Source: Government of Sweden
The UN Ocean Conference in Nice concluded on 13 June with the adoption of the Nice Ocean Action Plan, a political declaration to strengthen global efforts to protect oceans. Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari headed Sweden’s delegation.
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements
The first wave of the government’s free breakfast clubs have already served two million meals, delivering on the Plan for Change.
Thousands of families across the country are already benefitting from the government’s flagship free breakfast club programme, with two million meals served in its first term.
The programme, which is set to give parents almost 100 hours back each year and save up to £450 in childcare costs, is one in a number of government measures to back working families, with new data revealing the benefits felt by parents and children.
The 30 minutes of free childcare give parents extra breathing space in busy mornings, allowing them to get to work easier, make time for appointments and help them juggle family life. According to the latest parent poll over half (59%) say the cost saving would motivate them to use a free breakfast club, and eight in ten say breakfast clubs help them to get to work on time and drop their kids off at school more easily.
The rollout delivers on the government’s manifesto promise to ensure state schools offer free breakfast clubs to all pupils, while supporting its Plan for Change milestone to ensure tens of thousands more children start school ready to learn.
Free breakfast clubs can make a significant impact on children’s attendance, behaviour and attendance, and the latest findings show this being felt on the ground. A third of parents think their children focus better in lessons (31%) and almost half think it’s easier to get their child out of bed and into school (48%).
The top draws for children going to a breakfast club are seeing friends (69%) and playing before school (63%), backing the government’s intention to enable a supportive start to the school day. And children get to enjoy their top breakfast picks, leading with cereal (39%), followed by toast (32%) and fruit and yoghurt (8%).
It comes alongside wider action the government is taking to tackle the cost of living including increasing the National Living wage, extending free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit – saving parents £500 a year – and expanding the Warm Homes Discount to save £150 for 6 million families next winter.
Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, said:
“This milestone in our Plan for Change will make all the difference to working families, as every child deserves the chance to start the day supported and ready to learn.
“That’s why we are determined to break the link between background and success – delivering two million meals in the first term of free breakfast clubs, making an immediate and direct impact and easing the pressures on working families. We know parents are living busy lives, juggling family time and jobs, so I urge all parents who can to make use of the clubs.
“Coupled with the historic step to tackle child poverty through offering free school meals to every single child who’s family claim Universal Credit and legislating cost saving measures such as a branded uniform cap, we are delivering the change families deserve.”
This government has set out a clear commitment to break down barriers to opportunity for every child, with breakfast clubs proven to boost children’s reading, writing and maths by an average of two months.
Annika Fox, mum of two children aged 6 and 2 years old said:
“The government’s free breakfast clubs have been a lifesaver to help me balance motherhood and work.
“As a full-time executive assistant, and often being the only adult in the house, I have to juggle getting two small kids ready for the day – all prior to commuting into London three times a week!
“The club gives me the flexibility I need, tripling the time I have to make drop off in the morning and making sure that my son isn’t rushed in the morning.”
Michael Lobo, Headteacher at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School said:
“The funding for the free breakfast clubs has been instrumental to expanding our provision and offering children fun activities – like table tennis!
“For us, we’ve seen an improvement in punctuality for children attending school, as it gives a bigger window for parents to make drop off and lets them stagger their arrival with traffic.
“Our clubs mean children are settled, calmer in the mornings and engaged, ready to learn. It has been particularly valuable for children with SEN and anxiety.”
Free breakfast clubs in the early adopter schools will shape the future of the national breakfast club policy, contributing directly to its implementation. Further details on the national rollout of the breakfast clubs programme will follow in due course.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The government has committed to fund free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England.
Six in 10 parents say a free breakfast club would make them more likely to send their child to school – see HERE
An Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) impact evaluation of the Magic Breakfast programme found that offering pupils in primary schools a free, universal, before-school breakfast club which includes a breakfast can boost their reading, writing, and maths attainment by an average of 2 months’ additional progress in Key Stage 1.
Research shows that breakfast clubs can improve concentration, behaviour, and attendance, leaders and teachers have confirmed this, alongside findings from the National School Breakfast programme.
Estimates of May pupil take-up for early adopter schools can be found here
All other new parent data included has been gathered by MadeForMums Breakfast Clubs Survey (June 2025, 279 respondents) – see here.
For more information about the free breakfast clubs programme, visit Free breakfast club roll out: everything you need to know – The Education Hub.
The early adopter scheme started at the beginning of the summer term, this was 22nd April for most schools
DfE media enquiries
Central newsdesk – for journalists 020 7783 8300
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements
The Minister is in Taiwan for the 27th round of annual UK-Taiwan trade talks.
UK exporters will benefit from better access to a key global market as the UK Trade Minister Douglas Alexander visits Taiwan for the 27th round of annual UK-Taiwan trade talks [29 – 30 June].
The visit is part of the UK’s longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan and aimed at boosting bilateral trade, worth £9.3 billion in 2024. It comes a week after the Government announced a new landmark Trade Strategy to secure UK business and trading relationships in a changing world.
Minister Alexander will reinforce that Britain is open for business as part of this Government’s Plan for Change to deliver on its core mission to grow the economy and raise living standards.
Emerging sectors can look forward to modernised trade with Taiwan thanks to the successful conclusion of the UK-Taiwan digital trade pilot, swapping out paper-based systems for digital data exchange to boost efficiency.
The Minister – whose brief covers economic security as well as trade – will also witness the signing of our Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Pillars on Investment, Digital Trade, Energy and Net Zero.
We share a long-standing trade relationship with Taiwan and our trade reached an all-time high last year, but we know there are still more opportunities for British businesses to take advantage of opportunities in this dynamic economy.
The new Enhanced Trade Partnership Pillars will help us boost trade in some of our growth-driving sectors, delivering economic growth and helping put more money in people’s pockets as part of the Plan for Change.
Ahead of the Minister’s visit, digital trade pilots were completed with UK water company Clas-SIC Wafer Fab as well as the Kimbland Distillery in Orkney and Scotch company Skene Whiskey as the UK looks to streamline trade with Taiwan.
Taiwan was the world’s 22nd largest economy in 2024 and is a global leader in growth driving sectors like Digital Tech and Advanced Manufacturing, creating opportunities that align with the UK’s commercial and strategic strengths.
The Trade talks, which have been held since 1991, along with the ETP, aim to further enhance trade, investment, and economic cooperation between the UK and Taiwan.
The visit follows the recent publication of the UK’s Trade Strategy which will see the UK focus on sectors which deliver the most economic growth.
The Minister will also meet with President Lai as part of the UK’s long-standing unofficial relationship with Taiwan.
The ETP signing will take place between the British Representative Taipei, Ruth Bradley-Jones, and the Representative at the Taipei Representative Office, Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao.
Source: Government of Sweden
On 21–23 May, Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall and Minister for Older People and Social Security Anna Tenje visited Lviv, Ukraine. While in Ukraine, Ms Waltersson Grönvall and Ms Tenje took part in the Ministerial Social Policy Summit, which Sweden co-hosted together with Ukraine, Moldova and Lithuania. Ministers from several EU countries were also in attendance.
Source: Government of Sweden
After two years of negotiations, EU Member States have agreed on a proposal for a revised pharmaceutical legislation in Europe. The process has met many obstacles along the way and the countries’ positions have been far apart on many fundamental issues, not least in regard to data protection issues and incentives for the development of priority antimicrobials.
Source: Government of Canada News
June 28, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
The foreign ministers of Canada, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and Uruguay today issued the following statement:
“On the occasion of International LGBTQI+ Pride Day 2025, we, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and Uruguay are speaking and acting as one to champion the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
“At a time when hate speech and hate crimes are on the rise, and in view of efforts to strip LGBTQI+ people of their rights, we reject all forms of violence, criminalization, stigmatization or discrimination, which constitute human rights violations.
“It is our understanding that respect for diversity, equality and tolerance require the support, at the international level, of measures aimed at decriminalization, and at preventing and eliminating harassment of all kinds—including homophobic and transphobic harassment. Also measures to advance the implementation of diversity policies and the fight against discrimination, and to favour the inclusion of LGBTQI+ people, especially transgender people in society and in the workplace.
“We recognize that LGBTQI+ people face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, particularly when they are also part of other historically marginalized groups, communities, and populations, such as indigenous peoples, afro-descendants, people with disabilities, migrants, elderly people, or those who living in poverty. Promoting their full and effective inclusion requires an intersectional approach that structurally addresses these inequalities.
“We are joining forces to work hand in hand for the equal rights of LGBTQI+ people and to bring the criminalization of same-sex relations worldwide to an end.
“We call on all States to join us on this path, repealing discriminatory laws and refusing to adopt new laws that criminalize relations between persons of the same sex or punish people for their sexual orientation or gender identity. We call for an end to the prosecution of LGBTI+ people, and especially to the application of imprisonment and capital punishment. We further call for an end to so-called conversion “therapy” practices intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, which can cause psychological and physical pain and suffering and are inherently discriminatory. What is at stake here is a matter of full respect for human rights and human dignity, of strengthening equality, diversity and prosperity, leaving no one behind.
“Therefore, we, the public authorities, must implement policy that, in alignment with international human rights standards, pursues effective equality of LGBTQI+ people and seeks to combat all forms of discrimination. We celebrate sexual diversity and family diversity, in the conviction that inclusive, equitable, and tolerant societies founded on solidarity are also stronger, healthier and more resilient.
“Lastly, we reassert our commitment to respecting the human rights of LGBTQI+ people, to ensuring that their equality before the law is incontestable and that no one is prosecuted or subject to discriminated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Let us build societies in which all human beings are free to live and love as they choose.”
Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Saturday, 28 June 2025
by Antonella PrennaRome (Agenzia Fides) – “We work in problematic, difficult, and complex contexts where persecution exists. Where violence and persecution prevail, there is no dialogue, there is no respect for others. Precisely for this reason, in support of our specific mission of helping persecuted Christians, we also focus on interreligious dialogue, on religious freedom as a topic for deepening and raising awareness not only on a social but also on a theological level.”This is what Father Luigi Buccarello said in an interview with Fides at the end of the General Chapter of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and the Captives O.SS.T. (see Fides, 7/11/2023), where he was confirmed for a further term as Superior General. Also present was Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, president of the organization Trinitarian International Solidarity (SIT), which coordinates activities to support persecuted Christians.In the wake of Dignitatis Humanae”Following the guidelines of the Vatican II document on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, and the subsequent magisterium of the Pontiffs,” Father Buccarello continues, “we have been collaborating for two years with the Center for Interreligious Studies of the Pontifical Gregorian University, with whom we organized a six-month course entitled ‘Religious Freedom: Problems, Challenges, and Perspectives,’ which was offered for the first time this year. In addition to the course, which is aimed at theology students and those interested in the subject, we have established a two-year theological research group involving 15 specialists from various research fields. The topic of religious freedom requires an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach; geopolitics, history, sociology, theology, canon law, civil law, and religious studies are all involved. A publication will be published at the end of this two-year research period.””The lack of religious freedom,” the priest continued, “is a challenge for every religion. Every day we hear about attacks in Nigeria, Yemen, and Syria. Syria had exuberantly celebrated the regime change, but we see that we are back to square one.” “Together with Father Antonio, we are always in contact with these countries, and since we touch these realities firsthand, we recognize that religious freedom is the only guarantee of peace and coexistence. Our service is not charitable; rather, we want to address the problem at its root and combat the causes underlying religious intolerance.””The General Chapter,” the Superior General continues, “placed great emphasis on the specific training of our students in these topics. Working in the field of interreligious dialogue means paving a path to peace. Religious freedom is the path to peace. One of the important themes of the post-conciliar Magisterium is the consideration of religious freedom as a prerequisite for peace, because where freedom is respected, there is obviously peace, acceptance of others, and appreciation of religious diversity. Fundamentalists resort to violence because they do not tolerate religious diversity. They want uniformity, even within their own religious tradition; they view religion as a monolithic bloc and consider themselves the sole bearers of the authentic religious message. If this acceptance of diversity is lacking and differences are perceived as a threat rather than an enrichment, peace is in danger. But our faith is also in danger, for it always leads us to an encounter with others.”A long historyThe current mission of the Trinitarian religious family coincides with an update of its founding charism. “The Trinitarian Order,” explains Father Buccarello, “was founded for persecuted Christians, obviously in a different time and in a different historical context. In our motto, “Gloria tibi Trinitas et captivis libertas,” we find the word ‘slaves,’ ‘prisoners.’ Our founder, Saint John of Matha, began the “liberation missions,” initially from Spain to Morocco, with a letter from Innocent III, in which he recommended the Trinitarians to the Sultan of Morocco, saying that the work of freeing slaves was a work of charity, the most important, the most significant, and of universal benefit. In fact, the Pope had given the Trinitarians permission to free Christian slaves through exchange with Muslim slaves, thus creating a double liberation of both Christian and Muslim slaves.”Saint John of Matha was a learned theologian and had no intention to found a new religious family. During his first Mass, he had a vision: he saw Christ in the center, holding the arms of two slaves, a white Christian and a Black Muslim. After a period of reflection, it became clear to him that he had to found a religious family dedicated to this special mission: the redemption of captives “pro fide Christi.””Today,” adds Father Buccarello, “we know that this inspiration of our founder is very timely. The two ‘lungs’ of our mission are the works of mercy and persecuted Christians. And the latter is the work that most identifies and unites us. To update this charism, the Extraordinary General Chapter of 1999, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the adoption of the Rule of the Order and the fourth anniversary of the Order’s reform, decided to create an organization to coordinate and promote this area of assistance to persecuted Christians, which would be called ‘Trinitarian International Solidarity.’”The organization’s current president, Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, explains that “it is an internal body of the Trinitarian religious family, whose first 25th anniversary was just celebrated. On this occasion, we made a documentary to raise awareness of the problem of persecuted Christians.” “Our projects,” he explains, “are also present in countries like Sudan and South Sudan, where we have already freed several young people.”Father Buccarello adds details of a meeting of the aid organization in Bahrain, where, at the initiative of the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., a meeting was also held with Abdullah Abdullah, director of the Global Center for Peace Coexistence (see Fides, 23/10/2024). “Abdullah came to our Chapter to share his experience,” the Superior General said. “He was also in the Italian Parliament, where, at a meeting in the Chamber of Deputies, he described the Trinitarian Order as an example of dialogue, care, charity, and respect.”The challenges of todayThe Trinitarians are active in the Roman parish of Santa Maria delle Fornaci, the titular church of Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria. “The Cardinal,” Father Buccarello explains, “spoke to us extensively about the situation in Syria, about persecution, but also about poverty, about the many Christians who have left the country in recent years. When Christians disappear from the Middle East, the balance that ensures harmonious coexistence between different cultures and faiths is lost. Peaceful coexistence is most threatened when a historical component of a region’s religious landscape disappears.”The Trinitarian Order is present in 25 countries, including Vietnam, South Korea, and India, a country where, according to Father Buccarello, cases of violence and harassment against Christians are increasing year after year, as well as in many areas of Africa where “terrorist groups and movements engaged in aggressive proselytizing” are active.The specific contribution that the Trinitarian Order can make for the future, according to the Superior General, is to “train religious who are experts in interreligious dialogue. We all need to be sensitized; even in the Western world, where we often do not know how to deal with religious diversity, there is no genuine encounter between people. Everyone has their own space; there is no true integration.” “In many schools in northern Italy,” he notes, “for example, the majority of students are non-Catholic and non-Christian. What resources do we provide to the children so that they can interact and welcome others? And are there other situations that are unknown? Our Trinitarian sisters in Valence, for example, have a school on the outskirts of Marseille. Eighty percent of the students are Muslims, who choose Catholic rather than public schools because they prefer a religious approach to a materialistic, atheistic one. In our school in northern Assam, India, only five percent of the students are Catholic; the others are Hindus and Muslims. However, they live together without problems because religious diversity is a resource that fosters respect for others and promotes the value of coexistence and peace.”The “motto” of the General Chapter was a quote from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians: “Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” “One of the criteria that was very well highlighted,” the Superior General emphasized, “is that religious freedom is not a theoretical question, but affects the lives and suffering of so many people, and that it must be analyzed in context. Each reality, in its complexity and problematic nature, presents different challenges to religious freedom. In Canada, for example, members of the order cannot go to the hospital wearing a religious habit. In the Western world, there is an aggressive secularism that tends to reduce religion to the private sphere, and identity-political cultural movements that instrumentalize religion. Identitarian movements aim to mark a kind of difference and opposition between “us and you” by fueling narratives that appeal to people’s fears, for example when migration is portrayed as a kind of invasion by the enemy who has come to destroy our identity. All of us, starting with religious leaders, must loudly emphasize that the name of God cannot be associated with war and violence. This must be said emphatically. Yet even these days, we hear statements from political leaders who seek to justify the war as a kind of divine mandate.” (Agenzia Fides, 28/6/2025)
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Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Saturday, 28 June 2025
by Antonella PrennaRome (Agenzia Fides) – “We work in problematic, difficult, and complex contexts where persecution exists. Where violence and persecution prevail, there is no dialogue, there is no respect for others. Precisely for this reason, in support of our specific mission of helping persecuted Christians, we also focus on interreligious dialogue, on religious freedom as a topic for deepening and raising awareness not only on a social but also on a theological level.”This is what Father Luigi Buccarello said in an interview with Fides at the end of the General Chapter of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and the Captives O.SS.T. (see Fides, 7/11/2023), where he was confirmed for a further term as Superior General. Also present was Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, president of the organization Trinitarian International Solidarity (SIT), which coordinates activities to support persecuted Christians.In the wake of Dignitatis Humanae”Following the guidelines of the Vatican II document on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, and the subsequent magisterium of the Pontiffs,” Father Buccarello continues, “we have been collaborating for two years with the Center for Interreligious Studies of the Pontifical Gregorian University, with whom we organized a six-month course entitled ‘Religious Freedom: Problems, Challenges, and Perspectives,’ which was offered for the first time this year. In addition to the course, which is aimed at theology students and those interested in the subject, we have established a two-year theological research group involving 15 specialists from various research fields. The topic of religious freedom requires an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach; geopolitics, history, sociology, theology, canon law, civil law, and religious studies are all involved. A publication will be published at the end of this two-year research period.””The lack of religious freedom,” the priest continued, “is a challenge for every religion. Every day we hear about attacks in Nigeria, Yemen, and Syria. Syria had exuberantly celebrated the regime change, but we see that we are back to square one.” “Together with Father Antonio, we are always in contact with these countries, and since we touch these realities firsthand, we recognize that religious freedom is the only guarantee of peace and coexistence. Our service is not charitable; rather, we want to address the problem at its root and combat the causes underlying religious intolerance.””The General Chapter,” the Superior General continues, “placed great emphasis on the specific training of our students in these topics. Working in the field of interreligious dialogue means paving a path to peace. Religious freedom is the path to peace. One of the important themes of the post-conciliar Magisterium is the consideration of religious freedom as a prerequisite for peace, because where freedom is respected, there is obviously peace, acceptance of others, and appreciation of religious diversity. Fundamentalists resort to violence because they do not tolerate religious diversity. They want uniformity, even within their own religious tradition; they view religion as a monolithic bloc and consider themselves the sole bearers of the authentic religious message. If this acceptance of diversity is lacking and differences are perceived as a threat rather than an enrichment, peace is in danger. But our faith is also in danger, for it always leads us to an encounter with others.”A long historyThe current mission of the Trinitarian religious family coincides with an update of its founding charism. “The Trinitarian Order,” explains Father Buccarello, “was founded for persecuted Christians, obviously in a different time and in a different historical context. In our motto, “Gloria tibi Trinitas et captivis libertas,” we find the word ‘slaves,’ ‘prisoners.’ Our founder, Saint John of Matha, began the “liberation missions,” initially from Spain to Morocco, with a letter from Innocent III, in which he recommended the Trinitarians to the Sultan of Morocco, saying that the work of freeing slaves was a work of charity, the most important, the most significant, and of universal benefit. In fact, the Pope had given the Trinitarians permission to free Christian slaves through exchange with Muslim slaves, thus creating a double liberation of both Christian and Muslim slaves.”Saint John of Matha was a learned theologian and had no intention to found a new religious family. During his first Mass, he had a vision: he saw Christ in the center, holding the arms of two slaves, a white Christian and a Black Muslim. After a period of reflection, it became clear to him that he had to found a religious family dedicated to this special mission: the redemption of captives “pro fide Christi.””Today,” adds Father Buccarello, “we know that this inspiration of our founder is very timely. The two ‘lungs’ of our mission are the works of mercy and persecuted Christians. And the latter is the work that most identifies and unites us. To update this charism, the Extraordinary General Chapter of 1999, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the adoption of the Rule of the Order and the fourth anniversary of the Order’s reform, decided to create an organization to coordinate and promote this area of assistance to persecuted Christians, which would be called ‘Trinitarian International Solidarity.’”The organization’s current president, Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, explains that “it is an internal body of the Trinitarian religious family, whose first 25th anniversary was just celebrated. On this occasion, we made a documentary to raise awareness of the problem of persecuted Christians.” “Our projects,” he explains, “are also present in countries like Sudan and South Sudan, where we have already freed several young people.”Father Buccarello adds details of a meeting of the aid organization in Bahrain, where, at the initiative of the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., a meeting was also held with Abdullah Abdullah, director of the Global Center for Peace Coexistence (see Fides, 23/10/2024). “Abdullah came to our Chapter to share his experience,” the Superior General said. “He was also in the Italian Parliament, where, at a meeting in the Chamber of Deputies, he described the Trinitarian Order as an example of dialogue, care, charity, and respect.”The challenges of todayThe Trinitarians are active in the Roman parish of Santa Maria delle Fornaci, the titular church of Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria. “The Cardinal,” Father Buccarello explains, “spoke to us extensively about the situation in Syria, about persecution, but also about poverty, about the many Christians who have left the country in recent years. When Christians disappear from the Middle East, the balance that ensures harmonious coexistence between different cultures and faiths is lost. Peaceful coexistence is most threatened when a historical component of a region’s religious landscape disappears.”The Trinitarian Order is present in 25 countries, including Vietnam, South Korea, and India, a country where, according to Father Buccarello, cases of violence and harassment against Christians are increasing year after year, as well as in many areas of Africa where “terrorist groups and movements engaged in aggressive proselytizing” are active.The specific contribution that the Trinitarian Order can make for the future, according to the Superior General, is to “train religious who are experts in interreligious dialogue. We all need to be sensitized; even in the Western world, where we often do not know how to deal with religious diversity, there is no genuine encounter between people. Everyone has their own space; there is no true integration.” “In many schools in northern Italy,” he notes, “for example, the majority of students are non-Catholic and non-Christian. What resources do we provide to the children so that they can interact and welcome others? And are there other situations that are unknown? Our Trinitarian sisters in Valence, for example, have a school on the outskirts of Marseille. Eighty percent of the students are Muslims, who choose Catholic rather than public schools because they prefer a religious approach to a materialistic, atheistic one. In our school in northern Assam, India, only five percent of the students are Catholic; the others are Hindus and Muslims. However, they live together without problems because religious diversity is a resource that fosters respect for others and promotes the value of coexistence and peace.”The “motto” of the General Chapter was a quote from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians: “Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” “One of the criteria that was very well highlighted,” the Superior General emphasized, “is that religious freedom is not a theoretical question, but affects the lives and suffering of so many people, and that it must be analyzed in context. Each reality, in its complexity and problematic nature, presents different challenges to religious freedom. In Canada, for example, members of the order cannot go to the hospital wearing a religious habit. In the Western world, there is an aggressive secularism that tends to reduce religion to the private sphere, and identity-political cultural movements that instrumentalize religion. Identitarian movements aim to mark a kind of difference and opposition between “us and you” by fueling narratives that appeal to people’s fears, for example when migration is portrayed as a kind of invasion by the enemy who has come to destroy our identity. All of us, starting with religious leaders, must loudly emphasize that the name of God cannot be associated with war and violence. This must be said emphatically. Yet even these days, we hear statements from political leaders who seek to justify the war as a kind of divine mandate.” (Agenzia Fides, 28/6/2025)
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LEEDS, United Kingdom, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The highly anticipated Nimanode (NMA) Presale has so far surpassed expectations, with a massive 35% filled in their Presale as they are set to Launch V1 of their AI Agent Protocol.
Nimanode, coined the “first no-code AI agent platform built natively on the XRP Ledger”, presents a no-brainer opportunity to what is poised to be the next evolution of DeFi on XRP.
Analysts have predicted $NMA could deliver high returns as we prepare for an alt season once it debuts on major decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Why Massive Investor Interest in Nimanode?
As XRP regains mainstream momentum, bolstered by its inclusion in the U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve and growing interest from institutional investors, Nimanode is emerging as a key infrastructure provider on the XRP Ledger. Designed to simplify, secure, and strategically enhance its users Web3 experience, Nimanode is well-positioned to lead the next wave of intelligent blockchain automation.
In a comment from one of the development team members “ V1 of our AI Agent Protocol is already in development, presale participants will have the exclusive early access to becoming testers and in turn earn from rewards we have to offer”. This highlights the importance of being an early holder of $NMA offering multiple benefits to early birds via rewards and higher prices.
Core Features at a Glance
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Autonomous Execution – Agents perform on-chain tasks, react to data feeds, and interact across dApps
Agent Marketplace – Build, deploy and monetize AI agents within a Nimanode ecosystem
XRPL Integration – High-speed, low-cost, and eco-friendly infrastructure to power scalable agent activity.
Why hold $NMA Token
At the core of Nimanode ecosystem lies $NMA, the platform’s native utility token. $NMA will be in the Agent Marketplace, where users can license, share, and monetize AI agents with other users and businesses. Combined with its SDK for developers and drag-and-drop builder for creators, Nimanode is positioning itself as a hub for Web3 automation and on-chain labor.
$NMA, the platform’s utility token, is used for:
Market Analysts already predict strong upside upon exchange listing of $NMA as demand for agent-based infrastructure gains traction.
This is a chance to invest in $NMA before its Listing at 25% higher than Presale value, however whales position for more as they eye a 10X surge on Launch.
Following the presale, $XDX will be listed on major exchanges:
Binance
Gate.io
MEXC
BitMart
FirstLedger
MagneticX
Participate in the $NMA Presale
$NMA Presale is Live now on the official Nimanode Presale Page
How to participate in the Presale
Don’t Miss Out Nimanode’s Innovation on XRP
AI driven systems are poised to be the future, Nimanode is Pioneering a charge to bring AI to the XRP Ledger.
Nimanode isn’t just creating another DeFi app, Chatbot, or AI demo. It’s building a protocol layer where artificial intelligence doesn’t just support the blockchain, but lives on it.
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Connect with Nimanode
Website: https://nimanode.com
Twitter/X: https://x.com/nimanodeai
Telegram: https://t.me/nimanodeAI
Documentation: https://docs.nimanode.com
Contact:
Nick Lambert
contact@nimanode.com
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Nimanode. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.
Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dd565d8a-233c-41a4-a9e0-d7ff2a9d225c
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LEEDS, United Kingdom, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The highly anticipated Nimanode (NMA) Presale has so far surpassed expectations, with a massive 35% filled in their Presale as they are set to Launch V1 of their AI Agent Protocol.
Nimanode, coined the “first no-code AI agent platform built natively on the XRP Ledger”, presents a no-brainer opportunity to what is poised to be the next evolution of DeFi on XRP.
Analysts have predicted $NMA could deliver high returns as we prepare for an alt season once it debuts on major decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Why Massive Investor Interest in Nimanode?
As XRP regains mainstream momentum, bolstered by its inclusion in the U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve and growing interest from institutional investors, Nimanode is emerging as a key infrastructure provider on the XRP Ledger. Designed to simplify, secure, and strategically enhance its users Web3 experience, Nimanode is well-positioned to lead the next wave of intelligent blockchain automation.
In a comment from one of the development team members “ V1 of our AI Agent Protocol is already in development, presale participants will have the exclusive early access to becoming testers and in turn earn from rewards we have to offer”. This highlights the importance of being an early holder of $NMA offering multiple benefits to early birds via rewards and higher prices.
Core Features at a Glance
Zero-Code Agent Builder – Easily create and configure AI agents through a drag-and-drop interface
Autonomous Execution – Agents perform on-chain tasks, react to data feeds, and interact across dApps
Agent Marketplace – Build, deploy and monetize AI agents within a Nimanode ecosystem
XRPL Integration – High-speed, low-cost, and eco-friendly infrastructure to power scalable agent activity.
Why hold $NMA Token
At the core of Nimanode ecosystem lies $NMA, the platform’s native utility token. $NMA will be in the Agent Marketplace, where users can license, share, and monetize AI agents with other users and businesses. Combined with its SDK for developers and drag-and-drop builder for creators, Nimanode is positioning itself as a hub for Web3 automation and on-chain labor.
$NMA, the platform’s utility token, is used for:
Market Analysts already predict strong upside upon exchange listing of $NMA as demand for agent-based infrastructure gains traction.
This is a chance to invest in $NMA before its Listing at 25% higher than Presale value, however whales position for more as they eye a 10X surge on Launch.
Following the presale, $XDX will be listed on major exchanges:
Binance
Gate.io
MEXC
BitMart
FirstLedger
MagneticX
Participate in the $NMA Presale
$NMA Presale is Live now on the official Nimanode Presale Page
How to participate in the Presale
Don’t Miss Out Nimanode’s Innovation on XRP
AI driven systems are poised to be the future, Nimanode is Pioneering a charge to bring AI to the XRP Ledger.
Nimanode isn’t just creating another DeFi app, Chatbot, or AI demo. It’s building a protocol layer where artificial intelligence doesn’t just support the blockchain, but lives on it.
Secure your Spot Now!
Connect with Nimanode
Website: https://nimanode.com
Twitter/X: https://x.com/nimanodeai
Telegram: https://t.me/nimanodeAI
Documentation: https://docs.nimanode.com
Contact:
Nick Lambert
contact@nimanode.com
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Nimanode. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.
Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dd565d8a-233c-41a4-a9e0-d7ff2a9d225c
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Baroness Chapman delivers intervention on the Falkland Islands at the Organization of American States
Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, ministers, delegates, friends.
On behalf of the United Kingdom, I would like to thank Antigua and Barbuda for hosting this important assembly.
The UK’s relationships with our friends and allies across the Americas are important to all of us.
Be it climate change, security, or sustainable development – we face the greatest challenges together.
And indeed, for more than two centuries now, the UK and Argentina have shared bilateral relationships – as part of a long, rich history.
My friend the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has met President Milei a number of times.
Earlier this year, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich enjoyed a highly successful visit to the UK.
And even where we disagree, we are working together to reduce tensions.
So, in September 2024, my friend the Foreign Secretary and the former Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino announced a new package of cooperation.
This recognised that while we may not agree on sovereignty, there is much we can achieve by working together in the South Atlantic.
The UK and Falkland Islanders have come together to implement this – including support for Argentine families travelling to the Falkland Islands in December last year, to visit graves from the 1982 conflict.
For a community living with the trauma of invasion and occupation, that was not easy.
Yet, Falkland Islanders wanted to do the right thing.
Both the UK and Falkland Islanders look forward to seeing Argentina making good on their commitments.
That includes cooperation on fisheries for the benefit of all, and the resumption of the flight between the Islands and São Paulo.
The UK remains determined to work with all our partners, including Argentina.
And the UK’s support for the Falkland Islanders’ inalienable right of self-determination remains undiminished.
Falkland Islanders alone should decide their future.
In the referendum they held in 2013, Islanders voted to maintain their status as a self-governing UK Overseas Territory – overwhelmingly.
Five of the six observers of the referendum came from the OAS Member States – reporting that it was free, fair, and reflected the will of the voters.
Today, the Falkland Islands are a democratic and prosperous community – showing the world what is possible on sustainable fisheries and environmental conservation.
They are determining their own future.
And their success has been recognised by S&P Global Ratings – who have given the Falkland Islands an impressive A Plus.
And this is an objective recognition of the stable and thriving community that the Islanders have built.
And later this year, the Falkland Islands will hold a general election to decide their next government.
They will vote on issues such as education, the economy, and the environment.
So, I hope this assembly will recognise that we cannot pick and choose who is entitled to the basic human right of democracy.
The people of the Falkland Islands are rightly proud of their vibrant, small-island, big ocean democracy.
And they are clear – that neither the UK nor Argentina can negotiate the future that they are determining for themselves. So let me be clear: my government will not negotiate on the future of the Falkland Islands, unless the Islanders themselves wish it. And they do not.
I was delighted that many of your governments continue to engage constructively with the Falkland Islanders and have expressed your support for their democratic rights, and I hope that members of the Assembly will agree that we cannot selectively choose when democratic rights apply to a community.
The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime areas.
And we have no doubt about the principle and the right of self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter and in article one of the 2 UN Covenants on human rights.
By virtue of this, Falkland Islanders can determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development – freely.
So, the UK asks that the General Assembly takes note of the Islanders’ right of self-determination – and that this statement is read into the record of this meeting.
Thank you.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
VILNIUS, June 28 (Xinhua) — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Friday formally submitted notifications to the UN Secretary-General on their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.
The three Baltic states cited changing national security needs as the main reason for their coordinated decision to withdraw from the convention, which bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys announced the move on Friday on the social media platform X. “Today, Lithuania officially notified the UN Secretary General of its withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. This decision was not taken lightly,” said K. Budrys.
The Latvian Foreign Ministry noted that the security situation in the region has changed significantly since Latvia joined the convention. “Withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention will provide Latvia with the flexibility to act to strengthen deterrence and ensure the protection of the country and its population,” the Foreign Ministry said.
“By withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, the Estonian Defence Forces will be able to more flexibly choose the weapons systems, means and methods necessary to strengthen the country’s defence capability,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
The Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines was signed in 1997 and entered into force in 1999. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia acceded to the convention in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively.
In recent months, the three Baltic countries have carried out internal legislative procedures to facilitate their withdrawal from the convention.
According to European media, Poland and Finland have also launched procedures to withdraw from the convention.
Under the convention’s rules, the withdrawal will take effect six months after the UN secretary general receives formal notification from each country. –0–
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements
UK businesses to benefit as G7 reach agreement on global minimum tax.
UK businesses will benefit from greater certainty and stability as the UK reached a common understanding with G7 partners on international tax rules.
The agreement addresses how the US and global minimum tax rules will interact with a view to supporting the common objective of tackling multinational tax avoidance and creating a more stable international tax system.
The agreement has helped secure the removal of Section 899 from the One Big Beautiful Bill which could have led to substantial additional tax on UK business.
Talks to address US concerns on the global minimum tax can now continue without the backdrop of this new retaliation measure.
The removal of section 899 follows UK businesses having voiced significant concerns to the Chancellor in recent weeks. Rachel Reeves committed to work with international partners to find a solution and has raised business concerns in her recent engagement with US Secretary to the Treasury Scott Bessent.
Today’s statement will support the stability required for businesses to have confidence to invest in the UK and create jobs, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
It follows the Prime Minister’s launch of the Trade Strategy this week which set out Britain’s trade priorities with a mission to open more doors for business and deliver growth, and recent trade deals with India, the EU and the US.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:
“I will always represent the best interests of British businesses on the world stage. Today’s agreement provides much-needed certainty and stability for those businesses after they had raised their concerns.
“The G7 agrees there is work to be done in tackling aggressive tax planning and avoidance and ensuring a level-playing field. The right environment for this work to happen is without the prospect of retaliatory taxation hanging over these talks, so the removal of Section 899 is welcome.”
The G7 have reached agreement on a path forward for the global minimum tax and Pillar 2 of the G20 / OECD Inclusive Framework project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.
The agreement seeks to maintain the core objectives of Pillar 2 – combatting multinational tax avoidance—while promoting a stable global tax environment that supports fair competition. Recent discussions have considered U.S. Treasury concerns with the application of the rules alongside the U.S minimum tax system.
G7 partners have reached an understanding on a possible solution that would allow the US minimum tax system to operate alongside the Pillar 2 rules but take steps to ensure any substantial risks with respect to the level playing field or base erosion and profit shifting are addressed.
The G7 will now discuss and develop this understanding, and the principles upon which it is based, within the Inclusive Framework of over 140 countries and jurisdictions, while making clear that the removal of proposed retaliatory tax measures in U.S. legislation is essential for this further progress to be made.
Through engaging in constructive discussions on the global minimum tax, the Chancellor is preserving its objective to target multinational tax avoidance while protecting the stability of the international tax system for British business.
The UK government will continue business engagement and work with international partners to develop the proposal agreed by the G7.
Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Executive, CBI, said:
“The US commitment to drop retaliatory tax measures proposed in the One Big Beautiful Bill removes a major source of uncertainty for UK-headquartered multinationals. The CBI has been clear – there are no winners in an economic standoff. Avoiding disruption to transatlantic investment, financial flows and jobs benefits both the US and UK economies.
“While uncertainty remains around the Bill’s final passage and other potential Congressional actions later down the line alongside the UK’s Digital Services Tax under scrutiny – the UK government has rightly defended British business interests and our national sovereignty. HM Treasury’s handling of a challenging negotiation process stands out for its openness and sustained engagement with industry.
“Looking ahead, global tax rules must now be rebalanced through multilateral agreement while ensuring UK companies remain competitively positioned. This is a pivotal opportunity for the OECD to deliver a genuinely simpler, fairer regime – one that goes much further in reducing excessive compliance burdens and upholds a level playing field for all.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Manchester, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amid declining trust in centralized platforms and increasing market volatility, more crypto investors are turning to hardware-free, automated solutions for passive income. SunnyMining today announced the launch of its next-generation AI-powered cloud mining system, designed to help users earn stable daily returns from leading assets such as BTC, DOGE, and XRP.
According to information officially provided by SunnyMining, the new generation of AI cloud mining system is built based on intelligent computing power scheduling and automatic contract execution, aiming to provide predictable and stable daily cryptocurrency returns, suitable for individual and institutional investors.
The core advantages of the platform include:
Predictable daily income: fixed return structure, users can view dashboard data in real time
No equipment deployment required: no mining machine, no settings, zero threshold for operation
Automatic return of principal: the system returns the initial investment after the contract ends
Low threshold starting investment: only $100 to start, suitable for users of different levels
Support multi-currency configuration: flexibly select mainstream assets such as BTC, DOGE, XRP, etc.
AI intelligent scheduling optimization: dynamically adjust mining efficiency to adapt to market changes
In addition, SunnyMining provides a $15 reward for newly registered users, which can be used to directly experience the cloud mining service without the need to recharge or configure equipment, and daily income can be started with zero threshold.
SunnyMining cloud mining operation process:
Register an account: Create an account immediately and receive new member rewards
Start mining: Select a suitable plan, the system will automatically run and distribute income daily
Check progress: Real-time dashboard tracks income and returns, no equipment configuration required
The launch of the new system marks a new stage for SunnyMining in the field of AI cloud mining, providing a more efficient and automated solution for global users who want to obtain stable returns.
About SunnyMining
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Manchester, UK, SunnyMining is a technology platform focusing on AI cloud mining, dedicated to providing stable and automated daily cryptocurrency income to users around the world. It supports multi-currency mining and focuses on building a cloud mining ecosystem that is transparent, user-friendly, compliant and reliable, helping users to easily participate in the crypto economy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
SunnyMining
info@sunnymining.com
50 Liverpool Street Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom, M5 4LT
https://sunnymining.com/
Attachment
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
San Diego, California, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Ripple’s XRP experiences heightened volatility due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and legal uncertainty, many investors are seeking safer, more consistent alternatives in the digital asset space. BTC Miner, a UK-regulated cloud mining platform, is emerging as a trusted solution for individuals looking to earn passive crypto income without exposure to high-risk market fluctuations.
The recent XRP dip, triggered by international unrest and rumors surrounding Ripple’s regulatory status, has shaken investor confidence. Yet amid this chaos, BTC Miner provides an alternative path — one built on predictability, compliance, and transparent returns.
Start mining today at: https://btcminer.net
Cloud Mining Without Complexity
BTC Miner enables anyone to begin mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without needing hardware, technical knowledge, or active trading. Through cloud mining, users simply select a contract plan and let the platform’s advanced mining infrastructure do the work. Profits are generated daily and automatically deposited into the user’s account.
New users are greeted with a $500 welcome bonus, which can be used to activate a beginner-friendly mining contract yielding $2 daily with zero upfront cost. This unique feature allows individuals to earn their first crypto rewards completely risk-free.
FCA-Regulated Security
Registered in the United Kingdom and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), BTC Miner sets itself apart by operating within a framework of legal compliance and investor protection. User funds are stored in Tier-1 banks and protected by top-level SSL encryption and insurance coverage.
Lucrative Referral Program
BTC Miner also rewards users who refer others to the platform. Participants earn 7% commission on direct referrals and 2% on second-level referrals — providing a scalable income stream that grows with your network. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just entering the crypto world, the affiliate model offers an extra layer of earning potential.
Why Users Are Switching to BTC Miner
As the crypto market continues to evolve, BTC Miner is helping users avoid uncertainty and achieve stable, predictable returns through innovative cloud mining. It’s not just a platform — it’s your gateway to reliable digital asset income.
Start mining today at: https://btcminer.net
Media Contact:
Full Name: Liam Carter
City: California, USA
Email: info@btcminer.net
Web: https://btcminer.net
Attachment
Source: Scottish Government
£800,000 to support business creation and growth.
A pipeline of programmes to build entrepreneurial ambition, capability and networks for Scotland’s current and future entrepreneurs will be delivered with investment from the Scottish Government’s Ecosystem Fund.
A total of 28 projects will deliver initiatives in 2025/26. They range from inspiring school pupils to helping businesses realise international growth.
They include:
A new, fully digital application process used by the Fund’s delivery partner, Inspirent, this year means that awards have been made just a few weeks after more than 300 applications were received, meaning programmes can be delivered sooner and for longer during the financial year.
Nearly £100,000 of additional funding has been awarded to projects in response to demand to the Fund.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:
“Scotland has always been a nation of innovators and these projects will build the infrastructure, networks and support systems that our entrepreneurs need to thrive, creating lasting change that goes far beyond individual businesses.
“The Ecosystem Fund sits at the heart of the Scottish Government’s £30 million record investment in entrepreneurship – the biggest commitment we’ve ever made to establishing Scotland as one of Europe’s leading start-up economies.
“The exceptional response to this year’s Fund demonstrates the vibrant entrepreneurial energy that exists across Scotland. I am proud not just to be supporting projects, but investing in the entrepreneurial talent that is the backbone of our economy.”
Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart said:
“It’s extremely encouraging to see the quality and diversity of applications received. What’s particularly reassuring is to see the new digitised process working effectively, streamlining and achieving a shorter and simpler process for applicants ensuring funds reach them much earlier. This is the fastest turnaround the Scottish Government has achieved to date, reflecting a more responsive, agile approach.
“The successful projects will deliver targeted support that founders need in the earliest stages of their business. From accessible business training and mentorship programmes, to networks that connect entrepreneurs across Scotland’s regions and sectors. Moving forward, the commitment is to work more closely with partners across our entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure public sector support delivers maximum impact for Scottish founders.”
Background
Applications for the Ecosystem Fund 2025/26 opened in April: Helping businesses start, scale and flourish – gov.scot
More details about the Ecosystem Fund can be found at: www.ecosystemfund.co.uk
Projects awarded:
The shareholders of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) have appointed Dr. George Elombi as the next President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the continental financial institution. He becomes the fourth President to lead the Bank since its establishment in 1993.
His appointment was one of the key decisions of the 32nd Afreximbank group annual meetings and associated events held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 25 to 28 June, with the formal annual general meeting of shareholders taking place on Saturday, 28 June 2025.
He succeeds Professor Benedict Oramah, who has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2015, and who will be stepping down in September 2025.
A Cameroonian national, George Elombi has been with Afreximbank since 1996, joining as a Legal Officer. He rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services. Over his nearly three decades at the Bank, he has served as Director and Executive Secretary (2010–2015); Deputy Director, Legal Services / Executive Secretary (2008–2010); Chief Legal Officer (2003–2008); and Senior Legal Officer (2001–2003).
Prior to joining Afreximbank, he taught law at the University of Hull, United Kingdom.
Dr. Elombi played a pivotal role in establishing Afreximbank group’s structure, including the formation of key subsidiaries that have expanded the Bank’s capacity to deliver on its mandate. As Chair of the Emergency Response Committee, he led the Bank’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, mobilising over $2 billion for vaccine acquisition and deployment across African and Caribbean nations. Under his supervision of the Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department, the Bank’s total ordinary equity mobilised amounted to USD 3.6 billion as at April 2025.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Elombi expressed a deep commitment to the Bank’s mission and future, stating:
“I have worked alongside remarkable colleagues and extraordinary leaders to help shape this institution’s vision, its mandate as well as its growth. As we look to the future, I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for re-gaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are. I will work to preserve this important asset.”
He accepted the shareholders’ desire as expressed by his predecessor to make the institution a US$250 billion bank in ten years.
Dr. George Elombi holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics, University of London, and a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration from the same university. He obtained a ‘Maitrise-en-Droit’ from the University of Yaoundé in 1989.
His appointment followed a rigorous selection process initiated in January 2025, which included a global call for applications published in international media and on the Afreximbank website. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed by an international human resource executive search firm. The top candidates were presented to the Board of Directors, which recommended Dr. Elombi to the General Meeting of Shareholders for final approval.
Under the Afreximbank Charter, a president is appointed by the general meeting of shareholders upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors for a term of five years, renewable once.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.
Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Detectives investigating the murder of a woman in Tower Hamlets have charged a man in connection with her death.
Layek Miah, 27 (04.11.1997) of Malmesbury Road, Tower Hamlets was charged with murder. He appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 28 June. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear at Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, 1 July.
Police were called on Thursday, 26 June at 23:01hrs, to an address in Monier Road, Tower Hamlets to reports of a stabbing.
Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service, who treated a woman in her 40s for stab wounds.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specialist officers.
Anyone with information which could assist with the investigation is asked to call 101 stating CAD9509/26JUN. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by submitting an online form.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TALLINN, Estonia, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitcoin Solaris (BTC-S) has officially passed $5 million in presale funding as it prepares to launch its groundbreaking mobile mining application, Solaris Nova. The app—designed to let anyone mine BTC-S with just a smartphone—is expected to unlock access for thousands of new users globally. With less than six weeks until token launch and growing community buzz, Bitcoin Solaris is positioning itself as one of the most inclusive and high-performance blockchain ecosystems of 2025.
Bitcoin Solaris: Core Features Driving Adoption
Bitcoin Solaris introduces a new standard in accessibility and financial empowerment.
The upcoming Solaris Nova app will introduce mobile-first mining to millions who have been priced out of traditional crypto. You won’t need a mining rig or technical know-how—just your smartphone and a few taps. Through the exciting release of this tool, Bitcoin Solaris places the power of wealth generation directly into users’ hands.
But it goes far beyond mining. At its core, BTC-S is engineered around a dual-layer blockchain design that delivers:
All of it is tied together with seamless multi-chain integration that allows assets to move across ecosystems without friction.
How BTC-S Uses Multi-Chain Architecture to Scale
While most coins struggle with scaling due to monolithic designs, Bitcoin Solaris leverages a smart separation of duties. The base layer handles security and integrity, while the upper Solaris Layer drives transaction throughput. This multi-chain model is further enhanced with validator rotation and a fork-resistant consensus that ensures consistent uptime, performance, and decentralization.
Add to that upcoming bridges for cross-chain asset transfers, and BTC-S is building toward a genuinely interoperable future.
The Future of DeFi Doesn’t Run on Hype It Runs on BTC-S
Why Investors Are Rushing In
Bitcoin Solaris has already surpassed $5 million in presale funding. Over 12,300 unique users have jumped in, helping position it as one of the most explosive launches this year. And we’re still in phase 9. The current price is just $9. With less than six weeks left before launch, the price is set to rise to $10 next, then hit $20 at launch. That’s a built-in potential 150 percent return, and it’s fueling a frenzy.
This is one of the shortest presales in crypto history. And it’s gaining momentum fast.
You can secure your BTC-S through the official Bitcoin Solaris presale while it lasts.
Real Wealth, Real Access: The New Crypto Class
Bitcoin Solaris is not just about tech—it’s about access. Anyone, anywhere, can now mine from their phone through a built-in mining calculator and earn real value. The barrier to entry has never been lower, creating a new class of empowered crypto participants.
Security is locked in with full audits by Cyberscope and Freshcoins. Transparency, speed, and utility are finally meeting in one powerful package.
Even its social momentum is undeniable. The Telegram and X communities are surging with new users daily, echoing the excitement.
Final Verdict: This Is What the Next Crypto Titan Looks Like
Bitcoin Solaris is engineered for 2025 and beyond. With a performance layer built for DeFi, real-world usability, and mobile-first wealth tools, BTC-S checks every box. Multi-chain integration, institutional-grade throughput, and a community-powered launch are placing it in a category of its own.
With one of the shortest and most explosive presales to date, and a growing army of supporters, Bitcoin Solaris is no longer a hidden gem—it’s quickly becoming a model for the next generation of blockchain innovation.
For more information on Bitcoin Solaris:
Website: https://www.bitcoinsolaris.com/
Telegram: https://t.me/Bitcoinsolaris
X (Twitter): https://x.com/BitcoinSolaris
Media Contact
Xander Levine
press@bitcoinsolaris.com
Press Kit: Available upon request
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Brighton, UK, June 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — XY Miners, a UK-registered cloud miners provider, has announced the official launch of its fully automated crypto contract platform, designed to offer users around the world accessible and sustainable entry into cryptocurrency earnings. With short-term contract options, daily settlements, and no hardware requirements, the platform supports both new and experienced users looking for low-barrier digital asset income.
The platform allows users to activate earning contracts remotely via web or mobile interface, eliminating the need for technical setup or investment in physical mining equipment. All operations are conducted through environmentally friendly mining facilities powered by renewable energy sources.
“XY Miners was created to simplify access to cryptocurrency income while keeping sustainability at the core of our infrastructure,” said a company spokesperson. “Our system automates the entire contract process—from activation to payout—making it easier than ever for users to earn crypto securely.”
How XY Miners Works
XY Miners users can begin earning in just three steps:
All contracts are processed through secure backend systems, allowing users to monitor earnings and contract status in real time. There is no need for hardware installation, manual wallet syncing, or maintenance.
Key Platform Features
Example Contracts
| Contract Name | Asset | Investment | Duration | Daily Reward | Total Return* |
| Free Starter Plan | BTC | $0 | 3 Days | $1.00 | $3.00 |
| DOGE Standard Plan | DOGE | $100 | 7 Days | $4.50 | $131.50 |
| ETH Growth Plan | ETH | $500 | 21 Days | $22.00 | $962.00 |
| BTC Premium Plan | BTC | $10,000 | 35 Days | $420.00 | $24,700.00 |
*Figures shown are for illustrative purposes only. Real-time returns may vary based on asset performance and contract selection. Visit xyminers.com for current rates and terms.
Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency
All of XY Miners’ data centers are built around green mining technologies, with an emphasis on clean power and efficient infrastructure. The company maintains 24/7 system monitoring and employs strict internal auditing to ensure income tracking, compliance, and user fund protection.
About XY Miners
XY Miners is a UK-registered provider of cloud-based cryptocurrency earning services. Through fully automated short-term contracts, green energy infrastructure, and a secure digital interface, the company enables users globally to access passive crypto income without the burden of physical hardware or technical complexity.
Attachment
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Delegates from around the world are preparing to gather in Sevilla, Spain for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a once-in-a-decade opportunity catalyze investment for a better future. Set to run from 30 June to 3 July, the Conference will spotlight multilateralism’s critical role in fostering a sustainable future for all.
To watch all live events in 6 official languages: webtv.un.org/
More information: https://financing.desa.un.org/FFD4
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Delegates from around the world are preparing to gather in Sevilla, Spain for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a once-in-a-decade opportunity catalyze investment for a better future. Set to run from 30 June to 3 July, the Conference will spotlight multilateralism’s critical role in fostering a sustainable future for all.
To watch all live events in 6 official languages: webtv.un.org/
More information: https://financing.desa.un.org/FFD4
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Military personnel, their families and veterans are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central government for the first time under new plans announced by the Prime Minister.
Military personnel, their families and veterans are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central government for the first time under new plans announced by the Prime Minister.
As the nation marks Armed Forces Day, the Prime Minister visited RAF Valley in Wales where he met trainee pilots and their families to celebrate Armed Forces Week.
It comes as the Government confirms plans for the first time that all government departments will have to legally consider the needs of the Armed Forces community when making new policy.
More details of the legal duty will be set out in due course, but could include initiatives such as extending travel benefits to the families of veterans and the bereaved, or flexible working for partners of serving personnel who are required to move as part for their role in the Armed Forces.
This delivers on a manifesto promise and is part of the Government’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve and following the Strategic Defence Review, which underscored the role our Armed Forces play in protecting our national security, which is the foundation of this Government’s Plan for Change.
This Government has committed to renewing its contract with the Armed Forces community, delivering two above inflation pay awards for service personnel and an extra £1.5bn investment this parliament to improve forces’ family housing through the Strategic Defence Review.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“Across the country and around the world, our service personnel and their families make the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe and protect our freedom and our way of life.
“When I became Prime Minister, I made a promise to serve those who have served us. Through the new Armed Forces Covenant, we are delivering on that promise — ensuring our service personnel, veterans and their families are treated with the respect they deserve – that is our duty.
“Our Armed Forces Covenant will put our Armed Forces community at the very heart of government decision-making. Their courage, duty, and sacrifice are the foundation of our national values, and they deserve nothing less.”
The new Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty will ensure:
Announcement follows the Prime Minister’s “homes for heroes” policy guaranteeing housing for all UK Armed Forces veterans, exempting them from local connection rules for social housing.
The Prime Minister also announced £3.5 million of funding for wraparound support services for veterans at risk of homelessness, including mental health, employment, and independent living support earlier this year.
Today’s announcement forms part of a wider commitment to renew the contract with those who have served the country are treated with respect and long-term security.
Under the new legislation all areas of government will for the first time have to have ‘due regard’ for the Armed Forces Covenant when policy and decision making; taking into account the unique circumstances and position of the Armed Forces community to prevent disadvantage.
Currently this is only legally required in areas of housing, healthcare and education and only at local level, so, not applicable to central government. The Legal Duty Extension marks a huge step forward in increasing support for the Armed Forces community.
This extension follows consultation with over 150 organisations and builds on recommendations from the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.
Veterans and People Minister Alistair Carns MP said:
“Service life offers unique opportunities for personal growth and camaraderie, but it also demands exceptional sacrifices. Today, we’re taking bold action to ensure that those who serve our country receive the recognition and support they deserve by embedding these principles into law.
“Whether you serve in the regular or reserve forces, you and your families stand to benefit from the Covenant Legal Duty Extension and its principles as part of our government’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.”
The Armed Forces Covenant is built on a simple but powerful principle: no one in the Armed Forces community should face disadvantage in accessing public or commercial services.
Mark Atkinson, Director General, Royal British Legion:
“The Royal British Legion has been calling for a stronger Armed Forces Covenant for over a decade.
“Those who have served in the Armed Forces often face unique challenges, for example moving frequently during service can make it hard for families to receive consistent support from public services or for spouses and partners to build careers. Expanding the Covenant Legal Duty will help public services better respond to these challenges by ensuring the needs of the Armed Forces community are taken into account when making decisions.
“Currently the Covenant Legal Duty only applies to some areas of housing, education, and healthcare. We firmly welcome the decision to bring the Covenant fully into law to make sure all parts of government across the UK are working together and focused on providing the best possible support for those who are serving, have served, their families and the bereaved.
“It will be vital that the impact of the Duty is measured effectively and those who deliver services must also be resourced with funding and training so that they can fully understand the purpose of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure this change makes a meaningful difference to the lives of all those in the Armed Forces community.”
The new legal duty announced today will extend this commitment across all government departments and devolved administrations. This transformative measure ensures that serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and their families are considered in every relevant policy decision—giving them a meaningful voice and delivering on the Government’s pledge to strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities.
This builds on existing successes in housing, education, and healthcare, such as dedicated NHS pathways for veterans and the Service Pupil Premium.
The extension of the Legal Duty will encompass all UK Government Departments and Devolved Governments, and the following policy areas:
· Housing
· Education
· Healthcare
· Social care
· Childcare
· Employment and service in the armed forces
· Personal taxation
· Welfare benefits
· Criminal justice
· Immigration
· Citizenship
· Pensions
· Service-related compensation
· Transport
Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen
More than 1,000 serving military personnel, veterans and cadets were joined by massed pipes and drums and vintage military vehicles in Aberdeen’s Armed Forces Day parade today (Saturday 28 June).
The 30-minute parade started at Albyn Place at 11am, before making its made its way along Union Street, Union Terrace, Schoolhill, Upperkirkgate, Broad Street, and finishing at the Castlegate.
On Broad Street, the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Dr David Cameron, in his role as His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant was joined by representatives from the UK’s Armed Forces, to take the salute in front of the City’s official flagpole outside Marischal College, on Broad Street.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen, Dr David Cameron, said: “Today’s parade is a tribute to the courage, commitment, and sacrifice of our Armed Forces. It was heartening to see the parade route lined with residents and visitors alike, young and older, waving Aberdeen Armed Forces Day parade flags and showing their support. This parade reminds us of the enduring bond between our community and those who serve.”
Major (Retd) Grenville Irvine-Fortescue, Chairman of The Gordon Highlanders Regimental Association, said: “Armed Forces Day is always special as it honours and recognises the service, dedication and sacrifice of our men and women from across all the Services. In this year of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 that service and sacrifice is brought into even sharper focus. The veterans who march today are immensely proud to do so. They march in memory of those who have gone before. They march in support of our Armed Services of today, both Regular and Reserve Forces. They march out of respect for those servicemen and women who bare the mental and physical scars of their service and they march in deep gratitude to the families who have and continue to provide such amazing support.
“We also acknowledge the Navy, Army and Air Cadet Forces, the commitment they make and the pride they take in being a part of the parade today.
“For us here in Aberdeen we have the special honour of our last WW2 and D Day Gordon Highlander veteran, Jim Glennie BEM, Legion d’honneur, joining His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant, Dr David Cameron, to take the salute as the parade marches past.
“On behalf of The Gordon Highlanders Association, I would like to thank the Lord-Lieutenant, Aberdeen City Council and the people of Aberdeen City, the communities of Aberdeenshire and the wider North East, for their wonderful support to this Armed Forces Day and their commitment to continue to stand by the remarkable men and women of our Armed Services. That support is greatly appreciated and makes us all march a bit taller.”
John McLeish, Chief Executive, The Gordon Highlanders Museum, said: “Once again, Aberdeen’s Armed Forces Day Parade has captured the hearts of people across the city and beyond. We are delighted to have been able to support this year’s ‘design a flag’ competition and we look forward to welcoming the winners to The Gordon Highlanders Museum in the near future.”
Members of the public who lined the parade route were given special Aberdeen Armed Forces Day flags to wave, which featured a special design by Marley Smith, a Primary Six Year pupil from the city’s Broomhill School.
The Gordon Highlanders Museum supports the ‘design a flag’ competition by gifting the three age-group category winners, which includes the overall winner, with family passes to the museum.
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
A man who fled the UK in an attempt to evade justice has been jailed for murder.
Sabajet Shuti – 31 (04.07.93) of Upney Lane, Barking was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 27 years following a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 27 June.
Shuti had been found guilty of murdering 27-year-old Lumturi Zeqja, along with possession of a knife and GBH relating to a second man at the conclusion of a trial at the same court on 14 April.
Shuti’s brother, Emirlion Shuti – 30 (13.12.94) of Blake Avenue, Barking was found guilty of affray during the same trial. He received a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years.
The court heard how Sabajet Shuti launched his fatal attack on the evening of 16 October 2022 in Church Lane, Leytonstone.
Lumturi was standing outside a café with his friend when the Shuti brothers arrived at around 22:40hrs in two cars. The brothers went to a separate café but shortly after Emirlion Shuti returned to one of the cars and began to drive it erratically along the road, revving the engine and causing a disturbance.
Lumturi’s friend approached Emirlion and told him to stop but instead of doing this, Emirlion got out of the car and spoke to his brother and others who were outside the neighbouring café. The situation quickly escalated after Emirlion Shuti threw a punch at Lumturi’s friend. During the ensuing altercation Sabajet Shuti produced a knife and stabbed Lumturi twice, and his friend once.
Both Shuti brothers then fled the scene leaving Lumturi collapsed and dying on the pavement. The emergency services attended but despite their efforts they could not save him. His friend was taken to hospital for emergency surgery and thankfully survived the attack.
Detectives began to piece together evidence and from accessing CCTV and mobile phone footage were able to identify who was responsible.
The day after the murder, Sabajet Shuti made plans to leave the UK. He changed his appearance by shaving off his beard and then travelled to Folkestone before crossing the Channel into France. A warrant for his arrest was issued and around a year after the attack, on 3 October 2023 Sabajet Shuti was arrested in Sweden. He was extradited back to the UK to face the consequences of his actions.
In the intervening period, detectives had arrested and charged Emirlion Shuti for his role in the attack.
Detective Inspector Brett Hagen who led the investigation said: “Sabajet Shuti went to great lengths to try and evade justice, fleeing the country and regularly changing location in an attempt to avoid being arrested.
“However, his efforts were in vain as while he was on the run, our team of tenacious detectives had built a file of evidence and, working in liaison with international law enforcement colleagues, the net closed in on him.
“The level of violence Sabejet Shuti used was completely unnecessary – he went out that night armed with a knife so had clear intent of causing someone significant harm if the chance arose.
“His actions cost Lumturi Zeqja his life and has caused untold pain to his family and friends. While nothing I can say can alleviate their suffering, I hope they can take some small measure of comfort in seeing the Shuti brothers held to account for their actions.”
Source: Government of Sweden
Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life Paulina Brandberg is taking part in the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) on 10–14 March. This year also marks 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the main focus of the this year’s session will be to review and evaluate its implementation.
Source: Government of Sweden
Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life Paulina Brandberg is taking part in the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) on 10–14 March. This year also marks 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the main focus of the this year’s session will be to review and evaluate its implementation.
Source: Government of Sweden
The Swedish Government has adopted a national strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism. This strategy will provide a structure for national efforts in the period 2025–2034. The objective is to lay the foundations for more targeted and coordinated efforts and create better conditions for Jewish life in Sweden.
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Opening press encounter for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development with the UN Secretary-General and Prime Minister of Spain.
The President of the Government of Spain and the United Nations Secretary-General will hold a press conference on the opening day of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, where world leaders, international financial institutions, civil society and private sector representatives are convening from 30 June to 3 July to commit to a renewed global framework to mobilize finance at scale and reform the rules of the system to put people’s needs at the center.
Speakers:
– Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain
– António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
More info: https://financing.desa.un.org/FFD4
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alex Prior, Lecturer in Politics with International Relations, London South Bank University
After eight years of renovations, the Waldorf Astoria in New York has reopened and is welcoming new guests. The Waldorf – as most people know it – introduced room service, velvet ropes, red-velvet cake and Thousand Island dressing. It gave its name to a salad, a chain of lunchrooms, as well as a now obscure form of democracy.
In 1907, the novelist Henry James said the Waldorf embodied what he called the “hotel spirit”: it was a place where everyone was equal – as long as they could afford the price of admission. To James, hotels defined America’s emerging culture and ideals. He said this new “spirit” was one of opportunity; of a new elite that was accessible not only by lineage, but by money.
As the historian and journalist David Freeland wrote, the Waldorf generally made room for all who were “able and ready to pay” and who displayed a willingness to “conduct themselves properly”. The Waldorf ethos was developed by its first maître d’, Oscar Tschirky – known simply as “Oscar of the Waldorf” because people struggled to pronounce his name. “Our innovations were startling and sensational”, Tschirky said in his ghost-written autobiography in 1943, “but they were always genteel”.
Those early innovations included the invention of the “presidential suite”, which saw the hotel become an unlikely early force for American feminism when it became a hub of high-level talks between suffragists and President Woodrow Wilson.
The Waldorf, then, is an American institution – or, at least, it used to be.
It is now in the hands of Chinese owners and has been shunned by presidents since Barack Obama, worried over potential security risks. The brand itself has been watered down as there are currently 32 “Waldorf Astorias” dotted around the globe.
The story of the Waldorf encapsulates modern America’s crisis of the establishment. Few places better personify the creation of the US version of the establishment (much more about money than breeding or class). And in the past decade, the hotel’s position, like the US establishment more generally, has come under assault by a rival hotel owner, Donald Trump.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
Trump has his own ideas about how to use these modern palaces to project power – and his innovations are anything but genteel. So what can the beginnings of this former American institution tell us about America today? As a researcher of political and democratic institutions, I have been examining the role of hotels in the story of American democracy. And this particular story begins with a Swiss-born waiter.
Tschirky was born in the Swiss Alpine village of Le Locle in 1866. He and his mother boarded the steamer La France in 1883, bound for New York. In his book, he recalled his mother’s announcement:
Yes, Oscar, we’re going to go to America and live with your brother in that great land of plenty where we can have everything we’ve always wanted.
That night, according to his book, was “the beginning of Oscar’s career as beloved servitor and counsellor to the great and near great of this world”.
Although it would be ten years after arriving in New York, that Tschirky would join the Waldorf (which was just about to open) as maître d’. His contract and salary commenced on January 1 1893, ahead of the grand opening of the Fifth Avenue hotel in March. He would occupy his post for the next half-century as “host to the world”.
Tschirky would remain in place as the hotel expanded in 1897 when John Jacob Astor IV built and connected the larger, taller Astoria Hotel next door. Then in 1931 the hotel was forced to relocate when its Fifth Avenue location was razed for the Empire State Building. The “new” Waldorf Astoria New York reopened on Park Avenue with the addition of its famous towers, making it the tallest hotel in the world at the time.
Tschirky was born just one year after the end of the American Civil War. It was an America of Jim Crow laws and segregation. He would live to see women’s suffrage, but not the civil rights reforms of the mid-1960s.
Read more:
Activists are warning of a return to the Jim Crow era in America. But who or what was Jim Crow?
In this turbulent context, it appears that Tschirky did his best to keep the Waldorf out of politics. He stuck to the advice given by the Waldorf’s manager, George Boldt (himself a German immigrant) who told him that it was “not up to the hotel to settle international affairs”.
Tschirky came to understand, realise, and represent the “hotel spirit” of a new America as he presided over the establishment of hotels as American palaces: not only for visitors, but for the new American aristocracy.
The Waldorf famously hosted every US president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt. In spring 1897, Cleveland was at the Waldorf with members of his former cabinet, who wanted him as Democratic candidate in the 1900 election. This was the first reported instance of “Waldorf democracy” – in this case, the term was used to identify this new group within (and in some respects differentiate it from) “the democracy”, that was the Democrats.
This politics was not embraced by all. As reported in The Ohio Democrat, Congressman Edward W. Carmack of Tennessee dismissed it as “the walled-off Democracy, because they are by themselves, representing nobody, and unable to influence a vote”.
Nevertheless, political elites liked the luxury that the Waldorf offered. Presidential suites were established during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency (1913-21). In the Waldorf, this famous suite emulates the furniture of the White House and still contains several presidential souvenirs, (including John F. Kennedy’s rocking chair).
The hotel was also popular among the famous “Four Hundred of the Gilded Age” – the highest echelons of New York society. The group was originally led by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor. The Astors’ ancestral family home, the town of Walldorf, in western Germany, had even given the hotel its name. According to Tschirky’s book, the Waldorf’s grand ballroom was:
… where Teddy Roosevelt had dined, where presidents McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge and Hoover had spoken historic words to the nation, where princes of royal blood had been welcomed, where the great people in every walk of life had been honored.
The Waldorf proved a suitable palace for US presidents and their entourages and Tschirky, a suitable “servant”. When interviewed by Washington DC’s Evening Star, Tschirky “wouldn’t talk about presidents except to say that Franklin D. Roosevelt calls him, ‘my neighbor across the Hudson’”.
But Tschirky, “for all his celebrity acquaintances, never forgot that he was, in the end, a servant”, as Freeland wrote. The Waldorf likewise applied the term to its staff.
The world famous hotelier Conrad Hilton, who acquired the Waldorf in 1949, recalled in his autobiography, Be My Guest:
Originally the Waldorf was said to purvey exclusiveness to the exclusive. Later [the writer and artist] Oliver Herford announced that it ‘brought exclusiveness to the masses’. But that exclusiveness remained whether the hotel catered to a convention of three thousand or a tête-à-tête between crowned heads.
The Waldorf ethos projected “taste” and imbued it in others. Tschirky “subtly schooled Americans in fine European dining”. In 1956 – six years after Tschirky’s death – the New York Times recalled that, alongside Boldt, he undertook to teach people how to spend their money. The Waldorf embodied good taste by enforcing it, for example in its expectation of “proper conduct”.
But with exclusivity comes exclusion. Hence, the hotel’s introduction of the velvet rope. According to the Waldorf’s luxury suite specialists, this was done “to create order … the fact that it created a sense of stature and separation was secondary”.
Tschirky’s statement that “all who pay their bills are on an equal footing” reflects one of his “rules for success”:
… be as courteous to the man in a five dollar room as to the occupant of the royal suite. It is an old rule, but it never changes.
We can see from this mindset how the hotel was seen to possess, as American Studies scholar Annabella Fick put it, “a democratic quality … even though it is also elitist. In that, it invokes the democratic understanding of early America, which also differentiated between land-owning gentry and the mob”.
This was not the only differentiation. Just two years after the Waldorf opened, the 1895 New York State Equal Rights Law (commonly known as the Malby Law) – which aimed to abolish racial discrimination in public places – had aroused Boldt’s indignation. According to Freeland, Boldt described the law to reporters as “an outrage, as it prevents us from making any selection of our patrons. A man who runs a first-class hotel must respect the wishes of his guests as to the sort of people that he entertains, and the law should not dictate to him.”
In his paradoxical desire for the freedom to discriminate and persecute as he wished – and on behalf of his customers, real or imagined – Boldt illustrated the exclusion inherent in exclusivity. Boldt’s statement also presaged a system of informal segregation, in which Black Americans were allowed in the Waldorf (and elsewhere), but were certainly not welcome.
Despite this the Waldorf was at the heart of a fundamental shift in American culture which “invited” ordinary Americans access beyond the velvet rope – as long as they could afford it. As James McCarthy and John Rutherford said in their 1931 book, Peacock Alley: “The average man and woman … frowned upon grand display – chiefly because the average person knew it was beyond his or her own horizon of enjoyment. The arrival of the Waldorf, however, was an invitation to the public to taste of this grandeur.”
And it wasn’t just the paying customers. During its 30th anniversary in 1923, the Waldorf elevated its staff – its servants – to the level of guests. Reporters for the Birmingham Age-Herald noted: “Practically the entire staff of the hotel were guests … the affair reached the topnotch of Waldorf democracy, for the waiters and financiers, telephone girls and captains of industry, coat-room clerks and merchant princes sat side by side and swapped reminiscences with each other.” The article continues:
Oscar sat [at] the head of his own table as guest of honor. For a brief time Oscar was no longer the solicitous host … For an hour or two Oscar was himself the guest, and the entire kitchen menage of the Waldorf-Astoria was kept hopping filling his wants and those of his fellow guests.
But being a guest was a temporary experience.
The “Waldorf democracy” described during this event – of people from every walk of life and status mixing and socialising – was very different to that of the Cleveland entourage. It was not party-political, but institutional.
Democracy meant different things, at different times, within the Waldorf; just like in the broader US. The Waldorf, in turn, began to change, and perhaps even lose its meaning within the US by the time of Obama’s presidency.
The Waldorf lost its status as presidential palace in 2014. It was bought for $1.95bn by a Chinese company that was later seized by the Chinese government. Security concerns a year later prompted President Obama to stay at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel instead.
Obama’s choice of where to stay – and where not to stay – was widely discussed in the media. The decision was seen to “break with decades of tradition”. ABC News recognised and portrayed it as the end of an era, bidding “Goodbye to the Waldorf Astoria, welcome to the Lotte New York Palace Hotel”. This new era was also framed in geopolitical terms, for example by the New York Times:
With Chinese spies rummaging through White House emails, President Obama has decided not to risk making their spying any easier: He will break with tradition and abandon the Waldorf Astoria … Mr. Obama and other officials will instead take up residence a few blocks away at the Lotte New York Palace.
The same article also pointed out that “hotels have long represented a weak link in security for travelling officials and others”. In fact, Nikita Khrushchev had once got stuck in an elevator at the Waldorf, and “probably thought it was an attempt to assassinate him”.
Covering up an assassination as an “elevator accident” is probably not what Hilton had in mind when he envisaged his hotels as “a means of combating communism”. On the contrary – as Professor Mairi Maclean, a researcher of business elites, put it – Hilton envisaged hotels as a means of “facilitating world peace through international trade and travel”.
It may not have brought about world peace, but the Waldorf did play a part in certain moments of US history because it was always seen as a key arena to lobby rulers, most notably in 1916. Women’s suffrage in America was still four years away. On one side of the debate (and the Waldorf itself) were two hundred suffragists, occupying the East Room. On the other was Woodrow Wilson, occupying the Presidential Suite.
Tschirky recalled being “appointed diplomatic courier … and delegated to carry the first communiqué of the morning … In the midst of it all I stood my ground, swearing myself an ice cold neutral”.
Though neutral on the question of suffrage, Tschirky was willing to reduce boundaries within the hotel, especially if it was good for business. Even as the hotel was being built, Tschirky remembered that “there was not, in all America, such a thing as a motor car, a radio … Nor were cocktails ever seen in private homes; or divorces tolerated in society; nor did women smoke, or wear dresses above their ankles”.
Then in 1907 a notice was put up in the Waldorf: “Women would be served in the hotel restaurants at any time, with or without male escorts.” Freeland noted Tschirky’s simple confirmation that: “We will serve women. What else can you do in a hotel?”
A few years later, discussing women’s right to smoke in the dining rooms, Tschirky said: “We do not regulate the public taste. Public taste does and should regulate us.”
During the Waldorf’s 30th anniversary in 1923, newspapers such as El Imparcial celebrated it as “a civic asset of unique importance. And to its other accolades must be added that of contributing effectively to the progress of feminism. It was a memorable day in the women’s rights movement when The Waldorf Astoria granted female access to the Peacock Alley.”
Nevertheless, even the naming of Peacock Alley – a corridor in the hotel that became an important place of congregation, especially for women – was a recognition of exclusivity. It was where people gathered to parade themselves. As the recollection goes in Tschirky’s memoirs: “The Waldorf Hotel was a triumphant picture of the Best People at their best”.
With their ostentatious decor and gilded interiors, Trump’s hotels could be seen as the modern incarnation of Peacock Alley.
But the tenets of politeness, respect and decorum that Tschirky set down seem like echoes from another age when compared to a recent AI video showing Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting shirtless at a pool with drinks at an imaginary “Trump Gaza hotel”. The video appears to have been a spoof, but that didn’t stop the president from sharing it on Truth Social, his own social media platform, and Instagram.
Like Hilton (who was immortalised in Mad Men, demanding a Hilton on the moon) hotels have always been a part of Trump’s brand. Trump recalled, in How to Get Rich, that his “first big deal, in 1974, involved the old Commodore Hotel site near Grand Central Station” on 42nd Street.
The former Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, opened in 2016, was described as “the epicenter of the president’s business interests in [the capital]”. It was also “a popular choice for lobbyists and Republican Congress members during Trump’s presidency”.
“The Trump Organization sold the hotel’s lease to CGI in 2022, when the hotel was reflagged as a Waldorf Astoria”, though Trump’s firm is rumoured to be in talks to reacquire it.
Another similarity between Hilton and Trump is their use of hotels as symbols for the nation. Each hotel of Hilton’s was envisaged as a “Little America”, “to show the countries most exposed to communism the other side of the coin”.
In the run up to the 2016 US presidential election, at an opening for the Trump International Hotel, Trump “tried to turn the hotel into a metaphor for America”, according to an editorial in Vox. Trump went on to say:
It had all of the ingredients of greatness, but it had been neglected and left to deteriorate for many many decades … It had the foundation of success. All of the elements were here. Our job is to restore our former glory, honor its heritage, but also imagine a brand new and exciting vision for the future.
Forbes commented that this event “could’ve easily been mistaken for a Trump rally”, for example in his statement that “my theme today is five words: ‘under budget and ahead of schedule’ … We don’t hear those words too often in government – but you will!”
Similarly, in an interview with the New York Post, Trump’s son Eric Trump used familiar Maga rhetoric: “Our family has saved the hotel once. If asked, we would save it again”.
What would Tschirky have made of all this? As a political neutral he would have decried Trump’s frequent hotel plugs during political campaigns. No doubt his behaviour would have seemed crass.
Perhaps this reflects two different eras of hotels and their intended functions. Grand hotels such as the Waldorf were shaped by European colonialism, by immigrants like Tschirky and Boldt. But as historian Annabel Wharton describes, the Hiltons “were constructed not, as in the nineteenth century, to meet an established need, but to create one. They suggest that this pressure was not produced simply by the desire for profit, but from a remarkable political commitment to the system that promoted profit-making”. I think we can read Trump’s hotels, and now his politics, in the same way.
The hotel spirit has entered a new phase with Trump’s proposals to “own, level, and develop” the Gaza Strip and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” – riding roughshod over the democratic will of Palestinians in Gaza who dismissed Trump’s vision.
Less than two decades after opening, Tschirky remarked that “many of the great events, financial, diplomatic, political, had had their inception within [the Waldorf’s] stone walls”. For him, it was “an international crossroad where men from all lands came to exchange goods and ideas” and to plan the changes in the world which he would later see come to pass.
Tschirky saw hotels as the most democratic places on Earth. But the “hotel spirit” he espoused – that uniquely American narrative within which he “became a citizen almost overnight” (a feat that seems vanishingly unlikely today) – seems to have been consigned to the past.
“I know that better times will come again”, he says in the preface to his book, “but in terms of the past, I think I have seen the best. New York has changed. America has changed.”
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Alex Prior 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.
– ref. The Waldorf Astoria: what the history of this legendary hotel says about today’s crisis of the American establishment – https://theconversation.com/the-waldorf-astoria-what-the-history-of-this-legendary-hotel-says-about-todays-crisis-of-the-american-establishment-256372
