Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The leaders began by reflecting on the progress made between the UK and Germany in recent months, including through the signing of the Trinity House Agreement on defence, and Joint Action Plan on irregular migration. They agreed on the importance of maintaining the momentum towards an even stronger bilateral partnership.
Turning to the situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister updated on his recent visit and reiterated that it was important to ensure the country was in the strongest possible position in the coming months, so that peace could be achieved through strength.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had underscored the importance of scaling up and coordinating defence production across Europe, the leaders agreed.
Updating on the government’s Strategic Defence Review, which would be published later this year, the Prime Minister said it would encompass the lessons learned in Ukraine, and the need to out-manoeuvre Putin’s ongoing aggression and hostile activity across Europe.
Reflecting on the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the leaders welcomed the ongoing release of hostages and underscored the importance of seeing through all phases of the deal through.
A two-state solution that ensured a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestine was key, the Prime Minister added.
The leaders also discussed the Prime Minister’s visit to the EU Council tomorrow, and the reset between the UK and the European Union.
The Prime Minister said he was committed to strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU to drive greater growth and closer security ties, which he believed would benefit all sides.
The leaders looked forward to speaking again tomorrow.
Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council
Government funding to establish a dedicated national hub that will centralise policing’s response to violence against women and girls and wider crimes associated with vulnerability has been confirmed today (Sunday, 2 February).
The creation of a dedicated policing hub will support forces with specialist knowledge and training for investigators and officers, and lead on a national approach to preventing these crimes from happening, with other agencies.
Police chiefs declared violence against women and girls a national emergency last year, and called for a whole-system approach that brings together criminal justice partners, government bodies and industry, to tackle the threat through prevention.
Policing mobilised its response to tackle violence against women and girls at a national level by establishing a dedicated taskforce sat within the National Police Chiefs’ Council in 2021. Since then, the taskforce has worked with the College of Policing, the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, the Child Sexual Exploitation taskforce, government and support organisations to drive consistency and best practice across all forces in England and Wales.
Building on the successes of programs like Operation Soteria, the new centre will work with academics to ensure an evidence-based approach, transforming the way policing looks at and responds to these crimes.
T/CC Maggie Blyth, National Police Chief’s Council lead for Violence Against Women and Girls said: “We welcome the official announcement and the financial support of government to implement a national policing centre to further protect victims and enhance our specialist capability to target perpetrators.
“We already have the foundations in place, we have a strong partnership across the College of Policing (CoP), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and specialised programmes to drive better consistency in policing’s response to violence against women and girls.
“Our officers work tirelessly every day to bring offenders to justice and keep people safe, but we need to do more and that starts with equipping our officers with the right training and support to be able to investigate effectively, in the same way as we would provide specialist training to firearms or public order officers.
“We also need to listen and support victims through the criminal justice process and alongside partners, we will drive improvements for swifter justice and a quicker more robust response when people seek our help.
“As we set out last year, the threat and scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG), has reached epidemic levels and it is estimated that at least 1 in every 12 women will be a victim of VAWG every year (2 million victims) and 1 in 20 adults in England and Wales will be a perpetrator of VAWG every year (2.3 million perpetrators). The figures are probably even higher, so we must act now to stop male-perpetrated violence, and we are committed to transforming the policing of public protection, so we have a national standard to decrease harm and cost to society.
“The national centre forms part of our wider work with government on our shared commitment to reform policing and ensure forces have the people and resources they need to keep the public safe.”
Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, the College of Policing’s Director of Operational Standards, said:
“Every year, at least one in 12 women will be the victim of violence. This is a startling and unacceptable statistic and one which we, collectively, must commit ourselves to changing.
“Policing is dedicated to protecting women and girls by targeting those who seek to harm them; and ensuring victims have the confidence to come forward, that they are listened to, treated compassionately and receive the best possible service.
“That’s why we’ll place victims at the heart of the new centre and work across law enforcement, government and key stakeholders in both the public and voluntary sectors to boost the training we give to officers working in this area.
“The College of Policing will support forces to achieve the highest possible standards and, building on the success of the existing programmes, we will provide policing with the data, research and insight to improve the response to violence against women and girls.
“I’m grateful to the government for the support and funding provided.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
G7 Foreign Ministers have issued the following statement strongly condemning the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the the capture of Minova, Saké and Goma.
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, strongly condemn the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in particular, the capture of Minova, Saké and Goma. We urge M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to cease their offensive in all directions. We call for the urgent protection of civilians.
We also call for an end to all direct and indirect support to the M23 and all non-state armed groups in the DRC. This offensive constitutes a flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC. We also condemn M23’s intention to continue expansion into South Kivu.
This latest M23 offensive has led to a dramatic increase in displaced civilians in Goma and across eastern DRC, on top of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people since the start of the M23 offensive in January. We deplore the devastating consequences of the renewed M23 and RDF offensive, worsening already difficult humanitarian conditions.
G7 Foreign Ministers call for the rapid, safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians and reiterate that humanitarian personnel must be provided assurances of safety.
We urge all parties to return to the negotiating table and honour their commitments under the Luanda Process. We urge the M23 to withdraw from all controlled areas. We also urge all parties to fully commit to a peaceful and negotiated resolution of the conflict.
We reiterate our full support to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to protect civilians and stabilize the region and call on all parties to respect its mandate.
Attacks against peacekeeping personnel are entirely unacceptable. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers of MONUSCO and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC).
We strongly condemn all attacks against diplomatic missions in Kinshasa. We urge the Congolese authorities to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomats and the premises of diplomatic missions, as is their responsibility in accordance with international law.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
February 2nd is celebrated in Russia as the Day of the defeat of the Nazi troops by the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad (1943). This was the largest land battle of the Second World War, which had a decisive strategic significance and became a turning point in the Great Patriotic War.
Stalingrad, in its very name, carried great ideological significance for the USSR, but there were also economic reasons to hold the city at any cost – it opened access to oil sources in the Caucasus and the rich arable lands of the Don, Kuban and Lower Volga region.
The Battle of Stalingrad was divided into two stages: defensive (from July 17 to November 19, 1943) and offensive (from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943). The Red Army was forced to enter the battle with an acute shortage of equipment, on unprepared lines and with recently formed units that were not battle-tested. At the initial stage of the battle, the Germans fought actively and skillfully, surrounded the Russians with entire divisions, took one of the two Soviet armies in pincers, and eventually quickly pushed the defenders back beyond the Don. On July 28, Stalin issued the famous order No. 227 (“Not one step back!”). The stubborn resistance of the Russians, even in encirclement, and the extended front slowed the Wehrmacht’s advance so much that our troops managed to launch a number of counterattacks. Nevertheless, by August 23, the battle had already begun within the city limits.
The fighting in the city is the most famous part of the Battle of Stalingrad. It was particularly brutal and was fought literally for every house, some of which changed hands so often that they even received their own names on military maps. Both sides suffered huge losses and were short of food. This battle eventually became one of the bloodiest in the history of mankind in terms of the number of irreparable losses: in the Red Army they amounted to just under 480 thousand people, in the Wehrmacht and allied forces – about half a million. The number of civilians killed is still difficult to establish even approximately.
Realizing that the German troops were bogged down in heavy fighting, the Red Army command began to hatch a plan for a large-scale counterattack in mid-September, which eventually evolved into Operation Uranus. It began on November 19. As a result, General Friedrich Pauls’ 6th Army was surrounded. As is well known, even the promotion of its commander to the rank of Field Marshal did not save it. Another Field Marshal, Erich Manstein, tried to save the situation by developing Operation Winter Storm, and he almost managed to break through the encirclement, but this was thwarted by fresh reinforcements of Soviet troops and his own completely demoralized allies – the Italians, Hungarians and Romanians. “Dumitrescu was powerless to fight the demoralization of his troops alone. “There was nothing left to do but remove them and send them to the rear, to their homeland,” Manstein wrote in his post-war memoirs, “Lost Victories,” about the 3rd Romanian Army and its commander.
The German group at Stalingrad was completely liquidated as a result of Operation Ring. But it cannot be said that it was easy. The operation was interrupted and adjusted in view of the desperate resistance of the enemy. Nevertheless, the outcome is known. The Germans lost about a quarter of all personnel fighting on the Eastern Front. Germany, for the first time since the beginning of World War II, declared national mourning. Its European allies began to look for ways to leave the war, and Turkey and Japan abandoned their plans to invade the USSR.
In memory of this battle, one of the largest and most famous memorials in honor of the participants of the Great Patriotic War, “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad,” was erected on Mamayev Kurgan, the height where the most fierce fighting took place, with the main monument “The Motherland Calls!” The ashes of more than 35,000 defenders of the city rest there in individual and mass graves. The monument-ensemble is an object of cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia and a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The State University of Management congratulates on this day of military glory and recalls our #scientific regiment near Stalingrad – university employees who took part in this grand battle:
-Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Davydov, Guard Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Head of the Nile MIE-MIU department from 1962 to 1985;
-Gennady Belykh, Colonel, Head of the educational and methodological department of the MIU;
– George Bryansky, assistant to the division commander for political units, dean of the faculty of organizers of industrial production and construction of MIEI;
-Peter Burov, Major Engineer, Vice-Rector for the Academic Affairs of MIEI from 1952 to 1962;
– Vasily Svetlov, assistant to the platoon commander, associate professor of the Department of Political Economy of MEII, chairman of the University Council of Veterans from 1993 to 1997.
We also remind you that in the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, on the initiative of the State University of Management, together with the Association “I am proud” and the “People’s Front” of the DPR, the All-Russian competition “Family history. Immortal memory” is being held.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02.02.2025
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh arrives in India today [2 February] on a three-day visit, with a focus on championing young people and promoting the benefits of non-formal education across the world.
His Royal Highness will travel to Mumbai and Delhi to promote The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, delivered as The International Award for Young People (IAYP) in India: a non-formal education and learning framework supporting young people to find their purpose, place and passion in the world. Since its inception in India in 1962, the Award has helped more than 150,000 students from 325 schools and educational institutions across the country.
In addition to meeting with members of the government, His Royal Highness is scheduled to undertake varied engagements spanning the breadth of the living bridge that connects the UK and India. This includes discussions with Indian education and business leaders and philanthropists, and joining events that celebrate our shared love for sport and the arts.
Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said:
I am delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to India. The visit is an important reminder of the vibrant and enduring links between our countries, including through a 1.7 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK.
The UK-India partnership is helping drive solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. By investing in our youth today and ensuring they have all the opportunities to succeed, we can continue to build on the shared vision of a better tomorrow.
Kapil Bhalla, National Director, The International Award for Young People, India said:
We are deeply honoured to welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to India as part of his continued commitment to inspiring young people worldwide. His visit reaffirms the transformative impact of The International Award for Young People in empowering the youth of India to realise their full potential. His Royal Highness’ presence is a testament to the enduring legacy of this programme and its ability to connect communities across the globe.
At the conclusion of the visit to India, The Duke will travel on to join The Duchess of Edinburgh in visiting Nepal.
Further information
Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh, is His Majesty The King’s brother and the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The late Duke of Edinburgh.
His Royal Highness last visited India in 2018. This is his first official visit to India after being conferred the Dukedom of Edinburgh in 2023 by His Majesty King Charles III.
Founded by Prince Philip in 1956, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award helps young people build their confidence and develop key life skills in order to reach their full potential. Today nearly half a million young people are actively doing their DofE in the UK, and more than a million are taking on the challenge of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in more than 130 countries.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, delivered as The International Award for Young People (IAYP) in India, is the world’s leading youth achievement award, available to all young people aged 14-24. To know more about IAYP in India, visit www.iayp.co.in
Media
David Russell, Communications Counsellor and Spokesperson,
British High Commission, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi 110021. Tel: 24192100
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The workshop will provide a platform for sharing experience in modernizing legal and institutional frameworks of official statistics and discussing emerging issues posing legal challenges to national statistical systems. The target audience for the meeting will be experts from national statistical offices and international organizations interested in strengthening the legal framework of official statistics and legal aspects of data access, governance, and stewardship.
The workshop will be organized by the Steering Group on Statistical Legislation, including Albania, Armenia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, EFTA, Eurostat, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and UNECE, with support of EFTA and hosted by the Institute of Statistics of Albania (INSTAT).
Papers and presentations are available under each session heading below.
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
National Coaching Workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Photograph: UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section.
UNECE/FAO, UNDA National Coaching Workshop
Национальный семинар ЕЭК ООН/ФАО, СРООН
Rationale
The objectives of the coaching workshop on “Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management for Uzbekistan” are:
to identify the status of national and international forest reporting in Uzbekistan;
to analyse the needs, benefits and potential of criteria and indicators (C&I) development for Uzbekistan;
to discuss and select national C&I for a preliminary set;
to assess the process plan and the best approach for implementation.
This will be achieved through
A. REVIEW. To review progress, challenges and lessons with regards to national and international forest reporting in Uzbekistan with a specific focus on lessons from previous C&I related processes and outcomes.
B. WHY and WHAT. To ensure clarity on what the principles purpose, processes and definitions, related to C&I for SFM are.
C. HOW. Drawing upon international and national best practice to strengthen skills on how to practically develop C&I.
D. DRAFT and PLAN. To draft an initial set of C&I for SFM and develop a process plan of how to test and select them.
Цели семинара
Определение статуса национальной и международной отчетности лесов Узбекистана;
Обсуждение и отбор национальных критериев и индикаторов (КиИ) для предварительного свода;
Анализ потребностей, преимуществ и потенциала развития КиИ для Узбекистана;
Оценка плана процесса и наилучший подход к реализации.
Цели могут быть достигнуты следующим образом:
А. ОБЗОР. Обзор прогресса, вызовы и уроки, связанные с национальной и международной отчетностью по лесам в Узбекистане, с особым упором на уроки, извлеченные из прошлых процессов и результатов, связанных с КиИ.
Б. ПОЧЕМУ и ЧТО. Для обеспечения ясности относительно того, каковы принципы, цель, процессы и определения, связанные с КиИ для УУЛ.
В. КАК. Усиление навыков практической разработки КиИ опираясь на лучшую международную и национальную практику.
Г. НАБРОСОК и ПЛАН. Подготовка исходного набора КиИ для УУЛ и разработка плана процесса их тестирования и выбора.
Meeting hours
02 August 2017, Wednesday: 8.30 – 17.30 / 02 Август 2017 г., Среда: 8.30 – 17.30
03 August 2017, Thursday: 9.00 – 17.30/ 03 Август 2017 г., Четверг: 9.00 – 17.30
04 August 2017, Friday: 9.00 – 17.30 / 04 Август 2017 г., Пятница: 9.00 – 17.30
Meeting venue
Tashkent, Hotel Aster, Yakkasaray district, Minglar str. 35
Ташкент, Отель Астер, район Яккасарай, ул. Минглар 35
Contact
Should you have any question, please contact the Secretariat.
За более подробной информацией обращайтесь в Секретариат.
National examples of SFM C&I processes and outcomes, lessons and recommendations Russia RUS Национальные примеры процессов и итогов, уроков и рекомендаций КиИ для УЛП Россия
National examples of SFM C&I processes and outcomes, lessons and recommendations Estonia ENG-RUS Национальные примеры процессов и итогов, уроков и рекомендаций КиИ для УЛП Эстония
The table below provides an overview of useful material and information about Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in English and Russian. This material can be used as a source of information and inspiration to develop national Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management. The table is not exhaustive. If you are aware of relevant material that is not yet listed kindly inform the project manager.
В таблице ниже представлены полезные материалы и информация о критериях и индикторах для устойчивого леспользования на английском и русском языках. Эти материалы могут быть использованы в качестве информации и вдохновения при разработке национальных критериев и индикаторов для устойчивого лесопользования. Таблица не является полной. Если Вы знаете какие-либо подходящие материалы, которые не представлены в данной таблице, пожалуйста, проинформируйте координатора проекта.
Topic/ Тема
Language/ Язык
Document/ Документ
General information Общая информация
ECE/FAO Guidelines for the Development of a Criteria and Indicator Set for Sustainable Forest Management Методические Рекомендации по Разработке критериев и показателей ведения лесного хозяйства
Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management Руководство по разработке, тестированию и выбору критериев и индикаторов для устойчивого лесопользования
Montreal process: criteria and indicators for conservation and SFM of the temperate and boreal zones 2008 Монреальский процесс: критерии и индикаторы сохранения и УЛП умеренной и бореальной зон 2008
Global Forest Resource Assessment, Synthesis Document Глобальная оценка лесных ресурсов, обобщающий документ More information here Дополнительная информация здесь
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Rationale
The objectives of the coaching workshop on “Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management for Georgia” were:
to identify the status of national and international forest reporting in Georgia;
to analyse the needs, benefits and potential of criteria and indicators (C&I) development for Georgia;
to discuss and select national C&I for a preliminary set;
to assess the process plan and the best approach for implementation.
This was achieved through
A. REVIEW. To review progress, challenges and lessons with regards to national and international forest reporting in Georgia with a specific focus on lessons from previous C&I related processes and outcomes.
B. WHY and WHAT. To ensure clarity on what the principles purpose, processes and definitions, related to C&I for SFM are.
C. HOW. Drawing upon international and national best practice to strengthen skills on how to practically develop C&I.
D. DRAFT and PLAN. To draft an initial set of C&I for SFM and develop a process plan of how to test and select them.
Meeting hours
29 November 2017, Wednesday: 8.30 – 17.30
30 November 2017, Thursday: 9.00 – 17.30
01 December 2017, Friday: 9.00 – 17.30
Meeting venue
Justice House Training Centre, A.Politkovskaya Str. 3, Tbilisi, Georgia
Contact
Should you have any questions, please contact Secretariat.
ECE/FAO Guidelines for the Development of a Criteria and Indicator Set for Sustainable Forest Management Методические Рекомендации по Разработке критериев и показателей ведения лесного хозяйства
The table below provides an overview of useful material and information about Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in English and Russian. This material can be used as a source of information and inspiration to develop national Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management. The table is not exhaustive. If you are aware of relevant material that is not yet listed kindly inform the project manager.
В таблице ниже представлены полезные материалы и информация о критериях и индикторах для устойчивого леспользования на английском и русском языках. Эти материалы могут быть использованы в качестве информации и вдохновения при разработке национальных критериев и индикаторов для устойчивого лесопользования. Таблица не является полной. Если Вы знаете какие-либо подходящие материалы, которые не представлены в данной таблице, пожалуйста, проинформируйте координатора проекта.
Topic/ Тема
Language/ Язык
Document/ Документ
General information Общая информация
ECE/FAO Guidelines for the Development of a Criteria and Indicator Set for Sustainable Forest Management Методические Рекомендации по Разработке критериев и показателей ведения лесного хозяйства
CIFOR Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management Руководство по разработке, тестированию и выбору критериев и индикаторов для устойчивого лесопользования
Montreal process: criteria and indicators for conservation and SFM of the temperate and boreal zones 2008 Монреальский процесс: критерии и индикаторы сохранения и УЛП умеренной и бореальной зон 2008
Global Forest Resource Assessment, Synthesis Document Глобальная оценка лесных ресурсов, обобщающий документ More information here Дополнительная информация здесь
A new ‘Blueprint for Growth’ to supercharge Liverpool’s knowledge sector over the next 15 years is set to create more than a million sq ft of new laboratory and workspace in the city.
Knowledge Quarter Liverpool’s urban innovation district and placemaking organisation has pledged to help create a range of inclusive innovation opportunities and inspire future generations by focussing on skills development, community engagement, collaboration and inward investment.
KQ Liverpool’s new 2040 vision has been created following consultation with more than fifty local stakeholders and is underpinned by three core principles; to Convene and Collaborate, Amplify and Attract, Invent and Innovate.
As Liverpool and the wider city region continue to suffer from serious inequalities around issues such as health, education and deprivation, tackling those will be crucial to KQ Liverpool’s future plans, alongside support for the essential community work carried out by its partners.
This will involve expansion of its existing KQ Futures programme, enabled through the Liverpool City Region Health and Life Sciences Innovation Zone, to engage and inspire local young people about the various career opportunities that exist in their home city in specialist sectors. In 2024, KQ Liverpool hosted hundreds of students at its innovation sites and published an illustrated children’s book, Animates: Learning in Liverpool, which was delivered to every primary school in the city region.
It will also seek to boost business growth, job creation and investment into the area while promoting the city region’s high-growth priorities around health and life sciences, materials innovation, AI and robotics. This includes supporting scale-up as well as start-up businesses and simplifying the business support and funding landscape to encourage more innovation-led organisations to start, relocate and stay.
The physical development of the innovation district itself is another key element of the new vision.
KQ Liverpool will work with developers and investors including Sciontec to create more than a million sq ft of new laboratory and workspace.
It will play an important role in unlocking the potential of development sites such as Paddington South, Mount Pleasant and Copperas Hill and shaping transport and connectivity improvements across the district, thus making it more accessible and recognisable to residents, businesses and visitors.
There will also be fresh focus on the collective influence of KQ Liverpool and its partners around important national and international issues and challenges, rather than the physical boundary of the district itself, helping to attract inward investment and showcase the strengths of its innovation ecosystem.
Speaking on behalf of the wide range of partners engaged in KQ Liverpool, its chair Andrew Lewis, who is also Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive, said: “Our 2040 vision is about improving the lives of those who live and work here, for years to come. We want to create an innovation generation, supporting new skills in our local communities, highlighting the many incredible innovations that happen here in KQ Liverpool, and encouraging future generations of science and technology pioneers to call Liverpool their home.
“We can be proud of the innovation ecosystem and partnerships we have created here in Liverpool, bringing high quality jobs and investment into the city centre, through spin-outs, SMEs, multinationals and global investors who see the enormous potential of KQ Liverpool as a place to do business and create long-term opportunities.”
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool, said: “The foundation of our success to date has been the strength of our partnership, exceeding expectations by challenging the norm and refusing to accept anything average or ordinary.
“Going forward, our 2040 vision amplifies that ambition. As a partnership, we will do everything in our power to make this place and peoples’ lives better.”
For further information about KQ Liverpool or the new KQ Liverpool 2040 : A Blueprint for Growth, please click here.
Liverpool will play host to the prestigious 2025 British Chess Championships alongside a wider chess festival this summer as organisers hope to put on the strongest event in its 121-year history.
Britain’s top chess players will converge on Liverpool from July 31 to August 10 as the English Chess Federation’s flagship annual event comes to the city for only the second time, it was announced on Friday.
It will culminate in new British champions being named at all age groups.
A series of tournaments featuring the cream of Britain’s chess talent, including the Open and Women’s championships, will be held in Liverpool’s landmark St George’s Hall. A weekend congress for amateurs will also be held at the nearby Liverpool Holiday Inn in Lime Street.
Alongside the competitive events, Liverpool will host a festival and programme of social and cultural activities organised in association with the city’s historic Liverpool Chess Club.
This will be the 111th British Chess Championships—a series that has run almost unbroken since 1904.
The last two British Chess Championships, held in Leicester and Hull, have seen record numbers competing. Continuing growth is expected this year.
UK chess has also been experiencing a boom in participation among amateurs and success at the top level. In 2024, two new English grandmasters were named: teenage sensation Shreyas Royal and England’s newest grandmaster Ameet Ghasi.
The event is being put on by the English Chess Federation in partnership with Liverpool City Council and St George’s Hall, with support from the Chess Trust and the John Robinson Chess Trust.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, said: “Liverpool has a long and rich connection with chess and it’s a hugely popular activity in schools and communities so we are delighted to be hosting the British Chess Championships later this summer.
“St George’s Hall, with its incredible architecture and acoustics, will offer the perfect backdrop, lending itself perfectly to quiet, focused gameplay, which is sure to result in a thrilling competition for contestants and spectators alike.
“This is yet another coup for Liverpool, as we continue to position ourselves as a versatile events city, and we look forward to working closely with the English Chess Federation and Chess In Schools and Communities to give a warm Liverpool welcome to the best of the best from the chess world.”
It is a welcome return to Liverpool, a city steeped in chess culture. Liverpool boasts a thriving local league and, in Liverpool Chess Club, one of the oldest chess clubs in the world founded in 1837. Atticus Chess Club, based in the Cross Keys Pub in Earle Street, is also a former winner of the national club championships.
Chess was also a key theme as the city hosted the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine with school children encouraged to learn the game to honour the link with Liverpool’s sister city, Odesa. Schools were tasked with producing Eurovision-themed chess pieces and a unique chess event featuring players from Liverpool and Ukraine was held at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church.
Liverpool last hosted the British in 2008, the year the city was named the European Capital of Culture. That year, Grandmaster Stuart Conquest emerged victorious as the 2008 Open champion while International Master Jovanka Houska won the first of her nine Women’s titles.
Nigel Towers, the English Chess Federation’s Director for Home Chess, said: “2008 was recognised as a strong event with many titled players. However, we expect the return visit in 2025 to provide an even more competitive championship and one of the strongest British tournaments ever given the increasing numbers of active British grandmasters and international masters and the current generation of top-level juniors.”
Amos Burn, one of the world’ strongest chess players in the 19th century, was a member of the Liverpool Chess Club from 1867 until his death in 1925, serving as its president for many years.
Among the top players Liverpool has produced are four-time British Women’s champion Sheila Jackson, the 15th Correspondence World Championship winner John Carleton and International Masters Gary Quillan and Malcolm Pein, a former British junior champion. Nearby Southport has also produced two grandmasters in Nigel Davies and Stuart Haslinger.
Washington, DC: Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today after news of the death of Mr. Horst Köhler, former IMF Managing Director:
“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Horst Köhler, who was the eighth Managing Director of the Fund and ably led our institution between 2000 and 2004. Mr. Köhler will be remembered for his many contributions, and in particular for navigating the Fund’s work through the difficult period after September 11, 2001. He mobilized the Fund and the international community to help the low-income and heavily indebted members, championing greater transparency and strong governance.
“During his distinguished career, he played a key role in Germany’s unification in 1990 as Deputy Finance Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and was instrumental in drafting the legal framework for the introduction of the euro. He served as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, before joining the IMF as Managing Director. In 2004 he left the IMF to become president of the Federal Republic of Germany, winning the hearts of many for his principled approach. Throughout a large part of his life, he was particularly devoted to drawing the world’s attention to the needs of the African continent – something many of us at the Fund greatly admired.
“On behalf of the IMF, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to Mr. Köhler’s family – his wife Eva, his two children Ulrike and Jochen, and his grandchildren. Mr. Köhler led a life of distinguished public service, and leaves behind a profound legacy of dedication to fairness and justice and an unfailing concern for others.”
Washington, DC: Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today after news of the death of Mr. Horst Köhler, former IMF Managing Director:
“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Horst Köhler, who was the eighth Managing Director of the Fund and ably led our institution between 2000 and 2004. Mr. Köhler will be remembered for his many contributions, and in particular for navigating the Fund’s work through the difficult period after September 11, 2001. He mobilized the Fund and the international community to help the low-income and heavily indebted members, championing greater transparency and strong governance.
“During his distinguished career, he played a key role in Germany’s unification in 1990 as Deputy Finance Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and was instrumental in drafting the legal framework for the introduction of the euro. He served as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, before joining the IMF as Managing Director. In 2004 he left the IMF to become president of the Federal Republic of Germany, winning the hearts of many for his principled approach. Throughout a large part of his life, he was particularly devoted to drawing the world’s attention to the needs of the African continent – something many of us at the Fund greatly admired.
“On behalf of the IMF, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to Mr. Köhler’s family – his wife Eva, his two children Ulrike and Jochen, and his grandchildren. Mr. Köhler led a life of distinguished public service, and leaves behind a profound legacy of dedication to fairness and justice and an unfailing concern for others.”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Chinese Yingge dance staged to mark Spring Festival in Frankfurt
Updated: February 1, 2025 21:50Xinhua
People take videos of Yingge dance during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. The Yingge team from Shantou, south China’s Guangdong province, offered a rich cultural feast in Frankfurt to friends from all over the world through their Chaoyang Yingge dance, a unique art form combining drama, dance, and martial arts. [Photo/Xinhua]A woman takes a selfie with members of a Yingge team during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A woman poses for a photo with a member of a Yingge team during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]A woman poses for a photo with members of a Yingge team during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]Members of a Yingge team perform traditional Chaoyang Yingge dance during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]Members of a Yingge team pose for a group photo during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
FRANKFURT/GUANGZHOU, Feb. 1 — Hundreds of local residents experienced the festive joy of the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday as a group of flamboyantly dressed performers captivated the public with their lively and unique dance in celebration.
The performance was distinctive — an artful fusion of drama, dance, and martial arts — earning it the special name Yingge dance, or “dance to the hero’s song.”
It is a form of folk dance popular in south China’s Guangdong Province and it was listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
The 25-member Ximen Yingge Team from Shantou, Guangdong Province, energized onlookers with their powerful and rhythmic movements against the crisp winter air in Frankfurt as the first Spring Festival temple fair kicked off here.
Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, the team is currently on an eight-day tour of Germany and France, starting on Tuesday, as part of the “Happy Chinese New Year” event. Frankfurt is one of several stops on their tour, which also includes stops in Hanau, Paris, and Lyon.
Among the mesmerized spectators was Rebecca, a student, who recorded the entire performance in Frankfurt on her phone.
“I love the dance and feel thrilled to experience Chinese New Year celebrations up close for the first time. The performers are so passionate, and they’ve brought so much joy to us. It’s truly spectacular!” she said.
Chen Tanpeng, coach of the Ximen Yingge Team, highlighted the distinctiveness of their innovative performance, saying more Chinese dance elements have been incorporated.
Juergen Scheuermann, chairman of the Hanau-Taizhou Friendship Association, spoke highly of the performance, noting that “We look forward to stronger cultural ties and deeper connections between our peoples.”
For the performers, the experience was just as exhilarating. “We came to Germany … offering a rich cultural feast to friends from around the world,” Chen said, adding, “The atmosphere here is amazing — the people are warm, the food is delicious, and we are truly delighted to celebrate the Chinese New Year in such a wonderful place.”
Wu Yanhua, deputy coach of the team, expressed pride in sharing their heritage. “Through Yingge, we hope to transcend language barriers and bring the joy of the Chinese New Year to people everywhere,” she said.
The team’s preparation for the tour was meticulous, lasting two months to ensure a stellar performance.
Beyond their performance, the team also brought a touch of home to Europe, presenting handmade gifts to local spectators, including paper cuttings, embroidered sachets, mini Spring Festival couplets, and Yingge-themed keychains.
Anna Breit, a local resident, said, “It’s wonderful … The performers’ costumes are stunning, and their performance not only brings joy but also allows us to feel the rich spirit of the Chinese New Year.”
At the close of 2024, UNESCO added the Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year, to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A year earlier, the 78th UN General Assembly recognized the Chinese New Year as an official UN holiday, underscoring the festival’s growing global presence.
“I am disappointed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on all Canadian goods. This decision will harm Canadians and Americans alike and strain the important relationship and alliance between our two nations.
“Alberta will do everything in its power to convince the U.S. President and Congress, as well as the American people, to reverse this mutually destructive policy.
“We note the reduced 10 per cent tariff for Canadian energy. That is partially a recognition of the advocacy undertaken by our government and industry to the U.S. Administration. We’ve pointed outthe substantial wealth created in the U.S. by American companies and tens of thousands of American workers who upgrade and refine approximately $100 billion of Canadian crude into $300 billion of product sold all over the world by those same U.S. companies.
“It is also worth noting that if oil and gas exports are excluded, the United States actually sells more to Canada than Canada sells to the U.S. As I’ve stated to every American policymaker I’ve met with in these past months, Canada buys more from the U.S. than does any country on earth – more than the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Vietnam combined. There is, therefore, no economic justification for tariffs imposed on any Canadian goods.
“Alberta will continue diplomatic efforts in the United States to persuade the U.S. President, lawmakers, administration officials and the American people to lift all tariffs on Canadian goods as soon as possible and to repair our relationship with the United States. I encourage all premiers and federal officials to do the same, especially as the effects of these tariffs begin to take their toll south of the border. Americans need to understand the detrimental consequences of this policy decision.
“Alberta will also work collaboratively with the federal government and other provinces on a proportionate response to the imposed U.S. tariffs through the strategic use of Canadian import tariffs on U.S. goods that are more easily purchased from Canada and non-U.S. suppliers. This will minimize costs to Canadian consumers while creating maximum impact south of the border. All funds raised from such import tariffs should go directly to benefit the Canadians most harmed by the imposed U.S. tariffs.
“Alberta will, however, continue to strenuously oppose any effort to ban exports to the U.S. or to tax our own people and businesses on goods leaving Canada for the United States. Such tactics would hurt Canadians far more than Americans.
“We also continue Alberta’s call for the appointment of a border czar to coordinate the securing of our border against illegal migrants and drugs moving in both directions, and to achieve our nation’s two per cent of GDP NATO commitment by 2027. These things should be done for the safety of all Canadians regardless of our trade dispute with the United States
“Despite the disappointment of today’s decision there is also an incredible opportunity before us as a nation. Canada can and must come together in an unprecedented effort to preserve the livelihoods and futures of our people and expand our political and trade relationships across the globe. We can no longer afford to be so heavily reliant on one primary customer. We must stop limiting our prosperity and inflicting economic wounds on ourselves.
“Rather, we must unleash the true economic potential of our country, which possesses more wealth and natural resources than any other nation on earth.
“To this end, Alberta calls on the federal government and our fellow provinces to immediately commence a national effort to fast track and build oil and gas pipelines to the east and west coasts of Canada, construct multiple LNG terminals on each coast, increase internal refining capacity, unleash the development of critical minerals, lower taxes, reduce red tape, tear down interprovincial trade barriers and re-empower provinces to develop our unique economies without constant federal interference and imposition of anti-resource development laws.
“Our province and our nation can overcome the formidable economic challenges ahead. But we can only do so if we start acting like a healthy and functional country that supports every province to export their best resources and products to world markets, thereby achieving their unique potential. By so doing, Canada can become one of the most prosperous and powerful nations on earth. Alberta stands ready to do our part if this true Team Canada approach is taken.”
UN Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese has hailed the formation of The Hague Group, describing it as the “best news” from a coalition of policymakers “in a long time”.
Formed on Friday in the city of its namesake, The Hague Group’s members — Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa — have joined together to “end Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine”.
The groups said in a joint statement that they could not “remain passive in the face of such international crimes” committed by Israel against the Palestinians.
They said they would work to see the “realisation of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine”.
Albanese said on social media: “Let’s make it real. And let’s keep growing.”
“The Hague Group’s formation sends a clear message — no nation is above the law, and no crime will go unanswered,” said the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola.
South Africa filed a case before the International Court of Justice alleging genocide in 2023 and an interim ruling in January 2024 said that there was “plausible genocide” and accepted the case for substantive judgment. Since then, 14 countries have joined the proceedings in support of South Africa and Palestine.
Joyful scenes erupted today as buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released under last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal arrived in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. A total of 183 prisoners were due to be freed today.
Three captives — Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas– were earlier released in two separate locations in southern and northern Gaza.
Samoan artist Michel Mulipola with his characteristic clutch of protest flags at the “march of the martyrs” in Auckland today . . . latest addition is the flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo to acknowledge a brutal war being waged by M23 rebels. Image: David Robie/APR
NZ ‘march of the martyrs’ protest In New Zealand’s largest city Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau today, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a vigil and march for the more than 47,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s war on Gaza — mostly women and children.
Hamas released three more hostages from Gaza today – a total of 14 since the ceasefire. Image: Al Jazeera screenshot APR
More than 44,500 names of the victims of the genocidal war were spread out on the pavement of Te Komititanga Square in the heart of Auckland and one of the organisers, Dr Abdallah Gouda, said: “It is important to honour the names, they are people, families — they are not just numbers, statistics.”
A canvas with an outline of Palestine flag was also spread out and protesters invited to dip their fingers in black, red and green paint — the colours of the Palestinian flag — and daub the ensign with their collective fingerprints.
This was part of a global campaign to “stamp my imprint” for the return to Palestine.
“Each mark represents solidarity and remembrance for those who have lost their lives in the struggle for justice,” said the campaign.
“As you add your fingerprint, please take a moment to reflect on their sacrifice and the collective desire for peace and freedom.
“This canvas will become a living tribute with each fingerprint contributing to a powerful symbol of unity and support.”
Today’s Palestinian and decolonisation “march of the martyrs” in Auckland. Image: David Robie/APR
The protesters followed with a “march for the martyrs” through central streets of Auckland past the consulate of the United States, main backer and arms supplier to Israel, and beside the city’s iconic harbourside.
A young girl keeps vigil over more than 44,000 names from the 47,000 people killed in Israel’s war on Gaza at today’s pro-Palestinian demonstration in Auckland today. Image: David Robie/APR
UNRWA chief “salutes’ aid staff defying Israeli ban Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has hailed staff for continuing to work despite an Israeli ban on their operations coming into force on Thursday.
In a post on social media, Philippe Lazzarini said: “I salute the commitment of UNRWA staff”.
“We remain committed to upholding the humanitarian principles and fulfil our mandate,” Lazzarini said.
He noted that nearly 500,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, continued to access healthcare provided by UNRWA.
Since the start of the ceasefire in Gaza, UNRWA has ensured that humanitarian food supplies entering the territory under bombardment have reached more than 600,000 people, he said.
“UNRWA must be allowed to do its work until Palestinian institutions are empowered and capable within a Palestine State,” he added.
Israel passed a law in October that came into effect this week, banning UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory — including in East Jerusalem where its headquarters is located — and prohibiting contact with Israeli authorities.
However, Israel is occupying the Palestinian territories illegally in defiance of many UN resolutions ordering it to leave.
UNRWA has said that it is mandated by the UN General Assembly and is committed to staying open and delivering services to Palestinians despite Israel’s prohibitions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he was portrayed on a banner at the Palestinian “march of the martyrs” in Auckland today . . . he is “wanted” by the International Criminal Court to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Image: APR
The Scottish Greens are calling on the UK Government to lift the anti-democratic veto and unblock the Gender Recognition Reform Bill that Holyrood voted overwhelmingly for in 2022.
The call comes at the start of LGBT+ History Month. If enacted, this bill would allow self-identification for trans people, legally recognising their gender if different from their sex assigned at birth. It would give life-affirming autonomy without trans people having to wait years for an intrusive medical diagnosis.
Scottish Greens spokesperson for Equalities Maggie Chapman said:
“The theme of this year’s LGBT+ History Month is Activism and Social Change. I urge the Secretary of State for Scotland and his Labour colleagues at Westminster to live up to these values and undo the unfair and undemocratic veto on gender recognition reform.
“Gender recognition reform was supported by MSPs from all parties, including the Scottish Labour leadership. Upholding the Tory veto undermines the cross-party support that it received and the backing by almost every reputable equalities organisation.
“Most importantly, it highlights the lack of respect offered to some of the most marginalised and frequently targeted communities across Scotland.
“Self-identification is a normal process that is used in countries across the world. Finally allowing it to be implemented would be a small change that would offer more hope and support for trans people.
“What Labour must realise is the precedent that the Tory veto set. It has had real consequences, denying hard-won rights, fanning the flames of a reactionary culture war and paving the way for other rights to be reversed in other areas.”
Ms Chapman added: “LGBT+ History Month is about celebrating the diversity that exists in our communities and the activism and struggle of those who have stood up for equality and against prejudice. It is only right that we recognise that diversity in law too.
“Human rights are non-negotiable and are at the heart of the fairer, greener Scotland that I want us to build.”
A man learns to perform Ansai waist drum during the Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 31, 2025. The first Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt kicked off on Friday. The fair celebrates Chinese New Year with a wide range of festive events, and will run until Feb. 2. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)
The first Spring Festival temple fair in Frankfurt kicked off on Friday. The fair celebrates Chinese New Year with a wide range of festive events, and will run until Feb. 2.
It features authentic Chinese national intangible cultural heritage, such as Chaoyang Yingge dance from Guangdong, Ansai waist drumming from Shaanxi, traditional folk crafts like sugar painting, and performances by Chinese robots and robotic dogs.
Last December, the Spring Festival was officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Chinese Consul General in Frankfurt Huang Yiyang said: “The Spring Festival originates from China but belongs to the world. The Frankfurt Spring Festival temple fair is not only an event for the Chinese compatriots in Germany to celebrate their traditional festival but also an important platform for promoting the Global Civilization Initiative and fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding between China and Germany, bringing our peoples closer together.”
Turgut Yueksel, a member of the Hessian State Parliament, said at the opening ceremony of the first temple fair for Spring Festival in Frankfurt that this event is very precious. It conveys Chinese cultural characteristics and brings a unique style to the local residents of Frankfurt, Yueksel said.
Chen Tanpeng, coach of the Ximen Yingge Team from Shantou, Guangdong province, told Xinhua that the performers will offer a rich cultural feast to friends from all over the world through their Chaoyang Yingge dance, a unique art form combining drama, dance, and martial arts.
“I find the environment in Germany to be excellent, the people incredibly warm, and the food absolutely delightful. We are very happy to be here and are thrilled to celebrate the New Year in such a wonderful place,” Chen said.
Two men have pleaded guilty to burgling a Camden restaurant after police arrested them outside the venue trying, and failing, to open entirely empty cash registers.
Detective Constable Michelle Andersen, the Islington based CID officer who led the investigation, said: “Officers were very quick to get to the scene of the burglary, and were able to arrest both suspects before they could make off.
“But even before police arrived on scene, their criminal plan wasn’t going well. CCTV shows them trying and failing to open the drawers of the cash registers. But even if they had have managed that, they’d have found them to be completely empty.”
At around 06:00hrs on Saturday, 25 January, police responded to an alert from London Borough of Camden CCTV operators to a break-in at a restaurant in Camden High Street.
Officers arrived a short time later. Paul Haughey, 40, (03/09/1984) of Camden Road, NW1 and Jayvan Burton, 41, (19/10/1983) of no fixed address but from the Camden area, were caught red-handed.
Both men were charged with non-residential burglary for stealing the empty tills, to which they pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 27 January.
Haughey will be sentenced at the same court on 18 February. A date is yet to be arranged for Burton’s sentencing at Wood Green Crown Court.
The interconnectivity of all health concerns could offer food and beverages brands innovation opportunities in 2025 by addressing multiple wellness concerns at once.
Several key trends are set to influence consumer purchasing behavior in 2025, including personalized health and wellness with a focus on women, health longevity, personalized products and experiences, and sustainability solutions aided by new technologies. GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, highlights four food and beverages trends that are set to offer consumer packaged goods brands innovation opportunities in 2025:
Personalized Health and Wellness: Women’s Health
Women’s health has long been under-researched, presenting an opportunity for brands to create new products and new marketing initiatives to meet women’s unique health needs.
In the supplements market, product ranges catering to reproductive and hormonal health concerns are now expanding into women’s fitness, digestion, and sleep – all of which require different supplements to men. Brands like Women Best recognize this and solely target women, providing them with supplements to support their dietary needs with functional benefits such as energy, focus, and stress relief. Unilever’s SmartyPants Vitamins range also offers multivitamins and pre and probiotic supplements that cater specifically to women’s health needs. In line with this, the women’s supplement market has seen double-digit value growth over the last two years, according to GlobalData Market Analyzers.
Fahima Omer, Food Consultant and analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Whilst the health benefits of supplements are harnessed in products such as vitamins and protein bars, consumer packaged goods manufacturers could explore opportunities to develop new food and beverages products using supplement ingredients. One such opportunity is to recognize the interconnectivity of all health concerns and release more products aimed at addressing multiple wellness concerns at once.”
Sustainability solutions based on new technologies
Cell-based foods first emerged in 2013 when a scientist in the Netherlands managed to cultivate a burger patty. With new technological advancements and the use of molecular biology, brands such as GoodMeat create meat simply by feeding cells in a sterile environment. Widespread adoption of cell-based meat products has been slow thus far, but this developing technology offers the potential to produce meat products at scale in a more sustainable way. This is becoming increasingly important as The Food and Agricultural Organization at the United Nations* revealed in its 2017 report, “Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock”, that livestock is a significant contributor to climate change with emissions estimated at 7.1 gigatonnes CO2, representing 14.5% of human-induced GHG emissions.
According to GlobalData’s consumer survey (Q3 2024), this kind of sustainability initiative resonates with 74% of global consumers who say that ‘sustainable/environmentally friendly’ is an ‘essential’ or ‘nice to have’ feature when deciding to make a product purchase.
Cell-based foods could also address food insecurity. In a UN/WHO** joint report from 2022, the organization estimated that 11% of people globally suffer from undernourishment despite the planet being able to produce enough food.
Health Longevity: An aging population and the rise of personalization
With 22% of the world’s population expected to be over 60 years old by 2050, according to WHO***, there will be growing demand for food and beverage products that support this cohort’s desire for a long, healthy, and active life. Meal kits with claims around health management have grown in value by 67% during 2016-23, according to GlobalData Market Analysers’ health and wellness data on prepared meals.
As older adults become more proactive about their health, they are choosing products that align with their wellness goals, including dietary supplements and foods rich in vitamins and nutrients that support longevity. Food manufacturer Chin Huay has responded to this demand with a selection of snacks formulated with probiotics, which support senior consumers’ dietary needs, and coffee brand UDA infuses several longevity-centric supplements to help fight aging. These include NMN, which increases metabolism and aids DNA repair; cognitive enhancer L-Theanine; quercetin, an anti-senescence and anti-inflammatory; and ashwagandha, to reduce fatigue and stress.
This trend reflects a broader societal shift towards preventative health measures and lifestyle improvements, which have gained traction following the pandemic. Personalized health and wellness solutions from companies that provide health advice from the analysis of personal health data are growing in popularity. Everlywell provide at-home test kits that check age and gender-related conditions with the aim of providing consumers with specific lifestyle recommendations.
Flavor expansion in Foods and Foodservice
The ubiquity of foreign travel and the rise in social media usage have exposed consumers to global cuisines and flavors, which they have embraced, providing companies with the opportunity to expand their product and flavor choices beyond core brands and gain awareness for them through social media.
According to GlobalData’s Consumer Survey (Q1 2024), 56% of 25-34-year-olds, globally, use social media to discover products and new flavors. A further 51% of the same age group agree with the statement ‘when I find a product in a new flavor I like, I enjoy sharing this knowledge on social media’.
Foodservice operators such as UK-based Los Mochis have been successful in merging Japanese and Mexican cuisines using ingredients such as chipotle and kombu broth to create a chipotle miso soup, exposing their customers to bold new flavor choices.
Omer adds: “Food and beverages trends in 2025 will reflect a complex interplay of functional health & wellness, sustainability, digitalization, and flavor choice. Innovation will not only cater to consumers’ immediate health needs but also prioritize health longevity. There could be a renewed focus on lab-grown meat which has the potential to address food insecurity whilst also combatting climate change. These trends will also present opportunities for brands to sell more value-added and premium products to meet the evolving expectations of consumers in a rapidly changing marketplace.”
GlobalData Consumer Custom Solutions offers sector-level expertise in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Food, Beverages, Foodservice, Retail, Apparel, Packaging,Agribusiness, and Automotiveindustries. We use our unique data, insights and analytics to answer your bespoke questions with a tailored approach and deliverables. To learn more about this press release or have a chat, please drop us an email consulting@globaldata.com or contact us here and we’ll get in touch!
Dai Mo, co-director of “Detective Chinatown 1900,” spoke with China.org.cn about the film’s latest installment, highlighting its exploration of Chinatown’s origins in San Francisco and the historical challenges faced by the overseas Chinese communities in the United States.
Director Dai Mo. [Photo courtesy of As One Production]
The first three “Detective Chinatown” films have grossed more than 8.7 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) since the series launched 10 years ago. The films follow the boisterous private investigator Tang Ren, played by Wang Baoqiang, and his introverted, highly intelligent nephew Qin Feng, portrayed by Liu Haoran, as they tackle mystery cases in cities like Bangkok, New York and Tokyo.
“This time, we wanted to offer audiences a story that feels both familiar and fresh, so we chose a different longitudinal time period to offer a unique perspective,” Dai said. He added that the film not only explores Chinatown’s historical roots but also illustrates the prejudices overseas Chinese faced in 1900.
For the creative team, the year 1900 is a significant intersection in history. It was the Year of Gengzi in the lunar calendar, a year associated with misfortune in Chinese folklore. The year saw the peak of the Boxer Rebellion amid widespread chaos in China. The Qing dynasty also declared war on foreign powers but was ultimately defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance, resulting in forced war indemnities.
In stark contrast, the U.S. was experiencing modernization and prosperity. Chinese immigrants moved to America in search of work, including jobs in railroad construction, but faced severe discrimination, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act. At the same time, the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes gained prominence as a cultural icon. “There were many stories and inspirations from that period for us,” Dai said.
A poster for “Detective Chinatown 1900.” [Image courtesy of As One Production]
The leading characters are once again portrayed by Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran, but their new roles are entirely different from those in previous installments. Wang plays Ah Gui, a versatile Chinese descendant adopted by an Indigenous American tribe, while Liu takes on the role of Qin Fu, an extroverted practitioner of Chinese medicine. Set in San Francisco in the 1900s, the story centers on the murder of a white woman in Chinatown, for which a Chinese man is the main suspect. This shocking crime ignites public outrage, leading to demands to shut down Chinatown. The duo gets caught up in the investigation, racing against time to reveal the true murderer in a tense battle of wits and bravery.
As a long-time collaborator with Chen Sicheng, the mastermind behind the “Detective Chinatown” franchise, Dai — director of hits like “Endless Journey” and “Fireflies in the Sun” — described their collaboration in co-directing the film as seamless, owing to the deep mutual understanding they have cultivated over the years. He fondly recalled how Chen would frequently laugh and cry behind the camera during the shoot, describing him as a deeply sensitive person.
The most ambitious and challenging aspect of the film was constructing a 1:1 replica of San Francisco’s landmarks from over a century ago in just seven months. This replica spans 200,000 square meters at Laoling Film Studio in Shandong province. Supported by the local government and enterprises, the project showcases China’s remarkable construction capabilities. The replica is open to the public during the Spring Festival, giving visitors the chance to explore it after viewing the film.
A replica of 1900s San Francisco at Laoling Film Studio in Laoling, Shandong province. [Photo courtesy of As One Production]
Dai noted that the set is incredibly realistic, as the film’s production design department conducted extensive research and collected historical documents to authentically replicate every detail of the props and the set from that era. This included constructing slopes that mirrored the actual geographical features of San Francisco. He added that foreign actors, including Hollywood veteran John Cusack, who stars in the film, were in awe of the replica town during filming.
The director expressed his hope that the film could serve as an important vehicle for promoting Chinese culture and also bring more resonance to overseas Chinese, while calling for the solidarity of Chinese communities abroad. Additionally, he hopes the film will inspire audiences to explore the history of China during that era. “When audiences engage with this history, they will see how strong we are today and gain a sense of confidence, perseverance and a commitment to continuous self-improvement,” he said.
Dai said he was excited about the potential for future expansions in the “Detective Chinatown” universe, which could explore different timelines. “Anything is possible,” he laughed. “As long as audiences continue to enjoy their adventures, we are eager to create more.”
A still from “Detective Chinatown 1900,” featuring the iconic actor Chow Yun-fat. [Photo courtesy of As One Production]
“Detective Chinatown 1900,” featuring a star-studded cast that includes legendary actor Chow Yun-fat along with comedians Bai Ke, Wei Xiang and Yue Yunpeng, was released on Jan. 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year. The film premiered simultaneously in major markets worldwide, including North America, Australia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. The film is a notable addition to China’s profitable Spring Festival film season, which has seen record-breaking box office performances this year, bolstered by a strong lineup of releases.
The European Commission on Wednesday presented the Competitiveness Compass, a strategic blueprint aimed at restoring the European Union (EU)’s economic edge and driving technological leadership as it seeks to close the gap with the United States (U.S.) and China.
Acknowledging a two-decade lag in productivity growth compared to other major economies, the Compass focuses on boosting innovation, advancing decarbonization, and strengthening security, according to the Commission’s statement.
This photo taken on Jan. 29, 2025 shows the Berlaymont Building, the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium. TO GO WITH “EU unveils plan to boost competitiveness” (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)
“Europe has everything it needs to succeed in the race to the top. But, at the same time, we must fix our weaknesses to regain competitiveness,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement.
The Compass builds on a strategic report released last year by Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), which calls for an additional annual investment of between 750 billion euros (779 billion U.S. dollars) and 800 billion euros to counteract Europe’s decline in competitiveness.
The Commission will launch “AI Gigafactories” and “Apply AI” initiatives to accelerate AI development and adoption across key industries, the Compass says. It also promises actions for advanced materials, quantum, biotech, robotics, and space technologies.
A separate report released by the Commission on Wednesday highlighted the EU’s ongoing struggles in scaling up its businesses. This report provides the analytical context for the Competitiveness Compass.
In this regard, the Compass outlines a strategy to remove barriers to facilitate startup growth, and legislative changes to simplify rules.
It also noted the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal to drive decarbonization, a plan for affordable energy to reduce costs, and targeted strategies for high-risk sectors like steel, metals, and chemicals.
To reduce dependencies, the bloc plans to prioritize European companies in critical sectors and technologies under reviewed public procurement rules.
To further underpin the competitiveness, the Compass sets a target of cutting the administrative burden for firms by at least 25 percent and by at least 35 percent for SMEs.
It also proposes measures to lower the barriers to the functioning of the EU Single Market, which has struggled with regulatory fragmentation for decades, and to advance the European Savings and Investments Union project to enhance the EU’s financing competitiveness, despite its slow progress over the years.
“Guonian,” which means “crossing the year,” is more than just a festival marking the arrival of the new year for the Chinese people. Though the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is now celebrated in many places worldwide, the true meaning of “Guonian” can only be fully understood by experiencing it in China. “The celebration is big, stretching for a month with a lot of food, fireworks and cultural events,” said Kayleen Fangbi from Belgium. “I love it.” Lanterns and fairy lights adorn every corner, while shops bustle with people laden with large shopping bags, as observed by a Spanish couple traveling in Beijing just days before the Spring Festival, which fell on Jan. 29 this year. Spotting the snake-themed decorations, they decided to look up the meanings of the Chinese zodiac online and discovered that this year is the Year of the Snake. “One of us is a Horse, and the other is a Sheep,” they noted, clearly finding it all quite fascinating. Invitations to join in the celebration were shared via the Chinese lifestyle app rednote, with many Chinese netizens offering tips and local authorities promoting festive activities. The surge in activity comes as the app gains many users from the United States and other countries, following the U.S. government’s threat to ban TikTok. With the trending hashtag “Chinese New Year,” many foreigners shared about their Spring Festival celebrations virtually from wherever they were, with some expressing the joy of savoring an authentic experience of the holiday in China. Beyond the traditional fireworks, decorations, dragon dances, and lion dances, Spring Festival celebrations across China feature distinct local traditions, each adding its unique flavor to the holiday. They all share common themes: family reunions and hope for good fortune in the year ahead. The diverse social practices throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations, recently listed as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO, offer international visitors a rich array of experiences during this period.
Artists perform the traditional Yingge dance in Chaoyang District of Shantou City, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin) In the Chaoshan region of south China’s Guangdong Province, the traditional Yingge dance adds a vibrant New Year atmosphere to the celebrations. Videos showcasing the dance have garnered millions of views, drawing many travelers to spend the Spring Festival in the area. The dancers, dressed in colorful costumes that represent ancient heroes and heroines, hold short wooden sticks and perform rhythmic movements, such as swinging the sticks, striking them together, and stamping their feet. “I was completely captivated by the strength and precision of their movements, the rhythmic sounds of their stomping and sticks clashing, and their powerful shouts of encouragement,” said Thanita Raemee from Thailand, after watching Yingge Dance performances. It’s said that when the lanterns in Yuyuan Garden light up, the Spring Festival begins in Shanghai, one of the top destinations for foreign visitors in China.
Tourists from the Republic of Korea visit the Yuyuan Garden Mall in east China’s Shanghai, Dec. 4, 2024. (Photo by Chen Haoming/Xinhua) After strolling through the winding corridors and pavilions, a German tourist bought numerous Chinese New Year-themed souvenirs in Yuyuan Garden. “I want to bring the festive blessings to my friends back home,” she said. “A major change is that foreign tourists mostly just walked around in the past, but now they bring real spending power,” said Hu Junjie, vice president of Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart (Group) Co., Ltd., adding that they are particularly interested in the lantern displays, traditional Chinese makeup and costumes, special cuisine, and cultural products. Tatiana, 70, a visitor from Russia on a trip to the city of Sanya in the southern island province of Hainan, said that she and her daughter came specifically to experience the Spring Festival. At a local event, she eagerly took part in interactive activities. “Writing the Chinese character ‘Fu (meaning blessing)’ with a calligraphy brush was such a unique experience,” she said. They also enjoyed watching traditional Chinese cultural performances, including the unique Li and Miao ethnic folk dances of Hainan. Russia remains Hainan’s largest source of international tourists and a key market for Sanya’s inbound tourism. The resumption and opening of international flight routes and visa-free policy have attracted more Russian tourists to the island. China expects a boom in international visitors during this Spring Festival holiday. Data from Trip.com Group shows that inbound tourism orders for the 2025 Spring Festival rose over 30 percent year on year. Data released by the Chinese travel services platform Qunar showed that as of Jan. 28, the number of domestic flights booked during the Spring Festival by travelers with non-Chinese passports has increased by 70 percent year on year. This surge is driven by a series of visa-free entry and transit policies China introduced in 2024, along with continuously upgraded payment, transportation, and tourism facilities. Besides, the growing popularity of China as a travel destination on social media, fueled by early travelers sharing their experiences, has contributed to the increase. In 2024, cross-border trips to China by foreigners surged by 82.9 percent from the previous year, reaching 64.88 million. Of these, more than 20 million inbound foreign trips were made visa-free, marking an impressive increase of 112.3 percent year on year, according to the National Immigration Administration.
Tourists from Vietnam wait for entry inspection at the immigration area at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao) To meet an increase in visitors from neighboring countries, such as Japan and the Republic of Korea, the Beijing tourism bureau and leading tourism companies launched special itineraries offering these travelers an opportunity to experience a Beijing-style New Year celebration in just two to three days. These short-haul itineraries took visitors to vibrant temple fairs and traditional performances, while also giving them the chance to savor Beijing’s winter delicacies and iconic dishes, such as dumplings, hotpot, and Peking Duck. “The Spring Festival is a window to understand China, especially its traditional culture,” said Jiang Yiyi, an expert on leisure sports and tourism at the Beijing Sport University. The inscription of the Spring Festival onto the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list has significantly boosted its global profile. The numerous traditional cultural activities held across China provide foreign visitors with an immersive experience, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese traditional culture, according to Jiang. Through these diverse activities, foreign visitors can truly experience what British online influencer Shaun Gibson described in his video as a Spring Festival in China that is “warm, lively, delicious, and happy.”
With only a few weeks until Germany’s election, Elon Musk has unambiguously thrown his support behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In a video address to a party rally last week, he appeared to urge Germans to “move on” from any “past guilt” related to the Holocaust.
It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.
Troublingly, the AfD is now firmly entrenched as Germany’s second-most popular political party, behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Like all parties in German elections, however, it cannot win an outright majority. It is also unlikely to be invited to join any ruling coalition that emerges from the February 23 election.
But the AfD’s anti-migrant, anti-government sloganeering has already seriously distorted Germany’s public debate and democratic culture, leaving many to ask whether it even needs to win elections to see its policies implemented.
This was evident following a dramatic week in Germany’s Bundestag.
First, in a radical break with Germany’s political norms, opposition leader Friedrich Merz deliberately drew on the votes of the AfD on Wednesday to ram a radical anti-asylum seeker motion through the parliament.
It was the first time in the history of the Bundestag that a parliamentary majority was reached with the help of the far right. Merz’s action was widely condemned as a “taboo-breaking” step towards legitimising the AfD.
Merz tried to take this a step further with a far-reaching bill to tighten immigration controls on Friday. Although the bill narrowly failed, all of the AfD voted with Merz. Twelve members of his own CDU party refused to back him.
Merz’s courting of the far right is widely seen as politically unnecessary, given his conservative CDU is already leading the national polls, making him the favourite to succeed the Social Democratic Party (SDP)‘s Olaf Scholz as chancellor.
This raises a couple crucial questions heading into the election. Is it insiders or outsiders that are playing the biggest role in bringing the far right into the mainstream? And just how big a role will the AfD play after the election?
The Musk effect
Musk’s embrace of the AfD should come as no surprise, given the integral part he played in Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States. In the German context, however, his behaviour and statements have taken on darker hues.
Germans know only too well what is at stake when democracy is eroded by those who abuse its freedoms to attack it. Had Musk’s now notorious Nazi salutes following Trump’s inauguration been performed in Berlin, for example, he might have faced up to three years in prison.
The catchphrase “never again” has underpinned German politics since the second world war. Yet, the response to Musk’s recent provocations was oddly muted in some sections of the German media.
With a few notable exceptions, it was left to activists to remind Germans of the severity of this gesture – projecting an image of Musk’s salute on a German Tesla plant, alongside the word “heil”.
Given the seriousness with which Germany patrols representations of its Nazi past, it was surprising just how few journalists were prepared to state without equivocation that “a Hitler salute is a Hitler salute is a Hitler salute”.
Merz’s embrace of the far right
Initially, there were some signs Germany’s main political leaders would decry Musk’s attempts to normalise far-right politics in the country.
Scholz has continued to label Musk’s blatant attempts to influence German politics as “unacceptable” and “disgusting”.
Merz claims to be keeping his distance from Musk. But it appears his strategy for winning the election is not far from what Musk is suggesting – mimicking AfD policies and collaborating with the party on anti-immigration votes.
In his most radical break with the centrism that characterised the CDU under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Merz cracked the “firewall” against working with the far-right this week. Knowing just what it meant, he used the AfD’s support to pass the starkly worded nationalist border protection motion in the Bundestag.
Democratic party leaders, meanwhile, registered their shock and dismay. Merkel herself spoke out against Merz, saying it was “wrong” to “knowingly” work with the AfD.
Her intervention appears to have been critical to the immigration bill failing on Friday, with many of her former supporters in the CDU withholding their votes.
What AfD’s rise could mean
Given the two votes in the past week and Musk’s high-profile intervention, many in Germany now fear a CDU victory in the election could signal more collaboration with the AfD.
The Greens’ Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor, has said Merz’s nationalist coalition would “destroy Europe”. He has also warned Musk to keep his “hands off our democracy”, prompting Musk to label Habeck “a traitor to the German people”.
Musk is by no means the cause of the AfD’s popularity, but his embrace of the extremist party has given it a global profile and credibility in circles that might not have otherwise considered supporting it.
As some commentators have suggested, it is probably not coincidental the AfD’s plans for the German economy would benefit Musk’s business interests. Economic self-interest alone seems insufficient, however, to explain why Musk has gravitated to the extreme right.
The same might be said of Merz. Electoral calculations alone cannot explain his risky courting of the far right. He has long been the frontrunner to win the next election. Cosying up to the AfD will only make it harder to form a coalition with either Scholz’s Social Democratic Party or the Greens.
If these two parties refuse to deal with Merz, the only other bloc large enough to deliver his party control of the government would be the AfD. Would he go so far?
Whether it is formally part of the next government or not, the AfD and its camp followers (such as Musk) could be set to have a much bigger influence on German politics. How this will change Germany in the long term remains to be seen.
Matt Fitzpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
It’s official. On February 1, US President Donald Trump will introduce a sweeping set of new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. China will also face new tariffs of 10%.
During the presidential campaign, Trump threatened tariffs against all three countries, claiming they weren’t doing enough to prevent an influx of “drugs, in particular fentanyl” into the US, while also accusing Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to stop “illegal aliens”.
There will be some nuance. On Friday, Trump said tariffs on oil and gas would come into effect later, on February 18, and that Canadian oil would likely face a lower tariff of 10%.
This may only be the first move against China. Trump has previously threatened the country with 60% tariffs, asserting this will bring jobs back to America.
But the US’ move against its neighbours will have an almost immediate impact on the three countries involved and the landscape of North American trade. It marks the beginning of what could be a radical reshaping of international trade and political governance around the world.
What Trump wants from Canada and Mexico
While border security and drug trade concerns are the official rationale for this move, Trump’s tariffs have broader motivations.
The first one is protectionist. In all his presidential campaigning, Trump portrayed himself as a champion of US workers. Back in October, he said tariff was “the most beautiful word in the dictionary”.
Trump hasn’t hidden his fondness for protectionist trade measures.
This reflects the ongoing scepticism toward international trade that Trump – and politicians more generally on both ends of the political spectrum in the US – have held for some time.
It’s a significant shift in the close trade links between these neighbours. The US, Mexico and Canada are parties to the successor of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Trump has not hidden his willingness to use tariffs as a weapon to pressure other countries to achieve unrelated geopolitical goals. This is the epitome of what a research project team I co-lead calls “Weaponised Trade”.
This was on full display in late January. When the president of Colombia prohibited US military airplanes carrying Colombian nationals deported from the US to land, Trump successfully used the threat of tariffs to force Colombia to reverse course.
The volume of trade between the US, Canada, and Mexico is enormous, encompassing a wide range of goods and services. Some of the biggest sectors are automotive manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and consumer goods.
In 2022, the value of all goods and services traded between the US and Canada came to about US$909 billion (A$1.46 trillion). Between the US and Mexico that same year, it came to more than US$855 billion (A$1.37 trillion).
One of the hardest hit industries will be the automotive industry, which depends on cross-border trade. A car assembled in Canada, Mexico or the US relies heavily on a supply of parts from throughout North America.
Tariffs will raise costs throughout this supply chain, which could lead to higher prices for consumers and make US-based manufacturers less competitive.
There could also be ripple effects for agriculture. The US exports billions of dollars in corn, soybeans, and meat to Canada and Mexico, while importing fresh produce such as avocados and tomatoes from Mexico.
Tariffs may provoke retaliatory measures, putting farmers and food suppliers in all three countries at risk.
Trump’s decision to delay and reduce tariffs on oil was somewhat predictable. US imports of Canadian oil have increased steadily over recent decades, meaning tariffs would immediately bite US consumers at the fuel pump.
We’ve been here before
This isn’t the first time the world has dealt with Trump’s tariff-heavy approach to trade policy. Looking back to his first term may provide some clues about what we might expect.
In his first term, Trump imposed major tariffs on US steel imports. ABCDstock/Shutterstock
Canada and Mexico imposed retaliatory tariffs. Ultimately, all countries removed tariffs on steel and aluminium in the process of finalising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
This signalled a bipartisan scepticism of unfettered trade and a shift toward on-shoring or re-shoring in US policy circles.
The options for Canada and Mexico
This time, Canada and Mexico’s have again responded with threats of retaliatorytariffs.
But they’ve also made attempts to mollify Trump – such as Canada launching a “crackdown” on fentanyl trade.
Generally speaking, responses to these tariffs could range from measured diplomacy to aggressive retaliation. Canada and Mexico may target politically sensitive industries such as agriculture or gasoline, where Trump’s base could feel the pinch.
There are legal options, too. Canada and Mexico could pursue legal action through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s dispute resolution mechanisms or the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Both venues provide pathways for challenging unfair trade practices. But these practices can be slow-moving, uncertain in their outcomes and are susceptible to being ignored.
A more long-term option for businesses in Canada and Mexico is to diversify their trade relationships to reduce reliance on the US market. However, the facts of geography, and the large base of consumers in the US mean that’s easier said than done.
The looming threat of a global trade war
Trump’s latest tariffs underscore a broader trend: the widening of the so-called “Overton window” to achieve unrelated geopolitical goals.
The Overton Window refers to the range of policy options politicians have because they are accepted among the general public.
Arguments for bringing critical industries back to the US, protecting domestic jobs, and reducing reliance on foreign supply chains gained traction after the ascent of China as a geopolitical and geoeconomic rival.
These arguments picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic and have increasingly been turned into actual policy.
The potential for a broader trade war looms large. Trump’s short-term goal may be to leverage tariffs as a tool to secure concessions from other jurisdictions.
Trump’s threats against Denmark – in his quest to obtain control over Greenland – are a prime example. The European Union (EU), a far more potent economic player, has pledged its support for Denmark.
A North American trade war – foreshadowed by the Canadian and Mexican governments – might then only be harbinger of things to come: significant economic harm, the erosion of trust among trading partners, and increased volatility in global markets.
Markus Wagner receives funding from the Department of Defence, Australia as a Chief Investigator on a project titled Weaponised Trade.
With only a few weeks until Germany’s election, Elon Musk has unambiguously thrown his support behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In a video address to a party rally last week, he appeared to urge Germans to “move on” from any “past guilt” related to the Holocaust.
It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.
Troublingly, the AfD is now firmly entrenched as Germany’s second-most popular political party, behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Like all parties in German elections, however, it cannot win an outright majority. It is also unlikely to be invited to join any ruling coalition that emerges from the February 23 election.
But the AfD’s anti-migrant, anti-government sloganeering has already seriously distorted Germany’s public debate and democratic culture, leaving many to ask whether it even needs to win elections to see its policies implemented.
This was evident following a dramatic week in Germany’s Bundestag.
First, in a radical break with Germany’s political norms, opposition leader Friedrich Merz deliberately drew on the votes of the AfD on Wednesday to ram a radical anti-asylum seeker motion through the parliament.
It was the first time in the history of the Bundestag that a parliamentary majority was reached with the help of the far right. Merz’s action was widely condemned as a “taboo-breaking” step towards legitimising the AfD.
Merz tried to take this a step further with a far-reaching bill to tighten immigration controls on Friday. Although the bill narrowly failed, all of the AfD voted with Merz. Twelve members of his own CDU party refused to back him.
Merz’s courting of the far right is widely seen as politically unnecessary, given his conservative CDU is already leading the national polls, making him the favourite to succeed the Social Democratic Party (SDP)‘s Olaf Scholz as chancellor.
This raises a couple crucial questions heading into the election. Is it insiders or outsiders that are playing the biggest role in bringing the far right into the mainstream? And just how big a role will the AfD play after the election?
The Musk effect
Musk’s embrace of the AfD should come as no surprise, given the integral part he played in Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States. In the German context, however, his behaviour and statements have taken on darker hues.
Germans know only too well what is at stake when democracy is eroded by those who abuse its freedoms to attack it. Had Musk’s now notorious Nazi salutes following Trump’s inauguration been performed in Berlin, for example, he might have faced up to three years in prison.
The catchphrase “never again” has underpinned German politics since the second world war. Yet, the response to Musk’s recent provocations was oddly muted in some sections of the German media.
With a few notable exceptions, it was left to activists to remind Germans of the severity of this gesture – projecting an image of Musk’s salute on a German Tesla plant, alongside the word “heil”.
Given the seriousness with which Germany patrols representations of its Nazi past, it was surprising just how few journalists were prepared to state without equivocation that “a Hitler salute is a Hitler salute is a Hitler salute”.
Merz’s embrace of the far right
Initially, there were some signs Germany’s main political leaders would decry Musk’s attempts to normalise far-right politics in the country.
Scholz has continued to label Musk’s blatant attempts to influence German politics as “unacceptable” and “disgusting”.
Merz claims to be keeping his distance from Musk. But it appears his strategy for winning the election is not far from what Musk is suggesting – mimicking AfD policies and collaborating with the party on anti-immigration votes.
In his most radical break with the centrism that characterised the CDU under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Merz cracked the “firewall” against working with the far-right this week. Knowing just what it meant, he used the AfD’s support to pass the starkly worded nationalist border protection motion in the Bundestag.
Democratic party leaders, meanwhile, registered their shock and dismay. Merkel herself spoke out against Merz, saying it was “wrong” to “knowingly” work with the AfD.
Her intervention appears to have been critical to the immigration bill failing on Friday, with many of her former supporters in the CDU withholding their votes.
What AfD’s rise could mean
Given the two votes in the past week and Musk’s high-profile intervention, many in Germany now fear a CDU victory in the election could signal more collaboration with the AfD.
The Greens’ Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor, has said Merz’s nationalist coalition would “destroy Europe”. He has also warned Musk to keep his “hands off our democracy”, prompting Musk to label Habeck “a traitor to the German people”.
Musk is by no means the cause of the AfD’s popularity, but his embrace of the extremist party has given it a global profile and credibility in circles that might not have otherwise considered supporting it.
As some commentators have suggested, it is probably not coincidental the AfD’s plans for the German economy would benefit Musk’s business interests. Economic self-interest alone seems insufficient, however, to explain why Musk has gravitated to the extreme right.
The same might be said of Merz. Electoral calculations alone cannot explain his risky courting of the far right. He has long been the frontrunner to win the next election. Cosying up to the AfD will only make it harder to form a coalition with either Scholz’s Social Democratic Party or the Greens.
If these two parties refuse to deal with Merz, the only other bloc large enough to deliver his party control of the government would be the AfD. Would he go so far?
Whether it is formally part of the next government or not, the AfD and its camp followers (such as Musk) could be set to have a much bigger influence on German politics. How this will change Germany in the long term remains to be seen.
Matt Fitzpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
One of the key early leaders of a national Palestinian solidarity network in Aotearoa New Zealand today praised the “heroic” resilience and sacrifice of the people of Gaza in the face of Israel’s ruthless attempt to destroy the besieged enclave of more than 2 million people.
Speaking at the first solidarity rally in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau since the fragile ceasefire came into force last Sunday, Janfrie Wakim of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) also paid tribute to New Zealand protesters who have supported the Palestine cause for the 68th week.
“Thank you all for coming to this rally — the first since 7 October 2023 when no bombs are dropping on Gaza,” she declared.
“The ceasefire in Gaza is fragile but let’s celebrate the success of the resistance, the resilience, and the fortitude — the sumud [steadfastness] — of the heroic Palestinian people.”
Wakim was formerly a member of Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC) in Auckland which began in the 1970s. This was later absorbed into the nationwide movement PSNA at a conference in 2013.
“Israel has failed,” she continued. “It has not achieved its aims — in the longest war [15 weeks] in its history — even with $40 billion in aid from the United States.
“It has failed to depopulate the north of Gaza, it has a crumbling economy, and 1 million Israelis [out if 9 million] have left already.”
Wakim said that the resistance and success in defeating Israel’s “deadly objectives” had come at a “terrible cost”.
“We mourn those with families here and in Gaza and now in the West Bank who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives — 47,000 people killed, 18,000 of them children, thousands unaccounted for in the rubble and over 100,000 injured.
Grieving for journalists, humanitarian workers “We grieve for but salute the journalists and the humanitarian workers who have been murdered serving humanity.”
Janfrie Wakim speaking at today’s Palestine rally in Tamaki Makaurau. Video: APR
She said the genocide had been enabled by the wealthiest countries in the world and the Western media — “including our own with few exceptions”.
“Without its lies, its deflections, its failure to report the agonising reality of Palestinians suffering, Israel would not have been able to commit its atrocities,” Wakim said.
“And now while we celebrate the ceasefire there’s been an escalation on the West Bank — air strikes, drones, snipers, ethnic cleansing in Jenin with homes and infrastructure being demolished.
“Checkpoints have doubled to over 900 — sealing off communities. And still the Palestinians resist.
“And we must too. Solidarity. Unity of purpose is all important. Bury egos. Let humanity triumph.”
Palestinian liberation advocate Janfrie Wakim . . . “Without its lies, its deflections, its failure to report the agonising reality of Palestinians suffering, Israel could not have been able to commit its atrocities.” Image: David Robie/APR
90-year-old supporter During her short speech, Wakim introduced to the crowd the first Palestinian she had met in New Zealand, Ghazi Dassouki, who is now aged 90.
She met him at a Continuing Education seminar at the University of Auckland in 1986 that addressed the topic of “The Palestine Question”. It shocked the establishment of the time with Zionist complaints and intimidation of staff which prevented any similar academic event until 2006.
Wakim called for justice for the Palestinians.
“Freedom from occupation. Liberation from apartheid. And peace at last after 76 years of subjugation and oppression by Israel and its allies,” she said
She called on supporters to listen to what was being suggested for local action — “do what suits your situation and energy. Our task is to persist, as Howard Zinn put it”.
“When we organise with one another, when we get involved, when we stand up and speak out together, we can create a power no government can suppress,” she said.
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
Introduced to the Auckland protest crowd today . . . Ghazi Dassouki, who is now aged 90.
As a symbol for peace and justice in Palestine, slices of water melon and dates were handed out to the crowd.
Calls to block NZ visits by IDF soldiers Among many nationwide rallies across Aotearoa New Zealand this weekend, were many calls for the government to suspend entry to the country from soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
“New Zealand should not be providing rest and recreation for Israeli soldiers fresh from the genocide in Gaza,” said PSNA national chair John Minto.
“We wouldn’t allow Russian soldiers to come here for rest and recreation from the invasion of Ukraine so why would we accept soldiers from the genocidal, apartheid state of Israel?”
As well as the working holiday visa, since 2019 Israelis have been able to enter New Zealand for three months without needing a visa at all.
This visa-waiver is used by Israeli soldiers for “rest and recreation” from the genocide in Gaza.
Minto stressed that IDF soldiers had killed at least 47,000 Palestinians — 70 percent of them women and children.
“All these red flags for genocide have been visible for months but the government is still giving the green light to those involved in war crimes to enter New Zealand,” Minto said.
Last month, PSNA again wrote to the government asking for the suspension of travel to New Zealand for all Israeli soldiers and reservists.
Meanwhile, 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails have been set free under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Seventy of them will be deported to countries in the region, reports Al Jazeera.
Masses of people have congregated in Ramallah, celebrating the return of the released Palestinian prisoners.
A huge crowd waved Palestinian flags, shouted slogans and captured the joyful scene with their phones and live footage shows.
The release came after Palestinian fighters earlier handed over four female Israeli soldiers who had been held in Gaza to the International Red Cross in Palestine Square.
The smiling and waving soldiers appeared to be in good health and were in high spirits.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Markus Wagner, Professor of Law and Director of the UOW Transnational Law and Policy Centre, University of Wollongong
It’s official. On February 1, US President Donald Trump will introduce a sweeping set of new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. China will also face new tariffs of 10%.
During the presidential campaign, Trump threatened tariffs against all three countries, claiming they weren’t doing enough to prevent an influx of “drugs, in particular fentanyl” into the US, while also accusing Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to stop “illegal aliens”.
There will be some nuance. On Friday, Trump said tariffs on oil and gas would come into effect later, on February 18, and that Canadian oil would likely face a lower tariff of 10%.
This may only be the first move against China. Trump has previously threatened the country with 60% tariffs, asserting this will bring jobs back to America.
But the US’ move against its neighbours will have an almost immediate impact on the three countries involved and the landscape of North American trade. It marks the beginning of what could be a radical reshaping of international trade and political governance around the world.
What Trump wants from Canada and Mexico
While border security and drug trade concerns are the official rationale for this move, Trump’s tariffs have broader motivations.
The first one is protectionist. In all his presidential campaigning, Trump portrayed himself as a champion of US workers. Back in October, he said tariff was “the most beautiful word in the dictionary”.
Trump hasn’t hidden his fondness for protectionist trade measures.
This reflects the ongoing scepticism toward international trade that Trump – and politicians more generally on both ends of the political spectrum in the US – have held for some time.
It’s a significant shift in the close trade links between these neighbours. The US, Mexico and Canada are parties to the successor of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Trump has not hidden his willingness to use tariffs as a weapon to pressure other countries to achieve unrelated geopolitical goals. This is the epitome of what a research project team I co-lead calls “Weaponised Trade”.
This was on full display in late January. When the president of Colombia prohibited US military airplanes carrying Colombian nationals deported from the US to land, Trump successfully used the threat of tariffs to force Colombia to reverse course.
The volume of trade between the US, Canada, and Mexico is enormous, encompassing a wide range of goods and services. Some of the biggest sectors are automotive manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and consumer goods.
In 2022, the value of all goods and services traded between the US and Canada came to about US$909 billion (A$1.46 trillion). Between the US and Mexico that same year, it came to more than US$855 billion (A$1.37 trillion).
One of the hardest hit industries will be the automotive industry, which depends on cross-border trade. A car assembled in Canada, Mexico or the US relies heavily on a supply of parts from throughout North America.
Tariffs will raise costs throughout this supply chain, which could lead to higher prices for consumers and make US-based manufacturers less competitive.
There could also be ripple effects for agriculture. The US exports billions of dollars in corn, soybeans, and meat to Canada and Mexico, while importing fresh produce such as avocados and tomatoes from Mexico.
Tariffs may provoke retaliatory measures, putting farmers and food suppliers in all three countries at risk.
Trump’s decision to delay and reduce tariffs on oil was somewhat predictable. US imports of Canadian oil have increased steadily over recent decades, meaning tariffs would immediately bite US consumers at the fuel pump.
We’ve been here before
This isn’t the first time the world has dealt with Trump’s tariff-heavy approach to trade policy. Looking back to his first term may provide some clues about what we might expect.
In his first term, Trump imposed major tariffs on US steel imports. ABCDstock/Shutterstock
Canada and Mexico imposed retaliatory tariffs. Ultimately, all countries removed tariffs on steel and aluminium in the process of finalising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
This signalled a bipartisan scepticism of unfettered trade and a shift toward on-shoring or re-shoring in US policy circles.
The options for Canada and Mexico
This time, Canada and Mexico’s have again responded with threats of retaliatorytariffs.
But they’ve also made attempts to mollify Trump – such as Canada launching a “crackdown” on fentanyl trade.
Generally speaking, responses to these tariffs could range from measured diplomacy to aggressive retaliation. Canada and Mexico may target politically sensitive industries such as agriculture or gasoline, where Trump’s base could feel the pinch.
There are legal options, too. Canada and Mexico could pursue legal action through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s dispute resolution mechanisms or the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Both venues provide pathways for challenging unfair trade practices. But these practices can be slow-moving, uncertain in their outcomes and are susceptible to being ignored.
A more long-term option for businesses in Canada and Mexico is to diversify their trade relationships to reduce reliance on the US market. However, the facts of geography, and the large base of consumers in the US mean that’s easier said than done.
The looming threat of a global trade war
Trump’s latest tariffs underscore a broader trend: the widening of the so-called “Overton window” to achieve unrelated geopolitical goals.
The Overton Window refers to the range of policy options politicians have because they are accepted among the general public.
Arguments for bringing critical industries back to the US, protecting domestic jobs, and reducing reliance on foreign supply chains gained traction after the ascent of China as a geopolitical and geoeconomic rival.
These arguments picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic and have increasingly been turned into actual policy.
The potential for a broader trade war looms large. Trump’s short-term goal may be to leverage tariffs as a tool to secure concessions from other jurisdictions.
Trump’s threats against Denmark – in his quest to obtain control over Greenland – are a prime example. The European Union (EU), a far more potent economic player, has pledged its support for Denmark.
A North American trade war – foreshadowed by the Canadian and Mexican governments – might then only be harbinger of things to come: significant economic harm, the erosion of trust among trading partners, and increased volatility in global markets.
Markus Wagner receives funding from the Department of Defence, Australia as a Chief Investigator on a project titled Weaponised Trade.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Joint statement by Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States
Today marks four years since the Myanmar military regime overthrew the democratically elected government in Myanmar, creating one of the largest crises in the Indo-Pacific. Since the coup, the people of Myanmar remain subject to military rule that has deprived many of their rights, democratic aspirations and, for thousands, their liberty and their lives.
We condemn in the strongest terms the Myanmar military regime’s escalating violence harming civilians, including human rights violations, sexual and gender-based violence, and systematic persecution and discrimination against all religious and ethnic minorities. The military’s airstrikes are killing civilians, destroying schools, markets, places of worship and medical facilities; with almost a 25-fold increase since 2021 this represents an average of three airstrikes per day. The rise in airstrikes in areas with no active conflict has marked a clear escalation by the military.
We call on the Myanmar military regime to immediately de-escalate violence, ensure unhindered and safe humanitarian access across the country, and we urge all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians and fully adhere to International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
As of 2025, humanitarian needs have increased twenty-fold since the coup. Over one-third of the population,19.9 million people, are now in need of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. An estimated 15.2 million people are in need of food assistance and cases of preventable diseases are on the rise.
Increasing needs and ongoing conflict have displaced up to 3.5 million people internally – an increase of nearly one million in the last year. Many more people are forced to flee across Myanmar’s borders. Rising transnational crime, including narcotics production and trafficking, scam centres and human trafficking, harm the people of Myanmar and affect neighbouring countries, risking instability in the broader region.
The current trajectory is not sustainable for Myanmar or the region. Now is the time for the Myanmar military regime to immediately change course. We strongly urge the Myanmar military regime to cease violence, including harming civilians and civilian infrastructure, release all political prisoners, and engage in genuine and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders. These are essential first steps towards any peaceful, democratic transition, reflecting the will of Myanmar’s people.
We reiterate our support for the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Five Point Consensus, including the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy, in addressing the Myanmar and resultant refugee crisis. We strongly welcome collaboration between the ASEAN and United Nations (UN) Special Envoys. We call on the international community to continue to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2669 (2022). We underline the need for accountability for all atrocities committed in Myanmar, human rights must be safeguarded, violations and abuses must be prevented.
We will continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and support their vision for an inclusive, peaceful and prosperous future.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Four years on from military coup, additional UK humanitarian funding delivers healthcare to one million people in Myanmar
Uplift in support announced four years on from the military coup, as humanitarian needs reach record levels
Despite the ongoing conflict, healthcare will be delivered to nearly one million people across Myanmar in the first half of 2025 including maternal care, nutrition support and disease treatment
New climate resilience funding will help rural communities tackle extreme weather, improve water management and strengthen food security
Almost one million vulnerable people in Myanmar will receive essential medical care through UK aid support in the first six months of 2025, helping communities access vital healthcare services despite ongoing conflict.
The UK is announcing an uplift of £22.45 million in humanitarian support for 2024/25 to deliver this support, four years on from the military coup. On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and installed a military regime. Since then, they have used violence and atrocities to maintain power and suppress opposition voices. The UK has consistently called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar.
UK funding will provide maternal and child health services to around 107,000 women and children, while 86,000 people will be reached with crucial nutrition support. It is expected that a further 142,000 people will be able to access sexual and reproductive health services and treatment for diseases like tuberculosis and malaria.
The life-saving assistance comes as Myanmar faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with nearly 20 million people now requiring aid – a twenty-fold increase since the military coup four years ago.
Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds, said:
While global attention may shift, the UK will not forget the millions in Myanmar still living through a brutal conflict, creating a humanitarian crisis in a country already vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.
Four years on from the military coup and amid ongoing violence, the UK is matching words with action – providing additional support to meet urgent health needs and tackle long-term climate challenges.
Over 3.5 million people are now displaced from their homes due to the fighting, 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and Myanmar is now seeing a proliferation in serious and organised crime.
Typhoon Yagi caused devastation across South-East Asia in September 2024, severely affecting over one million people across Myanmar. Additional funding will help rural communities prepare for future climate-related disasters, through improved food systems and early warning mechanisms, including support for areas recovering from recent typhoons.
Agriculture is vital to Myanmar’s economy and without it, the country will find it difficult to rebuild and grow when the conflict finally ends. UK support is planting the seeds for Myanmar’s long-term recovery, restoring security and stability to make the world safer for all of us.
The UK continues to support ASEAN’s central role in addressing the crisis. The UK convened a UN Security Council meeting on 30 January, calling for full humanitarian access across Myanmar to help protect civilians and pressed for further action to secure a peaceful democratic future for the Myanmar people. As penholder on Myanmar at the UNSC, the UK will continue to take action to bring stability to Myanmar and the wider region, maintaining our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in the interests of UK national security.
Notes to editors
UK humanitarian support to Myanmar in the financial year 2024 to 2025 has increased to £66.45 million from an initial allocation of £44 million (excluding support from the UK’s Integrated Security Fund), following a decision to uplift funding due to increasing humanitarian need. By comparison, support in the 2023 to 2024 financial year began at £30.1 million and concluded at £38.83 million.