Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, July 18 /Xinhua/ — Sales of used passenger cars in Russia in the first half of the year amounted to 2.73 million units, which is 0.5 percent less than in the same period last year, TASS reported on Friday, citing the analytical agency Avtostat.
It is reported that the sales leader for the first 6 months of the current year was the domestic Lada, whose sales reached 715.8 thousand units with an increase of 4.7 percent. In second place is the Japanese Toyota with a result of 269.7 thousand (a decrease of 6.1 percent), and the top three is completed by the South Korean Kia – 150.6 thousand (a decrease of 3.6 percent).
In June, the Russian used car market shrank by 6.4 percent year-on-year to 467.4 thousand units. This is also 4.8 percent less than in May of this year.
As previously reported, sales of new passenger cars in Russia in the first half of 2025 amounted to 526.7 thousand units, which is 26 percent lower compared to the same period last year. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) — The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Friday held a symposium to review the macroeconomic situation in the first half of 2025.
Wang Huning, member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, attended the symposium and delivered a speech.
According to Wang Huning, since the beginning of the year, despite the complicated international situation and growing uncertainty, the country has maintained stable economic growth.
He stressed the need to focus on issues such as the goals and objectives of socio-economic development for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the development of new-quality productive forces taking into account local conditions, expanding domestic demand and steadily promoting the achievement of common prosperity.
Wang Huning called for active discussion and suggestions to promote the effective implementation of relevant measures.
At the symposium, 13 members of the CPPCC National Committee delivered reports on a range of topics, including stabilizing and activating the capital market, promoting scientific and technological innovation in non-state enterprises, and developing artificial intelligence.
CPPCC National Committee Vice Chairman Wang Yong presided over the symposium. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) — China has achieved the target for the actual utilization of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) ahead of schedule, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China’s International Trade Representative Lin Ji said Friday.
He said at a press conference that from 2021 to the end of June 2025, China’s actual FDI utilization reached US$708.73 billion, achieving the target of US$700 billion six months ahead of schedule.
During this period, about 229 thousand new enterprises with foreign capital were created, which is approximately 25 thousand more than during the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020), he noted.
Foreign-invested enterprises accounted for one-third of China’s foreign trade turnover and one-quarter of its industrial added value, and over the same period, these investments created more than 30 million jobs, Lin Ji added.
According to him, the country has seen a noticeable improvement in the quality of foreign investment use. In 2024, high-tech industries accounted for 34.6 percent of attracted foreign investment, which is 6 percentage points more than in 2020.
To create a favorable environment for foreign businesses, the Ministry of Commerce has held more than 30 roundtable meetings since 2023, helping to resolve more than 1,500 issues related to foreign-invested enterprises, according to Lin Ji. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) celebrated its first Partnership for Africa Day, bringing together more than 200 high-level participants from institutions, Member States, business support organizations, donors, and small businesses. The event also marked a new milestone in ITC’s collaboration with the Swiss-African Business Circle (SABC). This landmark occasion showcased how strategic, inclusive partnerships can drive trade, innovation, and prosperity for African small businesses.
Held as a high-level welcome reception on the eve of Swiss Africa Business Day (SABD) 2025, the event was co-organized by ITC and SABC. It offered a unique platform for Swiss and African leaders from both the public and private sectors to deepen dialogue and shape forward-looking trade collaborations.
“By joining forces with ITC to organise a welcome reception as the official start to SABD2025, we further strengthened dialogue on Swiss-African trade. The event brought together actors from international Geneva, business support organisations, and public and private sector representatives from Africa, Switzerland, and beyond,” said Helena Bischoff, Deputy Managing Director, SABC.
A central highlight of the gathering was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between H.E. Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretary of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank. This formalized Switzerland’s renewed commitment to advancing regional integration and SME development in Africa.
Beyond official engagements, the reception celebrated the richness of Africa’s creative economy. From a “Taste of Africa” culinary experience curated by Geneva-based African restaurants to a fashion showcase featuring designs from the Pan African Fashion Alliance (PAFA) and Swiss NGO Afrodysée, the event underscored the growing importance of diaspora engagement and cultural industries in trade development.
“The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs collaborates with ITC, a long-standing partner, to strengthen the competitiveness of African SMEs by promoting intra-African trade and fostering linkages between Africa and Switzerland,” noted SECO representatives.
As host country and development partner, Switzerland continues to play a pivotal role in ITC’s mission to empower African small businesses. Through its One Trade Africa initiative, ITC supports the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and promotes triangular cooperation between Switzerland, African institutions, and global partners.
This inaugural Partnership for Africa Day was not only a celebration but also a springboard toward a more connected, resilient, and opportunity-rich trade future for Africa. Together with Switzerland and partners such as SABC and Afreximbank, ITC is committed to turning dialogue into action—and partnerships into impact.
Source: The Conversation – France – By Mira Manini Tiwari, Research Associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
If you choose to buy a sustainable product at the supermarket, or invest in a sustainable portfolio at your bank, how far does that sustainability reach? Does the product’s “sustainable” label account for the environmental and labour costs where the raw materials were extracted? Does the portfolio include renewable energy in countries where the investment is needed most?
In the EU, whether you are an individual or represent a company or financial institution, these questions are governed by the bloc’s non-financial reporting (NFR) regulations. The latest ones include the European Sustainable Reporting Standards (ESRS), which are gradually coming into force through 2029. The ESRS set out reporting standards and requirements, while the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) determines which companies these standards apply to, to what extent, and when.
These EU regulations also have strong implications for the Majority World, the countries and territories outside Europe and North America where most people live, at a time when global, systemic policy effects are more important than ever. As supply chains become longer and more interconnected, and as communities involved in them confront the fragilities of economic, political and climate shifts, the regulations that govern the sustainability of these chains and that enable or prohibit participation in them must be crafted and implemented to minimise harm to the most vulnerable.
In an article in Environment and Development Economics, my co-authors and I developed a set of proposals to improve the global sustainability of the NFR regulations. These call for collaborative development of regulations across the value chain, better data accessibility, measuring of and accounting for cross-border environmental damage, and greater integrity and engagement from financial actors.
A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!
Cooperation, not compliance
As the ESRS come into force, reporting requirements are being applied to companies’ full value chains. This means that Majority World actors, such as those that extract raw materials for European products, may be indirectly subjected to the NFR regulations. This is important, as it holds companies and consumers, EU and non, accountable for the ethics of the goods and services they rely on. However, when regulations are built without directly involving those they will affect, they risk causing collateral, longer-term damage. For example, reporting requirements that feel inaccessible to smaller organisations can foster distrust and backlash, or cause companies to withdraw from contexts where data are less accessible, taking away key sources of income for communities.
While global climate negotiations have come under public scrutiny for their Minority World dominance, there has been relatively less scrutiny of global organisations governing financial and corporate sustainability standards. On their boards, the Majority World is conspicuous by its absence, demonstrating the dearth of attention to its agency in enabling greater sustainability, both locally and globally. European investors and policymakers are already shifting capital from the Majority World back to the EU in response to the NFR regulations, citing the difficulty of accounting for activities along the length of value chains. The damage falls on livelihoods, industries and essential investments, such as in renewable energy, which can suddenly disappear.
Developing NFR regulations in collaboration with all stakeholders, rather than only at the top, can provide a regulatory landscape that is, from the outset, more implementable, accessible and effective in the long run.
Democratic data and digitalisation
Efficacy in global NFR regulations relies on global data cooperation, which could lower the administrative burden on those reporting and enable greater accountability. The increasing number of EU NFR regulations do not exist in a vacuum: they have been accompanied by shifts in global regulations and a proliferation of national regulations. With regulations expanding to cover the full value chain, actors are increasingly likely to be subjected to multiple regulatory bodies, or have to provide data to reporting entities upstream. The time, financial resources and practical challenges involved in identifying, collecting, processing and sharing data are considerable, both for those submitting data and those receiving and verifying them. This makes divestment or significant losses more likely. Furthermore, the expansion of regulations can result in isolated streams of data and closed-circuit processes, which, in turn, cut out civil society organisations and individuals who use data to help hold firms to account for their social and environmental responsibilities.
Aside from EU calls for a European Single Access Point for corporate data, Majority World contexts offer particularly fertile ground for reimagining and building data infrastructures. Digitalisation in low- and middle-income countries is growing rapidly, and demonstrates the ability to make digital financial and business instruments democratic and accessible to those with the fewest resources. Such efforts should involve statisticians and local data experts from the outset to determine and harmonise appropriate data, along with transnational entities with the mandate of establishing links across data systems.
Support for international emissions accounting
Corporate reporting on environmental impacts must be accompanied by their reduction. Indeed, the work and transparency required to identify impacts in the first place, let alone mitigate them, underpins decisions to simply detach from the system, moving economic activity to local contexts where impacts are more traceable.
Firms that cannot afford to bring their activities onshore must account for emissions that occur from assets not directly under their ownership or control, which are known as Scope 3 emissions. In some cases, these emissions constitute well over half of a firm’s total value chain emissions. However, the implementation of the ESRS has designated the reporting of Scope 3 emissions, and climate impacts in general, to be largely discretionary, under the condition that firms provide evaluations of the economic and material implications of a given activity in their value chains.
The glaring gaps between some firms’ targets, actions and declarations are in part enabled by reporting systems that allow the omission of more distant climate risks and impacts, maintaining the misalignment between climate pledges and actions aimed at achieving them. While the number of firms showing readiness to comply with Scope 3 accounting is increasing, data on global investor preferences suggests that investors do not necessarily prioritise companies’ performance on these emissions when making investment decisions. For ethics to exist on the ground, they must be prioritised in financial flows.
Investment with integrity
In light of the above, financial institutions have a core responsibility to engage with NFR. These institutions’ economic leverage and centrality in the value chains and activities of several sectors give them incentivising power to catalyse a shift from the submission of reports to the building of living data systems and the achievement of fuller value chain accountability. Currently, many investors are not willing to accept reductions in their returns in exchange for the pursuit of social or environmental goals. Surveys suggest this is in part due to perceptions of low quality of environmental information, limited ability to assess the data received, and the difficulty of making investment decisions accordingly. In the current landscape of Minority World-led reporting, such mistrust is likely to be greater with respect to Majority World data, reiterating the need for data systems and reporting mechanisms built on equal footing.
Financial institutions can operate proactively, using their privileged access to data to bridge Minority and Majority World actors engaging in sustainable practices, such as microfinance bodies, local communities and relevant investors. Doing so could plug, at least in part, an information and trust gap that can hinder Minority World firms’ investment in unfamiliar contexts.
Regulating for whom?
The research underpinning our article initially involved a recommendation on streamlining and supporting reporting by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 60% of the EU’s corporate emissions. For these firms, especially, regulators face a critical balance between lowering the entry barrier of the reporting ecosystem and setting robust environmental targets. The nature, data points and timelines of reporting under the CSRD are currently under review following calls for simplification and greater support, and decision-makers are wrestling with the tension between accessibility and integrity.
Our work also included a recommendation that turns from the supply side, the focus of the preceding proposals, to the demand side: the data and sustainability literacy of the individual who walks into the supermarket to buy that sustainable product, or wants family investments to do more good than harm. Across sectors – public policy, investment and citizen engagement – resources must be dedicated to these literacies, so that actors are better placed to hold each other to account. Regulation becomes easily abstracted, reduced to figures and PDFs, databases and scores. Beneath each regulation is a world of citizens whose homes, livelihoods and health depend on them.
The author was affiliated with the University of Siena during the period in which she and her colleagues did the original work for the scholarly article that is mentioned in this piece. The author’s affiliation came via a project that, overall, was financed by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The scholarly article and the present article were not outputs for the project.
Source: The Conversation – France – By Mira Manini Tiwari, Research Associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
If you choose to buy a sustainable product at the supermarket, or invest in a sustainable portfolio at your bank, how far does that sustainability reach? Does the product’s “sustainable” label account for the environmental and labour costs where the raw materials were extracted? Does the portfolio include renewable energy in countries where the investment is needed most?
In the EU, whether you are an individual or represent a company or financial institution, these questions are governed by the bloc’s non-financial reporting (NFR) regulations. The latest ones include the European Sustainable Reporting Standards (ESRS), which are gradually coming into force through 2029. The ESRS set out reporting standards and requirements, while the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) determines which companies these standards apply to, to what extent, and when.
These EU regulations also have strong implications for the Majority World, the countries and territories outside Europe and North America where most people live, at a time when global, systemic policy effects are more important than ever. As supply chains become longer and more interconnected, and as communities involved in them confront the fragilities of economic, political and climate shifts, the regulations that govern the sustainability of these chains and that enable or prohibit participation in them must be crafted and implemented to minimise harm to the most vulnerable.
In an article in Environment and Development Economics, my co-authors and I developed a set of proposals to improve the global sustainability of the NFR regulations. These call for collaborative development of regulations across the value chain, better data accessibility, measuring of and accounting for cross-border environmental damage, and greater integrity and engagement from financial actors.
A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!
Cooperation, not compliance
As the ESRS come into force, reporting requirements are being applied to companies’ full value chains. This means that Majority World actors, such as those that extract raw materials for European products, may be indirectly subjected to the NFR regulations. This is important, as it holds companies and consumers, EU and non, accountable for the ethics of the goods and services they rely on. However, when regulations are built without directly involving those they will affect, they risk causing collateral, longer-term damage. For example, reporting requirements that feel inaccessible to smaller organisations can foster distrust and backlash, or cause companies to withdraw from contexts where data are less accessible, taking away key sources of income for communities.
While global climate negotiations have come under public scrutiny for their Minority World dominance, there has been relatively less scrutiny of global organisations governing financial and corporate sustainability standards. On their boards, the Majority World is conspicuous by its absence, demonstrating the dearth of attention to its agency in enabling greater sustainability, both locally and globally. European investors and policymakers are already shifting capital from the Majority World back to the EU in response to the NFR regulations, citing the difficulty of accounting for activities along the length of value chains. The damage falls on livelihoods, industries and essential investments, such as in renewable energy, which can suddenly disappear.
Developing NFR regulations in collaboration with all stakeholders, rather than only at the top, can provide a regulatory landscape that is, from the outset, more implementable, accessible and effective in the long run.
Democratic data and digitalisation
Efficacy in global NFR regulations relies on global data cooperation, which could lower the administrative burden on those reporting and enable greater accountability. The increasing number of EU NFR regulations do not exist in a vacuum: they have been accompanied by shifts in global regulations and a proliferation of national regulations. With regulations expanding to cover the full value chain, actors are increasingly likely to be subjected to multiple regulatory bodies, or have to provide data to reporting entities upstream. The time, financial resources and practical challenges involved in identifying, collecting, processing and sharing data are considerable, both for those submitting data and those receiving and verifying them. This makes divestment or significant losses more likely. Furthermore, the expansion of regulations can result in isolated streams of data and closed-circuit processes, which, in turn, cut out civil society organisations and individuals who use data to help hold firms to account for their social and environmental responsibilities.
Aside from EU calls for a European Single Access Point for corporate data, Majority World contexts offer particularly fertile ground for reimagining and building data infrastructures. Digitalisation in low- and middle-income countries is growing rapidly, and demonstrates the ability to make digital financial and business instruments democratic and accessible to those with the fewest resources. Such efforts should involve statisticians and local data experts from the outset to determine and harmonise appropriate data, along with transnational entities with the mandate of establishing links across data systems.
Support for international emissions accounting
Corporate reporting on environmental impacts must be accompanied by their reduction. Indeed, the work and transparency required to identify impacts in the first place, let alone mitigate them, underpins decisions to simply detach from the system, moving economic activity to local contexts where impacts are more traceable.
Firms that cannot afford to bring their activities onshore must account for emissions that occur from assets not directly under their ownership or control, which are known as Scope 3 emissions. In some cases, these emissions constitute well over half of a firm’s total value chain emissions. However, the implementation of the ESRS has designated the reporting of Scope 3 emissions, and climate impacts in general, to be largely discretionary, under the condition that firms provide evaluations of the economic and material implications of a given activity in their value chains.
The glaring gaps between some firms’ targets, actions and declarations are in part enabled by reporting systems that allow the omission of more distant climate risks and impacts, maintaining the misalignment between climate pledges and actions aimed at achieving them. While the number of firms showing readiness to comply with Scope 3 accounting is increasing, data on global investor preferences suggests that investors do not necessarily prioritise companies’ performance on these emissions when making investment decisions. For ethics to exist on the ground, they must be prioritised in financial flows.
Investment with integrity
In light of the above, financial institutions have a core responsibility to engage with NFR. These institutions’ economic leverage and centrality in the value chains and activities of several sectors give them incentivising power to catalyse a shift from the submission of reports to the building of living data systems and the achievement of fuller value chain accountability. Currently, many investors are not willing to accept reductions in their returns in exchange for the pursuit of social or environmental goals. Surveys suggest this is in part due to perceptions of low quality of environmental information, limited ability to assess the data received, and the difficulty of making investment decisions accordingly. In the current landscape of Minority World-led reporting, such mistrust is likely to be greater with respect to Majority World data, reiterating the need for data systems and reporting mechanisms built on equal footing.
Financial institutions can operate proactively, using their privileged access to data to bridge Minority and Majority World actors engaging in sustainable practices, such as microfinance bodies, local communities and relevant investors. Doing so could plug, at least in part, an information and trust gap that can hinder Minority World firms’ investment in unfamiliar contexts.
Regulating for whom?
The research underpinning our article initially involved a recommendation on streamlining and supporting reporting by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 60% of the EU’s corporate emissions. For these firms, especially, regulators face a critical balance between lowering the entry barrier of the reporting ecosystem and setting robust environmental targets. The nature, data points and timelines of reporting under the CSRD are currently under review following calls for simplification and greater support, and decision-makers are wrestling with the tension between accessibility and integrity.
Our work also included a recommendation that turns from the supply side, the focus of the preceding proposals, to the demand side: the data and sustainability literacy of the individual who walks into the supermarket to buy that sustainable product, or wants family investments to do more good than harm. Across sectors – public policy, investment and citizen engagement – resources must be dedicated to these literacies, so that actors are better placed to hold each other to account. Regulation becomes easily abstracted, reduced to figures and PDFs, databases and scores. Beneath each regulation is a world of citizens whose homes, livelihoods and health depend on them.
The author was affiliated with the University of Siena during the period in which she and her colleagues did the original work for the scholarly article that is mentioned in this piece. The author’s affiliation came via a project that, overall, was financed by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The scholarly article and the present article were not outputs for the project.
As many countries grapple with ageing populations, falling birthrates, labour shortages and fiscal pressures, the ability to successfully integrate immigrants is becoming an increasingly pressing matter.
However, our new study found that salaries of immigrants in Europe and North America are nearly 18% lower than those of natives, as foreign-born workers struggle to access higher-paying jobs. To reach this conclusion, we analysed the salaries of 13.5 million people in nine immigrant-receiving countries: Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Data was taken from the period of 2016 to 2019.
Immigrants in these countries earned less primarily because they were unable to access higher-paying jobs. Three-quarters of the migrant pay gap was the result of a lack of access to well-paid jobs, while only one-quarter of the gap was attributed to pay differences between migrant and native-born workers in the same job.
Spain has the largest gap, while Sweden’s is the smallest. Author’s own elaboration
The high-income countries we examined in Europe and North America all face similar demographic challenges, with low fertility rates resulting in an ageing population and labour shortages. Pro-natalist policies are unlikely to change this demographic destiny, but sound immigration policies can help.
Across these countries with vastly different labour market institutions and immigrant populations, a common theme emerged: countries are not making good use of immigrants’ human capital.
Stark regional differences
We found that immigrants earn 17.9% less than natives on average, although the pay gap varied widely by country. In Spain, a relatively recent large-scale receiver of immigrants, the pay gap was over 29%. In Sweden – a country where many employed immigrants find work in the public sector – it was just 7%. These results don’t include immigrants who are unemployed or in the informal economy.
Where immigrants were born also mattered. The highest average overall pay gaps were for immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa (26.1%) and the Middle East and North Africa (23.7%). For immigrants from Europe, North America and other Western countries, the difference in average pay compared to natives was a much more modest 9%.
Migrant pay gaps according to region of origin. The minus sign (−) before figures indicates that immigrants earn less than natives. Note that data for second-generation immigrants is unavailable in France, Spain and the US. Author’s own elaboration
Our results suggest that the children of immigrants faced substantially better earning prospects than their parents. For the countries where second-generation data was available – Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – the gap narrowed over time, and the children of immigrants had a substantially smaller earnings gap, earning an average of 5.7% less than workers with native-born parents.
The struggle to access higher-paying jobs
Beyond quantifying the gap, we wanted to understand the roots of pay disparities. To create better policies, it is important to know whether immigrants are paid less than natives when they’re doing the same job in the same company, or whether these differences arise because immigrants typically work in lower-paying jobs.
By a wide margin, we found that immigrants end up working in lower-paying industries, occupations and companies; three-quarters of the gap was due to this type of labour-market sorting. The pay gap for the same work in the same company was just 4.6% on average across the nine countries.
These differences represent a failure of immigration policy to incorporate immigrants, as immigrants are relegated to jobs where they cannot contribute to their full potential. Our analyses rule out that the lack of access to higher-paying jobs simply reflects a difference in skill between immigrants and native-born workers. We also found that the size of the pay gap and the key role of unequal access to well-paid jobs is similar for immigrants with and without a university education.
This means that the immigrant-native pay gap in large part represents a market inefficiency and policy failure, with significant social consequences for both immigrants and immigrant-receiving countries.
Although equal pay for equal work policies may seem like a viable solution, they won’t close the immigrant pay gap. This is because they only help those who have already secured work, but immigrants face barriers to employment that begin long before even applying for a job. This includes convoluted processes to validate university degrees or other qualifications, and exclusion from professional networks.
The policy focus should therefore be on improving access to better jobs.
To make this happen, governments should invest in programmes such as language training, education and vocational skills for immigrants. They should ensure immigrants have early access to employment information, networks, job-search assistance and employer referrals. They should implement standardised and transparent recognition of foreign degrees and credentials, helping immigrants to access jobs matching their skills and training.
This is particularly important for Europe as it races to attract – and retain – skilled immigrants who may be having second thoughts about the US in the Trump era. In the European Union, around 40% of university-educated non-EU immigrants are employed in jobs that do not require a degree, an underutilisation of skills known as brain waste.
Some countries are already taking steps to remedy this. Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act – which took effect in 2024 – allows foreign graduates to work while their degrees are being formally recognised. In 2025, France reformed its Passeport Talent permit to attract skilled professionals and address labour shortages, especially in healthcare.
These kinds of policies help ensure that foreign-born workers can contribute at their full capacity, and that countries can reap the full benefits of immigration in terms of productivity gains, higher tax revenue and reduced inequality.
If immigrants can’t get access to good jobs, their skills are underutilised and society loses out. Smart immigration policy doesn’t end at the border – it starts there.
Are Skeie Hermansen has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 851149), the Research Council of Norway (grant 287016), and the Center for Advanced Study at The Norwegian Academy of Science
and Letters (Young CAS grant 2019/2020).
Marta M. Elvira receives funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant PID2020-
118807RB-I00/AEI /10.13039/501100011033
Andrew Penner no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.
According to the BBC more than 30,000 criminal cases collapsed between October 2020 and September 2024 due to lost, damaged or missing evidence.[1] It found that around one in 20 prosecutions by the Met had been dropped due to missing evidence between 2020 and 2024, compared to one in 50 across England and Wales.
Following a FOI request from the BBC and University of Leicester, the number of cases reported as missing evidence were found to be increasing: in 2020, 7,484 prosecutions collapsed due to lost, missing or damaged evidence, compared to 8,180 in 2024, a 9 per cent increase.
The BBC reported that the cases recorded included:
Physical evidence, including forensic evidence, being lost, damaged or contaminated during storage
Lost digital evidence, including victim interview footage or body worn camera footage
Witness statements or pathology reports not being provided by the police
Key evidence not collected from the crime scene.
Tomorrow, the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee will meet to question the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime on the Met’s ability to safely store and collect evidence.
The Committee will also question the Deputy Mayor about online radicalisation, the Met’s recruitment pathways and the Met’s Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Directorate.
The guests are:
Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime
Kenny Bowie, Director of Strategy and MPS Oversight, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 16 July 2025 from 10am in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
Source: Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The ceremonial opening of the annual Summer Project School for students of Rosneft Classes took place at the University Gymnasium of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. The training will involve 80 tenth-graders from 15 regions of Russia – they passed a competitive selection, which included multi-stage testing and a distance learning course.
The Summer Project School is a joint project of Rosneft and Moscow State University, created to support talented youth. The event is being held for the fourth time. The training helps schoolchildren acquire basic knowledge in the field of project and research activities, as well as practical skills in team development and implementation of projects, including in key areas of the Company’s activities.
For two weeks, schoolchildren will work in project groups in four areas: mathematics, engineering, geology and natural science. To get acquainted with the activities of Rosneft, schoolchildren will visit the Arctic Research Center, as well as the laboratories of the Company’s Joint Research and Development Center. Specialists will tell schoolchildren about Rosneft’s key scientific projects. In addition, the program includes visits to specialized faculties and museums of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas.
For the participants of the Summer School, trainings on the development of professional and personal skills, creative master classes, as well as sports and entertainment events will be organized.
Career guidance events will help high school students decide on their future profession. Based on the results of their studies at the Summer School, students will present their own projects.
Reference:
In order to form an external personnel reserve and a constant influx of highly educated young specialists into the Company, in 2005 Rosneft created a corporate system of continuous education “School – College/University – Enterprise”.
Today, with the Company’s support, 2.7 thousand schoolchildren in 20 regions of Russia study in Rosneft Classes. The training is conducted according to programs with in-depth study of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science with the involvement of the best teachers.
Department of Information and AdvertisingPJSC NK RosneftJuly 18, 2025
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison and, upon release, will serve five years on supervised release, for possessing drugs with the intent to distribute them following a refusal of a routine search of his residence while on parole.
According to court documents, on Oct. 20, 2022, two Alaska Department of Corrections parole officers visited Andrew Lee, 42, at his residence for a routine search pursuant to Lee’s conditions of parole release in a state criminal case where he was convicted of second-degree murder. Lee shared this residence with multiple family members.
Lee led the parole officers to a bedroom he claimed he shared with his father. During a search of this bedroom, the parole officers found no material evidence that Lee stayed in the bedroom The parole officers searched his vehicle and located two cell phones and a “tooter” straw, both of which are consistent with drug paraphernalia.
When parole officers attempted to determine who resided in the other three bedrooms in the residence, Lee claimed that two of the three were occupied by his aunt and mother, respectively, while the final bedroom was occupied by a different individual. Lee stated that this room was locked, and the parole officers were not allowed to enter. The parole officers spoke on the phone with the individual who allegedly lived in that bedroom. That individual said he was the owner of the residence, that he lived in Georgia and that the bedroom was Lee’s.
The parole officers asked Lee about inconsistencies in his statements and Lee immediately began yelling at his father in a different language. The parole officers informed Lee he was being detained and handcuffed him for their own safety. When the parole officers attempted to unlock the bedroom door, Lee’s father stopped them. The parole officers asked Lee whether we would comply with the search, and he started yelling at his father in a different language again. The parole officers decided to arrest Lee for refusing to submit to the search.
The parole officers remanded Lee to the Anchorage Correctional Complex. During in-processing, correctional officers located roughly $1,500 in cash and over 57 grams of pure methamphetamine, over 28 grams of heroin and nearly 5 grams of fentanyl packaged in multiple baggies on his person.
On Jan. 18, 2024, a federal grand jury indicted Lee, and on April 11, 2024, Lee pleaded guilty to possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute.
“Mr. Lee participated in the dangerous drug trade while on parole for a violent felony—and will now spend 10 years behind bars for it,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “Let this sentence serve as a clear message: our office, in partnership with law enforcement, will pursue drug traffickers and seek harsh penalties for those who threaten the safety of our communities.”
“While on parole, the defendant continued to threaten the safety of our communities by committing federal drug trafficking crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Following a collaborative investigation by the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, this sentencing reflects our continued commitment to hold drug traffickers accountable, while protecting Alaska’s communities from the dangers of illicit drug activity.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department investigated the case as part of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Alaska Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody Tirpak prosecuted the case.
The President of the European Council, António Costa, will travel to Japan and China, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to represent the EU in the EU-Japan Summit on 23 July and EU-China Summit on 24 July.
A far-reaching investigation coordinated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has played a central part in uncovering a sophisticated criminal network in Ukraine which engaged in mass production and counterfeiting of agrochemical products. These were falsely labelled under some of the leading agrochemical brands in Europe and the USA. As a result, Ukrainian authorities conducted 89 searches across the country that led to the seizure of hundreds of tons of illicit products worth over 2.3 million EUR.
Ukrainian authorities recently dismantled a large-scale criminal network producing and selling illicit pesticides on an industrial scale. Police raids uncovered several underground workshops and resulted in the confiscation of more than 175 tons of counterfeit agrochemicals as well as raw materials for their production. These were ordered from China and contained potent and poisonous substances.
In addition, a separate production of packaging for these products was discovered, together with fake labels, plastic packaging, holographic security elements of various trademarks and seals of business entities. Part of the seized products are believed to have been intended for European market, posing a significant threat to food security, environmental safety and legitimate agrochemical companies. You can read more about the operation in the press release of the Ukrainian State Customs Service here and the National Police of Ukraine here.
OLAF’s role in the operation focused on strategic gathering, analysis and sharing of intelligence as well as cross-border coordination that led to the setting up of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) between Romania, Ukraine and OLAF under the umbrella of EUROJUST. The investigation started in 2023 with a 2024 to the seizure of additional 1000 litres of counterfeit crop protection products in Romania and in the end helped to identify and later dismantle the source: an illegal large-scale manufacturing operation in Ukraine.
National Police of Ukraine, Department for Combating Smuggling and Violations of Customs Rules of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine as well as Financial and economic Police Bihor county in Romania and Public Prosecution office Oradea in Romania provided critical support during the operation.
Ville Itälä, Director-General of OLAF, said: “This is a textbook example of how operational actions unfold across borders. What started like isolated seizures in Bulgaria and Romania turned out to be the surface of a much deeper operation in Ukraine. Thanks to the methodical investigation and strong cooperation with our partners, we were able to trace the supply chain all the way to the source. This way, we help to protect not only European markets but also legitimate businesses, farmers and the environment.”
OLAF remains committed to tackling cross-border crime and protecting the European Union from the dangers posed by counterfeit products.
OLAF mission, mandate and competences: OLAF’s mission is to detect, investigate and stop fraud with EU funds.
OLAF fulfils its mission by: • carrying out independent investigations into fraud and corruption involving EU funds, so as to ensure that all EU taxpayers’ money reaches projects that can create jobs and growth in Europe; • contributing to strengthening citizens’ trust in the EU Institutions by investigating serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU Institutions; • developing a sound EU anti-fraud policy.
In its independent investigative function, OLAF can investigate matters relating to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU financial interests concerning: • all EU expenditure: the main spending categories are Structural Funds, agricultural policy and rural development funds, direct expenditure and external aid; • some areas of EU revenue, mainly customs duties; • suspicions of serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions.
Once OLAF has completed its investigation, it is for the competent EU and national authorities to examine and decide on the follow-up of OLAF’s recommendations. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a competent national or EU court of law.
For further details:
Pierluigi CATERINO Spokesperson European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Phone: +32(0)2 29-52335 Email: olaf-mediaec [dot] europa [dot] eu(olaf-media[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu LinkedIn: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) X: x.com/EUAntiFraud Bluesky: euantifraud.bsky.social
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Cleveland Road connects the city centre to the newly transformed Royal Quarter.
The consultation is urging people to have their say on how it can best be used as an active travel corridor with improved walking and cycling facilities, and connectivity across the Ring Road.
Public drop in sessions have been arranged where people can see the illustrative designs and find out more – attendees can even enjoy a virtual walkthrough using a VR headset.
The project team will be at the Urban Room in Queen Square (WV1 1TH) between 11am and 3pm on Monday (July 21) and the YMCA in Cleveland Road (WV2 1BJ) on Wednesday (July 23) between 12pm and 4pm.
If you are unable to attend either session, you can view the illustrative views at Cleveland Road Early Design Options and leave your feedback online.
City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Transport, Councillor Qaiser Azeem, said: “The Royal Quarter has undergone significant regeneration in recent years, with hundreds of homes delivered and the iconic Royal Hospital building being brought back into use to create a thriving new neighbourhood.
“It is now important we hear from the community about what they think Cleveland Road can best serve them as a key gateway to the city centre.
“I urge people to have their say on the early design options in person or online so we can build a clear picture of how we can best develop proposals.”
Thirteen maintained city schools are to benefit from the installation of solar panels (PV) over the next six months.
The City Council successfully applied for £345,000 from the Mayoral Renewable Energy Fund in a partnership with the North East Combined Authority (NECA).
The Mayoral Renewable Energy Fund is a £10m fund for Mayoral Strategic Authorities and forms part of the Government’s Great British Energy early delivery phase for 2025/26
The schools were chosen based on a requirement to deliver community benefits where financial savings from the solar panels could be used to help provide wider activities to support the local community. This community benefit could take many forms and will be at the discretion of each school but could include, books, IT equipment or additional support to clubs or days out for children.
Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Michael Mordey said: “Rising energy costs have been a major financial pressure in schools for several years now. This is great news about the panels and a great opportunity to lower costs and release further funding into school budgets.
“Funding that previously went on energy bills can now go to where it really matters and where it benefits pupils, the community and our city. The council will be working with the schools in coming months to assist with panel installation and seeing a switch-on that is going to bring many financial, social and environmental benefits.”
The 13 sites benefiting from the Great British Energy scheme are in addition to a £500,000 investment programme of solar panels at 25 city schools. This scheme was agreed earlier this year as part of the council’s budget to also help schools reduce their energy costs in the coming years.
The full list of school sites in the energy scheme announcement is:
Sunderland has secured £490,000 lottery funding to help communities across the city get back to nature.
The City Council’s bid to the Nature Towns and Cities Programme is one of only 19, benefitting 40 towns and cities nationally, to be awarded funding.
Nature Towns and Cities is a coalition of organisations united by the ambition to enable millions more people to experience nature in their daily lives, particularly those places and communities currently lacking access to quality green space.
The first of its kind, the new programme announced by Natural England, National Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund aims to help at least 100 places across the UK to become greener, healthier, happier places for people to live and work over the next 10 years.
Welcoming the grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Councillor Michael Mordey, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this funding which is all about improving our residents’ access to nature and helping them to enjoy some of the fantastic greenspaces, coastline and riverbanks on their doorstep.
“As we all know, getting out into the fresh air can really help us to clear our minds and take time for ourselves
“This funding will help us to support our communities, making it as easy as possible to access nature, which in turn will help to create a real sense of pride in the local environment.”
“So, we’ll be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to help us develop the plans further and make sure that we’re making the most of this grant funding to support our residents to enjoy the nature on their doorstep.”
Sunderland’s project will bring organisations across the city together to better connect residents with local greenspaces. The funding secured will also help communities to improve their health and wellbeing by making it easier to access nature.
Led by Sunderland City Council in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust and the voluntary sector, the project will also be supported by other key partners within the city.
Plans include a focus on linking community greenspaces, parks, transport routes and the city’s coastline and riverbanks, connecting people and creating a sense of pride in the local environment.
The project will bring together organisations citywide to work in partnership to increase understanding of the benefits of the natural environment via volunteering opportunities, outdoor activities, training and nature-based social prescribing.
This will include:
The creation of new education courses in conservation and horticulture
Undertaking ecological surveys and preparing management plans for the city’s precious Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) sites which include Tunstall Hills and Claxheugh Rocks to ensure that the city continues to preserve its natural heritage.
Working with public health commissioned services, social prescribers and anti-social behaviour organisations and supporting communities to engage in and deliver nature based activities
Distributing small grants, once the delivery stage of the project is underway, to support communities across Sunderland to develop the skills and capacity to conserve nature sustainably
The City Council will be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to further develop the plans and take them forward.
A number ofmajor road closures and diversions will be in place in Dundee City Centre and Waterfront for the forthcoming Discovery Festival at Slessor Gardens on Friday July 25, Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27.
Motorists and people visiting the city centre are being advised that key routes including Thomson Avenue will be affected, with a diversion around the city centre ring road for traffic travelling from west to east at certain times.
Meanwhile,Nethergatebetween WestMarketgaitand Whitehall Street will only be available for buses and taxis at certain times.
Some city centre bus stops will be relocated during the closures. Please refer to operators for up-to-date information.
Dundee City Council has produced a map to show the closures and diversions which is available on its websitehere
Details of closures are
Friday, July 25 Ocean Colour Scene – Closures between 4pm and midnight
Saturday, July 2680sCalling! Closures from 11.30am to midnight
Sunday, July 27 Tom Jones Closures from 2pm to midnight
Alternative routes for vehicles are available via SouthMarketgait/ WestMarketgait/ NorthMarketgait/ EastMarketgait
In addition, the following roads as well as Slessor Gardens will be closed for five working days from Tuesday July 22 until Monday July 28 to allow set up and then clearing of the site.
Earl Grey Place East
Earl Grey Place West
South Castle Street
South Crichton Street
The Discovery Festival is being organised by the Liz Hobbs Group.
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The Transport Committee will write to Transport for London and the British Transport Police about their decision to take away the blue light status of emergency response unit vehicles, which was one of the key recommendations of the London Assembly 7/7 Review Committee’s 2006 report on the response to the tube and bus bombings.
Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am
Transport for London (TfL) has proposed an extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle, to Lewisham, including the potential for a further extension beyond Lewisham to Hayes and Beckenham Junction.
The project is estimated to cost between £5.2 billion to £8.7 billion (at 2021 prices), with an additional £800 million to £1.9 billion required to extend the line further to Hayes.
The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts and TfL on the potential funding options for the Bakerloo line extension, and other new and future capital projects.
Guests are:
Professor Tony Travers, Professor in Practice and Associate Dean, the London School of Economics
John Kavanagh, Programme Director, Infrastructure, Business LDN
Paying for and building transport projects at low cost
Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am
According to reports, Madrid tripled the length of its metro system in just 12 years — faster and cheaper than almost any other city in the world. The 35-mile (56 kilometre) program of expansion between 1995 and 1999 cost around $2.8 billion (in 2024 prices). London’s Jubilee Line Extension, built at the same time as Madrid’s expansion, cost nearly ten times more per mile than Madrid’s program.
The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts on why the cost for building transport infrastructure in the UK is much higher than neighbouring countries.
Guests are:
Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing & Infrastructure, Centre for Policy Studies
Dr Alexander Budzier, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Global Projects
Gareth Dennis, Railway Engineer and writer, Railnatter
The Met is appealing for anyone with information about groups or individuals intending to engage in violence at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival to come forward.
Officers are working with the independent charity Crimestoppers as part of a plan to keep Carnival free from knife crime, serious violence and violence against women and girls.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the police commander for this year’s event, said: “Notting Hill Carnival is an iconic event in London’s cultural calendar which is celebrated by many from across the capital, the UK and beyond. With less than six weeks to go before this year’s event, the Met continues to work closely with organisers and partners to ensure it’s a safe and spectacular experience for those visiting.
“Regrettably, amongst the millions of carnivalists who have attended over many years there has been a tiny minority of individuals intent on causing serious harm to others, including violent crime and sexual offences.
“Their actions stand in stark contrast to the traditions and values of Carnival and I welcome those voices in the community who have stood up to condemn violence and serious criminality at the event. I fully support the organisers’ recent announcement of a new, innovative partnership with the Elba Hope Foundation to divert young people away from crime and particularly knife crime.
“Carnival’s growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day over the coming August Bank Holiday weekend. Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls.”
The Met’s activity has already started with a focus on deterring or preventing those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and the security of Carnival:
We are sharing intelligence with forces across the country to identify those violent gangs who are planning to attend Carnival.
We are working with others, including local authorities and the courts, to seek banning orders to exclude those attending who have a history of violence or sexual offending at Carnival.
We are carrying out pre-emptive intelligence-led arrests and searches of those believed to be in possession of weapons or involved in the supply of drugs. Last year there were 160 such arrests prior to the event for offences including possession of firearms, drugs supply, rape and other serious sexual assaults.
During the Bank Holiday weekend we will be using live facial recognition cameras on the approach to and from Carnival, outside the boundaries of the event itself, to help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets of Notting Hill, and to ensure those attending are able to get home safely.
We will be deploying screening arches at some of the busiest entry points, using stop and search powers to prevent knives and other deadly weapons being carried at Carnival.
But to keep Carnival as safe as it is spectacular we also need the public’s help.
That is why we have, once again, partnered with Crimestoppers to make it easier for anyone with information to report it anonymously.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity, not part of the police and 100 per cent anonymous. Their commitment to protect people’s identity is iron-clad – they won’t ask for a name and can’t identify any telephone numbers or IP addresses if you are reporting online.
DAC Ward added: “The best way to prevent serious crime at Carnival, including violence and sexual offending, is to intervene and target the small number of dangerous offenders before they get to the event.
“If you know anyone who may be planning to take a knife or weapon to Carnival, if you worry that they’re part of a group going with the intent to commit offences or confront rival groups, or that they are being put under pressure or being exploited, or if you have any other information that could help, then please speak up and stand up for Carnival. In doing so, you could be saving a life.”
Further information about the use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR):
So far in 2025 there have been 111 deployments of LFR, resulting in 512 arrests.
During the Bank Holiday weekend, LFR will be deployed on the approaches to Carnival, but not within the boundaries of the event.
Officers will be searching for people who are marked as being wanted on the Police National Computer, those who are shown as missing (including young people who may also be at risk of either criminal or sexual exploitation) and those subject to sexual harm prevention orders because of the risk they pose, particularly to women and girls.
LFR cameras capture live footage of people passing by and compare their faces against a bespoke watchlist of wanted offenders.
If a match is detected, the system generates an alert. An officer will then review the match and decide if they wish to speak with the individual.
Officers conduct further checks, such as reviewing court orders or other relevant information, to determine if the person is a suspect.
Importantly, an alert from the system does not automatically result in an arrest – officers make a decision about whether further action is necessary following engagement.
There are robust safeguards in place regarding LFR. if a member of the public walks past an LFR camera and is not wanted by the police, their biometrics are immediately and permanently deleted.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Correspondence
CMA letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health
The Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA’s) letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health about fertility patients and consumer protection.
Following a two-day visit in which she met with Ireland’s head of state and head of government, among other senior officials, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:
“While the EU has betrayed its principles through its shameful decision not to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, we applaud Ireland for its bold efforts to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. The EU’s refusal to take action to hold Israel accountable highlights the need for Ireland and other likeminded member states to urgently take unilateral or concerted steps to bring their actions in line with international law, which takes precedence over both EU and national law.
“We urge the Irish government to press ahead quickly with the Occupied Territories Bill to demonstrate that when the EU fails to act on its values, principled states like Ireland will take a stand. The bill would be a powerful, much-needed tool for international justice and must be strengthened to include banning all imports and exports of goods and services to and from Israeli settlements in illegally occupied Palestinian territory, as well as investments in them.
Ireland must stay firm in its convictions and commitment to justice
“Despite the fearmongering and efforts by certain parties to derail the bill, Ireland must stay firm in its convictions and commitment to justice. This legislation is rooted in international law and would enable Ireland to fully comply with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion on Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.
“Passage of the bill would set a strong example to EU states to unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law. It cannot be ‘business as usual’ while Palestinians are starved and slaughtered while seeking aid or under relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza, or killed and forcibly displaced by state-backed Israeli settler violence, devastating military operations and suffocating movement restrictions in the West Bank.
This would set a strong example to EU states to unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law
“From its own experiences of colonization, famine and conflict to its leading role in international efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, Ireland has repeatedly shown that it can stand up to bullies and consistently punched above its weight in global diplomacy. Its principled stance on Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza is another milestone and further proof that Ireland will not tolerate the destruction of the rules-based order so painstakingly built over the last 80 years.
“We applaud Ireland for being one of the few European states to strongly condemn Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and other crimes under international law committed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and for its courageous calls for concrete action to stop the bloodshed and carnage. In doing so, Ireland has acted as a vital counterweight to those states still arming Israel, excusing its atrocities and enabling its lasting impunity.”
We applaud Ireland for for its courageous calls for concrete action to stop the carnage
During her visit to Dublin on 16 and 17 July, Agnès Callamard met with President Micheal D. Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Attorney General Rossa Fanning, Senator Frances Black, and Liam Herrick, the Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, as well as local human rights defenders and civil society organizations.
This paper has been drafted to assist the European Parliament’s Committees on Budgets (BUDG) and Budgetary Control (CONT) in the context of their work on an implementation report on the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation. Based on publicly available information, it provides an overview of EU reports and academic papers on the implementation of the Regulation. It examines three key interlinked concerns: (1) potential legal gaps in the Regulation; (2) the use of ‘smart conditionality’ to ensure that funds reach end beneficiaries; and (3) the links between the EU’s rule of law reports and the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation. The paper also outlines how Parliament’s recent resolutions and questions have addressed these three issues.
18 JULY 2025 – Dirk Elvermann, CFO and CDO of BASF, and Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor, at the signing of the ten-year natural gas supply agreement.
Equinor will supply up to 23 terawatt hours of natural gas (around 2 billion cubic meters) annually to BASF.
BASF and Equinor have signed a long-term strategic agreement for the annual delivery of up to 23 terawatt hours of natural gas over a ten-year period. The contract secures a substantial share of BASF’s natural gas needs in Europe. Deliveries will start on October 1st, 2025.
“This agreement further strengthens our partnership with BASF. Natural gas not only provides energy security to Europe but also critical feedstock to European industries. I am very happy that our gas also supports BASF’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. Gas from Norway comes with the lowest emissions from production and transportation”, says Anders Opedal, president and chief executive officer, Equinor.
Natural gas is a key feedstock for European industries, especially in the production of chemicals and fertilisers. BASF uses natural gas both as an energy source and as a raw material in the production of basic chemicals. This long-term partnership will support the company’s strategy to diversify its energy and raw materials portfolio. The gas is sold on market terms.
“We are very happy to enter into this long-term partnership with Equinor for the reliable supply of low-carbon natural gas for BASF’s operations in Europe. Equinor is a trusted and valued partner. The supply agreement not only comes with competitive terms but also supports our sustainability targets”, says Dirk Elvermann, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Digital Officer, BASF SE.
BASF develops a broad portfolio of solutions that are essential components in the manufacturing of everyday consumer goods, such as car interiors, sportswear, personal care items, and agricultural solutions. Equinor has been supplying gas and liquids to BASF for several years.
About BASF
BASF is a company that creates chemistry for a sustainable future. Its ambition is to be the preferred chemical company to enable its customers’ green transformation. BASF combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of its customers across nearly all sectors and in almost every country in the world. BASF’s core businesses include the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care, while its standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. In 2024, BASF generated sales of €65.3 billion. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States.
Question for written answer E-002847/2025 to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Rule 144 Hermann Tertsch (PfE)
The same Ukrainian intelligence sources that warned that North Korean soldiers had been deployed to the Russian front[1] are now warning that soldiers from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic – a one-party communist regime allied with Moscow and Beijing – will soon join them[2].
The European Union has allocated EUR 550 million to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for 2021-2025, with an initial EUR 98 million contribution through the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument. In addition, since the country is a member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Lao Government benefits from other multi-million-euro EU programmes[3].
In view of this:
1.What does the VP/HR have to say about the fact that the EU would be indirectly funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine if Lao soldiers joined Kim Jong-un’s on the Russian front? How is the EU’s profession of unconditional support for Ukraine consistent with it funding its aggressors?
2.How does the VP/HR justify the EU providing millions of euros to a dictatorship that is friends with China and Russia?
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
SFO freezes over 10K in crypto assets from Arena TV’s CEO
SFO has frozen £10,865.76 in Bitcoin and £289.30 in USDC (value at the time of freezing) in cryptocurrency belonging to Arena TV’s CEO, Richard Yeowart.
The Serious Fraud Office has frozen equivalent to £10,865.76 in Bitcoin and £289.30 USDC belonging to Richard Yeowart, a suspect in its ongoing investigation into collapsed outside broadcast company Arena TV. This is the first time the agency has used new powers that came into force last year to freeze cryptocurrency.
The assets, identified by proceeds of crime specialists at the SFO as linked to suspected criminality, were frozen following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this week.
They will now be held for up to nine months to allow any affected parties to come forward.
The SFO’s case, which remains ongoing, has so far involved a raid, three arrests and the search of three properties in an investigation involving a range of suspects.
Director of Operations, Emma Luxton, said:
We are committed to using every tool at our disposal to prevent criminals from benefitting from their crimes, wherever they hide their assets.
Our first Crypto Wallet Freezing Order is an important step as we build our crypto asset capability and signals our intentions as we adapt to tackle increasingly sophisticated attempts to hide criminal assets.
An outdoor Gaelic medium playscheme took place in Fort William last week for children who are going through Gaelic Medium Education and attend Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Loch Abar.
The event was organised by the Highland Council Gaelic team and hosted by Stramash outdoor nursery in Fort William.
Mairi Duncan, the Stramash Practice Lead, went through Gaelic Medium Education herself and is passionate about using Gaelic in different settings.
The project also involved Gaelic speaking staff from BSGLA.
By partnering with Stramash, a Gaelic medium environment was created in a beautiful outdoor setting enabling the children to enjoy exploring the 50-acre site which includes woodland, fruit trees, polytunnels with crops, as well as a cosy hut to shelter and enjoy stories and song.
Mairi said: “It’s been a pleasure for Stramash and Highland Council to work together promoting the benefits of the outdoor environment through the medium of the Gaelic language and to hear the children using the language with their peers in a natural environment.
“This week of fantastic weather has been an absolute bonus.”
***
Chaidh sgeama-cluiche tron Ghàidhlig a chumail air a’ bhlàr a-muigh sa Ghearasdan an t-seachdain sa chaidh do chloinn a tha a’ dol tro Fhoghlam tron Ghàidhlig (FtG) agus a tha a’ frithealadh Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Loch Abar (BSGLA).
Bha an tachartas air a chur air dòigh le Sgioba Gàidhlig Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd agus le aoigheachd bho sgoil-àraich Stramash sa Ghearasdan.
Chaidh Màiri Duncan, Ceannard Obrachaidh Stramash, tro FtG i fhèin agus tha i dealasach mu bhith a’ cleachdadh na Gàidhlig ann an diofar shuidheachaidhean.
Bha luchd-obrach Gàidhlig bho BSGLA cuideachd an lùib a’ phròiseict.
Tro bhith ag obair ann an com-pàirteachas le Stramash, chaidh àrainneachd Ghàidhlig a chruthachadh ann an suidheachadh àlainn air a’ bhlàr a-muigh, a’ toirt cothrom dhan chloinn tlachd fhaighinn às an làraich 50-acaire a tha a’ gabhail a-steach coille, craobhan mheasan, tunailean-gàrraidh le bàrr, a bharrachd air bothan seasgair far am faodadh iad fasgadh fhaighinn agus pàirt a ghabhail ann an sgeulachdan is òrain.
Thuirt Màiri: “Tha e air a bhith na thoileachas do Stramash agus do Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd obrachadh còmhla gus buannachdan na h-àrainneachd a-muigh a bhrosnachadh tron Ghàidhlig agus gus a’ chlann a chluinntinn a’ cleachdadh a’ chànain len co-aoisean ann an àrainneachd nàdarra.
“Bha sinn fortanach dha-rìribh le fad seachdain de shìde eireachdail.”
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On August 7, 2025 at 12:00, Deputy Head of the Department of Project Management of the State University of Management, Ekaterina Khalimon, will be a speaker in the webinar “Who is a project manager: standards and reality”.
The webinar speakers will include: – Natalia Ipatova, Director of the MBA Program Center at the Institute of Public Administration and Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Head of the MBA – Project Management Program, NASDOBR expert, Chairman of the Jury of the Projects Category of the GPM Awards Russia National Competition; – Svetlana Nurtazina, Director of the Project Management Office at KazBuildExpert, certified IPMA Level C PM, Academician of the International Academy of Sciences; – Ekaterina Khalimon, Deputy Head of the Project Management Department at the State University of Management, certified IPMA Level B PM, GPM-b, assessor of the Project Olympus competition; – Oksana Klimenko, President of the Project Managers Association “Project Alliance”, Vice President of IPMA (2021–2023), Executive Director of GPM Global in Russia and the CIS, author of international standards and certification systems in project management.
At the webinar, Ekaterina Khalimon will raise important topics: – What qualities does a project manager need in a high-tech environment? – How to assess competencies if the project goes beyond classical models? – What do those who are just building a career in project management need to understand?
Ekaterina Khalimon has the relevant professional and teaching experience: – in the academic environment: 10 years of experience as a teacher at the Project Management Department of the State University of Management; – in the field of entrepreneurship: an active entrepreneur, as well as the head of acceleration programs to support technological entrepreneurship, implemented at the State University of Management; – in the field of examination of project activities of state and commercial organizations: assessor of the Project Olympus competition (Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation), certified project manager (IPMA® Level B, GPM-b).
The webinar will focus on: – What kind of a project manager’s profile is defined by competency models (ICB, etc.); – What companies see when selecting specialists for the role of project manager; – Why specialists who are strong in theory are not always in demand in practice; – How the professional image of a project manager is developing in Russia and the CIS; – What skills are becoming key in 2025, and which are fading into the background.
Format: – Live professional dialogue; – Exchange of observations and practical experience; – Questions from participants are welcome.
Participation is free, upon prior registration. A link to join will be sent to all registered participants the day before the webinar.
Details and registration: https://pmalliance.timepad.ru/event/3462968/
Webinar organizer: Association of Project Managers “Project Alliance” – Russian association of sustainable project management, partner of the State University of Management since 2024.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) — Russia’s leading e-commerce platform Yandex Market announced the opening of its first seller service center in China in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province.
According to the China Daily newspaper, Yandex Market and the Department of Commerce of Yuhang District of Hangzhou officially signed a cooperation agreement during the Global Cross-Border E-commerce Trade Expo held in Hangzhou.
As the representative of the Yandex Market platform noted, the main goal of creating a seller service center in Hangzhou is to provide high-quality services to sellers and help them quickly enter the Russian market. Moreover, in 2025, Yandex Market plans to attract 50 thousand new local sellers.
Hangzhou has established China’s first comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zone, with a large number of experienced merchants targeting markets in Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and other regions. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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On July 17, 2025, a meeting of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation Magomedsalam Magomedov.
Vladimir Volokh, professor of the Department of Public Administration and Political Technologies of the State University of Management, member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations and the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, took part in the work.
During the meeting, participants heard information about the state report on the implementation of the state national policy of the Russian Federation in 2024, prepared by the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs (FADN) of Russia.
The report was approved by the Council Presidium, but suggestions and clarifications were made regarding its content. In particular, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Tishkov suggested making the report more accessible and interesting for a wider audience, and also including a section on traditional spiritual and moral values.
Council members, including Professor Vladimir Volokh, supported the need to include recommendations in the report for civil society, the media and government bodies.
The meeting also discussed the progress of the preparation of the Strategy for the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2036, as well as the results of seminars and meetings on the practices and tasks of executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in implementing the Strategy for the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025 and improving the management of migration processes.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Since February 2022, both legal and illegal economies in Ukraine have been severely disrupted by the war.
The report examines the evolution of organised crime structures in the country and focuses on six distinct areas: drug trafficking and production, online scams and fraud, arms trafficking, economic crime, trafficking in persons, and the facilitation of illegal exit and draft evasion.
“The war has not only inflicted untold suffering on the Ukrainian people, but has also triggered a marked evolution in organised crime – which can have profound implications for the country’s journey towards recovery and reconstruction,” said Angela Me, Chief of Research and Analysis at UNODC.
Drug trafficking
While the trafficking of cocaine and heroin through Ukraine has decreased drastically since 2022, the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs such as cathinones and methadone have increased.
The expansion of cathinone trafficking in recent years has been facilitated by the darknet, notably through market platforms such as Hydra, which was dismantled in April 2022.
Regarding methadone, the report noted that most of the Ukrainian production is trafficked within the country and not abroad, as domestic demand for the drug is on the rise.
Arms trafficking
The war has also increased the availability of weapons in the country, notably due to a massive influx of arms from the battlefield.
This surplus is resulting in a rise in arms seizures and violence among civilians, marked notably by an increase in domestic and intimate partner violence.
Although there is no evidence to suggest large-scale arms trafficking outside Ukraine, UNODC highlighted the importance of monitoring the situation in light of the sheer number of weapons available and the historic regional presence of criminal actors specialising in arms trafficking.
While there is, as of now, no evidence of drones being used in a non-military context, civilian drones and 3D-printed components for frontline attacks could fuel new illicit markets, the report found.
Trafficking in persons
As roughly 14 million people have been displaced by the war, some criminal groups have exploited these populations by luring them into shelters or accommodations disguised as humanitarian assistance providers, where they are subjected to forced labour.
While intensified patrolling of the borders, paired with the near-complete closure of the eastern and north-eastern borders, has limited the smuggling of migrants through Ukraine, traffickers have instead turned to facilitating draft evasion by Ukrainian men.
“Curtailing organised crime is a key requirement for achieving sustainable peace, justice, national security and the protection of human rights,” said Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, as the global body stands ready to support the country in this critical work.
VICTORIA, Seychelles, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MEXC, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, announced its Q2 2025 performance results, reporting substantial growth across new token listings, user acquisition, ecosystem investments, and platform security initiatives. The quarter marked a period of strong activity for MEXC, as the broader crypto market recovered amid renewed interest in meme coins, AI projects, and multi-chain ecosystems.
During Q2, MEXC recorded 580 new token listings, with several projects delivering significant returns. Notable performers included the Ethereum-based ZK infrastructure token LA, which posted a peak gain of over 9,100%, as well as Solana-based meme coins MOONPIG and GORK. Infrastructure and AI projects such as FHE, INIT, and KERNEL also saw elevated interest and trading volume. In total, the top 10 newly listed tokens delivered an average peak return of over 3,600%.
MEXC also announced that its registered user base has surpassed 40 million globally, reflecting increased adoption in both developed and emerging markets. The milestone coincided with the launch of a $300 million Ecosystem Development Fund and a $30 million CSR initiative, IgniteX, aimed at fostering blockchain innovation through education, early-stage support, and technical grants.
“The second quarter of 2025 demonstrated that investor appetite for high-growth narratives remains strong,” said Shawn Young, Chief Analyst at MEXC. “We’ve seen momentum shift toward infrastructure, Bitcoin-native DeFi, and memecoins with active communities. Our focus remains on accessibility, innovation, and user protection.”
Security remained a key area of investment for the platform. In June, MEXC launched the $100 Million Guardian Fund, designed to provide immediate user compensation in the event of verified security incidents. The exchange also reported a BTC reserve ratio of 127.59%, supported by over 4,080 BTC in custody. Additionally, its Futures Insurance Fund surpassed $559 million in cumulative payouts.
MEXC continued to expand its product offering, launching a new hybrid CEX–DEX platform called DEX+ and introducing an upgraded Launchpad system, which featured seven token sales in its first month. Participation exceeded 118,000 users, with several projects posting gains of 8–9x post-listing. The Airdrop+ initiative also scaled rapidly, with 146 campaigns launched and over 230,000 participants recorded.
Strategic partnerships played a key role in Q2. A major collaboration with the TON blockchain included a $1 million campaign that generated $6.6 billion in trading volume and attracted over 110,000 participants. MEXC also hosted and participated in industry events across Dubai, Korea, and Monaco.
Looking ahead, MEXC aims to deepen its focus on infrastructure, ecosystem growth, and security standards, as well as expand support for new user onboarding initiatives in underbanked regions. The company plans further product launches and community activations in Q3 and Q4.
About MEXC
Founded in 2018, MEXC is committed to being “Your Easiest Way to Crypto”. Serving over 40 million users across 170+ countries, MEXC is known for its broad selection of trending tokens, frequent airdrop opportunities, and low trading fees. Our user-friendly platform is designed to support both new traders and experienced investors, offering secure and efficient access to digital assets. MEXC prioritizes simplicity and innovation, making crypto trading more accessible and rewarding.
