On Monday, 14 April at 21:16hrs police were called to Hillingdon Street, SE17 following reports of a stabbing.
Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated a 21-year-old man for stab injuries.
Sadly, despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead on scene.
Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn said: “I am leading the investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old man that took place at 21:16hrs on Monday, 14 April.
“On Monday, we received multiple 999 calls, to Hillingdon Street, SE17 reporting that a young man had been stabbed and a number of people were seen carrying knives.
“On arrival, officers found a 21-year-old man who had sustained serious stab injuries .He was treated by the London Ambulance Service before he was sadly pronounced dead on scene.
“I can now name the victim as Giovanny Rendon Bedoya from Walworth. His next of kin has been informed and they are currently being supported by specialist officers. Our thoughts remain with them at this incredibly difficult time.
“Following the incident, we immediately made six arrests. Out of the six people arrested, three have been no further actioned and three have been bailed pending further enquiries.
“I would now like to appeal to the public for information. Please, if you saw, heard or have any footage following this incident then please come forward. Your information can significantly help our detectives with their investigation.
“We believe there were many people in the area who saw the group, who haven’t yet come forward to speak to police.
“Were you in the Hillingdon Street area on Monday evening? Did you see anyone acting suspiciously? Did you see anyone carrying a knife? If so please contact police.”
Detective Superintendent Emma Bond who is Acting BCU Commander for Lambeth and Southwark policing added: “I recognise that this incident has caused deep concern across our communities.
“I want to reassure you all today that we are working around the clock to find the perpetrators of this attack and to bring them to justice.
“You can expect to see an increased police presence in the coming days and we have more neighbourhood officers on patrol in the surrounding areas this week.
If anyone has any concerns then please do approach these officers, or their local neighbourhood teams, as we are here to help.
“I want to reiterate what DCI Blackburn has said, and urge anyone who has any information about this incident to contact us on via 101 stating CAD7392/14APR. Alternatively, to remain 100% anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
“Thank you all for your support and our thoughts and prayers go out the family and friends of the victim involved.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
Fatal accident at Ickenham station
Investigation into a fatal injury to a passenger at Ickenham London Underground station, 28 March 2025.
Ickenham Underground station.
At around 22:30 on 28 March 2025, a passenger fell from a platform and on to the track at Ickenham station, which serves the London Underground’s Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines.
The passenger remained on the track and was struck by a train before being discovered by London Underground station staff. The accident resulted in fatal injuries being sustained by the passenger.
Our investigation will seek to identify the sequence of events that led to the accident. It will also consider:
the actions of those involved and anything which may have influenced them
the management of the staff involved in the accident, including their training and competence
the arrangements in place to manage and control the risks of such accidents
any underlying management factors.
Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.
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Derby City Council’s Derby LIVE has been named as the Public’s Business of the Year following a public vote.
The win at the Lots for Tots Awards follows closely on the heels of Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment’s record-breaking production of Cinderella receiving nominations in two categories at the UK Pantomime Association’s Pantomime Awards.
The Lots for Tots Awards recognise and celebrate the exceptional businesses and individuals who make a positive impact on the lives of families throughout Derbyshire.
The Public’s Business of the Year Award specifically honours family-focused organisations that work with or support families and children in the Derbyshire area. This award, along with only one other category, was entirely decided by public vote, highlighting the strong connection Derby LIVE has with the local community.
Derby LIVE’s award success comes after their spectacular pantomime Cinderella, a collaboration with Little Wolf Entertainment, was recognised on a national stage at the UK Pantomime Association’s Pantomime Awards. Facing competition from hundreds of productions across the country, Cinderella received nominations for:
Carmen Silvera Award for Best Magical Being – Mina Anwar (Fairy Godmother) Best Sisters – Morgan Brind and Roddy Peters
While Cinderella didn’t take home the trophies at last weekend’s Awards Ceremony, the nominations themselves are a testament to the high-quality family entertainment produced by Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment.
The cast of Cinderella
Little Wolf won two awards, with their production of Snow White at Loughborough Town Hall named as Best Pantomime (500-900 seats), and Emma Robertson receiving the award for Best Newcomer to the Industry for her role in the same show.
Derby LIVE and Little Wolf are already hard at work creating this year’s magical Derby Arena pantomime, Dick Whittington. Following the unprecedented success of Cinderella, which was Derby’s highest-grossing and best-attended pantomime in the arena’s history, tickets for Dick Whittington are expected to be in high demand. Tickets are on sale now, and families are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy, said:
Since I passed on the ownership of Lots for Tots back in 2022, the business has gone from strength to strength and it’s wonderful to see their annual awards taking off here in Derby. Derby LIVE has been rightly recognised for their tireless work, bringing vibrancy and family fun to Derby. I’m so proud of the entire team.
This recognition, together with the incredible success of Cinderella, fuels our passion for providing these events and we can’t wait to share the magic of Dick Whittington this year.
Book tickets for Dick Whittington at derbylive.co.uk or by calling 01332 255800. The show will be at Derby Arena from Friday 5 December until Wednesday 31 December 2025. Book before 31 May to get tickets at the Early Bird price of £20-£35. Concessions and family ticket savings are available.
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a multistate friend-of-the-court brief defending President Trump and Secretary Linda McMahon in New York v. McMahon. The case arises from a challenge by several Democrat-led states seeking to reinstate federal employees placed on administrative leave and stop upcoming reductions-in-force. The lawsuit seeks to block the administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the U.S. Department of Education, thereby returning power to the states.
The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the Constitution vests authority over the federal workforce in the President under Article II, and that the states, not the courts, should lead on education policy.
“President Trump was elected to clean up bloated federal agencies and put power back where it belongs, with the states and the people,” said Attorney General Wilson. “This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to tie the hands of the President and preserve the failing status quo in education.”
The brief makes clear that managing executive branch employees is a core presidential power, and that Congress created a specific legal process, under the Civil Service Reform Act, for federal employment disputes. The plaintiffs in the case are attempting to bypass that process by asking the courts to reinstate federal workers without following established rules.
The coalition also points out that some states have shown major academic gains after reclaiming control over education policy. Mississippi and Louisiana have seen dramatic improvement in reading and math scores, proof that restoring authority to the states can lead to real results for students.
“South Carolina knows what our students need better than Washington bureaucrats do,” Attorney General Wilson said. “We’re proud to stand with President Trump as he fights to drain the swamp and empower states to fix a broken education system.” The brief cautions the court against interfering in the constitutional separation of powers, noting that the President must be free to manage the federal workforce and set policy priorities without judicial micromanagement.
South Carolina joined Montana, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas in filing the amicus brief.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chloe Orkin, Professor of Infection and Inequities, Centre for Immunobiology, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London
The global outbreak of mpox in 2022-23 affected more than 100 countries and grabbed the attention of the scientific community. Research on mpox has intensified since.
The virus behind the outbreak, technically mpox clade IIb, is spread through close physical contact. During the 2022 outbreak it was found in both sperm and vaginal fluid for the first time. This suggests it is sexually transmissible.
Overall, deaths in the 2022 outbreak were very low: 0.1%. However, in people with very weak immune systems – such as those with advanced HIV – deaths were much higher, at around 15%.
The outbreak was curtailed through public health agencies and doctors working in partnership with those most at risk of the disease – sexually active men who have sex with men. Key interventions included ensuring that people knew what signs to look for and how to protect themselves, as well as offering vaccinations.
The more a virus spreads, the greater the likelihood it will mutate. Mutations can allow the virus to be more easily transmissible. This happened with the clade II virus, which branched into two and resulted in the clade IIb global outbreak in 2022. Something very similar has now happened with clade I. Clade I virus caused 14,626 mpox cases and 654 deaths in 2023.
Health inequality is a killer
Doctors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been battling to contain exponentially rising cases of the more severe clade I mpox, mainly affecting children under 15 and their caregivers.
Mpox can be lethal, especially for children under five years old. The mortality rate for clade I is between 3% and 10%. The variation in mortality rates is due to differences in access to healthcare, such as access to antibiotics, as well as specialist care in hospital and intensive care.
This strain, which has caused significant harm in central African countries such as the DRC, has not attracted the world’s attention in the same way as it has in the west – even though the number of people with the disease was rising year on year. Sadly, it’s very common in global public health for infectious diseases to be neglectedunless they affect people in wealthy countries.
Clade I virus is transmitted through close physical contact, respiratory droplets and contact with infected materials like bedding and infected animals. Historically affected countries, like the DRC, have not had access to the vaccine that helped curtail the outbreak in the US, Europe and the UK.
The vaccine – called Jynneos in the US and Imvanex in Europe – has not been made or sold in Africa so far. And at US$100 per dose (£76), it is beyond the affordability of most low- and middle-income countries.
These countries have relied on donations from philanthropic organisations or from governments. However, during the 2022 mpox outbreak, insufficient vaccines were donated to African countries, and local laboratory capacity – needed to test, monitor and respond to cases – was not significantly strengthened. According to experts, wealthier nations, international health agencies and global health donors should have taken the lead in addressing these gaps, but their support fell far short of what was needed.
In 2024, the mpox virus spread very quickly from the Kivu area of the DRC, which is on the eastern border with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda – and caused over 16,000 new cases and 511 deaths. The rapid spread among heterosexual people who were moving across porous borders with neighbouring countries – and within camps of internally displaced people – prompted scientists to study the virus to see if it had mutated.
The virus has changed significantly enough to warrant being named as a new sub-variant: clade Ib.
These changes may have enabled the rapid spread to several other African countries and the first ever case of clade I virus in Europe (Sweden) in a returning traveller.
Vaccine accessibility
So what does this mean for people in wealthy countries? The risk to the general population is very low. However, travellers to affected countries who mix with affected communities are at risk of contracting mpox and transmitting it to close contacts on return.
We live in an interconnected world, so cases of the new strain are extremely likely to be identified in the coming weeks and months in many countries. But this does not make a global outbreak of clade Ib inevitable. The tools needed to limit the virus from spreading are in use already: community engagement, contact tracing, laboratory surveillance of new cases to monitor spread of clade Ib virus, and vaccination.
Anyone who develops symptoms after being in contact with a returning traveller should isolate and follow national guidance on where to attend for medical care. It’s essential to do this as soon as possible after noticing symptoms because being vaccinated within four days of exposure can limit the likelihood of getting mpox and the severity – and length – of infection.
Mpox causes skin lesions that look like blisters which become filled with pus after a few days – and it can cause ulcers in the mouth and on the genitals and bottom. People diagnosed with mpox should isolate and limit close physical and sexual contact while they have lesions.
Stopping this outbreak is possible if affected countries are equipped with three things: access to free diagnostic tests, laboratory capacity to determine the mpox clade so the extent of the outbreak can be monitored and, most important, equal access to the vaccine.
Millions of doses will be needed to protect people in affected countries. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization will allow better coordination of the international response, such as emergency licensing of the vaccine in all countries and greater capacity to buy and make the vaccine where it is needed most.
Chloe Orkin 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.
King Charles’s recent visit to the Vatican may appear to be simply a symbolic gesture of ecumenical goodwill. But moments like this provide an opportunity to look at the long-term consequences of church-state relations around the world.
Today’s religious identities have more to do with political decisions made centuries ago than with personal faith. Spain and Portugal are predominantly Catholic not because of the individual choices of their population, but because their monarchs aligned (and maintained the hegemony) of the Roman Catholic church-state. In England, on the other hand, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in the 1530s, challenging (“protesting”) against the universal papal authority and leading to the establishment of the Church of England.
This religious split also carried over to former colonies. Compare the US, (a Protestant country) to Mexico or Brazil (Catholic countries), and you’ll see the long shadow of these old decisions. My research shows the profound and lasting consequences of religion on these societies.
My findings suggest that countries with historical and legal alignments with the Catholic church — such as Spain, Portugal, Austria, Ireland and much of Latin America — tend to underperform on a number of metrics, including inequality and education, and have more political corruption compared to states that maintained institutional separation (such as through the Protestant Reformation). Historical Protestant countries include the UK, Switzerland, Scandinavian and North American countries.
In particular, countries with strong traditional links to the Catholic church tend to exhibit higher levels of corruption and inequality. They also perform weaker in education, sustainability and competitiveness compared to Protestant countries.
Prosperity and educational differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics are evident even within countries. In Switzerland, the Protestant cantons (such as Geneva and Zurich) are currently the most competitive, while the Roman Catholic cantons (such as Ticino and Valais) are the least competitive. In Germany, Protestants are more educated (0.8 years more) and more prosperous (5.4% higher income) than Catholics.
Before the Reformation, literacy in England was below 10%, and the Roman church largely monopolised education. The Protestant emphasis on individual reading – especially of the Bible – dramatically increased literacy rates and access to knowledge. This paved the way for broader democratic participation, industrialisation and innovation.
Protestantism similarly proved influential in historical law revolutions, gradually separating society from feudal institutions and papalist medieval canon law.
In Britain, the Reformation was not just a theological shift, but a political one, breaking institutional ties with Rome and affirming national sovereignty. The long-term effects of that decision have echoed through the UK’s democratic and economic development.
Church-state relations
The Vatican’s political influence is often underestimated. The Roman Catholic church is the only religious body that is, at the same time, a sovereign political state – with ambassadors, diplomatic immunity and seats at international forums. The pope holds absolute executive, legislative and judicial authority.
Many of today’s Catholic-majority countries maintain formal relations with the Roman See through bilateral treaties called concordats. These agreements exert the power of the church in countries that have them, and are rarely democratically consulted with the population.
In Colombia, for example, concordats throughout history have linked religion and politics, have given church-influenced groups power over the economy, and allowed Rome to control what is taught in public and private education at all levels.
Since then, liberal efforts have reestablished much of the state’s power. But the effects are still evident in the strong cultural identity and presence of Catholicism in the country. Colombia has one of the highest proportions of adults raised as Roman Catholics in the world (92%), after Paraguay (94%).
Historically, informal gestures of religious diplomacy have laid the groundwork for further cooperation and formal agreements with Rome.
But King Charles’s recent Vatican visit is more diplomatic than anything. It reflects modern efforts to maintain and strengthen state-to-state relations and discuss shared global concerns like climate change and peacebuilding.
It is for this reason that the king’s visit matters – not because a formal treaty is on the table, but because it shows the strength of the UK’s experience since the Reformation. An exemplary model of the success of church-state separation, British democracy and prosperity have thrived for centuries – without formal entanglements with the Catholic church.
Dr Jason Garcia-Portilla earned his PhD in Organization Studies and Cultural Theory at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), financed with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship–ESKAS. Additionally, he holds an MSc in Climate Change and Policy from the University of Sussex in the UK (funded by the British Chevening Scholarship).
Source: United States Department of Justice (video statements)
On April 1, 2025, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker.
President Zelenskyy, Dear Volodymyr, It is important for me to be standing next to you today in Odesa, a city that has been under constant attack throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Only this weekend, Russia attacked residential buildings and a hospital here with kamikaze drones. Today we both visited a hospital where I talked with some of the people injured in the war.
Just two days ago, in Sumy on Palm Sunday –the holiest day in the Christian calendar – two Russian ballistic missiles killed over 30 civilians – men, women, children. Over 100 were injured – many seriously. This is simply outrageous. It’s part of a terrible pattern of Russia attacking civilian targets and infrastructure across Ukraine. Even hundreds of hospitals and medical workers have been targeted over the last years.
I am here today because I believe Ukraine’s people deserve real peace – real safety and security in their country. In their homes. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. Those who lost loved ones in these recent strikes. And so many over the years. Those who have been injured. Or lost their homes. Or had their dreams shattered by this unjust and unlawful war.
So I am here with you today, dear Volodymyr, To affirm to you and the Ukrainian people this simple message: NATO stands with Ukraine.
You and I know that this has been true all along. I also know that some have called NATO’s support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt. Our support is unwavering.
NATO continues to provide political and practical support for Ukraine by delivering security assistance and training through our command in Wiesbaden. And we work closely together in Kyiv and in Brussels.
What’s more, just in the first three months of 2025, NATO Allies have already pledged more than 20 billion euros in security assistance for Ukraine this year. Our commitment is clear – and concrete. We saw further contributions as you rightly said from Allies during the latest Ramstein meeting that was held in Brussels on Friday
Our support to Ukraine is designed to ensure that your country is strong and sovereign. Able to defend today and to deter any future aggression. All of this to underpin the efforts towards a just and lasting peace.
Indeed, today we again spoke about the important talks that President Trump is leading with Ukraine as well as with Russia to try to end the war and secure a durable peace. These discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence – but we all support President Trump’s push for peace.
Other Allies – including through efforts led by France and the United Kingdom – are ready, willing and able to shoulder more responsibility in helping to secure a peace when the time comes.
So let me say again – to the people of Ukraine. We stand with you. And look forward to a day that the brave men and women of this incredible country can enjoy freedom without fear. So dear Volodymyr, thank you for inviting me here today. I am grateful for your leadership, for our friendship, and for our continued cooperation.
Slava Ukraini.
Question: I have one question for both of you but in different forms. First of all today Mr. Witkoff said that the peace agreement that is being discussed as we understand with Russia includes some five territories , there is no NATO, there is no five article. That is why I have a different question to you. Mr General Secretary do you understand what Russia and America discussed about NATO without you and what it means for NATO, for Ukraine and for all the world? (continues in Ukrainian)
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Let me first say that I want to commend President Trump for breaking the deadlock and starting these talks about peace in Ukraine. I think this is important because we have seen so many people die, we have seen so many cities being destroyed, the infrastructure having been targeted by the Russians so I think this is an important effort. And I have decided not to comment on all the intermediate stages of this whole process because I do not want to interfere with the peace process. Whatever we do when it comes to helping here we do as discreetly as possible and I cannot comment on this in the press. I am sorry.
Question: Mr Secretary General thank you for being here. The first question to you is, is there any information you could disclose on the update of the naval deployment of the coalition of the willing for securing of the Black Sea security situation? (Continues in Ukrainian)
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: NATO is involved in a couple of these talks. We are of course following closely with our American friends, the initiatives by President Trump to bring Ukraine and Russia to a ceasefire and we support those efforts. Then through our command in Wiesbaden, so-called NSATU, we are working with Ukraine. And you had a visit last week of the French and the British senior officers here in Ukraine to discuss, going forward, what will be the best format to organise the Ukrainian armed forces for the future. Of course it will also help now with the fight against the Russians but also for the long term future. Because that will, in any case, be the first line of deterrence to make sure that whenever a peace deal is struck/a ceasefire is agreed, that the Ukrainian armed forces are, as the first line of deterrence, capable and able long term to defend the country. And there are initiatives ongoing, and I think you are particularly now referring to what the French and the Brits are working on through the Coalition of the Willing. And we are also very much, of course, part of those talks and trying to advise wherever we can these discussions in the right direction. And I am very happy that the French and the Brits took this initiative to make sure that when, as a first line of defence, you have the Ukrainian armed forces, post a peace deal/ceasefire, that there might be more necessary to make sure that Putin will never ever ever ever try this again. Because nobody wants to get back to a situation of Minsk 2014, where you think you have a sort of peace deal but basically it is not strong enough, it is not holding and Putin tries this again. And whenever we come to a conclusion of this terrible war, it has to be clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that he can never ever try again to capture one square kilometre or one square mile of Ukraine. So that is why the French, the Brits and others are discussing what we need more, on top of Ukrainian armed forces going forward, to make sure that that guarantee is there. This is all still being debated. It will also depend, it is my absolute conviction, on the exact outcome of a peace deal/a ceasefire and hopefully a strong combination of the two. What exactly will be that format and how it will work and who will do what, etc. These talks are ongoing. As we are preparing for that hopeful soon-to-be-achieved eventuality, I hope of course that NATO tries to steer that in the direction we think will be advisory.
(response from President Zelenskyy in Ukrainian)
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: maybe I can add one sentence that Türkiye has in 2022 already successfully agreed a ceasefire on the grain deal, they agreed to a grain deal in 2022, so let’s be positive about the fact that Türkiye again tries to bring together all relevant parties and let’s hope they are successful.
Question: in Ukrainian
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Yes they are the aggressor. Let me be very clear. Russia is the aggressor. Russia started this war and there is no doubt.
The European rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products recorded more than 4000 alerts in 2024. Cosmetics (36%) remain the most frequently reported products posing health risks, followed by toys (15%), electrical appliances (10%), motor vehicles (9%) and chemical products (6%).
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp visits Ukraine, reiterates support for legislative and institutional framework on national minority issues
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp visits Ukraine, reiterates support for legislative and institutional framework on national minority issues | OSCE
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Coop Pank invites shareholders, investors, analysts and other stakeholders to join its investor webinar, scheduled on 23 April 2025 at 9 am (EET). The webinar will be held in Estonian.
The webinar will be hosted by the Chairman of the Board Margus Rink and the Chief Financial Officer Paavo Truu, who present the unaudited financial results of the First Quarter of 2025.
During the webinar all attendees can ask questions. All questions will be answered after the presentation.
Registrants will be sent a link to the webinar and a reminder email one hour before the start of the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and published on the company’s website www.cooppank.ee and on our YouTube account.
Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The number of clients using Coop Pank for their daily banking has reached 211,000. Coop Pank aims to put the synergy generated by the interaction of retail business and banking to good use and to bring everyday banking services closer to people’s homes. The strategic shareholder of the bank is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti comprising 320 stores.
The cultural and creative industries are a growing source of income and job creation around the world, generating tens of millions of jobs. The cultural sector is also linked to soft power, to relations between countries.
Because of this, culture is an active part of the agenda of the G20 global economic forum. Under the presidency of South Africa in 2025, the G20 has chosen four key culture focus areas: heritage restitution; socio-economic strategies for inclusivity; digital technologies; and climate action.
Here, as a scholar of the sector, I outline why these four priorities are relevant to both the G20 and the African continent, and to South Africa itself as the host country, in the light of current global trends and issues.
G20 and culture
The relationship between culture and development is increasingly emphasised. The 2022 Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – or Mondiacult – recommended that culture be a “stand-alone” sustainable development goal.
This proposal is underlined by the UN’s Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024. The 17 sustainable development goals, adopted by the UN in 2015, are to ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030. They include goals like zero hunger and reduced inequalities.
As the global order shifts, new actors from the global south are emerging as the Brics group. However, the G20 is the only forum that includes countries from both the global north and south.
The G20, like the G7 and Brics, has a tradition of including culture among the items for discussion at ministerial level, supported by a working group.
Under Brazil’s presidency in 2024, the G20 Culture Working Group highlighted the relationship between education and culture. This was in line with Unesco’s Framework for Culture and Arts Education. Taking over the G20 presidency, South Africa has expanded on the cultural agenda.
Cultural heritage
Priority 1: the safeguarding and restitution of cultural heritage to protect human rights.
This relates to cultural property, mainly stolen during colonisation and displayed in global south museums. It’s one of the key issues in the heritage sector today.
After years of demands by formerly colonised countries, there’s a growing list of high profile objects being sent back home. France returned 26 Dahomey Kingdom royal treasures to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar Tall to Senegal; 119 Benin bronzes came from the Netherlands to Nigeria. Akan cultural objects were restituted from Japan to Côte d’Ivoire.
This global issue has particularly affected African countries. South Africa, too, knows its importance, with the repatriation of the human remains of Saartjie Baartman by France.
The Mondiacult 2022 declaration calls the return of cultural heritage an “ethical imperative”. It’s part of the respect for cultural rights and human rights.
For South Africa, one of the most influential countries on the continent, this is a good way to support the 2023 position of the African Union (AU) on the urgent return of this heritage. Improving the relationship between the global north and south requires this kind of debate.
Inclusive development
Priority 2: integrating cultural policies in socio-economic strategies to ensure inclusive, rights-based development.
The importance of cultural goods and services in national and international trade has been highlighted many times. Statistics show they make up a healthy share of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
A 2021 study found that the cultural and creative industries contributed 4.3% to South Africa’s GDP. At African level, they are estimated to generate US$45.35 billion in income and 15.87 million jobs. According to the 2024 UN Creative Economy Outlook, exports of creative services globally rose to $1.4 trillion in 2022, an increase of 29% since 2017. Exports of creative goods reached US$713 billion, an increase of 19%.
South Africa can play a leading role in this priority, having drafted a national policy paper on trade agreements involving the creative and cultural industries. The country’s Creative Industries Vision 2040 aims for an annual growth rate of 6.8% of GDP for these industries.
However, the creative economy should be rights-based development and inclusive of local communities, young people and women. The G20 countries will need to work together to support policies that enhance sustainability and equity for creative workers. This is especially important in Africa where the creative economy is largely informal and unprotected.
Digital technologies
Priority 3: harnessing digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture and sustainable economies.
Digital technology is transforming the creative economy value chain. In my survey of the COVID era’s harsh impact on creative workers, I found that digital media, online games, music and audiovisual content were able to be resilient. Their value chains, from creator to user, don’t require high levels of face-to-face interaction, and online tools can be used effectively.
In 2024 the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported that, in 2022, the most exported creative services globally were software services (41.3%), research and development (30.7%), advertising, market research and architecture (15.5%), audiovisual services (7.9%), information services (4%) and cultural, recreational and heritage services (0.6%).
While digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can be seen as a threat to creativity and intellectual property, they can also be used to promote respect for communities and creators. The development of monitoring software for collecting music rights payments is an example.
In 2021 the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a recommendation on the ethics of AI. It proposes that AI tools be used for the benefit of the promotion, preservation, enrichment and accessibility of intangible or tangible cultural heritage. This issue is crucial because Mondiacult 2022 declared that culture is a “global public good” and the G20 must fund research and development of the most appropriate and advanced AI tools.
Climate change
Priority 4: the intersection of culture and climate change – shaping global responses.
The challenges of climate change require a range of responses. Intangible cultural heritage (like oral traditions, social practices, rituals) can help to teach how ancient societies organised their relationships with nature and how they dealt with changes.
Art, theatre, film, gaming and many other cultural forms can educate and raise awareness about this urgent issue. The African continent has a rich cultural diversity and is a potential source of many unexpected and insightful solutions.
Keeping it relevant
These four priorities reflect what is important on the continent. Africa will benefit from the collective efforts of the G20 countries in implementing such priorities. The presence of the AU as a permanent member of the G20 will support South Africa’s leadership and advance the continent’s cause.
The challenge to the culture working group is to come up with relevant recommendations that can be endorsed by the G20 Ministerial Meeting. The 2024 G7 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, along with the AU and the African Development Bank, has set the tone. Their Naples Statement on culture for the sustainable development of Africa and the world notes that the G7 countries “intend to work with African governments to harness culture as a key driver of sustainable development”.
A G20 summit on African soil cannot do less. It has all the potential it needs to support the African cultural sector in a variety of ways.
Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse 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 Kylie Thomas, Senior Researcher and Senior Lecturer (Radical Humanities Laboratory, University College Cork), NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Ernest Cole is famous for photographing the everyday realities of South Africa’s racist apartheid system. His 1967 book House of Bondage ensured his damning critique of the white minority regime was seen by the world. But its publication sent him into exile and was banned at home.
The startling discovery of a vast archive of his work in a Swedish bank vault in 2017 has returned him to public view.
It would win the documentary prize at the Cannes Film Festival and show around the world, restoring the legacy of a photographer who died penniless in New York in 1990 at the age of 49.
As a researcher of South African photography under apartheid, I was intrigued by how the film would convey this complex life story.
It draws extensively on Cole’s images, made in South Africa, Europe and the US. It’s a beautiful, poetic interpretation of how his images mirrored his own experiences of oppression, displacement and the loneliness of exile.
House of Bondage
Cole was just 10 when the state introduced the Group Areas Act and entrenched racial segregation. He was 22 when his childhood neighbourhood of Eersterust was razed to the ground. His family was among the thousands forcibly removed to a new township.
In his second year of high school, he elected to drop out. The state had introduced Bantu Education, designed to ensure Black children learned only enough for a life of servitude.
Cole began to study by correspondence, taking a course with the New York Institute for Photography. By 18, he’d landed a position as a darkroom assistant at Drum magazine, working alongside German photographer Jürgen Schadeberg.
In 1959, Cole saw a copy of French street photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The People of Moscow, and decided he would create a similar book to convey what it meant to live under apartheid.
He spent six years taking the photographs that would become House of Bondage, a book that exposed the apartheid state.
Determined to publish his images, he fled to the US in 1966, where his book appeared a year later. Acclaimed internationally, it was banned for 22 years in South Africa. Cole was prohibited from returning home and spent the next 20 years stateless.
He hoped to find freedom in America. Instead he felt pigeonholed as a Black photographer, dismayed at only ever being commissioned to document suffering.
He made hundreds of photographs of people in Harlem, often drawn to scenes that were impossible in South Africa. Mixed-race couples holding hands in public, young people of different races hanging out, neon signs offering “Sex, sex, sex” rather than the “Whites only” signs of segregation he documented at home.
Commissioned to take photos in the Deep South, he found the same suffering and racism he’d thought particular to South Africa.
In a letter to the Norwegian government requesting an emergency travel certificate to leave the US, he wrote:
Exposing the truth at whatever cost is one thing. But having to live a lifetime of being a chronicler of misery and injustice and callousness is another.
A life in fragments
For me, the most poignant moment of the film is the footage of Cole speaking in his own voice in a 1969 documentary. A slight man with a sorrowful gaze, he’s seated at a table with prints of his photos:
I’ve been banned in absentia, but that doesn’t matter because it (his book) will stand in the future. Because I’m sure South Africa will be free.
His youthful conviction is undercut by the presence, in his voice, of the weight of all he’s experienced. Correspondence shows Cole’s book was sent to government officials in the US and Europe, and to the United Nations, but it would take decades of resistance before apartheid fell.
Despite his fame, and the support of leading international photographers, writers and editors, Cole’s determination was ground down by the racism he encountered everywhere he went. Although he received grants to continue his work, he descended into poverty and depression.
By the mid-1980s he stopped taking photos – his cameras were lost, stolen, or sold, and he learned that his belongings, including negatives and prints that he’d left in a hotel storage room in New York, had been discarded. Cole was destitute and ill.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he watched Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 from his hospital bed. Cole died in New York that same year. All his negatives and the work he’d made during his life in exile were thought to be lost.
Finding Ernest Cole
Peck’s meditative film draws on Cole’s notebooks and letters, along with research interviews, in a rather bold attempt to have him “tell his own story”. It’s a story driven by both curiosity and heartbreak, narrated by actor LaKeith Stanfield, whose rather jarring American accent gives voice to a South African experience.
Although she’s not mentioned in the credits, Peck’s script draws heavily on interviews by Swedish curator and researcher Gunilla Knape. Her association with the Hasselblad Foundation might account for why she remains unacknowledged – the organisation is linked to the ongoing controversy over ownership of Cole’s work.
In 2017, Cole’s nephew, Leslie Matlaisane, received an email requesting that he travel to Sweden to discuss the return of items belonging to his uncle, discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm.
The film includes footage of Matlaisane’s journey to Sweden and the bizarre scene that unfolds as Cole’s archive is returned without any explanation about how it came to be either lost or found, or who’d placed it there.
The boxes included 60,000 negatives, and Cole’s notebooks and research materials for House of Bondage. An incredible trove of history has resurfaced, but as Peck’s film shows, Cole himself was irrecoverably lost in exile.
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is showing in Johannesburg. It can be streamed on various services.
Kylie Thomas 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.
Temporary duties imposed on engine oils and hydraulic fluids
The Government has accepted the TRA’s recommendation to impose provisional duties on imports of engine oils and hydraulic fluids from Lithuania and the UAE.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has today (16/04/2025) accepted the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA)’s recommendation to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of engine oils and hydraulic fluids from Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following evidence of dumping that has caused injury to UK industry. These measures will be in effect for a period of up to six months.
A Provisional Affirmative Determination (PAD) allows temporary duties to be imposed while a full investigation is completed.
The investigation, which was initiated in June 2024, found on a preliminary basis that UK producers were being undercut by an average of 37% of UK sales prices, causing material injury to domestic industry. The TRA’s investigation followed an application from UK manufacturer Aztec Oils Ltd.
The investigation covers certain engine oils and hydraulic fluids, including passenger car motor oils, heavy-duty commercial vehicle oils, and hydraulic oils.
In its Provisional Affirmative Determination, the TRA has recommended provisional duties ranging from 11.60% to 24.95% for individual participating companies and countrywide rates of 49.59% for Lithuania and 59.40% for the UAE.
UK producers are expected to benefit from these measures by between £5 million and £55 million, depending on their ability to adjust prices in response to the duties.
The TRA will continue its full investigation while these provisional measures are in place.
Note to editors:
The Trade Remedies Authority is the independent UK body that investigates whether new trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
The TRA is an arm’s length body of the Department for Business and Trade.
Anti-dumping duties allow a country or union to act against goods which are being sold at less than their normal value – this is defined as the price for ‘like goods’ sold in the exporter’s home market.
The period of investigation is from 1 April 2023 to 21 March 2024.
In February 2025, the co-chairs of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) Technical Working Groups (TWGs) from humanitarian emergencies around the world gathered in Ethiopia for a global meeting to strengthen interagency coordination and share country-level experiences.
Hosted by WHO Ethiopia and convened by the IASC MHPSS Reference Group, the meeting brought together 40 MHPSS leaders from 29 emergency settings, including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The four-day strategic forum provided an opportunity for participants to exchange practical approaches to coordination, identify common challenges, and explore solutions to strengthen MHPSS service delivery in crisis settings. It also reinforced the importance of country-led leadership, peer learning, and interagency collaboration in advancing the MHPSS agenda in emergencies. The IASC MHPSS Reference Group serves as a global platform and is the highest level of humanitarian coordination in MHPSS. It is co-chaired by WHO and IFRC and comprises 65 member organizations, including NGOs, UN agencies, international agencies, and academics.
This was this was the second meeting of its kind organized by the Reference Group, following the first held in Ukraine in 2019. The wide geographic representation and diversity of agency and sectors contributed to productive discussions and exchanges. Participants rated the meeting highly, highlighting the value of the interactive sessions, peer learning opportunities, and combination of theoretical learning, real-world case study exercises to practice skills, and one-on-one consultation clinics with global and country-level technical experts.
Global MHPSS TWG Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 3-6 Feb 2025 – packed with sessions on multisectoral deep dives, tool and method highlights, country experiences, consultations, technical insights, team building and learnings, and interactive exercises on technical topics such as IASC tools including the MHPSS Minimum Service Package, MHPSS coordination, mapping, monitoring and evaluation, assessments, etc.
In the same week, an MHPSS global-national forum was organized to capitalize on the presence of international MHPSS country leaders and engage national professionals in Ethiopia dedicated to enhancing MHPSS in humanitarian crises. The event, organized by IASC MHPSS RG and WHO Ethiopia, featured a series of high-level and technical interventions focused on ways to strengthen MHPSS coordination and service delivery, particularly in Ethiopia, and globally. Speakers included the WHO Representative to Ethiopia, the IASC MHPSS RG Co-chairs from WHO and IFRC, TWG chairs, and representatives from Africa CDC, UNICEF, ECHO, the Embassy of the Netherlands, country offices of partner agencies.
Following the Global MHPSS TWG meeting, an Academic Writing training was held from February 8 to 9. This training, convened by the IASC MHPSS RG and hosted by ARQ International, and co-organized by WHO, the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team and Intervention journal, brought together MHPSS experts to support the development of country-led, evidence-based documentation and publications. Participants took part in theoretical presentations, interactive exercises, and dedicated writing time, covering essential topics such as formulating working titles, pitching ideas, drafting outlines, navigating the publication process, and leveraging AI tools. Ongoing technical support is being provided to assist participants in finalizing and submitting their publications.
MHPSS Academic Writing Training, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 8-9 Feb 2025
Together, the global meeting, national forum, and academic writing training represented a coordinated effort to strengthen MHPSS leadership, collaboration, and evidence generation in humanitarian settings. These events underscored the value of sustained investment in interagency coordination and knowledge sharing to improve mental health and psychosocial support for people affected by crises.
Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)
DETROIT – Michael Shapiro, 73, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for issuing death threats to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (“CAIR”) Michigan Chapter, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Chad Baugh, Chief of the Canton Police Department.
According to court documents, Shapiro, of West Palm Beach, Florida, placed three separate phone calls to CAIR’s office located in Canton, Michigan, and left voicemails containing the following threats:
December 8, 2023: “I’m going to kill you bastards. I’m going to kill you bastards.”
December 14, 2023: ““I’m going to kill you mother f*****g bastards. Muslims! I’m going to kill you mother f*****s. I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”
December 15, 2023: “You’re a violent people. Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? Mother f*****s. You’re violent. You’re killers. You’re rapists. I’m going to kill you mother f*****s!”
Shapiro pleaded guilty on December 3, 2024 to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Shapiro also admitted that he intentionally selected CAIR as the victim of his threat because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of the people who work at and are assisted by CAIR.
“No one should be able to instill fear on an entire community by threatening violence. Today’s sentence sends a strong message that people who do so, especially when motivated by bias, will be aggressively prosecuted and severely punished, ” Acting U.S. Attorney Beck said.
“Today’s sentencing of Michael Shapiro highlights the severe consequences of hate-driven threats and sends a strong message to others with similar malicious intentions,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “The FBI in Michigan remains committed to investigating and dismantling individuals or groups that sow fear and hatred within our communities. Mr. Shapiro’s sentence serves as a stark reminder of our critical role in investigating federal hate crimes. We are dedicated to fostering positive relationships with our community, including faith-based organizations. In partnership with the Canton Police Department and the successful prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, we have ensured justice was served by holding Mr. Shapiro accountable for his actions.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Canton Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson.
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) today published its 2024 Annual Report, which provides an overview of the joint ESAs work completed during the past year.
The ESAs continued to explore and monitor potential emerging risks for financial markets participants and the financial system.
The main areas of cross-sectoral focus in 2024 were joint risk assessments, sustainable finance, operational risk and digital resilience, consumer protection, financial innovation, securitisation, financial conglomerates and the European Single Access Point (ESAP). Among the Joint Committee’s main deliverables were policy products for the implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) as well as ongoing work related to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Background
In 2024, ESMA chaired the Joint Committee with all three ESAs coordinating discussions and the exchange of information across their institutions, the European Commission and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).
The Joint Committee is a forum with the objective of strengthening cooperation between the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), collectively known as the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs).Through the Joint Committee, the three ESAs coordinate their supervisory activities in the scope of their respective responsibilities regularly and closely and ensure consistency in their practices.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published an updated list of indicators for risk assessment and risk analysis tools, together with the accompanying methodological guide. Without adding any reporting burden on reporting institutions nor on competent authorities, this guidance describes how risk indicators are computed in EBA publications. It will allow competent authorities and users of EBA data to interpret key bank figures in a consistent fashion when conducting their risk assessments and analyses.
This update is based on the EBA reporting framework version 4.0 and covers indicators on institutions’ profitability, solvency and operational risk, among others. The update also includes a new sets of risk indicators laid down in the Banking Package (Capital Requirements Regulation and Capital Requirements Directive – CRR3/CRD6), indicators related to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and those already used in the context of the Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL).
Zurich, Switzerland, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freename is all set to revolutionize the domain industry by introducing the first universal marketplace dealing with decentralized and traditional domain names, all in one place. Launched on April 7, 2025, the domain marketplace serves as the first-of-a-kind universal platform, combining DNS and blockchain domain ecosystems. Termed as ‘Freename Aftermarket’, the unified platform provides users with seamless trading opportunities. Initially, users are invited to join with zero percent fees for a limited time, and there are exclusive rewards as well.
One-Stop Solution for Brands and Domain Investors
With the launch of this all-in-one domain marketplace, Freename is setting a new standard in domain trading. Users now have the ability to list and purchase Web3 and DNS domains within a single, user-friendly platform.
The secondary-domain marketplace offers ICANN-registered domains for sale, along with Web3 domains launched by Freename, Unstoppable Domains (UD), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), and Base Name Service (BNS). So, it’s a relatively bigger pool for brands and domain traders alike.
This platform will likely gain traction because it doesn’t charge commission on domain trading. For starters, Freename Aftermarket offers domain trading at 0% commission.
Furthermore, to incentivize early adoption, the first-ever ICANN-accredited and Web3 domain registrar will offer exclusive rewards, including a special Discord badge, Freename credits and free Web3 domain drops for early listers.
With this unique and innovative business venture, the Freename team looks confident that it can revolutionize the domain aftermarket industry. “This marks a historic moment in the domain industry,” said Davide Vicini, CEO and Co-Founder at Freename.
This marketplace focuses on creating a more dynamic environment for domain investors. Not only does it offer domains for sale, but it also provides support to new buyers and sellers via domain appraisal sessions.
With Web3 domains gaining mainstream adoption, Freename’s multi-chain approach ensures interoperability across leading blockchain networks. By bridging DNS and Web3 domains, the platform empowers users with a secure, scalable, and decentralized marketplace.
About Freename
Freename is the leading multi-chain Web3 namespace platform, enabling users to mint, manage, and trade domains across major blockchain networks. As a bridge between Web2 and Web3, Freename offers innovative tools for domain security, brand protection, and decentralized ownership.
Shell plc’s 2025 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) scheduled to be a hybrid meeting, facilitating both physical and virtual attendance
Shareholders encouraged to vote in advance of the AGM, but voting enabled during the meeting for those formally in attendance
Today, Shell plc (the “Company”) posted its Notice of 2025 Annual General Meeting (the “Notice”), which can be viewed and downloaded from shell.com/agm. The AGM is scheduled to be held at the Sofitel London Heathrow Hotel – Terminal 5, London Heathrow Airport, London TW6 2GD at 10:00 (UK time) on Tuesday May 20, 2025. Further details on how to join or watch the AGM can be found within the Notice.
National Storage Mechanism In accordance with the UK Listing Rules, a copy of each of the documents below is being submitted to the National Storage Mechanism (“NSM”) and will be available for inspection at data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism:
Notice of the 2025 AGM;
Notice of Availability of Shareholder Documents; and
Proxy Form relating to the 2025 AGM.
Printed copies of the Notice and associated documents are being despatched to those shareholders who have elected to receive paper communications.
Shell Media Relations International: +44 20 7934 5550
LEI number of Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70 Classification: Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of the United Kingdom.
Jerusalem –As Israeli forces resume and expand their military offensive by air, ground and sea on the Gaza Strip, Palestine, forcibly displacing people and deliberately blocking essential aid, Palestinian lives are once again being systematically destroyed, warns Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). A series of deadly attacks by Israeli forces have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of humanitarian and medical workers in Gaza.
We call on Israeli authorities to immediately lift the inhumane and deadly siege on Gaza, protect the lives of Palestinians, humanitarian and medical personnel, and for all parties to restore and sustain the ceasefire.
“Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance. We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza,” says Amande Bazerolle, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza. “With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care.”
Over 50,000 people have been killed since October 2023, nearly a third of whom are children, according to the Ministry of Health. Since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to local authorities.
According to the United Nations, at least 409 aid workers, most of whom were UNWRA staff, the main provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, have been killed since October 2023. Eleven MSF colleagues, some while on duty, have been killed since the start of the war, including two in just the past two weeks.
In the latest instance of a ruthless attack by Israeli forces on aid workers, the bodies of 15 emergency responders and the ambulances they were traveling in were found in a mass grave on 30 March in Rafah, southern Gaza. The group was killed by Israeli forces while trying to assist civilians caught in shelling on 23 March. Recent publicly shared evidence has shown that the workers and their vehicles were clearly marked and identifiable, challenging the initial claims given by Israeli authorities.
“This horrific killing of aid workers is yet another example of the complete disregard shown by Israeli forces for the protection of humanitarian and medical workers. The silence and unconditional support of Israel’s closest allies further emboldens these actions,” says Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France.
MSF considers that only international and independent investigations can bring to light the circumstances of, and the responsibilities for, these attacks on aid workers.
Although the situation has already been catastrophic for over 18 months, over the past three weeks, MSF has witnessed several incidents involving the killing of humanitarian and medical workers. The coordination of humanitarian movements with Israeli authorities, known as the Humanitarian Notification System, an already imperfect mechanism, has become more unreliable and is now barely affording any protection guarantees.
Notified locations, in which humanitarians have informed Israel of their presence, such as health facilities where we work, compounds of humanitarian stakeholders, and MSF offices and guesthouses have been hit by shells or bullets. Areas near healthcare facilities have been subjected to strikes, fighting and evacuation orders.
Medical facilities are not exempt from attacks and evacuation orders by Israeli forces. MSF teams have had to leave many facilities, while others continue operating with staff and patients trapped inside, unable to leave safely for hours at a time.
On 7 April, MSF teams and patients found themselves trapped in the MSF field hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. Rockets were launched by Hamas in close proximity to our field hospitals in Deir Al-Balah endangering both patients and staff and leading to an evacuation order of the area by Israeli forces, who also carried out strikes near the compounds of Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals. We strongly denounce these actions by the warring parties and call on them to respect and protect healthcare facilities, patients and medical staff.
Since 18 March, MSF has not been able to return to Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza where our teams were set to begin paediatric care but had to flee the field hospital, which was set up right next to the compound. MSF mobile clinics in north Gaza were suspended, and in the south, teams have been unable to return to Al-Shaboura clinic in Rafah.
The full siege on Gaza has depleted food, fuel and medical stocks. MSF is especially facing shortages in medications for pain management and chronic illnesses, antibiotics and critical surgical materials. The lack of fuel replenishment across the Strip will lead to the inevitable suspension of activities as hospitals rely on generators for electricity to keep critical patients alive and conduct lifesaving operations.
“Israeli authorities have deliberately blocked all aid from entering Gaza for over a month. Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” says Bazerolle. “There is no way they can carry out their mission under such circumstances. This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity.”
Israeli authorities must end their collective punishment of Palestinians.
We urge Israel’s allies to end their complicity and stop enabling the destruction of Palestinian lives.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Beijing sends first China-Europe freight train in 2025
Updated: April 16, 2025 20:51Xinhua
An aerial drone photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia waiting for departure at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. Beijing on Wednesday sent its first China-Europe freight train in 2025. It is estimated that the train will cover a distance of about 9000 kilometers in 16 days. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia waiting for departure at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia waiting for departure at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia departs from a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia waits for departure at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia waiting for departure at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A reach stacker loads a container onto a China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow of Russia at a logistics center in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
The organisers of this year’s Isle of Wight Armed Forces Day have issued a heartfelt thank you to the first set of sponsors and are encouraging others to get on board.
Rouse, LM Plus Consulting, Ryde Town Council and the Isle of Wight Council have all made financial contributions to ensure the success of this year’s event, taking place in Ryde on Sunday, 29 June.
The funds provided by these sponsors, who are also signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant, are crucial, directly supporting the attractions and infrastructure for the event.
Now, other businesses and organisations are being encouraged to get involved and lend their support to an event that attracted almost 10,000 attendees last year, making it the second most attended single-day event on the Island, surpassed only by the Isle of Wight Festival.
Ian Dore, organiser, said: “When organised on his scale, producing an exciting, dynamic and engaging event like Armed Forces Day comes with a price tag. In my view, this cost is justified by the benefit and value it brings to those the event supports.
“The Isle of Wight Armed Forces community numbers around 16,000 individuals, representing around 11 per cent of the Island’s population. Among them, there are around 7,200 veterans.
“As a not-for-profit event, its purpose is clear and fully justified. While there are obvious fringe benefits for attendees, at its core, it serves one primary purpose: to pay respects and say thanks to the Isle of Wight Armed Forces community for their commitment.”
Isle of Wight Armed Forces Day is a chance for Islanders to show their support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community.
From currently serving troops to service families, veterans, reservists and cadets, the popular event provides a much-valued morale boost for the troops and their families.
Meanwhile its current location at Eastern Gardens provides the perfect opportunity to display land, sea and air attractions, along with all you’d expect at an Armed Forces Day.
Ian added: “It’s one day a year to tip our hat to this amazing community, which on occasion, makes the ultimate sacrifice.
“We produce this event on a voluntary basis, free to attend, with something for everyone. Financial support is needed, and when an entity signs up to the Armed Forces Covenant, they are agreeing to ‘demonstrate commitment’. It’s there in black and white, and that commitment includes Armed Forces Day.
“When I spoke at the SERFCA awards last year, my speech focused on commitment—commitment others have made in the past, those in the present, and those that will be made in the future.
“Within the Armed Forces world, commitment is everything. Along with camaraderie and professionalism, it’s the glue that bonds us all together.
“This event can only happen with the commitment of others, and by signing on the dotted line, signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant make that commitment. To those who have put their best boots forward, a big salute to you.”
Ian can also be contacted directly at ian.dore@iow.gov.uk
In a step to strengthen flood resilience in the region last week experts and stakeholders met to share skills.
More than 50 natural flood management (NFM) experts, land managers, and policymakers gathered in Kirkby Malham on Friday 11 April for the first Yorkshire NFM Community of Practice (CoP) Monitoring Skill Share – a practical and collaborative event designed to improve how we monitor NFM’s impact across the region.
Supported by Ousewem and the Environment Agency, the event brought together academics, consultants, and practitioners to share knowledge, test equipment, and explore how monitoring can drive better land management, funding decisions, and long-term resilience.
A shift from data collection to decision-making
From leaky dams in the Dales to river restoration in the Skell Valley, the morning presentations covered a wide range of real-world case studies – including Ousewem’s own approach, which blends landowner-led visual tools with technical data collection to feed into catchment-scale modelling.
Dr Steph Bond, Impact Translation Fellow at iCASP, said:
There’s often uncertainty around why data is being collected or what happens to it. This event helped shift the conversation from just collecting data to using it effectively.”
The afternoon offered hands-on demonstrations at a local site, where attendees used flow monitoring equipment and discussed practical challenges such as data storage, maintenance, and accessibility.
From learning to action
A pre-event survey revealed the wide variety of monitoring methods already in use – from drone footage to simple stage boards. Learning from the day will now feed into a shared resource for the Yorkshire NFM Community of Practice, including:
An inventory of equipment and local support contacts
Tips on setting up and maintaining kit
A draft letter to Defra on improving monitoring support in future funding rounds
Mark Henderson, Flood Risk Manager at City of York Council, said:
We see monitoring not as a tick-box exercise, but as a decision-making tool that shapes investment, policy, and long-term resilience.
“Sponsoring this event reflects Ousewem’s commitment to evidence-led NFM – and to working openly with others to improve outcomes across the region.”
Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency at City of York Council, added:
Nature-based solutions are central to York’s long-term climate resilience strategy.
“To unlock private and public investment in nature-based solutions, we need rigorous data and regional collaboration. Events like this skill share show the value of working collaboratively across sectors to build the evidence we need to invest with confidence. I’m proud that Ousewem, led by City of York Council, is helping to lead that charge.”
What’s next for Ousewem
The Skill Share is just one part of Ousewem’s broader investment in NFM evidence gathering. Upcoming initiatives include:
The next in Ousewem’s video series exploring how monitoring can strengthen decision-making – featuring footage from the Skill Share event.
Living Lab student research, such as Owain Wells’ study of how leaky dams influence upper catchment flows.
Soil aeration trials in Crimple Beck upstream of Burn Bridge, where we’re inviting local farmers to explore how improved soil structure can boost water storage and flood resilience.
Get involved
Would you like to join a future NFM Community of Practice meeting or take part in our next trial?
Contact iCASP@leeds.ac.uk with ‘NFM Community of Practice’ in the subject line or reach out to Ousewem for more on our soil aeration initiative.
For more information or to explore collaboration opportunities, please contact the Ousewem team at ousewem@york.gov.uk.
Met Police officers are appealing for victims to come forward following a number of burglaries, thefts and fraud offences committed across London, with victims identified by criminals via the social networking and dating app Grindr.
It’s believed approximately 50 offences have taken place between October 2024 and March this year, and officers from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command would like to hear from anyone who may have been targeted or has information that will assist with their investigation.
Superintendent Owen Renowden, the Met’s hate crime lead who is overseeing the investigation, said:
“This is a series of pre-planned offences where unsuspecting victims have been targeted, often in their own homes, resulting in high-value items being taken.
“In the majority of cases, the suspects would arrange to meet the victims at their homes via the Grindr app, and once inside, would steal high value items including mobile phones.
“In other reports we have received, they build a rapport with the victim while paying close attention to the pin number they enter into their phones before using distraction techniques to steal them, going on to make various digital payments and transactions.
“Due to the volume of these offences and the serious impact on the safety of both individuals and communities, we are treating them as potential hate crimes.”
The investigation has resulted in three arrests so far.
A 22-year-old man from Potters Bar in Hertfordshire was arrested on Thursday, 3 April on suspicion of burglary and fraud offences. He was charged and remanded in custody.
Two other men, aged 27 and 28 and both from Harrow, have been arrested on suspicion of burglary and are on bail while the investigation continues.
Superintendent Renowden, added:
“Our investigation is progressing at pace, but we believe there are a number of offences that have not yet been reported to us, so I urge anyone who may have been targeted, or may have crucial information that will help us with our enquiries, to contact us as soon as possible.”
“I understand some people may be apprehensive about getting in touch with us, but I’d like to provide reassurance that all reports will be thoroughly investigated.
“We are working closely with our LGBT+ Independent Advisory Group and the LGBT+ anti-abuse charity, GALOP, to ensure we conduct our investigation with sensitivity and care.
“The Met Police is fully committed to ensuring all our communities in London feel safe, as well as continuing to enhance the trust and confidence LGBT+ people place in us. Organised crime has a devastating impact on society and your help will be key in helping us bring those responsible to justice.”
If you’re a victim or have information that could assist officers with their investigation, you can contact police on 101, quoting reference CAD 5090/15APR.
You can also remain 100 per cent anonymous and pass information onto the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting Crimestoppers-uk.org, as well as GALOP, via their national helpline on 0800 999 5428.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have had their second showdown of the 2025 federal election campaign. The debate, hosted by the ABC, was moderated by David Speers in the national broadcaster’s studios in Western Sydney.
The leaders were asked a wide range of questions on topics such as negative gearing, nuclear energy and Australia’s relationships with the US and China. But the debate was kicked off on housing, which has been a major focus of the campaign over the last few days.
So, how did it shape up, and how did it compare to the first debate a fortnight ago? Three experts give their analysis.
Ahead of tonight’s debate, commentators predicted it would have little impact because most people no longer get their news from television and because the election campaign has been deeply uninspiring.
That’s partly an index of how drastically the media landscape has changed. As recently as 2010, nearly 3.4 million people tuned in to watch the debate between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, which was broadcast on all three commercial networks, as well as the ABC. That number showed evidence of widespread interest in politics.
The number of viewers’ advance questions to the ABC tonight also illustrated keen interest, particularly on issues like the plight of potentially lifelong renters in an overheated housing market and the urgent need to tackle climate change.
The second leaders’ debate didn’t become heated or hostile. Both the prime minister and the opposition leader stayed relentlessly on-message.
As is well known, Albanese is no Cicero, but he was well prepared and generally clear. He was stronger on housing than his opponent, but clearly did not want to get trapped predicting energy prices again, as he had during the 2022 campaign.
Dutton was also clear when he focused on the issue at hand. His strongest line was one he used at least three times: are you better off now than you were three years ago? It is a line used by US President Donald Trump during his successful campaign last year.
But it was on Trump that Dutton tied himself in knots, asserting he would be able to get a deal done with Trump when virtually no one else has and then saying he did not know him. Huh?
He was also defensive when pressed on his nuclear policy and he was all over the shop on climate change.
Befitting the current election campaign, there were meme-able moments on offer for both. Dutton got out his line about Albanese having a problem with the truth. But he coughed up his own when he admitted making a mistake in saying Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had “publicly announced” Russia had asked his country for a base for its aircraft.
After both leaders finished their opening statements in good spirits, the debate quickly turned to housing. As suggested by host David Speers, both parties have “put forward ideas that a lot of experts and economists are warning will only push up prices even more”.
So, could the leaders explain how their plans will make housing more affordable in five or ten years?
Albanese said his party had a plan for both demand and supply. He mentioned the Building Australia’s Future Fund to build more public housing, Build to Rent scheme to increase the private rental supply, and the 5% deposit for first home buyers. He also made note of the 100,000 homes that would be allocated only to first home buyers.
Dutton blamed Albanese for the current housing crisis. He promoted the Coalition’s plans to allow first home buyers access up to $50,000 of their superannuation to buy a home and a planned $5 billion infrastructure fund to free up to 500,000 new home lots. Reducing immigration and foreign ownership also rated a mention.
Dutton explained the most important part of the Coalition’s plan was to allow first home buyers a tax deduction for interest on the first $650,000 of their mortgage. When questioned about this favouring higher income earners, Dutton quickly responded that the average taxpayer would save around $11,000 a year.
Talking tax, this provided the perfect opportunity for Speers to pose the question that many viewers wanted to ask – why are both parties not willing to review the tax breaks for investors and the capital gains tax discount?
Dutton jumped at the chance to challenge Albanese about the modelling on negative gearing conducted by Treasury for the government last year. Albanese replied Treasury was just doing their job and looking at ideas.
The host reminded both leaders that they themselves are property investors. When pressed about possibly placing limits on the number of properties held by investors, Dutton argued there should be no limit as we need the rentals.
Talking rentals, Dutton said renters’ rights were up to the states, while Albanese said his party has delivered the Renter’s Rights Program and increased rental assistance.
For the second leaders’ debate, the ABC’s new Parramatta digs, Studio 91, felt more like the legendary New York dance club, Studio 54. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stuck to their steps while the host, “DJ” David Speers, tried to disrupt their rhythm.
Dutton opened with the Reaganesque classic, asking viewers: “Are you better off than you were three years ago?”. Albanese countered by saying Australians have done the “hard work” over the past three years, then adding, “there’s much more work to do”.
Dutton wanted to talk about renters. Labor’s policies, he argued, would “drive up the cost of rents”. Albanese held out, preferring to talk first home buyers. “We need to give people a fair crack”, he said.
Dutton retorted, we need to “give young Australians a go”. A “crack” or a “go”. Both options have “hit” written all over them.
Speers then changed tunes, turning to the old election stalwart, spending versus revenue.
“We have improved the bottom line”, Albanese assured viewers. That claim “defies the reality”, Dutton responded. Speers asked Dutton, “Where do you cut?”. No answer. Speers then quizzed Albanese. “When will power bills come down?” No answer.
“I’m friends with Keir Starmer”, Albanese suddenly volunteered, cautioning against the Coalition’s nuclear energy plans. The UK prime minister, Albanese said, regrets his country’s nuclear adventures.
Crossing the Atlantic, Dutton remarked, the Coalition has an “incredible relationship” with the Trump administration. The government’s current ambassador, Kevin Rudd, “can’t get a phone call with the president”, he said. The former ambassador, Joe Hockey, “used to play golf with him.”
The second leaders’ debate traversed the dance floor to the golf course, but got no closer to differing visions for the country.
In a rare moment of harmony, Albanese and Dutton concurred: both sides of government have failed Indigenous Australians. No debate there.
Michelle Cull is an FCPA member of CPA Australia, member of the Financial Advice Association Australia and President Elect of the Academy of Financial Services in the United States. Michelle is an academic member of UniSuper’s Consultative Committee. Michelle co-founded the Western Sydney University Tax Clinic which has received funding from the Australian Taxation Office as part of the National Tax Clinic Program. Michelle has previously volunteered as Chair of the Macarthur Advisory Council for the Salvation Army Australia.
Andy Marks and Matthew Ricketson 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.
Two “moments” stuck out in Wednesday’s leaders’ debate, the second head-to-head of the campaign.
Peter Dutton cut his losses over his faux pas this week when he wrongly named Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto as having said there had been a Russian approach to base aircraft in Papua.
So that was a mistake, ABC moderator David Speers asked. “It was a mistake.”
The other “moment” was in a discussion about negative gearing, when Anthony Albanese denied the government had sought modelling on that. The public service “certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so”. In fact, we know Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked Treasury to do it.
That enabled Dutton to repeat a favourite Coalition line. “This prime minister has a problem with the truth.” (Albanese has given grist for this line by his denial earlier in the campaign that he fell off a stage, when the footage contradicted him.)
While the leaders were predictably well-rehearsed across the broad sweep of issues, they could not prevent their weak spots being put on display.
Albanese struggled with something that has not been canvassed enough.Wasn’t there a case for more means testing of some of the big spending the government has undertaken?
Then of course there was the perennially unanswerable question: when will power prices come down? The PM squirmed.
Dutton left us no more informed about what a Coalition government would cut to finance his programs, although he did concede, when asked whether cuts to the public service would be enough to cover all his spending, “The short answer is no”.
On climate change, the opposition leader looked awkward, when asked what seemed simple questions, such as whether the impact of climate change was getting worse. That’s a judgement he’d prefer to leave to others, “because I’m not a scientist”.
Aware that he is paying a political cost by being painted as Trump-lite, Dutton dodged when asked whether he trusted Trump. “I don’t know Donald Trump” was his lame response (although he continues to declare himself confident of being able to get a deal on tariffs with him).
Albanese, for his part, said he had “no reason not to trust him”.
The PM reconfirmed that in tariff discussions with the US, Australia’s critical minerals were on the table, but lacked clarity when pressed on what precisely was Australia’s proposed critical minerals reserve.
The two leaders were at one on being behind AUKUS (just like they are on not touching negative gearing) despite increasing criticism of the agreement in Australia.
Housing was thoroughly canvassed but without taking us much further. It now seems it is the politicians against the experts, many of whom are sceptical of much of both sides’ offerings.
Speers’ raising the issue of renters was a reminder that the housing issue in this campaign – at least as it’s being argued by the main parties – has been firmly focused on promoting ownership. The plight of renters has been the bailiwick of the Greens.
Asked about the one big reform change they’d like to be remembered for, Albanese nominated affordable child care.
Dutton went to a more ambitious level, nominating energy, which was, he said, “the economy”, an inevitably more contestable area than childcare. This opened the usual claims and counter-claims about nuclear.
For those who want to hear the next round of the leaders’ duelling, they will meet again on April 27 on commercial TV.
Business signals post-election fight on gender-based undervaluation of work
The Albanese government has made reducing the gender pay gap one of its signature issues. Among other initiatives, its legislation in 2022 required the Fair Work Commission to take into account the need to achieve gender equality.
The commission’s expert panel for pay equity has been investigating five areas: pharmacists, health workers, social and community services employees, dental assistants, and child care workers.
On Wednesday its results were released, finding gender-based undervaluation of work in all these areas and proposing pay rises up to 35%.
There is an immediate determination for pharmacists, who will receive a 14.1% pay rise phased in over three years. In the other areas, a process of further hearings will commence.
The government reacted cautiously. The bill for the wages of many workers in the care sector falls on to the public purse.
A Labor spokesperson said: “A re-elected Albanese Government will engage positively with the Commission consistent with the principles set out in our submission [to the expert panel] , including our obligation to manage any changes in a fiscally and economically responsible manner”.
The Australian Industry Group declared “many employers will struggle to meet the scale of the increased costs proposed”.
“Industry will be anxiously awaiting the response of the major sides of politics to the decision and what concrete commitments will be made to assist employers in grappling with its implications.”
The last thing the government wants to make on this before the election is a “concrete commitment”.
Michelle Grattan 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 – USA – By Erik Johnson, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Stetson University
Sen. Cory Booker speaks to reporters in the Senate Chamber after delivering a record-setting floor speech at the U.S. Capitol on April 1, 2025.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
The ever-churning national news cycle has already moved on from the spectacle.
But as communication studiesscholars, we believe Booker’s speech offers important lessons for Trump opponents in a fragmented political and media landscape.
Our analysis of Booker’s speech, its media coverage and Booker’s use of online platforms to promote his marathon performance illustrate one way to disrupt the constant public spotlight on Trump.
Conventions of long speeches
In research published in 2023, we compared filibusters and long speeches in the United States and overseas. The long speeches we examined took place in national parliaments and political party meetings across the world.
Our research uncovered three patterns.
Long speeches incorporate varied topics and texts. Whether or not these digressions are relevant to the issue at hand, they make the speaker’s remarks last longer.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leaves the floor of the Senate after his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director on March 7, 2013. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
Long speeches also include expected interruptions to the speaker’s performance and address a variety of audiences.
That’s what happened during Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 filibuster of the Civil Rights Act – the longest speech on the Senate floor before Booker’s performance. When Thurmond needed a bathroom break during his 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster, Sen. Barry Goldwater assisted by stalling with a report on military preparedness.
These patterns of topical digression and expected interruption challenge the image of filibusters as individual acts of continuous endurance promoted in films such as ”Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.“ And they apply to Booker’s Senate speech.
Our research also demonstrated how the media reframes the complexity of long speeches into simplified narratives. This coverage sometimes differs as different outlets target varied audiences.
After state Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster of a 2013 anti-abortion bill in Texas, supporters linked the filibuster to her rising political prospects, while opponents disparaged her with the nickname Abortion Barbie.
These reactions do not grapple directly with the wide-ranging content of long speeches. But they do allow them to reach audiences in ways that can shape popular memory of the event.
Booker’s 25-hour speech
Like other long speeches we have studied, Booker’s Senate speech addressed several topics.
Booker read a passage from the Federalist Papers that advocated for constitutional checks and balances on the executive branch. At another point, he quoted federal appellate Judge Learned Hand, who was called the “Tenth Justice” of the Supreme Court in the first half of the 20th century. Booker also used personal anecdotes that linked his parents to the civil rights struggle and reflected on his first senate campaign.
Booker’s speech also aligned with another convention of long speeches – his monologue was broken up by the parliamentary questions of fellow senators.
Numerous Democratic allies gave Booker a break as they introduced issues of their own interest. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for example, used her time to discuss Bob Dylan.
After the speech, however, many news outlets focused on Booker’s physical feat. This directed attention away from the hodgepodge of voices and sources in the speech.
Debates about whether or how speakers stop to use the bathroom are a source of enduring fascination surrounding long speeches. It’s something that Thurmond biographer Joseph Crespino calls the “urological mystery.”
Media fixation on Booker’s body reimagined him as the sole speaker.
Strategies shaping online coverage
When Booker broke the record, roughly 115,000 people were streaming the speech on YouTube. A TikTok livestream of the event received 350 million likes by the end of the day.
Booker was prepared for this online attention. Throughout the speech, he repeated a strategic set of phrases. Those ranged from “Let’s get in good trouble” – a reference to the late John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, that appeals to Booker’s political base – to “This is a moral moment,” a slogan that evokes Rev. William Barber II’s broad-based “moral movement.”
In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, speaks on the Senate floor on April 1, 2025. Senate Television via AP
Booker’s speech demonstrates that for resistance to be effective, it must be noticed.
His use of easily excerpted catchphrases targeted media platforms built around short, viral video clips. The length of Booker’s speech made it newsworthy, but short clips are necessary to sustain attention online.
These questions are part of the simplifications that occur in response to long speeches, and the media briefly paused from constant Trump coverage to ask them again.
Other coverage has noted that Google searches for Booker have increased since the speech – and it has speculated whether the speech might improve Democratic Party approval ratings.
By grabbing hold of a stage and not letting go, Booker became a figure of focus for at least one news cycle.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In 2002, Haiti’s former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide argued that France should pay his country $US22 billion.
The reason? In 1825, France extracted a huge indemnity from the young nation, in exchange for recognition of its independence.
April 17, 2025, marks the 200th anniversary of that indemnity agreement. On Jan. 1 of this year, the now-former president of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, Leslie Voltaire, reminded France of this call when he requested that France “repay the debt of independence and reparations for slavery.” In March, tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is of Haitian descent, added her voice to the chorus in a tweet wondering when France would pay Haiti back.
France instituted slavery in the colony of Saint-Domingue on the western third of the island of Hispaniola – today’s Haiti – in the 17th century. In the late 18th century, the enslaved population rebelled and eventually declared independence. In the 19th century, the French demanded compensation for the former enslavers of the Haitian people, rather than the other way around.
Just as the legacy of slavery in the United States has created a gross economic disparity between Black and white Americans, the tax on its freedom that France forced Haiti to pay – referred to as an “indemnity” at the time – severely damaged the newly independent country’s ability to prosper.
The cost of independence
Haiti officially declared its independence from France on Jan. 1, 1804. In October 1806, following the assassination of Haiti’s first head of state, the country was split into two, with Alexandre Pétion ruling in the south and Henry Christophe ruling in the north.
Despite the fact that both Haiti rulers were veterans of the Haitian Revolution, the French had never quite given up on reconquering their former colony.
In 1814, King Louis XVIII, restored as king after the overthrow of Napoléon earlier that year, sent three commissioners to Haiti to assess the willingness of the country’s rulers to surrender. Christophe, crowned king in 1811, remained obstinate in the face of France’s exposed plan to bring back slavery. Threatening war, the most prominent member of Christophe’s cabinet, Baron de Vastey, insisted,“ Our independence will be guaranteed by the tips of our bayonets!”
In contrast, Pétion, the ruler of the south, was willing to negotiate, hoping that the country might be able to pay France for recognition of its independence.
In 1803, Napoléon had sold Louisiana to the United States for US$15 million. Using this number as his compass, Pétion proposed paying the same amount. Unwilling to compromise with those he viewed as “runaway slaves,” Louis XVIII rejected the offer.
Pétion died suddenly in 1818, but Jean-Pierre Boyer, his successor, kept up the negotiations. Talks, however, continued to stall due to Christophe’s stubborn opposition.
“Any indemnification of the ex-colonists,” Christophe’s government stated, was “inadmissible.”
Once Christophe died in October 1820, Boyer was able to reunify the two sides of the country. However, even with the obstacle of Christophe gone, Boyer repeatedly failed to successfully negotiate France’s recognition of independence. Determined to gain at least suzerainty over the island – which would have made Haiti a protectorate of France – Louis XVIII rebuked the two commissioners Boyer sent to Paris in 1824 to try to negotiate an indemnity in exchange for recognition.
On April 17, 1825, Charles X, brother to Louis XVIII and the new French king, performed a sudden about-face. Charles X issued a decree stating that France would recognize Haitian independence but only at the price of 150 million francs – or nearly twice the 80 million francs the U.S. had paid for the Louisiana territory.
Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons.
His instructions stated that his “mission” was “not a negotiation.” It was not diplomacy either. It was extortion.
Amid the threat of violent war and a looming economic blockade, on July 11, 1825, Boyer signed the fatal document, which stated, “The present inhabitants of the French part of St. Domingue shall pay … in five equal installments … the sum of 150,000,000 francs, destined to indemnify the former colonists.”
French prosperity built on Haitian poverty
Newspaper articles from the period reveal that the French king knew the Haitian government was hardly capable of making these payments, as the amount was nearly six times Haiti’s total annual revenue. The rest of the world seemed to agree that the agreement was absurd. One British journalist noted that the “enormous price” constituted a “sum which few states in Europe could bear to sacrifice.”
Forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to make the first two payments, it was hardly a surprise to anyone when Haiti defaulted soon thereafter. Still, a subsequent French king sent another expedition in 1838 with 12 warships to force the Haitian president’s hand. The 1838 revision, inaccurately labeled “Traité d’Amitié” – or “Treaty of Friendship” – reduced the outstanding amount owed to 60 million francs, but the Haitian government was once again ordered to take out crushing loans to pay the balance.
It was the Haitian people who suffered the brunt of the consequences of France’s theft. Boyer levied draconian taxes in order to pay back the loans. And while Christophe had been busy developing a national school system during his reign, under Boyer, and all subsequent presidents, such projects had to be put on hold. Moreover, researchers have found that the independence debt and the resulting drain on the Haitian treasury were directly responsible not only for the underfunding of education in 20th-century Haiti, but also for the lack of health care and the country’s inability to develop public infrastructure.
A 2022 analysis by The New York Times, furthermore, revealed that Haitians ended up paying more than 112 million francs over seven decades, or $560 million – estimated between $22 billion and $44 billion in today’s dollars. Recognizing the gravity of this scandal, French economist Thomas Piketty has argued that France should repay at least $28 billion to Haiti in restitution.
A debt that’s both moral and material
Former French presidents, from Jacques Chirac to Nicolas Sarkozy to François Hollande, have a history of punishing, skirting or downplaying Haitian demands for recompense.
In May 2015, when Hollande became only France’s second head of state to visit Haiti, he admitted that his country needed to “settle the debt.” Later, realizing he had unwittingly provided fuel for the legal claims already prepared by attorney Ira Kurzban on behalf of the Haitian people, Hollande clarified that he meant France’s debt was merely “moral.”
To deny that the consequences of slavery were also material is to deny French history itself. France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today. Afterward, the French government demonstrated once again its understanding of slavery’s relationship to economics when it financially compensated the former “owners” of enslaved people.
The resulting racial wealth gap is no metaphor. In metropolitan France, 14.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, in contrast, where more than 80% of the population is of African descent, the poverty rates are 38% and 46%, respectively. The poverty rate in Haiti is even more dire at 59%. And whereas the gross domestic product per capita – the best measure of a country’s standard of living – is $44,690 in France, it’s a mere $1,693 in Haiti.
These discrepancies can be viewed as the concrete consequences of stolen labor from generations of Africans and their descendants.
In recent years, French academics have begun to increasingly contribute to the conversation about the longitudinal harms the indemnity brought to Haiti. Yet what effectively amounts to a statement of “no comment” has historically been the only response from France’s current government under President Emmanuel Macron.
Yet if recent reports prove accurate, on the bicentennial of the indemnity “agreement,” Macron plans to issue a “landmark statement” about France’s “colonial legacy,” along with several “memory initiatives,” designed to “keep the memory of slavery alive throughout the national territory, as in Haiti.”
But to me, the only initiative from France that would matter would be one detailing how it plans to provide economic recompense to Haitians.
Marlene L. Daut does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sarah Federman, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego
Liliane Lelaidier-Marton stands in front of the kind of car her parents were forced into in Drancy, France, when deported to their deaths.Sarah Federman
The Holocaust could not have happened without the railways.
Preeminent Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg underscored that almost everyone murdered at a camp arrived by train, including Jews, political prisoners and other “undesirables.” Since the 1990s, groups of survivors have asked European railway companies to acknowledge and atone for their critical role – a reminder that war, genocide and other atrocities cannot occur without corporate participation.
One long-running attempt met a setback on Feb. 21, 2025, when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling in favor of survivors seeking atonement from Hungary’s state railways. The lower court held that plaintiffs could sue the company over looting during the deportation of 440,000 Jews, most of whom were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, saying the case did not warrant an exception to law protecting foreign governments from being sued in U.S. courts.
Even without legal rulings, however, survivors have sometimes mobilized enough public support to force rail companies to confront their complicity.
I wrote a book about one such case: the French national railways’ multiple roles in World War II, and the company’s 30-year struggle to make amends. I dug through archives and legal documents and spoke to over 120 experts – including historians, legislators, executives and more than 90 Holocaust survivors – about what obligations, if any, they believe railways have today.
The French national railways’ wartime activities and slow roll to accountability helped me better understand and articulate productive ways that companies can respond to demands for atonement decades or more after the events.
The author stands with Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest people who survived deportation to Auschwitz. Sarah Federman
Multiple wartime roles
The French railway company, known as the SNCF, played more than one role during the war. Depending on which facts you focus on, you can see the company as a victim, hero or perpetrator.
With roughly 500,000 employees at the time, the company found itself in the crosshairs of the Nazi occupation. When France capitulated to Germany on June 22, 1940, the country was divided into occupied and free zones, and the French national railways were put under German command.
After the war, the acts of the brave railway workers came to light. Some slowed trains so deportees could jump off; some found other ways to facilitate escapes. Near the city of Lille, some SNCF workers helped save dozens of Jewish children. Most importantly, some workers coordinated with the French Resistance on D-Day, sabotaging trains to prevent German armaments from reaching the Normandy beaches and fighting off the Allies.
After the war, the SNCF amplified heroic stories with the help of the French government, using a film, pamphlets and other means.
‘La Bataille du Rail,’ a 1946 film about French railway workers during the war.
These stories are true – even if those workers made up less than 1% of the workforce. Surely, some stories were never told. But even if we double or triple the number, such resistance was an exception, not the rule.
Senior executives reported on acts of sabotage and did little to save their own Jewish colleagues. In fact, Vichy France – the wartime collaborationist government – put the head of the SNCF, Pierre-Eugene Fournier, in charge of liquidating Jewish businesses. He did so efficiently and complained only about German interference.
The SNCF transported approximately 76,000 Jewish deportees in merchandise cars to the German border, where a Nazi train driver carried them on to their deaths. While it’s possible the company didn’t understand the mass murder occurring at Auschwitz or other camps, drivers knew they carried unwilling passengers crammed together with little food, water or air in extreme weather without stopping. The deportation trains continued for two months after D-Day.
Push for justice
Yet SNCF’S image as part of the Resistance lived on in France until the 1990s, when survivors first approached the company for atonement. SNCF escaped legal liability, but public pressure forced the company to respond. Though it never financially compensated victims directly, the SNCF did commission an independent study, opened its archive to the public, made statements of regret and contributed to Holocaust commemoration and education.
A couple married for over 50 years discovered that their fathers were deported on the same train. Sarah Federman
The conversation then moved beyond French borders. In 2014, after Holocaust survivors protested the SNCF’s bids for contracts in the U.S., French and American ambassadors hammered out a US$60 million fund to compensate survivors who were not covered by other programs.
The SNCF’s journey toward accountability encouraged debates involving rail companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary, which had also transported hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.
In 2019, Holocaust survivor Salo Muller successfully lobbied the Dutch state-owned railways for an apology and compensation for deportees. The company gave €15,000 – about $16,500 – to each survivor who had been forced to pay for their own ticket to be transported in horrific conditions to death camps. In the case of deceased survivors, the railway offered half that amount to heirs.
Not about the money
Liliane Lelaidier-Marton in front of a memorial at Drancy, France, where her father was deported. Sarah Federman
In 2012, historian Michael Marrus invited me to join him at Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations, a conference at the University of Tel Aviv. There, he slapped his hands on the table and all but shouted to his senior colleagues, “It’s not about the money!”
Judicial rulings and financial payouts make headlines and create important precedents. But my interviews with survivors confirmed the spirit of Marrus’ words: “People want to set the record straight, to tell the story, and to have their history constitute a warning.”
Liliane Lelaidier-Marton took me to the Shoah Memorial in Drancy, France, where her parents had been interned before deportation. She appreciated the memorials and visitor center, which acknowledge her loss and their suffering. Renée Fauguet-Zejgman and I went to a ceremony in Paris together so she could read her murdered father’s name – an opportunity sponsored, in part, by the SNCF. Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest to survive Auschwitz, didn’t hold on to special anger against the railways. But when I told him about their statement of regret and funding of memorial sites, he said, “I’m glad that they did that.”
Renée Fauguet-Zejgman points to her father’s name on a memorial in Paris. Sarah Federman
Leo Bretholz, who jumped out of an SNCF train bound for Auschwitz, wanted a verbal acknowledgment of the harm and an apology along with compensation. Stanley Kalmanovitz, who received over $200,000 from the 2014 settlement for his deportation to Auschwitz, told me, “The money came at a good time in my life … but this is not a settlement of conscience.” He knew the railway company was trying to win U.S. contracts and saw the money as a way to get survivors out of the way.
Motivations aside, Kalmanovitz wondered what people today expect from the SNCF workers during the war. He said, “What was the French railroad supposed to do? Someone has a gun at your head, what do you do? You take the bullet? Then, if everyone takes a bullet, who’s left?”
Historians only know of one French train driver who defied orders to drive his train. Léon Bronchart refused to drive a train filled with either German soldiers or political prisoners. He lost his bonus and title, but not his life.
While a number of survivors I spoke with wanted SNCF to atone, others expressed misgivings about holding today’s company accountable for the actions of its predecessors.
Thousands of Jews around Paris were arrested in July 1942, including more than 4,000 children. Most were later deported to Auschwitz. Antoine Gyori/Sygma via Getty Images
Restoring dignity
Today, some companies are trying to address their connections to mass atrocities: not only the Holocaust, but also other genocides, the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and even ecological destruction.
I encourage companies, institutions and ambassadors to focus on addressing harm, rather than on calculating their institution’s percentage of guilt or complicity. These difficult – if not impossible – calculations distract institutions from supporting the innocent people grappling with the aftermath and from preventing future harm.
While money matters, people also want their dignity restored and suffering acknowledged – and companies can do this work without lawsuits prompting them. When they do it on their own, stakeholders see their efforts as evidence of a moral conscience rather than an economic necessity.
This look back encourages stakeholders to consider how today’s corporate actions may be judged in the years ahead. Will future generations celebrate or condone their use of natural resources, labor practices or any participation in the deportations of their day?
Sarah Federman received funding from the Fondation pour la Memorial de la Shoah to conduct research on the SNCF in France. During her time as a doctoral student, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution awarded Federman the Presidential Scholarship in support of this research.
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