This image of the Helix Nebula, released on March 4, 2025, shows a potentially destructive white dwarf at the nebula’s center: this star may have destroyed a planet. This has never been seen before – and could explain a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers have detected from the nebula for over 40 years. This view combines X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (magenta), optical light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (orange, light blue), infrared data from the European Southern Observatory VISTA telescope (gold, dark blue), and ultraviolet data from GALEX (purple) of the Helix Nebula. Data from Chandra indicates that this white dwarf has destroyed a very closely orbiting planet. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ Mexico/S. Estrada-Dorado et al.; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI (M. Meixner)/NRAO (T.A. Rector); Infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
ALBUQUERQUE – A Thoreau man was sentenced to five years of supervised probation for the accidental shooting of his friend during a drunken altercation in 2022.
According to court documents, on August 20, 2022, Gerrick Mariano, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, and John Doe were drinking and shooting Mariano’s recently purchased AR-15 at Doe’s home, located on the Navajo Nation. Mariano pointed his new rifle at one of Doe’s pets, which upset Doe, who demanded Mariano leave his home. This angered Mariano, who then pointed his rifle at Doe’s chest, intending to frighten Doe. Doe quickly pushed the barrel away, which resulted in Mariano inadvertently pulling the trigger once. The bullet struck John Doe in his upper-right shoulder.
Post-crime photo of the weapon on Doe’s bed.
Doe required an airlift to a hospital. Mariano initially said the shooting was accidental and alleged Doe had been attempting suicide. Interviewed later, Mariano admitted responsibility and apologized to Doe. Doe continues to experience pain and restricted movement because of the gunshot injury.
Mariano will be subject to five years of supervised probation. During this period, he cannot consume alcohol or drugs, he must maintain gainful employment or enroll in school, and he must not break any additional laws—federal, state, or tribal. Should he do so, Mariano will face the revocation of probation, which could result in a prison sentence. As a convicted felon, Mariano cannot possess any sort of gun.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Department of Investigation, New Mexico State Police, and New Mexico Park Rangers. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As first reported in Fox News, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Congressman Tracey Mann (KS-01) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum urging him to reverse the listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken from the threatened and endangered species list. Doing so would unleash American energy, highlight the success of local conservation efforts, and restore regulatory certainty for rural communities.
Under the Biden Administration, the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken were listed as endangered species, ignoring the conservation efforts already being made by Texas and Kansas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural and energy producers. The efforts resulted in net acreage conservation gains for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizards’ habitat and increased the Lesser Prairie Chicken population. In the letter to Secretary Burgum, the Members stress that the Trump Administration has the opportunity to correct these misguided listings and ensure America can maintain its energy dominance.
In the letter, the members write in part,“Empowering states, landowners, and private partners to continue leading species management ensures we can protect wildlife without sacrificing economic growth, energy production, or the livelihoods of hardworking Americans. Striking this balance is critical to maintaining our environmental stewardship and America’s energy dominance. With the right approach, we can achieve lasting conservation results without burdening the very communities that have been instrumental in protecting these species… The Trump Administration can correct these misguided policies by directing FWS to delist both the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. Doing so will restore balance to our conservation efforts—allowing local stakeholders to continue their successful work while safeguarding American energy production, protecting jobs, and supporting rural economies,”
In addition, the Representatives reintroduced theLimiting Incredulous Zealots Against Restricting Drilling (LIZARD) Act to strike the Biden Administration’s designation of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This listing directly threatens the production of oil, natural gas, wind, and solar energy developed in the Permian Basin and across America.
“Former President Biden spent four years fulfilling his promise to kill the fossil fuel industry one horrible policy at a time – including listing the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard under the Endangered Species Act, a direct attack on our hardworking men and women in the energy sector,”said Rep. Pfluger.“This listing, along with many others, was completely misguided and repudiates significant private conservation efforts in West Texas. I am proud to lead the charge alongside my good friend and colleague Rep. Tracey Mann to continue undoing the Biden Administration’s nonsensical policies and protect American energy production and jobs.”
“From day one, President Biden used every tool in his toolbox to trample on the livelihoods of America’s energy and agricultural producers,”said Rep. Mann. “His administration continuously ignored the facts on the ground and decided federal bureaucrats were better equipped to manage these populations than local citizens. Our bill restores power back to the local communities most impacted by these decisions and removes the regulatory handcuffs put on them by the Biden Administration. We look forward to working with President Trump and Secretary Burgum to reverse these ill-informed listings and unleash the American energy dominance 77 million Americans voted for this past November.”
Read the full text of the legislation here.
This legislation is supported by several associations in the energy industry, including the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA).
IPAA President & CEO Jeff Eshelman said,“IPAA has serious concerns with the final rule to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. Unfortunately, the Fish and Wildlife Service continues to disregard the large amount of conservation work already done to protect the species and the successes of these programs. This listing is an affront to the oil and natural gas industry employees who live and work in the Permian Basin in both Texas and New Mexico. IPAA believes that the decision to list the DSL is unwarranted and thanks Congressman Pfluger for his efforts to stop this misguided listing decision.”
PBPA President Ben Shepperd said,“The Permian Basin Petroleum Association strongly supports Congressman Pfluger’s reintroduction of the LIZARD Act and his continued efforts to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s unjustified listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act. The Service’s arbitrary decision ignores sound science and disregards the extensive, state-led conservation initiatives that have successfully protected the species—initiatives that have resulted in the enrollment of hundreds of thousands of acres and the commitment of millions of dollars in both Texas and New Mexico. Rather than imposing burdensome federal regulations, Congressman Pfluger is standing behind proven, effective conservation efforts that prioritize real results over bureaucratic red tape. PBPA members have long demonstrated their commitment to responsible stewardship of our natural resources through voluntary conservation programs, and we greatly appreciate Congressman Pfluger’s leadership in recognizing and supporting these efforts.”
Background:
In recent years, through state and private conservation efforts in New Mexico alone, 1,905,120 acres have been enrolled in a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) by the ranching community and 2,230,066 acres have been enrolled in the CCA and CCAA by the oil and gas industry to protect the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard.
These enrollments have resulted in a net acreage conservation gain for the species’ habitat and the associated financial contributions have helped fund dozens of reclamation and conservation programs to support the species while still allowing for the development of natural resources and human existence in the region.
Read the full letterhereor below:
We write to urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to reverse the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard listings under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These designations have imposed unnecessary regulatory burdens on our rural communities, threatening the vital work of hardworking farmers, ranchers, and energy producers while disregarding the proven success of the state and privately led conservation efforts.
For over a decade, voluntary public-private conservation partnerships have remarkably succeeded in stabilizing and increasing the Lesser Prairie Chicken population. In fact, since 2013, the population has more than doubled due to the dedication of local officials and companies who have implemented targeted conservation strategies. Instead of recognizing these efforts, the prior administration’s disastrous listing decision disregarded measurable progress and subjected key industries to regulatory overreach that weakened our energy independence and agricultural production.
Similarly, the designation of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered threatens responsible energy development and economic prosperity in the Permian Basin, a critical region in ensuring America’s energy security. Industry leaders and conservationists have invested significant resources in habitat protection and species management programs, successfully maintaining the lizard’s habitat while allowing for responsible land use.
Reversing these listings would recognize the success of local conservation efforts and restore regulatory certainty for the communities and industries that depend on access to these lands. Empowering states, landowners, and private partners to continue leading species management ensures we can protect wildlife without sacrificing economic growth, energy production, or the livelihoods of hardworking Americans. Striking this balance is critical to maintaining our environmental stewardship and America’s energy dominance. With the right approach, we can achieve lasting conservation results without burdening the very communities that have been instrumental in protecting these species.
The Trump Administration can correct these misguided policies by directing FWS to delist both the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. Doing so will restore balance to our conservation efforts—allowing local stakeholders to continue their successful work while safeguarding American energy production, protecting jobs, and supporting rural economies.
We appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your prompt response.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following an endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the following statement welcoming broad support for their bipartisan legislation to undo President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, which amount to a 25 percent tax on goods imported from one of America’s top trading partners and closest allies. The legislation will be voted on today.
“We welcome the strong support we continue to receive from both organized labor and businesses, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for our legislation to undo Trump’s new sales tax on Canadian goods,” said the senators. “The outpouring of endorsements for our effort highlights that these new taxes are bad for America’s businesses that need stability to thrive and for hardworking families who want prices to go down, not up. We are giving every Senator an opportunity today to put their constituents’ pocketbooks first by challenging a nonsensical trade war with one of America’s closest trading partners and allies.”
“Tariffs are taxes—paid by Americans—and they will quickly increase prices at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living. These import taxes are also harming U.S. manufactures and drawing retaliatory duties, worsening their impact on our economy… It is appropriate for Congress to exercise its authority under IEEPA and pass SJ Res 37, which would terminate the national emergency and the imposition of tariffs under Executive Order 14193,” wrote Neil L. Bradley, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Head of Strategic Advocacy, in the Chamber’s endorsement letter, which is available here.
In addition to the Chamber, the senators’ bill is supported by the AFL-CIO, the United Steelworkers (USW), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Retail Federation (NRF), the North America’s Building Trades Unions, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), the National Taxpayers Union, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Advancing American Freedom. Here’s what they’re saying:
North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey:“The United States and Canada share far more than just a border—we share a deep, enduring economic and workforce partnership that has strengthened both our nations for generations… That partnership is enshrined in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a comprehensive trade agreement that President Trump himself negotiated and enacted that already governs our economic relations in this hemisphere… By circumventing this agreement and imposing unilateral tariffs on Canada, the Administration is harmfully undermining a key foreign ally while also carelessly shooting holes in the credibility of its own signature economic policy.”
The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) Executive Director for Legislative and Political Affairs Stanley E. Kolbe, Jr.: “On behalf of our membership, SMACNA would like to voice its strong support for S.J. Res. 37… Tariff penalties aimed at Canada for non-trade objectives have already caused harsh and unnecessary economic pain for US workers and harm to our nation’s construction and related metal fabricating as well as HVAC equipment manufacturing businesses. In fact, it will punish businesses, labor and economies on both sides of the border, and in direct contravention of the provisions featured in the existing USMCA.”
The National Retail Federation (NRF) Executive Vice President for Government Relations David French:“While we strongly agree with the need to secure our borders, we do not believe using trade tools such as tariffs for non-trade purposes is the right approach to achieve this goal, especially without closest trading partner… U.S. retailers depend on Canada for a wide range of consumer goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which Congress overwhelmingly approved. Canada represents a significant market for U.S. retailers that not only have operations in Canada but also rely on a robust cross-border consumer market, with Canadian consumers hopping in U.S. retail stores on a daily basis. These operations are all now being significantly disrupted because of the tariffs applied to Canada under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Canada’s retaliation against those tariffs.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran:“…We write to express our strong support for S.J. Res. 37, the joint resolution to terminate the national emergency declared on February 1, 2025, that launched a trade war with Canada and thus to terminate the tariffs on Canadian imports implemented as part of that unfounded emergency… This declaration has triggered a damaging and unnecessary trade conflict with Canada—our closest ally, largest trading partner, and critical collaborator in addressing economic and public safety challenges across North America… These actions are raising prices for consumers, disrupting key industries such as construction and manufacturing, and threatening jobs in communities large and small. They also risk increasing already high housing costs, as tariffs on Canadian lumber, steel, aluminum, and other critical building materials will make housing construction and infrastructure development significantly more expensive.”
AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs Jody Calemine:“On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I urge you to support S.J. Res. 37, a resolution introduced by Senator Tim Kaine to terminate the national emergency that was declared to justify tariffs on imports from Canada under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)… However, imposing large, across the board tariffs on Canada aimed at non-trade objectives will only cause unnecessary economic pain for workers and businesses on both sides of the border.”
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) International President Brian Bryant:“On behalf of the 600,000 active and retired members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), I write today in strong support of S.J. Res. 37… These new tariffs on Canada, one of our closest allies and largest trading partners, are unjust and will have lasting negative impacts on American and Canadian workers… The Trump administration’s erratic approach to tariffs is wreaking havoc on workers and businesses in the United States and Canada. Punishing one of our nation’s closest trading partners based on a false pretense is wrong and the action needs to be reversed.”
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) President Matthew S. Biggs and Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:“As the Executive Officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), representing 90,000 workers in the private, public, and federal sectors across North America, we are writing in support of S.J. Res. 37… Canada is America’s closest ally and number one trading partner. Our trading relationship uplifts American and Canadian working families alike. Imposing reckless tariffs on Canadian imports will harm both the U.S. and Canadian economies and do even greater harm to working families on both sides of the border. Congress must step in now to block this reckless and destructive policy.”
National Taxpayers Union:“Canada is an important supplier of goods that strengthen U.S. security, including crude oil, natural gas, steel, and aluminum. Tariffs that restrict our access to these supplies and increase their cost will weaken our industrial base and undermine our ability to sustain our defense in the event of a national emergency.”
Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams:“TPA enthusiastically supports Sens. Tim Kaine and Rand Paul’s CRA to overturn President Trump’s February 1, 2025, national emergency declaration. This use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is fraught with issues. The ensuing trade war will inevitably raise costs for consumers. Placing a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico will harm consumers and the vast majority of American businesses.”
United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall:“On behalf of the 850,000 active members of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW), I urge you to support S.J. Res. 37, a resolution introduced by Senator Tim Kaine to terminate the national emergency that was declared to impose duties on imports from Canada, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)… These new tariffs are misdirected, unsubstantiated by facts, and harmful to the very workers we represent.”
Advancing American Freedom (AAF) President Tim Chapman: “Tariffs are a tax on American families and businesses. The first Trump administration cut an excellent deal with Canada with USMCA. The president should not abandon this agreement and lacks the authority to unilaterally do so.”
Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
Click HERE to watch and HERE to download video of her full remarks
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins delivered remarks on the Senate floor in support of a resolution authored by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) that would end the emergency declaration that President Trump signed in February to implement tariffs on Canada for not doing enough to halt the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
Below is the transcript of her remarks:
“Mr. President, I rise today in support of the resolution introduced by my colleague from Virginia, Senator Kaine, to overturn the emergency declaration for the northern border that is being used to impose tariffs on goods imported from Canada.
“Mr. President, the Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner. From home heating oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products, to Maine’s paper mills, forest products businesses, agricultural producers, and lobstermen, the tariffs on Canada would be detrimental to many Maine families and our local economies.
“Mr. President, of course I share the President’s goal of stemming the tide of dangerous fentanyl that flows into the United States. I commend him for taking far stronger actions to halt this dangerous and deadly flow than did the previous administration. I do not, however, agree with his invoking the powers of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Canadian goods and products. The fact is, the vast majority of fentanyl in America comes from the southern border. In fiscal year 2024, less than 1% of fentanyl seizures occurred at our northern border, and our Canadian neighbors are working collaboratively and cooperatively with our government to stop that trafficking.
“Mr. President, one of the best examples of the intertwined relationship between Maine’s economy and Canada can be seen at the Twin Rivers paper mill in Madawaska, Maine, way in the north, on the Canadian border. Twin Rivers produces lightweight specialty paper for packaging materials, for our nation’s newspapers and our retailers’ catalogs, for food and environmentally safe papers used in restaurants, and for a wide variety of other paper goods that are used all over the country. The raw pulp for this paper mill in Maine is piped across the St. John River, from Edmundston, New Brunswick, to Madawaska, Maine. There literally is a pipeline through which the pulp travels between these two sister mills. A tariff placed on this pulp would jeopardize the financial well-being of this vital paper mill, which employs more than 500 people in rural northern Maine. There is not another big employer in that area that could possibly compensate for the loss of those 510 direct jobs. And that doesn’t include the indirect jobs: the truck drivers, the restaurant owners who would be harmed by the closure or reduction in the operation of this vitally important mill. The tariff would not only devastate Twin Rivers, but also harm hundreds of Maine families.
“Another example of our integration with Canada is in energy. 95% of the heating oil that is used by most Mainers to heat their homes comes from refineries in Canada. Irving Oil, a Canadian-based company, has 150 gas stations in Maine and supplies two-thirds of the state’s gas, diesel, and heating oil. This includes Mr. President, 100% of the jet fuel that is used by the Air National Guard Base in Bangor. Maine consumers, Maine businesses, and the U.S. Department of Defense, our own Department of Defense, would bear the cost of that Canadian energy tariff.
“Mr. President, Canadian tariffs would also harm many Maine farmers, lobstermen, and fishermen. According to the Maine Potato Board, 90% of the potash, which is the fertilizer used for growing potatoes, is imported from Canada. Fertilizer accounts for 11% of total input costs to grow our great Maine potatoes. Tariffs on imports like fertilizer will only hurt Maine potato growers. And Mr. President, I grew up in Aroostook County. I know these potato growers. I picked potatoes as a school child when I was growing up.
“Just recently, a farmer from Mars Hill, Maine, told me that just the threat of tariffs is causing a price increase on seed and equipment. This farmer supplies potatoes to a Canadian company with facilities on both sides of the border. The different facilities have specialized equipment to process potatoes for different uses, hash browns in one plant, curly fries in another. A tariff on potatoes as they cross back and forth between Maine and Canada would cause terrible harm to this and other growers
“Other products are processed back and forth across the border as well. For example, many Maine blueberries are processed in Prince Edward Island. Maine also sends between $200 million and $400 million worth of lobster to Canada each year for processing. There are 240 lobster processing plants in Canada, but only 15 in the United States. I share the President’s goal of getting more of that manufacturing done in the State of Maine, done in the United States, but the fact is that if we impose these tariffs on Canadian processing, it’s going to be our Maine lobstermen who will bear the cost; it’s going to be consumers who bear the cost.
“I would like to make mention of another industry that would be affected as well, and that is the aquaculture industry. In Washington County, in far-eastern Maine, Cooke Aquaculture is one of the largest employers, with more than 200 direct jobs throughout the state. While they have a processing plant in Machias, Maine, the first step of their salmon processing occurs in Canada before reentering the United States for finishing. At a time when the Maine aquaculture industry is growing, these tariffs on Canada would jeopardize current jobs and also block future ones.
“Mr. President, close relationships between and among families on both sides of the border are very common in the State of Maine. It is typical of communities, ranging from Calais in the east, Fort Kent in the north, and Jackman in the West. You see it all across the northern, eastern, and western parts of our state, because our communities are so integrated. It is not surprising to me that I had a conversation with members of the tourism industry in Maine just this morning, who told me that they’re seeing cancelations by Canadian tourists, who have come for years to vacation in Maine. Old Orchard Beach, for example, is known for the number of Canadian tourists.
“We don’t want to discourage these Canadian tourists who are so vital to Maine’s economy from vacationing in Maine because they are so angry at what has happened. Maine families benefit from more than $900 billion in goods and services that are exchanged between our two countries every year. It is crucial that we remain a dependable and vibrant global trading partner, particularly with Canada.
“Now, I want to distinguish that I think there is a strong case to be made for tariffs on Mexico, on our adversary, China, but I don’t see the case for Canada. There are areas where Canada does need to do better, and the dairy industry is one. And I hope that we will see that result. And let me conclude my remarks by reaffirming my support for ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security has every tool at its disposal to stem the flow of fentanyl into our nation. But unlike Mexico and China, Canada is not complicit in this crisis, and we should continue working with our Canadian allies to secure the northern border, not unfairly penalize them. Our consumers, our manufacturers, our lobstermen, our blueberry growers, our potato farmers will pay the price.
“Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise.”
Amid alarming reports of sexual violence being used as a weapon of terror across Sudan, UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, is warning that over 12 million women and girls – and increasingly men and boys – are estimated to be at risk.
It is nearly two years since the brutal war between the forces of the military government in Khartoum and the Rapid Support Forces militia erupted, sparking one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Human rights abuses have been committed on both sides and more than 30.4 million Sudanese require urgent assistance, with millions displaced, and tens of thousands killed. Nearly 25 million people face acute hunger.
According to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, there have been increasing and alarming reports of sexual violence being used to terrorise civilians.
Layla’s story
In late 2024, in the northern state of Sudan, armed men forced their way into Layla’s* home in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, while she was alone with her children. “They arrested my son and took me to a separate car. I noticed they were looking at my daughter in a disturbing way – she’s 18 years old. Probably they took me away to keep her alone.”, she told UNFPA.
Layla’s fears for her daughter were a precursor of what she would later confront at an overcrowded prison, where she was held for nearly three weeks.
A woman, who has fled conflict in Sudan, washes clothes.
‘Unimaginable horrors’
Recounting that they brought her son back and started beating him in front of her, Layla added that they interrogated her, accused her of being a spy and claimed that her husband was working for the army.
Although the Sudanese army has recently retaken strategic areas of Khartoum, at that time opposition paramilitary forces were in control. Layla described being strip-searched, beaten and detained without charge.
“I witnessed unimaginable horrors,” she said. “When the officers left, the soldiers would begin raping prisoners. They would take young women out into the yard, and all night long we would hear the screams of girls and women.”
Over 12 million women and girls – and increasingly men and boys – are estimated to be at risk of assault, an 80 per cent increase from the previous year.
A growing health crisis
Since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, the situation has worsened dramatically, with almost 13 million people forcibly displaced – nearly one third of the population – and the health system all but obliterated.
Across Sudan, UNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services through 90 mobile health teams, more than 120 health facilities, and 51 safe spaces for survivors of sexual violence.
This assistance includes clinical treatment and psychological counselling following rape, sexual abuse and assault, as well as referrals for legal assistance and awareness raising among communities of the risks of sexual violence, coercion and trafficking.
At a UNFPA-supported safe space, Layla explained how she struggled to endure the ordeal in prison. “One day, a 16-year-old girl was brought back to the cell, bleeding heavily,” she recalled. “She came to me, hugged me, and we cried together for an entire day.”
UNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services in dozens of locations in Sudan.
After nine days in prison, Layla stopped eating and drinking, hoping to die instead of being raped as well. Eventually becoming very sick, Layla was released.
Although Layla and the young survivor were able to find physical and mental health support through the safe space, they are not among the majority.
According to UNFPA, there have been more than 540 attacks on health facilities reported over the last two years, supplies and equipment are frequently looted, and health workers, patients and ambulances are targeted with violence and intimidation.
‘No longer safe havens’
Maha Mahmoud, a social worker at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Dongola in Northern State, said health facilities are no longer safe havens.
“I was informed that a young woman had been raped at a maternity hospital,” she told UNFPA. “She’s 18, divorced with one daughter and had been living with her family when opposition forces entered her area. They took her, along with many other women, and raped them.”
“She lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by other girls, all of whom had also been raped. They were then left in the street.”
The woman would later discover she was pregnant. “She made her way to the safe space, where we provided her with psychological support and all the necessary medical care,” said Ms. Mahmoud, adding that the woman and her baby are slowly recovering. “Since then, we have continued to help her cope with the trauma.”
Listen to an interview with UNFPA’s Representative ad interim in the country, Argentina Matavel Piccin:
Soundcloud
Urgent appeal
UNFPA is calling for $119.6 million for its work in Sudan and a further $26 million to assist refugees in the country. In the northern state, UNFPA’s sexual and reproductive health programmes and safe spaces operate with funding from Canada, the European Union, Japan, Norway and Sweden.
Yet unprecedented funding cuts by many leading donors are throwing into jeopardy the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls.
The United States has been a crucial supporter of the people of Sudan, but recent funding cuts will leave some 250,000 women without reproductive health services.
Training for frontline medical workers has also been halted, and 10,000 women will lose access to safe spaces that provide medical, legal, and psychosocial support.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local man and woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to drug and money laundering crimes related to assisting two Chillicothe brothers traffic drugs from Mexico and Arizona.
Todd Michael Fulkerson, 42, of Columbus, admitted to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.
In February 2024, Fulkerson traveled to Arizona at the request of Caleb Barillaro, 30, who was acquiring kilogram quantities of the drugs to resell through street-level drug dealers in Chillicothe and the surrounding areas. The men drove separate vehicles to Arizona, and Fulkerson accompanied Caleb on the trip to provide security. Fulkerson was recruited for this role based on his military experience.
In Arizona, Caleb purchased two kilograms of fentanyl and five kilograms of cocaine for $94,000 in cash. Caleb put the drugs in a cooler and placed ice on top of the drugs to conceal them before putting the cooler in Fulkerson’s car.
Law enforcement surveilled the two vehicles traveling in tandem back towards Ohio from Arizona.
The two stopped at a gas station near the Indiana and Ohio border. Caleb discovered that the melting ice in the cooler had ruined some of the kilograms of drugs. He became upset and took the cooler to his car. Caleb feared he was being surveilled by law enforcement as he traveled from the gas station, and he discarded the drugs along the side of the road.
Fulkerson faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in transporting the drugs.
Lazae Lett, 24, of Chillicothe, admitted to laundering drug proceeds to Sinaloa, Mexico, to help Dillon Barillaro, 31, obtain more drugs through a source of supply there. She sent several approximately $2,000 money orders via Western Union money orders from Walmart and two Kroger locations in Chillicothe.
Dillon Barillaro provided the illicit money to Lett and instructed her on recipient names and payment amounts. Dillon Barillaro drove Lett to the Walmart and Kroger locations to conduct financial transactions in immediate succession.
Lett faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Barillaro brothers have each pleaded guilty to federal narcotics crimes punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison and await sentencing.
Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at future hearings.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Office; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Chillicothe Police Chief Ron Meyers announced the guilty pleas offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Pakiz and Damoun Delaviz are representing the United States in the related cases.
These investigations were originally designated as part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs). The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
04.01.25
WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) joined Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and 49 bipartisan senators in introducing legislation to impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. These sanctions would go into effect if Russia refuses to engage in good faith negotiations for a lasting peace with Ukraine or initiates another effort, including military invasion, that undermines the sovereignty of Ukraine after peace is negotiated.
“Our legislation sends a clear message that if Russia rejects peace or escalates its aggression, there will be serious repercussions,” said Hoeven. “The sanctions and tariffs on those supporting Russia’s actions aim to foster peace by holding all aggressors accountable.”
Joining Senators Hoeven, Graham and Blumenthal in cosponsoring the legislation are Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Todd Young (R-Indiana), Angus King (I-Maine), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), John Curtis (R-Utah), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Adam Schiff (D-California), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island).
BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Jose De La Rosa Rosario, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 15 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the sentence imposed. In December 2024, De La Rosa Rosario pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. In October 2024, De La Rosa Rosario was indicted by a federal grand jury.
De La Rosa Rosario is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the United States in 2006 through Puerto Rico using false identification. He was convicted of federal conspiracy and cocaine distribution charges in 2011. Following completion of his federal sentence, in July 2018, De La Rosa Rosario was removed from the United States and deported to the Dominican Republic pursuant to a court order. Thereafter, at an unknown time and place, he illegally reentered the United States without permission. In September 2024, De La Rosa Rosario was arrested on new state drug charges and later detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A copy of his fingerprint from his removal document was compared to his fingerprint when he entered federal custody in September 2024, the prints were identical to each other.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development
Today, April 1, 2025, France takes over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for a period of one month.
The Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and, as a permanent member, France is committed to working with its partners to enable it to respond to current challenges and conflicts.
France succeeds Denmark, which effectively assumed the presidency of the UNSC last month, and precedes Greece, which will take up this function in May, and the French presidency of the Council is therefore at the heart of a “European quarter” of the presidency of the Security Council, through which we mark, together, our commitment to effective multilateralism and respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
In the face of current challenges, the guiding principle of our presidency will be to make multilateral dialogue prevail over power relations.
The war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine since February 2022, in defiance of the most fundamental principles of international law, will be at the heart of our mobilization, and France will continue its efforts in favour of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
The situation in the Middle East will be the subject of a ministerial meeting at the end of the month, chaired by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to which international and regional partners will be invited, which will illustrate France’s commitment to peace in that region, and will be part of the preparations for the international conference on the two-state solution co-organised in New York by France and Saudi Arabia.
Given the seriousness of the ongoing conflicts, France will pay particular attention to the situation in the Great Lakes, those in Sudan and South Sudan, as well as in Haiti.
The French presidency will also be at the initiative with meetings devoted to peacekeeping operations and the protection of humanitarian workers, two strong commitments to support those who, on the ground, provide assistance to vulnerable populations, and to ensure effective multilateralism, France will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the reform of the Security Council in order to improve its representativeness.
Throughout its presidency, France will have as its sole compass its commitment to multilateralism, the United Nations system and respect for international law for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Will Hawkes, Insect Migration Researcher, College of Life and Environmental Science, University of Exeter
As I sprinted across the flower-rich meadow on the eastern coast of Cyprus, I could barely see my car. The air was full of tiny black dots, pelting like bullets past me. I hauled open the car door and breathed a sigh of relief once inside. I was surrounded by millions of flies, amid the most incredible migration event I have ever seen.
The migration cameras my team and I use to monitor these insects counted nearly 6,000 flies per metre per minute. Being hit by a fly travelling over 25mph (helped by the wind) hurts enough to make you want shelter quickly.
All of these flies had just travelled at least 60 miles (100km) across open sea from the Middle East to Cyprus. This journey forms part of their springtime migration towards northern Europe.
Butterflies and dragonflies are well-known insect migrants, but not because they’re the most numerous. That title is given to the flies. I have studied all of the insects migrating through Cyprus and the Pyrenees on the France-Spain border. Flies make up nearly 90% of all migrants. Yet they have been consistently overlooked by scientists and their ecological contribution has been hugely underappreciated.
My colleagues and I set out to change this. We have spent months collecting written sources that mentioned fly migration from anywhere in the world. Our findings, now published in Biological Reviews, could change our perception of flies forever. Previously, nobody really knew the extent to which flies migrated, yet they are the most numerous and most ecologically important of all terrestrial migrants.
Fly migration has been part of written human history for millennia. In the book of Exodus, when the pharoah of Egypt didn’t let Moses’s people go, God sent a plague of flies to change his mind. Then God removed flies from the land until “not a fly remained”. This last biblical quote is key.
If these flies had been misidentified mayflies coming out of the river Nile, which are known to amass in huge numbers, their exhausted bodies would have remained for days. Because they all disappeared without a trace, this suggests a huge migration of flies. Egypt is on an important fly migration route. So perhaps fly migration was significant enough to be the subject of divine intervention.
Flies migrate to reproduce, moving to exploit seasonal food resources. All over the world, it’s mostly females that migrate. They have been recorded migrating through mountain passes high in the Himalayas, on ships hundreds of miles out to sea in the Gulf of Mexico and in their millions migrating through western Europe. Amazingly, while on fieldwork in the Maldives, I saw Forcipomyia midges use their soft foot hairs to stick to dragonfly wings to hitch a lift over the Indian Ocean.
Vital roles
Flies are so important to the planet and to us. No other group of terrestrial migrants (including vertebrates such as mammals) are as ecologically diverse as flies. More than half (62%) of all migrating flies, including hoverflies, are pollinators. Without them, food crop production would decline.
As they migrate, flies transport and disperse pollen between flowers. This could help plants adapt to climate change by maintaining genetic diversity.
Many migratory fly species (34%) are decomposers, ensuring the planet isn’t covered in rotting carcasses and animal dung. One study showed that the larvae of just 50 houseflies (Musca domestica), – the very ecologically similar and equally abundant autumn housefly Musca autumnalis migrate south through the Pyrenees in their millions – can decompose up to 444kg of pig manure.
The ecological roles of flies are not all positive, though. My latest study shows that monoculture crops provide lots of food for some migratory fly species (18%) that have subsequently become crop pests. Some (16%) carry diseases, such as mosquitoes that migrate huge distances and bring diseases such as malaria.
But migratory flies have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the planet. Hoverfly larvae eat trillions of aphids each year in southern England. Insect migration is already known to be the most important way that the nutrients plants need to grow are moved across the land and flies make up the majority of the insects that transport the nutrients.
The movement and subsequent death of trillions of migrating flies, whose bodies contain elements, such as phosphorous and nitrogen which plants need to grow, could be vital to soil health of the soils too. Migratory birds have been noted feeding on and moving at the same time as migratory flies, perhaps using them as fuel for their journeys.
We’re only just waking up to the significance of flies. Hopefully, it’s not too late to protect them. One German study found that the number of aphid-eating migratory hoverflies declined by 97% over the last 50 years. Fewer aphid-eating hoverflies means more crop-eating aphids and also fewer pollinators. So that’s a terrifying statistic that could have drastic consequences.
A sunrise of hope exists, however. These brilliant migratory flies have so many young that if we improve landscape connectivity, reduce pesticide usage and provide suitable habitat, they can bounce back really quickly. We need these flies as much as we need the air we breathe. So next time you see a fly up against your window, open it and let it out. It has a long way to go and such important work to do.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Two senior UN officials appealed in the Security Council on Wednesday for an end to attacks against humanitarians and personnel working for the global organization.
Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General with UN aid coordination office OCHA, and Gilles Michaud, head of the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) were speaking during a meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
“Allow me to go straight to the point,” said Ms. Msuya. “Attacks on aid workers must end. Perpetrators must be held to account.”
Deadliest year ever
She told the Council that humanitarian workers are being killed in unprecedented numbers, and 2024 was the worst year on record with 377 fatalities across 20 countries.
This was nearly 100 more than in 2023, which already saw a 137 per cent increase over 2022. Meanwhile, many more aid workers were injured, kidnapped, attacked and arbitrarily detained.
The past two years have been particularly brutal, she continued. At least 85 humanitarians have been killed in Sudan since war broke out in April 2023. All were Sudanese nationals.
Killings in Gaza
Furthermore, just three days ago, teams from OCHA and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society recovered the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers from a mass grave in Gaza who had been killed several days earlier by Israeli forces while trying to save lives.
She added that “this tragedy comes just 11 days after another deadly incident – on 19 March, when yet another United Nations colleague was killed, and six others were injured in Gaza.”
These deaths bring the number of aid workers killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023 to more than 408, making it the most dangerous place for humanitarians ever.
Appeal to Council members
Ms. Msuya issued a challenge to ambassadors.
“Since we are here today to discuss the protection of aid workers, I must ask this Council: what are you going to do to help us find those answers and achieve justice – and avoid more killings?”
While there is no shortage of robust international legal frameworks to protect humanitarian and UN personnel, she said political will to comply is lacking.
Local staff mostly affected
Ms. Msuya noted that the vast majority of those killed, roughly 95 per cent, are local aid workers who are the cornerstone of relief efforts.
“These colleagues deserve our highest respect. Yet, conduct harming our local staff rarely elicits reaction or makes the news,” she remarked.
Criminalization and misinformation
Humanitarians also face other challenges, such as the criminalization of their work. They are increasingly being detained, interrogated and accused of supporting terrorism simply for delivering aid to people in need.
Aid organizations are also targets of disinformation and misinformation campaigns in places such as Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Yemen.
Moreover, funding shortfalls threaten to make matters worse, forcing the humanitarian community to make impossible choices, Ms. Msuya underscored.
Respect and accountability
She described the adoption of Resolution 2730 as an important step in the right direction, then made three requests to the Council and Member States at large.
“First, act to ensure respect for international law and to protect humanitarian and UN workers,” she said, listing tangible steps such as Security Council visits, fact-finding missions, or withholding of arms transfers.
She also called for speaking out and condemning harm to UN and humanitarian personnel, including local staff, because “silence, inconsistency, and selective outrage only embolden perpetrators.”
Her final request was for accountability, highlighting the need to strengthen domestic and international legal frameworks to prosecute international crimes.
“The Security Council should play a key role in pushing for accountability; for instance, by asking concerned governments to pursue justice and by following up with them,” she suggested.
“When national jurisdictions fail, the Council can use international mechanisms, including by referring situations to the International Criminal Court.”
Focus on survivors
Ms. Msuya insisted that accountability is not only about prosecution but must also centre on those who survive.
In this regard, she reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s recommendation to adopt a survivor-centered approach to ensure that affected aid workers have a say in global discussions.
In his briefing, Mr. Michaud noted that progress has been elusive in getting more countries to join the Convention on the safety of UN and associated personnel, while attacks on humanitarian workers have continued unabated.
Impunity now ‘a pervasive normal’
“Impunity for attacks on humanitarian personnel has become the new normal,” he said. “A pervasive normal. An accepted normal. One perpetuated not only by non-State actors, but also by governments and their proxies.”
He said that against a backdrop of widespread disregard for international humanitarian law, UN agencies are now forced to significantly reduce assistance due to budget cuts imposed by several Member States.
Humanitarian agencies are among the most affected, and the situation could lead to further insecurity.
Funding shortfall risks
“And if, where and when the United Nations and its partners are forced to deliver less aid, the risks to UN and humanitarian personnel will grow,” he warned.
“We are already seeing signs of this in Gaza and elsewhere. Humanitarian personnel may become the first target of people’s despair.”
Mr. Michaud said that the UN must – and will – adapt, adding that budgetary pressures will also impact the level of security support available.
UN Security commitment
“We will need to adjust our footprint. And in some areas, we may even be compelled by resource constraints to completely withdraw,” he said.
“But the UN Security will do its part through these turbulent times. We will be present wherever our humanitarian partners need us.”
He said UN Security will also continue to engage with the Council and Member States, including to protect investments made in the humanitarian, peace and security, and development spheres.
He underlined that the Department will always be a steadfast and reliable partner to the humanitarian and development community, as well as Member States.
“But we need attacks on United Nations and humanitarian personnel to stop,” he declared.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Representatives Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), April McClain Delaney (MD-06) and Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) released the following statement after the Trump White House conceded to deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland immigrant, in ‘error,’ sending him to a Salvadoran prison where he remains:
“Yesterday, the Trump Administration admitted that it abducted and unlawfully deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Marylander, the husband of a U.S. citizen, and the father of a U.S. citizen child with disabilities. He had just picked up his son, who has autism, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him. The Trump Administration sent him to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador without a hearing or any semblance of due process. The Administration has produced no viable evidence that he was a member of any gang and admitted his detention and removal were an ‘error.’
“He was given no chance to see what he was accused of or to plead his case—just snatched, shackled, and shipped off to a Salvadoran prison with the very gang members whose persecution he had fled and had been given protection from.
“As the Trump Administration stated in a filing in this case: ‘On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error.’ This extraordinary statement is not a claim from a plaintiff’s attorney or an ‘activist judge,’ it is a frank admission by the Trump Administration itself.
“This is not immigration enforcement. This is plainly a miscarriage of justice that must be remedied. The Trump Administration admitted in open court that it made an ‘error.’ It must remedy this error by bringing Mr. Abrego Garcia back to America immediately.”
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
A seven-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” with international cocaine distribution conspiracy; international cocaine distribution; using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; smuggling firearms from the United States; and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. Since at least 2020, he has been the leader of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most violent drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. The defendant is not in U.S. custody.
John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Derek Maltz, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); L.C. Cheeks, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Newark Field Division, Atlantic City Satellite Office (ATF); and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (OEE), announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization. By leading the Los Choneros’ network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers and importing potentially lethal quantities of cocaine into the United States, the defendant has caused great harm to his own country and the United States, which was the destination for the vast majority of Los Choneros’ cocaine shipments,” stated United States Attorney Durham.
Mr. Durham praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Andean Region – Quito, Country Office, Special Operations Division-Bilateral Investigations Unit and Latin America/Caribbean Section, Joint Interagency Task Force South; U.S. Southern Command; the Government of Ecuador; the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau; and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Atlantic City. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance in this matter.
“The indictment of José Adolfo Macías Villamar marks a significant strike against the violent networks that flood our communities with dangerous drugs like cocaine — a clear message that no one fueling this deadly trade is beyond the reach of justice. This case highlights the tireless efforts of DEA, alongside our partners in the United States and Ecuador,” stated DEA Administrator Maltz. “We will continue to work across borders to dismantle the supply chain of violent, criminal networks, which underscores the ongoing need for vigilance and collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking and cartel violence.”
“This investigation and charges are a testament to the combined efforts of law enforcement and underscores the resolve of ATF and our federal, state, and local partners. Drug trafficking and the heinous crimes associated with violent criminal organizations have an insidious impact on the public and tear apart the fabric of our communities. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal, across the U.S. and around the globe, to combat violence, drug distribution, and the illegal sale and possession of firearms to safeguard the safety and well-being of all,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Cheeks.
“This indictment alleges the defendant and Los Choneros illegally smuggled firearms from the United States in furtherance of their violent drug trafficking operations,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. “The Office of Export Enforcement will continue its efforts alongside its law enforcement partners to pursue those who violate export laws, wherever they may be, worldwide.”
As alleged in the indictment, from at least 2020 to 2025, Macías Villamar was the principal leader of Los Choneros, one of the most violent and powerful transnational criminal organizations in Ecuador. Los Choneros, in partnership with the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador and operated a large-scale network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere. The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros were imported into the United States.
As the principal leader of Los Choneros, Macías Villamar employed members of the organization to carry out serious acts of violence on the organization’s behalf. At Macías Villamar’s direction, Los Choneros committed violent acts towards law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians. Los Choneros obtained many of their firearms and weapons by illegally trafficking and exporting them from the United States. As alleged, the defendant specifically employed individuals who purchased firearms, firearms components and ammunitions on Los Choneros’ behalf in the United States and then illegally smuggled them to Ecuador.
Moreover, in furtherance of their drug trafficking operation, Los Choneros relied on “sicarios,” or hitmen, as well as corruption and bribe payments, to ensure protection and loyalty to Los Choneros. These “sicarios” regularly used military-grade weapons, like machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and grenades to perpetrate violence, including murder, torture and kidnapping. Macías Villamar and the Los Choneros organization have also been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour and Lorena Michelen are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOSÉ ADOLFO MACÍAS VILLAMAR (also known as “Fito”) Age: 45 Ecuador
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-PA), alongside Congressmembers Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and G.T. Thompson (R-PA) reintroduced theDennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act.This bipartisan legislation would provide a memorial headstone or marker through the Department of Veterans Affairs to an eligible spouse or dependent child of a veteran in a national cemetery or state or tribal Veterans cemetery regardless of the date of death. Under current law, eligible spouses and dependent children who passed before November 11, 1998, or after October 1, 2024, are ineligible to be added to a memorial headstone or marker. Additionally, this legislationwould update federal law to extend this important veteran benefit beyond 2024 for an additional eight years.
This bill was named in honor of Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy, a veteran and his spouse who were killed in a Mexico earthquake in 1985. In 2023, Dennis was given a memorial marker at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Lois, is currently ineligible.
“This bipartisan bill would make sure that eligible spouses and children can be included on veterans’ memorial headstones or markers,” said Congressman Deluzio. “This bill is a powerful way to honor how important family is to our nation’s veterans, and to provide comfort to the family members they leave behind. I am proud to reintroduce this bill with Congressman Reschenthaler and other members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation.”
“As a Navy veteran, I am acutely aware of the essential support that a service member’s family provides to the success of our Armed Forces,” said Congressman Reschenthaler. “TheDennis and Lois Krisfalusy Actis a commonsense, bipartisan, and vital step to recognize and honor these loved ones who have sacrificed so much for the United States.”
“The great sacrifices veterans and their families make cannot be overstated,” said Congressman Meuser. “Congress must ensure that arbitrary deadlines do not hinder a military family’s ability to properly honor their loved ones. I appreciate Congressman Reschenthaler’s efforts to support the Krisfalusys and our entire veteran community.”
“1.5 million Americans have died for this great country. This legislation allows us to not only honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, but also to honor their loved ones who made sacrifices of their own,” said Congressman Kelly. “I’m proud to join Rep. Reschenthaler and our colleagues on this important legislation. This is a significant step toward honoring military families.”
“Our veterans and their families make significant sacrifices for our country, and they deserve to be honored alongside their loved ones,” said Congressman Thompson. “As an army dad, to a son who is a Purple Heart wounded warrior, I am proud to support bipartisan legislation updating an outdated law to ensure that all military family members receive the honors they rightfully deserve.”
“Our nation’s veterans and their families make incredible sacrifices in service to our country, and we must honor them in life and in death,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “Ensuring spouses and children are properly recognized on memorial headstones is not only the right thing to do but a meaningful way to uphold our solemn promise to those who served.”
Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy’s story was previously covered in theObserver-Reporterhere.
A seven-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” with international cocaine distribution conspiracy; international cocaine distribution; using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; smuggling firearms from the United States; and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. Since at least 2020, he has been the leader of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most violent drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. The defendant is not in U.S. custody.
John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Derek Maltz, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); L.C. Cheeks, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Newark Field Division, Atlantic City Satellite Office (ATF); and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (OEE), announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization. By leading the Los Choneros’ network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers and importing potentially lethal quantities of cocaine into the United States, the defendant has caused great harm to his own country and the United States, which was the destination for the vast majority of Los Choneros’ cocaine shipments,” stated United States Attorney Durham.
Mr. Durham praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Andean Region – Quito, Country Office, Special Operations Division-Bilateral Investigations Unit and Latin America/Caribbean Section, Joint Interagency Task Force South; U.S. Southern Command; the Government of Ecuador; the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau; and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Atlantic City. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance in this matter.
“The indictment of José Adolfo Macías Villamar marks a significant strike against the violent networks that flood our communities with dangerous drugs like cocaine — a clear message that no one fueling this deadly trade is beyond the reach of justice. This case highlights the tireless efforts of DEA, alongside our partners in the United States and Ecuador,” stated DEA Administrator Maltz. “We will continue to work across borders to dismantle the supply chain of violent, criminal networks, which underscores the ongoing need for vigilance and collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking and cartel violence.”
“This investigation and charges are a testament to the combined efforts of law enforcement and underscores the resolve of ATF and our federal, state, and local partners. Drug trafficking and the heinous crimes associated with violent criminal organizations have an insidious impact on the public and tear apart the fabric of our communities. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal, across the U.S. and around the globe, to combat violence, drug distribution, and the illegal sale and possession of firearms to safeguard the safety and well-being of all,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Cheeks.
“This indictment alleges the defendant and Los Choneros illegally smuggled firearms from the United States in furtherance of their violent drug trafficking operations,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. “The Office of Export Enforcement will continue its efforts alongside its law enforcement partners to pursue those who violate export laws, wherever they may be, worldwide.”
As alleged in the indictment, from at least 2020 to 2025, Macías Villamar was the principal leader of Los Choneros, one of the most violent and powerful transnational criminal organizations in Ecuador. Los Choneros, in partnership with the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador and operated a large-scale network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere. The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros were imported into the United States.
As the principal leader of Los Choneros, Macías Villamar employed members of the organization to carry out serious acts of violence on the organization’s behalf. At Macías Villamar’s direction, Los Choneros committed violent acts towards law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians. Los Choneros obtained many of their firearms and weapons by illegally trafficking and exporting them from the United States. As alleged, the defendant specifically employed individuals who purchased firearms, firearms components and ammunitions on Los Choneros’ behalf in the United States and then illegally smuggled them to Ecuador.
Moreover, in furtherance of their drug trafficking operation, Los Choneros relied on “sicarios,” or hitmen, as well as corruption and bribe payments, to ensure protection and loyalty to Los Choneros. These “sicarios” regularly used military-grade weapons, like machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and grenades to perpetrate violence, including murder, torture and kidnapping. Macías Villamar and the Los Choneros organization have also been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour and Lorena Michelen are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOSÉ ADOLFO MACÍAS VILLAMAR (also known as “Fito”) Age: 45 Ecuador
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement after E&E reported that the Trump Administration is considering selling off America’s public lands to pay for tax cuts for billionaires:
“For weeks, the Trump Administration has covertly laid the foundation to sell off Americans’ public lands to fund tax handouts for billionaire donors. Now, Republicans’ plans are out in the open.
“If they succeed, Donald Trump and Elon Musk will sell off your right to access the places you know and love: The place you first learned to fish or harvested your first elk. The campground your family goes to on long weekends. The trail you hike to clear your head. The site that was sacred to your ancestors and is now sacred to you. All of these places could be up for auction to the highest bidder if Republicans have their way.
“For Americans wondering what we can do to stop this: Call your members of Congress. Call the White House. Make it clear to the President himself just how unpopular these attacks on our American birthright are. Public lands belong in public hands.”
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Osmin Guevara-Ramirez, a 32-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador upon his release from the Wyoming Correctional Facility in Attica, New York March 28. The Nassau County Supreme Court convicted Guevara of attempted murder and gang assault Sept. 3, 2021, and sentenced him to six years imprisonment and five years post release supervision.
Guevara is an illegal alien from El Salvador who entered the United States on or about June 30, 2015, near McAllen, Texas without admission or parole by an immigration official. U.S. Border Patrol arrested Guevara July 10, 2015, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, issued him a notice to appear and placed him into removal proceedings. An immigration judge ordered Guevara released on bond Aug. 27, 2015, and further ordered a change for venue for his immigration proceedings from Louisiana to New York four days later. An immigration judge ordered Guevara removed in absentia Jan. 23, 2023.
ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Guevara Dec. 8, 2023, which the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision subsequently honored. Guevara is detained in ICE custody without bond.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.
Learn more about ERO Buffalo’s mission to preserve public safety on X at @EROBuffalo.
CHICAGO, April 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Surge for Water (“Surge”) received a donation from the SBB Research Group Foundation, which partners with local nonprofits through its Champion A Charity Program.
The SBB Research Group Foundation’s partnership with Surge for Water has helped create lasting change since 2016. Surge, a community-led, women-centered nonprofit, focuses on driving transformational progress across four key areas: water access, sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health. Through their work with local field partners, they support communities in Haiti, Uganda, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Over the years, this partnership has enabled the SBB Research Group Foundation to help improve the lives of over 150,000 individuals by providing funding for vital projects such as well drilling, soap-making initiatives, and latrine construction.
This year, in a continued effort to support Surge’s progress, the SBB Research Group Foundation donated to fund Surge for Water’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. This role is critical in ensuring the success of Surge’s mission to deliver sustainable access to clean water and hygiene. The officer oversees phased infrastructure installations, regular maintenance, educational programs, and training, while continuously enhancing the operational effectiveness of the organization’s efforts. This work currently benefits more than 100,000 people in rural Uganda.
To learn more about Surge for Water and their impactful work, visit their website at https://surgeforwater.org/.
About the SBB Research Group Foundation
The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies. In addition, the Foundation sponsors the SBBRG STEM Scholarship, which supports students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees.
Contact: Erin Noonan Organization: SBB Research Group Foundation Email: grants@sbbrg.org Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States Phone: 1-847-656-1111
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
World news story
UK sanctions corrupt actors in Guatemala
The UK has sanctioned seven corrupt actors whose actions have undermined democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala.
The UK has sanctioned seven corrupt actors whose actions have undermined democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala, including former President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras
This forms parts of a wider sanctions package against corrupt individuals linked to Moldova, Georgia and Guatemala
This is the latest action in the Foreign Secretary’s campaign to tackle corruption and dirty money around the world, global threats that undermine the very foundations of free and democratic societies
Among the members of the “Pacto de Corruptos” (Pact of the Corrupt) facing sanctions are former President of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei, his associate Miguel Martinez, and the Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras. In office, Giammattei profited from significant acts of corruption including re-appointing Porras to target his political rivals and undermine anti-corruption investigations. Porras and her cronies have achieved this by undermining the operational independence of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity and prosecuting journalists, lawyers and judges. Porras also attempted to annul the 2023 election and hinder the 2024 transition of power to President Arévalo. Meanwhile, Melvin Ernesto Quijivix Vega, former head of the National Institute of Electrification (Instituto Nacional de Electrificacion), embezzled more than 14.5m quetzales (£1.5m) of public funds.
Independent investigative reporting and the activities of civil society groups often play a crucial role in informing sanctions of this kind. But Porras and the Pacto de Corruptos have weaponised their powers against Guatemalan journalists who have tried to hold them to account. This led to the closure of noted investigative newspaper El Periódico and the jailing of its founder, following an investigation into a bribe from a Russian mining company to former President Giammattei in exchange for favourable exploration licences and port access.
Individuals targeted by today’s sanctions will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes, denying them entry to the UK and preventing them from holding funds or economic resources in the UK and its overseas territories.
These sanctions reaffirm the UK’s commitment to combating corruption and protecting the institutions designed to hold these unscrupulous individuals to account. The UK continues to stand with all Guatemalans in defence of democracy and the rule of law, and against those who trample on these principles for personal gain.
Background
Today the UK has sanctioned:
Alejandro Giammattei, former President of Guatemala;
Maria Consuelo Porras, Attorney General of Guatemala;
Jose Curruchiche, Head of the Special Prosecution Office Against Impunity (Fiscalía Especial contra la Impunidad);
Cinthia Monterroso, Prosecutor and Head of Unit at the Special Prosecution Office Against Impunity (Fiscalía Especial contra la Impunidad);
Angel Pineda, Secretary General of the Public Ministry (Ministerio Publico);
Melvin Quijivix, former Head of the National Institute of Electrification (Instituto Nacional de Electrificacion);
Miguel Martinez, associate of Giammattei and former Head of the Centre of Government (Centro de Gobierno).
Paul Allen (L) and Bill Gates in 1970 at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington state, US. Microsoft was created five years later.Author unknown/Wikimedia
Microsoft celebrates its 50th anniversary. This article was written using Microsoft Word on a computer running Microsoft Windows. It is likely to be published on platforms hosted by Microsoft Azure, including LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary with over one billion users. In 2024, the company generated a net profit of $88 billion from sales worth $245 billion. Its stock market value is close to $3,000 billion, making it the world’s second-most valuable company behind Apple and almost on a par with NVidia. Cumulative profits since 2002 are approaching $640 billion.
And yet, 50 years ago, Microsoft was just a tiny computer company founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico by two former Harvard students, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, aged 19 and 22. The twists and turns that enabled it to become one of the most powerful companies in the world are manifold, and can be divided into four distinct eras.
First era: Bill Gates rides on IBM’s shoulders
At the end of the 1970s, IBM was the computer industry’s undisputed leader. It soon realized that microcomputers developed by young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, such as the Apple II, would eventually eclipse IBM’s mainframes, and so the IBM PC project was launched. However, it soon became clear that the company’s hefty internal processes would prevent it from delivering a microcomputer on schedule. It was therefore decided that various components of the machine could be outsourced using external suppliers.
A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!
Several specialized companies were approached to provide the operating system. They all refused, seeing IBM as the enemy to be destroyed, a symbol of centralized, bureaucratic computing. Mary Maxwell Gates, who sat on the board of an NGO next to the IBM chairman, suggested the name of her son William, nicknamed Bill, who had just founded Microsoft, and the first contact was established in 1980.
The problem was that Microsoft was focused on a programming language called BASIC and certainly not specialized in operating systems. Not that this was ever going to be a problem for Bill Gates, who, with considerable nerve, agreed to sign a deal with IBM to deliver an operating system he didn’t have. Gates then purchased the QDOS system from Seattle Computer Products, from which he developed MS-DOS (where MS stands for Microsoft).
Gates, whose father was a founding partner of a major Seattle law firm, then made his next move. He offered IBM a non-exclusive contract for the use of MS-DOS, which gave him the right to sell it to other computer companies. IBM, which was not used to subcontracting, was not suspicious enough: the contract brought fortunes to Microsoft and misery to IBM when Compaq, Olivetti and Hewlett-Packard rushed to develop IBM PC clones, giving birth to a whole new industry.
Success followed for Microsoft. It not only benefited from IBM’s serious image, which appealed to businesses, but also received royalties on every PC sold on the market. In 1986, the company was introduced on the stock market. Bill Gates, Paul Allen and two of their early employees became billionaires, while 12,000 additional Microsoft employees went on to become millionaires.
Second era: Windows, the golden goose (courtesy of Xerox)
In the mid-1980s, microcomputers were not very functional: their operating systems, including Microsoft’s MS-DOS, ran with forbidding command lines, like the infamous C:/. This all changed in 1984 with the Apple Macintosh, which was equipped with a graphic interface (icons, drop-down menus, fonts, a mouse, etc.). This revolutionary technology was developed in Xerox’s research laboratory, even though the photocopy giant failed to understand its potential. On the other hand, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, was largely inspired by it: to ensure the success of the Macintosh computer, Jobs asked Microsoft to develop a customized version of its office suite, in particular its Excel spreadsheet. Microsoft embraced the graphic interface principle and launched Windows 1 in 1985, which was soon followed by the Office suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
Over the following years, Windows was further improved, culminating in Windows 95, launched in 1995, with an advertising campaign costing over $200 million, for which Bill Gates bought the rights of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up”. At the time, Microsoft’s world market share in operating systems exceeded 70%. This has hardly changed since.
In 1997, Microsoft even went so far as to save Apple from bankruptcy by investing $150 million in its capital in the form of non-voting shares, which were sold back three years later. During one of his famous keynote speeches, Steve Jobs thanked Bill Gates by saying: “Bill, thank you. The world’s a better place.” This bailout also put an end to the lawsuit Apple had filed against Microsoft, accusing it of copying its graphic interface when designing the Windows operating system.
Third era: bureaucratization, internal conflicts and a failed diversification strategy
In the mid-1990s, computing underwent a new transformation with the explosion of the World Wide Web. Microsoft was a specialist in stand-alone PCs, with a business model based on selling boxed software, and it was ill-prepared for the new global networks. Its first response was to develop Internet Explorer, a browser developed from the takeover of the Mosaic browser designed by the Spyglass company, a bit like MS-DOS in its day. Internet Explorer was eventually integrated into Windows, prompting a lawsuit against Microsoft for abuse of its dominant position, which could have led to the company’s break-up. New competitors, such as Google with its Chrome browser, took advantage of these developments to attract users.
In 2000, Bill Gates handed over his position as Microsoft CEO to Steve Ballmer, one of his former Harvard classmates, whose aim was to turn the company into an electronics and services company. Over the next fifteen years, Ballmer embarked on a series of initiatives to diversify the company by including video games (Flight Simulator), CD encyclopedias (Encarta), hardware (mice, keyboards), MP3 players (Zune), online web hosting (Azure), game consoles (Xbox), phones (Windows Phone), tablets and computers (Surface).
While some of these products were successful (notably Azure and Xbox), others were bitter failures. Encarta was quickly swamped by Wikipedia and Zune was no match for Apple’s iPod. Windows Phone remains one of the greatest strategic blunders in the company’s history. In order to secure the company’s success in mobile telephony and compete with the iPhone, Microsoft bought the cell phone division of Finland’s Nokia for $5.4 billion in September 2013. The resulting integration was a disaster: Steve Ballmer wanted Microsoft’s phones to use a version of Windows 10, making them slow and impractical. Less than two years later, Microsoft put an end to its mobile phone operations, with losses amounting to $7.6 billion. Nokia was sold for just $350 million.
One of the outcomes of Microsoft’s multiple business initiatives has been an explosion in the number of its employees, from 61,000 in 2005 to 228,000 in 2024. Numerous internal disputes broke out between different business units, which sometimes refused to work together.
These turf wars, coupled with pervasive bureaucratization and effortless profitability (for each Windows installation, PC manufacturers pay around $50, while the marginal cost of the license is virtually zero), have hindered Microsoft’s capacity for innovation. Its software, including Internet Explorer 6 and Windows Vista, was soon mocked by users for its imperfections, which were continually plugged by frequent updates. As some people noted, Windows is equipped with a “safe” mode, suggesting that its normal mode is “failure”.
Fourth era: is Microsoft the new cool (thanks to the Cloud and OpenAI)?
In 2014, Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer as head of Microsoft. Coming from the online services division, Nadella’s objective was to redirect Microsoft’s strategy online, notably by developing the Azure online web hosting business. In 2024, Azure became the world’s second-largest cloud service behind Amazon Web Services, and more than 56% of Microsoft’s turnover came from its online services. Nadella changed the company’s business model: software is no longer sold but available on a subscription basis, in the shape of products such as Office 365 and Xbox Live.
Along the way, Microsoft acquired the online game Minecraft, followed by the professional social network LinkedIn, in 2016, for $26.2 billion (its largest acquisition to date), and the online development platform GitHub in 2018 for $7.5 billion.
Between 2023 and 2025, Microsoft invested more than $14 billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, giving it a particularly enviable position in the artificial intelligence revolution. ChatGPT’s models also contribute to Microsoft’s in-house AI, Copilot.
Over the past 50 years, thanks to a series of bold moves, timely acquisitions and failed strategies to diversify, Microsoft has evolved significantly in its scope, competitive advantage and business model. Once stifled by opulence and internal conflicts, the company seems to have become attractive again, most notably to young graduates. Who can predict whether Microsoft will still exist in 50 years? Bill Gates himself says the opposite, but he may be bluffing.
Frédéric Fréry ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Campaign to tackle dirty money steps up with new sanctions
UK sanctions corrupt actors undermining democratic governments in Foreign Secretary’s latest steps to crack down on corruption and illicit finance.
UK sanctions pro-Kremlin operation responsible for destabilising Moldova
Cronies used by corrupt leaders to undermine democracy and rule of law in Georgia and Guatemala also included in new crackdown
Action marks latest step in Foreign Secretary’s campaign to tackle threats to UK from corruption and illicit finance
Pro-Kremlin operatives responsible for rigging elections in Moldova are among those hit with sanctions today (2 April), which will freeze assets and ban travel.
This crackdown is the latest in the Foreign Secretary’s campaign to tackle corruption and dirty money, which is vital to protect the UK public from organised criminals and safeguard our democracy.
The sanctions target a network of pro-Russian actors named Evrazia operating in Moldova on behalf of corrupt fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, previously designated by the UK in 2022, to destabilise Moldovan democracy and spread Russia’s malign influence.
Evrazia, a Russian non-profit, has been used by Shor to bribe Moldovan citizens to vote “no” in last year’s referendum on joining the EU. Moldovan police have said that approximately 130,000 citizens received a total of $15 million from Evrazia – with payments ranging from $50 per month for “supporters” to over $2,500 per month for “leaders”.
Today’s sanctions target the founder and director of Evrazia Nelli Alekseyevna Parutenko and member of Evrazia’s management board Natalia Parasca, as well as Evrazia itself and another of Shor’s key political operatives, Marina Tauber.
These sanctions expose the Kremlin’s attempts to undermine and destabilise democracies in Eastern Europe. By targeting corrupt actors and their enablers, the UK is using its powers to create a more hostile environment for corruption and illicit finance and deter threats to the safety and security of Britain.
This marks the next step in the government’s ambitious agenda to tackle the devastating impacts of corruption and illicit finance, both at home and overseas, and deliver the UK’s national security under the Plan for Change.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:
These sanctions send a clear message. We will not stand idly by as Russia undermines democracy and the rule of law, threatening the national security of countries we consider friends and partners.
Left unchecked, this kind of insidious corruption can erode the very foundations of our society and open doors for Russia and other malign actors to expand their influence and compromise the stability of our neighbours and the UK.
We must protect the institutions designed to hold these unscrupulous individuals to account, and the independent investigative journalists whose hard and often dangerous work exposes the truth behind their actions.
Minister Doughty met earlier today with journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to express support for their tireless and risky work exposing corruption and bringing those responsible to justice.
The independent investigative reporting by the OCCRP and the activities of civil society groups such as Transparency International often play a crucial role in informing sanctions of this kind.
Today’s sanctions also target corrupt officials and prosecutors in Georgia and Guatemala, who are sabotaging democratic governance and undermining judicial impartiality by abusing their power.
In Georgia, this includes the leaders of the ‘Judicial Clan’ – a group of party-political judges who are abusing their position to influence court rulings and undermine the rule of law for the benefit of the ‘Georgian Dream’ party and their control of Georgia’s judicial system.
In Guatemala, the sanctions are targeted at former President Giammattei and his ‘Pacto De Corruptos’ (‘Pact of the Corrupt’) – a cabal of officials and prosecutors still operating under the current Attorney General who have sought to undermine the anti-corruption reforms of President Arévalo by interfering in prosecutions and threatening investigators.
Background
The individuals and entity designated for sanctions today are:
Moldova
Evrazia, a non-governmental organisation that acts on behalf of pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor;
Nelli Parutenko, founder and director of Evrazia;
Natalia Parasca, member of the Evrazia management board and former leader of the Shor-backed Renaissance Party;
Marina Tauber, former leader of the Shor Party.
Guatemala
Alejandro Giammattei, former President of Guatemala;
Maria Consuelo Porras, Attorney General of Guatemala;
Jose Curruchiche, Head of the Special Prosecution Office Against Impunity (FECI), who has undermined corruption investigations into Giammattei and his allies;
Cinthia Monterroso, Prosecutor and Head of Unit at FECI;
Angel Pineda, Secretary General of the Public Ministry, who has undermined corruption investigations into Giammattei and his allies, and targeted anti-corruption journalists, judges and prosecutors;
Melvin Quijivix, former Head of the National Institute of Electrification, who misappropriated public funds for the benefit of his own businesses;
Miguel Martinez, close associate of Giammattei.
Georgia
Levan Murusidze, member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia and member of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
Mikheil Chinchaladze, Chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.
About the OCCRP
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is a global network of investigative journalists that exposes organised crime and corruption so citizens can hold powerful politicians and officials to account.
About Transparency International
Transparency International is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit and works with like-minded partners across the world to end the injustice of corruption. Its mission is to stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society. As part of the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium, TI uses OCCRP’s investigative reporting to seek legal redress for victims of corruption, and advocate for reforms to close down the systems and networks that enable corruption to thrive, demanding greater transparency and integrity in all areas of public life.
Definitions
Asset freeze: an asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world.
Travel ban: a travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.
EL PASO, Texas – A Cuban national was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 111 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor aliens, and sexual assault of an alien, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The U.S. Border Patrol assisted with the case.
“Justice was served today for a stash house operator who organized the smuggling of hundreds of illegal aliens and sexually assaulted one of them, all while cramming individuals into tractor-trailers in the sweltering Texas heat,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens. “HSI is committed to aggressively targeting human smugglers and smuggling organizations that continuously exploit individuals for profit. We will relentlessly pursue these criminals who prey on vulnerable people, ensuring they are held accountable for their actions.”
According to court documents, Humberto Yosvany Arriola-Rivero, 30, assisted in the harboring of illegal aliens and managed a stash house in El Paso. He also was an occupant in a vehicle that fled law enforcement that was transporting more than a dozen illegal aliens in April 2023. An investigation revealed that Arriola-Rivero sexually assaulted one of the illegal aliens at the El Paso stash house. Arriola-Rivero was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 17, 2023, and was arrested Sept. 7, 2023. He pleaded guilty Aug. 27, 2024.
“It’s important to note that Arriola-Rivero is being held responsible not only for the significant role he played in human smuggling operations, but also for his abhorrent decision to further dehumanize and sexually violate one of his victims,” said acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “This sentence makes it clear to smugglers in El Paso and across the southern border, that if you engage in alien smuggling in our district, you will be held accountable.”
A new study has demonstrated that the brains of people who experience migraines and other types of headaches cannot modulate visual stimulation in the same way a person without these conditions can.
Daniele Piscitelli, assistant professor of kinesiology in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), published these findings in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.
Piscitelli had been collaborating with colleagues in Brazil to study changes in the cortical activity and neuroplasticity in the brains of individuals with stroke. In the course of their work, they found that other researchers had been using the same kinds of measurements to study migraines.
This led Piscitelli and his collaborators to wonder if their work could improve understanding of what causes migraines.
Piscitelli was co-responsible for the study design and data analysis. The study was conducted in the laboratory of Kátia Monte-Silva, Ph.D., at the Laboratório de Neurociência Aplicada, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
They recruited three populations of participants: people who experience migraines, people who regularly experience other kinds of headaches, and a “healthy” population that did not have migraines nor other headaches in the past month.
They took measurements of cortical excitability in each of the groups. Cortical excitability is a measure of brain activity, essentially how much a person’s brain responds to stimuli. Previous research had demonstrated that people who experience migraines have higher cortical excitability. This means their neurons have a lower threshold for excitability than the healthy population, leading their brains to become overstimulated more easily.
The researchers here were interested specifically in two areas of the cerebral cortex – the visual cortex, which processes visual information, and the motor cortex – which controls voluntary movement.
“We were interested in seeing the cortical excitability, specifically the motor cortex excitability and the visual cortex excitability in a window that was one day after or before the [migraine or headache] attack,” Piscitelli says.
To evaluate motor cortex excitability, the researchers the researchers applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the motor cortex and recorded the resulting muscle activity using electromyography (EMG) from the hand muscles. To measure excitability in the visual cortex they asked participants when they saw light (phosphenes) in their visual field when TMS was applied over the occipital cortex.
“Both of these are measures that are broadly used to measure the cortical excitability that give us an indirect information about the threshold of the neurons,” Piscitelli says.
In these preliminary measurements, there were no significant differences between the three groups.
The next part of the study involved participants looking at a black and white checkerboard that alternated colors with one eye covered at a time (i.e., pattern-reversal visual stimulation). The researchers then took the same visual and motor cortex excitability measurements after this stimulation.
This time, the researchers saw significant differences between the groups.
Both those who experience migraines and other headaches had increased levels of visual cortex excitability compared to the healthy control group.
“Healthy subjects were able to modulate cortical excitability following the stimulation while people with migraines and other types of headaches had an increase in the cortical excitability,” Piscitelli says.
There were no differences in motor cortex excitability.
The fact that both people with migraines and other headaches responded in the same way to the stimulation indicates that both conditions share a neurological basis.
These results also indicate that existing medications that reduce visual cortex excitability, like those used to treat epileptic seizures, could be useful for this population as well.
Given this, one of the next steps of this research will be conducting a study with people who experience seizures to determine if they have similar cortical excitability.
“How the brain organizes information is the key to pathophysiology and is probably the key to treat the patients,” Piscitelli says.
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.
Bogotá –Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has in recent weeks increased our medical humanitarian assistance in areas hit by the most intense upsurge of conflict in years in Colombia. Tens of thousands of people are currently caught in at least 11 active pockets of violence, according to authorities. Amid exacerbated humanitarian needs, we urge state entities and other humanitarian organisations to reach isolated communities where many people are lacking access to basic services, including healthcare. We also urge armed groups to protect medical facilities and humanitarian workers from violence.
“We are deeply concerned about the impact that the escalating conflict in Colombia is having on tens of thousands of people in several regions of the country,” says Francisco Otero, MSF general coordinator in Colombia. “Our teams are providing essential medical and humanitarian assistance to isolated and vulnerable communities, in areas that are very difficult to access for humanitarian organisations and with little state presence.”
In February, MSF teams launched an emergency response in rural areas of the northeastern region of Catatumbo, where in January more than 50,000 people were forced from their homes by hostilities in the largest sudden displacement of people in decades. Many of those who remained now have movement restrictions imposed on them. In March, we started a project in the department of Arauca, which borders Venezuela.
A map of MSF’s response in Colombia. March 2025.
Emergency in Catatumbo
In mid-January, the breakdown of a non-aggression pact between two non-state armed groups triggered an escalation of violence that has left at least 98 people dead, and some 77,000 people affected, including displaced and confined persons, according to state authorities. The Colombian armed forces have also launched several offensives against these groups.
MSF teams are carrying out mobile clinics in rural areas where there are restrictions on movement, both for people to leave in search of resources and services, and for official entities and other humanitarian organisations to enter. MSF is one of the few organisations granted access by the parties to the conflict to areas widely affected by these restrictions.
Between 10 February and 15 March, we provided nearly 1,200 medical consultations in rural areas of Ábrego, Teorama, and Tibú, including 933 for basic healthcare and 112 for mental health. Additionally, 472 people benefited from group mental health activities.
“We see a deterioration in the health of the community, from children with symptoms of malnutrition to patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes, whose treatment has been interrupted.” explains Dr Altair Saavedra, MSF’s medical coordinator in Colombia.
“Most of the pregnant women we saw in consultations had not started prenatal checkups, regardless of their gestational age, and some patients have shown severe psychological symptoms caused by uncertainty about the development of the conflict.” says Dr Saavedra.
In addition, in the areas visited by MSF, at least four basic healthcare centres have closed or have suspended activities due to the violence.
An MSF mobile team arrives at the health centre in the village of La Arenosa, in Catatumbo, northeast Colombia, to provide medical and psychological care to communities affected by the ongoing conflict whose movement has been restricted by armed actors. Colombia, February 2025.MSF
New project in Arauca
In the region of Arauca, several non-state armed groups are fighting for the control of the territory. MSF began a long-term project in the first week of March that focuses on people who face severe constraints to access healthcare. They include Venezuelan migrants, Colombian returnees, and displaced people, as well as vulnerable Indigenous groups in the urban area, and communities affected by the armed conflict in rural areas.
“We will offer services for sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive care for survivors of sexual violence, mental health consultations, priority attention to children under five years of age, support for first level facilities and strengthening the technical capacity of health personnel,” says Alejandro Matos, MSF coordinator in Arauca. “We will also carry out water and sanitation activities.”
An MSF team provides medical care, family planning methods and psychological care to people in a settlement in Arauca. Colombia, March 2025.Alejandro Matos/MSF
Between 3 and 14 March, we provided 281 medical consultations, 30 individual mental health consultations, and 116 people participated in group mental health sessions, in the settlements of Jerusalem, Brisas del Puente, and Clarinetero, in the town of Arauca, the region’s capital.
The worsening conflict in Colombia
Seven decades of conflict have made Colombia one of the countries with the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, with nearly nine million according to authorities. During the last decade, the figure of 70,000 people newly displaced by violence was never surpassed in a year, but in 2024 the country registered 160,000, according to the authorities. This is the highest annual figure since the 2016 signing of the peace agreement between the state and the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Despite an ongoing negotiation process between the government and several non-state armed groups, the Colombian ombudsman’s office has indicated there are 11 humanitarian emergency hotspots, especially in regions along the Pacific and the Venezuelan border.
“As an organisation that guides our action under the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, we call on the parties to the conflict to provide safe access to areas hit by violence where there are unmet humanitarian needs.” says Otero.
Colombia has also been the largest recipient of USAID funds in Latin America. In 2024, the United States provided nearly 68 per cent of the resources for the humanitarian response managed by aid workers in the country. But in 2025, dozens of NGOs and United Nations agencies have already been impacted by cuts. In the health sector alone, more than 183,000 people lost access to assistance, and 683,000 others are at risk of being affected, according to the humanitarian health organisations team.
“Amid the exacerbation of needs due to the worsening conflict, we urge State entities and other humanitarian organisations to reach out to communities where access to basic services such as healthcare has been impacted,” says Otero. “We urge the parties to the conflict to protect medical facilities and humanitarian workers from violence.”
You could also be interested in
Mali
MSF resumes medical activities in central Mali
Interview1 Apr 2025
Gaza-Israel war
One month into deadly Israeli-imposed blockade, critical medicines in Gaza start to run out
Press Release2 Apr 2025
Cholera
People affected by violence and cholera in South Sudan arrive exhausted in Ethiopia
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Martin Liao and a reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (April 2):
Question:
In November last year, the Hong Kong Government signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Latin American country Peru, and the Chancay Port in Peru, an important project under the Belt and Road Initiative jointly invested by the Chinese and Peruvian enterprises, has also been open for use. Regarding the exploration of economic, trade and investment opportunities between Hong Kong and Latin America, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will provide Hong Kong businessmen with the latest market information, technical support and consultation services etc, so as to assist them in expanding into the Latin American market; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) how it will assist Hong Kong’s professional services sectors in grasping the development opportunities of the emerging markets in Latin America; and
(3) whether it will step up efforts to attract enterprises from Latin American countries to come to Hong Kong and make use of Hong Kong as the gateway to enter into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even the entire market of China, so as to expand their businesses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In response to the question raised by the Hon Martin Liao, I provide below the consolidated reply.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been actively expanding the economic and trade network, and exploring development opportunities in different markets, with particular emphasis on strengthening economic and trade ties with and market development in emerging markets and those of potential in recent years. In 2024, the total merchandise trade between Latin America and Hong Kong amounted to about HK$124.3 billion, representing an increase of 17 per cent when compared with 2023. On services trade, the total trade between the two places amounted to about HK$7.8 billion in 2023, representing an increase of about 24 per cent when compared with 2022. With the good foundation of economic and trade connection the HKSAR Government has built with the Latin America, we will continue to foster closer economic and trade ties with the Latin American region, opening up more trade and investment opportunities for Hong Kong businesses.
As part of our efforts in expanding the economic and trade network, the HKSAR Government strengthens economic co-operation with trading partners, assists Hong Kong enterprises in developing markets and securing better market access, and enhances protection of investors’ overseas investments through forging free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment agreements. Hong Kong signed an FTA and an investment agreement with Chile in 2012 and 2016 respectively, an investment agreement with Mexico in 2020, and an FTA with Peru in 2024. In addition, Hong Kong is exploring with Peru the signing of an investment agreement, and is also proactively seeking to forge FTAs and investment agreements with more trading partners in the Latin American region, with a view to further promoting economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and our major trading partners in the Latin American region.
Hong Kong and Chile have updated their commitments on trade in services under the FTA in recent years. Chile has made commitments in over 50 new service sectors, encompassing priority service sectors in which Hong Kong has traditional strengths or has potential for priority development, such as professional and business services, technical testing and analysis services, convention services, distribution services etc. Relevant Hong Kong services as well as their providers, subject to specific exceptions or conditions, enjoy access to the Chilean market and treatment no less favourable than that for Chile’s local service providers. The updated commitments, which entered into force in 2023, create more opportunities for relevant service providers and investors.
In addition, Hong Kong and Peru signed an FTA in November 2024. Under the FTA, Hong Kong service providers in over 150 services sectors, including professional services, can enjoy legal certainty of better market access and national treatment when operating in Peru. We have been actively conducting a series of publicity and promotional activities (including holding and participating in seminar, reception and exhibition; launching designated webpage; and issuing circulars and promotional leaflets) to introduce the content, benefits and implementation arrangements of the FTA, and encourage Hong Kong’s businesses to grasp the opportunities brought by this FTA, as well as through Peru and our FTA and investment agreement partners including Peru, Chile and Mexico to expand their businesses in the Latin American markets. In the meantime, we have also conveyed the benefits brought by the FTA to Latin American companies by outreaching events to promote collaboration in trade and investment. For instance, Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Trade and Industry Department (TID) cohosted a reception for the Ibero-American community on March 13, 2025, promoting further collaboration through, among other initiatives, trade and investment agreements.
Besides, the TID has been closely monitoring the trade development in the Latin American region, issuing circulars regarding the latest policies and measures concerned of the economies there, as well as publishing factsheets on Hong Kong’s commercial relationship with its major trading partners in that region for Hong Kong enterprises. The TID has also established hotline, email account and webpages to assist Hong Kong enterprises in obtaining and inquiring about the relevant information of trading partners in Latin America, including FTAs and investment agreements signed by Hong Kong, helping businesses understand and develop markets in the Latin American region.
Meanwhile, the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) provides funding support for enterprises to develop business in economies with which Hong Kong has signed FTAs and/or investment agreements. The geographical coverage of the BUD Fund covers 40 economies including Chile, Mexico and Peru to further support enterprises in exploring more diversified markets.
To assist Hong Kong enterprises in tapping the markets of Latin America, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has established consultant offices in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, Chile’s Santiago and Mexico’s Mexico City, to support the HKTDC’s local trade promotion activities and business matching services. The HKTDC will continue to leverage its consultant offices in Latin America to provide Hong Kong enterprises with information on the latest developments of Latin America and invite enterprises in Latin America to participate in Hong Kong’s large-scale exhibitions and conferences, in order to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as a two-way global investment and business hub.
As for InvestHK, through its teams based in Hong Kong, the Dedicated Teams for Attracting Businesses and Talents based in the Mainland Offices and the overseas Economic and Trade Offices of the HKSAR Government, as well as consultant offices in other locations (including those located in Latin America, namely, Mexico City, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and Lima, Peru), it has all along been reaching out to a wide spectrum of companies in different sectors and industries around the world to attract and assist them to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong, and offering one-stop customised support services from the planning to implementation stages.
InvestHK will continue to proactively provide overseas enterprises, including those from Latin America, with the latest information on Hong Kong’s business environment and promote Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world and other core strengths under “one country, two systems”, as well as the immense opportunities brought by key national strategies including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and the Belt and Road Initiative, with a view to attracting these enterprises to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong and leverage Hong Kong as a springboard to enter the Mainland market. For example, InvestHK plans to visit Medellín, Colombia; Lima, Peru; and Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2025, and co-organise investment promotion activities with local chambers of commerce to strengthen investment promotion work in Latin America.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silvaco Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVCO) (“Silvaco” or the “Company”), a provider of TCAD, EDA software and SIP solutions that enable semiconductor design and digital twin modeling through AI software and innovation, today announced that ProMOS Technologies has adopted Silvaco’s Victory TCAD™ simulation solution to accelerate the development of next-generation silicon photonics devices. By leveraging Silvaco’s cutting-edge technology, ProMOS aims to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and reliability of its photonic device designs.
Silvaco’s Victory Process™ is a comprehensive and technology-agnostic simulation solution that enables precise modeling of real-world fabrication steps, including etching, deposition, oxidation, implantation, and diffusion. Unlike simple emulation tools, Victory Process provides a detailed and accurate representation of semiconductor manufacturing, ensuring that simulated outcomes closely match actual production processes.
The Victory TCAD solution supports a wide range of cutting-edge applications, including Photonics, CMOS, Power, Memory, and Display technologies. Its user-friendly interface, automation capabilities, and advanced simulation features allow for efficient process optimization, rapid design iteration, and robust Design of Experiments (DoE) implementation. With Victory TCAD, ProMOS gains a powerful platform for accelerating innovation and refining the performance of its photonic devices.
“The adoption of Silvaco’s Victory TCAD tools marks a significant step forward for ProMOS in developing next-gen photonic devices,” said Lynn Lin, Vice President at ProMOS. “Silvaco’s product leadership, service, and technical support were instrumental in our decision to select Silvaco for our photonic device development, helping us accelerate the pace of our innovation.”
“The adoption of the Victory TCAD solution by ProMOS highlights the growing demand for advanced simulation solutions in silicon photonics,” said Eric Guichard, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the TCAD business unit at Silvaco. “We are thrilled to support ProMOS in their silicon photonics development journey. Victory TCAD provides a comprehensive simulation environment that enables companies like ProMOS to take into account process variation to optimize device performance while exploring new frontiers in photonics and semiconductor innovation.”
About Silvaco Silvaco is a provider of TCAD, EDA software, and SIP solutions that enable semiconductor design and AI through software and innovation. Silvaco’s solutions are used for process and device development across display, power devices, automotive, memory, high performance compute, photonics, internet of things, and 5G/6G mobile markets for complex SoC design. Silvaco is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and has a global presence with offices located in North America, Europe, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
On 24 March, it was formally agreed that Itaipú Binacional should finance the purchase of 3,000 hectares of land in Brazil to restore part of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense territory that had been dispossessed and flooded for the construction and operation of the Itaipú hydroelectric dam. The dam, one of the largest in the world, was built in the 1970s and 1980s as a joint project by the Paraguayan and Brazilian governments.
Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, declared that “The commitment to purchase 3,000 hectares of land in Brazil with resources from Itaipú Binacional is a result of the resistance of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People. It does not, however, discharge the responsibility of the company and the governments of Brazil and Paraguay to provide full reparation to a people who have struggled for more than 40 years to recover their land”.
The commitment to purchase 3,000 hectares of land in Brazil with resources from Itaipú Binacional is a result of the resistance of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People. It does not, however, discharge the responsibility of the company and the governments of Brazil and Paraguay to provide full reparation to a people who have struggled for more than 40 years to recover their land.
Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International
A week ago, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court endorsed a settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Brazil, representing the interests of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense Indigenous communities, against Brazilian state agencies and Itaipú Binacional. This legal procedure, supported by the Guaraní Yvyrupa Commission and other organizations, seeks redress for human rights violations suffered by the communities of Tekoha Guasu Ocoy Jacutinga and Tekoha Guassu Guavira in Brazil. The agreement includes the publication of an apology acknowledging the company’s responsibility for the violations and “damages” suffered by these Indigenous peoples during construction of the dam, and financing the purchase of 3,000 hectares of land for the communities, which comprise more than 5,000 members in the municipalities of São Miguel do Iguaçu, Itaipulândia, Santa Helena, Terra Roxa and Guaíra in the state of Paraná.
In their own statement, the communities accepted this restitution as an immediate remedy, but declared that it does not in any way cover the true extent of the damage caused to the Avá Guaraní Paranaense territory. In particular, the communities in Brazil insist that this restitution does not cover all of the land they are claiming, and that the 3,000 hectares to be acquired are not enough to avoid a situation of overpopulation that would prevent them from recovering their traditional livelihoods linked to cultivation, hunting, fishing and forest management.
The dam that Brazil, Paraguay and Itaipú Binacional present internationally as a model project for the production of supposedly clean energy is in fact built on the pain of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People. Without their territory and the livelihoods it provides, the very cultural identity of these Indigenous peoples is at risk
Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International Brazil
“The dam that Brazil, Paraguay and Itaipú Binacional present internationally as a model project for the production of supposedly clean energy is in fact built on the pain of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People. Without their territory and the livelihoods it provides, the very cultural identity of these Indigenous peoples is at risk.”, said Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International Brazil.
The Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities on the Paraguayan side of the border shared with Amnesty International their joy at the steps taken in Brazil and their disappointment at the lack of equivalent progress in Paraguay. For more than a decade, Amnesty International has denounced the continued violation of the human rights of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People in Paraguay, in particular through lack of reparation, the precariousness that affects many of those displaced, and the violence directed against communities who, after years of waiting, have decided to reoccupy parts of their ancestral territory that have not been flooded.
Rosalía Vega, executive director of Amnesty International Paraguay, said that “the Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities are a single people who share an open wound inflicted by the Itaipú hydroelectric dam. It is therefore incomprehensible that acknowledgement of responsibility and steps towards reparation are not happening simultaneously. Both the Paraguayan and Brazilian governments and Itaipú Binacional must be held accountable and address the claims of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities on both sides of the border”.
The Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities are a single people who share an open wound inflicted by the Itaipú hydroelectric dam. It is therefore incomprehensible that acknowledgement of responsibility and steps towards reparation are not happening simultaneously. Both the Paraguayan and Brazilian governments and Itaipú Binacional must be held accountable and address the claims of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities on both sides of the border
Rosalía Vega, executive director of Amnesty International Paraguay
For these reasons, Amnesty International submitted an access to information request to Itaipú Binacional on both sides of the border, asking the company about the integrity of the measures taken to respect the right of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People to free, prior and informed consultation and to redress the human rights violations committed during the construction of the dam. The request also addresses the company’s responsibility of due diligence to ensure that human rights are upheld at all times in its operations.
Amnesty International recognizes the resistance of the Avá Guaraní Paranaense People and reaffirms its commitment to accompany their struggle until justice and effective reparation for the human rights violations committed against them on both sides of the Paraná River are achieved.
For further information or to request an interview, please contact [email protected]
The EIB Group has invested more than €90 million in a BBVA asset-backed securitisation operation.
This EIB investment will allow BBVA to mobilise some €185 millionin financing for sustainable housing projects in Spain.
The operation is backed by InvestEU, an EU programme that aims to unlock over €372 billion in investment by 2027.
The EIB Group – made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) – has signed a new €93 million synthetic securitisation operation with BBVA for 100% green projects. This investment will allow BBVA to mobilise around €185 million to finance the construction of residential buildings with near-zero emissions by small and medium firms (SMEs) and mid-caps in Spain’s real estate sector.
The operation is guaranteed by InvestEU, the EU programme to mobilise public and private investment. It will give SMEs and mid-caps that promote sustainable housing easier access to financing on favourable terms that would not otherwise be available for such projects.
The projects financed by this operation will improve energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions and help mitigate climate change. A significant number of these projects are expected to be implemented in cohesion regions where the income per capita is below the EU average.
This operation is one more demonstration of the EIB Group’s role of promoting new financial instruments like securitisation that help unlock capital for green projects, reduce the risk borne by sponsoring financial institutions and strengthen the EU capital markets union.
The agreement with BBVA supports the strategic priorities of the EIB Group, which include climate action, access to affordable and sustainable housing, cohesion and the capital markets union.
The securitisation is on a portfolio of over €1.4 billion in loans to SMEs in which BBVA will retain the senior and junior tranches, and the EIB Group will guarantee the mezzanine tranche of €93 million. It has been structured to meet the STS criteria (simple, transparent and standardised), and includes a synthetic excess spread mechanism and uses pro rata amortisation (which may be changed to sequential).
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.
Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.
About InvestEU
The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that invest in projects, leveraging on the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.
About BBVA
BBVA is a global financial services group founded in 1857. The bank is present in more than 25 countries, has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and Turkey.
BBVA contributes with its activity to the progress and welfare of all its stakeholders: shareholders, clients, employees, providers and society in general. In this regard, BBVA supports families, entrepreneurs and companies in their plans, and helps them to take advantage of the opportunities provided by innovation and technology. Likewise, BBVA offers its customers a unique value proposition, leveraged on technology and data, helping them improve their financial health with personalized information on financial decision-making.
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. L. Murugan, met with the Minister of Culture, Arts & Heritage of Chile, H.E. Mrs. Carolina Arredondo, in New Delhi as part of Chile President Gabriel Boric Font’s five-day visit to India.
Union Minister of State Dr. L. Murugan Invites Chile toWAVES 2025
The Hon’ble Minister facilitated various discussions, especially regarding the upcoming World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES), slated to take place from 1st to 4th May, 2025. The Hon’ble Minister extended an invitation for the event and presented H.E. Mrs. Carolina Arredondo with a painting depicting Indian sculptures.
The meeting was also attended by members of the Chilean delegation, including Mr. Martín Gormaz, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Chile, along with Mr. Lakshmi Chandra, Under Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, and Dr. Ajay Nagabhushan M.N., Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Had an insightful meeting with H.E. Mrs. Carolina Arredondo, Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Arts & Heritage of #Chile. Discussed avenues to strengthen India-Chile cultural cooperation, enhance collaborations in arts and heritage, and further deepen our bilateral ties
The President of the Republic of Chile, H.E. Mr. Gabriel Boric Font is on a State visit to India from 1st to 5th April, 2025, commemorating the completion of 76 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Apart from New Delhi, President Boric is set to visit Agra, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. This is the first visit of President Boric to India.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President of the Republic of Chile, H.E. Mr. Gabriel Boric Font, during their discussions, agreed to initiate talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, aiming to expand economic linkages between the two nations. They identified and discussed critical sectors such as minerals, energy, defence, space, and agriculture as areas with immense potential for collaboration.
Healthcare emerged as a promising avenue for closer ties, with the rising popularity of Yoga and Ayurveda in Chile serving as a testament to the cultural exchange between the two countries. The leaders also underscored the importance of deepening cultural and educational connections through student exchange programs and other initiatives.
