Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A South Philadelphia man was sentenced yesterday in the District of New Jersey to six years in prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, a highly addictive controlled substance.
According to court documents, between January 2022 and February 2024, Michael Procopio, 50, coordinated the unlawful sale of prescription oxycodone pills as a leader of South Philadelphia’s notorious “10th and O Crew.” Procopio obtained the pills from doctors’ offices in the area. He then unlawfully distributed them through a network of intermediaries. In February 2024, during a search of Procopio’s residence pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement found oxycodone, Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine), and other drugs stored in a safe concealed in a hollowed-out dictionary. During the execution of the search warrant, Procopio stated, “take me to jail” and “I f***ed up.”
Pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, one gram of actual oxycodone is equivalent to 6,700 grams of converted drug weight. Procopio admitted to distributing approximately 14,925 milligrams of oxycodone, which equates to between 80 and 100 kilograms of opioids by converted drug weight.
“The defendant led a criminal ‘crew’ that diverted addictive prescription drugs to sell on the streets of Philadelphia,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The unlawful distribution of opioids ravages communities, whether it’s fentanyl from overseas or prescription oxycodone obtained from a doctor. The Department of Justice is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to eradicate the illegal sale of these dangerous drugs.”
In June 2024, Procopio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances. Court documents show that Procopio was previously convicted of sexual assault in Pennsylvania.
Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Philadelphia Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Field Division joined the announcement.
The FBI, DEA, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Paul J. Koob and Nicholas K. Peone of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Allenton is the latest community within Derby to become home to a mobility hub, joining Six Streets, Chaddesden and Normanton/Arboretum.
Building on the success of similar schemes elsewhere in the city, the new mobility hub will be installed at the Osmaston Road shopping precinct, giving citizens and local businesses greater choice when deciding how they travel around their local community.
Mobility hubs provide more opportunities for the local community to use sustainable and active travel methods – such as walking and cycling – making it easier for citizens to access local amenities. Not only do the hubs make it easier for residents to access local amenities, but it is hoped that they will draw more people into the area and enhance the local economy.
The hubs will also help the Council to learn more about the community’s travel needs and preferences, helping to shape future schemes.
Work on site to install the Osmaston Road mobility hub will begin later this spring, and will include:
Electric vehicle (EV) charging and dedicated parking for up to three EVs
An Enterprise Car Club location
An accessible seating area with bike storage, designed in consultation with local businesses, ward councillors and the Police
Interactive information totem with live travel updates
Councillor Carmel Swan, Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability said:
We’ve been working hard over the past few years to enhance and diversify Derby’s active and sustainable transport offer, giving citizens greater choice when it comes to deciding how to travel around the city.
This latest mobility hub will be a welcome addition to our ever-growing network, playing a key role in our combined efforts to combat climate change through reduced pollution and congestion in Derby.
Work on site to create the hub will begin later this spring and is expected to be completed in summer 2025.
The mobility hub will be funded by the Department for Transport (DFT)’s Future Transport Zones Fund, which was awarded to Derby City Council to trial new and exciting developments in transport.
Residents who would like to know more about the mobility hubs can get in touch with the Future Transport Zones team by emailing traffic.management@derby.gov.uk.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The new Parent Portal app makes it easier for families to engage with their school.
In brief:
The new Parent Portal app is available for all ACT public school families.
It is called Sentral for Parents and follows children from kindergarten through to year 12.
This story outlines the key features of the app and how it can be accessed.
The new Parent Portal smartphone app is now available for all ACT public school families. The app gives them more choice in how they access information from their child’s school.
The app is called Sentral for Parents. It has the same functionality as the web-based Parent Portal and follows students from kindergarten through to year 12.
Parent Portal is a secure online platform for sharing student information between ACT public schools and parents and carers.
Parent Portal makes it easier for families to engage with their school by housing key information on one system. Parents and carers only need to sign up for the Parent Portal once. Multiple children can be added to one account using the access key for each child’s school.
Parents can use Parent Portal and the Sentral for Parents app to: * notify their school if their child is sick * book parent-teacher interviews * receive their child’s academic reports (including past reports) * receive their school newsletter * receive messages from their child’s teachers * see their child’s student timetable * get daily notices of school activities * update contact details, and * make payments.
So far, 24,405 parents and carers have registered to use Parent Portal. This number is expected to grow now that the Sentral for Parents app is available.
Parents of new ACT public school students, including those starting kindergarten in 2025, will receive a registration link and access key from their school. They will need to set up an ACT Digital Account if they don’t already have one to register.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Lawson Connor is an Australian School-based Apprenticeship (ASbA) of the Year Award finalist.
In brief:
Gungahlin College student Lawson Connor is a national finalist at the 2024 Australian Training Awards.
He has overcome health challenges and wants to become a paramedic.
He hopes others are aware there are many career pathways.
A couple of years back, Lawson Connor was picked up from school by ambulance so often, he was on first-name terms with many paramedics.
He missed a whole term of year 9 at Gold Creek School. This was due to epilepsy-related health challenges.
One of seven children, Lawson says he pretty much grew up in hospital.
A proud Wiradjuri man, he is now 17 and at Gungahlin College. And tonight, he is a national finalist at the 2024 Australian Training Awards.
He is in the running for the Australian School-based Apprenticeship (ASbA) of the Year Award.
People from all over Canberra, and further afield, in Wiradjuri country, will cheer him on.
A turning point
If there was a turning point for Lawson, perhaps it was when he became vice-captain of Gold Creek School.
He led several initiatives and was a mentor for many. This included other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
A teacher encouraged Lawson to consider applying for an ASbA. He hasn’t looked back.
A clear career path
Lawson was inspired by the kindness he’d experienced in the health system. He had already decided to pursue a career in health care.
He was accepted into Indigenous Allied Health Australia’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy ASbA program.
Through this, he is completing a Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance (HLT33021) through CIT. He is doing this while finishing years 11 and 12.
The program has given him insights into career pathways in the health sector. He has also found clarity about his career goal.
“Through placements I’ve tried out different areas … physio, occupational therapy, aged care … it’s really helped me narrow it down, to paramedicine.”
“It would be such an honour to be able to provide emergency healthcare within the community, especially a rural or remote community, or a disadvantaged Indigenous community, where I could provide a level of cultural care and understanding.”
Lawson has also taken an online university class this year. It is part of an early entry program for Midwifery, Nursing and Paramedicine.
Well-deserved recognition
Today, Lawson’s health is much better. He has been also received several awards. These include:
an Exceptional Young Person Award, ACT Children’s Week Awards
the flagship Children’s Commissioner Award, ACT Children’s Week Awards.
Advice for others
Lawson hopes other students may be inspired by his journey to consider alternative pathways.
It worries him that a lot of his friends are stressed about getting a high-enough ATAR.
“I want a lot of people to know that ATAR isn’t the only option to get into a university or have a successful life,” he said. “There are so many avenues.”
Lawson recommends talking to careers teachers at school about available pathways.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, there are dedicated programs and supports to consider.
“There are so many opportunities out there,” Lawson said.
“If you really want to do something, pursue it. You can achieve it.”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
From April 18 to July 17, Suzhou Port’s container terminals will offer a three-month free storage service for heavy containers imported and exported by foreign trade enterprises, according to the Suzhou Port Management Committee.
During the first quarter of this year, Suzhou Port managed a container throughput of 2.514 million TEUs, marking a 4.5 percent year-on-year growth.
The export of automobiles from Suzhou Port’s Taicang Port area saw a significant increase, reaching 147,600 vehicles, up by 18.35 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to the committee, it aims to establish a business environment emphasizing cost-effectiveness, top-notch services and ample market opportunities, all contributing to the port’s sustained high-quality development.
The Suzhou government recently formed an interdisciplinary task force to address challenges faced by foreign trade enterprises.
The city intends to introduce financial policies to boost funding for businesses and reduce operational costs by lowering loan interest rates and water, electricity and gas prices.
Suzhou is an economic hub city in the Yangtze River Delta.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man was convicted of drug trafficking, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and illegal possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.
Malachi A. Muhammad, 50, of Somerset, was convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Muhammad was also convicted of one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of unlawful possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Muhammad was convicted following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court. The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
“This verdict underscores our commitment to keeping guns out of the hands of drug traffickers and dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine out of our communities. My message is clear: if you jeopardize the safety and security of New Jerseyans, we will hold you accountable. Our office and our law enforcement partners won’t rest until we do.”
– U.S. Attorney Alina Habba
“This conviction is an example of ATF’s dedication to working with our state and local partners in identifying, investigating, and apprehending criminals who prey upon innocent citizens and lessen the quality of life in our neighborhoods through the trafficking of narcotics and the illegal possession and use of firearms, said Newark ATF Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr. “This is a reminder that there is no safe haven for those that wreak havoc or contribute to crime in our communities. ATF will never waver in our commitment to protecting the people we serve and public safety.”
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
On August 19, 2021, officers from the Lawrence Township Police Department responded to the southbound lanes of Route 1 near the Quaker Bridge Mall in response to calls from concerned citizens about a car stopped in the middle of the highway. Officers found Muhammad, the only occupant and driver of the car, initially unresponsive and believed him to be asleep or experiencing a medical emergency. After officers were able to arouse Muhammad, they noticed the handle of a handgun in between his legs. Officers removed Muhammad from the vehicle, and he was placed under arrest. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 91 pills of methamphetamine, 468 wax folds of fentanyl and heroin, 5 bags of cocaine, and five additional firearms, including two semi-automatic rifles, and over 150 rounds of ammunition.
The drug trafficking charges each carry maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $1,000,000. The firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment, which must be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment, a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. The unlawful possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr., the Lawrence Township Police Department, under the direction of Interim Chief Kevin Reading, the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, with the investigation leading to the guilty verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey A. Agnew and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research, Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Center
The Economic Community of West African states (Ecowas) is set to mark 50 years in May 2025. It was established in 1975 by 16 member states. Though seven of the founding leaders had ascended to power through coups d’état, the initial focus was economic growth and regional trade and cooperation.
Within three years, however, its mandates were expanded to encompass political, security and other objectives. These additions were necessary as the west African post-independence governments sought to respond to shifting socio-economic and security challenges. These included coup d’états in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritania. There were also other threats to the rule of law, electoral integrity and good governance.
To address the expansion of its mandate, the Ecowas treaties were revised in 1993 to pass more power to the regional bloc.
These changes unsettled the relationships among member states. Acting in unison or following the rules hasn’t always suited national agendas. That partly explains the decision by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to break away from Ecowas in 2024.
Most recently, the military government in Guinea, Togo’s Gnassingbe dynasty and Chad’s Déby regime have all resisted Ecowas pressure. Their domestic political agendas contradict the organisation’s norms and principles.
We have years of research spanning politics, citizenship, international relations and civil conflict.
Admittedly, the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – to form the Alliance of Sahel States – will form an unsettling cloud over the Ecowas anniversary. We argue however that despite inevitable upheavals during five decades of postcolonial nation-building, Ecowas can look back on successes in integration, peace and security, and good governance.
The consequences of the withdrawal of the three countries for Ecowas as a whole shouldn’t be overstated. Still, it is a telling blow to the organisation. It represents a direct questioning of the principle of regional integration and cooperation.
The three military juntas evidently see Ecowas as a dysfunctional club of self-interested heads of state that kowtows to Europe.
African public opinion has swung in favour of a brand of populism promising quick military solutions. It’s seen as the antidote to the failure of domestic and multilateral attempts to stem jihadist violence in the Sahel.
In practice, the juntas have relied on states of emergency as a cover for systematic aggression and abuse of civilian populations.
Even if one accepts the trade-off between security and democracy, the new military rulers have so far been unable to stem jihadist violence in their countries. Instead they have committed violence against their own populations. This is especially the case in Mali and Burkina Faso.
These acts include the summary execution of several hundred civilians in Burkina Faso in 2024.
Despite these abuses, the military juntas have succeeded in framing Ecowas as part of the problem of external control over national sovereignty. This is at the heart of Ecowas’s emerging legitimacy crisis. It is a crisis which undermines many of the soft diplomacy tools that have worked relatively well in the past to unite its members.
The soft power tools include:
the Council of the Wise – deployed in mediation and negotiation in a number of political crises in the region, including those in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Togo
Traditional Authorities and Leaders, who are sent in when other mechanisms fail.
These diplomatic tools are less visible than high-level delegations and official statements or sanctions. But they have been employed in numerous political crises in the subregion over the past two decades.
They have arguably tempered the outcomes of constitutional crises, like the one sparked by a popular uprising in Burkina Faso in 2014. They also defused the political crisis in Guinea Bissau between 2015 and 2019.
The small victories of soft diplomacy don’t always lead to outright successes. But they have been a means to allow Ecowas involvement in mediation efforts. They have ensured the organisation’s overall relevance and justification in the face of unconstitutional changes of government.
The failure of the soft diplomacy mechanisms in the biggest crisis to face Ecowas tests the organisation’s ability to withstand future crises.
The way forward for Ecowas at 50
The next phase for Ecowas starts in the context of public perceptions critical of the member states. Criticism has been levelled against Ecowas as a “union of heads of state” prioritising their interests over the people’s.
Nevertheless, most of the citizens still prefer democracy as a political system. Even the military juntas embrace (at least on paper) these basic principles as their long-term aspiration.
Ecowas has championed democratic values of equality, freedom, justice, pluralism, tolerance, respect and public participation. These remain the keys to reversing the sub-region’s recent unconstitutional changes of government. Ecowas must strengthen its voice in calling for a return to civilian rule and the respect of its fundamental democratic principles.
The organisation’s representatives must articulate these basic values as an expression of the will of its citizens.
On the other hand, Ecowas must continue to leave the dorrs openen to the military juntas. This could potentially facilitate the transition to civilian rule and signal a fresh start for regional collaboration. Its soft diplomacy tools will be essential for improving dialogue and reaching viable compromises.
Ecowas must strive to improve its legitimacy in the eyes of the populations of its member states. This can be achieved by applying its own democratic values consistently and objectively across the region. The anniversary provides an important opportunity for introspection and genuine institutional reform.
– West Africa’s bold trade experiment turns 50: an Ecowas report card – https://theconversation.com/west-africas-bold-trade-experiment-turns-50-an-ecowas-report-card-238024
Strategic Integration: Air Charter Advisors expands Flyte’s global reach while advancing revenues within its AI-enabled aviation platform
Deal Terms: Valued between $3–6 million; expected to close within 60 days
NEW YORK, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Creatd, Inc. (OTC: CRTD), a diversified holding company scaling growth through strategic acquisitions, has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to acquire Air Charter Advisors, Inc., a boutique private aviation firm based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The transaction follows Creatd’s recent $8.3 million acquisition of Flyte (formerly Flewber Global, Inc.) and further solidifies its position as a leading consolidator of aviation assets. The deal will be executed through Flyte, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Creatd, and is expected to close following the completion of due diligence and definitive agreements.
Establishing the AI Infrastructure for the Future of Private Aviation
Flyte offers regional, domestic and international private air travel through its Flyte Luxe and Hops products. Through this acquisition, Flyte will expand its customer base and diversify its service offerings, while maintaining Air Charter Advisors as an independent operating entity within Creatd’s broader aviation network.
Air Charter Advisors brings a complementary portfolio of services—including global jet charter, non-emergency air ambulance flights, and cargo charter services—along with longstanding relationships across corporate, government, and high-net-worth clientele. As part of the Flyte platform, Air Charter Advisors will gain access to Flyte’s shared services infrastructure, including finance, compliance, IT, performance marketing, booking technology, and AI-powered optimization tools designed to drive efficiency and scale across operations.
“Air Charter Advisors is a strong cultural and strategic fit for Flyte,” said Marc Sellouk, CEO of Flyte. “This is exactly the kind of integration Flyte was built for—we’re not here to compete with great operators, we’re here to empower them. By combining our AI-driven infrastructure with trusted teams like Adam’s, we’re building a shared services platform that relieves operators of operational burdens and creates something the private aviation market has never had: scale, efficiency, and service—together.”
“We’ve built Air Charter Advisors on a reputation for trust, reliability, and exceptional service,” said Adam Steiger, President of Air Charter Advisors. “Coming under the umbrella of Flyte and Creatd gives us access to world-class marketing and cutting-edge technology that supercharges our ability to scale. This collaboration empowers us to innovate faster, deliver an even better client experience, and help shape the future of private aviation.”
The LOI includes a 30-day exclusivity period and contemplates a transaction valued between $3-$6 million, subject to due diligence and customary closing conditions.
Accelerating Sector-Wide Integration
The deal is part of Creatd’s broader strategy to bring together aviation companies with complementary capabilities and shared values. With Flyte as the anchor brand, the goal is to create a comprehensive aviation network powered by centralized infrastructure—spanning sales, booking, finance, regulatory, and technology services. This approach enables founder-led companies to thrive in a competitive landscape while reducing operational inefficiencies.
About Air Charter Advisors, Inc. Air Charter Advisors is a global aviation firm specializing in private jet charter, aircraft management, and consulting. Based in Pennsylvania, the company has earned a loyal client base through its commitment to safety, discretion, and premium service.
About Flyte, Inc. Flyte is a tech-forward aviation platform offering both regional and international private flight services. A subsidiary of Creatd, Inc., Flyte is pioneering a shared services model that supports high-growth operators with the infrastructure they need to scale.
About Creatd, Inc. Creatd, Inc. (OTC: CRTD) is a publicly traded investment firm acquiring and growing founder-led companies in aviation, media, and advisory services. Through its shared services model, Creatd enables its portfolio companies to scale efficiently, improve margins, and expand market reach.
Forward Looking Statements: This statement includes forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations, beliefs, and assumptions about future events and are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements often contain terms like “expected,” “anticipated,” and “estimated.” Factors influencing future outcomes are unpredictable and may emerge over time. We do not commit to updating any forward-looking statement post its publication date. Our SEC filings provide further details and risk disclosures.
LEWES, Del., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, today announced its new end-to-end Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) coding engine designed to help healthcare providers and payers improve risk adjustment accuracy and revenue integrity. This was introduced at the company’s annual Healthcare NLP Summit in a session titled, “Transforming HCC Coding with Healthcare-Specific Language Models.”
Accurate HCC coding is critical for patient risk adjustment, as it directly impacts reimbursement models and financial sustainability in value-based care. However, studies indicate that as many as half of all patients may have prior conditions, complications, or severity indicators documented in clinical notes but not reflected in claims or electronic health records (EHRs).
The new end-to-end solution automates the discovery of missed clinical codes that are evidenced in unstructured clinical notes, but not properly coded. The solution includes a human-in-the-loop validation as well as a full audit trail. The ability to fine-tune the model to a local patient population results in higher accuracy compared to off-the-shelf models and services.
Powered by state‑of‑the‑art, healthcare‑specific language models from John Snow Labs, healthcare organizations can bring AI‑powered HCC coding in‑house, empowering clinical teams with greater control, scalability, and cost efficiency. Additionally, integrating the engine into existing coding workflows can reduce dependency on outsourced services, which can significantly reduce costs and maintain better quality control.
These enhancements come at a critical time. Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) Rate Announcement, projecting a 5.06% average increase in payments to MA plans, signifying the largest rate hike in a decade. With the additional funding comes an expectation for plans to deliver more accurate risk scores, improve coding integrity, and prove that the MA model can deliver better value. John Snow Labs can help organizations do this in a way that meets the specific demands of the healthcare industry.
“Our new HCC coding engine was developed to address the challenges of today’s healthcare industry—creating a more accurate and consistent revenue cycle at a lower cost,” said David Talby, CEO, John Snow Labs. “By leveraging the latest healthcare-specific AI models and human-in-the-loop workflows to improve them, both payers and providers can run HCC coding in-house at lower cost, with higher accuracy, and tighter control compared to outsourced or black-box services.”
About John Snow Labs John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, provides state-of-the-art software, models, and data to help healthcare and life science organizations put AI to good use. Developer of Medical LLMs, Healthcare NLP, Spark NLP, the Generative AI Lab No-Code Platform, and the Medical Chatbot, John Snow Labs’ award-winning medical AI software powers the world’s leading pharmaceuticals, academic medical centers, and health technology companies. Creator and host of The NLP Summit, the company is committed to further educating and advancing the global AI community.
PHILADELPHIA, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SEMCAP announces its new AI investment strategy, SEMCAP AI, to capitalize on the burgeoning Artificial Intelligence revolution that is fundamentally changing the way businesses operate, while tapping its decades of strong technology investment acumen. The investor announces this new vertical investment strategy alongside its other platforms focused on Food & Nutrition and Healthcare. Notably, SEMCAP AI will absorb the firm’s legacy Education strategy, and Education will be one area of focus for SEMCAP AI.
SEMCAP AI targets influential investment stakes in high-growth, next generation AI platforms, with the majority of deals expected to be growth equity stage. This focus will include AI business applications, vertical solutions, and AI infrastructure solutions disrupting how businesses operate, increasing sales, boosting productivity and transforming entire markets.
“As a team, we’ve been fortunate to be part of early tech-driven transformations and are very excited to tap into our tech roots and embrace the power of AI as the next major wave of disruption,” said Walter “Buck” Buckley, SEMCAP co-founder and co-CIO. “Having been around this block a few times, we understand the value of coupling transformative technologies with strong operating expertise to drive outsized growth. We firmly believe that AI has the potential be the greatest wave yet—and the biggest force of change we will witness in our lifetime.”
Drawing on the team’s decades of experience investing in and leading technology businesses, SEMCAP AI takes influential positions in high growth businesses that have established product-market fit, demonstrated strong ROI for customers, have the potential to be market leaders, and the profound ability to transform entire industries. SEMCAP AI drives strong alignment with management and leverages active post-investment value creation and governance in seeking to maximize and accelerate the performance of its portfolio companies.
SEMCAP AI Investment Team
SEMCAP AI’s investment team is led by SEMCAP co-founders and co-CIOs, Buckley and Cyrus Vandrevala, as well as Managing Partner, Vince Menichelli, Managing Directors John Loftus, Erik Rasmussen and Abraham Kromah and Operating Partner, Bader Al-Rezaihan. Together members of this team have decades of shared experience building and investing in technology business while officers at Safeguard Scientifics, ICG and later Actua Corporation. SEMCAP AI has offices across the globe including in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Kuwait and Vancouver. In order to more fully capitalize on the enormous opportunity within AI, SEMCAP AI has partnered with Wayve Capital to offer public investment opportunities, in addition to their core offering of private investment strategies. The partnership also enables the teams to opportunistically source proprietary deals in the AI space through their vast respective networks.
SEMCAP AI Strategic Operating Advisors
The investor has also assembled a diverse, influential and well-connected team of Strategic Operating Advisors to assist in the sourcing and vetting of potential investment opportunities, while also working closely with portfolio companies to create value and lasting impact, post-investment. This includes providing targeted strategic support, strengthening management teams, expanding customer pipelines and providing access to the industry’s key decision makers. SEMCAP AI’s Strategic Operating Advisors hail from disparate but significant industries, ripe for transformation, and represent sectors where we expect accelerated transformation driven by artificial intelligence. SEMCAP AI’s advisors include:
Sylvia Acevedo is an engineer, advocate for girls’ STEM education, and a lifelong Girl Scout. She worked in leadership positions at a number of technology companies, such as Apple, Dell, and IBM, and served as head of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. In 1983 she became one of the first Hispanic students—male or female—to earn a graduate degree in engineering from Stanford University. Acevedo was named the 2018 Cybersecurity Person on the Year. She was also named a 2019 Notable Woman in Tech by Crain’s magazine and one of the 100 Most Influential Latinas by Latino Leaders magazine in 2020.
Samantha Bradely serves as managing director of RealmSpark, a business unit of ASU Enterprise Partners that facilitates the capital investments necessary to fuel ASU’s modalities of learning. She brings years of experience in private equity, including with firms managing billions of dollars in assets, such as Truvvo Partners and Baron Capital.
Harry Keiley currently serves as chairman of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Investment Committee, the largest educator-only pension fund in the world, with more than $300 Billion in assets under management. His previous positions include Chaiman of the Board of CalSTRS and multiple terms as President of the Santa Monica Classroom Teachers Association.
SEMCAP AI’s Investment in Arcana Labs
In conjunction with the launch of this new vertical investment strategy, SEMCAP AI recently announced that it led a $5.5 million investment round in Arcana Labs, a leading generative AI creative studio transforming the film and production industry. Arcana is revolutionizing key steps in the filmmaking process with its all-in-one generative AI tools, which were purpose-built for the film industry’s unique creative needs from pre-production to post-production. Buckley will join the Acana Board of Directors and Menichelli will serve as a Board observer.
“From our first meeting with Buck and the SEMCAP team, we knew we had found partners who truly understood our vision for revolutionizing the creative industry with AI,” said Jonathan Yunger, co-founder and CEO of Arcana Labs. “Their deep expertise and strategic networks across multiple verticals, combined with their genuine enthusiasm for empowering artists through technology, makes them the ideal partner for Arcana’s next phase of growth. In a time when AI’s potential seems limitless, SEMCAP shares our commitment to putting Arcana’s powerful tools in the hands of artists while preserving the unmatched power of human creativity. SEMCAP’s partnership and guidance will help us accelerate our mission of making artist-driven AI accessible to creators and professionals everywhere.”
“We are thrilled to officially launch SEMCAP AI and announce our investment in Arcana, which exemplifies the type of company that SEMCAP AI will seek to invest in moving forward. Arcana is delivering significant ROI to its customers and unequivocally transforming the film and production industry. Beyond that we believe it has the power to also completely upend multiple other markets like advertising, branding, interior design, and gaming,” said Buckley. “Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to witness firsthand how Arcana’s platform is revolutionizing the nearly $300 Billion global film industry through my work on a docuseries about George Washington. Using their platform, we were able to reduce our production time and costs by almost 90%, while producing a historically accurate and realistic end-product. We look forward to collaborating with Jonathan and the Arcana team to support and accelerate their growth and help transform the industry.”
About SEMCAP
SEMCAP AI invests in high-growth, next-generation AI companies that are disrupting how businesses operate, boosting productivity and transforming markets. Led by a highly skilled investment team with deep operating and investing experience in technology and AI, the team provides unique deal insight and support for strategic partnering and enhanced growth. SEMCAP AI is one of SEMCAP’s three platforms – AI, food & nutrition and health. SEMCAP is a growth equity platform committed to investing across sectors that have the greatest impact on society.
About Arcana
Arcana Labs is an artist-driven AI company that empowers creators with model agnostic AI-powered creative tools. Founded by a braintrust of tech nerds and Hollywood blockbuster filmmakers, Arcana Labs is revolutionizing the AI art space by marrying traditional creative processes with the magic of AI, empowering Artist-driven AI, rather than AI-driven art. The company’s flagship product, Arcana AI, gives artists an all-in-one, “AI production company in a box,” with sleek, easy-to-use tools that assist artists rather than replace them. https://www.arcanalabs.ai/
This release is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. This material may contain estimates and forward-looking statements, which may include forecasts and do not represent a guarantee of future performance. This information is not intended to be complete or exhaustive and no representations or warranties, either express or implied, are made regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. The views expressed are as of April 22, 2025, and are subject to change without notice. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Investing involves significant risks.
RONKONKOMA, N.Y., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SUNation Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNE), a leading provider of sustainable solar energy and backup power solutions for households, businesses, and municipalities, has signed separate Letters of Intent (LOI) with Energy Systems Group (ESG), an award-winning energy services company, for the deployment of over 2.35 MWs of solar power at two school districts on Long Island.
Collectively, these installations are designed to deliver 3 megawatt hours (MWHs) of clean solar energy across 10 buildings that would offset a substantial majority of each district’s energy needs.
The projects under LOI are:
A total of seven (7) schools and facility buildings within a prominent school district on Long Island for a total generation potential of 1.3 MW. The system will be comprised of rooftop solar arrays. Upon completion, this installation would generate approximately 1,687,723 kwh/year which would provide an estimated 75.85% energy offset for the district.
A total of three (3) buildings within another Long Island-based school district for a total generation potential of 1.057 MW. The system will be comprised of rooftop solar arrays. Upon completion, the installation would generate approximately 1,371,712 kwh/year which would provide an offset of an estimated 87.3% of the district’s energy needs.
“We are convinced that there is a strong institutional demand for commercial-scale solar projects that deliver value,” SUNation Energy CEO Scott Maskin said. “These districts deserve the benefits of solar energy, and we’re happy to deliver. We look forward to working with our partners at ESG and these school districts to advance the approval process and secure a cleaner, greener future for our neighbors in these communities.”
Mr. Maskin concluded, “We are proud to add both of these projects into our significant portfolio of Long Island school districts in the SUNation family.”
The projects contemplated by these Letters of Intent are subject to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, ongoing discussions between the parties and the signing of definitive agreements.
About SUNation Energy, Inc. SUNation Energy, Inc. is focused on growing leading local and regional solar, storage, and energy services companies nationwide. Our vision is to power the energy transition through grass-roots growth of solar electricity paired with battery storage. Our portfolio of brands (SUNation, Hawaii Energy Connection, E-Gear) provide homeowners and businesses of all sizes with an end-to-end product offering spanning solar, battery storage, and grid services. SUNation Energy, Inc.’s largest markets include New York, Florida, and Hawaii, and the company operates in three (3) states.
About Energy Systems Group (ESG) Energy Systems Group (ESG) is a leading provider of performance-driven energy and infrastructure solutions nationwide. We design, build, and guarantee solutions that improve the reliability, efficiency, and lifespan of critical facilities in the education, government, healthcare, commercial, and industrial sectors. With a commitment to delivering reliable and proven solutions, Energy Systems Group takes a comprehensive approach to facility transformation. Visit energysystemsgroup.com to learn more.
Forward Looking Statements This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. While the Company believes its plans, intentions, and expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, these plans, intentions, or expectations may not be achieved. For information about the factors that could cause such differences, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in subsequent filings. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.
Safe Harbor Statement Our prospects here at SUNation Energy Inc. are subject to uncertainties and risks. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, including, but not limited to, the risk that SUNation may not be able to enter into definitive agreements to commence these solar installations, and that the projects being contemplated will not generate the expected levels of energy or deliver the anticipated financial benefits. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor provided by the foregoing Sections. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond the control of management. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation. The Company cannot predict or determine after the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other statements. The reader should consider statements that include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans”, “projects”, “should”, or other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends, to be uncertain and forward-looking. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional information respecting factors that could materially affect the Company and its operations are contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC which can be found on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Contacts: Scott Maskin Chief Executive Officer +1 (631) 823-7131 smaskin@sunation.com
SUNation Energy Investor Relations +1 (212) 836-9600 IR@sunation.com
NEWTON, Mass. and NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Paytronix, an Access Group company and leader in guest engagement for restaurants and convenience stores, will host their premier guest engagement event next week, as Paytronix clients gather in Nashville for PX|NXT ’25. Hospitality leaders will come together once again to share their experiences and learn from the industry’s visionaries as they jam with Paytronix in Music City, at the Loews Nashville Hotel, from April 29th to May 1st.
PX|NXT will feature lively presentations, interactive sessions, and signature social events, focused on building community and educating attendees on innovative guest engagement strategies, from loyalty and online ordering programs to reservation systems, kiosks, and messaging. Over three days, Paytronix will offer an opportunity to learn new revenue generating techniques and master the use of Paytronix’s solutions.
Paytronix was acquired by UK-based The Access Group in October of last year, and PNX|NXT will be an opportunity for attendees to learn how new solutions and integrations from Access will help them take their guest engagement strategies to the next level.
“We’re going even bigger for the 10th anniversary, bringing our customers together and building connections and deeper industry relationships because we learn the most from each other. PX|NXT has a tremendous lineup of customers and experts speaking and sharing their first-hand experiences,” said Pamela Robertson, CMO at Paytronix. “This year’s sessions will explore how new technologies in mobile, AI and digital engagement are not only taking guest experiences to new levels, but when done right — they’re also driving efficiencies and powering growth.”
PX|NXT Speakers Present Game-Changing Experiences & Strategies Paytronix assembled a powerful lineup of experts to speak in 2025, with thought-provoking, high-energy sessions centered around upcoming products, theory and case studies around guest engagement strategy. This year’s speaking lineup is full of leaders who have driven loyalty and embraced innovation for some of the industry’s leading brands.
In addition to Paytronix and customer speakers, this year’s keynotesinclude:
Liz Seelye, CEO and brand wayfinder of StarryEyed Strategy – who has proven why brand purpose matters and how restaurants can leverage it to lead their categories. For 20 years, Liz has helped brands, big and global (Starbucks, Cinnabon, Chick-fil-A, CAVA, FAT Brands), small and local (Legacy Pie Co., Pancho & Lefty’s, The Post) find their North Stars to move their businesses forward fast.
Gerry O’Brion, author and featured speaker on translating big brand strategies into knowledge that any business can use to win in the marketplace. Gerry shares experiences from leading marketing for top brands with Procter & Gamble, Coors Brewing Company, Quiznos restaurant chain and most recently, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
Executives from top restaurant and convenience store brands will share their restaurant tech strategies for guest engagement, loyalty, ordering, mobile and more. Read the full list of featured speakers online, including but not limited to:
Erin Newkirk, CMO, Caribou Coffee
Eric Rush, Director of Marketing, Tri Star Energy
Jeff Lee, Director of IT & Operations, SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza
Jimmy VanValkenburg, Head of Digital Marketing & Loyalty, PDQ Chicken
Olga Lopategui, Founder & Principal Consultant, Restaurant Loyalty Specialists
About Paytronix Paytronix, an Access Group company, is a cloud-based digital guest engagement platform for the hospitality industry. Our innovative, unified platform provides loyalty programs, online ordering, gift cards, branded mobile applications, and strategic insights to more than 1,800 leading restaurant and convenience store brands. Our valued clients leverage the power of Paytronix across 50,000 sites globally to create seamless, personalized, and brand-authentic experiences that foster lasting relationships with their customers. For more than 20 years, Paytronix has been a trusted partner helping brands maximize the lifetime value of their guests and grow more profitable businesses. For more information, visit www.paytronix.com.
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enlight Renewable Energy (“Enlight”, “the Company”, NASDAQ: ENLT, TASE: ENLT.TA), a leading renewable energy platform, announced that it has signed an agreement with Vishay Israel Ltd. for the supply of electricity valued at approximately $105m for a period of 12 years, and includes an option to significantly increase consumption volumes over the life of the contract.
Vishay joins other leading entities in Israel that have signed clean electricity supply agreements with Enlight in recent months, including the Weizmann Institute of Science, NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit, Amdocs, Big Shopping Centers, SodaStream, and Applied Materials.
Enlight, which owns the largest portfolio of renewable energy assets in Israel, is leading the transition of the country’s economy to clean power following the electricity market’s deregulation, which allows large consumers to enter into direct supply agreements with power producers.
The agreement with Enlight will help Vishay, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, to significantly reduce its electricity costs Israel. In addition, the related reduction in emissions will be equivalent to planting approximately 740,000 new trees per year or removing about 17,000 fuel-powered vehicles from the road each year.
Gilad Peled, CEO of Enlight MENA, commented, “Enlight congratulates Vishay, one of the largest electronic component manufacturers in the world, on its decision to switch its plants in Israel to clean and environmentally friendly energy. This deal follows a series of agreements we have reached with some of the highest-quality companies in Israel. These firms have chosen to lead on environmental responsibility, and are an example to the entire economy. In addition to its environmental benefits, the agreement with Enlight will allow Vishay’s plants in Israel to save millions of dollars on their electricity bills, and serves as another example of how renewable energy increases competition and reduces power costs in Israel.”
Boaz Bazak, Director of IEHS, Vishay Israel, commented, “The agreement marks a significant step in our ongoing commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency. This partnership will provide our manufacturing facilities with clean, reliable energy at lower rates, enhancing our operational efficiency and reducing our environmental impact. It aligns perfectly with our mission to promote sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint. By securing renewable electricity at a discounted price, we can continue to grow while supporting global efforts to combat climate change.”
About Enlight Renewable Energy
Founded in 2008, Enlight develops, finances, constructs, owns, and operates utility-scale renewable energy projects. Enlight operates across the three largest renewable segments today: solar, wind and energy storage. A global platform, Enlight operates in the United States, Israel and 10 European countries. Enlight has been traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 2010 (TASE: ENLT) and completed its U.S. IPO (Nasdaq: ENLT) in 2023. Learn more at www.enlightenergy.co.il.
About VishayIntertechnology
Vishay manufactures one of the world’s largest portfolios of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components that are essential to innovative designs in the automotive, industrial, computing, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, and medical markets. Serving customers worldwide, Vishay is The DNA of tech.Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH). More on Vishay at www.vishay.com.
Contacts:
Yonah Weisz Director IR investors@enlightenergy.co.il
Erica Mannion or Mike Funari Sapphire Investor Relations, LLC +1 617 542 6180 investors@enlightenergy.co.il
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s expectations relating to the Project, the PPA and the related interconnection agreement and lease option, and the completion timeline for the Project, are forward-looking statements. The words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “target,” “seek,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “contemplate,” “possible,” “forecasts,” “aims” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our ability to site suitable land for, and otherwise source, renewable energy projects and to successfully develop and convert them into Operational Projects; availability of, and access to, interconnection facilities and transmission systems; our ability to obtain and maintain governmental and other regulatory approvals and permits, including environmental approvals and permits; construction delays, operational delays and supply chain disruptions leading to increased cost of materials required for the construction of our projects, as well as cost overruns and delays related to disputes with contractors; our suppliers’ ability and willingness to perform both existing and future obligations; competition from traditional and renewable energy companies in developing renewable energy projects; potential slowed demand for renewable energy projects and our ability to enter into new offtake contracts on acceptable terms and prices as current offtake contracts expire; offtakers’ ability to terminate contracts or seek other remedies resulting from failure of our projects to meet development, operational or performance benchmarks; various technical and operational challenges leading to unplanned outages, reduced output, interconnection or termination issues; the dependence of our production and revenue on suitable meteorological and environmental conditions, and our ability to accurately predict such conditions; our ability to enforce warranties provided by our counterparties in the event that our projects do not perform as expected; government curtailment, energy price caps and other government actions that restrict or reduce the profitability of renewable energy production; electricity price volatility, unusual weather conditions (including the effects of climate change, could adversely affect wind and solar conditions), catastrophic weather-related or other damage to facilities, unscheduled generation outages, maintenance or repairs, unanticipated changes to availability due to higher demand, shortages, transportation problems or other developments, environmental incidents, or electric transmission system constraints and the possibility that we may not have adequate insurance to cover losses as a result of such hazards; our dependence on certain operational projects for a substantial portion of our cash flows; our ability to continue to grow our portfolio of projects through successful acquisitions; changes and advances in technology that impair or eliminate the competitive advantage of our projects or upsets the expectations underlying investments in our technologies; our ability to effectively anticipate and manage cost inflation, interest rate risk, currency exchange fluctuations and other macroeconomic conditions that impact our business; our ability to retain and attract key personnel; our ability to manage legal and regulatory compliance and litigation risk across our global corporate structure; our ability to protect our business from, and manage the impact of, cyber-attacks, disruptions and security incidents, as well as acts of terrorism or war; changes to existing renewable energy industry policies and regulations that present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to renewable energy projects; the reduction, elimination or expiration of government incentives for, or regulations mandating the use of, renewable energy; our ability to effectively manage our supply chain and comply with applicable regulations with respect to international trade relations, the impact of tariffs on the cost of construction and our ability to mitigate such impact, sanctions, export controls and anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws; our ability to effectively comply with Environmental Health and Safety and other laws and regulations and receive and maintain all necessary licenses, permits and authorizations; our performance of various obligations under the terms of our indebtedness (and the indebtedness of our subsidiaries that we guarantee) and our ability to continue to secure project financing on attractive terms for our projects; limitations on our management rights and operational flexibility due to our use of tax equity arrangements; potential claims and disagreements with partners, investors and other counterparties that could reduce our right to cash flows generated by our projects; our ability to comply with tax laws of various jurisdictions in which we currently operate as well as the tax laws in jurisdictions in which we intend to operate in the future; the unknown effect of the dual listing of our ordinary shares on the price of our ordinary shares; various risks related to our incorporation and location in Israel; the costs and requirements of being a public company, including the diversion of management’s attention with respect to such requirements; certain provisions in our Articles of Association and certain applicable regulations that may delay or prevent a change of control; and other risk factors set forth in the section titled “Risk factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and our other documents filed with or furnished to the SEC.
These statements reflect management’s current expectations regarding future events and speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Except as may be required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
TD SYNNEX and Trifork Partner to Deliver Scalable AI and Digital Transformation Solutions
April 22nd, 2025 – Austin, Texas – Trifork today announced a new partnership with TD SYNNEX, a leading global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. Through this partnership, Trifork will deliver advanced digital solutions to TD SYNNEX’s new and existing customers, helping them accelerate digital transformation and drive measurable business outcomes.
“Partnering with TD SYNNEX enables us to reach a broader audience of enterprise customers who are ready to embrace modern, AI-driven software solutions,” says Karan Yadav, CEO at Trifork US. “TD SYNNEX is a trusted partner in the channel, and we’re excited to work together to help organizations transform the way they build and scale digital experiences.”
“TD SYNNEX is committed to uniting IT solutions that deliver business outcomes today and unlock growth for the future,” said Cheryl Day, SVP, New Vendor Acquisition and Global Solutions. “Trifork brings their high-impact software solutions to our vast portfolio of vendor partners, and through our partnership, we’re able to enrich the breadth and depth of our enterprise offerings so our customers can do great things with technology.”
Trifork offers expertise in AI, scaled platforms, spatial computing, and user-centric applications – serving industries such as manufacturing, energy, healthcare, finance, education, and public services. Their modular, scalable approach allows organizations to integrate innovation quickly and efficiently while maintaining a secure and user-centric architecture.
TD SYNNEX customers can now access Trifork’s solutions through the TD SYNNEX ecosystem, with support from dedicated teams to ensure a seamless onboarding experience. To learn more about Trifork’s offering, visit https://us.trifork.com/products/vision-ai/.
About TD SYNNEX
TD SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX) is a leading global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. We’re an innovative partner helping more than 150,000 customers in 100+ countries to maximize the value of technology investments, demonstrate business outcomes and unlock growth opportunities. Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, and Fremont, California, TD SYNNEX’s 23,000 co-workers are dedicated to uniting compelling IT products, services and solutions from 2,500+ best-in-class technology vendors. Our edge-to-cloud portfolio is anchored in some of the highest-growth technology segments including cloud, cybersecurity, big data/analytics, AI, IoT, mobility and everything as a service. TD SYNNEX is committed to serving customers and communities, and we believe we can have a positive impact on our people and our planet, intentionally acting as a respected corporate citizen. We aspire to be a diverse and inclusive employer of choice for talent across the IT ecosystem. For more information, visit www.TDSYNNEX.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
Copyright 2025 TD SYNNEX Corporation. All rights reserved. TD SYNNEX, the TD SYNNEX Logo, and all other TD SYNNEX company, product and services names and slogans are trademarks of TD SYNNEX Corporation. Other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About Trifork
Trifork is a pioneering global technology partner, empowering enterprise and public sector customers with innovative solutions. With 1,229 professionals across 73 business units in 16 countries, Trifork delivers expertise in inspiring, building, and running advanced software solutions across diverse sectors, including public administration, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, energy, financial services, retail, and real estate. Trifork Labs, the Group’s R&D hub, drives innovation by investing in and developing synergistic and high-potential technology companies. Trifork Group AG is a publicly listed company on Nasdaq Copenhagen. Learn more at trifork.com.
Media contact: Frederik Svanholm, frsv@trifork.com, +41 79 357 73 17
JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AvePoint (NASDAQ: AVPT), the global leader in data security, governance and resilience, today announced new capabilities available in the AvePoint Elements Platform, empowering managed service providers (MSPs) to simplify user lifecycle management and unify device management across tenants with security and scale. Additional capabilities underscore AvePoint’s continued investment into its channel business, building upon the completed acquisition of Ydentic in January 2025 and release of the next-generation Elements platform in February 2025.
The managed security services market is expected to grow to $56.6 billion by 2027, with over 80% of MSPs currently offering managed detection and response services and virtually all planning to add these services to their portfolio. In partnership with AvePoint, MSPs can secure client data and build additional service offerings to tap into this rapidly expanding market opportunity.
“As technology advances and security challenges intensify, MSPs face increasing pressure to scale operations, enhance security, and unlock new revenue streams,” said Scott Sacket, Senior Vice President of Partner Strategy, AvePoint. “The newest additions to the AvePoint Elements Platform give MSPs and channel partners the edge they need to drive business growth and augment their service offerings – by securing, managing, and protecting clients’ critical business data.”
Two new management capabilities are generally available today in the AvePoint Elements Platform:
Simple, Secure User Lifecycle Management: The new User Lifecycle Management capabilities within the AvePoint Elements Platform address the complexities MSPs face in onboarding, security, and governance by automating user provisioning and management. This solution enables MSPs to enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), revoke active sessions, and ensure secure, efficient user lifecycle management across all customer environments. Using intelligent automation and centralized management tools, MSPs can significantly reduce administrative overhead, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure robust security, ultimately accelerating profitability and efficiency.
Unified Device Management and Security: The new Device Management capabilities within the AvePoint Elements Platform provide centralized oversight of devices across multiple tenants, addressing the need for streamlined operations and reduced manual intervention for MSPs. This integration automates tasks such as configuring compliance policies, deploying applications, and enforcing security measures. Key capabilities include remote device wipes, defender scans, and policy synchronization, ensuring consistent security across tenants. With these advanced features, MSPs can enhance operational efficiency, maintain robust security, and scale their services seamlessly.
“AvePoint continues to develop solutions purpose-built for partners that benefit everyone who uses Microsoft technology,” Heather Deggans, VP ISV Partnerships at Microsoft. “With the latest enhancements to the AvePoint Elements Platform, partners can deliver more intelligent and proactive data security, governance and management strategies to their customers. This level of automation and efficiency in one single solution allows users to forge more effective and resilient digital workplaces and make the most of their Microsoft investments.”
Beyond Secure. AvePoint is the global leader in data security, governance, and resilience, going beyond traditional solutions to ensure a robust data foundation and enable organizations everywhere to collaborate with confidence. Over 25,000 customers worldwide rely on the AvePoint Confidence Platform to prepare, secure, and optimize their critical data across Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, and other collaboration environments. AvePoint’s global channel partner program includes approximately 5,000 managed service providers, value-added resellers, and systems integrators, with our solutions available in more than 100 cloud marketplaces. To learn more, visit www.avepoint.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws including statements regarding the future performance of and market opportunities for AvePoint. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: changes in the competitive and regulated industries in which AvePoint operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting AvePoint’s business and changes in AvePoint’s ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and ability to identify and realize additional opportunities, and the risk of downturns in the market and the technology industry. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of AvePoint’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of this and other documents filed by AvePoint from time to time are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. This filing identifies and addresses other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and AvePoint does not assume any obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. AvePoint does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations. Unless the context otherwise indicates, references in this press release to the terms “AvePoint,” “the Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to AvePoint, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Disclosure Information
AvePoint uses the https://www.avepoint.com/ir website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
LEAWOOD, Kan. and MADRID, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Euronet (NASDAQ: EEFT), a global leader in payments processing and cross-border transactions, and Prosegur Cash (Spanish SE: CASH), a global Cash-In-Transit company with strong leadership in Latin American markets, announced today the launch of their Independent ATM Network (IAD) in Peru and the Dominican Republic. The initiative is part of their joint venture agreement, branded as LATM (a combination of LATAM and ATM), to deploy independent ATMs across most countries of Latin America and provide comprehensive ATM As-a-Service solutions to banks and financial institutions in the region.
The initiative is sponsored by leading local financial institutions in both markets: Banco Alfin, recognized in Peru for its commitment to digitalization and technological innovation, and Banco BHD, the second-largest private bank in the Dominican Republic. The joint venture will provide state-of-the-art ATM solutions in key locations across both countries where cash is needed most, including popular destinations attracting international travelers. The ATMs will feature the distinct and well-recognized LATM branding, showcasing the combined strengths of the parties in providing financial services at scale. The BHD and Alfin brands will also be displayed on respective LATM ATMs in the Dominican Republic and Peru.
The joint venture leverages Euronet’s Ren payments platform and the company’s extensive portfolio of value-added ATM management services as well as Prosegur Cash’s customer-centric, on-the-ground operational services for cash management, end-to-end hardware services and facilities management.
“We are thrilled with the launch of our first markets with Independent ATM Networks in Latin America through our joint venture with Prosegur Cash,” said Nikos Fountas, Euronet EVP and CEO EFT Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “This joint venture positions us for rapid growth in the region. We are confident that we will achieve a rapid pace of ATM deployment in these countries based on well-established local partnerships backed by our global processing centers. The deployment of our IAD in the region is also an excellent platform for providing ATM As-a-Service to banks and financial institutions.”
“The start of operations in Peru and the Dominican Republic represents the full and effective development of the agreement reached with Euronet and is a winning model which we will see soon in many more countries in the region,” said José Antonio Lasanta, CEO of Prosegur Cash, in welcoming the launch in the two countries.
About Prosegur Cash
Prosegur Cash is a company dedicated to cash logistics and cash management that covers the complete cash cycle. It employs around 45,000 people, in more than 31 countries, and in 2023, it obtained revenues of 1,861 million euros. Prosegur Cash is positioned as a global benchmark with a clear vocation for leadership. In addition, the company articulates its social commitment by working on ten of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in which it considers it can generate a positive impact.
Prosegur Cash is part of The Climate Pledge, an international alliance whose members have pledged to generate zero net carbon emissions by 2040. Prosegur Cash is listed on the Spanish stock exchanges under the symbol CASH.
A global leader in payments processing and cross-border transactions, Euronet moves money in all the ways consumers and businesses depend upon. This includes money transfers, credit/debit processing, ATMs, point-of-sale services, branded payments, currency exchange and more. With products and services in more than 200 countries and territories provided through its own brand and branded business segments, Euronet and its financial technologies and networks make participation in the global economy easier, faster and more secure for everyone.
Starting in Central Europe in 1994, Euronet now supports an extensive global real-time digital and cash payments network that includes 55,248 installed ATMs, approximately 1,160,000 EFT point-of-sale terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 67 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 777,000 point-of-sale terminals at approximately 362,000 retailer locations in 64 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 607,000 locations serving 197 countries and territories with digital connections to 4.1 billion bank accounts and 3.1 billion digital wallet accounts. Euronet serves clients from its corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 67 worldwide offices. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.euronetworldwide.com.
Mifflintown, PA, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Juniata Valley Financial Corp. (OTCQX:JUVF) (“Juniata”), announced net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 of $2.0 million, an increase of 48.2%, compared to net income of $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Earnings per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $0.40 compared to $0.27 reported for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
President’s Message
President and Chief Executive Officer, Marcie A. Barber stated, “We are pleased to announce first quarter net income of $2.0 million which represents a nearly 50% increase over the same quarter last year. This improvement is due in part to disciplined loan and deposit pricing which resulted in the reversal of a two-year trend of net interest margin compression. Additionally, our continued efforts to increase fee income and improve efficiency resulted in a 3.9% increase in noninterest income and a 9.2% decrease in noninterest expense. Our credit quality remains strong with nonperforming loans totaling 0.1% of the total loan portfolio and delinquent and nonperforming loans comprising 0.4%. Our focus for the remainder of 2025 is to accelerate loan growth, especially in the State College and Harrisburg regions, while maintaining our excellent credit quality. We also intended to actively communicate with and provide customized service to our customers due to the current economic uncertainty, continue the improvements in fee generation and the containment of operating expenses, while exploring opportunities for expansion.”
Financial Results for the Quarter
Annualized return on average assets for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was 0.94%, compared to 0.63% for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Annualized return on average equity for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was 16.55%, compared to 13.38% for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Net interest income increased by 5.1%, to $5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to $5.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Average interest earning assets decreased 1.7%, to $842.6 million, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, due to a decrease of $18.2 million, or 5.7%, in average investment securities as principal paydowns on the mortgage-backed securities portfolio were used for funding needs rather than being reinvested into the securities portfolio. Average interest bearing liabilities decreased by $16.1 million, or 2.6%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. This decrease was primarily due to a decline of $23.9 million, or 29.9%, in average borrowings and other interest bearing liabilities, which was partially offset by an increase in average time deposits of $17.3 million, or 8.7%, for the three months end March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
The yield on earning assets increased 19 basis points, to 4.42%, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to same period last year driven by an increase in loan yields of 24 basis points, while the cost to fund interest earning assets with interest bearing liabilities increased two basis points, to 2.26%, aided by the 100 basis point decline in the federal funds rate between the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. The net interest margin, on a fully tax equivalent basis, increased from 2.63% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 to 2.83% for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Juniata recorded a credit loss expense of $104,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to a credit loss expense of $120,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Non-interest income was $1.3 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024. Most significantly impacting non-interest income in the comparative three month periods were increases of $89,000 in customer service fees due to an increase in the collection of overdraft and checking account fees, as well as $24,000 in trust fees. Partially offsetting these increases between the comparative three month periods was a decline of $56,000 in fees derived from loan activity due to decreases in title insurance commissions, a derivative credit adjustment and loan referral fees in the 2025 period.
Non-interest expense was $4.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, a decrease of 9.2%. Most significantly impacting non-interest expense in the comparative three month periods were decreases in employee compensation and benefits expenses of $233,000 and $99,000, respectively. The primary drivers for these declines were decreases in employee compensation expenses compared to the 2024 period, with the 2024 expenses being elevated due to overtime pay from the core conversion and optimizing staffing levels, and employee benefits expense due to a decrease in medical claims expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Also contributing to the decrease in non-interest expense between the comparative three month periods were decreases of $48,000 in professional fees and $34,000 in the provision for unfunded commitments recorded in other non-interest expense. Partially offsetting these decreases for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024 was an increase of $74,000 in equipment expense primarily due to an increase in depreciation and ATM expenses attributable to the core conversion in March 2024.
An income tax provision of $371,000 was recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to $201,000 recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase between the comparative three month periods was primarily due to more taxable income recorded in the 2025 period. Juniata qualifies for a federal tax credit for investments in low-income housing partnerships. The tax credit was $82,000 for both the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024.
Financial Condition
Total assets as of March 31, 2025 were $854.0 million, an increase of $5.1 million compared to total assets of $848.9 million as of December 31, 2024. Cash and cash equivalents increased $2.5 million, or 22.8%, while total loans increased by $5.1 million, or 1.0%, as of March 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024. Total deposits increased by $728,000, or 0.1%, as of March 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024, while short-term borrowings and repurchase agreements increased by $1.8 million, or 4.4%, primarily due to increased balances in repurchase agreement accounts. At March 31, 2025, total capital increased $2.7 million, or 5.8%, compared to year-end 2024 due to an increase in retained earnings and a decline in other comprehensive losses.
Juniata maintains a strong liquidity position and, as of March 31, 2025, had additional borrowing capacity with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh of $213.3 million and with the Federal Reserve’s Discount Window of $51.2 million. In addition, Juniata has internal authorization for brokered deposits of up to $175.0 million. Juniata had no brokered deposits outstanding as of March 31, 2025.
Subsequent Event
On April 15, 2025, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.22 per share to shareholders of record on May 16, 2025, payable on May 30, 2025.
Management considers subsequent events occurring after the statement of condition date for matters which may require adjustment to, or disclosure in, the consolidated financial statements. The review period for subsequent events extends up to and including the filing date of a public company’s consolidated financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, the financial information in this release is subject to change.
The Juniata Valley Bank, the principal subsidiary of Juniata Valley Financial Corp., is headquartered in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, with fourteen community offices located in Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Franklin, McKean and Potter Counties. More information regarding Juniata Valley Financial Corp. and The Juniata Valley Bank can be found online at www.JVBonline.com. Juniata Valley Financial Corp. trades through the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol JUVF.
Forward-Looking Information *This press release may contain “forward looking” information as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Juniata’s management with respect to, among other things, future events and Juniata’s financial performance. When words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “goal,” “target,” “would” and “outlook,” or the negative variations of those words or similar expressions are used in this release, Juniata is making forward-looking statements. Such information is based on Juniata’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of its business, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the control of Juniata. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance, events or results and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materializes, or if underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from this forward-looking information. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and many factors could affect future financial results. Juniata undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward looking information, whether because of new or updated information, future events, or otherwise. For a more complete discussion of certain risks and uncertainties affecting Juniata, please see the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward-Looking Statements” set forth in the Juniata’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Financial Statements
Juniata Valley Financial Corp. and Subsidiary Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
(Dollars in thousands, except share data)
(Unaudited)
March 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks
$
5,145
$
5,064
Interest bearing deposits with banks
8,364
5,934
Cash and cash equivalents
13,509
10,998
Equity securities
1,114
1,189
Debt securities available for sale
64,772
64,623
Debt securities held to maturity (fair value $184,898 and $182,773, respectively)
189,634
191,627
Restricted investment in bank stock
2,674
2,530
Total loans
538,971
533,869
Less: Allowance for credit losses
(6,278
)
(6,183
)
Total loans, net of allowance for credit losses
532,693
527,686
Premises and equipment, net
9,323
9,382
Bank owned life insurance and annuities
15,273
15,214
Investment in low income housing partnerships
751
832
Core deposit and other intangible assets
240
258
Goodwill
9,812
9,812
Mortgage servicing rights
68
69
Deferred tax asset, net
9,320
9,842
Accrued interest receivable and other assets
4,824
4,812
Total assets
$
854,007
$
848,874
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Liabilities:
Deposits:
Non-interest bearing
$
198,753
$
196,801
Interest bearing
549,932
551,156
Total deposits
748,685
747,957
Short-term borrowings and repurchase agreements
44,082
42,242
Long-term debt
5,000
5,000
Other interest bearing liabilities
769
830
Accrued interest payable and other liabilities
5,275
5,388
Total liabilities
803,811
801,417
Commitments and contingent liabilities
Stockholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock, no par value: Authorized – 500,000 shares, none issued
—
—
Common stock, par value $1.00 per share: Authorized 20,000,000 shares; Issued – 5,151,279 shares at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024; Outstanding – 5,016,727 shares at March 31, 2025 and 5,003,384 shares at December 31, 2024
5,151
5,151
Surplus
24,712
24,896
Retained earnings
54,034
53,126
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(31,522
)
(33,320
)
Cost of common stock in Treasury: 134,552 shares at March 31, 2025; 147,895 shares at December 31, 2024
(2,179
)
(2,396
)
Total stockholders’ equity
50,196
47,457
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$
854,007
$
848,874
Juniata Valley Financial Corp. and Subsidiary Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)
March 31,
2025
2024
Interest income:
Loans, including fees
$
7,781
$
7,467
Taxable securities
1,365
1,465
Tax-exempt securities
30
30
Other interest income
17
43
Total interest income
9,193
9,005
Interest expense:
Deposits
2,803
2,642
Short-term borrowings and repurchase agreements
531
698
Long-term debt
30
117
Other interest bearing liabilities
7
9
Total interest expense
3,371
3,466
Net interest income
5,822
5,539
Provision for credit losses
104
120
Net interest income after provision for credit losses
5,718
5,419
Non-interest income:
Customer service fees
460
371
Debit card fee income
422
404
Earnings on bank-owned life insurance and annuities
57
56
Trust fees
131
107
Commissions from sales of non-deposit products
101
102
Fees derived from loan activity
115
171
Change in value of equity securities
(28
)
(13
)
Gain from life insurance proceeds
—
—
Other non-interest income
88
98
Total non-interest income
1,346
1,296
Non-interest expense:
Employee compensation expense
1,975
2,208
Employee benefits
546
645
Occupancy
366
332
Equipment
217
143
Data processing expense
629
663
Professional fees
206
254
Taxes, other than income
31
56
FDIC Insurance premiums
135
155
Gain on other real estate owned
—
—
Amortization of intangible assets
18
22
Amortization of investment in low-income housing partnerships
Many bakers working at high altitudes have carefully followed a standard recipe only to reach into the oven to find a sunken cake, flat cookies or dry muffins.
Experienced mountain bakers know they need a few tricks to achieve the same results as their fellow artisans working at sea level.
These tricks are more than family lore, however. They originated in the early 20th century thanks to research on high-altitude baking done by Inga Allison, then a professor at Colorado State University. It was Allison’s scientific prowess and experimentation that brought us the possibility of perfect high-altitude brownies and other baked goods.
We are two current academics at CSU whose work has been touched by Allison’s legacy.
One of us – Caitlin Clark – still relies on Allison’s lessons a century later in her work as a food scientist in Colorado. The other – Tobi Jacobi – is a scholar of women’s rhetoric and community writing, and an enthusiastic home baker in the Rocky Mountains, who learned about Allison while conducting archival research on women’s work and leadership at CSU.
Inga Allison is one of the fascinating and accomplished women who is part of the exhibit.
Allison was born in 1876 in Illinois and attended the University of Chicago, where she completed the prestigious “science course” work that heavily influenced her career trajectory. Her studies and research also set the stage for her belief that women’s education was more than preparation for domestic life.
In 1908, Allison was hired as a faculty member in home economics at Colorado Agricultural College, which is now CSU. She joined a group of faculty who were beginning to study the effects of altitude on baking and crop growth. The department was located inside Guggenheim Hall, a building that was constructed for home economics education but lacked lab equipment or serious research materials.
Allison took both the land grant mission of the university with its focus on teaching, research and extension and her particular charge to prepare women for the future seriously. She urged her students to move beyond simple conceptions of home economics as mere preparation for domestic life. She wanted them to engage with the physical, biological and social sciences to understand the larger context for home economics work.
Such thinking, according to CSU historian James E. Hansen, pushed women college students in the early 20th century to expand the reach of home economics to include “extension and welfare work, dietetics, institutional management, laboratory research work, child development and teaching.”
News articles from the early 1900s track Allison giving lectures like “The Economic Side of Natural Living” to the Colorado Health Club and talks on domestic science to ladies clubs and at schools across Colorado. One of her talks in 1910 focused on the art of dishwashing.
Allison became the home economics department chair in 1910 and eventually dean. In this leadership role, she urged then-CSU President Charles Lory to fund lab materials for the home economics department. It took 19 years for this dream to come to fruition.
In the meantime, Allison collaborated with Lory, who gave her access to lab equipment in the physics department. She pieced together equipment to conduct research on the relationship between cooking foods in water and atmospheric pressure, but systematic control of heat, temperature and pressure was difficult to achieve.
She sought other ways to conduct high-altitude experiments and traveled across Colorado where she worked with students to test baking recipes in varied conditions, including at 11,797 feet in a shelter house on Fall River Road near Estes Park.
But Allison realized that recipes baked at 5,000 feet in Fort Collins and Denver simply didn’t work in higher altitudes. Little advancement in baking methods occurred until 1927, when the first altitude baking lab in the nation was constructed at CSU thanks to Allison’s research. The results were tangible — and tasty — as public dissemination of altitude-specific baking practices began.
As a senior food scientist in a mountain state, one of us – Caitlin Clark – advises bakers on how to adjust their recipes to compensate for altitude. Thanks to Allison’s research, bakers at high altitude today can anticipate how the lower air pressure will affect their recipes and compensate by making small adjustments.
Air pressure is a force that pushes back on all of the molecules in a system and prevents them from venturing off into the environment. Heat plays the opposite role – it adds energy and pushes molecules to escape.
When water is boiled, molecules escape by turning into steam. The less air pressure is pushing back, the less energy is required to make this happen. That’s why water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes – around 200 degrees Fahrenheit in Denver compared with 212 F at sea level.
So, when baking is done at high altitude, steam is produced at a lower temperature and earlier in the baking time. Carbon dioxide produced by leavening agents also expands more rapidly in the thinner air. This causes high-altitude baked goods to rise too early, before their structure has fully set, leading to collapsed cakes and flat muffins. Finally, the rapid evaporation of water leads to over-concentration of sugars and fats in the recipe, which can cause pastries to have a gummy, undesirable texture.
Allison was one of many groundbreaking women in the early 20th century who actively supported higher education for women and advanced research in science, politics, humanities and education in Colorado.
Others included Grace Espy-Patton, a professor of English and sociology at CSU from 1885 to 1896 who founded an early feminist journal and was the first woman to register to vote in Fort Collins. Miriam Palmer was an aphid specialist and master illustrator whose work crafting hyper-realistic wax apples in the early 1900s allowed farmers to confirm rediscovery of the lost Colorado Orange apple, a fruit that has been successfully propagated in recent years.
In 1945, Allison retired as both an emerita professor and emerita dean at CSU. She immediately stepped into the role of student and took classes in Russian and biochemistry.
In the fall of 1958, CSU opened a new dormitory for women that was named Allison Hall in her honor.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA)
The bipartisan Protect National Service Act would block federal funds from being used to cut the national service agency
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA-07), Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) and Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE-02) introduced theProtect National Service Act, which would prohibit federal dollars from being used to carry out AmeriCorps cuts and damaging the agency’s core functions.
This follows on the heels of a bipartisan letter that the three members and Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) sent to the White House on April 11 demanding that President Trump work with Congress on any proposed AmeriCorps reforms rather than pursue unilateral executive actions.
This legislation is in response to reporting that the Trump Administration is attempting to fire large swaths of the Agency’s workforce, beginning with its disaster relief efforts. Earlier this week, AmeriCorps members who had been working in North Carolina rebuilding from the effects of Hurricane Helene were recalled from their project sites ahead of termination on April 30.
“Let me be clear: dismantling AmeriCorps is an indefensible attack on some of our most patriotic and selfless young Americans. For 30 years, AmeriCorps has opened the door for people across this country to step up and serve,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “AmeriCorps members are on the front lines of public service: rebuilding after disasters, helping families file taxes, and tutoring children in struggling schools. Time and again, they’ve proven their power to bridge divides and drive meaningful progress across the country. Now, Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to tear down three decades of progress — without justification and without a plan. But here’s the truth: for every $1 Congress invests in AmeriCorps, our country gets back over $17 in economic and community benefits. That’s not just service — that’s impact. The American spirit of service runs deep. It’s in our DNA. We will fight for every piece of this program, because national service will endure.”
“I am horrified that the Trump Administration is attempting to gut AmeriCorps,” said Congresswoman Houlahan. “National service brings together Americans across political divides, uplifts communities, and is a terrific return on investment for the federal government. To target AmeriCorps, especially at a time when Members are still working to repair hurricane damage in North Carolina and elsewhere, is wrong.”
“While I am supportive of President Trump’s mission of cutting the size and cost of the federal government, I am deeply troubled that once again, they are using a sledgehammer approach on vital programs such as Americorps, which gives young people an opportunity to serve their country through programs such as disaster relief efforts and food banks,” said Congressman Bacon. “Not only do these young Americans lose the opportunity to make a difference, but programs connecting elderly volunteers with people in their age group who need help are being shut down because there is no one to run them. It seems that no thought goes into what gets cut, and DOGE is just slashing to meet some number goal.”
Ask three of the editors of UConn’s Undergraduate Political Review to describe what it’s like to talk about politics today and they use the same single word.
Messy.
As much as they study political science, listen to podcasts about it, talk with professors and friends about it, write about it, at times seemingly live and breathe it, there’s no other way for this trio to describe the state of political discussions today.
What they add though after a short pause is that their coursework and involvement in the Undergraduate Political Review (UPR) has taught them to see both sides of issues, maybe even land on the middle ground when right debates left, and red and blue have at it.
“There are smarter and more capable people than us analyzing these issues,” Alessandro Portolano ’25 (CLAS) says, “and engaging with their work helps us gain some appreciation, some humility if you will. That’s unique and probably needed in today’s world.”
Portolano, a graduating senior who’s one of UPR’s seven associate editors, says he joined the review in fall 2023 when he was looking for a way to explore topics outside his history major, things he finds personally interesting like international relations, climate and conflict, and digital authoritarianism.
“My interest in politics and history has always been there,” he says, attributing that to his father. “Bedtime stories as a kid were about the Roman empire. Julius Caesar was as familiar to me as Little Red Riding Hood.”
So, the hours he spends each week researching and writing his own UPR stories in addition to editing pieces by other authors aren’t particularly arduous.
Their eventual publication is just “an output of what you’re already engaging with and what you’re doing already,” he says. “You read the news. You think about these things. It’s just a way to formally express it.”
UPR employs the talents of between 10 and 15 student writers and a handful of student editors twice a year to put out an edition each semester, explains Makenzie Cossette ’25 (CLAS), the editor-in-chief who’s graduating a year early in May with a degree in political science and an individualized major in law and society.
Oksan Bayulgen and Evan Perkoski, both political science professors, serve as advisors, and their help – along with the rest of the department – is invaluable, she adds.
Founded in 2015, the review is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its 20th issue, which was released online this week; print copies will be available by the end of the semester.
“It’s a great opportunity to engage in academics outside of your classes, especially for people who aren’t political science majors but are still interested in politics,” Cossette says. “People think this is just a political science organization because it’s run through the department, but we are open to anyone in any major or field, as long as they’re an undergraduate student.”
Take, for example, Yana Tartakovskiy ’25 (BUS) who joined UPR in the fall and is an associate editor this semester. She’s a graduating health care management major and wanted to look closer at health care policy than her classes allowed.
Tartakovskiy’s first piece considered how the right to an abortion is being litigated in the courts, while this semester she’s researched some of the arguments favoring reproductive rights, like First Amendment claims from women who practice Judaism who say their religion allows them the right to an abortion.
These are topics she’d researched in the past but hadn’t published for public consumption, she says. UPR gave her that venue.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m not a huge politics fan,” Tartakovskiy admits. “I come from a family who has a wide range of political views because my parents and grandparents immigrated from the Soviet Union. So, politics is always such a heavily debated subject, and I hate to insert myself in there.”
But she continues of UPR, “This organization gave me the pathway to not only focus on political issues but also see how they intertwine with things I am passionate about, which is health care, the health care system, and health care access for women.”
In the fall 2024 edition, “The Politics of Influence: Global Trends & Local Realities,” pieces ranging from “The Taylor Swift Effect: Do Celebrity Endorsements Matter in Political Campaigns” to “The State of Medicaid in Connecticut” and “The Politics of Loneliness: Restoring Social Capital Amidst Social Impoverishment” kept editors busy.
While each associate editor works throughout the semester with a couple of writers to polish articles, Cossette says the editor-in-chief is busiest at the start and end of the semester – matching editors and writers at the outset and assembling the final product at the end.
With only three all-staff meetings a semester, most work is done independently.
“Having a UPR gives students an outlet to look at issues more deeply than they can in an introductory class,” Portolano says, explaining he often seeks out professors with expertise in certain areas and schedules office hours with them – just to chat. “Making those relationships, developing your political language, and engaging with complex ideas in a way that is accessible to a general audience are important skills.”
Tartakovskiy says she’s presenting in early May at George Washington University’s “The Student Journal Symposium for Literary and Research Publications,” and several others from UConn’s UPR participated in Fordham University’s similar event last semester.
Professional development is one of the club’s strengths, Cossette says.
A decade from now, Tartakovskiy says she hopes students from UConn, even elsewhere, will look at the scholarly research published in UPR as source material and cite it in their own research.
Cossette says she hopes future members will continue to improve the look and feel of the digital and print products, while Portolano says fostering a UPR community that includes current writers and alums is something to aim for.
“Having a formal publication at the university gives students an opportunity to have other people read and experience their ideas outside the traditional classroom format where only your professor is reading your work,” Cossette adds.
“These are some formative years,” Portolano notes. “Being able to engage seriously with these topics that in many ways are going to define our future, I think, is important.”
Cossette says she’s been interested in politics and the law since early high school when she took AP United States Government and Politics, so majoring in political science and participating in UConn’s Special Program in Law was a predicted path.
She says she tried what some might call “fun clubs” when she came to UConn, “and then I ended up joining a political club because that’s what I find fun.”
Tartakovskiy, who also is in the Special Program in Law, says that of the five or six organizations she’s been involved with during her time at UConn – including founding the student advocacy group Jewish on Campus UConn – UPR helped round her for the future.
“Politics is scrutinize-criticize and that’s for the better because nothing is perfect, and for things to change or get better, they have to be scrutinized,” she says. “It’s nice to challenge one person’s opinion of an issue and get them to see the other side of it.”
Even if it is messy.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, UPR held an alumni panel in late March with alums from the first couple of editions talking about the review’s early days and where their careers have taken them. Watch the panel discussion here.
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced the award of the fifth and final construction contract of phase one of the transformative Interstate 81 Viaduct Project in the City of Syracuse. The award of the nearly $251 million contract to Salt City Constructors marks a significant milestone in this historic project to reunite the long-divided communities of Syracuse’s Southside and modernize the entire transportation landscape of Central New York. It is the first contract to include removal of portions of the viaduct and signals the transition of the project away from its initial stages — which focused largely on improvements needed to redesignate Interstate 481 as the new I-81 — and toward the later phase of eliminating the viaduct and establishing the Community Grid. Work on the fifth contract is set to begin imminently.
“Across the State, we are reimagining and reshaping our infrastructure to reconnect communities and address the misguided planning decisions of the past,” Governor Hochul said. “The award of the I-81 Viaduct Project’s latest contract is proof of the advancements we are making to reunite the Southside neighborhoods that were wrongly divided by this highway’s construction and is an indicator of the progress that is yet to come for all of Central New York.”
The generational I-81 Viaduct Project is the largest project ever undertaken by the New York State Department of Transportation and is part of Governor Hochul’s unprecedented commitment to modernize New York State’s infrastructure and invest in projects that promote equity, connectivity, and multi-modal transportation opportunities for communities across the state. The project will remove a 1.4-mile stretch of elevated highway that has divided the City of Syracuse for decades and implement a Community Grid that will reconnect neighborhoods, modernize infrastructure, give motorists additional ways to safely access downtown Syracuse and improve mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Comprised of eight separate contracts, construction on the project began in the spring of 2023 and with the award of the fifth contract, New York State has now reached the major milestone of having all five phase one contracts in construction. The $33 billion NYSDOT Capital Plan adopted in 2022 helps fulfill the Governor’s vision for a modern transportation system that serves New Yorkers across the State. The project is being funded with a mix of federal and State resources.
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, New York State is doing more to invest in infrastructure projects that are fundamentally transforming communities across the state – creating jobs and providing economic opportunities for generations of New Yorkers to come. The I-81 Viaduct project is an outstanding example of working with the community to develop and progress a project that truly reflects the transportation needs of the community. Today’s announcement is further proof that we are moving full speed ahead on this transformative project in the City of Syracuse, which will promote connectivity in all its forms, for communities across Central New York, leading to a brighter path forward for the thousands of residents – many of whom were negatively impacted by the viaduct’s construction over seventy five years ago.”
As part of contract five, construction will begin in earnest on the southside of Syracuse, with the transformation of the southern end of Almond Street and I-81 into future Business Loop 81. Work includes reconstructing and converting I-81 to Business Loop 81 from just north of Colvin Street to Burt Street, gradually bringing the highway down to street grade, while introducing several traffic calming measures, including curved roadways and narrower lanes and shoulders. Plans also call for a grassy median, decorative lighting, and trees as traffic approaches Martin Luther King East. View an aerial rendering.
Contract five also includes the construction of a roundabout at Business Loop 81 and Van Buren Street, which will help slow northbound traffic as it approaches Martin Luther King East and downtown Syracuse. The roundabout was initially planned for a location at Martin Luther King East, near the STEAM at Dr. King Elementary School, but was relocated after community members expressed concerns about its proximity to the school. View a rendering of the roundabout at the intersection of Business Loop 81 and Van Buren Street looking west.
As construction on contract five proceeds, two thirds of the way through completion, the viaduct will officially close to traffic south of Harrison Street and approximately seven spans of the viaduct will be removed. Southbound traffic destined for Exit 18 to Adams and Harrison Streets, and northbound traffic that enters using the on-ramp to I-81 at Harrison Street will remain on the viaduct. Temporary improvements will be made to Almond Street to allow for all traffic destined to or from Business Loop 81 to access the central business district.
Additionally, a new railroad bridge will be constructed between Martin Luther King East and the new roundabout to carry the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway tracks over Business Loop 81. The new bridge will include blue painted steel and lighting to create a new gateway entrance into the City of Syracuse.
Additional contract five components include:
An off-ramp from Business Loop 81 northbound to Colvin Street to enhance connectivity to the downtown areas, Syracuse University, and the university’s south campus. View a rendering of the new Colvin Street exit.
Improvements to the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County’s storm water runoff and sewage systems.
Pedestrian and cyclist amenities, including designated bike lanes, shared use paths, new sidewalks and crosswalks with enhanced pedestrian activated signals.
New traffic signals with video detection on mast arm poles to enhance safety and traffic flow.
Noise barriers along Business Loop 81 southbound between Martin Luther King East and along the off-ramp to South State Street, South Salina Street, and Brighton Avenue, in the northbound direction between a half mile south of the I-81 bridge over Colvin Street to just north of the I-81 bridge over Colvin Street.
As part of NYSDOT’s ongoing commitment to engage with the community at every step of the process, several outreach events will be scheduled to keep stakeholders informed about the project, including an open house for southside residents to learn more about contract five construction.
Senator Charles Schumer said, “With the fifth and final contract now awarded for Phase 1 of I-81’s transformation we have never been closer to realizing the dream of a reconnected Syracuse with green space and modern transportation for all. This contract will remove portions of the viaduct and signals that wheels are in motion to realize the city’s vision for a community grid to better connect Syracuse to a brighter future. When I led the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to passage, I did so with projects like Syracuse’s I-81 transformation as my north star. I am proud this significant over $250 million contract will be invested in Syracuse to reconnect the community and create good-paying construction jobs. I’m grateful for Governor Hochul and Mayor Walsh’s partnership in putting this federal funding to good use building the better, brighter future that Syracuse deserves.”
Representative John W. Mannion said, “Today marks another visible step forward in removing the outdated I-81 viaduct and constructing a better, more connected Syracuse and Central New York. Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership and commitment to bold infrastructure investments, we are creating a safer, smarter road system that will deliver smoother drives, stronger neighborhoods, cleaner air, and a brighter future for the region.”
State Senator Rachel May said, “The I-81 project is transforming Central New York, and it’s exciting to see the next phase begin. As the final contract is awarded, we must continue reinvesting in the Syracuse area, ensuring the high-quality construction jobs go to workers in our community. This once-in-a-lifetime project aims not only to improve our infrastructure but also to unite Syracuse and guide us toward a brighter future. Thank you to Governor Hochul for her leadership, NYSDOT for keeping the project on track, and my Senate Majority colleagues for their continued support.”
State Senator Christopher Ryan said, “This milestone is about more than just one phase of concrete and construction — it’s part of a major step forward in reconnecting neighborhoods, restoring opportunity, and renewing a sense of unity across our community. For too long, infrastructure decisions have divided communities and limited potential across Central New York. With this next phase of the I-81 Project, we move closer to a future where every neighborhood in Syracuse and the surrounding area is part of the progress. I’m grateful to Governor Hochul for her partnership and her commitment to building a more connected and equitable CNY.”
Assemblymember William Magnarelli said, “I am pleased to see the final Phase I contract of the I-81 Viaduct Project awarded. This marks an important step in the construction of the project. I look forward to its timely completion.”
Assemblymember Pamela Hunter said, “This investment not only addresses decades of infrastructure inequity, but also sets the foundation for a more connected, accessible, and unified community. The removal of the viaduct and the creation of the Community Grid will help restore neighborhoods that have been divided for far too long, and I commend Governor Hochul and the Department of Transportation for their continued commitment to making this vision a reality.”
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said, “The award of Contract Five means Syracuse continues to be all systems go for the positive transformation of Interstate 81. Work has already been occurring within the City of Syracuse, and with these next stages we will see even more progress toward the Community Grid. I thank Governor Hochul, Commissioner Dominguez and the entire New York State Department of Transportation I-81 project team for advancing this critically important public infrastructure project.”
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About the Department of Transportation It is the mission of the New York State Department of Transportation to provide a safe, reliable, equitable, and resilient transportation system that connects communities, enhances quality of life, protects the environment and supports the economic well-being of New York State.
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SINGAPORE, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Primech AI Pte. Ltd. (“Primech AI” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Primech Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: PMEC), recently participated in the prestigious Global Innovation Summit (GIS) 2025 held at HANNOVER MESSE in Hannover, Germany on April 1-2, 2025. The Company was invited by Enterprise Singapore to join a select group of innovative Singaporean companies representing the nation’s technological capabilities on the global stage.
Picture 1: Charles Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Primech Ai presenting at the Global Innovation Summit
The Global Innovation Summit, one of the world’s premier platforms for industrial technology innovation, provided Primech AI with the opportunity to showcase its groundbreaking HYTRON, AI-powered autonomous bathroom cleaning robots to an international audience of industry leaders, potential partners, and investors.
“Our participation at the Global Innovation Summit represents a significant milestone in our international expansion strategy,” said Mr. Charles Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Primech AI. “Being invited by Enterprise Singapore to represent Singapore’s innovation ecosystem at such a prestigious global event validates our technological achievements and opens doors to potential collaborations across European markets.”
During the two-day summit, the Primech AI team presented its innovation pitch focused on the HYTRON, AI-powered autonomous bathroom cleaning robot technology, highlighting its advanced AI capabilities, 3D-cleaning functionality, and the use of electrolyzed water for enhanced sanitation. The presentation demonstrated how Primech AI’s solutions address critical challenges in the facility services industry, including labor shortages, increasing hygiene standards, and sustainability requirements.
A key enabler behind HYTRON’s performance is the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super, a cutting-edge System-on-Module (SoM) designed for robust edge AI and robotics applications. By integrating NVIDIA’s advanced hardware and software technologies—including CUDA, TensorRT, cuDNN, and the NVIDIA Driver—Primech AI has significantly boosted HYTRON’s real-time data processing capabilities, enabling greater autonomy, precision, and responsiveness in demanding cleaning environments.
The Company engaged with numerous potential partners and customers from various sectors, including commercial property management, healthcare, hospitality, and public transportation, exploring opportunities to implement its autonomous cleaning solutions across European markets.
The Global Innovation Summit served as a platform for Primech AI to connect with international technology partners, distributors, and end-users interested in next-generation cleaning solutions. These engagements have already resulted in several promising partnership discussions that could accelerate the Company’s European market entry strategy.
“The response to our technology at HANNOVER MESSE exceeded our expectations,” said Mr. Kin Wai Ho, Chief Executive Officer of Primech Holdings. “We identified significant interest from European facility management companies seeking to integrate autonomous cleaning solutions into their operations. The connections made at this event will be instrumental in our international growth plans.”
About the Global Innovation Summit 2025 The Global Innovation Summit is Eureka’s flagship event organised as part of HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology. The summit brings innovators, industry leaders, policymakers, and investors together to explore emerging technologies and foster international collaborations. The 2025 edition focused on sustainable industrial solutions, AI applications, and automation technologies transforming traditional industries.
About Primech AI Primech AI is a leading robotics company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of innovation in technology. With a team of passionate individuals and a commitment to collaboration, Primech AI is poised to revolutionize the robotics industry with groundbreaking solutions that make a meaningful impact on society. For more information, visitwww.primech.ai.
About Primech Holdings Limited Headquartered in Singapore, Primech Holdings Limited is a leading provider of comprehensive technology-driven facilities services, predominantly serving both public and private sectors throughout Singapore. Primech Holdings offers an extensive range of services tailored to meet the complex demands of its diverse clientele. Services include advanced general facility maintenance services, specialized cleaning solutions such as marble polishing and facade cleaning, meticulous stewarding services, and targeted cleaning services for offices and homes. Known for its commitment to sustainability and cutting-edge technology, Primech Holdings integrates eco-friendly practices and smart technology solutions to enhance operational efficiency and client satisfaction. This strategic approach positions Primech Holdings as a leader in the industry and a proactive contributor to advancing industry standards and practices in Singapore and beyond. For more information, visit www.primechholdings.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including, for example, statements about completing the acquisition, anticipated revenues, growth, and expansion. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are also based on assumptions regarding the Company’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. Investors can find many (but not all) of these statements by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure that such expectations will be correct. The Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC.
Pope Francis’ journey from the streets of Flores, a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to the Vatican, is a remarkable tale.
Born in 1936, Jorge Bergoglio was raised in a middle-class family of Italian Catholic immigrants.
Bergoglio defied his mother’s wish for him to become a medical doctor and chose instead to pursue priesthood, a calling he felt during confession. The young man joined the Jesuits in the 1950s, attracted to the order’s vow of poverty and its ethos of serving others and living simply.
He became a priest in 1969, Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and took on the papacy in 2013. As Pope Francis, his dedication to social justice was deeply rooted in the Latin American context.
The region’s history of inequality, poverty and political upheaval greatly influenced his perspective.
The young Argentinian priest
Bergoglio, a devoted supporter of the San Lorenzo soccer team, was also a confident tango dancer, mate drinker, and an unconditional admirer of his compatriot, Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
In 1965, the two men collaborated on the publication of short stories written by Bergoglio’s literature students. The students had been inspired by a seminar led by Borges, organised by the young priest.
Borges thought highly of Bergoglio, finding him charming and intelligent. For Borges, Bergoglio was a Jesuit through and through, noting the clerics of that order had been historically transgressive as well as possessors of a good sense of humour.
While Borges never saw him transformed into Pope Francis, his observations somehow fit with the respect Bergoglio earned as a global leader.
Theology of the people
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he lived modestly, often taking public transport and dedicating himself to the poor and disenfranchised. He personally attended the needs of underprivileged neighbourhoods known as villas miseria (literally “misery towns”) in Argentine Spanish.
He was a vocal opponent to economic inequality. During the 2001 Argentine economic crisis he advocated for the rights and dignity of impoverished citizens.
Pope Francis hails from a region deeply influenced by the progressive movements of Catholic priests and nuns, who were significantly inspired by liberation theology during the 1960s in Latin America.
Liberation theology developed in Latin America during the latter part of the 20th century, as a reaction to significant political and theological transformations in the area. It believed in political liberation for the oppressed, inspired by the Cuban Revolution and Second Vatican Council by Pope John XXIII, both in 1959.
While Francis did not fully subscribe to the tenets of liberation theology, much of his dedication to social justice aligns with its ideals. Pope Francis’ social awareness was deeply shaped by the “theology of the people”.
Distinct to Argentina, and emerging in the 1960s, the theology of the people shared liberation theology’s focus on social justice, but is devoid of Marxist ideology, and emphasises the dignity and agency of the marginalised and the impoverished.
During Argentina’s dictatorial regime from 1976–83, Bergoglio led the Jesuits. But he did not adopt the highly dangerous stance of full opposition typical among liberation theologians elsewhere in Argentina and other parts of Latin America.
Commenting on Latin American affairs
In his early years as the Pope, he resonated with progressive Catholics across Latin America, because of his grounding in Argentinian theology and his focus on social justice. But in recent years, his popularity in some Latin American countries declined.
In Argentina, this dip in enthusiasm is partly attributed to his decision not to visit, despite travelling to neighbouring nations.
More profoundly, the decline likely stems from his fixed stance against contentious issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. To the disappointment of many Argentines and other Latin American citizens, he refused to compromise.
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis received all Argentine presidents – even those who were previously critical of him, such as Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
He maintained a strong connection to his Buenos Aires roots and remained engaged with Argentina’s social and political landscape, often commenting on situations that provoke strong reactions from politicians.
He was a critic of policies instituted by the current President of Argentina, Javier Milei, particularly Milei’s libertarian model of economy and the government’s brutal response to public dissent and opposition. In September 2024, the Pope famously said:
the government put its foot down: instead of paying for social justice, it paid for pepper spray.
An alternative model of leadership
By reflecting on how Pope Francis’ theology is rooted in the Argentina he grew up in, we can better understand his actions as Pope.
He appointed clergymen from non-European countries, enhancing representation from Asia, Africa and Latin America and increased the participation of women within the Church’s leadership structures.
His landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’, underscored the moral imperative to address climate change, inspiring accolades from global leaders. His critique of Israel and the conflict in Gaza underscored his consistent opposition to war and advocacy for peace.
Despite existing tensions and contradictions within his papacy – particularly regarding the Church’s stance on LGBTQIA+ issues and women’s rights – Pope Francis’s approach to global issues remained steadfast and aligned with his core values, and the Buenos Aires he came of age in.
Francis’s leadership is a product of his upbringing and a catalyst for regional and global dialogue on social justice.
The profound influence of the Latin American region on him is well captured by long time friend, Uruguayan lawyer and activist, Guzman Carriquiry who described the Pope as:
Priest, and profoundly priest; Jesuit and profoundly Jesuit; Latin American, and profoundly Latin American.
Fernanda Peñaloza 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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has draped himself in old-fashioned, medieval conceptions of Russian history to add symbolic weight to his authoritarian government.AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
Published in March 2025, the textbook’s co-author Nina Ostanina, chair of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of the Family, claims that it will teach students “traditional moral values” that will improve “the demographic situation in the country” as part of a “Family Studies” course that was rolled out in the 2024-2025 school year.
But some of those lessons for modern living come from a less-than-modern source. Among the materials borrowed from in “My Family” is the 16th century “Domostroi” – a collection of rules for maintaining patriarchal domestic order. It was written, supposedly, by Sylvester, a monk-tutor of czar Ivan the Terrible.
Unsurprisingly, some teachings from “Domostroi” seem out-of-keeping with today’s sensibilities. For example, it states that it is the right of a father to coerce, if needed by force, his household – at the time, this would refer to both relatives and slaves – in accordance with Orthodox dogmas.
“Husbands should teach their wives with love and exemplary instruction,” reads one of the Domostroi quotations repeated in the textbook.
“Wives ask their husbands about strict order, how to save their souls, please God and their husbands, arrange their home well, and submit to their husbands in all matters; and what the husband orders, they should agree with love and carry out according to his commands,” reads another extract
The use of “Domostroi” in the textbook both references the past while evoking the current government’s politics of decriminalizing family violence. A 2017 law, for example, removed nonaggravated “battery of close persons” from the list of criminal offenses.
It also fits a wider pattern. As a scholar of historical memory, I have observed that references to the Russian Middle Ages are part of the Kremlin’s broader politics of using the medieval past to justify current agendas, something I have termed “political neomedievalism.”
Indeed, President Vladimir Putin’s government is actively prioritizing initiatives that use medieval Russia as a model for the country’s future. In doing so, the Kremlin unites a long-nurtured dream of the Russian far right with a broader quest for the fulfillment of Russian imperial ambitions.
But the group’s name evokes the first reign of brutal state terror in Russian history. The Oprichnina was a state policy unleashed by Ivan the Terrible from 1565 to 1572 to establish his unrestrained power over the country. The oprichniks were Ivan’s personal guard, who attached a dog’s head and a broom to their saddles to show that they were the czar’s “dogs” who swept treason away.
Chroniclers and foreign travelers left accounts of the sadistic tortures and mass executions that were conducted with Ivan’s participation. The oprichniks raped and dismembered women, flayed or boiled men alive and burned children. In this frenzy of violence, they slaughtered many thousands of innocent people.
Ivan’s reign led to a period known as the “Time of Troubles,” marked by famine and military defeat. Some scholars estimate that by its end, Russia lost nearly two-thirds of its population.
Ivan IV, czar of Russia from 1547 to 1584, known as Ivan the Terrible. Rischgitz/Getty Images
Throughout Russian history, Ivan the Terrible – who among his other crimes murdered his eldest son and had the head of Russian Orthodox Church strangled for dissent – was remembered as a repulsive tyrant.
However, since the mid-2000s, when the Russian government under Putin took an increasingly authoritarian turn, Ivan and his terror have undergone a state-driven process of reevalution.
The Kremlin and its far-right proxies now paint Ivan as a great statesman and devout Russian Orthodox Christian who laid the foundations of the Russian Empire.
Prior to that alteration of Russian historical memory, only one other Russian head of state had held Ivan in such high esteem: Josef Stalin.
Even so, no public monuments to Ivan existed until 2016, when Putin’s officials unveiled the first of three bronze statues dedicated to the terrible czar. Yet, the cinematic propaganda outmatched the commemorations of Ivan in stone. By my count, from 2009 to 2022, 12 state-sponsored films and TV series paying tribute to Ivan the Terrible and his rule aired in prime time on Russian TV channels.
Russian revisionism
The post-Soviet rehabilitation of Ivan the Terrible goes back to the writings of Ivan Snychov, the metropolitan, or high ranking bishop, of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga. His book, “The Autocracy of the Spirit,” published in 1994, gave rise to a fundamentalist sect known as “Tsarebozhie,” or neo-Oprichnina. Tsarebozhie calls for a return to an autocratic monarchy, a society of orders and the canonization of all Russian czars. The belief that Russian state power is “sacred” – a central dogma of the sect – was reaffirmed on April 18, 2025, by Alexander Kharichev, an official in Putin’s Presidential Administration, in an article that has been likened to an instruction manual for the “builder of Putinism.”
The canonization of Ivan the Terrible specifically is a top priority for members of this sect. And while the Russian Orthodox Church has yet to canonize Ivan, Tsarebozhie have garnered significant support from Russian priests, politicians and laypersons alike. Their efforts sit alongside Putin’s yearslong push to give public support for Ivan. Not by chance, Putin’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, reportedly named Ivan the Terrible among one of Putin’s three “most trusted advisers.”
In Snychov’s worldview, Russians are a messianic people, part of an imperial nation that is uniquely responsible for preventing Satan’s domination of the world. In his explicitly antisemitic pseudo-history of Russia, the Oprichnina is described as a “saintly monastic order” led by a “pious tsar.”
Since the 1930s, when Stalin used Ivan to justify his own repressions, Ivan and Stalin – the Oprichnina and Stalinism – became historical doubles. The whitewashing of Ivan by the Kremlin goes hand in hand with Putin’s rehabilitation of Stalin as commander in chief of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.
Promoting the cult of the “Great Patriotic War” – as the Second World War has officially been called since the Soviet period – has been central to Putin’s militarization of Russian society and part of the propaganda effort to foster support for the invasion of Ukraine. The remorse for the loss of empire and desire to restore it underlies Moscow’s discourse over the past two decades.
Putin’s neomedieval politics have adopted the Russian far-right belief that the country should return to the traditions of medieval Rus, as it existed before the Westernization reforms undertaken by Peter the Great in the early 18th century.
Over the past 15 years, Russian TV viewers have received an average of two state-funded movies per month, advertising the benefits of Russian medieval society and praising Russian medieval warlords.
This use of Russian historical memory has allowed Putin to normalize his use of state violence abroad and at home and mobilize support for his suppression of the opposition. The major goal of political neomedievalism is to legitimize huge social and economic inequalities in post-Soviet society as a part of Russia’s national heritage.
To serve the purpose of undermining the rule of law and democratic freedoms, as my research demonstrates, the Kremlin and its proxies have promoted the Russian Middle Ages – with its theocratic monarchy, society of estates, slavery, serfdom and repression – as a state-sponsored alternative to democracy.
Dina Khapaeva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research, Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Center
The Economic Community of West African states (Ecowas) is set to mark 50 years in May 2025. It was established in 1975 by 16 member states. Though seven of the founding leaders had ascended to power through coups d’état, the initial focus was economic growth and regional trade and cooperation.
Within three years, however, its mandates were expanded to encompass political, security and other objectives. These additions were necessary as the west African post-independence governments sought to respond to shifting socio-economic and security challenges. These included coup d’états in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritania. There were also other threats to the rule of law, electoral integrity and good governance.
To address the expansion of its mandate, the Ecowas treaties were revised in 1993 to pass more power to the regional bloc.
These changes unsettled the relationships among member states. Acting in unison or following the rules hasn’t always suited national agendas. That partly explains the decision by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to break away from Ecowas in 2024.
Most recently, the military government in Guinea, Togo’s Gnassingbe dynasty and Chad’s Déby regime have all resisted Ecowas pressure. Their domestic political agendas contradict the organisation’s norms and principles.
We have years of research spanning politics, citizenship, international relations and civil conflict.
Admittedly, the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – to form the Alliance of Sahel States – will form an unsettling cloud over the Ecowas anniversary. We argue however that despite inevitable upheavals during five decades of postcolonial nation-building, Ecowas can look back on successes in integration, peace and security, and good governance.
The consequences of the withdrawal of the three countries for Ecowas as a whole shouldn’t be overstated. Still, it is a telling blow to the organisation. It represents a direct questioning of the principle of regional integration and cooperation.
The three military juntas evidently see Ecowas as a dysfunctional club of self-interested heads of state that kowtows to Europe.
African public opinion has swung in favour of a brand of populism promising quick military solutions. It’s seen as the antidote to the failure of domestic and multilateral attempts to stem jihadist violence in the Sahel.
In practice, the juntas have relied on states of emergency as a cover for systematic aggression and abuse of civilian populations.
Even if one accepts the trade-off between security and democracy, the new military rulers have so far been unable to stem jihadist violence in their countries. Instead they have committed violence against their own populations. This is especially the case in Mali and Burkina Faso.
These acts include the summary execution of several hundred civilians in Burkina Faso in 2024.
Despite these abuses, the military juntas have succeeded in framing Ecowas as part of the problem of external control over national sovereignty. This is at the heart of Ecowas’s emerging legitimacy crisis. It is a crisis which undermines many of the soft diplomacy tools that have worked relatively well in the past to unite its members.
The soft power tools include:
the Council of the Wise – deployed in mediation and negotiation in a number of political crises in the region, including those in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Togo
Traditional Authorities and Leaders, who are sent in when other mechanisms fail.
These diplomatic tools are less visible than high-level delegations and official statements or sanctions. But they have been employed in numerous political crises in the subregion over the past two decades.
They have arguably tempered the outcomes of constitutional crises, like the one sparked by a popular uprising in Burkina Faso in 2014. They also defused the political crisis in Guinea Bissau between 2015 and 2019.
The small victories of soft diplomacy don’t always lead to outright successes. But they have been a means to allow Ecowas involvement in mediation efforts. They have ensured the organisation’s overall relevance and justification in the face of unconstitutional changes of government.
The failure of the soft diplomacy mechanisms in the biggest crisis to face Ecowas tests the organisation’s ability to withstand future crises.
The way forward for Ecowas at 50
The next phase for Ecowas starts in the context of public perceptions critical of the member states. Criticism has been levelled against Ecowas as a “union of heads of state” prioritising their interests over the people’s.
Nevertheless, most of the citizens still prefer democracy as a political system. Even the military juntas embrace (at least on paper) these basic principles as their long-term aspiration.
Ecowas has championed democratic values of equality, freedom, justice, pluralism, tolerance, respect and public participation. These remain the keys to reversing the sub-region’s recent unconstitutional changes of government. Ecowas must strengthen its voice in calling for a return to civilian rule and the respect of its fundamental democratic principles.
The organisation’s representatives must articulate these basic values as an expression of the will of its citizens.
On the other hand, Ecowas must continue to leave the dorrs openen to the military juntas. This could potentially facilitate the transition to civilian rule and signal a fresh start for regional collaboration. Its soft diplomacy tools will be essential for improving dialogue and reaching viable compromises.
Ecowas must strive to improve its legitimacy in the eyes of the populations of its member states. This can be achieved by applying its own democratic values consistently and objectively across the region. The anniversary provides an important opportunity for introspection and genuine institutional reform.
Emmanuel Kwesi Aning receives funding from D-SIP – Domestic Security Implications of UN Peacekeeping in Ghana, which is a Danish Funded Program
Jesper Bjarnesen receives funding from the Swedish Science Council (grant VR2019-03444).
After more than three years of war, the prospects of peace for Ukraine remain slim. There is no obvious credible pathway even to a ceasefire, given Russia’s refusal to extend a brief and shaky truce over Easter. This, despite the US, UK and Ukraine all signalling their support for this idea.
And even if the considerable hurdles impeding a ceasefire deal could be overcome, a more fundamental problem would remain. None of the key players in the conflict appear to have a plan for an agreement that is likely to be acceptable to Kyiv and Moscow.
Previous plans, such as a joint proposal by China and Brazil in May last year which was supported by a Chinese-led “Friends of Peace” group were primarily focused on a ceasefire as a stepping stone to negotiations about an actual peace agreement.
This and other plans were all light on detail of what a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would entail but were nonetheless roundly rejected by Ukraine and its western allies as favouring Russia. Given that a ceasefire would simply freeze the front lines and very likely make them permanent with or without a subsequent peace agreement, this was not an unreasonable position.
What Ukraine proposed instead, however – and what its western allies backed, at least rhetorically – was hardly more viable. The peace plan proposed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2022 was already on life support at the time of the first “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” in Switzerland in June 2024.
Only 84 of the 100 delegations attending the summit (out of 160 invited) supported a watered-down version of Zelensky’s plan in their final communique – and there was no agreement on a follow-up meeting. Ukraine’s peace plan was clearly dead in the water.
Ukraine then proposed an “internal resilience plan”. With its its focus on ensuring that the country can survive a long war of attrition with Russia, this is anything but a peace plan.
But it serves Kyiv’s needs to avoid an unconditional surrender to Moscow. This is also high on the agenda for Ukraine’s European allies who remain committed to supporting Kyiv.
For the emerging European coalition of the willing, it is important to keep Ukraine in the fight while they build up their own defences. They face the possibility of a new international order in which the world might well be carved up into US, Russian and Chinese spheres of influence.
Where the White House stands
Such a carve-up is at the heart of efforts by the US president, Donald Trump. Trump is trying to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as well as a deal that would give the US privileged access to Ukrainian resources.
The ceasefire deal Trump appears to envisage would divide Ukraine itself into spheres of influence according to a plan recently suggested by Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. Yet even such a pro-Moscow arrangement that would offer Putin control of 20% of Ukraine continues to elude negotiators.
At present, the Russian president has few incentives to settle for less than his maximum demands and stop a war that he thinks he is still able to win on the battlefield – particularly given Trump’s unwillingness to exert any meaningful pressure on Russia.
At times, it now appears more likely that Trump will simply abandon his efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine. From a Russian perspective, this would be preferable to a ceasefire that freezes the conflict but doesn’t lead to a peace deal reflecting Moscow’s demands.
The likely calculation in the Kremlin is that even if the 2026 mid-term elections in the US water down Trump’s power, that still leaves two more years to conquer more Ukrainian territory. Should Washington then make another push for a ceasefire, Moscow could claim any additional conquests as a price for Ukraine to pay for a settlement.
The simple reason for this is that Russia’s and Ukraine’s positions on an acceptable outcome have not shifted. Putin remains committed to the full annexation of four complete Ukrainian regions as well as retaining Crimea. Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out territorial concessions and is broadly supported by Ukrainians in this stance.
For the west, the reality that a peace agreement is close to impossible on terms satisfying all sides has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. To the extent that there are any joint efforts by Ukraine, the US and the European coalition of the willing, they are completely centred on a workable ceasefire.
At a meeting of foreign ministers and high-level officials in Paris on April 17, discussions were focused on making such a ceasefire sustainable.
While details of how this can be achieved remain unclear, the fact that there now appears to be a more inclusive negotiations track signals progress, at least on the process of negotiations. Whether this will lead to an actual breakthrough towards a sustainable ceasefire, however, will depend on their substance and whether Ukraine and Russia can ultimately agree on terms about disengagement of forces, monitoring, and guarantees and enforcement mechanisms.
This is an already incredibly high bar, and the bar for a subsequent peace agreement is higher yet. In the current stage of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, a ceasefire is clearly a precondition for a peace agreement. But the sole focus on the former will not make the latter any more likely.
What’s more, given Russia’s track record of reneging on the Minsk ceasefire agreements of September 2014 and February 2015, investing everything in a ceasefire deal might turn out not just a self-fulfilling but a self-defeating prophecy for Ukraine and its supporters.
Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.
Tetyana Malyarenko 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.
And while more recent attempts, such as the Spread Campaign in Australia, have tended to be less overtly graphic, they still focus exclusively on harms associated with drinking, such as cancer. They use fear to try and scare people into changing their drinking behaviour.
But despite their popularity with policymakers, psychological research has generally shown that campaigns based on fear do not change behaviour. What’s more, our researchhas found that even when young people thought they would regret what they did when drunk and made plans to drink less, they still ended up drinking the same amount.
Over a number of research studies, we’ve tried to figure out why regret doesn’t change drinking behaviour. What we’ve found is that for many young people, the fear of missing out on the good things they might experience while drinking outweighs the fear that they might do something they regret.
When young people in a focus group talked about their binge drinking, several downplayed the severity of the things they’d done while drunk – which included taking their clothes off in a nightclub and dancing naked on a table, and getting a tattoo of a footballer on their bum. They explained that the social benefits they got out of drinking, such as making shared memories, bonding and meeting new people, outweighed any negative consequences that followed.
This helps to explain why health campaigns can be ineffective. If you can justify naked dancing or getting a tattoo on your bum, you’re not going be too bothered about feeling a bit sick the morning after.
In a second, ongoing study, we talked to young adults about their fears of missing social events. Many told us that not attending these events meant exclusion from in-jokes based on shared experiences, leaving them feeling isolated. One of our interviewees even admitted an event would be “rubbish” but went anyway so as to not miss out.
So, it seemed to us that regret might work differently for things you do – “action regret” – versus things you do not do: “inaction regret”.
Applied to alcohol, this makes sense. Memories of hangovers fade, but you hold on to those shared experiences that mean so much. Conversely, not sharing experiences means you are left out of conversations, wondering what might have been.
This means that Fomo – the fear of missing out – might be a better predictor of young adults’ drinking behaviour than anticipating regret.
For our most recently published research study, we recruited over 100 young adults aged 18-30 and asked them to report the Fomo they felt and how much they planned to drink. They did this three times a day on three consecutive weekends. We also asked them how much they had gone on to drink each time.
Measuring Fomo and drinking plans multiple times over a short period helped us understand fluctuations in feelings and drinking plans. Our results show that experiencing higher levels of Fomo increased how much young adults planned to drink, and led to them drinking more.
This suggests one reason young adults drink more after experiencing Fomo is that they believe drinking more makes it more likely something memorable will happen. This supports what we found in our qualitative studies.
In contrast, experiencing Fomo did not make young adults drink more frequently. In another study one of us (Richard) conducted, young adults’ drinking frequency was best predicted by social factors, such as how often young adults contacted their friends about drinking, and their drinking habits.
As drinking often happens in social settings with friends, its frequency is likely to depend more on these social and contextual factors, rather than individual differences in Fomo or drinking plans.
Overall, our research shows that Fomo – an entirely psychological phenomenon – influences young adults’ drinking plans and how much they drink. Such results can help explain why hard-hitting health campaigns that highlight regret following binge-drinking are ineffective at reducing binge-drinking. Young adults are more worried about missing out socially than about the hangover the next day.
Richard Cooke has received funding from NIHR, the Wellcome Trust, European Union, and the European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB) who were funded by the Brewers of Europe. ERAB had no role in study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, writing of manuscripts or decisions to submit papers for the projects they supported.
Joel Crawford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Isle of Man government has said it is “fully committed to environmental protection and transparency” regarding its Unesco biosphere status – despite admitting that legacy landfill sites are discharging hazardous chemical contaminants into the sea.
The Isle of Man is a self-governing island in the Irish Sea between the UK and and Ireland. It is not part of the UK or the European Union, but has the status of “crown dependency” with an independent administration. Its population of about 84,000 people are British citizens.
But polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) – synthetic industrial chemicals once used to make electricals and other materials – continue to be released into the waterways and the sea.
Although the production of PCBs was banned globally in the 1980s, they still exist in many products, like electrical equipment, much of which lingers in landfills and so they continue to pose a risk to ocean health. Research has shown how legacy contaminants such as PCBs can be released from hundreds of thousands of coastal landfills across Europe – and the Isle of Man is no different.
Evidence has been accumulating for years about PCB discharges on the Isle of Man and much of it is on the government’s own website.
For example, 4,000 tonnes of toxic silt from harbour dredging – which included PCBs and heavy metals was dumped in the Irish sea in 2014. This “trial dump” was despite environmental and legal advice from its marine monitoring officer that this would be ignoring international agreements and would be damaging to the environment.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
Then in 2015 – a time when it would have been putting together its Unesco application – the island government compiled a document, titled “the Peel Marina silt questions and answers” in which it discussed further toxic waste dumping options. It states:
Disposing of 18,000 tonnes of contaminated sediments from the marina directly to the sea bed would have had a negative impact on the species involved. Testing carried out by Defa [Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture] officers had already identified the likelihood that earlier disposal of 4,000 tonnes into the sea had contributed to rises in contaminants within commercial fisheries species to levels approaching EU food safety standards.
That batch of 18,000 tonnes of contaminated silt, collected after harbour dredging in Peel harbour, was eventually moved to a sealed pit.
But it is the ongoing situation with legacy landfills which is seeing PCBs continuing to leach into the sea – a situation that the island government admits will not be entirely solved until the construction of a wastewater treatment plant (building is due to start on the plant in April 2025).
But despite its pledges of being a destination with a “fantastic seascape…and coastline”, contaminated leachate from decommissioned landfill continues to drain into the marine environment.
The Isle of Man applied for the biosphere reserve status in 2013, which was awarded in 2016 based on the submission of a comprehensive 250-page nomination document. But there was no mention of toxic landfill leachate or the dumping of thousands of tonnes of contaminated harbour silt which later came to light.
The Isle of Man government told The Conversation that Unesco was aware of the discharges and that “biosphere status is not a hallmark of perfection”. It said its PCB discharges are in line with those of the UK.
But it raises the question of whether such pollution can be in line with the spirit of the biosphere status.
It is important to be clear that the Isle of Man is not unique in the British Islands in having managed disposal or unintentional discharges of legacy industrial wastes to the sea.
My team’s research (Patrick Byrne’s) documents thousands of coastal landfills in England and Wales, many of which discharge hazardous materials to the sea through leachates or erosion.
A Unesco biosphere reserve is not supposed to be perfect – almost nowhere is. But it should be a model for how we protect and sustainably manage our environment, including how we address legacy pollution. Why not highlight the issue of legacy industrial wastes as a challenge to be met?
The Isle of Man government rejects the idea that it misrepresented any of the facts around its environmental credentials.
But when The Conversation put the details to Unesco, it said it had not been made aware of previous dumping of toxic silt containing PCBs in 2014 and added that the first time the issue was raised with them was “in late 2023”.
A spokesperson said: “At the time of the nomination, the International Committee of the Unesco Biosphere Programme was not aware of this issue.”
The government told The Conversation it included “all information relevant for consideration by Unesco” when it made its application, but said certain discharges were not in the “zonation area” and that “nowhere is perfect”.
The major concern is about being open and honest with the public and Unesco about the environmental challenges and potential human health concerns associated with legacy pollutants like PCBs. It is entirely possible that the Isle of Man’s Unesco status would still have been granted if Unesco had been fully aware about the dumping at sea.
Landfills
The Conversation spoke to Calum MacNeil, a freshwater scientist who worked for the Isle of Man government for 13 years. He now works for a research institute in New Zealand but has been flagging concerns about contamination from toxic silt. Together with his help, we spent months gathering all of the evidence, checking the facts and joining the dots between silt dredged from a harbour, landfills and sealed pits aimed at temporarily dealing with this legacy pollution.
On the Isle of Man, historic landfills dating back to the 1940s are unlined so they are not sealed. After heavy rain, pollutants can wash away and leach out into the surrounding environment.
According to a 2017 news report, the government stated that the leachate “does not pose a risk to people swimming in Peel Bay” because it’s diluted by seawater. MacNeil insists that this is “a crucial admission” because he believes that the government cannot scientifically prove that any public exposure to PCB contamination is ever safe.
MacNeil said: “I feel there needs to be international scientific and legal scrutiny of all of this. I believe both Unesco and the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have a responsibility here as well given the international agreements involved and the biosphere designation. Given the biosphere status, surely the Isle of Man government should be acting not just to the letter of the law but in the spirit of the law.”
Regulations
While various international regulations govern levels of chemical contamination in leachate in and immediately around old landfills, the same rules do not apply to anything that is deliberately dumped or discharged directly into rivers or the sea.
Isle of Man legislation called the Water Pollution Act 1993 outlines that any discharge or dumping must abide by any and all relevant international agreements that apply to the Isle of Man.
MacNeil argues that the onus should be on the Isle of Man government to prove that any discharge of PCBs is legal under international agreements.
Tourists and local residents swim all year round in bathing waters such as Peel Bay, and praise for this nation’s marine conservation achievements is vast. Last summer, the Isle of Man was even nominated for the “most desirable island in Europe” travel award hosted by magazine Wanderlust.
With goals to grow annual visitor numbers to 500,000, a thriving ecotourism industry could contribute an estimated £520 million by 2032. According to the island’s tourism agency, Visit Isle of Man, it aims to be “a leading British ecotourism destination that provides a range of opportunities for visitors to connect with our unique nature and wildlife”.
Contaminated silt was allegedly dredged from Peel harbour and dumped out at sea. Daniel Sztork/Shutterstock
As one 2022 study explains, biosphere reserves are “learning sites for sustainable development”. Researchers point out that a coherent and holistic approach on the Isle of Man is not necessarily easy to achieve, in part because the biosphere is managed by one government department (Defa) with a remit for environment, food and agriculture, resulting in “age-old tensions between farming and conservation”.
The Isle of Man government’s website states: “Our biosphere status encourages us to learn about and cherish what we have in the Isle of Man and safeguard it for the future by making good decisions, as individuals, as organisations and as an island. It tells potential new residents and visitors that we are a special place for people and nature and have a conscience.”
But without openly acknowledging the legacy pollution challenges, they are literally being buried for future generations. This ultimately undermines local, national, and international efforts to learn and move forward in a sustainable way, which is at the heart of the Unesco biosphere philosophy.
A spokesperson for the Isle of Man government said:
“The Isle of Man government remains fully committed to environmental protection and transparency regarding its Unesco Biosphere status. We reject any assertion that the government has acted to misrepresent environmental matters in its Unesco application.
“All relevant data and policies have been developed in line with scientific evidence and regulatory frameworks. The Isle of Man government conducts rigorous environmental monitoring, including assessments of water quality and potential contaminants, to ensure compliance with established safety standards.
“The Isle of Man has legacy landfill sites similar to those found in the UK, Europe and around the world which leach contaminants, including PCBs, into the marine environment. Details of PCB discharges from UK landfills can be found on the UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) data sets where the pollutant threshold below which data is not required to be submitted for PCBs in water is stated as 0.1kg.
“The level of PCBs entering the marine environment in the Isle of Man is slightly lower than the average throughout the Irish Sea as determined by sediment and biota samples.
“The leachate discharge from the historic Raggatt landfill, which closed in 1990, is planned to be discharged to Peel Wastewater Treatment Plant which has recently received planning permission and construction expected to commence by April 2025.
“As stated on the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture’s pollution control monitoring webpage: ‘Independent advice from Phoenix Engineering is that this would represent the best available technology to manage and control emissions of PCBs present in Raggatt landfill leachate to the marine environment in Peel.’
“Due to historic mining, heavy metals such as lead are known to flow down the river and accumulate in silt at Peel Marina, which has previously exceeded Cefas action level 2 where sediments are considered unacceptable for uncontrolled disposal at sea without special handling and containment. No further deposits to sea of Peel dredging silt have been made since 2014, and a catchment management plan is currently being developed to reduce this contamination at Peel Marina.
“The aim for all Unesco Biospheres is to improve our environment; something which the Isle of Man has consistently strived to achieve since accreditation in 2016.”
A spokesperson for Unesco said:
“Unesco first received information on this issue in late 2023, which was then relayed to the relevant government authorities for comments. Unesco was informed that the situation appeared to stem from the presence of a UK historic landfill which is being followed through a comprehensive monitoring programme.
“Following Unesco’s request, the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs confirmed that ‘it is in line with the UK government’s responsibilities under the Ospar convention, and are satisfied the Isle of Man government is taking all possible steps to prevent and eliminate pollution of PCBs from land-based sources entering the marine environment in line with Article 3 of the Ospar convention’.
“In the original application dossier, the Isle of Man committed to ‘take responsibility for overseeing salvage and pollution counter-measures in order to comply with international conventions’. It also committed to observing a range of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
“As the Isle of Man Biosphere Reserve was designated in 2016, its periodic review is scheduled for 2026. Unesco will make all information available to the Intergovernmental Committee in charge of examining the renewal of the status.”
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Patrick Byrne receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council.
Anna Turns 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.
Periods can be painful, unpredictable and disruptive. And for autistic people, they can present additional challenges. From sensory sensitivities to barriers accessing healthcare, the experience of autistic menstruation remains under-explored in research.
Our new review highlights just how little we know about autistic experiences of periods – and why more inclusive research from autistic people themselves is needed.
Menstruation – the biological process in which blood is discharged through the vagina from the inner lining of the uterus – is often described as a negative experience. Periods can be irregular, heavy and painful. They may also affect a person socially and emotionally.
Despite 1.8 billion people across the world menstruating every month, period stigma still exists. For many, this leads to social isolation and negatively affects their access to appropriate menstrual education and products. And, while menstrual products and awareness have improved over the last few decades, many people across the globe are still unable to afford the products they need.
Incidences of structural sexism within education, the workplace and healthcare can negatively affect those who aren’t cisgender men. People assigned female at birth – including girls, women, transgender men and some non-binary people – who experience menstruation are affected by the historical focus on the male body in healthcare. For example, gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis are only now receiving attention within research, having previously been largely ignored.
Autism research has historically focused on cisgender men and boys. The experiences of autistic people assigned female at birth have only recently started to be researched, especially in relation to their reproductive care. What limited research does exist has shown poorer physical, mental and social wellbeing outcomes relating to their experiences of menstruation.
We reviewed existing studies that detail experiences of periods both from the point of view of autistic people and those who support them. We focused on research that had interviewed autistic people directly, and those within their social circle, about periods. Twelve sources, including research papers, articles and blogs, fitted our criteria, from which we identified the important themes.
Our sources included contributions from autistic people who were mostly teenagers and young adults, alongside parents, siblings, and medical and educational professionals. While the themes discussed depended on who was being spoken to, many autistic reflections focused on the need for information and practical support ahead of periods starting.
Some interviewees described having autism-specific experiences during menstruation, such as increased sensory sensitivities and burnout (a state of exhaustion and personal withdrawal). These were often unseen by the people around them.
Parental and professional comments typically focused on the need for tailored support for their autistic children who were menstruating, with the end-goal of independence. Often, their comments set the child against neurotypical standards, the social norms of the majority.
Menstruation was described as a predominantly negative experience by everyone who was spoken to. But mentions of period stigma affected how comfortable autistic people were discussing this topic with others.
They were also less likely to access social networks and peer support in social environments such as schools. Very often because of this, autistic people weren’t provided with the knowledge they needed to compare their experiences with those of other people.
Pain
The dismissal of pain emerged as a significant issue. Many autistic people reported that their pain was normalised by those around them, including parents, siblings and school staff, regardless of its severity. They were told their level of pain was something everyone else also experienced and dealt with. Autistic people were also likely to internalise these messages until they became their own opinions and beliefs.
Since autistic people often perceive and communicate pain differently, this can lead to delays in seeking help – and being rejected when they do so.
The lack of autistic voices in research influences the kind of support that is developed. If resources are designed based on the priorities of parents or professionals rather than autistic people themselves, these resources may fail to meet the needs of the people having periods.
There are specific autism-related experiences of menstruation that we know less about because of the lack of research. Our review suggests autistic people are often held to neurotypical standards of menstrual management – without recognition of autism-specific factors such as sensory sensitivities, communication differences and the ways in which information is best conveyed.
We argue that future research on menstruation should include autistic voices, speaking to people of different ages and backgrounds about their experiences.
By prioritising autistic perspectives, we can develop more accessible resources and communication strategies that ensure this knowledge is transferred in ways that make sense for those who need it most. Tailored support could also help parents, carers and professionals better understand and respond to autistic experiences of menstruation.
If we want to create meaningful change, we need to start by listening to autistic people themselves.
Aimee Grant receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute. She is a non-executive director of Disability Wales.
Monique Craine owns & runs Neurodivergent Matters. They are a member of Welsh Labour. They are part of the Independent Advisory Group for Dyfed Powys Police. Monique is also a community councillor for Tawe Uchaf Community Council.
Rebecca Ellis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Detris Honora Adelabu, Clinical Professor of Applied Human Development, Boston University
More than 440 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 42 states since the 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended race-conscious college admissions.J Studios/Getty Images
Where people are born and how they live shape their access to health care, education, nutritious food, stable housing and fair treatment within the justice system. This inequity, Ansell argues, creates a “death gap” where systemic barriers to opportunity and well-being shorten lives.
As professors focused on human development and education, we are committed to building fair and equitable living and learning opportunities for all students. We believe reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase or acronym undermines its importance and purpose to tackle the racism and biases that contribute to unfairness and injustice.
More than a single concept
DEI is more than an acronym or catchphrase. When diversity, equity and inclusion is reduced to a buzzword, it undermines its importance and the depth of work required to create inclusive spaces.
Each component of DEI represents unique aims and challenges.
Equity is the practice of being fair and just, especially in a way that seeks to address existing inequalities.
Equity means providing fair access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded. This includes those who have been underrepresented due to historical and contemporary biases.
This inequity is illustrated by education funding disparities where public schools attended by majority Black and Latino students receive less funding than majority white, affluent schools.
Inclusion is the state of being included within a group in a way that establishes a feeling of being welcomed and respected.
Broad benefits
Consider the racial diversity in your neighborhood. To what extent is it racially diverse?
Imagine going to the local grocery store and the doors open automatically as you approach. Upon exiting, you push your shopping cart toward the sloped sidewalk designed to provide easy access to the road surface. Although the automatic doors and sloped sidewalk were designed for individuals with physical disabilities, these examples of DEI initiatives make everyday life better for everyone.
The danger of oversimplification
Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase can lead to a superficial understanding and application of the concepts.
States such as Florida, Texas and Kentucky have introduced policies to dismantle programs aimed at promoting racial and gender equity in education. designer491/Getty Images
Additionally, some organizations hire chief diversity officers without allocating resources or power to enact meaningful policy changes. Such superficial steps toward DEI squander its potential to transform higher education to truly advance diversity, equity and inclusion.
Backlash against DEI
DEI is also susceptible to political manipulation and dismantling.
States such as Florida, Texas and Kentucky have recently introduced policies to dismantle programs aimed at promoting racial and gender equity in education and the workplace.
Meanwhile, in recent years DEI officers and advocates have lost jobs in higher education and other organizations.
DEI has become a scapegoat for political and systemic failures.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is not about individual prejudice or emotions. It’s about addressing the systemic historical exclusions of people of color and other underrepresented groups – people who have not had fair and equitable access to resources and opportunities in America.
Linda Banks-Santilli is a member of the board of Horizons@LMS, a summer enrichment program focused on improving math and literacy for low-income students.
Detris Honora Adelabu and Felicity Crawford do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
