Headline: ICC joins Business Call to Action to accelerate global cooperation for our oceans
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As the largest business association in the world, the International Chamber of Commerce is proud to be a convener of this important call to action, bringing the voice of the global business community to the United Nations Ocean Conference.
The call is convened by an unprecedented coalition of business networks, supported by signatories, including 80 businesses with a combined turnover of over €$600 billion and 2 million employees. In anticipation of the upcoming 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France,the call builds on the experience of leading businesses and organisations already advancing a sustainable blue economy. It emphasises the intrinsic connection between land and sea, highlighting the contribution and interdependencies between coastal and marine environment and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
This call is directed at all economic actors, whether directly or indirectly connected to the ocean, and includes:
A call to action for businesses to expedite maintaining ocean health through business actions, such as contributions to ocean science, monitoring and reducing environmental impacts, incorporating ocean considerations into their climate and nature roadmaps and investing in blue solutions.
A call to action for policy makers to pursue ambitious science-driven policies and measures that stimulate sustainable business action and to jointly address land and ocean for enhanced global resilience
With this Business Call to Action, companies and business networks urge policymakers to:
Agree to adopt and implement international agreements: champion strong, sustainable outcomes for existing and upcoming ocean-related agreements,
Invest in ocean science and support strong science-policy interfaces,
Acknowledge and embed into policies the links between ocean, nature and climate,
Help all actors to collectively adapt to sea-level rise,
Develop robust and innovative finance mechanisms,
Raise awareness to encourage all actors to care for the ocean, even those based on land.
This business declaration is still open to new signatories. For information on signing this declaration please contact
The Business Call to Action is convened by global and leading business networks including International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Economic Forum (WEF), We Mean Business Coalition (WMB), Business for Nature (BfN), Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), UN Global Compact Network France and Association française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement (EpE).
In the face of US President Donald Trump’s wavering commitments and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inscrutable ambitions, the talk in European capitals is all about rearmament.
To that end, the European Commission has put forward an €800 billion spending scheme designed to “quickly and significantly increase expenditures in defence capabilities”, in the words of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
But funding is only the first of many challenges involved when pursuing military innovation. Ramping up capabilities “quickly and significantly” will prove difficult for a sector that must keep pace with rapid technological change.
Of course, defence firms don’t have to do it alone: they can select from a wide variety of potential collaborators, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to agile start-ups. Innovative partnerships, however, require trust and a willingness to share vital information, qualities that appear incompatible with the need for military secrecy.
That is why rearming Europe requires a new approach to secrecy.
A paper I co-authored with Jonathan Langlois of HEC and Romaric Servajean-Hilst of KEDGE Business School examines the strategies used by one leading defence firm (which we, for our own secrecy-related reasons, renamed “Globaldef”) to balance open innovation with information security. The 43 professionals we interviewed – including R&D managers, start-up CEOs and innovation managers – were not consciously working from a common playbook. However, their nuanced and dynamic approaches could serve as a cohesive role model for Europe’s defence sector as it races to adapt to a changing world.
How flexible secrecy enables innovation
Our research took place between 2018 and 2020. At the time, defence firms looked toward open innovation to compensate for the withdrawal of key support. There was a marked decrease in government spending on military R&D across the OECD countries. However, even though the current situation involves more funding, the need for external innovation remains prevalent to speed up access to knowledge.
When collaborating to innovate, firms face what open innovation scholars have termed “the paradox of openness”, wherein the value to be gained by collaborating must be weighed against the possible costs of information sharing. In the defence sector – unlike, say, in consumer products – being too liberal with information could not only lead to business losses but to grave security risks for entire nations, and even prosecution for the executives involved.
Although secrecy was a constant concern, Globaldef’s managers often found themselves in what one of our interviewees called a “blurred zone” where some material could be interpreted as secret, but sharing it was not strictly off-limits. In cases like these, opting for the standard mode in the defence industry – erring on the side of caution and remaining tight-lipped – would make open innovation impossible.
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Practices that make collaboration work
Studying transcripts of more than 40 interviews along with a rich pool of complementary data (emails, PowerPoint presentations, crowdsourcing activity, etc.), we discerned that players at Globaldef had developed fine-grained practices for maintaining and modulating secrecy, even while actively collaborating with civilian companies.
Our research identifies these practices as either cognitive or relational. Cognitive practices acted as strategic screens, masking the most sensitive aspects of Globaldef’s knowledge without throttling information flow to the point of preventing collaboration.
Depending on the type of project, cognitive practices might consist of one or more of the following:
Encryption: relabelling knowledge components to hide their nature and purpose.
Obfuscation: selectively blurring project specifics to preserve secrecy while recruiting partners.
Simplification: blurring project parameters to test the suitability of a partner without revealing true constraints.
Transposition: transferring the context of a problem from a military to a civilian one.
Relational practices involved reframing the partnership itself, by selectively controlling the width of the aperture through which external parties could view Globaldef’s aims and project characteristics. These practices might include redirecting the focus of a collaboration away from core technologies, or introducing confidentiality agreements to expand information-sharing within the partnership while prohibiting communication to third parties.
When to shift strategy in defence projects
Using both cognitive and relational practices enabled Globaldef to skirt the pitfalls of its paradox. For example, in the early stages of open innovation, when the firm was scouting and testing potential partners, managers could widen the aperture (relational) while imposing strict limits on knowledge-sharing (cognitive). They could thereby freely engage with the crowd without violating Globaldef’s internal rules regarding secrecy.
As partnerships ripened and trust grew, Globaldef could gradually lift cognitive protections, giving partners access to more detailed and specific data. This could be counterbalanced by a tightening on the relational side, eg requiring paperwork and protocols designed to plug potential leaks.
As we retraced the firm’s careful steps through six real-life open innovation partnerships, we saw that the key to this approach was in knowing when to transition from one mode to the other. Each project had its own rhythm.
For one crowdsourcing project, the shift from low to high cognitive depth, and high to low relational width, was quite sudden, occurring as soon as the partnership was formalised. This was due to the fact that Globaldef’s partner needed accurate details and project parameters in order to solve the problem in question. Therefore, near-total openness and concomitant confidentiality had to be established at the outset.
In another case, Globaldef retained the cognitive blinders throughout the early phase of a partnership with a start-up. To test the start-up’s technological capacities, the firm presented its partner with a cognitively reframed problem. Only after the partner passed its initial trial was collaboration initiated on a fully transparent footing, driven by the need for the start-up to obtain defence clearance prior to co-developing technology with Globaldef.
How firms can lead with adaptive secrecy
Since we completed and published our research, much has changed geopolitically. But the high-stakes paradox of openness is still a pressing issue inside Europe’s defence firms. Managers and executives are no doubt grappling with the evident necessity for open innovation on the one hand and secrecy on the other.
Our research suggests that, like Globaldef, other actors in Europe’s defence sector can deftly navigate this paradox. Doing so, however, will require employing a more subtle, flexible and dynamic definition of secrecy rather than the absolutist, static one that normally prevails in the industry. The defence sector’s conception of secrecy must also progress from a primarily legal to a largely strategic framework.
Sihem BenMahmoud-Jouini ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
On June 9, the Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, was stopped by Israeli forces in international waters, about 200 kilometres off the coast.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had organised the voyage, setting sail from Sicily on June 1. The vessel’s 12 passengers included climate activist Greta Thunberg, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, two French journalists and several other activists from around the world.
The Israeli military boarded the ship and diverted it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The aid it carried — baby formula, food, medical supplies, water desalination kits — was confiscated. All passengers were detained and now face deportation.
This interception has sparked international condemnation. Importantly, it also raises questions about whether Israel’s actions comply with international law.
it must be formally declared and publicly notified
it must be effectively enforced in practice
it must be applied impartially to all ships
it must not block access to neutral ports or coastlines
it must not stop the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
If even one of these conditions is not met, the blockade may be considered illegal under customary international humanitarian law.
The fifth condition is especially important here. According to a comprehensive study of international humanitarian law conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the parties to a conflict must allow the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief to civilians in need.
A blockade that prevents this could be in breach of international law.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade of varying degrees on Gaza since 2007 when Hamas came to power. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claims the purpose of the blockade is to “prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas”. Critics say it amounts to collective punishment.
The Madleen was operating in compliance with three binding International Court of Justice orders (from January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024) requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
Freedom of navigation
International law also strongly protects the freedom of navigation, particularly in international waters beyond any state’s territorial limits.
There are only a few exceptions when a country can lawfully stop a foreign ship in international waters – if it is involved in piracy, slave trading, unauthorised broadcasting, or the vessel itself is stateless. A country can also stop a ship if it is enforcing a lawful blockade or acting in self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
So, if Israel’s actions do not fully meet the international legal requirements for enforcing a blockade during wartime, it would not have the right to intercept the Madleen in international waters.
Protections for humanitarian workers
More broadly speaking, international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, protects civilians during conflict. This protection extends to people delivering humanitarian aid, so long as they do not directly take part in hostilities.
To be considered directly participating in hostilities, a person must:
intend to cause military harm
have a direct causal link to that harm, and
be acting in connection with one side of the conflict.
Bringing aid to civilians, even if politically controversial, does not meet this legal threshold. As a result, the Madleen’s passengers remain protected civilians and should not be treated as combatants or detained arbitrarily.
International law also sets out how civilians detained in conflict situations must be treated. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, detainees must be given access to medical care, lawyers and consular representatives. They must also not be punished without fair legal processes.
In response to the ship’s interception, the Hind Rajab Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the UK Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit. The complaint alleges a number of breaches of international humanitarian law, including forcible detention, obstruction of humanitarian relief, and degrading treatment.
Previous flotilla intercepted
This is not the first time Israel has stopped an aid ship and faced accusations of violating the law of the sea and humanitarian law.
In 2010, the Israeli military raided a flotilla of six ships organised by international activists aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge the blockade.
Violence broke out on the largest vessel, the Mavi Marmara, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals and injuries to dozens of others. The incident drew international condemnation. Israel agreed to ease its blockade after the incident.
A fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council found that Israel violated a number of international laws and that its blockade was “inflicting disproportionate damage upon the civilian population”.
This is not just a political or moral issue – it’s a legal one. International law lays out clear rules for when and how a country can enforce blockades, intercept vessels and treat civilians.
Based on these rules, serious legal questions remain about Israel’s handling of the Madleen and its passengers.
Shannon Bosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Francesco Grillo, Academic Fellow, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University
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I believe we Europeans feel far too safe. Europe’s political and economic leadership in the world, which was still unchallenged at the beginning of the century, has long since ceased to exist. Will the dominant cultural influence of Europe be maintained? I think not, unless we defend it and adjust ourselves to new conditions; history has shown that civilisations are all too perishable.
It is astonishing how much these words used in 1956 by Konrad Adenauer, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, still sound valid today. They perfectly define the current state of the union. Europeans are still struggling to adjust to new conditions – and the conditions to which they need to adjust also continue to change dramatically.
The battle for technological leadership is the current version of this struggle. Success in this domain could transform Europe, yet the continent remains complacent about its decline into backwardness. The European commission itself calculates that of the 19 digital platforms that have more than 45 million EU users, only one (Zalando) is from the EU.
Information is (economic and political) power and losing control means to gradually lose both market share and the ability to protect European democracies. Brussels has produced a mass of regulation on digital services, yet American digital platforms are getting away with what European leaders themselves call the manipulation of democratic elections, with very little repercussions. Elon Musk’s X, was banned in Brazil for less – refusing to ban accounts accused of spreading misinformation.
This decline, however, has been slow enough to lull European leaders into complacency about the future.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has a point when he laments that the European Union has been slow to engage in the negotiations he imposed on trade. Indeed, even on trade – one of the very few areas in which the European Union has a mandate from the member states to deal directly with third parties – progress is generally stuttering. The commissioner in charge has to constantly find a common denominator with the agendas of 27 member states, each of which has a different industrial agenda.
Europe’s decision-making processes are sub-optimal. Indeed, they were built for a different age. There is no shared voice on foreign policy – the EU has been able to say far less on Gaza than individual countries like Spain or the UK, for example. This may have the practical consequence of eroding the “moral leadership” that should still be Europe’s soft advantage.
Crisis of confidence
Europe’s failure to respond to real-world changes is due to sub-optimal institutional settings. However the current paralysis in the face of clear need for action may be due to an even more fundamental question of trust in its own capabilities.
On one hand, there still seems room for complacency. As Stanley Pignal, the Charlemagne columnist for The Economist, recently put it, Europe can take a moderate amount of satisfaction from its continued status as a place where people are free to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Yet, it is evident that the institutions needed to concretely achieve those objectives are crumbling: healthcare systems and welfare; robust and independent media; energy and military autonomy in a world without order.
On the other hand, Europe is increasingly resigned. A global poll taken by Gallup International shows that when responding to the question “do you think that your children will live better than you?” seven of the most pessimistic countries of the world are from the EU. Only 16% of Italians and 24% of French respondents answered “yes” to this question.
According to Ipsos, less than half of young Europeans feel prepared to enter the job market. And they blame the education system for that. The picture may well be even worse now – this survey was taken in 2019, before the pandemic, war in Europe and, more importantly, AI made the picture even more uncertain.
Europe has no alternative, as even far-right and far-left parties seem to acknowledge. Note that France’s Rassemblement National and Italy’s Lega no longer talk about exiting the EU but about changing it from the inside. Individual nation states simply do not have the minimum scale to even try to take leadership in a world looking for a new order.
In a world abandoned by the US, Europe stands a real chance. However, it urgently needs to be creative enough to imagine new mechanisms through which EU institutions take decisions and EU citizens have their say. This in turn requires an entire society to somehow recover the reasonable hope that decline is not inevitable (although we also must be aware that it may even nastily accelerate).
Finally, young people are absolutely crucial in the process. The rhetoric of “listening to them” must now be replaced by a call for them to govern. They are today what Karl Marx would have probably defined as a class – with very specific demographic, cultural, economic and linguistic characteristics. These must be turned into a political agenda and a new vision of what Europe of the future could look like.
The challenges ahead for the European Union will be the subject of the forthcoming conference on the Europe of the future in Siena, Italy. This will feed into a seven-point paper that will be discussed with EU institutions.
Francesco Grillo is associated to VISION think tank.
Source: United States Department of Defense (video statements)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commemorates the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings by American and Allied troops during a ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. June 6, 2025.
For more on the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov
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Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Scientists comment on news that the UK government is investing in a nuclear plant at the Sizewell C site and a small modular reactor programme.
Prof Patrick Regan, Professor of Nuclear Metrology, University of Surrey, said:
“The announcement that the UK government has committed £14.2bn of investment to build European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs) at the Sizewell C site will contribute to the UK tackling the delicate balance between ever-increasing secure energy requirements and our commitment to achieving net-zero. The EPRs planned at Sizewell C represent Generation 3+ technology and build on more than 70 years of operational reactor experience worldwide to provide the cleanest, safest and most efficient form of nuclear power yet.
“This large investment, however, brings with it the obvious need to produce and maintain a highly skilled, expert workforce related to all phases of the Sizewell C project. Science and Engineering Apprentice, Graduate and Post-Graduate training in areas such as chemical engineering, material science, nuclear physics & radiochemistry, environmental monitoring, radiation measurement and health physics will be key in enabling ‘life-long’ UK-based careers in this industry, in line with such a far horizon project. This is a long-term investment in the UK’s national infrastructure, and it needs a skilled workforce to ensure its ultimate success.”
Dr Phil Johnstone, Principal Research Fellow, University of Sussex Science Policy Research Unit, Patron of Nuclear Information Service, Member of Sussex Energy Group, and Member of Nuclear Consultation Group:
Is this a good move?
“The decision on Sizewell C is a bad move. It will likely lead to increasing costs for UK electricity consumers and represents a significantly slower means of combatting climate change than alternative options. The announcement comes alongside the decision to select submarine reactor manufacturer Rolls Royce as the winning bidder to develop Small Modular Reactors. These are part of the same underlying goal: to sustain the UK military nuclear industrial base via subsidies from civil nuclear power, with democratic scrutiny of this strategy almost entirely absent.”
Prof Andy Stirling, professor of science and technology policy at the University of Sussex Science Policy Research Unit:
Is this a good move (or not) when it comes to energy and fossil fuels?
“It is well acknowledged behind the scenes (but denied in public), that this move is more intended to support the kind of nuclear industrial base needed for military than for climate reasons. Nuclear power stations like Sizewell C are so slow and expensive compared to renewables and storage strategies, that they erode rather than enhance climate action.”
What does this mean for UK energy production? Is there overspeculation?
“This will make UK energy production needlessly more expensive, less secure and less effective in climate terms, than if the same money had been spent on renewables and energy storage.”
What does the science say?
“On this as on many other policy issues, what counts as ‘the science’ is more uncertain and context-dependent than any side typically implies. If either nuclear advocates or critics claim their arguments to be uniquely or unequivocally science-based then that is a sign that they are seeking to mislead.”
Dr Sarah Darby, Emerita Research Fellow, Energy Programme, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, said:
“The argument that building Sizewell C will be markedly cheaper and quicker than Hinkley C is weak. Hinkley C is ‘first of a kind’ in the UK but has the same design as Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France. These two have been, respectively, over 10 years late and almost four times over budget [1] and over 12 years late and over four times over budget in real terms [2,3]. Neither is yet working reliably [4,5].
“The unfinished Hinkley C was reported by EdF last year as already 90% over budget and 7 years late – and EdF do not expect it to be finished before 2029-31.
“In the light of these figures from three power plants of the same design as SZC, Ed Miliband’s forecast of a 10-year build time looks wildly optimistic. Where cost and complexity are concerned, there is the additional concern about the SZC site being on a flood-prone and eroding coastline, with sea levels on the rise.
“EdF are now wholly owned by the French government, following their extreme financial difficulties, and it is unclear whether they will take any stake at all in SZC. This is hardly a vote of confidence in the prospects of their own design.
“The argument that nuclear build helps with climate goals is similarly weak. New nuclear would arrive too late to assist – renewables already supply over half of UK generation [6] – and are on the rise. The massive sums involved are money not spent on quicker and more effective moves towards energy transition. Bloomberg NEF’s latest assessment of energy transition investment trends* refers to renewables, energy storage, electric vehicles, and power grids as ‘proven, commercially scalable [and with] established business models’, yet categorises nuclear power as an ‘emerging’ technology, with investment held back by lack of affordability and technology maturity [7].
“Nuclear is being presented by the Government as complementary to renewables, for ‘when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow’. But what we need for these times – and for times of abundant renewable supply – is flexibility from storage and demand-side response, not large-scale inflexible power plants that cannot easily be turned down or up and that can be shut down at a moment’s notice [5,8].
“As so often, the debate is focused on supply rather than demand – what we use energy for. The government are citing figures of a doubling of demand by 2050 that are certainly not set in stone and likely to be exaggerated. AI demands are the new kid on the block but, as DeepSeek has shown, they need not be nearly as high as is often made out. There is still plenty of scope to improve energy security through energy efficiency, allied with storage and demand-side response, without compromising quality of life [9].
“Successive governments have already sunk £6.4bn of taxpayers’ money into Sizewell C, but this is no reason to compound the error. A further £14.2bn is substantial but falls a long way short of the £40bn ‘overnight’ cost estimated by the FT [10]. Further, this £40bn estimate does not take into account the costs of capital, decommissioning and disposal of waste. The last of these is itself a topic of major concern to the Public Accounts Committee [11].
“It is not too late to avoid a FID for Sizewell C and to steer funding in more productive directions, including modernisation of the electricity grid, energy efficient buildings and transport systems, and storage. Such investment could create jobs and improve living conditions around the country.”
Stephanie Baxter, Head of Policy, Institution of Engineering and Technology, said:
“The £14.2 billion of funding announced today for the development of Sizewell C, alongside selecting Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred bidder to develop the UK’s first small modular reactors, marks an important step forward towards nuclear playing a significant role in the UK’s energy mix.
“Nuclear infrastructure, both large and small, will be needed in our energy system if the UK is to have a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system for 2030 and beyond. However, the Government must also take a whole system view of the wider energy system to ensure new nuclear infrastructure compliments other energy generation and distribution resources currently deployed and being developed.
“Significant infrastructure projects such as these rely on long-term stability – in the supply chain, regulations and the skills pipeline. That is why today’s announcements must be backed up by clear plans for delivery, including engagement with local communities.
“These ambitions will also not be met without the skilled engineering and technician workforce that will be critical to delivering and maintaining new nuclear infrastructure.
“Great British Energy must work closely with Skills England to ensure that these plans are backed by a long-term workforce strategy to deliver skilled job opportunities across the country – both by training up new workers in schools and colleges, and upskilling/reskilling the existing workforce through flexible funding in the Growth and Skills Levy.”
Will Davis, Nuclear Expert and a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Sustainability and Net Zero Policy Centre, said:
“Today’s announcements are a clear demonstration of the government’s long-term commitment to low-carbon energy security, extending beyond the 2030 clean power target and taking concrete steps toward achieving net zero by 2050.
“To meet our net zero ambitions, we must significantly scale up electricity generation – by two to three times current levels – and this will only be possible through large-scale projects like Sizewell C and the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) programme.
“While these developments are both welcome and necessary, the UK nuclear industry must address its ongoing credibility challenges around delivering projects on time and within budget. Unlike the UK’s Hinkley Point C, nuclear projects in countries like China and the UAE have avoided major delays. Learning from these international examples is essential if we are to attract private investment and reduce reliance on gas-fired power stations.
“The selection of a preferred bidder for the SMR fleet is a long-awaited milestone – over a decade in the making – and we’re pleased to see it finally progressing.
“The clarification of roles between Great British Energy and Great British Energy – Nuclear, with NESO overseeing the critical upgrades to our national electricity infrastructure is welcomed. These upgrades are vital and must be properly funded, not treated as an afterthought.
“With the announcements on Sizewell C and SMRs, we urge the government to clarify its position on future gigawatt-scale nuclear projects, such as the previously proposed development at Wylfa.
“New nuclear power stations require a high-tech supply chain and a highly skilled workforce. Investment in key manufacturers like Sheffield Forgemasters is encouraging, but broader supply chain investment hinges on project certainty – contracts must be signed.
“The IET continues to support the sector through initiatives like the Nuclear Skills Taskforce. We’re also pleased to see continued investment in STEP, the UK’s prototype fusion power plant. A £2.5 billion commitment is significant and deserves more visibility.
“However, we note the absence of updates on advanced nuclear technologies, which could play a crucial role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking and hydrogen production. We hope to see further clarity on this soon.”
Dr Lewis Blackburn, Lecturer in Nuclear Materials, University of Sheffield, said:
“Today the UK government demonstrated a clear and renewed commitment to nuclear fission as a means to achieve Net Zero, a key goal that was outlined in the 2024 White Paper “Civil Nuclear: Roadmap to 2050”. This comes in the form of an approximately £14B commitment to the Sizewell C project, comprising two EPR (European Pressurised Reactors) delivering a total of 3.2 GWe. The project is forecast to support 70k jobs and produce enough energy to power 6M UK homes. Today’s news also comes alongside an announcement that Rolls-Royce have been identified as the preferred bidder to construct the UK’s first Small Modular Reactors (SMR) – a fleet of smaller fission reactors designed to be built ‘modular’ on a production line, prior to shipping and assembly on-site.
“The UK faces a potential skills challenge in the field of nuclear engineering and projects like Sizewell C and Rolls-Royce SMR offer an exciting opportunity to build a skills pipeline, increasing the number and diversity of people entering the nuclear workforce, and bolstering the supply chain.
“In order for the UK to maintain its international reputation as a leader in civil nuclear, it must continue to invest heavily in new infrastructure, the wider industrial supply chain and R&D. Thus, producing the next generation of nuclear expertise in both the industrial and academic sectors, equipping them with the skills required for the UK to continue to utilise nuclear fission, safely, for generations to come.
“An important aspect of this is ensuring that highly radioactive waste, generated as a by-product of nuclear fission, is not passed onto future generations and is permanently disposed of. In this area, the UK is in the process of siting a geological disposal facility – a dedicated site wherein intermediate and high-level radioactive waste will be isolated from the wider environment permanently. The international consensus in the wider scientific and technical community is that this is the only feasible way to safely manage such wastes, ensuring passive safety. This is the focus of significant R&D in both the technical and academic space.”
Dr Mark Foreman, Associate professor of Nuclear Chemistry / Industrial Materials Recycling, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, said:
“Building a new power plant based on light water reactors at Sizewell is a good idea, it will provide a reliable supply of electric power which will help society reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. I hold the view that it will be a safe means of providing for the energy needs of society. Many critics of nuclear power use the example of the Chornobyl accident to argue that all nuclear power plants are unsafe. This is unreasonable, operating the Chornobyl reactor in the same way as it was just before the accident can be thought of as like roller blading along the M1. While running modern (or even a 1980s era) light water reactor is like calmly driving a Volvo equipped with all the latest safety features along the M1.”
Prof Robin Grimes FRS FREng, Professor of materials physics, Imperial College London, said:
“Large plants such as Hinckley, currently under construction and this announced plant at Sizewell are very good at providing constant base load electricity capacity. They are also good for supporting grid stability and providing inertia. Of course they offer generation diversity and energy security. They will offer these benefits for many decades. As we turn to more electricity use to reduce carbon emissions we will need more nuclear electrify. However, large plant are less good at helping with the inherent intermittency of renewables. For this we need the greater flexibility as provided by small modular reactors or the higher temperatures of advanced modular reactors which offer access to more technology options for decarbonisation. I therefore see this announcement as part of the systems approach by which we progress to greater energy security and decarbonisation.”
Prof David Armstrong, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (Department of Materials), University of Oxford, said:
“This is excellent news for the UK energy landscape. As the UKs aging AGR fleet retires new baseload energy is required. Sizewell C will sit alongside Hinkley Point B to provide sustainable emission free baseload energy complementing the growing wind and solar power and making a significant contribution to UK energy security.”
Dr Iain Staffell, Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, said:
“Today’s decision is an important one, but even with Hinkley C and Sizewell C, the UK’s nuclear capacity in the 2030s will still be below its 1990s peak.
“After a decade of dithering, Sizewell C is a litmus test of the UK’s ability to deliver complex infrastructure on schedule.
“This deal lives or dies on its delivery. Sizewell C must be built on time and on budget, learning from the (many) mistakes from Hinkley Point C and other UK mega-projects.
“Nuclear power offers a strong energy security hedge. Fuel and key parts can be stockpiled, insulating consumers from foreign instability and gas price spikes.
“Sizewell C won’t start generating for nearly a decade if it is built on time, so it only just contributes towards the Government’s 2035 clean-power goal. But, it is building for the long-term, and will deliver carbon-free electricity well into the 2080s.
“People are rightly concerned by the environmental impacts and emissions from the enormous construction project, but compared to the scale of energy production over the next six decades, nuclear remains one of the cleanest power sources we have.
“The upfront cost is undoubtedly high. £14 billion could fund around 10 GW of offshore wind versus just 3.2 GW of nuclear. But, these reactors will run day and night, especially valuable when the wind is not blowing.”
Louis Barson, the Institute of Physics Director of Science, Innovation and Skills said:
“It is good to see this decision made about developing Sizewell C. New nuclear will play a vital role in bringing reliable, secure and affordable power to new markets, decarbonising industry and helping countries meet their net zero commitments – as part of our future low-carbon energy mix.
“But we need to make sure we also pay attention to the desperate need for hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to support both this project and the development of smaller, modular, nuclear reactors.
“Signing off on Sizewell C is only half the picture, we need the nuclear-ready scientific workforce to make it a reality: that means more physics teachers, well-funded physics departments in universities and a healthy pipeline of physics talent.”
Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive, Nuclear Industry Association, said:
On Sizewell C Given Go-Ahead from Government
“This is a momentous day for Sizewell C and for the British nuclear programme. Sizewell C is one of Britain’s most important clean power projects, and will give the country the jobs, the economic growth and the energy security we need to ensure a secure and reliable power supply for the future. This record investment confirms the government is serious about building new nuclear and all the economic benefits that come with it, and will be welcomed in communities the length and breadth of Britain.”
On Rolls-Royce SMR Winning the UK SMR Competition
“This is a hugely significant moment for Rolls-Royce SMR and for the British nuclear programme. These SMRs will provide essential energy security and clean power alongside large scale reactors, all the while creating thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs, opportunities for growth right across the country and significant export potential. We look forward to working with Rolls-Royce SMR and all other potential SMR vendors, including those not successful today, on making Britain the best place to build new nuclear anywhere in the world.”
Prof Mark Wenman, Professor in Nuclear Materials, Imperial College London, said:
“This is a big step forward. Since the 1990s the amount of nuclear energy the UK produces has been steadily declining from around 12 to 4.5 GWe today. Sizewell C will help reverse this trend and further provide the UK with energy security. It will help balance the grid with the increase of renewables, replace fossil fuel plants and protect us against potential blackouts, as recently seen in Spain. Whilst the costs may seem high initially, this needs to be balanced against the fact that these reactors will produce low carbon electricity for 80 or possibly 100 years, 24/7, providing around a tenth of the current UK electricity needs. Once paid for, nuclear reactors produce the cheapest electricity of any kind, so this investment should be seen as future proofing the UK electricity system.”
Prof Adrian Bull,Chair in Nuclear Energy and Society, Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester, said:
“It’s very welcome news to see the announcements today of Government support for a new wave of nuclear power in this country. We’ve known for decades that reliance on imported gas could ruin the environment – but recent years showed us that it can ruin the economy too. Nuclear gives much-needed resilience against global fossil fuel prices, without emitting the gases that cause climate change, so it’s excellent news that we are going to see new plants – both large and small – built.
“I’m especially pleased that we have finally got over our national phobia of replicating a previous project. We’ve never done that in our UK nuclear fleet before, but the rest of the world learned ages ago that series construction is the route to certainty over the time and budget for such projects. Doing the same things at Sizewell which we have already done at Hinkley Point is much easier than starting from scratch to build a massively complex plant for the first time.
“The announcement of Rolls Royce as the winner of the SMR competition is a welcome sign of progress, but it’s disappointing to see only one winner selected, when we had all anticipated more. Government has long been supporting the Rolls Royce SMR project – with over £200m of public funds provided already – so it was inconceivable they would not be on the podium at the end of the race. Seeing them there alone makes the two years spent by Great British Nuclear on running a competition look like time and effort that could have been better spent.
“Overall though, these nuclear plants – whilst not cheap – will produce reliable, low carbon electricity around the clock and will most likely do so for the best part of a century. This is an investment in our grandchildren’s future as well as helping towards our 2050 climate goal.”
Prof Dame Sue Ion GBE FREng FRS, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
“It’s really good news that the Government is finally taking steps to ensure that nuclear energy plays the vital role it should in achieving significant quantities of stable low carbon electricity. Perhaps as importantly, if not more so, is the news that Rolls Royce’s Small Modular Reactor has been selected as the technology of choice to progress the opportunity presented by SMRs. These systems are designed from the outset to be modular, with modern construction techniques using much more factory fabrication, so they will be faster and easier to build.”
Prof Tom Scott, Professor in Materials, University of Bristol, said:
“This is an extremely important strategic step for the UK towards achieving net zero carbon emissions. Nuclear energy is a safe, secure and reliable form of electricity generation. With the lessons learnt from the Hinkley Point C project, and with the experienced workforce and supply chain that has been established because of it, my expectations are high for the delivery of Sizewell C at a much lower cost and shorter timescale.
“The announcement about Government investment in Sizewell C and more excitingly, about the investment in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), really shows the Government’s understanding and commitment towards nuclear as a key part of the solution towards achieving zero carbon emissions in the UK.
“SMRs offer the potential for providing new nuclear power stations much faster and more cheaply than conventional large-scale light water reactors like Hinkley Point C. Ultimately, the roll-out of SMRs delivered by British companies like Rolls-Royce will help to keep our electricity prices low whilst also generating high-value jobs across the U.K. This is a smart investment for the UK.”
Dr Mark Foreman, Associate professor of Nuclear Chemistry / Industrial Materials Recycling, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, said:
“Building a new power plant based on light water reactors at Sizewell is a good idea, it will provide a reliable supply of electric power which will help society reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. I hold the view that it will be a safe means of providing for the energy needs of society. Many critics of nuclear power use the example of the Chornobyl accident to argue that all nuclear power plants are unsafe. This is unreasonable, operating the Chornobyl reactor in the same way as it was just before the accident can be thought of as like roller blading along the M1. While running modern (or even a 1980s era) light water reactor is like calmly driving a Volvo equipped with all the latest safety features along the M1.”
Prof Adrian Bull: “I am a (paid) part time Professor at the Dalton Nuclear Institute, part of the University of Manchester; I am a (paid) consultant for US nuclear communications consultancy Full On Communications; I am an (unpaid) Board member of the Northern Nuclear Alliance; I am an (unpaid) Trustee of the Nuclear Institute; and am also the President-Elect, taking over in Jan 2026.”
Prof Dame Sue Ion: “Sue is Honorary President of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear.” “Sue is also a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Task Force.”
Prof Tom Scott: “In terms of interests, I am Director of the Spur West Nuclear Hub and Professor of Nuclear Materials at the University of Bristol sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
The nuclear hub is a consortium of academic, industrial and governmental partners coalescing around the requirement for research, skills and innovation in the UK nuclear sector.”
Dr Mark Foreman: “I have worked on advanced nuclear reprocessing for years and have also have worked on nuclear reactor safety issues. I have done and supervised research on the chemistry of nuclear accidents.”
Prof Mark Wenman “I have previously received funding for research from EDF Energy, Rolls-Royce, the UK National Nuclear Lab”
Tom Greatrex “The NIA is funded by its 320 member companies from across the civil nuclear industry.”
Dr Iain Staffell “I receive industry funding from a several companies in the UK and European energy sector, I try to keep this balanced so as not to over-represent any one technology or organization. Recent funding sources include: Drax, Octopus, SSE, HM Government, NESO (National Grid), EWE, Aurora, Baringa, Shell, Uniper, SLB, and the World Bank.”
Prof David Armstrong “I’ve had funding from UKAEA, Rolls Royce and EdF for research and students over the last 20 years.”
Prof Robin Grimes “I am a non-executive director of UKAEA and receive research funding from the UK national nuclear laboratory.”
Dr Mark Foreman “I do not currently get any money from the nuclear industry, I do not stand to make any money from the sales of nuclear products / technology. I have not been employed by the nuclear industry. I think that in terms of conflicts of interest I have none.”
Dr Lewis Blackburn“He receives funding from industry via Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, National Nuclear Laboratory, and Nuclear Waste Services”
Stephanie Baxter “No conflicts of interest.”
Will Davis “No conflicts of interest.”
Prof Andy Stirling “no conflicts of interest to declare.”
Dr Phil Johnstone “no conflicts of interest to declare.”
Dr Sarah Darby “I have no conflicts of interest to declare.”
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.
President Donald Trump has praised the Gilded Age, which he believes was a time of immense national prosperity thanks to tariffs, no income tax, and few regulations on business.
Similar to today, the late 19th century was a time where a small group of men enjoyed immense wealth, privilege and power to shape the nation. It was a time of immense inequality, as factory and housing conditions crushed the lives of the poor.
And it was a time of white Christian nationalism.
In Northern cities, reformers saw the wealth gap, the plight of workers and the squalid conditions in tenements as undermining their vision of a Christian America. Fueled by faith, the Social Gospel movement worked to expand labor rights and improve living conditions at the turn of the 20th century.
At the same time, many of these white Protestant activists believed their own culture and race to be superior, and this prejudice hindered their efforts. They often spouted anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant rhetoric, and mostly ignored Black workers’ plight.
One of Jacob Riis’ many photographs of living conditions on New York’s Lower East Side. Bettmann via Getty Images
Ever since the Puritans landed, white Christian nationalism has informed how many Protestants try to shape their country – a history I trace with church historian Richard T. Hughes in the book “Christian America and the Kingdom of God.” But Christian nationalism has taken dramatically different forms over time. The progressive Social Gospellers of a century ago are a particularly striking contrast to the conservative Christian right that has shaped U.S. politics for half a century, up to today.
Guardians of a Christian nation
There are many differences between Christian nationalism then and now. Like many conservative Christians today, however, the Social Gospellers believed that the United States was uniquely chosen and blessed by God, and called to be a Christian nation. They saw themselves as the rightful guardians of that mission. And though the country was still overwhelmingly Protestant, they feared they were losing influence.
New research explored the history of the Bible – research that many Christians feared would undermine people’s trust in Scripture as the word of God, by emphasizing its human composition. New scientific ideas about the Earth’s creation and human evolution challenged their visions of an all-powerful, all-knowing God. Meanwhile, rapid industrialization and urbanization had created new social challenges, such as workers’ safety and living conditions, leading some to reject faith as irrelevant to their needs.
Social Gospellers wanted to vindicate Christianity and show it was still relevant to modern life. But white leaders’ vision of what a Christian America should look like conflated their Protestant faith with their race and culture.
Josiah Strong, for example, was a Congregationalist minister known for promoting factory safety. But he stoked fear of Catholic immigrants and endorsed the expansion of the U.S. as a benevolent empire. The Anglo-Saxon race “is destined to dispossess many weaker races, assimilate others, and mold the remainder,” Strong argued in his 1885 book, “Our Country.”
Another Social Gospel reformer, Northern Baptist theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, railed against unrestrained greed, political corruption, militarism and contempt between elites and the working class. But he shared the white supremacy of his age. God was favoring Germanic and Anglo-Saxon people, he claimed, to enact God’s purposes.
“Other races are as dear to God as we and he may be holding them in reserve to carry His banner when we drop it,” he wrote in an undated article. But it was part of God’s plan, he believed, for Northern Europeans to “hold the larger part of the world’s wealth and power in the hollow of their hands and the larger share of the world’s intellectual and spiritual possessions in the hollow of their heads.”
The ‘right’ kind of Christian
Though many white Protestants felt threatened by the challenges of immigration, they were still a clear majority, and they presumed that most Americans would endorse applying Christian ethics to public policy and social reform.
What’s more, women gaining the right to vote in 1920 meant Social Gospel leaders expanded Protestants’ power at the ballot box. Many Social Gospel leaders embraced women’s suffrage because women were already leading supporters for their causes: For example, Frances Willard, who promoted temperance and workers’ rights; and Jane Addams, who ran a Christian “settlement house,” or community center, for the poor.
But in another sense, demographics were not on their side. The U.S. might have been a very white and Christian country, but in some Social Gospellers’ minds, the era’s waves of immigrants were not the “right” kind of Christian: Northern European and Protestant. Immigration was shifting from Great Britain, Ireland and Germany to Russia, Poland, Hungary and Italy. While Protestants far outnumbered Catholics nationally, Strong wrote that they were double the Protestant population in major cities like New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Strong argued that Catholic immigrants were lazy, prone to alcoholism and criminal activity, and willing to sell their vote to corrupt city politicians. He claimed they would corrupt the morals of Anglo-Saxon Americans, and that if the Catholic population grew, it would undermine Protestants’ religious liberty.
Nativist views like these led to the National Origins Act of 1924, which restricted the number of immigrants. Quotas for each country were based on the profile of the American population in 1890 – an attempt to maintain Protestant dominance against Catholic and Jewish immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. That distrust also kept Social Gospellers from partnering with Roman Catholic leaders on shared concern for workers.
Flourishing for all, or some?
Still, when it came to workers’ basic needs, reformers cared deeply about improving circumstances for the “least of these.” The movement was strongly influenced by the biblical parable of the sheep and the goats: verses in the Book of Matthew where Jesus promotes feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, clothing the naked and visiting those in prison.
Social Gospellers aimed to prove that Christianity could answer the social challenges caused by industrialization, urbanization and immigration. For the most part, they sought to use their privilege in ways that promoted the flourishing of all Americans, such as expanding labor rights and providing services to the poor through settlement houses.
A photograph by Jacob Riis in a small New York City sweatshop in the 1880s. Bettmann via Getty Images
In 1908, for example, the Federal Council of Churches adopted a 14-point statement called the “Social Creed,” affirming that churches should support reforms “to lift the crushing burdens of the poor, and to reduce the hardships and uphold the dignity of labor.” While some of the reforms they called for are taken for granted today — like one day off per week — other calls, like a living wage for all, are yet to be realized.
Over the past half-century, the modern Christian right, too, has feared that its vision for the nation is eroding. Conservative churches have seen their influence drop as more Americans move awayfrom organized religion and reject their rejection of LGBTQ+ people.
Like the Social Gospellers of a century ago, the Christian nationalists of recent decades are wary of religious and racial change in their country. Yet the movement’s priorities – often focused around its vision of families, sex and gender – are starkly more limited than the broader quality-of-life issues that Social Gospellers addressed.
Both groups desired an America rooted in biblical values. But each interpreted Scripture through its own lens, seeking to remake America in its own, white Protestant image.
Christina Littlefield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2
Speech
Peter Kyle’s speech at London Tech Week 2025
A speech delivered by Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle, at London Tech Week on Tuesday 11 June 2025.
Last Thursday, I was in Salford for a CyberFirst event.
Hundreds of girls from across Greater Manchester were there.
Some of them were busy playing e-sports, hidden behind VR goggles.
Others were programming robots – or learning how to pitch a tech business.
But all of them said the same thing.
They were excited for the future they were starting to see. And what it meant for them
What really struck me was their ambition, hope and sheer enthusiasm.
It was as humbling as it was inspirational: but it made me think.
In government, we spend so much time talking about risk.
What happens if reform goes wrong?
Who is responsible – and who do we hold to account?
We often talk about making the state feel more like a start-up.
Less slow and static.
More agile and active.
But we have unique obligations to our citizens that we simply cannot ignore.
Duties to defend our national security and protect public health.
To make our streets safer and borders stronger.
It is understandable that these obligations might make us more cautious about change.
But, when countries or institutions become preoccupied with avoiding risk, they risk resisting innovation.
They might delay reform.
They might grasp too tightly to the here and now…
…and lose sight of the possibilities tomorrow could bring.
When this happens, caution slides into complacency.
Incrementalism gives way to inertia.
Worrying about getting every aspect of change right becomes fear of change itself.
And fearing the challenge of change is the fastest route for a great nation to become mired in stagnation.
When I spoke at London Tech Week last year, that’s what I saw.
Our citizens, they wanted change.
The sector wanted change.
But a refusal to face up to the risks change brings – or face down resistance to it…
…meant that government after government were stuck with a model we all knew was failing.
Suddenly, the real risk wasn’t trying something new.
It was doing nothing at all.
People waited months for hospital appointments.
Young people couldn’t find a good job in the town they called home.
Businesses unable to innovate, unable to invest, or unable to grow.
Stifled by a regulatory regime that was stuck in the past.
Unsure about whether to waste time applying for government contracts – because they always seemed to favour the same old suspects.
Undecided about whether to stay here in the UK – because they just couldn’t access the capital they needed to grow.
Too often in the last decade, Britain felt like a country short on ambition, long on apathy.
Where optimism shrank in the face of opposition.
On this stage last year, I said it was time for a change.
Time to seize the power of technology.
And wield it to deliver us towards a better future.
That is exactly what we’ve done.
I said we’d tear up planning rules.
And we have, making it easier to build the infrastructure that powers our digital economy.
I said we’d radically reform regulation.
And we have, cutting the time it takes to get new products and services onto the market and into people’s hands.
I said we’d design new digital tools with a streamlined state and make engaging with government easier than it’s ever been before.
And we have, from a digital driving licence and an app that will put public services into people’s hands.
To a new tool that will digitise decades-old planning records in minutes, slashing the time it takes to make decisions and get millions of new homes built right across our country.
And a platform that lets people in the public sector rate and review tech products, saving over a billion by helping councils and schools get better deals faster.
Now none of that has been without risk.
In early trials, the government chatbot we built started speaking French.
I’m relieved to tell you that, after a brief flirtation with life across the Channel, it’s firmly back on British soil.
But – even if its identity crisis had lasted a little longer – how many people would rather we’d stopped at the first sign of trouble?
What’s a bonjour here, an au revoir there….
… compared to hours spent on hold, waiting to work out whether your benefit payment has been made and made on time?
Trawling through webpage after webpage to work out what you need to do to start a business?
Because our choice actually was a simple one.
Towards a future that is bright, bold, but risky.
Or back to more of the same: stagnation and a slow but certain slide into decline.
Today, we find ourselves at another critical moment.
The risks we take – and the investments we make – will determine the path our country follows in the decades to come.
And we must once again seize the opportunities in front of us with courage and conviction.
A new partnership between my department, Imperial College and the World Economic Forum will see London host the new Centre for AI-Driven Innovation.
This is the first World Economic Forum Global Centre to be based right here in Britain.
Focused on accelerating the adoption of AI, it will ensure that we can embed AI across our economy and put it to work for working people.
And this is just the start.
Boston might be the birthplace of biotech.
But – with Google DeepMind on one side and the Crick on the other – King’s Cross is emerging as a global powerhouse for AI-driven drug discovery.
Today, we’re launching a new project, OpenBind, to create the world’s largest database explaining how drugs interact with the proteins they target.
20 times bigger than all the data collected worldwide over the last half a century, OpenBind will provide an exceptionally detailed picture of how diseases work.
And it could cut the cost of developing new treatments by up to £100 billion.
The results for the health of our people, our nation and our economy could be revolutionary.
As Demis Hassabis said himself, this is a brilliant initiative for UK science.
But initiatives like this will only succeed if we can attract top global talent.
Our tech success story wouldn’t have been possible without brilliant people choosing time and time again to call Britain home.
In an ever more competitive world, we simply cannot afford to lose that status.
So, we’ll be introducing a new scheme to attract the brightest and best brains to Britain.
Today, I can announce that we’re working with Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and Pillar to double Encode AI for Science Fellowships and get top AI talent from around the world working in UK labs.
We’re also launching Turing AI Global Fellowships, which will bring AI experts from across the world to the UK and support them to carry out cutting-edge research.
At the same time, we’re starting a national skills drive at home, giving over a million students the chance to start careers in AI.
And creating a new generation of British leaders as our country enters the digital economic age.
Leaders just like the young people I met in Salford.
Talking to them about their hopes for the future, I couldn’t help but think about my own journey through education
Struggling with dyslexia, my teachers didn’t see any potential in me.
I was held back in remedial classes, I left at 16 with no qualifications to my name.
No sense of what the future would hold.
It wasn’t until I got a job at the Body Shop.
Until I met Anita Roddick.
And she saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.
Sending me out to give speeches for her.
That I got over my fear of public speaking.
I then went to university.
And my life began to change.
I choose to tell that story.
Not because I think it’s unique.
I tell it because I think it’s all too common in this country.
And I think it says something about what is at stake right here today.
This government don’t take risks lightly.
Nor do we pursue change for change’s sake.
We choose the path of progressive change. To build a modern economy and opportunistic society.
We do so because any alternative leaves Britain poorer, weaker, more vulnerable in a complex world.
Less able to promote and protect our prosperity and security for all our citizens.
In the last year, the work of progressive change has begun.
But we will only succeed if you take risks, too.
If you choose to join us in transforming Britain for the better.
As the place you pick to build new data centres.
Or train new AI models.
The country you choose when you’re developing life-saving drugs.
Or designing the next generation of chips.
A bolder, brighter future for Britain is in our hands.
We’ve spent the last year getting the foundations right.
Amnesty International secretary-general Agnès Callamard has condemned Israel’s interception and detention of the 12 crew members aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s humanitarian aid yacht Madleen.
The crew detained include Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who has been designated by Amnesty International as an “Ambassador of Conscience”, reports Amnesty International in a statement.
She has since been reported to have been deported back to her country via France.
Madleen’s crew were trying to break Israel’s illegal blockade on the occupied Gaza Strip and take in desperately needed humanitarian supplies.
They were illegally detained by Israeli forces in international waters while en route.
In response, Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:
“By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen which was carrying humanitarian aid and a crew of solidarity activists, Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice,” secretary-general Callamard said.
Operation ‘violates international law’ “The operation carried out in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk.
“The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission, they must be released immediately and unconditionally.
“They must also be protected from torture and other ill-treatment pending their release.
Callamard said that during its voyage over the past few days the Madleen’s mission emerged as a powerful symbol of solidarity with besieged, starved and suffering Palestinians amid persistent international inaction.
“However, this very mission is also an indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade.
“Activists would not have needed to risk their lives had Israel’s allies translated their rhetoric into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza.”
Global calls for safe passage Israel’s interception of the Madleen despite global calls for it to be granted safe passage underscored the longstanding impunity Israel enjoyed which has emboldened it to continue to commit genocide in Gaza and to maintain a suffocating, illegal blockade on Gaza for 18 years, Callamard said.
“Until we see real concrete steps by states worldwide signalling an end to their blanket support for Israel, it will have carte blanche to continue inflicting relentless death and suffering on Palestinians.”
Amnesty International in New Zealand also called on Foreign Minister Winston Peters to stand up and call out the enforced starvation and genocide that Israel was imposing on Palestinians.
#Madleen, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was seeking to bring humanitarian aid in an attempt to breach Israel’s illegal blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip. It was carrying unarmed civilians on a humanitarian mission.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Raft of tech companies investing in Britain as government vows to unleash growth
From AI to fintech, leading global tech firms that will power the next Industrial Revolution announce major UK investments, creating highly-skilled jobs from Edinburgh to Warwick.
From AI to fintech, leading global tech firms that will power the next Industrial Revolution announce major UK investments, creating highly-skilled jobs from Edinburgh to Warwick.
Technological progress will define the decades ahead, unleashing new innovations that could make us healthier, wealthier and safer – Science and Tech Secretary Peter Kyle told an audience today.
Government will go all in on science and tech to deliver the growth, improved healthcare, and clean energy breakthroughs that are central to the upcoming modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change.
Hundreds of well-paid, highly-skilled tech jobs will be created from Edinburgh to Warwick, and beyond, as the Science and Technology Secretary has confirmed a raft of investments into the UK by leading global technology companies today (Tuesday 10 June). These significant investments range from AI to fintech, and some see the companies involved setting up shop in the UK for the very first time.
Peter Kyle unveiled this news in a keynote speech at London Tech Week, where he also set out more of the government’s plan to put the white-hot potential of science and technology to work, building a better UK. Investments like these, together with partnerships like that announced with NVIDIA by the Prime Minister yesterday, and new government measures set out by the Secretary of State, will ignite the growth the UK needs to truly deliver on the government’s Plan for Change.
From harnessing AI to boost healthcare and clean energy, to new measures to support innovative early-stage science and tech companies to thrive, going all in on science and tech is the route to the medical breakthroughs, ways of making energy cheaper and greener, and good-quality jobs that will make all our lives better. It’s one of the growth-driving sectors in the government’s forthcoming modern Industrial Strategy, and today’s speech sets out elements that will drive the success of the strategy.
Investments being announced today:
Liquidity, a US-based global AI fintech, will launch its European headquarters in London as part of a plan to invest an additional £1.5 billion into cutting-edge enterprises over the next 5 years
InnovX AI, one of Europe’s leading startup hubs, investing £14.7 million in a new London technology hub, creating 30 jobs
Nebius, a Dutch AI infrastructure company, announcing a long-term commitment to back the UK’s AI sector, starting with an initial investment of £200 million. They will establish a UK AI Factory – with 2 potential sites in South East England currently being assessed – that could result in thousands of jobs coming online in the decades to come
Capgemini, one of the world’s largest business and technology transformation partners, expanding its UK presence with a new London HQ, following strong revenue growth over the years.
Netcompany, a Danish IT consultancy, investing £2 million as it expands its Leeds office and launches a new site in Edinburgh, eventually set to create 150 jobs
Ekimetrics, a French AI solutions firm, is investing £8.5 million in their UK operations, creating over 150 roles in London over 3 years as part of its Elevate 2028 strategy
Yuno, a Colombia-based global fintech that is rapidly expanding, is choosing London for its European headquarters
Rebeldot, a Romanian software and tech consultancy, opening its UK subsidiary in Warwick, as part of plans to expand its presence in the UK
To succeed, the UK’s tech leaders need stability and certainty. Today the Science and Tech Secretary has set out the ways in which the British state will be an active partner and enabler, working with the private sector to unlock the promise of technology, to help unleash the next Industrial Revolution and build a better Britain.
The government’s upcoming modern Industrial Strategy will also provide a credible 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in high-growth sectors like digital and technologies. This will secure the UK’s position as the best place in Europe to create, invest, and scale-up a fast-growing digital and technologies business.
These include an £86 billion commitment to funding for R&D, a new £25 million scheme to bring elite AI experts to the UK, £187 million for new schemes to train up the tech workforce of tomorrow, and £1 billion funding for the AI Research Resource announced by the Prime Minister yesterday.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:
We have all seen over the last few years, just how rapidly and profoundly technologies like AI are transforming the economy, and our society. Britain can – and must – be at the cutting edge of this change. The era of hesitancy is over: we can be the masters of our fate, and through the measures I am announcing today, we will harness the vast potential of our trillion-pound tech sector to help remake our country for the better.
This is the Plan for Change, in action. The UK has all the tools needed for success in science and technology, and by working as an active partner to our world-leading universities and cutting-edge businesses, this government will ensure that we seize the era-defining opportunities before us.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
The UK continues to be a prime destination for tech businesses from across the world to come and succeed, and London Tech Week is a shining example of this.
Securing valuable high-tech investment is an integral mission of this government and seeing global investors put billions in the UK economy shows the Plan for Change is working, with more and more companies choosing Britain.
With tech being identified as a key growth sector in our upcoming modern Industrial Strategy, we’re not only helping attract and secure investment, but delivering long-term, stable growth that supports skilled jobs and raises living standards across the UK.
Announcements being made today are evidence of the holistic approach the government is taking to turbo-charging Britain’s tech sector.
Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship
To encourage the investment and access to risk capital that is critical for science and tech-backed businesses in the early stages, we are opening the Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship for a second cohort and round of applications, to increase the capacity of the UK financial sector to invest in the tomorrow’s breakthroughs, today. This will be delivered by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Imperial Business School.
Turing AI ‘Global’ fellowships
New efforts to build the skills base Britain needs to seize the potential of AI, are being backed with £25 million. A prestigious new AI talent fellowship will be launched, to attract 5 top AI experts to the UK: the Turing AI ‘Global’ fellowships. Fellows will receive substantial packages to relocate to the UK and quickly build a team of experts to conduct frontier AI research and contribute to the UK’s AI ecosystem.
Encode: AI for Science Fellowship
The government also intends to fund a UK-based expansion of the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship. Conceived and delivered by Pillar VC and enabled by ARIA, the programme embeds world-class AI researchers into cutting-edge scientific labs, accelerating the pathway to industry, and enabling talent to spend one year immersed in intensive exploration, feedback, and development cycles.
The Encode fellowships will commence earlier, with new talent arriving in the UK by Autumn 2025. This will be backed by the UK Sovereign AI Unit with up to £5 million in government funding.
This investment will ensure the UK further benefits from the extraordinary talent Encode has already attracted, catalysing new collaborations in areas such as climate modelling, rare disease treatment, crop development, and neuroscience. Encode is one of the first initiatives launched and supported through ARIA’s flagship Activation Partners initiative.
Spinouts Register
Meanwhile a world-first new Spinouts Register marks a step-change in the type and quality of information available on the UK’s spinouts – which will inform better policymaking, and enable better support for these important companies. This comprehensive database covering the more than 2,000 spinouts formed since 2012/2013 in the UK, represents the first ever ‘official’ list of all spin-out companies produced by UK universities.
The first flagship analysis to better understand how spinouts grow and succeed, drawing on data within the Register, is also being published today, by the University of Cambridge’s Policy Evidence Unit for University, Commercialisation and Innovation (UCI). Initial findings show university spinouts outperform other start-ups, including contributions in key strategically important sectors, with university spinouts comprising 70% of the top 20 life science startups by investment raised. The Register has been developed by the Higher Education Statistics Agency with Research England and UCI.
Working internationally delivers benefits beyond investment, and working with global partners is also critical to the UK’s ambitions for science and technology. The vast opportunities for our innovators through schemes like Horizon Europe are central to that. Later today, Peter Kyle will meet with European Commissioner for Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva to discuss how to exploit these opportunities even further, building on the UK having recently gained access to more quantum and space Horizon funding calls.
All of this is on top of commitments to the UK’s innovation and technology-forward future announced by the Prime Minister, yesterday, including greater support for researchers to spin their ideas out into successful businesses, and new schemes like the Tech First programme that will give British workers the skills they need to thrive in the decades ahead. The government is also developing the National Digital Exchange, a web platform that could save the public sector £1.2 billion on buying tech, as well as cutting duplicative costs and processes.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NICE, France, June 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said Monday that China is willing to strengthen bilateral and multilateral strategic communication and coordination with France and inject new impetus into the development of China-France relations.
Han Zheng made the remarks during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France.
Conveying greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Macron, Han Zheng said that during their phone conversation last month, the two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern such as strengthening bilateral solidarity and coordination, upholding multilateralism and promoting world peace and stability, and reached important consensus.
Han Zheng said his participation in the UN Ocean Conference is aimed at implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, reflecting the UN and France’s support for holding the conference, and contributing to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
China’s vice president said China supports France in upholding strategic autonomy.
Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU), Han Zheng said that in the current complicated international situation, strengthening cooperation between China and the EU benefits both sides and the rest of the world. He added that China is willing to further expand areas of cooperation with the EU and push for the further development of China-EU relations.
Expressing gratitude to Han Zheng for his participation in the UN Ocean Conference, E. Macron asked him to convey his warm greetings to the President of the People’s Republic of China.
E. Macron said that France regards China as a long-term and reliable cooperation partner, and in the current international situation full of challenges and difficulties, it is vital for France and China, as two major countries, to maintain close high-level exchanges and strengthen ties and cooperation in maintaining world peace and security.
France welcomes Chinese companies to invest and do business in France, and is willing to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international economic and financial policies, jointly address global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity protection, uphold multilateralism, and act as two major constructive forces in this turbulent world to give the world more confidence, Macron said. –0–
6th Pacific-France Summit Intervention by New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters Nice, France, Tuesday 10 June 2025 Thank you, President Macron, for convening this meeting today, the sixth Pacific-France Summit. We were privileged to have also been at the second Pacific-France Summit, during the Presidency of Jacques Chirac, in Paris in 2006. Many of the issues raised two decades ago have been raised again today. Our region faces unique threats to its security and stability. Humanitarian and environmental challenges and increasing geostrategic competition are bringing heightened complexity and risk. In this environment, it is important that we come together to share experiences and perspectives, and to find the best way forward as a region. Working alongside likeminded partners like France is important and we recognise France’s long-standing commitment to the Pacific and the contribution it makes to regional stability. This includes the unique role France plays supporting the economic development and security of French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. We value working with France on humanitarian assistance and disaster response through the FRANZ mechanism, most recently used after the Vanuatu earthquake. We also welcome France joining New Zealand and Australia in supporting the Pacific Humanitarian Warehouse Programme, an important Pacific priority. It is important that partners’ engagement with our region advances our region’s priorities, is consistent with established regional practices, and supports Pacific institutions – including the Forum as the preeminent regional body. This is the best way to support regional stability in the Pacific. Over 60 percent of New Zealand’s development support goes toward Pacific priorities. This includes a pledge of NZ$20 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). This initiative is a clear priority for Pacific leaders. We encourage France to support the PRF and our officials would be entirely happy to share our thinking. We welcome the important steps we, as a Forum, have taken this year to improve how our region engages with Forum Dialogue Partners. We hope these reforms, which will tier Partners according to their support for Pacific priorities, will be in place by the time leaders meet in Honiara, leading to even more productive exchanges with important partners such as France. As partners engage with our region, it is important that they do so in a manner that is transparent and supportive of good governance. Not all partners take this approach. Some ask Pacific partners not to publish agreements or avoid the Forum Secretariat when organising regional engagements. As we face external pushes into our region to coerce, cajole and constrain, we must stand together as a region – always remembering that we are strongest when we act collectively to confront security and strategic challenges. The Forum plays a critical role in helping us to form a cohesive approach, resolve differences, bolster regional development and security, and use our collective voice to hold bigger countries to account. We welcome France’s efforts to engage with the full Forum and Secretariat. Notwithstanding the longstanding Forum membership agreement that we engage as a complete group, not all partners have followed this model in recent meetings. We encourage all to follow France’s example. Our ability to come together in our uniquely Pacific way is one of our greatest assets. We welcome France’s engagement with the Forum Secretariat to organise this important meeting today. Thank you.
Israel’s military operation over the past four months has led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank
The Israeli military has declared Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem refugee camps closed military zones, blocking residents from reaching their homes or what remains of them
‘If they let us return, even those whose homes haven’t been entirely destroyed will need months to rehabilitate these homes, due to the heavy destruction and damage to the structures’ – Nihad Shaweesh
‘These actions are part of a wider pattern of unlawful Israeli policies and practices to dispossess, dominate and oppress Palestinians in the West Bank under Israel’s ruthless system of apartheid’ – Erika Guevara Rosas
The Israeli military has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians by destroying homes and essential civilian infrastructure in Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps rendering them uninhabitable, as part of its ongoing brutal military operation in the occupied West Bank, said Amnesty International.
On 5 June, Palestinians mark Naksa Day, commemorating the forced displacement of approximately 300,000 Palestinians during the June 1967 war, when Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Fifty-eight years on, Israel’s military operation over the past four months has led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since then.
The Israeli army has deployed tanks, carried out air strikes, destroyed buildings, dug up roads and infrastructure, and imposed extensive restrictions on freedom of movement through checkpoints and roadblocks. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, between 21 January and 4 June, the Israeli forces have killed at least 80 Palestinians, including 14 children, in the northern West Bank, including Nablus.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:
“Israel’s deadly military operation in the occupied West Bank, unfolding in the horrific shadow of its ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, has had catastrophic consequences for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who are facing a rapidly escalating crisis with no foreseeable prospects of return. Unlawful transfer of protected persons is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a war crime.
“Israel must immediately halt illegal practices leading to the forced displacement of Palestinians, including attacks on residential areas, destruction of property and infrastructure, pervasive access and movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians.
“These actions are part of a wider pattern of unlawful Israeli policies and practices to dispossess, dominate and oppress Palestinians in the West Bank under Israel’s ruthless system of apartheid.
“The international community’s persistent failure to hold Israel accountable for its violations against Palestinians, in particular for its cruel system of apartheid and unlawful occupation has emboldened Israel and fueled further egregious violations of Palestinians’ rights.”
40,000 residents have been displaced
Members of popular committees of Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps told Amnesty an estimated 40,000 residents have been displaced, half of whom are from Jenin refugee camp.
Video footage verified by Amnesty provides evidence of wide-scale home demolitions and damage to civilian property and infrastructure in the camps. Arrests have also soared, with the Palestinian Commission of Detainees reporting approximately 1,000 Palestinians arrested in Jenin (700) and Tulkarem (300) since the operation began.
The Israeli military has declared Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps closed military areas, with forces stationed there, actively preventing residents from accessing their homes or what’s left of them. Witnesses said that Israeli forces shoot at civilians who attempt to go back even just to check on their properties or collect belongings.
In a stark example, on 21 May, a diplomatic delegation of representatives from over 20 countries, including the UK, France, Canada, China and Russia, came under fire from Israeli soldiers while visiting Jenin refugee camp.
‘Most destructive’ operation in decades
Israel’s military operation started in Jenin Refugee Camp on 21 January, and expanded to Tulkarem refugee camps on 27 January, and subsequently to Tammoun town and Al-Far’ah refugee camp. While Israeli forces withdrew from Al-Far’ah on 12 February, they continue to be stationed in Jenin and Tulkarem.
In an alarming development on 23 February Israeli tanks were deployed to Jenin for the first time in more than 20 years. On the same day Israel’s Defense Minister instructed the army to “prepare for a long stay in the camps that were cleared” and to prevent residents from returning. Israeli media, citing military sources, have reported that the operation is expected to last for months with hundreds of soldiers remaining in the camps for “monitoring”.
On 22 March 2025, UNRWA had already described the operation as “by far the longest and most destructive operation in the occupied West Bank since the second intifada in the 2000’s.”
Home demolitions and destruction of infrastructure
The Israeli military has relentlessly destroyed hundreds of homes in these camps and adjacent neighborhoods during military operations or with demolition orders. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports that in the Jenin refugee camp alone, the Israeli army fully destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged many more rendering them uninhabitable. In March, Israel announced plans to demolish 66 homes in Jenin camp. More recently, on 1 May, the Israeli army issued further demolition orders for 106 homes in Tulkarem refugee camps – 48 in Nur Shams and 58 in Tulkarem camp.
Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified 25 videos shared on social media by residents or soldiers showing destruction of civilian property by Israeli forces in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps between 31 January and 1 June 2025. The footage shows numerous structures demolished with manually laid explosives, roads, buildings and cars destroyed with bulldozers and the aftermath of the destruction with civilian property reduced entirely to rubble. In many cases, Israeli forces appear to have conducted clearing operations, removing buildings to widen or create new roads.
Amnesty also analysed 32 additional videos and photographs provided directly by Palestinians residents, which document damage to homes and personal property. The images show destroyed interiors, including shattered windows, broken furniture, damaged doors, ransacked closets, scattered personal belongings, and leftover food strewn across rooms.
Nihad Shaweesh of the Nur Shams popular committee, said:
“The level of destruction in the camps is so massive that it will take months before they are inhabitable again. If they let us return, even those whose homes haven’t been entirely destroyed will need months to rehabilitate these homes, due to the heavy destruction and damage to the structures.”
A mother of six from Jenin Refugee Camp, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, described how she received photos on her phone showing her home being completely destroyed. She said:
“I opened the photos and immediately recognised my children’s bed sheets. I couldn’t believe that was my house in the photos. They demolished the house and wrecked our SUV. Our car was nothing but a mass of metal. I was in shock. I couldn’t speak and only kept crying.”
A resident of Nur Shams, Ibraheem Khalifa, described how his family was forcibly displaced on 9 February and the subsequent demolition of their apartment building:
“We arrived … to witness the demolitions of our neighbours’ homes and to be present with them [in solidarity]. However, while sitting there, we realised that the [military] bulldozer started to demolish our homes as well. These are apartments we built with our own hands. There, we grew up and made memories. In this house, we got married, held celebrations, went through sorrows – everything. This house witnessed it all. Now, our homes and all of our belongings in them are gone.”
As part of the operation Israeli forces have also systematically destroyed critical infrastructure, including roads, water, electricity, and communications networks. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed the widespread destruction of roads and streets within the refugee camps.
Militarisation of camps and restrictions on freedom of movement
Access to the refugee camps for residents and freedom of movement have also been severely curtailed with Israeli forces blocking entrances and main roads with metal gates or checkpoints and using military bulldozers to create dirt barriers and barbed-wire fences.
One resident of Nur Shams, Fatima Ali, described how on 9 February, Israeli forces took over her home and converted it to a military outpost. She said they raided her home, forcing her brother’s family to leave while she, being ill and unable to walk due to destroyed streets, was confined to one room as her house was turned into a temporary military outpost:
“You can see all directions from my house, I have a balcony and a door to the West and another to the North, so they [soldiers] came and occupied it. At first, they kept me inside, locked in one room. When they arrested someone, they brought him to my house. They told me to leave hours later, and I needed the emergency services to help me leave the camp because all the streets were dug up and destroyed.”
The military operation has also infringed on other social and economic rights including the right to education with many children missing weeks of school. In Tulkarem, more than 691 businesses have been destroyed, damaged and remain shut down.
Qais Awad of the Tulkarem Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Tulkarem became a ghost town. Businesses in the city close at 6pm because there are no visitors or customers coming from outside. Tulkarem farmers cannot reach their agricultural lands and workers cannot leave due to the closure of checkpoints. The economic situation in the city is catastrophic.”
The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica, opened this Monday 9 June in Nice, France, with strong calls to accelerate action and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
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Highlights:
– Secretary-General/Ocean Conference
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– Security Council
– Nigeria
SECRETARY-GENERAL/OCEAN CONFERENCE
The Secretary-General delivered remarks this morning at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, which is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica. In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that although the sea that has sustained life for millennia, we are failing to protect the ocean – thanks to overfishing, plastic pollution and rising temperatures.
He urged all countries that have not yet ratified the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction to do so. He also issued a strong call to all countries to agree on an ambitious and legally binding treaty on plastic pollution this year.
Underscoring his support for the work of the International Seabed Authority, the Secretary-General said the deep sea cannot become the Wild West.
Mr. Guterres urged Member States to advance progress on Sustainable Development Goal 14, which is unfortunately one of the least funded SDGs. He encouraged the conference participants to be bold in all their efforts, saying, “The ocean of our ancestors – teeming with life and diversity – can be more than legend. It can be our legacy.”
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General spoke at the Africa for the Ocean event, co-hosted by Morocco and France. In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that with over 30,000 kilometres of coastline and 38 coastal states, Africa is a maritime powerhouse. “Its future is also written in its waters,” he said, adding that this blue wealth is too often undervalued and overexploited. He said that investments have too often bypassed Africa, even as its marine resources were exploited by others.
Also this afternoon, the Secretary-General had a productive meeting with civil society representatives from around the world active in ocean action. He highlighted the current paradox: despite major breakthroughs —such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction— the crisis facing the oceans is worsening.
The Secretary-General noted similar dynamics in climate action: while renewable energy is expanding rapidly, emissions continue to rise. The ocean-climate connection, he warned, is deteriorating —marked by rising temperatures, accelerating sea-level rise, glacier melt, coral bleaching, and growing plastic pollution. He also pointed to the threat of mass displacement from vulnerable river deltas.
He emphasized the importance of civil society perspectives, momentum, and insights to accelerate progress and increase global attention on ocean, climate, and biodiversity action.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Secretary-General held a number of bilateral meetings.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels of despair as people continue to go hungry across Gaza. Many are forced to risk their lives in search of food, as we receive more reports of people being killed and injured near non-UN distribution sites.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, just this morning, 29 casualties arrived at the ICRC field hospital in west Rafah, eight of whom were dead. Almost all had explosive trauma wounds, with two others admitted with gunshot wounds. The UN reiterates that civilians must always be protected. No person, anywhere, should be forced to choose between risking one’s life and feeding one’s family.
Fuel stocks in Gaza are critically low – putting further strain on critical services and humanitarian operations. Over the weekend, some 260,000 litres of fuel were looted in northern Gaza. Prior to this, the UN had repeatedly attempted to reach these stocks to retrieve them, but these attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities.
Since 15 May, the missions to retrieve this fuel were denied by the Israeli authorities 14 times. The UN attempts to reach fuel supplies in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, also continue to be denied. The UN warns that unless a solution is found in the coming days, the entire aid operation could come to a standstill.
Since the Israeli authorities allowed limited amounts of aid to enter Gaza on 19 May, the UN and its partners have only been able to collect about 4,600 metric tonnes of wheat flour from the Kerem Shalom crossing. Most of it was taken by desperate, starving people before the supplies reached their destinations. In some cases, the supplies were looted by armed gangs.
Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=09%20June%202025
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NICE, France, June 10 (Xinhua) — Countries must respect science and international law when it comes to exploiting the seabed to prevent it from becoming a lawless “Wild West,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday at the opening of the third U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, southeastern France.
He said there was a need to balance legitimate concerns about environmental impacts with legitimate interests in using ocean resources to support economic sustainability and the transition to green energy. He stressed that future actions should be “science-based, precautionary and consistent with the rights and obligations enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
“I support the ongoing work of the International Seabed Authority on this important issue. The deep sea cannot become the Wild West,” the Secretary-General added.
The third UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, aims to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14): conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke out against deep-sea exploitation, warning that much of the seabed remains largely unexplored. “It is madness to exploit the deep sea before exploration has even begun… A moratorium on deep sea exploitation is an international imperative,” Macron said.
“The deep sea is not for sale, just like Greenland, Antarctica or the open sea,” he said.
In April, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing deep-sea mining, a unilateral move that drew criticism from the International Seabed Authority. –0–
New capability gives instant visibility to detect misuse, enforce compliance, and strengthen data protection across on-premises, hybrid, and multicloud environments.
Continuous data discovery, classification, and monitoring forms the foundation of effective Data Security Posture Management, while simplifying compliance and flagging unauthorized activities that lead to data exposure.
FAM’s built-in GenAI tools and centralized management streamlines audit reporting, accelerates threat response, reduces operational complexity across enterprise data lifecycle.
MEUDON, France – Thales today announced the launch of Thales File Activity Monitoring, a powerful new capability within the Thales CipherTrust Data Security Platform that enhances enterprise visibility and control over unstructured data, enabling organizations to monitor file activity in real time, detect misuse, and ensure regulatory compliance across their entire data estate. As the only integrated platform provider that secures structured and unstructured data, Thales provides comprehensive monitoring and auditability for data types that were previously difficult to track.
In today’s evolving threat landscape, organizations must gain tighter control over unauthorized access and misuse of unstructured data, which according to IDC represents 90% of all worldwide data. File Activity Monitoring enables security teams to analyze and monitor the activity of unstructured data, including unexpected copying, downloading, and sharing of files such as emails, chat logs, media files, and application logs that can contain sensitive data. Real-time alerts, analytics, and encryption tracking further accelerate threat insights and protect sensitive data across the enterprise. This reduces exposure risks, supports compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, and strengthens organizations’ overall data security posture.
“Thales’ innovative approach to File Activity Monitoring tackles key challenges like blind spots in hybrid environments, offering real-time visibility and smart anomaly detection — a potential game-changer for teams overwhelmed by false positives. By striking the right balance of depth and simplicity, FAM shows promise in helping us strengthen the SOC without added complexity. With tighter SIEM integration, it can sharpen response and let teams focus on what matters most. We’re excited to see how FAM evolves and enhances our data security,” Leila KUNTAR, Principal Information Security Engineer, Amadeus, said.
“As unstructured data grows rapidly across distributed environments, organizations need more integrated ways to track and safeguard their most sensitive information,” Todd Moore, Vice President of Data Security Products at Thales, said. “With File Activity Monitoring, Thales reinforces its leadership in enterprise data security by delivering real-time insight, intelligent automation, and unified visibility through a single, powerful platform.”
Thales has been a leader in digital security for decades in structured database activity. Building on this extensive expertise, customers can expect the same world-class experience that they’ve had with Thales, now extended to encompass unstructured data protection.
File Activity Monitoring strengthens DSPM by enabling security teams to:
Discover, classify, observe, and control sensitive data across on-premises, hybrid, and multicloud environments
Pinpoint where sensitive data resides, who has access, and whether it’s properly secured, in real time, allowing detection of suspicious behavior including unauthorized copying, downloading, or sharing
Transform static classification into dynamic risk intelligence through behavioral context
Apply strong encryption and other remediation techniques, including reconstruction of incidents quickly with audit logs in the event of a breach or policy violation and enabling strong encryption, to protect compromised or at-risk data.
Built-in GenAI tools simplify audits, boost response, and cut complexity
To further simplify compliance and security operations, File Activity Monitoring includes a Generative AI-powered Data Security Assistant. This integrated chatbot helps teams query audit data, generate custom reports, and streamline compliance workflows, reducing the burden on IT and security professionals and making it easier to meet regulatory obligations.
“As technology evolves rapidly, our controls must be flexible enough to keep pace without adding complexity,” Moore said. “Automation and intelligence help overwhelmed security teams scale operations and focus on what matters most. With tools like our chatbot, they can ask natural language questions and get instant, actionable answers, accelerating response times and improving operational efficiency.”
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services addresses several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.
The Group invests more than €4 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and cloud technologies.
Thales has more than 83,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2024, the Group generated sales of €20.6 billion.
British novelist Frederick Forsyth, who authored best-selling thrillers such as “The Day of the Jackal” and “The Dogs of War,” has died aged 86, his publisher said.
A former correspondent for Reuters and the BBC, and an informant for Britain’s MI6 foreign spy agency, Forsyth made his name by using his experiences as a reporter in Paris to pen the story of a failed assassination plot on Charles de Gaulle.
“The Day of the Jackal”, in which an English assassin, played in the film by Edward Fox, is hired by French paramilitaries angry at de Gaulle’s withdrawal from Algeria, was published in 1971 after Forsyth found himself penniless in London.
Written in just 35 days, the book was rejected by a host of publishers who worried that the story was flawed and would not sell as de Gaulle had not been assassinated. De Gaulle died in 1970 from a ruptured aorta while playing Solitaire.
But Forsyth’s hurricane-paced thriller complete with journalistic-style detail and brutal sub-plots of lust, betrayal and murder was an instant hit. The once poor journalist became a wealthy writer of fiction.
“I never intended to be a writer at all,” Forsyth later wrote in his memoire, “The Outsider – My Life in Intrigue”. “After all, writers are odd creatures, and if they try to make a living at it, even more so.”
So influential was the novel that Venezuelan militant revolutionary Illich Ramirez Sanchez, was dubbed “Carlos the Jackal”.
Forsyth presented himself as a cross between Ernest Hemingway and John le Carre – both action man and Cold War spy – but delighted in turning around the insult that he was a literary lightweight.
“I am lightweight but popular. My books sell,” he once said.
His books, fantastical plots that almost rejoiced in the cynicism of an underworld of spies, criminals, hackers and killers, sold more than 75 million copies.
Behind the swashbuckling bravado, though, there were hints of sadness. He later spoke of turning inwards to his imagination as a lonely only child during and after World War Two.
The isolated Forsyth discovered a talent for languages: he claimed to be a native French speaker by the age of 12 and a native German speaker by the age of 16, largely due to exchanges.
He went to Tonbridge School, one of England’s ancient fee-paying schools, and learned Russian from two emigre Georgian princesses in Paris. He added Spanish by the age of 18.
He also learned to fly and did his national service in the Royal Air Force where he flew fighters such as a single seater version of the de Havilland Vampire.
THE REPORTER
Impressing Reuters’ editors with his languages and knowledge that Bujumbura was a city in Burundi, he was offered a job at the news agency in 1961 and sent to Paris and then East Berlin where the Stasi secret police kept close tabs on him.
He left Reuters for the BBC but soon became disillusioned by its bureaucracy and what he saw as the corporation’s failure to cover Nigeria properly due to the government’s incompetent post-colonial views on Africa.
It was in 1968 that Forsyth was approached by the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, and asked by an officer named “Ronnie” to inform on what was really going on in Biafra.
By his own account, he would keep contacts with the MI6, which he called “the Firm”, for many years. His novels showed extensive knowledge of the world of spies and he even edited out bits of The Fourth Protocol (1984), he said, so that militants would not know how to detonate an atomic bomb.
His writing was sometimes cruel, such as when the Jackal kills his lover after she discovers he is an assassin.
“He looked down at her, and for the first time she noticed that the grey flecks in his eyes had spread and clouded over the whole expression, which had become dead and lifeless like a machine staring down at her.”
THE WRITER
After finally finding a publisher for “The Day of the Jackal,” he was offered a three-novel contract by Harold Harris of Hutchinson.
Next came “The Odessa File” in 1972, the story of a young German freelance journalist who tries to track down SS man Eduard Roschmann, or “The Butcher of Riga”.
After that, “The Dogs of War” in 1974 is about a group of white mercenaries hired by a British mining magnate to kill the mad dictator of an African republic – based on Equatorial Guinea’s Francisco Macias Nguema – and replace him with a puppet.
The New York Times said at the time that the novel was “pitched at the level of a suburban Saturday night movie audience” and that it was “informed with a kind of post‐imperial condescension toward the black man”.
Divorced from Carole Cunningham in 1988, he married Sandy Molloy in 1994. But he lost a fortune in an investment scam and had to write more novels to support himself. He had two sons – Stuart and Shane – with his first wife.
His later novels variously cast hackers, Russians, al Qaeda militants and cocaine smugglers against the forces of good – broadly Britain and the West. But the novels never quite reached the level of the Jackal.
A supporter of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Forsyth scolded Britain’s elites for what he cast as their treachery and naivety.
In columns for The Daily Express, he gave a host of withering assessments of the modern world from an intellectual right-wing perspective.
The world, he said, worried too much about “the oriental pandemic” (known to most as COVID-19), Donald Trump was “deranged”, Vladimir Putin “a tyrant” and “liberal luvvies of the West” were wrong on most things.
He was, to the end, a reporter who wrote novels.
“In a world that increasingly obsesses over the gods of power, money and fame, a journalist and a writer must remain detached,” he wrote. “It is our job to hold power to account.”
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris – 10 June 2025 – Euronext, the leading European capital market infrastructure, today announced trading volumes for May 2025.
Euronext informs that the template has been aligned with the new reporting framework, which was implemented as of the first quarter 2025 results publication.
Monthly and historical volume tables are available at this address:
France, Corporate Flavio Bornancin-Tomasella +33 1 70 48 24 45
Ireland Catalina Augspach +33 6 82 09 99 70
Italy Ester Russom +39 02 72 42 67 56
The Netherlands Marianne Aalders +31 20 721 41 33
Norway Cathrine Lorvik Segerlund +47 41 69 59 10
Portugal Sandra Machado +351 91 777 68 97
About Euronext
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On the first day of the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), France and Brazil have launched a landmark international initiative to dramatically scale up ocean-focused climate action.
The Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge calls on all countries to place the ocean at the heart of their climate plans ahead of UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) which Brazil will host in November this year.
Alongside Brazil and France, an inaugural group of eight countries – Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico, Palau, and Seychelles – has already joined the initiative, committing to include the ocean in their updated climate plans under the Paris Agreement.
These plans represent the centrepiece of each country’s efforts to reduce emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and build resilience, and represent the highest level of political will under the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Launched on Monday, and building on the momentum this year brings as countries prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the Blue NDC Challenge underscores the urgent need to recognise the ocean’s central role in addressing the climate crisis as a key ally.
The initiative is supported by Ocean Conservancy, the Ocean and Climate Platform, and the World Resources Institute through the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) and has been endorsed by WWF-Brazil.
In addition to its forests, Brazil is also an oceanic nation, with 40 per cent of its territory located at sea and hosting marine ecosystems of global significance — including the only coral reefs in the South Atlantic and the world’s largest contiguous mangrove belt along the Amazon coast.
These ecosystems play a vital role in both climate adaptation and mitigation, serving as natural buffers against extreme weather events and contributing to carbon storage.
“For Brazil, the Blue NDC Challenge represents a key opportunity to strengthen ocean-related climate action and to emphasise the essential role of ocean-based solutions in achieving emission reduction targets. Through this initiative Brazil seeks to advance international cooperation on ocean climate action in the lead-up to COP30, and to underscore the need for all countries to fully integrate the ocean into their national climate strategies,” said Marina Silva, Brazil Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.
“In its recently submitted NDC, Brazil has explicitly included, for the first time, ocean-based climate actions, recognising the ocean’s critical role in climate regulation. These include the implementation of national Marine Spatial Planning, the enhancement of coastal zone management, and the establishment of programs for the conservation and restoration of mangroves and coral reefs,” she noted.
Governments joining the Blue NDCs Challenge commit to stepping up efforts to reduce emissions and build resilience through ocean-based solutions, while also delivering benefits for both nature and people.
Under the leadership of the governments of Brazil and France, eight inaugural countries spanning the globe committed to include ocean action in their national climate plans.
“Ultimately, industrial marine sectors and natural ecosystems are underused tools in addressing climate change and other development needs. As world leaders gather in Nice and prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem (COP30), they can take inspiration from the Seychelles in championing ocean-based climate action,” said Wavel Ramkalawan, the President of Seychelles.
“We are pleased to join the Blue NDC Challenge and work alongside COP30 host, Brazil, as well as France, Fiji, Seychelles, Mexico, Palau to highlight the vital role of the ocean in global efforts on climate change,” said Senator Murray Watt, Australia’s Environment Minister.
On June 9, the Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, was stopped by Israeli forces in international waters, about 200 kilometres off the coast.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had organised the voyage, setting sail from Sicily on June 1. The vessel’s 12 passengers included climate activist Greta Thunberg, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, two French journalists and several other activists from around the world.
The Israeli military boarded the ship and diverted it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The aid it carried — baby formula, food, medical supplies, water desalination kits — was confiscated. All passengers were detained and now face deportation.
This interception has sparked international condemnation. Importantly, it also raises questions about whether Israel’s actions comply with international law.
it must be formally declared and publicly notified
it must be effectively enforced in practice
it must be applied impartially to all ships
it must not block access to neutral ports or coastlines
it must not stop the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
If even one of these conditions is not met, the blockade may be considered illegal under customary international humanitarian law.
The fifth condition is especially important here. According to a comprehensive study of international humanitarian law conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the parties to a conflict must allow the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief to civilians in need.
A blockade that prevents this could be in breach of international law.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade of varying degrees on Gaza since 2007 when Hamas came to power. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claims the purpose of the blockade is to “prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas”. Critics say it amounts to collective punishment.
The Madleen was operating in compliance with three binding International Court of Justice orders (from January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024) requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
Freedom of navigation
International law also strongly protects the freedom of navigation, particularly in international waters beyond any state’s territorial limits.
There are only a few exceptions when a country can lawfully stop a foreign ship in international waters – if it is involved in piracy, slave trading, unauthorised broadcasting, or the vessel itself is stateless. A country can also stop a ship if it is enforcing a lawful blockade or acting in self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
So, if Israel’s actions do not fully meet the international legal requirements for enforcing a blockade during wartime, it would not have the right to intercept the Madleen in international waters.
Protections for humanitarian workers
More broadly speaking, international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, protects civilians during conflict. This protection extends to people delivering humanitarian aid, so long as they do not directly take part in hostilities.
To be considered directly participating in hostilities, a person must:
intend to cause military harm
have a direct causal link to that harm, and
be acting in connection with one side of the conflict.
Bringing aid to civilians, even if politically controversial, does not meet this legal threshold. As a result, the Madleen’s passengers remain protected civilians and should not be treated as combatants or detained arbitrarily.
International law also sets out how civilians detained in conflict situations must be treated. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, detainees must be given access to medical care, lawyers and consular representatives. They must also not be punished without fair legal processes.
In response to the ship’s interception, the Hind Rajab Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the UK Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit. The complaint alleges a number of breaches of international humanitarian law, including forcible detention, obstruction of humanitarian relief, and degrading treatment.
Previous flotilla intercepted
This is not the first time Israel has stopped an aid ship and faced accusations of violating the law of the sea and humanitarian law.
In 2010, the Israeli military raided a flotilla of six ships organised by international activists aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge the blockade.
Violence broke out on the largest vessel, the Mavi Marmara, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals and injuries to dozens of others. The incident drew international condemnation. Israel agreed to ease its blockade after the incident.
A fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council found that Israel violated a number of international laws and that its blockade was “inflicting disproportionate damage upon the civilian population”.
This is not just a political or moral issue – it’s a legal one. International law lays out clear rules for when and how a country can enforce blockades, intercept vessels and treat civilians.
Based on these rules, serious legal questions remain about Israel’s handling of the Madleen and its passengers.
Shannon Bosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
otre Altesse Royale, Princesse Lalla Hasnaa du Royaume du Maroc, Monsieur le Président de la République française, Cher Emmanuel Macron, Excellences, Chers amis,
Je vous remercie d’organiser ce sommet afin de réaffirmer un message clair :
Les destins de l’Afrique et de l’océan sont profondément liés.
Pour des millions de personnes à travers le continent, l’océan est source de vie, d’identité, de promesses.
Avec plus de 30 000 kilomètres de littoral et 38 États côtiers, l’Afrique est une puissance maritime.
Son avenir s’écrit aussi dans ses eaux.
Mais cette richesse bleue est trop souvent sous-évaluée et surexploitée.
L’insécurité maritime menace la paix.
La pollution empoisonne les côtes et les écosystèmes.
Et la crise climatique – dont l’Afrique n’est pourtant pas responsable – ravage ses rivages.
Face à ces défis, l’Afrique propose, innove, agit.
Elle forge des solutions qui inspirent bien au-delà du continent.
Nous le voyons dans des projets ambitieux de coopération régionale – ou encore la Stratégie intégrée de l’Union africaine pour les mers et les océans à l’horizon 2050.
Et nous le voyons dans les négociations internationales, où l’Afrique fait entendre sa voix avec force.
L’Accord sur la diversité biologique marine des zones ne relevant pas de la juridiction nationale – l’Accord BBNJ – en est un exemple.
Le Groupe africain a été un acteur central des négociations, obtenant des engagements sur le partage équitable des avantages, le renforcement des capacités et le transfert de technologies marines.
À ce jour, 28 États africains ont signé l’Accord. Trois l’ont déjà ratifié. Peut-être que ces chiffres sont déjà surpassés par les chiffres que le Président de la République a annoncé ce matin.
Et plusieurs autres prévoient de le faire aujourd’hui, lors de la cérémonie spéciale sur les traités pour l’Accord BBNJ.
C’est un signal fort : l’Afrique est au cœur de l’action pour les océans.
Mais pour libérer pleinement ce potentiel, il faut un sursaut politique et financier.
Cela commence par renforcer la sécurité maritime face aux menaces transnationales – piraterie, trafic d’armes et d’êtres humains et crime organisé.
Les Nations Unies continueront de soutenir les efforts africains, notamment à travers l’Architecture de Yaoundé, qui a contribué à une baisse significative des actes de piraterie dans le golfe de Guinée.
Cela passe également par une gouvernance océanique fondée sur la science et la coopération.
Il faut lutter contre la pollution et la pêche illicite, non déclarée et non réglementée, renforcer les capacités de collecte et de partage des données océanographiques, et protéger la biodiversité.
Nous devons valoriser les énergies marines renouvelables, l’aquaculture et le tourisme durable, autant de sources d’emplois décents – notamment pour les jeunes et les femmes.
Mais ces efforts ne porteront pleinement leurs fruits que si l’Afrique est connectée – dans ses territoires et avec le reste du monde.
Les océans africains doivent devenir de véritables corridors d’intégration – reliant pays côtiers et enclavés, au service d’une croissance partagée.
Cela suppose des investissements concrets dans les infrastructures maritimes et portuaires : des ports interconnectés, résilients face au changement climatique, capables de répondre aux besoins d’un commerce en croissance.
Les États sans littoral doivent être reliés aux chaînes de valeur mondiales.
Aucun pays ne doit rester à quai.
Mais pour que cette transformation soit durable et équitable, nous devons mettre fin aux injustices historiques.
Ces injustices se traduisent aussi dans l’océan : les investissements ont trop souvent contourné l’Afrique, alors même que ses ressources marines étaient exploitées par d’autres.
Le Pacte pour l’Avenir, adopté en septembre dernier, appelle à une réforme profond des institutions financières mondiales – afin qu’elles soient au service de tous.
Il est temps que les pays en développement soient équitablement représentés dans ces institutions. D’ailleurs, comme au Conseil de Sécurité des Nations-Unies.
Nous avons besoin d’un système qui reflète les réalités du XXIème siècle – un système plus juste, plus solidaire et plus efficace.
C’est pourquoi j’appelle les institutions financières, les bailleurs bilatéraux et multilatéraux, les banques de développement et le secteur privé à répondre présent – y compris lors de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement à Séville.
Chers amis,
De Dakar à Djibouti, du Cap à Casablanca, l’Afrique prouve qu’on peut conjuguer prospérité et préservation.
Le monde a besoin de l’Afrique pour répondre aux défis de l’océan.
Et l’océan a besoin d’une Afrique qui trace sa voie et navigue résolument vers l’avenir.
Je vous remercie.
*** [All-English]
Your Royal Highness, Princess Lalla Hasnaa of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. President of the French Republic, Dear Emmanuel Macron, Excellencies, Dear friends,
Thank you for organizing this summit to reaffirm a clear message:
The destinies of Africa and the ocean are deeply linked.
For millions of people across the continent, the ocean is a source of life, identity and promise.
With over 30,000 kilometers of coastline and 38 coastal states, Africa is a maritime powerhouse.
Its future is also written in its waters.
But this blue wealth is too often undervalued and overexploited.
Maritime insecurity threatens peace.
Pollution poisons coasts and ecosystems.
And the climate crisis – that Africa did little to cause – is ravaging its shores.
In the face of these challenges, Africa is proposing, innovating, taking action.
It is forging solutions that inspire far beyond the continent.
We see this in ambitious regional cooperation projects – and in the African Union’s 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy for the Seas and Oceans to 2050.
And we see it in international negotiations, where Africa is making its voice heard loud and clear.
The Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction – the BBNJ Agreement – is one example.
The African Group was a key player in the negotiations, securing commitments on equitable benefit sharing, capacity building and marine technology transfer.
To date, 28 African states have signed the Agreement. Three have already ratified it. These numbers have increased with the news that President Macron shared with us earlier today.
And several more are planning to do so today, at the special treaty ceremony for the BBNJ Agreement.
This is a strong signal: Africa is at the heart of ocean action.
But to fully unleash this potential, we need a political and financial surge.
This begins by strengthening maritime security in the face of transnational threats – piracy, arms and human trafficking and organized crime.
The United Nations will continue to support African efforts, notably through the Yaoundé Architecture, which has contributed to a significant decline in acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
This also requires ocean governance based on science and cooperation.
We must combat pollution and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, strengthen capacities for collecting and sharing oceanographic data, and protect biodiversity.
We must promote renewable marine energies, sustainable aquaculture and tourism – all of which create decent jobs, in particular for young people and women.
But these efforts will only bear fruit if Africa is connected — within its territories and with the rest of the world.
Africa’s oceans must become integration corridors – linking coastal and landlocked countries, for a shared growth.
This calls for concrete investments in maritime infrastructures – interconnected ports, resilient to climate change, capable of meeting the needs of growing trade.
Landlocked states must be connected to global value chains.
No country should be left behind.
But for this transformation to be sustainable and equitable, we must put an end to historical injustices.
These injustices are also reflected in the ocean: investments have too often bypassed Africa, even as its marine resources were exploited by others.
The Pact for the Future, adopted last September, calls for deep reforms of global financial institutions – so that they serve everyone.
It is time for developing countries to be fairly represented in these institutions.
We need a system that reflects the realities of the 21st century – a system that is more just, more supportive, and more effective. As is the the case with the United Nations Security Council.
That is why I call on financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, development banks and the private sector to step up – including at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville.
Dear friends,
From Dakar to Djibouti, from Cape Town to Casablanca, Africa is proving that prosperity and preservation can go hand in hand.
The world needs Africa to meet the ocean’s challenges.
And the ocean needs an Africa that charts its own course and navigates decisively toward the future.
onsieur le Président de la République française, Cher Emmanuel Macron Señor Presidente de la República de Costa Rica, Estimado Rodrigo Chaves Robles
Excellences, chers amis, Dear President of the French Republic, Dear Emmanuel Macron Mr. President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Dear Rodrigo Chaves Robles Excellencies, dear friends,
Permettez-moi tout d’abord de remercier nos hôtes, les gouvernements de la France et du Costa Rica, d’avoir organisé cette conférence. Let me begin by thanking our hosts, the Governments of France and Costa Rica, for convening this conference.
Et merci à tous d’être là, à Nissa la bella – ville à la mer d’azur et au ciel pur. And thank you all for being here, in “Nissa la bella” – city of azure seas and clear skies.
Nous voici réunis sur les rives de la Méditerranée, carrefour de continents, de cultures et de commerce. We gather beside the Mediterranean – a crossroads of continents, cultures, and commerce.
Une mer qui, depuis des millénaires, est source de vie – et qui nous rappelle notre profonde dépendance à l’égard de l’océan. A sea that has sustained life for millennia –reminding us of our deep dependence on the ocean.
L’océan produit la moitié de l’oxygène que nous respirons. The ocean generates half of the oxygen we breathe.
Il nourrit 3 milliards de personnes et fait vivre 600 millions d’autres. It feeds 3 billion people and sustains 600 million livelihoods.
L’économie des océans a plus que doublé en 30 ans – et elle continue de croître. The ocean economy has more than doubled in 30 years – and keeps growing.
Le transport maritime assure, à lui seul, plus de 80 % du commerce mondial. Maritime transport alone moves over 80 per cent of global trade.
L’océan est notre bien commun par excellence. The ocean is the ultimate shared resource.
Pourtant, nous sommes en train de le piller. But we are failing it.
Les stocks de poissons s’effondrent. Fish stocks are collapsing.
La surconsommation et la pêche illégale poussent des espèces au bord de l’extinction. Over-consumption and illegal fishing are pushing marine life to the brink.
Chaque année, 23 millions de tonnes de plastique sont déversées dans les eaux et asphyxient les écosystèmes. Plastic pollution is choking ecosystems – with 23 million tonnes of waste entering waters every year.
Les émissions de carbone provoquent l’acidification et le réchauffement des océans – détruisant les récifs de corail et accélérant la montée des eaux. Carbon emissions are driving ocean acidification and heating – destroying coral reefs and accelerating sea level rise.
Si on ne change pas de cap, cette acceleration va submerger les deltas, detruire les récoltes et engloutir les littoraux, menaçant la survie même de nombreuses îles. If we do not change course, this rise will submerge deltas, destroy crops, and swallow coastlines – threatening many islands’ survival.
L’océan absorbe désormais 90 % de l’excédent de chaleur piégé par les gaz à effet de serre. The ocean now stores 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
Autant de symptômes d’un système en crise… et qui s’auto-alimente. These are symptoms of a system in crisis – and they are feeding off each other.
Brisant les chaînes alimentaires… Anéantissant les moyens de subsistance… Augmentant l’insécurité. Unravelling food chains. Destroying livelihoods. Deepening insecurity.
Cette insécurité est exacerbée par la criminalité : piraterie, trafic d’êtres humains, réseaux organisés et pillage des ressources volent des vies, freinent le développement et privent les communautés côtières de leurs droits. And insecurity is rising not only from natural forces – but from criminal ones. Piracy, organized crime, human trafficking, and the looting of natural resources are threatening lives, undermining development, and robbing coastal communities of their rights.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Since the last UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, we have seen progress.
We have also seen a growing awareness of the deep interconnection between preserving biodiversity and marine ecosystems, combatting climate change, and stopping pollution.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework set a bold pledge:
To conserve and manage at least 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2030.
Member States also adopted the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction – a historic breakthrough.
I urge all delegations to ratify it – and welcome good news delivered by President Macron and the momentum this Conference is generating toward its swift entry into force.
I also call on all countries to agree on an ambitious and legally binding treaty on plastic pollution – this year.
It is essential to successfully conclude the agreement on fisheries currently discussed at World Trade Organization.
The International Maritime Organization committed to reach net-zero emissions from shipping by 2050.
And last year’s General Assembly Meeting on Sea Level Rise underscored that statehood and sovereignty cannot be undermined by rising seas.
This proves multilateralism works – but only if we match words with action.
By developing concrete national plans aligned with global targets;
By harnessing science, driving innovation, and ensuring fair access to technology;
By empowering fishers, Indigenous peoples, and youth;
And above all, by investing.
SDG 14 on life below water remains one of the least funded Sustainable Development Goals.
This must change – through increased public finance, greater support from development banks, and bold models to unlock private capital.
I urge all countries to come forward with bold pledges.
Small Island Developing States need support to build resilience and thrive in the blue economy.
Many struggle to access healthy, affordable food – underscoring the urgent need to restore local fisheries and strengthen ocean-based food systems.
We must also strengthen maritime security as a pillar of sustainable development.
And we must embed ocean priorities across climate, food systems and sustainable finance.
Because without a healthy ocean, there can be no healthy planet.
Finally, nations are also navigating new waters on seabed mining:
I support the ongoing work of the International Seabed Authority on this important issue.
The deep sea cannot become the Wild West.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope.
Hope that we can turn the tide.
That we can move from plunder to protection.
From exclusion to equity.
From short-term exploitation to long-term stewardship.
We know it’s possible.
When we reached a global moratorium on commercial whaling, whale populations recovered.
When we protect marine areas, life returns.
Today, we have the opportunity to restore marine abundance.
What was lost in a generation can return in a generation.
The ocean of our ancestors – teeming with life and diversity – can be more than legend.
It can be our legacy.
I wish you a successful conference.
Thank you.
****
[All-French]
Monsieur le Président de la République française, Cher Emmanuel Macron Monsieur le Président de la République du Costa Rica, Cher Rodrigo Chaves Robles
Excellences, chers amis,
Permettez-moi tout d’abord de remercier nos hôtes, les gouvernements de la France et du Costa Rica, d’avoir organisé cette conférence.
Et merci à tous d’être là, à Nissa la bella – ville à la mer d’azur et au ciel pur.
Nous voici réunis sur les rives de la Méditerranée, carrefour de continents, de cultures et de commerce.
Une mer qui, depuis des millénaires, est source de vie – et qui nous rappelle notre profonde dépendance à l’égard de l’océan.
L’océan produit la moitié de l’oxygène que nous respirons.
Il nourrit 3 milliards de personnes et fait vivre 600 millions d’autres.
L’économie des océans a plus que doublé en 30 ans – et elle continue de croître.
Le transport maritime assure, à lui seul, plus de 80 % du commerce mondial.
L’océan est notre bien commun par excellence.
Pourtant, nous sommes en train de le piller.
Les stocks de poissons s’effondrent.
La surconsommation et la pêche illégale poussent des espèces au bord de l’extinction.
Chaque année, 23 millions de tonnes de plastique sont déversées dans les eaux et asphyxient les écosystèmes.
Les émissions de carbone provoquent l’acidification et le réchauffement des océans – détruisant les récifs de corail et accélérant la montée des eaux.
Si on ne change pas de cap, cette accélération va submerger les deltas, détruire les récoltes et engloutir les littoraux – menaçant la survie même de nombreuses îles.
L’océan absorbe désormais 90 % de l’excédent de chaleur piégé par les gaz à effet de serre.
Autant de symptômes d’un système en crise… et qui s’auto-alimente.
La montée des eaux submerge les deltas, détruit les récoltes et engloutit les littoraux, menaçant la survie même de nombreuses îles.
L’océan est pris au piège d’un cercle vicieux – victime et accélérateur du changement climatique.
Brisant les chaînes alimentaires… Anéantissant les moyens de subsistance… Augmentant l’insécurité.
Cette insécurité est exacerbée par la criminalité : piraterie, trafic d’êtres humains, réseaux organisés et pillage des ressources volent des vies, freinent le développement et privent les communautés côtières de leurs droits.
Mesdames et Messieurs,
Depuis la dernière Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’océan, qui s’est tenue à Lisbonne, des progrès ont été accomplis.
Nous avons également vu une prise de conscience croissante des liens profonds entre la préservation de la biodiversité et des écosystèmes marins, la lutte contre le changement climatique et l’arrêt de la pollution.
Le Cadre mondial de la biodiversité de Kunming-Montréal contient un engagement audacieux :
Conserver et gérer au moins 30 % des zones marines et côtières d’ici à 2030.
Les États Membres ont également adopté l’Accord portant sur la diversité biologique marine des zones ne relevant pas de la juridiction nationale, qui marque une avancée historique.
J’exhorte toutes les délégations à ratifier cet accord et je me félicite des bonnes nouvelles partagées par le President Macron et de l’impulsion donnée par la Conférence pour en favoriser l’entrée en vigueur rapide.
Par ailleurs, j’appelle tous les pays à s’entendre cette année sur un traité ambitieux et juridiquement contraignant sur la pollution plastique.
Il est également essentiel de conclure avec succès l’accord sur la pêche actuellement discuté à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce.
L’Organisation maritime internationale est résolue à faire en sorte que, d’ici à 2025, le transport maritime ne produise plus aucune émission nette.
L’année dernière, durant la réunion de l’Assemblée générale sur l’élévation du niveau de la mer, il a été dit avec force que la montée des eaux ne saurait porter atteinte à la souveraineté et à l’intégrité des États.
Toutes ces initiatives montrent que le multilatéralisme fonctionne, mais seulement si nous traduisons nos paroles en actes.
En développant des plans nationaux concrets alignés sur les objectifs mondiaux.
En exploitant la science, en stimulant l’innovation, et en garantissant un accès équitable à la technologie.
En donnant des moyens d’action aux pêcheurs, aux populations autochtones, aux scientifiques et aux jeunes.
Et, par-dessus tout, en investissant.
L’objectif de développement durable no 14 relatif à la vie aquatique demeure l’un des objectifs de développement durable les moins bien financés.
Les choses doivent changer. Pour cela, il faut augmenter les financements publics, accroître l’appui apporté par les banques de développement et favoriser l’afflux de capitaux privés grâce à des modèles de financement audacieux.
J’exhorte tous les pays à prendre des engagements ambitieux [et je remercie ceux qui l’ont déjà fait].
Les petits États insulaires en développement ont besoin d’aide pour renforcer leur résilience et prospérer dans l’économie bleue.
Nombreux sont ceux qui peinent à se procurer une alimentation saine à un coût abordable, ce qui montre combien il est urgent de restaurer les pêches locales et de renforcer les systèmes alimentaires basés sur l’océan.
Nous devons également renforcer la sécurité maritime qui est l’un des piliers du développement durable.
Nous devons intégrer les priorités liées à l’océan dans toutes nos activités touchant le climat, les systèmes alimentaires et la finance durable.
Car sans un océan en bonne santé, il ne peut y avoir de planète en bonne santé.
Enfin, l’exploitation minière des fonds marins pose aux pays de nouveaux défis.
Je soutiens les travaux en cours de l’Autorité internationale des fonds marins sur cet enjeu important.
Les grands fonds ne peuvent pas devenir un Far West.
Mesdames et Messieurs,
Nous vivons une époque de troubles, mais la détermination que je constate ici me donne de l’espoir.
J’espère que nous pourrons redresser la situation.
Que nous pourrons remplacer le pillage par la protection.
L’exclusion par l’équité.
La surexploitation à court terme par la bonne gestion à long terme.
Nous savons que c’est possible.
Lorsque nous sommes parvenus à un moratoire mondial sur la chasse commerciale à la baleine, les populations de baleines se sont reconstituées.
Lorsque nous protégeons des aires marines, la vie revient.
Aujourd’hui, nous avons la possibilité de redonner à l’océan son abondance.
Ce qui a été perdu en l’espace d’une génération peut renaître en l’espace d’une autre.
L’océan qu’ont connu nos ancêtres, qui regorgeait de vie et de diversité, peut être davantage qu’une légende.
The stage is covered in stars that fill the depth of the space. When the 18 dancers slowly gather, they move through a night sky.
This sky, and the scenes that unfold in Bangarra’s Illume are tied to the Goolarrgon clan of the Bardi Jawi people, the First Peoples of the Dampier Peninsula on the west coast of the Kimberley. Choreographer Frances Rings chose as her primary collaborator visual artist Darrell Sibosado who brings his cultural knowledge of that Country to the work, alongside cultural consultants Trevor Sampi and Audrey (Pippi) Bin Swani, also from Bardi Country.
The 70-minute work moves through 11 sections, and over three phases. A short synopsis for each in the program guides visitors through this manifestation of Country.
The opening segments are immersive, integrated worlds where the dancers move at one with the design elements.
In Niman Aarl (Many Fish), a thrilling whirlpool of tiny light fish spiral around a giant conch shell. The dancers spiral among them with flowing, fluid movements.
The central section, Light Pollution, interrupts the flow, representing the displacement caused by settler invasion. The dancers carry brown blocks, simply and effectively introducing inorganic and uniform shapes into this natural environment. They are suggestive of bricks, burdens and baggage. Movements depict trauma and a burning crucifix-like form that brings religious movements (as if seated at prayer) and music themes (church bells) to a dramatic climax.
Brown blocks are suggestive of bricks, burdens and baggage. Bangarra/Daniel Boud
The final sections return us to the sea and land. The work culminates with a beautifully crafted kaleidoscope of mother of pearl opalescence that washes over the front scrim.
Bringing remote cultures to broad audiences
Coinciding with Sydney’s Vivid light festival, the difference could not be starker between the tired, candy-coloured neon display spilling across Sydney Harbour and the immersive, detailed and sometimes breathtaking light (designed by Damien Cooper) and video design (from Craig Wilkinson) that gives this work its name.
The stage floor shimmers: Charles Davis’ set is a reflective surface that amplifies the stunning light work. Upstage left, poles cluster like a stand of trees and occasionally pulse with light in time with the score from Brendon Boney.
On the back scrim, lights twinkle and constellate. Many images emerge, including what seem to be fragments of a stuttering calligraphy.
The stage floor shimmers. Bangarra/Daniel Boud
In the final moments of the work, the lights consolidate into an intriguing set of symbols. These echo previous work of Sibosado, such as Galalan at Gumiri featured at the 2024 Biennale of Sydney.
Blocky, maze-like, and recalling Aztec or Indonesian patterns, these designs appear like a collision of more familiar Indigenous pattern work, south-east Asian influences, and contemporary abstraction.
Sibosado works primarily with Bardi Jawi riji – pearl shell carving designs from his Country Lullmardinard/Lombadina. He enlarges the small pearl carvings in scale and fabricates them using contemporary materials such as metal and light.
Designs appear like a collision of Indigenous pattern work, south-east Asian influences, and contemporary abstraction. Bangarra/Daniel Boud
Sibosado is an alumnus of NAISDA, Australia’s National Indigenous dance college and feeder program for the Bangarra company. He has described how he brings story elements usually held in dance and song into his visual art, demonstrating an integration of the creative disciplines characteristic of many NAISDA graduates’ work.
NAISDA’s practice of working with Indigenous communities from across the country makes the College a living repository of ephemeral and material culture.
This approach to First Peoples’ culture continues at Bangarra. Bangarra’s deep dive into the traditional knowledges of the Bardi Jawi people through the creative practice of Sibosado, alongside cultural consultants Trevor Sampi and Audrey (Pippi) Bin Swani, brings remote cultures to broad audiences.
Ambitious, smart and timely
Watching the show from the dress circle, the impact of all the elements was clear but it was difficult to distinguish individual dancers. The large company was well rehearsed with some stellar performances throughout. However, the choreographic detail was largely absorbed into the overall effects of the work.
Rings demonstrates her finely tuned attention to movement language specific to each section. From the snaking arms forming the branches of the Manawan or Wollybutt trees, to the south-east Asian inflections in the Mother of Pearl (Guan) sections referencing the pearl divers from that region who were part of the local industry (sometimes against their will), Rings’ choreographic vision is clear – if not always given space and focus among the design.
Rings demonstrates her finely tuned attention to movement language. Bangarra/Daniel Boud
Rings’ ability to lead a collaborative vision is made possible through the creative team she has gathered. Rings’ and Sibosado’s vision is supported by the set, lighting and video design. Costume designer Elizabeth Gadsby, working with emerging costumer Rika Hamaguchi, has produced unique looks for each section of the work. Boney’s compositions strike a balance between ancient sounds and rhythms and a synthetic sheen that parallels the glossy production elements.
Illume is ambitious, smart and timely, with its powerful combination of visual and choreographic arts and stories from the ecologically precious and precarious Kimberley region.
Bangarra is our leading Indigenous performing arts company whose work extends from a rich education and outreach program to their stellar track in international touring. With this work, Bangarra is giving Australia’s other major performing arts companies an object lesson in spectacle with heart and spirit.
Illume is at the Sydney Opera House until June 14, then touring nationally.
Erin Brannigan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is honoring the memory of Henry Saaga, who fought in the Normandy invasion, as the United States and World War II allies commemorate the anniversaries of two of the great turning points of the global war – D-Day in Europe in 1944, and the Battle of Midway in the Pacific in 1942.
Holding Henry Saaga family photo
June 6th is anniversary of D-Day, in which Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, successfully but at great cost in lives. Also, this week, June 4-7 marks the anniversary of the Battle of Midway, a major air and sea battle that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific earlier in World War II.
Briefing at Aisne Marne American Cemetery in 2023
“On these historic dates, we honor the valor of many thousands who changed the world and advanced the cause of freedom for generations, which our living Veterans and Service Members have since helped protect,” said Congresswoman Aumua Amata. “These anniversaries are sobering reminders of the sacrifices of war, but celebrations of these heroes and their enduring legacy of bravery and honor.”
A Normandy Wreath-laying in 2023
“Henry Saaga was a young Samoan soldier who was born and raised in Utulei Village, American Samoa. He fought in the invasion of Normandy, and was last seen fighting bravely in the hedgerow combat,” Amata continued. “He is honored on a commemorative wall in France, where names are highlighted with wet sand from the nearby beach – the only acceptable reason to take sand from the protected beach.”
Henry Saaga’s name enshrined in France
Known as D-Day, the invasion in Normandy demanded enormous logistical effort. Once the Allies established landings in France, the U.S. and Allied forces began pushing back the Nazi forces and liberating western Europe. General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the troops across the English Channel with the message, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hoped and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”
Likewise, in the Pacific, the Battle of Midway was a difference-making three days of intense sea and air battle that historians agree changed the direction of the naval war for the years of fighting ahead.
Headline: New handhelds combine the power of Xbox with the freedom of Windows 11
Together, we’ve combined our strengths and technical expertise to introduce something entirely new: the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. These handhelds are built to make it easier than ever to access your favorite games—from Xbox, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts—all from a single device.
This holiday, with ASUS, players can discover another way to play as we combine the power of Xbox with the freedom you expect from Windows. And this is only the beginning.
Meet the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X
ROG Xbox Ally: The essential handheld at a great value for everyone from the casual player to the avid enthusiast.
ROG Xbox Ally X: The ultimate high-performance handheld, built for the most demanding players.
Both handhelds allow players to play natively, via the cloud, or remotely with their Xbox console in another room.
Next-Level Features Designed for Play Anywhere
With the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, players can look forward to an approachable gaming experience that travels with you wherever you go, featuring several new and first-of-their kind features on both devices—from an immersive Xbox full screen experience, an aggregated gaming library with access to installed games from leading PC storefronts, and more.
We’ve optimized Windows 11 to be easy to use on the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X from the moment you power on. Game Bar makes it easy to return home, browse your library, launch or quit games, chat with friends, open apps, adjust settings, and more. Now, with the integration of ASUS’s innovative Armoury Crate, Game Bar also gives you streamlined access to advanced device and input controls. Details like the lock screen and task switcher have also been adjusted for easy navigation with a controller.
Because these handhelds run Windows, you have access to games you can’t get elsewhere, so you can enjoy the full freedom and versatility of PC gaming—download games from your favorite storefront, run apps like Discord, watch your favorite streamers on Twitch, and play with your favorite mods—all straight from the Xbox experience. The choice is yours.
Introducing the Xbox Experience for Handheld
When you power on your Xbox Ally, you’ll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming. With new modifications that minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks, more system resources are dedicated specifically to gameplay. That means more memory, higher framerates, and a fully immersive experience for players—all made possible by the versatility and freedom of Windows.
The Xbox Ally has more familiar Xbox touches, including:
Xbox button: With a dedicated Xbox button, players have access to chat, apps, and settings through an enhanced Game Bar overlay, allowing you to quickly switch between running apps and games.
Contoured grips: Created with player comfort in mind, and using the same design principles as Xbox Wireless Controllers, the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X feature contoured handgrips to accommodate a wider range of hand sizes.
Accessibility features: Game Bar and the Xbox app have also been optimized for handheld use, bringing along familiar accessibility features from Xbox consoles and Windows PCs, with much more to come in future.
Easy Access to Games from Xbox, Leading PC Storefronts, and More
Locating and accessing games across multiple channels can be a challenge —navigating through various browsers, storefronts, and login credentials can sometimes make gaming feel anything but fun. But with the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, getting into the fun is easier and faster than ever.
Within the Xbox full screen experience, players will see their aggregated gaming library, giving them quick access to games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts. With this new feature, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles (membership required), and all your installed games from other PC game stores are always at your fingertips.
We’re also making handheld gaming more seamless through our investment in Xbox Play Anywhere. With support for over 1,000 games, a single purchase means you can play with Xbox, including your progress and achievements, across Xbox console, PC and Xbox Ally—at no additional cost. And when you power on your Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X, your favorite games are already there, ready to play. Whether you’ve been gaming on Xbox console, Xbox on PC, or in the cloud, everything syncs effortlessly. With Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) or Remote Play, you can access your full Xbox console library and keep playing—wherever you are.
And yes…there’s still even more to come:
We’re excited to partner with Roblox for the launch of Xbox Ally. For the first time ever, Roblox will be playable natively and optimized for gaming handhelds, enabling players to play with millions of people and discover a variety of immersive games on day one.
We are working closely with our game developer partners on a brand-new program designed to help players easily identify which games have been optimized for handhelds, including the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. We will share more details soon.
Players who purchase an Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X and are new to Game Pass will also be able to get started at no additional cost, accessing hundreds of games like Balatro, Gears Tactics, Vampire Survivors and more, straight from your device.
Players on either device will be able to tap into Gaming Copilot via Game Bar, a personalized gaming companion that helps you get to your favorite games faster, improve your skills, and connect you with your friends and communities.
Two Great Choices & A First Look at Specs
The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are perfect for players looking to take an approachable gaming experience with you during travels— whether it’s between airports, or between the comfiest chairs in the living room.
Both handhelds run on AMD processors that deliver premium gaming performance, immersive visuals, and more.
The Xbox Ally offers great value for anyone looking to take their favorite games wherever they want to play, whether it’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Gears of War: Reloaded, Lies of P, South of Midnight, or many more. It’s powered by the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor—balancing performance and power consumption to maximize battery life without sacrificing gameplay quality—16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.
The Xbox Ally X offers more for players looking to get the best level of performance and visual settings from their favorite games on a handheld. It features the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor—allowing us to power the latest AI features as they are introduced— double the storage to have more native games at your fingertips, and 24GB of high-speed RAM that more demanding games crave. The Xbox Ally X also features impulse triggers for more immersive play.
Here’s how the specs compare between the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X:
ROG Xbox Ally
ROG Xbox Ally X
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Windows 11 Home
Comfort & input
Contoured grips inspired by Xbox Wireless Controllers deliver all-day comfort. ABXY buttons / D-pad / L & R Hall Effect analog triggers / L & R bumpers / Xbox button / View button / Menu button / Command Center button / Library button / 2x assignable back buttons / 2x full-size analog sticks / HD haptics / 6-Axis IMU
Contoured grips inspired by Xbox Wireless Controllers deliver all-day comfort, complete with impulse triggers for enhanced control. ABXY buttons / D-pad / L & R impulse triggers / L & R bumpers / Xbox button / View button / Menu button / Command Center button / Library button / 2x assignable back buttons / 2x full-size analog sticks / HD haptics / 6-Axis IMU
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort 1.4 / Power Delivery 3.0
1x USB4 Type-C with DisplayPort 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0, Thunderbolt 4 compatible
1x UHS-II microSD card reader (supports SD, SDXC and SDHC)
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort 2.1 / Power Delivery 3.0
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
1x UHS-II microSD card reader (supports SD, SDXC and SDHC; UHS-I with DDR200 mode)
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
Network and Communication
Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4
Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4
Dimensions
290.8*121.5*50.7mm
290.8*121.5*50.7mm
670g
715g
Battery
60Wh
80Wh
Included
ROG Xbox Ally 65W charger Stand
ROG Xbox Ally X 65W charger Stand
Pre-orders, Pricing, Accessories and More – Coming Soon
At launch this holiday, the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will be available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with availability to follow for other markets where ROG Ally series products are sold today.
But that’s not the only thing to look forward to. In the coming months, we’ll share even more details about the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, including pricing, compatible accessories, and pre-orders. Interested in pre-ordering? Please sign up here to be notified when pre-orders go live.
We can’t wait to share more about the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. Thank you for joining us on this journey as we continue to fulfil our vision of delivering a consistent, approachable gaming experience anywhere—and meeting more players where you want to be.
Samsung Electronics today announced that it achieved the highest market share in the European microwave segment in 2024, maintaining its No. 1 position for the tenth consecutive year.1
According to data analytics company Euromonitor International, Samsung was ranked as Europe’s No. 1 selling microwave brand based on microwave sales volume in 2024. With this result, Samsung has held the top spot every year since 2015.
“Samsung’s success in the European microwave market comes from our ability to align with what consumers value — a balance of design and intuitive usability,” said Taehwan Hwang, EVP and Head of the Sales & Marketing Team for the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to lead the market by leveraging our strengths in smart connectivity and premium design.”
Making Design and Innovation Central to the Kitchen
Samsung has targeted the European market with products offering premium design, reflecting the interest of local consumers in kitchen interiors. Since 2019, the company has offered its Bespoke Microwave lineup, which features seven colors2 options and a glass finish, a combination that quickly gained popularity across the region.
To further enhance everyday convenience, Samsung introduced the MW7300B All-in-one Microwave Oven in 2024. Thanks to its SmartThings3 compatibility, users can monitor and control the microwave remotely4 with their smartphones, even when they are not in the kitchen. It can also be operated using voice assistants5 such as Bixby,6 for a seamless, connected cooking experience.
To find out more about Samsung’s microwave products, visit Samsung.com.
1 Source Euromonitor International Limited; Consumer Appliances 2025ed, “microwaves” as per Passport definitions; Retail Volume Sales in Units, 2024 data
2 The available colors may differ by country. Once the color of the panels has been selected it cannot be changed again.
3 Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required. The SmartThings Energy and SmartThings Home Care services are only available in certain countries.
4 Only available when the Smart Control button on the microwave oven is turned on with hands.
5 A Wi-Fi connection is required
6 Bixby is Samsung’s Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. Bixby service availability may vary depending on the country. Bixby recognizes certain accents/dialects of English (US, UK, Indian), Chinese, Korean, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. A Samsung account log-in and Wi-Fi connection are required.
Headline: Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers
June 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design
Access to the on-device Apple Intelligence model, large language model integration in Xcode, and an elegant new software design across Apple platforms give developers everything they need to build beautiful modern apps with speed and confidence
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced new technologies and enhancements to its developer tools to help developers create more beautiful, intelligent, and engaging app experiences across Apple platforms. A beautiful new software design brings more focus to content, and delivers more expressive and delightful experiences across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26,1 while keeping them all instantly familiar. The Foundation Models framework joins a suite of tools that allow developers to tap into on-device intelligence, and Xcode 26 leverages large language models like ChatGPT, giving them access to Xcode’s Coding Tools and other intelligent features.
These new resources join the extensive and continuously evolving set of technologies Apple offers developers, including over 250,000 APIs that enable developers to integrate their apps with Apple’s hardware and software features. These APIs span a wide range of capabilities, such as machine learning, augmented reality, health and fitness, spatial computing, and high-performance graphics. With each platform release, Apple expands and refines its technologies and tools to assist developers in bringing their ideas to life and delivering rich, responsive, and optimized experiences across Apple platforms.
“Developers play a vital role in shaping the experiences customers love across Apple platforms,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “With access to the on-device Apple Intelligence foundation model and new intelligence features in Xcode 26, we’re empowering developers to build richer, more intuitive apps for users everywhere.”
New Design with Liquid Glass
The elegant new design gives developers the opportunity to make their apps more expressive and delightful, while being instantly familiar. It’s crafted with a new software-based material called Liquid Glass, which combines the optical qualities of glass with a sense of fluidity. This gorgeous new material extends from the smallest elements users interact with every day — like buttons, switches, sliders, text, and media controls — to larger elements, including tab bars and sidebars for navigating apps.
Native frameworks like SwiftUI give developers everything they need to adopt the new design in their apps. The universal design allows developers to bring greater focus to their users’ content, establishing a consistent experience when developing across Apple’s platforms.
With the all-new Icon Composer app, developers and designers are empowered to create visually captivating app icons that enhance their app’s identity. This powerful tool helps create a consistent visual identity for app icons by annotating layers for multiple rendering modes, with advanced features that include blurring, adjusting translucency, testing specular highlights, and previewing icons in various tints.
Foundation Models Framework
With the Foundation Models framework, developers will be able to build on Apple Intelligence to bring users new experiences that are intelligent, available when they’re offline, and that protect their privacy, using AI inference that is free of cost.
The framework has native support for Swift, so developers can easily access the Apple Intelligence model with as few as three lines of code. Guided generation, tool calling, and more are all built into the framework, making it easier than ever to implement generative capabilities right into an existing app. For example, Automattic is using the framework in its Day One journaling app to bring users privacy-centric intelligence features.
“The Foundation Model framework has helped us rethink what’s possible with journaling,” said Paul Mayne, head of Day One at Automattic. “Now we can bring intelligence and privacy together in ways that deeply respect our users.”
Xcode 26
Xcode 26 is packed with intelligence features and experiences to help developers make their ideas a reality.
Developers can connect large language models directly into their coding experience to write code, tests, and documentation; iterate on a design; fix errors; and more. Xcode has built-in support for ChatGPT, and developers can use API keys from other providers, or run local models on their Mac with Apple silicon, to choose the model that best suits their needs. Developers can start using ChatGPT in Xcode without needing to create an account, and subscribers can connect their accounts to access more requests.2
Coding Tools help developers stay in the flow and be more productive in their tasks. Accessible from anywhere in a developer’s code, Coding Tools provide suggested actions like generating a preview or a playground, or fixing an issue, and can also handle specific prompts for other tasks right inline.
Xcode 26 comes with additional features to keep developers focused and productive, like a redesigned navigation experience, improvements to the localization catalog, and improved support for Voice Control to dictate Swift code and navigate the Xcode interface entirely by voice.
App Intents
App Intents lets developers deeply integrate their app’s actions and content with system experiences across platforms, including Siri, Spotlight, widgets, controls, and more.
This year, App Intents gains support for visual intelligence. This enables apps to provide visual search results within the visual intelligence experience, allowing users to go directly into the app from those results. For instance, Etsy is leveraging visual intelligence to enhance the user experience in its iOS app by facilitating faster and more intuitive discovery of goods and products.
“At Etsy, our job is to seamlessly connect shoppers with creative entrepreneurs around the world who offer extraordinary items — many of which are hard to describe. The ability to meet shoppers right on their iPhone with visual intelligence is a meaningful unlock, and makes it easier than ever for buyers to quickly discover exactly what they’re looking for while directly supporting small businesses,” said Etsy CTO Rafe Colburn.
Swift 6.2
Swift 6.2 introduces powerful features to enhance performance, concurrency, and interoperability with other languages like C++, Java, and JavaScript. And now, in collaboration with the open-source community, Swift 6.2 gains support for WebAssembly.
Building upon Swift 6’s strict concurrency checking, Swift 6.2 simplifies writing single-threaded code. Developers can now configure modules or individual files to run on the main actor by default, eliminating the need for additional annotations.
Containerization Framework
The Containerization framework enables developers to create, download, or run Linux container images directly on Mac. It’s built on an open-source framework optimized for Apple silicon and provides secure isolation between container images.
Tools and Resources for Games
Game Porting Toolkit 3 provides developers with updated tools for evaluating and profiling their game. Developers can now customize the Metal Performance HUD, and get onscreen insights and guidance for optimizing graphics code for the best possible performance in the evaluation environment. And developers can use Mac Remote Developer Tools for Windows to build Mac games on a remote Mac in their existing development workflows.
Metal 4 is designed exclusively for Apple silicon, and sets the stage for the next generation of games on Apple platforms with support for advanced graphics and machine learning technologies.
Developers can now run inference networks directly in their shaders to compute lighting, materials, and geometry, enabling highly realistic visual effects for their games. MetalFX FrameInterpolation generates an intermediate frame for every two input frames to achieve higher and more stable frame rates, and MetalFX Denoising makes real-time ray tracing and path tracing possible in the most advanced games.
The Apple Games app gives players a new all-in-one destination for all of their games and the friends they play them with on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It also introduces a new dedicated app for developers to reengage their existing players and attract new ones.
Challenges give players a new way to compete with friends in score-based showdowns, turning single-player games into shared experiences. Developers that have Game Center leaderboards for their games can easily add challenges, offering players even more ways to rally a group, crown a winner, and have a rematch.
Game Overlay enhances in-game engagement by integrating Game Center features directly into gameplay. Players can access their next achievement and recent scores, and see which friends are currently playing, making it easy to start a chat — all without leaving the game. Players can also adjust settings and view the latest In-App Events, keeping them connected and in control without breaking immersion.
Managed Background Assets simplifies asset hosting for developers, giving them control over how their app or game downloads assets. Developers can self-host or opt for Apple-Hosted Background Assets, where Apple handles hosting. Every Apple Developer Program membership includes 200GB of Apple hosting capacity for the App Store. Apple-Hosted Background Assets can be submitted separately from an app build.
Tools to Help Protect Kids Online
To ensure kids have enjoyable, enriching, and appropriate in-app experiences, developers can utilize a range of tools — including parental controls and the Sensitive Content Analysis framework — to enhance child safety and ensure privacy. Building on these existing tools, developers can use the new Declared Age Range API to deliver age-appropriate content based on a user’s age range. When developers implement this API, parents can allow their children to share their age range without disclosing a birthdate or other sensitive information, enabling developers to tailor experiences accordingly. The feature is built around privacy: Age range data is shared only if parents choose to allow it, and they can disable sharing at any time.
New App Store Accessibility and App Store Connect Features
New Accessibility Nutrition Labels for App Store product pages help users learn which accessibility features are supported before they download an app or game.
Developers can now share information in App Store Connect about their app or game’s support, such as whether it includes VoiceOver, Voice Control, Larger Text, Captions, and more. An Accessibility Nutrition Label will appear on their app’s product page, specific to each platform it supports. Developers can also add a URL on their app’s App Store product page that links users to a website with more details.
The App Store Connect app on iOS and iPadOS has been updated to let developers view TestFlight screenshots and crash feedback, in addition to receiving push notifications when beta testers provide feedback. The App Store Connect API supports these enhancements, and introduces the ability for developers to create webhooks to get real-time updates, and support for Apple-Hosted Background Assets and Game Center configuration.
Availability
Today’s updates join the ever-expanding collection of intelligent and powerful tools and technologies Apple provides to developers. The Apple Intelligence features detailed require supported devices, which include all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later that have Apple Intelligence enabled and Siri and device language set to the same supported language: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified). More languages will be coming by the end of this year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese. For more information, visit apple.com/apple-intelligence. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
All of these features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com.
About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Available on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation and later).
Headline: iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that push iPad even further
June 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that push the capabilities and versatility of iPad even further
iPadOS 26 brings a new design; an entirely new powerful and intuitive windowing system; new features powered by Apple Intelligence; major enhancements to working with files, audio, and video; and more
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release ever, taking a huge leap forward and pushing the unique capabilities and versatility of iPad even further. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad, making the experience even more expressive and delightful. While maintaining the simplicity of iPad, iPadOS 26 introduces an entirely new powerful and intuitive windowing system with new features that help users control, organize, and switch between apps. Apple Intelligence becomes even more capable and integrated across iPadOS 26, with new features that help users communicate, express themselves, and get things done, including Live Translation, new ways to create with Genmoji and Image Playground,1 and intelligent actions with Shortcuts. The supercharged Files app offers new ways to organize files and customize folders. And with Folders in the dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. The Preview app comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app to view and edit PDFs, with powerful features like Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill built in. And with Background Tasks, audio input selection, and Local capture, iPadOS 26 unlocks new capabilities for creative pros working with audio and video.
“iPadOS 26 is our biggest iPadOS release ever, with powerful features that take the experience to the next level and transform what users can do on iPad,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With a beautiful new design, an entirely new powerful and intuitive windowing system, even more features powered by Apple Intelligence, huge improvements to working with files, and new capabilities for creatives to power their workflows, iPadOS 26 makes our most versatile device even more capable.”
A Beautiful New Design
The beautiful new design brings more expressive and delightful experiences to iPad users, while maintaining the familiarity of iPadOS. It’s crafted with Liquid Glass — a translucent new material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, while reacting to user input and dynamically transforming to bring greater focus to the content they care about most. It enables a new level of vitality across experiences like the Lock Screen and Control Center, and gives users new ways to personalize their Home Screen with updated app icons that come to life in light or dark appearances, colorful new light and dark tints, as well as an elegant new clear look. And updated controls and navigation extend to apps including Mail, Safari, Apple TV, Apple Music, and more.
An Entirely New Powerful and Intuitive Windowing System
iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new features that help users work with, control, organize, and switch between app windows — all while maintaining the immediacy and simplicity that iPad users expect. The new windowing system lets users fluidly resize app windows, place them exactly where they want, and open even more windows at once.
Familiar window controls allow users to seamlessly close, minimize, resize, or tile their windows. Window tiling is designed for the unique capabilities of iPad, and enables users to arrange their windows with a simple flick. If a user previously resized an app, it opens back in the exact same size and position when they open it again. With Exposé, users can quickly see all their open windows spread out, helping them easily switch to the one they need. The new windowing system works great with Stage Manager for those who want to group their windows into distinct stages, and with an external display for those who want even more space to work across their apps.2
With a new menu bar, users can access the commands available in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving their cursor to the top. Users can quickly find a specific feature or related tips in an app by using search in the menu bar. Additionally, developers can now customize the menu bar in their own apps.
New Features Powered by Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that delivers helpful and relevant intelligence while taking an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI, becomes even more capable and even more integrated across iPadOS 26. Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages enables iPad users to communicate seamlessly across languages. In Messages, incoming texts — including group messages — are automatically translated into the user’s preferred language.3 On FaceTime, a user can follow along with translated live captions while still hearing the speaker’s voice. And when on a phone call, the translation is spoken aloud throughout the conversation.4
iPadOS 26 brings users new ways to create Genmoji, giving them the ability to start with existing emoji and descriptions, modify personal attributes like hair length or accessories, and select expressions. Users will also have more control of personal attributes and expressions in Image Playground, and can tap into brand-new styles with ChatGPT, like an oil painting style for a friend’s Contact Poster. For moments when users have a specific idea in mind, they can tap Any Style and describe exactly what they want. And Image Playground can now send a user’s description or photo to ChatGPT and create a unique image.
Shortcuts features new intelligent actions that allow users to create shortcuts that are more powerful than ever, including summarizing text with Writing Tools and creating images with Image Playground. Users can also tap directly into Apple Intelligence models to provide responses that feed into the rest of their shortcuts. For example, a student can build a shortcut that uses Apple Intelligence models to compare an audio transcription of a class lecture to the notes they took, and add any key points they may have missed.
Powerful New Ways to Work with Files
iPadOS 26 introduces powerful new ways to manage, access, and edit files. An enhanced Files app with an updated List view allows users to see more of their document details in resizable columns and collapsible folders. To make folders easier to identify at a glance, Files also offers folder customization options that include custom colors, icons, and emoji that sync across devices. For quicker access, users can now drag any folder from the Files app right into the Dock. Additionally, users can set a default app for opening specific files or file types.
ThePreview App Comes to iPad
Preview comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app for creating a quick sketch, as well as viewing, editing, and marking up PDFs and images with Apple Pencil or by touch. Users can access all of their PDFs and images in the Files app right from Preview, create an empty page, use Apple Pencil to draw and write on it, and use AutoFill to quickly fill out PDF forms.
New Ways to Work with Apps
Taking advantage of the incredible power of Apple silicon, iPadOS 26 unlocks the ability to perform computationally intensive Background Tasks. When users start a long-running process in an app, Background Tasks will show up with Live Activities, giving users complete control and a clear sense of what is running. And developers can use an updated Background Tasks API that allows users to perform long-running tasks from their apps, too.
iPadOS 26 also brings new audio features that offer more flexible input and streamlined recording. Users now have better control over their audio input, with the ability to choose different microphones for each app, as well as individual websites. Recorded audio will be made even better with the availability of Voice Isolation, which blocks ambient noise, and allows clear and crisp recordings. And with AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and AirPods Pro 2, studio-quality audio recording allows users to record their content with great sound quality and enjoy clear calls.
With Local capture, users can produce high-quality recordings right from iPad with any video conferencing app, and easily share audio and video files once the call is over. Echo cancellation of other participants’ audio keeps the user’s voice front and center, allowing for a clear recording of their side of the call.
New Apps, Plus More Ways to Communicate
With iPadOS 26, Journal comes to iPad, making it easy for users to capture and write about the details of everyday moments or special events. Using Apple Pencil or touch, users can incorporate drawings and handwriting, along with photos, videos, audio recordings, places, their state of mind, and more. Users can keep multiple journals for various aspects of life, and now have access to a beautiful map view that organizes entries by location.
The all-new Apple Games app brings users a new home for gaming, and iPadOS 26 introduces Game Overlay, which allows users to quickly see new events and updates, adjust settings, call or invite a friend mid-game, and more.
The Messages app brings conversation Backgrounds, which lets a user personalize their chats with stunning designs and create unique backgrounds that fit their conversation with Image Playground. Messages also brings Polls and a redesigned details view that helps users easily navigate what has been shared in a conversation, and supercharges group chats with typing indicators, as well as the ability to request and receive Apple Cash.5 Additionally, the Phone app comes to iPad, and includes updates like Hold Assist6 and Call Screening.7
Additional iPadOS 26 updates:
Available in the tool palette, the new reed pen uses stroke-angle presets to enable a traditional calligraphy experience with Apple Pencil or touch in apps like Notes, Preview, Freeform, and Journal; when using Markup; and in third-party apps using the PencilKit API.
Calculator introduces new 3D graphing capabilities in Math Notes, allowing users to write an equation with three variables and create a graph in three dimensions.
Notes adds the ability to import and export a note into a markdown file, along with support for capturing conversations in the Phone app as audio recordings with transcriptions.
Accessibility features include Accessibility Reader, a new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users who are blind, have low vision, or have other disabilities affecting reading; an all-new Braille Access experience that offers a user-friendly interface for users with a connected braille display; Share Accessibility Settings to temporarily use accessibility settings on another person’s device; and more.
Availability
All of these features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Air (M2 and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (A16), iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad mini (5th generation and later). The Apple Intelligence features detailed require supported devices, which include all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later that have Apple Intelligence enabled and Siri and device language set to the same supported language: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified). More languages will be coming by the end of this year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese. For more information, visit apple.com/os/ipados and apple.com/apple-intelligence. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Genmoji and Image Playground are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, and Japanese.
Full external display support is available with iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Air (M2 and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), and iPad Pro (M4).
Live Translation in Messages supports English (U.S., UK), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), and Chinese (simplified).
Live Translation in Phone and FaceTime is available for one-on-one calls in English (U.S., UK), French (France), German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).
Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC. Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., is a service provider of Green Dot Bank for Apple Cash accounts. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. Learn more about the terms and conditions. Only available in the U.S. on eligible devices.
Hold Assist supports English (U.S., Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, UK), French (France), Spanish (U.S., Mexico, Spain), German (Germany), Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese (Japan), and Mandarin Chinese (mainland China).
Call Screening supports Cantonese (China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao), English (U.S., Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, UK), French (Canada, France), German (Germany), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea), Mandarin Chinese (China mainland, Taiwan, Macao), Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain).
Headline: Apple Intelligence gets even more powerful with new capabilities across Apple devices
June 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
Apple Intelligence gets even more powerful with new capabilities across Apple devices
Developers can now access the Apple Intelligence on-device foundation model to power private, intelligent experiences within their apps
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced new Apple Intelligence features that elevate the user experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple Intelligence unlocks new ways for users to communicate with features like Live Translation; do more with what’s on their screen with updates to visual intelligence; and express themselves with enhancements to Image Playground and Genmoji.1 Additionally, Shortcuts can now tap into Apple Intelligence directly, and developers will be able to access the on-device large language model at the core of Apple Intelligence, giving them direct access to intelligence that is powerful, fast, built with privacy, and available even when users are offline. These Apple Intelligence features are available for testing starting today, and will be available to users with supported devices set to a supported language this fall.
“Last year, we took the first steps on a journey to bring users intelligence that’s helpful, relevant, easy to use, and right where users need it, all while protecting their privacy. Now, the models that power Apple Intelligence are becoming more capable and efficient, and we’re integrating features in even more places across each of our operating systems,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We’re also taking the huge step of giving developers direct access to the on-device foundation model powering Apple Intelligence, allowing them to tap into intelligence that is powerful, fast, built with privacy, and available even when users are offline. We think this will ignite a whole new wave of intelligent experiences in the apps users rely on every day. We can’t wait to see what developers create.”
Apple Intelligence features will be coming to eight more languages by the end of the year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese.
Live Translation Breaks Down Language Barriers
For those moments when a language barrier gets in the way, Live Translation can help users communicate across languages when messaging or speaking. The experience is integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, and enabled by Apple-built models that run entirely on device, so users’ personal conversations stay personal.
In Messages, Live Translation can automatically translate messages. If a user is making plans with new friends while traveling abroad, their message can be translated as they type, delivered in the recipient’s preferred language, and when they get a response, each message can be instantly translated.2 On FaceTime calls, a user can follow along with translated live captions while still hearing the speaker’s voice. And when on a phone call, the translation is spoken aloud throughout the conversation.3
News Ways to Explore Creativity with Updates to Genmoji and Image Playground
Genmoji and Image Playground provide users with even more ways to express themselves. In addition to turning a text description into a Genmoji, users can now mix together emoji and combine them with descriptions to create something new. When users make images inspired by family and friends using Genmoji and Image Playground, they have the ability to change expressions or adjust personal attributes, like hairstyle, to match their friend’s latest look.
In Image Playground, users can tap into brand-new styles with ChatGPT, like an oil painting style or vector art. For moments when users have a specific idea in mind, they can tap Any Style and describe what they want. Image Playground sends a user’s description or photo to ChatGPT and creates a unique image. Users are always in control, and nothing is shared with ChatGPT without their permission.
Visual Intelligence Helps Users Search and Take Action
Building on Apple Intelligence, visual intelligence extends to a user’s iPhone screen so they can search and take action on anything they’re viewing across their apps.
Visual intelligence already helps users learn about objects and places around them using their iPhone camera, and it now enables users to do more, faster, with the content on their iPhone screen. Users can ask ChatGPT questions about what they’re looking at on their screen to learn more, as well as search Google, Etsy, or other supported apps to find similar images and products. If there’s an object a user is especially interested in, like a lamp, they can highlight it to search for that specific item or similar objects online.
Visual intelligence also recognizes when a user is looking at an event and suggests adding it to their calendar.4 Apple Intelligence then extracts the date, time, and location to prepopulate these key details into an event.
Users can access visual intelligence for what’s on their screen by simply pressing the same buttons used to take a screenshot. Users will have the choice to save or share their screenshot, or explore more with visual intelligence.
Apple Intelligence Expands to Fitness on Apple Watch
Workout Buddy is a first-of-its-kind workout experience on Apple Watch with Apple Intelligence that incorporates a user’s workout data and fitness history to generate personalized, motivational insights during their session.5
To offer meaningful inspiration in real time, Workout Buddy analyzes data from a user’s current workout along with their fitness history, based on data like heart rate, pace, distance, Activity rings, personal fitness milestones, and more. A new text-to-speech model then translates insights into a dynamic generative voice built using voice data from Fitness+ trainers, so it has the right energy, style, and tone for a workout. Workout Buddy processes this data privately and securely with Apple Intelligence.
Workout Buddy will be available on Apple Watch with Bluetooth headphones, and requires an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone nearby. It will be available starting in English, across some of the most popular workout types: Outdoor and Indoor Run, Outdoor and Indoor Walk, Outdoor Cycle, HIIT, and Functional and Traditional Strength Training.
Apple Intelligence On-Device Model Now Available to Developers
Apple is opening up access for any app to tap directly into the on-device foundation model at the core of Apple Intelligence.
With the Foundation Models framework, app developers will be able to build on Apple Intelligence to bring users new experiences that are intelligent, available when they’re offline, and that protect their privacy, using AI inference that is free of cost. For example, an education app can use the on-device model to generate a personalized quiz from a user’s notes, without any cloud API costs, or an outdoors app can add natural language search capabilities that work even when the user is offline.
The framework has native support for Swift, so app developers can easily access the Apple Intelligence model with as few as three lines of code. Guided generation, tool calling, and more are all built into the framework, making it easier than ever to implement generative capabilities right into a developer’s existing app.
Shortcuts Get More Intelligent
Shortcuts are now more powerful and intelligent than ever. Users can tap into intelligent actions, a whole new set of shortcuts enabled by Apple Intelligence. Users will see dedicated actions for features like summarizing text with Writing Tools or creating images with Image Playground.
Now users will be able to tap directly into Apple Intelligence models, either on-device or with Private Cloud Compute, to generate responses that feed into the rest of their shortcut, maintaining the privacy of information used in the shortcut. For example, a student can build a shortcut that uses the Apple Intelligence model to compare an audio transcription of a class lecture to the notes they took, and add any key points they may have missed. Users can also choose to tap into ChatGPT to provide responses that feed into their shortcut.
Additional New Features
Apple Intelligence is even more deeply integrated into the apps and experiences that users rely on every day:
The most relevant actions in an email, website, note, or other content can now be identified and automatically categorized in Reminders.
Apple Wallet can now identify and summarize order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers. This works across all of a user’s orders, giving them the ability to see their full order details, progress notifications, and more, all in one place.
Users can create a poll for anything in Messages, and with Apple Intelligence, Messages can detect when a poll might come in handy and suggest one. In addition, Backgrounds in the Messages app lets a user personalize their chats with stunning designs, and they can create unique backgrounds that fit their conversation with Image Playground.
These features build on a wide range of Apple Intelligence capabilities that are already available to users:
Writing Tools can help users rewrite, proofread, and summarize the text they have written. And with Describe Your Change, users can describe a specific change they want to apply to their text, like making a dinner party invite read like a poem.
Clean Up in Photos allows users to remove distracting elements while staying true to the moment as they intended to capture it.
Visual intelligence builds on Apple Intelligence and helps users learn about objects and places around them instantly.
Genmoji allow users to create their own emoji by typing a description. And just like emoji, they can be added inline to messages, or shared as a sticker or reaction in a Tapback.
Image Playground gives users a way to create playful images in moments, with concepts like themes, costumes, accessories, and places. And they can add their own text descriptions, and create images in the likeness of a family member or friend using photos from their photo library.
Image Wand can transform a rough sketch into a polished image that complements a user’s notes.
Mail summaries give users a way to view key details for an email or long thread by simply tapping or clicking Summarize.
Smart Reply provides users with suggestions for a quick response in Mail and Messages.
Siri is more natural and helpful, with the option to type to Siri and tap into its product knowledge about the features and settings on Apple products; Siri can also follow along if a user stumbles over their words, and maintain context from one request to the next.
Access to ChatGPT is integrated in Writing Tools and Siri, giving users the option to tap into ChatGPT’s image- and document-understanding capabilities without needing to jump between tools.
Natural language search in Photos makes it easier for users to find a photo or video by simply describing it.
Users can create a memory movie in Photos by typing a description.
Summaries of audio transcriptions in Notes are automatically generated to surface important information at a glance.
Users can generate summaries of call transcriptions to highlight important details.
Priority Messages, a section at the top of the inbox in Mail, shows the most urgent emails, like a same-day invitation to lunch or a boarding pass.
Priority Notifications appear at the top of a user’s notifications, highlighting important notifications that may require immediate attention.
Notification summaries give users a way to scan long or stacked notifications and provide key details right on the Lock Screen.
Previews in Mail and Messages show users a brief summary of key information without needing to open a message.
The Reduce Interruptions Focus surfaces only the notifications that might need immediate attention.
A Breakthrough for Privacy in AI
Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power it run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence so a user’s data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request. Independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers to continuously verify this privacy promise, and are already doing so. This is an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI.
Availability
All of these new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported devices set to a supported language will have access this fall, including all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to the same supported language: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified). More languages will be coming by the end of this year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more details, visit apple.com/apple-intelligence.
About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Genmoji and Image Playground are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, and Japanese.
Live Translation in Messages supports English (U.S., UK), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), and Chinese (simplified).
Live Translation in Phone and FaceTime is available for one-on-one calls in English (U.S., UK), French (France), German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).
The ability to add an event to Calendar with visual intelligence is available in English on all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Workout Buddy will be available on Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone starting in English.
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