As Valentine’s Day approaches, anyone who has turned the love for their hobby into a side hustle is being encouraged to ‘put a ring on it’ and make it official.
Whether it’s making extra income from activities such as online content creation, dog walking, or making handcrafted items to sell, HMRC has launched a new Help for Hustles campaign to assist people in understanding if they need to declare their earnings.
Anyone generating more than £1,000 from their side hustle should check their tax obligations using HMRC’s new easy-to-use guide at taxhelpforhustles.campaign.gov.uk.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said:
We know many people are turning their hobbies and interests into successful businesses and we’re here to help them understand their tax obligations.
Nobody wants an unexpected tax bill, so anyone with a side hustle should check HMRC’s straightforward guide and make sure they’re getting their tax right.
The new guide covers five key areas to help people understand any tax obligations:
This only applies to people who are trading or selling services. If someone is simply clearing out their unwanted items and putting them up for sale, they will not need to pay tax.
Undeclared income of more than £1,000 from side hustles form part of the hidden economy. HMRC is committed to reducing the tax gap, of which the hidden economy accounted for about £2.2 billion in the 2022 to 2023 tax year.
Further information
HMRC’s ‘Help for Hustles’ campaign runs until 31 March 2025.
According to insight commissioned by HMRC and published in 2023, one in 10 people in the UK are operating in the hidden economy with 65% of these individuals most likely operating side hustles and largely unaware that they should be registered for tax.
Birmingham City Council has appointed a new Director of Public Health.
Sally Burns is currently Director of Public Health and Regulatory Services at West Northamptonshire Council.
She previously served as Corporate Director of Communities and Neighbourhoods at City of York Council before moving into public health. She developed her career in public health in authorities in East London.
Sally is an experienced local authority director with a strong background in community and regulatory services.
Throughout her career, Sally has overseen a wide range of services, including housing and housing maintenance, homelessness, environmental services, community safety, leisure, culture, community development, emergency planning, and regulatory services. Her extensive experience gives her a deep understanding of the statutory and regulatory framework governing local government.
She said: “I am very excited to join the team in Birmingham and really look forward to working to improve health and wellbeing in the city with all colleagues, both in the authority and the wider Birmingham system, and particularly all our residents and communities.”
Managing Director Joanne Roney said: “I’m really pleased to welcome Sally to the city council and to Birmingham. A stable and experienced top team is vital to the continued transformation and improvement of our services and I know she will be a great asset as we strive to help improve health and wellbeing outcomes for our citizens.”
Councillor Mariam Khan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, added: “This is great news for the people of Birmingham. Sally has extensive experience dealing with public health issues across a range of authorities and communities and I look forward to working with her.”
Sally will start at Birmingham City Council later in the year.
Over £500,000 of upgrades to play areas across Dundee could be in place to encourage local families get out and get active in the early summer.
Plans have been informed by neighbourhood feedback as well as play surveys and proposals are designed to provide more inclusive equipment.
A number of facilities would be improved across city communities if councillors approve reports at a meeting on Monday February 17.
For a total tender cost of £137,500, proposals for Pitairlie Park Play Area would see new landmark play items installed, with a particular focus on inclusive play as well as tree planting to enhance the park.
A £145,000 tender is being put forward for the Longhaugh Road Play Area, with new play items, more inclusive play equipment, new seating areas and tree planting planned to enhance the park.
Meanwhile, £231,000 of improvements are being proposed for other city playparks including:
Fairbairn Street Play Area – two new inclusive “springies”, new sensory panels, linemarking trail
Kinpurnie Place Play Area – new climbing unit with associated safety surfacing, and sensory panels
Moncur Crescent Play Area – new wheelchair inclusive roundabout with associated safety surfacing, agility trail, communication panel
Lawton Road Play Area – new agility trail and sensory panels
Rosebank Street Play Area – new agility trail, and sensory panels
Lochee Park Play Area – new double cableway, agility trail, communication panel and sheltered seating area
All areas would also see the enhancement of existing equipment. If approved, work would start on all the areas in March, with completion expected in June.
The Fair Work, Economic Growth and Infrastructure Commitee will also consider a sourcing strategy for the procurement of play equipment for Longhaugh Road, Pitairlie Road, as well as for Baxter Park. Councillors will be told that the method suggested to supply the equipment would save approximately 20%.
Committee convener Cllr Steven Rome said: “These are tremendous plans to encourage families get outside and be active across our communities.
“This will have real benefits for both physical and mental health. “The provision of inclusive play equipment is a crucial component of these proposals.
“The council listened carefully to what people in these areas had to say and the tenders reflect this local feedback.”
Good morning, and welcome to today’s Strategic Foresight Symposium. This morning’s program seeks to cultivate debate, foster exploration, and encourage reflection on how strategic foresight and anticipatory governance can shape our strategies, plans, and policy decisions for the future.
To maintain trust and credibility as public institutions, we must demonstrate to our stakeholders a capacity to anticipate and plan for the future. Over the past decades, we have witnessed transformative shifts, not least the rise of the Internet, other rapid technological advancements, the internationalisation of supply chains, and the global financial crisis. More recently, the past five years have brought a global pandemic, significant military conflicts, the resurgence of extreme political movements, and the accelerating impact of climate change. In my view the interconnected trends and signals of change highlight the need to build strategic foresight capacity to help navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Being future-focused is one of the four themes of our strategy, emphasising the importance of preparing for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Let me mention some of them.
As we look to the future, it is clear that we are navigating a new era of great power competition, marked by the rapid shift to a multipolar world and the erosion of the international order that has underpinned global cooperation since World War II. Policy-induced geoeconomic fragmentation has moved from being a risk to becoming a reality, disrupting trade and foreign direct investment flows. As a small, open economy, Ireland finds itself at the crossroads of these geopolitical headwinds, deeply exposed to its challenges and complexities.
Ireland’s ageing demographics pose significant challenges to our future labour supply and productivity, and to the sustainability of our long-term growth. As the more productive segments of our population shrink, the resulting pressure on government finances will intensify. This trend is not unique to Ireland. Across the EU, populations are nearing their peak and are projected to decline, with implications for the Union’s economic growth and geopolitical influence. The IMF predicts that total hours worked in Europe will decline over the next five years. These shifts carry far-reaching policy implications, impacting working age and pension sustainability, healthcare resourcing, infrastructure, and our broader fiscal resilience. Addressing these challenges requires forward-thinking strategies.
The pandemic catalysed a significant acceleration in digitalisation, enabled by the expanded adoption of cloud computing. Alongside this we are witnessing a rapid evolution in artificial intelligence, reshaping not only the financial services industry but also the broader economy and the future of work. However, these transformative technologies come with complex challenges. AI’s integration will spark critical debates around privacy and ethical use. And while continued digitalisation in financial services offers opportunities to streamline transactions, it also heightens the need to address operational resilience, including ensuring robust defences against information and cyber security risks.
An increasingly insidious challenge is the growing risk of misinformation or alternative truths or straightforward lies, amplified by the rise of social media and the retreat from content moderation and fact-checking. This trend poses serious threats to the values that we have become used to and to democracy itself. Misinformation can undermine the stability of public institutions by corroding trust. This presents new challenges for all of us, as individuals, as institutions and as a community of citizens.
Strategic foresight is the ability of an organisation to continuously perceive, interpret, and respond to emerging ideas about the future. Rather than attempting to predict what lies ahead, foresight broadens our perspective, fostering dialogue that incorporates peripheral viewpoints and explores how multiple potential futures might unfold. To achieve this, we must augment our toolkit with methods such as horizon scanning and scenario analysis, empowering us to embrace anticipatory governance and navigate uncertainty through future-focused insights and dialogue.
I hope this morning’s event inspires you to explore how strategic foresight can help future-proof our strategies and policies. Let me leave you with three takeaways:
The status quo is unlikely to prevail: in the uncertain world we are now navigating, there is a requirement to augment our approach to governance, to be more future-focused, and the use of strategic foresight can help;
Make time for foresight: amid daily challenges, it’s essential to set aside governance time, and to develop the capability and tooling to support effective horizon scanning;
Be open and engaged: the challenges we face are deeply interconnected, affecting multiple policy areas. To future-proof effectively, we must break down silos, share insights, challenge perspectives, and adopt a collaborative, horizontal approach.
Thank you for coming and I hope you have a good morning.
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the board of JSC Russian Railways for 2024. On the right is the company’s general director Oleg Belozerov
February 12, 2025
Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the board of JSC Russian Railways for 2024
February 12, 2025
Vitaly Savelyev at the final meeting of the board of JSC Russian Railways for 2024
February 12, 2025
Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the board of JSC Russian Railways for 2024
February 12, 2025
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Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the board of JSC Russian Railways for 2024. On the right is the company’s general director Oleg Belozerov
The final meeting of the Board of Directors of JSC Russian Railways for 2024 was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev.
In 2024, the company’s investment program reached a record volume: it amounted to almost 1.5 trillion rubles. In the year of the 50th anniversary of the legendary BAM, the railway workers fully fulfilled their obligations. The second stage of the Eastern Polygon development was completed and the target carrying capacity parameter of 180 million tons was achieved. The legendary construction project, which began 50 years ago, continues with the efforts of a new generation of railway workers and builders who are successfully coping with the tasks set.
The passenger complex of Russian Railways showed exceptional results in 2024: almost 1.3 billion people were transported in total – a record figure for the past 16 years, growth by 2023 was 7.2%. One of the main social tasks for the country was fulfilled – passenger transportation to the south was ensured as part of the summer health campaign.
A significant event in 2024 was the start of the project to build the country’s first high-speed railway line Moscow – St. Petersburg, 679 km long, which will reduce travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg by almost half – from 4 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that Russian Railways is currently facing equally ambitious tasks. In pursuance of the President’s May decree, the Government has completed the formation of the national project “Efficient Transport System”, in which rail transport plays an important role. In order to achieve a 1.5-fold increase in transportation volumes along international transport corridors, it is envisaged to continue developing approaches to the seaports of the Azov-Black Sea and North-West basins and the infrastructure of the Eastern Polygon of Railways, and work is continuing on the implementation of the high-speed railway project.
“JSC Russian Railways successfully solves large-scale tasks to increase passenger transportation, build new transport and logistics routes and strengthen technological sovereignty. In modern conditions, the company ensures high quality and safety of passenger and freight transportation. According to the results of 2024, rail transport accounted for 83% of freight turnover and about 28% of passenger turnover of the entire transport system of the country. I am confident that the team of JSC Russian Railways will make every effort to achieve the goals set by the President of the Russian Federation and the successful implementation of all plans outlined for the current year,” said Vitaly Savelyev.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The EUAA has just published two new COI reports, a Country Focus and a Security Situation report on Sudan. Conflict-related violence has had a particular impact on women and girls, as well as perceived political opponents, while famine has been declared in at least five parts of the country. The Agency’s new reports come as over 10 000 Sudanese nationals sought asylum in EU+ countries in 2024.
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has just published two Country-of-Origin Information (COI) reports on Sudan, including on the security situation as well as an updated Country Focus report that builds on an earlier report from April 2024. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2023, Sudan has been plunged into severe instability leading to the world’s largest internal displacement crisis – with over 11 million people displaced.
Over the past 20 months, indiscriminate violence has affected large portions of the country. The situation is severely worsened by acute food insecurity affecting over 25 million people, and famine has been declared in at least five areas of the country. Food deprivation and sexual violence have also been systematically used as weapons against civilians.
Conflict-related violence has targeted large sections of the civilian population, in particular women and girls, non-Arab Africans in Darfur and Nuba in South Kordofan, journalists and media personnel, humanitarian and health personnel and perceived political opponents. The use of child soldiers has also been documented. Despite international appeals – including from the EU – urging the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, the civil war continues.
Meanwhile, the conflict remains largely underreported. A crackdown on local media outlets, and repeated communication blackouts, have severely hindered reporting capabilities across the country, making the conflict in Sudan a ‘forgotten war’.
EU Asylum situation for Sudanese nationals
In 2024, Sudanese nationals lodged over 10 000 applications for international protection in the EU+. Throughout the year, Sudanese applications followed an upward trend and with the highest number of monthly applications received in November 2024 (1 100). Almost all (95 %) were first-time applicants. France was the main receiving country for Sudanese nationals, followed at a distance by Greece and Germany.
In 2024, EU+ countries issued approximately 6 300 decisions at first instance on Sudanese applications, with 74 % of the decisions granting refugee status and subsidiary protection (which was up from 66 % in 2023). At the end of the year, there were nearly 7 700 cases pending at first instance, which was up by around 1 900 cases compared to December 2023.
Background
The EUAA regularly updates its Country of Origin Information reports, which aim to provide accurate and reliable up-to-date information on third countries to support EU+ national asylum and migration authorities involved in migration and international protection procedures.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Energy Secretary travels to New Delhi to champion UK businesses, strengthen our partnership with India and accelerate work to tackle climate change.
UK and India agree action to accelerate economic growth from global clean energy transition
Energy Secretary travelled to New Delhi to champion for British interests; supporting UK businesses, increase clean energy investment opportunities and deliver on the government’s Plan for Change
closer working through fourth UK-India Energy Dialogue to boost renewables and cut emissions, protecting British families and businesses from the climate crisis
The UK and India joined forces this week to unlock economic growth from the clean energy transition, supporting new jobs, creating export opportunities and tackling the climate crisis.
During a visit to New Delhi, the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband backed British businesses at India Energy Week – a major international energy event. He met with UK companies who are using their expertise to speed up India’s transition from fossil fuels to clean power, including offshore wind, solar, battery storage and hydrogen.
He met a number of UK companies who are using the UK’s world leading technology to speed up the global clean energy transition, create job opportunities and protect the climate. These include:
Sherwood Power – Sherwood Power has developed energy storage technology that converts excess, low-cost, renewable energy into compressed air and heat. When demand is high, this stored energy is released to generate electricity, reducing grid load and customer costs. The company is based in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Oomph EV – Oomph EV designs and manufacture a range of rapid, mobile, electric vehicle charging solutions. They are addressing the Indian market with a view to local manufacture. They offer hardware, software and data services to the global EV market and are based in Cambridge.
Flock Energy – London based Flock Energy is building the digital infrastructure for the global energy transition. Using advanced AI, Flock Energy enables energy providers to analyse customer energy data usage in detail, all on one digital platform, to improve demand forecasting, demand-side management and energy efficiency.
Venterra Group – Venterra Group, established in 2021, is a London based offshore wind services company. Venterra operates globally with over 700 employees and specialises in providing comprehensive technical services across the wind farm lifecycle to reduce project risks, time, and costs.
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and one which is projected to be the fourth largest global importer by 2035. Delivering on the UK Government’s Plan for Change, the Energy Secretary used his visit to increase UK clean energy investment opportunities and place British businesses at the forefront of the global race for renewables.
As one of the world’s biggest emitters, working with India on clean energy and climate is crucial to protecting British families and businesses from the threat of climate change. Increasing investment in renewables and clean technology supports the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower, protecting households from unstable fossil fuel markets and helping keep bills down for good.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:
We are standing up for the British people by fighting for investment into our country, and setting the example for all countries play their part in protecting our planet for future generations.
The UK and India are strengthening our partnership under our Plan for Change to unlock investment and accelerate the global transition to clean, secure, affordable energy.
Both our countries are determined to address the climate emergency to protect our way of life, while reaping the rewards of the industrial and economic opportunity of our time.
The Energy Secretary took part in the fourth UK-India Energy Dialogue with India’s Minister of Power Manohar Lal Khattar, and met with G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.
Both countries agreed:
a new shared ambition on offshore wind, including a UK-India Offshore Wind Taskforce to drive the progress needed across the offshore wind supply chains and financing models
funding to reform in India’s power sector to support decarbonisation through UKPACT, which aims to deliver grid transformation as part of India’s renewables rollout
an extension of the bilateral Accelerating Smart Power and Renewable Energy in India (ASPIRE) programme, which will work to deliver round-the-clock power supply, accelerate industrial decarbonisation and roll out renewables
This builds on the UK and India’s close collaboration to tackle climate change through innovation agreed as part of the Technology Security Initiative in 2024, from using AI to increase resilience, to bringing together experts to safeguard the critical minerals needed for renewable technologies like wind turbines and batteries.
Talks come ahead of expected negotiations with India on a Free Trade Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty, led by the Business and Trade Secretary, at the end of the month.
Striking a deal would increase economic growth across both countries, facilitating the trade of renewable technologies and sustainable materials, supporting the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower.
There are over 950 Indian-owned companies in the UK and over 650 UK companies in India supporting over 600,000 jobs and driving innovation across both economies.
Engagement with India comes ahead of COP30, due to take place in Brazil later this year, where both countries will be pushing for ambitious outcomes to address the climate emergency.
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
As part of a working visit to the Jewish Autonomous Region, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on issues of socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region, inspected the regional hospital, and familiarized himself with the construction of a new bridge across the Bira.
Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev inspected the regional hospital in the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev inspected the regional hospital in the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev inspected the regional hospital in the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Yuri Trutnev inspected the regional hospital in the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
Construction of a motorway
February 12, 2025
Construction of a motorway
February 12, 2025
Working visit of Yuri Trutnev to the Jewish Autonomous Region
February 12, 2025
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Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region
“A new team has arrived in the Jewish Autonomous Region, headed by Maria Fedorovna Kostyuk. We have already had the opportunity to communicate with colleagues some time ago, exchange opinions, and highlight the main development priorities. The region is not simple. It needs to be supported, it needs to be helped. At the same time, some prerequisites for future development in the region are already visible today. The constructed cross-border railway bridge Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang creates opportunities for new logistics routes and cargo handling. We are preparing to implement the President’s instruction on master plans for Far Eastern cities. It is planned to allocate 554 billion rubles for 57 events of all Far Eastern master plans, 115 billion rubles have already been allocated. Further work will be carried out within a month,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.
Acting Governor of the region Maria Kostyuk reported on the main directions of socio-economic development of the Jewish Autonomous Region. “First of all, investments in the Jewish Autonomous Region should bring real benefits to residents. It is important not only to replenish the regional budget, but also to solve people’s problems: to build residential buildings, create new jobs and convenient infrastructure. The priority is precisely those projects that, with the involvement of federal funds, will help to significantly improve life in the autonomy,” said Maria Kostyuk.
The regional investment projects were presented, which envisage the development of the bridgehead area near the Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang railway bridge, the development of a port cluster for handling bulk cargo and containers on the Amur River, the development of the Topolikhinsky section of the Soyuznoye graphite deposit (OOO Dalgrafit), the creation of a single metallurgical cluster based on the Kimkano-Sutarsky Mining and Processing Plant (OOO Kimkano-Sutarsky GOK), and the development of the Savkinskoye brucite deposit (OOO Russian Mining and Chemical Society).
The meeting reviewed the implementation of the construction of multi-apartment residential buildings in the region under the Far Eastern Quarter program. In June 2023, JSC KRDV and the winner of the competitive selection, DV-Region Invest LLC, signed an agreement on the implementation of activities for the construction of capital construction projects intended for the placement of residential premises in the Amuro-Khinganskaya advanced development area. The project provides for the construction of multi-apartment residential buildings with a total area of 178.9 thousand square meters, including 176.7 thousand square meters of social housing. In total, the project provides for 72 residential sections with a variable number of storeys – 7-10 floors. The approximate number of apartments is 2945 for 8834 people.
As part of the state support for the implementation of the Far Eastern Quarter program in the Jewish Autonomous Region, it is envisaged to finance the construction of infrastructure – water drainage and water supply networks, a highway and technological connection to utility networks at the expense of the federal budget. The project is being implemented in three stages. The commissioning of the first stage (at least 44 thousand square meters) is expected by the end of 2028. The commissioning of the entire residential complex is planned for the end of 2032. Currently, design and estimate documentation is being developed.
“To implement the Far Eastern Quarter program, it is important to adjust the rules in the area of pricing per square meter. According to the Ministry of Construction, a solution will be found – so that the target price allows the investor to implement this project,” noted the Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexey Chekunkov.
The implementation of the Far Eastern Concession program in the region was discussed. “We will continue to support large-scale projects that have already been approved under the Far Eastern concession. This includes the reconstruction of the bridge across the Bira River and the construction of an overpass,” explained the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East.
Summing up, Yuri Trutnev emphasized the importance of attracting investments to the Jewish Autonomous Region. “The development of the Far East regions is based on new investment projects and attracting investments. Such work is being carried out in the Jewish Autonomous Region, but the region is not yet among the leaders in this indicator. This means only one thing: work with investors must be continued and every project must be helped. Therefore, Maria Fedorovna and the entire team that she leads have a lot of work ahead of them, in which we will obviously help in any way we can,” Yuri Trutnev concluded.
In Birobidzhan, the Deputy Prime Minister inspected the main medical institution of the region. The modernization of the material and technical base of the Regional Hospital has been implemented since 2018 as part of the social development plan for economic growth centers in the Jewish Autonomous Region. The presidential unified subsidy was used to repair and equip the regional vascular center, X-ray diagnostic rooms, purchase medical equipment to open a second-stage neonatal care department, purchase a CT machine, other high-tech equipment and furniture, and ambulances. Six out of 12 clinical departments of the regional hospital have been renovated. The roof has been repaired, windows have been replaced, construction and installation work on the oxygen supply system has been completed with the installation of equipment, the facade has been repaired, special clothing and soft inventory, kitchen utensils, furniture, and equipment have been purchased.
The modernization of the main medical institution of the autonomy will continue. More than 300 million rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for 2024-2026. At the moment, the diagnostic department and the central entrance group are being renovated. The elevators have already been launched. Furniture is being purchased for the full functioning of the renovated departments. The measures taken have significantly improved the quality of medical care in the institution.
On the same day, Yuri Trutnev visited the construction site where a new bridge across the Bira is being built and a modern transport corridor is being constructed from the federal highway “Amur” to the bridge crossing Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang. Both projects are part of the long-term plan for the development of the urban agglomeration.
The decision to allocate federal funds to the region for the modernization of transport infrastructure was made in September 2024 at a meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission on the Socioeconomic Development of the Far East, headed by Yuri Trutnev. More than 18.9 billion rubles are needed for the construction of transport infrastructure facilities. Most of these funds – 17.1 billion rubles – were allocated to the region from the federal budget. This includes design work for all facilities.
The first project is the construction of a new bridge across the Bira River, which will connect the two parts of Birobidzhan. The old bridge was built in 1962, traffic on it is limited. Now the infrastructure of the existing bridge is also used for heat supply, a heating main has been installed under it to provide heat to 20 thousand residents of the southern part of the city, as well as to provide new housing construction. The new bridge will be located on the site of the old one. Its length will be 350 m, access roads will be built and coastal protection works will be carried out.
The second project is the construction of a transport corridor from the federal highway “Amur” to the bridge crossing Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang. A road will be built that will directly connect the regional highway with the federal highway “Amur”. The project also provides for the construction of a bridge crossing over the Ikura River, overpasses over the Trans-Siberian Railway on the Birobidzhan-1 – Ikura section and the Leninskaya railway line on the Birobidzhan-1 – Birobidzhan-2 section, as well as the construction of an overpass in the area of the village of Ptichnik near Sovetskaya Street.
The concession agreements were signed in December last year. The concession agreement on the reconstruction of the Birobidzhan-Ungun-Leninskoye road (km 0 – km 8) and the construction of an overpass in the area of the village of Ptichnik was signed between the government of the Jewish Autonomous Region and IFR-Vostok 2 LLC. The concession agreement on the design, construction and operation of the bridge crossing over the Bira River in Birobidzhan was concluded with IFR-Vostok 1 LLC. Since January 2025, the designers have begun design and survey work.
It is expected that the implementation of the projects will have a positive impact on transport accessibility, will reduce the time of arrival of emergency services and the level of accidents on the roads, will increase the pace of construction in the region, including under the Far Eastern Quarter program. Also, within the framework of the implementation of concession agreements, new jobs will be created in the region.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)
Former top diplomat Simon McDonald, Lord McDonald of Salford, is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner.
Lord McDonald shares his views on a range of current international issues from President Trump and Greenland to the Chagos Islands and British soft power, plus changes to the global approach of the USA, China and Russia:
‘For most of my career, the reasons why the institutions of the late 1940s were fraying were because Russia and then China were not particularly happy with that post Second World War settlement. The surprise in recent years is the United States being a revisionist power, not liking the bill paid by the United States to underpin that settlement.’
Lord McDonald was previously Head of the Diplomatic Service, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has served as Ambassador to Israel and to Germany. In this episode, he speaks to Lord McFall about what drew him to public service both in the Foreign Office and the House of Lords:
‘I think British public service is part of what defines our country and helps us through crisis. And I think it is a fact that in this House there are a group of people who are here to help, to help other people, not to help themselves. They are here to bring their expertise to bear. They’re here to listen to other people. They are here to gather evidence before they make up their minds. And I think those are solid attributes of public service.’
Lord McDonald also talks about the role of the Civil Service and ministers, plus the challenges of planning for successive governments:
‘One reason why our projects across the board are worse than, say, similar projects in Japan or China or even France, is our planning regime, that every single road, bridge, railway has to go through a very protracted planning legal procedure. Every government I’ve worked for identified our planning laws as an obstacle, and every government so far has failed really to grip it. I note that the new Labour government is gearing up to attempt. I hope they succeed. But I note that every previous effort has failed.’
See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Active Citizen has begun series of votes, dedicated to public space improvement projects implemented last year. Muscovites will be able to appreciate the transformation of city parks, squares, sports and playgrounds.
A total of 11 votes will be opened. First will affect the South-West Administrative District. A recreation area with an amphitheater, park swings and an observation deck was arranged near the Derevlevsky pond, and a walking eco-route from Nakhimovsky Prospekt to Remizova Street was created in the floodplain of the Kotlovka River.
More one vote will affect the transformation of the east of the capital. Thus, “active citizens” will appreciate the updated Victorio Codovili square, which has been transformed into a cozy park with a playground and a training area. In addition, Muscovites will speak out about the large-scale improvement of the territory along Krasnoyarskaya Street in Golyanovo. A sports cluster with a skate park, playgrounds and a recreation area by the water have appeared there.
In the next votes, city residents will be presented with the updated Cherry Orchard Park in the north of Moscow and the embankment along the Skhodnensky Canal with a play area in the form of a sailboat in the northwest. Residents will express their opinions on the updated space near the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts on Delegatskaya Street in the Central Administrative District and the eco-trail on Krasnogo Mayaka Street in the Southern Administrative District, which you can climb almost to the level of the tree crowns to admire nature from an unusual angle.
For participating in the voting, “active citizens” will be awarded points in the city’s loyalty program “A Million Prizes”Muscovites are offered to use them to receive goods and services from program partners or souvenirs with logos of electronic projects, to top up the Troika transport card and the parking account of the Parking of Russia application. Points can also be sent to various charitable foundations and organizations.
Project “Active Citizen” has been operating since 2014. During this time, more than seven million people have joined it. Every month, 30-40 decisions made by Muscovites are implemented in the capital. The project is being developed Department of Information Technology the city of Moscow and the State Institution “New Management Technologies”.
The creation, development and operation of the e-government infrastructure, including the provision of mass socially significant services, as well as other services in electronic form, correspond to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” and the regional project of the city of Moscow “Digital Public Administration”.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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The United States shares the pathologies of all dying empires with their mixture of buffoonery, rampant corruption, military fiascos, economic collapse and savage state repression.
ANALYSIS: By Chris Hedges
The billionaires, Christian fascists, grifters, psychopaths, imbeciles, narcissists and deviants who have seized control of Congress, the White House and the courts, are cannibalising the machinery of state. These self-inflicted wounds, characteristic of all late empires, will cripple and destroy the tentacles of power. And then, like a house of cards, the empire will collapse.
Blinded by hubris, unable to fathom the empire’s diminishing power, the mandarins in the Trump administration have retreated into a fantasy world where hard and unpleasant facts no longer intrude. They sputter incoherent absurdities while they usurp the Constitution and replace diplomacy, multilateralism and politics with threats and loyalty oaths.
Agencies and departments, created and funded by acts of Congress, are going up in smoke.
The rulers of all late empires, including the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero or Charles I, the last Habsburg ruler, are as incoherent as the Mad Hatter, uttering nonsensical remarks, posing unanswerable riddles and reciting word salads of inanities. They, like Donald Trump, are a reflection of the moral, intellectual and physical rot that plague a diseased society. Cartoon: Mr Fish/The Chris Hedges Report
They are removing government reports and data on climate change and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement,. They are pulling out of the World Health Organisation.
They are sanctioning officials who work at the International Criminal Court — which issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza.
They suggested Canada become the 51st state. They have formed a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias.” They call for the annexation of Greenland and the seizure of the Panama Canal.
They propose the construction of luxury resorts on the coast of a depopulated Gaza under US control which, if it takes place, would bring down the Arab regimes propped up by the US.
Uttering nonsensical remarks The rulers of all late empires, including the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero or Charles I, the last Habsburg ruler, are as incoherent as the Mad Hatter, uttering nonsensical remarks, posing unanswerable riddles and reciting word salads of inanities. They, like Donald Trump, are a reflection of the moral, intellectual and physical rot that plague a diseased society.
These Christian fascists, who define the core ideology of the Trump administration, are unapologetic about their hatred for pluralistic, secular democracies. They seek, as they exhaustively detail in numerous “Christian” books and documents such as the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, to deform the judiciary and legislative branches of government, along with the media and academia, into appendages to a “Christianised” state led by a divinely anointed leader.
They openly admire Nazi apologists such as Rousas John Rushdoony, a supporter of eugenics who argues that education and social welfare should be handed over to the churches and Biblical law must replace the secular legal code, and Nazi party theorists such as Carl Schmitt.
They are avowed racists, misogynists and homophobes. They embrace bizarre conspiracy theories from the white replacement theory to a shadowy monster they call “the woke.” Suffice it to say, they are not grounded in a reality based universe.
Christian fascists come out of a theocratic sect called Dominionism. This sect teaches that American Christians have been mandated to make America a Christian state and an agent of God. Political and intellectual opponents of this militant Biblicalism are condemned as agents of Satan.
“Under Christian dominion, America will no longer be a sinful and fallen nation but one in which the 10 Commandments form the basis of our legal system, creationism and ‘Christian values’ form the basis of our educational system, and the media and the government proclaim the Good News to one and all,” I noted in my book.
“Labour unions, civil-rights laws and public schools will be abolished. Women will be removed from the workforce to stay at home, and all those deemed insufficiently Christian will be denied citizenship. Aside from its proselytising mandate, the federal government will be reduced to the protection of property rights and ‘homeland’ security.”
Chris Hedges talks to Marc Lamont Hill on Up Front on why “democracy doesn’t exist in the United States” today. Video: Al Jazeera
Comforting to most Americans The Christian fascists and their billionaire funders, I noted, “speak in terms and phrases that are familiar and comforting to most Americans, but they no longer use words to mean what they meant in the past.”
They commit logocide, killing old definitions and replacing them with new ones. Words — including truth, wisdom, death, liberty, life and love — are deconstructed and assigned diametrically opposed meanings.Life and death, for example, mean life in Christ or death to Christ, a signal of belief of unbelief. Wisdom refers to the level of commitment and obedience to the doctrine.
Liberty is not about freedom, but the liberty that comes from following Jesus Christ and being liberated from the dictates of secularism. Love is twisted to mean an unquestioned obedience to those, such as Trump, who claim to speak and act for God.As the death spiral accelerates, phantom enemies, domestic and foreign, will be blamed for the demise, persecuted and slated for obliteration.
Once the wreckage is complete, ensuring the immiseration of the citizenry, a breakdown in public services and engendering an inchoate rage, only the blunt instrument of state violence will remain. A lot of people will suffer, especially as the climate crisis inflicts with greater and greater intensity its lethal retribution.
The near-collapse of our constitutional system of checks and balances took place long before the arrival of Trump. Trump’s return to power represents the death rattle of the Pax Americana. The day is not far off when, like the Roman Senate in 27 BC, Congress will take its last significant vote and surrender power to a dictator. The Democratic Party, whose strategy seems to be to do nothing and hope Trump implodes, have already acquiesced to the inevitable.
The question is not whether we go down, but how many millions of innocents we will take with us. Given the industrial violence our empire wields, it could be a lot, especially if those in charge decide to reach for the nukes.
Foreign aid is not benevolent. It is weaponised to maintain primacy over the United Nations and remove governments the empire deems hostile. Those nations in the UN and other multilateral organisations who vote the way the empire demands, who surrender their sovereignty to global corporations and the US military, receive assistance. Those who don’t do not.
Foreign aid builds infrastructure projects so corporations can operate global sweatshops and extract resources. It funds “democracy promotion” and “judicial reform” that thwart the aspirations of political leaders and governments that seek to remain independent from the grip of the empire.
USAID, for example, paid for a “political party reform project” that was designed “as a counterweight” to the “radical” Movement Toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo) and sought to prevent socialists like Evo Morales from being elected in Bolivia. It then funded organisations and initiatives, including training programmes so Bolivian youth could be taught the American business practices, once Morales assumed the presidency, to weaken his hold on power.
Kennard in his book, The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs The American Empire, documents how US institutions such as the National Endowment for Democracy, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID and the Drug Enforcement Administration, work in tandem with the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency to subjugate and oppress the Global South.
Client states that receive aid must break unions, impose austerity measures, keep wages low and maintain puppet governments. The heavily funded aid programmes, designed to bring down Morales, eventually led the Bolivian president to throw USAID out of the country.
The lie peddled to the public is that this aid benefits both the needy overseas and us at home. But the inequality these programmes facilitate abroad replicates the inequality imposed domestically. The wealth extracted from the Global South is not equitably distributed. It ends up in the hands of the billionaire class, often stashed in overseas bank accounts to avoid taxation.
Our US tax dollars, meanwhile, disproportionately funds the military, which is the iron fist that sustains the system of exploitation. The 30 million Americans who were victims of mass layoffs and deindustrialisation lost their jobs to workers in sweatshops overseas. As Kennard notes, both home and abroad, it is a vast “transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich globally and domestically”.
Legitimises theft at home “The same people that devise the myths about what we do abroad have also built up a similar ideological system that legitimises theft at home; theft from the poorest, by the richest,” he writes. “The poor and working people of Harlem have more in common with the poor and working people of Haiti than they do with their elites, but this has to be obscured for the racket to work.”
Foreign aid maintains sweatshops or “special economic zones” in countries such as Haiti, where workers toil for pennies an hour and often in unsafe conditions for global corporations.
“One of the facets of special economic zones, and one of the incentives for corporations in the US, is that special economic zones have even less regulations than the national state on how you can treat labour and taxes and customs,” Kennard told me in an interview.
“You open these sweatshops in the special economic zones. You pay the workers a pittance. You get all the resources out without having to pay customs or tax. The state in Mexico or Haiti or wherever it is, where they’re offshoring this production, doesn’t benefit at all. That’s by design. The coffers of the state are always the ones that never get increased. It’s the corporations that benefit.”
These same US institutions and mechanisms of control, Kennard writes in his book, were employed to sabotage the electoral campaign of Jeremy Corbyn, a fierce critic of the US empire, for prime minister in Britain.
The US disbursed nearly $72 billion in foreign aid in fiscal year 2023. It funded clean water initiatives, HIV/Aids treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. In 2024, it provided 42 percent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations.
Humanitarian aid, often described as “soft power,” is designed to mask the theft of resources in the Global South by US corporations, the expansion of the footprint of the US military, the rigid control of foreign governments, the devastation caused by fossil fuel extraction, the systemic abuse of workers in global sweatshops and the poisoning of child labourers in places like the Congo, where they are used to mine lithium.
The demise of American power I doubt Musk and his army of young minions in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — which isn’t an official department within the federal government — have any idea about how the organisations they are destroying work, why they exist or what it will mean for the demise of American power.
The seizure of government personnel records and classified material, the effort to terminate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of government contracts — mostly those which relate to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the offers of buyouts to “drain the swamp” including a buyout offer to the entire workforce of the Central Intelligence Agency — now temporarily blocked by a judge — the firing of 17 or 18 inspectors generals and federal prosecutors, the halting of government funding and grants, sees them cannibalise the leviathan they worship.
They plan to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the US Postal Service, part of the internal machinery of the empire. The more dysfunctional the state becomes, the more it creates a business opportunity for predatory corporations and private equity firms. These billionaires will make a fortune “harvesting” the remains of the empire. But they are ultimately slaying the beast that created American wealth and power.
Once the dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency, something the dismantling of the empire guarantees, the US will be unable to pay for its huge deficits by selling Treasury bonds. The American economy will fall into a devastating depression. This will trigger a breakdown of civil society, soaring prices, especially for imported products, stagnant wages and high unemployment rates.
The funding of at least 750 overseas military bases and our bloated military will become impossible to sustain. The empire will instantly contract. It will become a shadow of itself. Hypernationalism, fueled by an inchoate rage and widespread despair, will morph into a hate-filled American fascism.
Despite the aura of omnipotence empires often project, most are surprisingly fragile, lacking the inherent strength of even a modest nation-state. Indeed, a glance at their history should remind us that the greatest of them are susceptible to collapse from diverse causes, with fiscal pressures usually a prime factor. For the better part of two centuries, the security and prosperity of the homeland has been the main objective for most stable states, making foreign or imperial adventures an expendable option, usually allocated no more than 5 percent of the domestic budget. Without the financing that arises almost organically inside a sovereign nation, empires are famously predatory in their relentless hunt for plunder or profit — witness the Atlantic slave trade, Belgium’s rubber lust in the Congo, British India’s opium commerce, the Third Reich’s rape of Europe, or the Soviet exploitation of Eastern Europe.
When revenues shrink or collapse, McCoy points out, “empires become brittle.”
“So delicate is their ecology of power that, when things start to go truly wrong, empires regularly unravel with unholy speed: just a year for Portugal, two years for the Soviet Union, eight years for France, 11 years for the Ottomans, 17 for Great Britain, and, in all likelihood, just 27 years for the United States, counting from the crucial year 2003 [when the US invaded Iraq],” he writes.
The array of tools used for global dominance — wholesale surveillance, the evisceration of civil liberties, including due process, torture, militarised police, the massive prison system, militarised drones and satellites — will be employed against a restive and enraged population.
The devouring of the carcass of the empire to feed the outsized greed and egos of these scavengers presages a new dark age.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Environment Agency publication captures latest research about natural flood management to help understand what works best where
Nature can play a major role in improving the nation’s resilience to flooding and coastal erosion, updated research from the Environment Agency underlines.
Informed by significant scientific research including more than 700 papers, the directory summarises the latest evidence for 17 natural flood management (NFM) measures relating to river and floodplain, woodland, run-off, and coast and estuary management.
NFM protects, restores and emulates the natural functions of rivers, floodplains, catchments and the coast to reduce flooding and coastal erosion. It takes many different forms and can be implemented in urban and rural areas, on rivers, and on estuaries and coasts.
The directory shows the wide variety in the benefits of the different measures.
Among the findings, catchment woodland is shown not only to help reduce flood risk but also to provide benefits for soil, biodiversity and water quality, alongside access to nature.
The review showed catchment woodland can reduce the height of flood water, with the greatest reductions during smaller events. One study in Cumbria suggested the flow of flood water was slowed by 14-50% in woodland compared to pasture.
The latest science also showcases the significant wider benefits of saltmarsh and mudflat restoration, including their ability to store large amounts of carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. They can also filter sediments and nutrients, improving water quality.
Managed realignment at Steart Marshes in Somerset created 250 hectares of saltmarsh. A recent study showed the marsh was storing 36.6 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year following restoration, a number which compares favourably with woodland.
For the first time, the updated directory includes emerging evidence for three new measures, highlighting the potential flood risk reduction and wider benefits of coastal reefs, submerged aquatic vegetation, and beavers. There is still more to learn about these measures, including understanding what the best depth for oysters to grow and develop while also effectively reducing wave energy is.
The new Working with Natural Processes directory demonstrates that the evidence for NFM has grown significantly, building confidence in the flood risk reduction and wider benefits.
The directory provides a new evidence baseline for NFM, helping to inform future investment decisions and support the selection of measures on the ground.
Julie Foley, Environment Agency Director of Flood Risk Strategy and National Adaptation, said:
With climate change increasing the threats of flooding and coastal erosion, we must work together with nature to boost resilience across the country.
That’s why the Environment Agency is mainstreaming the use of natural flood management alongside the use of traditional engineered defences.
Our £25 million Natural Flood Management Programme was shaped by the Working with Natural Processes Evidence Directory. Through this fund we are testing our approaches to future investment and the delivery of natural flood management.
New evidence also demonstrates the benefits of combining multiple NFM measures. The five-year Littlestock Brook trial on the River Evenlode in Oxfordshire tested several measures at the same time, including putting in woody dams, creating 230m of new water courses, and planting 14.4 hectares of new woodland. Results from the trial show reductions in the height of flood waters of up to 55.2% across all the storms analysed.
Research suggests the Evenlode project will help remove 8,199 tonnes net of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, attributed to creating the woodland and agroforestry.
The Salmons Brook NFM project in Enfield, north London, combined planting 200 hectares of woodland with reducing the width of the channel by 75% and installing 46 bunds in a rural catchment. Modelling found that, during a once-in-a-25-year storm, the combination could reduce flood flows by half and peak water levels by 10-30cm in the urban areas downstream, with the effectiveness expected to increase with the woodland’s maturity.
Kathryn Brown, The Wildlife Trusts Director of Climate Change and Evidence, said:
Getting the best evidence to support our collective efforts to build resilience is critically important.
I’m delighted to see the latest science on natural flood management coming together in one place through the Environment Agency’s Evidence Directory, with a focus on co-benefits – and to see new recognition of the role beavers can play in natural flood management.
This well-used directory has been pivotal in supporting NFM work across the country, including through The Wildlife Trusts.
Meeting on Thursday with non-governmental entities in Baku for the COP29 climate talks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the crucial role that cities, regions, businesses and financial institutions must play in driving the worldwide effort towards reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century.
“We need a massive global effort to steer our world onto a path to safety; you are out in the front…helping consumers, investors and regulators understand what credible net-zero looks like,” said the Secretary-General.
As violent weather inflicts human tragedy and economic destruction worldwide and with efforts to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius slipping away, Mr. Guterres convened the high-level meeting of non-State actors to spotlight their actions and strategies since 2022, in line with key recommendations issued in a report he launched at COP27 in Shram-el-Sheikh.
‘The path to safety’
The report, Integrity Matters, set out 10 recommendations that serve as a “how-to” guide for credible, accountable net-zero pledges. They detail what non-State actors need to consider at each stage of their progress towards achieving net-zero ambitions and tackling the climate crisis.
Put simply, net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount that is removed from the atmosphere. Reaching this goal requires cooperation between businesses and financial institutions, and other entities working alongside governments.
UNFCCC/Kiara Worth
UN Secretary-General António Guterres pictured onscreen at the COP29 High-Level event: Implementation of the report “Integrity Matters” by the High-level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG).
‘Fast-track, not backtrack’
On Thursday, the Secretary-General thanked the non-State actors for taking the lead in the global efforts towards the net-zero goal, but said: “Now, we need others to follow.”
He first urged all non-State actors to create robust, accountable transition plans by COP30 next year. The plans must be consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C, and chart a course to net zero by 2050, through milestones in 2025, 2030, 2035, and beyond.
“They must chart a course to fossil fuel phase-out – based in the science. They must disclose policies on lobbying and policy engagement. And they must commit to deep decarbonization across the entire value chain,” said Mr. Guterres
He also stressed that all such plans must not rely on dubious offsets, including for so-called Scope 3 emissions, or indirect emissions, such as those produced by purchased goods and services, business travel or waste disposal.
“Now is the time to fast-track, not backtrack; the time for ambition and transparency. Not greenwashing,” he stated.
Work together with governments
Mr. Guterres called for moving from voluntary pledges to mandatory rules. “The future of humanity is at stake. Action cannot be optional. Disclosing credible transition plans, that align with 1.5 degrees must be mandatory for corporates and financial institutions.”
The UN chief also urged businesses, financial institutions, cities, regions and more, to work with governments on their national climate action plans, or NDCs, due by COP30.
“Help governments ensure that they provide policy and regulatory certainty on a 1.5[C]-aligned future. We must make sure that governments facilitate the work of other actors in this regard, and not that they complicate the work of other actors in compliance with the 1.5[C] aligned future,” said the UN chief.
Later in the day, Mr. Guterres is expected to meet with a group of climate scientists and civil society actors, including young climate activists.
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.
Leaders in technology and the environment at COP29 in Baku endorsed on Saturday a declaration pledging to use digital technologies to accelerate climate action while reducing the carbon and pollution footprints of tech manufacturing and tackling the growing problem of e-waste.
On the first-ever ‘Digitalisation Day’ for a UN climate conference, the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action received endorsements from more than 1,000 governments, companies, civil society organizations, international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders.
Pluses and minuses
According to the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which organized today’s digital focused events at COP29, digital technologies can be key tools to accelerate achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as they play a key role for climate monitoring, early warning systems, and overall climate adaptation and mitigation.
Indeed, such technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data can play a central role in optimizing energy consumption of our digital world. For example, by harnessing AI algorithms, data centers can optimize energy efficiency, streamline operations, and reduce their carbon footprint, ITU says.
However, as the use of digital products and services grows, so does the amount of energy and water used, and e-waste produced.
Growing levels of digitization demand more energy, which raises greenhouse gas emissions. AI programmes need servers that run around the clock. These servers and the data centres that house them use a lot of electricity. In addition, even more energy is required to cool the data centers.
These and other issues were debated at a high-level COP29 roundtable on digitization for climate action.
Unlocking digital technology for climate action
The COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action recognises the importance of digital technologies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The objectives in the declaration underscore how digital innovations can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide life-saving tools to inform and warn communities.
“This milestone moment for Green Digital Action at COP29 should propel us forward with the shared belief that we can and must reduce the environmental footprint of digital technologies while leveraging their undeniable potential to tackle the climate crisis,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
“Let’s keep building our green digital momentum all the way to COP30, and with it, a more sustainable digital future for generations to come,” she said.
UNFCCC/Kamran Guliyev
On the first-ever Digitalisation Dayfor a UN climate conference, COP29 in Baku held a roundtable Green Digital Action. Pictured onscreen is ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.
Rich nations pledged to contribute at least $300 billion annually to the global fight against climate change as UN climate talks came to a contentious end early Sunday morning in Baku. Developing nations who had sought over $1 trillion in assistance called the agreement “insulting” and argued it did not give them the vital resources they required to truly address the complexities of the climate crisis.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at COP29, formally the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreed to provide this funding annually, with an overall climate financing target to reach “at least $1.3 trillion by 2035”.
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Countries also agreed on the rules for a UN-backed global carbon market. This market will facilitate the trading of carbon credits, incentivizing countries to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly projects.
These were among the big-ticket issues decided upon as the summit, underway since 11 November in the enormous Baku Stadium in the Azerbaijan capital, ran into double overtime.
Other steps forward at COP29 included:
This summit had been dubbed the ‘climate finance COP’, and representatives from all countries were seeking to establish a new, higher climate finance goal.
The target, or new collective quantified goal (NCQG), will replace the existing $100 billion goal that is due to expire in 2025.
In the closing days at COP29, negotiating teams from the developed and developing worlds were deadlocked over a final deal, with reports that representatives for least developed countries and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOIS) had walked out of the talks.
But he continued, this agreement provides a base on which to build and added: It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash. All countries must come together to ensure the top-end of this new goal is met.”
For many vulnerable nations, it represents a glimmer of hope—but only if commitments translate into swift action. “Commitments must quickly become cash,” the Secretary-General stressed, urging all countries to work together to meet the upper end of the new financial goal.
Beyond finance, COP29 built on previous gains in emissions reduction targets, the acceleration of the energy transition, and a long-sought agreement on carbon markets. These achievements come despite an “uncertain and divided geopolitical landscape,” which threatened to derail negotiations.
The UN chief commended negotiators for finding common ground, noting, “You have shown that multilateralism – centred on the Paris Agreement – can find a path through the most difficult issues.”
‘An insurance policy for humanity’
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell described the new finance goal agreed at COP29 as “an insurance policy for humanity.”
“This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives. It will help all countries to share in the huge benefits of bold climate action: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all. But like any insurance policy – it only works – if the premiums are paid in full, and on time.”
He acknowledged that no country got everything they wanted, and that the world leaves Baku with a mountain of work to do. “So, this is no time for victory laps. We need to set our sights and redouble our efforts on the road to Belém,” in the eastern Amazonian region of Brazil, which is set to host COP30 next year.
‘Weak, insulting deal’
While some delegations applauded the deal, many from the developing world, including Bolivia and Nigeria, expressed their deep disappointment at what they argued was an “insultingly low” financing target and that the agreed text failed to significantly build on an agreement last year at COP28 in Dubai calling for nations to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
India’s representative strongly denounced the new goal, calling it a “paltry sum” and emphasizing, “We seek a much higher ambition from the developed countries [and the amount agreed] does not inspire trust that we will come out of this grave problem of climate change.”
A representative from a group of small island nations said: “After this COP29 ends, we cannot just sail off into the sunset. We are literally sinking,” and the conference outcome highlighted “what a very different boat our vulnerable countries are in, compared to the developed countries”.
UNFCCC/Kiara Worth
Civil society actors at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, advocate for climate financing initiatives.
Sierra Leone’s representative said African nations were disappointed in the outcome, which “signals a lack of goodwill by developed countries.” Indeed, the $300 billion deal was “less than a quarter of what science shows is needed and barely enough to forestall a climate catastrophe”.
Striking a different tone, a representative from the delegation of the European Union said the new climate finance goal would “simply will bring much, much more private money on the table, and that is what we need. And with these funds, we are confident we will reach the 1.3 trillion objective.”
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.
2. Preparedness for a new trade era: multilateral cooperation or tariffs (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Preparedness for a new trade era: multilateral cooperation or tariffs (2025/2551(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Maroš Šefčovič (Member of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: Jörgen Warborn, on behalf of the PPE Group, Iratxe García Pérez, on behalf of the S&D Group, Klara Dostalova, on behalf of the PfE Group, Daniele Polato, on behalf of the ECR Group, Karin Karlsbro, on behalf of the Renew Group, Anna Cavazzini, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Manon Aubry, on behalf of The Left Group, René Aust, on behalf of the ESN Group, Michał Szczerba, Kathleen Van Brempt, Christophe Bay, Stephen Nikola Bartulica, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, who also answered a blue-card question from Manon Aubry, Diana Riba i Giner, Lynn Boylan, Fabio De Masi, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez, who also answered a blue-card question from Petras Gražulis, Yannis Maniatis, Anna Bryłka, Svenja Hahn, who also answered a blue-card question from Damian Boeselager, Majdouline Sbai, Rudi Kennes, Lídia Pereira, who also answered a blue-card question from João Oliveira, Bernd Lange, Jorge Buxadé Villalba, who also answered a blue-card question from Cristina Maestre, Sophie Wilmès, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Željana Zovko, Stefano Bonaccini, András László, who also answered a blue-card question from Radan Kanev, Barry Cowen, Luděk Niedermayer, who also answered a blue-card question from Maria Grapini, Raphaël Glucksmann, Ľubica Karvašová, Sebastião Bugalho, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, Loucas Fourlas, Dirk Gotink and Salvatore De Meo.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Sebastian Tynkkynen and Billy Kelleher.
IN THE CHAIR: Roberts ZĪLE Vice-President
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Lukas Sieper.
The following spoke: Maria Grapini on the organisation of the debate.
The following spoke: Maroš Šefčovič and Adam Szłapka.
The debate closed.
3. Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (2025/2528(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Marta Kos (Member of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: Michael Gahler, on behalf of the PPE Group, Yannis Maniatis, on behalf of the S&D Group, Csaba Dömötör, on behalf of the PfE Group, Adam Bielan, on behalf of the ECR Group, Petras Auštrevičius, on behalf of the Renew Group, Villy Søvndal, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Danilo Della Valle, on behalf of The Left Group, Petras Gražulis, on behalf of the ESN Group, Rasa Juknevičienė, Kathleen Van Brempt, Pierre-Romain Thionnet, Reinis Pozņaks, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who also answered a blue-card question from Alexander Sell, Mārtiņš Staķis, Jonas Sjöstedt, Petar Volgin, Ľuboš Blaha, Sandra Kalniete, Sven Mikser, Viktória Ferenc, Alberico Gambino, Hilde Vautmans, Sergey Lagodinsky, Hans Neuhoff, Fabio De Masi, Michał Szczerba, Thijs Reuten, Petra Steger, Jaak Madison, Bernard Guetta, Markéta Gregorová, Zsuzsanna Borvendég, Pekka Toveri, Pina Picierno, Michał Dworczyk, Helmut Brandstätter, Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, Raphaël Glucksmann, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Davor Ivo Stier, Marcos Ros Sempere, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Reinhold Lopatka, who also answered a blue-card question from Alexander Jungbluth, Tonino Picula, Mika Aaltola, who also answered a blue-card question from Merja Kyllönen, Tobias Cremer, Riho Terras and Ana Miguel Pedro.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Hélder Sousa Silva, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Dainius Žalimas, Siegbert Frank Droese and Ondřej Dostál.
The following spoke: Marta Kos and Adam Szłapka.
Motions for resolutions to be tabled under Rule 136(2) would be announced at a later stage.
The debate closed.
Vote: next part-session.
(The sitting was suspended for a few moments.)
IN THE CHAIR: Roberta METSOLA President
4. Resumption of the sitting
The sitting resumed at 12:22.
5. Formal sitting – Address by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
The President made an address to welcome Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
Ruslan Stefanchuk addressed the House.
(The sitting was suspended for a few moments.)
6. Resumption of the sitting
The sitting resumed at 12:42.
7. Voting time
For detailed results of the votes, see also ‘Results of votes’ and ‘Results of roll-call votes’.
7.1. Conclusion of an agreement between the European Union and the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on certain aspects of air services ***(vote)
Recommendation on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on certain aspects of air services [10844/2024 – C10-0111/2024 – 2015/0188(NLE)] – Committee on Transport and Tourism. Rapporteur: Tomas Tobé (A10-0005/2025)
(Majority of the votes cast)
DRAFT COUNCIL DECISION
Approved (P10_TA(2025)0008)
Parliament consented to the conclusion of the agreement.
(‘Results of votes’, item 1)
7.2. Conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol (2024-2029) implementing the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cabo Verde ***(vote)
Recommendation on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Protocol (2024-2029) implementing the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Cabo Verde [11267/2024 – C10-0087/2024 – 2024/0133(NLE)] – Committee on Fisheries. Rapporteur: Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral (A10-0004/2025)
(Majority of the votes cast)
DRAFT COUNCIL DECISION
Approved (P10_TA(2025)0009)
Parliament consented to the conclusion of the agreement.
(‘Results of votes’, item 2)
7.3. Renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine ***(vote)
Recommendation on the draft Council decision on the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine [14848/2024 – C10-0196/2024 – 2024/0240(NLE)] – Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Rapporteur: Borys Budka (A10-0007/2025)
(Majority of the votes cast)
DRAFT COUNCIL DECISION
Approved (P10_TA(2025)0010)
Parliament consented to the renewal of the agreement.
(‘Results of votes’, item 3)
7.4. European Central Bank – annual report 2024 (vote)
Report on European Central Bank – annual report 2024 [2024/2054(INI)] – Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Rapporteur: Anouk Van Brug (A10-0003/2025)
The debate had taken place on 10 February 2025 (minutes of 10.2.2025, item 13).
(Majority of the votes cast)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
Adopted (P10_TA(2025)0011)
(‘Results of votes’, item 4)
(The sitting was suspended at 12:53.)
IN THE CHAIR: Javi LÓPEZ Vice-President
8. Resumption of the sitting
The sitting resumed at 12:58.
9. Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting
The minutes of the previous sitting were approved.
10. The need to address urgent labour shortages and ensure quality jobs in the health care sector (debate)
Commission statement: The need to address urgent labour shortages and ensure quality jobs in the health care sector (2025/2529(RSP))
Roxana Mînzatu (Executive Vice-President of the Commission) made the statement.
The following spoke: Dennis Radtke, on behalf of the PPE Group, Gabriele Bischoff, on behalf of the S&D Group, Gerald Hauser, on behalf of the PfE Group, Ruggero Razza, on behalf of the ECR Group, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, on behalf of the Renew Group, Maria Ohisalo, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Leila Chaibi, on behalf of The Left Group, Tomislav Sokol, Estelle Ceulemans, Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, Aurelijus Veryga, Brigitte van den Berg, Tilly Metz, Catarina Martins, Jan-Peter Warnke, Liesbet Sommen, Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Pál Szekeres, Adrian-George Axinia, Olivier Chastel, Pernando Barrena Arza, Maria Zacharia, András Tivadar Kulja, Marianne Vind, Margarita de la Pisa Carrión, Michele Picaro, Kathleen Funchion, Adam Jarubas, Nicolás González Casares, Marie Dauchy, Beatrice Timgren, Elena Nevado del Campo, Johan Danielsson, Valérie Deloge, Mariateresa Vivaldini, Romana Tomc, who also answered a blue-card question from João Oliveira, and Alessandra Moretti.
IN THE CHAIR: Roberts ZĪLE Vice-President
The following spoke: Philippe Olivier, Claudiu-Richard Târziu, Marit Maij, Malika Sorel, Francesco Ventola, Victor Negrescu and Evelyn Regner.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Sérgio Humberto, Maria Grapini, Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez, Ana Miranda Paz, João Oliveira, Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos, Dennis Radtke, Idoia Mendia and Rudi Kennes.
The following spoke: Roxana Mînzatu.
The debate closed.
11. Boosting vocational education and training in times of labour market transitions (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Boosting vocational education and training in times of labour market transitions (2025/2530(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Roxana Mînzatu (Executive Vice-President of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: Dennis Radtke, on behalf of the PPE Group, Romana Jerković, on behalf of the S&D Group, Catherine Griset, on behalf of the PfE Group, Chiara Gemma, on behalf of the ECR Group, Brigitte van den Berg, on behalf of the Renew Group, Li Andersson, on behalf of The Left Group, Marcin Sypniewski, on behalf of the ESN Group, Maravillas Abadía Jover, Hannes Heide and Pál Szekeres.
IN THE CHAIR: Pina PICIERNO Vice-President
The following spoke: Georgiana Teodorescu, Laurence Farreng, Nikos Pappas, Fidias Panayiotou, Gheorghe Falcă, Idoia Mendia, Elisabeth Dieringer, Marlena Maląg, Anna-Maja Henriksson, Andrzej Buła, Marc Angel, Mélanie Disdier, Ivaylo Valchev, Sérgio Humberto, who also answered a blue-card question from João Oliveira, Sabrina Repp, Annamária Vicsek, Elena Donazzan, Eleonora Meleti, Isilda Gomes, Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė and Marie Dauchy.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Nina Carberry, Nikolina Brnjac, Marcos Ros Sempere, Alicia Homs Ginel, Kateřina Konečná and Lukas Sieper.
The following spoke: Glenn Micallef (Member of the Commission) and Adam Szłapka.
The debate closed.
12. Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East strategy (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East strategy (2024/3015(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Dubravka Šuica (Member of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: David McAllister, on behalf of the PPE Group, Yannis Maniatis, on behalf of the S&D Group, Jorge Martín Frías, on behalf of the PfE Group, Ana Miranda Paz, on certain remarks made by the previous speaker, Rihards Kols, on behalf of the ECR Group, Hilde Vautmans, on behalf of the Renew Group, Hannah Neumann, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Lynn Boylan, on behalf of The Left Group, Petras Gražulis, on behalf of the ESN Group, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Hana Jalloul Muro, António Tânger Corrêa, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Urmas Paet, Villy Søvndal, João Oliveira, who also answered a blue-card question from Ana Miranda Paz, Alexander Sell, Nikolaos Anadiotis, Hildegard Bentele, Francisco Assis, György Hölvényi, Marion Maréchal, Irena Joveva and Martin Schirdewan.
IN THE CHAIR: Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ Vice-President
The following spoke: Ruth Firmenich, Ingeborg Ter Laak, Lucia Annunziata, Cristian Terheş, Abir Al-Sahlani, Elena Yoncheva, Andrey Kovatchev, Evin Incir, Emmanouil Fragkos, Billy Kelleher, Alice Teodorescu Måwe, Davor Ivo Stier, Michał Szczerba, Wouter Beke, Nicolás Pascual de la Parte and Reinhold Lopatka.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Ana Miranda Paz, Marc Botenga and Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă.
The following spoke: Dubravka Šuica and Adam Szłapka.
The debate closed.
13. Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (2025/2553(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Dubravka Šuica (Member of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: Ingeborg Ter Laak, on behalf of the PPE Group, Marit Maij, on behalf of the S&D Group, Thierry Mariani, on behalf of the PfE Group, Alberico Gambino, on behalf of the ECR Group, Hilde Vautmans, on behalf of the Renew Group, Sara Matthieu, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Marc Botenga, on behalf of The Left Group, Petras Gražulis, on behalf of the ESN Group, Wouter Beke, Francisco Assis, György Hölvényi, Charles Goerens, Majdouline Sbai, Marcin Sypniewski, Lukas Mandl, Laura Ballarín Cereza, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Saskia Bricmont, Hildegard Bentele, Murielle Laurent, Yvan Verougstraete, Giorgio Gori and Udo Bullmann, who also declined to take a blue-card question from Lukas Sieper.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Juan Fernando López Aguilar.
The following spoke: Dubravka Šuica and Adam Szłapka.
The following spoke: Hilde Vautmans, again on the subject of the debate.
Motions for resolutions tabled under Rule 136(2) to wind up the debate: minutes of 13.2.2025, item I.
The debate closed.
Vote: 13 February 2025.
14. Welcome
On behalf of Parliament, the President welcomed a delegation from the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, who had taken a seat in the distinguished visitors’ gallery.
15. Political crisis in Serbia (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Political crisis in Serbia (2025/2554(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) made the statement on behalf of the Council.
IN THE CHAIR: Katarina BARLEY Vice-President
Marta Kos (Member of the Commission) made the statement on behalf of the Commission.
The following spoke: Davor Ivo Stier, on behalf of the PPE Group, Tonino Picula, on behalf of the S&D Group, Annamária Vicsek, on behalf of the PfE Group, Alessandro Ciriani, on behalf of the ECR Group, Helmut Brandstätter, on behalf of the Renew Group, Vladimir Prebilič, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Konstantinos Arvanitis, on behalf of The Left Group, Petr Bystron, on behalf of the ESN Group, Loucas Fourlas, Alessandra Moretti, Thierry Mariani, Şerban Dimitrie Sturdza, Eugen Tomac, Gordan Bosanac, Kostas Papadakis, Reinhold Lopatka, Thijs Reuten, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Rasmus Nordqvist, Zoltán Tarr, Matjaž Nemec, Irena Joveva (The President explained how the interpreting system worked), Matej Tonin, Andreas Schieder, Dan Barna and Tomislav Sokol.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Seán Kelly, Nikos Papandreou, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Lukas Sieper and Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă.
The following spoke: Marta Kos and Adam Szłapka.
The debate closed.
16. US AI chip export restrictions: a challenge to European AI development and economic resilience (debate)
Question for oral answer O-000001/2025 by Borys Budka, on behalf of the ITRE Committee, to the Commission: US AI chip export restrictions: a challenge to European AI development and economic resilience (B10-0002/2025) (2025/2539(RSP))
Borys Budka moved the question.
Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President of the Commission) answered the question.
The following spoke: Wouter Beke, on behalf of the PPE Group, Matthias Ecke, on behalf of the S&D Group, Kris Van Dijck, on behalf of the ECR Group, Bart Groothuis, on behalf of the Renew Group, András László, on behalf of the PfE Group, Virginijus Sinkevičius, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Dario Tamburrano, on behalf of The Left Group, Eszter Lakos, who also answered a blue-card question from András László, Lina Gálvez and Barbara Bonte.
IN THE CHAIR: Ewa KOPACZ Vice-President
The following spoke: Francesco Torselli, Michał Kobosko, Alexandra Geese, Aura Salla, Maria Grapini, Paulius Saudargas, Elisabeth Grossmann, Mirosława Nykiel, Brando Benifei, Paulo Cunha and Oliver Schenk.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, Marc Botenga, Kateřina Konečná, Seán Kelly and Lukas Sieper.
The following spoke: Henna Virkkunen.
The debate closed.
17. Protecting the system of international justice and its institutions, in particular the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice (debate)
Council and Commission statements: Protecting the system of international justice and its institutions, in particular the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice (2025/2555(RSP))
Adam Szłapka (President-in-Office of the Council) and Michael McGrath (Member of the Commission) made the statements.
The following spoke: Alice Teodorescu Måwe, on behalf of the PPE Group, Francisco Assis, on behalf of the S&D Group, András László, on behalf of the PfE Group, Małgorzata Gosiewska, on behalf of the ECR Group, Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle, on behalf of the Renew Group, Mounir Satouri, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Mimmo Lucano, on behalf of The Left Group, Hana Jalloul Muro, Alessandro Ciriani, who also answered a blue-card question from Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle, Catarina Vieira, Gaetano Pedulla’, Brando Benifei, Jaume Asens Llodrà, who also answered a blue-card question from João Oliveira, Rima Hassan (the President reminded the speaker of the rules on conduct), Chloé Ridel, Benedetta Scuderi, Alessandro Zan and Ana Miranda Paz.
The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Billy Kelleher, Tineke Strik, João Oliveira, Lukas Sieper and Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis.
The following spoke: Michael McGrath and Adam Szłapka.
The following spoke: Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle, concerning the last intervention by the Council (the President gave explanations).
The debate closed.
18. Explanations of vote
Written explanations of vote
Explanations of vote submitted in writing under Rule 201 appear on the Members’ pages on Parliament’s website.
19. Agenda of the next sitting
The next sitting would be held the following day, 12 February 2025, starting at 09:00. The agenda was available on Parliament’s website.
20. Approval of the minutes of the sitting
In accordance with Rule 208(3), the minutes of the sitting would be put to the House for approval at the beginning of the afternoon of the next sitting.
Working with natural processes (WWNP) or natural flood management (NFM) protects, restores or emulates the natural functions of rivers, floodplains, catchments and the coast to reduce flooding and coastal erosion.
The directory shows NFM evidence has grown in recent years, building our confidence in the flood risk and wider benefits these approaches can bring. It provides a new evidence baseline for NFM, helping to inform future investment decisions and support the selection of measures on the ground.
These benefits vary across measures and help us understand what works best and where. There is still more to learn about NFM, but the research gaps are closing and are becoming more detail orientated.
Among the findings, the evidence is telling us that:
catchment woodlands can reduce the height of flood water, with the greatest reductions during smaller events
there is growing research that soil and land management can help with flood resilience, especially in grasslands
for some NFM measures, the wider benefits are even greater than the benefits to flood risk such as with floodplain or river restoration
ponds in floodplain areas can reduce flood risk by decreasing flows and storing water
run-off pathway management can reduce flood risk by storing water, and slowing the flow downstream and includes wider benefits related to water resources and biodiversity
the flood risk benefits of saltmarsh and mudflat restoration, dune management and beach nourishment is consolidating
restoring salt marshes and mudflats offers significant environmental benefits including storing carbon
there is emerging science on the flood reduction benefits of beavers, coastal reefs, and submerged aquatic vegetation – these are new additions to the directory
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
On February 7, in anticipation of two important dates in Russian history – the 300th anniversary of the death of Russian Emperor Peter I and Russian Science Day, the House of Books hosted a presentation of the monograph “Peter the Great: Meanings and Discourses of Time”, written by Marina Arkannikova, Director of the Higher School of Media Communications and Public Relations of the SPbPU Institute of Geography.
The Arts Hall of the Book House brought together students and teachers of the Polytechnic University, residents and guests of the city for an important conversation about the legacy of the first Russian emperor. The discussion combined a historical assessment and analysis of existential threats, geopolitical challenges to Russia’s sovereignty, as well as tools for protecting the Russian world. Introducing her scientific work, Marina Sergeevna spoke about the idea of the publication and emphasized that the key task of the book was to rethink the contours of Russia’s civilizational future through the prism of Peter’s legacy.
“Three centuries later, the genius of Peter the Great not only continues to amaze and excite the imagination, but has also determined the development of Russian social and political thought throughout this time, and has been the starting point for discussions about the historical fate of Russia and discussions about Russian civilization. His geopolitical vision and political rhetoric today, more than ever, are in tune with the country’s national security strategy, which defends sovereign rights to identity and statehood, the preservation of the nation’s cognitive code, and the protection of the mentality of the Russian world,” Marina Arkannikova addressed the meeting participants. “And today, on the eve of the date of Peter I’s death, this is not only a tribute to his memory, but also a relevant dialogue with the past, which helps us understand the present and future of our country.”
The research conducted by Marina Sergeevna is fundamentally important for modern science, since it is a calm constructive attitude to the colossal potential of the Peter the Great theme, which records the museumification of Peter’s legacy, the politics of memory. Therefore, this book is very important today, – noted the author of the preface to the publication, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Grigory Tulchinsky.
Speaking about the empirical part of the study, Marina Sergeevna thanked the Director General of the State Hermitage, Honorary Doctor of SPbPU Mikhail Piotrovsky for the opportunity to carry out sociological research of visitors to the Peter the Great Gallery, as well as for the provided photo materials from the exhibition. She expressed sincere gratitude for the support in the work on the publication to the reviewers, designer, editor, and administration of the Publishing and Printing Center of the Polytechnic University.
Marina Arkannikova emphasized the value of the fact that the book presentation took place in the year of the 115th anniversary of the Polytechnic being given the name “St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute of Emperor Peter the Great”. She told the audience that on January 19, 1910, Emperor Nicholas II signed a decree on assigning this status, which the university held until 1918, and only in 2015, on the initiative of SPbPU Rector Andrei Rudskoy, the Polytechnic was returned to its historical name.
After the presentation, the audience asked questions. They noted the multifaceted and contradictory nature of Peter’s image, the influence of his reforms on Russian society and culture. Concluding the meeting, the presenter reminded that the book can be purchased at the Dom Knigi store.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Antimicrobial resistance initiatives are back in the spotlight as stakeholders gather in Jeddah, on the Saudi Arabian coast, a few months after a high-level meeting in New York led to the unanimous adoption of a political declaration by the UN General Assembly. With that declaration the 193-member body pledged concerted action against the under-recognized but serious health concern.
Concerned parties from around the world gathered on Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton in the Red Sea city ahead of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on AMR for a session focused on non-state actors – non-governmental organizations, private sector, academia and others – to work across sectors to address “one of the most urgent global health threats and development challenges”.
The conference is expected to bring together representatives of 57 states, including 48 Ministers and Vice-Ministers, and more than 450 participants from leading international and civil society organizations, including UN offices and agencies.
The aim is to move from “declaration to implementation” through multisectoral partnerships in the combat against antimicrobial resistance, which has had disastrous effects on health, economies, and societies, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
A silent pandemic
When bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites stop responding to antimicrobial medications, it’s known as antimicrobial resistance. Drug resistance raises the risk of disease transmission, serious sickness, disability, and death by making antibiotics and other antimicrobial medications ineffective and making it harder or impossible to treat infections.
In the political declaration adopted by the General Assembly, world leaders agreed to reduce the estimated five million human deaths associated with AMR annually by 10 per cent by 2030. They further called for sustainable national financing and $100 million in catalytic funding, to help achieve a target of at least 60 percent of countries having funded national action plans on AMR by 2030.
It also formalized the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on Antimicrobial Resistance, which includes the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Development Programme (UNEP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) along with the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), as the central coordinating structure to support the global response.
Minsitry of Health/Saudi Arabia
Opening session of AMR, the urgent global health and socioeconomic crisis that threatens all age groups in all regions, especially with low- and middle-income countries most affected.
Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel has stressed the need to adopt a “One Health” approach that systematically addresses the obstacles hindering progress as AMR impacts humans, animals, and the environmental alike. “The Jeddah meeting is a crucial opportunity to strengthen our collective global response to the risks of this growing, silent pandemic”, he has said.
The meeting will address priorities, including surveillance and stewardship, capacity building, funding provision, governance, innovation, research and development.
UN News/Nabil Midani
Political commitment at the highest level
UN News is in Jeddah covering this global conference and spoke to Kathrine Urbaez, Executive Director of the Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO), Health Diplomacy Alliance.
The Alliance focuses on advocacy and diplomacy to advance global health issues. She told us that the COVID-19 pandemic has proven the vital importance of ‘One Health’ policies and of garnering cooperation and awareness across sectors and stakeholders.
Ms. Urbaez underscored the need to move from commitments to practical actions and added that the General Assembly’s Political Declaration and the Jeddah Conference are great steps in the right direction, and what is needed is to ensure that the political momentum continues. The Executive Director insisted that implementing commitments is feasible if there is a political will to do so, and establishing “a monitoring and accountability mechanism” is key.
She added: “We have to see antimicrobial resistance from a really holistic global health perspective. I think it is important to have the involvement of politicians at the highest level, not only Ministers of Health, Environment, Agriculture or Finance. We really need political commitment to advance AMR policies and to engage in the one health approach”.
More than a health threat
The complexity of the issue, a lack of funding, and political will in some nations “with the competing health issues that governments have to grapple with” have made it difficult to move from policy documents to action, according to Julian Nyamupachitu, Deputy Director of ReAct Africa, a global network that works to catalyze action on AMR primarily in low- and middle-income countries.
UN News/Nabil Midani
As countries are reviewing and weighing new national plans, Ms. Nyamupachitu said ReAct Africa is helping them prioritize activities that are more practical, and use tools that are available to them to help inform their policy making, such as the WHO costing and budgeting tool.
The Deputy Director said the Political Declaration was an improvement over its 2016 predecessor, but it would have been “good to see commitments, and not just targets” on funding.
She said the theme “moving from declaration to implementation” is very timely and she hoped to see a serious commitment by Ministers in Jeddah.
“I believe awareness has been raised. They have appreciated the statistics that have been shared. This is indeed a global health threat, not just affecting the health sector, not just affecting the agriculture, environment, and animal sectors, but it’s actually an economic problem as well”, she added.
‘The antibiotics market is broken’
Michiel Peters is the Secretariat Representative of the AMR Industry Alliance, which includes companies and industry organizations in the fields of research and development (R&D), pharmaceuticals, generics, biotech and diagnostics. He also represents the broader private sector on the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform Steering Committee, which was established and is facilitated by the four organizations supporting the global response.
UN News/Nabil Midani
Mr. Peters said antibiotics are “fundamentally different” than any other product brought to market “where your goal would be to sell as much of it as possible”. He said with antibiotics, the goal is to get the “right drug to the right person when they need it”, which is not always a lucrative business. He also noted that developing antibiotics requires an “incredible amount of time and investment” and in many cases the drugs don’t reach the market, and so “the marketplace for antibiotics is broken”.
Mr. Peter’s added that there is a serious lack of government funding and incentives for antibiotic R&D, but the larger concern is that “the researchers actually needed to do the science in the laboratories are leaving this field”, as opposed to diseases like cancer, for example, where research is strong.
The private sector representative said a lot of progress was made since the first High-Level Meeting on AMR took place in 2016, but there is still so much more to do and “nobody can tackle this problem alone”.
He said the Jeddah conference and the plenary meeting for the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform, running in parallel on the closing day, are both very important to see “not just what we can put on paper, but what it is that we are actually going to do”.
The latest round of UN climate negotiations, COP29, opened this past Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan, following a year that broke multiple extreme heat records and saw widespread climate-driven chaos – from wildfires to destructive floods and hurricanes – hit nearly every corner of the world. A major increase in financial commitments to assist vulnerable countries in mitigating and adapting to climate impacts is the main goal of this year’s conference, which has been dubbed the “climate finance COP.”
Can countries agree on a new climate finance target?
The UN’s main climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has issued increasingly dire warnings about the accelerating pace of global warming. To limit temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, substantial investments are needed in clean energy technologies, infrastructure, and adaptation measures.
Developing countries, particularly small island nations and least developed countries, are disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts like sea level rise, extreme weather events, and droughts. They require significant financial support to build resilience, transition to low-carbon economies, and compensate for loss and damage.
Round-the-clock negotiations in Baku on the always thorny topic of money are reportedly moving slowly. Delegates from developing nations are calling for more and faster progress on new funding for loss and damage and accelerated clean energy goals.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the annual COP meetings, had a message for G20 leaders early on Saturday before they hopped on their planes for Rio de Janeiro:
“Climate finance progress outside of [the UNFCCC process] is equally crucial, and the G20’s role is mission-critical…the global climate crisis should beorder of business Number One, in Rio next week. The [G20] Summit must send crystal clear global signals. That more grant and concessional finance will be available; that further reform of multilateral development banks is a top priority, and G20 governments – as their shareholders and taskmasters – will keep pushing for more reforms.”
Finally, the UN climate chief said that “in turbulent times and a fracturing world, G20 leaders must signal loud and clear that international cooperation is still the best and only chance humanity has to survive global heating. There is no other way.”
Earlier in the week, Mr. Stiell gave a stark assessment of the stakes: Worsening climate change and the socioeconomic damage it inflicts mean “billions of people simply cannot afford for their government to leave COP29 without a global climate finance goal.”
“So, for leaders here and back in capitals – make it clear that you expect a strong set of outcomes. Tell your negotiators – skip the posturing – and move directly to finding common ground,” he said.
In his opening remarks on Tuesday to the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that 2024 has been “a masterclass in climate destruction.” He emphasized the critical role of climate finance in addressing the crisis: “The world must pay up, or humanity will pay the price…climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment. Climate action is not optional, it’s an imperative.”
Mr. Stiell later echoed this sentiment: “Let’s dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest.”
Beyond the $100 billion pledge
In 2009 at the 15th Conference of UNFCCC Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen, developed countries committed to mobilizing $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020. While this target was finally met in 2022, it has been criticized as insufficient and delayed.
At COP29, negotiators are aiming to set a new, more ambitious target for climate finance. Developing countries are pushing for a significantly higher figure, potentially in the trillions of dollars per year. However, discussions on the exact amount and the modalities for delivering the funds remain contentious.
An early breakthrough on carbon
A significant breakthrough on the opening day at COP29 was the adoption of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, paving the way for a UN-backed global carbon market. This market will facilitate the trading of carbon credits, incentivizing countries to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly projects.
James Grabert, head of the Mitigation Division at UN Climate Change, the shorthand by which the UNFCCC secretariat is known, said that this historic agreement will provide countries with a “valuable tool” to meet their climate targets and drive sustainable development.
With COP29 coming on the heels of presidential polls in the United States, impact of a new US Administration on global climate action has been on the minds of many in the corridors of Baku Centre.
At a press conference, President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands and Ireland’s Environment Minister Eamon Ryan stressed that despite worries about a US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the combat against climate change is a global effort that requires global cooperation towards a better economy for all. The two leaders also cited the ongoing progress by states and cities as reasons for hope.
UNFCCC/Kiara Worth
Around the clock negotiations are underway at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on a new global climate finance deal.
A just transition, not a ‘stampede of greed’
Before heading to the G20 summit in Brazil, Mr. Guterres held several climate-related meetings, including one on critical minerals essential for renewable energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.
These minerals, such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, are crucial for the transition away from fossil fuels, with demand expected to triple by 2030.
Many of these minerals are found in Africa, which could benefit financially. However, there’s concern about a “resource curse,” where countries where these resources are located don’t benefit.
Mr. Guterres emphasized managing demand without triggering a “stampede of greed” that exploits and crushes the poor but instead ensures local communities benefit.
Dario Liguti from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) also highlighted the need for “sustainable exploitation of these minerals”, especially in emerging markets, to protect the environment and support local communities. In April, the UN chief formed a High-Level Panel to ensure countries and communities with these resources benefit the most.
Young people around the world are increasingly demanding climate action and climate justice. They are calling on governments and businesses to take bold steps to reduce emissions, protect vulnerable communities, and create a sustainable future for all.
After meeting with youth representatives and climate advocates at COP29, the Secretary-General posted on social media that he understood their frustrations: “You have every right to be angry. I am angry too…because we are on the verge of the climate abyss, and I don’t see enough urgency or political will to address the emergency.”
Basmallah Rawash, a Climate Activist with Care About Climate, said, “We are not the ones that are supposed to carry the burden of mitigation. We are not the ones who have caused this, but we are the ones that will carry the burden of the biggest struggle at the moment.”
The decisions made in Baku will have far-reaching consequences for generations to come. It is imperative that negotiators reach an ambitious agreement that delivers the finance needed to build a resilient and low-carbon future for all.
Stay tuned to UN News! Our team in Baku will be following the action through the end of next week.
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.
Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
Watch PMQs with British Sign Language (BSL) – https://youtube.com/live/TkPeopL_z9M
Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.
In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.
The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.
Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:
Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.
In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.
The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.
Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:
As negotiations over how to tackle climate change head into their fifth day in Baku, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed solidarity with young climate advocates at COP29, who told him they are frustrated by the lack of political action on the crisis.
“You have every right to be angry. I am angry too,” the UN chief posted on social media on Thursday following his meeting with youth representatives and young environmental activists. “I am angry because we are on the verge of the climate abyss, and I don’t see enough urgency or political will to address the emergency.”
While the opening days of this year’s COP have featured the expected speeches, report launches and expert interventions, today’s youth roundtable was something different.
Organized by the Youth Advisory Group and YOUNGO – the official youth community of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the discussion was a candid departure from the usual formalities of the UN Secretary-General’s usual schedule.
Opting out of traditional speeches, young eco-activists from across the globe chose to present their visions on tackling climate change, engage in frank discussions about challenges they encounter, and even to solicit advice from the UN chief on how to take significant steps towards preventing a climate catastrophe.
An everyday reality
The participants spoke of their dreams and fears, proposing concrete steps to make the world more sustainable and secure for future generations. For many, climate issues are not abstract concepts but everyday realities they are determined to face head on.
“We discussed the role of youth in sustainable development and the fight against climate change. The fact that Mr. Guterres listens to young people’s opinions and values their ideas is very important to me,” said Aysel Azizova, a young environmental activist from Azerbaijan, who told UN News afterward that her meeting with the Secretary-General “was very productive and inspiring”.
“This dialogue helped me and my colleagues better understand the causes of climate change and potential solutions. He gave us practical advice,” Ms. Azizova said.
She said that during the discussion, she had suggested measures to stimulate investment in green technologies and tackle resource limitations, especially for developing countries. “Mr. Guterres kindly addressed my question and explained all the details,” she added.
Youth are central to climate action
Lamin Jawo, an 18-year-old child rights activist from the Gambia, shared his reflections with UN News: “I took two important points from his speech, one was about youth involvement. The voices of young people, especially marginalized groups like children and people with disabilities, are essential in climate action.”
The perspective of young people should be integral to climate initiatives, he said, and added: “The second point concerns climate finance. The Secretary-General mentioned that funding is available, so I want to say that it should be accessible to all nations, especially the most vulnerable to climate change.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres meets with young climate and environmental activists at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Urban resilience, indigenous knowledge
Architect and urban planner HY William Chan, who is also the youngest-ever Lord Mayoral City Councilor from Sydney, Australia, also spoke with UN News, highlighting the role of cities on the front lines of climate change.
“The UN Secretary-General’s remarks resonated with me, particularly since Australia has a deep Indigenous history that emphasizes a harmonious relationship with the environment,” he said.
“The Secretary-General also emphasized the need for global reform, which our generation has long called for,” Mr. Chan added. “Current governance systems are failing us, especially the vulnerable communities and developing nations on the front lines of the climate emergency. He reinforced the need for a more equitable approach to development and financing – one that ensures resources and policies are accessible and responsive to the most affected communities, including small island states, particularly in my backyard, the Pacific.”
According to Mr. Chan, young people should be decision-makers, not just participants in the process. He emphasized that the Mr. Guterres’ words serve as a powerful reminder of the collective moral responsibility to pursue systemic change for the sake of future generations.
UN Video | ‘You Can Count On Me’ UN Secretary-General Tells Youth Climate Activists at COP29
‘I count on you, you can count on me’
In a follow-up message to young people, the UN chief urged: “I ask you to be even more determined and imaginative in keeping up the pressure for climate action. We need a strong youth movement – now more than ever.”
The UN Secretary-General reaffirmed his commitment to supporting young climate advocates, calling the climate crisis “the most important battle of our time” and insisting, “we must win.”
“I count on you, and you can count on me,” he concluded.
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.
Important note regarding inclement weather:If the U.S. government is closed or delayed, the ISAM Seminar will be postponed to a later date. Please contact Dianne Poster (dianne.poster [at] noaa.gov(dianne[dot]poster[at]nist[dot]gov)) or Carolyn Pace (carolyn.pace [at] noaa.gov(carolyn[dot]pace[at]noaa[dot]gov)) for further information.
The deadline for registration for in-person attendance for foreign nationals has passed. At this time, only virtual attendance is available for foreign nationals.
The NOAA Office of Space Commerce and NIST are hosting an event to explore the circular space economy. This innovative approach aims to utilize space-based resources sustainably by minimizing waste and maximizing the reuse and recycling of materials in space operations. As humanity expands its presence beyond Earth, this model becomes vital for reducing the need for costly resupply missions and mitigating the environmental impact of space activities.
By rethinking how resources are extracted, processed, and reused in orbit, a circular space economy can enhance mission longevity and improve the efficiency of various space missions, including space station utilization, in-space manufacturing, satellite servicing, and establishing off-world habitats. This approach supports broader sustainability goals on Earth and addresses urgent challenges like orbital debris and resource scarcity, ensuring a responsible and thriving space industry for future generations.
Attending this event is a crucial opportunity for policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs to engage in shaping the future of space sustainability. The event will showcase cutting-edge advancements, including in-orbit recycling technologies, sustainable satellite manufacturing practices, and innovative policies for managing shared space resources. It provides a platform for collaboration on scalable solutions, sharing ideas, and forging partnerships that drive economic growth and environmental stewardship in the growing space sector. Participants will gain valuable insights into how the circular space economy can tackle critical challenges, unlocking new opportunities for economic resilience and long-term sustainability in the final frontier.
The Albanese government has secured bipartisan support for a major new regime covering political donations and spending, after making significant concessions.
The government agreed to increase the proposed threshold above which donations must be disclosed from $1000 to $5000. The present disclosure threshold is $16,900.
In addition, it has boosted the cap on individual donations to a candidate or party from the earlier proposed $20,000 to $50,000.
The deal was sealed on Wednesday when Special Minister of State Don Farrell had separate meetings on the final package with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton.
The legislation had been expected to pass late last year but negotiations between the government and opposition stalled at the final moment.
The government concessions were to accommodate not just the Coalition but also to respond to a degree to criticism from crossbenchers and some stakeholders outside parliament.
The government needed to get opposition backing to ensure the legislation’s passage before parliament rises this week. If the PM called an April election this would be the last parliamentary sitting.
Also, it wanted to pass the measures with the support of the alternative government so the new regime would not be undone in the future.
The reforms are the most comprehensive changes to the electoral system in four decades. The government says they will stop big money coming to dominate politics. But they have been under attack from teal MPs and other critics, including Simon Holmes à Court from Climate 200, which has funded community independents. The critics say they favour the major parties and disadvantage new and small players.
The new regime will not come into operation until the next parliamentary term and so does not affect this election.
The changes include disclosure of donations in real time or near-real time, and a series of caps on spending, The cap on each candidate in an electorate would be $800,000, while a party’s national spending would also be capped. At the moment there are no spending caps.
The legislation increases public funding for elections from under $3.50 per vote to about $5.
Farrell has not proceeded with a separate measure on truth in advertising, saying there was not enough support for it.
The Greens described the deal as “a fix”. “Labor and the Coalition are agreeing on rigging the system to lock out their competitors.”
Independent Zoe Daniel, a teal, said the legislation “entrenches the dominance of the major parties and locks out independents and new competitors”.
She said it imposed “strict campaign spending caps on Independents while
allowing major parties to exploit loopholes to pour millions into key
electorates.
“Under the new rules, all an independent’s campaign materials – posters, ads, or billboards – would count towards the cap, while major party branding on billboards, leaflets and ads would not. This deliberate imbalance ensures that Labor and the Coalition maintain a financial stranglehold over elections,” Daniel said.
Michelle Grattan 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.
Commission 2025 Work Programme and new competitiveness strategy
At 9.00, Commissioner Śefčovič will present the Commission’s 2025 work programme, followed by a discussion with MEPs and Polish EU Affairs Minister Szłapka. In an afternoon debate, starting around 14.00, plenary will review the recently tabled proposal for a new competitiveness roadmap, with Commission Vice-President Séjourné and Minister Szłapka.
Repression in Russia one year after Navalny’s murder
MEPs will examine the Kremlin’s continued repression of Russia’s political opposition a year after the murder of Alexei Navalny, in a debate starting around 10.30.
US withdrawal from WHO and the Paris deal and suspension of external aid
Starting around 16.30, MEPs and Commissioner Lahbib will debate the consequences of the US Administration’s decision to pull out of the World Health Organisation and the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as the impact of the suspension of US humanitarian and development aid.
Support to EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. From around 15.00, plenary will debate with Commission Vice-President Fitto and Minister Szłapka EU support to regions sharing borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Seven years after the Kuciak murders: threats to journalists in the EU. MEPs will assess with Commissioner McGrath the state of media freedom across the EU and discuss how to ensure the protection of journalists.
Mental health of Europe’s youth. MEPs and Commissioner Micallef will discuss how to tackle increasing mental health issues among European young people.
Human rights in Türkiye, Nicaragua and Nigeria. MEPs and Commissioner Micallef will consider the recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye, repression in Nicaragua and the risk of the death penalty in Nigeria for blasphemy charges. Three draft resolutions will be put to a vote by plenary on Thursday.
Collaboration between conservatives and far right. In this session’s topical debate at 13.00, MEPs will discuss with Commission Vice-President Séjourné and Polish Minister Szłapka whether collaboration between conservatives and far right threatens competitiveness in the EU.
Votes
At noon, plenary will vote, among others, on:
New VAT rules for the digital age, and
Improved administrative cooperation in the field of taxation.
Message of the Holy Father Francis to the President of the French Republic on the occasion of the “AI Action Summit” in Paris, 11.02.2025
The following is the Message sent by the Holy Father Francis to the President of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of the AI Action Summit taking place in Paris (10-11 February 2025):
Message of the Holy Father
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis
to the President of the French Republic
His Excellency Emmanuel Macron
on the occasion of the
“Artificial Intelligence Action Summit”
Paris, 10 to 11 February 2025
Mr President, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Participants,
Upon learning of your praiseworthy initiative to convene a Summit on Artificial Intelligence in Paris from 10 to 11 February 2025, I was pleased to see, Mr President, that you chose to devote the Summit to action in the area of artificial intelligence.
During our meeting in Puglia in the context of the G7, I had occasion to stress the urgent need to “ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programmes”. I am convinced that, lacking such control, artificial intelligence, albeit an “exciting” new tool, could show its most “fearsome” side by posing a threat to human dignity (cf. Address to the G7 Session on Artificial Intelligence, 14 June 2024).
I therefore appreciate the efforts under way to embark with courage and determination upon a political process aimed at defending humanity from a use of artificial intelligence that could “limit our worldview to realities expressible in numbers and enclosed in predetermined categories, thereby excluding the contribution of other forms of truth and imposing uniform anthropological, socio-economic and cultural models” (ibid.). I am likewise pleased that in this Paris Summit you have sought to include the greatest possible number of actors and experts in a reflection meant to produce concrete results.
In my most recent Encyclical Letter Dilexit Nos, I distinguished between the operation of algorithms and the power of the “heart”, a concept dear to the great philosopher and scientist Blaise Pascal, to whom I devoted an Apostolic Letter on the fourth centenary of his birth (cf. Sublimitas et Miseria Hominis, 19 June 2023). I did so in order to emphasize that, while algorithms can be used to manipulate and mislead, the “heart”, understood as the seat of our deepest and most authentic sentiments, can never deceive (cf. Encyclical Letter Dilexit Nos, 24 October 2024, 14-20).
I ask all those attending the Paris Summit not to forget that only the human “heart” can reveal the meaning of our existence (cf. Pascal, Pensées, Lafuma 418; Sellier 680). I ask you to take as a given the principle expressed so elegantly by another great French philosopher, Jacques Maritain: “L’amour vaut plus que l’intelligence” (Réflexions sur l’intelligence, 1938).
Your efforts, dear friends, represent an outstanding example of a healthy politics that situates technological innovations within a greater project that seeks the common good and is thus “open to different opportunities which do not imply stifling human creativity and its ideals of progress, but rather directs that energy along new channels” (Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, 24 May 2015, 191).
Artificial intelligence, I believe, can become a powerful tool in the hands of those scientists and experts who cooperate in finding innovative and creative solutions that promote the eco-sustainability of the earth, our common home, while not overlooking the high consumption of energy associated with the operation of artificial intelligence infrastructures.
In my Message for the 2024 World Day of Peace, which was devoted to artificial intelligence, I insisted that “in debates about the regulation of artificial intelligence, the voices of all stakeholders should be taken into account, including the poor, the powerless and others who often go unheard in global decision-making processes” (cf. Message for the LVII World Day of Peace, 1 January 2024, 8). In this regard, I trust that the Paris Summit will work for the creation of a platform of public interest on artificial intelligence, so that every nation can find in artificial intelligence an instrument for its development and its fight against poverty, but also for the protection of its local cultures and languages. Only in this way will every people on earth be able to contribute to the creation of the data employed by artificial intelligence, so that the latter will reflect the true diversity and richness that is the hallmark of our human family.
This year, the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education jointly produced a “Note on the Relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence”. That document, published on 28 January last, examines several specific issues concerning artificial intelligence that this Summit is considering, as well as others that I believe to be of particular concern. It is my hope that future Summits will consider in greater detail the social effects of artificial intelligence on human relationships, information and education. Yet the fundamental question is, and will continue to be, human, namely: whether amid these technological advances, “man, as man, is becoming truly better, that is to say, more spiritually mature, more aware of the dignity of his humanity, more responsible, more open to others, especially the neediest and weakest” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 15). Our ultimate challenge will always remain mankind. May we never lose sight of this!
I thank you, Mr President, and I express my gratitude to all of you who have contributed to this Summit.
From the Vatican, 7 February 2025
FRANCIS
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Since the beginning of the renovation program, residents of more than 1,200 old houses have begun to move or have already moved into new apartments with improved finishing and high-quality repairs. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.
“Since the start of the renovation program in the capital, residents of 1,208 old houses have begun resettling. 897 of these buildings have already been completely resettled. The pace is growing: if in 2018-2019, 26 buildings were completely resettled, then in 2024 their number reached 307. Completely resettled houses are dismantled using smart demolition technology. New residential complexes with accompanying infrastructure are being built on the vacated sites,” said Vladimir Efimov.
Thus, in 2020, residents moved out of 56 old buildings, in 2021 – from 69, in 2022 and 2023 – from more than 400 in total.
“The largest number of houses were completely resettled in the South-Eastern Administrative District – 148 buildings were vacated there. In the east and west of the capital – 130 and 115 respectively. Almost 360 new buildings have been prepared for residents of old houses since the beginning of the renovation program. As part of the creation of a high-quality urban environment, the areas around residential complexes are being improved: comprehensive landscaping is being carried out, children’s and sports playgrounds, recreation areas are being equipped. In addition, video surveillance cameras are being installed for the safety of residents,” added the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy
In exchange for old housing, the city provides participants in the renovation program with comfortable apartments that are no less in area and number of rooms than the previous ones or have a larger area due to more spacious kitchens, corridors and bathrooms.
According to the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of City Property Maxim Gaman, 148.5 thousand people lived in 897 houses resettled under the renovation program. All of them have already become owners of equivalent housing in new buildings. In the southeast of the capital, more than 26.9 thousand people who lived in 148 old buildings signed contracts for apartments in modern complexes. In the east, more than 20.4 thousand city residents from 130 such houses became new residents. In the west, more than 18.4 thousand Muscovites from 115 resettled buildings received the keys to comfortable apartments.
The first floors of the constructed complexes are non-residential. They are intended for the placement of social and commercial facilities.
Previously Mayor of Moscow congratulated The 200,000th resident who has begun resettlement under the renovation program.
The renovation program was approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin instructed to double the pace of implementation of the renovation program.
Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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Växjö, Sweden, 12February2025 * * * JLT Mobile Computers, a leading supplier of rugged computers for demanding environments, today publishes its Year-end report for the full year 2024.
Summary of key figures
Order intake MSEK 103.0 (135.4)
Net revenues MSEK 118.4 (158.8)
EBITDA MSEK -2.1 (4.8)
Depreciation and amortization of development expenses MSEK -8.1 (-2.5)
Operating profit MSEK -9.7 (1.9)
Profit after taxes MSEK -7.7 (1.6)
Cashflow +6.8 (-21.5)
No dividend is proposed (SEK 0.00)
In short
Challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions resulted in lower-than-normal demand for JLT products, a rough year for JLT as well as for many other industry colleagues where reports of layoffs and closures occurred.
Order intake for the year amounted to MSEK 103 compared to MSEK 135 last year, and sales amounted to MSEK 118, a decrease from MSEK 159 last year.
Starting to see a recovery in the market – several major deals booked in the US during the first quarter of 2025, of which one for a leading American food producer to a value of MSEK 22 plus service agreements (press release 2025-01-10). The total order intake in Q1 2025 so far exceeds MSEK 40.
To create a more cost-effective and market-adapted structure that enables efficient management and customer-driven development of JLT’s software solutions, the operations of the subsidiary JLT Software Solutions AB have been discontinued (press release 2025-01-17). Capitalized development expenses in the company have been written down and, together with other discontinuation costs, impact the group’s results in the fourth quarter by MSEK 5.0, of which MSEK 1.2 affects cash flow. Software development, including the JLT Insights product, has been integrated with the group’s other product development.
Development expenses related to Android have been written down by MSEK 1.7, as the product’s sales did not develop as expected.
In 2024, organizational and R&D costs were reduced by MSEK 5.4, despite one-time costs of MSEK 1.2. EBITDA ended at MSEK -2.1, compared to MSEK 4.8 the previous year. For 2025, the mentioned measures are expected to provide additional savings of MSEK 1.5 and reduce amortization of development expenses to MSEK 0.5 compared to MSEK 8.1 for 2024.
In October, a senior marketing manager with extensive industry experience was recruited to JLT’s American subsidiary to lead marketing and partner strategy in the USA (press release 2024-10-15).
The organization in the French subsidiary, JLT France, has been expanded with a salesperson, and a planned generational shift in leadership has been carried out (press release 2024-10-01).
As a result of strategic measures implemented during 2024, inventory was reduced by 6.9 MSEK. Cash flow was positively impacted, and JLT added 6.8 MSEK to its cash reserves. Inventory is expected to be gradually reduced further during 2025.
2024 marked an important milestone for JLT, celebrating 30 years as an innovator of rugged computer solutions (press release 2024-12-12). Since its inception in 1994, JLT has been part of the extensive transformation that the rugged IT solutions industry has undergone.
The full interim report is attached to this press release and available for download at the company’s website, jltmobile.com. Additional financial information is available online on JLT’s investor pages.
This information is information that JLT Mobile Computers AB (pub) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 08:00 pm CET on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
About JLT Mobile Computers
JLT Mobile Computers is a leading supplier of rugged mobile computing devices and solutions for demanding environments. 30 years of development and manufacturing experience have enabled JLT to set the standard in rugged computing, combining outstanding product quality with expert service, support and solutions to ensure trouble-free business operations for customers in warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, mining, ports and agriculture. JLT operates globally from offices in Sweden, France, and the US, complemented by an extensive network of sales partners in local markets. The company was founded in 1994, and the share has been listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market stock exchange since 2002 under the symbol JLT. Eminova Fondkommission AB acts as Certified Adviser. Learn more at jltmobile.com.
