Accountability Office to study the impact of these changes, including transplant outcomes, rural broadband challenges, and patient data security.
Experts and leaders in the transplant community praised the bill for its potential to improve patient outcomes and make the organ donation process more efficient:
“This legislation will strengthen the existing deceased organ donor referral process by leveraging technology to streamline the way hospitals and organ procurement organizations communicate with one another,” said Maureen McBride, Ph.D., CEO of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). “Studies have found that automated deceased donor referral software tools increase the number of organ donors – a significant impact since one organ donor can save up to eight lives. Thank you, U.S. Reps. Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for your leadership in advocating for patients. UNOS looks forward to continuing to work with you to help more patients get the lifesaving transplant they need.”
“LifeGift, the health services agency that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Houston, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, supports the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act sponsored by Representatives Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa as a hugely important performance improvement intervention to make potential donor referrals from hospital to organ procurement organization faster and more efficient. LifeGift has received 19,463 potential referrals so far in 2025 and received 35,952 referrals in 2024; all of which were made by phone between hospital staff and LifeGift. Moving these referral calls to an electronic notification allows critical care staff to focus on patient care and gives the organ donation team precious time to begin their lifesaving work.”
“The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) applauds Representatives Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for introducing legislation that streamlines hospital organ donor referrals and improves organ procurement organizations’ access to vital patient information. By reducing delays and supporting timely coordination with donor families, this bill will help ensure more lives are saved through organ donation.”
“With more than 90,000 Americans on the kidney transplant waitlist, it is imperative that our organ transplant system function as efficiently as possible to help as many of them receive a kidney as quickly as possible,” said American Society of Nephrology President Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, FASN. “The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act would help both hardworking donor hospital teams and organ procurement organization teams—who together make kidneys available for transplant—benefit from readily-available technology to speed the lifesaving work they lead every day across the country. I commend Reps. Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for their leadership in support of kidney transplant candidates awaiting a lifesaving organ and the multidisciplinary teams who make that hope a reality.”
“On behalf of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), representing a majority of the nation’s medical professionals engaged in the field of solid organ transplantation, we applaud the continuous leadership and steadfast resolve of Representatives DelBene, Costa, Miller, and Van Duyne to strengthen the nation’s organ transplant system,” said Dr. Jon Kobashigawa, M.D. President, American Society of Transplantation (AST). “The AST endorses the ‘Removing Burdens from Organ Donation Act’ as a commonsense approach to bring great efficiencies to the system and our patients.”
“On behalf of every kidney patient managing organ failure and their families, the American Association of Kidney Patients extends our most sincere appreciation to Representative Van Duyne and her Congressional colleagues, Representatives Suzan DelBene, Carol Miller, and Jim Costa, for their serious and substantive bipartisan efforts to address America’s organ shortage through the Removing Barriers to Organ Donation Act. Representative Van Duyne has been a remarkably insightful and empathetic advocate for kidney patients and we are honored to fully support the policy efforts she and her colleagues have undertaken to prioritize transplantation over status quo, high mortality dialysis and its associated legacy of dependence and disability.” Said Mr. Edward V. Hickey, IIII, a chronic kidney disease patient and the President of the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), America’s largest kidney patient organization.
“This bipartisan bill takes a commonsense, life-saving step forward by streamlining communication between hospitals and organ procurement organizations,” said Susan Bushnell, President and CEO of the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation. “It will help ensure fewer transplant opportunities are missed and that more families facing kidney failure can hold onto hope for a second chance. We’re grateful to Congress for working to remove burdens that cost lives.”
“Better information means better care. The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act ensures timely, secure access to vital records so the entire care team can act quickly and decisively,” said Margaret French, Managing Director of Legislative Affairs, Alliance for Home Dialysis. “This bipartisan bill is a commonsense step toward more efficient, life-saving kidney donation and offers hope to people living with kidney failure.”
Endorsing Organizations include: DaVita, Fresenius Medical Care, United Network for Organ Sharing, Southwest Transplant Alliance, Donor Network West (San Francisco, CA), Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, Mid-America Transplant (St. Louis, MO), OurLegacy (Orlando, FL), Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, LifeGift (serving North, Southeast, and West Texas), American Society of Nephrology, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, American Society of Transplantation, National Kidney Foundation, Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, and Alliance for Home Dialysis.
WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi hosted Dr. Alveda King at the Department of Justice to commemorate the release of files regarding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The release contains 230,000 pages of documents and comes in accordance with Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14176.
This disclosure is the product of months of collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DOJ Attorneys spent hundreds of hours preparing and digitizing these documents for release.
“The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice is proud to partner with Director Gabbard and the ODNI at President Trump’s direction for this latest disclosure.”
“I am grateful to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for delivering on their pledge of transparency in the release of these documents on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Dr. Alveda King. “My uncle lived boldly in pursuit of truth and justice, and his enduring legacy of faith continues to inspire Americans to this day. While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”
Attorney General Bondi and Dr. King discussed the remarkable life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the need for transparency pertaining to his assassination on April 4th, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi hosted Dr. Alveda King at the Department of Justice to commemorate the release of files regarding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The release contains 230,000 pages of documents and comes in accordance with Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14176.
This disclosure is the product of months of collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DOJ Attorneys spent hundreds of hours preparing and digitizing these documents for release.
“The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice is proud to partner with Director Gabbard and the ODNI at President Trump’s direction for this latest disclosure.”
“I am grateful to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for delivering on their pledge of transparency in the release of these documents on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Dr. Alveda King. “My uncle lived boldly in pursuit of truth and justice, and his enduring legacy of faith continues to inspire Americans to this day. While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”
Attorney General Bondi and Dr. King discussed the remarkable life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the need for transparency pertaining to his assassination on April 4th, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers – with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.
A recent study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients. The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.
In the new study, researchers exposed blood-brain barrier cells to levels of erythritol typically found after drinking a soft drink sweetened with the compound. They saw a chain reaction of cell damage that could make the brain more vulnerable to blood clots – a leading cause of stroke.
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Erythritol triggered what scientists call oxidative stress, flooding cells with harmful, highly reactive molecules known as free radicals, while simultaneously reducing the body’s natural antioxidant defences. This double assault damaged the cells’ ability to function properly, and in some cases killed them outright.
But perhaps more concerning was erythritol’s effect on the blood vessels’ ability to regulate blood flow. Healthy blood vessels act like traffic controllers, widening when organs need more blood – during exercise, for instance – and tightening when less is required. They achieve this delicate balance through two key molecules: nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, and endothelin-1, which constricts them.
The study found that erythritol disrupted this critical system, reducing nitric oxide production while ramping up endothelin-1. The result would be blood vessels that remain dangerously constricted, potentially starving the brain of oxygen and nutrients. This imbalance is a known warning sign of ischaemic stroke – the type caused by blood clots blocking vessels in the brain.
Even more alarming, erythritol appeared to sabotage the body’s natural defence against blood clots. Normally, when clots form in blood vessels, cells release a “clot buster” called tissue plasminogen activator that dissolves the blockage before it can cause a stroke. But the sweetener blocked this protective mechanism, potentially leaving clots free to wreak havoc.
The laboratory findings align with troubling evidence from human studies. Several large-scale observational studies have found that people who regularly consume erythritol face significantly higher risks of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. One major study tracking thousands of participants found that those with the highest blood levels of erythritol were roughly twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event.
However, the research does have limitations. The experiments were conducted on isolated cells in laboratory dishes rather than complete blood vessels, which means the cells may not behave exactly as they would in the human body. Scientists acknowledge that more sophisticated testing – using advanced “blood vessel on a chip” systems that better mimic real physiology – will be needed to confirm these effects.
The findings are particularly significant because erythritol occupies a unique position in the sweetener landscape. Unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, erythritol is technically a sugar alcohol – a naturally occurring compound that the body produces in small amounts. This classification helped it avoid inclusion in recent World Health Organization guidelines that discouraged the use of artificial sweeteners for weight control.
Erythritol has also gained popularity among food manufacturers because it behaves more like sugar than other alternatives. While sucralose is 320 times sweeter than sugar, erythritol provides only about 80% of sugar’s sweetness, making it easier to use in recipes without creating an overpowering taste. It’s now found in thousands of products, especially in many “sugar-free” and “keto-friendly” foods.
Erythritol can be found in many keto-friendly products, such a protein bars. Stockah/Shutterstock.com
Trade-off
Regulatory agencies, including the European Food Standards Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration, have approved erythritol as safe for consumption. But the new research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that even “natural” sugar alternatives may carry unexpected health risks.
For consumers, the findings raise difficult questions about the trade-offs involved in sugar substitution. Sweeteners like erythritol can be valuable tools for weight management and diabetes prevention, helping people reduce calories and control blood sugar spikes. But if regular consumption potentially weakens the brain’s protective barriers and increases cardiovascular risk, the benefits may come at a significant cost.
The research underscores a broader challenge in nutritional science: understanding the long-term effects of relatively new food additives that have become ubiquitous in the modern diet. While erythritol may help people avoid the immediate harms of excess sugar consumption, its effect on the blood-brain barrier suggests that frequent use could be quietly compromising brain protection over time.
As scientists continue to investigate these concerning links, consumers may want to reconsider their relationship with this seemingly innocent sweetener – and perhaps question whether any sugar substitute additive is truly without risk.
Havovi Chichger 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.
A US-brokered peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda binds the two African nations to a worrying arrangement: one where a country signs away its mineral resources to a superpower in return for opaque assurances of security.
The peace deal, signed in June 2025, aims to end three decades of conflict between the DRC and Rwanda.
The peace that the June 2025 deal promises, therefore, hinges on chaining mineral supply to the US in exchange for Washington’s powerful – but vaguely formulated – military oversight.
The peace agreement further establishes a joint oversight committee – with representatives from the African Union, Qatar and the US – to receive complaints and resolve disputes between the DRC and Rwanda.
But beyond the joint oversight committee, the peace deal creates no specific security obligations for the US.
This latest peace deal introduces a resources-for-security arrangement. Such deals aren’t new in Africa. They first emerged in the early 2000s as resources-for-infrastructure transactions. Here, a foreign state would agree to build economic and social infrastructure (roads, ports, airports, hospitals) in an African state. In exchange, it would get a major stake in a government-owned mining company. Or gain preferential access to the host country’s minerals.
We have studied mineral law and governance in Africa for more than 20 years. The question that emerges now is whether a US-brokered resources-for-security agreement will help the DRC benefit from its resources.
This is because resources-for-security is the latest version of a resource-bartering approach that China and Russia pioneered in countries such as Angola, the Central African Republic and the DRC.
Resource bartering in Africa has eroded the sovereignty and bargaining power of mineral-rich nations such as the DRC and Angola.
Further, resources-for-security deals are less transparent and more complicated than prior resource bartering agreements.
DRC’s security gaps
The DRC is endowed with major deposits of critical minerals like cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese and tantalum. These are the building blocks for 21st century technologies: artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, wind energy and military security hardware. Rwanda has less mineral wealth than its neighbour, but is the world’s third-largest producer of tantalum, used in electronics, aerospace and medical devices.
The DRC government has failed to extend security over its vast (2.3 million square kilometres) and diverse territory (109 million people, representing 250 ethnic groups). Limited resources, logistical challenges and corruption have weakened its armed forces.
This context makes the United States’ military backing enormously attractive. But our research shows there are traps.
What states risk losing
Resources-for-infrastructure and resources-for-security deals generally offer African nations short-term stability, financing or global goodwill. However, the costs are often long-term because of an erosion of sovereign control.
Here’s how this happens:
certain clauses in such contracts can freeze future regulatory reforms, limiting legislative autonomy
other clauses may lock in low prices for years, leaving resource-selling states unable to benefit when commodity prices surge
Examples of loss or near-loss of sovereignty from these sorts of deals abound in Africa.
For instance, Angola’s US$2 billion oil-backed loan from China Eximbank in 2004. This was repayable in monthly deliveries of oil, with revenues directed to Chinese-controlled accounts. The loan’s design deprived Angolan authorities of decision-making power over that income stream even before the oil was extracted.
These deals also fragment accountability. They often span multiple ministries (such as defence, mining and trade), avoiding robust oversight or accountability. Fragmentation makes resource sectors vulnerable to elite capture. Powerful insiders can manipulate agreements for private gain.
In the DRC, this has created a violent kleptocracy, where resource wealth is systematically diverted away from popular benefit.
Finally, there is the risk of re-entrenching extractive trauma. Communities displaced for mining and environmental degradation in many countries across Africa illustrate the long-standing harm to livelihoods, health and social cohesion.
These are not new problems. But where extraction is tied to security or infrastructure, such damage risks becoming permanent features, not temporary costs.
What needs to change
Critical minerals are “critical” because they’re hard to mine or substitute. Additionally, their supply chains are strategically vulnerable and politically exposed. Whoever controls these minerals controls the future. Africa must make sure it doesn’t trade that future away.
In a world being reshaped by global interests in critical minerals, African states must not underestimate the strategic value of their mineral resources. They hold considerable leverage.
But leverage only works if it is wielded strategically. This means:
investing in institutional strength and legal capacity to negotiate better deals
demanding local value creation and addition
requiring transparency and parliamentary oversight for minerals-related agreements
refusing deals that bypass human rights, environmental or sovereignty standards.
Africa has the resources. It must hold on to the power they wield.
Hanri Mostert receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. She is a member of the Expropriation Expert Group and a steering committee member of the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Academic Advisory Group (AAG) in the Sector for Energy, Environmental, Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL).
Tracy-Lynn Field receives funding from the Claude Leon Foundation. She is a non-executive director of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University
Congress’ cuts to public broadcasting will diminish the range and volume of the free press and the independent reporting it provides.MicroStockHub-iStock/Getty Images Plus
Champions of the almost entirely party-line vote in the U.S. Senate to erase US$1.1 billion in already approved funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting called their action a refusal to subsidize liberal media.
“Public broadcasting has long been overtaken by partisan activists,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, insisting there is no need for government to fund what he regards as biased media. “If you want to watch the left-wing propaganda, turn on MSNBC,” Cruz said.
Accusing the media of liberal bias has been a consistent conservative complaint since the civil rights era, when white Southerners insisted news outlets were slanting their stories against segregation. During his presidential campaign in 1964, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona complained that the media was against him, an accusation that has been repeated by every Republican presidential candidate since.
But those charges of bias rarely survive empirical scrutiny.
That independence in the United States – enshrined in the press freedom clause of the First Amendment – gives journalists the ability to hold government accountable, expose abuses of power and thereby support democracy.
GOP Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to reporters as Senate Republicans vote on President Donald Trump’s request to cancel about $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting spending on July 16, 2025. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Trusting independence
Ad Fontes Media, a self-described “public benefit company” whose mission is to rate media for credibility and bias, have placed the reporting of “PBS NewsHour” under 10 points left of the ideological center. They label it as both “reliable” and based in “analysis/fact.” “Fox and Friends,” by contrast, the popular morning show on Fox News, is nearly 20 points to the right. The scale starts at zero and runs 42 points to the left to measure progressive bias and 42 points to the right to measure conservative bias. Ratings are provided by three-person panels comprising left-, right- and center-leaning reviewers.
A similar 2016 study published in Public Opinion Quarterly said that media are more similar than dissimilar and, excepting political scandals, “major
news organizations present topics in a largely nonpartisan manner,
casting neither Democrats nor Republicans in a particularly favorable
or unfavorable light.”
Surveys show public media’s audiences do not see it as biased. A national poll of likely voters released July 14, 2025, found that 53% of respondents trust public media to report news “fully, accurately and fairly,” while only 35% extend that trust to “the media in general.” A majority also opposed eliminating federal support.
Contrast these numbers with attitudes about public broadcasters such as MTVA in Hungary or the TVP in Poland, where the state controls most content. Protests in Budapest October 2024 drew thousands demanding an end to “propaganda.” Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reports that TVP is the least trusted news outlet in the country.
While critics sometimes conflate American public broadcasting with state-run outlets, the structures are very different.
Safeguards for editorial freedom
In state-run media systems, a government agency hires editors, dictates coverage and provides full funding from the treasury. Public officials determine – or make up – what is newsworthy. Individual media operations survive only so long as the party in power is happy.
Public broadcasting in the U.S. works in almost exactly the opposite way: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private nonprofit with a statutory “firewall” that forbids political interference.
Stations survive by combining this modest federal grant money with listener donations, underwriting and foundation support. That creates a diversified revenue mix that further safeguards their editorial freedom.
As a public-private partnership, individual communities mostly own the public broadcasting system and its affiliate stations. Congress allocates funds, while community nonprofits, university boards, state authorities or other local license holders actually own and run the stations. Individual monthly donors are often called “members” and sometimes have voting rights in station-governance matters. Membership contributions make up the largest share of revenue for most stations, providing another safeguard for editorial independence.
A host and guest in July 2024 sit inside a recording studio at KMXT, the public radio station on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal
A 2021 report from the European Broadcasting Union links public broadcasting with higher voter turnout, better factual knowledge and lower susceptibility to extremist rhetoric.
Experts warn that even small cuts will exacerbate an already pernicious problem with political disinformation in the U.S., as citizens lose access to free information that fosters media literacy and encourages trust across demographics.
In many ways, public media remains the last broadly shared civic commons. It is both commercial-free and independently edited.
Another study, by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School in 2022, affirmed that “countries with independent and well-funded public broadcasting systems also consistently have stronger democracies.”
Such attention to nuance provides a critical counterweight to the fragmented, often hyperpartisan news bubbles that pervade cable news and social media. And this skillful, more balanced treatment helps to ameliorate political polarization and misinformation.
In all, public media’s unique structure and mission make democracy healthier in the U.S. and across the world. Public media prioritizes education and civic enlightenment. It gives citizens important tools for navigating complex issues to make informed decisions – whether those decisions are about whom to vote for or about public policy itself. Maintaining and strengthening public broadcasting preserves media diversity and advances important principles of self-government.
Congress’ cuts to public broadcasting will diminish the range and volume of the free press and the independent reporting it provides. Ronald Reagan once described a free press as vital for the United States to succeed in its “noble experiment in self-government.” From that perspective, more independent reporting – not less – will prove the best remedy for any worry about partisan spin.
Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
If Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down.
This is, after all, the media mogul whose US television network, Fox News, actively supported Donald Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election result and paid out a US$787 million (about A$1.2 billion) lawsuit for doing so.
It is also the network that supplied several members of Trump’s inner circle, including former Fox host, now controversial Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth.
But that is where we are after Trump filed a writ on July 18 after Murdoch’s financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, published an article about a hand-drawn card Trump is alleged to have sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The newspaper reported:
A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The Journal said it has seen the letter but did not republish it. The letter allegedly concluded:
Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
The card was apparently Trump’s contribution to a birthday album compiled for Epstein by the latter’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking in 2021.
Trump was furious. He told his Truth Social audience he had warned Murdoch the letter was fake. He wrote, “Mr Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but obviously did not have the power to do so,” referring to Murdoch handing leadership of News Corporation to his eldest son Lachlan in 2023.
Trump is being pincered. On one side, The Wall Street Journal is a respected newspaper that speaks to literate, wealthy Americans who remain deeply sceptical about Trump’s radical initiative on tariffs, which it described in an editorial as “the dumbest trade war in history”.
On the other side is the conspiracy theory-thirsty MAGA base who have been told for years that there was a massive conspiracy around Epstein’s apparent suicide in 2019 that included the so-called deep state, Democrat elites and, no doubt, the Clintons.
Trump, who loves pro wrestling as well as adopting its garish theatrics, might characterise his lawsuit against Murdoch as a smackdown to rival Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant in the 1980s.
To adopt wrestling argot, though, it is a rare battle between two heels.
A friendship of powerful convenience
Murdoch and Trump’s relationship is longstanding but convoluted. The key to understanding it is that both men are ruthlessly transactional.
Exposure in Murdoch’s New York Post in the 1980s and ‘90s was crucial to building Trump’s reputation.
Not that Murdoch particularly likes Trump. Yes, Murdoch attended his second inauguration, albeit in a back row behind the newly favoured big tech media moguls. He was also seen sitting in the Oval Office a few days later looking quite at home.
But this was pure power-display politics, not the behaviour of a friend.
Remember Murdoch’s derision on hearing Trump was considering standing for office before the 2016 election, and his promotion of Ron De Santis in the primaries before Trump’s second term. Murdoch’s political hero has always been Ronald Reagan. Trump has laid waste to the Republican Party of Reagan.
Murdoch knows what the rest of sane America knows: Trump is downright weird, if not dangerous. This, of course, only makes Murdoch’s complicity in Trump’s rise to power, and Fox News’ continued boosterism of Trump, all the more appalling.
But, in keeping with Murdoch’s relationship to power throughout his career, what he helps make, he also helps destroy. Perhaps now it’s Trump’s turn to be unmade. As a former Murdoch lieutenant told The Financial Times over the weekend:
he’s testing out: Is Trump losing his base? And where do I need to be to stay in the heart of the base?
And here is Murdoch’s great advantage, and his looming threat.
A double-edged sword
The advantage comes with the scope of Murdoch’s media empire, which operates like a federation of different mastheads, each with their own market and aspirations. While Fox News panders to the MAGA base, and The New York Post juices its New York audience, The Wall Street Journal speaks, and listens, to business. Each audience has different needs, meaning they’re often presented with the same news in very different ways, or sometimes different news entirely.
Like a federation, though, News Corp uses its various operations to drive the type of change that affects all its markets.
It might work like this. The Wall Street Journal breaks a story that’s so shocking it begins to chip away at MAGA’s unquestioning loyalty of Trump. This process is, of course, willingly aided by the rest of the media. The resulting groundswell eventually allows Fox News and the Post to tentatively follow their audiences into questioning, and then perhaps criticising, Trump.
Fox News audiences could slowly begin to question Trump, or abandon the network entirely. NurPhoto/Getty
The threat is that before that groundswell builds, Murdoch is seriously vulnerable to criticism from a still dominant Trump, who can turn conspiracy-prone audiences away from Fox News with just a social media post. Trump has already been busy doing just that, saying he is looking forward to getting Murdoch onto the witness stand for his lawsuit.
If the Fox audience decides it’s the proprietor who’s behind this denigration of Trump, they may decide to boycott their own favoured media channel, even though Fox’s programming hasn’t yet started questioning Trump.
The Murdochs’ fear of audience backlash was a major factor in Fox’s promulgation of the Big Lie after Trump’s defeat in 2020. The fear their audience might defect to Newsmax or some other right-wing media outfit is just as real today.
History littered with fakery
We also need to consider that Trump might be right. What if the letter is a fake?
Murdoch has form when it comes to high-profile exposés that turn out to be fiction. Who can forget the Hitler Diaries in 1983, which we now know Murdoch knew were fake before he published.
Think also of the Pauline Hanson photos, allegedly of her posing in lingerie, all of which were quickly proved to be fake after they were published by Murdoch’s Australian tabloids in 2009.
There was also The Sun’s despicable and wilfully wrong campaign against Elton John in 1987 and the same paper’s continueddenigration of the people of Liverpool following the Hillsborough stadium disaster in 1989.
But while Murdoch’s News Corp has a history of confection and fakery, the Wall Street Journal has a reputation for straight reportage, albeit through a conservative lens. Since Murdoch bought it in 2007, it has been engaged in its own internal battle for editorial standards.
Media rolling over
What Trump won’t get from Murdoch is the same acquiescence he’s enjoyed from America’s ABC and CBS networks, which have both handed over tens of millions of dollars in defamation settlements following dubious claims by Trump about the nature of their coverage.
In December 2024, ABC’s owner Disney settled and agreed to pay US$15 million (A$23 million) to Trump’s presidential library. The president sued after a presenter said Trump was found guilty of raping E. Jean Carroll.
Trump had actually been found guilty by a jury in a civil trial of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and was ordered to pay her US$5 million (A$7.6 million).
CBS’ parent company, Paramount, did similarly after being sued by the president, agreeing in early July to settle and pay US$16 million (A$24.5 million) to Trump’s library. This was despite earlier saying the case was “completely without merit”.
Beware the legal microscope
From Trump’s viewpoint, two prominent media companies have been cowed. But his campaign against critical media doesn’t stop there.
Last week, congress passed a bill cancelling federal funding for the country’s two public-service media outlets, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Also last week, CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s stridently critical comedy show, although CBS claims this is just a cost-cutting exercise and not about appeasing a bully in the White House.
Presuming the reported birthday letter is real, Murdoch will not bend so easily. And that’s when it will be important to pay attention, because at some point Trump’s lawyers will advise him about the dangers of depositions and discovery: the legal processes that force parties to a dispute to reveal what they have and what they know.
If the Epstein files do implicate Trump, the legal fight won’t last long and the media campaign against him will only intensify.
Right now we have the spectre of Murdoch joining that other disaffected mogul, Elon Musk, in a moral crusade against Trump, the man they both helped make. The implications are head-spinning.
As global bullies, the three of them probably deserve each other. But we, the public, surely deserve better than any of them.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leon Benade, Professor in the School of Education of Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, WA, Edith Cowan University
Depending on who you ask, these classrooms were an opportunity to foster collaboration and flexibility or an exercise in organised chaos.
So-called “modern learning environments” – characterised by flexible layouts, fewer walls and sometimes multiple classes and teachers in one space – were vigorously pushed by the National government in 2011.
The stated goal was to promote flexibility in the way students were taught, encourage collaboration and to accommodate new technology in classrooms.
Among the solutions offered by the inquiry was the development of simple but functional schools based on cookie-cutter designs constructed off-site. This recommendation was welcomed by the current National-led government.
Design influenced by ideology
The modern, bespoke designs of the past two decades represented a response to technological developments, such as the introduction of digital devices, that changed how students learned.
Those industrial age schools were themselves products of changes in the second half of the 20th century. Since the first school opened in 1843, school architecture in New Zealand had evolved significantly. Early schools featured cramped six-metre by four-metre classrooms which could accommodate more than 30 students.
By the 1920s, the “Taranaki” and “Canterbury” models included a more generous minimum classroom size of eight metres by seven metres. There was a greater emphasis on light and ventilation. Their larger spaces also recognised changes in teaching styles that encouraged more active and participatory learning.
By the 1950s, classroom size had grown to ten metres by seven metres. The “Nelson” and “S68” blocks of the 1950s and 1960s provided small self-contained blocks of classrooms that reduced student movement and corridor noise.
Changes to New Zealand school buildings also reflected global trends. Open-plan schools emerged in North America after 1960. At the same time, there were signs English schools would replace their traditional Victorian-style buildings with classrooms considered more child-centred.
The goal was to achieve flexible, connected designs to support evolving education philosophies. England’s 1966 Plowden Report on primary education significantly aided this evolution towards progressive styles of teaching and learning, leading to the creation of schools that featured flexibility, connectivity and external-internal flow.
But in 2011, the James Review of Education Capital highlighted a number of issues with the way schools were being built, putting an end to the infrastructure programme.
That report, like the 2024 New Zealand report, suggested replacing government investment in bespoke school infrastructure with a focus on standardised designs.
A swing back
In New Zealand, “modern learning environments” became part of education policy with the Ministry of Education’s School Property Strategy 2011-2021, published in 2011. But the pendulum started to swing back after Labour came to power in 2017.
Departing from the 2011 strategy, the language of “modern learning environments”, “innovative learning environments” and “flexible learning spaces” largely disappeared. It was replaced in policy documents with “quality learning environments”.
This shift emphasised physical characteristics such as heating, lighting and acoustics, rather than innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Since coming to power, the current National-led coalition has focused on embedding a standardised approach to foundational skills in reading, writing, maths and science.
While not directly scapegoating open-plan designs for educational underachievement, Erica Stanford said the reforms would ensure learning spaces were “designed to improve student outcomes”.
But as New Zealand moves back to standardised designs, it is worth considering why modern learning environments were introduced in the first place – the flexibility for new technology and space for collaboration – and what students may lose by a swing back towards the separate classrooms of the past.
Leon Benade is affiliated with Learning Environments Australasia, Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and The Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE).
Chris Bradbeer is affiliated with Learning Environments New Zealand/Aotearoa (LENZ), and Learning Environments Australasia (LEA).
Alastair Wells 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.
HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, affirmed that the responsibility for implementing the agreement between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement lies with both parties. His Excellency emphasized that this achievement represents a firm foundation upon which to build a more secure and stable future for the region.
Speaking at a press conference following the signing of the Declaration of Principles between the Government of the DRC and the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement in Doha today, His Excellency described the declaration as a critical step toward strengthening peace and stability in eastern DRC. It marks the beginning of direct negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace that addresses the root causes of the conflict. He expressed confidence in the commitment of both parties to uphold the agreement.
HE Dr. Al Khulaifi underscored the State of Qatar’s role as a neutral and effective mediator, highlighting its efforts to bring the parties closer together and build bridges of understanding. He praised the sense of responsibility demonstrated by both sides in reaching this declaration and expressed appreciation for the trust placed in Qatar to facilitate the process.
His Excellency commended the substantial support of HE President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, for the peace process, as well as the constructive approach of the Congolese government’s negotiating delegation. He also acknowledged the cooperation of Bernard Bisimwa, Vice President of the Congo River Alliance/M23 Movement, and the movement’s delegation during the talks.
HE Dr. Al Khulaifi noted that Qatari mediation efforts began in March, when HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani hosted HE President Tshisekedi and HE President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in Doha. During that meeting, President Tshisekedi expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement.
Since then, Qatar has hosted direct negotiations between the parties, which were marked by a positive and responsible spirit, grounded in a shared belief in dialogue as the primary path to conflict resolution. These efforts culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Principles.
Dr. Al Khulaifi stated that the leaders’ meeting in March served as a launching point for this process, leading to a series of positive developments, including the signing of the Washington Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda on June 27, 2025, an agreement that paved the way for today’s declaration.
He emphasized that the Declaration of Principles is not solely focused on ending violence but also provides a practical roadmap for national reconciliation. It marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation among various societal components in the DRC, including armed groups that have chosen the path of peace. The declaration also outlines a significant role for the international community in supporting peacebuilding and sustainable development.
His Excellency noted that the two parties demonstrated a genuine determination to break the cycle of violence and build mutual trust through concrete actions, such as the exchange of prisoners and detainees, the restoration of state authority, and the dignified return of displaced persons and refugees.
HE Dr. Al Khulaifi expressed the State of Qatar’s gratitude to the African Union and acknowledged the support of the United States of America, particularly the efforts of HE US Presidential Envoy and Senior Advisor for African Affairs, Massad Boulos. He also commended the contributions of HE Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
Additionally, His Excellency recognized the constructive roles played by the Republic of Rwanda, the French Republic, the United Kingdom, and the Consultative Dialogue Group, as well as the engagement of all regional and international partners backing the process.
HE Dr. Al Khulaifi affirmed that this initiative reflects Qatar’s steadfast commitment to mediation as a cornerstone of its foreign policy. The State of Qatar remains dedicated to supporting peacemaking efforts, advancing sustainable development, and empowering communities to achieve long-term stability grounded in justice, inclusiveness, and mutual respect.
He expressed hope that the Declaration of Principles will represent a meaningful step toward lasting peace and sustainable development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the wider region.
For his part, HE Massad Boulos, the US Presidential Envoy and Senior Advisor for African Affairs, praised Qatar’s vital role in facilitating the agreement, stating: “The State of Qatar is known for its pioneering role in resolving conflicts around the world, and we thank it for its essential efforts in this matter.”
HE Boulos noted that the conflict in the DRC has displaced more than eight million people, and that past initiatives have largely failed to yield results, making the Doha agreement a rare and valuable opportunity to achieve peace.
He further highlighted Qatar’s diplomatic leadership over the past two decades in facilitating complex peace processes, from Darfur in Sudan, to the Lebanese crisis, the Afghanistan negotiations, and now the DRC.
HE Boulos emphasized that while the Declaration of Principles marks only the first step, it is a critical one. It addresses core issues such as the immediate and permanent cessation of violence, prisoner exchanges, the restoration of full state authority, and the safe, dignified return of displaced persons and refugees. He called for the launch of direct negotiations to address the roots of the conflict and reach a comprehensive peace agreement, while urging international support for national reconciliation and development in conflict-affected areas.
