Tianjin and Qingdao, two major port cities in China, kicked off the new year with their first inbound international cruise ship of 2025 — the Malta-registered Europa 2, a clear signal of the steady revival of China’s cruise tourism industry.
The luxury liner, carrying hundreds of passengers from countries including Germany, Austria and Switzerland is on a global voyage. During its China leg, the tour group headed to major destinations including Xiamen, Shanghai and Tianjin.
After a brief stop in Qingdao in Shandong Province, east China, on March 1, the ship would head to Japan and the Republic of Korea, according to Kristina Jurgawka, a crew member aboard the ship.
An avid history enthusiast, she was deeply impressed by the Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and enchanted by the skyline of Shanghai. “I’m truly grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said.
For German tourist Joachin Dopp, the ease of entry into China left the strongest impression. “It’s simple to enter, no need for a visa or all those formalities. It’s great that you can just enter the country and enjoy it [your trip],” he told Xinhua.
His experience reflects well on China’s effort to rejuvenate the cruise tourism sector. In May last year, a policy was rolled out allowing visa-free entry for foreign tourist groups arriving on cruise ships at any of the country’s cruise ports along the coastline.
With a coastline stretching 18,000 km, China has seen steady improvements in its port infrastructure. The country boasts abundant tourism resources and is experiencing rapid growth in the service industry, making it a major destination for international cruise liners.
Wang Hong, president of China Europe International Business School, said in a media interview that the visa-free entry policy for cruise passengers will bring unprecedented development opportunities to China’s tourism and cruise industries. It is expected to attract more foreign visitors to choose cruises as a means of traveling to China, thereby boosting inbound tourism.
Industry leaders predict a strong rebound in international cruise tourism in China this year.
On Jan. 3, an international cruise ship carrying 456 passengers docked at Phoenix Island International Cruise Port in Sanya, a popular tropical destination. From 2006 to the end of 2024, the port handled over 1,600 cruise ship voyages and over 2 million passenger trips.
Days later, the Silver Dawn became the first international cruise ship to arrive in Shanghai this year, bringing over 400 tourists from more than 20 countries, including the United States, Britain, and Australia. During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, the border inspection authorities in Shanghai reported 22 cruise ship entries and exits, with 72,000 cruise passenger trips.
Tang Ming, head of a Shanghai-based travel agency, noted that since February 2024, the market has steadily recovered. “We expect to see a 20 to 30 percent increase in international cruise tourists this year,” he said.
Cruise ports in Qingdao are expected to receive over 40 cruise ship visits in 2025, twice the number recorded in 2024, according to the city’s culture and tourism bureau. Meanwhile, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port is preparing for increased activities, with more than 40 inbound and outbound cruise ship visits anticipated at Dongjiang Port in the first quarter alone.
Globally, the Cruise Lines International Association estimates that the number of ocean-going cruise passengers will reach 39.5 million by 2027, reflecting sustained demand for cruise voyages.
By 2035, China’s cruise market is expected to welcome 4.2 million inbound foreign tourist trips annually, with total economic output projected to reach 531.7 billion yuan (about 74.12 billion U.S. dollars), according to a report by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, as cited by Liao Minsheng, a marine tourism expert from Hainan Tropical Ocean University.
China’s market, Liao said in a media interview, presents unprecedented opportunities for the global cruise and yacht economy.
“China’s vast market size and growing demand for cruise tourism provide international cruise and yacht companies with ample room for expansion,” he added. “The sector’s growth is expected to drive the development in areas such as ship design and manufacturing, foreign trade, tourism services, port construction and modern maritime services.”
Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to speak with President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby. During the hearing, Senator Tuberville and Mr. Colby discussed the Trump administration’s plan to counter our foreign adversaries and the importance of selecting locations of military installations based on merit and not politics.
Read the transcript below or watch the full interaction on YouTube or Rumble.
ON COUNTERING CHINESE AGGRESSION IN PANAMA CANAL:
TUBERVILLE: “Good to see you and your family and thank you for wanting to take on this job. It’s going to be very difficult, but we think you can handle it. Mr. Colby, you advocate for a strategy of denial in military and geopolitical context. How does this concept translate to Central and South American places like Panama and the troubling amount of influence that China is starting to have and has had in that area? And by the way, they just announced that one of our major corporations is purchasing both ports at the Panama Canal, which is very good news.”
MR. COLBY: “Well, thanks very much, Senator. And I think the President’s early initiatives on our hemisphere in places like Panama are very encouraging. I think this is part of an overall strategy, both to secure our own interests directly, secure the territorial integrity of our homeland from unchecked migration and lethal fentanyl flows that are killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. But also, as you said, Senator, to ensure that China does not gain a foothold or beyond a dominant position in critical areas of Latin America, which I think was happening. I think that’s a big part of the strategy now. I think part of that is up to the military, but a lot of it’s part of the other agencies of government, the State Department. I know former ambassador in Mexico, Chris Landau, Ambassador Chris Landau, is going through his hearing downstairs. I believe he’s up for the Deputy Secretary of State. You know, I think that’s a kind of relationship between DOD and State Department where you have a clear picture that we’ve got to have a handle on our hemisphere. We’re pursuing our own strategies and we’re also empowering countries in the hemisphere and in the region to contribute more, you know, through development, through better governance themselves, through alignment with the kind of common-sense approaches that I think that we’re following here. That can result in better outcomes for all of us.”
TUBERVILLE: “Yeah, I think you’ll find the new administration in Panama is very receptive […] once you get in your position, you’ll find that out. Been down there several times, and they need help as we need more access to the canal. So, thank you for that.”
ON IMPORTANCE OF BRINGING SPACECOM TO BEST LOCATION:
TUBERVILLE: “In 2023, President Biden overrode President Trump, the Department of Air Force, and the findings of multiple studies, including an inspector general review and directed that the headquarters of Space Command remain in Colorado instead of moving to its selected location at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. My State. Mr. Colby, if confirmed, you will be the senior DOD official in charge of space policy, […] as well as strategy plans and capabilities for the entire department. Do you agree with me that, as a matter of policy, it is in our nation’s best interest to make basing decisions on merit and not on political agendas?”
MR. COLBY: “I do, Senator.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Mr. Colby, much of your work is about prioritizing our defense policy towards deterring aggression with China our pacing challenge. What do you make of the progress made over past few years by our adversaries toward integrating with their militaries. I’m talking about since Ukraine, Russia have had their conflict, all the people in the east basically that are running to China. What’s your thought on that?”
MR. COLBY: “Well, I think it’s really, really disturbing Senator. I think there has been this kind of, think of it as like a counter coalition. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. China’s kind of the cornerstone of that coalition. It’s by far the largest economy. Their support has made the Russian war effort in Ukraine sustainable. They’re helping the Iranians. The Iranians are helping them. The Russians are helping the North Koreans. So, I think there’s a couple of things to be done about that.
On the defense side, I think it’s important for us to work with our allies to kind of plug the gaps in our perimeter. A lot of that is getting our forces in a better state of readiness, putting them in the right place, getting our defense industrial base back in a good shape, robust defense funding, and then getting our allies to step up. I think a big part of this is we have some allies—Israel, I’ve mentioned, India, South Korea, Poland— they’re really pulling their weight. You could add Finland up there, is doing a pretty good job. But a lot of the biggest economies in our alliance network really aren’t pulling their weight. They’re starting now. So, I think there’s a real opportunity to capitalize on that because together, we are much wealthier than this counter coalition, but we’ve got to turn that into real military capability.”
ON BRICS:
TUBERVILLE: “Your quick thoughts on BRICS.”
MR. COLBY: “I think, you know, BRICS are sort of a representation of the changing world dynamic. I think Secretary Rubio put it very well. We’re no longer in Charles Krauthammer’s unipolar world. We’re in a world—United States is still, I think, the strongest country out there, but China is the biggest, most powerful rival we face in probably a hundred and fifty years, and other countries are making their decisions. Obviously, the Indians who I think our relationship there is golden going forward, and we should really deepen that. And if confirmed, I would make a big priority of that. They’re part of it, so it’s complicated. But people are going to be moving around talking to, you know, the Saudis are talking to Russians and they’re talking to us. That’s very common. That’s how the world’s going to be. That’s the reality of the world system as it is now, I think.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Headline: Industry Leaders Launch “L4 is ON” Autonomous Network Joint Initiative at MWC Barcelona
[Barcelona, Spain, March 4, 2025] At MWC Barcelona 2025, TM Forum hosted the Autonomous Networks (AN) Summit with the theme “Advancing Autonomous Networks Level 4 Innovation and Commercialization.” Speakers from Telefonica, Orange, Telenor, Huawei, and other partners gathered to discuss and plan the development of Level 4 (L4) Autonomous Networks.
In 2024, the AN industry experienced rapid growth with the release of the L4 industry blueprint and 20 high-value scenarios. Large model technology has shown early success in telecommunications applications, and several leading operators have already reached L3.5 in some key scenarios such as fault management. With 2025 being a pivotal year for L4 commercialization, the AN Mission Board is focusing on the L4 industry blueprint, solution package development, and commercial innovation deployment, and has jointly launched the “L4 is ON” initiative.
AN Initiative Launch – L4 is ON
1. Refining the L4 industry blueprint: Refining the implementation timeline with a focus on high-value L4 scenarios, and enhancing the target structure based on copilots and agents to advancing towards L4 with support from all industry partners.
2. Developing standardized L4 solution packages: Developing standardized solution packages, including the scenarios requirements, key effectiveness indicators, ANL evaluation standards, and E2E solutions, to support L4 commercialization in high-value L4 scenarios.
3. Promoting the innovation and commercialization of L4 high-value scenarios: Conducting AN-level assessment, accelerating application innovation and large-scale adoption, unlocking new value, and fostering a sustainable business cycle.
Aaron Boasman-Patel, VP Innovation at TM Forum, said: “Autonomous Networks are more than a technical evolution; they will unleash a step-change in customer experience, business velocity, profitability and new services by unlocking the power of seamless end-to-end autonomous operations. To accelerate their adoption, we’re working with our members to deliver an industry standard open architecture that will enable CSPs to reach Level 4 autonomy.”
Dang Wenshuan, Chief Strategic Architect of Huawei
Dang Wenshuan, Huawei’s Chief Strategy Architect, said: “AI breakthroughs will be achieved at faster pace, and AN is picking up speed. We have much work to do. One key task is to define solution packages. A solution package serves as a guide on how to implement AN Level 4 from end to end for a high-value scenario. It offers scenario descriptions, effectiveness indicators, gap assessment, a function architecture, an integration solution, and a workflow. The package enables efficient AN Level 4 implementation for each high-value scenario, and drives large-scale commercial adoption for different telcos.”
During the AN Strategy Panel Discussion, panelists from Telefonica, Orange, Telenor, and etc. addressed key topics such as commercial value, implementation pace, and essential technologies.
The guests present agreed that realizing Level-4 Autonomous Networks is challenging and requires long-time, concerted efforts across the industry. Technological innovation and real-world projects focusing on high-value scenarios are essential to create more intelligent, efficient, and sustainable network services for the era of autonomous networks.
MWC Barcelona 2025 will be held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025
For centuries, fire was one of the major fears for city-dwellers. Dense cities built largely of wood could – and did – burn. In 1666, a fire in a bakery went on to destroy two-thirds of the city of London, leaving 85% of residents homeless. In 1871, fire burned out huge areas of Chicago. In World War II, bombing raids by Allied forces largely destroyed cities such as Dresden in Germany and Tokyo in Japan.
The threat of large-scale urban fires drove authorities to spend more on urban firefighting and require buildings to use less flammable material. Fire alarms, fire engines and automatic sprinklers have done much to reduce the chance of uncontrolled spread.
But will our sense of safety endure in the age of climate change? In January, we saw swathes of Los Angeles burn – even in the northern winter. Driven by low humidity and high winds, numerous large fires encroached on the city, destroying outlying suburbs. Climate change made the fires worse, according to climate scientists.
Now we have new research on the question of whether climate change will make large city fires more likely. A research team from China, Singapore and Australia have gathered a decade’s worth of data on fires from almost 3,000 cities in 20 nations, home to one-fifth of the world’s population.
The researchers found for every 1°C increase in air temperature, outdoor fires (rubbish and landfill) increase 4.7% and vehicle fires 2.5%. If the world accelerates its burning of fossil fuels under a high emissions scenario compatible with a 4.3°C temperature rise by century’s end, outdoor fires in cities would soar 22% and vehicle fires 11%. But building fires are projected to actually fall 5%. Thankfully, this emissions scenario is now less likely.
To make these findings, the researchers aggregated the fire incident data from 2,847 cities located in 20 countries over the 2011–20 decade and analysed them to see how air temperature influences the frequency of three types of fires: outdoor, structural and vehicle. They found a strong correlation.
Of the 20 nations, New Zealand looks likely to have the highest increase in fires, soaring 140% over 2020 figures by 2100.
When we think of fires in a city, we usually think of structural fires – a building going up in flames.
The research suggests building fires would actually decrease 5% by 2100. This is unexpected, and might suggest uncertainty about this finding.
Interestingly, this research found the fewest structural fires occurred at air temperatures of 24°C, a temperature which humans find optimal. When it’s hotter or cooler than that, more buildings catch fire.
Why? It’s likely due to our behaviour. We spend more time indoors when it’s very cold or very hot outside, which the authors suggest could make us more likely to accidentally cause fires by using electrical appliances and fireplaces which have a fire risk.
By contrast, outdoor and vehicle fires do increase linearly as temperatures rise. Most vehicle fires come from an equipment or heat source failure, which are both likely to increase as temperatures rise. We are also more likely to have a car crash when it’s hotter, and vehicle fires often come after a crash.
Outdoor fires become more likely because heat dries out fuels and favours fire spread. Rubbish dumps can spontaneously catch fire when temperatures are too high – even underground. This happens because chemical reactions are accelerated in warmer temperatures, causing waste materials to heat up faster. If the extra heat isn’t dissipated, waste can become so hot that it catches fire on its own.
We should take these estimates with a grain of salt. This is because they project recent statistical patterns into an uncertain future, and draw on a data set not perfectly suited to the task. The data set stops in 2020, before the electric vehicle transition gathered speed. EVs have a different risk profile for accidental fires.
As the authors note, there are large barriers to getting a coherent understanding of fire risk. “Despite multiple efforts, we have been unsuccessful in obtaining fire data from Africa and South America,” they write.
Their estimates also relate to a high-emissions future which is hopefully becoming less likely, though the general pattern of the results are similar under less severe climate projections.
Most importantly, it’s not yet clear why temperature influences urban fires. This uncertainty raises questions over whether simple projections of current patterns into the future are realistic or appropriate.
Cities aflame?
Arguably the most important contribution of this new research is to show us that our cities are not inherently protected from fire.
For city authorities, this research points to the need to manage combustible materials, from piles of mulch to dry urban parks and even home gardens. Storage yards, rubbish dumps and recycling centres will also need to be managed.
Fire used to be a major concern for cities, and it could be again. Cities and fire are uneasy bedfellows, and climate change will worsen the situation.
David Bowman is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and also receives funding from the New South Wales Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre, and Natural Hazards Research Australia.
Calum Cunningham receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
The aftermath of one of the most undiplomatic – and notorious – White House meetings in recent history reveals a changed world.
Having berated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly not wanting peace with Russia and failing to show sufficient gratitude to the United States, President Donald Trump has now paused all military aid to Ukraine.
This equates to about 40% of the beleaguered nation’s military support. If the gap is not quickly covered by other countries, Ukraine will be severely compromised in its defence against the Russian invasion.
This has happened while the Russian army is making slow but costly gains along the front in eastern Ukraine. Trump’s goal appears to be to force Zelensky to accept a deal he does not want, and which may be illegal under international law.
New Zealand is a long way from that front line, but the implications of Trump’s unilateral abandonment of Ukraine still create a serious foreign policy problem.
Aside from its unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s actions, New Zealand has provided Defence Force personnel for training, intelligence, logistics and liaison to the tune of nearly NZ$35 million. The government has also given an additional $32 million in humanitarian assistance.
At the same time, New Zealand has supported global legal efforts to hold Russia to account at both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. With Trump undermining these collective actions, New Zealand faces some stark choices.
Allies at war
While a genuine ceasefire and eventual peace in Ukraine are the right aims, Trump’s one-sided proposal has involved direct talks between Russia and the US, excluding all other parties, including the actual victims of Russian aggression.
With eery parallels to the Munich Agreement of 1938 between Nazi Germany, Britain, France and Italy, peace terms could be dictated to the innocent party. Ukraine may have to sacrifice part of its territory in the hope a wider peace prevails.
In exchange, Ukraine may be given some type of “security assurance”. But what that arrangement would look like, and what kind of peacekeeping force might be acceptable to Russia, remains unclear.
If the current UK and European ceasefire proposals fail, Europe could be pulled more directly into the conflict. Since the Trump rebuff, European leaders are embracing Zelenskyy more tightly, wary of an emboldened Russia threatening other states with substantial Russian populations such as in Estonia and Latvia.
European boots on the ground in Ukraine could escalate the existing war into a much larger and more dangerous conflict. The complexities of this new reality are now spilling over in the United Nations.
A fork in the road
While the Security Council finally agreed on a broad statement in favour of a lasting peace, just what that might look like has seen opposing resolutions in the General Assembly.
On February 18, 53 countries, including New Zealand, voted in favour of a resolution condemning Russian aggression and calling for the return of Ukrainian territory. The resolution passed, but the US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea voted against it.
The US then put up its own resolution calling for peace, without recognising Russian aggression or the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. New Zealand supported this, too.
Those two votes clearly signal a fork-in-the-road moment for New Zealand.
As well as the wider consequences and potential precedents of any Ukraine peace settlement for security in Europe and the Pacific region, there is the immediate problem of supporting Ukraine.
With the US and Europe – both traditional allies of New Zealand – now deeply divided, whatever path the government chooses will directly affect present and future security arrangements – including any possible “pillar two” membership of AUKUS.
Potentially complicating matters further, Trump’s civilian lieutenant Elon Musk has publicly advocated for the US leaving the UN and NATO. Whether or not that happens, the threat alone underscores the gravity of the current situation.
No option without risk
Ultimately, if Trump decides to force Zelensky to the negotiating table against his will, and Europe continues urging and supporting him to fight on, New Zealand will have to take sides. It cannot take both.
The National-led coalition government will either have to abandon the stance New Zealand has taken on the Russian invasion over the past three years, or wait for Europe’s response and align with efforts to support a rules-based international order.
The first option would mean stepping back from that traditional foreign policy position, cutting military support for Ukraine (and trusting the Trump process), and probably ending sanctions against Russia and diplomatic efforts for legal accountability.
The other path would mean spending more on military aid, and possibly deploying more defence personnel to help fill the gap Trump has created.
No option is without risk. But, on balance, the European approach to international affairs seems closer to New Zealand’s worldview than the one currently articulated by the Trump administration.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
LUXEMBOURG, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tenaris S.A. (NYSE and Mexico: TS and EXM Italy: TEN) (“Tenaris”) announced today the completion of its USD700 million Share Buyback Program announced on November 10, 2024 (the “Program”).
During the Program, which ran from November 11, 2024, to (and including) March 4, 2025, the Company purchased a total of 36,862,132 ordinary shares, representing 3.17% of the total issued share capital at the beginning of the Program, for a total consideration of €668,198,121, or approx. USD700 million.
As of March 4, 2025, the Company held in treasury 90,762,598 ordinary shares (including 53,900,466 ordinary shares bought pursuant to the USD 1.2 billion Share Buyback Program), equal to 7.81% of the total issued share capital.
Tenaris intends to cancel treasury shares purchased under the Program in due course.
Some of the statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. These risks include but are not limited to risks arising from uncertainties as to future oil and gas prices and their impact on investment programs by oil and gas companies.
Tenaris is a leading global supplier of steel tubes and related services for the world’s energy industry and certain other industrial applications.
Giovanni Sardagna Tenaris 1-888-300-5432 www.tenaris.com
Headline: Huawei Cloud Stack Announces Six Scenario-specific Solutions for Carriers to Drive Efficiency, Revenue Growth, and Digital Inclusion
[Barcelona, Spain, March 4, 2025] At MWC 2025, during the Huawei Cloud Carrier Forum, themed “Take a Cloud Leap to Transform from Telco to Techco”, Huawei released six Huawei Cloud Stack-based scenario-specific solutions for carriers around the world, as well as a Telco2Techco Cloud Leap Program. They aim to help carriers enhance operational efficiency and generate new revenue streams through cloud innovation.
Shang Haifeng, President of Huawei’s Huawei Cloud Stack Business Dept, delivering an opening speech through digital human
Today, more and more carriers are transforming themselves from traditional telecommunications companies (telcos) to technology companies (or techcos). Shang Haifeng, President of the Huawei Cloud Stack Business Dept at Huawei, said: “This [telco-to-techco] transformation is not just about adopting new technologies; it is about redefining the role of carriers in a digital-first world. At Huawei Cloud, we are proud to partner with global carriers on their journey to becoming techcos.”
Johnny Lyu, CTO of International Business, Huawei Cloud Stack, delivering a keynote
In recent years, carrier transformation has typically started with an all-cloud transformation for boosting operational efficiency and enriching services for an enhanced customer experience. Johnny Lyu, CTO of International Business at Huawei Cloud Stack, said: “Huawei Cloud Stack offers a reliable cloud foundation. Today, we are releasing six scenario-specific solutions for carriers, helping them improve the efficiency of their businesses, platforms, and services, and start a second growth curve.”
Huawei Cloud Stack’s six scenario-specific solutions for carriers include three for enhancing internal operational efficiency and three out-of-the-box solutions aimed at driving external revenue growth.
Leap to Cloud to improve efficiency
FinTech: This solution supports secure, high-performance, and flexible operational capabilities for Mobile Money. It helps ensure the compliance of both mobile financial services and data while enhancing user experience for their customers.
Marketing big data: This solution offers an efficient, one-stop, cloud-native data foundation with 200 built-in data models for simplified development. It guarantees 99.999% availability on the cloud, supporting customer acquisition and retention by carriers.
AICC: A solid, centrally managed cloud foundation for Artificial Intelligence Contact Center (AICC) ensures 24/7 availability for services such as digital ambassadors for customer service, AI scheduling, and AI voice analytics.
Spark innovation with out-of-the-box solutions
Smart government: Huawei Cloud Stack provides a unified cloud operations platform, enhancing capabilities in product listing, metering and billing, and customer management. This enables better public services for both businesses and residents as well as digitalized, modernized city governance.
Smart education: This solution offers course management, remote classrooms, and exam management on the cloud. A high-concurrency, high-performance platform supports AI-generated live captions in multiple languages as well as knowledge graphs.
Cloud phone: Huawei Cloud Stack supports cloud-based virtual phones with pre-installed apps, such as gaming and office tools. These virtual phones can serve as data backups for users, with flexible permissions control, helping carriers drive 4G conversion among subscribers.
Launch ceremony of Huawei’s Telco2Techco Cloud Leap Program
Huawei Cloud Stack, together with Orange, Zain Kuwait, iSoftStone, and ULearning, jointly launched the Telco2Techco Cloud Leap Program underpinned by six scenario-specific solutions for carriers. Focusing on 10+ innovative service scenarios, this program offers project support, marketing support, training, enablement, and more, helping carriers accelerate the transition from telcos to techcos.
MWC Barcelona 2025 is held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025
Headline: Global Industry Partners Jointly Release Net5.5G Best Practices & Deployment Guide Whitepaper
[Barcelona, Spain, March 4, 2025] At MWC Barcelona 2025, the Broadband Development Congress (BDC), hosted by the World Broadband Association (WBBA), was a resounding success. Themed “Smarter Broadband: Investment. Innovation. Intelligence,” the congress attracted over 200 industry leaders from global industry organizations, standards organizations, government agencies, carriers, and device vendors. Attendees exchanged views on key issues, including the Net5.5G evolution path, network technology innovation, and commercial practices.
Ryan Qiu, Vice President of Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line, delivering a keynote speech titled “Accelerating Net5.5G Innovation, Striding to an Intelligent Era”
In his keynote speech at the congress, Ryan Qiu, Vice President of Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line, noted that the integration of AI into carriers’ strategies is gaining momentum, with Net5.5G serving as a catalyst for the in-depth convergence of networks and AI. To address this trend, Huawei has introduced AI WAN, a cutting-edge solution that comprehensively empowers IP networks in the Net5.5G era using AI. Featuring a three-layer architecture comprising AI routers, AI new connections, and AI new brain, this solution enables carriers to unlock new network value across diverse scenarios, including individual, home, and enterprise settings.
Industry Consensus on Net5.5G: Global Leaders Call for Enhanced Cooperation
At the congress, global industry leaders from organizations such as the WBBA, IPv6 Forum, International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) reached a consensus during the “Fireside Chat: Forward-Looking Dialogue on the Evolution of Next-Gen Networks.” Net5.5G has now become an industry-wide consensus, making significant strides in areas including industry development, policy formulation, and commercial practices. The leaders called for enhanced industry collaboration and continued joint efforts to drive the commercial success of Net5.5G, thereby guiding the sustainable development of the Internet industry.
Establishment of Net5.5G Industry Cooperation Mechanism and Phased Progress of Global Pioneer Program
With the advent of the Net5.5G era, the WBBA, IPv6 Forum, ITU-T, IETF, and Network Innovation and Development Alliance (NIDA) have collaborated to establish a next-generation network cooperation mechanism. While the WBBA and IPv6 Forum drive industry consensus, the ITU-T explores future network needs, the IETF spearheads the formulation of network technology standards, and the NIDA defines network construction standards and facilitates technology adoption. This multi-party collaboration marks a new phase of global network upgrades and lays a solid foundation for an intelligent society.
The Global Net5.5G Pioneer Program has made steady progress. At the congress, industry leaders jointly released the latest progress of the program. To date, a number of outstanding Net5.5G pioneers have emerged globally, including 18 visionary pioneers, 2 region pioneers, and 18 business pioneers.
Accelerated Net5.5G Commercial Deployment and Release of Best Practices Whitepaper
Multiple carriers shared their experience and achievements in Net5.5G commercial deployment. As the integrated operator in Spain by user count, MasOrange builds an efficient capacity growth, ultimate experience and intent-based automation Net5.5G converged IP network. 400GE/800GE, SRv6 + slicing meet traffic surging and automatic network scheduling requirements, and supports new services such as edge computing in the future. Based on Network Digital Map，through AI empowerment, MasOrange will stride to AN L4, a new phase of intelligent evolution.Turkcell, a digital carrier in Türkiye, has built a stable, flexible, and experience-centric target network by leveraging key Net5.5G technologies such as 400GE/800GE, SRv6/slicing, and Network Digital Map. This network features ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, and intelligence, significantly enhancing customer service experience and generating new business value. In addition, the WBBA has released the Net5.5G
Best Practices & Deployment Guide Whitepaper, showcasing global Net5.5G best practices and providing valuable insights and inspiration for the industry.
As Net5.5G continues to evolve, the WBBA urges global industry organizations to strengthen industry cooperation and jointly drive industry innovation in technical standards, policies, and commercial practices to foster a thriving data communications ecosystem.
MWC Barcelona 2025 is held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1. In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world. For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025
Poland’s President Warns of Resurgence of ‘Russian Imperialism’, Calls War on Ukraine ‘Beginning of Effort to Violently Destroy International Order’
The General Assembly, over the course of two meetings today, adopted seven resolutions — some drawing more contention than others — and heard an address by the President of Poland.
International Day for Judicial Well-being
First, the General Assembly took up the draft resolution titled “International Day for Judicial Well-being” (document A/79/L.52). Introducing the text, Lionel Rouwen Aingimea, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Nauru, stressed that — while the judiciary “serves as a cornerstone of justice” — challenges faced by judicial officers have long been overlooked.
However, the representative of the United States said that his delegation will request a recorded vote — and vote no — “because this resolution represents the internationalization of the self-care movement and the migration of it into domains where it does not belong”.
The Assembly then adopted the resolution by a recorded vote of 160 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 3 abstentions (Haiti, Madagascar, Syria). Through the text, the General Assembly decided to proclaim 25 July of each year the International Day for Judicial Well-being.
Education for Democracy
Next, the Assembly considered the draft resolution titled “Education for democracy” (document A/79/L.56). The representative of Mongolia introduced that text, emphasizing that an inclusive education system empowers individuals and strengthens governance institutions. The text therefore calls for investments in quality education and lifelong learning, also urging Member States to harness the potential of digital technologies to advance education for democracy, he said.
The representative of the United States said that his delegation will again call for a recorded vote — and vote no — on this draft “because much of the text violates United States policies”. Specifically, he said that its discussion of misinformation and disinformation is an “unequivocal red line for the United States”, as these terms are “intentionally nebulous and ill-defined so they can be wielded as tools of censorship”.
The Assembly then adopted the resolution by a recorded vote of 151 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 8 abstentions (Argentina, Belarus, Fiji, Madagascar, Russian Federation, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Syria). Through the text, the Assembly strongly encouraged Member States and education authorities to integrate education for democracy — along with civic education and human-rights education, among others — into their education standards.
After the vote, the representative of the Russian Federation noted that “democracy does not have a universal definition or a single model”. She also disassociated from the text’s reference to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stating that mention of the Office in a resolution about education is “unjustified” — a point echoed by Nicaragua’s representative.
Iran’s representative, meanwhile, said that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration are “absolutely non-legally binding”. Disassociating from relevant paragraphs, he said that Iran’s national plans and programmes “will be our final source of action and reference”. Argentina’s representative also disassociated from several paragraphs, stressing that “every State, within its own sovereignty, has the right to participate [in the 2030 Agenda] — or not”.
UN Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan
The Assembly then turned to the draft resolution titled “United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan” (document A/79/L.57/Rev.1). Introducing that text, the representative of Kazakhstan said that the Centre aims to address the specific needs of Central Asian countries, which each possesses unique challenges and opportunities that are shaped by diverse socioeconomic contexts, cultural realities and environmental conditions.
The representative of the Russian Federation then noted that the countries of Central Asia are “unified by a shared history, similar geographic and social conditions and shared challenges in development”. Therefore, they must coordinate efforts and find shared regional solutions. “This, in turn, meets the current trends to regionalize efforts in the area of development,” he noted.
The Assembly then adopted the text without a vote, through which it decided to formalize the Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Further, it requested the Secretary-General to appoint its Head and further decided that the costs of all its activities shall be met by voluntary contributions.
After the vote, several delegates expressed concern over the process by which this text was negotiated. Switzerland’s representative said that her delegation would have preferred more transparency and inclusivity, while the representative of Türkiye said that the wider membership was not sufficiently consulted during negotiations. Mexico’s representative expressed hope that “this way of carrying out multilateral negotiations will not be repeated in other processes”.
Meanwhile, the representative of the United States said that Kazakhstan “needs neither an expanded UN system nor the SDGs in order to prosper — it should instead make sovereign decisions for its people and cast aside the burden of soft global governance”. For her part, Australia’s representative — also speaking for Canada and New Zealand — welcomed the adoption.
International Day of Peaceful Coexistence and International Day of Hope
The Assembly also considered the draft resolution titled “International Day of Peaceful Coexistence” (document A/79/L.53). Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain, introducing that text, said that it reaffirms the role of Member States and other stakeholders in promoting tolerance, respect for religious and cultural diversity and human rights.
The representative of the United States again said that his delegation will call for a recorded vote on this text — and vote no — expressing concern that the resolution “advances a programme of soft global governance that is inconsistent with US sovereignty”. He added: “Simply put, globalist endeavours like Agenda 2030 and the SDGs lost at the ballot box; therefore, the US rejects and denounces the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.”
He also expressed concern that the resolution’s titular reference to “peaceful coexistence” could be “co-opted to imply the United Nations’ endorsement of China’s ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’”. Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, China’s representative said that such principles are “widely recognized by the international community and contained in many international instruments”.
Adopting the resolution by a recorded vote of 162 in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, United States), with 2 abstentions (Paraguay, Peru), the Assembly decided to proclaim 28 January as the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, to be observed annually.
The Assembly then turned to the draft resolution titled “International Day of Hope” (document A/79/L.54). Introducing it, Kiribati’s representative said that hope is “a force that has carried humanity through the darkest of times and propelled us towards a future of possibility, resilience and renewal”. However, he expressed disappointment over the decision by the United States to force a vote.
On that, the delegate of the United States said that the text “contains references to diversity, equity and inclusion that conflict with US policies that seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination and create equal opportunities for all”. He added: “In a world that faces many challenges, funding and effort should be allocated to critical causes and crises, rather than International Days.”
The Assembly then adopted the text by a recorded vote of 161 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (India, Paraguay, Peru, Türkiye), through which it decided to declare 12 July the International Day of Hope.
“What we’ve just seen this morning is a clear example of the lack of commitment by the United States to a culture of peace, to the United Nations as a whole and to multilateralism in general,” stressed the representative of Cuba, after the vote.
Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
The Assembly also took up the draft resolution titled “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (document A/79/L.55). Singapore’s representative, introducing the text, called on States to ratify the agreement. He also made an oral revision to replace “welcome” with “take note of” regarding signatures and ratifications of the agreement to date.
The Assembly then adopted that text, as orally revised, without a vote. By its terms, the Assembly called on all States and regional economic integration organizations that have not done so to consider signing, ratifying, approving or accepting the Agreement as soon as possible.
However, the representative of the Russian Federation disassociated from consensus, stating that mechanisms to establish marine protected areas without appropriate scientific research “run the risk of abuse and unsubstantiated restriction of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of States on the high seas”. His counterpart from the United States, meanwhile, said that her country is “currently reviewing its policies and does not take a position on this matter”.
Eightieth Anniversary of the End of the Second World War
The Assembly also adopted, without a vote, a text titled “Eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War” (document A/79/L.51), which requested the holding of a special meeting of the Assembly to commemorate all victims of the Second World War in the second week of May in 2025 and every five years thereafter.
The representative of the Russian Federation, introducing that text, said that 2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism. Paying tribute to the millions who were sacrificed for that victory — including 27 million from the Soviet Union — he said that the international community has a shared duty to honour that victory.
However, Ukraine’s representative underscored that it is the “height of cynicism” for a State engaged in an unprovoked war of aggression to attempt to unite nations around the memory of the Second World War. She added: “Despite the high price paid for peace, the promise of ‘never again’ remains unfulfilled — today, Europe is witnessing the most brutal war since Hitler.”
The representative of the United Kingdom, similarly, pointed to the “fundamental irony of Russia summoning us here today”, having presented a resolution “to mark the end of one war in Europe having started another”. Lithuania’s representative added: “Today, Russia instrumentalizes the memory of the Second World War to justify its own crimes, both past and present.” Poland’s representative, also speaking for a group of 34 other European States, spotlighted the Russian Federation’s “cynicism of using ‘de-Nazification’ to justify its illegal aggression and occupation of part of an independent UN Member State”.
“We have to say this — the sponsor of this resolution simply does not live by the words of the UN Charter,” stressed the representative of Canada, also speaking for Australia and New Zealand. “Russia’s aggression — and we must name it precisely — and its bid to expand its territory at the expense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other States is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter,” he said.
For his part, the representative of the United States said that the “Russia-Ukraine war has waged on for far too long”, urging that the “UN be guided by its original purpose and unite to end the bloodshed”. All Member States should recommit themselves to the “old vision of peace that propelled us out of the devastation and despair of World War II”, he added. Israel’s representative said: “It is our responsibility not only to remember but to ensure that future generations carry this memory forward to prevent history from repeating itself.”
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, the delegate of the Russian Federation expressed concern about the politicized statements delivered by the delegates of Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. It is the actions of European States, she said, that are hampering the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
Appointments to Joint Inspection Unit
In other business, the Assembly decided, without a vote, to appoint Makiese Kinkela Augusto (Angola), Victor Moraru (Republic of Moldova), Jesús Miranda Hita (Spain) and Marcel Jullier (Switzerland) to the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations system, for a five-year term beginning 1 January 2026 and expiring on 31 December 2030.
Address by President of Poland
The General Assembly also heard an address by Andrzej Duda, President of Poland. Noting that recent years have demonstrated how fragile peace and security are, he spotlighted the resurgence of “Russian imperialism”. The 2014 attack on Ukraine marked “just the beginning of an effort to violently destroy the international order”, he said.
Detailing Poland’s security cooperation, he pointed to the United States missile base in Redzikowo — an example of the “American security umbrella over Europe” — as well as recent talks with United States President Donald J. Trump. Poland is also active in collective security systems and UN peacekeeping missions, and he also highlighted the Three Seas Initiative, which aims to improve connectivity among 13 countries across Central and Eastern Europe.
“Poland has never imposed its views on anyone” or colonized another country, he went on to say. Recalling his country’s long history, he invoked the construction of a powerful seventeenth-century State, gradual partitions, loss of independence, a 123-year-long independence struggle, the achievement of independence in 1918 and the destruction of that independence “by the two totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century: Russian communism and German Nazism”.
In the last 30 years of Poland’s history — after it broke free from the Russian Federation’s sphere of influence — it transformed from a backward, poor country with high unemployment into a highly developed State and the twenty-first largest economy in the world, he pointed out. “Only peace can provide optimal conditions for development,” he said, adding that it is necessary to defend peace with real force.
The representative of the Russian Federation, taking the floor under a point of order after the address, said that his delegation “had doubts” regarding the expediency of conducting today’s meeting. “The President of Poland spent a lot of time on debating our country,” he said, adding that — although the Council adopted a text calling for peace between the Russian Federation and Ukraine — one of Poland’s leaders “talked about the logic of military focus” and providing support to Ukraine.
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Leslie R. Backschies, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging JAMES DINNIGAN, a/k/a “Charlie Ward,” and MARTIN MAUGHAN, a/k/a “Lawrence Rogers,” with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their participation in a multi-year, multi-state organized construction fraud scheme that targeted at least 24 victims, including numerous elderly and vulnerable victims. MAUGHAN was transferred from state custody to federal custody this afternoon and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Robyn Tarnofsky. DINNIGAN is in federal immigration custody and will be transferred to the Southern District of New York.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, these defendants and their co-conspirators carried out a brazen scheme to defraud vulnerable members of our community by posing as legitimate home repair contractors and tricking homeowners into paying for thousands of dollars in unnecessary and unwanted home repairs. Today’s charges should serve as a reminder that this Office and its law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and bringing to justice those who seek to enrich themselves by victimizing vulnerable members of our community.”
Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backschies said: “James Dinnigan and Martin Maughan allegedly enticed prospective consumers with illegitimate home improvement advertisements before intentionally destroying their property to extort unanticipated additional costs. These illegal foreign nationals allegedly laid the foundation to prey upon a vulnerable population across the northeast, ultimately stealing a significant sum from elderly victims. The FBI remains committed to protecting our citizens from any fraudulent company attempting to cement false promises to garner illicit profits.”
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Between at least in or around October 2023 through at least in or about February 2025, DINNIGAN and MAUGHAN participated in a construction fraud scheme involving dozens of victims in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and several other states. Participants in the scheme were usually foreign nationals from Ireland and the United Kingdom who were illegally in the U.S. and falsely posed as legitimate home repair contractors.
The scheme generally proceeded as follows: To get hired by the victims, members of the scheme made false statements to victims about their operation of legitimate home repair businesses, their occupation as contractors or engineers, and about home improvement and construction projects the victims needed to obtain. After being hired, members of the scheme tricked victims into paying for additional unwanted or unnecessary home repairs and other construction, including by purposefully damaging or destroying the victims’ property. The perpetrators of the scheme then forced victims, including through threats, into paying them tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
DINNIGAN, MAUGHAN, and other perpetrators of the scheme communicated with victims using cellphones and email. The victims frequently wrote checks and transferred money to bank accounts controlled by members of the scheme, including into an account at a particular financial institution in Manhattan, New York. The perpetrators of the scheme also operated websites in the names of at least two purported construction companies: Local Masonry and Construction and Pine Valley Home Improvements, Inc. Below are screenshots from websites that the perpetrators used to lure victims into the scheme:
The FBI has identified more than two dozen victims—many who are elderly individuals—who have lost at least $1 million as a result of this scheme.
DINNIGAN entered the U.S. on or about April 4, 2023, using a tourist visa. A review of relevant records has revealed no known documentation showing that DINNIGAN departed the U.S. as required, or that DINNIGAN applied for and received authorization to legally remain in the U.S. On or about February 25, 2025, DINNIGAN was encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) in Champlain, New York.
On or about August 9, 2023, MAUGHAN was encountered by CBP officers in the vicinity of Laredo, Texas. MAUGHAN was subsequently ordered removed from the U.S. to the United Kingdom on or about October 30, 2023. According to MAUGHAN’s order of removal, he was prohibited from reentering or attempting to reenter the U.S. for a period of five years. On or about February 7, 2025, MAUGHAN was found inside the U.S. when he was arrested at the Boston Logan International Airport moments before departing on a flight to Dublin, Ireland.
If you believe that you have additional information about this scheme or if you believe you have been a victim of the defendants or their co-conspirators, please contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, and reference this case.
* * *
DINNIGAN, 27, of Ireland, and MAUGHAN, 31, of the United Kingdom, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York and Philadelphia field offices. Mr. Podolsky also thanked CBP; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; Lower Merion Police Department; Cheltenham Police Department; Bernards Township Police Department; and Lambertville Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon D. Harper is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from paralegal specialist William A. Coleman IV.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact descried therein should be treated as an allegation.
Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
Interview given by M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to France Inter (Paris, March 3, 2025)
(…)
On Friday evening, millions of French people saw the United States President repeatedly yelling: “You’re gambling with World War III”. World War III – the words were uttered by Donald Trump. Is that something to be afraid of?
THE MINISTER – It’s not the first time Donald Trump has uttered those words. Would we rather the press conference had gone differently? The answer is yes. Do we see Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a great resistance figure, a hero? The answer is yes. Is it our role to issue indictments or lessons in morality? No.
It’s not about either indictments or lessons in morality. I’m asking you the question. What do you say to French people who were terrified as they watched television on Friday evening? Is there a threat, yes or no?
THE MINISTER – Of course. Never has the risk of a war on the European continent, in the European Union, been so great, because for nearly 15 years now the threat has constantly been getting closer, and the front line has constantly been getting closer. That’s why France, President Macron, has been saying for seven years now that we must step up our defence to deter the threat. What we’re witnessing today, what we witnessed in London yesterday, was a whole portion of Europeans waking up after refusing to see the reality of things.
And are we also witnessing a spectacular rapprochement between Donald Trump’s United States and Russia? Last night the US Secretary of Defence said the United States will be ceasing all offensive cyber operations, all digital attacks against Russia.
THE MINISTER – The United States has chosen to embark on dialogue with Vladimir Putin’s Russia to bring it to the negotiating table and put an end to the war in Ukraine. We’ve always said that we’ve attempted dialogue and it hasn’t had all the effects we might have expected, and that we must get Vladimir Putin to negotiate through pressure. That’s the strategy we’re continuing to conduct here in Europe…
We Europeans, not the Americans obviously.
THE MINISTER – We Europeans. As for that decision, it’s true that I found it a bit difficult to understand, because when it comes to cyber attacks the European Union countries are constantly under that form of attack by Russia.
That’s it. In other words, can we no longer rely on the Americans to defend us in that way, as you say?
THE MINISTER – I think it’s in the United States’ interest, it’s even the United States natural destination to be on the side of Ukraine. If Ukraine were to capitulate, it would not only be terrible news for that country, terrible news for the Europeans, but it would be a terrible admission of weakness for the United States of America. And it’s in this spirit that we’re talking to the US administration at every level.
In this spirit, let’s be clear about this: is that what emerged from yesterday’s summit in London – that we have the bulk of the work to do, as the British Prime Minister said, to defend Europe and resolve this conflict, but not without the Americans? Never without the Americans? Can’t we do it without the Americans? Is that what emerged?
THE MINISTER – What emerged from yesterday’s summit in London were two things. In the short term, and to put an end to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, we want the United States, through pressure, to get Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table and agree to put an end, once and for all, to these imperialist ambitions that have been pushing the front line closer and closer to us. And the other ambition…
At the risk of seeing them both talking, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, without us and without the Ukrainians.
THE MINISTER – And the second thing, which is just as important, is that we don’t want to be in the situation we’re in today ever again. In other words, Europe must ensure its own defence and its own security, and we must put in place the necessary resources so that we never again have to ask the United States what it can do for European security, so we can ensure it ourselves.
At the risk of seeing Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump talking to each other about a ceasefire, without us and without the Ukrainians.
THE MINISTER – Everyone can talk to whoever they wish. What’s important for us is for this war to end and for the peace that is reached to be accompanied by enough guarantees to ensure the threat never moves closer to our borders again.
Well, on that point, we read in the press this morning that the British and French want a one-month truce in the fighting. So is this truce in the fighting a prerequisite for being able to discuss peace?
THE MINISTER – It’s a prerequisite, because this truce in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure will enable us to confirm Vladimir Putin’s good faith, when he engages in that truce. And that’s when the real peace negotiations will start – because we want peace, but we want a solid and durable peace. A peace that definitively ends what’s been happening for 15 years in the east of the continent.
Understood. When you say in the air, at sea and on logistical infrastructure, does that mean no withdrawal of troops on the ground, no withdrawal of Russian troops on the ground?
THE MINISTER – Initially, it’s a way of confirming that Russia really is willing to put an end to this war.
What makes you think the Russians and the Americans will accept it, this French and British plan?
THE MINISTER – Because during the discussions we had last Monday, a week ago to the day, with President Donald Trump and his team, it was in that spirit that he was thinking about a resolution to the crisis.
Is Emmanuel Macron expected to return to Washington to talk about it again?
THE MINISTER – It’s not expected as of today, and the contacts between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump are very frequent.
When Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, talk about sending soldiers to Ukraine in a second phase, once the truce has been obtained, does that mean taking on board the risk of a direct confrontation with the Russians?
THE MINISTER – No, it’s about creating the conditions through military capabilities, once peace has been reached, to definitively deter the threat. It’s what we observe in Europe and other places in the world: through the presence of military capabilities, the threat doesn’t materialize, preventing, as it were, the response from coming.
OK. So what’s the reaction of our European partners? Giorgia Meloni, for example, the Italian leader, is against – absolutely against – sending troops on the ground to Ukraine?
THE MINISTER – All the Europeans are fully conscious, because 10 years ago, almost to the day, we saw the Minsk agreements and a ceasefire in Ukraine that was violated 20 times before Russia invaded Ukraine. Everyone’s conscious that a ceasefire isn’t sufficient, that peace must be accompanied by every guarantee to ensure that the fighting stops definitively and that Ukraine’s sovereignty can be respected.
But how are the 27 presenting themselves? Because on Thursday there’s a meeting that’s really absolutely crucial for Europe’s future.
THE MINISTER – Indeed, everyone is convinced that it’s the Europeans who will provide the bulk of these military capabilities, and then each according to their capabilities and their wishes.
Well, we need your thoughts on the discussion about the nuclear deterrent which Emmanuel Macron says he’s ready to begin at the request of the future German chancellor. So France is the only [EU] country to possess a nuclear weapon. Is it going to – how shall I put it? – make that nuclear weapon available to our European allies, as the French far right accuses it of?
THE MINISTER – The answer is no. What President Macron has said is that he’s ready to ensure that those European partners who so wish can deepen strategic dialogue with us about this issue, which may be linked, if need be, with exercises by deterrence forces. The idea isn’t to share the nuclear deterrent, but to develop a culture of strategic deterrence in Europe.
And how does that happen in practical terms? Does it mean that in the future, the French President can decided to press the red button if the vital interests of, for example, the Baltic countries or Poland or Romania or Moldova are threatened?
THE MINISTER – It goes through appropriate channels and not in the France Inter studio, because when it comes to the nuclear deterrent there’s a form of ambiguity that surrounds it and guarantees its effectiveness.
What does a form of ambiguity mean?
THE MINISTER – Well, you don’t say everything about the nuclear deterrent.
Fine. Do you really think a resumption of dialogue between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump is possible?
THE MINISTER – Yes, I think it’s possible. I think there’s a desire on both sides, because there’s a shared awareness that it’s in Ukraine’s interest, in the Europeans’ interest and in the Americans’ interest to ensure we halt Vladimir Putin’s imperialist tendencies.
Is France working on that?
THE MINISTER – France is obviously working on it.
How?
THE MINISTER – First of all by talking regularly to both parties. I myself spoke at the weekend to my US counterpart and my Ukrainian counterpart, and I got an appreciation of the extent to which the intention really is to re-engage in dialogue. And the Europeans are also going to continue the discussions, and in the wake of yesterday’s summit I’ll be bringing together the Europeans from Europe’s northern flank this morning, to talk about the conversations held yesterday evening. (…)./.
Executing initiatives to streamline priorities and drive approximately $30 million of annual cash operating expense reductions
Reschedules fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings conference call
CHICAGO, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) (“LanzaTech” or the “Company”), a carbon management solutions company, today announced progress on strategic actions being taken to transition the Company from an innovation hub to a profitable enterprise. Additionally, the Company has rescheduled its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings call to March 31, 2025, to more closely align with the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K.
“Over the last two decades, LanzaTech has been at the forefront of carbon management innovation, pushing the boundaries to establish new products and markets,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, Chair and CEO of LanzaTech. “As we shift the Company’s focus from research and development to globally deploying our proven technology, we are pursuing partnership opportunities for technologies that are ready to stand on their own and sharpening our focus on high-impact commercial projects that align more with a path to profitability. As part of this transition, we continue to action plans to right-size our cost structure and expect to achieve significant annual cash cost savings as a result.”
Along with the recently announced intention to spin out the Company’s synthetic biology platform referred to as LanzaX, LanzaTech is evaluating scale up opportunities for its nutritional protein capabilities referred to as LanzaTech Nutritional Protein (“LNP”). This strategic approach is designed to enable these platforms to access the capital required to accelerate the development of their independent pipelines of existing projects. It will also enable LanzaTech to have a sharper focus on the growth priorities of the Company’s core biorefining operations, including the technology’s inclusion in integrated waste-based ethanol to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (“SAF”).
Examples of high-priority commercial projects under development include a project in the United Kingdom and a project in the European Union, each 30-million gallon per year, waste-based ethanol-to-SAF facilities that will leverage the LanzaTech and LanzaJet CirculAir™ solution to form an efficient and economically compelling offering that provides the aviation industry with a platform to produce waste-based SAF globally.
Additionally, the Company is implementing strategic measures to scale its business globally with greater cost efficiency. This includes evaluating its global footprint, with anticipated consolidations expected to reduce the workforce by approximately 10 to 15 percent. These measures, combined with the LanzaX and LNP strategic opportunities, and other cost savings plans, have the potential to result in approximately $30 million of annual cash operating expense reductions.
LanzaTech Reschedules Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Earnings Call The Company announced today that it has rescheduled its previously announced earnings release and conference call. The Company now intends to release its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings results on Monday, March 31, 2025, and host its conference call the same day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The change is to more closely align the Company’s earnings call with the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The conference call may be accessed via a live webcast on a listen-only basis through the Events and Presentations section of LanzaTech’s Investor Relations website. An archive of the webcast will be available for twelve months.
To attend the live conference call via telephone, domestic callers can access by dialing (800) 225-9448 and international callers can access by dialing (203) 518-9708, and using the conference identification code LANZA.
A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the call ends and can be accessed by domestic callers by dialing (844)-512-2921 and by international callers by dialing (412)-317-6671, and entering the access identification code 11157950. The replay will be available until 11:59 pm Eastern Time April 14, 2025.
About LanzaTech LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) is a leading carbon recycling company transforming waste carbon into sustainable fuels, chemicals, materials, and protein for everyday products. Using its bio-recycling technology, LanzaTech captures carbon generated by energy-intensive industries at the source, preventing it from being emitted into the air. LanzaTech then gives that captured carbon a new life as a clean replacement for virgin fossil carbon in everything from household cleaners and clothing fibers to packaging and fuels. By partnering with companies across the global supply chain like ArcelorMittal, Coty, Craghoppers, and LanzaJet, LanzaTech is paving the way for a circular carbon economy. For more information about LanzaTech, visit https://lanzatech.com.
Forward Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the plans, strategies, and prospects, both business and financial, of LanzaTech. These statements are based on the beliefs, assumptions, projections and conclusions of LanzaTech’s management. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are outside LanzaTech’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. LanzaTech cannot assure you that it will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and you should not rely on forward-looking statements.
Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including those concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “intends” or similar expressions. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: timing delays in the advancement of projects to the final investment decision stage or into construction; failure by customers to adopt new technologies and platforms; fluctuations in the availability and cost of feedstocks and other process inputs; the availability and continuation of government funding and support; broader economic conditions, including inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions, employment conditions, and competitive pressures; unforeseen technical, regulatory, or commercial challenges in scaling proprietary technologies, business functions or operational disruptions; and other economic, business, or competitive factors, and other risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors and other information contained in LanzaTech’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other existing and future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Any forward-looking statement herein is based only on information currently available to LanzaTech and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. LanzaTech undertakes no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”) (Nasdaq: ESGR) announced today its Lloyd’s syndicate (“Syndicate 2008”), managed by Enstar Managing Agency Limited, has completed the previously announced transaction with Atrium Syndicate 609, managed by Atrium Underwriters Limited.
Under the terms of the loss portfolio transfer agreement, Atrium Syndicate 609 ceded net loss reserves of approximately $196 million, based on Atrium’s carried reserves as at Q3 2024, to Enstar’s Syndicate 2008. The reinsurance relates to business underwritten in the 2023 and prior years of account, with all claims handling transferring to Syndicate 2008.
Completion of the transaction followed receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of various other closing conditions.
About Enstar
Enstar is a NASDAQ-listed leading global insurance group that offers innovative capital release solutions through its network of group companies in Bermuda, the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, and other international locations. A market leader in completing legacy acquisitions, Enstar has acquired more than 120 companies and portfolios since its formation in 2001. For further information about Enstar, see www.enstargroup.com.
LONDON, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Diginex Limited (“Diginex Limited” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: DGNX), an impact technology company specializing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, announced today that it will ring the Nasdaq Closing Bell on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, marking a key milestone following its successful listing in January 2025.
Diginex Limited’s Chairman and Founder, Miles Pelham, will lead the ceremony, joined by members of the board of directors, executive leadership, business partners, key advisors, and other stakeholders who have been instrumental in the Company’s success.
“Ringing the Nasdaq Closing Bell is a momentous occasion for Diginex Limited as we continue expanding our presence in the sustainability focused RegTech space,” said Miles Pelham, Chairman and Founder of Diginex Limited. “This milestone reflects the dedication of our team, the support of our stakeholders, and our unwavering commitment to driving long-term value. We look forward to accelerating our mission of empowering businesses to operate more sustainably.”
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Nasdaq website at https://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/bell-ringing-ceremony, with live footage and event highlights starting at 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Event photos and videos will be available shortly after the ceremony on Diginex Limited’s corporate website and social media channels.
About Diginex Limited
Diginex Limited is a Cayman Islands exempted company, with subsidiaries located in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Diginex Limited conducts operations through its wholly owned subsidiary Diginex Solutions (HK) Limited, a Hong Kong corporation (“DSL”) and DSL is the sole owner of (i) Diginex Services Limited, a corporation formed in the United Kingdom and (ii) Diginex USA LLC, a limited liability company formed in the State of Delaware. DSL commenced operations in 2020, and is a software company that empowers businesses and governments to streamline ESG, climate, and supply chain data collection and reporting. DSL is an impact technology business that helps organizations address the some of the most pressing ESG, climate and sustainability issues, utilizing blockchain, machine learning and data analysis technology to lead change and increase transparency in corporate social responsibility and climate action.
Diginex’s products and services solutions enable companies to collect, evaluate and share sustainability data through easy-to-use software. For more information, please visit the Company’s website: https://www.diginex.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “approximates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results disclosed in the Company’s filings with the SEC.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Diginex Investor Relations Email:ir@diginex.com
IR Contact Europe Anna Höffken Phone: +49.40.609186.0 Email: diginex@kirchhoff.de
IR Contact US Jackson Lin Lambert by LLYC Phone: +1 (646) 717-4593 Email: jian.lin@llyc.global
Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 4 March 2025 at 22:30 EET
Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 04.03.2025
Espoo, Finland – On 4 March 2025 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:
Trading venue (MIC Code)
Number of shares
Weighted average price / share, EUR*
XHEL
2,620,152
4.76
CEUX
1,073,651
4.75
BATE
–
–
AQEU
100,000
4.75
TQEX
–
–
Total
3,793,803
4.76
* Rounded to two decimals
On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.
Total cost of transactions executed on 4 March 2025 was EUR 18,043,327. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 142,405,206 treasury shares.
Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.
On behalf of Nokia Corporation
BofA Securities Europe SA
About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.
With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.
Inquiries:
Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications
1. According to the EU Treaties[1] Member States are primarily responsible for the management of disasters[2], including forest fires. The Commission supports coordination and complements Member State actions through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism[3] and its early warning tools, including the Copernicus’ European Forest Fire Information System (EFISS)[4]. The Commission also encourages the use of the Galileo Emergency Satellite Warning Service and supports the development and maintenance of Member States response capabilities to wildfires through rescEU[5] and the European Civil Protection Pool[6]. The Commission encourages the share of best practices in prevention and preparedness with a variety of tools[7][8].
2. As announced by the President of the European Commission in the Political Guidelines 2024-2029, the Commission intends to put forward a Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed together with the social partners to support fair wages and good working conditions for all EU workers, including those in the public safety sector.
3. Advanced technologies used in EFISS, and the European Flood Alert System[9] play a key role in the detection and response to potential disasters. The Commission also encourages the use of advanced technologies in this field through multiple instruments, such as the Track 1 technical assistance and the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP)[10] grants as well as the Horizon Europe[11] programme including its disaster risk reduction activities[12] and the EU Mission: Adaptation to Climate Change area[13].
[1] Article 196 TEU https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:C:2016:202:FULL
[7] Including pre-positioning of fire-fighters during fire seasons, advisory missions, and peer reviews of their national disaster management systems, including of Italy’s, published in January 2025 (https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/stories/italy-ucpm-wildfire-peer-review-final-report-published-and-handed-over)
[8] Furthermore, the European Regional Development Fund National Programme for Security for Legality 2021 — 2027 in Italy includes a project on smart forest environmental monitoring of EUR 30 Million. This involves the development and deployment of a system to collect, manage, integrate and correlate environmental monitoring data, together with automatic alert mechanisms to support a network for the control and verification of criminal activities in forest, rural and peripheral areas of cities. The aim is to provide the Forestry, Environmental and Agri-food Unit Command of the Carabinieri with adequate control tools for data and information to strengthen legality and combat environmental crime.
Question for written answer E-000811/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Dario Nardella (S&D), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Camilla Laureti (S&D), Giorgio Gori (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Pierfrancesco Maran (S&D), Pina Picierno (S&D), Sandro Ruotolo (S&D), Annalisa Corrado (S&D), Irene Tinagli (S&D), Cecilia Strada (S&D), Raffaele Topo (S&D)
On 11 February 2025, Tuscany became the first region in Italy to approve a bill regulating the right to die, establishing that the regional health service must, subject to specific conditions and time frames, grant patients the freedom to choose to end their life.
Tuscany was acting on a motion for a citizens’ initiative bill and in a persistent legislative vacuum, as highlighted by the Constitutional Court which, in judgment No 242 of 2019, decriminalised assisted suicide and laid down the prerequisites for patient access to the procedure. Some European countries have already regulated assisted dying, while others have not enshrined the right to choose, making for an extremely fragmented landscape in which the people are the ones to suffer from the stark differences.
In light of the above:
1.Does the Commission believe that, on this point, the Member States are in violation of the principles laid down in Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘Health care’)?
2.Will it take steps to limit the regulatory fragmentation and ensure legal uniformity in the recognition and protection of the right to die for EU citizens?
Priority question for written answer P-000699/2025/rev.1 to the Commission Rule 144 Maciej Wąsik (ECR)
During a joint press conference with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 7 February 2025, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated unambiguously that ‘Poland will not accept any burdens related to the relocation mechanism that could result from some provisions of the migration pact’[1]. As the reason for his refusal, Donald Tusk indicated that Poland is facing constant pressure from Belarus, acting in cooperation with Russia, and that Poland took in 2 million refugees from Ukraine immediately after the Russian invasion of the country.
In the light of the foregoing:
1.What is the opinion of the Commission regarding the above statements made by the Polish Prime Minister?
2.Will the Commission confirm that Poland may, by its own decision, refuse to accept relocation as a solidarity measure?
3.May Poland refrain from implementing elements of the Pact on Migration and Asylum?
Question for written answer E-000791/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Branko Grims (PPE)
For a number of years construction has been under way in Ljubljana of the C0 sewer main to carry sewage and waste water across the Ljubljansko polje aquifer, which is under a strict water protection regime with VVO IIA water protection status. In one part, the C0 sewer even abuts the strictest water protection area of the city of Ljubljana, categorised as VVO I. The C0 sewer has been declared inadmissible from a legal, technical and health point of view. As far as the legal aspect is concerned, we would point out that it does not seem to have all the necessary permits for this type of construction in the protected area.
On 10 February 2025, experts made representations to, among others, the Slovenian Government, calling for an immediate stop to the construction of the C0 sewer and for the prevention of threats to public health involving a large number of people, on the basis of the following facts: parts of the C0 sewer that have already been built are visibly leaking, even though it is not yet in service; construction is also prohibited under the VVO protection regulation; a new way to carry sewage and waste water from Vodice and Medvode needs to be found; the entire project will not meet the planned objective of ensuring sufficient waste water treatment and will not meet the conditions under which it is financed with EU funds.
On the basis of the situation as set out above, I would like to ask the Commission for its opinion on this issue, and whether – and how – it will take action to protect human health and European funds.
The Commission views the EU-Mercosur Agreement as politically and economically vital. The Commission’s objective is to ensure that the EU-Mercosur Agreement[1] delivers on the EU’s sustainability goals, while respecting the EU’s sensitivities in the agricultural sector.
Chief Negotiators met in October 2024 to discuss the outstanding issues. These include: the EU proposal for a Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Joint Instrument[2], inclusion of the Paris Agreement as an essential element of the EU-Mercosur Agreement and Mercosur’s interests in the areas of public procurement, vehicles, export duties, a rebalancing mechanism, and a protocol on cooperation.
On 6 December at the Mercosur Summit in Montevideo, the EU and Mercosur reached a political agreement concluding the negotiations.
In September 2024, eleven Member States[3] addressed a letter to the President expressing strong support for a rapid conclusion of the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur Agreement.
These Member States reiterated the high geopolitical and geoeconomic importance of the Agreement and its essential role in maintaining the EU’s economic and political influence in the region.
They also noted that the agreement provides a unique platform for cooperation between the EU and the Mercosur countries on trade and sustainable development matters, ensuring that we can achieve our common sustainability and climate change ambitions.
[3] The following Member States are signatories to the letter: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Question for written answer E-000841/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Christophe Bay (PfE), Christophe Gomart (PPE), Aleksandar Nikolic (PfE), France Jamet (PfE), André Rougé (PfE), Mélanie Disdier (PfE), Marie Dauchy (PfE), Sarah Knafo (ESN), Pierre Pimpie (PfE), Gilles Pennelle (PfE)
The EU-Algeria Association Agreement, in force since 2005, was intended to secure a balanced economic partnership. However, for several years now, and increasingly since 2021, Algeria has been repeatedly violating this agreement by imposing unilateral protectionist measures wholly at odds with its obligations.
The imposition of arbitrary restrictions on European imports, the discriminatory granting of licences, the blocking of payments, as well as the reintroduction of the 51-49% rule for foreign investments illustrate a clear desire on the part of the Algerian authorities to distort competition to the detriment of European companies. Algeria has also ceased to apply preferential tariff quotas in respect of agricultural and industrial products.
Despite the Commission’s warnings and the initiation of a dispute settlement procedure in June 2024, no improvement has been observed.
Maintaining this agreement and considering its renegotiation in 2025 would therefore be tantamount to condoning these violations and undermining the credibility of the EU’s trade commitments.
In light of the foregoing, can the Commission clarify:
1.What measures does it intend to take to immediately suspend the Agreement, in accordance with Article 107 thereof, in order to protect the EU’s economic interests?
2.Is it considering imposing targeted economic sanctions and a more restrictive trade policy on this country which has failed to honour its commitments?
A planet may have been destroyed by a white dwarf at the center of a planetary nebula — the first time this has been seen. As described in our latest press release, this would explain a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers have detected from the Helix Nebula for over 40 years. The Helix is a planetary nebula, a late-stage star like our Sun that has shed its outer layers leaving a small dim star at its center called a white dwarf. This composite image contains X-rays from Chandra (magenta), optical light data from Hubble (orange, light blue), infrared data from ESO (gold, dark blue), and ultraviolet data from GALEX (purple) of the Helix Nebula. Data from Chandra indicates that this white dwarf has destroyed a very closely orbiting planet.
An artist’s concept shows a planet (left) that has approached too close to a white dwarf (right) and is being torn apart by tidal forces from the star. The white dwarf is in the center of a planetary nebula depicted by the blue gas in the background. The planet is part of a planetary system, which includes one planet in the upper left and another in the lower right. The besieged planet could have initially been a considerable distance from the white dwarf but then migrated inwards by interacting with the gravity of the other planets in the system. Eventually debris from the planet will form a disk around the white dwarf and fall onto the star’s surface, creating the mysterious signal in X-rays that astronomers have detected for decades. Dating back to 1980, X-ray missions, such as the Einstein Observatory and ROSAT telescope, have picked up an unusual reading from the center of the Helix Nebula. They detected highly energetic X-rays coming from the white dwarf at the center of the Helix Nebula named WD 2226-210, located only 650 light-years from Earth. White dwarfs like WD 2226-210 do not typically give off strong X-rays.
A new study featuring the data from Chandra and XMM-Newton may finally have settled the question of what is causing these X-rays from WD 2226-210: this X-ray signal could be the debris from a destroyed planet being pulled onto the white dwarf. If confirmed, this would be the first case of a planet seen to be destroyed by the central star in a planetary nebula. Observations by ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton between 1992 and 2002 show that the X-ray signal from the white dwarf has remained approximately constant in brightness during that time. The data, however, suggest there may be a subtle, regular change in the X-ray signal every 2.9 hours, providing evidence for the remains of a planet exceptionally close to the white dwarf. Previously scientists determined that a Neptune-sized planet is in a very close orbit around the white dwarf — completing one revolution in less than three days. The researchers in this latest study conclude that there could have been a planet like Jupiter even closer to the star. The besieged planet could have initially been a considerable distance from the white dwarf but then migrated inwards by interacting with the gravity of other planets in the system. Once it approached close enough to the white dwarf the gravity of the star would have partially or completely torn the planet apart. WD 2226-210 has some similarities in X-ray behavior to two other white dwarfs that are not inside planetary nebulas. One is possibly pulling material away from a planet companion, but in a more sedate fashion without the planet being quickly destroyed. The other white dwarf is likely dragging material from the vestiges of a planet onto its surface. These three white dwarfs may constitute a new class of variable, or changing, object. A paper describing these results appears in The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available online. The authors of the paper are Sandino Estrada-Dorado (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Martin Guerrero (The Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain), Jesús Toala (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Ricardo Maldonado (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Veronica Lora (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Diego Alejandro Vasquez-Torres (National Autonomous University of Mexico), and You-Hua Chu (Academia Sinica in Taiwan). NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
chandra
https://chandra.si.edu Visual Description This release features two images; a composite image of the Helix Nebula, and an artist’s rendering of a planet’s destruction, which may be occurring in the nebula’s core. The Helix Nebula is a cloud of gas ejected by a dying star, known as a white dwarf. In the composite image, the cloud of gas strongly resembles a creature’s eye. Here, a hazy blue cloud is surrounded by misty, concentric rings of pale yellow, rose pink, and blood orange. Each ring appears dusted with flecks of gold, particularly the outer edges of the eye-shape. The entire image is speckled with glowing dots in blues, whites, yellows, and purples. At the center of the hazy blue gas cloud, a box has been drawn around some of these dots including a bright white dot with a pink outer ring, and a smaller white dot. The scene which may be unfolding inside this box has been magnified in the artist’s rendering. The artist’s digital rendering shows a possible cause of the large white dot with the pink outer ring. A brilliant white circle near our upper right shows a white dwarf, the ember of a dying star. At our lower left, in the relative foreground of the rendering, is what remains of a planet. Here, the planet resembles a giant boulder shedding thousands of smaller rocks. These rocks flow off the planet’s surface, pulled back toward the white dwarf in a long, swooping tail. Glowing orange fault lines mar the surface of the crumbling planet. In our upper left and lower right, inside the hazy blue clouds which blanket the rendering, are two other, more distant planets. After the rocks from the planet start striking the surface of the white dwarf, X-rays should be produced.
Megan WatzkeChandra X-ray CenterCambridge, Mass.617-496-7998mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu Lane FigueroaMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama256-544-0034lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
Question for written answer E-000739/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Renew)
On 27 June 2007, the Commission began infringement proceedings against Ireland (reference INFR(2007)4011). Can the Commission please provide an update on why these infringement proceedings closed?
1.What was the outcome of the infringement proceedings?
2.What is the current status of these infringement proceedings?
Question for written answer E-000835/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Esther Herranz García (PPE)
Mushroom growers in La Rioja (Spain) have been grappling with invasive fungus Cladobotryum mycophilum since 2021. The fungus spreads quickly and has developed resistance to the few authorised plant protection products available to producers to keep it in check. The situation is leading to production losses, generating economic – and social – problems in mushroom-growing regions.
The sector is aware that national authorities in other Member States with the same problem have used the fungicide Geoxe, which is authorised for other crops. The fungicide is not approved in Spain, however.
In light of the above:
1.Is the Commission planning to reform legislation to guarantee the same conditions for producers in the 27 Member States and allow the EU-wide use of plant protection products approved by authorities in any EU country?
Global energy leaders from the power and utilities, oil and gas, and mining sectors are turning to the power of data and AI for streamlined workflows, more efficient operating systems, and better performing assets—the types of changes that help companies to empower their people and grow sustainable business. We’re prioritizing this work with customers and partners because we believe that widespread AI adoption signifies a pivotal shift for the energy industry, with huge value to be gained from digital and AI transformation. But beyond the individual productivity and efficiency gains that AI brings for any single company or industry, it can help us collectively expand renewables, decarbonize the energy value chain, and ignite climate innovation—and that’s a win for everyone.
We look forward to participating in CERAWeek 2025 to connect with business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs across the global energy ecosystem from March 10 to 14, 2025, where we’ll explore the theme of “Moving ahead: energy strategies for a complex world”. This year’s theme covers a variety of topics across energy sectors and technologies and will include deep dives into geopolitics, business strategies, AI transformation, and climate impact.
Microsoft at CERAWeek
Power the new energy future with AI.
AI innovation and digital transformation in energy
Across the energy ecosystem, AI-powered solutions are becoming the foundation of global success stories in which companies like Maaden save thousands of hours of worktime, while Aydem Energy boosts customer satisfaction with a digital assistant powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Sevice. Another one of our leading customers, JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, uses Azure OpenAI to drive digital transformation. The collaboration helps JERA to access advanced AI tools and cloud infrastructure, facilitating innovation and the development of new energy solutions for energy performance management, failure prediction, and advanced maintenance, leading to significant cost savings and increased reliability. JERA’s Digital Power Plant (DPP) project is improving functionality in the areas of operations, maintenance, performance management and health, safety, security, and environment (HSSE), and helps promote innovation and workplace safety at power stations. As a result, the number of remote monitoring sites provided by the Global Data Analyzing Center increased by 25% last year, and the number of sites offering 24-hour services tripled. JERA also implemented a dedicated AI agent called Emily which is being used by 3,000 employees and in some cases, has achieved operational efficiencies of more than 90%. By utilizing AI and data analytics, JERA can make more informed decisions, improve energy management, and support Japan’s energy transition efforts.
We’re eager to highlight these and other success stories at CERAWeek, where leaders from our energy, sustainability, cloud and AI, and security teams will share perspectives on the role of AI and digital technologies in the energy sector. For example, we will dive into sustainability topics such as carbon capture and emissions reduction, highlighting the many ways AI and cloud solutions are reshaping the energy landscape and driving net-zero goals across the energy value chain like Cosmo Energy who harnesses the power of Microsoft AI solutions to better analyze data and improve its ESG results. We’ll also discuss the latest learnings and opportunities around innovative services such as direct air capture and CO2 as a service.
Cybersecurity is another topic of increasing urgency, especially in the power and utilities sector. Throughout the week, we’ll discuss AI-powered approaches to securing grid infrastructure, as well as how to address vulnerabilities to allow resilient energy delivery. We’ll also join other power and utilities leaders at a fireside chat to discuss how AI adoption can help grid operators break through common industry roadblocks and drive faster, more secure innovation.
I look forward to participating in a Strategic Roundtable conversation on the topic of “AI Applications and Impacts in Action,” where we’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities of AI in driving sustainable business initiatives.
These conversations are both inspiring and insightful, as we’re witnessing every day the impact AI is having across the industry. Whether it’s Uniper strengthening cybersecurity, Petrobras streamlining employee workflows, or Enerjisa Uretim accelerating data processing for improved decision making, AI is changing the way we work in energy. We’re looking forward to not only sharing success stories, but also hearing from other technology and energy experts about how AI is creating more value for them.
Startups accelerate AI transformation and the energy transition
The climate crisis impacts everyone, and diversity in the startup ecosystem helps to ensure that solutions also reach everyone. People of color are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet Black and Latino founders receive less than 1.5% of total United States venture capital funding, women-founded organizations receive 1.9% of those funds, and Black and Latino women founders less than 0.1%1.
An important outcome of CERAWeek is knowledge sharing with a diverse group of global energy leaders that represent vastly different backgrounds and stages of business experience. Energy startups are a tremendous source of knowledge and innovation driving real impact across the industry. Transformation starts with people, not technology, and Microsoft is proud to support climate technology from underrepresented startups and CEOs. This year, we’ll hear from nine innovative startups sharing their unique perspectives on advancing diversity and inclusion in energy, and how they think creatively to secure reliable and sustainable energy sources.
Partnership, collaboration, and AI innovation in energy
The energy industry’s biggest challenges call for strategic collaboration and innovation across sectors and geographies, as real progress cannot be accomplished alone. Our partners are at the forefront of accelerating data modernization and AI innovation, helping to improve safety, efficiency, and productivity for the industry at large. You can hear from many of them at this year’s Innovation Agora, a marketplace buzzing with energy innovation and emerging technologies. The Agora promotes partnership, connection, and sharing among the energy community, and we’re excited to uncover new synergies, lead demonstrations, and explore opportunities to learn from other industry leaders.
At the Microsoft Agora House, we’re joined by partners and customers in sharing some of the ways they empower an AI-first energy workforce, operate for a secure and efficient energy future, advance their net-zero journeys, and grow sustainable and AI-powered businesses. Be sure to explore the Microsoft Experience Zone, featuring presentations from many partners that showcase transformative solutions and foster insightful discussions on energy innovation.
We’re honored to highlight many of the change-makers attending CERAWeek with us this year, including the following partners:
Accenture
Hertha Metals*
AIQ
Honeywell
Amperon
IBM
Aveva
IFS
Axis Sky Renewables*
Kanin*
Baker Hughes
Kauel*
c3.AI
Kongsberg Digital
Carbon Negative Solutions*
Loop Bioproducts*
Cegal
Mars Materials*
Cognite
NobleAI
Context Labs
NVIDIA
Crux OCM*
Schneider Electric
Decimetrix*
SLB
EY
Worlds
Halliburton
*Microsoft startup partner
Recently, Microsoft, alongside our partners SLB, Halliburton, Cognite, and AspenTech, convened in Munich, Germany with many of our customers, who shared AI-powered transformation stories driving increased productivity and improved operating efficiencies. Events like this allow us to not only highlight the work of our industry partners and customers, but also to share their expertise and create new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
Power an AI-first energy future
Together with our customers and partners, we’re collectively empowering organizations to innovate for a new energy future and advance sustainability goals with AI you can trust. We look forward to engaging with you on the future of carbon markets, regional energy challenges, latest developments in consumer energy, and unlocking AI to transform the energy and resources value chain.
Learn more about Microsoft at CERAWeek.
Learn how Microsoft can help accelerate your AI and digital transformation journey:
Source:
1McKinsey and Company, Underrepresented start-up founders: The untapped opportunity, June 2023.
Darryl Willis
Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Energy and Resources Industry
Darryl leads a global team driving digital transformation across the energy sector through the deployment of Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology and partner solutions. With a deep knowledge of the global energy sector, Darryl leads this cross-functional team in building strategic partnerships and helping enable the energy transition, reduce carbon emissions, and fulfill growing demand with renewable sources.
Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act, Conspiracy
Trials
United States v. Jason Lee Wagner
No. 3:22-CR-01754(Western District of Texas)
ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Todd Gleason
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris
On February 7, 2025, a jury convicted Jason Lee Wagner of conspiracy and 12 smuggling violations (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545, 2). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.
Between March 2015 and December 2019, Wagner and others bought and sold endangered reptiles from individuals in Mexico. Wagner and other co-conspirator suppliers and middlemen used social media to offer reptiles for sale and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery with customers in the United States and Mexico. His co-conspirators also used international money transfers to provide for “crossing fees,” sales and purchases, and other expenses. They then packaged and re-packaged the reptiles for illegal crossings using USPS and other courier services to transport them between Mexico and the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Indictments
United States v. Roy Ladell Weaver, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00048 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA David Williams
RCEC Patricia Miller
On February 19, 2025, a grand jury indicted Roy Ladell Weaver and his company, Pro Diesel Werks, LLC, with conspiring to impede the lawful functions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), and substantive CAA violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Pro Diesel Werks provided vehicle repair and maintenance and performance enhancement services, including services on diesel engines and vehicle emission systems. The indictment alleges that between 2013 and March 2024, Weaver and the company, along with co-conspirators, disabled the hardware emissions control systems on the diesel vehicles of Pro Diesel Werks’ customers (a practice referred to as a “delete” or “deleting”), defeating the systems’ ability to reduce pollutant gases and particulate matter released to the atmosphere. The defendants are also alleged to have tampered with the monitoring device and method required under the CAA, that is they disabled the onboard diagnostic system on vehicles preventing the system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware deletes (a practice referred to as a “tune” or “tuning”).
The defendants charged customers between approximately $2,000 and $4,000 per vehicle to remove and disable the emission control systems on motor vehicles with diesel engines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 7, 2025, Corey Potter pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting crab from Alaska (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2025. Kyle Potter, his son, was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. A third defendant, Justin Welch, was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.
Corey Potter owns two crab catching vessels; Kyle Potter and Welch worked as vessel captains. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested more than 7,000 pounds of Tanner and Golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter directed Welch and Kyle Potter to land the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. Neither captain landed the harvested crab at a port in Alaska, and they never recorded the harvest on a fish ticket, as required under state law.
A large portion of the king crab that arrived in Seattle from Alaska had died and was unmarketable. Corey Potter knew that some of the crab aboard was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease fatal to crustaceans. Officials were forced to destroy more than 4,000 additional pounds of Tanner crab due to the risk of BCS infection. If the defendants had properly landed the crab in Alaska, authorities could have inspected the harvest and removed the infected crab before leaving Alaska.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker
No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
AUSA Emily Greenfield
On February 7, 2025, Kendall Glenn Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The members and participants of these groups funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Chamness Dirt Works, et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00430 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Bryan Chinwuba
RCEC Karla Perrin
On February 7, 2025, property management company Horseshoe Grove, LLC, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for asbestos work practice standards (42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(h),7413(c)(1)). Horseshoe Grove’s owner and operator Ryan Richter pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Construction and demolition company Chamness Dirt Works, Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the CAA NESHAP for asbestos, and company owner and president, Ronald Chamness, pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2025.
In November 2022, Horseshoe Grove acquired a property in The Dalles, Oregon, which included a mobile home park and two dilapidated apartment buildings. The previous owner provided the new buyers with an asbestos survey from December 2021, which identified more than 5,000 square feet of friable chrysotile asbestos within the two deteriorating buildings, with levels ranging from 2% to 25%. The survey also noted non-friable asbestos in various building materials, including siding and flooring, throughout the apartments. Despite these findings, Horseshoe Grove failed to implement the necessary precautions for asbestos removal.
In March 2023, Chamness Dirt Works began demolishing the two asbestos-laden structures without following proper removal procedures. Chamness did not engage a certified asbestos abatement contractor, did not wet the asbestos-containing debris, and dumped the material in a regular landfill.
Horseshoe Grove paid Chamness Dirt Works a total of $49,330 for the demolition, which did not meet the required safety standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Nos.4:25-CR-00018, 4:24-CR-00006, 00084 (District of Montana)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
AUSA Jeff Starnes
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 10, 2025, Hollis G. Hale pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025.
Hale conspired with Jack Schubarth to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting. Schubarth smuggled Marco Polo argali sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan into the United States. This protected species of sheep, native to high elevations in the Pamir region of Central Asia, is deemed the largest in the world.
In 2013, Schubarth provided genetic material to a third-party cloning facility, and, in 2016, received successfully cloned pure Marco Polo argali embryos. Schubarth raised a pure male argali clone that he named “Montana Mountain King.” In 2018, Schubarth began breeding Montana Mountain King with other species and selling the offspring throughout the U.S. To evade detection, Schubarth falsely labeled the offspring on Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and other official forms.
In June and July 2020, Hale facilitated the purchase and interstate transport of twelve hybrid Marco Polo argali sheep from Schubarth and falsely identified 43 species of sheep on a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. Hale falsified these documents knowing these sheep are prohibited in Montana. Schubarth was sentenced in September 2024 to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks conducted the investigation.
United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield
No. 5:25-CR-00011 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
AUSA Joseph Ravelo
On February 12, 2025, Zachary Brandon Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield and others placed a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.
While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield used the same shotgun to shoot a dolphin that surfaced near the lines of clients.
The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
United States v. James H. Spencer
No. 23-CR-00015 (Western District of Virginia)
AUSA Michael Baudinet
On February 21, 2025, James Howard Spencer, the Mayor of Glen Lyn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(2)(A)). Spencer admitted to directing employees of the Town of Glen Lyn to illegally discharge raw sewage and other pollutants into the East River, a tributary of the New River, on three occasions- in the summer of 2019, December 2020, and June 2021.
The discharges occurred at a pump station located behind the Glen Lyn Post Office, which was not an authorized discharge point of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Glen Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The East River, a perennial stream and a tributary of the New River, is a protected waterway under the CWA.
Spencer knowingly violated multiple conditions of the NPDES permit, including discharges from unauthorized locations and failing to report the discharges to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.
United States v. Liza Hash
No. 1:25-CR-20007 (Southern District of Florida)
AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald
On February 25, 2025, Liza Hash pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of approximately six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.
On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.
During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge overboard.
Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.
The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.
United States v. Old Dutch Mustard Company, Inc., d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00002 (District of New Hampshire)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA Matthew Hunter
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 24, 2025, The Old Dutch Mustard Company, d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company (Old Dutch), and company owner and president Charles Santich, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A)).
Old Dutch manufactured vinegar and mustard products, generating acidic wastewater during the process. Much of this wastewater consisted of spilled or leaked vinegar, or discarded vinegar that did not meet specifications. Old Dutch did not have a permit to discharge process wastewater. Instead, it stored the process wastewater in tanks and a trucking company hauled one or two truckloads of the wastewater off-site daily to the Rochester Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Old Dutch paid the trucking company for transporting each load. A second wastewater stream consisted of stormwater that became acidic after flowing through areas of the facility (especially the tank farm) where vinegar spilled. Old Dutch also paid the trucking company to haul the acidic stormwater to the POTW.
Santich decided to reduce costs by ordering workers to discharge some of the wastewater to a manmade ditch formed by an abandoned railroad bed at the top of a hill behind the facility, from which the wastewater would flow into the Souhegan River. In May 2017, Santich hired an excavation company to extend an underground pipe to the top of the hill behind the facility. He then directed an employee to repeatedly pump wastewater through the underground pipe to the abandoned railroad bed. Once the process wastewater or contaminated stormwater discharged at the top of the hill, it flowed to the river. Old Dutch did not have an NPDES or any other permit to discharge pollutants into the river.
In March 2021, Santich directed the same excavation company to install a sump at the corner of the tank farm area to collect the acidic stormwater and pump it directly up the hill through the buried pipe. Similarly, during the Fall of 2022, Santich hired the excavation company to clean out the undergrowth in the manmade ditch at the top of the hill and line it with riprap to create a better drainage ditch and facilitate the flow of wastewater to the river.
On August 2, 2023, EPA agents executed a search warrant at the Old Dutch facility and witnessed this illegal activity. Agents observed liquid that smelled like vinegar discharging from the end of the underground pipe into the riprap-lined ditch. The wastewater discharge had a pH of 3.6. The agents then conducted a dye test starting at the sump outside the corner of the tank farm area. The dye discharged from the underground pipe at the top of the hill and flowed along the riprap-lined drainage ditch and down to the river.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
On February 26, 2025, Fabcon Precast LLC (Fabcon) pleaded guilty to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation (29 U.S.C. § 666(e)). The criminal charge is related to an incident where an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.
Fabcon operates several facilities in the United States, including one in Grove City, Ohio, that manufactures precast concrete panels. At Fabcon, employees known as batch operators were responsible for the operation and cleaning of the facility’s only concrete mixer. Concrete was discharged from the bottom of the mixer through a pneumatic door. By design, the mixer had an exhaust valve that released the pneumatic energy powering the discharge door, rendering it inoperable. Some months prior to June 6, 2020, the handle that operated the valve broke off and was not replaced.
On June 6, 2020, Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator since January 2020, was on duty when the discharge door failed to close after releasing a batch of concrete. Because the valve was broken, Ledbetter could not perform the proper procedure to make the door safe to work around. When he attempted to free the door it closed on his head, trapping him. Eventually, Ledbetter was freed and transported to a hospital where he died five days later.
The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
No. 3:24-CR-00618 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Vyacheslav I. Piglitsin to time served and to pay $4,355 in restitution. On March 2, 2024, Piglitsin drove over the border from Mexico with Mexican pesticides that he failed to present for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 and 1436). Inspectors found seventy-two 1-liter bottles of “Bovitraz” in his vehicle.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Sentencings
United States v. Michael Hart
No. 3:24-CR-00383 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
Former AUSA Melanie Pierson
AUSA Mark Pletcher
On February 3, 2025, a court sentenced Michael Hart to time served followed by one year of supervised release. Hart also will pay $1,500 in restitution. Hart pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Mexico and sell them in violation of law (18 U.S.C. § 371). In addition, Hart admitted to conspiring to illegally import hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), namely HCFC 22, which is banned under the Clean Air Act.
Between June and December 2022, Hart purchased refrigerants in Mexico and smuggled them into the United States in his vehicle, concealed under a tarp and tools. Hart posted the refrigerants for sale on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other sites, and sold them for a profit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Thalia Zambrano
No. 3:24-CR-01552 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 6, 2025, a court sentenced Thalia Zambrano to time served, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371).
On June 28, 2024, authorities apprehended Zambrano when she drove into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 18 bottles of undeclared “Taktic” (Amitraz) concealed beneath a blanket on the back seat her car. Regulators in the United States canceled this pesticide due to the high concentration of amitraz.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Andrew Laughlin
No. 2:24-CR-00104 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Kathryn Lydon
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Andrew Laughlin to pay a $5,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation, and pay $4,209 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Laughlin pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling reptiles into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).
In 2017, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents identified Laughlin as part of a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of turtles from the United States to an individual in Hong Kong (Individual A). Individual A met and maintained contact with certain wildlife-smuggling associates via Facebook. Investigators identified Laughlin as a suspect in the wildlife smuggling ring from Individual A’s Facebook contacts and communications with covert agents. In addition to corresponding on Facebook, Laughlin also sent text messages to Individual A and co-conspirators.
Between March and April 2018, Laughlin acted as a “middleman” in an international amphibian smuggling ring. During a conversation with an undercover agent, Laughlin said that he participated in the ring in order to acquire hard-to-find newts. He shipped or received at least four packages of amphibians, including packages to or from individuals located in Hong Kong and Sweden. The packages were falsely labeled as items including a “toy car,” “rubber toys,” or “a ceramic art piece.” The boxes actually contained live animals, including eastern box turtles, spotted turtles, and a variety of newt species.
A search warrant executed at the defendant’s residence uncovered 80 live newts of various species. Some of them tested positive for a virulent fungus which originated in Asia and has spread throughout the illegal pet trade. The restitution covered expenses incurred to store and test the animals.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Photo of newts seized from Laughlin’s residence; photo included in case press release at time of guilty plea
Nos. 1:22-CR-00131, 00132 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Karen Escobar
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez to 24 months incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Beltran-Chaidez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in this multi-defendant case involving drugs and animal welfare violations (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)).
Between March and April 2021, Jorge Calderon-Campos (who calls himself “Americano”) supplied 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Mark Garcia and Alberto Gomez-Santiago, and an additional 60 pounds to Francisco Javier Torres Mora. Between January and April 2022, Calderon-Campos also possessed roosters he used to participate in an animal fighting venture.
During a search of his residence on April 26, 2022, law enforcement officers found numerous hens and roosters, various cockfighting implements (including razors and spurs) and six cockfighting trophies, including several with plates inscribed with “Team Amkno” (shorthand for “Team Americano”). At Calderon-Campos’s “stash house,” law enforcement officers found 14 hens and 77 roosters, cockfighting leashes, a cockfighting trophy, and a variety of syringes and pill bottles containing substances related to cockfighting supplements.
Jorge Calderon-Campos was sentenced in November 2024 to eight years and one month of incarceration. Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to violating the Animal Welfare Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)); 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)).
On August 26, 2024, a court sentenced Antonio Beltran-Chaidez to 46 months’ incarceration, followed by 24 months’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)).
In January 2024, co-defendant Gomez-Santiago was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration, followed by 60 months supervised release. Mora was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration. Horacio Ortega-Martinez, another associate of Calderon-Campos, was sentenced in April 2023 to 18 months incarceration, followed by 36 months supervised release, after pleading guilty to possessing gamecocks for an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C § 2156 (b)).
Co-defendant Garcia pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 3, 2025, to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval is scheduled for status conference June 18, 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department.
On February 11, 2025, a court sentenced Christopher Lee Carroll to serve nine years of incarceration and to pay $3 million in restitution. A jury convicted Carroll in August 2024 of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), 13 violations of the CAA, and two counts of threatening a witness (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 2, 1014, 1512 (b)(3), 1344; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Carroll and his business partner, George Reed, owned a time share exit company called Square One Group LLC. In April of 2020, they submitted a false and fraudulent application for a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The loan application falsely stated that the spouses of Reed and Carroll owned the company to conceal Carroll’s status as a paroled felon, which would have precluded his company from receiving PPP funds. Carroll also used his wife’s name to avoid any potential liability for the fraud.
The PPP loan was supposed to help save businesses and jobs, but Carroll did not use the money to pay dozens of employees who were out of work or keep paying for health insurance for 17 of those employees. Instead, he used it to start a trucking company, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair LLC. Carroll and Reed then applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that they’d spent the money on payroll and other permitted expenses. Additionally, Reed and Carroll later sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million, taking a total of $660,000 in “owner draws” from the company after the loan was approved.
From May 2020 through December 2021, Carroll and Whiskey Dix violated the CAA by unlawfully removing the emissions control systems from more than 30 diesel-fueled trucks. In January 2022, Carroll tried to pressure two employees to take responsibility for the emissions tampering. When one of the employees said he was going to talk to federal investigators, Carroll threatened to stop paying for the employee’s attorney.
The court sentenced Whiskey Dix to complete a three-year term of probation after the jury convicted the company on 16 CAA violations. Reed pleaded guilty to bank fraud in September of 2022 and was sentenced January 23, 2025, to time served, and five years of supervised release. Reed was held jointly liable for $3 million in restitution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jeffrey Radtke to 21 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Radtke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C.§§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between June 2021 and August 2022, Radtke sent more than 40 payments (ranging from $1 through $300) he received from co-conspirators to pay videographers in Indonesia and other locations outside of the United States to create videos depicting the torture and deaths of juvenile macaque monkeys.
During the execution of a search warrant in April 2023, law enforcement found more than 2,600 videos and 2,700 images depicting animal crushing on Radtke’s computer.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jonathan Achtemeier
No. 3:24-CR-05072 (Western District of Washington)
AUSA Seth Wilkinson
AUSA Lauren Staniar
SAUSA Karla Perrin
On February 14, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Achtemeier to pay a $25,000 fine and serve four months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Achtemeier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) for his role in tampering with required monitoring devices on diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371).
Between 2019 and 2022, Achtemeier modified the software on hundreds of trucks nationwide to prevent the monitoring devices from detecting the removal of emissions controls. Achtemeier conspired with mechanics and truck fleet operators, instructing them on how to remove or disable anti-pollution hardware on diesel trucks, a process known as “deleting.” Achtemeier tampered with the monitoring device on his clients’ trucks by connecting laptops to the trucks’ onboard computers and remotely “tuning” the vehicles’ computers, which rendered required monitoring devices inaccurate. This allowed the trucks to run without functioning emissions control systems and resulted in the trucks emitting significantly more pollution than legally allowed.
Achtemeier charged as much at $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. He advertised his services on social media nationwide, doing business as Voided Warranty Tuning or Optimized Ag. Between 2019 and 2022 his company took in more than $4.3 million in gross profits.
The Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Andres Alejandro Sanchez to complete a three-year term of probation to include six months’ home detention. Sanchez pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally importing a spider monkey into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).
On October 7, 2024, Sanchez travelled from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, and failed to declare a spider monkey he had in his vehicle to Customs and Border Protection officers as he attempted to cross the border.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Case photo of baby spider monkey rescued by authorities
United State v. Jose Carrillo
No. 8:23-CR-00222 (Middle District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matt Morris
AUSA Erin Favorit
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Carrillo to 84 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Carrillo pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and knowingly possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)(1) and 924(d)).
On June 7, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Carrillo’s residence, seizing a total of 10 pit bull-type dogs. Several of the dogs exhibited scarring consistent with dogfighting. Authorities also discovered a .22 caliber rifle, a bloodstained wooden dogfighting “pit,” syringes, veterinary medications, a skin stapler, break sticks used to separate fighting dogs, and other suspected dogfighting paraphernalia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with assistance from the following agencies: Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshal Service; and the Pasco County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.
Photo of dogs from Carillo’s home included in press release, link below.
Nos. 2:23-CR-00600, 2:24-CR-00890 (District of Arizona)
AUSA Glenn McCormick
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Eric T. Scionti to 47 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Scionti pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and Animal Crushing in two separate cases (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(8), 48(a)(1)).
In December 2022, federal authorities received an anonymous tip that Scionti, a convicted felon, possessed a number of handguns, as well as grenades and bullet-proof body armor. On January 18, 2023, agents executed a search warrant, seizing six firearms and 1,826 rounds of ammunition from areas of a residence controlled by the defendant. Scionti has multiple Arizona state felony convictions and was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
While researching the defendant’s online activities, agents found video evidence depicting Scionti torturing pigeons. Agents executed a subsequent search warrant on September 29, 2023, for records and information associated with Scionti’s email account. During that search, agents seized approximately 168 videos and 89 digital photographs depicting Scionti torturing and mutilating live pigeons.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigations in these cases.
On February 19, 2025, a court sentenced Manuel Domingos Pita to 48 months’ incarceration and to pay more than $55 million in restitution. Also, Pita will forfeit real estate and cash/bank accounts. Pita pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act for causing the death of an employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343; 29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).
Pita created and operated several shell construction companies, including one named Domingos 54 Construction, Inc. Pita used Domingos 54 to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying the number of workers for which he sought coverage in worker’s compensation insurance applications. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022.
Pita failed to disclose the number of workers he had. Had he properly disclosed the number of workers, he would have paid an additional $22.7 million+ in premiums. Additionally, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages.
Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
Nos. 3:24-CR-00101, 00116 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Deputy Chief Joe Poux
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 20, 2025, a court sentenced Fernando Cruz Rubio to time served. Rubio pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for failing to maintain an oil record book (ORB) (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)).
Rubio worked as a chief engineer on the M/V Suhar, a Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola, Florida. The ship was managed by Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., which was responsible for the ship’s day-to-day operations, including hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all environmental and international regulations.
The Coast Guard inspected the ship when it arrived in Pensacola on August 25, 2023. Inspectors determined that the vessel’s crew regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water overboard, bypassing onboard pollution control equipment, and falsified the ship’s ORB to conceal these discharges. On various trips, between March 2021 through August 25, 2023, Rubio, as the Suhar’s chief engineer, failed to accurately maintain the ORB and did not record overboard bilge water discharges.
Gremex was sentenced in October 2024 to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance plan. The shipping corporation also pleaded guilty to violating APPS.
The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.
United States v. Clancy Logistics, Inc., et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00344 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Andrew Ho
RCEC Gwendolyn Russell
On February 25, 2025, a court sentenced to Clancy Logistics, Inc., and owner Timothy C. Clancy, to each complete three-year terms of probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510.00, jointly and severally. The defendants pleaded guilty to a felony count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between October 2019 and July 2023, Timothy C. Clancy tampered with the onboard diagnostic systems (OBDs) and caused others to tamper with the OBDs, of at least 13 Class 8 diesel semi-trailer trucks owned or operated by his companies, Clancy Transport, Inc., and Clancy Logistics, Inc. The defendants’ actions prevented the OBDs from detecting malfunctions caused by the deletion of the vehicles’ emission control systems, in violation of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
As part of this process, Clancy directed his employees to disable and remove the emissions hardware from his companies’ vehicles. This involved removing exhaust systems and their corresponding emissions control components from the vehicles, hollowing out the functioning portion of the devices so that only the casing remained, and re-installing the casing to create the appearance that the emissions controls were intact. The vehicles’ OBDs were then tuned so that they could no longer detect the removal of the control equipment.
Clancy and his companies tampered with the OBDs on their diesel semi-trailer trucks so that they could operate the vehicles with real or perceived increased performance and fuel efficiency and reduce or eliminate the cost and burden associated with maintaining the vehicles. As a result, a greater volume of pollutants was emitted from the vehicles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
No. 5:24-CR-00028 (Western District of North Carolina)
AUSA Katherine T. Armstrong
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Robert G. Gambill to pay a $9,500 fine and to forfeit a rifle, scope, and ammunition for killing a bald eagle in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). As required under provisions of the Act, $2,500 of the fine will be apportioned equally between two witnesses who reported the shooting.
On June 5, 2024, Gambill set his firearm on a fencepost and targeted, shot, and killed a bald eagle that was perched in a tree near a bridge in Sparta, North Carolina. After killing the eagle, Gambill drove away from the scene, abandoning the carcass on the bank of the New River. Two witnesses recovered the carcass and turned it over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The U.S. FWS forensic laboratory determined that injuries suffered by the bald eagle were consistent with a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office.
On February 28, 2025, a court sentenced Willie Russell to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371). Russell is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in this federal dog fighting case. The other co-defendants are: Tamichael Elijah; Marvin Pulley, III; Brandon Baker; Christopher Travis Beaumont; Herman Buggs, Jr.; Terrance Davis; Timothy Freeman; Terelle Ganzy; Gary Hopkins; Cornelious Johnson; Rodrecus Kimble; Donnametric Miller; Willie Russell; and, Fredricus White.
On April 24, 2022, the defendants converged on a property in Donalsonville, Georgia, where they held a large-scale dog fighting event. They brought a total of 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend. Law enforcement personnel who disrupted the event found numerous dogs inside crates in cars on the property.
The participants used their cars to store dogs who had already fought, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Some dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued a total of 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later perished from its injuries. Dogs in the cars also bore recent injuries and scars.
All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Defendants Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting (i.e., handling) a dog in a dog fight. Defendants Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog for purposes of using the dog in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Defendants Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General; and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florda, Sheriff’s Office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Princess Astrid of Belgium PM deeply appreciates the initiative of the Princess Astrid to lead a 300 member delegation to India
PM recalls positive association of the Royal Family of Belgium with India
The two leader’s commitment to new mutually beneficial partnership with Belgium including in the areas of trade, investment, technology, innovation, defence, agriculture, life sciences, space, skilling among others
Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 9:58PM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today met Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, who is leading a high-level Belgian Economic Mission to India from 1-8 March 2025.
Prime Minister welcomed Princess Astrid to India and deeply appreciated her initiative of a big delegation of over 300 members, including prominent business leaders, government officials, and representatives from various sectors.
This is the second time Princess Astrid in spearheading an Economic Mission to India, underscoring the significance of strong economic ties between the two nations which have been on an upward trajectory.
The discussions between PM and HRH Princess Astrid spanned a wide array of areas, including trade, investment, technology, defence, innovation, clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture, skilling, academic exchanges, and cultural and people-to-people ties.
Both sides agreed to work closely to discover new pathways for cooperation across emerging and high-impact sectors, which would strengthen economic resilience, foster innovation-led growth, and deepen bilateral cooperation to benefit the people of both countries.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met the HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, today. He appreciated her initiative to lead a 300-member Economic Mission to India.
In a post on X, he stated:
“Pleased to meet HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium. Deeply appreciate her initiative to lead a 300-member Economic Mission to India. Look forward to unlocking limitless opportunities for our people through new partnerships in trade, technology, defence, agriculture, life sciences, innovation, skilling and academic exchanges.
@MonarchieBe”
Pleased to meet HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium. Deeply appreciate her initiative to lead a 300-member Economic Mission to India. Look forward to unlocking limitless opportunities for our people through new partnerships in trade, technology, defence, agriculture, life sciences,… pic.twitter.com/Fjx0x44Vob
March 4, 2025Cincinnati, OH, United StatesEnforcement and Removal
CINCINNATI — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Simeon Roosenov Moutafov, a citizen of Bulgaria, Feb. 24 with a final order of removal.
Moutafov has convictions of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer in Madison County, Illinois.
“Moutafov is an aggravated felon with no legal status in United States and will be headed back to his home country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch. “I’m proud of our officers’ efforts to ensure safer communities by removing public safety and national security threats.”
Members of the public can report immigration crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE Detroit’s mission to increase public safety in our Michigan and Ohio communities on X at @ERODetroit.
As mentioned in the reply to E-001534/2024, the Commission’s position on Russia’s espionage, hybrid threats and disinformation campaigns is one of strong condemnation.
As also stated before, the country chapter for Poland of the 2023 Rule of Law Report[1] contains a factual reference to the case and indicates the sources of the relevant information, which include the Council of Europe platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. The Commission usually refers to such alerts in the Rule of Law Report under the pillar of media freedom in relation to all Member States.
