Question for written answer E-001044/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Kosma Złotowski (ECR)
A statement made by Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen regarding plans to organise a ‘round table’ on the presidential elections in Poland has raised a number of concerns. The responsibility for organising the electoral process lies exclusively with the national authorities and, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the EU must not take action unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level. This suggests that the Commission takes the view that Poland is not capable of organising elections in line with democratic standards.
1.How does the Commission characterise the holding of a ‘round table’ concerning the monitoring of the organisation and conduct of the presidential elections in Poland in May 2025, and what measures are planned in this regard?
2.What format will the meetings planned as part of the ‘round table’ take, who will participate in them, what will be the criteria for inviting stakeholders to participate, and will documentation from these meetings be produced and made available for review?
3.Has the Commission ever undertaken similar activities falling under the concept of ‘round table’ in the context of democratic elections in Member States, and in particular in connection with recent elections in Europe: in Belgium in June 2024, in France in June and July 2024, in Romania in November and December 2024, in Croatia at the turn of 2024/2025, and in Germany in February 2025?
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
ICYMI: Ahead of Expected EO to Abolish Department of Education, Murray, Seattle School Board President, Parents, Advocates Raise Alarm Over Trump Dismantling Dept. of Ed
ICMYI: Senator Murray Blasts Trump’s Plans to Decimate the Department of Education
ICYMI: Ahead of Confirmation Vote, Senator Murray Blasts Linda McMahon’s Nomination: “We Cannot Have a Secretary of Education Who Doesn’t Believe in Having a Secretary of Education”
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement on the executive order President Trump is expected to sign this afternoon seeking to eliminate the Department of Education (ED):
“We should be focused on helping our kids with math and reading—the basics they need to succeed. Absolutely no one is asking for three out-of-touch billionaires to rip apart the Department of Education over some deranged far-right culture war.
“Donald Trump knows perfectly well he can’t abolish the Department of Education without Congress—but he understands that if you fire all the staff and smash it to pieces, you might get a similar, devastating result. In taking a wrecking ball to the Department, Trump is making it harder for students to get help getting financial aid, jeopardizing the funding schools and families count on every day, and making it easier for predatory businesses to rip students off.
“Trump and Musk are selling snake oil—because the obvious truth is dismantling the Department and ripping support away from students and schools won’t do a thing to help improve test scores and make sure our kids get the support they need to thrive. And while Trump claims he wants to ‘return education to the states,’ we know that couldn’t be farther from the truth—because Trump and Musk are, at this very moment, trying to exert ever more control over local schools and dictate what they can and cannot teach.
“Trump, Musk, and McMahon’s goal is clear: destroy public schools and enrich themselves in the process. The billionaires running our government may not understand why federal financial aid or funding for working class school districts or watchdogs protecting students from scammy for-profit colleges matters—but the constituents I talk to every day do, and they are not sitting quiet while Trump seeks to destroy public education in America.”
A senior member and former chair of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray has championed students and families at every stage of her career—fighting to help ensure every child in America can get a high-quality public education. Among other things, Senator Murray negotiated the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), landmark legislation that she got signed into law, replacing the broken No Child Left Behind Act. As a longtime appropriator, she has successfully fought to boost funding to support students and invest in our nation’s K-12 schools, and she has secured significant increases to the Pell Grant so that it goes further for students pursuing a higher education. Senator Murray also successfully negotiated the FAFSA Simplification Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the financial aid application process, simplify the FAFSA form for students and parents, and significantly expand eligibility for federal aid.
On Monday, Senator Murray led a letter demanding detailed answers from the Department of Education about the Trump administration’s mass firings and other detrimental actions, which risk major reductions in support for and oversight of federal investments in our nation’s K-12 schools and institutions of higher education and which threaten vital support for students with disabilities, access to Pell Grants and other financial aid, oversight of student loan servicers, scrutiny of for-profit colleges, and more. The letter follows an earlier March 6 letter Senator Murray sent alongside colleagues demanding answers about the chaotic, harmful actions taken by ED since January—which the Department has yet to respond to.
During Secretary Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing, Senator Murray pressed McMahon on whether she will ensure approved funding gets out to serve students as the law requires and whether she would protect students’ data from DOGE. She also asked McMahon to name a single requirement of ESSA. McMahon couldn’t name any. Ahead of McMahon’s confirmation, Senator Murray spoke out on the Senate floor against her nomination and sounded the alarm over President Trump and Elon Musk’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
A fact sheet outlining how the Department of Education supports students in Washington state is HERE.
Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
$1 billion in canceled programs support local farmers and increase food security in uncertain times
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined 31 Senate colleagues in a letter demanding a reversal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cancellation of food purchase programs across the United States, warning of the harmful impacts this move will have on both families and American farmers.
“We ask that you reverse the cancellation,” the senators wrote. “We have grave concerns that the cancellation… poses extreme harm to producers and communities in every state across the country. At a time of uncertainty in farm country, farmers need every opportunity to be able to expand market access for their products.”
The canceled programs allow states, territories, and Tribes to purchase from local farmers to provide food for food banks, schools, and child care centers. The reported $1 billion in canceled purchases by the USDA adds further pain at a time of high food prices and instability within U.S. agricultural markets.
In Colorado, local food banks across the state used more than $14 million in funding from these programs over the last two years. For example, more than 33 Colorado school districts made use of these programs over the last 2 years.
The full letter sent to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins can be found HERE and below:
Dear Secretary Rollins:
We write to express serious concerns regarding the cancellation of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs supporting local and regional food purchases providing assistance to those in need. These successful programs, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), allow states, territories, and Tribes to purchase local foods from nearby farmers and ranchers to be used for emergency food providers, schools, and child care centers.
At a time when food insecurity remains high, providing affordable, fresh food to food banks and families while supporting American farmers is critical. Notably, LFPA and LFS have benefitted producers and consumers by providing funding for purchases through all 50 states, four territories, and 84 tribal governments. Through LFPA and LFS, USDA has prioritized the procurement and distribution of healthy, nutritious, domestic food. It has also taken an important step towards igniting rural prosperity by expanding and strengthening markets among farmers and rural economies. As of December 2024, the programs had supported over 8,000 producers, providing increased marketing opportunities.
Most importantly, we ask that you reverse the cancellation of LFPA and LFS. We also ask that you provide a thorough and complete update on USDA’s implementation of LFPA and LFS, including answers to the following questions:
What is the status of reimbursements for entities that have agreements with USDA through LFPA and LFS? What is the last date for which states, territories, and Tribes received reimbursements for food purchases under LFPA and LFS?
Has the Administration conducted any assessments of how these program cancellations will impact producers and recipient organizations (e.g., food banks, schools, child care centers)? If so, please provide a copy of any such assessments.
We have grave concerns that the cancellation of LFPA and LFS poses extreme harm to producers and communities in every state across the country. At a time of uncertainty in farm country, farmers need every opportunity to be able to expand market access for their products.
Please provide responses to the information requested in our questions no later than Friday, April 4. Thank you for your attention to this urgent and important matter.
Playgrounds can host a variety of natural wonders – and, of course, kids! Now some students are not just learning about insects and spiders at school — they are putting them on the map and even discovering and naming new species.
Studies indicate insect populations are declining, and species are going extinct every week in Australia. But scientists have only described about a third of Australia’s estimated total of insect species.
This means around 150,000 of our insect species do not have formal scientific names. We know little about where they are and what they do in ecosystems — vital information for stopping biodiversity loss.
We took scientists to 50 regional schools across three states to learn about insects and other arthropods such as spiders. Students of all ages got to survey insect diversity, search for new species, and engage with entomologists and taxonomists throughout the school year.
Students helped name new species, including several species of parasitoid wasp.
Some of the scientific names include Apanteles darthvaderi (Back Plains State School students thought the wasp had gone to the “dark side” because of the way the wasp “sucks the life out of caterpillars”), Mirax supremus (named after the pinnacle science class at Beerwah State High School), and Coccygidium mellosiheroine, which means “honey-coloured hero” (named by students collaborating from several Queensland schools, who considered the wasp a hero as it attacks a crop pest).
Our latest paper on the project is now published. We learned hands-on citizen science increased students’ interests in insects, nature and science.
Apanteles darthvaderi – the wasp that’s gone to the dark side. Katherine Oestmann & Olivia Portmann, CC BY
How many insects?
Around 1,800 students and more than 70 teachers collected insects in or near their schools.
Teachers sent samples to the project team, which sorted and sent a selection of specimens to be DNA barcoded. This method involves sequencing a small section of the genome to tell different species apart.
The specimens were then sent to experts around Australia, who are working to describe any new species collected.
The students collected more than 12,000 insect specimens, including 5,465 different species – many of which are probably not described.
It will take years to identify all the species and work out how many are new to science, but we already know 3,000 had not been recorded in the Barcode of Life DNA database (BOLD).
Queensland Mount Molloy students and their Malaise trap. Andy Howe, CC BY
Good for insects, good for learning
Getting to know insects as part of this citizen science project was great for kids’ active learning and developing an appreciation of the natural world.
Students said they felt more interested in insects, nature and science, and it inspired them to spend more time outdoors.
“I learnt there are many insect and plant species… that I haven’t seen before and how in different ecosystems you can find different insects,” said a student from South Australia.
When students are engaged, it’s no surprise teachers enjoy their jobs more too — and this is exactly what we found. The more enthusiastic the students were about nature and science experiences through the project, the more interested the teachers were in teaching these topics.
One teacher reported “students gained an understanding of the work of scientists, how to participate in research, protocols to follow, and gained a huge interest in insects!”
Insect Investigators won the 2024 Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science (Australian Museum)
What did students get out of it?
After the insect survey was completed, we asked 118 students and 22 teachers in nine of the schools about what they experienced, and how they see insects and nature now.
Students said the chance to find a new species, as well as discovering and catching insects they had not seen before, were highlights of Insect Investigators.
Experiencing a hands-on learning style, outside in nature, was also mentioned as a benefit of the program.
Many students said they now wanted to spend more time outdoors, act and encourage others to protect nature, and pay more attention to insect conservation and science classes. This implies the experience and discovery associated with hands-on citizen science has motivated greater engagement with nature and science.
Queensland Cameron Downs kids show off an insect they found. Andy Howe, CC BY
The potential of school-based citizen science
Insect surveys offer an accessible way for students to actively learn about science and nature. Insects are virtually everywhere and by photographing them, students can observe natural insect behaviour – without the need to collect them.
The iNaturalist App and Atlas of Living Australia facilitate citizen scientists to explore nature around them. We’ve also created resources for teachers who want to introduce lessons on insects into their school homepage.
It’s never too early to develop science literacy skills and give children the chance to develop their curiosity, critical thinking and problem solving.
Connecting schools and scientists is a great way to engage young learners and foster connections to nature. It has the added bonus of inventorying our natural world which is vital to conserving Australia’s biodiversity.
Andy G Howe receives funding from the Australian Government, Queensland Government and Forest & Wood Products Australia. Since 2019, he is active with CSIRO Stem Professionals in Schools.
Erinn Fagan-Jeffries receives funding from the Australian Government and Queensland Government. She sits on scientific advisory committees for Invertebrates Australia and Earthwatch.
Patrick O’Connor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, State and Commonwealth Government Agencies and he is a board director of the Nature Conservation Society of SA, a committee member of the Restoration Decade Alliance and a councilor of the Biodiversity Council.
Trang Nguyen receives funding from the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and the Australian Government.
Fifty years ago, Liberal MPs chose Malcolm Fraser as their leader. Eight months later, he led them into power in extraordinary – some might say reprehensible – circumstances. He governed for seven and a half years, and remains our fourth-longest serving prime minister.
This year marks some awkward anniversaries for the Liberal Party. But this particular one is awkward for multiple reasons. There is the ruthlessness of Fraser’s quest for power, within and beyond the party itself. There is also the ambivalence of the current Liberal generation towards the memory of one of the party’s more electorally successful leaders.
After Fraser’s time in power, he and his party embarked on very different journeys that still shape our politics today.
How Fraser became leader
Australian politics was pretty febrile in March 1975. The Whitlam government, narrowly re-elected in 1974, was increasingly unpopular. Inflation ran at 17.7% in the 12 months to March, and unemployment was at a post-war high of nearly 5%.
Billy Snedden, Liberal leader from December 1972, was poorly placed to capitalise on these conditions. He had surprised many in 1974 with his strategy to block the government’s budget in the Senate and force an early election.
But having run a tight race, Snedden lost credibility with his post-election claim that he was “not defeated” but merely “did not win enough seats to form a government”. He won a leadership spill in November 1974 but not convincingly enough to prevent another one later on.
Billy Snedden (left), pictured here with Andrew Peacock, was unable to capitalise on the weaknesses of the Whitlam Labor government. Wikicommons
Fraser, who in 1971 sternly (and famously) warned that “life wasn’t meant to be easy”, was the obvious alternative. He was a well-known frontbencher and a former senior minister. His role in the downfall of Liberal prime minister John Gorton meant he had many enemies. But as the Governor-General explained to Queen Elizabeth II in one of his confidential letters, Fraser had “a reputation of being strong, intelligent, aggressive and tough-minded”.
Fraser studiously befriended new MPs whose loyalties were malleable, and used his portfolio (after the 1974 election, this was industrial relations) to win friends among his other colleagues.
According to one profile, he hired a public relations firm to help him solve his “image problems” and to counteract personal criticisms from his internal rival and fellow Victorian, Andrew Peacock.
Fraser sought to keep a clean image while his supporters, armed with the latest opinion polls, ran a backgrounding campaign described by Liberal MP Jim Forbes as “devious, unscrupulous and utterly contemptible”.
The crunch came in March. On March 14, Peacock, who hoped to flush Fraser out, dramatically called for a special party meeting to vote on the leadership question. At a Victorian Liberal state council meeting in Bendigo that weekend, Fraser and Peacock canvassed their supporters, while Snedden gave a speech blaming his woes on the media and the Labor Party. According to The Age, a group of MPs met in Toorak that night to shore up their own positions for the week ahead.
Under pressure on Monday morning, Snedden announced a party room meeting for Friday to settle the issue. Fraser confirmed his candidacy the next day. During four days of campaigning in which MPs pressured each other and party operatives worried openly about fundraising capacity, Snedden’s chances seemed to improve. Fraser’s supporters grew increasingly nervous and Peacock prepared to stand if Snedden lost the spill motion. The latter need not have bothered. In the end, it was Snedden who stood against Fraser and lost by a margin of ten votes.
In search of strong leaders
The Liberal Party has a special need for strong leaders. Gerard Henderson once diagnosed the party with a “Messiah complex”, while the political psychologist Graham Little argued that strong leaders gave parties a veneer of philosophy that could “whet the edge of political combat”. As Frank Bongiorno has more recently put it, strong leaders are those who provide their followers “structure, order and discipline” as well as “stark moral alternatives”.
The collective psychology of the Liberal Party worked in Fraser’s favour in March 1975. There were philosophical differences between the two candidates – Snedden later told his biographer that these contests were always driven by the “difference between conservatives and liberals” – but the vote really was about the styles of leadership they offered. As first-time MP John Howard recalled in his memoir, Fraser “sounded strong and looked like a winner”.
Fraser played the role forcefully for eight years, easily seeing off a challenge from Peacock in the final year of his government. Howard certainly fit the bill for much of his second stint as leader, and especially from 2001 onward. These men offered their followers a combination of ideological doctrine and hard-edged political pragmatism.
In the 1980s and post-2007, the party amassed an impressive history of leadership spills in their search for a strong leader. The current leader, Peter Dutton, made a spectacular contribution with his first leadership bid in August 2018. He eventually won the prize in 2022, not necessarily because he had the strongest claim to be a strong leader, but largely due to the lack of “viable alternatives”. That has made his position awkward at times, not least following the historic Aston by-election defeat in 2023.
Worlds Apart
Over time, Fraser became a trenchant critic of his former party, which hardly knew what to do with him. He failed in a bid for the party’s federal presidency in the 1990s, and was openly critical of its approach to race, asylum seekers and climate policy under Howard. He resigned his life membership shortly after Tony Abbott was elected leader in December 2009.
When Fraser died in March 2015, Abbott and his treasurer Joe Hockey led the awkward parliamentary tributes celebrating the life of a “genuine liberal”, while immigration minister Peter Dutton sat silently.
Dutton has played a key role in distancing the party from aspects of the Fraser legacy. Fraser abhorred racism, and his embrace of multiculturalism marks him out as different from several of his successors.
In 2016, Dutton controversially said that Fraser’s decision to resettle migrants fleeing civil war in Lebanon had been “a mistake”. He claims to have since apologised, but only to one senior member of the Lebanese community.
Fraser’s approach to Indigenous policy was also streets apart from that of Dutton. In the early 1980s Fraser’s government, on the advice of the National Aboriginal Council, considered a Makarrata commission to begin acknowledging the history of “Aboriginal occupation” and identifying areas for “increased Aboriginal involvement” in decision-making.
In 2024, Dutton ruled out a Makarrata commission, promising instead a more paternalistic approach to Indigenous affairs.
In 2008, Fraser attended the Apology to the Stolen Generations while Dutton, a senior Liberal MP at the time, boycotted it. (He has since apologised for this.) During the 2023 referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Fraser’s former ministers for Aboriginal affairs supported the “yes” campaign. Dutton was its chief opponent.
When he died, Fraser was reported to be working on a platform for a new political party that would advocate for a Republic, a treaty with First Nations people, “a more independent foreign policy and a post-carbon economy”. In his book Independents’ Day, journalist Brook Turner suggests that some of the individuals who spoke with Fraser then are now at the forefront of the campaigns supporting community independent candidates.
This year, Dutton hopes to win back some of those seats from these independent MPs. The coming contest may indicate that the memory of Fraser’s version of liberalism still has a place in Australia’s politics.
Dr Joshua Black is a former Palace Letters Fellow at the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, and a member of the University of Melbourne’s Malcolm Fraser Reference Group.
Every generation thinks they had it tough, but evidence suggests young Australians today might have a case for saying they’ve drawn the short straw.
Compared with young adults two or three decades ago, today’s 18–35-year-olds may earn more, but they also grapple with soaring living costs, rising education expenses, precarious employment and mounting debt.
How does this compare to what life was like for young Australians at the turn of the century?
Increasing education, decreasing payoffs
University participation has risen, but so has student debt. It’s now far beyond what was intended when HECS was introduced as a supposedly fair, income-contingent loan system.
Indexation has outpaced wages, so much so that today’s 20-somethings carry debts that are more than $10,000 higher in real terms than their counterparts two decades ago.
The Morrison government’s 2021 fee hikes only exacerbated the crisis, with some degrees nearly doubling in cost, leaving students with an even greater debt burden.
University fees have increased over the past 25 years. Shutterstock
Yet the financial return on education is increasingly uncertain.
Credential inflation has reshaped the job market, with even low-wage positions now expecting a university degree.
The widespread belief that a degree guarantees better pay is driving more students into higher education, yet there are many graduates saddled with debt and working in roles unrelated to their qualifications.
In 1996, 28.5% of 21–25-year-olds found themselves in mismatched jobs.
By 2019, that figure had climbed to 33% just among 25-year-olds.
Salaries aren’t keeping up. Since 1996, graduate wages have risen by a factor of just 2.5, while student contributions have jumped between 1.7- and 6.2-fold. This leaves today’s graduates with debt that consumes a larger share of their income than ever before.
The dwindling dream of home ownership
Housing affordability has collapsed over the years.
Twenty-five years ago, the average house cost nine years’ worth of the average household income.
Now, it’s about 16.5 years.
In 2001, property prices rose 1.3 times faster than incomes. Since then, they’ve surged at 2.3 times the rate.
This is fuelled partly by tax incentive policies – for example, the Howard government’s 1999 capital gains tax changes – and, more recently, the COVID pandemic.
Soaring prices have deepened the intergenerational housing wealth gap, reducing the home purchase opportunity for young people. While the First Home Owner Grant, introduced in 2000, provides some support, saving for a deposit remains a years-long struggle.
For many young Australians, intergenerational wealth is now the key to home ownership. Inheritance is becoming nearly as important as employment.
Since 2002, the total value of wealth transfers has more than doubled in real terms, with larger inheritances expected for younger generations due to rising parental wealth and fewer siblings.
But parental wealth is far more unequally distributed than income – shaped by education and region.
Therefore, inheritocracy is set to deepen economic inequality within today’s youth cohort.
But this isn’t just about the ultra-wealthy passing down mansions. Most inheritances involve an ordinary home or proceeds from its sale.
Housing, once central to middle-class stability, now determines who can build wealth and who will struggle financially for life.
Mounting mental health pressures
Meanwhile, Australians today are borrowing more than ever. Default risk is rising fastest among under-30s as soaring interest rates, rent hikes, and cost-of-living pressures squeeze finances.
It’s then no surprise Gen Z is more concerned about finances than any other generation.
Financial stress is taking a heavy toll on young people’s mental health. Between 2007 and 2022, the prevalence of mental health disorders among young Australians surged by nearly 50%.
The burden of disease from non-fatal conditions – measured in years of healthy life lost – has risen 7% since 2003. This is largely due to mental health disorders and substance abuse, which disproportionately affect young people.
Growing up Indigenous
At the deepest end of these struggles are Indigenous youth, who face far greater challenges than their non-Indigenous peers.
Across nearly every measure – education, employment, health and incarceration – outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people remain significantly worse.
While today’s Indigenous youth have achieved better outcomes compared to previous generations – 39% of Indigenous Australians aged 20+ had completed Year 12 in 2021, up from 19.4% in 2001 – these gains still lag behind non-Indigenous youth.
Systemic barriers, institutional racism and intergenerational trauma continue to limit fair access to opportunities. This compounds inequalities and contributes to higher rates of mental ill-health, stress and suicide among Indigenous youth.
The changing politics of being young
Undoubtedly, a continued period of instability and psychological distress in formative years is also shaping the youngest generation’s political attitudes and behaviours.
With fewer assets to conserve compared to their parents or grandparents, they are more likely to lean more to the left politically, and this won’t change with age.
Yet, they remain engaged, thanks in part to compulsory voting, but are also abandoning party loyalties.
Australian Election Study data shows 18–30-year-olds were more interested in politics in 2022 than in 1998 (67% vs 63%). At the same time, they were more likely to change votes during campaigns (43% vs 30%) and less likely to consistently vote for the same party (28% vs 40%).
Their right-wing identification has nearly halved since 1998, with the youth vote increasingly favouring left-wing parties (75% vs 61%).
However, younger Australians’ diverse digital news habits add to their political unpredictability. With 60% of Gen Z relying short-form videos, podcasts, and social media platforms for news in 2024, they are increasingly exposed to fragmented, algorithm-driven content.
This shift, coupled with rising concerns about misinformation, contributes to their volatility as voters.
Overall, young Australians are coming of age in an era where hard work no longer guarantees security. How Australia adapts to this shifting economic and political reality will shape the country’s future for decades to come.
This piece is part of a series on how Australia has changed since the year 2000. You can read other pieces in the series here.
Intifar Chowdhury 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 South African National Antarctic Expedition research base, SANAE IV, at Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Dr Ross Hofmeyr/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA
Earlier this week, reports emerged that a scientist at South Africa’s SANAE IV Antarctic research base had accused a colleague of physical assault.
We research Antarctic governance and crime in isolated, confined and extreme environments such as Antarctic and space stations. Rebecca specifically investigates how station cultures evolve in isolation and what factors significantly influence conflict – and what can be done to improve safety in these environments.
What happened on SANAE IV?
SANAE IV is located on the edge of a steep cliff in Vesleskarvet in east Antarctica. The alleged assault stemmed from a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do. In an email published by the South African Sunday Times, the alleged victim said the alleged attacker had also:
threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.
Psychologists are now in touch with the research team. They aren’t due to leave the extremely isolated and remote base until December.
This latest incident fits within a broader pattern of crime and misconduct in Antarctica. Research stations on the icy continent are often portrayed as hubs of scientific cooperation. But history has shown they can also become pressure cookers of psychological strain and violence.
Multiple cases of misconduct
There have been multiple cases of misconduct in Antarctica over the years.
In 1959, a scientist at Russia’s Vostok Station allegedly attacked his colleague with an ice axe after losing a game of chess. In 2018, another Russian research station became the site of a stabbing. The alleged cause? Spoiled book endings.
In 1984, the leader of Argentina’s Almirante Brown Station set fire to the facility after being ordered to stay through the winter. This resulted in the station’s evacuation.
The 2000 death of an astrophysicist at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was a suspected murder.
Research suggests several psychological and social factors contribute to conflict in remote locations such as Antarctica. These include prolonged isolation, extreme environmental conditions, and the necessity of constant close contact.
In combination, these factors can amplify even minor frustrations. And over time, the lack of external social support, the monotony of daily routines, and the psychological weight of confinement can lead to heightened emotional responses and conflict.
Without structured outlets for stress relief and effective de-escalation mechanisms (such as gyms, libraries, or quiet spaces where mediation between people can happen), tensions can reach breaking points.
Power dynamics also play a crucial role. With limited external oversight, leadership structures and informal hierarchies take on an outsized influence. Those in positions of authority have significant control over how disputes are resolved. This has the potential to exacerbate tensions rather than reducing them.
The process for reporting and responding to incidents in these kinds of environments also remains inconsistent. There’s a lack of policing, and traditional justice systems are also largely absent. Many stations rely on administrative action and internal conflict resolution mechanisms, rather than legal enforcement.
But these mechanisms can be biased or inadequate. In turn, this can leave victims of harassment or violence with few options. It can also lead to more conflict.
As Antarctica and space become more accessible for research and commercial ventures, proactive approaches to crime and conflict prevention in these remote and extreme environments is vital.
The psychological and social challenges observed in Antarctic stations provide a valuable model for understanding potential conflicts in long-duration space missions. Lessons learned from incidents in Antarctica can inform astronaut selection, training, and onboard conflict resolution strategies.
A key area requiring refinement is psychological screening for personnel.
Current screening methods may not fully account for how individuals will react to the social shift that takes place in a remote environment. This includes the altering of attitudes, personal priorities and tolerances.
More advanced stress tolerance assessments and social adaptability training could improve candidate selection. It could also reduce the likelihood of conflicts escalating to violence.
It’s also vital that we gain a better understanding of the unique conflict dynamics that evolve in these equally unique environments.
Research can help. So too can thorough investigations of incidents, such as the one that allegedly occurred at SANAE IV.
This knowledge can be used to recognise early signs of potential conflicts. It can also be integrated into case study-based training modules for expeditioners prior to their deployment. These training modules should include role-playing scenarios, crisis intervention techniques, and integrating the lived experiences of past expeditioners.
This would better equip personnel to navigate interpersonal challenges.
Going to extremes
The recent alleged events at SANAE IV are indicative of a broader pattern of human behaviour in extreme environments.
If we are to successfully expand scientific exploration and habitation in these settings, we must acknowledge the realities of human conflict and develop strategies to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those who live and work in these challenging conditions.
Studying crime and conflict in environments such as Antarctica is not just about understanding the past. It’s about safeguarding the future of exploration – whether on Earth’s harshest frontier or in the depths of space.
Hanne E F Nielsen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Dutch Research Council.
Rebecca Kaiser 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.
Canada is in a housing crisis – demand has gone up, supply has not kept pace, and prices are too high. The new government of Canada is taking immediate action to address this crisis.
Prime Minister Carney today announced that the Government of Canada will eliminate the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for first-time homebuyers on homes at or under $1 million. This tax cut will save Canadians up to $50,000 – allowing more young people and families to enter the housing market and realize the dream of homeownership. By eliminating the GST, Canadians will face lower upfront housing costs and keep more money in their pocket. Eliminating the GST will also have a dynamic effect on increasing supply – spurring the construction of new homes across the country.
The Prime Minister is laser-focused on lowering costs and will continue to present serious solutions to ensure Canadians are better off. The Government of Canada will confront the housing crisis head-on and build the strongest economy in the G7.
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“Our government is laser-focused on lowering costs for Canadians and making homeownership a reality. Eliminating the GST will save first-time homebuyers up to $50,000 and spur housing construction across the country. We will announce a series of new measures to increase housing supply shortly. It’s time for focused action to solve the housing crisis, and it’s time to build a Canada you can afford.” — The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
Proposal would see the establishment of an R&D hub focused on battery technologies
March 20, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario
The Government of Canada recognizes the critical role batteries and battery components play in the global movement toward a net-zero economy. As the world shifts to electric vehicles and cutting-edge technologies, the demand for batteries is surging, and Canada has a unique opportunity to capitalize on this demand by fostering strategic investments.
Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building Canada’s clean energy future by announcing her support for Siemens Canada’s proposal to establish a Global AI Manufacturing Technologies R&D Centre for Battery Production in Canada. This centre will focus on pioneering research and development aimed at advancing battery efficiency and production methods, ensuring Canada remains competitive in the race to lead the clean energy revolution.
By supporting this initiative, the Government of Canada is positioning the country as a global leader in the battery industry and reinforcing its commitment to building a robust national ecosystem. This project will foster collaboration between academia, industry leaders and researchers to accelerate battery innovations, solidifying Canada’s role as a key player in the green economy.
This announcement is a significant step in the government’s strategy to strengthen Canada’s position in the global supply chain, reduce emissions and build a clean, competitive economy that delivers good jobs and lasting prosperity for Canadians. The Government of Canada is sending a clear message: We are committed to a cleaner, more resilient future, and we will take bold action to ensure Canada thrives in a low-carbon world.
PM remarks to Permanent Joint Headquarters and military planners at Northwood: 20 March 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s remarks to Permanent Joint Headquarters and military planners at Northwood this afternoon.
I’m here just to say a massive thank you to you for everything that you do.
Because at this Headquarters, all the planning, the strategic thinking goes on for pretty well every operation that we run anywhere in the world.
It’s an incredible thing to be responsible for. An incredible thing for our country. And of course, whatever form that operation takes – whether that’s air, sea, land, cyber, space – you are doing all of the planning for that.
And that means you are integral to what we do as a country to keep our country safe and secure.
Obviously, integral to our work with NATO and our key allies, and I’m deeply conscious of the level of that commitment and responsibility that you hold, but also that you hold it all of the time.
It is 24/7. Every day of the week, every month, every year.
You have to be absolutely on your game.
Doing your work, you are there to provide that essential work, without which nothing that needs to be done across the world operationally, could be done.
I want to acknowledge that, to say thank you to you for doing that.
To say thank you to you as the Prime Minister on behalf of the government, but also to say thank you on behalf of millions of citizens of this country who would love to stand here and have the opportunity that I have, the privilege that I have, to say thank you.
Because they know that want you are doing is keeping them safe and secure.
They know that what you are doing is making sure that we have peace through the world, particularly at the moment which is a very volatile time. There is a great deal of uncertainty.
I think people will look and are reassured to know that you are here doing what you are doing.
And that includes the support that we have been putting in for Ukraine over many years now.
I won’t go into the detail of what you have been doing from here.
But is has been hugely important to what has happened on the ground for three long years of this conflict.
And of course, on a personal level, I would like to thank the team here who facilitated, planned and made sure that my visit to Ukraine just a few weeks ago was a huge success.
None of that comes without the hard work that you put in.
Obviously today has been very much about the planning for what may come next in Ukraine.
I know it has been a busy day. But it’s really good to have had a briefing and seen some of the teams, and to go through some of the detail of what’s been planned here today.
I’m really clear in my mind, that if there is a deal and I hope there is. Everybody wants a peaceful outcome, a lasting peace, not least the Ukrainians.
But that will only be lasting, that will only be peaceful, will only leave Ukraine secure and sovereign, if there is security arrangements in place to ensure that if there is a deal, it is a defended deal. And that’s why that the work you are doing here is so important.
Last weekend, and two weekends before that, we had groupings of international political leaders coming together to provide the political alignment and the collective agreement that we need to work together to ensure that any deal that is put in place is defended.
What’s happening here is turning that political intention into reality. The concept into the plans, whether that’s in relation what might happen on the sea, air or on the ground.
Those plans are coming together, and I met some of the team to work through some of the details.
But it is vitally important that we do that work.
Because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
We know that because it’s happened before, and I am absolutely clear in my mind that it will happen again.
Therefore, what we are doing here is vital to peace and security for Europe and our NATO allies and of course crucially for the United Kingdom.
Now this is taken as a given: we hope there will be a deal.
But what I do know if there is a deal, the time for planning is now.
It’s not after a deal is reached.
I’m well aware that the deal may be in stages, and therefore there is a different optionality, different things that have to be planned, but the more planning that we do here now through you, the better.
Because we are getting ahead of the challenge to make sure that we are as effective as possible.
And I’m hugely reassured to be here with you, to see what is going on, and to say in relation to that work, and the other work that is going on around the world, a massive thank you to all of you for everything you do.
I’m proud of your work, I know that millions of our citizens are proud, and I hope you are proud of what you are doing for our country, for our allies and for peace in our continent.
NEWARK, N.J. – An Elizabeth man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced.
Stanley Claiborne, 28, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin to an Indictment charging him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Padin imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On the morning of July 14, 2022, members of the United States Marshals Service apprehended Claiborne near Market and Broad Streets in downtown Newark based on two unrelated arrest warrants. Claiborne was in possession of a loaded gun at the time of his arrest. Claiborne was previously convicted of unlawful possession of a handgun in New Jersey Superior Court, among other felony convictions, and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Padin sentenced Claiborne to 3 years of supervised release.
“This case is an excellent example of state and federal authorities partnering together to aggressively combat illegal gun possession in New Jersey”
U.S. Attorney John Giordano
“The arrest of Stanley Claiborne and prosecution for possessing an illegal firearm is a testament to the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office commitment to justice and safety for our communities throughout the state,” said Juan Mattos Jr., U.S. Marshal for the District of New Jersey.
U.S. Attorney John Giordano credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, the United States Marshals Service (USMS), under the direction of Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., and the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The investigation was also conducted as part of the USMS’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force (NY/NJ RFTF). The NY/NJ RFTF was formed in 2002 and has made an extraordinary impact on the investigation and apprehension of the region’s most dangerous and violent fugitives.
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.
This case is also 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 government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clara Kim and Thomas S. Kearney of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo, Verona, New Jersey
NEWARK, N.J. – A Colombian citizen was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced.
Edgar Ruiz-Gomez, a/k/a “Gono,” 57, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to Count One of an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2016 through January 2020, Ruiz-Gomez and others conspired to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine. Ruiz-Gomez acknowledged holding a managerial role in this conspiracy, which involved more than five individuals.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Ruiz-Gomez to five years of supervised release.
“My office is fully committed to employing its considerable resources to prosecuting dangerous drug organizations,” said U.S. Attorney John Giordano.
U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, New Jersey, as well as special agents and task force officers with the DEA operating in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section Judicial Attachés in Bogotá, Colombia; Colombian law enforcement authorities; and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is also 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 government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
TRENTON, N.J. – The chief executive officer of a Georgia-based HVAC company has been charged with illegally importing 500 cylinders of potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Peru, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced today. This case is the second prosecution in the United States under the AIM Act, and the first prosecution of a corporate executive.
William Randolph Hires a/k/a “Randy Hires,” 57, of Woodstock, Georgia and Lima, Peru, is charged by complaint with violating the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) by unlawfully importing 500 cylinders of HFCs. Hires appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark federal court.
HFCs include refrigerants used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems commonly known as “Freon.” The global warming impact of an HFC can be hundreds to thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. Because of this, in 2020 Congress enacted the AIM Act, which authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs by 85 percent over time.
“The defendant’s actions in this case not only violated the AIM Act and created a threat to the environment they also unfairly disadvantaged other law-abiding U.S. businesses,” said Dan Meyers, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division. “Today’s charges send a clear message: Enforcement of the law protects our air, land, and water, ensuring a brighter future for our citizens and a level playing field for American businesses and workers.”
“Hires disregarded our nation’s environmental laws and put our country at risk with shipments containing potent greenhouse gases,” said ICE HSI Newark Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “HSI Newark successfully conducts investigations into violations of U.S. import and export laws to ensure national security and protect the public’s health and safety. We will hold individuals and corporations accountable for violating global trade regulations.” According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April 2022, on behalf of his company, Hires purchased 500 cylinders of HFCs in Peru. Over the next several months, EPA officials explained to Hires’s employees that, under the AIM Act and its implementing regulations, Hires’s company could not lawfully import the HFCs to the United States because it did not have the required EPA-issued allowances. In a July 22, 2022 email to one of Hires’s employees, an EPA official stated, in substance, “it is not possible to import bulk HFCs without consumption allowances.”
Hires’s employees conveyed this information from the EPA to Hires on several occasions. On one occasion, an employee forwarded to Hires an email that the employee had received from an EPA official which stated, “[t]he HFC you listed (R-410A) is a regulated substance. So if you do not have allowances, you cannot import those bulk HFC refrigerants.” In another email exchange between Hires and an employee, the employee informed Hires that, based on a video conference the employee had with EPA officials, shipping without the necessary allowances would violate import laws so “[i]t is out of our hands.”
Hires nevertheless instructed his employees to illegally import the HFCs into the United States. In a July 28, 2022 email, Hires stated to his employees: “[y]eah you have to be careful what agencies you’re reaching out to because the EPA . . . can create a hassle and they can hold our stuff up in customs there[.]” In a subsequent email, Hires instructed his employees to “get [the HFCs] on the ship and get it out to sea . . . don’t care what it takes[.]” Hires later instructed his employees via email: “Do not call the EPA please do not.”
The violation of the AIM Act with which Hires is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney John Giordano credited special agents of the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Divisions, under the direction of Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dan Meyers; special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel; and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Francis J. Russo, Director of Field Operations, New York Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica R. Ecker and Bernard J. Cooney of the Health Care Fraud Unit, and Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit, in Newark, and Trial Attorney Ronald A. Sarachan of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental and Natural Resources Division.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
NEWARK, N.J. – A Burlington County man was sentenced in connection with his role in two armed robberies committed in August 2022 in Passaic County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced today.
Kareem Powell, 32, of Willingboro, New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court on March 20, 2025, to 120 months in prison. Powell previously pleaded guilty before Judge Cecchi to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In the evening of August 22, 2022, Powell, along with accomplices Carlos Diaz and Edward Porter, robbed a Passaic bodega of several thousand dollars while pointing guns at a victim and threatening to kill him. Later that night, Powell, Diaz, and Porter also robbed a Paterson business of several thousand dollars. During both robberies, Powell, Diaz, and Porter wore face masks and ordered customers at gunpoint to lie down on the ground.
Diaz and Porter have both admitted their guilt and pled guilty in connection with the two armed robberies described above, as well as in connection with two additional armed robberies committed the following day in Passaic County. Their sentencings are scheduled to take place later in 2025.
In addition to the prison term imposed on Powell, Judge Cecchi sentenced him to three years of supervised release and ordered him to make restitution to the victims of his crimes.
U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr., and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Thomas Adamo, with the investigation leading to the convictions and sentencing. U.S. Attorney Giordano also thanked officers of the Paterson Police Department and the Passaic Police Department for their work on this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett Schuman of the Criminal Division in Newark.
25-080 ###
Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo, Verona, New Jersey
Inland Revenue recently opened consultation on rule changes that would include taxing business income unrelated to a charity’s charitable purpose. The consultation period runs until the end of this month.
But overhauling the tax rules could undermine the sustainability of some charities, making it harder for them to continue their work.
Our ongoing research looks into the economic contribution of the sector and, in particular, focuses on religious charities. The total value of the services provided by these charities in 2018 alone was NZ$6.1 billion – the equivalent of around 3% of annual government expenditure.
Other studies have shown the substantial contributions charities make to education, sports, the arts, the environment and other activities that don’t get enough support from the government.
Making a profit
There are more than 29,000 registered charities in New Zealand. To register as one, an entity must meet strict legal criteria entrenched in the Charities Act 2005.
Charities have to fall within one of four legally-recognised charitable purposes: relief of poverty, advancement of education, advancement of religion, and any other purposes beneficial to the community.
The government recognises the high bar charities have to meet by giving some tax exemptions. This allows the charities to focus on providing benefits to communities rather than having to divert funds to the government. The exemptions are on both passive income (stocks, for example) as well as business income.
But the issue is not as simple as certain criticisms might imply.
Charities need to sustain themselves over time – particularly as donations fluctuate. Untaxed profits from charity-linked businesses allow them to do this, and changing the rules could undermine future cash flow for these groups.
This argument should not be overstated. Removing the exemption won’t completely wipe out a charity’s profits. But it takes a portion of income that would then need to be covered by an increase in donations.
The Inland Revenue discussion paper also only offers examples of businesses in the primary industry (farming, for example) and manufacturing sectors. But it is silent about the financial and services sectors. It appears charities’ income from interest or financial assets will still be exempt.
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Holding assets such as a portfolio of stocks or bonds can improve charities’ ability to plan for the long term. But the tax rules should remain consistent between financial assets and non-financial assets, such as a farm or business.
The Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company, the manufacturer of Weet-Bix, Marmite and other well known grocery items, is wholly owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and doesn’t pay income tax. Adam Constanza/Shutterstock
Will the gains be worth the cost?
To better balance the contribution of charities to wider society with efforts to mak tax rules fair, there are a few points the government needs to consider.
Firstly, society benefits from having a wide variety of charities. Allowing them to build a stable financial base allows them to grow and continue to do their work.
There will always be gaps in what the government is able to provide. It’s arguably more efficient to address unmet need with charities than by leaving it to individuals to find donations themselves.
Charities should be able to structure themselves in ways that make them less dependent on donations.
The government needs to also consider what it would cost to overhaul the current tax rules when it comes to charities. Administrative costs for everyone could end up being greater than the revenue gained.
Finally, the impact of the proposed changes would extend beyond religious organisations to include gaming trusts, universities and asset-holding charities that provide significant funding for sports, arts, cultural and welfare organisations.
Having public consultation on Inland Revenue’s proposed changes is a good start, but it is just that.
More needs to be done to understand the implications for communities should tax changes occur – and what could be lost if charities are substantially less sustainable. So, if the government delivers a plan, let’s read and evaluate the small print.
The authors thank Steven Moe, Partner at Parryfield Lawyers, for his significant help and mahi in contributing to this article.
Juliet Chevalier-Watts receives funding from The Wilberforce Foundation and the InterChurch Bureau.
Over four decades I have served as a volunteer and trustee for a range of development, educational, health and religious charities.
A soundstage facility purchased by Screen Nova Scotia with support from the Province will expand opportunities for the thriving film industry.
The government has invested $8 million towards the soundstage – a large, sound-proofed building used for filming – which will increase the industry’s capacity and allow productions to continue year round.
“Film and television production is booming in our province. We’re committed to fuelling that success, which creates high-value jobs and drives economic growth,” said Premier Tim Houston. “By investing in the right infrastructure, we will help unlock the full potential of our film industry and show the world what Nova Scotia has to offer.”
The Mount Uniacke facility has multiple buildings to support various production needs, including two clear-span soundstages and space to support long-term growth. It will be ready to accommodate productions later this year.
Quotes:
“Our community is thrilled to welcome this world-class production facility right in our backyard. Films provide us with entertainment, but they also create jobs and bring a boost to local businesses.” — Brad Johns, MLA for Sackville-Uniacke, on behalf of Dave Ritcey, Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage
“This is a pivotal moment in the post-2015 film industry era. Over the past 10 years, the film industry has not only rebuilt but has now re-established its position as a key player in boosting our economy. Today’s announcement is a vital part of our growth potential. A soundstage will anchor our industry for the future – providing a year-round home for productions, attracting business, creating jobs and playing a critical role in developing our workforce to grow the industry.” — Laura Mackenzie, Executive Director, Screen Nova Scotia
**Quick Facts:##
the Province has invested $77 million in the Nova Scotia Film and Television Production Incentive Fund for 2024-25, generating more than $160 million so far in production spending
Nova Scotia approved 88 productions in 2024-25
**Additional Resources:##
Screen Nova Scotia: https://screennovascotia.com
Other than cropping, Province of Nova Scotia photos are not to be altered in any way.
Sackville, New Brunswick, March 20, 2025 — The governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are collectively moving forward to protect the Chignecto Isthmus from the increasingly destructive impacts of climate change. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia commit to paying $162.5 million each for a total of $325 million to support the project (valued at $650 million). This is a major step towards ensuring the security of this important link.
This was announced by Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister Kody Blois, Premier Susan Holt, and Minister Fred Tilley.
The dykeland system in the Chignecto Isthmus between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will be raised to decrease the risk of flooding, protecting agriculture in the region and surrounding communities, including Sackville, New Brunswick and Amherst, Nova Scotia, against sea level rise and storm surges.
The isthmus is also a transportation corridor including the Trans Canada Highway and the Canadian National Railway, connecting New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. An estimated $100 million of goods and services crosses the corridor each day. The corridor also contains 138 kV and 345 kV of electrical transmission lines, and fibre-optical cables, both of which are essential to providing electricity and telecommunication capabilities within and across communities.
A network of dykes and aboiteaux that was originally installed in the late 1600s currently protects assets in the region from rising sea levels and storm surges, including a nearby wind farm, cultural sites, a sewage treatment plant, agricultural croplands, and private properties with buildings, wells, and septic systems. Increasing sea level rise and coastal sinking are forecasted to threaten the current dykes — along with the corridor infrastructure and communities they protect — before 2100.
The project will include raising the height of the existing dyke system to mitigate the risk of the Chignecto Isthmus being flooded with sea water. The project will have two major components: a minimum of 13 km of dyke system and three to five large aboiteaux and the replacement or addition of new small aboiteaux. Aboiteaux are culverts with gates that stop sea water from flowing inland past the dykes while allowing water behind the dykes to flow out.
The entire project is expected to take approximately 10 years to complete with the preliminary engineering studies, design, and land acquisition occurring during the first half of the period and most of the construction occurring during the last half.
The RCMP and the CBSA announced today that four arrests have been made in Mississauga, Ontario, after foiling attempts to smuggle Ketamine, a dangerous anesthetic, from coming into Canada.
Between February 18th and March 3rd four separate individuals arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport after arriving from Europe. Baggage examinations by the CBSA uncovered alleged Ketamine concealed inside their luggage, amounting to an approximate total of 154 kilograms with an estimated street value of $4,608,000.
Ketamine is an odorless and colourless drug that is used as a medical anesthetic in liquid form, but is often illicitly sold in powder form. There are several mental, physical, and long term effects associated with taking Ketamine. When taken, it can distort how an individual experiences sight and sound, and interferes with one’s ability to perceive pain. Due to these effects, it can sometimes be used to commit sexual assault.
The CBSA seized the Ketamine and arrested the travelers. The RCMP Central Region Toronto Airport Detachment, Border Integrity Response team has charged:
Alison Louise Olmes (63), of Caledon, Ontario, with Importing a Controlled Substance, contrary to section 6(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for smuggling 30.8 kilograms of suspected Ketamine into Canada
Courtney Linda Johanne Desbois (27), of Toronto, Ontario, with Importing a Controlled Substance, contrary to section 6(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for smuggling 31.8 kilograms of suspected Ketamine into Canada
Lamia Hamici (40), of Montreal, Quebec, with Importing a Controlled Substance, contrary to section 6(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for smuggling 60 kilograms of suspected Ketamine into Canada
Britney Carolyn Allen (32), of Whitby, Ontario, with Importing a Controlled Substance, contrary to section 6(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for smuggling 30.95 kilograms of suspected Ketamine into Canada
All accused have been released on an undertaking and are expected to appear at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse in Brampton on March 26, 2025 & April 9, 2025
“These seizures are yet another example of Canada’s Border Plan in action and the effective partnership between the CBSA and the RCMP in stopping drug trafficking. Ketamine poses a significant threat to public health, and our law enforcement agencies are keeping our communities safe, both in Canada and abroad.” – The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
“Ketamine is a strong anesthetic and it’s use has been the cause of many deaths including the death of Canadian actor Matthew Perry. The RCMP is acting to protect Canadians from dangerous drugs that harm our communities. The importation of a narcotic like ketamine is a serious offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act and a conviction may result in a lengthy prison sentence.” – Inspector John McMath Officer in Charge, RCMP Toronto Airport Detachment
“Ketamine is a lethal substance that poses a significant risk to the safety of Canadians, and the CBSA is committed to securing Canada’s border from drug threats like this one. These seizures exemplify the hard work of our border services officers with our RCMP partners who employ targeting and intelligence methods to protect the health and safety of Canadians.” – Lisa Janes, Regional Director General, Canada Border Services Agency, Greater Toronto Area Region
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are committed to intercepting and investigating smuggling attempts at our border and disrupting organized crime.
The RCMP supports the CBSA’s mandate at the ports of entry from inbound and outbound criminal threats through criminal investigations and prosecutions related to narcotic smuggling.
With a presence across Canada, the RCMP is uniquely positioned to protect our border between ports of entry, but also conduct follow-up investigations when necessary.
The RCMP and the CBSA work closely in an investigative capacity, along with other domestic and international law enforcement partners, to combat the impact that cross border criminal activity is having on our communities.
If you have any information related to smuggling, drug importation, trafficking, or possession, or wish to report other criminality, you can contact the Ontario RCMP at 1-800-387-0020, the confidential CBSA Border Watch toll-free line at 1-888-502-9060 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), at any time.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NorthEast Community Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: NECB) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per common share. The dividend will be paid on or about May 6, 2025 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 7, 2025.
“We are pleased to increase our quarterly dividend to shareholders,” said Kenneth A. Martinek, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “The payment of dividends continues to represent one part of our long-term commitment to enhancing shareholder value.”
About NorthEast Community Bancorp, Inc.
NorthEast Community Bancorp, headquartered at 325 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, New York 10601, is the holding company for NorthEast Community Bank, which conducts business through its eleven branch offices located in Bronx, New York, Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan Counties in New York and Essex, Middlesex, and Norfolk Counties in Massachusetts and three loan production offices located in New City, New York, White Plains, New York, and Danvers, Massachusetts. For more information about NorthEast Community Bancorp and NorthEast Community Bank, please visit www.necb.com.
Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include, but are not limited to, changes in market interest rates, regional and national economic conditions (including higher inflation and its impact on regional and national economic conditions), legislative and regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the United States government, including policies of the United States Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board, the quality and composition of the loan or investment portfolios, demand for loan products, decreases in deposit levels necessitating increased borrowing to fund loans and securities, competition, demand for financial services in NorthEast Community Bank’s market area, changes in the real estate market values in NorthEast Community Bank’s market area, the impact of failures or disruptions in or breaches of the Company’s operational or security systems, data or infrastructure, or those of third parties, including as a result of cyberattacks or campaigns, and changes in relevant accounting principles and guidelines. Additionally, other risks and uncertainties may be described in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are available through the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating any forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to release publicly the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
Seven locals from across North America have been selected to receive the inaugural Chris Wagoner Memorial Leadership Grant. The grant was created by delegates to the 2024 IAM International Convention to honor the work and memory of the late Chris Wagoner, who served as Director of the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center before his passing in 2022.
WATCH: Chris Wagoner Memorial Leadership Grant
Wagoner believed that expanding opportunities for leadership training was critical to our future growth and strength as a union.
The grant provides funding to one Local from each IAM Territory annually that otherwise would not be able to send current and emerging leaders to leadership programs atthe Winpisinger Center.
“The legacy of Chris Wagoner is one of continuously expanding opportunities to our members, leaders and activists,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “We’re so proud to be able to expand that tradition and bring the power of IAM labor education to even more future leaders of our great union.”
The seven winning locals for 2025 are:
Canada: Local 550 (Surrey, B.C.) Eastern: Local 4538 (Towson, Md.) Air Transport: Local 1894 (South Ozone Park, N.Y.) Southern: Local 2916 (Corpus Christi, Texas Headquarters/Rail Division: Local 104 (Huntington, W. Va.) Midwest: Local 1613 (Vandalia, W. Va.) Western: Local W38 (Shelton, Wash.)
The selection committee consisted of IAM retiree leaders James Leslie, James Price and Michael Flynn, who praised the quality of the applications from all of the locals.
The Chris Wagoner Memorial Leadership Grant is awarded annually. Applications for the 2026 grants must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2025.Locals can learn more about the program and submit applications here.
The memorial program will serve and educate many members in honor of Wagoner for years to come.
New York State currently receives $2 billion in federal funding to support school meal programs. Governor Hochul’s proposal would build on that support to ensure that every student in the state has access to a healthy breakfast and lunch at school. By eliminating any financial requirements to receive this benefit, New York State will level the playing field and give parents back the money they would be spending.
Offering free school meals is a proven and effective way to help keep kids in school and able to focus in the classroom. Additionally, free school meals are estimated to save families $165 per child in grocery spending each month and have been shown to support learning, boost test scores, and improve attendance and classroom behavior.
The FY25 Enacted Budget included $180 million to help incentivize eligible schools to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, allowing all students in participating schools to eat breakfast and lunch at no charge regardless of their families’ income. The Governor’s 2025 State of the State initiative requires all school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools that participate in the national school lunch and breakfast program to provide free breakfast and lunch meals to all students regardless of their families’ income, thereby reducing costs for families and ensuring that no student goes hungry at school. Under this initiative, the State will pay the student’s share of costs for all meals served to students not already receiving free meals, expanding eligibility for free meals to nearly 300,000 additional students.
As the federal government takes a hammer to vital food assistance programs, we’re stepping up to the plate by filling the plates of those who need it most.”
Governor Kathy Hochul
Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero said, “Having free breakfast and lunch available for kids means they’re able to stay in school and have a better time in the classroom. Every student should have the chance to have a healthy, filling meal at school, without income cutoffs. We’ve seen the incredible impact free school meals have – they improve attendance and classroom behavior, help raise test scores, and support overall learning, all while saving families around $165 per child on groceries. Expanding the program so that every student is eligible means every school in our state can help keep kids fed, full, and focused.”
Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy said, “The impact of food insecurity on a student’s physical and mental health cannot be overstated. Hungry children struggle to focus, learn, and fully participate in school. No child should ever worry about where their next meal is coming from. By providing free breakfast and lunch, we ensure that students from all backgrounds have equal opportunity to thrive. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Governor Hochul for her commitment to this critical issue.”
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, “Research shows that receiving free or reduced priced meals in our school has direct correlation with reductions in obesity, insecurity, absenteeism, and poor health. Children learn more effectively, have reduced stress and social isolation, and have a better quality of life. I am honored to stand with the Governor as she fights for our families in the City of Albany and across the state.”
Albany City School District Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said, “We are grateful to Governor Hochul for advocating for free meals at school for every student in New York, especially during these incredibly unsettling times with education funding under attack at the federal level. Hunger is a tremendous obstacle to student success, and Governor Hochul’s plan to remove that obstacle across our state is the right thing to do for our future.”
New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person said, “School meals are more than just a lifeline for families facing food insecurity—they are a fundamental investment in the health, well-being, and success of every child in our state. No student should ever have to battle hunger in the classroom. NYSUT stands with Gov. Hochul in this fight to make sure every child, in every school, gets the meals they need to seize the opportunities they deserve.”
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said, “New York Farm Bureau heartily supports universal school meals. For many schoolchildren in New York, the meals they eat at school can sometimes be the only meals they eat. Food availability and accessibility are high priorities for NYFB, and that means we also support the 30% New York State Initiative. This program is a win-win for schools and farms alike, as it incentivizes schools to spend at least 30% of their lunch budget on food produced in New York.”
Eagle Point Elementary School Principal Jared Fox said, “The research on this critically important topic is irrefutable — and aligned with our daily experiences here at Eagle Point Elementary School — children do better at school when they have access to free breakfast and lunch at school. They have better attendance, are focused and more alert, and generally happier and less anxious. It would be devastating to our school community to lose the federal funding that has sustained these programs for many years, and we thank Governor Hochul for stepping in to assure that that will not be a concern for educators and families in New York.”
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dommonick T. Chatman, age 49, of York, Pennsylvania, was indicted on twenty counts of bank fraud and one count of destroying records in a federal investigation.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that Chatman either submitted or caused to be submitted false and fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and supporting documentation in order to obtain funds for his clients and kickback payments to himself.
The PPP program was created by the March 2020 CARES Act, as part of the United States government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public’s health and economic well-being. The PPP program was designed to help small businesses facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP funds were offered in forgivable loans, provided that certain criteria are met, including use of the funds for employee payroll, mortgage interest, lease, and utilities expenses.
According to the indictment, Chatman operated a business located in York, PA, known as The Chatman Group, LLC, through which he offered tax-preparation services. It is alleged that Chatman discussed the PPP and funds available through the PPP with existing and prospective clients of his company. If the clients decided to move forward with PPP loan applications, Chatman prepared a PPP loan application for and on behalf of a client or directed an employee of The Chatman Group to prepare an application using information that he provided. Chatman then knowingly inserted false and fraudulent information into clients’ applications and supporting documentation. For example, several loan applications were supported by a Schedule C—an official IRS tax form for the reporting of business income by a sole proprietor—claiming over $100,000 in gross receipts when, in reality, the taxpayer either did not file a Schedule C for the corresponding tax year or filed a Schedule C reporting gross receipts of less than $15,000.
A financial institution, including at times an unnamed financial institution headquartered in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, then approved such loans in reliance on the documentation submitted to it.
The indictment contains twenty individual charges of bank fraud, each of which is based on an allegedly false and fraudulent PPP loan application filed during March and April 2021. Most of the applications were for a requested amount of approximately $20,833, which was the maximum possible amount for a sole proprietor with no employees.
The indictment also alleges that in November and December 2022, after being contacted and interviewed by members of federal law enforcement, Chatman knowingly destroyed records—including electronically stored PPP loan applications of clients and a hard copy list of PPP loan applications of clients—with the intent to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for bank fraud is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The maximum penalty for destruction of records in a federal investigation is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
SCOR SE announces the availability of its 2024 Universal Registration Document
The 2024 Universal Registration Document of SCOR SE (“SCOR” or the “Company”) prepared in ESEF format (European Single Electronic Format) was filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”) on Thursday 20 March 2025 under number D.25-0124.
Hard copies of the 2024 Universal Registration Document are also available at SCOR’s headquarters, located at the following address:
SCOR SE 5, avenue Kléber 75795 Paris Cedex 16 France
The 2024 Universal Registration Document includes the following information:
the 2024 annual financial report including the report of the board of directors on corporate governance and the information on sustainability matters;
the description of the share buyback program; and
the reports of the statutory auditors and certification report regarding sustainability.
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SCOR, a leading global reinsurer
As a leading global reinsurer, SCOR offers its clients a diversified and innovative range of reinsurance and insurance solutions and services to control and manage risk. Applying “The Art & Science of Risk”, SCOR uses its industry-recognized expertise and cutting-edge financial solutions to serve its clients and contribute to the welfare and resilience of society.
The Group generated premiums of EUR 20.1 billion in 2024 and serves clients in more than 150 countries from its 37 offices worldwide.
All content published by the SCOR group since January 1, 2024, is certified with Wiztrust. You can check the authenticity of this content at wiztrust.com.
General
The 2024 universal registration document filed on 20 March 2025, under number D.25-0124 with the AMF is available on SCOR’s website www.scor.com.
Figures presented throughout the 2024 universal registration document may not add up precisely to the totals in the tables and texts. Percentages and percent changes are calculated on complete figures (including decimals); therefore, this universal registration document might contain immaterial differences in sums and percentages due to rounding. Unless otherwise specified, the sources for the business ranking and market positions are internal.
Forward-looking statements
The 2024 universal registration document includes forward-looking statements, assumptions, and information about SCOR’s financial condition, results, business, strategy, plans and objectives, including in relation to SCOR’s current or future projects.
These statements are sometimes identified by the use of the future tense or conditional mode, or terms such as “estimate”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “have the objective”, “intend to”, “plan”, “result in”, “should” and other similar expressions.
It should be noted that the achievement of these objectives, forward-looking statements, assumptions and information is dependent on circumstances and facts that may or may not arise in the future.
No guarantee can be given regarding the achievement of these forward-looking statements, assumptions and information. These forward-looking statements, assumptions and information are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements, assumptions and information (including on objectives) may be impacted by known or unknown risks, identified or unidentified uncertainties and other factors that may significantly alter the future results, performance and accomplishments planned or expected by SCOR.
In particular, it should be noted that the full impact of the economical and geopolitical risks on SCOR’s business and results cannot be accurately assessed.
Therefore, any assessments, any assumptions and, more generally, any figures presented in this universal registration document will necessarily be estimates based on evolving analyses, and encompass a wide range of theoretical hypotheses, which are highly evolutive.
Information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect SCOR’s business are included in the 2024 universal registration document.
In addition, such forward-looking statements, assumptions and information are not “profit forecasts” within the meaning of Article 1 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980.
SCOR has no intention and does not undertake to complete, update, revise or change these forward-looking statements, assumptions and information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Financial information
The Group’s financial information contained in this universal registration document is prepared on the basis of IFRS and interpretations issued and approved by the European Union.
Unless otherwise specified, prior-year balance sheet, income statement items and ratios have not been reclassified.
The calculation of financial ratios (such as return on invested assets, regular income yield, return on equity and combined ratio) is detailed in the 2024 universal registration document, notably in section 1.3.9.
The financial results for the full year 2024 included in this universal registration document have been audited by SCOR’s statutory auditors. Unless otherwise specified, all figures are presented in Euros.
Any figures or financial results for a period subsequent to December 31, 2024 should not be taken as a forecast of the expected financials for these periods.
The solvency ratio is not audited by SCOR’s statutory auditors. The Group solvency final results are to be filed to supervisory authorities by April 2025 and may differ from the estimates expressed or implied in this universal registration document.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adrian York, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Music Performance, University of Westminster
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since 1970 you will be aware of the five-day Glastonbury festival held every June (apart from “fallow” years to rest the land and the organisers), near Pilton in Somerset. Glastonbury is as much a pillar of the English summer as tennis at Wimbledon or opera at Glyndebourne.
It’s a white, middle-class rite of passage and an easy win for people wishing peer approval and the cultural capital that comes with the price of a ticket. It’s expensive and exclusive and the booking policy reflects its audience.
This year’s headliners include indie pop-rock darlings The 1975, angry girl supreme Olivia Rodrigo, old-school superstar Neil Young with his band the Chrome Hearts, with family favourite Rod Stewart filling the Sunday teatime “legend” slot.
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Other acts filling the 100-plus stages include Brat popster Charli XCX, English hip-hopper Loyle Carner, original bad boys The Prodigy (without original frontman Keith Flint, RIP) plus Raye, Doechii, Noah Kahan, Gracie Abrams, and old pros Alanis Morissette, En Vogue and Gary Numan.
With tickets costing £378.50 for Glastonbury 2025, are the 210,000 attendees getting value for money?
A Reddit thread titled “Glastonbury 2025 lineup, thoughts?”, gives a flavour of some commonly aired opinions. Disappointed customer praf973 “tried to get tickets but was unsuccessful. I’m not bitter, but the line up isn’t really looking that great.” Another commenter, Whilst-I-was-forced, declared: “Nothing to get excited about. It’s gone too commercial and sterile.”
Ok_Handle_3530 gave a different perspective: “This line-up looks … great, people are too hard to please.” ShankSpencer opined, “There are no good line-ups any more. No one young listens to bands any more, so there are no headline acts.”
The exceptionally popular festival sold out in 35 minutes this year even before the artists had been announced, raising the question: has Glastonbury become a victim of its own success?
Last year there were issues with overcrowding at some of the smaller stages creating issues for fans wanting to see acts such as the Sugababes. Some sets were even being stopped early because of crowd surges.
But what’s really behind these complaints about the lineup and are they justified? There’s been a changing of the guard as the veteran generation of performers from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s step back from performing because they have retired, are too ill or have died.
There doesn’t seem to be enough credible stadium acts from the 1990s onwards to fill their shoes, leading to a lack of enthusiasm for the current offerings. The new generation of acts have an opportunity to impress, but many of them don’t have the volume of hits that legacy acts such as Elton John or Paul McCartney provide – nor the cross-generational appeal.
There is also a growing sense that the cultural importance of the rock band is fading. Gen Z has far more in the way of distractions than previous generations with myriad forms of social media and digital entertainment. With so much competition for their attention, the tribal allegiances that bands used to command may feel dated and irrelevant to many younger people.
On their single Guys, one of this year’s headliners, The 1975 trill: “The moment that we started a band was the best thing that ever happened.” Perhaps lead singer Matty Healy’s love affair with the mythology of rock’n’roll is no longer widely shared.
Glastonbury has also been criticised for a lack of diversity. Clubbing magazine Mixmag made the point that in 2023, “the number of male acts playing this year’s Glastonbury Festival is nearly double that of female acts”.
Similarly, the festival’s lineup and audience are predominantly white and fail to adequately reflect the British music industry. Though there have been a few black bands and artists headlining over the years, it wasn’t until 2019 that the first solo black British performer headlined on the Pyramid stage, with an unforgettable set from London rapper Stormzy in a black Union Jack stab vest designed by Banksy.
For Glastonbury to move with the times, a more diverse booking policy is needed to widen the audience demographic and the festival’s appeal. Despite having enjoyed the event, mixed-heritage music journalist and academic Jenessa Williams noted: “I was still left with the feeling that certain punters saw black artists as a mockable novelty, a by-product to tolerate rather than truly a piece of the event’s heart and soul.”
And then there’s the issue of cost. According to a 2024 report, two-thirds of UK adults feel that music festivals are becoming too expensive. Popular music artists have had to pivot towards live events for income generation because of the poor returns from streaming compared to selling albums.
So are major tours and larger festivals such as Glastonbury sucking revenue out of the music economy? Research shows that while big high-profile event tours are making millions, at the other end of the spectrum grassroots venues – where new talent is incubated – are buckling under a lack of support and the prohibitive costs of running their operations.
Glastonbury won’t be making an appearance in 2026, the next fallow year for rest and recovery. This will create an opportunity for organiser Emily Eavis to reflect on some of the more problematical issues the festival faces, from diversity in the audience and artists, to the sustainability of the talent pipeline.
Maybe the last word should go to American rapper Azealia Banks commenting on this year’s festival lineup: “Glastonbury is kinda cooked.”
Adrian York 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.
Canadians are once again being forced to confront the country’s economic vulnerabilities. While the pandemic underscored the economic importance of place and social connections, economic aggression from the U.S. highlights the need for greater local autonomy.
Canada needs a new approach to economic development. Yet, as the government searches for solutions to bolster “Team Canada,” policymakers risk falling back on the same tired strategies: corporate bailouts, tax breaks for big business and top-down stimulus.
This played out during the pandemic. Policies favoured large corporations, leaving small businesses and workers struggling, despite their critical role in economic resilience. This time, Canada needs to do things differently.
A renewed approach to economic development
For Canada to build a more resilient economy, it must strengthen its communities by securing local assets, democratizing the economy and ensuring wealth circulates within communities rather than being extracted by distant, corporate interests.
A promising solution lies in community wealth building, a local-first approach to building the economy that emerged in the early 2000s. This approach offers a tonic to current economic policies that concentrate wealth into the hands of a small group of individuals, leaving communities vulnerable.
By prioritizing more inclusive and democratic ownership, investment and decision-making, community wealth building empowers communities to take control of their economic future. The strategy moves away from the current extractive economy, which prioritizes the exploitation of land, resources and people, toward one that builds wealth from the ground up.
5 pillars of community wealth building
The Democracy Collaborative’s community wealth-building framework offers five pillars for building strong local economies. These include progressive procurement, locally rooted finance, inclusive and democratic enterprise, fair work and the just use of land.
Many communities across Canada and globally are experimenting with one or more of these pillars. For example, social purpose organizations are experimenting with locally rooted financial instruments that flow profits back into their mission.
In Canada, community bonds allow social purpose organizations to raise capital from their community members to finance projects that benefit communities, such as affordable and green housing and regenerative food systems, among many others.
When locally rooted finance is combined with just use of land, and inclusive and democratic ownership, these initiatives can ensure wealth-generating assets — land, housing, infrastructure and businesses — stay in the communities so more people benefit from economic development.
Strengthening local economies
Canada has a history of inclusive and democratic enterprise, with many co-operatives and social enterprises owned by charities and non-profits. Now, Canadian businesses also have the option of transferring ownership to employee ownership trusts.
The diversity of ownership options challenges the false choice often presented when local businesses face closure: either shut down or be “saved” by an extractive investor.
Despite these positive developments, many community wealth building projects in Canada continue to exist as one-offs and sit on the margins of mainstream economic development policy. Local projects challenge the status quo and, as community-led projects, can struggle with governance and access to financing.
The federal government, non-profits and businesses all have the opportunity to shape a more resilient economic future for Canada by putting local businesses and local ownership first. But to transform local economies, action is needed across all five community wealth building pillars.
Through our research on community bonds, community wealth building in mid-sized cities and community ownership, we have suggestions for how Canadian governments and businesses can help communities understand what strategies work, and how they can adapt and scale them as needed.
This work is everyone’s business
Real progress in this area requires action from all levels of government, as well as from policymakers, businesses and community leaders.
As experience from Scotland and the U.S. shows, ground-up initiatives must be met with government support in the form of innovative policies, action and investments.
In practical terms, this means aligning government procurement policies and partnerships with local initiatives for new businesses, introducing legislation that supports inclusive and democratic ownership, and building wealth from local assets rather than importing it.
Local governments should commit to embedding community wealth building into their economic development planning. This is not a stretch, as many already support local business and entrepreneurship. The key is expanding on these efforts.
At the federal level, policy innovations like community right-to-buy legislation and related supports could give workers and communities the time, financing and expertise to compete with extractive investors and retain wealth and assets.
By investing in community wealth building, governments can help shift economic power, build Canada’s economic resilience and ensure communities have agency in shaping their economic futures.
Audrey Jamal receives funding from the Government of Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Heather Hachigian receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and has received funding from the Vancouver Foundation to support research related to this article.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Barbara Leckie, Professor, English and the Institute for the Comparative Study of Literature, Art, and Culture; Academic Director, Re.Climate: Centre for Climate Communication and Public Engagement, Carleton University
In recent years, the idea of “common sense” has again catapulted to prominence in the conservative political landscape.
As a professor in climate and environmental humanities, I’m interested in examining how this return to common sense tends to focus attention away from climate action.
Common sense is the domain of the obvious, the self-evident and what goes without saying. “Hot things can burn you,” for example, is the maxim with which historian Sophia Rosenfeld opens her political history of common sense.
The history of common sense
Attaching common sense to conservative political positions in Canada is not new. The phrase revives Ontario Premier Mike Harris’s “Common Sense Revolution” in the 1990s.
But common sense also has a longer conservative legacy. In the U.S., as American historian Larry Glickman illustrates, the phrase was deployed in the 1930s to challenge the perceived turn to social aid associated with New Deal policies. Prior to Trump, it has been used by Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin and so-called Tea Party Republicans.
Common sense as a political strategy, however, was not always aligned with a free market economy. Rosenfeld traces its history from the Greeks and 17th-century and 18-century writers through to 20th-century thinkers like German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt.
As Rosenfeld notes, common sense has long had two contrasting emphases: an inquiry position that questions prevailing norms and a conservative position that doubles down on prevailing norms.
This pamphlet energized readers across all political spectrums to support the principles of equality, liberty and freedom of expression that we now associate with democracy at large.
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet energized readers to support principles of equality, liberty and freedom of expression. (Wikipedia)
The conservative position, by contrast, emerges when these same values threatened religious belief and the free market. In this version, expertise is discounted and the people’s everyday experience is privileged.
Historically, this position has given rise to a populism that accordingly also discredits education, debate and other pillars of democratic practice. As Rosenfeld demonstrates, the history of common sense shows that common sense has been mobilized both to support democracy and to undermine it.
Common sense encompasses the world of everyday things like temperature and know-how, and it describes a deeper world that defines how we understand each other and live together in that everyday world. Its ability to toggle between these two domains is part of what gives it its force.
What ‘everyone knows’
Most of the time, common sense operates quietly because it is assumed to be tacit knowledge — what everyone knows. In times of crisis, however, common sense comes out of the shadows.
It is no surprise, then, to see common sense entering public discourse in Canada when the country is beset by multiple crises: the existential threat posed by climate change, economic inequality and racism, to name only a few. Common sense, in this context, emerges as a call to return to when things were “normal.” It is the comfort food of thinking.
For many people, there is solace in turning to what is familiar and seemingly obvious. For many others, there is not.
“Free enterprise” and the market economy was also, as Glickman argues, the platform that Republicans polished into common sense. And it is, arguably, the platform that produced the very issues that most endanger us now, from climate change to economic inequality.
Free-market common sense does not help us here. A neoliberal economy in which profits are more important than people and the planet does not help us here. What does, then?
Hot things can burn you. The hot things we confront now are not stove tops or flames, but global temperature increases. Leaders, it seems, tend to deploy “common sense” as an excuse to look away from the hot things that matter. Common sense, in its everyday meaning, would suggest that we look at them.
Common sense works best rhetorically when it’s not questioned. The history of common sense suggests that now is the time to question it.
Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and a group of Republican colleagues reintroduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act to repeal the aggressive Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tailpipe rule from President Biden and Vice President Harris amid their efforts to phase out gas-powered cars and trucks. The CARS Act protects Louisianans’ right to choose what cars they drive and works to prevent future regulations on affordable, reliable vehicles. “Making Louisiana families pay for EV tax breaks for rich peoples’ cars was one of the many bad things the Biden Administration did,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The CARS Act helps fix this damage!”“The rule-making process under the previous Administration pushed a radical green agenda that harmed consumer choice in the automobile industry,” said Senator Crapo. “Americans deserve to have access to affordable, reliable vehicles fueled by American-made energy products. However, the EPA’s tailpipe rule will hurt everyday Americans while simultaneously helping China. Consequences of rules and regulations such as these restrict consumer choice and raise costs for the average American family.”
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the EPA finalized a rule titled “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Year 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles,” which sets stringent emissions standards for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gasses for these vehicles and is a de facto EV mandate. Under the rule, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles–which still represent the overwhelming majority of new car sales–can make up no more than 30 percent of new sales by 2032.
The average price of an electric vehicle (EV) is still significantly higher than the average price of a gas-powered vehicle, even with massive government subsidies for EVs paid for by American taxpayers. EV mandates threaten to hurt everyday Americans and cost auto workers their jobs while simultaneously helping China, given that China continues to dominate the EV supply chain. In recent years, demand for EVs made up less than ten percent of new car sales.
The CARS Act would:
Rescind the EPA tailpipe emissions rule;
Prohibit the use of authority under the Clean Air Act to issue regulations that mandate the use of any specific technology or that limit the availability of new motor vehicles based on that vehicle’s engine type. This includes any regulation prescribed on or after January 1, 2021;
Require the EPA to update any regulations since January 1, 2021, that result in the limited availability of new vehicles based on that vehicle’s engine within two years; and
End the EPA’s radical agenda, which is driving up costs for people and handing the keys of America’s auto industry to China.
Cassidy and Crapo were joined by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Florida), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) in cosponsoring the bill.
Each year, CBO releases a set of four budget infographics that provide a detailed look at the past fiscal year as well as broader trends over the past few decades. Today, CBO published the latest infographics showing the federal budget results for fiscal year 2024.
These infographics help people understand how much the government spends and takes in each year and what programs and revenue sources account for the largest portions of those budgetary flows.
As highlighted in the first infographic, the government ran a budget deficit of $1.8 trillion in 2024, which is equal to 6.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—much larger than the average of 3.8 percent over the past 50 years. The government’s net interest costs totaled $881 billion in 2024, about two and half times the amount in 2021.
The first two infographics (which feature the budgetary overview and mandatory spending) show that Social Security and Medicare accounted for the majority of mandatory spending and more than one-third of federal spending in 2024; combined, those two programs eclipsed discretionary spending, which is presented in the third infographic. Outlays for nondefense programs accounted for more than half of the discretionary total. Revenues (shown in the fourth infographic) were slightly more, as a percentage of GDP, than they averaged over the past 20 years.
You can view the infographics for 2024 below, including an interactive version of the one about the overall federal budget:
Infographics for other years are also available.
Dan Ready is an analyst in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division.
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger has sentenced Jacksonville residents Travis Morgan Slaughter and Tripp Charles Slaughter to 41 months and 21 months in federal prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud related to Jacksonville roofing businesses they operated. The Slaughters pled guilty on November 25, 2024.
As part of their sentence, the court entered an order of forfeiture against Travis Slaughter in the amount of $2,780,947.56 and against Tripp Slaughter in the amount $416,799.66, which were proceeds traceable to the mail and wire fraud offenses. The court also ordered Travis Slaughter to pay restitution in the amount of $6,768,612.32 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for payroll tax losses, $2,780,947.56 to two insurance companies for unpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums, and $271,217.39 to the same two companies for two paid workers’ compensation claims. The court ordered Tripp Slaughter to pay restitution of $623,269.64 to the IRS for payroll tax losses, $416,799.66 to an insurance company for unpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums, and $137,778.39 to the same company for a paid workers’ compensation claim.
According to court documents, beginning in 2007, Travis Slaughter operated a roofing business in Jacksonville, first under the name Great White Construction and then under the name Florida Roofing Experts. In January 2020, the business began operating under the name 5 Star Roofing Services, which Tripp Slaughter incorporated. Although the name changed, each business operated in the same manner, banked at the same financial institutions, and employed the same employees.
The company contracted with professional employer organizations (PEOs) to prepare payroll checks for employees, after making deductions for payroll taxes, and to file payroll tax returns and forward tax payments to governmental authorities. However, the company did not provide the PEOs with information about all the hours worked by, or all the wages due to, its employees. Instead, the company also paid the employees directly, with separate checks drawn on company bank accounts, and did not deduct payroll taxes from these checks. By paying employees with “split checks”—one from the PEO and one from the company—the company avoided paying the full amount of payroll taxes due to the IRS. For the period of October 2015 through June 2020, the company paid a total of approximately $23,079,680 in wages that were not reported to the IRS. The payroll taxes due to the IRS on this amount total approximately $4,292,429. The PEOs also secured workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the company. The premiums charged by the workers’ compensation insurers were based on the total amount of payroll that the company reported to the PEOs. If the company had reported the actual amount of payroll, the insurers would have charged additional premiums totaling approximately $2,780,947.
In addition to causing the company to underreport their payroll to the IRS, the Slaughters also underreported their personal income to the IRS. For the tax years 2014 through 2019, the unpaid taxes due on Travis Slaughter’s unreported income totaled approximately $2,467,183. For the tax years 2015 through 2019, the unpaid taxes due on Tripp Slaughter’s unreported income totaled approximately $263,614.
“The actions of these two defendants represent a blatant disregard for U.S. law and our financial systems. Despite operating successful construction businesses that generated millions of dollars in wealth, their greed drove them to lie and cheat for years,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker, of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Tampa Field Office. “Their scheme to evade millions of dollars in taxes not only undermined the integrity of our tax system but also created an unfair advantage in which law-abiding competitors cannot compete for bids. Our job is to make sure dishonest offenders like these two face the consequences of their criminal activities.”
“The Slaughters defrauded insurance companies of millions in workers’ compensation insurance premiums and will be responsible for financial restitution for the loss of insurance premiums and death and injury claims,” said ICE HSI Tampa, Jacksonville office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Hemker. “As part of this criminal enterprise, they also exploited the labor of hundreds of illegal aliens.”
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and the Florida Department of Financial Services. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier. The asset forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.
DETROIT – Former University of Michigan Co-Offensive Coordinator Matthew Weiss—age 42, of Ann Arbor—was charged today in a 24-count indictment alleging 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.
Beck was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Detroit Field Office (Michigan)
According to the indictment, between approximately 2015 and January 2023, Weiss gained unauthorized access to student athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities that were maintained by a third-party vendor. After gaining access to these databases, Weiss downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes. Using the information that he obtained from the student athlete databases and his own internet research, Weiss was able to obtain access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 target athletes. Weiss also illegally obtained access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 additional students and/or alumni from universities across the country.
Once Weiss obtained access to these accounts, he downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.
“Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer hacking to protect the private accounts of our citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck. “We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice.”
“Today’s indictment of Matthew Weiss underscores the commitment and meticulous investigative efforts of our law enforcement professionals,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “The FBI Detroit Cyber Task Force, in close collaboration with the University of Michigan Police Department, worked relentlessly on this case to safeguard and protect our community.”
If convicted, Weiss faces a maximum of five years imprisonment on each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft. Conviction on a count of aggravated identity theft triggers a two-year mandatory minimum sentence, to be served consecutive to the sentence imposed for the underlying offense.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. It will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Wyse and Patrick Corbett. The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
