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As Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing scores of people a day, the two-month ceasefire that brought a halt to the violence earlier this year feels like a distant memory.
Israel’s overall military and political objective in Gaza hasn’t changed after 19 months of war: it is still seeking the absolute defeat of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
But it is unclear how Hamas will ever be militarily defeated unless there is a complete and unconditional surrender and the laying down of all arms. This appears unlikely, despite the success of Israel’s so-called “decapitation strategy” targeting the Hamas leadership.
And Hamas continues to hold an estimated 57 Israeli hostages in Gaza, of which up to 24 are believed to still be alive. The group is insisting on guarantees that Israel will end the war before releasing any more hostages.
An ongoing blockade for 18 years
Israel announced Sunday it will allow a “basic” amount of food to enter Gaza after a nearly three-month blockade of the strip. It was not clear when or how the aid would resume amid “extensive” new ground operations the military said Sunday it had also just begun.
Israel first imposed a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza in 2007 after Hamas came to power. These restrictions have severely limited the movement of people and vehicles across the border, as well as the amount of food, medicine and other goods that have been permitted to go into and out of Gaza.
These controls increased significantly after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. They’ve been maintained at heightened levels ever since.
The January ceasefire temporarily increased the flow of food, medical aid and other support into Gaza. However, this came to an end in early March when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut off aid again to pressure Hamas to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages. Hostilities resumed soon after.
The United Nations’ humanitarian efforts in Gaza have now come to a “near-standstill”. On May 13, Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief coordinator, addressed the UN Security Council, stating:
For more than 10 weeks, nothing has entered Gaza – no food, medicine, water or tents. […] Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five faces starvation.
Israel denies there are food shortages in Gaza. It has said it wouldn’t permit any trucks to enter the strip until a new system is in place to prevent Hamas from siphoning supplies.
International law is clear
Both the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law make clear:
The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited.
Under international humanitarian law, Fletcher noted, Israel has the responsibility to ensure aid reaches people in territory it occupies. However, Israel’s method of distributing aid, he said, “makes aid conditional on political and military aims” and “makes starvation a bargaining chip”.
What have the courts found?
International courts have not ignored Israel’s obligations on this front.
In relation Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber found:
there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies.
As Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, there is no obligation on the government to act on the arrest warrants. Both men remain free to travel as long as they do not enter the territory of a Rome Statute party. (Even then, their arrest is not guaranteed.)
The ICC warrants will remain in effect unless withdrawn by the court. The arrest in March of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte highlighted that while ICC investigations may take time, those accused of crimes can eventually be brought before the court to face justice.
This is especially so if there is a change in political leadership in a country that allows an arrest to go ahead.
The case began with high-profile hearings last year when the court issued provisional measures, or orders, requiring Israel to refrain from engaging in any genocidal acts.
The most recent of those orders, issued last May, called on Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah (in southern Gaza) and maintain the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow “unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.
These orders remain in effect. Yet, Rafah today is a “no-go zone” that Gazans have been ordered to evacuate. And Israel’s blockade of the strip and restrictions on aid and food entering the territory have clearly been in defiance of the court.
Late last month, the ICJ began hearings to form an opinion on Israel’s duties to allow aid to enter Gaza. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, criticised the ICJ’s hearings as “another attempt to politicise and abuse the legal process in order to persecute Israel”.
The court’s advisory opinion on this issue is not expected for several months. A final decision on South Africa’s broader case may take years.
So, what can be done?
Reflecting on the situation in Gaza, Fletcher observed at the UN:
This degradation of international law is corrosive and infectious. It is undermining decades of progress on rules to protect civilians from inhumanity and the violent and lawless among us who act with impunity. Humanity, the law and reason must prevail.
Yet, while the Security Council continues to have the situation in Gaza under review, it has proven incapable of acting decisively because of US support for Israel.
The Biden Administration was prepared to use its veto power to block binding Security Council resolutions forcing Israel to respond to the humanitarian crisis. The Trump Administration would no doubt do the same.
However, as Duterte’s arrest shows, international law sometimes does result in action. The finding by another UN body last week that Russia was responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 is another case in point.
As the Dutch foreign minister pointed out in that case, the finding sends a message that “states cannot violate international law with impunity”.
Donald Rothwell receives funding from Australian Research Council
President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025, that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria. The turnaround was a huge victory for the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa as he attempts to consolidate power nearly six months on from his movement’s stunning toppling of the longtime regime of Bashar al Assad.
But it wasn’t all down to Syria lobbying on its own behalf. In announcing the policy shift, Trump largely attributed the shift to his Saudi hosts as well as Turkey. Both nations are longtime Assad foes who quickly championed al-Sharaa and have been pushing the U.S. to normalize ties with Syria’s new government.
Turkey, whose resources and land have been heavily affected by instability in neighboring Syria, was particularly instrumentalin pushing Trump to accept the post-Assad government, even over objections from Israel.
After 13 years of devastating civil war, Syria faces a slew of large challenges, including the immediate task of state building. Not only is violence still readily apparent in Syria itself – as the recent killing of Alawites, allegedly by government forces, or fighters aligned with them, showed – but neighboring Israel has also repeatedly attacked positions in Syria in an attempt to weaken the new government. To Israel’s government, a strong, militarized Syria would pose a threat, particularly in regard to the unstable border at the Golan Heights.
In this context, Turkey’s hand has been especially important.
Since Trump took office, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has pressed the American president to lift sanctions. The two men had struck up a strong relationship during the first Trump administration, with the U.S. president declaring himself to be a “big fan” of the Turkish leader.
Turkey’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy can be seen as part of its broader effort to fill the vacuum left by Assad’s fall. Doing so not only bolsters Erdogan’s position as a regional player, but it also advances his domestic agenda.
Turkey has moved quickly on numerous fronts in charting the future course of Syria by pursuing economic and security projects in the country. First and foremost, Turkey has upped its investment in Syria.
In the northeast Syrian province of Idlib, Turkey is funding education, health care and electricity, and the Turkish lira is the de facto currency across northwestern Syria.
The roots of these engagements lie in Turkey’s interest in managing its own security situation.
Since 1984, Turkey has been fighting Kurdish separatist groups, most notably the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is aligned with the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria – one of the groups that fought Assad’s forces during Syria’s civil war.
Assad’s fall led to Russia’s retreat from Syria. Meanwhile, Iranian influence, too, has waned as a result of not only Assad’s departure, but also the military downgrading of Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. And the U.S. no longer actively supports the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria.
Into this void of external influence, Turkey quickly seized an opportunity to reshape the security landscape.
Ankara, which still controls large chunks of territory in Syria’s northeast from the fight against Assad and Syrian Kurdish groups, agreed to a Syrian plan to incorporate the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, into the new Syrian army.
The Turkish perspective has long been that the fight against the PKK can succeed in the long run only with stability on Syrian soil. Now, the PKK is trying to reach peace with the Turkish government, but whether the SDF in Syria will disarm and disband is far from certain. As such, having a strong, stable Syrian government in which a Kurdish majority is accommodated may be in Ankara’s best interests.
Meanwhile, al-Sharaa’s success in rebuilding Syria after the civil war would also help Turkey on another front: the issue of Syrian refugees.
Turkey currently hosts around 3.2 million refugees from Syria – the most of any country. The sheer number and length of stay of these displaced people have put a strain on Turkey’s economy and social relations, leading to clashes between Turks and Syrian refugees.
There is also a broad consensus in Turkey that the Syrian refugee problem in Turkey can be solved only through a comprehensive return strategy.
Although naturalized Syrians in Turkey make up an important constituency within the voter base of Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, the only solution currently envisaged by the Turkish president and his allies is repatriation. For this, rapid and stable development of infrastructure and the housing stock in Syria is considered essential.
Donald Trump looks on as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on May 14, 2025. The confab also had Turkish fingerprints all over it. Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP
Prospects for small-to-middle powers
Turkey’s strategic opportunity in Syria is not without clear risks, however. The incursions by the Israeli military illustrates the challenge Turkey faces in advancing its own interests in Syria. It is notable that Trump’s announcement on sanctions was seemingly made without the knowledge – and against the wishes – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Additionally, Turkey is looking to finesse a growing role in the region into strengthening its position over the long-running dispute in Cyprus. The island, which lies a couple of hundred miles off Syria’s coast, is divided into two regions, with Greek Cypriots in the south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north – with only Turkey recognizing the self-declared state in the north. Turkey is trying to regulate maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean through an agreement with Syria, but the plan is stalled since the European Union supports Greece’s position in Cyprus.
The Turkish moves in Syria are nonetheless being broadly felt elsewhere. Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar support the post-Assad arrangement in Syria and see their own interests being served alongside Turkey’s, although the rivalry of the Sunni world is at stake.
The lifting of sanctions by the U.S. will have long-term political impacts beyond short-term economic impacts. Syria has little direct trade with the U.S., only exporting its agricultural products and antiques. But the appearance of political legitimacy and recognition is a diplomatic win for Turkey, as well as for Syria. The political opening brings with it the promise of future investment in Syria.
Turkey’s dealing with Syria showcases how small-to-middle powers can chart the waters of statecraft in their own way. The days of international affairs being dominated by superpowers appear to be over – as many have long predicted. And in Syria, Turkey is providing a blueprint for how small-to-middle powers can work that to their advantage.
Hyeran Jo receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY). The article was made possible in part by the CCNY grant (G-PS-24-62004, Small State Statecraft and Realignment). She is also a senior fellow at the Center on Armed Groups and a member of an expert advisory group at the Institute for Integrated Transitions. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.
Ece Göztepe Çelebi receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY). The article was made possible in part by the CCNY grant (G-PS-24-62004, Small State Statecraft and Realignment). She is a Turkish and Comparative Constitutional Law professor at the Law Faculty of Bilkent University (Ankara/Turkey). The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.
Reacting to the UK-EU deal announced today by the prime minister Keir Starmer, the co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said:
“Today’s reset is being broadly welcomed by businesses and is good news for UK consumers faced with the cost of living crisis. There is also hope for young people who want to live, work, study and form friendships freely across Europe.
“The Green Party would like to see an even closer relationship between the UK and EU starting with re-joining the customs union and full freedom of movement across the continent. But today’s agreement is definitely a step in the right direction and moves us forward from a place where Reform and the Tories would like us to stay stuck. Their Brexit betrayal rhetoric shows they are willing to disregard the damage inflicted on the country through Brexit and ignore the fact that the vast majority of the UK public now believe the UK was wrong to leave the EU.”
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Andrey Zazykin opens the competition
The 3rd All-Russian round of the competition of final qualifying works “Motorways. Transport infrastructure facilities” has started at the Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
The opening was addressed by the Dean of the Automobile and Road Faculty Andrey Zazykin. Andrey Vyacheslavovich called on the jury members to continue to consider SPbGASU as a platform for the final stages of this competition, which does not lose its relevance, despite the large number of other student competitions. He also spoke about the faculty, which turns 78 this year, about its achievements and development prospects.
“The ADF base in Krasnoe Selo houses one of the most modern service stations in St. Petersburg, a student design bureau, a mechanical section, and a five-axis milling machine was recently launched. The plans include equipping hangars for laboratories for road and bridge workers. A laboratory for bridge workers is especially necessary, because St. Petersburg is the capital of bridges,” said Andrei Vyacheslavovich.
The competition will be held from 19 to 24 May in the training areas 08.03.01, 08.04.01 Construction, training profiles: “Motorways and airfields”, “Road bridges and tunnels”; in the specialties 08.05.01 Construction of unique buildings and structures, specialization “Construction of highways, airfields and special structures”; and 08.05.02 Construction, operation, restoration and technical cover of motorways, bridges and tunnels, specialization “Construction (reconstruction), operation and technical cover of motorways”.
The works of students from construction universities from Moscow, Kazan, Vologda, Krasnoyarsk, Belgorod, Ivanovo, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Volgograd and other cities are participating.
The competition is held in 20 nominations. Each graduation work will be reviewed by members of the jury, which includes representatives of universities, and assessed using a point system. Points are awarded for the achievements of contestants in testing the results of their work, such as publications of articles, educational and methodological literature, participation in exhibitions, competitions, olympiads, reports at conferences, the presence of patents for inventions and utility models.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Buffalo removed two illegally present Guatemalan fugitives wanted in their home country for felony offenses May 12.
Cesar Germain Lopez-Chacon, 28, entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without admission by an immigration official. The Asbury Park Police Department in New Jersey arrested Lopez-Chacon Jan. 13, 2023, for domestic assault, possession of a controlled substance and possess/intent to use drug paraphernalia. A week later, ICE Newark learned Lopez-Chacon had an outstanding warrant in Guatemala for assaulting a government official. The Neptune Township Police Department arrested Lopez-Chacon for theft July 19, 2024. Lopez-Chacon was released from local custody on each occasion before ICE could lodge and immigration detainer.
ICE Newark arrested Lopez-Chacon for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act during a targeted enforcement operation March 7, and subsequently transferred him to ICE Buffalo. ICE Buffalo detained him in Buffalo Federal Detention Facility for the duration of his removal proceedings. An immigration judge order Lopez-Chacon removed from the U.S. April 23.
Francisco Manuel Lopez, 32, also entered the United States on and unknown date and at an unknown location without admission by an immigration official. ICE New York City encountered Lopez, Feb. 19, 2014, at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility in the Bronx, initiated removal proceedings and lodged an immigration detainer against his release. Officers arrested him a week later pursuant to a warrant. An immigration judge ordered him removed on April 1, 2014, and he was subsequently removed from the U.S. May 12 that same year.
Lopez illegally reentered the U.S. without inspection. On Dec. 11, 2017, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, served him a notice of intent/decision to reinstate prior order, and turned him over to the U.S Marshals Service for criminal prosecution for illegal reentry. The U.S. District Court of New Mexico convicted Lopez of illegal reentry of a removed alien. Following this conviction, the U.S. Marshals Service transferred Lopez to the New York City Police Department in Manhattan due to an outstanding warrant. The Kings County Criminal Court convicted Lopez of criminal possession of a weapon and assault with a weapon July 2, 2024. ICE New York City lodged an immigration detainer with the Ulster Correctional Facility Sept. 3, 2024. ICE Buffalo arrested Lopez April 21 upon his release from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision pursuant to his warrant of removal.
On April 23, 2025, ICE Buffalo confirmed that Lopez is an international fugitive wanted in his home country for gender-based violence.
Both aliens were turned over to the legal authorities upon arrival in Guatemala.
Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by completing ICE’s online tip form.
Learn more about ERO Buffalo’s mission to increase public safety on X at @EROBuffalo.
FALL RIVER, Mass. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in partnership with Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, arrested illegally present Brazilian national Cristiano Schneider Capdevila Croxato during a traffic stop in Fall River April 8. The 47-year-old criminal alien was convicted of assault and battery on a family or household member Nov. 19, 2024, and has a long list of criminal charges in his past.
“Mr. Schneider violated the terms of his lawful admission to the United States, and since then, he’s apparently committed a laundry list of crimes that put Massachusetts residents at risk,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “Boston isn’t a place for serial criminals to hide. Our officers will continue to prioritize the safety of our communities by arresting, detaining and removing criminal alien offenders to prevent them from threatening our families, friends or neighbors.”
Since Schneider entered the U.S. in November 2018, he’s been arraigned on the following charges:
Violation of an abuse prevention order on March 29, 2024.
Receiving a stolen motor vehicle on May 20, 2024.
Indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or over on May 20, 2024.
Indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or over — two counts — on July 12, 2024.
Schneider has a current and open restraining order and a closed restraining order. He is on active probation with the Fall River District Court until Nov. 18, 2025.
He will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
Report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.
A third man has been arrested in connection with a series of arson attacks in north London.
A 34-year-old [C] was arrested this morning, Monday, 19 May, in the Chelsea area, SW3, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
He has been taken into custody.
On Saturday, 17 May, a 26-year-old man [B] was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
He is currently still in police custody after a warrant of further detention was obtained at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The arrests relate to three incidents – a vehicle fire in NW5 on 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May.
All have connections with a high-profile public figure, and therefore officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have led the investigation into the fires.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call police on 101 quoting CAD 441/12 May.
We would ask the public to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that doesn’t look or feel right, then to report it to police – either by calling police, in confidence, on 0800 789 321 or via www.gov.uk/ACT
+ A 21-year-old man [A] has already been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life and appeared in court.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Mauritania as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the seventh country in WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone. The certification was received by Honorable Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Wedih, Minister of Health and Aïcha Vall Vergès, Ambassador of Mauritania to Switzerland at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly.
“I congratulate the government and the people of Mauritania for this achievement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is another example of the incredible progress we have made against neglected tropical diseases and gives hope to many other nations still fighting against trachoma that they too can eliminate this disease.”
Mauritania has a long history of a fight against trachoma that dates back to the 1960s. However, it was not until early 2000 that the country conducted population-based epidemiological surveys to map trachoma with the support of the Organization for the Prevention of Blindness (OPC), the Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology of Africa (IOTA) and WHO. Trachoma control activities were integrated into the National Programme for the Fight against Blindness at the Ministry of Health.
Mauritania implemented the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma with the support of partners. These activities included provision of surgery to treat the late blinding stage of the disease, conducting mass administration of antibiotic treatment with azithromycin donated by Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative, carrying out public awareness campaigns to promote facial cleanliness and personal hygiene as well as improvement in access to water supply and sanitation.
“Eliminating trachoma is a landmark victory for public health in Mauritania,” said Dr Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, WHO Representative in Mauritania. “This success reflects the strong leadership and commitment of the Government, supported by the dedication of health workers, communities, and partners, with the guidance and support of WHO. We will remain vigilant and support the country to preserve this success and protect those most at risk from trachoma.”
Trachoma is the second neglected tropical disease to be eliminated in Mauritania. In 2009, the country had already been certified free of dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) transmission. Globally, Mauritania joins 21 other countries that have been validated by WHO for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. These are Benin, Cambodia, China, Ghana, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Gambia, Togo, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. These countries are part of a wider group of 55 countries that have eliminated one or more neglected tropical diseases.
WHO is supporting Mauritania’s health authorities to closely monitor communities where trachoma was previously endemic to ensure there is no resurgence of the disease.
Disease prevalence
As of April 2024, trachoma remains a public health problem in 37 countries with an estimated 103 million people living in areas requiring interventions against the disease. Trachoma is found mainly in the poorest and most rural areas of Africa, Central and South America, Asia, the Western Pacific and the Middle East. The African Region is disproportionately affected by trachoma with 93 million people living in at-risk areas in April 2024, representing 90% of the global trachoma burden.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against trachoma over the past few years and the number of people requiring antibiotic treatment for trachoma in the African Region fell by 96 million from 189 million in 2014 to 93 million as of April 2024, representing a 51% reduction.
Following Mauritania’s success, there are now 20 countries in WHO’s African Region that are targeting trachoma elimination.
Note to editors
Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease. It is caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which spreads from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites and flies that have come into contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor hygiene, overcrowded households, and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is defined as: (i) a prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis “unknown to the health system” of <0.2% in adults aged ≥15 years (approximately 1 case per 1000 total population), and (ii) a prevalence of trachomatous inflammation – follicular in children aged 1–9 years of <5%, sustained for at least two years in the absence of ongoing antibiotic mass treatment, in each formerly endemic district; plus (iii) the existence of a system able to identify and manage incident trachomatous trichiasis cases, using defined strategies, with evidence of appropriate financial resources to implement those strategies.
To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, WHO recommends the SAFE strategy: a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, clear existing infections and deal with their effects.
The road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030 targets the prevention, control, elimination or eradication of 20 diseases and disease groups. Progress against trachoma and other neglected tropical diseases alleviates the human and economic burden that they impose on the world’s most disadvantaged communities.
A group of drug dealers involved in the supply of nearly half a ton of cocaine worth up to £17 million have been jailed for a combined 47 years.
The four, who brought in cocaine from the Netherlands to distribute throughout London, were caught in the act by Metropolitan Police Service officers.
Bert De Jong, 59, (03.09.1965), of the Netherlands, Hussain Sakhi, 22, (13.03.2003), of Laughton Road, Northolt and Zaibaa Zahur, 21, (04.06.2003), of Harlington Road, Uxbridge were sentenced on Monday, 19 May at Kingston Crown Court.
They were found guilty of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine, following a four-week trial at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 7 April.
Sakhi and Zahur were also found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
A fourth drug dealer, Justyn Morris, 23, (21.07.2001), of Upper Lees Road, Slough, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, 11 March to conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Detective Constable Leon Ure, of the Met’s Specialist Crime South team who led the investigation, said:
“This has been a complex and lengthy investigation to dismantle a group supplying drugs across London. It has been part of a wider, proactive drug operation led by the Specialist Crime South team.
“This investigation shows the breadth of work the specialist crime unit deals with and I’d like to thank every officer who was involved in the case.
“Drug dealing has a huge impact on Londoners. It fuels further crime and impacts the heart of our communities.
“Their sentences are fully deserved and I hope this acts as a deterrent to those thinking about bringing in illegal drugs to the country.”
The investigation found that millions of pounds of cocaine were distributed by lorries across London. Lorries would stop outside the capital, and the drugs would be collected and then be sent to ‘retail suppliers’ on a weekly basis.
On Tuesday, 16 July 2024, Marsham booked a holiday home near Norwich. Morris drove a van, which has been seen outside the home, to an industrial estate in Norwich, where Morris met De Jong in a lorry. De Jong gave Morris, three cardboard boxes.
Morris was then intercepted by Met officers who had seen the suspected handover.
The Met officers searched the van and the three boxes were found hidden behind black cladding containing a total of 70kg worth of cocaine – worth between £1.75million and £2.45million.
Sakhi and Zahur went to the holiday let later that day, to ‘view’ the property which raised suspicion, leading to the officers arriving and searching the pair.
A phone was found and showed messages between Sakhi and an unidentified contact, who Morris had also been in contact with.
All three were arrested by the Met that day.
They were charged on Thursday, 18 July 2024.
What followed was an extensive investigation, which proved the defendants had all been involved in the supply of millions of pounds worth of cocaine. Drug ledgers kept by the gang showed they moved nearly 500kg worth.
De Jong would bring the drugs into the country from the Netherlands and Morris would pick them up and pass them to Sakhi and Zahur, who would then distribute them.
On Wednesday, 23 July 2024 De Jong, when entering the country again, was arrested. He claimed he had no knowledge of what he was bringing into the country, but evidence suggested on his phone that he would send ‘tokens’ to his counterparts, implying the drugs had been delivered.
He was charged on the same day.
De Jong was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Zahur was sentenced to six years and 10 months’ imprisonment
Sakhi was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Morris was sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment.
CONCORD – A Dunbarton man was sentenced in federal court for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.
Scott Currier, age 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott to 144 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release. Currier was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $38,000. In May 2024, Currier pleaded guilty to one count of possession of CSAM.
“The defendant is a convicted sex offender who repeatedly exploited children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “Thanks to the vigilant efforts and critical leads from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, law enforcement was able to identify the defendant and swiftly investigate his conduct. This office will relentlessly pursue and hold predators accountable, and we will use every tool at our disposal to protect children from exploitation and revictimization.”
“Currier’s criminal history of aggravated felonious sexual assault makes his possession of hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material all the more troubling. Friday’s significant sentence takes a repeat sex offender off the streets and puts him into federal prison for over a decade while also offering restitution to identified victims of child sexual exploitation found in the materials he possessed,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations New England.
The defendant was identified through a CyberTip reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children based on internet activity that was traced to his residence. Based on that tip, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home that resulted in the seizure of a computer that was found to contain over 700 files of suspected CSAM. The defendant faced enhanced penalties in this matter due to a prior state conviction for aggravated felonious sexual assault.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Dunbarton Police Department and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Wallner, Associate Professor, School of Political Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Throughout the recent federal election campaign, political leaders outlined their vision for Canada’s future. Responding to a dramatically changing geopolitical climate, party platforms contained ambitious policy proposals about how to reposition the country for the challenges that lie ahead.
But the leaders were silent about how a new federal government would navigate the division of powers among various levels of government in order to bring their proposals to life.
Life would be easy if the problems we faced adhered to the 1867 Constitution Act. Most challenges, however, transcend the individual categories of jurisdiction. Collaboration among jurisdictions is therefore essential to meet the individual and collective needs of Canadians.
From apprenticeships to energy corridors, childcare to caregiving, most policy areas require sustained and substantive co-ordination to succeed. Often, like in case of housing and climate change, this must also include municipalities.
In addition, intergovernmental co-ordination must finally reflect a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples.
The Liberal Party’s Canada Strong platform refers eight times to nation-building projects. But it fails to acknowledge the need to transform intergovernmental relations for 21st century challenges.
Instead, the Constitution is seemingly perceived as a minor inconvenience, not as a key governance challenge: “We will work with the provinces and territories,” the policy says, seemingly hoping that somehow things will work out.
Federal leaders seem oblivious to the fact that Canada is one of the most decentralized federations worldwide. The provinces exercise fiscal and jurisdictional autonomy exceeding those of other countries. In the meantime, the decisions of individual provinces and territories have implications that stretch far beyond their own borders.
Natural resources fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and, increasingly, the territories. But their development profoundly affects economic and environmental policy.
If one province or territory unilaterally decimates the natural resources of their region, it’s not just that specific province or territory that bears the consequences. This is just one of many sectors in need of collective consideration so that all of Canada benefits.
There is a simple truth here: orders of government in Canada are not completely autonomous over their areas of jurisdiction. The federal government does not have the legitimate authority to compel provincial-territorial action; in the meantime, provinces and territories have little means to influence federal policy according to the needs and wants of their constituents.
Rather than tackling this institutional problem, the federal government often asserts itself as the leader
Alternatively, the federal government evokes an ad hoc “Team Canada” approach in response to imminent crises, like the re-negotiation of the former NAFTA agreement in 2017 and today’s threats and tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Neither option, however, addresses the deeper problem: intergovernmental relations in Canadian federalism are notoriously weak and lack the legitimacy and transparency to bring about effective collective action.
Canadian and international research shows that a robust institutional framework is critical for nurturing the key ingredient for effective and legitimate intergovernmental relations: Reciprocity.
Regular policy meetings among governments and senior level public servants, especially when backed by sufficient administrative and political support, promotes shared norms and understandings, enhancing the potential for long-term policy solutions.
Royal commission?
If this type of regular collaboration is entrenched, it would be more difficult to obstruct meaningful collective action that respects Canada’s political integrity.
As Mark Carney’s new government gets to work, Canadians must question not only the fiscal soundness of its proposals, but also their feasibility considering the deep divisions in Canadian federalism.
Without taking tangible steps to reimagine Canada’s outdated system of intergovernmental relations or developing a road map for institutional reform, the lasting policy changes that are needed to reposition Canada in an increasingly hostile environment are unlikely to materialize.
About 100 Canadian academics recently argued in an open letter, Canada needs to establish a royal commission for securing Canada’s future. As past experience has shown, this approach has great potential, but it must be developed in partnership among federal, provincial and territorial governments, including those of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
Jörg Broschek receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Jennifer Wallner 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 Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Speech
PM’s remarks at press conference with EU leaders : 19 May 2025
PM’s remarks at his press conference with EU leaders on the UK-EU deal.
Ladies and gentlemen – Britain is back on the world stage.
Working with our partners. Doing deals that will grow our economy and putting more money in the pockets of working people.
In the last two weeks alone, we’ve delivered trade deals with India and the US. That means: jobs saved, jobs created, more growth and a huge vote of confidence in this country.
It shows that – as global instability is rising, the decisions we have taken to stabilise the economy and lead the way internationally have made Britain a place where people want to do business once again.
And from that position of strength – today we have struck this landmark deal with the EU – a new partnership between an independent Britain and our allies in Europe.
This is the first UK-EU summit, that marks a new stage in our relationship. And this deal, is a win-win. It delivers what the British public voted for last year.
It gives us unprecedented access to the EU market – the best of any country outside the EU or EFTA.
All while sticking to our red lines in our manifesto about. Not rejoining the single market, no rejoining the customs union and no return to freedom of movement.
This deal is good for both sides – and let me set out why it is good for Britain. We’ve struck an SPS deal to make food and agriculture trade with the EU cheaper and easier.
Slashing red tape and bureaucracy. That will mean lower food prices at the checkout.
More choice on our supermarket shelves – and more money in people’s pockets.
It will boost British exporters because, once again after a long absence, we’ll be able to sell great British burgers, shellfish and other products into the EU.
We’ve also struck a new Defence and Security Partnership to strengthen our cooperation and strengthen our security – which is vital in this dangerous new era.
And it will open the door to working with the EU’s new defence fund – providing new opportunities for our defence industry, supporting British jobs and livelihoods.
We are also increasing our co-operation on emissions trading. Saving UK businesses from having to pay £800 million in EU carbon taxes. Once again: supporting British businesses, backing British jobs.
Next, we are increasing our cooperation on energy to drive down bills in the long term.
The agreement negotiated by the last government left us with more disconnected with our closest neighbours despite being physically connected to the European grid by our undersea cables.
Today’s deal will see us work to bring these systems together again – benefitting bill payers and boosting our renewables industry in the North Sea.
Today’s deal is also good for British steel, protecting our steel exports from new EU tariffs. Saving the industry £25 million each year. Another example of this government backing our steel sector to the hilt.
We’ve reached a deal today on fish, protecting our access, rights and fishing areas with no increase in the amount that EU vessels can catch in British waters.
Our fishing industry will also benefit from the new SPS agreement which slashes costs and red tape for our exports into the European market. And we already sell 70% of our seafood into that market so it’s really significant. It is also opening the gates to sending shellfish back into the EU.
And I can announce today that we’re investing £360 million into our fishing industry – to help them take advantage of this deal.
We have acted today to strengthen our borders. The previous deal left a huge gap in our ability to work together to tackle illegal migration.
So this deal closes that gap so that we can work across the migration routes to end the migration crisis and smash the criminal gangs.
We are boosting our cooperation on law enforcement. Combating terrorism and serious organised crime with better sharing of intelligence and data – including facial imaging, for the first time.
Today’s deal will also help British holidaymakers as we are confirming that they will able to use e-Gates when they travel to Europe – ending those huge queues at passport control.
And I call on all EU members states to help make this a reality without delay.
Finally – we have agreed today cooperate on a youth experience scheme to allow our young people to travel and work freely in Europe. And I’m clear – this will come with all the appropriate time-limits, caps and visa requirements.
So – it’s a long list – and it just shows how much we have achieved here today – real benefits for the British people.
Because, it’s time to look forward. It’s time to move on from the stale old debates and political fights to focus on delivering common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.
We’re ready to work with all our partners.
If it means we can improve people’s lives here at home.
And that’s what this deal is all about: facing out to the world once again in the great tradition of this nation. Building the relationships we choose, with the partners we choose and closing deals in the national interest.
BILLERICA, Mass., May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — E Ink (8069.TW), the originator, pioneer, and global commercial leader in ePaper technology, announced today its collaborative donation with MediaTek to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana as part of E Ink’s eRead for the Future program. E Ink and MediaTek are donating 58 Amazon Kindle Kids eReaders—each Kindle Kids device features an E Ink ePaper display for a comfortable, paper-like reading experience and is powered by MediaTek’s advanced chipset technology.
“The donation from E Ink and MediaTek will have a meaningful impact on the children,” said Brandon Smith, Clubs Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana. “Access to books and educational tools is crucial for our Club kids’ development, and these Kindle devices open up a world of opportunities for their learning.”
During the upcoming summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is running a Summer Reading program to combat reading skill loss during the summer. These Kindle Kids will be used to support this program.
A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that E Ink’s ePaper screens with a ComfortGaze front light are up to three times healthier for eyes than LCD screens. As distraction and blue light dominate modern devices, paper-like E Ink screens provide a healthier screen time option. Blue light from LED and fluorescent lighting, as well as monitors, tablets, and mobile devices, can negatively affect vision over the long term, according to the American Optometric Association. Unlike traditional LCD screens, ePaper screens are non-emissive, meaning they rely on ambient light for viewing. Devices like the Amazon Kindle can help families minimize the blue-light hazard and enable more focused reading and learning.
“This collaboration with E Ink and the Boys & Girls Clubs is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for technology with future generations,” said Jerry Yu, Corporate Senior Vice President at MediaTek. “These Kindles are valuable tools that ensure our youth have access to more important resources to empower deeper learning.”
“Our partnership with MediaTek and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is steeped in helping inspire a lifelong love of reading,” said Lynne Garone, Associate Vice President of Corporate Learning and Social Responsibility at E Ink Corporation. “Our ePaper technology is designed to make reading more enjoyable and accessible for kids everywhere.”
To expand on eRead for the Future program in 2025, this eReader donation reflects E Ink and MediaTek’s ongoing commitment to supporting communities and creating opportunities for children through technology and education. The devices come bundled with a 6-month subscription to Amazon Kids+, giving the young readers unlimited access to thousands of children’s books, with a part of the donation being reserved for a permanent book collection.
In 2024, E Ink engaged over 22 partners across the ePaper ecosystem to participate in the social good initiative, eRead for the Future, that focuses on delivering technology that elevates students’ reading abilities. Through last year’s collaboration, E Ink donated 1,024 color eReaders, benefiting over 15,000 students across 40 elementary schools. The total donation value was nearly USD 1 million and saved 777 metric tons of carbon from reading digital, nonprinted, books. For context, if 160 million eReaders worldwide download 50 eBooks each over a five-year period, this totals 8 billion eBooks. In comparison, if all these books were read in paper form, it would equate to nearly 60 million tons of CO2e.
About E Ink
E Ink Holdings Inc. (8069.TWO), based on technology from MIT’s Media Lab, provides an ideal display medium for applications spanning eReaders and eNotes, retail, home, hospital, transportation, logistics, and more, enabling customers to put displays in locations previously impossible. E Ink’s electrophoretic display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its low power displays enable customers to reach their sustainability goals, and E Ink has pledged using 100% renewable energy in 2030 and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. E Ink has been recognized for their efforts by receiving validation from Science-Based Targets (SBTi) and is listed in both the DJSI World and DJSI Emerging Indexes. Listed in Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world’s largest supplier of ePaper displays. For more information please visit www.eink.com. E Ink. We Make Surfaces Smart and Green.
Over 640 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the UK have shared their stories in a global effort to raise awareness about the realities of sexual violence against children, the challenges of disclosure and recovery, and its enduring impact on their lives.
Their voices are amplified through a powerful report published by the Finnish child-rights organisation Protect Children in collaboration with the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI), part of Anglia Ruskin University.
At IPPPRI25, the research institute’s annual conference dedicated to tackling online harms, Protect Children is publishing insights from 643 victims and survivors of childhood sexual violence perpetrated in the UK. The responses have been analysed by researchers from IPPPRI.
The groundbreaking report reveals unprecedented information about crimes of sexual violence against children in the UK, shedding light on the critical gaps in the local systems for preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation, and for supporting those affected.
The evidence was collected through an innovative Global Our Voice Survivor Survey that aims to hear and amplify the long-silenced voices and wisdom of those who endured sexual violence in childhood. Utilising a novel methodology, the survey has successfully reached out to over 23,000 victims and survivors worldwide.
“Today at IPPPRI25, we are presenting, together with Protect Children, important findings focused on how research can inform real-world practice in responding to child sexual abuse and exploitation globally. We must understand the systemic factors that enable sexual violence against children so that we can act.”
Despite the severe and long-lasting impacts of child sexual abuse and exploitation, more than half of victims and survivors in the UK reported not receiving any support.
“Much of the abuse described by the UK respondents happened decades ago and we know that the nature of child sexual abuse has changed, with so many young people now being victimised online. We must recognise the harm suffered by victims and survivors and ensure access to long-term support services.”
Lea Kamitz, Dawes Postdoctoral Research Fellow at IPPPRI, Anglia Ruskin University
The presenting researchers unveil a concerning lack of response to child sexual abuse in the UK. Despite severe and long-lasting emotional, physical, and psychological impacts, more than half of survivors have not received any support to cope with these. The results were compared between the Five Eyes countries*, revealing that survivors in the UK were the least likely to receive support.
Another distressing insight highlights that over a half of the surveyed victims and survivors were first subject to sexual violence when they were 3 to 9 years old. Furthermore, victims and survivors reported suffering multiple forms of sexual abuse during their childhood ranging from inappropriate touching while clothed to the most severe forms of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Nine out of 10 survivors said that the perpetrator was someone they knew from before, with almost half reporting the perpetrator lived in the same household.
“The voices of survivors are a resounding call to action.
“I have learned from my patients that disclosure and healing from child sexual abuse is an ongoing and often invisible struggle and for many, simply surviving is an act of immense strength – and that truth demands our support, our compassion, and sustained change.”
Executive Director of Protect Children, Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen, who has a lifetime of experience working as a psychotherapist with survivors of childhood sexual violence
The researchers emphasised that 21% of survivors have never disclosed the abuse. Childhood sexual violence is already a very hidden form of criminality and it is further complicated by the challenges of disclosure. The disclosure may take up years or even decades – the striking proportion of two in five victims and survivors in the UK shared that it took them more than 21 years.
The insights from survivors form a call to action, urging communities, policymakers, and societies worldwide to recognise their pain and resilience and to come together in the mission to end child sexual abuse and exploitation.
One survivor of childhood sexual violence in the UK, who took part in the Global Our Voice Survivor Survey, said: “I feel a bit sad for the child I was, but I am very glad to be able to give evidence of my experience to help inform others and build knowledge internationally about sexual abuse of children.”
“We cannot continue to fail victims and survivors seeking justice and support; we must ensure they receive the recognition, reparation, and support they deserve. We cannot undo the damage that has already been done, but we must ensure that no more children have to suffer further violence. All children should live a childhood free from any form of abuse.”
Eva Díaz Bethencourt, Specialist and Human Rights Lawyer at Protect Children
* The Global Our Voice Survivor Survey was developed by Protect Children, and the data analysis of the report “Our Voice Survivors in the UK: Experiences of Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation”, was conducted in collaboration with IPPPRI. The report analyses the data collected from 643 respondents who suffered childhood sexual abuse in the UK and 624 in other Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US). The Five Eyes alliance is an intelligence-sharing partnership among these nations, which also collaborates closely in law enforcement and child protection efforts.
A major decision on the future of the Island’s development strategy will be made at an Extraordinary Full Council meeting on Wednesday, 28 May.
At the heart of the meeting will be the future of the Island Planning Strategy (IPS) — a document that will shape development and land use across the Island for years to come.
Councillors will be asked to choose between two options: to continue with the current IPS and seek government approval, or to withdraw the plan and begin work on a new version from scratch.
The newly released report outlines the implications of both routes.
Should the council opt to proceed with the current IPS, it would need to make a number of changes requested by government-appointed Planning Inspectors would need to be made.
This path would see the Island’s annual housing target rise to 703 new homes. Alternatively, withdrawing the plan would mean starting afresh, using a higher baseline figure of 1,104 homes per year — a figure set by national policy.
The IPS doesn’t just deal with housing numbers. It also includes a wide range of policies covering vital local issues such as coastal erosion, flood risk, affordable housing, and design standards — all of which are of great importance to Island communities.
While the report recommends continuing with the current plan, the final decision rests with elected councillors at the Extraordinary Full Council meeting.
The IPS was originally submitted to government in October 2024, with public examination hearings held earlier this year. These hearings, led by Planning Inspectors, assessed whether the plan aligns with national planning policy.
This decision comes at a time of considerable uncertainty, with national planning rules in flux and wider discussions ongoing around local government devolution. The outcome of the 28 May meeting will need to be communicated to the Planning Inspectors by 9 June.
Further explanatory videos are expected to be made available shortly on the council’s official Facebook page.
RALEIGH, N.C., May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — insightsoftware, the most comprehensive provider of solutions for the Office of the CFO, today announced that its purpose-built data intelligence and analytics solution, Angles for SAP, can now be fully integrated with SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). This advancement enables supply chain and operations teams to seamlessly leverage Angles for SAP across the SAP BTP landscape. It simplifies data access, enriches reporting capabilities, and accelerates time-to-insight across SAP and non-SAP data sources.
According to Gartner Inc., 90% of organizations plan to adopt a hybrid cloud approach by 2027. For scalable, compliant deployments, clean and context-aware data is essential. The integration of Angles for SAP with SAP BTP makes this possible, allowing customers to simplify SAP reporting, create tailored solutions, and make mission-critical decisions. For even greater benefit, Angles for SAP customers can leverage AI Doc Assist, a capability from Lineos, AI powered by insightsoftware. AI Doc Assist boosts productivity with generative AI and proprietary documentation to deliver fast, precise, and actionable insights.
“Cloud ERP adoption is increasing, yet many organizations face challenges with timely and actionable operational reporting. Alongside global economic volatility, empowering decision-makers with faster insights and more efficient workflows has never been more critical,” said Axel Streichardt, VP, Product Management, ERP Reporting & BI at insightsoftware. “The integration of Angles for SAP with SAP BTP delivers advanced, modern analytics and reporting capabilities without the need to rebuild data models.”
With more than 25 years of SAP data expertise, Angles for SAP empowers customers to unlock more value from their SAP investments. It complements native tools with advanced analytics, prebuilt semantic models, and AI-driven insights – all now deployable and extensible through SAP BTP. Angles for SAP capabilities drive measurable impact across operational reporting, supply chain management, predictive modeling, and scenario planning. Customers have reported up to 50% efficiency gains, 16% reductions in stock levels, and 20% improvements in production efficiency.
Visit insightsoftware at upcoming SAP Sapphire events to learn more about how Angles for SAP turns critical SAP data into real-time, actionable insights:
About insightsoftware insightsoftware is a global provider of comprehensive solutions for the Office of the CFO. We believe an actionable business strategy begins and ends with accessible financial data. With solutions across financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, and operations, we transform how teams operate, empowering leaders to make timely and informed decisions. With data at the heart of everything we do, insightsoftware enables automated processes, delivers trusted insights, boosts predictability, and increases productivity. Learn more at insightsoftware.com.
Slavery is not a problem cast to the annals of history. Modern slavery and forced labour are hidden in plain sight, found everywhere from nail salons to pristine factories, impacting 50 million people worldwide. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s John Schultz explains more about this worsening problem and how it impacts economies and communities. He also explains how data technologies and artificial intelligence are being leveraged in new ways to draw insights from sources such as from shipping reports, photos, supply chain data and victim impact statements to tackle this issue in a way that’s never been possible before. He shares the collaborations in place that are broadening data pools and the simple question business leaders must ask to dig deeper into their own firms to make real change possible.
This interview was recorded in at the Annual Meeting in Davos Switzerland, January 2025.
What most people get wrong about progress: Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IJjZs4E7A&list=PL7m903CwFUgkDwzqiHQj0cjnZYJNJF8VQ&index=2&t=1s
Understanding the housing affordability crisis – and what’s needed to fix it: Habitat for Humanity CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crdJqhl8pGk&list=PL7m903CwFUgkDwzqiHQj0cjnZYJNJF8VQ&index=14
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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Competitive Romanian presidential run-off, but campaign marred by hostile rhetoric and inauthentic behaviour online, international observers say
Competitive Romanian presidential run-off, but campaign marred by hostile rhetoric and inauthentic behaviour online, international observers say | OSCE
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Home Newsroom News and press releases Competitive Romanian presidential run-off, but campaign marred by hostile rhetoric and inauthentic behaviour online, international observers say
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Poland’s presidential election was competitive but affected by deep polarization, international observers say
A voter casts his ballot during the first round of the presidential election in Poland. Warsaw, 18 May 2025 (OSCE/Katya Andrusz) Photo details
WARSAW, 19 May 2025 – The first round of Poland’s presidential election offered voters a genuine choice between political options, but it took place against a background of deep political polarization that also impacted some key state institutions involved in the electoral process, international observers said in a statement today.
The joint observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) found that the electoral legal framework is adequate to hold democratic elections. However, some aspects would benefit from further revision as many prior recommendations remain unaddressed. Concerns were raised about the independence of the judiciary, including the court chamber responsible for validating election results, potentially weakening public trust.
“The election campaign so far has demonstrated Poland’s strength as a dynamic democracy, but to strengthen it further the deep trenches of political polarization must be addressed through inclusive dialogue that bridges political and ideological divides,” said Dunja Mijatović, who headed the ODIHR observation mission. “At the same time, the inflammatory messaging by some candidates that targeted migrants, the LGBTI community, and ethnic and religious groups, including xenophobic and anti-Ukrainian overtones, raised serious concern.”
The authorities took largescale and proactive efforts to protect the election process from multiple attempts at foreign interference, disinformation, and cyberattacks, but the coordination between the institutions working in this area as well as public communication about the protective measures used require further strengthening. While attempted cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns surged in the run-up to the election, state institutions said they had identified and mitigated these threats.
“The first round of Poland’s presidential election was professionally managed, but deep political divisions, unresolved constitutional crises, weak safeguards against campaign abuses and foreign interference from Russia and others threaten the integrity of the process,” said Liliana Tanguy, Acting Head of the PACE Delegation. “As the country heads into the second round, it is a pivotal moment for all stakeholders to strengthen transparency and uphold democratic standards, and for all Polish citizens to make their voices heard in shaping the nation’s democratic future.”
The election administration managed the election efficiently at all levels, but its decision-making process was not always transparent. Election day itself was calm and the process was professional and well organized, but the secrecy of the vote was often not ensured.
The freedoms of expression, assembly and association were respected in a vibrant campaign. While the interaction between candidates was mostly respectful, at times the campaign tone turned personal and confrontational. Intolerant messaging targeting vulnerable communities was also observed, including online. In the absence of sufficient regulation, public officials at various levels and across the political spectrum frequently campaigned on behalf of candidates, and the line between official duties and campaign activities often appeared blurred. Women remain underrepresented in public and political life and their involvement as speakers at campaign events and in campaign leadership remained limited. Only two out of the 13 presidential candidates were women.
While there have been some recent improvements to media freedom, including a reduction in litigation against journalists, the media landscape remains highly polarized, limiting voters’ access to impartial information. ODIHR’s media monitoring found clear patterns of biased coverage across both public and private outlets. Overall, the limited access of voters to comprehensive information needed for making a fully informed choice highlighted the need for systematic media reforms.
The international election observation to the Polish presidential election totalled 67 observers from 30 countries, consisting of 34 ODIHR-deployed experts and long-term observers, and 33 parliamentarians and staff from PACE.
Media contacts:
Katya Andrusz, ODIHR: +48 609 522 266 or katya.andrusz@odihr.pl
Ivi-Triin Odrats, PACE: +33 607 067773 or Ivi-Triin.ODRATS@coe.int
INDIANAPOLIS, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Mark Cuban Foundation is proud to announce its bootcamp in partnership with Corteva. The program will bring back the highly acclaimed Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp to Indianapolis, Indiana, while expanding its reach for the first time to Des Moines, Iowa area high schools. This collaboration emphasizes the Foundation’s mission to reach students in underserved and previously unconnected regions, providing them with opportunities to engage with innovative technology.
Corteva’s global headquarters and crop protection business unit is located in Indianapolis, while its seed business is based in Johnston, Iowa, near Des Moines.
“We leverage AI tools throughout our innovation pipeline to deliver leading seed and crop protection products to farmers worldwide,” said Brian Lutz, vice president of agricultural solutions at Corteva. “We’re excited to collaborate with the Mark Cuban Foundation for the third consecutive year to help students gain experience with AI, and to understand the remarkable capabilities of this technology.”
The program aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and its applications to future careers. Students can select from six tracks: healthcare, arts and entertainment, business and entrepreneurship, computer science, sports science, or education and career readiness. Driven by the belief that fostering interest in AI at a young age is crucial for preparing the next generation for their future, the AI Bootcamps are introductory and accessible to students in 9-12 grade with an interest in technology. Students do not need any familiarity with computer science or programming to attend.
This free AI Bootcamp is hosted for underserved high school students with a transparent focus on underrepresented communities, first-generation college students, and those from low to moderate-income households. The AI Bootcamp Program provides students with lunch and a snack, transportation assistance, and technology equipment during bootcamp.
“As AI continues to become an undeniable force in all of our lives, it’s crucial that we open the door to this knowledge, especially to young people who want to explore it,” said Mark Cuban, founder. “While technology expands and becomes more advanced, it becomes more critical that we ensure our students are prepared when they apply for schools or jobs in the future. Thanks to our work with Corteva, the bootcamp will offer an avenue to explore this fascinating field of technology to any student, no matter their means.”
This year’s bootcamps, taking place on November 1st, 8th, and 15th is hosted and staffed by Corteva, a global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to deliver solutions for the world’s most pressing agriculture challenges.
Corteva hosted a camp last year and is one of more than 25 host companies selected to host camps across the U.S. in 2025.
This bootcamp is facilitated with support from Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp
Program’s media partner, Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals.
About Mark Cuban Foundation’s AI Bootcamp Initiative The Mark Cuban Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit led by entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban. The AI Bootcamps Program at MCF seeks to inspire young people with emerging technology so that they can create more equitable futures for themselves and their communities. Over 3 consecutive Saturdays underserved 9th -12th grade students learn what AI is and isn’t, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, the ethical implications of AI systems, and much more. Learn more about the no-cost AI Bootcamp program at markcubanai.org.
About Corteva Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver solutions for the world’s most pressing agriculture challenges. Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally diverse mix of seed, crop protection, and digital products and services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
As a Canadian citizen living and working in education in the United Kingdom, I was invited to attend by the High Commission of Canada in London.
The occasion provided a relaxing yet exciting opportunity to reflect on my involvement embedding sustainability into education related to innovation and intellectual property (IP) rights law.
Royal Gardens as oasis
King Charles has been a lifelong supporter of sustainability education, which is a new addition to the curricula. For me, the Royal garden and lake beautifully highlighted concerns with sustainability.
The King’s Royal garden at the Palace is an oasis in the city of London, alive with foliage and wildlife that guests may stroll around and explore. According to the event leaflet: “A survey of the Garden by the London Natural History Society revealed a wealth of flora and fauna, some quite rare species.”
‘The garden party at Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee,’ painting by Frederick Sargent, 1887. (Royal Collection (U.K.) 407255/Wikipedia)
Why intellectual property and sustainability?
Since 2004, I have been an innovation, intellectual property rights and business law educator. My research group contributed to a publication called The Guide to The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed to explore the connections between the United Nation’s 17 SDGs, sustainable development and IP.
Intellectual property is of concern because we need to envision and build a common future with innovation and creativity. How sustainability challenges are overcome depends on the commercialization of new green technology catalysts.
This “tubercle” technology, named for a rounded point of a bone, also has applications for hydroelectric turbines and for revolutionizing fan design. These blades, featuring tubercles (bumps) on the leading edge, reduce aerodynamic drag and improve performance. WhalePower also generates revenue by licensing its patented technology to other companies to use in wind turbines.
Patents encourage knowledge sharing
Patents encourage knowledge sharing, because the way the invention works must be disclosed, rather than kept secret.
For example, new tidal energy inventors can read Whalepower’s patents and be inspired to further advance the new technology with additional incremental innovations.
In this manner, IP often stimulates investment by providing the legal rights needed to justify longer-term investment in a changing landscape of innovation.
The significant role of IP rights in promoting sustainability gained a higher profile when the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) became an Official Nominator for the annual Earthshot Prizelaunched by Prince William’sRoyal Foundation in 2020.
CIPA provides crucial IP rights checks to finalists, ensuring that their innovations have no outstanding IP issues. This partnership is an example of how the Royal Family works together with CIPA to use the power of IP to help solve sustainability challenges.
As the King stated when he was Prince of Wales in 2017: “Mine is not a new commitment, but perhaps you will allow me to restate my determination to join you in continuing to do whatever I can, for as long as I can, to maintain not only the health and vitality of the ocean and all that depends upon it, but also the viability of that greatest and most unique of living organisms — nature herself.”
Janice Denoncourt is affiliated with the British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS)..
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Laura Eramian, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University
All participant names in this story are pseudonyms.
What does it mean to have few or no friends in a time when social connection is seen as key to a healthy and fulfilling life? This is the question at the centre of our recent research study on modern friendship in an Atlantic Canadian city.
Friendship is having a cultural moment. From journalists to physicians, a wide range of experts have pointed to friendship and social connection as being vital for people to live good and healthy lives and as a way to combat a growing “loneliness epidemic.”
But not everyone experiences friendship in the same way. Andrew, a student in his mid-20s who took part in our study, identified as having no friends. He told us:
“I do feel sad and lonely a lot. But I also feel kind of at peace, because I’m pretty introverted. I do want my alone time. So I kind of struggle going back and forth between liking not having friends and then also hating it. It’s just those two are always in conflict.”
Andrew’s experience reflects the broader tensions many people feel about modern friendship. While friendship is widely valued, western culture also prizes self-sufficiency and sees virtues in introversion.
These ideals can affirm a desire for solitude, but they don’t stop people from worrying about the negative effects of living friendless lives. These conflicting messages can leave people unsure of how to feel about living without friends.
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Exploring friendlessness in adulthood
In our study, we interviewed 21 men and women to understand experiences of friendlessness. Over half were in the “quarter life” phase, meaning they were in their 20s or 30s. They ranged from young professionals, to students, to minimum wage workers.
Some participants had rich family lives, professional lives or spousal relationships. Others were almost entirely socially isolated. Still, all participants saw lacking friends as something they struggled with, thought about or needed to justify to others.
Some participants had strong family ties, but still struggled with friendships. Young parents spend time with their daughter on Family Day in Vancouver in 2018. (Shutterstock)
Since we recruited “friendless” rather than “lonely” people for our study, we didn’t assume that people without friends were lonely. Instead, we aimed to understand how they experienced life without friends.
Why people struggle to make friends
Participants in our study reported a range of challenges to making friends, as well as insights into what it’s like not to have them.
Challenges included lacking regular encounters with others due to the structures of school or work or having quit social media and lost touch with friends. Some were disappointed by friendships in the past, or reported other priorities over making friends.
For example, Tim, a lawyer in his 30s, explained there are many “metrics” of a good life, and that he had no friends because he had chosen to put his time into his career and family.
Melissa, an administrative assistant in her 20s, felt she always ended up in “lopsided” friendships where she gave more than she received.
Andrew explained that he no longer had friends at university after moving out of residence, a problem compounded by the public health restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the pandemic didn’t necessarily cause new friendship challenges. Most of our participants said they already had no friends, so lockdown orders didn’t change anything.
Friendless but not always lonely
Our study revealed two key narratives people told about the relation of friendlessness to loneliness. On the one hand, they reported intense loneliness and said they suffered without friends. On the other hand, people said having no friends afforded opportunities for self-sufficiency and independence.
Crucially, there was no clear distinction between participants who claimed to be lonely or not lonely. Rather, participants often told conflicting stories of feeling lonely without friends or feeling good about being alone or self-reliant.
Participants reported a range of challenges to making friends, as well as insights into what it’s like not to have them. (Shutterstock)
Melissa, for example, talked about her profound loneliness, yet also spoke with pride about how she has learned to get herself out of any situation because she had no one to rely on.
Regardless of the degree of loneliness they reported, our quarter-life participants often felt shame or stigma for being friendless. Some of our participants imagined others thought there was something wrong with them.
If you have experienced these feelings, you aren’t alone. While people may blame themselves or feel shame, as social scientists, we believe the causes of friendlessness or loneliness are bigger than individuals and their choices.
Making friends isn’t just a personal challenge
To formulate solutions to social disconnection, it’s not enough to simply ask, “why don’t people just go and make friends?” While friendship often appears to be a matter of personal choice and mutual liking, like all social relationships, it can be enabled or constrained by the broader ways our societies are organized.
If there is a loneliness epidemic, it can’t be understood solely as a matter of individual choice or the pitfalls of social media or other technology. It also needs to be seen as a structural condition born of infrastructural and policy failures that require collective solutions to address.
A better question might be: is friendship accessible to people? Are there enough free, inclusive public spaces where people can gather to meet or make friends? How do the rigid, often unpredictable work schedules faced by many young adults make it difficult to cultivate friendships?
You may recognize these barriers in your own life and feel disconnected not because you aren’t trying, but because the conditions for connection are so often missing.
If our society values friendship as much as it claims in the quest to combat loneliness, then collectively we could be doing much more to create social spaces and policies that enable social connection.
Laura Eramian receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Peter Mallory receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The U.S. Housing Corporation built nearly 300 homes in Bremerton, Wash., during World War I.National Archives
In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in just two years.
These weren’t hastily erected barracks or rows of identical homes. They were thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, complete with parks, schools, shops and sewer systems.
Few Americans are aware that such an ambitious and comprehensive public housing effort ever took place. Many of the homes are still standing today.
But as an urban planning scholar, I believe that this brief historic moment – spearheaded by a shuttered agency called the United States Housing Corporation – offers a revealing lesson on what government-led planning can achieve during a time of national need.
Government mobilization
When the U.S. declared war against Germany in April 1917, federal authorities immediately realized that ship, vehicle and arms manufacturing would be at the heart of the war effort. To meet demand, there needed to be sufficient worker housing near shipyards, munitions plants and steel factories.
So on May 16, 1918, Congress authorized President Woodrow Wilson to provide housing and infrastructure for industrial workers vital to national defense. By July, it had appropriated US$100 million – approximately $2.3 billion today – for the effort, with Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson tasked with overseeing it via the U.S. Housing Corporation.
Over the course of two years, the agency designed and planned over 80 housing projects. Some developments were small, consisting of a few dozen dwellings. Others approached the size of entire new towns.
For example, Cradock, near Norfolk, Virginia, was planned on a 310-acre site, with more than 800 detached homes developed on just 100 of those acres. In Dayton, Ohio, the agency created a 107-acre community that included 175 detached homes and a mix of over 600 semidetached homes and row houses, along with schools, shops, a community center and a park.
Designing ideal communities
Notably, the Housing Corporation was not simply committed to offering shelter.
Its architects, planners and engineers aimed to create communities that were not only functional but also livable and beautiful. They drew heavily from Britain’s late-19th century Garden City movement, a planning philosophy that emphasized low-density housing, the integration of open spaces and a balance between built and natural environments.
Milton Hill, a neighborhood designed and developed by the United States Housing Corporation in Alton, Ill. National Archives
Importantly, instead of simply creating complexes of apartment units, akin to the public housing projects that most Americans associate with government-funded housing, the agency focused on the construction of single-family and small multifamily residential buildings that workers and their families could eventually own.
This approach reflected a belief by the policymakers that property ownership could strengthen community responsibility and social stability. During the war, the federal government rented these homes to workers at regulated rates designed to be fair, while covering maintenance costs. After the war, the government began selling the homes – often to the tenants living in them – through affordable installment plans that provided a practical path to ownership.
A single-family home in Davenport, Iowa, built by the U.S. Housing Corporation. National Archives
Though the scope of the Housing Corporation’s work was national, each planned community took into account regional growth and local architectural styles. Engineers often built streets that adapted to the natural landscape. They spaced houses apart to maximize light, air and privacy, with landscaped yards. No resident lived far from greenery.
In Quincy, Massachusetts, for example, the agency built a 22-acre neighborhood with 236 homes designed mostly in a Colonial Revival style to serve the nearby Fore River Shipyard. The development was laid out to maximize views, green space and access to the waterfront, while maintaining density through compact street and lot design.
At Mare Island, California, developers located the housing site on a steep hillside near a naval base. Rather than flatten the land, designers worked with the slope, creating winding roads and terraced lots that preserved views and minimized erosion. The result was a 52-acre community with over 200 homes, many of which were designed in the Craftsman style. There was also a school, stores, parks and community centers.
Infrastructure and innovation
Alongside housing construction, the Housing Corporation invested in critical infrastructure. Engineers installed over 649,000 feet of modern sewer and water systems, ensuring that these new communities set a high standard for sanitation and public health.
Attention to detail extended inside the homes. Architects experimented with efficient interior layouts and space-saving furnishings, including foldaway beds and built-in kitchenettes. Some of these innovations came from private companies that saw the program as a platform to demonstrate new housing technologies.
To manage the large scale of this effort, the agency developed and published a set of planning and design standards − the first of their kind in the United States. These manuals covered everything from block configurations and road widths to lighting fixtures and tree-planting guidelines.
A single-family home in Bremerton, Wash., built by the U.S. Housing Corporation. National Archives
The standards emphasized functionality, aesthetics and long-term livability.
Architects and planners who worked for the Housing Corporation carried these ideas into private practice, academia and housing initiatives. Many of the planning norms still used today, such as street hierarchies, lot setbacks and mixed-use zoning, were first tested in these wartime communities.
And many of the planners involved in experimental New Deal community projects, such as Greenbelt, Maryland, had worked for or alongside Housing Corporation designers and planners. Their influence is apparent in the layout and design of these communities.
A brief but lasting legacy
With the end of World War I, the political support for federal housing initiatives quickly waned. The Housing Corporation was dissolved by Congress, and many planned projects were never completed. Others were incorporated into existing towns and cities.
Yet, many of the neighborhoods built during this period still exist today, integrated in the fabric of the country’s cities and suburbs. Residents in places such as Aberdeen, Maryland; Bremerton, Washington; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Watertown, New York; and New Orleans may not even realize that many of the homes in their communities originated from a bold federal housing experiment.
These homes on Lawn Avenue in Quincy, Mass., in 2019 were built by the U.S. Housing Corporation. Google Street View
The Housing Corporation’s efforts, though brief, showed that large-scale public housing could be thoughtfully designed, community oriented and quickly executed. For a short time, in response to extraordinary circumstances, the U.S. government succeeded in building more than just houses. It constructed entire communities, demonstrating that government has a major role and can lead in finding appropriate, innovative solutions to complex challenges.
At a moment when the U.S. once again faces a housing crisis, the legacy of the U.S. Housing Corporation serves as a reminder that bold public action can meet urgent needs.
Eran Ben-Joseph 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: The Conversation – USA – By Andrew Muhammad, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee
The country of origin – Mexico – is noted on the label of a package of Campari tomatoes for sale in the produce section of a Safeway grocery store on March 4, 2025, in Denver.AP Photo/David Zalubowski
As economists who study global trade issues affecting agricultural commodities and processed food products, we have assessed the benefits of imported tomatoes and other products on consumers and businesses. Fresh tomato imports ensure year-round availability for consumers, contribute significantly to the U.S. economy by generating billions in sales and supporting thousands of jobs, and promote competitive pricing that benefits both consumers and businesses.
New import restrictions could put all that at risk because domestic production cannot satisfy national demand. For tomatoes, like steel and other products, efforts to reverse trade imbalances can decrease consumer satisfaction and potentially destroy more jobs and economic activity than they create.
Initiating a dumping investigation
This tussle over tomatoes began in the 1990s.
At that time, unprecedented growth in tomato imports from Mexico prompted U.S. producers to ask the Clinton administration to investigate whether they were being sold at unfairly low prices. If that were the case, it would violate both World Trade Organization rules and U.S. trade policy.
The U.S. responded with an antidumping investigation, conducted by the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission. The agencies were tasked with seeing if imports are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair market value – the definition of dumping.
Dumping can harm domestic producers by depressing local prices to compete with imports, causing financial distress. An antidumping duty is essentially a tariff.
The Commerce Department ruled against Mexican producers, finding that they had engaged in dumping, but reached an agreement with them. Mexican tomato exporters agreed to set minimum prices, leading the U.S. to call off its investigation. The U.S. and Mexico have subsequently entered into a string of suspension agreements over the years.
It is not obvious at this stage if American importers and consumers will bear the full burden of this tariff, or if Mexican tomato exporters will absorb this cost.
This move is supposed to benefit fresh tomato producers in the U.S. – most of which are in Florida, with a significantly smaller number located in California. The tariffs could, however, hurt produce distributors, wholesalers and retailers, as well as American consumers.
People in the U.S. have become accustomed to buying fresh tomatoes to toss into their salads and stuff into their sandwiches year-round, even though in most of the country you can only harvest field-grown tomatoes in the warmest months of the year.
Focusing only on fresh tomatoes
This dispute doesn’t involve all the tomatoes and tomato products Americans eat.
U.S. tomato production is split into two main categories. Fresh tomatoes are usually purchased in a supermarket’s fresh produce section, to be consumed whole, chopped or sliced. This dispute is about those tomatoes.
The other kind is processing tomatoes, which companies use for making tomato paste, canned or stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. California leads the nation in processing tomato production. Unlike fresh tomatoes, where the U.S. imports far more than it produces or exports, the U.S. is actually running a trade surplus in processed tomato products.
When the North American Free Trade Agreement was implemented in January 1994, U.S. fresh tomato production was more than four times the quantity of imported fresh tomatoes: 3.7 billion pounds (1.7 million metric tons) produced versus only 870 million pounds (400,000 metric tons) imported.
Domestic production has steadily declined since then, while imports have increased. Imported fresh tomatoes are now twice as plentiful: 2.2 billion pounds (1 million metric tons) were grown in the U.S. in 2023, compared with 4.4 billion pounds (2 million metric tons)“ imported .
In 2024, fresh tomato imports totaled US$3.6 billion, with $3.1 billion coming from Mexico. This was a 367% increase since NAFTA took effect, adjusted for inflation.
Given that costs of production are lower in Mexico for many products, especially in the fresh produce sector where labor costs are less than half U.S. levels, you might figure that this arrangement has kept prices for fresh tomatoes in the U.S. low. But there’s little evidence to support that. Instead, the opposite seems true.
In 1995, the price that U.S. importers paid of Mexican tomatoes was 31 cents per pound. Since then, import prices have steadily increased to 74 cents per pound in 2024. They have often exceeded prices paid to American farmers and kept pace with the overall rise in food prices the past three decades.
While restricting imported Mexican tomatoes might benefit U.S. tomato producers by making it easier for them to raise their prices, there are other factors to consider. Imports play a crucial role in boosting economic activity and creating jobs. According to a recent study, these imports generated a total economic impact of more than $8 billion.
The extra $5 billion comes from all the value-added activities associated with getting that produce from the border to consumers. That total economic impact supports approximately 47,000 U.S. jobs tied to tomato storage, distribution, wholesaling and retailing.
We would expect antidumping duties on imported fresh tomatoes to increase prices, and reduce the amount of fresh tomatoes Americans can buy. That would also shrink some of the economic impact and eliminate some of the jobs spurred by the imported tomato boom.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5 million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and ultimately compromise U.S. interests. These interests included securing access to Nigeria’s substantial oil reserves, maintaining regional military stability and protecting trade partnerships worth billions.
While living in Nigeria for my work as a medical anthropologist, I witnessed PEPFAR’s rollout and saw firsthand how the powerful therapies it provided transformed Nigerian lives. The women I worked with told me they could finally put aside the fears of death or abandonment that had consumed their days. Instead, they could focus on a newly expanded horizon of possibilities: building careers, finding love, having healthy children.
Now, however, a serious threat to preventing and treating HIV worldwide looms. The Trump administration’s decision to substantially restrict access to a vital HIV prevention tool – PEPFAR-funded preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – would cut off ongoing treatment for millions of people and block future access for countless others who need this protection.
The Trump administration aims to cut HIV prevention funding.
The timing is devastating: Scientists recently made a major advance in HIV prevention. Named the 2024 Breakthrough of the Year by the journal Science, the drug lenacapavir offers six months of HIV protection with one injection. Unlike previous PrEP options that required daily pills, which created significant barriers to consistent access and adherence, this twice-yearly injection dramatically simplifies prevention.
By undermining access to a treatment that has been essential to reducing HIV rates, the Trump administration’s new restrictions threaten to derail two decades of bipartisan investment in eliminating HIV globally. The consequences extend well beyond individual lives.
Afterlife of aid
“Some people that have it, they choose to be wicked and just spread it all around,” confided Elizabeth, a woman I interviewed during my time in Nigeria. I am using a pseudonym to protect her privacy. “They say, ‘Somebody gave it to me, so I am going to spread it too.’ But if they know that they can live positively with the virus, it would reduce their evil thoughts.”
Elizabeth’s words reveal a concerning dynamic: When hope for treatment disappears, a dangerous desperation can take its place. Patients who feel abandoned by health care systems might lose motivation to protect others from HIV. They may also stop seeking medical care, abandon prevention measures and turn away from future aid.
Cultural anthropologists use the phrase “the afterlife of aid” to describe what happens after global aid programs are withdrawn or drastically reduced. Communities are left not just without resources but with a lasting sense of betrayal that undermines their willingness to seek help, creating cycles of skepticism that can persist for generations.
Treatment as hope
In my fieldwork, I’ve witnessed how managing life with the virus involves far more than taking medications. It requires carefully navigating personal relationships, family obligations, cultural expectations and hopes for the future.
Many of the women I worked with had contracted HIV from their husbands or boyfriends. Some even suspected their partners’ positive status but were unable to protect themselves. Before these medications, women – both HIV positive and HIV negative – had to choose between risking rejection or risking transmission.
The welfare of entire families depends on access to HIV medication. Here, a woman who is the sole provider of several children takes antiretroviral treatment. Saurabh Das/AP Photo
Elizabeth and David’s story illustrates these challenges. They had been together for more than a year when David proposed. “When I sensed he was serious about marriage, I knew I had to tell him my status,” Elizabeth told me during one of our many conversations. Though initially shocked, he remained committed to their relationship.
Elizabeth had maintained a decade of careful adherence to her HIV treatment, but the couple still struggled with consistent condom use. David described using condoms as akin to “eating candy with the wrapper still on it.” He also was eager to have a baby. While PrEP had greatly reduced transmission risk, it placed the full burden of protecting her husband on Elizabeth.
The path Elizabeth navigated highlights how Nigerian cultural expectations complicated their situation. When proving one’s fertility is often considered essential to establishing gender identity, the pressure to have sex without protection created additional tension. Moreover, Elizabeth’s need to balance her own health needs with her husband’s desires reflected the delicate negotiation many Nigerian women face between personal well-being and marriage.
As Elizabeth prepared for the birth of their child, she expressed both joy and anxiety: “I have to stay healthy for both of them now.”
Politicizing global health
Previous interruptions in aid foreshadow what’s at stake when shifts in U.S. political priorities compromise global health funding.
Consider the global spike in maternal and child mortality when President Ronald Reagan instituted the Mexico City Policy, often referred to as the “global gag rule.” It blocked U.S. funding to all international nongovernmental organizations that provided or even referred abortion services.
This policy has been repeatedly implemented by Republican administrations – including those of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump during his first term – and subsequently rescinded by Democratic presidents, creating a disruptive cycle of funding uncertainty. Among these affected organizations are recipients of PEPFAR funds.
The human cost of this policy pendulum is measurable and significant. Researchers have found that when this law is enacted, nations across the globe suffer increased death rates for newborns and mothers as well as jumps in HIV cases. In countries heavily dependent on U.S. aid, the Mexico City Policy has resulted in approximately 80 additional child deaths and nine additional maternal deaths per 100,000 live births annually and about one additional HIV infection per 10,000 uninfected people.
My research in Nigeria also reveals the fragile progress that now hangs in the balance. Before treatments arrived, HIV ravaged Nigerian communities. In 2001, nearly 6% of the population had HIV, totaling around 3.5 million people. The Hausa language reflected this trauma: Terms for AIDS also meant “lifeless body” and “nearby grave.”
Following the rollout of HIV treatments, Nigeria’s cases dropped dramatically – by 2010, prevalence had fallen to 4.1%. Declines continued steadily as treatment access expanded from 360,000 people in 2010 to over 1 million by 2018. This progress was heavily dependent on international support, with PEPFAR and other global donors providing over 80% of the US$6.2 billion spent fighting HIV in Nigeria between 2005 to 2018.
What’s at stake isn’t just increasing HIV rates. The Trump administration’s reductions in foreign aid threaten to unravel over two decades of U.S. investment in global security and economic growth.
Public health crises rarely stay contained within national boundaries. When health systems fail in West Africa, diseases can quickly spread overseas and require costly emergency responses. The 2014 Ebola outbreak demonstrated this reality, when cases reached America and prompted a $5.4 billion emergency response. Similarly, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, which infected around 60 million Americans, showed how quickly infectious diseases circle the globe when surveillance and containment systems are inadequate.
Inconsistent aid, in turn, undermines American global leadership and creates openings for competing powers to establish their influence. China has actively exploited these gaps, establishing bilateral trade with Africa reaching $295 billion in 2024. While the U.S. reduced its global health engagement during previous administrations, China expanded its global health diplomacy, partnering on issues ranging from infectious disease prevention and control to health emergency response and health technology innovation.
Meanwhile, restrictions in PrEP access risk recreating the same impossible choices women faced at the advent of the epidemic: choosing between disclosing their status and risking abandonment; accepting unprotected sex and risking transmission, or refusing unprotected sex and risking violence or loss of economic support.
I believe the result is a far less safe world where preventable suffering continues, hard-won progress unravels and the promise of an AIDS-free generation remains unfulfilled.
Kathryn Rhine has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the West African Research Association, the American Council of Learned Societies, Fulbright programs, the National Science Foundation, and the National Security Education Program. These views are her own and not those of her institution.
Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky
A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in our solar system. This happened about 4½ billion years ago.
Then the planets began to emerge, as the billions of particles of gas and dust left over from the Sun’s formation became a flattened disk.
Known as a protoplanetary disk, it was enormous and surrounded the Sun for billions of miles. Within the disk, the gas and dust particles started to collide, solidify and stick together, like snowflakes clumping together to form snowballs.
As the particles clung together, the microscopic grains became pebble-size objects and then grew and grew. Some became rocks the size of baseballs, others the size of a house, and a few as big as a planet.
This process, called accretion, is how everything in the solar system – planets, moons, comets and asteroids – came into being.
When the Sun was still forming and the protoplanetary disk was making planets, there was a distance from the Sun where it was cold enough for ice to gather. That place, the ice line – sometimes called the snow line – was in what’s now the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter.
Today, of course, ice is found on almost every planet, even on Mercury. But back then, only the young protoplanets beyond the ice line were cold enough to have it. The ice, gas and dust, slamming into each other for millions of years, accumulated into enormous bodies that ultimately became giant planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
While all this was happening, the smaller planets inside the ice line were forming too. But with less raw material to work with, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars took much longer.
Today, it’s believed that Jupiter and Saturn, the largest planets, were the first to fully form, both within a few million years. Uranus and Neptune were next, within 10 million years. The inner planets, including Earth, took at least 100 million years, maybe more.
To put it another way, the four planets closest to the Sun are the youngest; the two planets farthest out, the next youngest; and the two in between, the oldest. The difference in age between the youngest and oldest planets is perhaps 90 million years.
That sounds like an enormous age difference, but in space, 90 million years isn’t really that long – less than 1% of the total time the universe has been around. One way to consider it: Think of Earth as a little sister with a big brother, Jupiter, who’s 2 or 3 years older.
Soon after formation the giant worlds began to migrate, moving inward toward the Sun or outward away from the Sun, before finally settling into their final orbits.
For instance, Neptune migrated outward, switching places with Uranus, and pushed a lot of the small, icy bodies into the Kuiper Belt, a place in the outer solar system that’s home to dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and Makemake and millions of comets.
Meanwhile, Jupiter moved inward, and its massive gravity forced some forming planets into the Sun, where they disintegrated. Along the way, Jupiter flung some smaller rocks out of the solar system altogether; the rest went to the asteroid belt.
But most critically, as Jupiter settled into its own orbit, it moved all of the forming objects and likely finalized the location of the remaining inner planets, including Earth.
All of Jupiter’s tugging helped put our planet in the so-called “Goldilocks zone,” a place just the right distance from the Sun, where Earth could have liquid water on its surface and the right temperature for life to evolve. If Jupiter hadn’t formed the way it did, it’s entirely possible life would not have ignited on Earth – and we would not be here today.
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And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
Lucas Brefka receives funding from a NASA Exoplanet Research Program grant.
Christopher Palma 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.
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that additional South Carolina State Grand Jury indictments were unsealed today in the narcotics trafficking investigation known as “Devil in Disguise.” To date, ten indictments have been issued in five counties against 108 defendants on over 380 narcotics and related charges. This investigation has primarily focused on fentanyl trafficking and associated overdoses.
“These new State Grand Jury indictments are the result of the hard work of law enforcement, prosecutors, and staff from many jurisdictions,” Attorney General Wilson said. “We will continue to aggressively fight drug traffickers with every resource we have. Soon, we’ll also have a new tool to charge fentanyl traffickers if their drugs kill someone, thanks to the fentanyl-induced homicide bill just passed by the legislature, which we’ve been working to get for three years,” he added.
According to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, Greenville County had 278 drug-related overdose deaths in 2022, most of which were related to fentanyl trafficking. In response to the growing number of overdose deaths, the Greenville County Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) began an investigation to fight this problem. The DEU then coordinated with resources from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Department of Homeland Security. A South Carolina State Grand Jury investigation marshalling these and other combined resources has been proceeding since August 2023, resulting in the indictments unsealed from January 2024 through today. Under the South Carolina State Grand Jury, law enforcement and prosecutors have used traditional and advanced law enforcement techniques to move the investigations forward.
Mexican cartel organizations provide multiple major sources of supply for cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Cartels would have members of their organization already within the United States fly to different locations to distribute shipments of cocaine, ultimately resulting in hundreds of kilograms being trafficked into South Carolina. Mexican cartels would coordinate with members of their organization who are in prison in the United States to have large loads of fentanyl smuggled into the US, then have other members of the organization transport the drugs to South Carolina. Fentanyl is being used to adulterate heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other illegal drugs.
To date, the Devil in Disguise investigation, through controlled purchases and seizures, has recovered over 44 kilograms of cocaine, 4 kilograms of fentanyl, and 10 kilograms of methamphetamine, among other drugs. The investigation has also seized over $1,000,000 cash in alleged narcotics proceeds, as well as multiple firearms, including assault rifles. The investigation has revealed that members of the various conspiracies have historically moved more than 540 kilograms of fentanyl since January of 2020, along with historical trafficking of approximately 850 kilograms of cocaine and 500 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Previously in this investigation, the State Grand Jury has indicted alleged fentanyl dealers for murder, accessory before the fact to murder, and conspiracy to commit murder for their alleged role in distributing fentanyl to victims who died from resulting overdoses. Other charges brought to date as a result of this investigation include trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in methamphetamine, trafficking heroin, trafficking cocaine, money laundering, and illegal possession of a weapon, as well as possession, possession with intent to distribute, and distribution charges for the various narcotics involved. Both Attorney General Wilson and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters thanked all the agencies for their dedicated efforts in the Devil in Disguise investigation.
Bond hearings for some of the newer defendants will occur on Monday, May 19, 2025, before the Honorable Heath P. Taylor at the Richland County Courthouse.
The case was investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, which was assisted in this case by a partnership of the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Division, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins’ Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, South Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville County Coroner’s Office, Pickens County Coroner’s Office, Easley Police Department, Pickens Police Department, Greenville Police Department, Travelers Rest Police Department, Greer Police Department, Mauldin Police Department, and the Fountain Inn Police Department.
The cases will be prosecuted by State Grand Jury Section Chief Attorney S. Creighton Waters, as well as Assistant Attorney General Jennifer McKellar, Assistant Attorney General Jason Anders, and Assistant Attorney General Walt Whitmire.
Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
COVENTRY, England and PITTSBURGH , May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TrueCommerce announced today that its EDI solution has achieved SAP® certification as integrated with RISE with SAP S/4HANA® Cloud. The integration supports versions 2023 and newer of the S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, and complements TrueCommerce’s existing SAP-certified EDI integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.
“Coming on the heels of our EDI integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public, this latest certification for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private extends our EDI integration offering for companies on the path to digital transformation with S/4HANA Cloud,” said Ryan Tierney, SVP of Product at TrueCommerce, a global provider of supply chain and trading partner connectivity, integration and omnichannel solutions. “As we continue to expand our portfolio, we remain focused on the future—providing our customers with cutting-edge options and the flexibility to choose the integration approach that best aligns with their unique business needs and positions them for long-term growth.”
Enhanced Efficiency and Compliance: The integration helps streamline operations by automating the exchange of critical business documents, reducing manual processes, and decreasing the potential for errors.
Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) Support: Compliance with trading partners’ requirements is crucial, and the TrueCommerce solution supports various ASN types, enabling robust compliance.
Multi-threading Capabilities: This feature enables the simultaneous exchange of multiple large transactions—resulting in fewer delays and faster processing.
Integrated Documents: The integration includes comprehensive support for order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, and warehousing workflows—simplifying supply chain processes.
Drop Shipping and eCommerce: TrueCommerce supports drop ship orders and integrates with multiple sales channels, empowering businesses to quickly respond to market demands.
The SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) has certified that TrueCommerce’s EDI Integration for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (version number 8.12.2.110) integrates with RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud using standard integration technologies.
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Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nicolas Forsans, Professor of Management and Co-director of the Centre for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, University of Essex
Latin America is undergoing one of its most profound human rights crises in decades. The region’s civic space is shrinking rapidly, from mass surveillance and arbitrary arrests to political repression, enforced disappearances and impunity for state violence.
The 2025 State of the World’s Human Rights report, released by Amnesty International, lays bare the magnitude of the challenge. Seven countries – Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba and El Salvador – are at the epicentre of this authoritarian surge.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January has only deepened the problem. In a separate report published in the same week, Amnesty argues that Trump’s nationalist rhetoric and policy reversals have emboldened strongman leaders. These have undercut international accountability and accelerated rights violations across the hemisphere.
Here are the countries where the assault on human rights is being felt most acutely.
Nowhere has the collapse in human rights been more visible than in Haiti. By the end of 2024, more than 700,000 people – half of them children – had been internally displaced due to spiralling gang violence and state failure.
Criminal organisations routinely engaged in killings, sexual violence and attacks on hospitals and schools. A December 2024 massacre in Cité Soleil, a densely populated part of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, saw at least 207 people executed by the Wharf Jérémie gang.
The justice system has all but ceased to function. Meanwhile, deportations of Haitians from the US and neighbouring Dominican Republic has surged.
According to Amnesty, nearly 200,000 people were returned without due process in 2024 alone. Trump’s crackdown on migration, framed as necessary for border security, has accelerated these mass removals.
2. Nicaragua
Nicaragua’s president, Daniel Ortega, has refined authoritarianism into an efficient machine of repression. More than 5,000 civil society groups, private universities and media outlets have been closed since 2018. This included 1,500 from January to September 2024 alone.
Over 400 critics have been stripped of nationality since 2023 and dozens of journalists have been forcibly disappeared or jailed. The legal status of hundreds of evangelical groups has also been revoked.
In 2024, the government criminalised dissent to the point where entire sectors of civil society have vanished. Indigenous communities, meanwhile, faced displacement and armed attacks from pro-government militias, with little international response.
3. Venezuela
Venezuela remains mired in repression. A presidential election in July 2024, which was stolen by Nicolás Maduro, was followed by the arbitrary detention and torture of protesters – including children. Independent journalists were arrested and NGOs threatened with closure.
Many Venezuelans subsequently fled the country. Persecutions and despair at the election results saw 20,000 people migrate northwards through the jungle of the Darién Gap in September 2024 alone, a 70% increase on the previous month.
In reality, the numbers are probably much higher. A poll following the election indicated that 43% of those remaining in the country were considering emigrating, but official data has not been made available. More than 7.8 million citizens have left Venezuela over the past ten years, with around 28 million people still residing there.
In June 2023, the International Criminal Court resumed its investigation into the Maduro regime for alleged crimes against humanity. But Venezuela’s government continues to obstruct justice. With Trump’s administration disinterested in multilateral mechanisms, efforts to restore democracy face steeper odds.
4. Mexico
Mexico’s public security has become dangerously militarised. A constitutional amendment in September 2024, a few days before the end of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration, placed the National Guard under military control. This has enabled widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings. Nine human rights defenders and four journalists were killed in 2024 alone.
López Obrador’s administration undermined press freedom at home. It also failed to protect those seeking asylum. And with Trump back in office, deportations from the US to Mexico have increased. Returnees are often placed at risk of cartel violence and exploitation.
5. Colombia
Colombia suffered Latin America’s longest running insurgency, lasting over 50 years. Despite the country’s robust institutional frameworks, peace remains elusive. In 2024, over 195,000 people were forcibly confined by armed groups, and landmines continue to endanger more than 600,000 civilians.
Child recruitment, sexual violence and targeted killings of former combatants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebel group have surged. Meanwhile, progress on implementing the 2016 peace accord remains slow.
Investigations into military-perpetrated extrajudicial killings are ongoing, but face budgetary constraints and political pushback. Trump’s withdrawal of US support for transitional justice mechanisms has further weakened international backing for Colombia’s fragile reconciliation efforts.
The Cuban authorities are continuing to suppress dissent through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and censorship. Over 100 people were arrested for protesting in 2024, with many forced into self-incriminating video confessions. Independent media and activists were subject to constant surveillance and harassment.
Amid economic collapse, more than 18% of the population has fled the island in two years. These mass migrations often result in perilous journeys and widespread family separations. The economic crisis has been exacerbated by US sanctions reimposed and intensified under Trump.
7. El Salvador
President Nayib Bukele’s model of mass incarceration continues to attract global attention. Nearly 84,000 people have been arrested since 2022 under a state of emergency that suspends basic rights and legal guarantees.
Surveillance, arbitrary detentions and public humiliation of detainees have become routine. Trump’s vocal admiration of Bukele’s “tough on crime” stance has lent international legitimacy to this dangerous approach.
Trump’s return to the White House has intensified human rights setbacks across Latin America. His withdrawal from human rights and climate agreements has emboldened authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent and accelerate policies to exploit resources without fear of US pressure or accountability.
Latin American migrants in the US have also faced a resurgence of mass deportations. Rhetoric portraying migrants as criminals has fuelled xenophobia and enabled sweeping immigration raids and policy rollbacks. Sanctuary cities like Chicago have been targeted and legal protections for undocumented residents eroded.
Latin America’s current trajectory suggests a drift not just toward repression, but a normalisation of state violence. While local resistance remains strong, particularly among grassroots activists and civil society, international solidarity has been weakened by geopolitical shifts.
The region risks cementing a new era of authoritarian resilience – one in which the defence of human rights is not just dangerous but futile.
Nicolas Forsans 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.
