Headline: Training course on trade in services concludes in Geneva for WTO acceding governments
The governments represented were Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Curaçao, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Participants received training on the GATS disciplines, including how to create schedules of commitments, and how to view services from a sectoral perspective. They also learned how to develop market access offers in services in the context of bilateral market access negotiations.
The course also covered current trends in services trade, and provided participants with an overview of the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, launched in 2017 by a group of WTO members to streamline regulations and reduce unnecessary barriers to services trade. In addition, the course looked into cross-cutting topics, such as e-commerce and investment facilitation. Experience-sharing roundtables were also organized with selected WTO members active in accessions and with former services negotiators.
Speaking at the closing session of the course, WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang emphasized the transformative potential of the WTO accession process and the importance of trade in services in this process. He noted that services negotiations can drive domestic reform and attract foreign direct investment. DDG Zhang encouraged participants to continue advancing their governments’ accession negotiations while actively engaging across all areas of the WTO’s work.
In a fireside chat with Hamid Mamdouh, former Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division, on the last day of the course, WTO Deputy Director-General Johanna Hill emphasized the dynamism and resilience of services trade. She noted that many recently acceded members have been outperforming most WTO members in services trade growth, GDP growth and domestic investments.
At the opening session on 7 April, Maika Oshikawa, Director of the WTO’s Accessions Division, highlighted the value of specialized training courses the WTO Secretariat has been regularly providing since 2016 on key pillars of accession negotiations. She said that “understanding WTO disciplines and practices on trade in services is essential for preparing market access offers and conducting bilateral market access negotiations.”
Markus Jelitto, Officer in Charge of the WTO Trade in Services and Investment Division, said: “Negotiating services in the context of WTO accession is a complex challenge — but one that holds significant potential. Services trade offers exceptional opportunities for developing economies, including those in the process of WTO accession.”
Mondher Mimouni, Director of ITC’s Division of Market Development, stressed the importance of mastering WTO rules on services trade, especially for acceding governments. He said: “This training is a critical step toward maximizing the benefits of WTO membership.”
Ylham Yarashov, a participant from Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economy, said the course provided useful guidance to support his government’s accession efforts. He stated: “The knowledge gained from this training will be applied directly because we will be beginning to build Turkmenistan’s position and preparing our offers and requests in a way that responds to both our economic interests and development priorities.”
Another course participant, Sonam Tshering Dorji from Bhutan’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment, said: “The course provided me with deeper insights into the world of services, which are highly relevant to the work of my Ministry. It has also strengthened my ability to read and draft schedules of commitments, while offering valuable opportunities to expand my network with fellow negotiators from various acceding governments.”
Carol Young from The Bahamas Investment Authority who also participated in the course, said: “The training highlighted the need to better align my country’s National Investment Policy with WTO principles to prepare for its accession to the Organization.”
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Frontline today announced Rescue 42 as the latest partner to earn “Verizon Frontline Verified” status.
For nearly three decades, Rescue 42 has been a leading manufacturer of fire and rescue equipment, including telecom devices. Rescue 42 joins a growing list of vendors whose products meet the high standards required to attain the prestigious “Verizon Frontline Verified” designation.
“This is a tremendous achievement for our company,” said Amy Velazquez, President and Chief Operations Officer at Rescue 42. “Obtaining ‘Verizon Frontline Verified’ status demonstrates Rescue 42’s continued commitment to delivering high-quality, mission-critical communications solutions proven to perform on high-quality networks like Verizon’s.”
Rescue 42’s products, like the miniNSD AiO, are used by public safety agencies across the nation. The miniNSD AiO, or Network System Deployable All-in-One, is a portable cell tower and satellite backhaul solution that is ruggedized for austere weather conditions, can connect up to 64 devices, and has a Wi-Fi hotspot range of 500 feet. The miniNSD AiO is small enough to be carried by hand or rolled in its case.
The “Verizon Frontline Verified” program offers a special designation to vendors whose products have been tested and meet the high standards required for public safety use on the Verizon network. The products eligible for this status are specifically designed to assist public safety officials and first responders during all types of hazards and emergencies.
Vendors looking to earn the “Verizon Frontline Verified” designation must first be part of the Verizon Frontline Innovation Program. Vendors in this program can request to have specific products, like the miniNSD AiO, go through the verification process. More information on the program can be found here.
Since 1995, Rescue 42 has manufactured innovative fire and rescue products in the U.S. at its facility in Chico, California. With a solid reputation for quality and reliability, Rescue 42 products have become a fixture in modern public safety operations. Learn more at www.rescue42.com.
Verizon Frontline is the advanced network and technology built for first responders – developed over three decades of partnership with public safety officials and agencies on the front lines – to meet their unique and evolving needs. Learn more at our site.
“During periods of drought, the Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) helps manage the Washington metropolitan area water supply system by coordinating withdrawals from the Potomac River and off-river reservoirs and recommending releases from upstream reservoirs when forecasted flow in the river is not sufficient to meet expected needs. These needs include water demands and an environmental flow-by of 100 million gallons per day (MGD) on the Potomac River at Little Falls dam near Washington, D.C. Learn more about CO-OP’s work on the CO-OP History page.
Drought Monitoring and Operations
CO-OP begins daily Drought Monitoring when flow at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gage at Point of Rocks, Maryland, falls below 2,000 cubic feet per second. During Drought Monitoring, CO-OP sends out daily email reports to stakeholders summarizing flow, weather, and demand conditions. These monitoring updates are made available each morning on the CO-OP Data Portal.
CO-OP begins Drought Operations when flow in the Potomac River at the U.S. Geological Survey gage at Little Falls dam drops below the total metropolitan area supplier daily Potomac River withdrawals plus the 100 million gallons per day flow-by, or when CO-OP flow forecasts indicate that there is a significant chance that releases from Jennings Randolph and/or Little Seneca reservoirs will be needed within the next ten days. During Drought Operations, CO-OP sends out reports to stakeholders twice daily. Reports summarize basin flow conditions, system demands, and reservoir storage volumes. They contain recommended withdrawal targets and reservoir release rates. These reports are made available to the public through the CO-OP Data Portal. . .”
Headline: Governor Josh Stein Outlines Priorities to Keep North Carolina’s Kids Safe from Child Abuse & Neglect
Governor Josh Stein Outlines Priorities to Keep North Carolina’s Kids Safe from Child Abuse & Neglect lsaito
Raleigh, NC
Today, Governor Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson, North Carolina Department of Public Safety Secretary Eddie Buffaloe, and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai joined advocates and law enforcement officers at the SAFEChild Advocacy Center to raise awareness of the ongoing tragedy of child abuse and neglect. They also highlighted April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and April 28 as Children’s Advocacy Center Day.
“Every year there are more than 100,000 reports of child abuse and neglect in North Carolina,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I am proud to recognize Children’s Advocacy Center Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month so that we can seek justice and promote healing for North Carolina’s children, as well as reaffirm our commitment to protecting kids from abuse.”
“We all want our children to grow up safe, healthy, and with every opportunity to succeed,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “As Attorney General, I take seriously the responsibility to make sure child survivors of abuse and trauma can heal, hold their abusers accountable, and build strong futures for themselves. I’m grateful for Governor Stein’s leadership to protect our kids.”
“North Carolina’s children deserve the opportunity to grow up in a safe and secure environment. Too often, a child is abused and neglected by someone close to them, so it is vital that kids have a chance to report abuse to law enforcement,” said North Carolina Department of Public Safety Secretary Eddie Buffaloe. “This also means taking steps to prevent abuse and neglect before it happens – by protecting children online and by preventing situations in which abusers use firearms to intimidate children.”
“I am grateful to groups like SAFE Child North Carolina who are providing care, counseling and resources to thousands of children and families impacted by abuse,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. “Working together with partners across the state, we can raise awareness and protect children so they can grow up in safe, nurturing environments where they can reach their full potential and thrive.”
“Every child in North Carolina deserves to grow up in a nurturing environment, free from abuse and neglect,” said SAFEchild Executive Director Cristin DeRonja. “A child who experiences abuse requires decades to recover and heal, which is why it is crucial that children’s advocacy centers have the resources to provide essential intervention and treatment for children who suffer from traumatic abuse and neglect. These children need a sense of hope, knowing that someone believes them and is on their side. I am eternally grateful for Governor Stein’s support and commitment to preventing and eliminating child abuse and neglect.”
At SAFEChild’s Advocacy Center, Governor Stein signed proclamations recognizing Children’s Advocacy Center Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month. As Attorney General, Governor Stein worked with the General Assembly to pass the Sexual Assault Fast Reporting and Enforcement Act, or SAFE Child Act, requiring people and institutions to report abuse to local law enforcement, regardless of the abuser’s relationship with the child. Governor Stein’s 2025-2027 budget proposal calls for increased investment in the Positive Parenting Program, which seeks to strengthen parenting skills and prevent child maltreatment.
If a child you know is being abused or neglected or exhibits signs of being abused or neglected, please help them seek help. Resources are available for reporting suspected abuse or neglect and recognizing the signs of child abuse.
What you need to know: Following Governor Newsom’s state of emergency proclamation to protect communities from catastrophic wildfire, a new online fast-track process now makes it faster to get state-level approvals – in as little as 30 days – for critical forest and vegetation management projects.
SACRAMENTO – A new online streamlining request process cuts bureaucratic red tape and now makes it faster to get state approval to implement forest and vegetation management projects, which are critical to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. This new process will shorten project approvals to as little as 30 days – saving a year or more of review and red tape for more complicated projects.
This builds on consecutive years of intensive and focused work by the State of California to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires, and most recently Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation. Full information on project eligibility and the suspension request form are available here.
The new process to accelerate critical wildfire safety projects advances some of the essential actions identified in the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s ambitious 25 key deliverables for 2025, and builds on statewide efforts to move fast to prepare communities ahead of peak wildfire season by promoting key safety measures such as hardening homes and creating defensible space.
Peak fire season is still ahead of us, yet this year has already been marked by some of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history. We need to move faster and go bigger.
This new streamlined process, which builds on historic investments and nation leading actions to confront catastrophic wildfires, cuts red tape to fast-track more wildfire projects than ever before.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Faster permitting without compromising environmental protections
The new process will allow practitioners across the state to move faster without compromising important environmental protections. A new Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) has been developed to enable critical wildfire safety projects to proceed expeditiously while protecting public health and the environment. The EPP requires applicants to comply with best management practices and measures to minimize impacts to environmental resources while completing fuels reduction projects, ensuring the safeguarding of water and air quality, tribal cultural resources, and special-status species and their habitats.
Expanding prescribed and cultural fire
In addition to streamlining permitting, leaders from across the state have already come together in response to the Emergency Proclamation to start developing recommendations on specific actions to expand and expedite the implementation of prescribed and cultural fire. On April 11, a virtual briefing provided an overview on the execution of the Proclamation and provided the public an opportunity to share recommendations for expanding beneficial fire.
Building on unprecedented progress
New, bold moves to streamline state-level regulatory processes builds long-term efforts already underway in California to increase wildfire response and forest management in the face of a hotter, drier climate. A full list of California’s progress on wildfire resilience is available here.
Highlights of achievements to date include:
Historic investments — Overall, the state has more than doubled investments in wildfire prevention and landscape resilience efforts, providing more than $2.5 billion in wildfire resilience since 2020, with an additional $1.5 billion to be allocated from the 2024 Climate Bond.
On-the-ground progress — More than 2,200 landscape health and fire prevention projects are complete or underway, and from 2021-2023, the State and its partners treated nearly 1.9 million acres, including nearly 730,000 acres in 2023.
Increasing transparency — The Governor’s Task Force launched an Interagency Treatment Dashboard to display wildfire resilience work across federal, state, local, and privately managed lands across the State. The Dashboard, launched in 2023, provides transparency, tracks progress, facilitates planning, and informs firefighting efforts.
Hardening communities — Adding to California’s nation-leading fire safety standards, Governor Newsom signed an executive order to further improve community hardening and wildfire mitigation strategies to neighborhood resilience statewide. Since 2019, CAL FIRE has awarded more than $450 million for 450 wildfire prevention projects across the state and conducts Defensible Space Inspections on more than 250,000 homes each year.
Leveraging cutting-edge technology — On top of expanding the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet, CAL FIRE has doubled its use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and the state is utilizing AI-powered tools to spot fires quicker.
Press Releases, Recent News
Recent news
Apr 17, 2025
News What you need to know: California’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovers nearly 41,000 stolen items valued at $4.4 million, leading to 383 arrests. SACRAMENTO – Citing ongoing progress to takedown organized retail crime statewide, Governor Gavin Newsom…
Apr 16, 2025
News What you need to know: California today filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses. SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom…
Apr 15, 2025
News What you need to know: The passage of Proposition 1 by California voters adds rocket fuel to Governor Gavin Newsom’s transformational overhaul of the state’s behavioral health system. These reforms refocus existing funds to prioritize Californians with the most…
What you need to know: California’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovers nearly 41,000 stolen items valued at $4.4 million, leading to 383 arrests.
SACRAMENTO – Citing ongoing progress to takedown organized retail crime statewide, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that since January, the state’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force conducted 211 investigations which led to 383 arrests and the recovery of nearly 41,000 stolen goods valued at $4.4 million.
Spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force in March alone made 174 arrests and recovered $2,134,742 in stolen assets.
“The state remains committed to supporting businesses through continued retail theft enforcement, which month after month yields strong results. I thank the California Highway Patrol and others in our Organized Retail Crime Task Force for instilling a sense of safety and support at California’s storefronts.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
The CHP coordinates with local law enforcement statewide to take down organized retail theft operations. During a notable incident in February, CHP officers busted an organized retail theft ring in the Bay Area, recovering stolen merchandise valued at more than $779,000. In March, thanks to quick coordination and real-time tracking, the CHP apprehended a suspect involved in the theft of 137 beauty items in Lincoln, which resulted in an over $19,000 in stolen goods seized and $10,000 in store damage. Every seizure is cataloged and photographed, and if the retailer it was taken from can be identified, it is returned as soon as possible.
New data suggests violent and property crime went down in 2024. According to an analysis of Real Time Crime Index data by the Public Policy Institute of California, property crime dropped by 8.5% and violent crime dropped by 4.6% in 2024, compared to 2023. Burglary and larceny also went down by 13.6% and 18.6%, respectively, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“The CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force teams have demonstrated exceptional dedication and coordination, leading to significant disruptions of criminal networks targeting California’s businesses,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “Their proactive investigations, strategic partnerships, and relentless pursuit of offenders have resulted in numerous arrests and recoveries, restoring a sense of safety and accountability in our communities.”
Since the inception of this task force in 2019, the CHP has been involved in over 3,700 investigations, leading to the arrest of approximately 4,200 suspects and the recovery of over 1.3 million stolen goods valued at more than $56 million.
Cracking down on retail theft
Last August, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state’s robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California’s crime rate remains near historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.
California law provides existing robust tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to arrest and charge suspects involved in organized retail crime — including up to three years of jail time for organized retail theft. The state has the 10th toughest threshold nationally for prosecutors to charge suspects with a felony, $950. 40 other states — including Texas ($2,500), Alabama ($1,500), and Mississippi ($1,000) — require higher dollar amounts for suspects to be charged with a felony.
Saturating key areas
Working collaboratively to heighten public safety, the Governor tasked the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to work with local law enforcement areas in key areas to saturate high-crime areas, aiming to reduce roadway violence and criminal activity in the area, specifically vehicle theft and organized retail crime. Since the inception of this regional initiative, there have been nearly 6,000 arrests, about 4,500 stolen vehicles recovered and nearly 300 firearms confiscated across Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Oakland.
Stronger enforcement. Serious penalties. Real consequences.
California has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and specialoperationsacross the state to fight crime and improve public safety.
As part of the state’s largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime, Governor Newsom announced last year the state distributed $267 million to 55 communities to help local communities combat organized retail crime. These funds have enabled cities and counties to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects.
Recent news
Apr 16, 2025
News What you need to know: California today filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses. SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom…
Apr 15, 2025
News What you need to know: The passage of Proposition 1 by California voters adds rocket fuel to Governor Gavin Newsom’s transformational overhaul of the state’s behavioral health system. These reforms refocus existing funds to prioritize Californians with the most…
Apr 15, 2025
News What you need to know: The First Partner released the final report of a working group tasked with developing recommendations for policymakers, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and the judicial system in order to better support survivors of sexual assault….
BOISE – Evan Nickolai Ernstson, 48, of Boise, was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced today. Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Ernstson to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence and pay a $2000 fine.
According to court records, Ernstson, originally from San Francisco, California, led a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and cocaine between October 2023 and March 2024 out of a residence and various other locations in Boise’s North End neighborhood. A lengthy investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which included a wiretap, culminated in the seizure of ten pounds of methamphetamine, a kilogram of cocaine, and four firearms. On March 20, 2024, Ernstson was arrested as he returned to Idaho after picking up a load of methamphetamine and cocaine from the Portland, Oregon area. He was armed with a loaded 9mm handgun.
Law enforcement, while conducting the wiretap, learned that someone stole approximately $65,000 in drug proceeds from Ernstson while he was out of town. DEA Agents intercepted Ernstson’s calls and texts and learned Ernstson planned to kidnap two individuals, zip-tie them and torture them until the money was returned. Agents intervened and prevented the kidnapping and seized approximately $42,000 of the stolen drug proceeds.
Ernstson is the third member of the drug trafficking organization to be sentenced to prison. Co-defendant Eva Spikes pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced to five years in prison on November 5, 2024. Co-defendant Leandru Stephens pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced to five years in prison on December 11, 2024. The remaining four co-defendants have pleaded guilty to various drug trafficking charges and will be sentenced in May 2025.
The investigation into Ernstson’s drug trafficking organization also resulted in the conviction and sentence of three other individuals involved in drug trafficking. Dustin Wyatt Peymon, 53, of Boise, pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced to 33 months in prison on November 6, 2024. Kristine Marie Shern, 28, of Mountain Home, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and was sentenced to three years’ probation on February 4, 2025. Brian Earl Polk, 26, of Boise, pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced to 77 months in prison and four years of supervised release on April 15, 2025.
“Our federal and state partners work together tirelessly to ensure that drug traffickers, especially those who are violent or armed, find no safe harbor in Idaho,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott.
“Mr. Ernstson led a drug trafficking ring that not only poisoned Idaho with large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs, but was poised to kidnap and torture to further his criminal enterprise,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle. “This lengthy sentence ensures our community’s safety and demonstrates law enforcement’s steadfast resolve to protect our citizens from people like Mr. Ernstson.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Boise Police Department, the Nampa Police Special Investigations Unit, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin C. Blackadar and Christian S. Nafzger prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on Wednesday concluded a series of high-level engagements in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality aimed at assessing the state of policing and enhancing crime-fighting strategies in the region.
During his visit, the Minister received a detailed briefing on crime statistics in the metro, with a particular focus on serious and violent crimes, including murder, kidnappings, extortion and gang-related activities.
The briefing also highlighted the strategic interventions currently in place to combat these crimes and improve public safety.
Owing to the investigations conducted by the SAPS, around seven cases have been enrolled on the court roll, in respect of insurance murders with six suspects being implicated.
The second meeting was with the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber. During that meeting, the Chamber presented challenges they experience as a result of crime, but further expressed the fruitful working relationship with the SAPS. The Chamber proposed further initiatives to be explored in strengthening the fight against crime.
The final engagement of the day was a meeting with a broad range of community stakeholders, including representatives from the Chinese community and religious leaders. This follows recent incidents involving the kidnapping of among others, Chinese nationals, and robberies at places of worship.
The Minister commended the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, the Hawks and all partner units involved in the high-risk rescue operation conducted in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
“Through swift coordination, disciplined execution and unshakable bravery, our law enforcement officers successfully rescued a kidnapped American citizen,” the South African Police Service said in a statement.
“During the rescue, the suspects opened fire on the police, resulting in three of the five suspects being fatally shot and two others fleeing, a manhunt is currently underway for these suspects.
“The actions of the members reflect the highest standards of professionalism and an unwavering commitment to justice.”
Minister Mchunu said the safety of every person in the municipality, regardless of nationality, faith or background, is a non-negotiable. – SAnews.gov.za
As the Easter peak travel period fast approaches, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and traffic authorities have reminded public transport operators to ensure that their vehicles and drivers are fit to be on the road and comply with all regulations.
“Public transport operators are advised to ensure that they have appropriate permits that allow them to transport passengers on particular routes. They are also urged to use trailers to load goods and avoid mixing them with passengers,” the RTMC said on Tuesday.
Illegal operators are also cautioned to desist from taking advantage of the increased demand for transportation as law enforcement authorities will be out in full force to ensure compliance with all road regulations.
“Authorities will not hesitate to impound vehicles operating contrary to the provisions of the National Transport Act. A total of 1 155 vehicles have been impounded since the start of the Easter campaign on 20 March 2025. This has compelled owners to pay thousands of rands to release the vehicles from the pounds and passengers were greatly inconvenienced.
“The highest number of vehicles were impounded in Mpumalanga where a total of 792 vehicles were taken off the road. This was followed by Limpopo with 88 vehicles impounded, Western Cape 87, Gauteng 78, North West 39, KwaZulu Natal 37, Free State 31 and Eastern Cape 3. No vehicle has yet been impounded in the Northern Cape,” the RTMC said.
Meanwhile, traffic volumes are expected to increase substantially on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as travellers head to various places of worship and holiday destinations.
Monday is also expected to be busy on the roads.
The following routes are expected to be busier than usual during this period, and motorists are advised to plan their trips carefully to avoid delays: the N1 Gauteng to Limpopo, N1 Gauteng to Free State, N2 in KwaZulu Natal to Eastern Cape, the N3 Gauteng to KwaZulu, N4 Gauteng to Mpumalanga, the N4 Gauteng to North West, R61 Western Cape to Eastern Cape as well as the N2 Western Cape to Eastern Cape.
Rest stops will be operating at Sasol filling stations along the routes to allow drivers to take a break from long distance driving to avoid fatigue.
“Motorists are advised to check the weather forecast and avoid driving through storms and heavy rains when visibility is not clear. Vehicles must be fitted with properly functioning wipers to assist with visibility. Safety critical components such as brakes, tyres and lights must also be in a good working order before trips are undertaken,” the RTMC said.
Pedestrians are called to play their part and avoid crossing busy roads. – SAnews.gov.za
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of South Africa has condemned the ongoing bombing of civilian targets in Gaza.
The latest incident involved a missile strike by Israeli forces on the al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza on Sunday.
The attack led to the evacuation of many wounded individuals, leaving Gaza critically short of emergency medical care.
“South Africa joins the global condemnation of the bombing, which is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement read.
According to the department, Israel has bombed, burned and destroyed at least 35 hospitals in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023.
“Attacks on health facilities, medical personnel and patients are considered a war crime under the IV Geneva Convention of 1949,” the department explained.
The attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital comes in the wake of the killing of 15 humanitarian personnel in Gaza.
This includes eight health workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, one staff member from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and six members of the Palestinian Civil Defense.
“These individuals were on a rescue mission on the morning of March 23rd when they were deliberately fired upon by Israeli military forces.
“Deliberate attacks on medics and humanitarian workers are prohibited by international law and constitute war crimes. First responders, like civilians and other non-combatants, are never legitimate targets.“
The department said it was concerned that Israel has halted the entry of all aid into Gaza since last month.
“This is in defiance of the binding provisional orders of the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel to ensure unhindered access of humanitarian aid in Gaza. The international community must hold Israel accountable through effective countermeasures, as the impunity enjoyed by Israel has emboldened its genocidal actions in Palestine.“ – SAnews.gov.za
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jagannath Biswakarma, Senior Research Associate, School of Earth Sciences and Cabot Institute for the Environment, University of Bristol
Nearly 17% of the world’s croplands are contaminated with “heavy metals”, according to a new study in Science. These contaminants – arsenic, cadmium, lead, and others – may be invisible to the eye, but they threaten food safety and human health.
Heavy metals and metalloids are elements that originate from either natural or human-made sources. They’re called “heavy” because they’re physically dense and their weight is high at an atomic scale.
Heavy metals do not break down. They remain in soils for decades, where crops can absorb them and enter the food chain. Over time, they accumulate in the body, causing chronic diseases that may take years to appear. This is not a problem for the distant future; it’s already affecting food grown today.
Some heavy metals, such as zinc and copper, are essential micronutrients in trace amounts. Others – including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead – are toxic even at low concentrations.
Some are left behind by natural geology, others by decades of industrial and agricultural activities. They settle into soils through mining, factory emissions, fertilisers or contaminated water.
When crops grow, they draw nutrients from the soil and water – and sometimes, these contaminants too. Rice, for instance, is known for taking up arsenic from flooded paddies. Leafy greens can accumulate cadmium. These metals do not change the taste or colour of food. But they change what it does inside the body.
The quiet health crisis beneath our crops
Long-term exposure to arsenic, cadmium, or lead has been linked to cancer, kidney damage, osteoporosis, and developmental disorders in children. In regions where local diets rely heavily on a single staple crop like rice or wheat, the risks multiply.
The Science study, led by Chinese scientist Deyi Hou and his colleagues, is one of the most comprehensive mapping efforts. By combining recent advances in machine learning with an expansive dataset of 796,084 soil concentrations from 1,493 studies, the authors systematically assessed global soil pollution for seven toxic metals: arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead.
The study found that cadmium in agricultural soil frequently exceeded the threshold, particularly in the areas shaded in red in this map:
A map of the aggregate distribution of seven heavy metals reveals lots of hotspots around the world. Hou et al / Science
The authors also describe a “metal-enriched corridor” stretching from southern Europe through the Middle East and into south Asia. These are areas where agricultural productivity overlaps with a history of mining, industrial activity and limited regulation.
How science is reading the soil’s story
Heavy metal contamination in cropland varies by region, often shaped by geology, land use history, and water management. Across central and south-east Asia, rice fields are irrigated with groundwater that naturally contains arsenic. That water deposits arsenic into the soil, where it is taken up by the rice.
Fortunately, nature often provides defence. Recent research showed that certain types of iron minerals in the soil can convert arsenite – a toxic, mobile form of arsenic – into arsenate, a less harmful species that binds more tightly to iron minerals. This invisible soil chemistry represents a safety net.
In parts of west Africa, such as Burkina Faso, arsenic contamination in drinking and irrigation water has also affected croplands. To address this, colleagues and I developed a simple filtration system using zerovalent iron – essentially, iron nails. These low-cost, locally sourced filters have shown promising results in removing arsenic from groundwater.
In parts of South America, croplands near small-scale mines face additional risks. In the Amazon basin, deforestation and informal gold mining contribute to mercury releases. Forests act as natural mercury sinks, storing atmospheric mercury in biomass and soil. When cleared, this stored mercury is released into the environment, raising atmospheric levels and potentially affecting nearby water bodies and croplands.
Cropland near legacy mining sites often suffers long-term contamination but with the appropriate technologies, these sites can be remediated and even transformed into circular economy opportunities.
Evidence-based solutions
Soil contamination is not just a scientific issue. It’s a question of environmental justice. The communities most affected are often the least responsible for the pollution. They may farm on marginal lands near industry, irrigate with unsafe water, or lack access to testing and treatment. They face a double burden: food and water insecurity, and toxic exposure.
There is no single fix. We’ll need reliable assessment of contaminated soils and groundwater, especially in vulnerable and smallholder farming systems. Reducing exposure requires cleaner agricultural inputs, improved irrigation, and better regulation of legacy industrial sites. Equally critical is empowering communities with access to information and tools that enable them to farm safely.
Soils carry memory. They record every pollutant, every neglected regulation, every decision to cut corners. But soils also hold the potential to heal – if given the proper support.
This is not about panic. It’s about responsibility. The Science study provides a stark but timely reminder that food safety begins not in the kitchen or market but in the ground beneath our feet. No country should unknowingly export toxicity in its grain, nor should any farmer be left without the tools to grow food safely.
Jagannath Biswakarma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Wyoming Army and Air National Guard team up for first-ever firefighting exercise
Wyoming Air National Guard
By Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center is home to semi-arid scrubland, prairie grass, and conifer cover, all of which can be primed for fire during hot, dry conditions, especially when troops shoot round after round of heavy artillery at the camp’s vast impact area.
Due to this heightened risk, the firefighters in the camp’s Army National Guard Fire Department specialize in practices and techniques unique to wildland firefighting. A usual day can consist of prescribed burns, which is the controlled use of fire to clear downed trees, control plant diseases, and create fire breaks between the camp’s training ranges and neighboring properties.
So, when Camp Guernsey’s Fire Chief received an invitation to conduct a joint training exercise with the 153rd Airlift Wing, a unit of the Wyoming Air National Guard in nearby Cheyenne, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Leah Urquhart jumped at the chance for her firefighters to brush up on skills they don’t use on a day-to-day basis.
Eight firefighters made the 65-mile trip south to Cheyenne for the 6-day joint training exercise. It was the first collaborative training of its kind between the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard nationwide.
“As firefighters, we have to meet yearly training requirements to keep our certifications,” Urquhart said. “You also hit a lot of the same, but more in-depth training to get certified in the first place. We have three guys on the Army side who are working towards their initial certifications. They are stoked to have this training.”
The first day focused on gear familiarization. For firefighters who focus on structural fires, like burning buildings, the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, or SCBA, is an essential piece of equipment that provides a supply of breathable air from a compressed air cylinder.
Although not required for wildland firefighting, firefighters from Camp Guernsey readjusted to the equipment, tugging at the elastic facemask straps while hopping into trousers.
The SCBA has four main components, the first being the backplate with shoulder straps and a waistbelt. The second is the air cylinder itself, which weighs 16-20 pounds, contains 4,500 psi of compressed air, and provides 30-60 minutes of breathing time for firefighters.
The third component is the regulator assembly. The compressed air from the cylinder tank travels through a hose and the regulator assembly, which drops the air pressure to levels slightly above atmospheric. Once its breathable, the air hits the facemask.
The facemask is the last component. When a firefighter inhales, the pressure in the facemask is lowered, tilting the admission valve just enough to allow the breathable air into the facemask. The exhalation valve, located on the chin, releases a breath without allowing any outside contaminants to enter.
Every assembly also has a Personal Alert Safety System, or PASS device, that sounds a distress signal if it does not detect motion for 30 seconds, alerting nearby firefighters of a downed firefighter in need of rescue. (This is why standing firefighters periodically shimmy-shake, resetting the countdown.) Also, the PASS device features a gage that indicates pressure levels in the air cylinder.
Gear familiarization culminated in what is called a SCBA confidence course, which tests a firefighter’s knowledge and expertise with the equipment.
Urquhart and her team leaders also incorporated elements of search and rescue into the course. They disassembled the SCBA gear, scattering it around the bunkroom of the firehouse, as if the equipment were incapacitated victims. They then created an obstacle course.
The firefighters in training were hooded to simulate the lack of visibility in a smoke-filled room.
As they crawled on their hands and knees around the obstacle course, the instructors yelled, played loud music, and banged on lockers. Calmly, the firefighters communicated above the din of music and the clamor and clang. Once they all located their equipment, they reassembled it slowly by touch.
Finally, the firefighters paired up to connect a buddy breather to each other’s SCBA. A buddy breather is an accessory hose that allows two firefighters to share the same air supply, in the event one of them is depleted. They then exited the obstacle course.
For an experienced firefighter, a SCBA confidence course can take about an hour to complete. For a firefighter in training, it can take much longer.
“The course is as much about teamwork as it is about familiarity with your gear,” Urquhart said. “Our Army guys from Camp Guernsey performed really well. We got to see what to do from here and how to improve. They were super motivated.”
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Beau Murphy helped lead the vehicle extrication training the next day. Vehicle extrication is the process of safely removing a patient from an automobile involved in a collision. The firefighters traveled to a local salvage yard at the edge of town where cars lay on cinderblocks and cranes grazed in the background with their long necks. Two old cars were waiting for them.
“We folded the Army guys right into our ranks,” Murphy said. “We were happy to have them along.”
As real-time goes up at the scene of an emergency, patient survivability rate goes down. For that reason, effective time management is crucial for first responders, with vehicle extrication ideally taking no longer than 10 minutes.
After staging their hydraulic tools nearby, two firefighters knelt on each side of the car, tucking wheel chocks under its belly to stabilize it. They swept around the car, one moving around it clockwise, the other counterclockwise, in opposing circles, punching out glass, razorblading seatbelts, peeling back molding, marking cut locations, and popping tires. These steps should take no longer than two minutes.
A Halligan bar is a tool used by firefighters for forced entry. A firefighter used one to pry off the grille, exposing the hood latch. He held the fork of the Halligan bar around it and twisted. He popped the hood, cut the battery cables, and closed it again. After prepping the car, they retrieved their hydraulic tools to begin chopping it up.
The group of hydraulic tools used by firefighters in a vehicle extrication are known as the Jaws of Life. They include cutters, spreaders, and rams. These tools use hydraulic pressure to create immense force, allowing them to slice through metal, spread vehicle doors, and lift heavy objects.
The car was ready for door removal. A firefighter used the spreader to push apart the fender of the car, exposing the two door hinges. He spread them to their breaking point. He then jiggled the door from its place and walked it out of the scene, setting it down carefully, paint to pavement. The door cannot be set down otherwise. If an airbag inadvertently deploys, it could launch the door into the sky.
With access to the patient now, a firefighter would begin to administer first aid, if necessary.
“Weather conditions can change how you do things,” Murphy said. “Down in Georgia, you worry about heat injuries. Up here, you deal with cold injuries, like complicating shock. Or if the car is on an incline and it’s crazy icy, you’ve got to get creative with vehicle stability.”
The firefighters began to cut through the pillars of the roof. The cutters have clawlike blades, pulling the metal back to their pivot point where the greatest force is generated. As the firefighters swept around the car, biting through metal, the goal was to move forward, never backward, which increases the time at the scene of an emergency. They peeled off the roof.
“We call this turning it into a convertible,” Murphy said.
When a car is crushed like an accordion, a patient’s lower body may become pinched under the dashboard. The technique by which firefighters extricate the lower body is called a dash roll. That was their next step.
A firefighter made relief cuts around the dashboard, freeing it up. He grabbed the spreader and began to lift the dashboard. The firefighter then wedged the ram between the dashboard and the floor of the car. As the ram extended, the dashboard rolled onto itself, creating ample space for the lower body to be extricated.
“These guys got a lot of really good hands-on experience and tool time,” Murphy said. “That’s what I’m looking for: proficiency with the equipment.”
They worked on more trainings in the following days. Their necks craned, they toured the cargo compartment and flight deck of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a massive, gunmetal gray transport aircraft. They did a lot of bunker drills, where firefighters practice putting on their protective clothing and SCBA gear in a timed manner.
“They’re standing over their gear, and we yell, ‘Bunker drill, bunker drill, bunker drill!’” Urquhart said. “After two hours of doing that, the slowest guy was able to get down to a minute and 45 seconds. Really scary, crazy timeline when you think about all the gear you have to put on.”
They consolidated their training with a structural fire exercise on the last day. It took place in an abandoned building on base with tables and chairs still in place, as if the building was vacated only a moment ago. Two large fog machines emitted a dense vapor that looked like smoke, clouding over the wide bays and office rooms. Visibility was very low.
In the building were two victims in need of rescue. For the exercise, four firefighters manned the fire truck, two firefighters were search and rescue, and two firefighters were the Rapid Intervention Team, or RIT crew, who are on standby if firefighters become lost, trapped, or injured and need rescuing themselves.
Urquhart and other team leaders walked around the building, observing how the firefighters used their training. They would go through three rotations of the exercise.
Oftentimes, a firefighter goes into a burning building blind, literally and figuratively. Before the parking brake on the fire truck gets pulled, they are already thinking of structures that resemble the one that is on fire. Understanding building construction can help predict how the fire will spread, while having an idea of the floorplan and layout can help locate a victim.
When they arrive on the scene, the highest-ranking firefighter does what is called a size up. He observes the exterior of the structure for indications of the size and location of the fire. The color of the smoke can also indicate the type of fuel being burned, the phase of the fire, and where the fire will spread. If the building shows no potential for collapse, he identifies means of entry and escape routes, like doors, windows, and fire escapes. After making his assessment, the firefighter radios it in to forward command.
They then look for clues for who could be inside, like window lights still on, toys in the backyard, cars in the parking lot, or even a car-window sticker depicting stick figure versions of family members. But they always remain ready for the unexpected.
“When you get on scene to a structural fire, you’re typically going to have anywhere from one to 50 different things going on,” Urquhart said.
The exercise used a digital fire training system. A screen emitting LED-driven flames glowed in one of the smoke-filled rooms of the building. The firefighters were equipped with a digital nozzle.
In the building they crawled on their hands and knees towards the seat of the fire as they looked for victims at the same time. Thermal layering of the heat and the buoyancy of the smoke will create clearer vision just above floor level, while also being cooler.
Instead of slowly fighting their way towards the seat of the fire, firefighters begin their attack at its point of origin and move outwards from there. This also allows them to locate potential victims who may be in the greatest danger.
Once the firefighters located the fire’s ignition point and steadied their digital nozzle, the orange-glowing panels on the LED screen slowly dimmed.
As they went through different rotations of the exercise, Urquhart and her team leaders would mix it up.
“We told a firefighter during one scenario, ‘Hey, you’re down. You ended up passing out. Let your PASS alarm go off,’” Urquhart said. “Now, there’s a firefighter who found a victim, but also his partner went down, which is a very possible real-life situation. Now what do you do? So we watched him work through the process of getting both people out.”
As the firefighters crawled through the smoke-filled building, they sounded the floor, tapping a tool on it. In a real-life scenario, if the floor feels too spongy or breaks through, they go another way.
When a team came to a door, they felt it with the back of their hand. They located the handle and opened the door and shut it behind them, shielding themselves from fire spread. They hugged the wall as they made their way around the room, looking for victims. They swept a bunkbed, felt under a table, and handled a chair. Like the house of a person who is blind, they never misplaced things, which can become disorienting. Anchored to the wall, they extended themselves across the floor and swept the center of the room with a tool, furthering their reach.
They found a victim. They checked his status through physical contact. Radioing it in to forward command, they stated they located a victim, his status, what they planned to do, and if they needed help. They webbed the victim with nylon straps and dragged him to the door, careful to keep his head and shoulders elevated. In the hallway, they followed the hose line until they were back outside.
“We were planning to do three different rotations of the exercise in a four-hour time slot,” Urquhart said. “We were able to do four with still time to spare because everybody was so motivated and efficient at doing their job. You don’t see that all the time.”
By the end of the week, the joint training exercise created a strong partnership between the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard Fire Departments, while ensuring both units are better prepared and proficient in their firefighting roles.
U.S. Army Pvt. Cody Carr, for example, wasted no time in applying the skills he learned during the week of training in a real-life situation. The first night back home, Carr and his fire department responded to an emergency call for a chimney fire. Carr was standing outside the burning building in the cold night when a mayday went out over the radio. The chimney had collapsed on the two firefighters inside. Without thinking, Carr threw his gear on, went on air, found a teammate, and rushed inside.
“Going into it, I’m like, I’m ready for this. I just learned all this. I can use my knowledge and get them out very quickly,” Carr said.
Carr and his teammate followed the hose line to the smoking rubble. As they began to pull the brick and mortar off one firefighter, another began shouting from the other side of the room. Carr rushed to the yelling firefighter and checked his status. Carr hoisted him up and dragged him out of the burning building and to safety.
“It was all fresh in my mind,” Carr said. “Just got done doing it. I was able to put it in play.”
Carr is looking forward to further collaboration between the 153rd Airlift Wing and Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center. Future plans include sending firefighters up to Camp Guernsey to get certified in wildland firefighting.
“It was amazing to watch the Army and Air Guard learn from each other over this training,” Urquhart said. “This is just the beginning of a fantastic relationship.”
Wyoming Army and Air National Guard team up for a six-day firefighting exercise at the 153rd Airlift Wing in Cheyenne, Wyo., Feb. 28, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Samuel Toman)
GREENVILLE, Tenn. – On April 16, 2025, Charles Nile Mixon, 49, of Bristol, Virginia, was sentenced to 377 months imprisonment by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Following his imprisonment, Mixon will be on supervised release for five years.
On October 30, 2024, following a three-day trial, a jury convicted Mixon of carjacking in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 2119; using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii); possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18. U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and possession of a stolen firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j). The jury also made a special finding that Mixon had previously been convicted of at least three, qualifying violent crimes, which established Mixon as an armed career criminal in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).
According to witnesses, court documents, and evidence presented at trial, in the early morning hours of May 24, 2023, Mixon carjacked a female victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Taco Bell restaurant in Bristol, Tennessee. Mixon briefly held the victim at gunpoint inside the vehicle. Following a police chase, Mixon escaped into Virginia and abandoned the carjacked vehicle. The following day, during a conversation with a relative, Mixon admitted to taking the relative’s firearm and using it to carjack the woman at the Taco Bell. The relative contacted law enforcement and Mixon was arrested after another chase from Bristol, Virginia into Bristol, Tennessee. The stolen firearm was located on Mixon after his arrest.
“The sentence imposed is a powerful reminder that violent offenses, such as this carjacking, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “Individuals who repeatedly commit violent offenses are a threat to public safety and our office will continue to prosecute those individuals vigorously.”
“This case involves an individual who has continuously shown total disregard for the law by committing armed carjackings, firearm related offenses, and terrifying acts of violence,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Nashville Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The ATF remains committed to working tirelessly with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime, and protect the communities that we serve.”
The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Bristol Tennessee Police Department and ATF.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Todd Martin and Emily Swecker represented the United States.
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).
Greenbelt,Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Thomas Emmanuel Williams, 52, of Laurel, Maryland, to 17 years in federal prison. On January 17, 2025, a federal jury convicted Williams on 12 federal charges related to drug-and-firearms trafficking.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to the evidence at trial, in January and February 2023, the defendant illegally sold 10 firearms, three machineguns, ammunition, and hundreds of oxycodone, codeine, and fentanyl pills to an undercover law-enforcement source. The defendant sold several privately made firearms that didn’t have serial numbers, and so-called “Glock switches,” designed to convert semi-automatic Glock-style pistols into fully automatic firearms.
Williams arranged to sell the drugs and guns to the source on four different dates through FaceTime and phone calls. He met with the undercover source in shopping-center parking lots in Laurel and Hyattsville, Maryland, to sell guns, ammunition, and drugs in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash.
The firearms sold included a Hi Point 45 ACP Pistol and 9mm Rifle, Taurus 85 Ultra Lite .38 Special Revolver, two AR-style 5.56mm pistols, a Glock 21 .45 Auto Pistol, and a Glock 43 9mm Pistol, along with three “Glock switches” which are classified as machineguns under federal law.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF — and its special agents Christopher Szakolczai and Katherine Rottman — for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Dawn Williams who prosecuted the federal case.
BEAUMONT, Texas – A federal indictment in the Eastern District of Texas has resulted in the arrest of 16 individuals charged with various violations related to a wide-spread methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on April 2, 2025, in the Eastern District of Texas, charges the defendants with federal drug and gun violations. A multi-agency law enforcement action was held on April 16, 2025, resulting in those arrests. Since the investigation began in November 2022, law enforcement has seized over 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and 14 firearms. Those in custody began making initial appearances in federal court on April 16, 2025, in Beaumont.
According to information provided in court, the following individuals are alleged to have been involved in the methamphetamine conspiracy in the Angelina, Nacogdoches, and Polk counties area:
• Albert Lopez, 39, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
• Adaryl Douglas, 45, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
• Hector Gomez, 40, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Oscar Padilla, 44, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Leanna Jean Busby, 45, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Amanda McBride, 43, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• John Christopher Rios, 53, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Jose Pedro Guzman Jr., 34, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Lorene Michelle Baker, 44, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• David Davis, Jr., 48, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Penny Ann King, 51, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Jodi Calvin Sparkman, 53, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Christopher Dewayne Harvey, 51, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine;
• Gary Mills, 65, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm;
• Clifton Collin-Dakota Smith, 32, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; and
• Corey Mullan, 39, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
If convicted, defendants face from 10 years to life in federal prison.
As part of the operation, Eduardo Barajas-Macias, 32, a close associate of the criminal conspiracy, was also arrested and charged with unlawful reentry by a removed or deported alien.
This investigation is 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).
The case is being investigated by the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; FBI; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Homeland Security Investigations; Lufkin Police Department; Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office; Texas Department of Public Safety; and U.S. Marshals Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald S. Carter.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Gabriel Lopes Da Silva Santos, 27, of Brazil, has been charged by criminal complaint with illegal possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States.
On April 16, 2025, Santos appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle, who ordered that Santos be detained during the pendency of this matter.
According to court records, Santos illegally possessed an AR-15 style rifle on June 9, 2024, when law enforcement responded to an apartment complex in Ludlow, Vermont. A neighbor had reported that someone was shooting behind the complex. Law enforcement found Santos, who claimed ownership of the AR-15 style rifle and a shotgun that was also on scene. Law enforcement later discovered that Santos had overstayed his visa, which expired in September 2020.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that the complaint contains allegations only and that Santos is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Santos faces up to 15 years of imprisonment if convicted. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Joshua L. Banker. Santos is represented by Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of Vermont.
This case is 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).
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, a native and citizen of Afghanistan and U.S. lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism.
According to court documents, Zada and a co-conspirator received two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, knowing that the firearms and ammunition would be used in connection with a terrorist attack on Election Day in November 2024 on behalf the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Zada was arrested with co-conspirator Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, also a citizen of Afghanistan, in October 2024.
Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, entered his guilty plea as an adult and will be sentenced as an adult. At sentencing, Zada faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
As part of the plea agreement, Zada stipulated to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States to Afghanistan following his term of incarceration. Zada acknowledged that the order of removal would terminate his lawful permanent resident status. Zada also waived his right to appeal the conviction except in limited circumstances or seek any form of appeal or relief from his removal and deportation, including but not limited to, seeking asylum.
Tawhedi is currently awaiting trial for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and receiving, attempting to receive, or conspiring to receive a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, if convicted. An indictment is merely an allegation and Tawhedi is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Assistant Director David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division made the announcement.
The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Marshals Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Edmond Police Department, the Moore Police Department, the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma City Community College Police Department, and the Oklahoma City University Police Department, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica L. Perry and Matt Dillon for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett McMillian and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Mineral Springs, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 181 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his convictions of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Brian Gidney, 51.
According to information presented to the Court, from in and around July 2019 to in and around June 2020, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Gidney conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine. Further, on or about June 9, 2020, Gidney possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine, and also possessed a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime. Gidney was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of methamphetamine that he distributed to others.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gidney. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Headline: How Microsoft and Cloudforce help higher education innovate with Azure AI
Learn how deploying AI platforms in higher education with Microsoft and Cloudforce can help improve outcomes, streamline tasks, and ensure data privacy.
Many leaders in higher education are eager to tap into the vast potential of AI. In fact, 89% of institutions are engaged in AI strategic planning in some capacity.1 They aim to improve student outcomes with personalized learning, streamline administrative tasks for faculty and staff with AI-powered agents, and take advantage of the countless other ways generative AI can help them innovate. Top institutions are already deploying AI platforms in higher education.
Microsoft and our network of partners can support your journey forward with AI. Unlike many publicly available AI tools, a solution built by a Microsoft partner with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service keeps your AI interactions private, allowing you to stay in control of your institution’s information. It’s also easier to maintain compliance with data privacy laws like Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Microsoft’s commitment to Trustworthy AI means that AI is secure, safe, and private. Students, faculty, and researchers can also select from a wide array of leading models, with popular options from creators such as OpenAI, Meta, DeepSeek, and more, to find the best fit for their use cases.
In a datasheet on accelerating AI innovation, we highlight how our partner Cloudforce has developed the nebulaONE® solution, powered by Azure OpenAI Service, to simplify access to Microsoft’s most advanced generative AI capabilities. Let’s explore how it empowers institutions to achieve more.
Download the AI innovation datasheet
How nebulaONE by Cloudforce aims to bring secure AI to all
Many students and faculty are already using generative AI. But as they adopt their own unsecured AI tools, it creates concerns with IT governance, security, privacy, and data protection, and it limits the ability to scale AI throughout the institution. Cloudforce, a Microsoft Supplier of the Year in 2024, has expertise in building AI solutions to address those concerns, as well as over a decade of experience designing and deploying complex infrastructure and cloud-native apps exclusively on Azure. Cloudforce built nebulaONE on Azure to use its built-in security and privacy features, and the company is engaged with dozens of higher education institutions to fulfill its mission of providing secure AI access for all.
Discover Azure in education
A conversational generative AI gateway, nebulaONE allows students, faculty, researchers, and staff to harness cutting-edge AI models to reimagine learning experiences, accelerate research, protect intellectual property, and drive institutional efficiencies in every department. It includes an intuitive, multimodal chat interface for the AI interactions that are familiar to many, and it provides the ability to develop low-code, task-specific AI agents to drive innovation and efficiency across campus. The nebulaONE platform deploys to your Azure environment, so your data remains private, and you gain the compliance and security protections built into Azure AI services.
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“We know leaders in higher education are facing pressure to prepare the workforce of tomorrow to succeed with AI, or risk being left behind,” says Cloudforce CEO Husein Sharaf. “We created nebulaONE to address the most pressing needs of educators and students, with a rapid implementation process that securely enables generative AI use at scale. Our campus-wide management layer keeps institutions in the driver’s seat from a cost and governance perspective, while a simple, custom-branded user interface drives user adoption. Our platform provides the foundation for a flexible AI strategy that evolves as new models and capabilities emerge.”
Cloudforce supports institutional leaders wherever you are in your journey, whether that’s exploring AI for the first time or connecting an AI platform to their full data estate. The Cloudforce team can host workshops to help identify early use cases or provide trainings and prompt-a-thons to reinforce best practices and teach you and your colleagues how to develop your own agents. They also offer assistance with change management and strategic communications to drive campus-wide adoption of nebulaONE and the uses that provide the most value for your institution.
The real-world impact of generative AI in higher education
One success story comes from the University of California, Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (UCLA Anderson). Leaders at UCLA Anderson had concerns with using public AI platforms, so they looked for a partner who could deliver a secure, private experience that enabled their priority use cases. They chose to adopt nebulaONE because it’s a fully managed platform that deploys in their Azure environment, and within about two months, they launched a generative AI chatbot to support MBA students with their capstone project.
Explore AI in education
UCLA Anderson leaders sought to develop and deploy a host of AI-powered chatbots for a variety of specific purposes, and Cloudforce validated use cases and provided hands-on training to empower UCLA staff to independently build them with nebulaONE. The school has now deployed bots to help students register for classes and provide feedback on essays, as well as a forthcoming AI-powered agent that will reduce administrative tasks for career coaches so they can spend more time with the school’s 40,000 alumni. Several months after UCLA deployed the platform, monthly active user rates continued to increase rapidly, growing by 485% from December 2024 to January 2025.
UCLA is hardly alone. A growing number of colleges and universities are deploying nebulaONE to harness the power of AI:
California State University, Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton) now provides secure, university-managed AI for all students through TitanGPT, as the custom-branded platform is known. They have also started exploring use cases for support solutions, like an agent to streamline HelpDesk support and their IT ticketing system.
London Business School sought to find a cost-effective, scalable AI solution, with access to a variety of AI foundation models. After a brief demo, they quickly began a full deployment to all 6,000 students, faculty, and researchers—the first in the United Kingdom to do so.
TerpAI, the chatbot built on the nebulaONE platform at the University of Maryland, acts as a digital assistant and educational resource to help faculty and students brainstorm ideas, analyze data, create study guides, develop lesson plans, and more.
The platform is nicknamed CWRU AI at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), where the CRWU community can select between AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o or 3.5 Turbo, Meta’s Llama 3.2, and DeepSeek R1. CWRU AI uses AI reasoning to analyze images, PDFs, Word, and Excel files, and the community can deploy chatbots connected to specific data sources for departments or groups.
Learn more about what’s possible with AI
These examples highlight how leaders in higher education can quickly and securely implement generative AI to enhance student services, academic offerings, and operational efficiency. Ready to deploy AI at your school? Discover how nebulaONE can make AI accessible by downloading the datasheet from Microsoft and Cloudforce.
Download the AI innovation datasheet
Learn more about how to get started with these resources:
1 Jenay Robert. 2024 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study. Research report. Boulder, CO, US: EDUCAUSE, February 2024.
Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, a native and citizen of Afghanistan and U.S. lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism.
According to court documents, Zada and a co-conspirator received two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, knowing that the firearms and ammunition would be used in connection with a terrorist attack on Election Day in November 2024 on behalf the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Zada was arrested with co-conspirator Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, also a citizen of Afghanistan, in October 2024.
Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, entered his guilty plea as an adult and will be sentenced as an adult. At sentencing, Zada faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
As part of the plea agreement, Zada stipulated to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States to Afghanistan following his term of incarceration. Zada acknowledged that the order of removal would terminate his lawful permanent resident status. Zada also waived his right to appeal the conviction except in limited circumstances or seek any form of appeal or relief from his removal and deportation, including but not limited to, seeking asylum.
Tawhedi is currently awaiting trial for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and receiving, attempting to receive, or conspiring to receive a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, if convicted. An indictment is merely an allegation and Tawhedi is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Assistant Director David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division made the announcement.
The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Marshals Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Edmond Police Department, the Moore Police Department, the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma City Community College Police Department, and the Oklahoma City University Police Department, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica L. Perry and Matt Dillon for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett McMillian and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
What a difference a dictator makes. Some world leaders get a rough ride in their Oval Office meetings with Donald Trump – most famously, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who the US president and his entourage publicly disparaged in their now-notorious meeting at the end of February. But not El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, the self-styled “world’s coolest dictator” – an autocrat whose country’s incarceration rate is the highest in the world – with whom Trump swapped a few friendly quips this week about authoritarian leadership.
“They say that we imprisoned thousands. I say we liberated millions,” said Bukele about his record of jailing people without due process, adding that: “To liberate that many, you have to imprison some.”
“Who gave him that line? You think I could use that?” replied Trump to general merriment.
Bukele has obliged Trump by incarcerating hundreds of Venezuelan and Salvadoran migrants deported from the US on suspicion of being members of criminal gangs – none of whom have had their day in court. One person of particular interest to the journalists was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man deported due to an “administrative error”. The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to do everything in its power to “facilitate” his return to his wife and family in the US.
“Of course I’m not going to do it,” Bukele said, when asked if he would send Abrego Garcia back to the US, adding that it would be like “sending a terrorist back to the United States”. Smiles all round from the US officials. This apparently makes it a matter of foreign policy rather than a failure of US justice – or, just as crucially, an impending constitutional crisis over the Trump administration’s failure to obey a Supreme Court ruling.
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Bukele knows a thing or two about circumventing constitutional law, writes Amalendu Misra, a professor of international politics at Lancaster University, who has written extensively about Latin America for The Conversation. The Salvadoran president is serving a second term, despite his country’s constitution previously restricting a president from serving two consecutive terms.
Critics say Bukele used his considerable majority to replace five members of El Salvador’s Supreme Court in order to get the decision he wanted – which may also have raised him in the US president’s estimation.
Misra charts Bukele’s rise to power and his achievements in office, which include transforming El Salvador from the murder capital of the world to having one of the lowest homicide rates in the western hemisphere. But not without considerable infringements of human rights and civil liberties – something to which, as we’ve seen, Bukele unabashedly owns up.
Meanwhile, constitutional scholars are picking apart the US Supreme Court’s ruling in the matter of Abrego Garcia, who is currently sitting in El Salvador’s notorious Center for Terrorism Confinement (Cecot) mega-prison.
What exactly did the court mean when it instructed the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return to the US? The US attorney-general, Pam Bondi, offered her interpretation on Wednesday – saying the decision was completely up to Bukele, and that if he wanted to send Abrego Garcia back, “we would give him a plane ride back”.
Trump’s relationship with US constitutional law is already coming under a fair bit of scrutiny, as he and his senior officials have embarked on a concerted effort to push back against court rulings which seek to reverse or delay some of his policies.
“Trump’s approach seems to be one of testing the limits of the law,” writes Stephen Clear, a constitutional law expert at Bangor University. Clear believes that Trump’s second term is going further, faster, than his first in putting pressure on the system of checks and balances on which the US constitution depends.
Clear looks at Trump’s strategy of using executive orders to make policy – there have been 124 in his first 85 days (executive orders don’t need congressional approval). The federal courts are now examining many of these orders, which have been challenged on the grounds of unconstitutionality. The US Supreme Court is already facing an unprecedented number of emergency applications, and it remains to be seen when the justices will decide – and, crucially, how the administration responds to the Supreme Court’s decisions.
A federal court judge whose ruling regarding the deportation of 100 migrants to El Salvador was apparently disregarded by the Trump administration has released an opinion that this failure to comply constitutes “probable cause” to hold members of the administration in criminal contempt.
US district court judge James Boasberg wrote that a judicial order “must
be obeyed – no matter how erroneous it may be – until a court reverses it”. US legal scholar Cassandra Burke Robertson answers our questions about this matter.
In the end, the most reliable test of Trump and the Republican party is still at the ballot box. The mid-term elections, the first real test of the US public’s approval of Trump 2.0, are more than 18 months away. But how is the second Trump administration going down with Americans?
It depends who you ask, writes Paul Whiteley of the University of Essex. Whiteley, an expert scrutineer of public opinion, was interested to see whether the recent upheaval created by Trump’s tariffs plan had affected the way the US public views his performance.
Committed Republicans still tend to give credit to Trump that he knows what he is doing, while Democrats, as you’d expect, remain fundamentally opposed to the administration. And the same goes, broadly speaking, for their respective views on his handling of trade policy. But the big shift, Whiteley observes, is among people identifying as independents, where Trump’s approval rating has fallen considerably, particularly over the tariffs.
This is significant, Whiteley believes, because independents now make up the largest voter group in the US. He concludes: “If this shift continues, and independent voters support Democrat candidates in the 2026 mid-term elections, it means that the Democrats are likely to take control of Congress.”
Another Trump campaign promise is coming under increasing scrutiny: his pledge to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours”. The US president now insists he was “being sarcastic” when he made that claim – but, after nearly three months, Trump’s efforts to end the war are “struggling to get off the starting blocks”, writes Jennifer Mathers from Aberystwyth University.
Despite Zelensky having unconditionally accepted the initial proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and backing US efforts to establish a limited ceasefire – applying to energy infrastructure and on the ocean – Russia has redoubled its attacks. The recent Palm Sunday strikes, which killed at least 35 civilians in the border town of Sumy, appeared particularly gratuitous given that the two sides are supposed to be talking peace.
Mathers writes that Vladimir Putin is deliberately doing all he can to drag his feet over negotiations, while maintaining Russia’s original demands for huge swaths of Ukrainian territory, guarantees that Kyiv will drop its plan to join Nato, and for elections to be held in Ukraine. You’d have to imagine that Moscow will pull out all the stops to ensure the winner is more to its liking than Zelensky.
One of the main problems, as Mathers sees it, is that the various American diplomats keep repeating Putin’s demands, lending them legitimacy. It goes without saying that these demands find no favour with Kyiv, as they amount to virtually complete Ukrainian capitulation.
The other big diplomatic gambit involving the Trump White House is in Oman this weekend, as representatives from the US and Iran meet to discuss the possibility of a new deal on Iran’s nuclear programme. The initial signs aren’t good. Trump has threatened dire consequences unless Iran is willing to give up its nuclear ambitions. Iran refuses to countenance this idea.
But there are signs that behind the scenes, there may be some progress. Iran’s leaders are under heavy domestic pressure to get sanctions lifted as its economy continues to tank. And it has been reported that Trump refused to approve joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Simon Mabon from Lancaster University – a specialist in Middle East security and particularly the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran – examines what the talks mean for the broader stability of the Middle East. He believes the outcome of the talks are being watched particularly closely by China, which has its own ambitions for the region.
Last year’s election in India was the biggest democratic exercise the world has ever seen, involving upwards of 642 million people casting their votes in seven phases across this vast country. It was, in fact, the biggest election ever to be held in India, surpassing the first elections held in 1951-52 after the country achieved independence from Britain.
Tripurdaman Singh, a fellow of the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, has traced the progress of democracy in India from what he describes as “a moment of such staggering idealism and exuberance, a leap of faith so audacious, that the famous jurist and scholar Kenneth Wheare termed it ‘the biggest liberal experiment in democratic government’ that the world had seen”.
Singh takes a detailed look at this experiment in democracy, examining the fledgling country’s constitution and how it has been interpreted since. He finds that this “idealism” was more of an aspiration than an actuality, and that power has always been firmly held by the executive. But, he writes, the sheer diversity of the electorate has – in the main at least – successfully prevented tyrannical impulses from India’s leaders. At least, it has thus far.
The Government of Saskatchewan is reinforcing its commitment to delivering safer communities and neighbourhoods through new and continued investments in the 2025-26 Budget. This includes $665 million for the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety; $271 million for the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General; $118.9 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA); and $9.1 million for the Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO).
“Public safety continues to be a top priority for our government, which is reflected through investments in Budget 2025-26,” Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety and Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod said. “Investments in policing, border security initiatives, reintegration supports for offenders and measures to address gangs, illegal drugs and weapons will help create safer communities for everyone in Saskatchewan.”
In 2024-25 and 2025-26, the Government of Saskatchewan invested $2 billion in public safety. This includes an increase of $28.4 million, totaling $699.4 million over two years, to support policing and community safety in the province and over $518 million over two years to enhance access to justice services.
Investing in the protection of people and property
This year, the budget includes $261 million to fund RCMP operations in the province, including $23.7 million for the First Nations Policing Program.
The 2025-26 Budget also includes funding to continue public safety commitments that were announced last fall. These include $6 million as part of the $11.9 million commitment to hire approximately 100 new municipal police officers; $2.7 million to hire 14 new Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods personnel to reduce crime by targeting nuisance properties; and $1.6 million for the Saskatchewan Police College, as part of the government’s three-year commitment to train more officers in the province.
An additional $3.6 million will be invested to hire 50 new officers under the Saskatchewan Marshals Service (SMS), which is expected to become operational in the coming months – a full year ahead of schedule. The SMS will focus on provincial policing priorities, including gangs, illegal weapons and drugs, along with apprehending prolific, high-risk offenders and wanted individuals who pose a public safety risk.
The 2025-26 Budget includes a targeted investment of $1.5 million to enhance roadway patrols, border security initiatives and other public safety priorities, including investments for six weigh-scale operators to conduct commercial vehicle inspections and seven prisoner transport deputy sheriffs to increase their capacity for prisoner transport, allowing more RCMP officers to focus on addressing frontline calls for service.
This enhanced law enforcement presence extends to Saskatchewan’s border with the United States. To enhance security and safety at the border, the government introduced the Saskatchewan Border Security Plan in January 2025 to mobilize Provincial Protective Services officers to work in partnership with provincial policing services and federal agencies to boost law enforcement’s presence near the border.
Investing in a more accessible court system
The 2025-26 Budget provides funding to create a more accessible court system, support the enforcement of municipal bylaw offences and enhance prosecution services. This year’s budget also supports initiatives that reduce the amount of time police need to spend in court, which will allow them to spend more time delivering core policing duties in their communities.
Major investments in the 2025-26 Justice and Attorney General budget include $665,000 to support the expansion of traffic safety courts; a commitment of $447,000 for the development of municipal bylaw court hubs which will streamline and improve municipal bylaw enforcement; and investing $822,000 in Public Prosecutions to accommodate the introduction of body-worn cameras by the RCMP and the expansion of body-worn camera use by the Saskatoon Police Service.
This year’s budget will continue to invest in the Court Modernization Project, providing $3.38 million for ongoing enhancements such as modernized courtroom technology and infrastructure and the continued implementation of the Judicial Scheduling, Tracking and Amalgamated Reporting system.
“Over the last two years we have improved police accountability, built community partnerships and invested in courtroom modernization,” McLeod said. “Our government is following through on our ongoing commitment to increase access to justice services across the province for the benefit of all Saskatchewan individuals, families and communities.”
Improving safety for correctional staff, offenders and the public
To improve overall safety for correctional staff, offenders and the public, and to address capacity concerns at correctional facilities, this year’s budget provides $11.7 million to the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety to support the opening of the new Saskatoon Correctional Centre expansion.
It includes investments to expand the capacity for women in the correctional system, as well as increasing funding to the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan as it works to successfully reintegrate female offenders back into their communities.
This year’s budget also includes $1.1 million for the Electronic Monitoring Program to increase the real-time monitoring of offenders in the community.
Investing in interpersonal violence programs and services
In 2025-26, government will invest $31.7 million for interpersonal violence programs and services through the justice system. This includes $328,000 for second-stage housing and an additional $720,000 for community-based organizations, including those that deliver supports and services to individuals and families impacted by interpersonal violence and abuse.
The 2025-26 Budget includes funding to allow the SPSA to continue its four-year plan to purchase four repurposed airtankers for use in fighting wildfires and other emergency services.
The budget provides $9.1 million in funding for the SFO this year, including $569,000 to support the Saskatchewan Ballistics Laboratory, which is set to open this fall. The ballistics laboratory will play a vital role in supporting firearms-related criminal investigations and help reduce the impact of illegal firearms and gun violence in the province.
Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia
ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Rallies Behind Georgians Callously Fired from Life-Saving Work at the CDC
Last month, Senator Reverend Warnock demanded answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy about the indiscriminate firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and how the centers’ life-saving functions will be impacted
Following the latest round of firings of largely Georgia-based CDC employees, Senator Reverend Warnock joined current and former employees at an Atlanta rally to demonstrate his support for their critical work
Senator Reverend Warnock has been a fierce ally of public health workers and their life saving work at the CDC
Senator Reverend Warnock: “This is an organization that literally saves lives all over the country — and all over the world. Disease knows no boundaries, when you save lives abroad, you save them here”
ICYMI from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Sen. Raphael Warnock at CDC: ‘Now is not the time to be silent’
ICYMI from 11 Alive: Sen. Warnock offers words of encouragement to protesters outside CDC offices
Watch Senator Reverend Warnock’s rally remarks HRE
Atlanta, GA – This week, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) rallied behind current and former employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to show support for the Georgians who have been callously fired from their life-saving work at the public health institution. The Atlanta rally was organized by current and former CDC employees and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
Above: Senator Reverend Warnock at an Atlanta rally outside the CDC to show support for workers impacted by recent firings
Above: Senator Reverend Warnock meets one of his younger constituents
The rally follows the April 1 news of the Trump Administration firing more than 2,000 employees from the Atlanta-based CDC, many of whom are based in the metro Atlanta area and call Georgia home.
Above: Senator Reverend Warnock greets current and former CDC employees in Atlanta
The latest round of firings gutted 18% of the CDC’s workforce, impacting scientists focused on environmental health and asthma, lead poisoning, smoking and climate change, as well as researchers studying blood disorders, violence prevention and access to vaccines.The agency’s center on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases was among the hardest hit, losing about 27 percent of its staff.Most of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, which studies maternal health and Black maternal health, was shuttered.
Above: Senator Reverend Warnock speaks at a rally in support of CDC workers
Last month, Senator Warnock demanded answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy about the indiscriminate firings at the CDC and how the centers’ life-saving functions will be impacted by these firings. Last year, Senator Warnock visited the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia for the first time as Senator to learn about the agency’s efforts to protect public health, including work to combat the maternal mortality crisis and how federal funding plays a role in keeping Georgia and the country safe from infectious diseases. During Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s nomination hearing in committee, Senator Warnock spoke at length defending the importance of the CDC, which at its peak, employed over 10,000 hardworking Georgians. Shortly after, the Senator spoke for nearly an hour on the Senate floor, in large part in defense of the CDC’s critical work to defend public health and national security. The Senator continued to pressure HHS Secretary Kennedy to reverse the CDC firings.
ZURICH, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The first AI-Powered DEX on XRP Ledger, XploraDEX is igniting a firestorm across the XRPL ecosystem as its $XPL Presale enters its final four days. With a rapidly shrinking token allocation and buzz intensifying across social platforms, what began as a high-potential opportunity has become one of the most urgent plays in DeFi right now.
The first AI-powered decentralized exchange built natively on the XRP Ledger, XploraDEX is designed to give traders an unfair advantage through smart automation, predictive analytics, and real-time trade optimization. It’s not just solving the problem of inefficient trading—it’s flipping it on its head.
$XPL is the fuel behind it all. Token holders unlock access to intelligent trading dashboards, lower fees, yield incentives, and decision-making power through governance. The upcoming launchpad and staking modules are further enhancing the token’s role within the broader XploraDEX ecosystem.
Final Round of $XPL PreSale
In the last 48 hours, whale activity has spiked. On-chain data shows major wallets consolidating $XPL positions while retail participation surges—triggered by growing awareness that time is almost up. With more than 80% of the $XPL presale allocation already filled, new buyers are scrambling to join before listings go live and the price adjusts upward.
XploraDEX is shaping up to be the most transformative platform XRPL has seen in years. Its AI engine will help users detect momentum shifts, automate entries and exits, and adapt to market conditions faster than human traders ever could.
The $XPL PreSale isn’t just about buying a token—it’s about being first to a movement. A protocol backed by real utility, smart infrastructure, and the speed of the XRP Ledger.
If you’re watching from the sidelines, the signal is clear: the market is moving. And the gate is closing.
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Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University
The economic implications of Trump’s actions are well-documented. Furthermore, despite Trump’s temporary halt to the tariffs, their impact will resonate well into the future.
But it’s important to understand that the economy is not detached from broader society. Trump’s disruption of the global economy could also lead to an increase in global conflict.
Economic prosperity and war
Economic prosperity does not automatically equate with political stability. Europe prior to the First World War was both prosperous and integrated. Nevertheless, while scholars and activists at the time argued these favourable conditions made war impractical, one of the worst conflicts in human history came to pass.
Domestic economic prosperity can bind societies together. But tensions that otherwise might not be brought into focus, such as regionalism, emerge in times of economic hardship and transition. Reform Party founder Preston Manning’s recent stoking of separatist sentiments in Canada’s West is a case in point.
Trump’s tariffs, if fully implemented, will result in economic recession for dozens of countries throughout the world. They will first impact the world’s most vulnerable countries, many of which have institutions that are either unstable or lack the fiscal backing needed to weather the storm.
An example of such a development in recent history was the emergence of the Arab Spring in 2011. The 2008 financial crisis and ongoing agricultural failure created political strain for authoritarian states in the Middle East. They could not absorb the increased cost of grain to stabilize their societies.
Governments, cognizant of this fact, will look for any means of retaining their power. Redirecting local disappointment abroad can be one such measure, much as Saudi Arabia did by blaming Iran during the Arab Spring.
Look outwards, point fingers
Governments have, historically, used foreign affairs as a means of distracting their populations from domestic problems. This feature occurs regardless of a state’s ideology. The banality of its occurrence in international relations is such that Hollywood made a satirical film, Wag the Dog, on the subject.
Authoritarian states, however, are more susceptible to this phenomenon. Their governments’ lack of popular legitimacy means that an economic downturn weakens one of the levers they use to buy acquiescence from its citizens.
Furthermore, economic uncertainty undermines authoritarian governments’ patronage networks. Not only do such governments lose the support of a majority of citizens to the economic uncertainty, but they also lose the important minority groups they use to maintain their rule.
As such, authoritarian governments in the face of economic uncertainty will look outwards to build their legitimacy. But these governments need an ideology that will motivate their societies. For contemporary governments, one of the most effective mechanisms is nationalism.
Nationalism’s utility for authoritarian states is twofold. First, nationalism emphasizes the collective over the individual. States, by stressing the importance of the nation, can encourage individuals to overlook the personal struggles they face in times of economic uncertainty.
Second, nationalism by its nature creates an “in group” and an “out group.” Governments can use the out group as a rallying cry for its local population. While there are several instances where such developments are possible, China’s increasingly antagonistic stance towards Taiwan is an example.
Governments, by rallying nationalist sentiment, will either indirectly or actively stoke the potential for conflict.
Extending conflict
Economic downturns, furthermore, force governments to make difficult decisions on what programs to cut. Some of the first programsgovernments chop in uncertain times are those focused on international aid. This phenomenon was already occurring, but tariffs will exasperate it.
These cuts pose a problem for several reasons. Right-wing politicians have alleged in recent months that international aid is ineffective. But that’s not accurate — international aid benefits the countries that provide it; it’s not just a moral imperative. Specifically, it facilitates trade as well as accruing political advantages to the giving state.
The more immediate concern, however, is that many states were dependent upon foreign aid for political stability. The loss of international aid will increase internal instability in vulnerable countries. Just look to the current instability in South Sudan as declining aid weakens South Sudanese social and government institutions.
Not only is this development bad for the societies in question, but it will invariably increase the number of refugees seeking aid and safety beyond their borders.
Individual choice
It’s not just state responses to the tariffs that will create instability. The unilateral application of tariffs, and resulting economic and political fallout, will significantly increase the number of people seeking a better life.
Economic migration is not a new phenomenon. While conflict-centred migration remains the focus of international law, economic migration continues to occur unabated.
The lost economic opportunities in various states affected by tariffs will cause their populations to seek economic prosperity, at first internally and then abroad. This is not to suggest that migration itself creates instability. Instead, large-scale and unplanned migration will create strain both in countries that people leave and in the nations receiving them.
Economic affairs rarely stay within the realm of business. Instead, Trump’s tariffs will create greater instability in international affairs for the foreseeable future.
James Horncastle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The April 2025 flooding disaster in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, wasn’t just about intense rainfall. It was a symptom of recent land use change which has occurred rapidly in the city, turning it into a sprawling urban settlement without the necessary drainage infrastructure.
Local rains combined with runoff from torrential rains coming from neighbouring Congo Central Province quickly overwhelmed the city’s small urban tributaries. The Ndjili River and its tributary (Lukaya), which run through the city, overflowed and flooded homes on either side.
This led to the deaths of at least 70 people, 150 injured and the temporary displacement of more than 21,000 people. Floods affected the running of 73 healthcare facilities. Access to water and transport services were disrupted in large parts of the city. People could only move around by dugout canoe or by swimming in flooded avenues.
Floods have become recurrent in the DRC. The last quarter of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 saw the most devastating floods there and in neighbouring countries since the 1960s.
According to UN World Urbanisation Prospects (2025), the reason the floods have become this devastating is the growth of Kinshasa. The city is the most densely populated city in the DRC, the most populous city and third-largest metropolitan area in Africa.
Kinshasa’s 2025 population is estimated at 17,778,500. Back in 1950, it was 201,905. In the past year alone, the city’s population has grown by 746,200, a 4.38% annual change. At least 2% of the population live in areas prone to flooding. Urban infrastructure, especially flood-related, is non-existent or inadequate. Where it exists, drainage systems are blocked by solid waste, itself another sign of the city whose public services such as waste collection have become dysfunctional.
We have been studying the characteristics of flooding and the prediction of risk linked to it in the Congo Basin for five years as part of our work at the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center in Kinshasa. We study the movement of water in natural and modified environments and its interactions with infrastructure over a range of geographical scales. We argue in this article that understanding why Kinshasa floods means recognising two very different water systems at play – and how urban growth has made the city more vulnerable to both.
Kinshasa faces two distinct flood hazards: first, flooding from the Congo River, which typically peaks around December and January; and, second, urban flood events driven by local rainfall and runoff from the hills south of the city around April and December.
Most of Kinshasa’s flood disasters have come from the second type. And as Kinshasa has urbanised, expanding into the floodplains, but without the necessary urban infrastructure, the impact of urban flood events has become worse.
With more sealed surfaces – because of more urban settlements – and less natural water absorption, more rainwater runs off, and faster. This overwhelms the city’s small urban tributaries and the Ndjili river.
Growth of Kinshasa and flood
As the city has expanded, so has its flood exposure. The city’s tributaries drain steep, densely populated urban slopes and are highly responsive to rainfall.
Of Kinshasa’s two flood risks, the impact of Congo River flooding can be observed in large cities located along major rivers, and typically peaks around January. These are seasonal floods driven by rainfall across the whole Congo Basin.
Research at Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center shows that while Congo River high water levels can cause “backwater effects” – the upstream rise in water level caused by reduced flow downstream – most damaging floods result from intense local rainfall overwhelming the city’s small river catchments. The flood risk analysis indicates that 38 territories are the hotspot of flooding in the Congo basin. Kinshasa is a hotspot due to its double risk sources and extensive urbanisation.
The urban flood events are more challenging. They can happen with less rainfall and cause major destruction. They are driven by local rainfall and rapid growth of informal settlements.
Other cities face similar risks. In 2024, Nairobi suffered deadly floods after prolonged rain overwhelmed informal neighbourhoods and infrastructure.
Across Africa, cities are growing faster than their infrastructure can keep up with. Kinshasa has unique exposure, but also strong local research capacity.
A flooded street (left) and submerged homes in Kinshasa’s April 2025 floods/Photos by Gode Bola.
The Congo River’s seasonal peaks are relatively well understood and monitored. But urban tributaries are harder to predict.
DRC’s meteorological agency Mettelsat and its partners are building capacity for real-time monitoring. But the April 2025 floods showed that community-level warning systems did not work.
Climate change is expected to intensify extreme rainfall in central Africa. While annual totals may not increase, short, intense storms could become more frequent.
This increases pressure on cities already struggling with today’s rains. In Kinshasa, the case for climate-resilient planning and infrastructure is urgent.
Forecasting rainfall is not enough. Government agencies in collaboration with universities must also forecast flood impact – and ensure people can act on the warnings. There is a need to put in place systems to achieve this under a catchment integrated flood management plan.
The main elements of such a plan include:
Improved early warning systems: Use advanced technologies (such as satellites) to gather real-time data on environmental conditions.
Upgraded drainage infrastructure: Identify weaknesses and areas prone to flooding, to manage storm water better.
Enforcement of land use planning: Establish clear regulations that define flood-prone areas; outline permissible land uses.
Define safety perimeters around areas at risk of flooding: Use historical data, flood maps, and hydrological studies to pinpoint areas that are at risk. Regulate development and activities there.
Local engagement in flood preparedness: Educate residents about flood risks, preparedness measures, and emergency response.
Institutions such as the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center play a critical role, not just in research but in turning knowledge into action. Rainfall may trigger the flood, but urban systems decide whether it becomes a disaster. And those systems can change.
– Why Kinshasa keeps flooding – and why it’s not just about the rain – https://theconversation.com/why-kinshasa-keeps-flooding-and-why-its-not-just-about-the-rain-254411
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Director Patrick Sheehan, McNairy County Mayor Larry Smith, Selmer City Mayor Sherry Inman, and McNairy County Emergency Management Agency Director Allen Strickland in visiting the recovery center at the McNairy County Agricultural Event Center and surveying damage sites.
Following the site tours, Senator Blackburn participated in a roundtable discussion at the McNairy County Courthouse. McNairy County tragically lost five individuals as a result of the storms earlier this month.
“We are so grateful to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency for taking the time to join us and for their hard work on behalf of the Tennesseans impacted by the storms this month in McNairy County. This recovery wouldn’t be possible without the local officials, non-profit organizations, law enforcement officers, and volunteers who have stepped up to the plate to help their neighbors and their community.” – Senator Blackburn
The April 2025 flooding disaster in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, wasn’t just about intense rainfall. It was a symptom of recent land use change which has occurred rapidly in the city, turning it into a sprawling urban settlement without the necessary drainage infrastructure.
Local rains combined with runoff from torrential rains coming from neighbouring Congo Central Province quickly overwhelmed the city’s small urban tributaries. The Ndjili River and its tributary (Lukaya), which run through the city, overflowed and flooded homes on either side.
This led to the deaths of at least 70 people, 150 injured and the temporary displacement of more than 21,000 people. Floods affected the running of 73 healthcare facilities. Access to water and transport services were disrupted in large parts of the city. People could only move around by dugout canoe or by swimming in flooded avenues.
Floods have become recurrent in the DRC. The last quarter of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 saw the most devastating floods there and in neighbouring countries since the 1960s.
According to UN World Urbanisation Prospects (2025), the reason the floods have become this devastating is the growth of Kinshasa. The city is the most densely populated city in the DRC, the most populous city and third-largest metropolitan area in Africa.
Kinshasa’s 2025 population is estimated at 17,778,500. Back in 1950, it was 201,905. In the past year alone, the city’s population has grown by 746,200, a 4.38% annual change. At least 2% of the population live in areas prone to flooding. Urban infrastructure, especially flood-related, is non-existent or inadequate. Where it exists, drainage systems are blocked by solid waste, itself another sign of the city whose public services such as waste collection have become dysfunctional.
We have been studying the characteristics of flooding and the prediction of risk linked to it in the Congo Basin for five years as part of our work at the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center in Kinshasa. We study the movement of water in natural and modified environments and its interactions with infrastructure over a range of geographical scales. We argue in this article that understanding why Kinshasa floods means recognising two very different water systems at play – and how urban growth has made the city more vulnerable to both.
Kinshasa faces two distinct flood hazards: first, flooding from the Congo River, which typically peaks around December and January; and, second, urban flood events driven by local rainfall and runoff from the hills south of the city around April and December.
Most of Kinshasa’s flood disasters have come from the second type. And as Kinshasa has urbanised, expanding into the floodplains, but without the necessary urban infrastructure, the impact of urban flood events has become worse.
With more sealed surfaces – because of more urban settlements – and less natural water absorption, more rainwater runs off, and faster. This overwhelms the city’s small urban tributaries and the Ndjili river.
Growth of Kinshasa and flood
As the city has expanded, so has its flood exposure. The city’s tributaries drain steep, densely populated urban slopes and are highly responsive to rainfall.
Of Kinshasa’s two flood risks, the impact of Congo River flooding can be observed in large cities located along major rivers, and typically peaks around January. These are seasonal floods driven by rainfall across the whole Congo Basin.
Research at Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center shows that while Congo River high water levels can cause “backwater effects” – the upstream rise in water level caused by reduced flow downstream – most damaging floods result from intense local rainfall overwhelming the city’s small river catchments. The flood risk analysis indicates that 38 territories are the hotspot of flooding in the Congo basin. Kinshasa is a hotspot due to its double risk sources and extensive urbanisation.
The urban flood events are more challenging. They can happen with less rainfall and cause major destruction. They are driven by local rainfall and rapid growth of informal settlements.
Other cities face similar risks. In 2024, Nairobi suffered deadly floods after prolonged rain overwhelmed informal neighbourhoods and infrastructure.
Across Africa, cities are growing faster than their infrastructure can keep up with. Kinshasa has unique exposure, but also strong local research capacity.
The Congo River’s seasonal peaks are relatively well understood and monitored. But urban tributaries are harder to predict.
DRC’s meteorological agency Mettelsat and its partners are building capacity for real-time monitoring. But the April 2025 floods showed that community-level warning systems did not work.
Climate change is expected to intensify extreme rainfall in central Africa. While annual totals may not increase, short, intense storms could become more frequent.
This increases pressure on cities already struggling with today’s rains. In Kinshasa, the case for climate-resilient planning and infrastructure is urgent.
Forecasting rainfall is not enough. Government agencies in collaboration with universities must also forecast flood impact – and ensure people can act on the warnings. There is a need to put in place systems to achieve this under a catchment integrated flood management plan.
The main elements of such a plan include:
Improved early warning systems: Use advanced technologies (such as satellites) to gather real-time data on environmental conditions.
Upgraded drainage infrastructure: Identify weaknesses and areas prone to flooding, to manage storm water better.
Enforcement of land use planning: Establish clear regulations that define flood-prone areas; outline permissible land uses.
Define safety perimeters around areas at risk of flooding: Use historical data, flood maps, and hydrological studies to pinpoint areas that are at risk. Regulate development and activities there.
Local engagement in flood preparedness: Educate residents about flood risks, preparedness measures, and emergency response.
Institutions such as the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center play a critical role, not just in research but in turning knowledge into action. Rainfall may trigger the flood, but urban systems decide whether it becomes a disaster. And those systems can change.
Gode Bola receives funding support from the Congo River User Hydraulics and Morphology (CRuHM) project (2016-2021), which was entirely funded by The Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building (RS-DFID) under grant number “AQ150005.” He is affiliated with the Regional School of Water (ERE) and the Congo Basin Water Research Center (CRREBaC) of the University of Kinshasa, as well as the Regional Center for Nuclear Studies of Kinshasa.
Mark Trigg received funding support from the Congo River user Hydraulics and Morphology (CRuHM) project (2016-2021), which was wholly funded by The Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building (RS-DFID) under the grant number “AQ150005”. Mark Trigg is affiliated with water@leeds at the University of Leeds and the Global Flood Partnership.
Raphaël Tshimanga receives funding from he Congo River user Hydraulics and Morphology (CRuHM) project (2016-2021), which was wholly funded by The Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building (RS-DFID) under the grant number “AQ150005”. He is affiliated with the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center and the Regional School of Water of the University of Kinshasa.
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County man admitted to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon and to conspiring with others to negotiate checks that had been stolen from the mail, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Donovan Bunch, 23, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to a two-count information charging him with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Donovan Bunch, Tracy Felder-Carter, Dante Ford, and Quamell Keyes-Griffin conspired to commit bank fraud by first obtaining checks that had been stolen from the U.S. mail. Bunch and other members of the conspiracy then would create counterfeit checks or alter the stolen checks by increasing the value of the check and changing the name of the payee to either a member of the conspiracy or somebody else recruited by the conspiracy. Bunch admitted that he and others would negotiate each counterfeit or altered check and then attempt to the withdraw the funds before the bank learned that the checks were illegitimate. The conspiracy involved the negotiation of checks at banks across southern New Jersey and elsewhere, with each check written for amounts upwards of several thousand dollars.
As part of the investigation, in July 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at Bunch’s residence and in his car. Officers recovered from Bunch’s car a stolen Glock pistol with a 31-round magazine that was loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition. At the time he possessed the stolen firearm and ammunition found in his car, Bunch was on probation as a result of a prior New Jersey felony conviction.
The count of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 18, 2025.
Felder-Carter, Ford, and Keyes-Griffin each previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the same bank fraud conspiracy to which Bunch pleaded guilty. Their sentencings are upcoming before Judge Kiel.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, with the investigation leading to this plea. She also thanked the Pennsylvania State Police – Media Station, Pennsauken Police Department, and the Springfield Township (Pennsylvania) Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
###
Defense counsel:
Bunch: Martin Isenberg, Esq. (Gibbsboro, New Jersey)
Felder-Carter: Michael Kahn, Esq. (Haddonfield, New Jersey)
Ford: Margaret M. Grasso, Esq. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Keyes-Griffin: John B. Brennan, Esq. (Marlton, New Jersey)
BOSTON – A member of the violent Boston-based gang, H-Block, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to drug distribution and firearms charges.
Jerry Gray, 28 of Roxbury, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for July 31, 2025.
Gray was one of 10 H-Block gang members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multi-year investigation of H-Block beginning in 2021 in response to an uptick in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings and violence. According to court documents, over 500 grams of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and fentanyl, as well as over 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper were seized during the investigation.
In February 2024, Gray, a long-time H Block gang member, sold crack cocaine to a cooperating witness, and then subsequently stole “buy” money from the cooperating witness during an additional controlled purchase in March of 2024. During Gray’s arrest in August of 2024, a Glock pistol, along with numerous rounds of various calibers of ammunition, were located in his residence. At the time of the charged offenses Gray was on probation in Suffolk Superior Court for two separate firearm-related convictions.
According to the charging documents, the H Block Street Gang is one of the most feared and influential city-wide gangs in Boston. Originally formed in the 1980s as the Humboldt Raiders in the Roxbury section of Boston, the gang re-emerged in the 2000s as H Block. Current members of H Block have a history of violent confrontation with law enforcement, including an incident in 2015 when a member shot a Boston Police officer at point blank range without warning or provocation.
The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Gray is the fifth defendant to plead guilty in the case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Depart of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. The investigation was supported by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; and the Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Jeremy Franker of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section are prosecuting the cases.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
