Humanoid robots will start to become much more common as prices tumble. thinkhubstudio
Humanoid robots are supposed to be our loyal assistants, but we saw another side to them the other day. Chinese robot manufacturer Unitree was demonstrating its latest H1 robots at a lantern festival in the city of Taishan, Guangdong province, when one walked up to the crowd barrier and seemed to lunge at an elderly woman, nearly headbutting her.
The incident quickly went viral, and sparked a fierce debate about whether the robot actually attacked the woman or had tripped up. It’s mostly being overlooked that we’re a long way from having robots that could intentionally attack someone – machines like these are often remote controlled – but the danger to the public is clearly real enough.
With sales of humanoid robots set to skyrocket over the next decade, the public will increasingly be at risk from these kinds of incidents. In our view as robotics researchers, governments have put very little thought into the risks.
Here are some urgent steps that they should take to make humanoid robots as safe as possible.
1. Increase owner requirements
The first important issue is to what extent humanoid robots will be controlled by users. Whereas Tesla’s Optimus can be remotely operated by people in a control centre, others such as the Unitree H1s are controlled by the user with a handheld joystick.
Currently on sale for around £90,000, they come with a software development kit on which you can develop your own artificial intelligence (AI) system, though only to a limited extent. For example, it could say a sentence or recognise a face but not take your kids to school.
Who is to blame if someone gets hurt or even killed by a human-controlled robot? It’s hard to know for sure – any discussion about liability would first involve proving whether the harm was caused by human error or a mechanical malfunction.
This came up in a Florida case where a widower sued medical robot-maker Intuitive Surgical Inc over his wife’s death in 2022. Her death was linked to injuries she sustained from a heat burn in her intestine during an operation that was caused by a fault in one of the company’s machines.
The case was dropped in 2024 after being partially dismissed by a district judge. But the fact that the widower sued the manufacturer rather than the medics demonstrated that the robotics industry needs a legal framework for preventing such situations as much as the public do.
While for drones there are aviation laws and other restrictions to govern their use in public areas, there are no specific laws for walking robots.
So far, the only place to have put forward governance guidelines is China’s Shanghai province. Published in summer 2024, these include stipulating that robots must not threaten human security, and that manufacturers must train users on how to use these machines ethically.
For robots controlled by owners, in the UK there is currently nothing preventing someone from taking a robot dog out for a stroll in a busy park, or a humanoid robot to the pub for a pint.
As a starting point, we could ban people from controlling robots under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or when they are otherwise distracted such as using their phones. Their use could also be restricted in risky environments such as confined spaces with lots of members of the public, places with fire or chemical hazards, and the roofs of buildings.
2. Improve design
Robots that looks sleek and can dance and flip are fun to watch, but how safe are the audiences? Safe designs would consider everything from reducing cavities where fingers could get caught, to waterproofing internal components.
Protective barriers or exoskeletons could further reduce unintended contact, while cushioning mechanisms could reduce the effect of an impact.
Robots should be designed to signal their intent through lights, sounds and gestures. For example, they should arguably make a noise when entering a room so as not to surprise anyone.
Even drones can alert their user if they lose signal or battery and need to return to home, and such mechanisms should also be built into walking robots. There are no legal requirements for any such features at present.
It’s not that manufacturers are entirely ignoring these issues for walking robots. Unitree’s quadroped Go2, for instance, blinks and beeps when the battery is low or if it is overheating.
It also has automatic emergency cut-offs in these situations, although they must be triggered by a remote operator when the robot is in “telemetric mode”. Crucially, however, there are no clear regulations to ensure that all manufacturers meet a certain safety standard.
3. Train operators
Clearly there will be dangers with robots using AI features, but remote-operated models could be even more dangerous. Mistakes could result from users’ lack of real-world training and experience in real-life situations.
There appears to be a major skills gap in operator training, and robotics companies will need to prioritise this to ensure operators can control machines efficiently and safely.
In addition, humans can have delayed reaction times and limited concentration, so we also need systems that can monitor the attention of robot operators and alert them to prevent accidents. This would be similar to the HGV-driver distraction-detection systems that were installed in vehicles in London in 2024.
4. Educate the public
The incident in China has highlighted current misconceptions about humanoid robots as the media is once again blaming AI despite the fact that this was not the issue. This risks causing widespread mistrust and confusion among the public.
If people understand to what extent walking robots are owner-operated or remote-operated, it will change their expectations about what the robot might do, and make everyone safer as a result.
Also, understanding the owner’s level of control is vital for managing buyers’ expectations and forewarning them about how much they’ll need to learn about operating and programming a robot before they buy one.
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.
A global network of mayors known as the C40 Cities and other urban development experts have called this a “highly replicable” solution for environmental crises across urban Africa.
Reforestation helps Freetown cope with excess heat, annual seasonal floods, landslides and other environmental problems. Because of its geography, squeezed between wooded mountains and coastline, and widespread poverty, the city is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of the climate change.
Deforestation of Freetown’s mountains for wood, charcoal and housing space led to a landslide in 2017 that killed 1,100 people and left at least another 3,000 people homeless. FreetownTheTreetown is a response to this disaster.
There are also important historical contexts. I’ve conducted research into the colonial history of Freetown and the changing historical meaning of its trees. From the spiritual meaning of trees in Indigenous west African cultures, through to their use in colonial planning schemes, trees in Freetown have been central to political struggles over the urban landscape.
Tree planting should not be viewed simply as a generic social good. Trees are embedded in wider structures of power. From colonial-era tree planting, which aimed to reorganise Freetown into a European style city, to the 21st century’s green capitalism – in which tree “tokens” have become commodities for their marketable “carbon offset” – trees are far from apolitical.
Tree planting projects alone cannot solve environmental problems in African cities. As the world heats up, reliance on fossil fuels must be reduced. Green capitalism’s tree planting schemes won’t cut greenhouse gas emissions at source.
Climate solutions
FreetownTheTreeTown is organised through an app, TreeTracker, used by community growers who plant and care for saplings that have been grown in a nursery. They use the app to tag the geographical location of each new tree and track tree growth with photographs.
But the project is supposed to start covering its own costs through selling carbon offset tokens to foreign nations and companies. Buyers will buy these to “cancel out” their own carbon emissions. A polluting airline in the US, for example, could claim it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions if it buys carbon offset tokens from FreetownTheTreeTown.
Carbon offset schemes have been criticised by academics and journalists for overstating the rate and speed at which they can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. They’ve been accused of distracting attention from the necessary and difficult work of transitioning away from polluting energy sources.
Charcoal is the most important product of the deforestation of Freetown’s mountainous peninsula because the city’s residents use it as cooking fuel. It is, however, highly polluting. People living in informal communities are encouraged to move to cleaner cooking fuels. Some briquettes are even made from human waste. Freetown is genuinely trying to reduce its extremely low carbon emissions.
Tensions in tree town
Tension between the conservation and exploitation of Freetown’s mountain forest has existed for centuries. Freetown was established by British colonists in 1792 as a site for the resettlement of formerly enslaved people from across west Africa. Mountain forests were cut down and turned into timber for the board houses of Freetown.
My research into the late 19th century history of Freetown has revealed that an enormous iroko tree with a trunk circumference of over 15 metres was a place of great spiritual and ritual significance in the area of Brookfields.
Many formerly enslaved people from Yorubaland, in what is today south-western Nigeria, believed iroko trees were inhabited by powerful spirits. Witches were thought to hold meetings around them.
The Brookfields iroko tree was feared. But it was also respected. Processions of the Bondo, an all-female secret society, visited the tree with offerings, such as corn and pieces of cloth.
The colonial government planted new trees to demarcate the gridded streetscape of Freetown. But Freetonians did not like the new trees. They suspected them of harbouring mosquitoes and snakes. Twenty years after the first planting, most had been cut down by the city’s residents. The colonial government attempted to overwrite west African understandings of trees by imposing a new order.
Tree planting schemes must pay close attention to histories of government-led dispossession if they are to successfully transform cities. FreetownTheTreeTown has begun to tackle this history head on by co-creating this reforested city with its communities. This is important work. But, there must be caution about simply transplanting the technical solutions from Freetown to other cities across Africa.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Negotiation preparations for members of IAM Local 912 in Evendale, Ohio are well underway. The 11 members of the negotiating committee recently met in Hollywood, Md., to train at the IAM’s Winpisinger Education and Technology Center.
Watch the video report here.
“Our team is ready,” said IAM Collective Bargaining Director Craig Norman, the lead negotiator for the talks. “Our membership has captured the spirit of coordinated bargaining. The UAW and IAM have been working closely together. We have a diverse committee representing the membership, with senior and new members ready to negotiate. This committee will represent solidarity with the membership now and in the future.”
Norman and the negotiating committee spent the week focusing on strategy, working on proposals, and conducting simulated bargaining talks with Winpisinger Center instructors.
“Some of the committees have been through three or four negotiations, and some this being their first,” said IAM Local 912 President Mark Goodhart, a 16-year member.
When the team begins its talks with GE, they will be at the bargaining table alongside the UAW, whose members do assembly work at the facility. IAM members at GE Aerospace do maintenance and test cells.
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced a collaboration with the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego (BGCGSD) to provide an opportunity for San Diego middle school youth to learn about cybersecurity skills, safety, risks and potential careers the field.
According to CISA’s January 2023 report “Protecting Our Future: Partnering to Safeguard K–12 organizations from Cybersecurity Threats,” many K-12 schools lack the resources to implement comprehensive cybersecurity programs.
“ESET is committed to empowering San Diego youth with the skills and knowledge to stay safe online,” said Marissa Pitchford, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, ESET North America. “Through our longstanding relationship with both the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego we aim to close cybersecurity education gaps and help keep our community safe from cyber threats.”
The Event On Thursday, February 27th, 100 middle school students will participate in cybersecurity workshops led by San Diego cybersecurity professionals. The educational event will be held from 2:00-4:30pm at Rincon Middle School, 925 Lehner Ave, Escondido, California. Workshops include sessions on cyber hygiene and online safety, and gamified cybersecurity skills training using the popular, hands-on video game program, World of Haiku. Volunteers will also help build awareness about the interests and skillsets that make good cyber professionals and how to pursue a career in cybersecurity.
“ESET has been a valuable partner for the BGCGSD and are invested in improving the lives of young people,” said Michelle Malin, COO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. “As a recent partner in our annual Back 2 School Drive, ESET donated a free one-year security license and a cyber-safety parental guide with each of the 2,000 backpacks empowering local families in San Diego to navigate the digital world safely and confidently.”
Leading the workshops will be cybersecurity professionals volunteering their time from ESET, INDUS, Booz Allen, Yahoo!, Aira, Rice University/Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) San Diego, NVIDIA/National University, San Diego Gas & Electric/WiCyS San Diego, ASML, and the San Diego County Credit Union.
“We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with ESET,” said Lisa Easterly, President & CEO of the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE). “CCOE mobilizes businesses, academia, and government in the region, and ESET’s support has been instrumental in inspiring the next generation of cyber warriors and educating local SMBs and vulnerable communities to foster a more secure digital community for all San Diegans.”
About ESET ESET provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of known and emerging cyber threats — securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it’s endpoint, cloud or mobile protection, its AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption, and multi-factor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. An ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
February 27, 2025
“ED failed to provide information on how it intends to ensure ED data is not compromised or misused… [and] failed to answer any of our questions about what safeguards and procedures are in place to protect this data”
“The Department’s evasive response…heightens our concerns about whether ED may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures in handling this data.”
Text of Letter (PDF) | Response from ED to Original Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (BHUA), led 14 of her colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in writing a letter to Acting Secretary of Education Denise Carter, raising concerns about the Department of Education’s (ED; the Department) response to their inquiry into the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to millions of student loan borrowers’ personal data. Earlier this week, a federal court blocked DOGE’s access to sensitive ED databases with borrower information.
The letter was joined by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
“[T]he Department’s response was woefully inadequate, may have contained misleading information, and raised new concerns about the nature and extent of DOGE’s access to the Department’s internal systems,” wrote the senators.
ED’s response to the senators’ initial letter failed to answer basic questions about DOGE’s access to student loan borrowers’ personal data.
The Department refused to confirm or deny whether DOGE had been granted access to the National Student Loan Data System or other databases with sensitive federal student loan data.
ED claimed it was committed to following “applicable laws and regulations” regarding management of borrower data, but it did not provide any information about if, how, why, by whom, and to what extent DOGE was granted access to these databases.
While ED said the DOGE team was onboarded through the proper processes, “including background investigation and system access authorization,” additional information indicates that at least one DOGE employee granted access “ha[d] not yet completed ethics or information security trainings” according to a declaration submitted in federal court two days before ED’s response.
ED also shared new information about the extent of DOGE’s access to other sensitive databases, saying that DOGE “is currently supporting a review of Department and Federal Student Aid (FSA) contracts to identify possible efficiencies…To support this work, one employee had read-only access to two of FSA’s internal systems.” But the Department failed to provide full and declarative information about which DOGE or ED employees had access to which datasets, what they were doing with that access, whether any data is being fed through Artificial Intelligence systems, and why one employee’s access to FSA’s internal systems was revoked.
ED also failed to provide information on how it intends to ensure data at the department is not compromised or misused, saying only that “robust protections in place to ensure data are secure,” but not providing specifics.
“The Department’s evasive response, in addition to the recent news that a federal judge has blocked ED from sharing sensitive data with DOGE due to potential violations of federal law, heightens our concerns about whether ED may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures in handling this data,” concluded the lawmakers.
The 15 senators pressed the Acting Secretary to provide more information about DOGE employees’ or affiliates’ access to ED’s databases, the safeguards in place to protect federal student loan data, the status of DOGE’s work at the department, and more by March 5, 2025.
Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today delivered an opening statement at the committee’s second hearing to consider the advancement of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Secretary of Labor.
We are in an unusual and dangerous moment in American history.
We have a situation where, today, we have more income and wealth inequality then we have ever had in the history of this country. Three people on top have more wealth the bottom half of American society and the gap between rich and poor is growing wider.
We have a situation where people all over this country understand that joining a trade union is a way to get better wages and working conditions. Millions of workers all over this country say, “I want to join a union.” And yet we have large corporations acting illegally to deny workers the right to join unions, which is why one of my major priorities and the priority of many members on this side of the aisle is to pass the PRO Act.
Today, tens of millions of American workers are earning starvation wages. $12, $13 an hour. Nobody in any part of this country can survive on $12, $13 dollars an hour. And yet the minimum wage – the federal minimum wage of $7.25 – has not been raised in a very, very long time.
So what we need is a Secretary of Labor who is going to stand up and say we are going to take on powerful special interests. We are going to stand with the working class of this country.
Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, Ms. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is not that person.
And the most important point of this hearing is: Today, we are not voting on who the next Secretary of Labor is. The next Secretary of Labor, the next Secretary of Education, the next Secretary of Housing, the next Secretary of the Treasury is Elon Musk. Let us understand that reality and not play along with this charade.
Does anyone here really think that any Secretary of Labor, any Secretary of Education, is going to make decisions by himself or herself?
Just yesterday, the president held a meeting with his cabinet. And who was the star of the meeting? Was it the Secretary of the Defense? Was it Secretary of State?
No, it was an unelected official who happens to be the wealthiest person on Earth. It was Elon Musk.
And at that meeting, President Trump asked his cabinet, “is anybody unhappy with Elon? Well, if you are, we’ll throw them out of here.”
In other words, if any cabinet official has courage to stand up to Mr. Musk and disobey his edicts, they are gone. So, Mr. Chairman, my request to you is a simple one. Let’s be honest. The American people understand it, and it’s time that we understood it as well.
If you want to discuss policies in the Department of Labor, let’s bring in the real secretary. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully request that this committee bring Elon Musk before this committee so that we can really hear what’s going on with the government.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Case study
weeHoloCam: DASA Funding Transforms Marine Biology with Revolutionary Underwater Imaging
The University of Aberdeen has developed a state-of-the-art underwater holographic camera with DASA support, enabling rapid real-time analysis of marine life in impressive detail
From Ship-Sized to Hand-Held
DASA funding and Dstl technical advice has helped the University of Aberdeen develop the world’s most compact and lightweight underwater holographic camera – the weeHoloCam
The holographic camera has vastly improved processing speed – what previously took months can now be done in hours
Added AI integration enables the automatic classification of millions of marine particles in real-time
The weeHoloCam’s evolution spans two DASA projects, the first focused on developing the camera and processor, the second project added AI classification capabilities
Plankton might be microscopic, but their importance to the planet is huge. These marine organisms produce half the world’s oxygen, form the foundation of ocean food chains, and play a crucial role in carbon absorption from the atmosphere. Marine biologists study plankton to better understand how the ocean’s food web is changing, and how climate change affects marine life. However, this process has always been a challenge – as traditional sampling methods are time-consuming and logistically difficult.
This was the reality for marine biologists until the University of Aberdeen, with DASA funding in 2019, revolutionised underwater imaging with their weeHoloCam.
“The holographic camera we used in the past was big in size and weighed more than 100 kilograms, making it very difficult to transport and deploy,” explains Dr. Thangavel Thevar from the School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen. “Now, with DASA funding, we have developed a very small version of the same that is 60 cm long and weighs just 3.5 kilograms – the frame for the camera is actually heavier than the camera itself!”
Technical Innovation
The weeHoloCam’s innovative design features two cylinders – one housing a pulse laser and optics while the other containing a sensor, mini-PC and electronics. “The camera can detect particles that are present between its windows, covering approximately 12 cm cube of water,” explains Dr. Thevar. “Within this volume, we can capture incredibly detailed holograms of particles as small as 50 microns.”
Breaking Speed Barriers
Using this advanced system, the team unlocked new capabilities in underwater imaging. “For example, in a single 3-hour dive, you can capture up to 200,000 holograms,” says Dr. Thevar. “Previously, processing each hologram took about two minutes, which meant 200,000 holograms will take more than 9 months to process.”
Using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology, the team dramatically reduced the processing time. “We’ve taken the processing time down from two minutes to just two seconds per hologram. What would have taken 100 days now takes just one day.”
Adding AI Intelligence
Building on this, the University of Aberdeen embarked on a second project with DASA in 2022 to make the process even quicker by integrating an AI classification system for the particles. “As engineers, we needed to make this useful for biologists,” explains Dr. Thevar. “When you’re dealing with millions of individual images from hundreds of thousands of holograms, manual classification becomes incredibly time consuming.”
The new AI classifier automatically labels the images in real-time. As soon as a hologram is recorded through the camera, it’s processed and classified automatically.
Real-World Applications and Impact
The weeHoloCam has been deployed more than 20 times across various marine environments, including regular work with Marine Scotland. “We hope to support their weekly vessel deployments for plankton monitoring,” explains Dr. Thevar. “While traditional net sampling provides valuable data, our holographic camera adds crucial information about vertical depth distribution that nets can’t capture. This complementary approach gives us unprecedented insight into marine health.”
The system has even attracted media attention, featuring on BBC’s One Show during a deployment in Loch Ness. “While we did not find Nessie we were afforded a rare opportunity to study plankton in a freshwater situation which was a first for us,” says Dr. Thevar.
From a defence and security standpoint, the WeeHoloCam project addresses a critical challenge in marine operations: monitoring microscopic sea life in real-time. This capability is essential for predicting harmful algal blooms and tracking changes in marine biomass that can affect underwater optical systems.
The innovation delivers two key advantages:
Its compact size enables deployment on the growing fleet of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, dramatically increasing measurement coverage
Its advanced AI algorithms automatically classify micro-organisms, significantly reducing the manual analysis time needed to produce biological tactical assessments
End of DASA project trial
In October 2024, at the end of their DASA project, the University of Aberdeen demonstrated their subsea holographic camera to technical Dstl partners. The lab-based trials proved highly successful. The team showcased the system’s real-time classification capabilities, using both previously collected sea-trial data and live samples containing tiny jellyfish. The demonstration highlighted the intuitive user interface, which allows operators to easily select and group different marine organisms for analysis, from bubbles to dinoflagellates (a planktonic single-celled organism) and copepods (a group of very small crustaceans).
Future Horizons
The team is now running at full capacity with several exciting developments:
Tackling sea lice detection in salmon farms, despite the challenging nature of identifying these sparse, elusive parasites
A new funded project to permanently deploy a system for harmful micro-jellyfish detection
Exploring mounting the technology on autonomous underwater vehicles
Supporting carbon transport research by tracking organic matter movement in oceans
The DASA Difference
The University of Aberdeen credits DASA’s support for the project’s success. “Working with DASA has been a very positive experience,” notes Dr. Thevar. “It’s always a two-way conversation where we help each other. They’ve pushed us forward, whether through commercialisation ideas or project development, and have been instrumental in providing further leads to follow.”
“From studying plankton populations to tracking carbon transport in our oceans, this technology is helping us understand our marine environments in ways we never could before,” concludes Dr. Thevar. “And with each new application we discover, the value of DASA’s early investment becomes even more apparent.”
Wisam sits in her classroom, absorbed in her work, her fingers gripping a blue-coloured pencil, carefully sketching a flower in her notebook, one of more than 100,000 displaced students in war-torn Sudan who have returned to classes, with the support of Education Cannot Wait for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) efforts to distribute urgently needed school supplies to help them get back to learning.
Despite the noise and bustle of classmates packing up, nine-year-old Wisam is focused on the picture she is bringing to life from her desk. When she’s finished, she puts her beloved pencils back into her bag.
The supplies in her new backpack are a constant reminder of the hope she carries, even in the face of extreme hardship. Wisam is just one of the millions of children that have been displaced by the brutal conflict.
I left my toys, books, uniform, bag and pencils. My uniform was beautiful.
The country is facing the world’s largest child displacement crisis, with more than 17 million school-aged children currently out of school. Hundreds of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war in Sudan in April 2023. Many others are being used as shelters.
With the reopening of 489 schools, nearly 119,870 children across Sudan’s Red Sea state have returned to class. ECW and partners like UNICEF continue to support girls and boys in the whole of Sudan to ensure that, even in the most challenging circumstances, displaced children can continue their education.
Wisam has already experienced more hardship than many will in a lifetime. Forced to flee her home in Sinnar when the armed conflict reached them, Wisam and her family sought safety in Port Sudan, leaving behind nearly all of their belongings, including Wisam’s school uniform.
Wisam takes part in a lesson at her new school in Port Sudan.
Backpacks for a brighter future
When schools finally reopened in Port Sudan, Wisam’s family could not afford the necessary school supplies. Thanks to UNICEF, with funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) – the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises in the United Nations – Wisam has received essential school supplies and even a new school uniform.
When Wisam and her siblings enrolled in their new school in Port Sudan, their excitement to learn again was tempered by their lack of necessary school supplies. The challenges of displacement meant that they didn’t have the means to purchase everything that would be needed to thrive in the classroom.
Fortunately, Wisam’s school is one of many in Sudan that is receiving vital school supplies thanks to ECW support. Through this initiative, which aims to ensure that all children have the tools they need to return to learning, Wisam and her siblings received new school uniforms and backpacks filled with notebooks, erasers, coloured pencils, chalk, rulers and more.
“I love my new bag,” she said. “It’s much bigger than the one I had at home.”
Thanks to UNICEF, with funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Wisam is among many children in war-torn Sudan that have received essential school supplies.
More than just school books
To Wisam, her new backpack contains more than just her school books and supplies. It carries her dreams for a brighter, more peaceful future in her homeland that allows her to learn, grow and reach her full potential.
Today, Wisam is a third grader that eagerly participates in class discussions and raises her hand confidently to answer questions. Her new uniform adds to her sense of pride and belonging.
But, it’s in her moments of quiet solitude amidst the chaos that has surrounded her since the war began that Wisam truly comes alive. After the school day ends, Wisam lingers in the classroom, absorbed in her drawings. The colourful flowers, sketched with so much care, are a testament to her creativity and determination to find beauty even in difficult circumstances.
With the new set of coloured pencils she’s received, Wisam can now express herself in ways she never could before.
“I will share the colours with my siblings,” she said.
In times of crisis, education is critical, not just for academic learning, but also for providing a sense of normalcy, stability and safety. Indeed, the school supplies initiative is part of ECW’s holistic response in Sudan and neighbouring countries, which is supporting the establishment of children’s safe spaces and temporary learning centres, teacher training, the provision of learning materials, mental health and psychosocial support and more.
Home is better than here, but we can’t go back because of the war. The war is very bad.
Schools offer displaced children like Wisam a safe space to heal from the trauma of conflict. They also help protect children from harmful practices such as child marriage, child labour and forced recruitment into armed groups, giving them the chance to pursue their dreams and build a better future.
“Home is better than here, but we can’t go back because of the war,” she said. “The war is very bad.”
Still, Wisam remains hopeful. With the support she has received, she now feels that education is her way forward.
To date, ECW support has reached 135,000 crisis-affected girls and boys inSudan. ECW investments in the country total $33.7 million and support the building and rehabilitation of classrooms, provision of learning and teaching materials, teacher training, improvement of access to drinking water, gender-sensitive water and sanitation facilities and improvement of access to quality, inclusive and child-friendly education.
But, the needs in Sudan, and in crises around the world, are only escalating. A recent report by ECW finds that 234 million school-aged girls and boys are affected by crises and need urgent support to access quality education. This is an increase of at least 35 million over the past three years.
For Wisam, her new backpack, once a reminder of everything she was forced to leave behind, now carries the weight of all she hopes to achieve. With each lesson, she’s stepping closer to the future she deserves, a future the nine-year-old is determined to create.
It is a pleasure to join you today at Fort Hays State University for the Robbins Banking Institute Lecture.1 I have been a supporter of this institute since it was first created here at Fort Hays State, including by giving a lecture to students during my tenure as the Kansas State Bank Commissioner. Today, my view is slightly different than at that time, and I thought it would be a good time to share my thoughts on the critical role community banks play, not only in the U.S. banking system but also as drivers of local and regional economic growth and as anchors of their local communities. I will also explore the responsibility of bank regulators to support community banks. In a broad and diverse economy, banks of all sizes play an important role in the creation and funding of business and consumer opportunities and investments. Without this diverse banking ecosystem, 30 percent of American communities would not have access to a physical bank location. There is little doubt that community banks have an extensive presence across this landscape and that they are essential to the success of the American economy. No other country in the world enjoys this direct access to and presence of financial services in remote and rural areas. These bankers are members of the community. They are neighbors and friends, and their kids attend local schools and play sports in the local recreational league. The term “relationship” banking has true meaning in this context. The direct relationships provide an opportunity for bankers to understand the unique financing needs of local businesses and enables them to develop specialized services for specific segments of the local economy, including agriculture and small business lending.2 Community banks are catalysts for local economic growth, and their bankers often also serve as civic leaders in the region. I served as one of those community leaders while I was a banker in Council Grove. That experience—whether serving as the President of the local Chamber of Commerce or the Rotary Club—provided a unique view into the local economy. And today, as I travel across the country to visit with bankers in just about every state, I learn about how they are driving investment, philanthropy, and financial support for the local economy. While this work is rewarding, it is also challenging. It is sometimes tedious—especially in today’s regulatory environment—and it is a seven days a week job. Bankers are often “working” while engaged in social activities, attending church or their kids athletic events, and shopping at the grocery store, and I often hear about customers giving a loan payment to their banker in the grocery store or asking about financing terms for the new car they might have their eye on. Once a policymaker grasps the perspective of community banking from this vantage point, it becomes clear that the regulatory approach is much more complex than necessary to address many small bank issues. A community bank that has no out-of-market customers applying for new accounts likely does not need the same know-your-customer processes as a large or regional bank that opens accounts online and may be more vulnerable to fraud. A community bank can operate safely and soundly, and in compliance with laws, without being subject to the same extensive guidance and regulatory requirements as larger, more complex banks that offer a broader range of products and may be exposed to wider range of risks. A number of onerous requirements imposed on community banks seem to reflect an assumption of an indirect and less personal banking relationship. Public debates about the banking system often feature academics that tend to downplay the significant role of community banks in the financial system. Instead, they imagine a banking system with fewer banks as equally effective in meeting the banking needs of every community throughout the United States. The eight largest U.S. banks hold $15.4 trillion in assets, which is several times larger than the assets controlled by the more than 4,000 community banks in the United States.3 But as we all know, aggregate asset size is not an accurate indication of these banks’ importance. Of course, metrics do not provide the full picture of how relationship-based lending practices drive local economic activity. They ignore that banking has a regional component, where local knowledge and expertise—and a commitment to the local community—can help enable the community to thrive. There is an important place for the largest banks and regional banks in the banking system, but it is a fallacy to assume that the presence of fewer community banks would not have devastating consequences for a number of consumers and businesses. Some community banks serve rural and underserved banking markets and may be the only option for consumers and businesses, especially those that have unique balance sheets or less pristine credit histories. If community banks were to disappear, many communities would be left with few or no alternative options for banking services. While metrics do not tell the whole story, this is not meant to downplay the importance of data, research, and analysis, all of which assist us in our understanding of the banking system and how that understanding could be improved. Data can help us identify issues that must be addressed or remediated. Data can help us evaluate which elements of the current bank regulatory framework may be effective or ineffective. And data can help regulators update regulations and guidance with a clearer understanding of the intended and unintended consequences. Over the past 20 years, we have seen the number of community banks continue to decline. Bank consolidation through mergers has contributed to this decline, and de novo bank formation has been largely nonexistent. Many factors have contributed to the bank consolidation trend, including competition from nonbank financial service providers and the ever-increasing regulatory burdens on the community banking model. Many of these same challenges have acted as a deterrent to bankers who have considered pursuing a de novo bank charter. And while many factors influence the health of the community bank model—including the interest rate environment, economic conditions, and alternative sources of competition for credit—we should consider whether there are actions regulators can take to support and ensure the future of community banks. The Benefits of ExperienceOne of the biggest barriers to the community bank model is the competition for qualified bank management and staff. Attracting, developing, and retaining future and current bank leadership is a significant challenge. Yet, one of the most important priorities for bank management is to develop the next generation of leadership. Educational programs like this institute, bank and regulator internships, and regional graduate schools of banking can help develop this pipeline of talent to support the industry and supervisory responsibilities. These programs also help regulators recruit the next generation of bank examiners. Working in my family’s community bank reinforced the mission focus and relationship model of community banking for me. This holds true for many family-owned community banks across the country. Since we are on the campus of Fort Hays State University today and we have a number of students in the audience, part of my message today is to encourage each of you to consider exploring a career in the financial services industry—including in community banking or with a state or federal banking regulator. Whether that experience becomes a lifelong career or a stepping stone along your path, having experience in banking provides valuable perspective on how local economies function and the importance of access to banking services and financial inclusion. This experience has helped to shape my perspective and approach as the state bank commissioner and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This experience is also not something that I take for granted—seeing different perspectives empowers me to be a better policymaker. For example, as a bank compliance officer you understand the challenges of ensuring the bank is in compliance with rules and guidance and is prepared for interactions with bank examiners. Further, having this perspective enables a policymaker to approach the process of drafting rules and guidance and relaying supervisory messages in a way that recognizes a need for clarity, efficiency, and simplicity. The outcomes of our work are enhanced by a better understanding of the costs and unintended consequences of getting it wrong. The Responsibility of RegulatorsOverregulation and unnecessary rules and guidance imposed on smaller and community banks create disproportionate burdens on these banks, eventually eroding the viability of the community banking model. Policymakers and regulators have a responsibility to ensure that the banking and financial systems encourage growth and innovation and foster a strong and growing economy. One of the great strengths of the U.S. banking system is the variety of institutions that meet the needs of consumers and businesses, not only through offering a range of products and services but also by reaching customers throughout the country, including in the most rural and remote locations. Our goal must be to facilitate a banking and regulatory environment that enables banks of all types and sizes to thrive. For community banks, this includes building a better regulatory and supervisory framework to effectively support the unique characteristics of these institutions. What should that framework look like? First, it includes thresholds that better reflect risk and business model. As currently defined, community banks are those with less than $10 billion in assets. The Federal Reserve divides banks into distinct supervisory portfolios that oversee “community,” “regional,” and four categories of larger banks.4 The portfolio approach helps regulators differentiate standards and supervisory focus based on bank characteristics and risks. In theory, it allows examiners to better organize supervisory activities and to provide specialized training to help examiners focus on issues that are most relevant for the institutions being examined. If appropriately executed, this portfolio-based approach should lead to better and more risk-focused supervision, and in turn a safer and more sound banking system. An organizational structure that better allocates and directs supervisory resources seems like a worthwhile goal, but over time, it becomes clear that there are downsides to this approach. One of these downsides is the static nature of the fixed thresholds defining the categories. Currently, our framework includes fixed thresholds that are not adjusted with economic growth, inflation, or the growth in deposits from unexpected sources and fiscal programs, like those from the COVID era. They also do not account for changed industry dynamics, especially those resulting from a particular bank’s activities or risk profile. In this environment, some firms with stable growth, a static business model, and a straightforward risk profile cross the $10 billion threshold unintentionally, subjecting them to additional regulatory and supervisory requirements that were specifically designed and implemented for larger and more complex firms. Banks approaching the $10 billion threshold often choose to curtail their asset growth to stay below the threshold. Another significant problem with the current approach—that specifically challenges community banks—is the failure to index and update how a community bank is defined. Given the low fixed-dollar asset thresholds, regulators must focus on ensuring that asset-based benchmarks remain reasonable and appropriate in their work to supervise banks, especially as they apply tailored, but static, supervisory standards. As is the case now, over time, economic growth and inflation have created an environment in which thresholds are inappropriately low. We also need to implement a better, more timely, transparent, and viable path for all bank regulatory applications. The application process can be a significant obstacle to applications activity, in particular mergers and acquisitions. Applications often experience significant delays between the application filing date and before receiving final regulatory approval. In some cases, even for non-complex transactions, the regulatory approval process has taken more than a year. A healthy banking system is one in which banks can make decisions to merge with peers or acquire new assets or business lines, and one that allows new bank formation, in a reasonable amount of time in accordance with statutory timelines. As the bank applications process has become a barrier to bank merger activity, we have seen credit unions acquiring community banks in record numbers. In the absence of a better functioning bank applications process, institutions will explore other options, including credit union acquisitions. I think this trend should be a wake up call for regulators to reevaluate our approaches to many areas of our responsibility, but especially whether our applications processes are operating as effectively and efficiently as they should. It is important that the regulatory framework ensures that competition and broader availability of banking services remain a feature of the U.S. banking system. A necessary approach to solving this is by making targeted improvements to the applications process. If you follow my work, you know that I often discuss how the applications process can be improved.5 So I will note some of the important changes that I believe would be a catalyst to returning our bank applications review function to an appropriate processing timeline. These are simply threshold steps that should be easy to accomplish and would be a great start to fundamentally improving the process. I believe that we should not be complacent when facing excessive and longstanding delays. For bank applications, we must focus our resources and expertise to review and promptly act on all bank applications, to streamline the required forms and procedures, and to provide clear standards for approval. Bank regulators should be prepared to act promptly on applications, and yet the significant delays in applications processing we see suggests we can do better. The published statistics on applications processing also tell an incomplete story, as they do not reflect the time spent by applicants who withdraw applications before final regulatory action or that simply forgo business opportunities that require an application out of concern that the regulatory approval process is too uncertain and unpredictable.6 Many banks experience these frictions in the applications process firsthand. And judging from the number of bankers that contact me as they experience unexplained and prolonged delays, there is clear need for improvement. Uncertainty regarding the status of the application and an expected timeline for resolution creates challenges in moving forward with related business processes often resulting in costly delays for systems conversions and unhealthy uncertainty among bank staff. We can certainly learn from the inefficiencies in the current process and leverage these experiences by consulting with banks about these challenges and identifying a clear path to improve the process. One step could be to ensure that our applications teams have access to specialized knowledge required to more effectively approach applications for infrequent activities, like de novo formations. We should ensure that a Reserve Bank has the resources necessary to assist them in making the applications process smooth, and ensuring prompt action is taken on the application. We also know that the applications process itself can be a significant barrier and has in recent years been used by regulators to delay decisions. While many activities that require regulatory approval rely on common application forms, some bank applications require regulatory approvals from multiple regulators. Even where only one primary federal regulator must act on an application, there may be requirements to solicit views from other regulators, or the need to request additional information from the applicant that was not included in the initial filing forms. Each additional step in the process can lead to delays and prolonged uncertainty. Without question, there is a better process, and it should start with aligned requirements across the banking agencies, coordinated review processes, and clearer standards for approval. The standards for approval should be clear to all applicants and consistently applied. This must include transparency not only in approval standards but also in timelines, which are equally critical to banks seeking regulatory approval. Banking applications are not filed without extensive work up front and specific plans in mind. For example, a merger application will include information about the pro forma institution’s management team, geographies to be served in the merged institution’s banking footprint, what products will be offered, and how the application will be consistent with the various statutory approval standards. If we determine that we consistently need more information to process an application, we should amend the applications form instead of relying on time-consuming additional information requests that extend the decision timeline. And if there are standards we expect applicants to meet—for example, the minimum amount of capital required for a de novo bank formation or an expansionary proposal—we should be clear and transparent about those expectations in advance. Uncertainty in the standards and timelines for action on bank applications can contribute to a regulatory environment that favors nonbanks. This more favorable treatment includes allowing them to engage in the same activities without the same regulatory burdens, like more favorable tax and regulatory treatment for credit unions and the exemption from Community Reinvestment Act requirements for nonbank financial institutions, again, including credit unions. Why would a new business choose to become a bank if they can avoid the complexities of the banking regulatory framework and still provide similar services? TailoringWhile these steps—developing a pipeline of future leadership for community banks and promoting a more efficient bank applications process—would help support the community banking system generally, perhaps the most critical feature of the framework that affects community banks is tailoring to address the ongoing burden of compliance. Tailoring is the term we use in banking to describe an approach to regulation that strives to match regulation and supervision with the size, risk, complexity, and business model of an institution. Tailoring helps us calibrate regulation and supervision to the activities and risks at every tier within our framework, but it is particularly important when we think about its application for smaller and community banks. Frankly, when you consider the fundamental differences between the largest banks and the smallest, tailoring seems like common sense rather than a distinct regulatory philosophy. But in the absence of industry experience among bank policymakers, the trend over time has been an erosion of tailoring in favor of one-size-fits-all approaches. Pushing down requirements more appropriate for larger institutions to smaller banks—either formally through regulation or informally through supervisory messaging—encourages homogenization of the industry. This trend becomes even more concerning when regulators “grade on a curve” by evaluating a bank relative to other institutions, instead of evaluating a bank against a clear legal standard. It is also important for regulators evaluating regulations and supervisory approach to consider the aggregate benefits and costs of the framework, rather than looking at each part of the framework on a piecemeal basis. Often, the regulations and supervisory guidance issued by regulators has a “cumulative” or “compounding” effect on banks. A piecemeal approach ensures that banks cannot go to a single source or one regulation to understand supervisory expectations or requirements for a particular activity. While it may be possible to justify or explain any single regulation or piece of guidance on a standalone basis, when we consider the aggregate effects, it is clear that we need to rethink our approach and recommit to tailoring. Regulatory ambivalence to tailoring comes at a significant cost. If current trends continue—where we push down requirements from large banks to small and attempt to “smooth” or standardize requirements and expectations across all banks—we will eventually find ourselves achieving the academically preferred end state of only a few large banks ineffectively serving the financial needs of the entire U.S. economy. In this state of the world, not only will community banks suffer but so will the communities they serve. Closing ThoughtsThank you again for the invitation to join you today. It is wonderful to see the ongoing success and commitment of the Robbins Banking Institute in preparing the next generation of leaders to play an important role in the banking and financial system. While I have expressed concern about some recent trends, one of the many benefits of our system is that there are always opportunities to change course, and I am confident that with committed and experienced leadership we can. I am also confident that the future of community banking is bright, as long as we focus on right sized and appropriate regulations and guidance and a recognition that investment in innovation and growth is a necessity, not a roadblock. Regulators have an important opportunity now to prioritize changes that will support the safe and sound operation of community banks while allowing these banks to support the U.S. economy, serve their communities, innovate, and grow. Community banks enable the economic success of our country and will continue to support financial opportunities for many future generations. I look forward to seeing how the students in attendance here today will be a part of and shape that bright future.
1. The views expressed in these remarks are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my colleagues on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text 2. Allen N. Berger, Nathan H. Miller, Mitchell A. Petersen, Raghuram G. Rajan, and Jeremy C. Stein, “Does Function Follow Organizational Form? Evidence from the Lending Practices of Large and Small Banks (PDF),” National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 8752 (Cambridge, MA: NBER, February 2002). Return to text 3. See, e.g., Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Supervision and Regulation Report (PDF) (Washington: Board of Governors, November 2024), Table 2, Summary of organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve (as of 6/30/2024). Return to text 4. Larger banks are defined using tests that look primarily at asset size but may include other metrics like cross-jurisdictional activity, nonbank assets, short-term wholesale funding, or off-balance sheet exposures. Return to text 5. Michelle W. Bowman, “Brief Remarks on the Economy and Accountability in Supervision, Applications, and Regulation (PDF)” (remarks at the American Bankers Association 2025 Conference for Community Bankers, Phoenix, AZ, February 17, 2025). Return to text 6. See, e.g., Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Banking Applications Activity Semiannual Report, January 1-June 30, 2024 (PDF) (Washington, Board of Governors, October 2024). Return to text
Since the publication of this article, Mike Amesbury’s sentence has been suspended on appeal.
MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for ten weeks after he pleaded guilty to punching a man in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. The indecent happened in October of last year. Amesbury had the Labour whip withdrawn and has sat as an independent MP since.
What happens to MPs who are accused and found guilty of wrongdoing? While it does depend on how we define “wrongdoing”, as it can vary in terms of the scale of offence, there are several options available to parliamentary parties, the House of Commons itself and the public. In the case of Amesbury, neither parliament nor the Labour party can stop him from remaining as an MP under the current rules, either while in prison or after he comes out. But his constituents do have a say.
Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.
The ultimate power parliamentary parties have (particularly the leader) is to remove the whip. In effect, this means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and may not sit with their colleagues, nor be reelected under the party banner should the whip remain withdrawn at an election.
There is a distinction between the whip being withdrawn and it being suspended. To have the whip withdrawn suggests it is final and will not be returned. To have it suspended suggests its removal is only temporary and can be returned. This was the case with the seven Labour MPs who voted against the party line over the two-child benefit cap.
Amesbury had the whip withdrawn after the allegations and video evidence (which was circulated widely on social media) emerged. However, he remains an independent MP, at least for now.
The House of Commons has the power to suspend MPs from the chamber for a specified period of time. Where an MP is found to have broken the code of conduct or committed a contempt of the House (for example, misleading the House), the committee on standards may recommend a period of suspension which leads to a motion being tabled in the House of Commons.
This is what was going to happen to Boris Johnson after he was found to have misled parliament over “partygate” allegations. He resigned before the suspension could take effect.
The parliamentary commissioner for standards, (an independent officer of the House of Commons), can also investigate complaints made against MPs (including over breaching lobbying rules). In serious cases it can report to the standards committee to recommend a sanction, including suspension from the House.
The only way an MP can be expelled by the House of Commons completely (rather than having their membership suspended) is if they are sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment. In this case, Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks, so well below that threshold.
Prior to 2015, this would have been the end of the process. Amesbury would have had the whip withdrawn. After completing his ten-week sentence he would have been free to continue to sit as an MP until the end of his current term.
The role of the public
As things stand in 2025, this is no longer the end of the line for these kinds of offences. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Recall of MPs Act, which has provided a route for the electorate to remove sitting MPs who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.
Recall refers to a process whereby the electorate in a constituency can trigger a byelection to remove a sitting MP before the end of their term of office. MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:
if they are convicted in the UK of any offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted
if an MP is suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the committee on standards for a specified period: at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified (we saw a number of these kind of recalls during the 2019 Parliament, particularly following lobbying scandals)
if an MP is convicted of making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims (under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009).
In the case of Amesbury, his sentence is close to meeting the conditions of the first point. I use the word “close” as he is planning on appealing the sentence, and the criteria cannot be formally met until those appeals are exhausted.
If the criteria is met, then the speaker must notify the local returning officer (who oversees elections). A recall petition is then automatically launched and remains open for six weeks. Under the act, electors must sign the petition in person, by post or by proxy. For a petition to be successful and a byelection triggered, 10% of the eligible registered voters must sign it.
At the time of writing, there have been six recall petitions launched against various MPs. Four of those were successful and saw the sitting MP lose their seat, one petition failed and the MP remained in place and in one case the MP resigned while the petition was open, automatically triggering a byelection.
Given Amesbury is appealing, this process has not yet begun. However, he is under pressure, particularly from opposition MPs, to resign immediately and trigger a byelection now.
While there is potentially a way back for Amesbury in terms of remaining an MP (should his appeal be upheld or if a recall petition goes ahead and fails to meet the 10% threshold) it is unlikely there is a way back for him in terms of having the Labour whip restored.
Either way, he is on borrowed time. Even if he remains an MP, without a party whip he most likely faces defeat at a subsequent general election.
This is what happened to former Labour MP Claudia Webbe. She had the whip withdrawn by the Labour Party in 2021 following a conviction for harassment. However, she appealed her sentence and was given community service instead – failing to trigger the Recall of MPs Act. She remained as an independent MP until the 2024 general election, where she was defeated by the Conservative candidate.
There is an onus on political parties to ensure they respond to wrongdoing appropriately, including suspending the whip and removing it where necessary. In Amesbury’s case, Labour acted quickly.
But given the scandals we have seen in recent years, the public have limited patience. And wrongdoing, by what is a small minority of MPs, can tar the reputation of all MPs and parliament itself.
Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324241256)
Key to achieving this target will be decarbonizing the country’s energy grid.
Renewable energy sources will be an important aspect of these plans. But while these energy sources are both cheap and increasingly accessible, a problem they continue to face is variability. After all, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow when power is needed.
Canada’s dominant renewable energy source — hydropower, which made up almost 62 per cent of Canada’s total renewable electricity generation in 2022 — is also highly vulnerable to climate change. Low precipitation in 2023 reduced reservoir levels in Canada below average. This led to a 25 per cent drop in electricity exports to the United States. The situation was even worse in British Columbia, where BC Hydro had to import electricity to meet provincial demand.
Given these challenges, critical questions arise about whether renewable energy sources will be able to cope with energy demands now and in the future.
One way of addressing these issue is by building large-scale energy storage systems. These would be capable of storing excess renewable energy when it’s abundant and deploying it when needed.
Storing energy
Around 90 per cent of global energy capacity is stored using pumped hydro energy storage systems.
This system stores energy by pumping water from a lower level reservoir to a higher one using electric pumps powered by a renewable energy source. To release this stored energy, the reverse process occurs — so the water in the high levels flows down through turbines, generating electricity.
Pumped hydro energy storage is currently the most desirable energy storage method. This is because it can have a lifespan of up to 100 years, is highly efficient and very cost-effective.
However, a major pitfall of these storage systems is the geographic conditions required for them to work. These systems rely on large amounts of water flowing through different elevations. This incurs a significant cost. There are also environmental concerns, since it needs a large infrastructure to be built.
But a type of water-based battery may, in some cases, offer a better way of storing renewable energy for large-scale use — all without requiring as much space and infrastructure as pumped hydro systems.
Aqueous redox flow batteries are a type of battery that store energy in external tanks filled with water-based solutions. These solutions are then pumped and cycled through the battery’s electrochemical cell, causing reactions which allow the battery to release and store energy until needed.
Aqueous redox flow batteris could help store renewable energy for decades. (Shutterstock)
These batteries are able to store and release energy for years. Some companies claim they can last up to 25 years.
Alongside their long life, aqueous redox flow batteries are potentially more cost-effective to scale-up compared to other batteries — such as the conventional lithium-ion batteries found in our phones and cars. They’re also a lot safer than conventional batteries, as the water-based electrolytes means there’s no risk of flammability.
Aqueous redox flow batteries are highly scalable due to their modular design. Increasing storage capacity can be done by building larger tanks without needing to change the entire system. This makes them useful for both small and large-scale projects — whether that’s powering a single home or an entire community.
These batteries have the potential to benefit the energy industry by providing a reliable way of managing fluctuating energy supply. They could also be well-suited for supplying reliable, renewable energy in rural communities and during disaster recovery.
The world’s largest aqueous redox flow battery was recently built in China. Assuming an average consumption of one kilowatt-hour per hour per household, this one battery alone would be able to supply electricity to approximately 58,000 homes for 12 hours.
Aqueous redox flow batteries can also be used in many other applications. For example, as electric vehicles become more prevalent, this technology could be suitable for supporting EV charging stations. South Korea even announced in 2021 that these batteries would be trialled to enhance EV charging infrastructure.
While commercial aqueous redox flow batteries have many advantages, their main limitation is cost.
Currently, commercial aqueous redox flow batteries rely on expensive and rare materials, such as vanadium. This makes them too costly for widespread adoption.
Cheaper, more abundant organic materials (such as anthraquinones) could replace the vanadium in these batteries. But organic materials come with their own challenges. Currently, some cost-effective organic redox flow batteries degrade much faster than versions made with vanadium, which can last for decades.
However, current research is making significant progress in improving the stability of organic materials- helping to extend the lifespan of cheap organic redox flow batteries, making them an increasingly viable alternative.
Given the current costs of the materials needed to make commercial aqueous redox flow batteries and the short lifespan of cost-effective organic compounds, this technology is not yet fully ready for widespread use. Continued investment in research and development will be crucial. If we can overcome these current challenges and unlock the full potential of aqueous organic redox flow batteries, they could become a key component of the global transition to renewable energy.
Since the publication of this article, Mike Amesbury’s sentence has been suspended on appeal.
Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for ten weeks after he pleaded guilty to punching a man in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. The indecent happened in October of last year. Amesbury had the Labour whip withdrawn and has sat as an independent MP since.
What happens to MPs who are accused and found guilty of wrongdoing? While it does depend on how we define “wrongdoing”, as it can vary in terms of the scale of offence, there are several options available to parliamentary parties, the House of Commons itself and the public. In the case of Amesbury, neither parliament nor the Labour party can stop him from remaining as an MP under the current rules, either while in prison or after he comes out. But his constituents do have a say.
Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.
The ultimate power parliamentary parties have (particularly the leader) is to remove the whip. In effect, this means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and may not sit with their colleagues, nor be reelected under the party banner should the whip remain withdrawn at an election.
There is a distinction between the whip being withdrawn and it being suspended. To have the whip withdrawn suggests it is final and will not be returned. To have it suspended suggests its removal is only temporary and can be returned. This was the case with the seven Labour MPs who voted against the party line over the two-child benefit cap.
Amesbury had the whip withdrawn after the allegations and video evidence (which was circulated widely on social media) emerged. However, he remains an independent MP, at least for now.
The House of Commons has the power to suspend MPs from the chamber for a specified period of time. Where an MP is found to have broken the code of conduct or committed a contempt of the House (for example, misleading the House), the committee on standards may recommend a period of suspension which leads to a motion being tabled in the House of Commons.
This is what was going to happen to Boris Johnson after he was found to have misled parliament over “partygate” allegations. He resigned before the suspension could take effect.
The parliamentary commissioner for standards, (an independent officer of the House of Commons), can also investigate complaints made against MPs (including over breaching lobbying rules). In serious cases it can report to the standards committee to recommend a sanction, including suspension from the House.
The only way an MP can be expelled by the House of Commons completely (rather than having their membership suspended) is if they are sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment. In this case, Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks, so well below that threshold.
Prior to 2015, this would have been the end of the process. Amesbury would have had the whip withdrawn. After completing his ten-week sentence he would have been free to continue to sit as an MP until the end of his current term.
The role of the public
As things stand in 2025, this is no longer the end of the line for these kinds of offences. We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the Recall of MPs Act, which has provided a route for the electorate to remove sitting MPs who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.
Recall refers to a process whereby the electorate in a constituency can trigger a byelection to remove a sitting MP before the end of their term of office. MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:
if they are convicted in the UK of any offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted
if an MP is suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the committee on standards for a specified period: at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified (we saw a number of these kind of recalls during the 2019 Parliament, particularly following lobbying scandals)
if an MP is convicted of making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims (under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009).
In the case of Amesbury, his sentence is close to meeting the conditions of the first point. I use the word “close” as he is planning on appealing the sentence, and the criteria cannot be formally met until those appeals are exhausted.
If the criteria is met, then the speaker must notify the local returning officer (who oversees elections). A recall petition is then automatically launched and remains open for six weeks. Under the act, electors must sign the petition in person, by post or by proxy. For a petition to be successful and a byelection triggered, 10% of the eligible registered voters must sign it.
At the time of writing, there have been six recall petitions launched against various MPs. Four of those were successful and saw the sitting MP lose their seat, one petition failed and the MP remained in place and in one case the MP resigned while the petition was open, automatically triggering a byelection.
Given Amesbury is appealing, this process has not yet begun. However, he is under pressure, particularly from opposition MPs, to resign immediately and trigger a byelection now.
While there is potentially a way back for Amesbury in terms of remaining an MP (should his appeal be upheld or if a recall petition goes ahead and fails to meet the 10% threshold) it is unlikely there is a way back for him in terms of having the Labour whip restored.
Either way, he is on borrowed time. Even if he remains an MP, without a party whip he most likely faces defeat at a subsequent general election.
This is what happened to former Labour MP Claudia Webbe. She had the whip withdrawn by the Labour Party in 2021 following a conviction for harassment. However, she appealed her sentence and was given community service instead – failing to trigger the Recall of MPs Act. She remained as an independent MP until the 2024 general election, where she was defeated by the Conservative candidate.
There is an onus on political parties to ensure they respond to wrongdoing appropriately, including suspending the whip and removing it where necessary. In Amesbury’s case, Labour acted quickly.
But given the scandals we have seen in recent years, the public have limited patience. And wrongdoing, by what is a small minority of MPs, can tar the reputation of all MPs and parliament itself.
Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324241256)
Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Clifford Kent, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies & Visual Culture, Royal Holloway University of London
The Face magazine had a revolutionary impact on contemporary culture. The legendary “style bible” launched in 1980 was known for its bold design, iconic covers and trailblazing photography.
As Sabina Jaskot-Gill, curator of The Face Magazine: Culture Shift at the National Portrait Gallery, observes, the Face was “not just documenting the contemporary cultural landscape, but playing a vital role in inventing and reinventing it”. This capacity to both document and actively shape cultural movements highlights the magazine’s enduring influence.
Art director Phil Bicker explains how the Face was “a catalyst that challenged and changed broader culture,” pioneering an approach that democratised information, anticipated cultural trends and inspired its readers. This ability to forge, rather than simply reflect shifts in music, fashion and youth culture, underscores why the Face remains so influential today. This is particularly so in an era dominated by digital and social media.
The exhibition features prints, magazine spreads, film and music. It uses portraiture to explore how the cult publication championed innovative photography, enabling image-makers to disrupt culture and redefine the spirit of the age.
Iconic magazine covers are on show featuring the model Kate Moss, the designer Alexander McQueen, the singer Kurt Cobain, electronic duo Daft Punk and many others. Among these are lesser-known images from the magazine, some exhibited for the first time. These pictures from the Face’s vast archive represent some of the most arresting photographs in this exhibition.
As a teenager, I was obsessed with the Face, drawn to its radical style and images bursting with energy and youth. Each issue felt exciting and unpredictable. I’d tear out pages, pin them to my bedroom wall, and paste them into sketchbooks and mood boards – a practice I’ve continued throughout my career. The exhibition was a reminder of how much the magazine informed my understanding of photography before I ever picked up a camera.
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Style bible for a new generation
The Face’s founder, Nick Logan – former NME editor and Smash Hits creator – recognised a gap in the market for a monthly in which art, fashion and music converged. From its earliest issues, the Face challenged the conventions of publishing.
It combined innovative editorial strategies with cutting-edge social commentary. Writing in The Story of The Face, journalist Paul Gorman describes how the so-called “style bible” propelled cover stars into the national consciousness, becoming a must-have publication for art directors around the world.
Far from occupying the margins, it became a core reference for those tracking 1980s and 1990s fashion trends. The Face fostered a collaborative culture that elevated photographers, stylists and designers.
It also spearheaded an experimental visual storytelling that shaped fashion, music and youth culture without traditional editorial constraints. This encouraged groundbreaking approaches that infused cutting-edge fashion with the raw energy of subcultures like punk, hip-hop and acid house.
Photographer Janette Beckman recalls a 1984 shoot with rap group Run-DMC in Queens, New York. After dialling a number she had been given, she ended up at Jam Master Jay’s mother’s house and captured a portrait of the American group whose stripped-back sound was about to revolutionise hip-hop.
As rap and rave culture thrived, the magazine’s raw, black-and-white photography by Corinne Day, Glen Luchford and Juergen Teller rejected high-fashion gloss in favour of authenticity. Stylists like Melanie Ward promoted casual youth style, launching a new wave of seemingly unconventional models, including Kate Moss (“the anti-supermodel”).
Ward later revealed: “We wanted to achieve an emotional response from the models … these were not cold hard fashion photos … I remember going to appointments with my book and them saying ‘These aren’t fashion photographs, these are documentary.’”
The Face was synonymous with Britpop’s rise and the hedonism of Cool Britannia in the mid to late 1990s. A visual language, crafted by photographers and stylists, defined the look and feel of a generation.
One striking example is Juergen Teller’s 1995 snapshot of music producer Goldie, slumped on the floor of a living room beside a TV set, a stack of VHS tapes and a Roman bust. A few years later in 2001, Gemma Booth photographed Ms. Dynamite for the Face just as the British singer and rapper exploded onto the UK garage scene.
Another picture from 2003, taken by Neil Massey, shows Girls Aloud sitting in a Paris cafe during the promo tour for their song Sound of the Underground. He told me: “They’d just gone platinum yet struck me as normal girls who’d been thrust into the limelight.”
Portraits such as these encapsulate the raw, unfiltered aesthetic of the time. They are visual records of cultural shifts, documenting artists who defined their eras and paved the way for future generations.
(Re)invention in the digital age
In the 1990s and 2000s, the Face embraced the shift from analogue to digital, developing a bold, hyperreal aesthetic that pushed the boundaries of photography and design.
Under art director Lee Swillingham, photographers such as Norbert Schoerner and Inez and Vinoodh experimented with emerging digital tools like Quantel Paintbox and Photoshop, blending photography with graphic design in a cinematic, futuristic aesthetic. This era marked a return to glamour but with a high-tech, avant-garde edge that transformed photographers into image-makers.
A striking example of this digital experimentation featured in the exhibition is Sean Ellis’s The Dark Knight Returns (1998). This is a darkly menacing portrait of Alexander McQueen, styled by fashion editor Isabella Blow. The dramatic lighting and theatrical composition captured McQueen’s rebellious spirit while reflecting the Face’s evolving visual identity, merging art, fashion and technology.
In the mid‑1980s, Logan considered closing the magazine, convinced he had reached the end of an era. But it was not until 2004, amid fierce competition, declining sales and shifting ownership, that the magazine eventually ceased publication.
Despite its closure, the Face remained influential and was revived as a print-online hybrid in 2019. Building on its legacy, the magazine continues to push visual boundaries and raise up emerging image-makers.
This timely exhibition celebrates the Face’s generational impact, highlighting the importance of authenticity, human connection and the radical potential of image-making.
James Clifford Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
ST. LOUIS – A former St. Louis County, Missouri middle school teacher on Wednesday admitted possessing hundreds of images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.
Scott R. Ellis, 38, pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of child pornography. Ellis admitted possessing 72 images containing child abuse material on his cell phone and about 700 videos and more than 900 images in his Mega cloud storage account.
The investigation began with two cyber tipline reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography in Ellis’ Google account.
Ellis is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Special Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The Lab building at ARU Peterborough – photograph courtesy of Philip Vile
ARU Peterborough’s new £32 million building is in the running for a prestigious national award – just a few months after its official opening.
The Lab, the third building at the city’s rapidly growing university, has been shortlisted in the Best Building category at the Pineapples Awards 2025.
The Pineapples Awards recognise projects that make a positive impact on places and people, celebrating buildings that are welcoming rather than simply aesthetically pleasing. Award winners receive a golden pineapple trophy, with the pineapple historically being a symbol of welcome in UK architecture.
The awards have a unique judging process, with the 51 judges asked to evaluate projects from both a professional and personal perspective. Judges consider the social and environmental impact, their own physical reactions, and how people from diverse backgrounds might experience the space.
Designed by Cambridge-based MCW architects and built by Morgan Sindall Construction, ARU Peterborough’s The Lab features engineering workshops, a microbiology lab, a tissue culture lab, teaching spaces, and the Living Lab, which has been specifically designed for public engagement events, talks, and exhibitions.
The timber building also meets high environmental standards, earning an Excellent rating from BREEAM, the leading global standard for building sustainability. During its construction, over 258 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved.
As the third building to open since the university’s launch in 2022, The Lab’s specialised teaching facilities have enabled ARU Peterborough to expand its range of employment-focused courses, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects.
“The University is already receiving national attention for our impact in improving access to education and raising skills levels in the region, and we’re thrilled that our fabulous buildings are also being recognised.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure ARU Peterborough is a wonderful place to study, work, and visit. Our campus is open and accessible to the community, and this Pineapples Award nomination is testament to that. I encourage anyone who hasn’t already visited ARU Peterborough to come and explore for themselves.”
Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough
“The most rewarding part of being an architect is seeing your buildings being used and loved by so many people. The double-height Living Lab at ARU Peterborough was designed as a golden beacon for the campus – a space where students, as well as the community, can come together for lectures, events, and exhibitions.
“The Lab’s open and transparent nature reflects the commitment to creating a welcoming building that has a positive impact on both places and people. This Pineapples Award shortlisting is thanks to the shared vision of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council, and ARU, and we’re incredibly proud to be a part of it.”
Lien Geens, Associate Director of MCW architects
“This nomination is a fantastic recognition of the ambition behind ARU Peterborough and the impact it’s already having on our region.
“The Lab is more than just a building – it’s a gateway to opportunity, innovation, and community engagement. Investing in education and skills is vital for our region’s future, and seeing ARU Peterborough’s campus being nationally celebrated shows we’re on the right track.”
Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
The golden pineapples will be announced and presented to the winning projects at a ceremony in April.
ARU Peterborough is a partnership between Anglia Ruskin University, Peterborough City Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Maintenance work is currently underway at the Mitchell Tower at Marischal College East which is owned by the University of Aberdeen. It is expected that the unforeseen repair and maintenance programme could take at least 12 months – although this has still to be confirmed pending detailed inspection. During this time there will be a requirement for construction access through Queen Street and the site of the proposed urban park to Marischal East and the Mitchell Tower. Aberdeen City Council is working closely with the University to ensure that respective programmes do not prejudice or prevent any emergency repair work to be undertaken.
In order to deliver the most efficient construction programmes for both the repairs to the Tower and the delivery of the urban park, the Council has reprogrammed the construction of the urban park to commence on site once issues with the Mitchell Tower have been addressed. Maintaining a permanent access to Marischal East and the Mitchell Tower throughout the urban park construction programme would add significant time, cost and complexity to the project, together with risk to new fixtures fittings and new surfaces. The Council has therefore agreed to pause the construction programme for the urban park to enable full access to Marischal East to undertake necessary repair works.
The University is liaising closely with Aberdeen City Council and updating them over progress and timeline of that work.
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis non-profit executive and business consultant pleaded guilty to leading a scheme to defraud a number of federal, state, local, private programs and other sources of funding, resulting in a loss of over $6 million, and also to illegally possessing a firearm after a felony, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents, from 2020 until 2024, Tezzaree El-Amin Champion, 28, engaged in a fraud scheme through two Minneapolis-based entities he founded and controlled: a marketing company he owned, Futuristic Management LLC, and a non-profit organization he led, Encouraging Leaders.
Encouraging Leaders, under Champion’s direction, submitted at least 42 grant and public-contract applications with related follow-up correspondence containing material false misrepresentations, in order to obtain funding. Fraudulent applications were submitted to the U.S Department of Justice, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, the Center for Disease Control Foundation, the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Otto Bremer Trust, the Greater Twin Cities United Way, and others. False statements included false rosters of Encouraging Leaders’ board of directions; false assertions that Encouraging Leaders had been independently audited; false claims that certain local governments, companies, and community organizations had agreed to partner with Encouraging Leaders; requests for payment based on overstated hours of work; and false claims that Encouraging Leaders administered events that either never occurred or were organized by others. Champion misused significant portions of the funds that Encouraging Leaders received in response to the applications, for example by transferring funds to himself and using organizational funds for personal matters. Based on the fraudulent applications, Encouraging Leaders sought more than $3.8 million in funding through 42 grants, was awarded 27 grants for more than $2.7 million in funding. Encouraging Leaders actually received approximately $1.5 million in funding as part of the scheme.
Through Futuristic Management, Champion recruited and assisted clients in submitting fraudulent applications to Hennepin County’s Small Business Relief grant program as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs. The applications dramatically overstated applicant incomes and expenses, and were supported by fake tax records and fake lease documents that Champion obtained. Champion also submitted nine fraudulent applications on his own behalf. Simultaneously, Champion defrauded Hennepin County, for whom his company was serving as a business advisor under the County’s Elevate Business program. As part of the program, Champion agreed to provide free marketing services to local small businesses. But rather than provide free services, Champion billed and received payments from the County for services for which he had already been paid by his clients. Many of these clients were the same businesses and individuals Champion had assisted with false PPP, EIDL, and SBR applications. Champion also used his company to fraudulently obtain loans marketed by PayPal Business Loan and issued by WebBank. In the PayPal applications, Champion overstated his company’s gross sales and attached fake Wells Fargo bank statements inflating his bank balances and deposits. In total, the part of the scheme relating to Futuristic Management resulted in a loss of more than $2.1 million.
During the investigation of Champion’s offenses, law enforcement searched Champion’s home. Officers found Futuristic Management financial records, a safe containing $127,000 in U.S. currency, and a Ruger LCR .357 revolver with Champion’s DNA on it. Due to a 2018 conviction in Hennepin County for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, Champion is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Champion pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court yesterday before Judge Katherine M. Menendez to one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. Champion agreed to pay restitution of at least $3,479,575 to the victims of his offenses. Earlier this month, Champion’s co-defendant Marcus A. Hamilton pleaded guilty to participating in the Futuristic Management part of the scheme. Sentencing hearings for both defendants will be scheduled at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minneapolis Police Department’s Special Crimes Investigations Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew D. Forbes and Joseph H. Thompson are prosecuting the case.
Self-employment is often championed as a route out of poverty for the unemployed and those on low incomes, offering independence, flexibility and financial autonomy. However, for informally self-employed women in the UK, the reality is very different to these kinds of entrepreneurial success stories.
These women, working for themselves and “off the books”, can find they are trapped in a grey area – neither fully unemployed nor officially self-employed. And as such, they can struggle against a welfare system that both stigmatises and penalises their efforts to make a living.
My recent research along with my co-researcher Sara Nadin, sheds light on these often overlooked women, who work informally while claiming state benefits. It shows the precarious and gendered nature of informal self-employment and the difficulties of transitioning into formal work.
Informal self-employment is not an entrepreneurial aspiration but a necessity for the women in our study. Domestic responsibilities, a lack of formal qualifications and limited job opportunities can force these women into work that fits around their caregiving roles. From cleaning and childcare to sewing and catering, these women engage in work that remains invisible and unrecognised.
Their earnings – often meagre and inconsistent – help cover basic necessities, yet they live in constant fear of exposure and “getting caught by the taxman”.
The UK’s welfare system, with its strict and punitive conditions, places them in an impossible situation. If they declare their income, they risk losing benefits essential for survival. If they continue working informally, they face criminalisation and stigma as “benefits cheats”.
Angela (not her real name) is an unregistered child minder. She told us she recognises the drawbacks for everyone involved. She said: “I think it’s a shame that people have to go to these lengths to be able to cope financially. There should be better laws regarding employment, pay and conditions, so people choose that option instead of doing it unregistered or make a living on benefits. It is not good for anyone, the person doing it is under stress of being caught and the government and the country lose out on money.”
There is a paradox of visibility here too. On one hand, these women need to remain hidden to avoid welfare sanctions. On the other, they rely on word-of-mouth to attract business. This delicate balancing act forces them into an in-between space, where they can neither fully integrate into the formal economy nor retreat into unemployment.
And this is no short-term situation. The women we interviewed had been informally self-employed for an extended period – one for more than ten years.
While some women did say they wanted to formalise and grow their businesses, they felt the risks were too high. The unpredictability of their earnings, coupled with the loss of benefits, can make it financially unviable.
As one woman put it: “I’d like to make a proper go of it, but it’s really scary. What if I can’t get enough clients?”
A broken system
Successive UK governments have promoted self-employment as a route out of poverty and worklessness, yet welfare policies often work against women trying to become financially independent. The introduction of Universal Credit has exacerbated the issue, imposing strict minimum-income thresholds that self-employed workers can struggle to meet. This primarily affects women, who are less able to work full-time and more likely to be found in low-paid sectors of self-employment.
In fact, it has been argued that the UK’s Universal Credit welfare scheme actively limits claimants’ ability to get into formal self-employment. Instead of supporting entrepreneurship, the system has been found effectively to discourage it.
Policy changes could help break this cycle. Introducing an “earnings disregard”, where informal workers can earn a set amount without affecting their benefits, would provide a crucial safety net. And supporting women transitioning from informal to formal self-employment – through grants, tax breaks and accessible business education – could empower them to grow their businesses formally and sustainably, without fear of financial ruin.
Rather than criminalising those struggling to make ends meet, policymakers should recognise the valuable role these women play in their communities. Whether they’re caring for children, cleaning homes or helping busy families with their ironing, their services provide affordable options for other low-income families. This creates a grassroots support network for the formally employed that is overlooked and undervalued.
For real change to happen, the conversation around informal self-employment must shift. Instead of treating this work as a problem to be eradicated, it should be acknowledged as part of the broader economic fabric – one that deserves protection and support.
The women in this study are not merely informal workers. They are survivors navigating an unforgiving system. Their experiences challenge the simplistic notion that self-employment is a solution to poverty. Without changes to both welfare and self-employment policies, they will remain in the shadows – enterprising but invisible, offering valuable local services but criminalised.
It’s time for a policy rethink that values and supports all workers, regardless of where they fall on the economic spectrum.
Sally Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
Due to the high interest in participation in the V International Financial Security Olympiad, co-organized by the State University of Management, it was decided to extend the Invitational Stage until March 23, 2025. This will allow even more schoolchildren and students to get acquainted with the format and directions of the Olympiad tasks, test their knowledge and prepare for the start of the Selection Stage.
The Invitational Stage tasks will be available for completion until 23:59 on March 23, 2025 (Moscow time).
The Olympiad started on February 1 on the Sodruzhestvo platform and is held in Russian and English. Schoolchildren in grades 8–11 and students from Russia and partner countries are invited to participate.
To participate in the Invitational Stage, you must register on the Sodruzhestvo platform: https://sodrujestvo.org/ru. Participants who successfully complete the tasks of the stage will receive certificates.
The International Financial Security Olympiad has been held since 2021 under the patronage of the President of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation.
Winners and prize winners of the Olympiad receive advantages when entering leading Russian and foreign universities – participants of the International Network Institute in the field of AML/CFT, as well as the opportunity to complete internships at Rosfinmonitoring, the Bank of Russia, PJSC Promsvyazbank and other financial organizations.
The International Financial Security Olympiad is aimed at popularizing financial security as a norm of life, as well as at forming a new type of thinking among young people: from the financial security of an individual to the financial security of the state. Winners and prize winners are granted additional rights when entering higher education programs.
Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 02/27/2025
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Headline: Microsoft AI ignites telecom innovation and growth
The telecommunications industry is experiencing significant AI advancements, emerging as the leading adopter of generative and agentic AI to drive automation, personalization, and data-driven decisions. According to a recent IDC white paper, telecom and media companies are seeing nearly four times the return on investment (ROI) on every dollar invested in AI. Additionally, by 2027, almost 90% of telecom providers are expected to use generative AI to improve customer experiences, up from 62% today.
96% of our tier-1 telecom customers are already adopting Microsoft AI solutions. Our ecosystem of customers and partners are harnessing the power of AI to reimagine customer experiences, modernize networks, automate business operations, and drive growth.
Ahead of Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC), we’re sharing new capabilities and customer momentum that show how telecoms are adopting the Microsoft Cloud and AI capabilities to support their AI journey and empower the next generation of telecom solutions.
We invite you to join us next week at MWC to learn more about our new announcements and see firsthand how Microsoft AI is transforming the telecom industry. Experience live demos, attend insightful sessions, and meet our experts to learn how you can drive innovation and growth with Microsoft AI technologies.
Data is the fuel that powers AI: Telco data model
Telecom networks are recognized for their complex, data-rich environments. This data is the fuel that powers AI and forms the foundation upon which next-generation telecom systems are built. To convert this massive potential into actionable intelligence, organizations need a unified platform that can seamlessly connect, manage, and analyze their data. Microsoft Fabric is the end-to-end data platform designed to power customer AI transformation and help organizations reimagine how they unlock value from their data and revolutionize the services they offer.
Today we announce the Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric, designed to unify all data—from network performance metrics to customer interactions, within a single analytics environment. As an integral Fabric workload, telecom providers can use the Telco industry data model to manage and streamline how all their data is ingested, modelled, and analyzed through:
Native Fabric integration—a unified pipeline within Fabric’s analytics, governance, and visualization framework means faster time to market, with better insights.
Expanded data model—pre-built telecom-specific schemas covering network data, customer insights, and operational metrics drives operational efficiency.
Developer and visualization tools—simplified, AI-ready solution building that dramatically reduces development and testing time, making networks more resilient.
More than 50% of our telecom customers are leveraging Fabric for real-time business insights to optimize business and network operations. Leading customers like Telefónica, KPN, One NZ, and partners like Accenture, Infosys, and LigaData are using Fabric to achieve business results. The broader customer adoption for Fabric is more than 19,000 customers, including 70% of the Fortune 500. The Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric enables telecoms to establish a strong data foundation to unlock AI-powered insights that fuel innovation, operational efficiency, and greater value across the entire organization.
“Microsoft Fabric, powered by Telco data model and AI capabilities, has revolutionized our solutions by providing real-time insights throughout the customer journey, potentially increasing operational efficiency by 40%. Our solution offers preventive insights across the entire order lifecycle and its auto-healing capability for enhanced jeopardy management, significantly improving the management of complex B2B orders and enhancing the customer experience.”
The Telco industry data model in Microsoft Fabric will be available early in April 2025.
Telecom customers around the world are taking advantage of the cloud and AI in new and innovative ways. The collaborations we recently announced with KT Corporation, Lumen, Telstra, and Vodafone demonstrate how telecoms are innovating to elevate customer experiences, streamline business operations, modernize networks, and unlock new revenue streams. Additionally, we’re introducing new collaborations with top telecom providers that exemplify how they’re building the foundation to successfully implement AI, benefiting their organization, employees, and customers.
Spark, New Zealand’s leading telecom provider, is joining forces with Microsoft in the country’s largest Microsoft public cloud partnership, highlighting how AI and the Cloud are helping to transform telecom worldwide. Spark will migrate a portion of its workloads to Microsoft Azure and roll out one of New Zealand’s largest Microsoft 365 Copilot deployments. For more, read the press release.
Microsoft and Telefónica are extending their strategic collaboration to co-develop digital solutions using Open Gateway, a GSMA-led initiative that transforms communication networks into programmable platforms via Telefónica’s AI platform, Kernel. Both companies will work together to migrate Kernel’s capacities to Azure as part of a software as a service (SaaS) offering. The collaboration also encompasses a joint go-to-market strategy, which will bring a suite of digital products and services to other telecoms, developers, and telecom entities—available on Azure Marketplace and integrated into Microsoft’s overall telecom solutions. For more, read the press release.
We are also announcing that Surface for Business with 5G devices and Microsoft 365 Copilot will be available in all Verizon Business channels starting in April 2025. This launch marks a decade of partnership between Microsoft and Verizon Business, offering cellular connected Surface for Business devices and Microsoft services. Customers are choosing Surface Copilot+ PCs today for their exceptional performance, battery life, and security. Now, with the Verizon 5G network, the combination of Surface and Microsoft 365 Copilot offers an unparalleled mobile experience for business customers. For more, read the Surface IT Pro blog.
Telecoms accelerate growth in the next wave of AI: Agentic AI
As the AI platform shift accelerates, it’s inspiring to see customers and partners harness AI, generative AI, and agentic AI to drive transformation—reshaping both their businesses and the industry at large.
Elevating customer experiences
A recent IDC white paper showed AI-powered customer engagement is a top priority for businesses, with 92% of organizations currently using AI for marketing and public relations (PR) and 77% using it for customer service. Telecom providers are delivering frictionless customer experiences with AI-infused customer care at-scale with Dynamics 365. With a comprehensive view of the customer, telecoms obtain real-time insights into accounts and next-best actions to take. They also enable their customers through AI-powered automation for self-service. Additionally, Amdocs has created the Customer Engagement Platform that is fully integrated with Dynamics 365, to reimagine customer experience and identify new revenue opportunities for telecoms.
Since last MWC, we announced Dynamics 365 Contact Center, a powerful solution that works with existing customer relationship management systems (CRMs) and unifies interactions, streamlines support, and boosts customer satisfaction. With this solution, consumers can engage and self-serve in their channel of choice while reps can handle billing and tech issues faster with a single view. Built-in Copilot capabilities and real-time analytics drive improvements and upselling, enhancing loyalty, and revenue.
Leading telecoms are also reimagining how they connect with customers by harnessing Microsoft 365 Copilot to capture real-time transcripts, gain contextual insights, and automate repetitive tasks. This reduces handling times, freeing representatives to tackle more complex customer needs.
Here are some examples of how telecoms customers are using Microsoft AI technologies to transform their business and reimagine customer experiences:
Telkomsel’s AI-powered solution Veronika, built on Azure and introduced at the end of 2023, is delivering impressive results. Telkomsel has increased self-service interactions by 62% and cut escalations to agents by 38%. The average monthly active users of Veronika also grew by 67%, rising from 1.3 million in the first half of 2023 to 2.2 million in the second half. These improvements have boosted agent productivity and service quality, making for a smoother, more efficient customer experience.
Vodafone is harnessing Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower 68,000 employees to boost productivity, innovation, and quality. They are also leveraged Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Studio, Kubernetes Service to develop Tobi and SuperAgent to empower their agents with real-time AI support to improve customer experience, decrease churn, and provide competitive advantage. This improved first-time resolution from 70% to 90%.
Lumen is leveraging Microsoft AI solutions to empower their employees and improve customer service.
“Lumen is building the trusted network for AI. By scaling our AI capabilities with tools like Copilot, Azure AI, and Azure ML, we’re empowering our employees to tackle complex challenges and prioritize high-impact activities that enhance customer experiences and satisfaction. As we navigate our transformation, Microsoft’s AI tools are essential in supporting our objectives and sustaining our competitive advantage.”
Ryan Asdourian, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lumen Technologies
Optimizing operations and modernizing networks
To keep pace with increasing business demands, leading telecoms are optimizing business operations and modernizing their networks with AI and an integrated data backbone.
Here are examples of how customers are using Microsoft AI capabilities to drive operational efficiency, innovation and growth:
AT&T automates code conversion and human resources (HR) inquiries with Azure OpenAI Service, improving employee experience, cutting costs and boosting customer service.
KT Corporation is leveraging Microsoft AI to drive efficiency and innovation.
“The Microsoft AI-driven solutions have enabled KT Corporation to improve its work efficiency and drive significant work innovation. By introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot, KT Corporation empowered over 11,000 employees with the latest AI solutions. Additionally, by developing AI agents built on solutions such as Microsoft Sustainability Manager and Copilot, KT reduced task completion time by 50% and improved infrastructure efficiency by 20%.”Phil Oh, CTO, KT Corporation
Proximus and TCS’s GitHub Copilot journey showcases how Microsoft generative AI accelerates IT delivery in telecom, improving productivity, code quality, and developer experience.
“In terms of developer experience, that’s where we got phenomenal, satisfactory feedback from developers—about 90% plus positive feedback from all categories of developers.”
Muralidharan Murugesan, Head – AI, Telco, Media & Information Services Industry, TCS
NTT DATA is leveraging Microsoft AI to build agentic AI workloads.
“NTT DATA leverages Microsoft Copilot Studio to deliver agentic AI advisory, implementation, managed services, and connectivity. By providing industry-specific automation and utilizing our integrated managed services platform, we support clients throughout their agents’ lifecycle. This collaboration is pivotal in achieving our clients’ outcomes, enabling us to deliver tailored, efficient, and innovative solutions that drive business success and enhance decision-making processes.”
Aishwarya Sing, SVP, Global Head of Digital Collaboration, NTT
One NZ is using Microsoft Fabric for real-time analytics from unified data sources. With the integration of multiple systems and visualizing insights on a single pane, One NZ has rapidly streamlined processes and proactively addressed growth opportunities:
“Previously, you needed to be a data engineer or scientist to access and understand customer information. Now we’re making it user-friendly, so anyone can easily make data-driven decisions.”
Strathan Campbell, Channel Environment Technology Lead, One NZ
Telstra scales in-house generative AI tools, saving 90% of employees’ time and reducing follow-up contacts by 20%.
Unlocking new revenue streams in the enterprise
A recent IDC white paper reports that 63% of telco and media companies say they are currently monetizing or using AI to boost revenue. As a trusted partner, beyond supporting their own transformation, we equip telecom providers with comprehensive business-to-business (B2B) offerings to drive topline growth and better serve their enterprise customers.
For example, AT&T’s collaboration with Microsoft is reimagining enterprise connectivity. AI applications and AT&T’s connectivity are tackling the USD112 billion annual retail shrinkage issue head-on. By integrating Azure IoT with AT&T’s 5G network and leveraging Teams Phone Mobile for notifications, retailers receive alerts that minimize loss and ensure safer shopping experience. AT&T’s move into AI-powered connectivity has created new revenue streams, spanning cost savings, compliance, and collaboration.
“AT&T is a leader in enabling innovative AI solutions and continues to expand capabilities through our relationship with Microsoft. We’re excited to integrate Microsoft’s AI capabilities into our retail crime intelligence platform, which utilizes near real-time notifications via Teams Phone Mobile. This collaboration underscores the commitment of both companies to enhance retail security and contribute to a safer shopping environment for both employees and customers.”
Another partner, Norwood Systems, is extending traditional voice services with Voice AI, opening up a new revenue stream for telecoms. Its OpenSpan solution, built on Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Speech, enables telecoms to bridge public switched telephone network (PSTN) and mobile services, to deliver advanced features like real-time recording, transcription, and summarization. This provides seamless call management for users and deeper insights for the telecom providers:
“By integrating Norwood’s OpenSpan with our mobile and voice networks, BT is unlocking new possibilities in voice technology. This innovation bridges our award-winning networks with AI, creating opportunities to enhance customer experiences, drive new efficiencies, and shape the future of voice communications.”
Jon Martin, Senior Director, Unified Communications, BT
To continue our mission to help telecoms succeed in this era of AI platform shift, Microsoft is enabling telecoms to further capitalize on AI by offering generative AI-powered managed security services. This allows tier-1 telecoms to generate new revenue from reselling, implementation, and managed services, while also reducing security operations center (SOC) costs and accelerating threat responses.
AI-powered Microsoft platforms and capabilities for co-innovation
Microsoft offers arguably the most comprehensive AI solutions. As a platform-first company, we also provide extensive tools to empower partners, developers and customers to build innovative cloud and AI solutions that meet the needs of telecom businesses.
Our adaptive cloud approach unifies hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge infrastructure through a single Azure Arc platform. We enable customers to build distributed, low-latency, high-performance applications and establish a common data foundation for current and future AI investments. For ultra-low latency or regulatory scenarios, we’re expanding Azure withAzure Local—cloud-connected infrastructure deployable at edge locations like retail sites and central offices. We continue to support existing Azure Operator Nexus customers as the solution evolves as part of our overall approach for Azure at the edge.
Accenture is spearheading an enterprise-ready private multi-access edge compute (MEC) solution built on Azure Local to deliver low latency, localized data processing, and meet regulatory requirements. Tejas Rao, Accenture, Managing Director, Accenture says, “Private 5G and edge computing are no longer experimental technologies, they are catalysts for enterprise transformation. By leveraging Azure Local, we help organizations harness ultra-low latency and localized data processing to unlock real-time insights, automate critical operations, and meet industry-specific compliance needs.”
Another partner,
Microsoft has also performed an initial integration of Project Janus into Academic institutions, such as the To learn more about how telecoms can modernize their networks with Project Janus, read this blog.
Vice President WW Telecommunications, Media and Gaming, Microsoft
Silvia Candiani leads Microsoft’s Worldwide Telecommunications, Media and Gaming Industry, overseeing industry strategy, go-to-market plan, ecosystem growth, and solution development. Silvia was formerly CEO of Microsoft Italy, focused on accelerating digital transformation. Prior to Microsoft, Silvia led Consumer Marketing for Vodafone in Italy and was previously a consultant at McKinsey in the Media and Telecommunication industries. She has a BA from Bocconi University and an MBA from INSEAD. Silvia is also a member of the Bocconi University Alumni Advisory Board and Lavazza Group.
Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards.
Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more.
Who is Mati Diop?
Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director. She is also an accomplished actor who has starred in a number of French films, in particular Claire Denis’s 35 Shots of Rum.
She was born in Paris in 1982 and was raised in France, but frequently visited Senegal during her childhood, as she comes from a Senegalese cultural dynasty.
Her father is Wasis Diop, an inventive and experimental musician who fuses Senegalese folk music with western pop and jazz. Her uncle was the maverick Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambéty. He directed classics like Touki Bouki and Hyenas. For good measure, her mother, Christine Brossard, is involved in the French art world and is a photographer.
Although she had previously made short films, Diop gained global attention in 2019 when she won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature-length fiction film, Atlantics.
Her documentary Dahomey won the top award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. Over the past few years, Diop has become established as one of the most creative artistic voices making films about contemporary Africa.
What’s Dahomey about?
Dahomey is a documentary about a contentious issue, the repatriation of looted African art works from western museums.
The objects – 26 royal treasures – were taken from the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin). President Emmanuel Macron of France has voiced his support for the return of such objects and a slow, piecemeal process of repatriation has now begun.
On the surface, the story of Dahomey might not seem to be particularly dramatic. Taking objects from a museum in Paris and sending them to a museum in Benin might be politically important and symbolic. But how do you make a creative, insightful and entertaining film about it that also appeals to a wide audience? Well, essentially, Diop weaves a tale that seeks to explore what it means for Africans that this heritage is being returned. To do that, she gives voice to Africans, whether heritage professionals, students or the general public.
In her most daring creative gesture, she also gives voice to one of the objects being returned, a magnificent, life-sized wooden statue of King Ghézo (who ruled Dahomey in the 1800s), depicted as half-man, half-bird. Many of the items that are displayed in European museums as beautiful but inanimate objects in fact played a highly significant spiritual role in precolonial societies. Essentially, they formed a bridge between the living and the spirit world, and Diop is interested in exploring what it might mean to these spirits to return to an Africa that has been transformed in their absence.
So, Dahomey is not your average documentary. There’s no narrative voiceover that explains the context of the journey home for these objects. Apart from a few on-screen captions explaining the big picture, viewers must piece together the story and decipher its meaning by themselves.
In the first half of the film, we see the curators from Benin and French workmen moving through the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They assess the condition of the fragile objects as they make an inventory of them and box them safely for the trip. At first, theirs are the only voices we hear.
But then we begin to hear the deep, electronically distorted voice of the statue of King Ghézo who awakens from a long slumber. In this voiceover (written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel), Ghézo reflects on the sense of dislocation and confusion at being taken from Africa, his journey over the sea to be exhibited in a museum in Paris, his memories of the continent he left behind.
Once the objects arrive in Benin, the film follows a reverse process. The camera dwells on the African workmen overseeing their installation, interspersed with the voice of the statue trying to make sense of the Africa to which he has returned.
The longest section of the film gives voice to local university students debating what it means to return this heritage. While some view the process as vital, others see it as a distraction from the major issues facing the continent. The film does not seek to nudge the viewer to take sides. What is important is that different African voices are heard so that Africans can reach their own informed decisions.
What’s Atlantics about?
Atlantics is a film about the migration crisis that sees many young Senegalese men (and some women) set off from the coast on dangerous journeys in small fishing boats to try and reach the economic promised land of Europe (in this instance, the Canary Islands). But the film is also a love story about a young couple, Ada and Souleiman.
With a group of young men, many cheated of their wages by a corrupt local businessman, Souleiman embarks on the dangerous journey. The bereft girlfriends and sisters wait for news of their boyfriends and brothers and ultimately take revenge on the businessman. I can’t tell you precisely how this is done without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that the film is a striking mix of social drama and supernatural thriller.
Why is her contribution to film important?
Above all else, Mati Diop is a great storyteller. Atlantics and Dahomey are films that take important current affairs as their starting point, and they weave passionate, complex and strange stories around them.
They’re strange not because Diop is trying to be artistically eccentric, but because life is fundamentally strange and defies easy explanation. This is an artistic standpoint that her uncle would have understood.
Like his work, Diop’s fiction films contain long sections dwelling obsessively on the detail of “real” life while her documentaries contain many fictional elements. In fact, her short 2013 documentary A Thousand Suns is a wonderful homage to the beautiful strangeness of Mambety’s work. In a remarkable blend of fact and fiction, she traces the story of the actors who played the young couple in his avant-garde masterpiece, Touki Bouki.
In the work of both uncle and niece, the real and the fictional, the strange and the mundane are mixed together to make a mysterious and strikingly original body of work that defies categorisation.
David Murphy 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.
Pope Francis remains in a critical condition and hospitalised as he battles pneumonia in both lungs. The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, the Argentinian was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from corruption to clerical sexual abuse. Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and a research professor of African studies and world Catholicism, examines the milestones in the life, work and legacy of Pope Francis.
What did Pope Francis inherit when he took over in 2013?
By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era.
By the end of 2012 what was in the news about the church included the revelation of papal secrets by the papal butler. These details were published in a book by the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled His Holiness: The Secret Files of Pope Benedict. The book portrayed the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.
The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment.
Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included:
the confusion created in the English-speaking world with the translation of the New Roman missal into English.
Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse.
What is his global papal role and legacy?
Three key things have defined his papal role and legacy.
First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did.
Francis has focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery.
He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy.
Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church’s message is communicated. In his programmatic document, Evangelii Gaudium, he called the church to what he calls “missionary conversion”. His thinking is that everything that is done in the church must be about proclaiming the good news to a wounded and broken world.
His central message has been that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He has also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like celebrating mass at a wall that divides the United States and Mexico.
In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace.
The third strategy is restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank.
He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented.
He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He has also shaken up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He appointed the first woman (Sr Simone Brambilla) to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. Another woman (Sr Raffaella Petrini) was named the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.
What has he done to strengthen the Catholic church in Africa?
Three things stand out.
First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour.
In a sense, Pope Francis embodies the message of decolonisation and is driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence.
Secondly, he has encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa’s own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believes in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He has said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church.
In this way, he has encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He has also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and given African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes.
Thirdly, Pope Francis has a very deep connection to Africa’s young people. He has encouraged and supported initiatives and programmes to strengthen the agency of young people, to give them hope and support their personal, spiritual and professional development. For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe.
What’s gone wrong, what’s gone well under his watch?
Pope Francis’s reform could be termed a movement from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone’s concerns and needs are catered to.
He has quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican.
Granted, he has not substantially altered the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he is chipping away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church’s position. In doing this, he has shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority.
He has opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQi+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa.
Why does his papacy matter?
Pope Francis is the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, emulating St Francis of Assisi.
In a sense, Pope Francis has redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It’s not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today.
Stan Chu Ilo 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.
Incest porn is finally facing long overdue scrutiny. The government’s porn review recommends strengthening the extreme porn law to include incest porn and mandate its removal. The review also calls for much more proactive regulation of the porn industry, and bans on misogynistic, degrading and violent pornography, including sexual strangulation.
These proposed changes address a glaring gap in regulation. While pornographic videos depicting incest porn are unlawful offline, there are no controls over its online distribution or possession. Strengthening extreme porn laws to include incest would signal a shift towards a society no longer willing to normalise and trivialise child sexual abuse and incest.
Any cursory visit today to the most popular porn websites reveals a continuous stream of incest material.
To be clear, I’m talking about porn depicting sexual activity between family members, particularly the vast swathes of material with (step)fathers and (step)brothers having sex with very young-looking girls. They may be actors over 18, but they are often in children’s clothes, surrounded by children’s toys, with pigtails, braces and other markers of childhood.
The scenarios are often about creeping into young girls’ bedrooms, coercing or grooming them into sex. The graphic titles of videos describe sex between (step)fathers and daughters. Alarmingly, they often reproduce the justifications of real-life abusers, such as “little secret between daddy and his girl”. These videos are viewed and given the thumbs up online by millions.
The new proposals target the depiction of unlawful sexual activity between family members. This includes any daddy-daughter or brother-sister scenarios as this is always a sexual offence. But it would not cover consensual sexual activity between step-parents and step-children over 18, as this is not currently unlawful. Nor would it cover instances where terms like daddy or stepmom are simply used as descriptors for older actors.
Growing popularity
Incest porn wasn’t always so common. In the 1980s, porn content studies found only 3% of material was incest-related. One of the first studies of internet porn, in 2006, found only 1% portrayed incest. But by 2014, incest porn was on Pornhub’s list of most popular searches.
My own research with colleagues revealed that one in eight titles on the homepages of the most popular porn websites described sexual violence, with sexual activity between family members the largest category of abusive content. Professor Elaine Craig’s recent study also confirms the prevalence of incest-related themes on the most popular porn platforms.
The changing business model of porn in the internet age means that the prevalence of incest porn is as much about platforms promoting it, as it is about users seeking it out. The largest porn websites use algorithmic models to maximise user engagement, keeping users hooked, collecting more data and selling more advertising. Just like social media, porn websites prioritise extreme, shocking, exploitative and divisive material, such as incest content.
Pornography writes our sexual scripts
Porn, therefore, shapes our sexual scripts, the norms we internalise about what is expected, normal and acceptable in sexual relationships. Research on sexual strangulation, for example, finds that more frequent consumption of porn leads to greater exposure to pornographic depictions of sexual strangulation which, in turn, predicted a higher likelihood of strangling sexual partners.
The largest study to date of men who have sexually offended against children found that they were 11 times more likely to watch violent porn and 27 times more likely to view bestiality porn.
Porn consumed by millions (there are 130 million visitors a day to Pornhub) necessarily shapes our social environment, and in turn our attitudes and sexual practices.
The prevalence of incest-themed content matters, as it normalises and legitimises ideas of sexual activity between family members – particularly involving young girls. When these messages are consumed by millions every day, the influence extends beyond individual users and filters into broader cultural attitudes.
In time, we may become desensitised, less likely to understand the prevalence of child sexual abuse, or its seriousness. The claim that incest porn is fantasy without real-world effects assumes incest is rare, abhorrent. But it’s not.
It’s commonplace, with 500,000 children in England and Wales sexually abused each year. These are predominantly girls, with (step)fathers accounting for up to half of the perpetrators.
From my work in this field, it is clear to me that these sexual scripts influence society in various ways, including making us less likely to believe survivors. We may blame the victims, having internalised that girls entice family members into sex. And it seems we become less concerned about government inaction on child sexual abuse as it no longer seems serious.
Time for change
Critics demand evidence of direct causation, asking for proof that watching specific videos of incest porn leads to specific acts of incest. But this narrow framing (I argue, deliberately) misses the point. Sexual violence is complex and influenced by a range of factors. No study can isolate porn as the sole cause of any particular act, nor should we expect it to.
Rejecting a direct causal relationship is not the same as rejecting any relationship. We need to ask, in a culture saturated with incest porn, are we more likely to tolerate, excuse or dismiss the realities of incest and sexual abuse? Probably – and I would argue that is enough.
If we continue to allow incest porn to proliferate, we risk perpetuating a culture that trivialises abuse, undermines survivors and distorts our understanding of what is acceptable in sexual relationships. It is time to stop debating whether pornography causes direct harm in a narrow sense, but to confront the broader reality that it is shaping our attitudes and society in profoundly damaging ways.
Clare McGlynn 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.
Several weeks ago, I visited a local NHS urgent care centre with my toddler on what might be called a semi-annual pilgrimage related to having a child in nursery. Owing to what is now a typical three- or four-hour wait, during which he made a recovery, I had the time to notice the hospital’s waiting room cleaning practices. They amounted to someone pushing a mop around the floor and in the process moving, rather than removing, various fluids and items that had probably amassed over the preceding several hours.
About 36 hours later, our toddler woke up with a stomach bug. The cleaning practices I saw – coupled with my inability to keep him from touching a lot of surfaces in the hospital, including the floor – suggested to me that this was not a coincidence.
Individual behaviour and practices play a role in the spread of disease. And many times it is our collective actions that lead to contagion, even if our goal is to prevent it.
Given the NHS has recently recorded its highest ever rate of norovirus cases – with the bug making up more than one in 100 hospitalisations in the country – we are due for a rethink about how we understand the social elements of illness.
As a social scientist working in public health, I’ve learned that diseases conform to our behaviour, which can keep us one step ahead – or leave us one behind.
How we develop policy around contagion is one example. Recently, NHS England published new national standards of cleanliness for NHS Trusts – the most recent update since 2021. These standards define cleanliness, what materials should be used and the frequencies necessary for adequate cleaning.
The guidelines are, unsurprisingly, very boring, but what stands out to me is the emphasis on which spaces and surfaces are the most likely to be contaminated, rather than taking a contextual approach to the relationship between people, germs and spaces.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by contrast, uses a more complex function. Risk is evaluated by combining the probability of contamination of an item or surface, the vulnerability of patients and the potential for exposure within the space.
A waiting room where people have been vomiting, for example, would be taken more seriously as a risky area using these guidelines than the brute force approach taken by the NHS.
Another important element of risk, though one not evaluated explicitly in any policy guideline, is how germs evolve in response to our efforts against them.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, for example, are typically treated by antibiotics, though the rise of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) subtype has complicated patient care around the world.
More recently, bacteria called carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPEs) have started spreading in hospitals, and are both highly contagious and difficult to treat.
Both MRSA and CPEs are, however, direct results of our efforts to combat bacteria: our use of antibiotics selects, evolutionarily speaking, for resistance to our treatments.
Imperial College London’s Fleming Initiative, named after the discoverer of the first antibiotic, penicillin, is an international effort that aims to stymie the spread of these germs, but they nonetheless present a real and serious risk to patients everywhere.
Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium linked with painful stomach bugs, has also shown increasing resistance to antibiotics, particularly strains found in hospitals. What’s worse, evidence from 2023 suggestsC difficile may even be resistant to bleach, which is typically successful at killing almost all germs and was found, in the past, to work against this bacterium, too.
Everyone plays a role
Blunt policies specifying cleaning schedules without reference to context are unlikely to be effective in a world of fast-evolving germs. What’s needed, instead, is a population-level understanding about how everyone plays a role in contagion and in its containment. We’re part of a broader ecosystem that bacteria and viruses live within, and which evolve to thrive when we become complacent in our behaviour.
The CDC’s guidelines embrace context, but the work doesn’t stop with hospital cleaning staff – who in the UK, by the way, earn an average of £21,000 a year for the critical work they do. Anyone who works in or visits a healthcare space has a responsibility to those nearby, whether that involves maintaining distance between people or shielding others from their own illness.
We can’t expect stretched systems and overworked employees to prevent the spread of germs. And the UK’s massive norovirus outbreak is a symptom itself of how bad we are at preventing viral contagion.
Yet people – including patients and their carers like me – can do a lot more than just idly watch dirty mops float by in waiting areas. We can educate ourselves about current risks, avoid where possible spaces with a high risk of contamination, and stay home to prevent infecting others, for example in the workplace.
Social approaches should be built into any framework that aims to combat disease. Knowledge, unlike antibiotics and bleach, is free – and the spread of information about how to help prevent contagion can only be good for healthcare systems and society more broadly.
Jonathan R. Goodman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Samuel Brockington, Professor of Evolution, Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, University of Cambridge
As I wander around Cambridge University Botanic Garden, a tree called the Wollemi pine often catches my eye. It’s one of our rarest trees, and a distinctive looking pine, with broad needles and bark that reminds you of coco pops.
First discovered in 1994 in a ravine in the Wollemi National Park in western Australia, only a few hundred survive in the wild. Although it has been on planet earth for hundreds of thousands of years, it is close to extinction. This tree species, like many others, represents a paradox: a rare and threatened species thriving in cultivation while its wild counterparts are just about hanging on to existence.
As a curator of one of the world’s largest university botanic gardens, I often talk about the power of living collections. I also recognise their limits. The world’s botanic gardens hold an extraordinary diversity of plants. But, they are struggling to keep up with the accelerating biodiversity extinction crisis.
Botanic gardens are often seen simply as peaceful retreats from the daily rat race or living museums where species are catalogued and displayed. But they are far more than that. Collectively, the world’s gardens form an extensive network of living plant collections, acting as refuges for biodiversity, sources of genetic material for research, and hubs for ecological restoration.
Our recent study, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, analysed 50 of the world’s largest living plant collections, currently growing 41% of all species in cultivation, and 500,000 individual plants. Our research spanned a century of digitised data and the findings are striking.
Programmes like the International Conifer Conservation Programme, led by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, have successfully safeguarded conifer species at risk of extinction. And Missouri Botanic Garden has changed how it manages its collection to prioritise threatened species, embedding conservation into its core activities. For example, they are increasingly only growing plant species that will naturally fit their own climate.
Yet, despite these successes at specific gardens, our new research suggests that our current global system of botanic gardens is not keeping pace with the biodiversity crisis.
We have hit “peak capacity” in botanic gardens – both in the number of plants grown and in the diversity of species held. This means we are growing as many individual plants as we possibly can, and our collections are as diverse as they can possibly be. While this may seem like a success, it reveals an uncomfortable truth: we are running out of space and resources to add more species.
We have already passed “peak wild”. This means that we are collecting and sourcing less plants directly from the wild. Since 1992, the proportion of wild-collected plants entering botanic gardens has declined, alongside a decrease in material sourced across international political boundaries.
This shift coincides with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims to regulate the trade of wild animals and plants and the use of genetic resources. While intended to promote fair sharing of the benefits of biodiversity, it has seems to have negatively effected the cultivation of plants outside of their native environment, even when this is being done to protect them. It has done this by limiting the movement of plant material.
Collections are also becoming less globally diverse. Since the early 1990s, they have become increasingly regionalised, potentially limiting their capacity to act as global conservation networks.
These trends expose a crucial challenge: if botanic gardens are to play a serious role in conservation, their curators must rethink how they collect, share and manage plant diversity.
Some gardens are already adapting, exemplified by the global charity Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s (BGCI) Global Conservation Consortia, which are forming networks to safeguard specific tree genera.
Central to their efforts is the concept of the “meta-collection” – a coordinated network of living collections that steward global plant diversity. Collaboration is essential, as no single institution has the capacity or expertise to conserve every threatened species alone. BGCI is leading efforts to collate data from thousands of collections worldwide. Its searchable platforms, such as PlantSearch and ThreatSearch, are leading the way in terms of the data tools institutions need to identify conservation priorities and track the status of threatened species.
Smart next steps
To save endangered plants, we need to focus on three key actions that make a real difference, much like how we protect the Wollemi pine.
The rules around plant protection need to be fixed. Right now, complicated legal barriers can make it harder, not easier, to save plants. We need clear guidelines that help gardens and conservationists share and protect rare species responsibly, without getting stuck in red tape.
We need to make better use of what we already have. Many botanic gardens are running out of space, so rather than collecting more and more species, we need to focus on preserving strong, genetically diverse populations of the most endangered plants – like ensuring the Wollemi pine has a secure future in multiple locations around the world.
A global data system would allow scientists to see, in real time, where rare plants like the Wollemi pine are being grown, how well they’re doing, and where help is needed most. Better information means smarter conservation decisions.
Botanic gardens have a long history of adaptation. They have evolved from medicinal gardens to scientific institutions, and now they must become conservation leaders on a global scale. The extinction crisis demands bold action, strategic collaboration and a willingness to rethink traditional approaches.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Samuel Brockington 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.
James Howells is considering buying a council dump in south Wales after his former partner accidentally threw away a hard drive containing his bitcoin wallet. Howells has already lost a high court case to allow him to search the tip for the hard drive, which he believes contains bitcoin worth £600 million.
But would it even be possible to find it? Let’s do the maths.
Howells, a Welsh IT engineer, was an early adopter of the cryptocurrency bitcoin in December 2008. By February 2009, he had started mining the coins on his laptop – a process which involves using your computer to carry out complex mathematical processes in exchange for the coins.
At the time, he was one of just five people mining the currency, and he eventually accrued a fortune of around 8,000 bitcoin. Initially, these were basically worthless – the first real-world transaction involving the currency was in 2010, when a man in Florida bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins.
However, in the 15 years since, the value of the currency has grown dramatically, with a single bitcoin passing the US$100,000 mark in December 2024 – a value which would mean those two pizzas are now worth US$1 billion (£790 million).
Doing the calculations
No wonder Howells wants to find his hard drive. But what are the chances of finding a tiny 10cm hard drive in a site containing 1.4 billion kg of waste? Is it literally like finding a needle in a haystack?
At first, this seems like a simple calculation. If we randomly select a single location within the landfill, the probability that the hard drive will be there is simply the size of the object divided by the total size of the landfill.
A Google maps estimate of the area of the Docksway landfill site suggests it is roughly 500,000 square metres (or 5 billion square centimetres), which is approximately the size of 70 football pitches.
Docksway landfill in Newport, Wales, in 2007. wikipedia, CC BY-SA
However, we also have to account for the depth of the landfill, with years of rubbish piled on top of each other. Even a conservative estimate of 20 metres would give a total volume of 10 million cubic metres (or 10 trillion cubic centimetres). This is roughly 3,600 times the volume of the swimming pool used at last summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
Howells says the bitcoin are on a 2.5-inch hard drive, which has a volume of around 70 cubic centimetres (7cm x 10cm x 1cm). Therefore, the odds of finding the bitcoin at a single randomly selected location are 70/10,000,000,000,000 = 0.000000000007 – approximately a one in 143 billion chance.
This is over 3,000 times less likely than winning the jackpot on the UK’s National Lottery. However, with £600 million on the line, it seems unlikely anyone would just turn up and search one single location.
So, the real question here is about time and money. If we know that the hard drive is located somewhere within the landfill site, how long would it take to find it, and how much would it cost?
If we focus on time to begin with, this is really just an extension of our first calculation. Suppose it takes 1 second to search each 1,000 cubic centimetre section of the landfill (an incomplete estimate since my experience of hunting landfill for hard drives is limited), then it would take us 10 billion seconds (or 316 years) of continuous searching to cover the entire site. But of course, this could be significantly reduced by having an entire team searching at the same time.
Is it financially worth it?
Clearly, Howells does not have 316 years available to complete his search, but what if he was given the resources for one full year of non-stop searching? The odds of finding the hard drive in this year would be 1 in 316, and while the chances remain slim, this might start to sound tempting given the potential reward.
That is where the aspect of cost comes in. How much would you be willing to pay in order to have a 1 in 316 chance of winning £600m? The answer lies in the statistical concept of “expected value”“, which is the expected long-term outcome of a scenario if you were able to repeat it over and over again.
For example, suppose you were rolling a die, and you were told that you would be given £2 if you rolled a six but would have to pay £1 if you rolled any other value. You can work out the expected value of this game to see if it is worth playing. The odds of rolling a 6 are 1/6, and the odds of rolling any other value are 5/6. We can therefore compute the expected value as:
In other words, you would expect to lose half of £1 (or 50p), on average, every time you played this game.
In the case of our bitcoins, we can think about the expected value as being the amount of money you would expect to make on average if you searched the landfill for a whole year. We would expect that, on average, we would find the hard drive (and the £600 million) 1 time out of 316, and would fail to find it 315 times out of 316 and get absolutely nothing. Therefore, we can compute the expected value as:
This means that on average, by searching the site for a year, you would expect to find £1.9 million. So, if the searching costs were less than this amount, you would expect to make a profit on average, and it may be considered a worthwhile investment. However, if the search cost more than £1.9 million, you would expect to lose money on average, and it would not be considered worthwhile.
These calculations can be easily adjusted to account for different lengths of search time, number of people searching, or indeed different sizes of landfill site or search area.
If Howell ever gets access to the dump, it might be worth having a statistician on hand to help guide the search (and of course, I would be happy to offer my services for a small fee…).
Craig Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Murphy, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, University of Strathclyde
Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards.
Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more.
Who is Mati Diop?
Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director. She is also an accomplished actor who has starred in a number of French films, in particular Claire Denis’s 35 Shots of Rum.
She was born in Paris in 1982 and was raised in France, but frequently visited Senegal during her childhood, as she comes from a Senegalese cultural dynasty.
Her father is Wasis Diop, an inventive and experimental musician who fuses Senegalese folk music with western pop and jazz. Her uncle was the maverick Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambéty. He directed classics like Touki Bouki and Hyenas. For good measure, her mother, Christine Brossard, is involved in the French art world and is a photographer.
Diop poses with her Golden Bear for Best Film for Dahomey on the red carpet at the Berlinale International Film Festival.Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Although she had previously made short films, Diop gained global attention in 2019 when she won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature-length fiction film, Atlantics.
Her documentary Dahomey won the top award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. Over the past few years, Diop has become established as one of the most creative artistic voices making films about contemporary Africa.
What’s Dahomey about?
Dahomey is a documentary about a contentious issue, the repatriation of looted African art works from western museums.
The objects – 26 royal treasures – were taken from the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin). President Emmanuel Macron of France has voiced his support for the return of such objects and a slow, piecemeal process of repatriation has now begun.
On the surface, the story of Dahomey might not seem to be particularly dramatic. Taking objects from a museum in Paris and sending them to a museum in Benin might be politically important and symbolic. But how do you make a creative, insightful and entertaining film about it that also appeals to a wide audience? Well, essentially, Diop weaves a tale that seeks to explore what it means for Africans that this heritage is being returned. To do that, she gives voice to Africans, whether heritage professionals, students or the general public.
In her most daring creative gesture, she also gives voice to one of the objects being returned, a magnificent, life-sized wooden statue of King Ghézo (who ruled Dahomey in the 1800s), depicted as half-man, half-bird. Many of the items that are displayed in European museums as beautiful but inanimate objects in fact played a highly significant spiritual role in precolonial societies. Essentially, they formed a bridge between the living and the spirit world, and Diop is interested in exploring what it might mean to these spirits to return to an Africa that has been transformed in their absence.
So, Dahomey is not your average documentary. There’s no narrative voiceover that explains the context of the journey home for these objects. Apart from a few on-screen captions explaining the big picture, viewers must piece together the story and decipher its meaning by themselves.
In the first half of the film, we see the curators from Benin and French workmen moving through the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They assess the condition of the fragile objects as they make an inventory of them and box them safely for the trip. At first, theirs are the only voices we hear.
But then we begin to hear the deep, electronically distorted voice of the statue of King Ghézo who awakens from a long slumber. In this voiceover (written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel), Ghézo reflects on the sense of dislocation and confusion at being taken from Africa, his journey over the sea to be exhibited in a museum in Paris, his memories of the continent he left behind.
Once the objects arrive in Benin, the film follows a reverse process. The camera dwells on the African workmen overseeing their installation, interspersed with the voice of the statue trying to make sense of the Africa to which he has returned.
The longest section of the film gives voice to local university students debating what it means to return this heritage. While some view the process as vital, others see it as a distraction from the major issues facing the continent. The film does not seek to nudge the viewer to take sides. What is important is that different African voices are heard so that Africans can reach their own informed decisions.
What’s Atlantics about?
Atlantics is a film about the migration crisis that sees many young Senegalese men (and some women) set off from the coast on dangerous journeys in small fishing boats to try and reach the economic promised land of Europe (in this instance, the Canary Islands). But the film is also a love story about a young couple, Ada and Souleiman.
With a group of young men, many cheated of their wages by a corrupt local businessman, Souleiman embarks on the dangerous journey. The bereft girlfriends and sisters wait for news of their boyfriends and brothers and ultimately take revenge on the businessman. I can’t tell you precisely how this is done without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that the film is a striking mix of social drama and supernatural thriller.
Why is her contribution to film important?
Above all else, Mati Diop is a great storyteller. Atlantics and Dahomey are films that take important current affairs as their starting point, and they weave passionate, complex and strange stories around them.
They’re strange not because Diop is trying to be artistically eccentric, but because life is fundamentally strange and defies easy explanation. This is an artistic standpoint that her uncle would have understood.
Like his work, Diop’s fiction films contain long sections dwelling obsessively on the detail of “real” life while her documentaries contain many fictional elements. In fact, her short 2013 documentary A Thousand Suns is a wonderful homage to the beautiful strangeness of Mambety’s work. In a remarkable blend of fact and fiction, she traces the story of the actors who played the young couple in his avant-garde masterpiece, Touki Bouki.
In the work of both uncle and niece, the real and the fictional, the strange and the mundane are mixed together to make a mysterious and strikingly original body of work that defies categorisation.
– Mati Diop is a new star of African cinema – what her award-winning movies are about – https://theconversation.com/mati-diop-is-a-new-star-of-african-cinema-what-her-award-winning-movies-are-about-250417
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Stan Chu Ilo, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University
Pope Francis remains in a critical condition and hospitalised as he battles pneumonia in both lungs. The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, the Argentinian was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from corruption to clerical sexual abuse. Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and a research professor of African studies and world Catholicism, examines the milestones in the life, work and legacy of Pope Francis.
What did Pope Francis inherit when he took over in 2013?
By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era.
By the end of 2012 what was in the news about the church included the revelation of papal secrets by the papal butler. These details were published in a book by the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled His Holiness: The Secret Files of Pope Benedict. The book portrayed the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.
The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment.
Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included:
Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse.
What is his global papal role and legacy?
Three key things have defined his papal role and legacy.
First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did.
Francis has focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery.
He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy.
Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church’s message is communicated. In his programmatic document, Evangelii Gaudium, he called the church to what he calls “missionary conversion”. His thinking is that everything that is done in the church must be about proclaiming the good news to a wounded and broken world.
His central message has been that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He has also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like celebrating mass at a wall that divides the United States and Mexico.
In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace.
The third strategy is restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank.
He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented.
He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He has also shaken up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He appointed the first woman (Sr Simone Brambilla) to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. Another woman (Sr Raffaella Petrini) was named the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.
What has he done to strengthen the Catholic church in Africa?
Three things stand out.
First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour.
In a sense, Pope Francis embodies the message of decolonisation and is driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence.
Secondly, he has encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa’s own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believes in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He has said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church.
In this way, he has encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He has also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and given African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes.
Thirdly, Pope Francis has a very deep connection to Africa’s young people. He has encouraged and supported initiatives and programmes to strengthen the agency of young people, to give them hope and support their personal, spiritual and professional development. For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe.
What’s gone wrong, what’s gone well under his watch?
Pope Francis’s reform could be termed a movement from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone’s concerns and needs are catered to.
He has quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican.
Granted, he has not substantially altered the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he is chipping away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church’s position. In doing this, he has shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority.
He has opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQi+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa.
Why does his papacy matter?
Pope Francis is the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, emulating St Francis of Assisi.
In a sense, Pope Francis has redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It’s not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today.
– Pope Francis: why his papacy matters for Africa – and for the world’s poor and marginalised – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-why-his-papacy-matters-for-africa-and-for-the-worlds-poor-and-marginalised-251059
CHICAGO, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VelocityEHS®, the global leader in enterprise EHS & ESG software solutions, has announced the publication of three groundbreaking scientific papers, further cementing its leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in workplace safety and sustainability. These papers, published in the esteemed journals Ergonomics; International Journal of Data Warehousing and Mining; and Elsevier, showcase VelocityEHS’ innovative in musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk assessment, ESG data management, and Chemical Safety.
Advancements in Ergonomics Risk Assessment
The first paper, NLP-based Ergonomics MSD Risk Root Cause Analysis and Risk Controls Recommendation, published in Ergonomics and authored by Pulkit Parikh, PhD., Julia Penfield, PhD., Richard Barker, CPE, CSP, Blake McGowan, CPE, and James Richard Mallon, CPE, presents an AI-powered framework that utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate the identification of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risks and recommend targeted risk controls.
By leveraging deep learning and expert-driven ML models, this system goes beyond traditional risk scoring to provide actionable insights that improve workplace ergonomics and reduce injuries.
“Traditional ergonomics assessments often stop at producing risk scores, leaving companies without clear guidance on control actions,” said Rick Barker, CPE, Senior Director, Solution Strategy.
Until now, most research using artificial intelligence to combat musculoskeletal disorders has been limited to risk assessment. One of the unanswered questions among researchers is how to enhance the model to offer sustainable improvement strategies.
Julia Penfield, PhD., VP of Research & Machine Learning at VelocityEHS addressed this challenge: “We presented a framework that goes beyond MSD risk scoring. Along with machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing can propose risk control recommendations to help organizations achieve their goal to create safer workplaces. To the best of my knowledge, we are the first to take this holistic approach.”
Revolutionizing ESG Data Management
The second paper, Automatic Question Answering from Large ESG Reports, published in International Journal of Data Warehousing and Mining, and co-authored by Pulkit Parikh, PhD., and Julia Penfield, PhD., introduces the first AI-driven system designed to automatically extract and answer questions from extensive Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) reports.
ESG reports often exceed 50 pages, making manual extraction for audits, benchmarking, or Scope 3 reporting time-consuming and labor-intensive. Compounding this challenge, audits require answering hundreds of questions, posing difficulties even for experts. Additionally, midsize companies managing Scope 3 reports must manage thousands of suppliers, making it difficult to process ESG data.
“An AI-system could transform this process, enabling organizations to retrieve relevant information and drive informed decision-making effortlessly and efficiently,” said Dr. Julia Penfield.
Transforming Chemical Safety with AI-driven SDS Indexing
The third paper, A Machine Learning Driven Automated System to Extract Multiple Information Fields from Safety Data Sheet Documents, published in Elsevier, and authored by Misbah Khan, Julia Penfield, PhD., Aatish Suman, and Stephanie Crowell, presents an AI-powered system designed to automate the extraction of key chemical safety data from Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
SDS indexing has evolved from storing physical copies to digitally extracting key fields for inventory and risk management. While essential for compliance, manual SDS indexing is labor-intensive, costly and time consuming. An AI-driven solution will automate this process, allowing organizations to access critical chemical information with speed and accuracy.
“Effective chemical data management is essential for workplace safety and regulatory compliance. AI is no longer the future of chemical safety — it’s the present. With automated SDS indexing, we’re setting a new standard for speed, accuracy, and compliance,” says Misbah Khan, Staff Machine Learning Scientist, VelocityEHS. “An AI-driven solution will allow an organization’s team member to quickly retrieve SDS information in case of an accident, improving the response time and potentially saving a life. This blend of innovation and responsibility propels us toward an EHS future that’s both efficient and human centered.”
The paper concluded that an automated system could improve efficiency and compliance by indexing fields, such as product name, manufacturer, supplier, and revision date, with a precision accuracy of 96 to 99%.
Driving Innovation in Workplace Safety & Sustainability
These research contributions reflect VelocityEHS’ commitment to pioneering AI to improve workplace safety and operational performance. The company continues to invest in innovation to provide advanced solutions so organizations can reach all their EHS goals.
To learn how Velocity’s AI Machine Leaning scientists worked with certified ergonomists to deliver the most comprehensive ergonomics assessment tool, watch this video.
Relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, VelocityEHS is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS & ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold standard, delivering best-in-class software solutions for managing Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk. In addition, Velocity offers world-class applications for Contractor Safety & Permit to Work, Environmental Compliance, and ESG.
The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any other EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2025 Green Quadrant Analysis, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry.
VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit www.EHS.com.
Chicago, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Healthcare desperately needs more clinicians, but can’t scale up fast enough. Traditional medical training demands thousands of hours of supervised, hands-on practice and struggles to prepare today’s workforce for modern challenges – especially the management of chronic diseases. Today, SimCare AI announces $2 million in seed funding to rethink clinical training from first principles: using AI patients to bypass regulatory constraints and certify clinical skills with far fewer patient interactions.
The funding round was led by Y Combinator and Drive Capital, with participation from Harper Court Ventures Fund, Singularity Capital, Triple S Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Asymmetry Ventures, Sand Hill North, and Transpose Platform.
SimCare AI founders Vrishank Saini and Tigran Bdoyan.
The story began with a problem: when founder Vrishank Saini failed a critical clinical communications exam and couldn’t afford the $9,000 tutor fee, he got together with Tigran Bdoyan and built an AI solution instead. The tool worked so well it attracted 2,500 users and reached $5,000 in monthly recurring revenue within three weeks. After an initial rejection from Y Combinator’s S24 batch, Saini and his co-founder Bdoyan dropped out of college with no funding, moved to San Francisco, and – when told they couldn’t reapply to the same batch – created new email accounts and applied again. Y Combinator caught them but, impressed by their determination, gave them $500,000 to build SimCare AI.
“We took a risk to prove our point,” said Vrishank Saini, CEO and Co-founder of SimCare AI. “By using AI patients, we’ve set a clinical benchmark for how training should be measured – efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. Current training methods excel at teaching acute conditions but fall short with chronic diseases that develop over months and years. A medication change today might not show its impact for months, and missed interventions might not reveal their consequences for years. SimCare AI’s simulations compress these timelines dramatically, allowing clinicians to witness disease progression patterns that would traditionally take years to experience.”
Vrishank Saini, CEO and Co-founder of SimCare AI.
The SimCare AI platform can be customized for different specialties and use cases, from residency programs preparing trainees for complex patient scenarios to social work programs practicing family interventions. Telehealth companies, for example, screen job applicants by testing their skills with SimCare AI patients, enabling faster and more cost-effective hiring. The platform also supports their onboarding, training, upskilling, and remediation without the prolonged timelines and high expenses of traditional training. For healthcare organizations, being able to benchmark and predict performance of their workforce will offer employers an advantage. Currently, SimCare AI has already closed 30 pilots with institutions including the University of Pennsylvania.
The innovation comes at a crucial moment. As seasoned physicians leave the profession while less experienced clinicians backfill positions, the clinical experience gap is widening. Traditional training methods – role-playing, in-person evaluations, and one-on-one interviews – cost institutions hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in faculty time and administrative overhead, while still failing to provide comprehensive exposure to complex patient cases.
Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Douglas A. Drossman MD, President at DrossmanCare commented: “I have been extremely impressed with our collaboration with SimCare AI. At DrossmanCare, in partnership with the Rome Foundation, we develop educational programs designed to enhance healthcare providers’ communication skills with patients. SimCare AI has seamlessly integrated our vast library of publications and videos on communication into an innovative program that allows providers to engage in advanced, simulated patient interviews with a virtual avatar. This approach enables providers to gain valuable insights into complex psychosocial issues through the use of sophisticated interview techniques. Additionally, the program provides real-time feedback, allowing providers to continuously refine their skills. I’ve never encountered a company with such a refined ability to replicate the nuances of a clinical encounter, offering a truly remarkable training experience.”
SimCare AI’s technology offers a radical solution: proving clinical competency with just 20 patient encounters instead of 200. The system’s sophisticated AI maps decision trees for each patient interaction, creating dynamic, realistic conversations that align with accreditation standards. This precision helps institutions track, assess, and verify student competencies according to regulatory requirements – allowing students and professionals to practice and be evaluated anytime, anywhere. This standardized approach not only reduces faculty burden and costs but accelerates the pace at which new clinicians can enter the workforce.
Molly Bonakdarpour, Partner at Drive Capital, commented: “SimCare AI is addressing a clear need in healthcare training. In just four months, they’ve demonstrated strong early impact, delivering measurable ROI for customers. We’re impressed with their vision and execution and look forward to supporting their continued growth in AI-driven healthcare solutions.”
The platform’s impact extends across the healthcare education landscape. While medical schools use SimCare AI to teach patient interactions and clinical reasoning, therapy programs employ it for counseling practice, and telehealth companies leverage it for hiring and upskilling. SimCare AI’s precision helps institutions track, assess, and verify student competencies according to regulatory requirements – a crucial feature for medical schools, nursing programs, and continuing medical education.
Vrishank Saini added: “Looking ahead, SimCare AI plans to integrate more detailed clinical data – from transcripts to diagnostic workups – into its evaluation system. The company’s goal is to standardize clinical training and evaluation across healthcare, enabling competency to be measured quickly and reliably. For risk-bearing organizations, this provides a clear, consistent method to train clinicians in the specific skills that drive quality metrics.”
About SimCare AI SimCare AI (YC S24) creates simulated conversations with AI patients to scale healthcare training. Healthcare organizations use our clinical simulations for more efficient recruitment, reduced training time and costs, and enhanced patient outcomes. Governments are pushing to expand the healthcare workforce by increasing training output; however, it is illegal to train without direct clinical supervision, limiting scale in training. These restrictions don’t apply to AI patients, providing a scalable solution that helps organizations train more people, meet accreditation standards, and grow faster. For more information please visit: http://simcare.ai/
About Drive Capital Drive Capital is a venture capital firm in Columbus that invests in world-class founders building the next generation of market-defining companies.
