Niki Sharma, Attorney General, has released the following statement in celebration of Sikh Heritage Month:
“April marks Sikh Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich history of Sikhism.
“The values of Sikhism echo perfectly those that Canadians and British Columbians hold dear, from the belief that all people are created equal to understanding the importance of serving one’s community. These are the beliefs that the first Sikh migrants to B.C. in the early 1900s brought with them, and they are what have defined the contributions that Sikhs have made to this province.
“Today, nearly 300,000 Sikhs call British Columbia home, making it one of the largest Sikh populations outside of Punjab, India. Even in the face of exclusionary policies and systemic racism, Sikhs have shown resilience and have built thriving communities. They are staunch advocates for justice, compassion and inclusivity, especially in times of crisis. From health care and agriculture to business and politics, today, Sikhs are leaders in all areas of our society.
“The challenges faced by Sikhs in B.C. have changed over the years. Some of the most pressing concerns right now are anti-immigration sentiment, negative stereotyping associated with religious symbols and systemic barriers to accessing services. Our government is committed to fighting back, through investment in community-led initiatives and implementing legislation like the Anti-Racism Act.
“The best way we can eradicate hate and bigotry is by learning about each other’s cultures, highlighting our similarities and celebrating our differences. This Sikh Heritage Month, I encourage all British Columbians to explore the festivities in your communities and learn about Sikh culture and traditions.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
This International Women’s Day, the ACT Public Service (ACTPS) celebrates the theme: ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’.
The ACTPS is a diverse, progressive public service within which 64.6 per cent of employees identify as female.
Women now comprise 56 per cent of the ACTPS Senior Executive Service.
A record low gender pay gap
This increased representation of women in leadership has driven the Service’s narrowing gender pay gap over the last year.
The ACTPS gender pay gap reached a record low of -0.1 per cent in June 2023. The ACT labour force sits at 10 per cent and the national gender pay gap at 13.3 per cent.
Employee spotlight
The ACTPS encourages an inclusive culture by acknowledging and showcasing the contributions of all staff.
Below, five female employees share their thoughts on International Women’s Day, working for the ACTPS and how they’ve seen the gender landscape change at work throughout their careers.
Rachael Dawes – Senior Director Urban Treescapes
Urban Treescapes Senior Director Rachael Dawes
Senior Director Rachael Dawes manages the Urban Treescapes business unit within City Services. Urban Treescapes is tasked with managing and protecting Canberra’s urban trees.
“I’m incredibly proud to be a woman working in the ACTPS caring for our urban forest, but particularly proud of the positive results of increased gender diversity in the team,” she said.
“When you have an inclusive environment, understanding and supporting each other, we can combine these diverse skills and lived experiences to respond to the changing conditions and needs of our environment”.
“There has been significant advancement in ACT urban forest management in recent years with the release of the Urban Forest Strategy and Urban Forest Act, which could not have happened without the vision and drive of the women in our team,” she said.
A career change led Rachael into forestry, and she urges women beginning their careers to look beyond perceived traditional career options.
“Explore your networks, ask questions, take chances and follow your interests and see what career path they can lead you down,” she said.
Arooj Fatima – Customer Service Operator, Access Canberra Contact Centre
Arooj Fatima of Access Canberra
Every day, Access Canberra Customer Service Officer Arooj Fatima assists Canberrans via phone.
From vehicle registration enquiries to Fix My Street requests, Fatima is the first point of contact on many issues.
First attracted to the role for its flexibility, she brings to it myriad skills including active listening, empathy, patience and problem solving.
“There needs to be an acknowledgement and inclusion of women in all aspects of society. Women need to be fully included, supported, and empowered in all fields to contribute to a more prosperous future for all,” she said.
Arooj says she has seen women make significant progress over the course of her career.
“Women are serving and being valued at all employment levels i.e., manager, team leaders and administrative roles. They are excelling in every field,” she said.
“I feel immensely proud to be a woman working for the ACTPS because of the respect, value, and recognition that I get. I feel so comfortable with the work environment, work life balance and flexibility. I feel included and appreciated for every little progress that I make. I am provided the opportunity to undertake various training and roles for my professional development,” she said.
Katie Smith – Principal, Duffy Primary School
Principal Katie Smith, right, with Deputy Principal Arilia Abell
Principal Katie Smith leads an all-female leadership team at Duffy Primary.
“By setting a strong example of supporting women, Deputy Principal Arilia Abell and I work to create a more inclusive and diverse work environment for future generations. Our presence in the school community showcases the importance of investing in women, inspiring both girls and boys to expect equality and inclusivity in their future workplaces,” she said.
Katie has seen progress in terms of gender equality during her career.
“One notable advancement is the increased representation of women in leadership roles such as principals and executive roles. Efforts to promote gender equality in education have led to greater recognition of female educators’ contributions and capabilities,” she said.
This year’s IWD theme resonates with Katie. “It speaks to our commitment to uplifting and supporting the capabilities of all women in our school community, providing opportunities for growth and success,” she said.
“For young women starting their careers: believe in yourself, set clear goals, seek mentorship, embrace learning, build a supportive network, speak up, prioritise balance, embrace challenges, stay flexible, and stay true to your values and passions.”
Rebecca Power, Project Director, CIT Woden Campus – Women in Construction advocate
Project Director Rebecca Power, third from right
Project Director Rebecca Power works describes her work as “Celebrating gender diversity, equity and inclusion in construction and on Major Projects Canberra construction sites”.
“In an industry where gender inclusion is still challenging, Major Projects Canberra strives towards our social objectives to encourage and enable women and girls to reach their potential, contribute to innovation and ideas, and be leaders in their individual fields and professions within our industry,” she said.
“I’m excited by the opportunity to continue to tell women’s stories in our industry, empower women to achieve and grow their careers while opening up mentoring pathways for women who are just beginning their careers, laying the foundations for a brighter future in infrastructure to inspire real progress. I want to continue to advocate for meaningful change and I am committed to this cause.”
“It provides guidance and leadership while empowering women to achieve their goals and aspirations in the construction industry,” she said.
Janet Zagari, Deputy CEO, Canberra Health Services
Janet Zagari is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Canberra Health Services.
With 28 years in the health industry under her belt, her focus is on the service’s strategic direction, looking at cross-government priorities, operational planning and commissioning of new services.
“We know that diversity in the workforce generates better outcomes,” Janet said.
“Acknowledging the well-documented barriers that women face to participating in employment and the under representation of women in some industries and at senior levels, investing in women to create greater opportunities and genuinely believing that there is a value add to doing so is key to moving organisations forward.”
She cites increased representation of women graduating from medical school as a pronounced change in Australia.
“It is useful to stop and look back over the course of your career to think about what has changed, because it is easy to only see how far we still have to go and not to think about how far we have come,” she said.
“There are more women in traditionally male dominated areas of clinical practice, and better recognition of the value that women bring.”
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
RCMP NL encourages the public to protect themselves and vulnerable family or friends in the community against fraud and scams.A number of various online and telephone scams remain in circulation, as well as local scams on buy and sell sites and reports of fraudulent credit card use.
What to watch out for:
Police will never ask for money
Courts may ask for money, but you need to pay in person
You never have to pay to claim a prize
Be suspicious of “winning” a prize in a contest you never entered
Use reputable or first party websites when booking hotels or call the company directly
Never send cash in the mail to people you don’t know
Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it is. If you are unsure whether who you are speaking with on the phone, online, or even in person is legitimate or not, don’t be afraid to say no, leave the conversation, or get a second opinion.
RCMP NL encourages the public to discuss financial and digital safety with elders and vulnerable adults in their family or community. For more information, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre athttps://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FLG Partners, a leading CFO and CEO consulting practice and Board advisory services firm serving over 500 clients from startups to Fortune 100, has announced the election of Andrea Persily as a Partner in the firm.
Andrea worked as an FLG Partner from 2017 to 2019 before joining one of her clients in a full-time CFO capacity for over six years. “We are thrilled to welcome back Andrea to FLG,” said Managing Partner Jennifer Cho. “Andrea’s outstanding CFO credentials and deep breadth of financial and operational expertise make her a powerful addition to our already substantial bench of CFO expertise.”
“I am proud to have this opportunity to return to FLG and rejoin this best-in-class team of top-tier CFOs,” shared Ms. Persily. “I look forward to joining my peers in delivering excellence and elevating the growth of our client partners.”
Ms. Persily has significant experience as a CFO and COO in the Digital Content, Education, FinTech, Health & Wellness sectors. After beginning her career at Smith Barney, Ms. Persily joined Primedia, where she quickly grew to CFO of the Business to Business Group, overseeing strategy, financial planning, and analysis for a $350M division. She was later tapped to lead Prism Business Media (a subsidiary of Primedia) as COO, overseeing 300 employees. Later, as part of her work as CFO and COO of Spafinder Wellness, she led the spin out Booker.com, a SaaS appointment booking product, into a separate entity for which she helped obtain Series A funding. She also served as the Managing Director of WellTech Funding, a seed fund that invested in health and wellness tech startups. In 2017, Ms. Persily joined FLG Partners, bringing significant experience in M&A transactions, organizational design, and re-engineering while focusing on Media, FinTech, SaaS, and Health & Wellness. She joined FLG client Great Minds, a premier K-12 educational publisher, as a full-time CFO for over six years. There, she oversaw Finance, Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Operations, IT, and HR while converting the company’s organizational structure from a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation, setting up its first option plan.
Ms. Persily holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance/Strategic Management from The Wharton School.
About FLG Partners Founded in 2004, FLG Partners is the leader in CFO solutions and CEO and Board advisory services in Silicon Valley and nationwide. FLG delivers financial and operational leadership to companies ranging from startups to multi-billion-dollar public and private companies across multiple industry sectors from technology, SaaS, life sciences, to consumer products and manufacturing. FLG Partners’ engagements span interim or permanent CFO and C-suite leadership roles, CFO consulting, board directorships, and board advisory and performance consulting. With a cumulative total of over 950 years of CFO experience, FLG partners bring outstanding expertise, independence and objective leadership and industry best practices to clients in business planning and execution; fundraising and financing; SEC reporting, tax and regulatory compliance; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; and company turnarounds and restructurings. Throughout their careers, FLG’s partners have completed approximately 350 M&A transactions, 200+ IPOs and secondary offerings, 100+ divestiture transactions, and have raised $19 billion in equity and $12 billion in debt for their clients. For more information, visit flgpartners.com.
WOODS CROSS, Utah, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) (“Sky Quarry” or “the Company”), an integrated energy solutions company committed to revolutionizing the waste asphalt shingle recycling industry, has reported its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Key Financial and Operational Highlights
Q4 2024 Revenue of $4.2 million and $23.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Announced the signing of pivotal LOI with RB Residential Roofing, marking the start of a collaboration that targets integrating eco-friendly solutions into roofing services and helping Sky Quarry scale operations nationwide through the roofing company’s multiple locations.
Announced appointment of respected finance leader Leo Womack to the Company’s Board of Directors. He will also serve on the Audit and Nominating Committee and chair the Compensation Committee.
Announced the completion of its 2024 capital expenditure program for its flagship hydrocarbon extraction site, PR Spring.
Announced a national rollout plan for modular extraction facilities to expand the reach and scalability of the Company’s proprietary technology.
David Sealock, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Sky Quarry, reflected on a transformative year for the company:
“2024 was a significant year for our company. Sky Quarry achieved several key milestones in 2024, including our NASDAQ listing for our shareholders, continued and steady revenue at our Foreland Refinery, and a stepwise capital investment program to keep our PR Spring and Asphalt Shingle Recycling (ASR) portfolios moving forward,” he said. “We believe that we are positioned to grow production and increase revenues with our portfolio expansion projects. These portfolio expansion opportunities focus on capitalizing on market shifts, strategic partnerships, and resource optimization. The primary opportunities are in the expansion of refining capacity, partnerships for sustainable asphalt shingle recycling, and the potential for strategic growth to aggressively increase our revenue.
Looking ahead, we remain laser-focused on optimizing our asset base with the successful completion of our 2024 capital expenditure program at PR Spring and the recent refurbishment of our Foreland Refinery in anticipation of increased capacity in 2025. We are actively working towards expanding our national footprint through our recent LOI with RB Residential Roofing and advancing the national rollout of our Asphalt Shingle Recycling (“ASR”) modular extraction facilities, beginning with the deployment of our first facility in the 2025 fiscal year. Together, we believe that these initiatives set the stage for meaningful revenue growth, broader market reach, and long-term value creation for our shareholders.
This quarter, we entered into a pivotal LOI with RB Residential Roofing with the goal of entering into an agreement to secure a steady supply of post-consumer shingles, ensuring a steady supply of feedstock for our recycling operations. We believe that a partnership with RB Residential Roofing will generate consistent tipping fee revenue and accelerate Sky Quarry’s national expansion by leveraging RB’s extensive network of locations. By transforming waste into recycled content for new products, we believe entering into an agreement with RB Residential Roofing will not only support our mission to build a circular economy but also position Sky Quarry at the forefront of sustainable innovation in the roofing industry, helping to drive broader industry adoption.
In the 2025 fiscal year, we anticipate completing the build-out of our first Asphalt Shingle Recycling (“ASR”) Facility. Designed as a modular, scalable system, the facility will recover valuable components such as bitumen, granules, aggregate, limestone, and fiberglass. The first front-end module has already been fabricated, with two additional modules planned for deployment later in the year. We are currently evaluating two potential sites for the initial rollout, based on waste volume and proximity to industry partners. These facilities are expected to generate multiple revenue streams from tipping fees, recycled material sales, and byproduct recovery, contributing to meaningful top-line growth as deployment accelerates.
Operationally, we expect to begin refining blended sustainable oil in 2025, with plans to ramp up production at our Nevada-based Foreland Refinery, which has a processing capacity of up to 5,000 barrels per day. This comes at a critical time, as we anticipate a growing fuel supply crisis in the Western U.S., driven by California refinery shutdowns, tightening regulations, and potential import tariffs that threaten supply stability.
Foreland has served as a strategic energy asset in Nevada for over two decades, and we believe it is well-positioned to enhance regional fuel security. Once heavy oil sourced from our Utah-based PR Spring facility, produced from recycled asphalt shingles, is integrated at the Foreland refinery, we can not only expand our sustainable product offerings but also reinforce our presence in the energy sector. With broadened capabilities and strategic positioning, we anticipate stronger revenue and improved cash flow in the coming quarters.
In conclusion, we recently welcomed Leo Womack and Todd Palin to our Board of Directors. Mr. Womack brings significant strategic, business, and financial expertise, while Mr. Palin’s operational experience will be instrumental as Sky Quarry ramps up production at our Nevada refinery. Both additions strengthen our leadership team as we enter our next phase of growth in 2025.”
Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, totaled $23.3 million, a decrease of 54% compared to $50.7 million in 2023. This decline was primarily driven by a combination of lower WTI oil prices and the refurbishment of the Company’s Foreland Refinery.
Gross profit for the year was a loss of $1.4 million, representing a gross margin of (6.0)%, compared to a gross profit of $2.3 million, or 4.6% of revenues, in the prior year.
Total operating expenses increased to $6.1 million in 2024, up from $3.7 million in 2023, reflecting an increase of $2.4 million year-over-year.
As a result, the Company reported a net loss of $14.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to a net loss of $4.4 million in 2023.
About Sky Quarry Inc.
Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYQ) and its subsidiaries are, collectively, an oil production, refining, and a development-stage environmental remediation company formed to deploy technologies to facilitate the recycling of waste asphalt shingles and remediation of oil-saturated sands and soils. Our waste-to-energy mission is to repurpose and upcycle millions of tons of asphalt shingle waste, diverting them from landfills. By doing so, we can contribute to improved waste management, promote resource efficiency, conserve natural resources, and reduce environmental impact. For more information, please visit skyquarry.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include ”forward-looking statements.” All statements pertaining to our future financial and/or operating results, future events, or future developments may constitute forward-looking statements. The statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “look forward to,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “will,” “project,” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of our management, of which many are beyond our control. These are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and factors, including but not limited to those described in our disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or our achievements may (negatively or positively) vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. We neither intend, nor assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and the Company’s other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2025. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained.
Investor Relations Jennifer Standley Director of Investor Relations Ir@skyquarry.com
Sky Quarry Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023
2024
2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
385,116
$
326,822
Accounts receivables
1,123,897
3,517,469
Prepaid expenses and other assets
339,124
114,387
Inventory
3,149,236
2,437,181
Total current assets
4,997,373
6,395,859
Property, plant, and equipment, net
6,160,318
6,287,351
Oil and gas properties
8,534,967
7,745,205
Restricted cash and cash equivalents
2,929,797
4,354,014
Right-of-use asset
1,115,785
184,548
Goodwill
3,209,003
3,209,003
Total assets
$
26,947,243
$
28,175,980
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$
4,046,319
$
4,904,121
Current portion of operating lease liability
38,422
69,777
Current portion of finance lease liability
16,120
–
Warrant liability
459,067
–
Lines of credit
1,260,727
3,061,698
Current maturities of notes payable
6,578,017
4,835,567
Total current liabilities
12,398,672
12,871,163
Notes payable, less current maturities, net of debt issuance costs
2,000,560
2,100,514
Operating lease liability, net of current portion
77,824
116,246
Finance lease liability, net of current portion
971,690
–
Total liabilities
15,448,746
15,087,923
Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock $0.001 par value: 25,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 246,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
–
246
Common stock $0.0001 par value: 100,000,000 shares authorized: 19,027,208 and 16,323,091 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
1,903
1,630
Additional paid in capital
35,674,391
22,527,264
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(209,708
)
(201,505
)
Accumulated deficit
(23,968,089
)
(9,239,578
)
Total shareholders’ equity
11,498,497
13,088,057
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
26,947,243
$
28,175,980
Sky Quarry Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss For the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
2024
2023
Net sales
$
23,364,188
$
50,731,889
Cost of goods sold
24,759,530
48,391,724
Gross profit (loss)
(1,395,342
)
2,340,165
Operating expenses:
General and administrative
6,121,955
3,702,743
Depreciation and amortization
5,889
5,303
Total operating expenses
6,127,844
3,708,046
Loss from operations
(7,523,186
)
(1,367,881
)
Other income (expense):
Gain on warrant valuation
1,477,870
–
Other income
35,637
26,008
Gain (loss) on sale of assets
(25,075
)
564,811
Loss on extinguishment of debt
(241,311
)
(205,425
)
Loss on issuance of private placement warrants
(1,935,934
)
–
Interest expense
(6,516,512
)
(3,639,520
)
Other expense, net
(7,205,325
)
(3,254,126
)
Loss before benefit from income taxes
(14,728,511
)
(4,622,007
)
Provision for income tax benefit
–
185,535
Net loss
(14,728,511
)
(4,436,472
)
Other comprehensive loss
Foreign currency translation adjustment
(8,203
)
(24,185
)
Comprehensive loss
$
(14,736,714
)
$
(4,460,657
)
Loss per common share
Basic and diluted
$
(0.77
)
$
(0.27
)
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic and diluted
19,027,208
16,323,103
Sky Quarry Inc. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows For the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
2024
2023
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net loss
$
(14,728,511
)
$
(4,436,472
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents used in operating activities:
Share based compensation
632,205
634,783
Depreciation and amortization
793,449
564,639
Amortization of debt issuance costs
4,465,636
2,568,523
Amortization of right-of-use asset
90,990
37,925
Loss on issuance of warrants
1,936,937
–
Gain on revaluation of warrant liabilities
(1,477,870
)
–
Loss on extinguishment of debt
241,311
205,425
Loss (gain) on sale of assets
25,075
(564,811
)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
2,393,572
719,595
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(224,738
)
155,114
Inventory
(712,055
)
1,004,383
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(857,802
)
(1,040,860
)
Operating lease liability
(69,777
)
(36,450
)
Deferred tax benefit
–
(187,856
)
Net cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents used in operating activities
(7,491,578
)
(376,062
)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from sale of assets
–
961,400
Purchase of property, plant, and equipment
(691,491
)
(1,028,781
)
Purchase of oil and gas development assets
(789,762
)
(664,556
)
Net cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities
(1,481,253
)
(731,937
)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds on lines of credit
36,645,980
61,499,106
Payments on lines of credit
(38,446,951
)
(58,437,408
)
Proceeds from note payable
19,483,052
17,721,772
Payments on note payable
(17,032,995
)
(12,905,339
)
Debt discount on note payable
(2,546,660
)
(3,588,539
)
Payments on finance leases
(34,417
)
–
Proceeds on issuance of preferred stock
308,000
614,804
Preferred stock offering costs
(40,874
)
(474,681
)
Proceeds on issuance of common stock
11,341,641
28,739
Common stock offering costs
(2,061,665
)
–
Net cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents generated by financing activities
7,615,111
4,458,454
Effect of exchange rate on cash
(8,203
)
(24,185
)
Increase (decrease) in cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents
(1,365,923
)
3,326,270
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of the period
4,680,836
1,354,566
Cash and restricted cash and cash equivalents, end of the period
In ‘Adolescence,’ a communication abyss that separates Gen X from Gen Z gives way to calamity. (Netflix)
This story contains spoilers about the Netflix series ‘Adolescence.’
In the Netflix series Adolescence, we have no idea why Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is arrested at the beginning of the first episode. The tension from seeing a helpless 13-year-old boy escorted to a police station and interrogated holds us to the screen. Every minute of the one-hour episode, shot in a single continuous take, makes us feel like we are in the police station with the Miller family, viewing things through his parents’ disorientation.
As the plot unfolds, we are given clues to explain the inexplicable, but we can’t fully appreciate the show’s magnitude until the very last scene, a dramatic moment where we see the boy’s father (Stephen Graham) cry over his son’s teddy bear while asking it for forgiveness.
From an educational psychology angle, the show is ripe for analysis. One could comment on the premature sexualization of young girls and boys or the obsolete sense, for parents, that they can assume kids are safe when they’re at home in their rooms.
However, as a doctoral student in educational psychology, I am mostly concerned with human learning — both the cognitive development that must accompany successful learners, and how children and youth understand the world through relationships.
The state of Jamie’s cognitive development and of teenagers in general may help us understand his frame of mind — or the “why” that detective Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) pursues.
For parents, this show raises serious questions about the crisis in parent-child communication and how the internet is shaping children’s behaviour and minds. I suggest turning to the practice of dialogue as a way for parents to strengthen their communication with their children and learn about each other and the world.
Trailer for ‘Adolescence.’
Children’s minds
According to the government of Canada, “any human being below the age of 18” is defined as a child. Children can’t be recruited to join the Armed Forces, sign legal contracts, drive, vote, marry, drink alcohol and so on. As adults, we understand that these prohibitions not only protect them but also us.
Setting aside ethical reasons why children shouldn’t do any of these things, the major reason is due to the developmental state of their minds.
To better understand this, we must consider executive function, also called cognitive control. Executive function refers to the unconscious cognitive processes of abstract thinking, inhibition, impulse control and planning that allow us to consciously control and direct our thoughts to goals, actions and emotions.
Think of executive control as interconnected paths in the brain. In an adolescent’s brain, these paths resemble more of a labyrinth, with difficult and sometimes non-working passages.
Children and adolescents’ cognitive development are in “sensitive periods” in which their brains are more plastic and susceptible to environmental influences. Besides not having full control of their thought processes, research has also shown that abstract and more “neutral” cognitive skills develop earlier than those that involve motivated or emotionally charged actions.
Ability to weigh options still developing
Adolescents might be mature enough to solve complex math problems, but still feel helpless when needing to be polite to someone they believe offended them (not an easy task for adults either). In such a case, one would need to “step back” from the situation, and weigh options to respond.
An adult might think “maybe I misinterpreted what this person said” or “if I offend them back, I risk losing my job/friendship/reputation.” By dwelling on different course of actions, they don’t act impulsively.
This is precisely the ability that adolescents are still developing.
Adolescent brains have not fully matured in ways that enable them to calculate risk. (Netflix)
Virtual selves and threats
When adolescents engage with social media, they can be exposed to a threatening environment where they must assert their virtual selves and deal with bullying and inappropriate content, while lacking full control of their thought processes.
As a victim of cyberbullying, Jamie was probably not equipped with the cognitive abilities to step back from the situation and seek help. Instead, he responds to cruelty he experienced with cruelty he knew.
With unregulated internet use, in terms of both content and unrestricted time spent online, communication with parents atrophies. At its core, Adolescence is a painful wake-up call to the effects of unregulated internet usage in teens, and how the communication abyss that separates Gen X from Gen Z gives way to calamity.
Clueless adults, aware teens
Nowhere in the show is this distance more evident than when police detectives move cluelessly through Jamie’s school trying to understand his motives, while the students seem cynically aware of what really happened.
The detective’s son clues him into interpreting signs of incel subculture. (Netflix)
In a typical moment reflecting contemporary intergenerational dynamics in which the Gen Zs explain stuff to their analog parents, Bascombe’s son is the one to enlighten him about incel subculture and what certain emojis represent.
It becomes clear that pop-cultural references mean different things to a younger generation. For example, “red pill” was appropriated from The Matrix and is now used for those who “see the truth” and reject feminism.
Generations are comfortable communicating in different ways. Teens, for example, are clever texters. They use images, edit reels and create memes to convey subtle and often complex feelings.
In contrast, teens’ discomfort with face-to-face conversations is explicit in the last episode of Adolescence, when the Miller family drives to a hardware store. The parents play a song from their prom and reminisce. The oldest daughter is with them, but not present, focused on her phone and only sporadically joining the conversation.
Why dialogue matters
Parents and their children may find direction through dialogue. This ancient practice is based on the view of the world as becoming, with infinite internal and external contradictions that must be overcome so that new understandings of reality may emerge.
Dialogue was famously advanced as an educational practice by philosopher of education, Paulo Freire.
Freire believed people must come together to share their meanings of the world, and through this push and pull of ideas, reasons and opinions, conceptualize new forms of understanding. For parents, this means that without trying to understand what teens are saying and, importantly, how they are saying it, we can’t possibly create a better future for all of us.
Open channel needed
Engaging in dialogue involves two things: asking and answering questions. It is not a matter of merely extracting information (although knowing what children are doing is important), but rather of mutually sharing interests and letting it guide discovery.
When parents and children find a channel, communication opens and for as long as the mutual interest is there, they can steadily build meaningful connections that transform how they see the world and their relationships.
With renewed urgency, dialogue that validates the interests and knowledge of both parents and children can offer a way out of the polarization created between them by long hours spent online.
Martina Calçada Kohatsu 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.
A fly-tipper has been ordered to pay £1,500 after allowing a large amount of waste to be dumped in a rural road in St Albans District.
St Albans City and District Council’s Environmental Enforcement team launched an investigation after alerted to the fly-tip and traced it to a restaurant in Central London.
Enquiries revealed that Taoufik Kouki had been hired by the business to dispose of the waste.
Interviewed under caution, he said that he had gone to a waste and recycling centre in Brent but was refused access.
He said he was then approached by two men who agreed to dispose of the waste in return for a £160 payment.
Kouki said he followed them in his van to St Albans before putting the waste on their vehicle.
He said he had been surprised to find it had been dumped on the roadside of Barley Mow Lane, near Colney Heath.
Kouki, of Hanover Road, London, denied failing to check that the waste carriers he employed had the necessary licence, a duty of care offence under the Environmental Protection Act.
He was found guilty after a trial by District Judge Aneeta Borwick at St Albans Magistrates Court on Thursday 20 March.
Kouki was fined £300 and told to pay a victim surcharge of £120 along with a contribution to the Council’s legal costs of £1.080.
Chris Traill, the Council’s Strategic Director for Community and Place Delivery, said after the hearing:
I am pleased that our Environmental Enforcement team traced and successfully prosecuted another fly-tipper.
It is a further demonstration of our commitment to take action against fly-tippers and deter others from carrying out this crime.
Fly-tipping is an antisocial criminal offence and there is no excuse for it. Fly-tips are not only unsightly but are a potential health hazard and are costly to clear up.
Once again, we would also warn people who are clearing a house or other property that they must ensure their waste carrier has a proper licence and obtain a receipt. You leave yourself open to a duty of care offence if you don’t do that.
The Immigration Department today estimated that around 4.58 million passengers will pass through Hong Kong’s sea, land and air control points during the upcoming Ching Ming festive period from April 3 to 6.
In consultation with the Shenzhen General Station of Exit & Entry Frontier Inspection and other Mainland authorities, the department estimates that around 3.91 million passengers will pass through land boundary control points.
The number of outbound and inbound passengers using land boundary control points will be relatively higher on April 4 and 6, with around 561,000 and 608,000 passengers respectively.
It is estimated that passenger traffic at the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay control points will be heavy, with a daily average forecast of about 231,000, 211,000 and 149,000 passengers respectively.
To cope with the anticipated heavy traffic during the festive period, the department has minimised leave for frontline officers for flexible deployment and the operation of extra clearance counters and kiosks.
Additionally, the department, together with Police, the Customs & Excise Department and the MTR Corporation, will set up a joint command centre at the Lo Wu Control Point to make necessary arrangements.
It will also establish close communication with Mainland authorities, including the Shenzhen General Station of Exit & Entry Frontier Inspection. To ensure a smooth passenger traffic flow, conditions will be closely monitored and appropriate traffic diversion plans will be adopted when necessary.
All land boundary passengers should plan in advance, avoid making their journeys during busy periods and keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at various control points. The busy times at boundary control points are available on the department’s website.
Passengers may also check the estimated waiting times at each land boundary control point at any time or place via the Immigration Mobile Application.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Oluwole Ojewale, Research Fellow, Obafemi Awolowo University, Regional Coordinator, Institute for Security Studies
Illegal mining activities in Nigeria are devastating the country’s economy, as well as fuelling violence.
Strategic minerals mined in the country’s north-west region include granite, gypsum, kaolin, laterite, limestone, phosphate, potash, silica sand and gold.
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, asserted in late 2024 that powerful individuals engaged in illegal mining were sponsoring banditry in the country. Recently, Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole also alleged that retired military officers coordinated illegal mining activities nationwide.
In a recent paper I examined the links between banditry, gold mining, violence and elite collusion in two states in the north-west of Nigeria.
My research involved qualitative interviews with 17 respondents from 11 gold mining communities of Katsina and Zamfara states. The individuals included miners, community leaders, commercial drivers, residents and security agents.
They told me that bandits colluded with elites to engage in illegal gold mining and undermine peace. The paper also analysed how the elites weaponised access to mineral resources and the impact this had on violence in the region. I looked at the state’s response to illegal gold mining too and offered some reflections on pathways to durable peace.
The history
My study shows that for more than four decades, gold mining has been done by wealthy and influential people in communities. Intense competition between the owners of the mine fields led them to hire bandits to guard their mine fields from their competitors.
This pattern has become entrenched over the past two decades. My study shows that minefield owners today provide bandits with weapons, arms, drugs, food and logistics. In return, the armed groups protect their gold pits.
A number of the wealthy mine owners wield influence in local politics. Some research participants also said there were miners who were working for politicians and traditional rulers and that a number of politicians had acquired gold mines.
Interviewees also said that some individuals were employed by influential figures in government or business. They however did not mention names of the influential government figures for safety reasons.
Violence arises from competition over mining locations, funding of armed groups’ activities, and taking control from civilians.
With access to funds, bandits can expand their influence, recruit new members and carry out attacks.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data I drew on, 1,615 incidents and 4,201 deaths were recorded due to banditry from 2010 to 2023 in Katsina and Zamfara states.
Map of Nigeria showing Katsina and Zamfara states.Source: Authors’ design through Google earth software
How it works
Generally, gold trading in Nigeria occurs within a network of buyers, sellers and brokers, forming a small ecosystem compared to other commodities. Most participants in the gold market are familiar with each other.
My study respondents said criminals involved in illegal mining had strong connections in the gold market, both domestically and internationally. The transnational supply chain of the illicit economy extends through Chad, Niger, Libya and Algeria.
Bandits sell gold to gold merchants and traders. Some of these traders are business elites from other states in Nigeria who typically sell the gold in the Diffa region in Chad, or in Agadez (Niger), Tripoli (Libya) and Algiers (Algeria). Some gold traders transport the mineral to Benin.
What can be done
The government’s handling of the illicit gold trade and banditry has consistently fallen short of what is needed. This is clear from the government’s failure to adequately monitor the actions of miners.
Mining sites are supposed to be overseen by the government, ensuring that only licensed miners and ancillary service providers are active there. But this isn’t happening.
Based on my findings, I make the following recommendations if there is to be a lasting solution to banditry and the criminal gold mining economy in Nigeria’s north-west.
Firstly, it requires enforcing the law and strengthening accountability.
Large areas of north-west Nigeria are ungoverned. The federal government should enhance border policing and law enforcement capabilities by upgrading security and intelligence gathering infrastructure.
Nigeria should also introduce advanced contraband-detection technologies, such as spectroscopy, at land borders. These techniques analyse the chemical composition of materials. They can identify specific substances and detect trace amounts of contraband.
And individuals with ties to illegal gold trade and supporting criminal activities must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted.
Secondly, it requires reforming the gold mining and security sector. The mainstay of Nigeria’s economy is oil production in the country’s Niger Delta. One of the consequences is that other sectors of the economy have been largely neglected. The mining sector is not well regulated and the state doesn’t show much interest in it.
Thirdly, any steps taken by the government must involve the participation of people living in the affected communities. The security agencies can foster community partnerships to source human intelligence on the activities of bandits, illegal miners and mineral smugglers.
Lastly, the government should consider tackling elite collusion through targeted sanctions and asset freezing. This could disrupt their ability to finance and perpetuate violence.
This approach has been used in Nigeria and in South Africa, among other countries in the world.
– Nigeria’s illegal gold trade – elites and bandits are working together – https://theconversation.com/nigerias-illegal-gold-trade-elites-and-bandits-are-working-together-250169
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kristina Pikovskaia, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh
It is common for nations to have myths, or narratives, that form the basis of their nationalism, or their ideas of themselves as a political community. Such popular narratives are often rooted in a romanticised or idealised view of the past. This is certainly the case in Zimbabwe, where national myths about its urban modernity and economic exceptionalism have stood the test of time in contrast with the reality.
The idea of urban modernity has its roots in colonial times. At the time of independence in 1980, following a liberation war from 1965 to 1979, Zimbabwe’s economy was looking strong. Urban residents, especially, could think of themselves as modern: they had middle- and working-class lifestyles, social protection, social mobility opportunities and fixed working hours. Urban modernity meant order, steady employment, education.
However, rapid socio-economic changes followed in the 1990s and 2000s. Zimbabwe was hit by a series of economic, financial and political crises. This led to the collapse of urban middle- and working-class modernity and the rise of visible informal economic activities in the urban space. By 2004, over 80% of people had informal livelihoods in Zimbabwe.
My PhD thesis (2021) examined Harare’s shift to informality and the impact of this on people’s everyday experiences of citizenship. The respondents in interviews carried out between 2016 and 2018 included vendors, cross-border traders, manufacturers, residents’ associations, informal sector organisations, local authorities and urban planners.
These interviews also form the basis of my recent research paper. My analysis sought to examine how people deal with the fact that current circumstances don’t support their myths of urban nationalism.
During a crisis, people rethink old ideas and adjust them to fit their new situation. As they do this, their notions of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism change. At the same time, they remember a past when their country was economically successful. This memory shapes how they think about the country’s future – and it also makes them question the government, which hasn’t lived up to those past ideals.
So, what do the myths of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism mean in Zimbabwe today? Some people cling to the early postcolonial notions nurtured by the government. Others reluctantly accept economic informality while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. But there are others who challenge altogether the view that street vending is not modern and formal enough.
The prevalent informality was seen as a temporary phenomenon which would end soon. Then the country would return to having a modern urban lifestyle and strong economy.
Grappling with informality
To many of the respondents in 2016-2018, “working” and “having a job” meant being employed and having regular wages, job security and social protection.
At the same time, people also reluctantly accepted economic informality and some of the changes it made to their lives, while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. Some informal sector associations, for example, attempted to teach their members to see their activities as businesses and themselves as business people, as I reported in another paper.
Some respondents drew a line between economic activities that were acceptable in the city centre and those that were not. These were similar to the early postcolonial notions enforced by the government. They suggested, for example, that street vending had no place in the city centre. It should only occur in limited designated spaces, and in residential areas.
Some street vendors, though, defied the notion of street vending not being modern and formal enough. They dressed smartly to emphasise that street vending could also be done in a “modern” way and be a part of the mainstream economy.
The history of the urban modernity myth
At the beginning of colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the colonisers planned for the cities to remain “white”. Unless Africans lived in their employers’ facilities, they were required to live in dedicated areas.
At the same time, the colonial administration introduced and enforced the concept of “order” in Salisbury, now Harare, the capital. It punished poor, marginalised and homeless people. The same with economic and social activities it deemed undesirable.
Today, over 32% of Zimbabweans live in urban areas.
The establishment in the 1930s of the African middle class was an important part of the urban modernity project. Those who sought to belong to it largely used education as their primary social mobility tool.
After independence in 1980, the cities were deracialised. Everyone was free to enter and use the urban space. But the new government still held tight control and dictated who had the right to the city.
Numerous operations were conducted from the 1980s to clear the street of “undesirable” people and activities. For example, informal settlements were removed. Many women were arrested on the pretext of clearing the city of prostitution. The most notorious clean-up operation was the 2005 Operation Murambatsvina. It effectively punished all those considered “unproductive” and not deserving to be in the city.
Those high and, frankly, brutal standards of urban modernity have a long history in Zimbabwe and became a part of its urban nationalism.
Economic exceptionalism
Colonial and early postcolonial Zimbabwe had an exceptional and diversified economy with strong mining, agricultural, and industrial sectors. Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector contributed 25% to GDP by 1974.
Despite the economic decline, it is still a common narrative that Zimbabwe’s industrial sector was second only to South Africa’s in sub-Saharan Africa and that Zimbabwe was “the breadbasket” of Africa.
Zimbabwe launched the ZiG currency in April 2024 to tackle sky-high inflation and stabilise the floundering economy.Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images
After independence, the government made considerable efforts to deracialise the economy and public services.
The present
The early postcolonial ideas about urban modernity and economic exceptionalism were severely undermined in Zimbabwe. But people try to give new meanings to these ideas in the changed social and economic circumstances. There is ongoing reluctance to accept that informality altered Zimbabwe for good. And many of my respondents wanted to find ways that the myths of modernity and economic exceptionalism could keep their meaning in the changed circumstances.
Continuity and change in the myths of urban nationalism also raise the questions of legitimacy. In this case, it is about legitimacy of informal economic practices and legitimacy of the government that did not uphold the myths.
Ideas can be very powerful in explaining people’s understanding of the political community they belong to. And when such ideals cannot be upheld, people will find new meanings in their material reality that let them hold on to old ideas or reinterpret them.
– Zimbabwe’s economy crashed – so how do citizens still cling to myths of urban and economic success? – https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-economy-crashed-so-how-do-citizens-still-cling-to-myths-of-urban-and-economic-success-247114
Headline: U.S. Attorneys for Southwestern Border Districts Charge More than 960 Illegal Aliens with Immigration-Related Crimes During the Fourth week in March as part of Operation Take Back America
Since the inauguration of President Trump, the Department of Justice is playing a critical role in Operation Take back America, a nationwide initiative to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve total elimination of cartels and transitional criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Funding period: Round seven (part one) of the Household Support Fund will be available from Tuesday 1 April 2025 to Tuesday 30 September 2025.
Eligibility: Open to Salford residents who need financial support with the cost-of-living, specifically to cover cost for food, fuel and energy, regardless of benefit status.
How to apply: Residents who need support can apply directly for funding online www.salford.gov.uk/hsf or call Salford’s Household Support Fund helpline on 0800 011 3998.
Salford City Council have unveiled plans for the allocation of the Government’s extension of the Household Support Fund (HSF) for the period Tuesday 1 April 2025 to Tuesday 30 September 2025. This funding provides critical support to households facing cost-of-living pressures, particularly those struggling to afford essential items such as food, energy, and fuel.
In the previous funding round covering October 2024 to March 2025, the council received 6,000 applications for support and provided over 17,000 holiday food vouchers to families and children during school holidays.
Councillor Tracy Kelly, Lead Member for Housing and Anti-Poverty at Salford City Council, said: “The Household Support Fund is a vital resource for our community. Our commitment in Salford is to make sure vulnerable residents are supported in the best way possible and ensure that every resident facing financial challenges receives the necessary support. This latest funding round reinforces our ongoing effort to build a fairer, more inclusive society.”
The funding will be distributed by Salford City Council’s Salford Assist team. The funding will be awarded via shopping vouchers and fuel meter top ups to those who meet the eligibility criteria. Salford residents do not need to be in receipt of benefits to apply for the Household Support Fund and can apply for the scheme if they are also in receipt of other benefits and pension credits, all applications will be considered.
The allocated funding will be used to:
Provide direct financial support to eligible residents to cover essential costs.
Issue holiday food vouchers to children eligible for Free School Meals.
Enable Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners to deliver food banks, food clubs, and food schemes.
Support additional council services including housing and adult social care.
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett added: “This fund has been instrumental in providing essential assistance to our residents, helping with critical costs such as food and heating, and ensuring children do not go without food during school holidays. I urge any resident facing financial difficulties to explore the support available through the Household Support Fund.”
This support forms part of Salford’s wider Tackling Poverty strategy which aims to make Salford a fairer and more inclusive place where everyone can live prosperous and fulfilling lives free from poverty and inequality. The funding has come from the Department for Work and Pensions.
To learn more about this funding and how to apply visit Salford City Council’s website: www.salford.gov.uk/hsf.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Press release
Y Canghellor yn darparu diogelwch ac adnewyddiad cenedlaethol i Gymru
Mae’r Canghellor yn addo creu “cyfnod newydd o ddiogelwch ac adnewyddiad cenedlaethol” wrth iddi gyflwyno Datganiad y Gwanwyn i hybu twf economaidd.
Mae’r Canghellor yn addo creu “cyfnod newydd o ddiogelwch ac adnewyddiad cenedlaethol” wrth iddi gyflwyno Datganiad y Gwanwyn i hybu twf economaidd, diogelu pobl sy’n gweithio a chadw Prydain yn ddiogel.
Ar gyfartaledd, bydd pobl ledled y DU £500 y flwyddyn yn well eu byd erbyn diwedd tymor y senedd hon o’u cymharu ag o dan y llywodraeth flaenorol, gan roi mwy o arian ym mhocedi pobl.
Mae twf wrth galon y Cynllun ar gyfer Newid, a gall Prydain ddechrau adeiladu diolch i’r dyraniad gwariant cyfalaf ychwanegol gwerth £13 biliwn, ochr yn ochr â £2.2 biliwn o gyllid ar gyfer amddiffyn y flwyddyn nesaf.
Ar gyfartaledd, bydd pobl ledled y DU £500 yn well eu byd o 2029, o’i gymharu â rhagolwg yr hydref yr OBR, gan helpu i gyflawni’r Cynllun ar gyfer Newid, wrth i’r Canghellor gyhoeddi Ddatganiad y Gwanwyn heddiw (dydd Mercher 26 Mawrth) sy’n manteisio ar y cyfleoedd sydd ar gael mewn byd sy’n newid.
Cadarnhaodd yr OBR hefyd fod disgwyl i economi’r DU dyfu’n gyflymach na’r disgwyl o 2026 ymlaen ac y bydd yn uwch na’r hyn a nodwyd yn eu rhagolwg yr hydref erbyn 2029 – gan godi i 9.5% o’i gymharu â 9.2%.
Nododd y Canghellor sut mae’r llywodraeth yn gwarchod diogelwch gwladol ac yn manteisio i’r eithaf ar botensial sector amddiffyn y DU ar gyfer twf drwy gadarnhau y bydd cynnydd o £2.2 biliwn yng nghyllideb amddiffyn y DU gyfan yn 2025-26.
Mae Datganiad y Gwanwyn yn cyflawni cynlluniau gwariant Llywodraeth y DU sy’n canolbwyntio ar ei hamcanion craidd, sef dod â sicrwydd a sefydlogrwydd i bobl sy’n gweithio ledled y DU.
Mae’n dilyn y Gyllideb yn yr hydref lle cyhoeddodd y Canghellor y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cael setliad o £21 biliwn yn 2025/26 – y mwyaf mewn termau real yn hanes datganoli. Mae hyn yn cynnwys £1.7 biliwn yn ychwanegol drwy fformiwla Barnett, gyda £1.5 biliwn ar gyfer gwariant o ddydd i ddydd a £250 miliwn ar gyfer buddsoddiad cyfalaf.
Mae’r mesurau a gymerwyd heddiw yn golygu cynnydd pellach o £16 miliwn drwy symiau canlyniadol o dan Barnett yn 2025/26. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn parhau i gael dros 2.0% yn fwy y pen na gwariant cyfatebol Llywodraeth y DU yng ngweddill y DU, sy’n golygu £4 biliwn yn fwy yn 2025-26.
Bydd cyllid grant bloc Llywodraeth Cymru o 2026-27 ymlaen yn cael ei gadarnhau yng Ngham 2 yr Adolygiad o Wariant, sy’n dod i ben ar 11 Mehefin 2025. Bydd Prif Ysgrifennydd y Trysorlys yn cwrdd â’i gymheiriaid o’r llywodraethau datganoledig i drafod eu blaenoriaethau cyn i’r adolygiad gael ei gwblhau.
Dywedodd Jo Stevens, Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru:
Mae Datganiad y Gwanwyn heddiw yn mynd ymhellach ac yn mynd ati’n gyflymach i sicrhau twf economaidd, diogelwch cenedlaethol ac adnewyddu ledled Cymru a gweddill y DU.
Drwy gywiro sylfeini ein heconomi, rydyn ni eisoes wedi dechrau cyflawni’r newid y pleidleisiodd pobl Cymru drosto naw mis yn ôl.
Mae’r £16 miliwn sydd ar gael heddiw drwy Fformiwla Barnett yn ychwanegol at y setliad mwyaf erioed gwerth £21 biliwn a gyhoeddwyd ar gyfer Llywodraeth Cymru yng Nghyllideb yr Hydref diwethaf, gan roi hwb i wariant ar wasanaethau cyhoeddus fel y GIG, ac mae rhestr aros eisoes wedi bod yn disgyn yng Nghymru.
Rydym wedi gwneud yn siŵr na fydd unrhyw deulu yng Nghymru’n talu ceiniog yn fwy o dreth yn eu cyflogau ac rydym wedi codi’r isafswm cyflog a’r cyflog byw i hyd at 140,000 o weithwyr yng Nghymru.
Rydyn ni’n creu degau o filoedd o swyddi newydd drwy Barthau Buddsoddi Cymru, Porthladdoedd Rhydd a drwy brosiectau twf lleol a mewnfuddsoddi. Bydd buddsoddiad heddiw mewn amddiffyn hefyd yn rhoi hwb i’r diwydiant yng Nghymru. Ac rydyn ni wedi darparu bargen well i weithwyr dur Cymru ac, am y tro cyntaf, £25m i gadw tomennydd glo Cymru’n ddiogel.
Mae’r Datganiad y Gwanwyn hwn yn rhoi hwb i dwf economaidd, yn amddiffyn pobl sy’n gweithio ac yn cadw ein gwlad yn ddiogel.”
Amddiffyn
Rydym yn mynd ymhellach ac yn mynd ati’n gyflymach i warchod ein diogelwch gwladol a manteisio i’r eithaf ar y potensial o dwf economaidd yn sector amddiffyn y DU.
Rydym yn cynyddu’r gyllideb amddiffyn o £2.2 biliwn yn 2025-26, gan gynyddu’r gwariant ychwanegol ar amddiffyn i fwy na £5 biliwn ers Cyllideb yr Hydref.
Mae hyn yn codi gwariant ar amddiffyn i 2.36% y flwyddyn nesaf a bydd yn cael ei fuddsoddi mewn gosod Arfau Ynni Cyfeiriedig ar longau’r Llynges Frenhinol bum mlynedd yn gynt na’r disgwyl, darparu cartrefi gwell i deuluoedd milwrol a moderneiddio Safle Llynges Ei Fawrhydi yn Portsmouth.
Neilltuwyd isafswm o 10 y cant ar gyfer gwariant ar gyfarpar gyda thechnolegau datblygol fel dronau a systemau awtonomaidd, technolegau â defnydd deuol, a galluoedd a bwerir gan ddeallusrwydd artiffisial, fel bod gan filwyr Prydain yr adnoddau sydd eu hangen arnynt i ymladd ac ennill mewn rhyfeloedd modern.
Rhoi’r dechnoleg newydd hon yn nwylo ein lluoedd arfog yn gyflymach drwy leihau biwrocratiaeth, gydag uned newydd Arloesi Amddiffyn y DU yn y Weinyddiaeth Amddiffyn yn arwain ymdrechion i ddod o hyd i dechnoleg addawol a sicrhau bod y rhain yn cyrraedd y rheng flaen yn gyflym, gan gryfhau sector technoleg y DU a chynyddu buddsoddiad preifat.
Creu prosesau caffael pwrpasol ar gyfer gwahanol fathau o offer milwrol, gan ddysgu gwersi o’n cefnogaeth gyflym i Wcráin i gymell targedau amser cyflymach ar gyfer rhoi tanciau, awyrennau ac offer hanfodol eraill newydd ar waith ar gyfer rhyfela modern.
Mae’r llywodraeth hon yn benderfynol o drawsnewid y sector amddiffyn i fod yn beiriant ar gyfer twf drwy ganolbwyntio’r buddsoddiad hwn ar y meysydd hynny sy’n rhoi hwb i gapasiti cynhyrchiol yr economi, fel buddsoddi mewn arloesi a thechnolegau newydd. O ganlyniad i’r cynnydd mewn gwariant ar amddiffyn i 2.5%, mae’r llywodraeth yn amcangyfrif y gallai hyn arwain at GDP o tua 0.3% yn uwch yn y tymor hir, sy’n cyfateb i tua £11 biliwn o GDP yn arian heddiw.
Bydd buddsoddiad y llywodraeth mewn amddiffyn hefyd yn cefnogi ei chenhadaeth fwyaf blaenllaw, sef sicrhau twf economaidd. Bydd dinasyddion y DU yn cael eu diogelu rhag bygythiadau gartref ar yr un pryd â chreu amgylchedd sefydlog lle gall busnesau ffynnu, a chefnogi prentisiaethau a swyddi medrus iawn ledled y DU.
Twf
Hybu twf economaidd yw prif genhadaeth Llywodraeth y DU, er mwyn i ni allu rhoi mwy o arian ym mhocedi pobl sy’n gweithio ar draws pob rhan o’r DU.
Mae Llywodraeth y DU eisoes wedi gwneud cynnydd sylweddol yn y cynllun hwn ar gyfer twf yng Nghymru, gan gynnwys cadarnhau ffocws Parth Buddsoddi Wrecsam a Sir y Fflint ar weithgynhyrchu uwch i ddenu gwerth £1 biliwn o fuddsoddiad a chreu hyd at 6,000 o swyddi; a £1.5 biliwn o fuddsoddiad uniongyrchol gan Lywodraeth y DU mewn prosiectau sy’n cefnogi twf ledled Cymru.
Mae Llywodraeth y DU yn gadarn ei chefnogaeth i’r cymunedau dur. Drwy Fwrdd Pontio Tata Steel Port Talbot, mae’n darparu gwerth £80 miliwn i helpu gweithwyr, y gadwyn gyflenwi, busnesau lleol ac adfywio.
Bydd gweithredoedd y llywodraeth hon drwy gydol Cyllideb yr Hydref a Datganiad y Gwanwyn, os cânt eu cynnal, yn arwain at gynnydd o 0.6% yn lefel y GDP go iawn erbyn 2034-25.
Daeth yr OBR i’r casgliad bod y rheol sefydlogrwydd yn cael ei bodloni o £9.9 biliwn a bod y rheol buddsoddi yn cael ei bodloni o £15.1 biliwn. Mae’r ddwy reol yn cael eu bodloni ddwy flynedd yn gynnar, sy’n golygu mai dim ond benthyca ar gyfer buddsoddi y mae’r llywodraeth o 2027-28 ymlaen ac mae’r ddyled ariannol net yn gostwng.
Nid yw’r llywodraeth yn fodlon â ffigurau twf tymor byr, ac mae’n mynd ymhellach ac yn mynd ati’n gyflymach heddiw i wella hyn.
Mae’r Canghellor wedi cyhoeddi buddsoddiad cyfalaf pellach o £13 biliwn dros oes y Senedd er mwyn mynd ymhellach o ran twf, ac mae hynny’n ychwanegol at y cynnydd o £100 biliwn a gyhoeddwyd yng Nghyllideb yr Hydref. Bydd hyn yn cyflawni’r prosiectau sydd eu hangen i ysgogi buddsoddiad preifat, hybu twf ac yn gwthio strategaeth ddiwydiannol fodern y DU yn ei blaen.
Gyda’i gilydd, mae’r buddsoddiad cyfalaf ychwanegol hwn yn gwrthbwyso’r arbedion bach ar wariant o ddydd i ddydd ac yn golygu y bydd cyfanswm gwariant adrannol yn cynyddu dros y pum mlynedd nesaf, o’i gymharu â’r cynlluniau yn yr hydref.
Diwygio
Mae Llywodraeth y DU yn benderfynol o wneud y sector cyhoeddus yn fwy cynhyrchiol ac o wella gwasanaethau ar gyfer pobl sy’n gweithio. Ond mewn byd sy’n newid, mae angen i ni fynd ymhellach a mynd ati’n gyflymach i sicrhau ein bod yn gallu darparu’r gwasanaethau cyhoeddus y mae pobl sy’n gweithio yn poeni fwyaf amdanynt.
Mae’r llywodraeth wedi dangos ei hymrwymiad i wneud y penderfyniadau anodd sydd eu hangen i sbarduno effeithlonrwydd a diwygio’r wladwriaeth – lleihau aneffeithlonrwydd a dyblygu biwrocrataidd; a rhoi diwedd ar wariant gwastraffus gan y llywodraeth drwy ganslo miloedd o gardiau credyd y llywodraeth.
Mae cael mwy o bobl i mewn i swyddi hefyd yn ganolog i genhadaeth y llywodraeth o ran twf. Mae’r system les hon wedi methu ac yn siomi pobl drwy ofyn iddynt brofi’r hyn na allant ei wneud, yn hytrach na chanolbwyntio ar yr hyn y gallent ei wneud gyda’r cymorth iawn – mae’n caethiwo pobl oherwydd bod ofn arnynt roi cynnig ar waith, ac oherwydd diffyg cefnogaeth a chymhellion ariannol gwael.
Bydd y system nawdd cymdeithasol bob amser yn gwarchod y rhai hynny na allant fyth weithio, a dyna pam y mae’r llywodraeth hon yn cynnig premiwm ychwanegol a fydd yn diogelu eu hincwm. A bydd yn dod â diwedd i’r drefn o ailasesu pobl sydd â’r cyflyrau gydol oes mwyaf difrifol i roi urddas a sicrwydd iddynt.
Helpu mwy o bobl i gael gwaith yw un o nodau canolog y diwygiadau hyn, a dyna pam mae’r llywodraeth yn mynd i’r afael â chymhellion i fod yn segur drwy ddiddymu’r WCA, ail-gydbwyso Credyd Cynhwysol, a buddsoddi mwy mewn cymorth cyflogaeth.
Byddwn bob amser yn cefnogi’r rheini sydd â chyflyrau iechyd tymor hir drwy’r Taliad Annibyniaeth Bersonol, a fydd yn parhau i fod yn fudd-dal pwysig nad yw’n seiliedig ar brawf modd ar gyfer pobl anabl a phobl sydd â chyflyrau iechyd tymor hir. Ond bydd y diwygiadau hyn yn gwneud y system yn fwy penodol a chynaliadwy er mwyn sicrhau bod rhwyd ddiogelwch ar gael i’r rheini sydd ei hangen fwyaf.
Mae’r Canghellor wedi cadarnhau y byddwn yn creu Cronfa Trawsnewid gwerth £3.25 biliwn i gefnogi’r gwaith sylfaenol o ddiwygio gwasanaethau cyhoeddus, manteisio ar gyfleoedd technoleg ddigidol a Deallusrwydd Artiffisial (AI), a thrawsnewid darpariaeth rheng flaen i ryddhau arbedion i drethdalwyr yn y tymor hir.
Cyhoeddodd y Canghellor hefyd becyn o fesurau i gau’r bwlch treth, gan godi £1 biliwn y flwyddyn erbyn 2029-30. Amcangyfrifwyd fod bwlch treth y DU yn tua £40 biliwn yn 2022-23.
Edrych Ymlaen
Mae Datganiad y Gwanwyn yn adeiladu ar Gyllideb yr Hydref a’r penderfyniadau a wnaed ers hynny i sicrhau sefydlogrwydd i economi Prydain a sbarduno twf economaidd.
Bydd y llywodraeth yn nodi ei chynlluniau ar gyfer gwariant a diwygiadau allweddol i’r sector cyhoeddus yn yr Adolygiad o Wariant a fydd yn dod i ben ar 11 Mehefin 2025.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Oluwole Ojewale, Research Fellow, Obafemi Awolowo University, Regional Coordinator, Institute for Security Studies
Illegal mining activities in Nigeria are devastating the country’s economy, as well as fuelling violence.
Strategic minerals mined in the country’s north-west region include granite, gypsum, kaolin, laterite, limestone, phosphate, potash, silica sand and gold.
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, asserted in late 2024 that powerful individuals engaged in illegal mining were sponsoring banditry in the country. Recently, Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole also alleged that retired military officers coordinated illegal mining activities nationwide.
In a recent paper I examined the links between banditry, gold mining, violence and elite collusion in two states in the north-west of Nigeria.
My research involved qualitative interviews with 17 respondents from 11 gold mining communities of Katsina and Zamfara states. The individuals included miners, community leaders, commercial drivers, residents and security agents.
They told me that bandits colluded with elites to engage in illegal gold mining and undermine peace. The paper also analysed how the elites weaponised access to mineral resources and the impact this had on violence in the region. I looked at the state’s response to illegal gold mining too and offered some reflections on pathways to durable peace.
The history
My study shows that for more than four decades, gold mining has been done by wealthy and influential people in communities. Intense competition between the owners of the mine fields led them to hire bandits to guard their mine fields from their competitors.
This pattern has become entrenched over the past two decades. My study shows that minefield owners today provide bandits with weapons, arms, drugs, food and logistics. In return, the armed groups protect their gold pits.
A number of the wealthy mine owners wield influence in local politics. Some research participants also said there were miners who were working for politicians and traditional rulers and that a number of politicians had acquired gold mines.
Interviewees also said that some individuals were employed by influential figures in government or business. They however did not mention names of the influential government figures for safety reasons.
Violence arises from competition over mining locations, funding of armed groups’ activities, and taking control from civilians.
With access to funds, bandits can expand their influence, recruit new members and carry out attacks.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data I drew on, 1,615 incidents and 4,201 deaths were recorded due to banditry from 2010 to 2023 in Katsina and Zamfara states.
How it works
Generally, gold trading in Nigeria occurs within a network of buyers, sellers and brokers, forming a small ecosystem compared to other commodities. Most participants in the gold market are familiar with each other.
My study respondents said criminals involved in illegal mining had strong connections in the gold market, both domestically and internationally. The transnational supply chain of the illicit economy extends through Chad, Niger, Libya and Algeria.
Bandits sell gold to gold merchants and traders. Some of these traders are business elites from other states in Nigeria who typically sell the gold in the Diffa region in Chad, or in Agadez (Niger), Tripoli (Libya) and Algiers (Algeria). Some gold traders transport the mineral to Benin.
What can be done
The government’s handling of the illicit gold trade and banditry has consistently fallen short of what is needed. This is clear from the government’s failure to adequately monitor the actions of miners.
Mining sites are supposed to be overseen by the government, ensuring that only licensed miners and ancillary service providers are active there. But this isn’t happening.
Based on my findings, I make the following recommendations if there is to be a lasting solution to banditry and the criminal gold mining economy in Nigeria’s north-west.
Firstly, it requires enforcing the law and strengthening accountability.
Large areas of north-west Nigeria are ungoverned. The federal government should enhance border policing and law enforcement capabilities by upgrading security and intelligence gathering infrastructure.
Nigeria should also introduce advanced contraband-detection technologies, such as spectroscopy, at land borders. These techniques analyse the chemical composition of materials. They can identify specific substances and detect trace amounts of contraband.
And individuals with ties to illegal gold trade and supporting criminal activities must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted.
Secondly, it requires reforming the gold mining and security sector. The mainstay of Nigeria’s economy is oil production in the country’s Niger Delta. One of the consequences is that other sectors of the economy have been largely neglected. The mining sector is not well regulated and the state doesn’t show much interest in it.
Thirdly, any steps taken by the government must involve the participation of people living in the affected communities. The security agencies can foster community partnerships to source human intelligence on the activities of bandits, illegal miners and mineral smugglers.
Lastly, the government should consider tackling elite collusion through targeted sanctions and asset freezing. This could disrupt their ability to finance and perpetuate violence.
This approach has been used in Nigeria and in South Africa, among other countries in the world.
Oluwole Ojewale 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.
It is common for nations to have myths, or narratives, that form the basis of their nationalism, or their ideas of themselves as a political community. Such popular narratives are often rooted in a romanticised or idealised view of the past. This is certainly the case in Zimbabwe, where national myths about its urban modernity and economic exceptionalism have stood the test of time in contrast with the reality.
The idea of urban modernity has its roots in colonial times. At the time of independence in 1980, following a liberation war from 1965 to 1979, Zimbabwe’s economy was looking strong. Urban residents, especially, could think of themselves as modern: they had middle- and working-class lifestyles, social protection, social mobility opportunities and fixed working hours. Urban modernity meant order, steady employment, education.
However, rapid socio-economic changes followed in the 1990s and 2000s. Zimbabwe was hit by a series of economic, financial and political crises. This led to the collapse of urban middle- and working-class modernity and the rise of visible informal economic activities in the urban space. By 2004, over 80% of people had informal livelihoods in Zimbabwe.
My PhD thesis (2021) examined Harare’s shift to informality and the impact of this on people’s everyday experiences of citizenship. The respondents in interviews carried out between 2016 and 2018 included vendors, cross-border traders, manufacturers, residents’ associations, informal sector organisations, local authorities and urban planners.
These interviews also form the basis of my recent research paper. My analysis sought to examine how people deal with the fact that current circumstances don’t support their myths of urban nationalism.
During a crisis, people rethink old ideas and adjust them to fit their new situation. As they do this, their notions of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism change. At the same time, they remember a past when their country was economically successful. This memory shapes how they think about the country’s future – and it also makes them question the government, which hasn’t lived up to those past ideals.
So, what do the myths of urban modernity and economic exceptionalism mean in Zimbabwe today? Some people cling to the early postcolonial notions nurtured by the government. Others reluctantly accept economic informality while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. But there are others who challenge altogether the view that street vending is not modern and formal enough.
The prevalent informality was seen as a temporary phenomenon which would end soon. Then the country would return to having a modern urban lifestyle and strong economy.
Grappling with informality
To many of the respondents in 2016-2018, “working” and “having a job” meant being employed and having regular wages, job security and social protection.
At the same time, people also reluctantly accepted economic informality and some of the changes it made to their lives, while seeking to upgrade the idea of the informal sector. Some informal sector associations, for example, attempted to teach their members to see their activities as businesses and themselves as business people, as I reported in another paper.
Some respondents drew a line between economic activities that were acceptable in the city centre and those that were not. These were similar to the early postcolonial notions enforced by the government. They suggested, for example, that street vending had no place in the city centre. It should only occur in limited designated spaces, and in residential areas.
Some street vendors, though, defied the notion of street vending not being modern and formal enough. They dressed smartly to emphasise that street vending could also be done in a “modern” way and be a part of the mainstream economy.
The history of the urban modernity myth
At the beginning of colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the colonisers planned for the cities to remain “white”. Unless Africans lived in their employers’ facilities, they were required to live in dedicated areas.
At the same time, the colonial administration introduced and enforced the concept of “order” in Salisbury, now Harare, the capital. It punished poor, marginalised and homeless people. The same with economic and social activities it deemed undesirable.
Today, over 32% of Zimbabweans live in urban areas.
The establishment in the 1930s of the African middle class was an important part of the urban modernity project. Those who sought to belong to it largely used education as their primary social mobility tool.
After independence in 1980, the cities were deracialised. Everyone was free to enter and use the urban space. But the new government still held tight control and dictated who had the right to the city.
Numerous operations were conducted from the 1980s to clear the street of “undesirable” people and activities. For example, informal settlements were removed. Many women were arrested on the pretext of clearing the city of prostitution. The most notorious clean-up operation was the 2005 Operation Murambatsvina. It effectively punished all those considered “unproductive” and not deserving to be in the city.
Those high and, frankly, brutal standards of urban modernity have a long history in Zimbabwe and became a part of its urban nationalism.
Economic exceptionalism
Colonial and early postcolonial Zimbabwe had an exceptional and diversified economy with strong mining, agricultural, and industrial sectors. Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector contributed 25% to GDP by 1974.
Despite the economic decline, it is still a common narrative that Zimbabwe’s industrial sector was second only to South Africa’s in sub-Saharan Africa and that Zimbabwe was “the breadbasket” of Africa.
After independence, the government made considerable efforts to deracialise the economy and public services.
The present
The early postcolonial ideas about urban modernity and economic exceptionalism were severely undermined in Zimbabwe. But people try to give new meanings to these ideas in the changed social and economic circumstances. There is ongoing reluctance to accept that informality altered Zimbabwe for good. And many of my respondents wanted to find ways that the myths of modernity and economic exceptionalism could keep their meaning in the changed circumstances.
Continuity and change in the myths of urban nationalism also raise the questions of legitimacy. In this case, it is about legitimacy of informal economic practices and legitimacy of the government that did not uphold the myths.
Ideas can be very powerful in explaining people’s understanding of the political community they belong to. And when such ideals cannot be upheld, people will find new meanings in their material reality that let them hold on to old ideas or reinterpret them.
This research is partly funded by the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2022-055) and University of Oxford.
Since the inauguration of President Trump, the Department of Justice is playing a critical role in Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve total elimination of cartels and transitional criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Last week, the U.S. Attorneys for Arizona, Central California, Southern California, New Mexico, Southern Texas, and Western Texas charged more than 960 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.
The Southern District of Texas filed 257 cases in relation to immigration and border security. Of those, 98 face allegations of illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent and/or sexual crimes and prior immigration offenses, among others. A total of 132 face charges of illegally entering the country, 23 cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to firearms and other immigration matters. Among those charged as part of these new cases include two illegal alien human smugglers who engaged in a dangerous pursuit and crash.
The Western District of Texas announced that federal prosecutors in the district filed 261 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases.
The District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 260 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 96 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 155 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States also filed nine cases against nine individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.
The Central District of California filed criminal charges against 20 defendants who allegedly were found in the U.S. following removal. Many of the defendants charged previously were convicted of felony offenses before they were removed from the United States, offenses that include vandalism and firearms crimes.
The Southern District of California filed 90 border-related cases this week, including charges of transportation of illegal aliens, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances. In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecuted a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.
The District of New Mexico brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico: 37 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326), six individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324), and 32 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325). In a significant case, a criminal complaint was filed against David Serrano-Dominguez, a Mexican national illegally present in the U.S., charging him with being an alien in possession of firearms, possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle, and reentry of a deported alien. HSI agents arrested Serrano-Dominguez at an apartment complex in Deming, NM, where he had been residing. Agents had identified social media posts showing Serrano-Dominguez in possession of and discharging handguns and rifles. Following his arrest, agents discovered 10 firearms and approximately 500 rounds of ammunition in the apartment. Among the firearms was an unregistered short-barreled rifle.
We are grateful for the hard work of our border prosecutors in bringing these cases and helping to make our border safe again.
EL PASO, Texas – A Cuban national was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 111 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor aliens, and sexual assault of an alien.
According to court documents, Humberto Yosvany Arriola-Rivero, 30, assisted in the harboring of illegal aliens and managed a stash house in El Paso. He also was an occupant in a vehicle that fled law enforcement that was transporting more than a dozen illegal aliens in April 2023. An investigation revealed that Arriola-Rivero sexually assaulted one of the illegal aliens at the El Paso stash house. Arriola-Rivero was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 17, 2023 and was arrested Sept. 7, 2023. He pleaded guilty Aug. 27, 2024.
“It’s important to note that Arriola-Rivero is being held responsible not only for the significant role he played in human smuggling operations, but also for his abhorrent decision to further dehumanize and sexually violate one of his victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman. “This sentence makes it clear to smugglers in El Paso and across the southern border, that if you engage in alien smuggling in our district, you will be held accountable.”
“Justice was served today for a stash house operator who organized the smuggling of hundreds of illegal aliens and sexually assaulted one of them, all while cramming individuals into tractor-trailers in the sweltering Texas heat,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge for El Paso, Jason T. Stevens. “HSI is committed to aggressively targeting human smugglers and smuggling organizations that continuously exploit individuals for profit. We will relentlessly pursue these criminals who prey on vulnerable people, ensuring they are held accountable for their actions.”
HSI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol.
ANDOVER, Mass., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the automotive industry migrates to 800V batteries and a 48V zonal architecture, power system designers are looking for rapidly deployable solutions that also optimize performance, minimize size, weight and system cost. Converting from high voltage to 48V and 12V, presents a variety of complex power design challenges. The new Vicor automotive grade power modules are designed to help power engineers solve these high voltage power conversion problems using industry-leading power density and scalability, via parallel operation, for a wide range of power levels.
Vicor will be presenting at World Congress Experience (WCX) 2025 in Detroit, April 8-10. The presentation will highlight the newest high power density DC-DC converter power modules that are designed to solve today’s toughest automotive electrification challenges.This year on April 8th at 3:30pm Patrick Kowalyk, Automotive Principal Field Application Engineer, North America will present how to “Optimize High Voltage to SELV Performance While Eliminating a 48V Battery and Super Caps.” Patrick will address easy-to-implement modular solutions for converting high voltage battery voltages direct-to-load (48V and 12V). He will explain how bidirectional, high power density DC-DC converter power modules, using soft switching topology at frequencies > 1.4 MHz can downsize the power delivery network, enhance efficiency and improve overall system performance.
Vicor will be presenting at World Congress Experience (WCX) 2025 in Detroit on April 8th at 3:30pm. Patrick Kowalyk, Automotive, Principal Field Application Engineer will explain how to optimize high voltage to point of load conversion in today’s power-hungry, electrified vehicles, using new automotive grade DC-DC converter power modules (Download high res image)
About WCX The WCX™ World Congress Experience is where the engineering community convenes on mobility’s biggest hurdles from mass deployment of electric vehicles to developmental timelines for autonomous vehicles to understating of global supply chain constraints impacting the automotive industry. World Congress Experience is an event of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
About Vicor Corporation Vicor Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets modular power components and complete power systems based upon a portfolio of patented technologies. Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Vicor sells its products to the power systems market, including enterprise and high-performance computing, industrial equipment and automation, telecommunications and network infrastructure, vehicles and transportation, aerospace and defense. www.vicorpower.com
TORONTO, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — POET Technologies Inc. (“POET” or the “Company“) (TSX Venture: PTK; NASDAQ: POET), a leader in the design and implementation of highly integrated optical engines and light sources for artificial intelligence networks, today announced that its executive team accepted the Elite Score award from Lightwave+BTR Innovation Reviews at an exclusive gala reception held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California on Monday night. The reception took place on the eve of the annual Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Company were POET Chairman & CEO Dr. Suresh Venkatesan and Chief Revenue Officer Raju Kankipati. A panel of judges, comprised of experts from the optical communications and broadband communities, recognized the POET Optical Interposer™ as an innovative advancement that will have a significant impact on the industry.
“We couldn’t ask for a better way to start our 2025 OFC experience than to collect this meaningful award,” Venkatesan commented. “Knowing that a recognized authority in our industry has judged our technology as one of the best on the market provides a strong amount of momentum heading into the next few days.”
POET has previously announced that it will demonstrate its latest innovations at the OFC conference. These include POET Teralight™, a line of 1.6T highly integrated transmit and receive optical engines and the new POET Blazar™, an advanced light source solution that will be viewable by invitation only. Among the customers whose products are scheduled to be showcased with POET’s products already integrated is Adtran, which commended the Company on its accolade.
“POET is deserving of industry recognition because of the innovation they have achieved with their optical engines. We value their efforts in helping us to create a next-generation optical module that addresses the demand for greater connectivity,” said Ross Saunders, General Manager, Adtran Optical Engines. Adtran will demo its highly integrated Quattro 100G LR4 in its private demo room that features POET’s optical engines.
The Lightwave+BTR award recognized the inventiveness and applicability of the POET Optical Interposer, the foundation for the Company’s highly integrated silicon-based optical engines and light sources that are designed to power AI hardware applications and data center hyperscalers to the next level of speed and performance.
The trophy will be displayed alongside POET’s other recent awards at the Company’s OFC Booth (#5315) through the conference, which ends on April 3, 2025.
About POET Technologies Inc. POET is a design and development company offering high-speed optical modules, optical engines and light source products to the artificial intelligence systems market and to hyperscale data centers. POET’s photonic integration solutions are based on the POET Optical Interposer™, a novel, patented platform that allows the seamless integration of electronic and photonic devices into a single chip using advanced wafer-level semiconductor manufacturing techniques. POET’s Optical Interposer-based products are lower cost, consume less power than comparable products, are smaller in size and are readily scalable to high production volumes. In addition to providing high-speed (800G, 1.6T and above) optical engines and optical modules for AI clusters and hyperscale data centers, POET has designed and produced novel light source products for chip-to-chip data communication within and between AI servers, the next frontier for solving bandwidth and latency problems in AI systems. POET’s Optical Interposer platform also solves device integration challenges in 5G networks, machine-to-machine communication, self-contained “Edge” computing applications and sensing applications, such as LIDAR systems for autonomous vehicles. POET is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with operations in Allentown, PA, Shenzhen, China, and Singapore. More information about POET is available on our website at www.poet-technologies.com.
About Lightwave+BTR Bringing over 36 years of trusted technical insights to today’s optical communications professionals. Through our integrated media portfolio, Lightwave delivers content focused on fiber optics and optoelectronics, the technologies that enable the growth, integration and improved performance of voice, data and video communications networks and services. Our experienced editorial team provides trusted technology, application and market insights to corporate executives, department heads, project managers, network engineers and technical managers at equipment suppliers, service providers and major end-user organizations. Our unique ability to inform our audience’s business-critical decisions is based in our 35+ year relationship with the entire optical community—technology vendors, communications carriers and major enterprises—and our recognition of the interplay among its members. Lightwave’s media portfolio includes the Lightwave Direct email newsletter and LightwaveOnline magazine.
Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains “forward-looking information” (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws) and “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such statements or information are identified with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “propose”, “project”, “outlook”, “foresee” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding any potential outcome. Such statements include the Company’s expectations with respect to the success of the Company’s product development efforts, the performance of its products, operations, meeting revenue targets, and the expectation of continued success in the financing efforts, the capability, functionality, performance and cost of the Company’s technology as well as the market acceptance, inclusion and timing of the Company’s technology in current and future products and expectations regarding its successful development of high speed transceiver solutions and its penetration of the Artificial Intelligence hardware markets.
Such forward-looking information or statements are based on a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results or other expectations to differ materially from those anticipated and which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the completion of its development efforts with its customers, the ability to build working prototypes to the customer’s specifications, and the size, future growth and needs of Artificial Intelligence network suppliers. Actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, the failure to produce optical engines on time and within budget, the failure of Artificial Intelligence networks to continue to grow as expected, the failure of the Company’s products to meet performance requirements for AI and datacom networks, operational risks in the completion of the Company’s projects, the ability of the Company to generate sales for its products, and the ability of its customers to deploy systems that incorporate the Company’s products. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information or statements are reasonable, prospective investors in the Company’s securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because the Company can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release are as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise this forward-looking information and statements except as required by law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 120 Eglinton Avenue, East, Suite 1107, Toronto, ON, M4P 1E2- Tel: 416-368-9411 – Fax: 416-322-5075
SAN DIEGO, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Franklin Access, a leading provider of integrated wireless solutions, has unveiled its latest product, the Seiona – RT410S, at the Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas. The Seiona – RT410S delivers secure, stable, and reliable connectivity for a wide range of edge applications, expanding Franklin’s product offerings into the multi-billion-dollar IoT market. Designed for industries such as digital signage, healthcare, ATMs, kiosks, vending machines, and EV charging stations, the Seiona – RT410S facilitates seamless data exchange between computers and automated systems, enhancing operational efficiency.
Setting itself apart from competitors, Franklin’s Seiona series integrates full access to the Pintrac Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform, enabling comprehensive remote management. This solution allows administrators to configure, secure, deploy, monitor, and update devices remotely, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with on-site servicing. The Seiona – RT410S is the first in a series of upcoming devices and will be available in various physical configurations, all leveraging LTE technology.
At its core, the Seiona – RT410S incorporates proven cellular, Wi-Fi, and GPS technologies to ensure robust performance. Its compact and portable design makes it ideal for a variety of deployment scenarios. Currently, Seiona is undergoing technical evaluation with leading national retailers for kiosk applications.
The Seiona – RT410S is currently undergoing U.S. wireless carrier certification and will be available for purchase soon.
About Franklin Access
Franklin Access (NASDAQ: FKWL) is a leader in integrated wireless solutions, offering state-of-the-art 4G LTE and 5G technologies, including mobile hotspots, routers, and mobile device management (MDM) solutions. Learn more at franklinaccess.com.
Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied due to various factors.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Viventium, who offers an industry-leading payroll, HR, and compliance platform purpose-built for healthcare providers, has unveiled a refreshed brand identity as the company introduces new capabilities to its cloud-based software platform, reaffirming its commitment to home-, facility-, and community-based care providers.
Viventium is on a mission to simplify workforce challenges for healthcare providers with a customized suite of payroll, HR, compliance, and other solutions designed to reconnect care staff to their purpose and joy. Today, Viventium is the workforce management partner to healthcare organizations across all 50 states, supporting more than 500,000 care staff nationwide.
Through a software platform that’s tailor-made to address the unique workforce management challenges that healthcare providers face today, Viventium provides solutions to help companies hire and retain care staff, maintain compliance, and create true measurable value. Viventium’s newly refreshed branding reflects the company’s unique and compelling mix of future-focused technology and everyday humanity that embodies why they have become a long-standing and trusted industry ally.
“At Viventium, we understand the unique challenges healthcare providers face because we live and breathe this industry,” said Navin Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Viventium. “Our solutions are designed to simplify complex administrative tasks so care staff can focus on what matters most—delivering exceptional care and rediscovering joy in their work.”
Staffing shortages, employee retention challenges, care staff burnout, and redundant manual processes remain an unfortunate reality across the healthcare industry. To help solve these challenges for skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities, Viventium recently announced the launch of its Open Shift Management feature within its Scheduling software.
This proprietary workforce software streamlines scheduling processes, reduces the stress of last-minute staffing gaps, and enhances employee satisfaction with innovative technology features like real-time updates, mobile access, and flexible shift options. Designed by industry experts for skilled nursing and senior living professionals, the software ensures compliance with industry standards and promotes a balanced approach to improving workforce management.
Viventium also recently released advanced logic to simplify compliance for home-based care agencies, with complex compensation models like Per Visit Pay, Blended Rate Overtime, and California Piece Rate. Home-based care agencies can now complete payroll with a single click, saving hours each week. The detailed pay stub also builds trust and confidence with caregivers by ensuring clear and accurate compensation, promoting job satisfaction that will further aid recruitment and retention efforts.
This sentiment was further emphasized by Gupta: “The need to effectively locate and engage talent is now more important than ever. However, the work does not stop there. Once hired, companies must properly onboard, manage, schedule, and compensate their teams. Failing to do so can have devastating impacts on an organization, its quality, and its reputation.”
Enhancing care staff satisfaction is one of the main pillars of improving retention, especially in healthcare segments where retention is a major issue. Research from Viventium’s upcoming report on workforce management decisions in healthcare found that 94% of home-, facility-, and community-based care administrators reported that they are currently experiencing a staffing shortage or anticipate a shortage (research conducted by TSC, 2024).
“We know that every day, our clients go to work and face challenges,” said Bernadette Bressler, Chief Marketing Officer, Viventium. “As a company, our brand reflects who we are and reinforces our commitment to positively impacting the lives of healthcare providers, their staff, and the patients, clients, and residents they serve. It’s a new day at Viventium, and a new day for healthcare providers. Our goal is to make sure that every day starts with our clients feeling confident and supported in all that they do.”
For more information on Viventium’s products and resources, visit viventium.com.
About Viventium Viventium is healthcare’s trusted ally for payroll, HR, and compliance, combining innovative solutions with deep expertise in the healthcare industry. Its purpose-built cloud-based platform is designed to tackle the complexity and compliance challenges healthcare providers face, simplifying the workday, every day. Viventium helps organizations hire and retain care staff, improve the employee experience, and drive measurable value. Serving clients in all 50 states and supporting over 500,000 healthcare employees, Viventium enables organizations to focus on what matters most: providing compassionate care. It’s a new day, with Viventium.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emily Godwin, Senior Research Associate in Digital Marketing and Virtual Environments, University of Bristol, and PhD Candidate in Conspiracy Theories, University of Bath
“I am become meme,” declared Elon Musk at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference, just after hoisting a chainsaw – a gift from Argentina’s president, Javier Milei – above his head. The tech billionaire and head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was correct. Within hours, images of the moment had spread across social media, spawning countless edits, humorous remixes and sharp commentary.
This moment was more than just a spectacle. It exemplified how, in a digital age where the battle for attention is paramount, memes are a key part of political conversation. While memes might seem purely entertaining, my research confirms their influence goes deeper, shaping and intensifying political views and attitudes in significant ways.
The power of memes lies in their ability to distil complex ideas into instantly recognisable forms. They rely on established visual templates, which eliminate the need for lengthy explanations and communicate to the viewer how they should think about the topic of the meme.
Distracted boyfriend (in which a man looks over his shoulder at an attractive woman to the annoyance of his girlfriend) is a perfect example. It succinctly communicates the universal experience of being tempted by one option while neglecting another – applicable to everything from consumer preferences to political allegiances.
However, this simplification can quickly become problematic when memes portray distorted or misleading views of reality.
Harmful stereotypes, misinformation and conspiracy theories have all found their way into meme format. Memes can transmit dangerous ideas, cloaked in humour that makes them more palatable.
Conspiracy theories and memes
Conspiracy theories prove especially adaptable to the meme format. Their narratives rely heavily on simple “us v them” portrayals of enlightened truth-seekers standing up against powerful conspirators and an unaware or passive public.
My analysis of hundreds of memes from COVID conspiracy communities on Reddit revealed a striking pattern: the same templates appeared repeatedly, reinforcing this simplistic but powerful dichotomy.
Many memes portrayed conspiracy believers as enlightened truth-seekers. “Lisa Simpson’s Presentation”, showing the comic cartoon character confidently presenting to an audience, was commonly used to share claims that challenged mainstream narratives about science, medicine and the government.
Other memes portrayed authorities as powerful manipulators. “Daily Struggle/Two Buttons”, showing a character sweating over which of two contradictory buttons to press, was commonly used to suggest that health officials and media outlets deliberately switched between opposing vaccination narratives when convenient.
Most prevalent were portrayals of an unaware or passive public, with “NPC Wojak” – a grey, expressionless figure named after video game “non-playable characters” – presenting a visual shorthand. Those who followed public health advice and mandates were portrayed as mindless automatons, incapable of critical thinking or independent judgment.
These kinds of meme did not just reflect existing beliefs – they actively shaped and intensified them. Through repeated exposure, these ideas became normalised and accepted as truth. Memes created a feedback loop where existing suspicions were validated, amplified and spread to others – with real-world effects.
During the pandemic, conspiracy theories that were shared widely via memes led to real-world action, from vaccine refusal to violent global protests against public health mandates.
The accessible humour of memes served as an entry point, attracting audiences who might have initially engaged with the content as “just jokes”, but subsequently adopted increasingly extreme perspectives.
Given their power to influence political views and attitudes and to spread misinformation, it is important to think critically before sharing a meme. Here are some key pointers:
1. Think about the hidden message
Memes often use humour or exaggeration, but consider the underlying message. Is it simplifying a complex issue or distorting reality? Remember that memes can disguise the extremity of viewpoints, making them appear more familiar and acceptable.
2. Identify who’s behind it
Consider the source or origin of the meme. Who might benefit from spreading this message? Is it associated with extreme or conspiratorial communities? If you are unsure, a quick check on Know Your Meme or a reverse image search can provide helpful context.
3. Check for implicit assumptions
Memes often operate through implicit assumptions about society, expertise and evidence that go unstated. Ask yourself: what core beliefs must someone accept for this meme to make sense? For example, a meme mocking people who “trust the science” might contain the unstated assumption that scientific consensus is merely opinion, rather than evidence-based conclusion.
4. Think about emotional manipulation
Memes rely heavily on emotional reactions – often humour, anger, or outrage – to encourage rapid sharing. Before clicking “share”, reflect on whether you’re being manipulated emotionally into spreading an idea you wouldn’t openly support.
5. Consider potential harm
Ask yourself if sharing the meme could contribute to harm, whether by reinforcing harmful stereotypes, or spreading misinformation or conspiracy theories. Humour can disguise the impact of these ideas, making them seem acceptable when they aren’t.
6. Remember that context matters
A meme may seem funny or insightful on its own – but within wider conversations, it can take on new meanings. Consider how it might be interpreted alongside other messages circulating in similar spaces. Could it be contributing to a pattern of misinformation, division or trivialisation?
Ultimately, becoming mindful of the memes we share isn’t about losing a sense of humour, it’s about gaining control over the ideas we help circulate. Before you click share, take a second to think – every meme you spread can affect how people see the world.
Emily Godwin receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for her position as a PhD Candidate at the University of Bath.
A field known as synthetic biology has become one of the most highly anticipated in science. Its outputs range from golden rice, which is genetically engineered to provide vitamin A, to advances stemming from the Human Genome Project, which successfully mapped the entire human genome. Prominent voices in biotechnology have heralded it as the next wave of the future of innovation.
Synthetic biology is the use of genetic engineering and other advances in biotechnology to generate new organisms or manipulate existing ones to produce the effects you desire. It is what the British biologist Jamie A. Davies calls “the creation of new living systems by design”.
What is perhaps less obvious is that it may even be useful in space exploration. We might eventually use microbes to detoxify Mars – helping humans to one day live on the red planet.
Synthetic biology has transformed many lines of technological breakthrough in biology already. Thanks to technologies such as the Nobel-winning genomic “scissors” Crispr Cas9, gene editing is now cheap, fast and accurate, as is gene sequencing.
All this means genomics can be done in the field and even in space thanks to new technology – such as the MinION by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, which allowed Nasa astronaut Kate Rubins to sequence the genomes of microorganisms on the International Space Station with a handheld device.
Structural biology has also been revolutionised by breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (enabling us to view large molecules in a solution), and more recently by the Nobel prize-winning protein-folding program “AlphaFold” by Google’s DeepMind.
We can now know the structure and sequence of organisms at speed and with tremendous accuracy – and at low cost. Ultimately, this also presents an opportunity to make accurate changes to sequences and structures.
So, how can we engineer microorganisms to make Mars habitable? Here are a few possibilities.
Eating radiation
Microbes could help us with the damaging radiation on Mars. We know there are bacteria and other single-celled organisms known as archaea living in some of the most hostile places on Earth. For example, Thermus Aquaticus thrives in extremely high temperatures, and psychrophiles live in extreme cold.
The tardigrade genome, for example, is a rich source of information, explaining how these microorganisms can survive in the vacuum of space. Extremophiles that can digest radiation and toxicities are already used to clean up everything from oil spills to the fallout of radioactive sites.
This means we could engineer microbes that are resistant to freezing temperatures and high levels of radiation. Such synthetic microorganisms could then be put to use on Mars in a variety ways to help shield us and our habitats from these extremes – or to develop crops with resistance.
For example, it is now well known that the Martian soil is full of perchlorates, which are toxic to humans. Nasa has several ideas of how this can be dealt with, including synthetic biology.
Fixing atmospheric gases
Long ago on ancient Earth, cyanobacteria flourished. They filled an ecological niche which transformed Earth’s atmosphere by enriching it with oxygen. We owe our existence in large part to this fertile bloom.
Could they do the same for us on Mars? The atmosphere on the red planet is extremely thin and primarily made of carbon dioxide. The cyanobacteria would need a lot of help, which we could provide with synthetic biology. Theoretically, microorganisms could be engineered to survive the Martian environment and in turn pump out oxygen and nitrogen.
Warming the surface
Visions of terraforming the red planet (altering it to make it habitable for humans) often involve putting space mirrors in orbit to heat up Mars and melt its ice. This would cause a runaway greenhouse effect that would transform the planet into a more Earth-like state.
But synthetic biology could (theoretically) skip this stage, which has been proposed to take at least 200 years at the very best estimate. Some five years ago, scientists proposed planetary engineering using synthetic biology to engineer microbes for ecological transformation.
Given that microbes helped make Earth habitable, we could use synthetic biology to engineer microbes to speed up a similar process for Mars. Finding organisms that reduce greenhouse gases, remove toxicity and exhale helpful substances could help remove higher levels of greenhouse gases on Earth, too.
Seeding new life on Mars
We are not yet sure there is no life on Mars. The question of how ethical it is to engineer new life and then spread it to other bodies in the Solar System for our own ends is deep and complex. But these conversations need to happen.
However, it certainly seems that synthetic biology may be our best technological bet to becoming an interplanetary species – and a lot of space and biotech agencies are taking it very seriously.
According to recent research from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia: “From a holistic point of view, the ultimate synthetic biology approach to make the most of plant-based food on Mars would be to develop multi-biofortified crops with improved nutritional properties and enhanced quality traits (e.g., extended shelf life and reduced allergenicity).”
Among emerging technologies, it may be that using synthetic biology improves our future more than any other factor – on Earth and beyond.
Samuel McKee 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 – UK – By Kevin Riehle, Lecturer in Intelligence and Security Studies, Brunel University of London
Aleksandr Dugin, sometimes referred to as “Putin’s brain” because of his ideological influence on Russian politics, endorsed the policies of Donald Trump in a CNN interview aired on March 30. Dugin said Trump’s America has a lot more in common with Putin’s Russia than most people think, adding: “Trumpists and the followers of Trump will understand much better what Russia is, who Putin is and the motivations of our politics.”
Dugin made his name by espousing Russian nationalist and traditionalist – including antisemitic – themes, and publishing extensively on the centrality of Russia in world civilisation. So, this endorsement should be a warning of the disruptive nature of the Trump White House. It implies that Dugin believes Trump’s policies support Russian interests.
Dugin began his career as an anti-communist activist in the 1980s. This was less because of an ideological antipathy for communism than his rejection of the internationalism that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union espoused. He also criticised the party for breaking from traditional – especially religious – values.
Dugin proposes what he calls a “fourth political theory”. The first three, he claims, are Marxism, fascism and liberalism – all of which he thinks contain elements of error, especially their rejection of tradition and the subordination of culture to scientific thought.
Dugin’s fourth political theory takes pieces from all three and discards the elements with which Dugin disagrees, especially the dwindling importance of traditional family and culture. The culmination is a melange of ideas that sometimes appear Marxist and sometimes fascist, but which always centre on the criticality of traditional Russian culture.
His founding philosophy is traditionalism, which he views as a strength of Russia. Thus, he has become a strong supporter of the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, who emphasises traditional Russian values. Dugin and Putin align in their criticism of liberalist anti-religious individualism, which they claim destroys the values and culture on which society is based.
Dugin has value for Putin because he advances the president’s objectives. Putin’s security goals are in part founded on the principle that political unity is strength and political division is weakness. If Russia can maintain political unity by whatever means necessary, it retains its perception of strength. And if a state opposed to Russia is divided internally, it can be portrayed as weak.
The Russian government claims complete political unity inside Russia. Its spokespeople reinforce that claim by declaring, for example, the Russian electorate was so unified behind Putin that the 2024 Russian presidential election could have been skipped as an unnecessary expense. They also push a strained claim that the Russian population is unanimously behind the Ukraine war.
Dugin energises voters behind Putin, basing his support on the philosophy of Russian greatness and cultural superiority, and the perception of Russian unity. His influence has been felt throughout the Russian government and society. He publishes prolifically, and lectures at universities and government agencies about the harms of western liberalism. He also served as an advisor to Sergey Naryshkin, currently director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of the Russian Federation.
Dugin’s views support an expansionist Russia, especially in the direction of Ukraine. He questions the existence of Ukraine and promotes Russia’s war there wholeheartedly. But his support for the war led to an attempt on his life. On August 20 2022, a bomb exploded in a car owned by Dugin, killing his daughter, Darya, who was driving it back from a festival of Russian traditional art.
Divide and conquer
Russia applies the same principle of “unity equals strength” to its adversaries, but in reverse. Many Russian political thinkers try to emphasise political divisions in unfriendly states. They work hard to broaden existing disagreements and support disruptive political parties and groups.
Such operations give the Russian government the ability to denigrate the foreign powers that Russia considers adversaries by making them look weak in the eyes of their own people – and more importantly, in the eyes of the Russian population.
Dugin’s interview in which he endorsed Trump’s policies is likely to have been directly authorised by the Kremlin. He pushes a Kremlin-sponsored endorsement of Trump’s divisive – and thus weakening – effect on US politics.
But Dugin’s extreme Russian nationalist rhetoric at times clashes with Putin’s attempts to include all peoples of Russia in a strong unified state, rather than only ethnic Russians. As it is a multi-ethnic state, Russian ethnic nationalism can obstruct Putin’s attempts at portraying strength through unity. The label “Putin’s brain” is only accurate sometimes.
The Russian government uses Dugin when he is useful and separates itself from him when his extremism is inconvenient. Dugin is a tool who says many of the right things and facilitates Kremlin goals. His endorsement of Trump should be seen in its context: Russia attempting to strengthen itself at the expense of the US.
Kevin Riehle 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 – UK – By Caitjan Gainty, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, King’s College London
In his new book, No More Normal, psychiatrist Alastair Santhouse recalls an experience from the 1980s when he was a university student in the UK helping deliver supplies to “refuseniks” – Soviet citizens who were denied permission to leave the USSR. These people often faced harsh treatment, losing their jobs and becoming targets of harassment. Some were even diagnosed with a psychiatric condition called “sluggish schizophrenia”.
By the time Santhouse encountered this diagnostic category, sluggish schizophrenia had been kicking around psychiatry in the Soviet Union for some time. It first entered the diagnostic lexicon in the 1930s, coined to describe cases in which adults diagnosed with schizophrenia had displayed no symptoms of the disorder in childhood.
This notion of a symptomless disorder gave it tremendous value to Soviet officials in the 1970s and 80s, who wielded it ruthlessly against those who suddenly suffered from delusions of wanting a better society or hallucinatory desires to emigrate.
But they weren’t the only ones to wield psychiatry to repress and control. “Punitive” or “political” psychiatry has proven to be quite a useful tool in many parts of the world. One well-known case is that of Chinese political activist Wang Wanxing, who marked the third anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy student protests in Tiananmen Square by unfurling his own pro-democracy banner on that same spot.
He was immediately arrested, jailed, and then diagnosed with “political monomania”: a “condition” characterised by the irrational failure to agree with the state. For treatment, he was confined for 13 years in a psychiatric hospital, part of the Ankang (“peace and health”) network of psychiatric institutions where dissidents like him were forcefully medicated and subjected to “treatments” such as electrified acupuncture.
More recent applications of punitive psychiatry pop up periodically in our news feeds and disappear just as quickly. Some women who removed their headscarves or cut their hair as part of anti-government protests in Iran in 2022 were diagnosed with antisocial behaviour, forcefully institutionalised and subjected to “re-education”.
In 2024, in Russia, an activist’s choice of T-shirt, bearing the slogan “I am against Putin”, was considered so problematic that it required the summoning of a “psychiatric emergency team”.
As in the Soviet Union, the advantages of punitive psychiatry were not a little Orwellian: diagnosing a citizen with a mental illness made it easier to isolate their ideas, cut them off physically and discourage similar behaviour.
Not just authoritarian regimes
While authoritarian regimes certainly seem to wield it with the most abandon, punitive psychiatry has not been absent in the west. Indeed, at the height of the civil rights movement in the US, black activists protesting generations of racial prejudice and injustice were subjected to much the same diagnostic regime.
One example was the pastor and activist Clennon W. King, Jr. who was arrested and confined to a mental institution in 1958 after he attempted to enrol at the all-white University of Mississippi for a summer course. It was an act so inconceivable that the state of Mississippi thought he must be insane.
And, according to his FBI record, the militant civil rights leader Malcolm X was a “pre-psychotic paranoid schizophrenic”: a diagnosis made based on his activism and protest speech. As Jonathan Metzl has shown, the descriptors used to “diagnose” Malcolm X were later enshrined in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1968 updated definition of schizophrenia. Dissent in the US was as potentially pathological as dissent anywhere else.
Though each of these cases undoubtedly constitutes a gross misuse of psychiatry, the practice of making distinctions between what constitutes normal and abnormal behaviour is fundamental to the discipline. And, as Metzl’s account of the shifting definition of schizophrenia implies, psychiatric disorders are especially sensitive to social change.
Unlike most physical illnesses, psychiatric illnesses often have few physiological signs. Whereas a broken bone on an X-ray can be declared unambiguously broken, psychiatric problems are diagnosed in terms of constellations of symptoms, written on but not in the body, and recounted by patients in conversation with their therapist, or via a listing of these symptoms on one of the many diagnostic questionnaires that make up the psychiatric diagnostic arsenal.
Psychiatry’s bible
These are then matched to symptom clusters listed in psychiatry’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Though in the everyday practice of mental health, there is much more to this process, in theory, the closeness of this match designates the absence or presence of disease.
That psychiatric diagnoses are unusually socially responsive is by and large unavoidable. Our mental health is itself socially specific, so much so that some have argued that something as apparently universal as depression, for example, is actually an illness specific to western or even just anglophone cultures.
Whether that hypothesis is true or not has no bearing on whether depression is in fact real. It only suggests what psychiatry intrinsically acknowledges already: that mental health has a critically significant social component.
As the use of psychiatry for these punitive purposes makes clear, this necessary malleability lends itself to abuse. The radical psychiatrists of the 1970s certainly believed so when they re-examined the very notion of normal, exposing its role in policing society and enforcing categories of exclusion. It’s how homosexuality ended up as a diagnosable psychiatric illness in the 1952 edition of the DSM – a pathology built by and for the norms of the American mainstream.
But it’s a malleability that can also lead to change in the opposite direction, where society – we, you and I – revisit and change these boundaries. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973, not because of any new scientific information, but because of a targeted gay rights activist campaign and, more indirectly, the slow shift over the intervening decades toward greater social inclusion.
In his book, Santhouse reflects on where we are now in psychiatry, at a time when there is, to quote his clever title, “no more normal”. Though the definition of normal is always in a state of flux, ours is a moment of diagnostic surfeit, in which mental health clinicians have had to cede space to a superabundance of resources that allow us – even encourage us – to diagnose ourselves.
And that makes this an interesting moment: one in which we explicitly see our vision of mental health being remapped onto the shifting politics of identity and inclusion that permeate now. Insofar as this forces us to reckon with the social aspects of our mental health in a more explicit way than we are used to, perhaps this is no bad thing.
Caitjan Gainty has received funding from the Wellcome Trust.
If you’re a young person today, you’ve probably felt the sting of being called lazy, or caught yourself wondering if you are. Do you sometimes feel guilty when not being productive, or find yourself pretending to be busy?
You’re not alone. Self-doubt about productivity is very common and no wonder: we’re immersed in a culture that expects constant achievement. The perception of Gen Z (and Millennials) being “lazy” or “entitled” persists, making it easy to internalise these criticisms.
Particularly in the era of working from home, it can be hard to shake the feeling of guilt when not being “productive”. Articles with titles like Am I Depressed or Lazy? reveals how commonly people (even highly successful ones) worry about being lazy.
Laziness is not only seen as a personal shortcoming but also a moral one. This is the case across different cultures – references to the “badness” of laziness can be found in texts of all major religions. This moral dimension explains why being called “lazy” feels so much worse than being called “distracted” or “slow” — it implies a character flaw.
But judging someone (or oneself) as lazy also reinforces a harmful myth that emerged from the Protestant work ethic and was further entrenched by capitalist values: that constant effort and productivity are the only paths to achievement and self-worth.
This sustains a culture where everyone must always be trying harder, leading to anxiety, burnout and discrimination against those who work differently, or can’t keep up.
Ready to make a change? The Quarter Life Glow-up is a new, six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions.
Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.
These harms don’t affect everyone equally. If you’re from certain ethnic backgrounds, have a chronic health condition, or are struggling with homelessness or unemployment, you’re much more likely to be labelled “lazy”.
Research shows that children from minority groups are more likely to be thought of as lazy in school, resulting in punishment instead of help. Employees with obesity are promoted less often due to assumptions about their “laziness”, and those who can’t take on extra work because of caring duties are often seen as not committed enough and miss out on professional development.
What does it mean to be lazy?
Given the serious consequences of labelling someone as lazy, we’d better make sure we understand what laziness is.
What often seems implied by the judgement “you’re lazy” is: “You could achieve more if you tried harder”. But we can almost always achieve more by putting in more effort. If not always giving it our all is enough for laziness, then we’re all being lazy most of the time.
The research I’m conducting aims to better understand and redefine “laziness”. I first explored how people commonly understand laziness, and then used philosophical analysis to identify which everyday understanding makes most sense. In doing so, I drew on various areas of philosophy that discuss the value of effort, virtue, and to what extent we can be blamed for behaving in a certain way due to lack of willpower.
My analysis reveals that what is crucial for laziness is that you lack a good reason – a justification – for not trying harder, for limiting your effort.
Consider these scenarios:
You do less than your role requires because you can’t be bothered,
You spend your weekend doing very little so that you’re ready for the week ahead,
You limit how hard you try because of a chronic health condition.
On my understanding, only the first scenario involves true laziness. In the others, what might appear to be laziness is actually justified effort management: you have good reasons to rest or genuine limitations on how much effort you can exert.
Laziness or strategy
In my view, what truly matters isn’t how hard you try, but whether your efforts efficiently achieve what’s important to you. The following scenarios might look lazy, but are actually reasonable strategies for doing just that:
You resist pointless tasks to create time for deep thinking,
You set boundaries at work to avoid burnout,
You say “no” to tasks outside your role to resist the idea that we should always be striving to produce more,
You automate repetitive tasks to free up time for creative tasks.
The tendency to judge others as lazy often stems from overvaluing effort, long hours and constant busyness. What’s really important is that our effort is directed at the right goal, recognising that it is a limited resource.
Learning to distinguish between truly lazy behaviour and justified effort management can be liberating. It can allow you to more confidently resist the pressure to be constantly productive – and to do so without guilt.
I’m not suggesting we should only think about what matters to us personally. Fulfilling responsibilities to colleagues, family and community is important. But within those boundaries, you can question the common idea that more productivity and trying harder is always better.
And before labelling someone as lazy, consider whether there might be good reasons for their approach. Perhaps they’re making strategic choices about their energy, dealing with invisible challenges or prioritising differently.
Sometimes, taking it easier isn’t laziness — it’s wisdom.
Katrien Devolder 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.
A series of activities and events will be held in Portsmouth to honour veterans and engage residents in commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May 1945 and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day on 15 August 1945.
These events, organised by Portsmouth City Council, aim to keep history alive and promote civic pride and historical awareness as the number of living WWII veterans decreases and help to ensure the city is a welcoming, vibrant, and inclusive place in which to live, work, and visit.
Commemoration activities:
Multi-faith service will be held on 4 May 2025, 11:00am at Governor’s Green, Portsmouth, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at sea to honour the sacrifices made during WWII.
Exhibition at Portsmouth History Centre, Central Library to feature local WWII images with interactive engagement and also temporary plaques on lampposts across the city.
Victory in 80 Objects, is an online exhibition created and led by the D-Day Story Museum, in national partnership with six leading military museums, showcasing 80 WWII victory-related objects and their stories.
WWII veterans’ interviews will be shared by The D Day Story Museum, providing a personal and poignant insight into the experiences of those who lived through the war.
VE Day event at The D Day Story will be held on 11 May to offer an immersive experience for visitors to learn about and celebrate VE Day, including re-enactments, activities, and military vehicle exhibitions.
Leader of the council, with responsibility for culture, Cllr Steve Pitt said: “We’d like to invite all residents to join us in commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day, and to take part in these activities. We’re proud to host events like these, to honour veterans, engage the community, and promote civic pride and historical awareness”.
Residents are invited to contribute to the meaningful exhibition at Portsmouth History Centre by sharing their WWII and V-E Day photographs. You can take your photos to the Portsmouth History Centre at the Central Library for copying, or by emailing them to portsmouthhistorycentre@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. Your contributions will play a vital role in preserving and celebrating our shared history.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Rain will intensify in the capital in the coming hours. It will continue until the end of the day, and strong gusts of wind are also possible.
The city streets are staffed by teams and equipment from the State Unitary Enterprise Mosvodostok. Additionally, pumping equipment from road services and engineering companies is involved.
Emergency teams from engineering companies and prefectures of administrative districts are on duty around the clock
Residents are asked to be careful, not to take shelter under trees or park cars near them, and not to be near unstable structures.
In an emergency, you must call emergency services on a single number: 112.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Pope Francis has authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to publish the decree for the canonization of catechist and martyr Peter Tor Rot, who will thus become the first Saint from Papua New Guinea. The date will be set during the Consistory (still to be scheduled) announced by the Pope a month ago while he was being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Gemelli Hospital.The requests and prayers of the Church of Papua New Guinea, which asked the Pope a few months ago during his visit to Asia and Oceania to intervene in the canonization process of the catechist and martyr (see Fides, 6/9/2024), have been heard.Born in Rakunai in 1912, Peter belonged to the Tolai community, who live in the easternmost part of the island. The exact date of his birth and baptism is unknown, as the documents were confiscated by the Japanese police during World War II. What is certain is that he grew up in a large family and was primarily educated by his father, a village chief. After receiving his First Communion, probably between 1922 and 1926, he served as an altar boy, moved by a deep devotion to the Eucharist.From 1930, he attended Saint Paul’s Catechist Training College in Taluligap and returned to his village three years later to actively exercise his ministry as a catechist. He also devoted himself to works of charity, with a particular focus on the poor, the sick, and orphans. At the age of 23, he married Paula La Varpit and became the father of three children.At the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese occupied Papua New Guinea and imprisoned all missionaries, but this did not initially hinder his pastoral work. Peter To Rot made every effort not to abandon the Christian community, continuing his catechetical activities and preparing couples for the sacrament of marriage.When the occupiers forbade him from continuing his work, he carried it out secretly and with extreme caution so as not to endanger the lives of the faithful, knowing full well that this decision could cost him his life.During the occupation, he opposed the reintroduction of polygamy, which the Japanese had allowed to curry favor with the local tribes, and thus also turned against his older brother. The latter denounced him to the police, and for these reasons, he was arrested in 1945 and sentenced to two months in prison. During his imprisonment, he received only visits from his mother, his wife, and his children. He was treated more harshly than the other prisoners and died of poisoning in prison in July 1945.Peter To Rot was beatified by Saint John Paul II on January 17, 1995, in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.On March 18, 2024, the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands requested that the miracle be waived on the path to Peter To Rot’s canonization. At the same time, they noted that while there is ample evidence, it is very difficult to document the required miracle because there are few hospitals capable of providing the scientific documentation necessary to prove a supposed miraculous healing, and because the culture of the local population is largely based on oral communication, making it difficult to document any miracles in writing.In addition, up to 820 dialects are spoken in the State, so few people are able to write in correct, understandable English. For these reasons, the request was granted, and on March 22, 2024, the Dicastery was authorized to conduct the special process with a dispensation of miracles for the canonization of Peter To Rot.This is a process by which the Pope, after due examination, recognizes a cult that has already existed for some time, without waiting for the recognition of a miracle. It differs from formal beatifications and canonizations, for which the Church provides for a regular investigation and the corresponding miracle. Furthermore, the Pope can always make special decisions. Pope Francis did this in the case of John XXIII, who was canonized based on his decades-long worldwide reputation for holiness, without a second miracle being recognized. Benedict XVI also applied an extraordinary process with regard to John Paul II, whose canonization process was initiated a few weeks after his death, without waiting the required five years.As for To Rot, after his beatification, his reputation for holiness grew considerably and extended to all the dioceses of Papua New Guinea, as well as to the neighboring Solomon Islands and Australia. Hundreds of works about him have been published on behalf of churches, institutions, and groups associated with his memory.There are also many acts of grace attributed to his intercession, collected after his beatification, when his person became better known. His reputation for holiness is widespread today. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 31/3/2025)
Share:
