Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) – “I call on the presidential candidates to respect the dignity of their opponents; never to use violence, in any form, as a political method; to be an example of civic culture, generosity, and mutual respect for young people; and to promote ideas, not hatred,” said Cardinal Fernando Garib Chomalì, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, in an appeal ahead of the upcoming presidential elections to be held in Chile in November.Chilean politics is in a transitional phase, and the 2025 elections are expected to be among the most polarized in Chilean history, with a sharp clash between a radical left and an ultra-conservative right. While on Sunday, July 13, the Republican Party (REP), the Christian Social Party (PSC), and the National Libertarian Party (PNL) sanctioned the birth of the “United Right,” for the first time in Chile’s history, a female candidate will win the left-wing primaries. This candidate is Jeannette Jara, who, however, represents less radical positions than her party.The massive immigration of the past ten years, which has exceeded one million people, combined with an unprecedented wave of violence in Chilean society, has transformed the political landscape. Just a few days ago, current President Gabriel Boric sounded the alarm, denouncing the infiltration of the armed forces by organized crime and the involvement of its members in drug trafficking networks using military resources and logistics.The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for November 16. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held on December 14 between the two candidates with the most votes. The members of the National Congress and the president will be elected for the next four years. Boric will not be eligible to run again. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 16/7/2025)
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Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) – “I call on the presidential candidates to respect the dignity of their opponents; never to use violence, in any form, as a political method; to be an example of civic culture, generosity, and mutual respect for young people; and to promote ideas, not hatred,” said Cardinal Fernando Garib Chomalì, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, in an appeal ahead of the upcoming presidential elections to be held in Chile in November.Chilean politics is in a transitional phase, and the 2025 elections are expected to be among the most polarized in Chilean history, with a sharp clash between a radical left and an ultra-conservative right. While on Sunday, July 13, the Republican Party (REP), the Christian Social Party (PSC), and the National Libertarian Party (PNL) sanctioned the birth of the “United Right,” for the first time in Chile’s history, a female candidate will win the left-wing primaries. This candidate is Jeannette Jara, who, however, represents less radical positions than her party.The massive immigration of the past ten years, which has exceeded one million people, combined with an unprecedented wave of violence in Chilean society, has transformed the political landscape. Just a few days ago, current President Gabriel Boric sounded the alarm, denouncing the infiltration of the armed forces by organized crime and the involvement of its members in drug trafficking networks using military resources and logistics.The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for November 16. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held on December 14 between the two candidates with the most votes. The members of the National Congress and the president will be elected for the next four years. Boric will not be eligible to run again. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 16/7/2025)
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UK reaffirms unwavering support for Ukraine and welcomes vital US contribution: UK Statement to the OSCE
UK Military Advisor, Lt Col Joby Rimmer, says the UK, alongside the US and international partners, remains committed to providing the economic, diplomatic, and military tools Ukraine needs to defend itself.
Madame Chair, the United Kingdom reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend its people and sovereignty against the Russian government’s escalating campaign of aggression. We remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring Ukraine has the tools and support it needs to prevail – diplomatically, economically, and militarily.
The urgency of this support was underscored by the most recent Russian attacks. On the night of 11-12 July, Russia launched 597 drones and 26 cruise missiles across Ukraine in a 10-hour assault. The attacks killed at least two civilians and injured over 20 others, with damage reported from Kharkiv to Lviv. Just days earlier, Kyiv endured a combined drone, ballistic, and cruise missile strike that damaged six districts and left multiple civilians injured.
These attacks mark a grim trend. Eight of the largest attacks of the war have been launched by Russia in the last two months. Russia launched ten times more missile and drone strikes in June 2025 than in June 2024. The impact on civilians has been appalling. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), June 2025 saw the highest civilian toll since the war began, with 232 killed and 1,343 injured, driven by a surge in long-range missile and drone strikes reaching far beyond the front lines. From December to May, the UN estimates that civilian casualties increased by 37% from the same period the previous year. Even more horrific is the alleged use of drones armed with enhanced warheads containing up to 90kg of metal shrapnel, designed to maximise civilian casualties. As President Zelenskiiy’s aide Andrii Yermak warned, the alleged use of these shrapnel-packed warheads marks an appalling new chapter in the war.
The growing frequency and intensity of these attacks underscore the urgent need for enhanced air defence support for Ukraine. We welcome President Trump’s decision to enable NATO Allies to purchase US military equipment vital for Ukraine to defend itself and protect civilians, including Patriot systems. The UK is pleased to be co-chairing, with Germany, a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting next week, to ensure that Ukraine gets the military support it needs to defend itself against Russia’s brutal attacks.
Finally, on 10 July, the United Kingdom was proud to co-chair the fourth meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ alongside President Macron, bringing together representatives from 38 countries, including over 30 heads of state and government. This gathering was a powerful demonstration of unity and a clear signal to Moscow that our support for Ukraine is enduring, coordinated, and intensifying. We welcome the presence of a US delegation at the meeting for the first time, and President Trump’s announcement that the US will impose sanctions if a peace deal is not reached in 50 days. We call upon the Russian Federation to abandon their maximalist objectives in Ukraine, agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire as Ukraine did five months ago, and engage in meaningful peace talks. Together with our partners we will continue to ratchet up the pressure on Russia until a just and lasting peace is reached.
The UK will continue to stand firm with our Allies and Partners, to ensure Ukraine’s defence, uphold international law and secure a future of peace and stability in Europe – principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, including the inviolability of frontiers, territorial integrity of states, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Thank you, Madame Chair.
On 30 June – 3 July, the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for Development is taking place in Seville. Sweden is participating with a broad delegation headed by State Secretary Diana Janse. The aim of the Conference is to agree on a new global framework for how sustainable development will be financed – the so-called Sevilla Commitment. The Conference is an important opportunity to strengthen the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, and to demonstrate that the countries of the world are able to address global challenges together through cooperation, despite a difficult geopolitical context.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to NATO Secretary General Rutte’s statements in joint press conference with German Chancellor Merz on China’s military expansion
July 10, 2025
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte met with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz on July 9. During the joint press conference following the meeting, Secretary General Rutte stated that the scale of the Chinese navy had already surpassed that of the United States and that China had over 1,000 nuclear warheads at its disposal. He indicated that China’s military expansion had clearly developed toward combat readiness and that China’s ambitions to get control over Taiwan were obvious.
He noted that if China decided to launch an attack against Taiwan, it would likely partner with Russia to create a parallel conflict in Europe, thereby keeping Europe preoccupied. Secretary General Rutte stressed that these developments had plainly demonstrated that transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security was increasingly intertwined. He added that faced with a potential joint threat from China and Russia, NATO must strengthen its collective military capabilities and deepen cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific region to effectively deter any possible military aggression. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes these statements concerning regional developments.
Since assuming office in October 2024, Secretary General Rutte has repeatedly called attention to the nature of China’s expansionist actions and its aggressive ambitions toward Taiwan. He has also actively urged people everywhere to pay heed to the challenges and risks that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran pose to global peace and security.
Authoritarian countries are coordinating efforts to undermine regional peace and stability and the international order. In the face of this, Taiwan— a responsible democratic member of the global community—will continue to work with the Group of Seven, NATO, and other like-minded partners to jointly safeguard peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to Czech President Pavel lauding successful Taiwan-Czech cooperation at Ukraine Recovery Conference
July 11, 2025
President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel on July 10 attended the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, where he explained Czech contributions to Ukraine’s reconstruction in an address to a plenary session with heads of state and government. In his remarks, he highlighted a successful project undertaken by the Czech Republic and Taiwan to provide safe drinking water to 380,000 residents of Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine and deliver power generation equipment to Kharkiv to give local people access to electricity. He stressed that these endeavors were a model of cooperation between like-minded democracies.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung welcomes President Pavel’s public statement and reiterates that Taiwan and the Czech Republic are like-minded democratic partners. Taiwan will continue to work with the Czech Republic and other like-minded nations in Europe on providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, thereby underscoring staunch support for democracy, freedom, human rights, and peace.
Since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, the governments of Taiwan and the Czech Republic have signed three memoranda of understanding on cooperation. These address issues such as reconstructing basic infrastructure in Ukraine, including water and electricity, improving Ukraine’s primary healthcare capacity, and supporting the Ukrainian people in efforts to rebuild their country. Taiwan is also cooperating closely with other European nations to assist Ukraine.
Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MOFA response to UK-France leaders’ declaration reaffirming commitment to Taiwan Strait peace and stability
July 11, 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom and President Emmanuel Macron of France met in London on July 10 for the 37th UK-France summit. In a declaration issued after their meeting, the two leaders said that European security was inextricably linked to the Indo-Pacific and that they would strengthen their coordination and work together for a free, open, and sovereign Indo-Pacific. They also jointly reaffirmed their commitment to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, in the South and East China Seas, and in the Taiwan Strait, calling for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely welcomes and appreciates this declaration.
The fact that the leaders of the United Kingdom and France once again expressed their commitment to cross-strait peace and stability following a similar statement released after the G7 leaders’ summit in June demonstrates that maintaining Taiwan Strait peace and stability has become a matter of international consensus. As a responsible and democratic member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners around the world to contribute to the freedom, openness, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and jointly defend the rules-based international order.
High inflation must not be allowed to recur. Thanks to tight monetary policy, open communication and a strong koruna policy, the Czech National Bank (CNB) succeeded in taming double-digit inflation in 2022–2023 and returning it to the 2% target. It then undertook a monetary policy review to make itself better prepared for similar situations in the future. The CNB is now offering an inside look at the discussions behind the change in its approach to preparing key materials for the Bank Board’s monetary policy decision-making, the development of two new forecasting models and the strengthening of its research capacity. It has published on its website the Proceedings of the Czech National BankWorkshop on Monetary Policy: Inflation Targeting Frameworks Under Review, featuring a foreword by CNB Governor Aleš Michl.
Three years ago, in July 2022, inflation in the Czech Republic stood at 17.5%. The CNB’s forecasting model at the time was recommending further rate hikes above the then level of 7%, but the Bank Board, under the leadership of Governor Aleš Michl, opted for a different strategy. It decided to keep interest rates unchanged until it was confident that inflation was on track to return to the target, and communicated this intention openly to the public and markets. It also supported a strong koruna policy.
This approach resulted in the strongest exchange rate of the koruna against the euro in history and the tightest monetary conditions in 20 years in spring 2023. Inflation dropped sharply to near the 2% target in January 2024. The average inflation rate for 2024 as a whole was 2.4%, the lowest since 2018.
The CNB has now published the proceedings of the international Czech National Bank Workshop on Monetary Policy: Inflation Targeting Frameworks Under Review. This concludes the first phase of the external review of its monetary policy analytical and modelling framework. The Bank Board initiated this review in response to the turbulent inflation episode of 2022–2023.
In his foreword to the proceedings, Governor Aleš Michl presents the rationale behind the decision to openly review the CNB’s monetary policy analytical framework and summarises the Bank’s approach to tackling inflation. He provides a detailed account of the Bank Board’s strategy during the period when inflation neared 18%, noting that traditional macroeconomic models underestimated the impact of global shocks and often failed to forecast inflation accurately. For the first time in its history, the CNB commissioned three independent external reviews of its modelling framework. These focused on the forecasting performance of the core model, its suitability as a sole forecasting tool, and the interaction between monetary and fiscal policy. According to the Governor, a central bank must be able to learn from the past and adapt its tools to a new reality in which the economy is affected by unexpected and difficult-to-model factors. The review of the modelling framework is therefore a key step towards ensuring future price stability.
Based on the recommendations of the review teams, the CNB has decided to expand its modelling framework. It will develop two new alternative models to complement its existing tools, enabling the Bank to better manage forecast uncertainty and respond to hard-to-predict economic shocks. This aligns with the practice of many other central banks which routinely use multiple forecasting models. The first components are expected to be ready for internal testing in late 2025 and early 2026, with development of the new models continuing throughout 2026.
The reviewers also recommended strengthening the CNB’s research and data analytics capabilities. On 1 January 2025, the CNB established a new Research and Statistics Department, replacing the former Statistics and Data Support Department. An important task for the new department is to develop alternative macroeconomic models. It will also focus on enhancing the CNB’s data infrastructure and expanding the role of research beyond model development.
The final versions of all the external evaluations were published on the CNB website in November 2024. In April 2025, the CNB presented these evaluations in detail, along with the conclusions of the first phase of the monetary policy review, at the international Czech National Bank Workshop on Monetary Policy: Inflation Targeting Frameworks Under Review. The outputs of this conference are now available in the Proceedings of the Czech National Bank Workshop on Monetary Policy: Inflation Targeting Frameworks Under Review. In addition to contributions from domestic and international experts – including the former head of the BIS Monetary and Economic Department Claudio Borio and ESCB Monetary Policy Committee Chair Óscar Arce – the publication features a foreword by CNB Governor Aleš Michl summarising the CNB’s approach to monetary policy during the period of elevated inflation and the steps it took to bring inflation down.
MHRA CEO Lawrence Tallon welcomes Life Sciences Sector Plan
The Life Sciences Sector plan was released today (16 July 2025)
“I welcome the publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan and fully support its ambition to make the UK a global leader in life sciences and a country where innovation delivers for everyone.
“It’s great to see the MHRA is recognised as a pivotal partner in delivering the plan’s vision – by supporting innovation, protecting public health, and making the UK a global destination for innovators to research, develop and launch cutting-edge medical products.
“Working with our partners across the sector, we will continue to enable safe and effective innovation that benefits patients, the public, and the economy.”
Communities across the country to benefit from ‘innovation squads’ to re-build public services
Working people across England are set to benefit from better public services, with ‘innovation squads’ sent in to back community ideas and work with the frontline as part of a £100 million ‘Test, Learn and Grow’ reform programme.
10 communities across England will get ‘innovation squads’ as part of £100 million government reform programme to deliver the Plan for Change.
Flagship reform will end ‘Whitehall knows best’ and focus on testing solutions directly in local areas with frontline workers and communities who know best.
Policy officials, tech specialists and other experts will be deployed to directly test new ways of fixing some of the biggest local problems.
Working people across England are set to benefit from better public services, with ‘innovation squads’ sent in to back community ideas and work with the frontline as part of a £100 million ‘Test, Learn and Grow’ reform programme to deliver the Plan for Change.
The teams, deployed to the places from central government will work alongside local government and service users to tackle the biggest challenges directly affecting local communities and people.
Challenges the teams will look at will include increasing the uptake of Best Start Family Hubs to support parents and young children, establishing neighbourhood health services, better supporting children with special needs, getting more people into work, rolling out breakfast clubs, and tackling violence against women and girls.
The squads, working with tech specialists and other experts will have an explicit mandate to try new things and be creative, collaborating directly with frontline workers and people using services.
Cabinet Office Minister, Georgia Gould said:
For too long residents and frontline workers have had to navigate fragmented and underfunded public services, people feeling like they have to arm up to battle to get the support they need.
We are going to end this. The test, learn and grow programme will bring the centre of government out of Whitehall and into communities, working with those who deliver and use public services to solve problems together, as part of our Plan for Change. We will reform public services from the ground up so people always come first.
The programme is a flagship part of the government’s reform programme. Instead of trying to devise perfect solutions from Whitehall, the teams will work directly with affected communities to test out what works.
The ‘test and learn’ approach – outlined by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in December – will help tackle our biggest national challenges and make better policy across the board.
The approach has already been trialled successfully in four areas across England. Earlier this year, ‘innovation squads’ tested new ways to get more families through the door of local family hubs in Sheffield, resulting in many more local families using the hubs. In Liverpool they worked with the council to build an innovative data-led platform to manage temporary accommodation.
The news comes following the launch of a new partnership for the programme, working with external experts, academics and local authority networks to further enhance and spread learnings from the programme across the country.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
ALMATY, July 16 (Xinhua) — Kazakhstan’s first national supercomputer was officially launched in Astana in July 2025, an ambitious project that aims to make the country a regional leader in high technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital sovereignty.
The idea of creating a supercomputer was born in early 2024. On February 12, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, the Samruk-Kazyna National Fund and the Emirati company Presight AI signed a strategic cooperation agreement.
The project was initiated as part of the digital agenda of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
According to the agreement, the project is being implemented in two stages. The first stage involved the integration of new computing capacities into the existing digital infrastructure of Kazakhstan, including the e-government platform eGov.
The second phase involves the construction of a Tier III data center and the deployment of a supercomputer cluster based on the latest NVIDIA H200 graphics processors.
In terms of technical characteristics, the Kazakh supercomputer is the largest in the region: it is capable of providing performance of up to 2 exaflops using the FP8 calculation method. This allows processing colossal amounts of information, providing a computing base for scientific research, AI development, modeling and data processing in real time.
On May 19, 2025, the supercomputer cluster arrived in Kazakhstan and was placed in a data center with the participation of Presight AI.
The official launch of the system took place on July 9, 2025, as part of a ceremonial event at the Alemcloud National Supercomputer Center in Astana. The event was attended by President K.-Zh. Tokayev, who emphasized that the supercomputer will allow Kazakhstan to achieve significant progress in the development of digital technologies.
Access to high-performance computing will be given to startups developing neural network solutions, universities, research centers, as well as public and private companies.
“The power of a supercomputer is like the entire world population, 8 billion people, doing mathematical calculations every second, but it would take them more than 4 days to do what a supercomputer does in a second,” said Zhaslan Madiyev, Minister of Digitalization and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, on the day the system was launched.
The project pursues strategic goals. Firstly, it strengthens the country’s digital sovereignty by reducing dependence on foreign cloud solution providers.
Secondly, it creates conditions for the development of the domestic IT ecosystem: universities, research centers, public and private companies gain access to powerful computing resources.
Thirdly, this is an important step towards the formation of a full-fledged infrastructure for the development and implementation of AI-based solutions – from city management systems to working with large language models.
Thus, the launch of the national supercomputer has become not just a technological achievement, but also an important element of Kazakhstan’s new digital strategy. The country is demonstrating its readiness to take an active position on the high-tech map of Eurasia by investing in the infrastructure that determines the future. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman will visit China from July 20 to 22 at the invitation of Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — China has made steady progress in expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities, with the nationwide employment rate for such people increasing by 4.8 percentage points over the past three years, official data showed at a press conference on Wednesday.
The achievements were made under the country’s first three-year action plan to promote the employment of people with disabilities from 2022 to 2024. During this period, nearly 1.65 million new jobs for people with disabilities were created in both urban and rural areas, Li Dongmei, deputy chairwoman of the All-China Federation of Disabled Persons (ACFD), said at a press conference.
Also during the reporting period, nearly 1.43 million people with disabilities received verified vocational training, which significantly increased their work readiness and skill level, Li Dongmei noted.
Steady progress has also been made in higher education. For five years in a row, all disabled graduates who completed their studies at colleges in the country have been included in the employment support databases. Notably, the employment rate among those who want to work has exceeded 85 percent for five years in a row.
To build on this momentum, the General Office of the State Council of China has released a new three-year action plan (2025-2027), jointly developed by the VFI and 30 government departments. The plan outlines 10 targeted actions aimed at further improving the employment conditions of people with disabilities.
According to Ren Zhanbin, Director of the Department of Education and Employment at VFI, a more targeted and individual approach will be applied at the new stage.
“We aim to not only expand employment opportunities, but also ensure that these jobs match the abilities and needs of people with disabilities and guarantee longer-term stability,” Ren Zhanbin said.
According to the plan, relevant government agencies and local authorities will continue to improve public services, strengthen employment support, and help 85 million people with disabilities gain access to more and better job opportunities. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, July 16 (Xinhua) — China will continue to support Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity, opposing power politics and bullying, upholding its legitimate rights and interests through political negotiations, and further improving and developing relations with its neighbors based on the principle of good-neighborliness and friendship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.
Wang Yi, also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in China to attend a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — The number of round-trip border crossings by foreign nationals through China’s checkpoints totaled 38.05 million from January to June 2025, up 30.2 percent year on year, data from the National Immigration Administration (NIA) showed Wednesday.
According to the agency, during the reporting period, the number of foreigners who traveled to China under the visa-free regime increased to 13.64 million people, an increase of 53.9 percent year-on-year. In January-June of this year, their share in the total number of incoming trips by foreigners was 71.2 percent.
The total number of border crossings through Chinese checkpoints in the first six months of this year reached 333 million people, up 15.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data released at a departmental press conference.
In particular, during the specified period, residents of mainland China crossed the state border in both directions 159 million times, which is 15.9 percent more year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of entries and exits through the country’s checkpoints among residents of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Taiwan Island, amounted to 136 million person-times, an increase of 12.2 percent year-on-year.
Border control agencies across the country are steadily increasing efforts to expand openness and improve service efficiency, the SUI noted.
As part of its visa-free policy adjustments, China recently added Indonesia to the list of 240-hour visa-free transit countries, bringing the total number of eligible countries to 55. The policy allows citizens of these countries to transit through China visa-free for a stay of up to 240 hours.
A new regional visa-free policy was also introduced, allowing tourist groups from ASEAN countries to enter Xishuangbanna (Yunnan Province, southwest China) visa-free.
In addition, China expanded its visa-free agreements by signing new mutual visa waiver agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and introducing unilateral visa-free regimes for nine more countries, namely Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
KABUL, July 16 (Xinhua) — At least 11 people were killed and four others injured in a highway accident in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province, provincial police said in a statement on Wednesday.
The tragedy occurred in the Kariz area of Washir district, along the highway connecting Herat with the capital Kabul. A passenger bus collided head-on with another vehicle, killing 11 passengers on the spot and injuring four others.
A preliminary investigation has shown that the cause of the accident was careless driving. All the victims were taken to nearby medical centers, where medical personnel described their condition as critical. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
At 9.00 this morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV celebrated Holy Mass in the Chapel of the Castel Gandolfo Carabinieri Station.
At the end of Mass, the Holy Father visited the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Albano, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
The following is the homily delivered by the Pope during the Eucharistic Celebration, after the proclamation of the Gospel:
Homily of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Gospel we have heard gives us the authentic Christian meaning of these two words. Brother and sister are names of relation, which we repeat often in the liturgy as a greeting, as a sign of closeness and affection. Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, explains their meaning in relation to himself and to his Father, revealing a bond stronger than blood, since it involves all of us, uniting every man and every woman. Indeed, we are all truly brothers and sisters of Jesus when we do God’s will, that is, when we live loving each other,as God has loved us.
Every relationship that God lives, in himself and for us, thus becomes a gift: when his only Son becomes our brother, his Father beomes our Father, and the Holy Spirit, which joins the Father and the Son, comes to dwell in our hearts. God’s love is so great that Jesus does not keep even his mother for himself, giving Mary to us as our mother, in the hour of the cross (cf. Jn 19:27). Only those who live by such full dedication can affirm: “For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” ( Mt 12:50). In particular, these words let us understand that Mary becomes the mother of Jesus because she listens to the word of God with love; she welcomes it into her own heart and lives it faithfully. Commenting the Gospel passage recalled just now, Saint Augustine therefore wrote that “Mary … is blessed, because she heard the word of God and kept it” ( Sermon 72/A, 7). The meaning of Mary’s life is enshrined in her faithfulness to the Word she received from God: the Word of life she received, carried in her womb and gave to the world.
Dear friends, the 75 th anniversary of the proclamation of the faithful Virgin, the Virgo fidelis , as Patroness of the Carabinieri Corps, was recently celebrated. Right here in Castel Gandolfo, in 1949 my venerable predecessor Pope Pius XII accepted this beautiful proposal from the general Command of the Corps. After the tragedy of the war, in a period of moral and material reconstruction, Mary’s fidelity to God thus became a model of the fidelity of every Carabiniere towards his homeland and the Italian people. This virtue expresses the devotion, purity, and constancy in commitment to the common good which the Carabinieri protect by guaranteeing public safety and defending the rights of all, especially those in dangerous conditions.
I therefore wish to express deep gratitude for the noble and demanding service that the Corps provides to Italy and her citizens, as well as to the Holy See and the faithful who visit Rome: I think in particular of the many pilgrims in this Jubilee year.
Devotion to the faithful Virgin also reflects the motto of the Carabinieri, Nei secoli fedele – faithful throughout the centuries – expressing the sense of duty and abnegation of every member of the Corps, to the point of self-sacrifice. I therefore thank the authorities present, both civil and military, for what you do in the fulfilment of your duties: in the face of injustice, which harms the social order, you do not give in to the termptation of thinking that evil may prevail. Especially in this time of wars and violence, you remain faithful to your oath: as servants of the State, you respond to crime with the force of the law and with honesty. This is how the Carabinieri Corps, the Benemerita , will always be worthy of the respect of the Italian people.
In this Eucharist, as we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, it is right and dutiful to remember the Carabinieri who have given their lives in the course of duty: I offer as an example to you the venerable Salvo D’Acquisto, awarded the gold medal for military valour, whose cause for beatification is underway. In every mission, may the Virgo fidelis accompany you, watching lovingly over each one of you, your families and your work.
He accused the coalition government of being “too timid” and “afraid of offending President Donald Trump” to make a stand on the nuclear issue.
However, a spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand’s “overarching priority . . . is to work with Pacific partners to achieve a secure, stable, and prosperous region that preserves Pacific sovereignty and agency”.
The spokesperson said that through its foreign policy “reset”, New Zealand was committed to “comprehensive relationships” with Pacific Island countries.
“New Zealand’s identity, prosperity and security are intertwined with the Pacific through deep cultural, people, historical, security, and economic linkages.”
Pacific ‘increasingly contested’ The spokesperson said that the Pacific was becoming increasingly contested and complex.
“New Zealand has been clear with all of our partners that it is important that engagement in the Pacific takes place in a manner which advances Pacific priorities, is consistent with established regional practices, and supportive of Pacific regional institutions.”
They added that New Zealand’s main focus remained on the Pacific, “where we will be working with partners including the United States, Australia, Japan and in Europe to more intensively leverage greater support for the region.
“We will maintain the high tempo of political engagement across the Pacific to ensure alignment between our programme and New Zealand and partner priorities. And we will work more strategically with Pacific Governments to strengthen their systems, so they can better deliver the services their people need,” the spokesperson said.
The cover of the latest edition of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior. Image: Little Island Press
However, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, writing in the prologue of Dr Robie’s book, said: “New Zealand needs to re-emphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament.”
Dr Robie added that looking back 40 years to the 1980s, there was a strong sense of pride in being from Aotearoa, the small country which set an example around the world.
“We took on . . . the nuclear powers,” Dr Robie said.
“And the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was symbolic of that struggle, in a way, but it was a struggle that most New Zealanders felt a part of, and we were very proud of that [anti-nuclear] role that we took.
“Over the years, it has sort of been forgotten”.
‘Look at history’ France conducted 193 nuclear tests over three decades until 1996 in French Polynesia.
Until 2009, France claimed that its tests were “clean” and caused no harm, but in 2010, under the stewardship of Defence Minister Herve Morin, a compensation law was passed.
From 1946 to 1962, 67 nuclear bombs were detonated in the Marshall Islands by the US.
The 1 March 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, the largest nuclear weapon ever exploded by the United States, left a legacy of fallout and radiation contamination that continues to this day. Image: Marshall Islands Journal
In 2024, then-US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell, while responding to a question from RNZ Pacific about America’s nuclear legacy, said: “Washington has attempted to address it constructively with massive resources and a sustained commitment.”
However, Dr Robie said that was not good enough and labelled the destruction left behind by the US, and France, as “outrageous”.
“It is political speak; politicians trying to cover their backs and so on. If you look at history, [the response] is nowhere near good enough, both by the US and the French.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
He accused the coalition government of being “too timid” and “afraid of offending President Donald Trump” to make a stand on the nuclear issue.
However, a spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand’s “overarching priority . . . is to work with Pacific partners to achieve a secure, stable, and prosperous region that preserves Pacific sovereignty and agency”.
The spokesperson said that through its foreign policy “reset”, New Zealand was committed to “comprehensive relationships” with Pacific Island countries.
“New Zealand’s identity, prosperity and security are intertwined with the Pacific through deep cultural, people, historical, security, and economic linkages.”
Pacific ‘increasingly contested’ The spokesperson said that the Pacific was becoming increasingly contested and complex.
“New Zealand has been clear with all of our partners that it is important that engagement in the Pacific takes place in a manner which advances Pacific priorities, is consistent with established regional practices, and supportive of Pacific regional institutions.”
They added that New Zealand’s main focus remained on the Pacific, “where we will be working with partners including the United States, Australia, Japan and in Europe to more intensively leverage greater support for the region.
“We will maintain the high tempo of political engagement across the Pacific to ensure alignment between our programme and New Zealand and partner priorities. And we will work more strategically with Pacific Governments to strengthen their systems, so they can better deliver the services their people need,” the spokesperson said.
The cover of the latest edition of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior. Image: Little Island Press
However, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, writing in the prologue of Dr Robie’s book, said: “New Zealand needs to re-emphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament.”
Dr Robie added that looking back 40 years to the 1980s, there was a strong sense of pride in being from Aotearoa, the small country which set an example around the world.
“We took on . . . the nuclear powers,” Dr Robie said.
“And the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was symbolic of that struggle, in a way, but it was a struggle that most New Zealanders felt a part of, and we were very proud of that [anti-nuclear] role that we took.
“Over the years, it has sort of been forgotten”.
‘Look at history’ France conducted 193 nuclear tests over three decades until 1996 in French Polynesia.
Until 2009, France claimed that its tests were “clean” and caused no harm, but in 2010, under the stewardship of Defence Minister Herve Morin, a compensation law was passed.
From 1946 to 1962, 67 nuclear bombs were detonated in the Marshall Islands by the US.
The 1 March 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, the largest nuclear weapon ever exploded by the United States, left a legacy of fallout and radiation contamination that continues to this day. Image: Marshall Islands Journal
In 2024, then-US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell, while responding to a question from RNZ Pacific about America’s nuclear legacy, said: “Washington has attempted to address it constructively with massive resources and a sustained commitment.”
However, Dr Robie said that was not good enough and labelled the destruction left behind by the US, and France, as “outrageous”.
“It is political speak; politicians trying to cover their backs and so on. If you look at history, [the response] is nowhere near good enough, both by the US and the French.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Claire wanted to support support families, children and loved ones of those with MS. Artwork by CHIP Collective.
A University of Aberdeen student has come up with a creative way to educate the public about the ‘invisible symptoms’ of a condition that affects more Scots than almost anywhere else in the world.
Postgraduate student, Claire Robertson, and a team of health professionals and comic artists designed a comic to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition that is estimated to affect more than 17,000 people in Scotland.
Inspired by her dad’s experience of living with the condition, Claire used the unique medium to describe the everyday struggles faced by people with MS.
The comic, titled ‘Through the MS Looking Glass: Navigating the Unseen’, highlights the ‘invisible’ or hidden symptoms of MS, told through an Alice in Wonderland-style narrative, where familiar characters represent different symptoms.
“I wanted to create a health comic on multiple sclerosis because my dad has MS and was diagnosed in 2011,” says Claire, a third year PhD student from the School of Psychology. “As my PhD project is all about how to make effective and engaging health information through the use of comics, I really wanted to be able to make my own health comic during the project process that can have a dual purpose – be used as an experimental material in my research but also can get people engaged with health information.”
Determined to support other families, children and loved ones of those with MS, Claire wanted to tell a story that would inform others about the hidden aspects of the condition.
She explains: “I was conscious that I didn’t just want to make the comic about my family’s experience with MS, so I reached out to MS charities to ask them which health topics they felt were either underrepresented or poorly communicated.
“One of the topics on the shortlist was ‘invisible’ symptoms of MS, and I felt as though a comic could do a really nice job of making these invisible symptoms concrete and visible through visual metaphors and raising awareness of the impact that these symptoms can have on daily life for people with MS.”
Invisible symptoms describe aspects of MS that people struggle with but aren’t immediately apparent to others. They include pain, fatigue, brain fog, bladder and bowel difficulties, dizziness and mental health challenges.
Following the Alice in Wonderland narrative, the invisible symptoms are embodied by characters akin to the ones from Wonderland.
“The reasoning for this is embedding unfamiliar concepts in a story that is likely familiar to the majority will hopefully make it slightly less daunting and ‘new’.”
Claire continues: “I am very aware that if someone hasn’t heard of MS before, the health information may seem quite abstract and confusing – like if you were picking up a leaflet about a health condition you didn’t really know about.
“So, throughout the comic, I have tried to use accessible language and avoid unnecessary jargon. I hope this will make it a bit easier for the reader to understand and enhance their engagement through storytelling and impactful visuals.”
Claire adds: “The comic’s main message is that everyone’s MS journey is unique and it is important to be supportive and understanding of the struggles people are going through.
“Even if you can’t visually see what symptoms someone is dealing with, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there and having a big impact on daily life.”
The comic is supported by the University of Aberdeen, University of Dundee, the MS Trust, and the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh. The artwork was created by Cat Laird and Ashling Larkin from CHIP Collective. You can download ‘Through the MS Looking Glass: Navigating the Unseen’ here.
Claire’s PhD is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Four of City of York Council’s parks have been awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award after achieving international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
The council and Friends of Groups – resident organisations who help maintain and improve the parks – are celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for Rowntree Park, West Bank Park, Glen Gardens and Clarence Gardens.
The parks are some of 2,250 in the UK to achieve the award, which is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
Rowntree Park (pictured) has taken back the award this year, having missed out on applying last year due to the extended flooding in spring.
Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency at City of York Council, said:
We’re absolutely delighted that four of York’s beautiful parks have received the Green Flag Award.
It’s a real tribute to the dedication and hard work of our staff, volunteers and local Friends groups who care so passionately for these much-loved green spaces.
“As well as these awards, we are working towards achieving Green Flag status for Hull Road Park in the future.
“Spending time outdoors is vital for everyone’s health and wellbeing, and Parks and gardens like these are so important as free places to exercise, meet friends or simply enjoy nature – now more than ever.”
Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said:
Congratulations to everyone involved in York who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it achieves the high standards required for the Green Flag Award.
“Quality parks and green spaces like these make the country a heathier place to live and work in, and a stronger place in which to invest.
“Crucially all of these parks in York are a vital green space for communities in the city to enjoy nature, and during the ongoing cost of living crisis it is a free and safe space for families to socialise. It also provides important opportunities for local people and visitors to reap the physical and mental health benefits of green space.”
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
City of York Council has unveiled a new draft strategy to support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families in York.
Young people, parents and carers, schools and health and childcare professionals are being invited to share their views on the draft strategy over the next few months.
The five-year strategy, entitled Inclusion and Belonging, sets out to help every child and family in York feel that they belong at school, in their community, and in the wider city.
The strategy has been developed through extensive co-production with young people with SEND and their families. It outlines ten key priorities including:
ensuring that the voice and visibility of children and young people is most important
ensuring that children and young people’s needs are identified at the earliest opportunity
making sure that the right support is available at the right time
Cllr Bob Webb, the council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said:
We want all children and young people to feel that they belong in our city. Their views, together with those of their families, carers, and childcare and health professionals, are essential.
“We want to hear people’s experiences, ideas, and concerns so we can create a final strategy that reflects real lives and needs; one which helps make a significant different to the lives of local children and young people with SEND and their families.”
You can have your say in various ways:
In person: At the Gateway Centre in Acomb on Tuesday 15 July 11-1pm and Monday 21 July 5-7pm
City of York Council is also inviting schools, parents, carers, and young people to share their views on the development of York’s Autism and ADHD Strategy as this work is closely linked to York’s Inclusion and Belonging Strategy.
Inclusion means recognising and valuing all kinds of diversity, including neurodiversity. For children and young people with autism or ADHD, feeling understood, supported, and included at school and in the community is key to a sense of belonging.
You can have your say on the draft Autism and ADHD Strategy at the same events as for the SEND strategy, or complete the online survey at www.york.gov.uk/consultations
The survey will run from Tuesday 15 July until Sunday 7 September. Feedback will be used to shape the final strategy.
Seven parks and cemeteries across Manchester are celebrating this week having found out their Green Flag status has been secured once more.
The Green Flag Awards mark the pinnacle of achievement for green spaces in the UK.
Setting the international benchmark for excellence, the awards look to celebrate places where people feel safe and welcome, where biodiversity is protected and enhanced and where members of the local community can feel their needs are being met.
Manchester City Council is proud to announce the following locations have retained their Green Flag Status:
Alexandra Park
Heaton Park
The Southern Cemetery
Manchester General Cemetery
Blackley Cemetery
Philips Park Cemetery
Gorton Cemetery
These awards shed light on the range of groups, volunteers and staff which devote themselves year-round to the maintenance and upkeep of these areas.
From keeping our cemeteries pristine and peaceful places where families can pay their respects, to ensuring that our parks can act as oases in the midst of our urban environment, we are incredibly proud to share this achievement with the communities that make these places special.
In the past year alone we have seen Manchester Southern Cemetery be designated a as local nature reserve, recognising the important role it plays in its local ecosystem.
Heaton Park is firmly on the map as one of the leading event spaces in the UK, hosting millions of people every year who come to get a taste of Manchester’s musical culture, as well as enjoying the acres of green space that it’s a pleasure to get lost in.
With an estimated 3.2m people visiting Heaton Park alone over the past year, it is safe to say that a huge value is placed on maintaining a range of green space throughout the city.
We are also working to ensure our neighbourhoods are cleaner and greener which is why the Council was incredibly pleased to open a cycleway – 32 miles in length – which links Manchester and Salford in a near contiguous loop.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, said: “I am so proud of everyone whose work led to our retention of this prestigious award.
“Parks and cemeteries play a hugely significant role in the ebb and flow of our daily lives and I am so pleased to see our colleagues and stakeholders rewarded in this way.
“Whether it is the friends-of groups which play an important role in the running of Alexnadra Park, to the business owners that help people enjoy our green spaces, to our partners who help us put on events and attractions all year round, these Green Flags are something everyone should be proud of.”
A Derby small business owner has narrowly escaped a custodial sentence for serving products containing nuts to a customer with a severe nut allergy.
Derby City Council Trading Standards have successfully prosecuted Samantha Brauner, the owner of Small’s Kitchen, after the customer suffered an allergic reaction triggered by eating the product. In May 2024, Small’s Kitchen fulfilled an online order of protein balls.
The customer asked whether the products contained nuts on several occasions, with Ms Brauner stating they did not.
The case was heard at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court on Monday 30 June, where Samantha Brauner pleaded guilty to one charge of supplying unsafe food with undeclared allergens and one charge of selling food which was not of the nature, substance, or quality demanded by the purchaser.
Ms Brauner narrowly escaped a custodial sentence due to her early guilty plea. She was fined £1920 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £768.
The Magistrates acknowledged the severity of the offences brought before them, highlighting the well documented consequences of neglecting allergen management responsibilities.
Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Property, and Regulatory Services, said:
This is a situation that could have had disastrous consequences, which were fortunately avoided.
Our Trading Standards team in securing this prosecution, which serves as a reminder to other businesses that they need to take their allergen management responsibilities seriously.
We will continue to act in the best interests of the people of Derby, who should be able to have confidence in the products they are buying, particularly from local traders.
Should any Derby City based business require allergen management advice, they can contact Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice and Consumer Service helpline.
Source: Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Employees of Orenburgneft, Rosneft’s key production asset in the Volga region, have patented a technology for reducing the content of hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans in associated petroleum gas (APG). The innovation has been implemented at the Vakhitovsky group of fields of the enterprise, which has increased the volume of rational use of APG from 20 to 80 thousand m3 per day. The economic effect from the implementation of the innovation will amount to more than 1 billion rubles within five years.
The essence of the innovation is to purify the gas flow in the pipeline by feeding a liquid reagent-neutralizer, which removes sulfur compounds from the APG without using additional equipment. Then the primarily purified product is sent to the Zagorskaya complex gas treatment plant for subsequent processing.
The company’s specialists were the first to propose the idea of cleaning gas directly in the pipeline, which itself acts as a reactor, and proved its effectiveness. The technology does not require capital expenditures, construction of new facilities or additional equipment.
The introduction of the innovation made it possible to process additional volumes of sulfur-containing associated petroleum gas, increase the production of a wide fraction of light hydrocarbons and dry stripped gas, and supply additional volumes of treated gas to main gas pipelines.
Reference:
JSC Orenburgneft develops oil and gas fields in the Orenburg and Samara regions. Cumulative production is more than 470 million tons of oil.
The Vakhitovsky group of fields is located in the Orenburg region and covers an area of over 283 square kilometers. It includes the Vostochno-Kapitonovskoye, Mamalayevskoye, Tarashchanskoye, Khutorskoye, Donetsko-Syrtovskoye and Vakhitovsky fields. The total volume of current recoverable oil and gas reserves exceeds 39 million tons.
Department of Information and AdvertisingPJSC NK RosneftJuly 16, 2025
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Correspondence
Joint letter from Ofqual and UCAS to students, summer 2025
A letter to students, explaining how exam marking and grade boundaries work, what to do if results aren’t what you expected and how to prepare for results day.
The tried and tested process for marking and grading continues – the standard of work needed to achieve any particular grade is the same each year.
Your grade will be determined by your performance in your exams and assessments.
Most people get their first university choice, your UCAS ‘firm choice’. If you don’t, or you change your mind, there are plenty of options available, with around 28,000 courses in Clearing offering you choice and flexibility.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
UK House Price Index for May 2025
The UK HPI shows house price changes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock.com
The May data shows:
on average, house prices have risen 1.1% since April 2025
there has been an annual price rise of 3.9% which makes the average property in the UK valued at £269,000
England
In England the May data shows, on average, house prices rose by 1.3% since April 2025. The annual price rise of 3.4% takes the average property value to £290,000.
Yorkshire and the Humber experienced the most significant monthly increase with a movement of 2.4%
London saw the biggest monthly price fall, with a reduction of -1.4%
The North East experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 6.3%
The South West saw the lowest annual price growth, with a rise of 1.9%
The regional data for England indicates that:
Price change by region for England
Region
Average price May 2025
Annual change % since May 2024
Monthly change % since Apr 2025
East Midlands
£242,000
5
1.9
East of England
£340,000
4.2
2
London
£566,000
2.2
-1.4
North East
£159,000
6.3
2.2
North West
£209,000
3.3
2
South East
£381,000
2.1
0.4
South West
£304,000
1.9
1.5
West Midlands
£244,000
3.5
2.2
Yorkshire and the Humber
£204,000
5.1
2.4
Repossession sales by volume for England
The lowest number of repossession sales in March 2025 was in the East of England.
The highest number of repossession sales in March 2025 was in the North East and North West.
Repossession sales
March 2025
East Midlands
5
East of England
2
London
12
North East
20
North West
20
South East
17
South West
6
West Midlands
6
Yorkshire and the Humber
8
England
96
Average price by property type for England
Property type
May 2025
May 2024
Difference %
Detached
£473,000
£451,000
4.8
Semi-detached
£285,000
£273,000
4.3
Terraced
£239,000
£232,000
3.1
Flat/maisonette
£226,000
£225,000
0.7
All
£290,000
£281,000
3.4
Funding and buyer status for England
Transaction type
Average price May 2025
Annual price change % since May 2024
Monthly price change % since April 2025
Cash
£276,000
2.5
1.4
Mortgage
£296,000
3.8
1.3
First-time buyer
£243,000
3.2
1.6
Former owner occupier
£353,000
3.6
1
Building status for England
Building status*
Average price March 2025
Annual price change % since March 2024
Monthly price change % since February 2025
New build
£463,000
31.6
3.2
Existing resold property
£290,000
5.8
1.4
*Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
London
London shows, on average, house prices decreased by 1.4% since April 2025. House prices have shown an annual price increase of 2.2% meaning the average price of a property is £566,000.
Average price by property type for London
Property type
May 2025
May 2024
Difference %
Detached
£1,156,000
£1,106,000
4.5
Semi-detached
£716,000
£682,000
5
Terraced
£633,000
£615,000
3
Flat/maisonette
£453,000
£451,000
0.6
All
£566,000
£554,000
2.2
Funding and buyer status for London
Transaction type
Average price May 2025
Annual price change % since May 2024
Monthly price change % since April 2025
Cash
£614,000
2.3
-1.9
Mortgage
£555,000
2.1
-1.2
First-time buyer
£483,000
1.5
-0.8
Former owner occupier
£708,000
3.3
-2.3
Building status for London
Building status*
Average price March 2025
Annual price change % since March 2024
Monthly price change % since February 2025
New build
£620,000
23.8
3.3
Existing resold property
£552,000
0.4
-1.2
*Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
Wales
Wales shows, on average, house prices rose by 0.5% since April 2025. An annual price increase of 5.1% takes the average property value to £210,000.
There were 5 repossession sales for Wales in March 2025.
Average price by property type for Wales
Property type
May 2025
May 2024
Difference %
Detached
£330,000
£312,000
5.7
Semi-detached
£209,000
£198,000
5.7
Terraced
£166,000
£158,000
5
Flat/maisonette
£130,000
£128,000
1.9
All
£210,000
£199,000
5.1
Funding and buyer status for Wales
Transaction type
Average price May 2025%
Annual price change % since May 2024
Monthly price change % since April 2025
Cash
£208,000
4.2
0.9
Mortgage
£210,000
5.6
0.3
First-time buyer
£180,000
5.3
0.5
Former owner occupier
£251,000
5
0.4
Building status for Wales
Building status*
Average price March 2025
Annual price change % since March 2024
Monthly price change % since February 2025
New build
£385,000
26.5
1.4
Existing resold property
£206,000
3.4
1
*Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
UK house prices
UK house prices rose by 3.9% in the year to May 2025, up from the revised estimate of 3.6% in the 12 months to April 2025. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.1% between April 2025 and May 2025, compared with a increase 0.8% from the same period 12 months ago (April 24 and May 2024).
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in May 2025, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 81,000. This is 11.8% lower than a year ago (May 2025). Between April 2025 and May 2025, UK transactions decreased by 25.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
House price monthly increase was highest in Yorkshire and the Humber where prices increased by 2.4% in the year to May 2025. The highest annual growth was in the the North East, where prices increased by 6.3% in the year to May 2025.
The UK HPI is based on completed housing transactions. Typically, a house purchase can take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion. As with other indicators in the housing market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.
We publish the UK House Price Index (HPI) on the second or third Wednesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. We will publish the June 2025 UK HPI at 9:30am on Wednesday 20 August 2025. See calendar of release dates.
We have made some changes to improve the accuracy of the UK HPI. We are not publishing average price and percentage change for new builds and existing resold property as done previously because there are not currently enough new build transactions to provide a reliable result. This means that in this month’s UK HPI reports, new builds and existing resold property are reported in line with the sales volumes currently available.
The UK HPI revision period has been extended to 13 months, following a review of the revision policy (see calculating the UK HPI section 4.4). This ensures the data used is more comprehensive.
Sales volume data is available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions that require us to create a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read revisions to the UK HPI data.
Revision tables are available for England and Wales within the downloadable data in CSV format. See about the UK HPI for more information.
HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency supply data for the UK HPI.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency calculate the UK HPI. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, including HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from the ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.
We take the UK Property Transaction statistics from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries. The number of property transactions in the UK is highly seasonal, with more activity in the summer months and less in the winter. This regular annual pattern can sometimes mask the underlying movements and trends in the data series. HMRC presents the UK aggregate transaction figures on a seasonally adjusted basis. We make adjustments for both the time of year and the construction of the calendar, including corrections for the position of Easter and the number of trading days in a particular month.
UK HPI seasonally adjusted series are calculated at regional and national levels only. See data tables.
The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.
The UK HPI reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.
HM Land Registry provides information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process for properties that are sold for full market value.
The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).
Repossession sales data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.
For England, we show repossession sales volume recorded by government office region. For Wales, we provide repossession sales volume for the number of repossession sales.
Repossession sales data is available from April 2016 in CSV format. Find out more information about repossession sales.
We publish CSV files of the raw and cleansed aggregated data every month for England, Scotland and Wales. We publish Northern Ireland data on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.
HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. Its vision is: “A world-leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future.”
HM Land Registry’s purpose is: “We protect your land ownership and provide services and data that underpin an efficient and informed property market.”
HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership valued at £8 trillion, enabling over £1 trillion worth of personal and commercial lending to be secured against property across England and Wales. The Land Register contains more than 26.5 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 89% of the land mass of England and Wales.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
RSH takes enforcement action against Easy Housing Association
The Regulator of Social Housing has published an enforcement notice for Easy Housing Association
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published an enforcement notice for Easy Housing Association (EHA), as well as making three appointments to its board and requiring EHA to appoint a manager.
EHA, a Birmingham-based landlord providing supported housing through leases, has failed to demonstrate that it is managing its affairs appropriately with the necessary skills and expertise.
RSH has engaged intensively with EHA since the regulatory notice in March 2023 which set out findings that EHA was not delivering the outcomes of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard and the Rent Standard. EHA has however been unable or unwilling to make the needed improvements.
The combination of enforcement actions and interventions are aimed at improving EHA’s capacity and capability to address its failures.
The new appointees are:
Nicole Seymour – Executive Director – Corporate Services (Sanctuary Group)
Sayeed Haris – Executive Director of Property Services (Midland Heart)
Waseem Butt – Director of Building Safety (Midland Heart)
EHA is required to commission an independent review and to appoint a manger to ensure a credible and comprehensive action plan is developed and that capacity is in place for its delivery.
Jonathan Walters, Deputy Chief Executive of RSH, said:
“When landlords cannot or will not resolve issues on their own, we will use our enforcement powers when necessary to make sure things are put right to protect tenants and their homes.
“In this case, EHA has persistently failed to address serious failings and we are taking enforcement action as a result.”
Notes to Editors
A registered provider is responsible for ensuring that it manages itself effectively, achieves the standards set by the regulator, and engages positively with the regulator’s regulatory framework. Where a failure against a standard or other problem has been identified, the regulator expects providers to respond in a prompt and effective manner. It may be necessary for the regulator to step in and exercise its powers under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as amended (the Act) when a provider fails to do so. The regulator has published guidance on how the regulator uses and intends to use its statutory regulatory and enforcement powers.
Sections 219 to 225 of the Act allow the regulator to require a registered provider to take specified action to resolve a specified failure or other problem. Sections 251 to 252 of the Act allow the regulator to require a registered provider to appoint a manager to manage the entirety of their affairs relating to social housing or specific aspects of social housing. Section 269 of the Act enables the regulator to appoint one or more persons as an officer of a private registered provider.
RSH has previously set out its concerns about the long-term viability of the lease-based model, most recently in a report in April 2025.
Portsmouth’s ‘People’s Park’ has been granted a Green Flag Award, making it officially one of the best parks in the UK.
And that’s not all – three other popular areas of Portsmouth – Southsea Rock Garden, Milton Park in Southsea, and Baffins Pond – have also retained a Green Flag status – the international mark of quality for parks and green spaces in the UK.
Portsmouth’s historic Victoria Park has recently had a £2.9m refurbishment, carried out by Portsmouth City Council and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Council Leader Cllr Steve Pitt said:
“A huge amount of work has gone into reinvigorating Victoria Park into Portsmouth’s ‘People’s Park’, so it can continue to be enjoyed by families and people of all ages for years to come.
“Green Flag status is the benchmark for parks and green spaces in UK, so this award is recognition of the hard work to create a park where people and nature come together in harmony. Retaining the award in our other areas also underlines our commitment to maintaining the highest standard of outdoor spaces for our residents.”
Victoria Park was first opened in 1878, and in 2021, a four-year project began to revitalise the park. The fountain and memorials were fully restored, a new under-fives play area created, the aviary restored and new community-use building the ‘Green House’ built in the park’s centre.
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“We’re delighted to see Victoria Park receive the prestigious Green Flag Award, recognising it as one of the country’s best-loved green spaces. Thanks to National Lottery players, this historic park has been restored to its former glory while creating new opportunities for the community to connect with nature and heritage in their city.
“This award is a testament to the dedication of Portsmouth City Council and the local community in making Victoria Park a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable space for generations to come.”
The four Portsmouth areas are among the 2,250 in the UK to achieve the award.
Southsea Rock Garden offers a quiet retreat for visitors and rich habitat for wildlife, and the Friends of Southsea Rock Garden volunteers play a vital role in maintaining and improving it.
Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said:
“Congratulations to everyone involved in Victoria Park who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it achieves the high standards required for the Green Flag Award.
“Quality parks and green spaces like Victoria Park make the country a heathier place to live and work in, and a stronger place in which to invest.
“Crucially, Victoria Park is a vital green space for communities in Portsmouth to enjoy nature, and during the ongoing cost of living crisis it is a free and safe space for families to socialise. It also provides important opportunities for local people and visitors to reap the physical and mental health benefits of green space.”
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
Creative and AI sectors kick-off next steps in finding solutions to AI and copyright
Representatives of both sectors in newly formed expert working groups on AI and copyright.
Representatives of the creative industries and the AI sector to make up newly formed expert working groups on AI and copyright as part of Plan for Change.
Groups will play a vital role in helping to drive forward practical, workable solutions.
Expert groups launch today, as the Technology and Culture Secretaries Chair first round of talks in London.
The Technology and Culture Secretaries kickstart the next phase of work today (Wednesday 16 July) to help deliver a solution which will support AI innovation while ensuring robust protection for our creators and vibrant creative industries as part of the Plan for Change.
A consultation on the UK’s legal framework for copyright which explores how the government can deliver solutions supporting both the creative industries and the AI sector was launched in December last year, attracting 11,500 responses. Close collaboration on the issues raised across the debate has been central to the government’s approach – ensuring both sectors not only have the support they need to drive further growth, but that the British public can share in the successes of 2 sectors which are crucial to the Modern Industrial Strategy.
Representatives of both the AI sector and creative industries have engaged widely with Ministers throughout the consultation process, and the formal launch of new, expert working groups will continue to ensure both sectors play a vital role in supporting the work which will drive forward practical, workable solutions to foster innovation and growth.
Representatives of the creative and AI sectors will now gather in London in the first of a series of regular planned meetings, with the groups made up of key industry figures. They include representatives of:
News Media Association
Alliance for IP
Sony Music Entertainment
Publishers Association
The Guardian
Open AI
Amazon
Meta
Today’s discussions mark the first in a series of planned talks, and will initially focus on the impacts, opportunities, and common ground in the AI and copyright debate, with their work then helping to inform next steps following the conclusion of the government’s consultation.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said:
I am determined to harness expert insights from across the debate as we work together to deliver a solution that brings the legal clarity our creative industries and AI sector badly need in the digital age.
Today’s meeting and the formation of these expert working groups will continue to ensure all voices can be heard so we can reset and refocus on how we can deliver precisely that.
The work we’ll be taking forward in the coming months will ensure we can work in partnership to deliver a fresh start for creatives and AI developers alike.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:
Our world-class creative industries are a key part of our economy which create jobs and drive growth right across the country. These sectors have been recognised as a priority sector by the government and I am fully focused on supporting them to flourish.
We have heard loud and clear the concerns from the creative industries around AI and copyright and these roundtables will give us another chance to consider the best way forward.
We have committed to ensuring a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity, can be trusted and unlocks new opportunities for innovation across the creative sector and wider economy.
Both sectors are a vital part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, and the AI and Copyright consultation considered a broad range of issues in the copyright debate, including how right holders can have a better understanding of how AI developers are using their material and how it has been obtained.
The consultation also explored how access to high-quality data can be improved for AI developers – bolstering their ability to innovate and drive the growth which underpins the government’s Plan for Change.
Today’s talks will also contribute to finalising Terms of Reference for the expert working groups moving forward as they feed into wider discussions with both sectors.